Sports

GENEVA — Three men remain in contention to challenge Sepp Blatter for the FIFA presidency.

FIFA’s election oversight panel confirmed Monday that Blatter and three rivals — HRH Prince Ali, Michael van Praag of the Netherlands and former Portugal great Luis Figo — are now being vetted to become formal candidates after the close of nominations.

A potential fifth contender, former FIFA official Jerome Champagne, failed to secure the required five nominations. He said only three of FIFA’s 209 member federations nominated him by last Thursday’s deadline.

The four contenders will now undergo integrity checks by FIFA’s ethics committee, and have their nomination papers scrutinised by the oversight panel.

The election panel expects to “formally admit and declare the candidates who are eligible for the office of FIFA president” in about two weeks.

The election will be held May 29 at FIFA’s congress in Zurich.

Blatter, who will turn 79 before election day, is seeking a fifth term in office to extend his 17-year reign.

The veteran Swiss official, who has worked for FIFA since 1975, is strongly favoured to win. UEFA, which has 53 voting members, is the only one among six continental bodies actively opposing Blatter.

The campaign kicks off largely as Blatter vs European interests.

Prince Ali and Figo have been encouraged to run by UEFA and its president, Michel Platini, while Van Praag is a member of UEFA’s executive committee.

Champagne criticised Platini, who decided last August not to run against former mentor Blatter.

“The script of the next few weeks and months calls for proxy candidates to wage the battles that others did not have the courage to fight,” said Champagne, whose departure as FIFA international relations director in 2010 was forced in part by Platini.

Of the four contenders, only Van Praag has so far set out specific ideas.

The 67-year-old Dutch federation president has called for expanding the 32-team World Cup to include more non-European teams, and has promised to serve just a single four-year term to modernise FIFA.

Van Praag has asked Blatter to step aside and has offered him an advisory role, including running a charitable foundation to give less privileged children opportunities in football.

Dutch great Johan Cruyff on Monday described former Ajax president Van Praag as “somebody you can count on”.

In his column Monday in top-selling Dutch daily De Telegraaf, Cruyff wrote he is watching the FIFA presidential campaign “from the sidelines”, but “if Van Praag asks for my support, he’ll get it”.

Four years ago, Blatter suggested Cruyff join a proposed council of FIFA advisers alongside Henry Kissinger and Placido Domingo. The idea was dropped.

Prince Ali, the FIFA vice president for Asia, is uncertain of widespread support in his home region. The Asian Football Confederation has long stated its support for Blatter.

The prince is scheduled to host a campaign launch in London on Tuesday.

Nico Rosberg vowed “maximum attack” in a new title battle with Formula One world champion teammate Lewis Hamilton on Sunday 

as Mercedes unveiled their 2015 car before pre-season testing started in Jerez.

“I know the feeling of winning and of fighting for a championship after last year, but I also know the feeling of not winning in the end and I don’t want to repeat that,” said the German.

“It’s an extra boost and it gives me so much motivation for the year ahead.”

Rosberg, son of Finland’s 1982 champion Keke, won five races last year to Hamilton’s 11 and finished runner-up in a dominant season for his team and one that saw the drivers’ relationship tested to the limit.

Mercedes are again expected to set the pace, even if the cars have not changed dramatically since last year’s debut of the new V6 turbo hybrid power units and rivals hope to have closed the gap.

“It will be massively tough to repeat what we achieved in 2014 but we all want to keep that momentum going and to dominate the sport for many years to come,” said Rosberg.

“We know the opposition will be right there, so we have to keep pushing flat out to have any chance of doing that. Nothing is for certain but, whatever happens, I know it will be another great battle with Lewis.

“This year is the rematch for me and I’m massively motivated for it.”

Hamilton, now a double world champion after taking his first title with McLaren in 2008, agreed that there could be no complacency.

The Briton said he was also fired up for the season which starts in Australia on
March 15.

“You hear about people who achieve a lot but then lose their focus and you wonder; at what point does it fade off? I’m grateful that the fire is still there in me,” he said.

“I think subconsciously the taste of success spurs me on. I like that feeling and I want to feel it again and again,” added the 30-year-old.

“I’m glad me and Nico had the battle we did last year. I love winning races but it just feels so much better when you have to fight for it. I just want to get back out there, race hard, be the best I can be and hopefully win some more.”

MELBOURNE — Novak Djokovic may have garnered a reputation as the crown prince of pranksters in tennis but on Sunday he firmly established him as the king of Melbourne’s blue hard courts with his fifth Australian Open title.

The 27-year-old Serb clinched his fourth title in the past five years, and eighth Grand Slam overall, with the 7-6(5), 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-0 victory over Andy Murray, a loss for the Briton that was his fourth in as many Melbourne finals.

Three of those have been at the hands of Djokovic, while he also lost to Roger Federer in 2010.

Since Djokovic won his first Grand Slam title in 2008 he has compiled a 47-3 record in Melbourne. His reign means he has the record for most Australian Open titles in the Open era, one behind Australia’s Roy Emerson who dominated in the 1960s.

“I’m so privileged and grateful to be standing here as a champion for the fifth time,” Djokovic said after Emerson presented him with the trophy.

“To be in the elite group of players, with Roy Emerson as well. It is an honour playing in front of you.”

Despite Murray’s poor record against the Serb — he had lost seven of their past eight encounters — he had arguably entered the final as a slight favourite.

Djokovic had struggled in his semifinal against defending champion Stan Wawrinka, while Murray had played superb back to back matches to beat 10th seed Grigor Dimitrov and then seventh seed Tomas Berdych in a tempestuous semifinal.

Murray’s celebrations in the victory over Berdych highlighted the raging competitiveness that exists inside the 27-year-old boxing fan as he repeatedly mimicked punching an imaginary opponent into the ground.

Tense match

Fittingly, Murray and Djokovic were involved in a tense boxing match on Sunday, examining each other for any weakness, landing a body blow, taking one themselves, or counter punching as they scrambled around trying to stay alive.

Several times, Murray had a limping and puffing Djokovic — the Serb having turned his ankle during the match and suffered from a virus before the tournament — wobbling and down on one knee, ready to be finished off and he knew it.

But the knockout blow never came.

Murray chastised himself, bellowing yawps of anguished pain, and engaged in lengthy monologues consisting mostly of the Anglo-Saxon vernacular his fiancee Kim Sears uttered during the Berdych semifinal, the video of which went viral on social media.

By the end of the third set, after Djokovic had found himself 2-0 down and then won six of the next seven games, Murray’s frustrations boiled over as he slammed his racquet into the ground, causing the crowd to turn on him.

The fight appeared gone from Murray and when Djokovic jumped to a 3-0 lead in the fourth, he buried his head beneath a towel, and then metaphorically threw it in to meekly surrender.

“I would like to congratulate Novak on his fifth Australian Open,” Murray said. “Fantastic, an incredible record, and thoroughly deserved.

“It has been probably my most consistent Grand Slam throughout my career and I just haven’t been able to win.

“I did not quite make it tonight, a bit closer than I was a few months ago, and I will try to come back next year, and hopefully have a slightly different outcome in the final.”

SYDNEY — Substitute James Troisi scored halfway through extra-time in a pulsating final to give tournament host Australia its maiden Asian Cup title with a 2-1 victory over South Korea on Saturday.

South Korea’s Son Heung-min scored in stoppage time at the end of 90 minutes to send the match into the extra-half an hour, cancelling out Player of the Tournament Massimo Luongo’s strike on the stroke of halftime.

It was just before another break with 105 minutes on the clock that striker Troisi put the ball into the net from close range to make Australia champions of Asia nine years after it had switched from the Oceania confederation.

“To concede a goal in the last minute really tested us as a group and the players stood up once again,” coach Ange Postecoglou told reporters.

“Full credit to them, I couldn’t be prouder of them and it’s great for our country.”

Former World Cup semifinalists South Korea had ridden its mean defence to a first Asian Cup final since 1988 but despite being the better side for much of the match came up short in its bid for a first title in 55 years.

Luongo’s goal was the first South Koreans had conceded in the tournament and for most of the second half it looked the goal-shyness which characterised the start of their campaign had returned to haunt them.

With regulation time running out, though, substitute Han Kook-young dispossessed Trent Sainsbury on the edge of the box and Lee Jeong-hyeop fed the ball to Son who angled it into the net with his left foot under the challenge of two defenders.

“We don’t have the Cup but we the way we played today we are also champions,” said South Korea’s German coach Uli Stielike.

“I think the best result from such a match would have been a draw and we take the Cup for two years each, but I know it can’t be like this.

“Korea, you can be proud of your boys.” 

Frantic start

Australians, the tournament’s leading scorers, had come out to attack as Postecoglou had promised but in frenetic start to the match, the South Koreans showed they had threats up front too.

The outstanding Son had his sights set just too high in the 2nd and 37th minutes and Luongo was on hand to block his shot after Cha Du-ri’s charge down the right wing in the 38th minute.

Seven minutes later and midfielder Luongo was down the other end to take Sainsbury’s through ball with a deft touch and lash it into the back of the net from 25 metres.

The lead was barely deserved but that did not stop the green-and-gold clad majority of the sellout crowd of 76,385 at Stadium Australia celebrating in a frenzy.

South Korea pressed forward in search of an equaliser but were grateful to goalkeeper Kim Jin-hyeon for a fine save from Mathew Leckie on the hour mark, as it had been in the first half when he stopped a Tim Cahill shot.

After Son’s goal had provided a dramatic conclusion to normal time and sent the match into the extra half an hour, Kim was again on hand to intercept Luongo’s cross with Socceroos lining up to put it into the net.

Five minutes later, though, Tomi Juric nutmegged Kim Jin-su after a wrestle on the edge of the box and Kim Jin-hyeon was only able to push the striker’s cross into the path of Troisi, who smashed the ball into the open goal.

Luongo named MVP

Luongo was named the Most Valuable Player at the 2015 Asian Cup.

The 22-year-old midfielder capped a brilliant performance throughout the tournament when he scored in the 45th minute, blasting the ball into the net with a shot from 25 metres out.

Luongo, who plays for Swindon Town in the third tier of English club football, made his international debut last year and was picked in the Australian squad for the World Cup but didn’t play a match.

But Luongo has since established himself as one of Australia’s most promising young players and forced his way into the starting line-up.

He scored a goal and was named man of the match in Australia’s opening match at the Asian Cup against Kuwait and was also named player of the match in the semifinal win over the United Arab Emirates.

AMMAN — After formally filing as a candidate for FIFA president, HRH Prince Ali, president of the Jordan Football Association and vice president of FIFA representing Asia, on Friday unveiled his vision for reform of football’s world governing body, according to a statement from his office.

Prince Ali presented a framework for the future of FIFA and Football founded upon a series of reform proposals to re-establish the organisation as a credible international sports federation with improved integrity, governance and transparency — ensuring that it is fit for purpose again. His vision for change will guide his conversations over the coming weeks with national association leaders, players, coaches, sponsors, fans and other stakeholders as he develops a detailed manifesto.

Prince Ali officially launched his campaign, and activated his campaign website and social media platforms, after filing his proposal of nomination as a candidate, along with declarations of support in advance of the January 29 deadline.

“The campaign for the presidency of FIFA has entered a new phase, and the number of candidates signals a strong desire for change. It is vital that a genuine debate is held and a consensus is established on key issues — enabling everyone, especially fans, to trust FIFA again as we embark on a new era where world football is governed with integrity and credibility,” Prince Ali said in the statement.

“I want to make FIFA a first-class organisation that is worthy of a sport that unites billions of people around the globe and is rightly declared the world’s game. FIFA should function to promote football and work in a real partnership to support all national associations in their mission to develop the game — we must get back to focusing on those goals.”

The 39-year-old also wants to “make FIFA a model of good ethics”, he said on his new website (www.worldsgame.com).

“By improving FIFA’s governance and by making the organisation more transparent, I aim to re-build public confidence and show fans and all our stakeholders that we have football’s best interests at heart. This means a fresh start for FIFA that involves genuine reform and also more power and resources available to all of FIFA’s member associations,” the prince added.

Prince Ali’s vision for reform addresses three primary goals: restoring FIFA’s credibility; serving football, protecting the game and neutralising threats; and developing the game globally. 

He will build on the programme of reform with a detailed manifesto once he has had the opportunity to share his vision with national associations and receive their feedback. His manifesto will also include new ideas about improving the game.

“I promise to be open and honest about my plans and reform proposals — my programme for the future will be developed by listening to the ideas of all national associations, large and small and from every region, and exchanging views that best serves the world’s game. This approach to my election campaign reflects my approach to the FIFA presidency — honest, open and collegiate, the prince concluded.

Michael van Praag of the Netherlands, former FIFA official Jerome Champagne and former Portugal forward Luis Figo are also due to challenge incumbent Sepp Blatter at the May 29 presidential election.

SYDNEY — The first Asian Cup held in Australia has already exceeded expectations and now the stars have aligned to produce what promises to be a classic final.

Both sides will feel confident of emerging victorious in Saturday’s clash between the host nation and South Korea at Sydney’s Olympic Stadium when the best attack in the tournament comes up against the best defence.

The delicious contrast in styles is the perfect ending to a tournament that has been full of unexpected twists and turns from the world’s most populated and diverse region.

For the Australians, the final represents a chance to finally win a major international football title, an anomaly for a sports-mad country that has succeeded in almost every other sport in the world.

“We made the final four years ago which was great for our nation,” the Australian coach Ange Postecoglou said.

“We have been in Asia for a while now and we haven’t won anything in the men’s game.”

Victory for South Korea would give the Taegeuk Warriors their first Asian Cup title since 1960 and the country something to celebrate after a grim year on and off the sporting field.

“The players are desperate to win this tournament,” defender Park Joo-ho said. “A lot of people at home really want us to win this tournament after 55 years.”

Despite reaching the semifinals of the World Cup in 2002, South Korea has struggled to reproduce that sort of form since.

It was eliminated in the group stage at two of the last three World Cups and before this year, had not made an Asian Cup final since 1988.

However, with the recently recruited Uli Stielike now in charge of an ambitious team, things are starting to look up.

The former German international is looking at a longer-term goal of restoring South Korea as Asia’s best team and has started by plugging up holes in the defence.

In its five matches at the Asian Cup, South Korea has yet to concede a goal, with first-choice keeper Kim Jin-hyeon keeping four clean sheets.

It won each of its three group games, against Oman, Kuwait and Australia by a solitary goal but found its range in the knockout matches, beating Iraq 2-0 in the semifinals after star forward Son Heung-min netted twice in the 2-0 quarter-final win over Uzbekistan.

Stielike, in an attempt to reduce the pressure on his young squad, said Australia was the favourite, playing down the significance of its pool match win because both teams had already qualified and the Socceroos rested several key players.

“We will have to work to be the same Korea. This is our target,” he said.

“For the rest, we have to take whatever is coming and try our best. We are realistic enough to understand that in the first game we didn’t play the best Australia team.”

Australia’s goals are more immediate. For all the progress it has made since ditching Oceania and joining Asia in 2006, the trophy cabinet remains bare.

It is also trying to win over an Australian public that mostly prefers other football codes, so have adopted an all-out attacking style.

With Tim Cahill leading from up front, the Socceroos have piled on 12 goals in the tournament, four each in the group matches against Kuwait and Oman then two more in the quarter-final against China and semifinal with the United Arab Emirates.

“It’s going to be special moment for all of us,” Cahill said. “But the mindset is to win, and to win the right way and by playing football and what we believe in. It’s going to be a big night.”

3rd-place match 

After falling one game short of an Asian Cup finals appearance, Iraq and the UAE will play for Middle Eastern supremacy in the third-place play-off in Newcastle on Friday.

Iraq lost to South Korea 2-0 and the UAE went down to host Australia 2-0 in the semifinals this week, eliminating the last chance of a west Asian team reaching the final.

Iraq, the 2007 Asian Cup champion, struggled for opportunities against South Korea’s solid defence in Sydney, despite the best efforts of talismanic striker Younis Mahmoud.

“I know they [South Korea] won and went to the final but we won also, we won 20 [experienced] players,” said Mahmoud, who says he’s turning his attention to the 2018 World cup qualifiers, “They will benefit the national team for the next 10 years.”

After an impressive run to the semifinals, the UAE coach Mahdi Ali conceded his players lacked the focus to progress further.

“This is a big lesson and we need to learn you have to concentrate for 90 minutes,” Ali said.

The UAE and Iraq have met twice before in the Asian Cup, with each team winning one match each.

AMMAN — Round 2 of the Premier Basketball League ends on Friday deciding the ranking of teams and the eventual winner of the Kingdom’s second most popular sport.

Former champs Orthodoxi lead the standings by a slim one point. The team played all Round 2 matches with an unbeaten record until they lost to Ittihad 86-73 this week leaving the fight for the title wide open between the top three teams. Titleholders Applied Science University (ASU) beat Riyadi 102-82 and are now third.

Orthodoxi will next play titleholders ASU and they need to win to move to the final play-offs, otherwise a win for ASU and Ittihad means point difference will be a decider after Orthodoxi beat Riyadi and ASU overcame Ittihad last weekend. 

The results of the last stage on Friday will be crucial for the top three teams with the top two teams advancing to the best-of-five finals for the title, while the third and fourth will play the best-of-three play-offs for third place. Results of the two stages in the current Round 2 will be credited to their final play-offs.

In the first stage, Orthodoxi beat Riyadi, Ittihad and ASU; Ittihad upset ASU and Riyadi; and ASU managed to beat Riyadi, who played hard-fought matches and remained winless. 

The top four advanced to the current round after the preliminary stage ended with ASU in the lead, followed by Orthodoxi, Riyadi and Ittihad.

On the other hand, Jalil took the top position in the bottom four, who played a separate round, to decide the two teams to be relegated. Jalil went to overtime to beat Ghazzet Hashem 100-93 (81-81) and settled for fifth place, while Ghazzet Hasehm finished sixth, leaving Nashama and Awdeh to be relegated.

ASU won the season’s first basketball competition when they beat Ittihad for the Jordan Cup title. The knockout competition saw Ittihad oust Riyadi 78-77 in the semis as ASU ousted Orthodoxi 92-65.

The Jordan Cup has seen Riyadi win in 2002, 2011 and 2012, Fastlink won four consecutive seasons 2003-2006, Orthodoxi in 2007, Zain in 2008 and ASU in 2010, 2013 and 2014.

Last season, ASU beat Ittihad to win the Premier Basketball League for the second consecutive and fourth time in their record, while Riyadi won third place after beating Kulieh. Orthodoxi finished fifth.

Orthodoxi last won the title in 2011 ending a 10-year drought to take home their record 22nd League title when they beat titleholders ASU. 

AMMAN — Teams return to the pitch on Thursday as Leg 2 of the 63rd Jordan Professional League resumes after a month long break that allowed teams to reorganise and tend to injuries as lead players were on duty at the 2015 Asian Cup in Australia where Jordan was eliminated in the first round.

Wihdat play Sarih, Ramtha take on That Ras and Jazira face Ahli in highly anticipated matches. For the first time, three teams among the top four are from the north of the Kingdom. Wihdat is followed by Ramtha, surprise third-placed newcomers Sarih, and Hussein, who had been relegated.

Wihdat head into Leg 2 atop the standings but with only a two-point lead after they were held with Ramtha, Hussein and Jazira. Ramtha fans are elated and hope to compete for the title while Sarih, who lost only three matches to Wihdat, Ramtha and Hussein, are happy with third place.

Jazira are fifth, followed by Ahli, who scored important wins over Faisali, Shabab Urdun and Baqaa to settle at sixth. Former Jordan Cup champs That Ras are in 7th spot, followed by Faisali and Shabab Urdun.

Throughout the first half of the competition, Wihdat and Ramtha remained the only unbeaten teams. Wihdat beat traditional rivals Faisali 2-0 but that was only the start of Faisali’s troubles as the club suffers an administrative crisis that has left the team trailing at the lower end of the standings for the first time ever since the league kicked off in 1944. 

Faisali lost 2-1 to Sarih, 1-0 to both Ahli and That Ras and drew with Ramtha and Shabab Urdun, as the team’s fans even urged Parliament and the Higher Council for Youth to interfere.

Shabab Urdun also disappointed fans with 9th place and only two wins over Ittihad Ramtha and Manshieh. Baqaa, a usual top five finisher is now 11th after only one win over Ittihad Ramtha, who are last.

In the past 66 matches, a total of 141 goals were scored as 45 matches ended in wins and 21 in draws — 11 in goalless draws. Ramtha’s Rakan Khalidi tops the scorers list with eight goals, while Wihdat’s Mahmoud Zaatara has six.

The Jordan Football Association (JFA) only scheduled the first four weeks as three Jordanian teams might play in Asian events in February and March. Wihdat will play the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League and will face Kuwait’s Qadissieh on February 10 in the preliminary round. If they win, they will advance to play Saudi Arabia’s Ahli a week later before advancing to play in the group stages.

In case Jordan League and Cup champs Wihdat advance in the Champions League, they will be replaced by League’s fourth-placed team, That Ras, in the AFC Cup alongside Jazira, who were nominated after two-time AFC Cup champs and League runner-up Faisali declined.

The Jordan Cup semis will see Faisali take on Wihdat and Ramtha face That Ras. Leg 1 quarter-final matches saw Ahli hold Ramtha 1-1, That Ras beat Jazira 1-0, Wihdat edge Sarih 1-0 and Faisali beat Manshieh 2-1. In Leg 2, Faisali held Manshieh 1-1, Wihdat held Sarih 0-0, That Ras beat Jazira 4-3 on penalties and Ramtha beat Ahli 2-1. Baqaa, Shabab Urdun and Hussein were eliminated earlier in the competition in which only Professional League teams are playing this year. 

Wihdat won the first major competition of the 2014/15 football season after they beat Baqaa 2-0 in the 32nd Super Cup.

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

LONDON — Former Portugal international Luis Figo said on Wednesday he wanted to stand for the FIFA presidency revealing his plans one day before nominations close to enter the race.

The former Real Madrid and Barcelona forward announced his intention to run against incumbent Sepp Blatter in an interview with CNN and said he had the five nominations needed for an official campaign.

Figo, 42, was twice voted World Player of the Year and played for Portugal 127 times.

“I care about football, so what I’m seeing regarding the image of FIFA — not only now but in the past years — I don’t like it,” he said.

Figo is the latest to throw his hat in the ring alongside Blatter, HRH Prince Ali, former FIFA official Jerome Champagne of France, ex-France international David Ginola, Michael Van Praag, president of the Dutch FA.

Italian-Dutch football agent Mino Raiola said he is dropping plans to run for the FIFA presidency in the wake of the decision by Praag to challenge Blatter.

FIFA deteriorating

Speaking about his campaign, Figo said: “Football has given me so much during my life and I want to give something back to the game. I look at the reputation of FIFA right now and I don’t like it. Football deserves better.

“In recent weeks, months, and even years, I have seen the image of FIFA deteriorate and as I speak to many people in football — to players, managers and association presidents — so many of those people have told me that something has to be done.

“Throughout my career I have worked at all levels of the game. This has given me a unique insight and understanding that I feel can enhance the discussion about the future of FIFA and the future of football.”

In his 20-year playing career Figo made nearly 800 appearances for Sporting Lisbon, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Inter Milan and played a record 127 times for Portugal scoring 32 goals.

Figo, who has served on the UEFA Football Committee since 2011, added: “I am convinced that FIFA’s position as the governing body of world football is absolutely vital.

“For this to be preserved it is essential that we see change at the top and we set FIFA on a new course which is all about football and less about politics.

“This is why I am looking forward to getting on the road in the coming weeks, to explain in detail my programme and my vision.”

LONDON — HRH Prince Ali has welcomed Dutchman Michael Van Praag’s decision to enter the FIFA presidential race, describing him as a “credible candidate” who will add to the debate about the future of world football’s governing body.

Van Praag, the 67-year-old head of the Dutch FA, entered the race on Monday saying he had the necessary backing of five national associations to qualify as an official candidate.

“We welcome other credible colleagues from the football family who want to join a genuine debate about the future of FIFA,” Prince Ali said in a statement on Tuesday.

“This election campaign is not about personalities, it is about what is in the best interests of football and the world governing body of the game going forward. It is good for democracy that Michael Van Praag has made this announcement.

” Prince Ali and Van Praag are among five men hoping to challenge incumbent Sepp Blatter when the deadline for nominations closes on Thursday.

Former FIFA deputy secretary general Jerome Champagne, former France international David Ginola and football agent Mino Raiola are unlikely to obtain the necessary nominations to have their names on the ballot paper for the vote at the FIFA congress in Zurich on May 29.