Sports

SHANGHAI –– Daniel Ricciardo put Red Bull on top of the timesheets for the first time this season with the fastest time in final practice for the Chinese Grand Prix in a damp session that limited running with neither Mercedes drivers completing a timed lap.

Ricciardo's one minute, 53.958 on intermediate tyres at the Shanghai International Circuit was half a second quicker than Felipe Massa's Williams with Lotus' Romain Grosjean third.

Mercedes have won the opening three races of the season in dominant fashion and Saturday's final practice session is only the third time this season a silver car has not topped the timesheets.

With just two hours between the end of final practice and the start of qualifying, both Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg were content to limit their running to exploratory laps in the tricky conditions.

Force India's Nico Hulkenberg set the fourth quickest time ahead of Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen, who emerged late in the session to go fifth.

His teammate Fernando Alonso, who had topped Friday's opening session, did not set a time.

Pastor Maldonado was sixth in the Lotus despite being asked by the team to bring his car to a halt with 20 minutes still to run.

Daniil Kvyat was seventh ahead of Valtteri Bottas, with Jenson Button, the sole McLaren to set a time, ninth.

Sergio Perez was 10th in the Force India with world champion Sebastian Vettel 11th after several issues with his car.

VALENCIA –– Barcelona’s painful reverse to arch rivals Real Madrid in Wednesday’s King’s Cup final brings to an end a hellish week and leaves them facing their first season without major silverware in six years.

Coach Gerard Martino, in his first term in charge at the Nou Camp, was defiant after the 2-1 defeat at Valencia’s Mestalla Stadium and suggested he intends to see out his contract, which runs to the end of next season.

A week ago, Barca were well placed to repeat their record treble of La Liga, Champions League and King’s Cup from 2008-09 but are now likely to end the campaign with nothing more than the season-opening Spanish Super Cup.

They were dumped out of Europe’s elite club competition by Atletico Madrid last Wednesday and crashed to a shock 1-0 La Liga defeat at Granada on Saturday that left them four points behind leaders Atletico with five games remaining.

“I am in profound pain because of the defeat and for the people who support us,” Martino said at a news conference after Gareth Bale scored a brilliant 85th-minute winner for Real in the latest ‘Clasico’ between the Spanish giants.

“This team has a long way to go and many positive things still to achieve,” added the Argentine.

“I am feeling as I have to feel in these situations when you suffer a defeat like this.”

“I can’t imagine a defeat more painful but my future does not depend on this result.”

Martino’s immediate task is to lift the players, the majority of whom will be heading to the World Cup finals in Brazil starting in June, for the La Liga finale, starting with Sunday’s match at home to fourth-placed Athletic Bilbao.

“It has been a very hard week for us on all fronts but we have to pick ourselves up and keep aspiring to what we have left,” Martino said.

MADRID –– Gareth Bale's brilliant winner in Wednesday's King's Cup final against Barcelona gave the world's most expensive player his first taste of major silverware and the Wales winger is hungry for more.

Bale was hailed as the "Prince of Wales" in the Spanish media on Thursday after he collected the ball wide on the left near the halfway line in the 85th minute at Valencia's Mestalla Stadium, shrugged off the attentions of Barca centre back Marc Bartra and charged towards goal.

Arriving in the penalty area and with Barca defenders bearing down on him, he coolly slotted the ball between the legs of goalkeeper Jose Manuel Pinto to secure a 2-1 success and set off wild celebrations in the Spanish capital.

It was a breathtaking end to the 228th meeting between the arch rivals and Bale proved he can step up on the big occasions after a debut season disrupted by niggling injuries, during which many questioned his exorbitant price tag.

His performance also helped Real make light of the absence of injured top-scorer Cristiano Ronaldo and Bale easily outshone Barca's four-times World Player of the Year Lionel Messi, who had another quiet game, and their marquee signing of the close season Neymar.

"It is certainly the most important goal of Bale's career," Real coach Carlo Ancelotti told a news conference. "It came at a decisive point of the match."

Fountain of joy  

Before joining Real from Tottenham Hotspur for a fee of 100 million euros ($138 million) in the close season, the only trophy in Bale's Cabinet was an English League Cup won with Spurs in 2008.

Thanks to his stunning effort, Real are still in with a chance of becoming only the second team after Barca in 2008-09 to win a treble of La Liga, Champions League and King's Cup.

They host holders Bayern Munich in their semifinal, first leg in Europe's elite club competition on Wednesday and are three points behind leaders Atletico Madrid in La Liga with five games remaining.

Bale told reporters scoring the winner in the Cup final was "a dream come true".

"Not just because I scored but because of the work of the whole team," the 24-year-old added.

"It was really special. We've won the first of the three available titles and we have to keep fighting for everything.

"This win is for all the fans and we hope that it will be the first of many to come."

After collecting the trophy, Bale and his teammates flew straight back to the capital to join some 70,000 Real fans at the traditional celebrations around the central Cibeles fountain.

If he can produce more goals of the quality of Wednesday's effort in Real's remaining games this term, Cibeles could soon be hosting another party or two and the club will consider 100 million euros as money well spent.

AMMAN –– Jordanians on Wednesday rushed in large numbers to dealers of beIN Sports in Amman to buy subscription cards and devices ahead of the King’s Cup football match between Real Madrid and Barcelona. 

Long queues were seen as the sport network, previously known as Al Jazeera, announced that the match would be broadcast on channel HD 9, which required an upgrade of all subscriptions. 

beIN Sport holds exclusive rights in the region to broadcast Spanish, English and other football leagues around the globe. 

Subscription prices for the leagues and the upcoming World Cup are around JD270. 

The network announced later in the evening that the match would be broadcast on its HD Channel 2, giving no further explanation for the change of mind. 

AMMAN –– Week 16 of the Jordan Professional League kicks off on Thursday with  teams looking to consolidate their standings.

Despite losing to Sarih 1-0 and earlier drawing with Jazira 1-1, Wihdat still lead the standings. 

Faisali are second and could not capitalise on their rivals results after they went down 2-0 to That Ras as the latter climbed to third place.

Wihdat fans have seen their team lose four matches so far and coach Abdullah Abu Zameh tendering his resignation. The veteran team will this week face bottom-placed Sheikh Hussein, while Faisali play Manshieh and That Ras play Jazira.

Ramtha are fourth after a 1-1 draw with Manshieh and next play Shabab Urdun, who went down 3-1 to Baqaa as the latter climbed to fifth and next play Arabi.

Hussein Irbid drew 1-1 with Jazira and are now 9th and next play Sarih. Sheikh Hussein scored a big 3-0 win but are still in last place with seven points.

Manshieh striker Mohammad Abdul Halim is the league’s leading scorer with seven goals.

Last week, Jordan Cup holders That Ras moved to the Round of 16 of the Asian Football Confederation Cup after a 0-0 draw with Lebanon’s Safa finishing second in Group A, while Shabab Urdun have bowed out of the first round after losing 3-2 to Iraq’s Erbil and finishing third in Group D.

The season’s first title –– the 31st Cup Winners’ Cup — went to Shabab Urdun after they beat That Ras in the first of the three major local events on the 2013/14 calendar. 

AMMAN –– HRH Prince Ali, FIFA vice president representing Asia, on Wednesday criticised a campaign by several football associations in the continent that seeks to automatically hand the position in the executive committee of the world’s football governing body to the president of the  Asian Football Confederation (AFC) as of next year. 

Prince Ali, who is also presidnet of the Jordan Football Association and head of the West Asia Football Association, was elected as Asia’s FIFA vice president in 2011. 

In a letter he sent to the football community in Asia, he named the football associations of  Afghanistan, North Korea, Indonesia,  Pakistan, Bahrain Qatar, Yemen and Sri Lanka as the ones behind the proposal to merge the FIFA vice president for Asia position with the position of AFC president.  

The proposal would be discussed in AFC congress meeting that will be held in Brazil in June of this year, the Prince said, adding that such a move was rejected in May last year by the majority of football bodies in Asia. 

Expressing his reservation over the proposal, Prince Ali urged AFC President Sheikh Salman Bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, also head of Bahrain’s football association,  to spend less time on politics and more on developing the sport.

“The majority of the congress that elected the current AFC president has made its decision on the matter at our annual congress in May last year. I am truly surprised that this proposal has resurfaced in the past few months, led vigorously by the current AFC president.

“It is unfortunate that the direction taken by the AFC president and other AFC officials is one driven purely by politics instead of focusing our energies and valuable time on improving the game in Asia,” he said in the letter. 

The AFC leadership should instead address “the myriad challenges that AFC faces in marketing, grass-roots football, women’s football, transparency and accountability, and the list goes on,” the letter reads.

“My work will continue regardless of the outcome of this proposal,” said Prince Ali. “I only urge member associations and football officials to think about our priorities in Asia and decide accordingly. Let us choose football over politics.”

MADRID –– Real Madrid and Barcelona meet in Wednesday's King's Cup final in Valencia (1930 GMT) in the latest edition of the “Clasico” between the world's two richest clubs by income. Here are some numbers behind one of football’s most glamorous fixtures:

0 - The number of goals Real have conceded in eight matches on the way to the cup final.

2 - The number of “Clasico” games Real coach Carlo Ancelotti and his Barca counterpart Gerardo Martino have each presided over. Barca beat Real 2-1 at the Nou Camp at the end of October and won 4-3 at the Bernabeu last month, both in La Liga.

2 - The number of hat-tricks Barca's Argentina forward Lionel Messi has scored in 'Clasicos'. Messi netted a treble in his first “Clasico” appearance at the age of 19, a 3-3 La Liga draw at the Nou Camp in 2007, and grabbed another in last month's league clash.

18 - The number of cards the most booked player, former Real and Spain defender Fernando Hierro, collected in official “Clasicos” (17 yellow and one red). Current Real centre back Sergio Ramos has 14 yellow and two red.

21 - The number of goals Messi has scored in “Clasicos”. The four-times World Player of the Year is the record marksman in the fixture ahead of Real great Alfredo Di Stefano on 18. Current world player Cristiano Ronaldo has 13 for Real, including the extra-time winner in the 2011 final. Messi has not scored in five cup matches against Real.

22 - The number of times Real and Barca have played each other in the Spanish Cup. Barca have 10 wins to Real's six.

26 - The number of King's Cups won by record winners Barca, three more than Athletic Bilbao in second with 23. Real are third with 18.

44 - The record number of “Clasico” appearances made by Real's Paco Gento. Among active players, Barca playmaker Xavi has the most with 39, ahead of Real goalkeeper Iker Casillas on 34 and Barca defender Carles Puyol on 32.

90 - Real have beaten Barca 90 times in official matches, with 89 wins for Barca and 48 draws.

227 - The number of official “Clasicos” played since the pair's first encounter in the last four of the Spanish Cup on May 13, 1902, which Barca won 3-1.

383 - The number of goals Real have scored in official 'Clasicos', 13 more than Barca.

MADRID –– Real Madrid top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo will miss Wednesday's King's Cup final against Barcelona after failing to recover from knee and thigh muscle problems, coach Carlo Ancelotti said on Tuesday.

The Portugal captain and Ballon d'Or winner has missed Real's last three matches since limping off near the end of the Champions League quarter-final, first leg against Borussia Dortmund on April 2.

Ancelotti said on Friday there was a still a chance Ronaldo might recover for the clash at the Mestalla Stadium in Valencia but confirmed at a news conference the player was unavailable.

"Cristiano Ronaldo is out, we have a lot of players sidelined," said Ancelotti, who will also be without longer-term absentees Jese, Sami Khedira, Alvaro Arbeloa and Marcelo.

"But we have a lot of confidence in this team," added the Italian, who declined to answer a question about who would start the cup final in Ronaldo's absence.

"It has always reacted well to injuries and I think we can also do things very well tomorrow."

The latest edition of Spain's “Clasico” between archrivals Real and Barca is their 228th meeting and a repeat of the 2011 Cup final, also held at the Mestalla, when Ronaldo's extra-time header secured a 1-0 win.

The Portuguese is top scorer in La Liga and the Champions League this season and Ancelotti will be desperate to have him back for the semifinals of Europe's elite club competition later this month when they play holders Bayern Munich over two legs.

"We are losing a player with incredible quality. But it could be that Cristiano Ronaldo's absence will motivate the rest of the team even more," Ancelotti said.

"The matches we have played without him have gone very well, working harder, running more and working together more.

"Working as a unit is of course the objective and that is what we have been training for.

"I don't think there will be any problem motivating the players tomorrow, they are all very motivated and very excited. I am seeing a lot of desire to play this final."

Ancelotti dismissed a suggestion Real could have avoided Ronaldo's injury if they had given him more rest.

"Cristiano did not rest because there was no need," he told reporters.

"There was no situation we saw that suggested he was tired and if he had been tired he would not have played.

"He has a problem that many players have at this stage of the season.

"We protect Cristiano in the same way we try to protect all the players as much as possible.

"It could be a risk playing him and we are not going to take that risk as there are very important games still to come."

Ancelotti's Barca counterpart Gerardo Martino also has injury worries and is waiting on the fitness of three of his recognised centre backs.

Captain Carles Puyol, who has barely featured this term due to a series of injuries, Gerard Pique and Marc Bartra were all included in the squad for the trip to Valencia and Martino said a decision would be taken on Wednesday whether they could play.

Barca's Spain playmaker Andres Iniesta said he expected Real to be just as much of a threat without Ronaldo.

"The team doesn't change whether he is playing or not," Iniesta told a news conference.

"We know how good they are and we know their potential. If Cristiano doesn't play somebody else at the same level will."

Barca, the record winners with 26 Cups, are looking for a morale-boosting victory after crashing out of the Champions League to Atletico Madrid on Wednesday.

AMMAN –– The 2014 Jordan Rally, the third round of the Middle East Rally Championship (MERC), will feature a spectators stage on May 1 as motor racing fans will have the opportunity to get close to the cars and meet the drivers at the Abdali Development Area in Amman.

During a media tour organised by Jordan Motorsports, the rally director, Khaled Zakaria, said that all preparations are ready for the rally, which he described as the most challenging event in MERC.

"We are really excited to have the spectators stage here in the heart of Amman," he said, adding that a special one-kilometre stage was created in a bid to enable fans meet their favourite drivers.

In this stage, which will be included to the official routes of the rally, drivers will have to complete one circuit before returning to the Dead sea and prepare for Day 2.

The Jordan Rally consists of 21 timed stages: one at Amman’s Abdali,  10 stages on May 2 and another 10 stages on May 3, Zakaria explained, adding that so far 18 drivers have registered for the competition. 

According to organisers, the rally will host the best drivers in the region headed by the reigning champion Qatar's Nasser Al Attiyah, who is leading the standings with 50 points, followed by UAE's Khaled Al Qassimi (33 points) and Saudi Arabia’s Yazeed Al Rajhi (27 points).

Jordan Motorsports CEO Othman Nassif praised the level of arrangements for the event and the work of the volunteers.

"We had the first round of the National Rally championship earlier this week and the volunteers proved that they have the ability and skills to be in the Jordan Rally which demands a lot of effort and concentration,” he said, expecting the number of participating drivers to exceed 40.

MADRID — A week ago, Barcelona still had a chance of repeating the historic treble of 2009, but defeats in Europe and La Liga mean Wednesday's King's Cup final against Real Madrid may be their only hope of major silverware this season.

A wounded Barca travel to Valencia to meet their arch rivals after crashing out of the Champions League to Atletico Madrid last Wednesday and suffering a shock 1-0 reverse at Granada in La Liga three days later that left them four points behind leaders Atletico with five games to play.

Real, by contrast, are on a high after joining Atletico in the last four of Europe's elite club competition and climbing above Barca into second in La Liga, three points off the top, thanks to Saturday's 4-0 drubbing of Almeria.

Barca coach Gerardo Martino needs to lift his battered troops for the showpiece at the Mestalla, the venue where Real beat Barca 1-0 in the 2011 final thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo's headed goal in extra time.

The record Cup winners with 26 to Real's 18, Barca have had the upper hand against their rivals in La Liga this season, winning 2-1 at the Nou Camp in October and 4-3 at the Bernabeu last month.

However, Martino has come in for some heavy criticism after recent stumbles and the Argentine will have to shoulder the blame and suffer the consequences if he ends his first year in charge without any trophies apart from the season-opening Spanish Super Cup.

His side have generally managed to dominate opponents in customary fashion but have consistently failed to turn long periods of possession into goals, particularly on the road against defence-minded teams.

Messi situation

Talismanic Argentina captain Lionel Messi has gone off the boil just when Barca needed his sublime skills the most, while Brazil forward Neymar has blown hot and cold since his high-profile move from Santos in the close season.

"It's clear that the Cup is fundamental for us," sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta, who has been widely criticised for not bringing in sufficient squad reinforcements, said on Spanish radio on Sunday.

Zubizarreta defended Messi, who has been accused of not putting in 100 per cent effort for Barca so he is fresher for the World Cup finals starting in June.

"There is nothing wrong with him [Messi]," Zubizarreta said.

"He is fine with the club and with his teammates. His problem is that he has set the bar so high for himself," added the former Barca and Spain goalkeeper.

"He is happy, training well, in good physical shape. But he knows that football throws up challenges every week."

Wednesday's match features two teams whose focus is on attack and it should be an open, entertaining spectacle between the world's two richest clubs by income.

It will be their 34th meeting in the Spanish Cup since they first clashed in May 1902. Barca have won 15, including a 3-1 success in that first game, drawn seven and lost 11.

Real coach Carlo Ancelotti, whose team have not conceded a single goal in eight games on the way to the final, is sweating on the fitness of top scorer Ronaldo, who has missed Real's last two matches with knee and thigh muscle complaints.

Barca's main injury worries are in defence, with centre backs Gerard Pique, Carles Puyol and Marc Bartra all sidelined, and Sergio Busquets may be drafted in to play in the middle alongside Javier Mascherano, another converted midfielder.

Zubizarreta said there was a chance Pique, who has not played since damaging a hip in the Champions League on April 1, could make it back for Wednesday's game.