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MANCHESTER — Pep Guardiola believes his brilliant Brazilian midfielder Fernandinho can extend his Manchester City career by moving back to central defence on a permanent basis as he ages.

The 33-year-old has been a key figure in the success enjoyed by Guardiola over the past two seasons and in City’s ongoing bid to retain their Premier League title

His versatility has also seen him look increasingly effective on occasion at centre-half, a role he performed so effectively in last weekend’s comfortable 3-1 win over Arsenal.

Now Guardiola, who extended Javier Mascherano’s career at Barcelona with a similar positional switch, reckons Fernandinho could benefit from the same move in England.

“I think he can play in that position, I am pretty sure,” said City manager Guardiola.

“He is fast, he is strong in the air, good going backwards and when he sees the football in front of him, his vision for the pass inside, switch of play is excellent,” the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss explained.

“So he is intelligent to go forward or go backwards, so he understands everything. Of course, he has to train more at it. I think he can do it, but his position is as a midfield player.”

Guardiola appeared to have gambled last week when he left England centre-half John Stones on the bench and played Fernandinho in the heart of City’s defence instead.

And he joked that should that ploy fail next time, he knows what reaction he can expect for his selection.

“I know what is going to happen, we are going to lose when Fernandinho plays in that position,” he said. “I am a genius, huh?

“But I discover a surprise for the opponents doing that and I know what is going to happen,” the Spaniard added. “‘Why do you take a risk and leave £45 million on the bench when he can play in that position?’ And I know that.”

Fernandinho’s contract runs out next year, by which time he will be 35, which has focused Guardiola’s attention on finding his successor, although the City boss admits that is not an easy process.

“We have some options and are looking for some options but today it is not easy to find the player and to buy the player so we will see. You know, we spoke many times about that. We are trying to help Fernandinho in that position.”

‘Fighting to be champions’

City are trying to become the first side since local rivals Manchester United in 2009 to win back-to-back Premier League titles.

Since 2013, the reigning champions has finished an average 25 points behind the next season’s winners and the last three defences have been hugely unsuccessful.

Chelsea finished 30 points behind City last season, Leicester were 49 points off first place in 2017 and Chelsea were 31 points adrift a year earlier.

“I know, in the last five or six years, the position where the champions were the year after,” said Guardiola. “All of them were out and didn’t have a chance to win the Premier League.

“However, we are there. That is what I like the most in this season,” he added.

“I say we are in the League Cup final and you are in all the competitions then we are fighting. In the last two seasons, Leicester and Chelsea had no chance, but we are there at the top.

“That is what I like the most but if we want to be there until the end.

“If we win against Chelsea it will help us and if we win the game, I am sure we will be there again fighting to be champions again.” 

GENEVA — Roger Federer is no longer chasing the top ranking and would rather be a contender at Grand Slams than battling Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal to be world No. 1, the Swiss tennis great said on Friday.

The 20-times Grand Slam champion has held back the clock in the twilight of his remarkable career and became the ATP’s oldest World No.1 last year a few weeks after clinching his sixth Australian Open at the age of 36. 

Federer saw his bid for a seventh title at Melbourne Park crushed last month by up-and-coming Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas in the last 16 and having slipped to sixth in the rankings, he says his priorities have shifted. 

“For me the ranking, at 37 years old, is no longer really the priority,” he told a news conference in Geneva. 

“But the idea for me is to be in good health, to know that I can win tournaments, to know that I can beat them [Djokovic and Nadal], and after that it is a pleasure.

“As soon as you feel that you have no chance and all, then it’s a problem. Even if my ranking goes down further, it’s not a problem for me. As long as I say I can win a Grand Slam as I did two years ago with a world ranking of 17, everything is in place. I prefer to be ranked 17th than third and not win a Grand Slam or tournament.”

Federer said he plans to play the Dubai Championships in February and Masters events in Indian Wells and Miami in March before deciding which tournaments he would play in the lead-up to the French Open.

Federer, speaking at a launch for the Laver Cup which is being held in Geneva from September 20-22, hoped that compatriot Stan Wawrinka and world number one Djokovic would join him and Spaniard Nadal on the European team.

Federer, who is from Basel, said he was happy to be back in Switzerland for a few weeks, spending time with friends and family while training.

Sweden’s Bjorn Borg is captain of the Europe team at the event named after Australian tennis great Rod Laver. 

Nadal has announced he will join his perennial rival in the Laver Cup, which pits the best of Europe against a world team still to be named.

“I can’t wait. We talked about it in Melbourne, we talked about how excited he [Nadal] was and me too that we’re going to be on the same team again,” Federer said.

“We don’t know the opponents’ team quite yet, it’s a good thing Rafa is going to be on my team, and it’s on home soil for me in Switzerland, it’s indoors, I like indoors,” he said.

Tickets for the third edition of the tournament, following events in Prague and Chicago, went on sale on Friday, with the best seats at the five-session event going for a whopping 2,820 Swiss francs ($2,817.46).

Federer’s hint at his intentions to compete on clay this summer may well concern Nadal.

The Spaniard is a powerhouse on dirt, but must look after his body between now and June.

He is due to play the Acapulco Open in Mexico before heading to the United States for the Miami Open and Indian Wells.

Nadal will then prepare for the clay Grand Slam with tournaments in Monte Carlo and Barcelona.

Over the years Nadal has forged his name as the King of Clay, while Swiss Maestro Federer has ruled on grass.

And the 37-year-old admits he will always have his mind first and foremost on the tournaments he knows how to win.

“But I think it will always be Wimbledon, the US Open and then the Laver Cup and the Masters at the end of the year,” he said when discussing his priorities.

“I’m preparing for Dubai [February 25 — March 2].

Yes, I continue my career, I’m motivated, I’m fine.”

AMMAN — Jordan’s powerlifters have launched their campaign at the 10th Fazza Para Powerlifting World Cup being held in the UAE with a pair of gold medals, according to the Jordan Olympic Committee News Service. 

The Kingdom has sent a team of nine athletes to the event, and got off to a great start with Omar Qaradeh taking gold in the 49kg after lifting 165kg, pipping opponents from Kazakhstan and Brazil to the top spot.

Teammate, Mohammad Al Shanti, showed his potential by grabbing gold in the same weight for juniors. Joining the pair in Fujairah are Mohammad Tarbash, Abdulkareem Khattab, Mutaz Al Junaidi, Mohammad Arar, Jameel Shebli, Asma Issa and Tharwat Al Hajjaj. The event will run until February 13.

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 43 points, Eric Bledsoe added 22 points and 11 assists, and the Milwaukee Bucks routed the visiting Washington Wizards 148-129 on Wednesday night for their fifth straight win.

Antetokounmpo made 17 of 21 field goal attempts, including 3 of 3 from 3-point range, as Milwaukee beat the Wizards for the second time in less than a week.

The Bucks, who shot 60.2 per cent (56 of 93) and made 19 of 30 3-pointers, have won 11 of their last 12.

Bradley Beal scored 30 for the Wizards, who allowed a season-high point total in losing their third straight. Thomas Bryant had 26 points and 14 rebounds for

Washington while Tomas Satoransky had 16 points and 10 assists.

Beal, 25, became the youngest player in NBA history to make 1,000 3-pointers.

Washington committed 23 turnovers that led to 36 Milwaukee points.

One day after learning that star point guard John Wall will be out at least another 12 months after rupturing his Achilles tendon, the Wizards played without Otto Porter Jr. The Wizards confirmed reports from earlier Wednesday that they have traded Porter to the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls are getting Bobby Portis and Jabari Parker.

Milwaukee led by 20 at halftime, but the Wizards chipped away in the third quarter and trailed by nine after Jeff Green’s two free throws with 3:37 left in the third quarter.

Washington, who trailed by 13 to start the fourth quarter, scored six straight points to pull within 120-113. The Bucks responded and Bledsoe’s dunk with 8:00 remaining capped a 13-0 run that put the Bucks up by 20 points.

The Wizards led 29-28 after Beal’s dunk with 3:58 left in the first quarter, but Khris Middleton converted a 3-point play that started the Bucks on a 16-1 run capped by D.J. Wilson’s dunk with 53.5 seconds left in the quarter. By the time it was over the Bucks led 50-35.

It was just the second 50-point first quarter in the NBA this season.

Warriors 141, Spurs 102

Golden State made 24 of 25 shots bridging the second and third quarter, breaking open a close game en route to a shellacking of short-handed San Antonio in Oakland, California.

The Spurs elected to rest their top two scorers, LaMarcus Aldridge and DeMar DeRozan, in the second game of their eight-game “Rodeo Trip”, with the second half of a back-to-back looming Thursday night against the Trail Blazers in Portland, Ore.

The Warriors scored 49 points in the third quarter, giving them 115 for three periods, the most ever allowed through three quarters in the Gregg Popovich era in San Antonio. Klay Thompson had 26 points and Kevin Durant 23 for the Warriors, who won for the 13th time in their last 14 games.

Rockets 127, Kings 101

With James Harden leading the way in scoring for a 33rd consecutive game, visiting Houston turned a second-quarter eruption into an easy victory over Sacramento.

Harden posted 36 points on 13-of-26 shooting and extended his streak of consecutive 30-plus-point games to 28. He hit 8 of 13 3-point attempts after entering play having shot 31.9 per cent from deep over his previous 12 games.

Gerald Green (25 points) and Eric Gordon (20) helped shoulder the scoring load for Houston, shooting a combined 15 of 31. Buddy Hield scored 20 points for Sacramento, while Bogdan Bogdanovic and Frank Mason added 13 apiece.

Nets 135, Nuggets 130

D’Angelo Russell totalled 27 points and 11 assists as Brooklyn stopped a three-game losing streak with a victory over visiting Denver.

Russell shot 10 of 23 from the field, including 6 of 9 on 3-pointers, and posted his sixth double-double of the season. The All-Star guard also recorded at least 25 points and 10 assists for the second time in his career as the Nets won for the 14th time in their past 16 home games since December 7.

DeMarre Carroll contributed 18 points, 10 rebounds and six assists as the Nets shot 51.1 per cent, handed out a season-best 36 assists and withstood some shaky moments in the final minutes. The Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic recorded his 10th triple-double of the season by totalling 25 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists. Denver lost their second straight after winning six in a row.

Mavericks 99,
Hornets 93

Rookie of the Year favourite Luka Doncic recorded the third triple-double of his career and shook off poor shooting to produce late fireworks as host Dallas defeated Charlotte.

Doncic, just 3 of 16 from the floor with under four minutes to play, came up with a nifty finish at the rim and drew the foul for a three-point play and then followed up with a 3-pointer to put the Mavs ahead for good, 94-88, in a game that was not pretty but was mostly close throughout.

The 19-year-old Slovenian finished with a team-high 19 points on 5-of-20 shooting — just 2-of-10 from beyond the arc — and added 11 assists and 10 rebounds. His total floor game stole the spotlight from All-Star Kemba Walker, who led the Hornets with 30 points.

Pelicans 125, Bulls 120

Julius Randle returned from a six-game absence to score 31 points and lead a balanced New Orleans offense in a win at Chicago.

Randle, who had been sidelined by an ankle injury, was joined in double figures by Cheick Diallo (18 points), Jrue Holiday (18 points and 11 assists), Jahlil Okafor (13 points) and Darius Miller and Kenrich Williams (12 points each) as the Pelicans won for just the second time in eight games.

The Pelicans chose not to play All-Star forward Anthony Davis, who requested a trade last week while sidelined by a finger injury that has since healed enough for him to be cleared to play. For Chicago, Lauri Markkanen had 30 points and 10 rebounds while Zach LaVine added 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.

Jazz 116, Suns 88

Donovan Mitchell scored 21 points, and Rudy Gobert added 16 points and 12 rebounds as Utah had more than enough to beat visiting Phoenix, who took its 12th consecutive defeat.

Royce O’Neale and Joe Ingles added 15 points each for the Jazz, who have just two victories in their past four games but are 11-3 over their past 14 contests dating to January 9. Ingles had 11 assists.

Josh Jackson scored 27 points for the Suns, picking up the slack in the backcourt in the absence of Devin Booker, who did not play because of a tight right hamstring.

AMMAN — The Jordan Professional Football League resumes on Thursday after a break that included the national team’s participation in the 2019 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup.

The Kingdom was eliminated in the Round of 16 play and Qatar won the title for the first time.

The league break gave coaches a chance to reassess strategy and work on their line-ups. Jazira have a slim lead after losing 1-0 to Faisali who are fourth. Salt are third and Wihdat fifth. 

During the first leg, Jazira maintained their lead like the past two seasons, ahead of usual champs Wihdat and Faisali. 

The 2018/19 football season kicked off with league champs Wihdat beating Jordan Cup champs Jazira in the 36th Jordan Super Cup — the first major competition on the annual football calendar.

This week, league titleholders Wihdat lost to Kuwait Club 3-2 in the 2018/19 AFC Champions League. Jordanian teams have never made it past the ACL preliminary round. In the 2017/18 edition, Faisali were eliminated, while Wihdat were knocked out in 2017, 2016 and 2015, and Shabab Urdun were eliminated in 2014.

Since the league kicked off in 1944, Faisali are 33- time record winners, while Wihdat were crowned champs 16 times since they joined the league in 1980.

Jazira lost two competition finals conceding the 35th Jordan Super Cup to Faisali and the Jordan Football Association Shield final to Wihdat. Jazira also made club history by winning the 38th Jordan Cup title which they last won in 1984.

LEICESTER, England — Had the Premier League season begun the day Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took over, Manchester United would be top.

The Norwegian not only instantly transformed the dour mood under sacked manager Jose Mourinho, leading to a rampant first win at Cardiff City 5-1, but has managed to keep it going game-after-game.

Sunday’s win over Leicester City — his seventh in eight league games that have also included one draw — means Manchester United have won four more points than any other Premier League team since he sent them out at Cardiff on December 22.

No wonder the despondency felt by Manchester United fans, who have had a torrid time since Alex Ferguson’s departure in 2013, has been forgotten in a cacophony of “Ole!”s.

On Sunday, they serenaded him long before Marcus Rashford fired in the winning goal in the first half.

After the final whistle, Solskjaer repaid them with clenched fist and applause at the away end of the King Power Stadium. 

“They are the best in the world,” Solskjaer, 45, said of the fans, still smiling after the match despite acknowledging his team had put in an under-par performance by recent standards. 

The result meant Manchester United have won five consecutive away matches in all competitions for the first time since October 2012 under Ferguson. 

It also left them within two points of the top four — a fading prospect in Mourinho’s final days. 

“The players are making each other better,” Solskjaer said, asked about the transformation in Rashford and midfielder Paul Pogba, a scowling symbol of discord during the Mourinho era who is now creating goals at will. 

Loaned by Norwegian club Molde until the end of the season, Solskjaer is making an ever-more compelling case to be made permanent manager, given results and the obvious easy rapport he has with supporters and players.

Even before his managerial days, the affable, baby-faced Solskjaer was a hero at Old Trafford: he scored within six minutes of his 1996 United debut and got the injury-time winner in their 1999 Champions League final win over Bayern Munich. 

Earlier on Sunday, Solskjaer made clear his former bosses would sanction his staying in England.

Much was made of his relatively easy start at Manchester United, but last month he steered them to impressive away wins at Arsenal in the FA Cup and Tottenham in the Premier League. 

This month, he faces severe tests against Paris St Germain in the Champions League, Chelsea in the FA Cup and Liverpool in the Premier League. 

Should the unbeaten run continue through those fixtures, the Old Trafford hierarchy will be hard-pressed to say “Adios”. 

Manchester United will have an easy managerial decision on their hands if caretaker boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer keeps building on his splendid start at Old Trafford, former England manager Steve McClaren has said.

United will appoint a new permanent manager at the end of the season and McClaren, who coached Solskjaer during United’s treble-winning campaign as Alex Ferguson’s assistant in 1999, said the Norwegian has exceeded expectations under pressure.

“I think everyone was astonished at the appointment,” McClaren, who is currently in charge of Queens Park Rangers, told Sky Sports. 

“[But] I know Ole well. He’s a thinker and he’s intelligent.

“They’ve played exciting, attacking, Manchester United old traditional football. And if it continues to work, I think Manchester United will have an easy decision to make at the end of the season.”

After starting with a relatively comfortable run of fixtures, Solskjaer’s United showed tactical maturity in away wins over Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City, as well a commanding FA Cup fourth round win away at Arsenal.

Solskjaer’s former team mate Jordi Cruyff said the former Cardiff manager has revived United by “unblocking the minds of the players”.

“His work has been more mental, talking to the players and pressing the right buttons to get the best out of them,” Cruyff told the BBC.

“The quality is there. They are good players. From the outside, he has touched their minds and put an arm around their shoulder.

“They really needed someone to stabilise things and give positive messages, outside and inside the club.”

AMMAN — Wihdat host Kuwait Club on Tuesday in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League preliminary round.

Jordanian teams have never before made it past the ACL preliminary round. In the 2018 edition, Faisali were eliminated, while Wihdat were knocked out in 2017, 2016 and 2015, and Shabab Urdun in 2014.

The 2019 AFC Champions League is the 38th edition of Asia’s premier club football tournament organised by the AFC, and the 17th under the current AFC Champions League title.

Last edition, Faisali lost their 2018 ACL play-off match to Uzbekistan’s Nasaf Qarshi, and failed to reach the group stages of Asia’s elite club competition. They then settled to play the AFC Cup alongside compatriots Jazira who were eliminated from the West Asia zone final losing to the Iraqi Air Force team, and failing to reach the continent’s final. Faisali had bowed out in second-tier Asian club competition semifinals. The AFC Cup was previously won three times by Jordanian teams. Faisali won titles in 2005 and 2006, and Shabab Urdun in 2007.

Likewise, in 2018 Ramtha bowed out to Tunisia’s Etoile Sportive Du Sahel in the preliminary round of the Arab Club Champions Cup. In 2017, Jordanian league champs Faisali finished runner up to Tunisia’s Tarajji in the Arab Clubs Championships after an impressive performance which included two wins over Egyptian veterans Ahli.  

Last season, Wihdat won the Jordan Professional Football League for a record 16th time. Jazira lost two competition finals conceding the 35th Jordan Super Cup to Faisali and the Jordan Football Association Shield final to Wihdat. Jazira also finished runner-up in the league but made club history by winning the 38th Jordan Cup final after they last won the Jordan Cup in 1984.

The 2018/19 football season kicked off with Wihdat beating Jordan Cup champs Jazira in the 36th Jordan Super Cup — the first major competition on the annual football calendar.

Arab clubs winning AFC Champions League 

2011     Sadd (Qatar)

2005     Ittihad (Saudi Arabia)

2004     Ittihad (Saudi Arabia)

2003     Al Ain (UAE)

2000     Hilal (Saudi Arabia)

1992     Hilal (Saudi Arabia)

1989     Sadd (Qatar)

AMMAN — Jordan’s Olympic champion Ahmad Abu Ghaush has launched his year with a brilliant gold medal at the 7th Fujairah G1 Taekwondo Open in the UAE.

Abu Ghaush was one of seven Jordanians to win medals over the weekend with the Rio 2016 gold medallist taking the -74kg weight with a narrow 18-17 victory over Kazakhstan’s Kairat Sarymsakov in the final.

Not to be outdone, teammate, Zaid Al Halawani, clinched gold in the -58kg after beating Uzbekistan’s Sukhrob Bobobekov, 25-19, in the final.

Hamzeh Qattan made it a hat-trick of golds for Jordan’s men in the +87kg weight with victory in his final over Kazakhstan’s Ruslan Zhaparov, 14-12. The ladies played their part too with Natali Al Humaidi winning a fourth gold for the Kingdom in the -62kg by beating Ukraine’s Darya Yakovleva 3-2.

There were silver medals for Saleh Al Sharabati (-80kg) and Anas Al Sadeq (-87kg), while Juliana Al Sadeq won bronze in the -67kg category for the women. The team will next head to Istanbul to participate in the President’s Cup.