CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Spurs hopeful about Kane
Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane has entered the final stages of recovery from an ankle injury and manager Mauricio Pochettino is optimistic the striker will be fit enough to play in the Champions League final in Madrid on Saturday next week. Kane sustained what appeared to be a season-ending ligament injury against Manchester City in the quarter-finals, but Pochettino believes he now has a good chance of at least making the bench against Liverpool. He “is training and has entered the final stage of his recovery,” the Argentine told reporters in Spain on Thursday. “We’re hoping he’ll be able to give us a hand, either from the start, from the bench, or if not, then by giving us moral support in the dressing room, but we’re optimistic he’ll be able to help us on the pitch.”
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Barca had ‘mental block’
Barcelona suffered from a mental block during their 4-0 defeat to Liverpool that knocked them out of the Champions League, having been scarred by the memory of a similar collapse to AS Roma last year, defender Gerard Pique said in an interview with Spanish newspaper El Pais published yesterday. Pique described the semi-final, second-leg defeat that wiped out his side’s 3-0 first-leg win as “a nightmare,” saying it would take years to get over. “You could see that the team just wasn’t functioning, they were putting us under pressure and what had happened last year [against Roma] was very present in our minds,” he said. “I’m sure it was a mental block, but we also didn’t play good football.”
MALAYSIA
City owners eye addition
The owners of Premier League champions Manchester City are eyeing a stake in a Malaysian team to add to their growing portfolio of clubs, City Football Group chief executive Ferran Soriano said yesterday. The group, which is bankrolled by Sheikh Mansour of the Abu Dhabi royal family, raised the possibility when he met Minister of Sports Syed Saddiq in Malaysia.
CHINA
Lippi set for return
Marcello Lippi is set to return for a second stint in charge of China’s national team as the country targets a place at the 2022 World Cup with qualification starting in September. The Chinese Football Association yesterday announced that the 71-year-old would start back next month. He ended his initial 27-month tenure after China’s exit in the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup in January. “When Lippi was previously in charge of the national team, the players showed a positive attitude and a fighting spirit,” the association said in a statement. “We believe that with Lippi and his team of assistant coaches, the Chinese men’s football team will leave no stone unturned in realizing their dream of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup.”
JAPAN
Young squad named
Japan named a young squad for next month’s Copa America in Brazil with head coach Hajime Moriyasu yesterday naming only six capped players in the 23-man squad. Moriyasu’s decision to take such a young and raw squad to Brazil is further indication of Japan’s desire to go for gold when they host the Tokyo 2020 Olympics next year. Soccer at the Olympic Games allows only three players aged over 23.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and