Sports

AMMAN — Jordan lost 1-0 to Bahrain on Sunday in the final friendly before the 16th Asian Football Confederation (AFC) 2015 Asian Cup kicks off on January 9.

It was the third defeat in a row over the past 10 days after the team lost 1-0 to the UAE in Gold Coast, Australia, and also 2-1 to Uzbekistan in Dubai. Bahrain is on a good note after it beat Saudi Arabia 4-1 this week and held Iraq and Uzbekistan 0-0. 

The latest defeat cast additional doubt for fans as to the competitive readiness of the Jordanian squad, who will play in Group D against Iraq on January 12, Palestine on  January 16 and Japan on January 20.

The defeats were compounded with the injury of star goalie Amer Shafie in the last match. Coach Waleed Mikhail underlined all options, saying that “other goalies took part in most friendlies. They are all ready to step in if needed”.

Since first taking part in Asian Cup qualifiers in 1972, this will be Jordan’s third time at the Asian Cup finals. The Kingdom rached the quarters in 2004 and 2011.

A total of 16 teams are set to compete in the Asian Cup.

LONDON — It is testament to Steven Gerrard’s ability that his Liverpool career will be remembered for heroic acts of willpower that ensured no deficit was irretrievable and no opponent unbeatable, rather than the league title that eluded him.

There was surprise when he announced on Friday that this season would be his last at Anfield after nearly 17 years in which his ability to wrestle victory from the jaws of defeat made him one of the finest players in the club’s history.

Yet there was also a sense that perhaps this was a sensible decision from a player who had made his name influencing big games in a major way, when the alternative would have been to allow his Liverpool career to peter out.

Simply fading into the background would have been unthinkable for a player who always grabbed the attention.

Former Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier recalls the moment he first clapped eyes on the 17-year-old Gerrard.

The Frenchman spotted a gangly midfielder dashing from box-to-box and behaving like a leader, immediately promoting him to the first team despite concerns about his fragile young body.

Houllier handed Gerrard his debut in 1998 and five years later he became a precocious captain at the age of 22.

His greatest moment on the pitch undoubtedly came in the 2005 Champions League final in Istanbul.

Gerrard peeled his teammates off the floor at 3-0 down to AC Milan with a header that reduced the deficit and inspired one of the greatest comebacks in the history of European football.

That culminated in a lung-busting Gerrard charge into the area that led to him being brought down for a penalty from which Liverpool equalised before clinching the trophy in a shoot-out.

This was Gerrard at the peak of his powers, able to influence any occasion, to grab any match by the scruff of the neck and turn events in his favour, just as he did in the FA Cup final 12 months later.

With Liverpool trailing West Ham United 3-2 heading into stoppage time, a cramping Gerrard let fly from 30 metres, rifling home his second goal of the game to take the match into extra-time and then penalties where the Merseysiders won out again. 

No happy ending 

Much of Gerrard’s career could have been plucked from the pages of the finest comic book heroes, except the final chapter in which his long wait for a league title was extended by a cruel slip, just as the fairytale appeared to be heading for its customary happy ending.

Having twice before finished Premier League runners-up, Liverpool were top of the table with three matches to go when Chelsea arrived at Anfield with little but pride to play for.

With the game 0-0, Gerrard shaped to receive a simple pass when he miscontrolled the ball and slipped on the turf, allowing Chelsea’s Demba Ba to scamper away and find the net.

Liverpool lost the game, the title went to Manchester City and Gerrard’s hopes of claiming the Premier League trophy for the first time were extinguished.

With Liverpool 17 points behind leaders Chelsea and Manchester City in the current standings, Gerrard knows he will never get his hands on the only major club trophy he lacks, which along with an unfulfilled international career, will be a major disappointment.

Like the rest of his England contemporaries, playing for his country on the big stage was a frequent let-down, with the his final act perhaps the most underwhelming, captaining the team at last year’s World Cup as they exited in the group stages with a whimper.

Few players spend their whole career at one club and no Liverpool fan will begrudge Gerard a swansong abroad having given his best years to Liverpool and resisted the urge to jump ship to Chelsea in 2005 when he was courted by the cash-rich Londoners.

SINGAPORE — The Asian Cup heads to Australia for the first time next month with the scars of a woeful 2014 World Cup for the continent and the recurring problems of match-fixing and swift sackings leaving the tournament wide open.

Titleholders Japan are favourites to win a record extending fifth continental title but dark clouds hang over their coach Javier Aguirre after he became embroiled in a Spanish match-fixing case dating back to his time as Real Zaragoza boss.

The Mexican has long denied any wrongdoing but the negative attention has not helped confidence in Japan, where a mixed start and the exclusion of form players, like Gamba Osaka forward Takashi Usami, have raised questions about his suitability.

The pressure on Aguirre, though, is nothing like what Ange Postecoglou is under as the hosts welcome Asia’s biggest tournament for the first time since joining the confederation in 2006.

Australia, runners-up to Japan in 2011, won only one match in 2014, a friendly triumph over Saudi Arabia in September, with defensive lapses in the young side a glaring issue as the coach struggles to replace a golden generation which qualified for three consecutive World Cups.

“Things haven’t been going well prior to this tournament, we have to be brutally honest. We’ve probably gone a little bit backwards,” former Australia goalkeeper Mark Bosnich told Reuters.

Postecoglou was in charge for the predictable three World Cup defeats in Brazil, where the Socceroos, Japan, Iran and South Korea all finished bottom of their groups as Asia failed to earn a single victory for the first time since 1990.

He kept his job with the Asian showpiece in mind but a failure on home soil is sure to spell the end of his tenure.

Managerial changes

His task is not helped by a tough Group A including a showdown against South Korea, who are now under the guidance of German Uli Stielike, one of 11 coaches appointed by the 16 finalists last year as flagging teams eyed a fresh start.

Bahrain and Jordan have gone through a combined six managers since last year, while Saudi Arabia and Iraq have loaned coaches from club sides for the January 9-31 tournament in a glaring example of the short-sightedness in the region’s administrations.

“The coach doesn’t have time to impose his style on the team and quite often he will have very little input into selecting the squad,” former Australia boss Pim Verbeek said of the constant chopping and changing.

Carlos Queiroz is the longest serving boss in the tournament but a lack of adequate warm-up matches leave his defensive Iran side short of quality action as they seek an attacking dimension in order to lift a fourth Asian Cup.

While they look forward to a 13th Asian Cup, Palestine are taking part in their first after overcoming a raft of player access issues to qualify by winning the Challenge Cup for emerging nations.

The West Asians will do well to get anything from two former winners Iraq and Japan in Group D, with Uzbekistan, the UAE and Qatar more likely to be tournament dark horses.

LONDON — Chelsea will begin 2015 protecting a three-point lead in the Premier League title race but will heed the words of their grand old striker Didier Drogba who warns that it is simply not enough.

“We start again a new championship,” boomed the Ivorian, as Chelsea prepared to visit their fierce London rivals Tottenham on New Year’s Day, with champions Manchester City, at home against Sunderland, still snapping at their heels.

Everything bodes well for Jose Mourinho’s soaring side, not least the fact that on the seven previous occasions his teams have been leading their respective leagues at Christmas, they have always gone on to take the title.

Mourinho’s faithful old lieutenant Drogba, though, believes it will have to be a particularly special achievement for the “Special One” to maintain that extraordinary sequence.

“I think it’s going to be tough,” Drogba said, reflecting on how Chelsea’s one-time eight-point lead has been whittled down.

Indeed, if City had not blown a 2-0 lead on Boxing Day to draw with Burnley, there would have now been only one point separating the leaders.

“We knew it was not over. A few years ago, I think we were 11 or 12 points in front of Man United and then they won the league,” Drogba said.

“So eight points or nine points — I don’t know how many points we had on top of Man City — I think it is not enough.

“I think now we start again a new championship. I think the game is on.”

Mourinho, happy to play up any conspiracy theory if it helps strengthen his players’ indignation, claimed after the draw at Southampton that a campaign to portray his team as divers was costing them crucial points.

Still, he could hardly be starting the year at a happier hunting ground, Chelsea’s domination over Spurs having been so pronounced in the Premier League era that their fans like to think of Tottenham’s White Hart Lane home as “Three Point Lane”.

Against Sunderland, City manager Manuel Pellegrini will be looking to avoid a repeat of what he felt was complacency in the Burnley slip-up.

Manchester United, seven points behind their city neighbours in third place, visit Stoke City while the New Year match of the day could be at St Mary’s where Southampton and Arsenal, fourth and fifth respectively on 33 points, lock horns.

AMMAN — Jordan lost 1-0 to the UAE on Wednesday in Gold Coast, Australia, in one of the final friendlies ahead of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) 2015 Asian Cup kicking off on January 9.

The UAE scored its goal in the 84th minute after missing a penalty in the first half. Jordan will play Bahrain on January 4 in its final tune-up before starting the competition. On its way to Australia, Jordan had a stopover in Dubai where it lost to Uzbekistan 2-1. 

Commenting on latest friendlies, head coach Ray Wilkins underlined “all friendlies were aimed at giving the team’s coaches the tools to amend any gaps”.

Teams competing in the 2015 Asian Cup have started to arrive in Australia, ahead of the January 9 kick off. A total of 16 teams are set to compete, with games to be played in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra and Newcastle.

Jordan reached the Asian Cup quarters in 2004 and 2011. This time the team qualified after finishing second in Group A behind leaders Oman. Jordan will play in Group D against Iraq on January 12, Palestine on January 16 and Japan on January 20.

With Japan being the clear contender to lead the group and possibly win the event, the second qualifying spot from the group rests upon Jordan’s opening match. “Our first match against Iraq is vital. If we win, we boost our qualifying chances. Therefore, I see it as the most crucial match for both teams,” Wilkins noted.

Jordan went up five spots to 81st in the latest FIFA rankings after dropping 12 places the month before. Jordan last played Estonia and  South Korea losing 1-0 to both. Earlier, the team hosted Kuwait in two matches, losing 1-0 and tying 1-1, held China 1-1, and lost to Uzbekistan 2-0 and Columbia 3-0.

AMMAN — The Kingdom’s U-23 football team will play guests Oman again on Wednesday in its final match of the year as the team starts its Olympic qualifying journey in March 2015.

The team lost the first match 2-1 to Oman and hopes to jump back and score a win as head coach Jamal Abu Abed tries to finalise the line-up and team officials as the Jordan Football Association tried to secure several friendlies including against the UAE on January 28 and 30.

Jordan was drawn in Group B alongside hosts Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kuwait in the qualifiers for the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship, which will take place in Qatar. A total of 43 teams entered the qualifiers and were drawn into 10 groups of five or four teams. The top team from each of the nine groups in addition to the top second-placed team from groups that have five teams will move to the championship which also acts as a qualifier to the 2016 Summer Olympics with the top three teams qualifying.

This year, Jordan took bronze in the inaugural AFC U-22 Championship after beating South Korea. The event, which has now been renamed the AFC U-23 Championship, saw Iraq beat Saudi Arabia to take the title.

Earlier this year, the U-23 team represented Jordan at the Asian Games where it reached the quarter-finals despite a bumpy preparation period amid the busy agenda of the national team as well as local clubs. Jordan was impressive as the team topped Group G with three wins: In Round 1
Jordan beat the UAE 1-0 and India 2-0. In Round 2 the team beat Kyrgyzstan 2-0 in extra time. In the quarters, it lost to Thailand 2-0.

Following the Asian Games, the coach recalled other players, including five from the senior national team with the hope of further consolidating the line-up. 

In local friendlies, the team lost to Wihdat 2-0, tied Jazira 1-1 and beat Shabab Urdun 2-1. In regional friendlies, Jordan beat Uzbekistan 2-1, and held Iran, 2-2 and 1-1, Kuwait, 1-1 twice, and Qatar, 0-0. The team finished second at the Palestine International Championship and hosted the England C
squad in a historic match, losing 1-0.

LONDON — The absence of Vincent Kompany, Yaya Toure and Sergio Aguero cost Manchester City dear as they blew a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 at home to struggling Burnley on Sunday.

The Premier League champions looked certain to cut the gap on leaders Chelsea to one point with a 10th successive win in all competitions when they surged ahead through David Silva and Fernandinho but they wilted in the second half.

City have been winning games without injured forwards Aguero, Edin Dzeko and Stevan Jovetic but the loss of midfield dynamo Toure proved too much to cope with just 48 hours after beating West Bromwich Albion.

“Maybe winning 2-0 we thought the game was over but until the last whistle the game is never finished,” manager Manuel Pellegrini told reporters.

“It is clear we couldn’t keep the same intensity in the second half.”

Silva and Fernandinho put City on course for a comfortable win over struggling Burnley but George Boyd pulled one back just after halftime and Ashley Barnes struck a late equaliser for the visitors.

“The first goal was very important for them because they improved a lot and had a lot of trust,” Pellegrini said.

City powered into an early 3-0 lead against West Brom before easing off on the way to a 3-1 win in poor weather conditions.

“It is difficult for all the teams — especially our team because we played on a very heavy pitch against West Bromwich in the last game — to keep the same pace in the second half,” Pellegrini said.

“We played well in the first half, we were 2-0 up but in the second minute of the second half Burnley score a clear offside goal,” he said.

“After that they scored their second from a rebound. But I am not saying we are unfortunate. I am saying, in football, just two balls can decide the score.”

The Chilean remained optimistic about retaining the title at the halfway point of the season.

“Of course after you are winning 2-0, it is more disappointing to lose those two points but we have all the second round to see who will be the best team,” he said.

A once in a lifetime innings from Brendon McCullum and high quality seam bowling ensured New Zealand completed an eight-wicket victory over Sri Lanka on Monday to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series.

McCullum’s Test began terribly by losing his sixth toss in nine matches as captain in New Zealand and being asked to bat on a green Hagley Oval pitch by Angelo Mathews.

Sri Lanka then reduced New Zealand to 88 for three, the last time the visitors were truly in the game as McCullum strode to the wicket.

He proceeded to blast 18 boundaries and 11 sixes in an innings that came one blow away from becoming the fasTest Test double century scored.

That he was caught in the deep for 195, just 3 hours and 20 minutes after he walked out to the middle, with the score on 367 for five in the 66th over emphasised the impact he had made.

Jimmy Neesham (85) then took up where McCullum left off as the hosts scored an incredible 429 runs on the first day.

“The talent and shotmaking and ability that Brendon has got was on display,” New Zealand bowling coach Shane Bond told RadioSport. “I always thought 300 would be a good score on that pitch, for him to give us 440, it gave us plenty to attack them and it proved to be the crucial innings of the match.”

Quality attack

New Zealand’s first innings of 441 was then followed up by a superb spell of opening bowling as Tim Southee and Trent Boult worked in tandem to reduce Sri Lanka to 15 for three.

Coupled with the bustling aggression from first change bowler Neil Wagner, who ran through the tail, the visitors were skittled out for 138.

“They have been outstanding every game for about a year and a half now... so we know the quality of them and they keep displaying that [quality],” Kane Williamson said of Boult and Southee who have taken 34 and 33 wickets respectively in 2014.

“Winning games you need to take 20 wickets and while they have been outstanding you also have the likes of Wagner who comes on at first change and just does a hell of a job for us when the wicket gets a bit flatter.

“The three of them have been really good for us.”

While there was some debate as to whether New Zealand should enforce the follow-on, McCullum was adamant his bowlers were keen to have another crack at the Sri Lankan batsmen.

“Both Tim and Trent were emphatic they wanted to bowl,” McCullum said. “We’d only bowled about 40-odd overs and felt the pitch still had a bit in it.

“So certainly no doubts about enforcing the follow on.”

Sri Lanka adapted better in their second attempt, with Dimuth Karunaratne producing a patient innings to score his maiden Test century as the visitors inched towards the end of the third day on 277 for three.

Boult, however, then struck with a beautiful delivery that bowled Karunaratne and then dismissed Niroshan Dickwella that reduced the visitors to 287 for five by the close.

Southee then took three quick wickets early on Monday before a last-wicket, 59-run stand from Shaminda Eranga and Suranga Lakmal frustrated New Zealand’s bowlers, and pushed the victory target out past 100.

Williamson and Ross Taylor, however, calmly guided the hosts to a victory after tea.

“Credit has to go to Sri Lanka with their batting in the second innings and to take it into day four and then make us chase down a tricky little total,” McCullum said.

“I think that’s the fifth Test win of the year which we’re pretty proud to achieve. It was an all around good performance.”

MANCHESTER, England — The English Premier League season is approaching its halfway point and a number of storylines are beginning to take shape.

Chelsea and Manchester City are unstoppable forces and will fight it out for the title. Manchester United’s resurgence, based on their glut of attacking riches, is offering a tantalising glimpse of what to expect next season with their defence sorted out.

And the fight for the final Champions League place could involve five or six teams and be the most thrilling in years.

The second part of the festive fixture pileup takes place on Sunday, when squad strength is set to come into play as 18 of the league’s 20 teams play their second matches in the space of 48 hours.

Chelsea hold a three-point lead over City heading into a tricky-looking away match at Southampton, who have recovered from a blip and are back in the top four. With City on a seven-match winning streak and at home to relegation-threatened Burnley, there is a chance of a twist in the title race.

Third-place United are unbeaten in eight matches, winning seven of them, but face a test of their new-found credentials in an away match at Tottenham — one of a slew of teams in the chasing pack in the hunt for European football next season.

Elsewhere, West Ham meet Arsenal in a match pitting fifth vs sixth respectively, while Liverpool host Swansea in another game between two teams in the top nine and in reach of the top four.

Here are some things to know about the 19th round of games, which marks the mid-point of the campaign:

Vintage Terry

Scoring goals at one end and keeping them out at the other, John Terry is a player reborn at Chelsea.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho sees “my John of 2004, ‘05, ‘06” in the recent displays of the former England captain, who has been a rock in the team’s superb start to the season.

Terry has scored goals in each of his last two games and helped Chelsea keep clean sheets in six of their last seven matches.

Terry was Chelsea’s captain during Mourinho’s first spell as manager at Stamford Bridge, helping the team to back-to-back Premier League titles in 2005 and ‘06.

Key to Chelsea’s obduracy in defence is the form of holding midfielder Nemanja Matic, who has been one of the star players in the Premier League this season and a brilliant protector of the back four.

“He’s been a revelation for us,” Terry said.

Southampton recovery

Southampton were Chelsea’s nearest challenger only a month ago, before a defeat to Man City sparked a run of four league losses that burst the bubble at St Mary’s Stadium.

The south-coast side are back in form after successive wins against Everton and Crystal Palace, scoring three goals in both games, and could give Chelsea problems.

“For everybody, Chelsea are the biggest test,” Southampton manager Ronald Koeman said. “In my opinion, they are the best team in the Premier League until now, but we believe in ourselves and it will be a great game.”

Southampton have struggled against the top teams this season, though, losing to Liverpool, City, Arsenal and Man United.

Rooney revelling

Wayne Rooney has dropped back into central midfield as Man United manager Louis van Gaal looks to find a spot for all his attacking players — and the England captain is responding with some of his best form in years.

Rooney scored twice in Friday’s 3-1 win over Newcastle to take his team-high tally to nine goals for the season. He has scored eight times in his last eight games for club and country, and is keeping up his scoring form despite playing in midfield for United.

“It’s a role that I’ve played many times and I know I can play,” said Rooney, who has played behind Radamel Falcao and Robin van Persie for the last two games. “The manager has given me even more licence to get forward and get into the box from that role.

Comparing himself to United great Paul Scholes, Rooney added: “As Paul did many times over his career, he could see the ball when it was wide and see the space and run into it.”

Everton struggling

It’s been a tough season for the Merseyside clubs — but while Liverpool appear to be on the rise, nothing is going right for Everton.

The blue half of Merseyside have lost four of their last six Premier League games to drop to 12th place in the standings. The team is 13 points behind where they were last season after 18 games, with their regression perhaps due to their involvement in the Europa League.

Everton lost 1-0 at home to Stoke on Friday during which defender Phil Jagielka, American goalkeeper Tim Howard and winger Kevin Mirallas were injured. “It is a pivotal moment in the season for us,” Everton manager Roberto Martinez said.

AMMAN — A look back at sports in Jordan 2014 possibly holds not much to celebrate and a lot of contemplation as to what could have been done better.

Sports fans and observers alike note that even with more and more funds allocated to sports federations each year, there has been a steady regression in sports on the Asian and international levels over the last decade.

This year’s most memorable achievement was being awarded the right to host the 2016 U-17 Women’s World Cup. The event will be the first of its kind for Jordan and the region, and is expected to boost the game locally as well as market Jordan as a destination for hosting major global competitions.

On the admin side, that is countered by upheavals in many sports federations including handball, athletics, badminton and taekwondo, some of which witnessed mass resignations, freezing of competitions, forming alternative boards and even having to resort to their respective international bodies to apply rules governing their respective authorities. 

On the sporting field, the nine medals, including gold by athletes at the Asian Para Games (for the disabled), was Jordan’s best sporting achievement. They unfortunately did not make headlines!

Since first competing in 1986, the 2006 Asian Games saw Jordan score its best achievement winning eight medals, including the first gold. This year, Jordan only managed four medals. Out of 33 medals overall won by Jordan at the Asian Games, 27 have been secured through martial arts including 20 in taekwondo. This year, taekwondo failed to win a single medal.

With the 2016 Olympics not too far away, many ex-players and officials concur we are lagging far behind on the Asian level — a benchmark of our competitive capacity. 

Another of Jordan’s top teams, basketball, who lost the 2006 Asian Games semifinal to China which would have been the country’s first ever Asian team medal, was knocked out in the preliminary round this year. This same team was the country’s first ever team to qualify to a World Championship in 2010.

The women’s game is making a slow comeback. Jordan hosted the 22nd FIBA Asia U-18 Championship for Women and despite finishing 5th in Level 2, Jordan Basketball Federation officials viewed the event as a platform to advance the game on the local and regional levels as it was only last year, and after nearly a 20-year break, that Jordan returned to Asian women’s basketball competitions at the 3rd FIBA Asia U-16 Championship finishing 5th in Level 2.

All eyes are now on the national team which is readying for the Asian Cup starting in January. The team finished the year at 81st in FIFA Rankings. The squad had a turbulent year with a change at the helm as coach Hossam Hassan was replaced by Englishman Raymond Wilkins and the line-up underwent many changes and less consistent results.

In football, the younger players, including the U-23 Olympic team, fared better than seniors, reaching the quarters of football in the Asian Games. Likewise the inaugural U-22 AFC Championship saw Jordan beat South Korea to take the bronze medal.

Event after event this year, Jordan failed to qualify and win. At the 8th West Asian Football Championship, Jordan lost to Qatar in the final. In women’s football, the senior women’s team exited Round 1 of the Asian Games and similarly, the first round of their first AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2014. In addition, Jordan was eliminated from qualifiers for the 2015 AFC U-19 Women’s Championship. The U-19 squad was hoping to qualify for the second time after Jordan was the first Arab team to play in the 3rd championship finals in 2007. The U-16 girls team also failed to qualify to the 2015 AFC U-16 Women’s Championship. 

Locally, the football and basketball leagues have seen inconsistent results. The country’s veteran team, Faisali, is now eighth in the standings and amid talks of administrative irregularities, hundreds of club members took their issue to Parliament and the Higher Council of Youth. 

On the Asian front, the AFC Cup, which was previously dominated by Jordan’s Faisali and Shabab Urdun, no longer has Jordanian teams in the lead.

In 2014, officials have a lot to contemplate. From technical assessments of competitions to an overhaul of regulations that eventually lead to non-experts heading the process. On both fronts there is much to be done.