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AMMAN  —  The Jordan Cup’s preliminary round’s final phase kicks off Monday with teams striving to score wins to qualify and advance their standings ahead of the quarter-finals. The top four teams from each of the two groups will move to the quarters to which three teams have officially qualified. In Group A, Ahli, who made a comeback to the Jordan Professional League, tops the standings and was the first to qualify after impressive results. Four teams — Jazira, Sarih, Faisali and Hussein — are still in contention for the remaining three slots from the group. Baqaa are last and out of the competition. In Group B, titleholders Wihdat and That Ras top the group and have secured qualification with Manshieh, Ramtha and Shabab Urdun still trailing, and Ittihad Ramtha out of the competition. Most significant results were Ahli beating Faisali 3-0 and Baqaa 1-0, while Wihdat beat Ramtha 3-1, and were held 0-0 with Shabab Urdun who lost 1-0 to That Ras. The Jordan Cup had kicked off on August 2 with only the league teams competing this year. Wihdat beat Baqaa 2-0 in the 32nd Super Cup — the first major competition on the calendar kicking off the 2014/15 season. With one title in their grasp, head coach Abdullah Abu Zameh was quoted by the local media as saying: “Wihdat have a big task this season. We intend to retain the league and cup titles.” The league is set for September 12.

LONDON — While Jose Mourinho salutes the striking start to Diego Costa’s Chelsea career, the manager insists he has not forgotten what another expensive but more misfiring La Liga import can contribute to his side’s Premier League title drive.

Fernando Torres, Chelsea’s record £50 million ($82.84 million) signing, could not even command a place on the bench as Costa was scoring on his Stamford Bridge debut in the 2-0 win over Leicester City on Saturday, a victory which maintained the club’s perfect start to the season.

At the launch of his fifth season for Chelsea and having turned 30 in March, the dropping of Torres felt almost symbolic of his slide from the giddy heights of his Atletico Madrid and Liverpool heyday.

With the £32 million man Costa marking his territory with a second goal in as many games and as the returning 36-year-old hero Didier Drogba was being welcomed back ecstatically, was Mourinho preparing to consign Torres’ largely disappointing Chelsea career to history?

Not at all, according to the manager.

Chelsea still needed three top strikers in their squad and Torres, even if his record of five goals in 28 league appearances last season contrasts starkly with Costa’s immediate 100 per cent strike rate, would be that “third man”.

Happy to dispel persistent rumours that Torres might be on his way to a loan spell with a top Italian club, Mourinho instead offered an unforced tribute to both the player’s abilities and character, insisting Spain’s former World Cup winner still had plenty more Chelsea goals in him.

“I want three strikers in the team. I can’t do a season without three strikers so our squad was made carefully, with great balance, great work by the top structure of my club to try to give me with what I want,” Mourinho explained.

“Torres is one of those three strikers.

“I believe he’ll stay. I want him. He will play, he will score goals, he will be very useful for us. He’s a fantastic guy, a fantastic professional. So no problem.

“At this moment, we are playing one game a week but in September, October, November, December, there’ll be three matches a week and then everything is much easier for the players because all of them will be playing. So there is no stories with Nando or anyone.”

Asked what Torres had to do to establish himself as the club’s number one striker, Mourinho’s message, delivered with a smile, was stark.

“Score more goals than the first one,” he said.

For the moment, that “first one” is Costa and Mourinho was delighted with his initial impact.

“He’s a goalscorer,” the Portuguese added.

“The goals he scored against both Leicester and [in the 3-1 win at] Burnley are striker goals. He smashes and he scores. This is what we need. We need a striker to score goals and Diego is doing that for us.”

Costa’s old Atletico teammate Thibaut Courtois is also making a major impact for Chelsea with Mourinho having entrusted the goalkeeping duties to him ahead of the long established Petr Cech.

His excellent save from Leicester’s David Nugent ultimately proved as important as Costa’s breakthrough goal in the victory.

SPA, Belgium — Nico Rosberg will start the Belgian Grand Prix from pole position after holding off a strong challenge from his Mercedes rival Lewis Hamilton in qualifying on Saturday.

Hamilton was ahead of Rosberg on the first two time splits of his final lap but then drifted back, allowing Rosberg to clinch a fourth straight pole and sixth in the past seven races. The German driver leads Hamilton by 11 points in the overall standings.

Rosberg clocked 2 minutes, 5.591 seconds in difficult conditions, with the Spa track drenched following a heavy downpour shortly before qualifying started.

“It was just Lewis I had to focus on,” Rosberg said after his 11th career pole. “It makes it easier when there’s not a whole bunch, only one guy.”

Hamilton finished in 2:05.819 and Sebastian Vettel got a much-needed boost with the third quickest time — although the fact that he was 2 seconds behind the Mercedes pair offers the Red Bull driver little hope of securing a first win this season.

“It helped us that it was wet. The gap was a lot bigger and our car was really dominant,” Rosberg said. “It was amazing to see that, how quick our car is.”

Two-time F1 champion Fernando Alonso was fourth in his Ferrari ahead of Daniel Ricciardo, the only non-Mercedes driver to win a race so far this season. Hamilton has won five, Rosberg four and Ricciardo has clinched two in an impressive first season with Red Bull.

Hamilton had not qualified on the front row since the Canadian GP in June.

“We have a great car here and we’re leading the way here. So cool to see that,” Hamilton said. “We definitely have good chances for tomorrow.”

However, the 2008 champion was again plagued by technical problems — just like in the previous four races, where he started from 22nd, 20th, sixth and ninth on the grid and still got on the podium every time.

“I was nervous going into qualifying, not knowing if the car was going to get through it,” the British driver said.

This time, he had a brake problem.

“You need to have confidence on the brakes. There were times in Q3 when I was just going straight on because the left brake wasn’t really working. When it glazes it’s hard to recover, especially in the rain,” he said. “But in the evening they’re able to scrub it and get rid of the glazing. In the dry tomorrow it shouldn’t be a problem.”

Vettel, the four-time defending champion, did not take part in Friday’s second practice run because of a power unit failure.

The German driver’s victory at Spa last year was the first of nine successive wins. The way things are going this season — he is languishing in sixth place overall — just a podium finish would be a success.

“We know we’re down in power. Mercedes have a strong car and they have a lot of downforce. We are similar in the corners but quite a long way off in the straights,” Vettel said. “Hopefully tomorrow will be closer in terms of race pace.”

Vettel has won 39 GPs — including a record-equalling 13 last season — and clinched 45 poles. But he has only two podium spots this term: third in Canada and Malaysia.

“I’m trying very hard. It’s not like I’m consciously deciding not to be on pole,” he said. “We’ve been on the other side for quite a while but that’s the name of the game. The season was not what I was hoping for but there are still several races to come.”

In Q1, Mexican driver Esteban Gutierrez had to retire due to a technical problem and Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado failed to make Q2 after spinning his Lotus. His teammate, Romain Grosjean, failed to make Q3. The Frenchman starts the race from 15th as his difficult season continues.

In the final practice earlier, Valtteri Bottas of Finland was fastest in his Williams ahead of Ricciardo and Rosberg.

AMMAN — Lebanon’s Roger Feghali on Friday was crowned champion of Al Hussein Rumman Hill Climb after clocking 1m51.78s in his Mitsubishi EVO Proto.

Feghali deprived 2012 winner Husam Salem the opportunity to conquer the Hill again after the latter clocked a best time of 1m54.02s.

Salem settled in the second place after a disappointing 2m00.51s in the top 10 round.

Jordan’s Fadi Bikawi came third (1m56.21s).

Feghali expressed his happiness of winning this year’s event saying: “I am really proud to win the event again this year. The event was challenging and hopefully next year I will be able to continue this winning streak.” 

Twenty-five drivers from Lebanon, the UAE and Jordan took part in the event organised by Jordan Motorsport.

This year’s racetrack created a challenge to drivers especially after several cars had minor accidents that left the track slippery due to oil to which drivers of the top 10 round requested that the last round to be cancelled.

Jordan Motorsport officials after a considerable delay decided to continue the last round after the maintenance and safety officials made sure that every drop of oil was handled and that the track was ready to host the last crucial round.

Salem told The Jordan Times that Jordan Motorsport should have responded to the calls of drivers.

“The poor track conditions prevented me from going faster and registering a better time. I clocked my best time in the first round with 1m54.02s and the second round with 1m56.46s but the top 10 round I had to be careful and clocked a disappointing 2m00.51s,” he said.

“I believe Jordan Motorsport should have cancelled the last round as it was really dangerous to drive or even to push the car harder and that is why I registered the first two rounds under the two-minute barrier and failed in the top 10 round,” he added.

Meanwhile, Ziyad Masanat, race director, responded by saying that the track was cleaned and was up to hosting the final round.

“Safety is our main concern and we cleaned the track and it received the approval of the safety committee. The track was fine and some drivers even registered better timings in the top ten round. Jordan Motorsport will not allow drivers to continue unless we are sure 100 per cent that the track is safe and conditions do not pose any danger to the lives of the drivers,” he said.

The Hill Climb course is exactly three kilometres in length and three metres in width with an average rise of 8.5 per cent. There are a total of 24 bends and corners including four hairpin bends. The course is situated two kilometres north of Rumman.

SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium — Lewis Hamilton says his Formula One title duel with Mercedes teammate and championship leader Nico Rosberg is like a game of poker but the dominant duo may not hold all the aces in Belgium this weekend.

Resurgent Williams have the same engine as the Mercedes works team and both Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa have been looking forward to Spa — and Monza in Italy after that — as their best chances of winning this season.

Spa is the longest circuit on the calendar and 70 per cent of the 7.004km lap is at full throttle — putting engine reliability and power at a premium.

The Mercedes power unit is the pick of the field and the four teams using it should be strong in Spa. Williams have already shown their car has both straight line speed and aerodynamic efficiency.

“I think in theory Spa and Monza should be the next really good ones for us, maybe the best opportunities of the season,” Bottas said before Formula One embarked on its summer break after Hungary at the end of July.

Spa, the 12th of 19 races, marks the start of the decisive phase of the season with teams and drivers refreshed and raring to go.

Last year it proved the springboard for a remarkable run of nine wins in a row by Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel that culminated in the German’s fourth successive championship.

There is no chance of that happening this time, even if Red Bull went into the break on the back of Daniel Ricciardo’s victory at the Hungaroring. Vettel has been eclipsed by the Australian and is yet to get back on top of the podium.

“It will be damage limitation in the next two races, because Force India will suddenly reappear, Williams will be quick, McLaren will be quick and obviously Mercedes will be quick,” said Red Bull team principal Christian Horner.

Even if Ricciardo intends to play as big a part as possible, the championship is a straightforward battle between Hamilton — the 2008 world champion — and his old friend and foe Rosberg.

Poker face

The pair are just 11 points apart and Hamilton recognised over the break, in an interview for sponsor Puma, that the battle felt more intense than his title tilts of 2007 and 2008.

“When I was racing against Kimi Raikkonen and Massa [then both at Ferrari], they were in a different team and their cars had different strengths and weaknesses to my car and, in my team, it was just me that was really competing with them,” recalled the Briton.

“Now I’m racing against a guy who has the same car as me — we both have access to exactly the same data and feedback so it is really hard to try and be ahead.

“It’s a little bit like playing poker — you have a set of cards and the other guy is not supposed to know what you got, but Nico and I can see each other’s cards so then it’s more difficult to beat each other.”

In Hungary, he started from the pit lane and almost hit the wall on lap one but still finished third and ahead of Rosberg, who had been on pole. The Briton saw that as a possible omen.

“Hopefully that was a sign that my fortunes are changing at just the right time,” he said.

Hamilton was on pole in Spa a year ago, and won in 2010, whereas Rosberg has yet to finish higher than fourth at a classic circuit that has long ranked as a favourite for drivers and spectators.

“It’s good to be back after the break and to see everyone looking really refreshed and up for the fight in the remaining months of the season,” the German, who finished fourth in Hungary, said this week.

“The [Spa] circuit is just unreal and it’s one I think every driver looks forward to. My record there hasn’t been as good as at some other circuits in the past, but I’m determined to change that and get the season kicked off again in style.”

Ferrari, with Raikkonen and Alonso, will also be looking forward to returning to the Ardennes forests and the ever-capricious Spa weather.

Raikkonen, who has yet to beat Alonso this season, won at Spa four times in five visits between 2004 and 2009 and the “Iceman” loves the challenge.

“Last time I drove here in a Ferrari, I won,” the Finn recalled on the team website. “And that was in a year [2009] when we had been struggling since the start.

“It would be good if the same thing could happen this year.”

AMMAN — Jordan’s six-strong team was to return to Amman empty handed after Thursday’s performance in the swimming pool at the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, but the experience of competing in a major multi-sport event for the first time “will prove invaluable”, the Jordan Olympic Committee said in a statement. Swimmer Lydia Musleh finished third in her 50m freestyle heat with 27.66 seconds, a second behind winner Rahim Soharmi of Sri Lanka, while Khader Baqlah was also third in his 100m freestyle heat (51.73sec), to finish 20th, with only the top 16 qualifying. Khader’s time was a new personal best and brings him closer to the qualifying mark for the World Championships (51.12sec). “This participation was beneficial for our athletes who were excellent role models in their commitment to representing Jordan,” the statement quoted JOC Secretary General Lana Al Jaghbeer as saying. “It wasn’t about winning medals here, it was about giving our youngsters the chance to experience a major event and let them compete with the best from across the world. This can only bode well for their future participation at major events.”

AMMAN — Jordan’s Taima Habowal suffered a heartbreaking defeat on Wednesday at the Youth Olympic Games after losing to China’s Yang Chen in the taekwondo 63kg category in Nanjing, China, according to a statement from the Jordan Olympic Committee. With the match very tight in the last round, Jordan felt Habowal had struck the head of Chen with a kick which would have brought her level at a crucial time, but the referee didn’t spot it and Chen went on to win 5-2. Her coach Khader Khalifeh was not happy with the decision saying: “It was a shame to lose because it was very clear that it should have counted. Taima is still only 15 so she will learn from this experience and move on. She still has another year in the juniors before stepping up,” in the statement. Meanwhile, swimmer Lydia Musleh finished sixth in her 200m freestyle heat, going out of the competition, but she will now enter the 50m freestyle on Thursday. Khader Baqlah also will return to the pool for the 100m freestyle heats on Thursday.

AMMAN — Jordan’s national team is set to regroup on August 27 as the team prepares to play two friendlies under newly named head coach Ahmad Abdul Qader with the countdown on for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) 2015 Asian Cup in Australia.

The coach, who took over after Egyptian Hosam Hassan, sounded upbeat and positive about the task ahead as the squad prepares to leave for a friendly in Uzbekistan.

Abdul Qader said he will announce the final line-up after preliminary round Jordan Cup matches conclude this week alluding to the fact that players like Amer Shafie, who had been left out by his predecessor for disciplinary issues, and other players — the exclusion of which had caused an easy relationship with the Egyptian coach — would likely be recalled. 

Abdul Qader, who had previously served on the national team under the late coach Mohammad Awad, underlined his appreciation to JFA President HRH Prince Ali for entrusting him with the task.

“Regardless of the nature of my appointment currently, me and my team will do our utmost in the upcoming stage. I am always ready to serve the national squad,” he said. “We are happy to be playing our third Asian Cup, but will strive to play for the title.”

The Jordan Football Association (JFA) is looking to arrange matches aimed at giving the line-up optimum competitive experience against leading teams as they prepare for their third participation in the AFC Asian Cup.

Jordan last played Columbia in June, losing 3-0 in an important friendly as the squad kicked off a series of high-level friendlies. They are now set to play Uzbekistan on September 4 before travelling to China for a September 9 match.

Officials at the JFA, incluing Secretary General Fadi Zureikat, expressed confidence in the team which will have four stages of preparations. After the upcoming two friendlies, the team will regroup again on September 29 for a training camp and two more friendlies. Then again on November 11 with a match against South Korea and the fourth time on December 12 with a training camp in Dubai ahead of the January 9, 2015 kick-off in Australia.

The Kingdom qualified to the AFC Asian Cup after finishing second in Group A qualifiers behind leaders Oman. They will play in Group D with 2011 titleholders Japan, Iraq and Palestine.

The qualifiers played in five groups of four teams each. The top two teams from each group and the best third-placed team qualified to the tournament. Teams qualifying automatically to the finals include 2011 Asian Cup champions Japan, third-placed South Korea, hosts and runners-up Australia, AFC Challenge Cup 2012 winners North Korea and 2014 AFC Challenge Cup champ Palestine. 

In their past eight times since first taking part in Asian Cup qualifiers in 1972, Jordan reached the finals twice. In the 13th Asian Cup, they lost to Japan in the quarter-finals and jumped to the best ever FIFA rank of 37th in August 2004, and in 2011, reached the quarter-finals where they lost to Uzbekistan in 2-1.

Jordan, who finished runners-up at the 8th West Asian Football Federation Championship, was a step away from reaching the last World Cup for the first time after playing Uruguay in their intercontinental qualifying tie. The Kingdom lost the home game 5-0 and held the former World Cup champs 0-0 in the away match. 

Jordan had previously never gone past Round 3 of the World Cup qualifiers since first taking part in 1985.

BARCELONA — Barcelona have added Luis Suarez to their star-studded forward line but it could be their defensive reinforcements that make the difference as they look to win back the La Liga title.

The club’s first trophyless season in six years has sparked an overhaul with new coach Luis Enrique bringing in fresh faces for many positions ahead of the La Liga campaign that kicks off on Saturday.

All eyes will be on Suarez, signed from Liverpool for a fee reported to be 81 million euros ($107.90 million), when he finally makes his competitive bow for Barca at the end of October, after he was handed a four-month ban for biting at the World Cup.

The prospect of him lining up with Neymar and Lionel Messi in attack is mouthwatering, yet the club’s title hopes are likely to depend on them shoring up a rearguard that looked vulnerable at key times last season.

The backline has been neglected in recent years with close-season recruits Jeremy Mathieu and Thomas Vermaelen the first centre backs to be signed since Dmytro Chygrynskiy in 2009.

The club had previously attempted to paper over the cracks by converting midfielders into centre backs, with the idea being that they would be comfortable in possession and bring the ball out of defence.

The combative Argentine Javier Mascherano has done relatively well in this role, despite his lack of height, but Sergio Busquets and Alex Song have also been tried out in the position with little success.

Barca have now added strength and depth to their defence but there are still question marks over the signings of Mathieu and Vermaelen ahead of the Catalans’ curtain-raiser against Elche on Sunday.

The club paid 20 million euros ($26.64 million) for the 30-year-old Mathieu while Vermaelen arrives at the Nou Camp with a poor injury record, having fallen down the pecking order at former club Arsenal.

Goalkeepers Claudio Bravo and Marc-Andre ter Stegen, signed to replace Victor Valdes, would appear to be sound investments.

Barca basics

Barca struggled to adapt last season to the new tactical ideas introduced by coach Gerardo Martino, who resigned after one campaign in charge.

They have gone back to basics with Luis Enrique whose teams play the club’s typical short passing football.

“We will play the attacking style that has caught the imagination of millions of people around the world but we also need to defend,” Luis Enrique told a news conference in Barcelona.

“We have an incredibly talented squad. My work and that of my staff is to find a system that fits. We will look at all possibilities and consider the qualities of the players.

“Basically, the three forwards will play centrally but at times they will vary this and a lot will depend on the approach of the opponent. We will do different things.

“The team is prepared physically but as regards the football I would have liked two months more as we have a new coach, seven or eight new signings and youth players coming in.”

Luis Enrique coached the Barca B (youth) team for three seasons until 2011 and is keen to give the young players a chance.

Eighteen-year-old forward Munir El Haddadi has shone during pre-season and is pushing for a chance in attack.

“It will depend on his performances if he is in the first team. I think he has done well and it is clear he has a lot of quality,” said Luis Enrique.

“It is the same with the other youth players. I am always saying it is great to have young players like we have that have plenty of drive and ambition.”

AMMAN — Team Jordan young athletes at the Youth Olympic Games are gaining invaluable experience from the world-class competition in Nanjing, China, according to a statement from the Jordan Olympic Committee. Balqis Al Qudah, 16, faced some of the world’s best young fencers and gave a great account of herself, eventually losing in the epee knock-out stages to Asian champion Mio Yushimora of Japan (15-9). Earlier in the group stages, she lost to Korea’s Sun Li (5-0), Poland’s Maria Marsouz (5-0), Egypt’s Sheroet Ibrahim (5-3), Hungary’s Kenga Naggi (5-2) and Sweden’s Asa Lendi (5-0). “She was very disappointed after the group stage but gave a fantastic performance against the very experienced Japanese fencer in the knock-out stage to show she has the potential to do very well in this sport,” coach Anas Al Kayed was quoted in the statement as saying. Meanwhile, Yazan Abandeh, 17, was knocked out of the gymnastic competition after finishing 33rd out of 42 competitors. He accumulated 72.5 points from the six disciplines. Eman Al Adayleh on Sunday lost 5-2 to Britain’s Abigail Stones in the -44kg women’s taekwondo quarter-final 3 action. Swimmer Khader Baqlah, 17, set a new personal best (1:53:28) in the 200m freestyle, finished third in his heat but failed to qualify. He goes again in the pool, for the 100m freestyle, on Thursday. Team Jordan took a break from action on Tuesday, before returning to the pool on Wednesday where Lydia Musleh will compete in the 200m freestyle. Also on Wednesday, taekwondo fighter Taima Hbowal will meet China’s Xang Chen in the 63kg weight class.