After football and cricket, hockey is the latest sport which is set to introduce a world championship of clubs with the FIH mulling a Club WC to be held in India from next year. ...
11:09 PM, Feb 07, 2013
London: Losing one trophy could be regarded as misfortune but frittering away four in as many months is starting to look like carelessness of the highest order for Chelsea. Beaten in the Community Shield and UEFA Super Cup before becoming the first holders eliminated from the Champions League at the group stage, Chelsea were ambushed by Corinthians 1-0 in Sunday's Club World Cup final in Yokohama. The London club are...
02:36 PM, Dec 17, 2012
Yokohama: Peruvian striker Paolo Guerrero scored in the 69th minute Sunday to give Corinthians a 1-0 victory over Chelsea in the final of the Club World Cup. After the Brazilian team withstood steady pressure from Chelsea, Paulinho broke into the box and laid it off to Danilo, whose shot deflected off a defender before Guerrero stole in to head the looping ball past goalkeeper Petr Cech. The Copa Libertadores champions...
06:47 PM, Dec 16, 2012
Tokyo: After unsuccessful tests of goal-line technology in 2005 and 2007, FIFA promised on Saturday that future World Cups would be free of any more shocking Frank Lampard moments. Soccer's world governing body are using two systems, Hawk-Eye and GoalRef, at the Club World Cup in Japan, with one of them to be used at next year's Confederations Cup. "One of these two systems - we are not going to...
04:44 PM, Dec 15, 2012
Yokohama: Chelsea manager Rafael Benitez said he is unconcerned about his future with the team ahead of Sunday's Club World Cup final against Corinthians of Brazil. The Spaniard spoke before Chelsea's final training session on Saturday and said he was only focused on the upcoming contest. Benitez took over last month after the club fired Roberto Di Matteo and has received less than a warm reception from its supporters. "Preparing...
01:31 PM, Dec 15, 2012
Yokohama: After taking four games to register a victory under Rafael Benitez, the Chelsea squad appears to be warming to the Spaniard's meticulous methods with a run of three consecutive wins. By racking up 12 goals in the process, five of them scored by a resurgent Fernando Torres, Chelsea's 3-1 win over Monterrey at the Club World Cup on Thursday provided the latest evidence of a marked progression under their...
03:33 PM, Dec 14, 2012
Yokohama: Chelsea's veteran midfielder Frank Lampard wants to play on for two or three more years but says this campaign could be his last at Stamford Bridge. The 34-year-old England international's contract comes to an end this season and talks have yet to take place on a new deal. "Nothing has been said," the Chelsea vice-captain told reporters after Thursday's 3-1 victory over Mexican side Monterrey in the Club World...
08:39 AM, Dec 14, 2012
Yokohama: Chelsea reached the Club World Cup final by scoring twice in the first three minutes of the second half to beat Monterrey 3-1 on Thursday. The Champions League winner will face Copa Libertadores champ Corinthians in the final on Sunday. Corinthians edged Egypt's Al-Ahly 1-0 in the other semifinal on Wednesday. Spanish striker Fernando Torres put Chelsea up 2-0 in the first minute of the second half when he...
06:15 PM, Dec 13, 2012
Yokohama, Japan: Millionaire Chelsea players Petr Cech and Paulo Ferreira popped into a Starbucks for coffee after training at the Club World Cup in Japan on Tuesday and were mobbed as they waited in line. Defender Ferreira purchased a 'Yokohama Starbucks' coffee mug as a souvenir but goalkeeper Cech opted to save his money as dozens of fans in Chelsea shirts swarmed around them. Picking up a small size coffee,...
06:25 PM, Dec 11, 2012
Kuala Lumpur: UEFA President Michel Platini remains ardently opposed to the use of goal-line technology, which is being employed by FIFA for the first time at the Club World Cup, and said on Tuesday the money would be better spent developing the game. The technology was employed in Thursday's Club World Cup curtain raiser between Sanfrecce Hiroshima and Auckland City in Yokohama as soccer's governing body FIFA finally answered calls...
01:34 PM, Dec 11, 2012
Toyota, Japan: Argentine forward Cesar Delgado scored twice for Mexico's Monterrey in a 3-1 win over South Koreans Ulsan Hyundai on Sunday to set up a Club World Cup semi-final against European champions Chelsea. African champions Al-Ahly beat Japan's Sanfrecce Hiroshima 2-1 in blizzard-like conditions in the second quarter-final and will face Brazil's Corinthians in the last four. Slick-passing Monterrey dominated Asian Champions League winners Ulsan in snow-sprinkled Toyota and...
10:09 PM, Dec 09, 2012
Tokyo: FIFA will introduce goal-line technology for the first time at the Club World Cup in an effort to accurately judge when balls cross the goal line. The magnetic-field-based system of GoalRef will be used at Yokohama Stadium while Toyota Stadium will be equipped with the camera-based Hawk-Eye system. The seven-team tournament begins on Thursday when New Zealand's Auckland City faces Japan's Sanfrecce Hiroshima at Yokohama Stadium. "Tomorrow will be...
05:10 PM, Dec 05, 2012
Yokohama: European champion Chelsea will welcome a chance to rebound from a disappointing showing in both the Premier and Champions Leagues when it travels to Japan for the Club World Cup starting on Thursday. Chelsea coach Rafa Benitez is enduring a difficult return to the Premier League after two years, with the fans against him and the team underperforming. The December 6-16 tournament is a chance to improve the fortunes...
11:54 AM, Dec 05, 2012
South Koreans Ulsan Hyundai cruised to their first Asian Champions League title as they outclassed Al Ahli of Saudi Arabia 3-0 in the final on Saturday to qualify for the FIFA Club World Cup. Captain Kwak Tae-hwi opened the scoring in the 13th minute with Brazilian forward Rafinha (68th) and midfielder Kim Seung-yong (75th) adding second half goals as the Koreans dominated the final they hosted in Ulsan after a...
08:20 PM, Nov 10, 2012
Rio de Janeiro: Brazil midfielder Oscar says his Chelsea teammates are not yet thinking about a possible showdown with Brazil's Corinthians in December's FIFA Club World Cup final. The 10-day tournament in Japan will pit the champions of each of FIFA's continental confederations against one another, reports Xinhua. "Chelsea is involved in many important competitions and there is nobody thinking about the Club World Cup," Oscar told media in Sao...
04:38 PM, Sep 06, 2012
Buenos Aires: Lionel Messi arrived in Argentina on Wednesday for his winter-break vacation following another trophy-laden year at Barcelona. "I finish the year in a spectacular way," Messi said as he arrived in Buenos Aires. "It was a very good year achieving important things." Messi, who said he will spend Christmas with his family in Rosario, scored twice in his club's 4-0 win over Brazilian club Santos in the Club...
03:18 PM, Dec 22, 2011
Barcelona: David Villa has only a slim chance of playing for Barcelona again this season and could also miss the 2012 European Championship after undergoing surgery on his broken leg on Monday. One of the doctors who performed the operation said the 30-year-old Spain striker would be sidelined for four to five months. "The chances (of him playing this season) are slim, but it cannot be ruled out," Dr. Ramon...
01:52 PM, Dec 21, 2011
Yokohama: Lionel Messi scored two goals as Barcelona overwhelmed Brazilian side Santos 4-0 to win their second Club World Cup title in three years on Sunday. Messi, Xavi and Cesc Fabregas scored first-half goals as the European champion won their 13th trophy under coach Pep Guardiola and added to their stature as the best club team in the world. "We played a complete game," Barcelona captain Carles Puyol said. "It...
06:05 PM, Dec 18, 2011
Madrid: Barcelona are not planning to dip into the January transfer market to find a replacement for David Villa or their other long-term injury casualty Ibrahim Afellay and will promote youth players instead, a club vice-president has said. Spain forward Villa fractured the tibia in his left leg in Thursday's Club World Cup semi-final in Japan and will be sidelined for up to five months, while Netherlands midfielder Afellay had...
07:44 PM, Dec 17, 2011
Yokohama: Four years after his goals helped turn Spain from perennial underachievers into European champions, star striker David Villa could end up watching the 2012 European Championships from home after breaking his left leg on Thursday. Villa will be sidelined for up to five months, dealing Barcelona a major blow in their battle with Real Madrid for the Spanish league title and putting his place at Euro 2012 in serious...
08:49 AM, Dec 16, 2011
