Sports

AMMAN — Week 13 of the 62nd Jordan Professional League kicks off on Thursday, with the most anticipated match of the season between all-time rivals Faisali and Wihdat slated for Friday.

As Leg 2 kicked off last week, Faisali and Wihdat still share the lead, with the former leading on goal difference. Faisali beat Arabi 2-1 as Wihdat beat Ramtha 1-0, with striker Moataz Salhani scoring a goal that has attracted international attention.

Ramtha are third and next play Hussein Irbid, while Baqaa, in fourth place, have a chance to improve when they face Sarih.

That Ras, who beat Tajikistan’s Ravshan 3-2 on Tuesday and boosted their Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup Round 2 chances, will play Manshieh, who beat Hussein 2-0 to climb to eighth place.

Jazirah held Baqaa 1-1 and next play Arabi. On the other hand, titleholders Shabab Urdun, whose match against That Ras has been postponed, next play bottom placed Sheikh Hussein.

Faisali climbed up the standings only in the last part of Leg 1 after playing three postponed matches — beating Wihdat 1-0, holding Ramtha 0-0 and Shabab Urdun 2-2. Meanwhile, Wihdat lost momentum after going down 2-0 to That Ras.

The season was halted many times, including during the national team’s participation in the eighth West Asian Championship, the U-22 team’s participation at the AFC U-22 Championship and Asian Cup Group A qualifiers. Jordan beat Syria 2-1 in its final qualifier and has advanced to the Asian Cup.

The Jordan Football Association  has now set the season’s agenda to end May 31.

Standings after Week 12 (last week’s rank in parenthesis)

* Postponed match

MADRID — Cristiano Ronaldo’s scintillating form and the supporting role played by the likes of Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema suggest Real Madrid have every right to believe a rare treble is well within their grasp.

Barcelona became the only Spanish team to win the Champions League and the domestic league and cup in the same season in 2008/09 but La Liga leaders Real are in a strong position to match their
archrivals after Ronaldo’s goals helped them put together a 31-match unbeaten run since the end of October.

The Portugal forward and World Player of the Year has scored 41 goals in 37 matches for the world’s richest club this term.

His double in Tuesday’s 3-1 win against Schalke 04, as Real secured their place in the Champions League quarter-finals with a club record 9-2 aggregate success, took his tally in the latest edition of Europe’s elite club competition to 13.

Coach Carlo Ancelotti deployed Ronaldo in the last 16 first leg even though Real were leading 6-1 from the first game in Germany, when he also struck twice and Bale and Benzema each netted doubles.

“I feel good and the coach, who makes these decisions, decided it was good for me to play,” Ronaldo said on UEFA.com.

“I scored two goals and helped my team achieve a very important win to keep our good run going.

“We must continue on this path. Let’s see what happens in the next few games.”

Ronaldo’s opening goal in the 21st minute showcased his ability to time his runs to perfection as he sprinted into the area and clipped a Bale centre into the net.

His second strike 17 minutes from time was classic Ronaldo as he collected the ball near the halfway line and charged past the helpless Schalke players before smashing a low shot into the bottom corner.

“Ronaldo didn’t become World Player of the Year for nothing,” Schalke coach Jens Keller told a news conference. “His qualities are outstanding.”

With 13 goals in seven games, the 29-year-old former Manchester United player has surpassed his best Champions League haul and is one short of the record of 14 set by Barca forward Lionel Messi in 2011/12.

He also climbed above Real great Ferenc Puskas into fourth on the list of the club’s top scorers with 243 compared to the Hungarian’s 242 but still has some way to go to catch leading marksman Raul who scored 323.

One-man show

“Cristiano is the best in the world,” Real midfielder Casemiro, who had a rare chance to impress on Tuesday with his team virtually assured of going through, told reporters.

“He is a one-man show and an example for everyone,” the 22-year-old added. “I learn a lot from him and he is an incredible player.”

Real will find out on Friday who they will face in the quarter-finals and they could be drawn against Barcelona or city neighbours Atletico Madrid.

Real host Barca, the last team to beat them, in the La Liga “Clasico” on Sunday, when a win would stretch their lead over the champions to seven points and deal a severe blow to Barca’s chances of a fifth title in six years.

Barca are third after a couple of surprise defeats, a point behind second-placed Atletico.

Barca and Real also meet in next month’s King’s Cup final, a repeat of the 2011 showpiece which Real won 1-0, raising the prospect of a possible four meetings between them in the space of just over three weeks.

“We have to take things step by step,” Ronaldo told UEFA.com. “We had a very good group stage, scoring a lot of goals while accumulating points.

“Let’s see who we get next but I see the team doing well at the moment and, one step at a time, we will try to achieve our objective of winning three competitions.

“We know that will be difficult but at Madrid we have to aim high. With that attitude, anything is possible.”

Record signing Bale, who has started to come into form after an injury-disrupted start to his Real career, has developed a highly effective partnership with Ronaldo and the Wales winger said his confidence was high as the season enters a key phase.

“I am enjoying my game,” he told reporters. “We are playing well, with a lot of confidence, and are on a good run. We’re coming to a decisive part of the season and we have to keep it going.

“Barcelona is a direct rival and we will try to play a good match [on Sunday] and get the three points. They have very good players but we are focused on our game and on our team because we also have very good players.”

DUBAI –– Qatar’s 2022 World Cup organising committee has denied being aware of any alleged payments by the disgraced former head of the country’s football association to an ex-vice president of FIFA.

Britain’s Daily Telegraph newspaper reported on Tuesday that a company under the control of Mohamed Bin Hammam paid $1.2 million to Jack Warner, the former president of North American football’s governing body CONCACAF, and a member of the FIFA committee which chose the 2022 World Cup hosts.

One of Warner’s companies requested that payment in December 2010, the Telegraph said, two weeks after a FIFA vote selected Qatar to stage the 2022 tournament ahead of rival bidders the United States, Australia, Japan and South Korea.

Qatar’s organising committee has always denied any wrongdoing and on Tuesday again reiterated that its practices were above board.

“The 2022 Bid Committee strictly adhered to FIFA’s bidding regulations in compliance with their code of ethics,” the committee said in a statement.

“The Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy and the individuals involved in the 2022 Bid Committee are unaware of any allegations surrounding business dealings between private individuals.”

The committee declined to comment on further questions asked by Reuters.

The Telegraph also alleged that $750,000 was paid to Warner’s sons, citing documents it says indicate the various payments to Warner family members were to “offset legal and other expenses” and “professional services provided over the period 2005-2010”.

It was reported in March 2013 that an FBI probe into corruption in international football had recruited Warner’s son Daryan as a co-operating witness.

Opting to host the world’s biggest football tournament in a tiny desert state where daytime summer temperatures rarely fall below 40OC has provoked widespread anger.

Among those opposing the decision have been Europe’s leading clubs and human rights groups highlighting dire working conditions in Qatar’s construction sector.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter previously admitted the governing had made a “bad mistake” over the bid processes for choosing the 2018 and 2022 World Cup venues, which were held simultaneously and led to the suspension of two Executive Committee members who attempted to sell their votes for cash.

Qatari Bin Hammam, the ex-president of the Asian Football Confederation and a former member of FIFA’s executive committee, challenged Blatter’s re-election as president, but days before the 2011 vote Bin Hammam was accused of trying to bribe Caribbean officials to vote for him in a plot orchestrated by Warner.

Bin Hammam and Warner both denied wrongdoing, but Warner subsequently quit his FIFA and CONCACAF positions and Bin Hammam was banned for life from all FIFA and football activities.

MANCHESTER/DORTMUND — If history was the only deciding factor then Manchester United would be highly fancied to overturn their 2-0 first leg defeat against Olympiakos and reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League on Wednesday.

But the reality for manager David Moyes and his stuttering team is that present form, rather than past successes, will have a far bigger influence at Old Trafford.

United’s unimpressive season reached a new low on Sunday when they were crushed 3-0 at home by bitter rivals Liverpool, a result that left last season’s champions seventh in the Premier League with just a remote possibility of a top-four finish.

Their only realistic hope of competing alongside Europe’s elite next season would now appear to be by somehow winning the competition for a fourth time in May, starting by knocking Olympiakos out on Wednesday.

“The players are well aware of what it means on Wednesday and what we have got to do,” Moyes said.

“We’ve got something to go for so hopefully we can do that.”

Misfiring United, who last failed to qualify for the Champions League 18 years ago, have no guarantees at all of achieving their aim against the Greeks who have just won their domestic title for the fourth successive season, the 16th time in 18 campaigns they have ended as champions and the 41st in all.

Their head-to-head record, and the Greek side’s woeful record on the road against English clubs, does offer hope.

Until Olympiakos triumphed in Athens on February 25, United had won all four of the previous matches between the clubs.

They have also won all five matches they have played against Greek clubs at home while Olympiakos have lost all 11 of the matches they have played in England.

That sorry sequence began with a 4-0 loss at West Ham United in the old European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1965 and has continued since with subsequent defeats at Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool (twice), Newcastle United, Chelsea, Manchester United (twice) and Arsenal (three times).

But they arrive at Old Trafford buoyed by a comprehensive title victory, even if Sunday’s 2-0 win over Panthrakikos was achieved behind closed doors.

While United have been in the unfamiliar position of looking up at the leading pack in the Premier League, the Piraeus club have been head and shoulders above their domestic rivals this season.

Spanish coach Michel is not getting carried away with their chances of reaching the last eight for the first time since 1999.

“We aim to do what we always do and that is concentrate on our own game,” he said.

Dortmund vs. Zenit

In Wednesday’s other match Borussia Dortmund go into the return leg with Zenit St. Petersburg as overwhelming favourites to advance to the quarter-finals following their convincing 4-2 victory in Russia last month.

Dortmund’s notoriously hot-tempered coach Juergen Klopp has barred fans from watching the team train this week as he seeks a calm lead-up to the tie against Zenit.

“On Wednesday, we have the next big game and we do not believe we are through yet,” defender Marcel Schmelzer said. “St. Petersburg will demand everything from us.”

Zenit have bigger concerns, going into the match under the guidance of new coach Sergey Semak, who replaced Luciano Spalletti earlier this month.

The 38-year-old has been handed a caretaker role at the club, though he lost his first game in charge, a 1-0 defeat to CSKA Moscow last week.

Zenit have failed to win any of their last four games in the Champions League, qualifying for the Round of 16 with a solitary win in the group stage.

“Ahead of the Dortmund game, we need to stay united. This is a time when we have to demonstrate that we are united,” keeper Yuri Lodygin told reporters. “This concerns the game and everything surrounding it. We need to make sure that we support one another.

MANCHESTER, England — With Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund all but through to the Champions League quarter-finals, the focus this week is on whether Chelsea and Manchester United can preserve English representation in the competition in what is proving a miserable season in Europe for Premier League clubs.

Chelsea are tied at 1-1 with Galatasaray ahead of their last-16 second leg at Stamford Bridge and United are in deeper trouble, behind 2-0 to Olympiakos after a wretched performance in the first leg in Greece.

Arsenal and Manchester City have already been eliminated from the Champions League and Tottenham, the sole remaining English representative in the Europa League, are also close to the exit after losing 3-1 at home to Benfica in their last-16 first leg.

Chelsea – Galatasaray 

Didier Drogba is set to be afforded a hero’s welcome when he returns to Stamford Bridge with Galatasaray for the first time since leaving Chelsea in 2012, two days after winning them the Champions League in his final match for the club.

“I am quite apprehensive about it,” Drogba told UEFA.com.

Whether Chelsea fans will be singing Drogba’s name at the end of the second leg remains to be seen.

The Ivory Coast striker, who scored 157 goals in eight years at Chelsea, is the biggest threat to his former team’s chances of progression and Jose Mourinho’s hopes of becoming the first manager to win the Champions League with three different clubs.

Chelsea will be disappointed not to have brought a lead back to London after dominating the first half in Istanbul but failing to add to Fernando Torres’ early goal. On the other hand, the Premier League leaders have lost just twice at Stamford Bridge in the Champions League since 2003 and are big favourites to advance.

Manchester United – Olympiakos 

The teams come into the match in very different states of mind.

While Olympiakos celebrated sealing the Greek title on Saturday with five games remaining in the season, United slumped to their most humiliating defeat of an already disappointing season on Sunday, a 3-0 loss to big rival Liverpool that virtually ended their chances of qualifying for next season’s Champions League.

United’s best chance now of being back in Europe’s top competition is winning it this season, but that is unlikely on current form, and especially given the deficit they have from the first leg.

“We have a chance,” United midfielder Marouane Fellaini said. “We need the fans to stay behind the team and the club and we will fight to win in the game against Olympiakos.”

United were eliminated in the round of 16 last season, against Real Madrid.

AMMAN –– Jordan’s That Ras play an away match against Tajikistan’s  Ravshan on Tuesday in Dushanbe while Shabab Urdun host Kyrgyzstan’s Alay Osh on Wednesday in Stage 3 matches of the 11th Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup 2014.

That Ras are third in Group A on goal difference after they scored an important 1-0 win over Oman’s Suweiq last week. That Ras had lost to group leaders Lebanon’s Safaa 1-0 in their opening match.

On the other hand, it will be  Shabab Urdun’s last chance as they seek to get back into the competition. They are last in Group D after losing 2-0 to Bahrain’s Rifaa and going down 3-1 to group leaders Iraq’s Erbil.

Shabab Urdun won the second-tier Asian club competition in 2007 and last year won the Jordan Professional  League title for the second time. However, they have had an inconsistent form and are now 7th in the league. This season, Shabab Urdun were eliminated by Bahrain’s Al Hidd in the  preliminary round of the AFC Asian Champions League. They also lost to Al Hidd in Round 1 of the Arab Football Association Clubs Cup.

On the other hand, That Ras, who won the Jordan Cup last year, beat Wihdat 1-0 and are now sixth in the league. While team officials were  apprehensive of AFC Cup results acknowledging  they lacked “competitive experience” in their first Asian experience, That Ras are hopeful to advance beyond this round. 

The 10th edition of the AFC Cup includes 32 clubs from across the continent competing in eight groups with the top two in each group going on to the Round of 16.

LONDON –– Two Steven Gerrard penalties helped Liverpool embarrass bitter rivals Manchester United 3-0 at a stunned Old Trafford on Sunday to leave them breathing down the necks of Premier League leaders Chelsea.

Gerrard’s strikes either side of halftime put the visitors in control and Luis Suarez sealed only Liverpool’s second win at Old Trafford in nearly 10 years with a well-taken third.

Skipper Gerrard could have completed a first ever hat-trick of spot kicks in the Premier League but struck the foot of the post after Nemanja Vidic was red-carded for tripping Daniel Sturridge shortly before Suarez completed the rout.

With nine matches remaining to Chelsea’s eight, Liverpool’s run of five consecutive league wins has left them four points behind Jose Mourinho’s side who were beaten 1-0 at Aston Villa on Saturday having had two men sent off.

Liverpool, seeking a first English title since 1990 after long being in the shadow of United, could have won by an even bigger margin as they underlined the incredible turnaround in fortunes for English football’s two great northwest rivals.

They ended last season 28 points behind champions United, who managed one shot on target on Sunday, but are now 14 clear of David Moyes’ side who now look almost certain to finish outside the Premier League’s top four for the first time.

“I got a bit cocky with the third penalty,” Gerrard told Sky Sports. “I’ve come here many times and been played off the park and but to come here and dominate like we did, we’re even a bit upset we didn’t get more goals.

“We’ve shown today we’re genuine contenders and we’ll fight to the end. I don’t think their defence has ever had a more difficult 90 minutes.”

Moyes conceded his side were now struggling to qualify for next season’s Champions League, unless they overturn a 2-0 deficit against Olympiakos in Wednesday’s last 16 tie and go on to win the trophy.

“It looks like we are a long way off it, we are well aware of that but we are going to keep fighting,” said the Scot.

Gerrard’s first penalty after 33 minutes followed a deliberate handball by Rafael that could have earned the defender a second yellow card, while his second shortly after the break was for a clumsy Phil Jones challenge on Joe Allen.

Both were dispatched with dead-eye accuracy to de Gea’s left, one high and one low.

Wayne Rooney forced Simon Mignolet into a fine save before halftime as United briefly sparked into life but both he and Robin van Persie cut frustrated figures throughout.

United’s day went from bad to worse when Vidic sent Sturridge sprawling in the area with a lunging tackle and though Gerrard could not beat David de Gea again Suarez’s neat finish after 84 minutes capped a dazzling Liverpool display.

Vidic, who is joining Inter Milan at the end of the season, now has four red cards against Liverpool in his United career, more than any other player against one opponent in the history of the Premier League.

United’s ninth defeat of the season, a new record for the club in the Premier League, left them languishing in seventh place with 48 points, 14 adrift of Arsenal who beat Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 later on the day.

PARIS –– Ireland won the Six Nations and lost its favourite son in a thrilling end to a competition that leaves more questions than answers about where the balance of power lies in northern hemisphere rugby, 18 months out from the World Cup.

The script couldn’t have been written any better as Brian O’Driscoll, retiring after a world-record 141 test caps, kissed the trophy in the middle of a Stade de France pitch where he first shot to international prominence 14 years ago.

Back in March 2000, a spell-binding hat trick of tries by O’Driscoll earned the Irish a first win in Paris in 28 years and inspired a new generation of Ireland players to believe they could challenge the world’s best.

It seems fitting that he ended his international career in the French capital on Saturday, helping the Irish grind out a 22-20 win and become the kings of Europe for the first time since 2009.

“Not many people get to finish their career on their own terms and with high emotions,” O’Driscoll said. “I feel very fortunate.”

But will the Irish stay there? Probably not.

Not without the talismanic O’Driscoll leading them into battle. And not if a young, hungry and dynamic England continues the upward momentum it is showing under Stuart Lancaster.

England finished runner-up for the third straight year, losing out on points difference just like it did 12 months ago when a sobering 30-3 thrashing by Wales cost Lancaster’s side the Grand Slam, the Triple Crown and the title.

The only regrets the English will have this time around will be the sloppy way they started and finished the 26-24 loss to France in their opening game in Paris. Otherwise, the Six Nations could hardly have gone any better for Lancaster, with the wins over Ireland and Wales at Twickenham hailed as coming-of-age results.

“I am very proud of what we have achieved over the tournament,” Lancaster said after Saturday’s 52-11 win in Italy, “both in how this young group has developed and also our intent to play attacking rugby.”

A three-test tour of New Zealand this summer will be another severe examination of that development, but it would be no surprise if England — now the highest-ranked team in Europe at No. 4 — is the favourite by the time the next Six Nations comes around.

Wales’ bid for an unprecedented third straight title outright foundered on chastening away defeats to Ireland and England that led many to question whether a team that provided so many players to last year’s successful British Lions squad needed an overhaul.

The Welsh still have arguably the most formidable starting XV in Europe, with a powerful and experienced pack, genuine match-winners in the backs and one of the best goalkickers in the world in Leigh Halfpenny. If they had a top-class No. 10 — Rhys Priestland and Dan Biggar don’t seem to be at the required level — there would be few chinks in their armour.

A 51-3 closing win over Scotland — albeit against a side playing with 14 men for an hour — showed how good Wales can be when its backline clicks. That result saw Wales place third, ahead of France on points difference.

This Six Nations simply reinforced the perception of France as the world’s most enigmatic, maverick rugby team. The Six Nations after a Lions tour is usually when the French come through strong — and they came into the final weekend with a shot at the title.

The nature of the defeat to Ireland — sublime one minute, disappointing the next — summed them up. And it provided more evidence that there is little progress being made under coach Philippe Saint-Andre, under whom France has finished fourth, last and fourth in the last three Six Nations.

Scotland placed fifth with one win and will look to new coach Vern Cotter, who takes over this summer when he leaves French club Clermont-Auvergne, to spark an upturn in fortunes.

Italy finished last for the first time since 2011, with five straight losses a disappointing return considering the Azzurri beat both France and Ireland in last year’s tournament.

AMMAN — Jordan Premier Basketball League champs Applied  Science University (ASU) returned home from Iran this weekend after finishing third at the 17th West Asian Clubs Championship.

Iran’s Mahram beat compatriot Petroshemi 90-73 to win the title for the fourth time. Mahram, ASU and Iraq’s Kahraba moved to the Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC) Asian Champions Cup which will be held in Kuwait June 5-13.

In round 1, ASU lost to Kahraba 79-76, beat Syria’s Jeish 79-57 and lost to Petroshemi 99-63. 

In the quarters, they beat Syria’s Wihda 88-86 to move to the semis, where they lost  to Petroshemi 82-64. They beat Kahraba 79-65 in the third-place match.

Jordan’s other representative in the event, Ittihad Schools, bowed out of the quarters.

This year, ASU won the country’s league title for the second consecutive and fourth time in their history after they beat Ittihad 3-1 in the best-of-five finals. Riyadi won third place after beating Kulieh 2-0 in the best-of-three play-off.

The West Asian Clubs Championship, organised by the West Asian Basketball Association (WABA), stipulates that the top three teams, provided they represent different countries, qualify to the ABC’s Champions Cup. Zain were the only Jordanian team to win the Asian title in 2006.

AMMAN  –– Jordan went up three spots to 66th in the FIFA rankings issued on Thursday. The Kingdom, which qualified to the Asian Cup 2015, is now seventh among Asian Football Confederation teams led by Iran, who held on the top Asian spot at 42nd, followed by Japan (48th), Uzbekistan (55th), South Korea (60th), the UAE (61st) and Australia (63rd). Saudi Arabia is at 75th position, Oman at 81st, and China 98th. FIFA top 10 rankings remained relatively unchanged led by Spain, followed by Germany, Argentina, Portugal, Columbia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Italy, Brazil and Belgium.