WORLD BEATERS February 16, 2011 ARSENAL 2 vs BARCELONA 1 ARSENAL manager Arsene Wenger toasted “a special football night” after late goals from Robin van Persie and Andrey Arshavin earned them a momentous Champions League triumph against the side he rates the best in the world. The Gunners were headed for a deserved defeat in this last-16 first leg contest, [...]
Hearn will fight to block West Ham Olympic Stadium move February 16, 2011 LEYTON ORIENT chairman Barry Hearn has stepped up his campaign to prevent West Ham completing their proposed relocation to the Olympic Stadium, urging Prime Minister David Cameron to block a move he believes could put his club out of business. Hearn (right) has written to Cameron, Mayor of London Boris Johnson and other ministers asking [...]
ICC bans team officials from tweeting during World Cup February 16, 2011 THE ICC HAVE imposed a blanket ban on team officials tweeting during World Cup matches in a bid to cut out any possibility of the social networking site being used as a tool for potential corruption. Following on from the spot-fixing scandal involving Pakistan, the governing body have decided to eliminate the possibility of coaches [...]
Impotence of Serie A must rile Gattuso February 16, 2011 SO WHAT really riled AC Milan pitbull Gennaro Gattuso enough to make him pick a fight with Joe Jordan, a man whose missing front teeth are a permanent testament to his grizzled fearlessness? Insults, as the Gattuso camp suggest, perhaps. But this was evidently a man also tormented by defeat, by the humiliation of being [...]
Milan star cites provocation but facing long ban February 16, 2011 EUROPEAN chiefs will meet on Monday to decide on an appropriate punishment for AC Milan captain Gennaro Gattuso. The 33-year-old shoved Tottenham assistant manager Joe Jordan in the face following a second-half altercation with Steven Pienaar and then headbutted the 59-year-old after the final whistle. Gattuso’s agent, Claudio Pasqualin, said Jordan had provoked the midfielder [...]
Pietersen thrilled at the opportunity to act as England’s emergency opener February 16, 2011 ENGLAND batsman Kevin Pietersen insists he is ready to embrace the role of emergency World Cup opener. Pietersen, who has played the vast majority of his 110 one-day internationals at No4, was promoted to the top of the order as England struggled to a narrow warm-up victory over Canada yesterday. The South African-born star made [...]
Heidfeld given Renault drive February 16, 2011 FORMULA ONE: Nick Heidfeld will drive for Renault for the foreseeable future after it was announced that the German is to replace the injured Robert Kubica. “I’m motivated and can’t wait for the season to begin,” said Heidfeld.
Klasnic strike sees Bolton past Wigan February 16, 2011 FOOTBALL: Bolton booked an FA Cup fifth-round FA Cup tie with Fulham as Wigan were beaten by a second-half strike from Ivan Klasnic. The decisive moment came in the 66th minute when the Croat rifled beyond Mike Pollit.
Crouch is Spurs’ San Siro hero February 15, 2011 AC MILAN 0 vs TOTTENHAM 1 TOTTENHAM manager Harry Redknapp has implored Uefa to review Mathieu Flamini’s horror tackle on Vedran Corluka following the latest installment of his side’s Champions League fairytale. Peter Crouch’s 80th minute strike gave Tottenham a fully deserved first leg win, but Flamini’s two-footed assault on the Croatia defender, allied to [...]
Arsenal put faith in Van Persie February 15, 2011 ARSENAL vs BARCELONA ARSENAL manager Arsene Wenger has hailed Robin van Persie’s sizzling form and backed the Dutchman to deliver as the Gunners prepare for a Champions League rematch with their conquerors of last season, Barcelona. Van Persie has hit a purple patch since returning from injury, scoring 10 goals in his last eight games, [...]