Madrid: The manner of the Champions League semi-final exits of Barcelona and Real Madrid have set in motion likely overhauls at both clubs, and is forcing La Liga to re-evaluate itself in the face of a resurgent German Bundesliga. Barcelona were humbled 7-0 on aggregate by German champions Bayern Munich on Wednesday, the day after Real almost overturned their shock 4-1 first leg defeat away to outsiders Borussia Dortmund, to...
03:39 PM, May 02, 2013
Cape Town: Jacques Kallis was left out of South Africa's squad for the Champions Trophy on Thursday after making himself unavailable for personal reasons, and for the first time in years the veteran all-rounder won't play at a major one-day tournament for his country. Head selector Andrew Hudson said South Africa's management respected Kallis' wish to be left out of the 15-man group for what are so far undisclosed reasons....
03:05 PM, May 02, 2013
Karachi: Shahid Afridi has irked the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for giving an interview to the media after his omission from the 15-member squad for the ICC Champions Trophy in England, following which the board is contemplating a disciplinary action against the flamboyant allrounder. Afridi told the Jang newspaper that it was captain Misbah-ul-Haq who didn't want him in the team. "It's the captain's decision to drop me," he told...
08:59 AM, May 02, 2013
Barcelona: Barcelona's Champions League humbling by Bayern Munich on Wednesday will not prompt wholesale changes to the squad and the 7-0 aggregate reverse would have been avoided had the team not been decimated by injury, coach Tito Vilanova said. Barca suffered their worst ever European defeat over two legs in the last-four clash against the German champions, but were missing their Argentine World Player of the Year Lionel Messi for...
08:54 AM, May 02, 2013
Barcelona: Bayern Munich began to lay the foundations for this season's impressive run to the Champions League final immediately after their defeat to Chelsea in last year's showpiece, coach Jupp Heynckes said on Wednesday. After Bayern inflicted the biggest aggregate defeat on Barcelona in European competition, a jubilant Heynckes said the painful reverse on penalties to Chelsea at their own Allianz Arena in Munich had given him the motivation to...
08:41 AM, May 02, 2013
Barcelona: Bayern Munich's stunning 7-0 aggregate victory over Barcelona in the semi-finals of the Champions League will count for nothing if they do not go on to win the competition at Wembley later this month, Arjen Robben said on Wednesday. "We said immediately after the game 'now we need to win it'," Robben, who curled home Bayern's first in the 3-0 win at the Nou Camp on Wednesday, said in...
08:30 AM, May 02, 2013
Barcelona: Bayern Munich advanced to the Champions League final for the third time in four years, routing Barcelona on 7-0 aggregate and setting up the first all-German final against Borussia Dortmund. Coasting from a 4-0 win in the first leg at home last week, Bayern beat Barcelona 3-0 Wednesday night in the second leg on goals by Arjen Robben in the 49th minute and Thomas Mueller in the 76th around...
02:03 AM, May 02, 2013
London: Closing in on the Europa League final, Chelsea midfielder Juan Mata seems ill at ease in the continent's second-tier knockout competition. Chelsea dropped out of the Champions League when their title defense ended in the group stage, and is yet to be assured of a place among Europe's elite next season by finishing in the Premier League's top four. "Chelsea are a club which deserves to be in the...
12:49 AM, May 02, 2013
CNN-IBN's football expert Novy Kapadia reviews the Champions League semi-final second leg between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday night. ...
08:43 PM, May 01, 2013
Karachi: Pakistan's appointment of Trent Woodhill as batting coach for next month's Champions Trophy has been met with bafflement, with former greats saying they had never even heard of the Australian. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday appointed the 42-year-old Woodhill for three weeks after the team's disastrous performance with the bat on their recent tour of South Africa. Woodhill is currently assistant coach at Delhi Daredevils, second bottom...
05:14 PM, May 01, 2013
Karachi: Struggling allrounder Shahid Afridi vowed on Wednesday to work hard to return to the Pakistan team after being axed from the 15-man squad for the Champions Trophy. "Being in and out is a one-off thing. It happens to every cricket player and I will soon stage a comeback because I believe in hard work and performance, so I don't want to be bitter," Afridi said. The big-hitting all-rounder was...
04:15 PM, May 01, 2013
Madrid: Jose Mourinho's possible departure from Real Madrid at the end of the season would leave club president Florentino Perez in a tricky position as he seeks an adequate replacement for the man he has constantly lauded as "the best coach in the world". Obsessed with winning the 10th continental crown that has eluded Real since 2002, construction magnate Perez hired the controversial Portuguese at great expense in 2010 after...
03:54 PM, May 01, 2013
Islamabad: Shahid Afridi has blamed Pakistan's one-day cricket captain Misbah-ul-Haq for his exclusion from the Champions Trophy squad, and has vowed to return to the national team. "It's the captain's decision to drop me," Afridi told the local newspaper Daily Jang on Wednesday. "It's no big deal for me if a captain doesn't want a certain player in the team." In announcing the squad earlier this week, selectors said Afridi,...
01:00 PM, May 01, 2013
New Delhi: India will begin their campaign in the the last edition of the ICC Champions Trophy with their Group B match against South Africa at Cardiff on June 6. The biennial tournament is being wound up as the ICC is unable to slot it in the crowded cricketing calendar. India play their second group game against the West Indies at the Oval on June 11 before running into neighbours...
12:28 PM, May 01, 2013
It's the hits, the heaves and the "Yes maximums" that makes any T20 match an exciting and entertaining one. So if IPL 6 is high ...
12:18 PM, May 01, 2013
Australia recalled all-rounder Mitchell Marsh to the squad for their Champions Trophy defence and named George Bailey as vice captain on Wednesday. The 21-year-old Marsh, who played his only one-day international in 2011 against South Africa, was rewarded with a place in the 15-member squad for his strong domestic limited over performance for Western Australia. "Mitchell's domestic season was interrupted by (hamstring) injury but there's no doubt he has the...
11:10 AM, May 01, 2013
Madrid: Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho dropped another hint he was considering his future by saying he might not be with the Spanish giants next season after they lost in the Champions League semi-finals on Tuesday. Following Real's 4-3 aggregate defeat by Borussia Dortmund, the former Chelsea manager was asked if he would remain in Madrid next term and said: "Maybe not. I don't know but I want to be...
09:16 AM, May 01, 2013
Madrid: Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho lashed out at English referee Howard Webb after they were denied a place in the Champions League final on Tuesday and dropped another hint he was considering his future at the club. Real came within a whisker of pulling off a remarkable comeback after losing their semi-final first leg 4-1 away to Borussia Dortmund last week, but came up just short with a 2-0...
09:02 AM, May 01, 2013
Madrid: Borussia Dortmund relish their status as underdogs for the Champions League final and are determined to prove they belong among Europe's elite, coach Jurgen Klopp said after they knocked out Real Madrid on Tuesday. The Germans successfully protected their 4-1 first leg lead until the 83rd minute on Tuesday, after which Karim Benzema and Sergio Ramos scored in a frantic finale to get Real within a goal of reaching...
08:50 AM, May 01, 2013
