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AMMAN — Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah and his French co-driver Matthieu Baumel held a small advantage after the opening Abdali super special stage of the Jordan Rally on Thursday afternoon, according to the Jordan Rally news service.

Driving a Skoda Fabia R5, the defending regional champion beat Abdulaziz Al Kuwari by 9.5 seconds to reach the end of the first section of leg one with the bragging rights. Thousands of spectators witnessed the action in Amman’s new downtown district, as the organising Jordan Motorsport took the action to the centre of the capital before heading down to the Dead Sea region for the weekend.

“I finished second here last year but second is like being last as far as I am concerned,” said a determined Abdulaziz Al Kuwari. “There are maybe five new stages. We have to push. I have to put Nasser under pressure. We rarely see him under pressure. My goal for the next two days should be to attack.”

The Jordanian crew of Husam Salem and Nancy Al Majali set the third fastest time of 3min 38.7sec in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX to claim the early initiative in what promises to be a fascinating tussle for MERC 2 honours. Current MERC 2 championship standings remain provisional pending the outcome of fuel sample checks taken by the FIA at the Kuwait Rally in March.

The Jordanian quartet of Khaled Juma, Asem Aref, Ihad Al Shorafa and Lina Hadadi held fifth, 11th, 13th and 15th overall.

Cars were flagged away from the start by HRH Prince Feisal, chairman of Jordan Motorsport, in the presence of a number of visiting VIPs.

Attiyah, Kuwari, Lina Hadadi, Husam Salem, Meshari Al Thefiri and Rakan Al Rashed had earlier attended a pre-event Q&A session on the podium that had been beamed live around the region.

“This is my first time here in Jordan and I have been very impressed,” said Rakan Rashed, who settled into 14th overall. “I spoke to Nasser before the start and he told me the stages were not in a class of the Middle East. He told me they were world class. That made me really think that I needed to be careful. Of course, I want to finish and I don’t want to make any mistakes.”

On Friday, teams tackle 10 special stages, split into two repeats of specials at Ma’in, Syagha, Rama, Bahath and Suwayma. With service not permitted at the Dead Sea until after the fifth of the timed tests, it will be imperative that drivers do not inflict damage on their cars over the early competitive kilometres. The five specials are then repeated in the afternoon.

MADRID — As soon as the final whistle confirmed Real Madrid’s berth in the Champions League final against local rivals Atletico with a 1-0 aggregate victory over Manchester City on Wednesday, memories of 2014’s all-Spanish final came flooding back.

Sergio Ramos headed in a 93rd-minute equaliser in Lisbon to crush Atletico’s dreams of a first ever continental crown and put Real on their way to a 4-1 extra time victory that sealed “La Decima”, the 10th European Cup they had coveted for so long.

“It’s another final and it’s taken a lot to get there but we’ve proven we know how to win it and we’re going to try and do it again,” Ramos said, looking ahead to the May 28 showdown in Milan.

Having barely had time to digest their narrow win over Manuel Pellegrini’s side, Real’s euphoric fans gleefully recalled that late show in Lisbon, chanting: “Atletico, tell me how it felt to lose the final.”

Gareth Bale, who forced the Fernando own goal that decided Wednesday’s semifinal tie and who put Madrid 2-1 up against Atletico in Lisbon, offered a more cautious message.

“It’s great to be in the final again but there’s another game to go against a very difficult and stubborn Atletico Madrid team,” the Welshman said.

“We know it’s going to be another difficult game, it always is against them.”

Since breaking Atletico hearts in Lisbon, Real have faced their local rivals 10 times and won just once, Javier Hernandez’s late goal knocking Diego Simeone’s side out of the Champions League in last season’s quarter-finals.

Before Simeone took over at Atletico in 2011, Madrid derbies were regarded as foregone conclusions, with the Rojiblancos last beating Real in 1999.

Real fans revelled in their neighbours’ suffering, producing a banner before one game bearing the message “Wanted: a dignified rival for a decent derby. Apply here.”

Guided by the inspirational Simeone, Atletico broke the stranglehold in the most fitting of places, the 2013 King’s Cup final at the Bernabeu.

Real have not beaten Atletico in the league since 2013 and were thrashed 4-0 last season at the Vicente Calderon, and lost 1-0 to them at home this term.

“It’s a final, there are no favourites,” Cristiano Ronaldo said. “We meet again. A final with Atletico is always special.”

Midfielder Luka Modric also expects another tough encounter.

“We played against them two years ago and we remember how difficult it was,” the Croatian said.

“We expect the same game and I hope we get the same result.”

Although Real remain third in La Liga, the same position when coach Zinedine Zidane arrived, the Frenchman has quelled the protests and cut the gap with leaders Barcelona to a single point.

Madrid are also in their best domestic form of the season, winning 10 league games in a row and there is an undeniable sense the players enjoy a tighter bond than under Benitez.

“Zidane is doing a great job. He’s helping us and we are helping him,” said Cristiano Ronaldo.

BERLIN — Departing Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola has been assured a bittersweet farewell at the German club with the pending celebration of a record fourth straight Bundesliga title soured by another failure to shine on the European stage.

For the third season in a row, Bayern crashed out of the Champions League in the semifinals to Spanish opposition on Tuesday, a 2-1 victory over Atletico Madrid not enough to prevent the Bavarians from losing on the away goals rule.

The Spaniard, who will join Manchester City next season, can still win two more trophies, the league and German Cup, but he will not go down as one of Bayern’s all-time great coaches, having never conquered Europe during his three-year stint.

His failure to clinch the Champions League means he will be unable to become the fifth Bayern coach to lift the continent’s most prestigious trophy, with the man he succeeded among the elite quartet to have achieved that feat.

Jupp Heynckes was told midway through the 2012-13 season that his contract would not be renewed to make way for Guardiola, who had taken a 12-month sabbatical after claiming 14 trophies in an astonishing four-year reign at Barcelona.

The German coach was unhappy at the way he was treated by Bayern but still went on to win their first-ever treble in 2013, and expectations were sky-high when Guardiola arrived in a whirlwind of media attention.

The 45-year-old enjoyed unprecedented freedom from Bayern club bosses from day one but his departure after the German Cup final later this month will be a far more subdued affair.

European exploits

“Of course, it was my aim to win this competition here,” said Guardiola, who led Barcelona to a pair of Champions League victories during his trophy-laden tenure in Spain.

“We tried our best and played as well as we could. But I am happy with my time here, I have enjoyed it here. We wanted to win the Cup but it does not change my time here.”

Guardiola’s success at Munich was always going to be measured by his exploits in Europe and three successive failures at the penultimate hurdle will cast a shadow over an otherwise stellar performance on the domestic front.

“Titles are just statistics. I can just tell you that I gave everything for my players. I worked hard to adapt to the Bundesliga and make my players better. I have no regrets,” he said.

Guardiola can still usher in a record fourth consecutive league title this week and add a German Cup to the five trophies he captured in his first two years in Germany but while he has no regrets, his captain does.

“We have to look forward now,” Philipp Lahm said. “We can win the league title and then also have the Cup final [against Borussia Dortmund].

“It can still become a good season but it is sad that we could not reward our coach and his coaching team with a goodbye in the [Champions League] final.” 

AMMAN — Less than seven months after claiming a ninth victory on the shores of the Dead Sea, Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah returns to rallying action at the Jordan Rally this weekend, according to the Jordan Rally Media Service.

One of the most popular counting rounds towards the FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) has returned to its regular May date. An international field of competitors from 11 nations will tackle 19 special stages and 222.77km of competitive action in a route of 640.63km through the Dead Sea and Jordan Valley areas to mark the 198th event in MERC history.

Attiyah holds the record for 62 regional championship rally wins and is chasing Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s record of 12 triumphs in Jordan. He surpassed the UAE driver’s long-standing record of 60 victories back in February and is keen to press on towards an unprecedented 100 wins.

“It’s always important to take a close look at the stages to make sure that there are no significant changes and the winter weather has not altered the nature of the roads,” said Attiyah, who is partnered in Jordan by the French navigator Matthieu Baumel, himself a winner of 11 MERC rallies.

Arch rival Abdulaziz Al Kuwari has endured a fraught start to his 2016 campaign in a Skoda Fabia R5. The Qatari crashed heavily out of his home event in an incident that hospitalised navigator Marshall Clarke and he has since refocused and regrouped.

A retirement in Rally Mexico was followed by third in WRC 2 in Argentina, but Kuwari remains pointless in the MERC after missing an outing in Kuwait at the 11th hour. He teams up with Irishman Killian Duffy again in Jordan.

The third of the R5s and the last realistic competition for Attiyah comes from former Kuwait Rally winner Khalid Suwaidi, partnered by the top seed’s former co-driver Giovanni Bernacchini, with whom he won 24 rounds of the MERC. Al Suwaidi drives a Ford Fiesta on this occasion.

The impressive field of MERC 2 drivers in a variety of Mitsubishi Lancer Evolutions and Subaru Imprezas makes up the bulk of the entry. Qatar’s Rashed Al Nuami leads the region’s secondary championship by two-points from Abdullah Al Kuwari heading into the Jordan showdown. Local hopes rest on the shoulders of Husam Salem, Khaled Juma, Ihad Al Shorafa and Lina Hadadi.

The Jordanian duo of Asem Aref and Musa Djiyerian bring up the rear of the field in a diminutive Renault Clio. Aref finished seventh overall in a two-wheel drive Fiat Stilo last October.

The event gets under way with a Q&A session with several of the leading drivers on the podium, the ceremonial start and a 2.37km super special stage in Abdali on Thursday afternoon.

AMMAN  — Ahli aim to win a title after years in the background when they play Shabab Urdun in the Jordan Cup final on Friday, ending the 2015-2016 season.

Ahli advanced to the final after they beat titleholders Faisali 1-0 in Leg 1 and drew 0-0 in Leg 2. In the other semifinal, two-time winners Shabab Urdun eliminated Jazira winning 1-0 in Leg 1 and 0-0 in Leg 2. 

A long-time veteran and founder of the game in Jordan, Ahli were relegated to Division 1 in 2004 for the first time in their history. They were back among the Jordan Professional League clubs in 2014, finished fifth in 2015 and third in the league this season as Shabab Urdun finished fifth.

Four Division 1 teams — Turra, Bala’ama, Arabi and Sheikh Hussein — were eliminated in the preliminary knockout round, where reigning Jordan Cup champs Faisali ousted Sarih, Ahli upstaged Wihdat, Turra upset Ramtha, Jazira beat Asala, Hussein eliminated Baqa’a. That Ras ousted Arabi, Kufrsoum beat Sheikh and Shabab Urdun defeated Bala’ama.

This season, Faisali secured one title beating league and Super Cup titleholders Wihdat 1-0 to clinch the 33rd Super Cup. Wihdat won the 64th league title for the third consecutive year.

Jordan Cup record
(Runner- up in parenthesis)

MADRID — Boosted by Cristiano Ronaldo’s likely return and a nearly perfect home record, Real Madrid welcome Manchester City on Wednesday with another Champions League final almost in their grasp.

Real Madrid set to have Ronaldo back after he missed three straight games because of a leg injury, including the 0-0 first-leg draw in Manchester last week.

Ronaldo leads the Champions League with 16 goals, one shy of the record he set in the 2013-14 season.

He hurt his right leg in a Spanish league game on April 20 and hasn’t played since then. Madrid have not released any official information about the injury, prompting widespread rumours about its severity, but he participated fully in training on Monday and looked fit to return to action.

Another edge for Madrid comes from Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, where it has crushed all-comers this season, winning 20 of 23 matches in all competitions. In the Champions League, which have won all five home games by outscoring opponents 18-0.

“Home advantage will help,” Real Madrid defensive midfielder Casemiro said. “It is going to be a very difficult game but our fans are strong. That gives us a small advantage. We’re counting on the fans and I’m sure they’ll not let us down”.

Only two opponents have beaten Madrid at home this season, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona. Malaga earned a 0-0 draw against the 10-time European champions at the Bernabeu, a result that, if repeated, would send Wednesday’s game into extra time.

Madrid, the title winner in 2014, have won their last six games at the venue in all competitions. The club is unbeaten against English sides at home in the Champions League, and it defeated City 3-2 in the tournament’s group stage in 2012.

“That feeling when the fans inside the Santiago Bernabeu get behind you and are with us is unexplainable,” Real Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas said. “We’ll be trying to chase every ball, and each player is going to be giving their best to ensure that everything works out perfectly.”

Only Karim Benzema remains seriously doubtful because of a right hamstring injury.

Despite its advantages, Madrid hold a lot of respect for City, which have an impressive away record of three wins and two draws in the Champions League this season. It eliminated Paris Saint-Germain in the quarterfinals, a stage it reached for the first time.

“If Manchester City made it to the semifinals, it’s because they’re an excellent team,” Ronaldo said. “Knocking out PSG is not an easy task, but they managed to do it. They are a team with very few weaknesses.”

AMMAN —  Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah may be the firm favourite to win the Jordan Rally outright for a 10th time at the Dead Sea this week, but there’s another equally important competition running minutes behind the Qatari and involving a whole host of the region’s leading drivers, Rally Jordan News Service said.

The FIA Middle East Rally Championship’s Group N series has been renamed MERC 2 this year and has already become a battle ground for drivers from Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Turkey, Italy, Jordan and Lebanon on the opening two rallies in Qatar and Kuwait.

Qatar’s Rashid Al Nuami currently holds a two-point advantage over fellow countryman Abdullah Al Kuwari in the MERC 2 points’ standings, although Kuwait Rally runner-up Meshari Al Thafiri and Lebanon’s rising star Rodolphe Asmar are five and eight points behind respectively.

“It’s important that we carry out an accurate recce and make no mistakes,” said Nuami’s Italian navigator Nicola Arena. “These stages are tricky and can easily catch you out.

“MERC 2 cars are not as strong and as forgiving as the R5s and we need to drive quickly, but also keep one eye on not damaging the car. MERC 2 has become very popular this year and we are looking forward to an exciting fight with a string field over the next few days.”

The series is still wide open with five rallies remaining this season in Jordan, Lebanon, Cyprus, Oman and Dubai. Saudi Arabia’s Rakan Rashed and Turkey’s Vedat Diker will catapult themselves into contention with a good result this weekend along the notoriously difficult, smooth and flowing stages that make the three-day Jordan Rally such a unique challenge.

Jordan’s Husam Salem collected five championship points at the opening round in Qatar and missed round two in Kuwait, but last year’s Jordan Rally Group N winner and his female navigator Nancy Majali will be aiming for another podium finish in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX.

Khaled and Emad Juma add power to the home challenge and they will be supported by the other Jordanian crews of Ihab Al Shorafa and Hazem Attiyat and Lina Hadidi and Barkev Shadian in their respective Mitsubishi Lancer and Subaru Impreza.

Teams complete the second day of their reconnaissance of the special stages on Wednesday, before the event gets under way with a ceremonial start and super special stage in Abdali on Thursday afternoon.

The action takes place in the Dead Sea and Jordan Valley areas on Friday and Saturday.

Bayern Munich are desperate to avoid losing a third consecutive Champions League semifinal to Spanish opponents when they host Atletico Madrid on Tuesday but coach Pep Guardiola has his work cut out to end his time in Germany on a high.

Guardiola inherited the reigning European champions when he joined Bayern in 2013, but has endured successive semi-final failures since, falling to Real Madrid in 2014 and to his former club Barcelona last season.

His hopes of reaching a first Champions League final since his Barcelona side beat Manchester United 3-1 in 2011 were dented after Saul Niguez’s brilliant solo goal gave Atletico a 1-0 first-leg victory.

With Guardiola leaving for Manchester City at the season’s end, this is his last chance to conquer Europe with Bayern, who won the first of their five European Cups by defeating Atletico in the 1974 final.

“It’s not over yet, we still have a chance,” Guardiola told reporters. “If we lose it, you can kill me, but we still have a chance.”

Atletico coach Diego Simeone also believes the tie is open.

“Playing in Munich means they’ll have their fans supporting them, but we have the opportunity to score an away goal.”

“We need to be on fire on Tuesday,” said Thomas Mueller, who shone as Bayern were held 1-1 by Borussia Moenchengladbach on Saturday and were consequently made to wait for their fourth consecutive Bundesliga title.

Mueller’s return was one of eight changes from the Atletico match made by Bayern, who were boosted by the return of Jerome Boateng, who had not featured since January.

Arjen Robben, sidelined for two months with a hamstring injury, says that he is “fighting” to return this season but will miss out, while Guardiola confirmed he does not know whether Franck Ribery will recover from a back complaint.

“We’ll do everything we can to have Franck back,” said Guardiola, who is also without defender Holger Badstuber.

While Bayern were unconvincing on Saturday, Diego Simeone’s Atletico are finishing strongly in Spain, having won their last six league games and keeping four consecutive clean sheets.

They are level on points with La Liga leaders Barcelona after defeating Rayo Vallecano 1-0 on Saturday.

“It’ll be a close game like today’s match,” said Simeone after the Rayo game. “We’ll see who makes the most of their chances.”

Influential central defender Diego Godin returns from a hamstring injury, Yannick Ferreira Carrasco is also available and Tiago Mendes travels despite not yet being passed fit to play.

AMMAN — This week’s Jordan Rally makes a welcome return to the King Hussein Bin Talal Convention Centre by Hilton on the sun-baked shores of the Dead Sea, according to the Jordan Rally Media Service.

Situated at the lowest place on Earth, the state-of-the-art complex has hosted the prestigious World Economic Forum on several occasions and played centre stage during three golden years when the Hashemite Kingdom hosted a round of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) in 2008, 2010 and 2011.

Jordan is keen to return to the world’s premier rally series in the near future and the switch back to the convention centre is a clear message to the FIA that Jordan is serious about returning to the top echelon of the rallying calendar.

“The Jordan Rally has maintained its world-class standards to ensure that when the WRC family is ready to return to this region then we are a willing long-term partner,” said David Williams, the spokesman of Jordan Motorsport.

“We continue to talk with our friends at the WRC about a return to Jordan, but in the meantime we will continue to perform to the high levels expected for such a prestigious championship.”

The Middle East’s leading drivers have now arrived at the Dead Sea for the third round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship and will start their two-day reconnaissance of some of the finest gravel special stages on the planet on Tuesday morning.

Seen as one of the most popular rounds of the WRC amongst many of the leading drivers — such as former winners Mikko Hirvonen, Sébastien Loeb, Sébastien Ogier — and members of the world’s media, the event also saw one of the closest and most exciting finishes in rallying history.

“This rally has a special place in my memories and was one of the most demanding rounds of the WRC,” said Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah. “The stages can be slippery, technical and unforgiving. I have an impressive record here and would like to win again and continue my quest for another Middle East title.”

Stage reconnaissance will be followed on Thursday by an official drivers’ Q&A session in Abdali from 2:30pm that precedes an autograph signing session, the ceremonial start and the opening timed super special stage.

The action is centred around the Dead Sea and Jordan Valley areas on Friday and Saturday.

AMMAN — The Jordan Olympic Committee (JOC) celebrated 100 days to go until the 2016 Olympic Games by launching a campaign in association with its partner backaldrin for Jordan to Smile Like a Winner, according to the JOC News Service.

The big multi-sport event will get under way on August 5 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Jordan will be participating in several sports with two athletes already qualified and more hoping to book their places in the coming weeks. To mark the 100-day milestone at Al Hussein Youth City, the JOC launched a campaign to garner support for Team Jordan over the coming weeks, as well as to raise awareness for the global celebration.

“The Olympic Games is a celebration for the whole world and ‘Smile Like a Winner’ will give all Jordanians the opportunity to play their part and show their support,” said Lana Al Jaghbeer, secretary general of JOC. The “Smile Like a Winner” truck will tour the Kingdom over the next few weeks offering the general public an opportunity to win prizes by taking part in a sporting challenge inside the back of the truck.