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NYON, Switzerland — In a pairing of coach Pep Guardiola’s past and present teams, Barcelona will play Bayern Munich in the Champions League semifinals.

Guardiola, who won two Champions League titles during four trophy-filled years at Barcelona, took over at Bayern in 2013.

“Of course it’s special. I can’t say more,” Guardiola said. “Barcelona are the best. I am very pleased that I can have this experience.”

In the other semifinal, defending champion Real Madrid will face Juventus, with the Italian champions playing at home first. Two-time champion Juventus is back after a 12-year absence from the semifinals, when it also faced Madrid and won.

“They are having a very good season and have practically won the Italian league. That means they can focus more on the Champions League,” Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said.

The four semifinal teams have combined to win the European Cup or Champions League 21 times, with 16 runner-up finishes, in the competition’s 60-year history.

Still, a blockbuster cast of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and the best of Germany’s World Cup winning-team will take second billing to Guardiola’s return to Camp Nou, where he also won club football’s most coveted trophy as a player in 1992.

“Pep is 100 per cent Bayern Munich and that is it,” former Bayern great Paul Breitner said. “You [the media] will be focused on Pep. Pep will work as [for] each match in the same way.”

The first leg in Barcelona will be played on May 6, with the return match six days later. Madrid will play in Turin on May 5 and host Juventus on May 13.

The final will be played on June 6 at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin.

Guardiola will face his former team in a competitive match for the first time since leaving Barcelona in 2012. His Bayern team won 2-0 in a charity friendly between the sides in Munich soon after he took over.

The two teams also met in the 2013 semifinals while Guardiola was on his one-year sabbatical.

Back then, Bayern humiliated Barcelona, winning 7-0 on aggregate before claiming its fifth European title.

Barcelona is now coached by Luis Enrique, a teammate of Guardiola for five years at the Catalan club.

“It will be the first time I am against Guardiola and his first time against Barca,” Luis Enrique said.

Ten-time champion Real Madrid are aiming to become the first team to win back-to-back titles since the Champions League format began in 1992. And Ancelotti, a former Juventus and AC Milan coach, are looking to become the first man to lead teams to Europe’s top club title for a fourth time.

Though Juventus is the lowest-scoring team of the four, it has a typically tight Italian defence, conceding only five goals in 10 matches.

“This Juve are competitive,” said club director Pavel Nedved, a standout in the 2003 team. “We know that Real have incredible players but this is a semifinal to play without fear.”

In the Europa League, defending champion Sevilla were drawn to play Fiorentina, and Napoli will face Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk.

For the first time, the Europa League winner will also earn a place in the group stage of the Champions League next season.

Barcelona coach Luis Enrique is relishing the chance to pit his wits against Guardiola, the man who turned the Spanish side’s style of football into an iconic brand.

Guardiola will return as coach of the German side to the club at where he made his name as a player and manager.

Luis Enrique holds his former team mate in high esteem as a coach.

“[He is the best] because he has achieved a vast number of titles, because I love the way he has done it and with an attacking football style wherever he has been,” Luis Enrique told a news conference On Friday.

“He has been able to adapt to another country and learn a new language, a very difficult language as well, and transmit what he wants.”

Enrique and Guardiola played together at Barcelona where they were heavily influenced by the passing game introduced to the club by Dutch coach Johan Cruyff.

Guardiola was brought into the first team by Cruyff who revolutionised the game with his own perception of “total football”.

Luis Enrique joined in 1996 under Bobby Robson before the club entered a new period of Dutch influence with the arrival of Louis van Gaal.

AMMAN — Titleholders Wihdat continued their reign over the Jordan Professional League on Thursday, snatching an early win two weeks ahead of the tournament's conclusion by holding Jazira to a 2-2 tie at Prince Mohammad Stadium in Zarqa, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The tie raised Wihdat's points to 44, ensuring they win their 14th league title, while Jazira maintained their hold on the second place with 35 points, according to Petra.

AMMAN — Jordan plays hosts Bahrain on Friday in their third match at the 3rd AFC U-14 Girls Regional Championship for West Asia.

The Kingdom’s team opened the event with a crushing 20-0 victory over Iraq before they were held 1-1 by the UAE.

So far, the UAE crushed Palestine 7-0, Palestine edged Bahrain 2-1, the UAE beat Bahrain 3-1 and Palestine prevailed over Iraq 4-2. The five-day football event currently under way in Bahrain ends Saturday when Jordan plays Palestine.

Jordan’s big win over Iraq signalled the team’s preparation to retain the title they won back-to-back with unbeaten streaks. Jordan won the inaugural event in Doha in 2013, and in Amman in 2014 after they beat Bahrain 4-0, Qatar 7-0, Palestine 5-0 and the UAE 3-0.

Based on the Asian Football Confederation draw, Asian teams will play in five zones: South, Central, ASEAN, East and West.

The West zone groups Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Palestine and the UAE. The West Asia zone competition is being played under the single round robin system.

West Asia Standings

AMMAN — The second round of the National Rally Championship has been postponed indefinitely, according to the CEO of Jordan Motorsport.

Othman Naseef told The Jordan Times that only six drivers registered.

“We had several drivers apologise for being unable to participate because their cars are not ready yet, so we had to follow FIA regulations and postpone the event,” he said.

“Rallying is a costly sport and without the proper financial support drivers will never be able to be in full gear and take part in events” he added.

Meanwhile, preparations for the Speed Test event to be held at the Royal Automobile Club of Jordan racetrack on May 1 are under way.

“We are focusing on women drivers who have the passion for auto sports. We invite them to take part in the event with the generous support from Kia Jordan which provided two cars for them as a kind of support,” he said.

“We are also doing our part as women drivers will be exempt from paying participation fees for the event. We hope that this support will encourage more women drivers to be a part of auto sports events,” he added.

Veteran driver Nancy Majali expressed her happiness that women drivers are getting more focus.

“It feels great and promising to see that the focus on women’s participation is getting more serious as there are many females in Jordan who would like to be a part of auto sports and have the skills for it,” she said.

“My dream is to have more than ten women drivers taking part in one event. I am sure there are many who are willing to participate if they find the right support and encouragement,” she added.

Nasseef stressed that the idea of contacting car agents to provide cars to women drivers will continue.

“We think it is a good idea to involve dealers in supporting women drivers. In addition we have drawn up a plan for more involvement of women in the decision making process. Hence we have established a Jordanian women’s committee for auto sports,” he said.

“The main job of the committee is set strategies and educate women about auto sports in addition to encourage them to be a part of it,” he added.

The committee consists of Randa Nabulsi, Rana Abu Lugd, Lama Hattab, Nadia Shnoudeh, Nancy Majali, Yasmeen Majed and Heba Al Ameer.

BARCELONA, Spain — Neymar scored two goals as Barcelona beat Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 on Tuesday to seal their return to the Champions League semifinals, joining Europe’s elite four teams for the seventh time in eight seasons.

Neymar had already netted Barcelona’s first goal in their 3-1 first-leg win, and the Brazil striker struck in the 14th and 34th minutes to crush PSG’s already slim hopes of a quarter-final comeback.

Barcelona’s dominance was so complete that, despite Neymar’s brace, Andres Iniesta was arguably the best player on the Camp Nou pitch. The veteran midfielder used a breathtaking solo run through the heart of the visitors’ defence to set up Neymar for the opener.

The Brazilian then took advantage of PSG’s lax marking to head home his second goal from Dani Alves’ cross.

“Iniesta, in the first goal, he did it all. I only had to dribble the goalkeeper,” Neymar said. “We are playing at our best both in the Champions League and the Spanish league. We have to keep it up.”

Neymar’s double gave him 30 goals for the season as the 23-year-old star continues to flourish. He forms a deadly three-prong attack with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, who have taken Barcelona one step closer to adding to its four European Cups and have kept the club in contention for the Spanish league and Copa del Rey titles.

“We had a great start to the game, it was decisive,” said Luis Enrique, who became the Catalan club’s most successful coach through his first 50 matches with 42 wins.

“I don’t want to look too far ahead, but I hope the best is yet to come. That’s what my players have been playing for this season, to be in the position to win titles.”

Despite needing to score three goals, PSG seemed more worried about keeping a clean sheet and sat back instead of pressing Barcelona in their own half, a strategy that almost paid dividends for Valencia over the weekend.

If defending first was coach Laurent Blanc’s strategy, it quickly fell apart when Iniesta single-handedly undid the French champions with an elegant dribbling run that started in his own half.

Iniesta has had a subdued season in his new role as the team’s orchestrator — with Xavi Hernandez now only a substitute. But he proved that he is still one of the most creative playmakers in the game when he neatly spun by one defender and coasted through the tackles of two more. He then capped his run by threading a perfect pass beyond two more backtracking PSG players for Neymar to round goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu before tapping in Barcelona’s first goal.

“Is Iniesta back? I hadn’t gone anywhere. I always try to play well, regardless of the formation we are playing with,” Iniesta said.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic made little impact on his return from suspension for PSG because he rarely got the ball. The Swedish striker was often a spectator while attack partners Edinson Cavani and Javier Pastore chased after a ball that was moved with bewitching ease by Iniesta, Messi, and Ivan Rakitic.

Despite all its artistry, Barcelona’s second goal came easily enough when Dani Alves picked out Neymar darting between David Luiz and Marquinhos to score with a header.

Marco Verratti squandered PSG’s first decent chance that came an hour into the match when he sent his shot well wide, and it wasn’t until the 73rd minute when Ibrahimovic forced goalie Marc-Andre Ter Stegen to make a save.

MUNICH — Bayern Munich outclassed Porto 6-1 on Tuesday to reach their fourth consecutive Champions League semifinal and give coach Pep Guardiola an emphatic victory in his 100th match in charge of the German powerhouse.

Robert Lewandowski scored two goals as the five-time champions roared back from a 3-1 defeat in the first leg last week to advance 7-4 on aggregate.

Thiago Alcantara, Jerome Boateng, Thomas Mueller and Xabi Alonso were also on the score sheet for the home side. Jackson Martinez scored for Porto, which finished the match with 10 men after Ivano Marcano was sent off in the 87th minute.

Despite missing some of its biggest stars such as Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery, Bayern applied pressure from the opening whistle and had wiped out Porto’s first-leg advantage by the 27th minute.

“It’s easy to love my players now,” said Guardiola, whose position would have come under scrutiny in the German media if his side had made an exit at the quarterfinal stage. “I am the coach of extraordinary players. I didn’t expect such a first half.”

“We can still play better. We lost the ball here and there and we can improve on that. We had a few problems in the second half. They had only a few chances in the second half but you should never relax in the Champions League.”

Guardiola’s team toyed with the dispirited visitors, who began the match by defending with all men in their own half and failed to take a shot at Manuel Neuer’s goal in the opening 45 minutes.

“There are worse situations in life,” said Mueller, who set up two goals and is now Germany’s all-time top scorer in the Champions League with 27 goals. “It was wonderful. It couldn’t have gone better. We never thought we could play such a first half.”

Bayern has now won all five home matches in this season’s competition, scoring 19 goals and conceding one.

Porto, which upset Bayern to win the 1987 European Cup title, went into the match undefeated in the competition this season but came away with humiliating loss.

“We didn’t play well in the second half and we conceded an early goal,” Porto coach Julen Lopetegui said. “Bayern is one of the best teams in the world and the favourite to win the title... We knew they would come down the sides and we tried to prevent their attacks but we failed.

“We have to accept it and we can be proud of what we showed in the Champions League.”

Bayern threatened early, with Mueller’s shot after a break was parried by Fabiano. Lewandowski pounced but struck the post in the 10th minute.

Four minutes later, Bayern took the lead. Juan Bernat beat Ricardo Quaresma on the left wing, got behind Porto’s defence and crossed for Thiago to connect with an unchallenged header.

Porto’s defense was caught short again after a corner in the 22nd minute. Holger Badstuber headed toward the far post and Boateng nodded home as the two big Bayern defenders easily rose above their rivals.

Five minutes later, Bayern took the lead on the aggregate. Philipp Lahm crossed from the right, Mueller put Lewandowski through and the striker headed on target.

Sorely missing suspended fullbacks Danilo and Alex Sandro, two-time winner Porto offered little resistance and Bayern went up 4-0 in the 36th minute after Mueller picked up a ball outside the penalty area and fired a low shot that deflected of Bruno Martins and caught Fabiano on the wrong foot.

However, the first-half demolition of Porto wasn’t over yet. Mueller tormented the visitors’ defense and won a difficult ball on the right before swinging in a cross for Lewandowski, who took a couple of steps before drilling the ball low into the corner in the 40th minute for 5-0.

Although his team was easily controlling the match, Guardiola was his usual agitated self in the coaching zone and had opened a large rip in the seam of the left leg of his trousers in his 100th match in charge for Bayern. He has 79 wins, 10 draw and 11 defeats.

“I’ll have to buy new ones for the next match,” Guardiola later joked.

Those worries appeared understandable when Porto pulled one back in the 73rd minute, with Martinez heading home from close range from a cross by substitute Evandro — Porto’s first shot on target.

Shortly afterward, Martinez broke free to shoot low and narrowly miss the net.

In the 88th minute, Alonso drove in a free kick after Porto had defender Marcano sent off with a second booking for a foul on Thiago.

Bayern can now hope to reach the June 6 final in Berlin, after losing the 2012 final at home to Chelsea.

AMMAN — Wihdat face Jazira as Week 20 of the 63rd Jordan Professional League kicks off on Thursday.

The titleholders now have a commanding nine point lead as they head into the final weeks of the competition after they beat rivals Faisali 3-0 last week. It was their 77th match — Wihdat having won 28 and Faisali 26 times. Wihdat won the Leg 1 match 2-0.

Jazira jumped to second after they beat That Ras 1-0. Ramtha are one point behind after they lost 1-0 to Baqaa and next play Faisali.

Ahli are up to fifth after they beat Manshieh 1-0 and will next play Shabab Urdun, who are 10th after they beat Sarih 2-0.

Hussein held Ittihad Ramtha 1-1 and are now 7th and next play former Jordan Cup champs That Ras. 

Faisali are now 8th, suffering their worst season since the League kicked off in 1944. Baqaa, a usual top five finisher, are now 9th while former champs Shabab Urdun have also disappointed fans at the lower end of the standings. Ittihad Ramtha has been relegated after no wins, while the second team facing relegation is still undecided putting a lot of pressure on teams from 9-11 places.

Ramtha’s Rakan Khalidi leads the scorers with nine goals while Wihdat’s Mahmoud Zaatara has seven.

Wihdat won the first competition of the 2014/15 season after they beat Baqaa 2-0 in the 32nd Super Cup. The Jordan Cup semis will now be played after the League ends as Faisali play Wihdat and Ramtha face That Ras in the semis. 

Last season, Wihdat won the League for the 13th time. They beat Baqaa to win the Jordan Cup while Shabab Urdun beat That Ras to win the 31st Super Cup. The Jordan Football Association Shield was not held.

PARIS/MADRID — Juventus will be hoping to make it 11 victories out of 11 against French teams in knockout ties when they face AS Monaco in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday.

Juventus, who moved 15 points clear at the top of Serie A after beating second-placed Lazio 2-0 on Saturday as they close in on a fourth successive domestic crown, also have their eyes on a first Champions League semifinal appearance since 2003.

On current form they will start the match at Stade Louis II as favourites to reach the last four.

They have won all 10 of their previous knockout ties against French teams in Europe while Monaco have won only one of six ties against Italian clubs. The Ligue 1 club have also not won any of their last four home matches in any competition.

Coach Massimiliano Allegri saw his men win last week’s first leg 1-0 in Turin thanks to Arturo Vidal’s second-half penalty and they travel to Monaco seeking a third straight away win in the competition after victories at Malmo and Borussia Dortmund.

His only injury absentees are central defender Martin Caceres (ankle) and attacking midfielder Paul Pogba (thigh).

Confident Juve 

Juventus largely dominated the first leg, although Monaco did have chances of their own and went close to scoring through both Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco and Dimitar Berbatov.

But the Italians are oozing with confidence. They have won eight of their last nine matches and the only goal they have conceded in that run was when their much-changed team lost 1-0 to Serie A bottom club Parma on April 11.

But while Allegri is enjoying Juve’s good form, his Monaco counterpart Leonardo Jardim has had to watch his side stumble in recent weeks.

His immediate concern will be to work out a way to contain the Serie A side’s attacking intent without injured defensive midfielder Jeremy Toulalan (hamstring injury).

Since winning 3-1 at Arsenal in the first leg of their last 16 Champions League tie on February 25, Monaco’s form has slipped.

They squeezed into the last eight of the Champions League on away goals after losing 2-0 at home to Arsenal and after failing to find the net against Juve last week, only drew 1-1 with Rennes in Ligue 1 on Saturday.

That result dented their title hopes and left Jardim frustrated with side winning only twice in their last seven matches in all competitions.

“I am not happy. We played well in the first half and controlled the match. However, in the last 30 minutes, I saw that we were looking tired,” he said.

Unless Monaco, who are now six points behind leaders Olympique Lyon in Ligue 1, click back into gear on Wednesday and come out looking for goals from the start to secure their first Champions League semifinal appearance since 2004, their season is in real danger of fizzling out. 

Real-Atletico 

With Real Madrid facing an injury crisis ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League clash with Atletico Madrid attention will be on talisman Cristiano Ronaldo to lead them through but James Rodriguez may hold the key.

Real coach Carlo Ancelotti will be without playmaker Luka Modric and forward Gareth Bale while striker Karim Benzema’s knee injury may be more serious than first thought and he will also miss the quarter-final, second leg.

As well as the injury absences, attacking fullback Marcelo is suspended for the decider at the Bernabeu with the tie standing at 0-0 from the first game.

Ancelotti must improvise by either playing two, rather than the usual trident, in attack as he has often done in the absence of Bale or by pushing Rodriguez forward on to the right wing to take the place of the Welshman.

Rodriguez has been in impressive form since his return from injury at the beginning of April with Real winning all four league games.

The Colombian stood out in a sluggish performance by Real in Saturday’s 3-1 La Liga win over Malaga when he scored a fine 25-metre goal, won a penalty and provided defensive cover in midfield.

Now, in the absence of Modric, who is set to be the player that Real will miss most against Atletico, it is Rodriguez who can provide similar passing and build-up play.

Ronaldo’s strike against Malaga brought up his 50th goal of the season but he struggled after Christmas without the support from midfield of Modric or Rodriguez.

“The best player was James because he gave a lot of quality to the team,” Ancelotti told a news conference after the Malaga victory.

Atletico will try to take advantage of the absentees to get some revenge for their defeat in last season’s Champions League final and are led in attack by Antoine Griezmann who is in a rich vein of form.

“He has scored important goals all season and is giving a lot to the team,” fellow forward Raul Garcia told reporters.

The Frenchman hit a double in Atletico’s 2-1 win over Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday.

“The final is in the past. It would have been nice to win but this is another match. The team is playing very well and we are in a positive mood,” added Garcia.

CHICAGO — Jimmy Butler was simply following orders from Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah.

He kept shooting and the ball kept going in.

Butler set a play-off-career high for the second straight game with 31 points, and Chicago Bulls beat Milwaukee Bucks 91-82 on Monday night to take a 2-0 lead in their first-round series.

After scoring 25 points in Game 1, Butler trumped that with another terrific performance. He was at his best down the stretch, scoring 14 points in the fourth quarter.

“Jo, Derrick were telling me to score the ball — literally telling me to shoot and not to pass up any shots,” Butler said. “I was feeling it a little bit so I just put the ball in the basket.”

Butler hit 4 of 5 shots in the fourth period and all three 3-pointers after missing his first six from long range.

Rose scored all of his 15 points in the second half after dominating in the series opener.

Pau Gasol added 11 points, 16 rebounds and four blocks. Mike Dunleavy Jr. scored 12 points. Noah grabbed 19 rebounds and the third-seeded Bulls dominated on the glass 64-48 while taking a commanding lead in the series.

Game 3 is Thursday at Milwaukee.

Khris Middleton led the sixth-seeded Bucks with 22 points, and Michael Carter-Williams scored 12.

“They’ve been in the play-offs before so they understand this moment,” said coach Jason Kidd, whose team shot about 36 per cent. “For us, it’s to make it hard for everybody. Pau — we’re trying to make it hard on him. Rose, Dunleavy, it doesn’t matter who it is. Butler got going there. We just couldn’t slow him down.”

Bulls were trailing 74-71 early in the fourth when Butler started a 13-0 run with a 3-pointer.

He drove along the right side for a vicious two-handed dunk on Zaza Pachulia and hit the free throw to complete the three-point play. Butler finished the run with another 3, giving Chicago an 84-74 lead with 6:01 remaining.

“That one dunk that Jimmy had was definitely huge,” Noah said. “It gave us some confidence as a team. He was really feeling himself after that.”

Pachulia and Chicago’s Nikola Mirotic got into a skirmish in the closing minutes going for a loose ball, shoving each other while they were on the court.

Both players picked up technicals and Pachulia was ejected with 2:48 left. Mirotic was seen being examined on the sideline after that before heading to the locker room. Bulls said he has a strained left quadriceps and will be re-evaluated Tuesday morning.

Middleton then hit a floater to pull Milwaukee within seven points with just over 2 minutes left, but Rose sealed the win when he scored with 55 seconds left to make it 91-82.

Rose missed his first seven shots after scoring 23 points in his first play-off game since 2012 and was 4 of 14 overall. He finally nailed an open 3-pointer early in the third and scored 12 in the quarter.

“When you’re missing shots, I think you’ve got to do other things to help your team whether it’s the defense, the rebounding, making plays,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “And I thought Derrick did that. I thought once he got lost in the game, he started doing other things then he found his offensive rhythm.” 

No campaign 

Don’t expect Jabari Parker of the Bucks to promote his return. Unlike Bulls’ Rose, a fellow product of Chicago’s Simeon Career Academy, he has no plans to advertise his recovery as he works his way back from a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

“I’m not gonna Tweet about it,” Parker said. “I’m not gonna Instagram it. What is mostly important is I act on it. I can’t say anything. I just have to do it.”

After he tore the ACL in his left knee in the 2012 play-off opener, Rose documented his recovery through a high-profile campaign with Adidas’ titled “The Return”.

“I’m not gonna promote it so much, where I have all-around access,” Parker said.

Heating up

Besides the Pachulia-Mirotic skirmish, there was one between Milwaukee’s John Henson and Chicago’s Aaron Brooks in the second quarter. Brooks took exception when Henson stood over him after knocking him down. They exchanged words. Noah came in, and Butler and O.J. Mayo had a heated exchange.

The result was a foul for Brooks and technicals for Henson, Mayo, Noah and Butler.

AMMAN — Jordan opened the 3rd AFC U-14 Girls Regional Championship for West Asia with a crushing victory over Iraq on the opening day of the five-day football event currently under way in Bahrain.

Jordan’s 20-0 win over Iraq signalled the team’s preparation to retain their title. The UAE beat Palestine 7-0 in another match. 

Jordan holds the West Zone title from the past two editions. Last year, the U-14 squad retained the title in Amman after an unbeaten streak that saw them beat Bahrain 4-0, Qatar 7-0, Palestine 5-0 and the UAE 3-0. Jordan had also won the inaugural event in Doha, Qatar, in 2013 with an unbeaten streak as well.

Based on the Asian Football Confederation draw, Asian teams will play in five zones: the South, the Central, the ASEAN, the East and the West, which groups Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Palestine and the UAE. The West Asia zone competition is being played under the single round robin system.

West Asia Group Standings