Thursday 10 November 2016

SPORTBale retains Welsh Player of the Year crown

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PAGE | 2I will miss the

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Rosberg one win away from his first title Sao Paulo Reuters

Win in Brazil on Sunday, win the Formula One title: Nico Ros-berg's task sounds simple

enough but is a lot harder to achieve.The German is one step away from

securing his first championship, which he will do if he wins at Interlagos regard-less of where Mercedes team-mate, triple champion and title rival Lewis Hamilton finishes.

The odds are in Rosberg's favour - he has won for the past two seasons from pole position in Sao Paulo whereas the

anti-clockwise circuit has yet to reward Hamilton with a victory. And yet the pressure of being within touching dis-tance of a lifelong dream can play on the mind, and increase the pressure, while the fickle Sao Paulo weather can wreak havoc with the best laid plans.

Last year, Hamilton had already won the title and his focus was elsewhere. This time he comes on the back of two suc-cessive wins and, like Rosberg, seeking a hat-trick. Another win for the Briton would take the battle down to the wire at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina and, if Ros-berg were to fail to score in Brazil, a potential 'winner takes all' scenario.

Hamilton is in unfamiliar territory, with the title outcome out of his hands even if he wins in Brazil and Abu Dhabi, but needs no reminding that it is not over until it's over. Reliability, or lack of, can

swing the momentum either way and Mercedes will be doing all they can to ensure both drivers have no mechani-cal issues. The memory of his first championship with McLaren in 2008, secured in Brazil with an overtake on the last corner of the last lap just when it seemed local favourite Felipe Massa had clinched the title, is always there.

Away from the title battle, both Mer-cedes drivers will have to watch out for Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo and Max Ver-stappen and Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen. Vettel must also watch his language, after turning the air blue in Mexico with his radio rants.

F1 championshipRosberg will be champion on Sunday if he wins, regardless of where Hamilton finishes.

If Rosberg doesn't win, the German will still be champion if he scores seven points more than his team-mate.

Nico Rosberg

Qatar to test fitness in Russia friendly Rizwan RehmatThe Peninsula

Qatar will look to test the Russian resolve in their international friendly today with emphasis on giving

home players a decent run ahead of next week's 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying clash against China.

This was said yesterday by Qatar coach Jorge Fossati who took over the reigns of the national side in late September.

Under Fossati, Qatar lost 3-2 against Korea in an away game before beating Syria 1-0 last month for their first points of this phase of the Asian Zone qualifying campaign.

This will be the first game between the next two FIFA World Cup hosts - Russia in 2018 and Qatar in 2022.

Today's friendly will kick off at 7.00pm at Al Sadd Stadium.

"Of course it is good to have a friendly game now against Russia. It should be a very nice opportunity to enjoy this friendly game and check our preparations for China game," Fossati said.

"But knowing what our sit-uation is - I mean we cannot forget that our target is five years when we host the World Cup but we will try to use the Russia friendly to check the physical fitness of the players," Fossati said.

"We are trying to take care of our players because we have an important game coming up. I like playing friendlies of this

kind where we can enjoy the game and get experience also," he said.

Last week, Fossati named a 27-member squad including veteran striker Sebastian Soria and Al Sadd forward Hassan Al Haydos.

After guiding Qatar past Syria in a home clash on Octo-ber 6, Fossati has spent a busy time following the national team players during Qatar Stars League (QSL) clashes the last three weeks.

After the clash at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Fossati will lead his side to China where they play their Asian Zone qual-ifying game on November 15.

"Tomorrow we have a tough opponent who play attacking game."

"They are very strong in physical football. But of course

we will to do our part. We will play with our ideas and strengths," Fosati said at Al Sadd Stadium during a press conference.

Fossati said he was not the one to pick Russia for today's friendly.

"This game was decided by the two federations sometime

back. We are only happy to get a quality side like Russia as we go into a tough game against China in China," Fossati said.

"We are optimistic of a

positive result even if some may say this is not possible. Yes, Rus-sia are a tough European side but I have faith in my players," he said.

Qatar Squad: Saad Al Sheeb, Mohammed Kasola,

Ibrahim Maged, Pedro Miguel, Hassan Al Haydos,

Ali Asad, Hamid Ismail, Salem Al Hajri, Saud Al Hajri,

Musa Haron, Rodrigo Tabata, Sebastian Soria,

Ahmed Alaa, Karim Boudiaf, Ali Afif, Mohamed

Musa, Luis Martin, Khalifa Abubakr, Yasser Abubakr,

Magid Mohammed, Khoukhi Bualem, Ahmed Abdul

Maqsood, Ahmed Saleh Khalfan, Al Mahdi Ali, Ab-

dulaziz Hatem, Akram Afif and Fahad Shanin. Coach: Jorge Fossati

Russia Squad: Igor Akinfeev, Soslan Dzhanaev,

Stanislav Kritsyuk, Victor Vasin, Georgy Dzhikiya,

Ivan Novoseltsev, Fedor Kudryashov, Ilya Kutepov,

Andrey Semenov, Roman Shishkin, Midfielders:

Yury Gazinsky, Alexander Erokhin, Denis Glushakov,

Roman Zobnin, Dmitry Kombarov, Magomed Oz-

doev, Denis Tkachuk, Alexey Miranchuk, Alexander

Samedov, Yury Zhirkov, Pavel Mogilevets, Alexan-

der Kokorin, Kirill Panchenko, and Dmitry Poloz.

Coach: Stanislav Cherchesov

Qatari football players train ahead of their friendly match against 2017 FIFA World Cup hosts - Russia which will be played at Al Sadd Stadium today. RIGHT: Qatar coach Jorge Fossati speaks during a press conference yesterday.

Russian players in action during a training session at the Al Sadd Sports Club in Doha yesterday. Pictures by: Salim Matramkot/The Peninsula

2022 WC can showcase the wonder of Qatari, Middle Eastern culture: Al ThawadiThe Peninsula

Hassan Al Thawadi, the Secre-tary General of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and

Legacy (SC) said that relations between Qatar and the UK have grown ever stronger over our two countries’ rich histories. He made these remarks dur-ing the at the 'Sport is Great Conference' yesterday.

Run by the UK Department for International Trade in conjunction with the British Embassy in Doha, the event sought to promote further collabora-tion between the two nations’ sports industries. Other dignitaries in attend-ance included UK Minister of State for International Trade Greg Hands and Dr. Thani Al Kuwari, Secretary General, Qatar Olympic Committee.

Al Thawadi also endorsed the strong relationships UK companies have developed with the SC, noting the integral part UK business will play in preparations for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar. The SC has this year appointed Impactt Ltd as an independ-ent third party workers’ welfare monitor.

Al Thawadi noted the lengthy his-tory of sports hosting expertise the UK has to offer, referencing England’s Pre-mier League, Wimbledon and Royal Ascot.

“Relations between Qatar and the UK have grown ever stronger over our two countries’ rich histories. In the field of sports in particular, which is integral to both nations’ societies, our cooperation is creating a lasting, pos-itive impact.”

He also explained his hopes of rep-licating the remarkable social effects of the London Olympic Games.

“Prior to the Olympics, media was critical of the organisers and locals voiced their concerns over the poten-tial disruption the event would cause to their daily lives. Afterwards, how-ever, Londoners were overjoyed at the success of the event, both economi-cally and in showcasing the diversity and friendliness of their great city to the world,” Al Thawadi said.

"At a time when forces are attempting to drive a wedge between people and to highlight their differ-ences, I believe the 2022 FIFA World Cup can act as a similar platform to promote cultural understanding and showcase the true wonder of Qatari and Middle Eastern culture.”

Minister Greg Hands noted that UK businesses have played a key role in every major sporting event since the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000, and said that the UK was looking to sup-port Qatar ahead of 2022.

“I have no doubt that the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar will offer sim-ilar benefits to Qatar, in line with the 2030 Qatar National Vision,” Hands said.

“British businesses are well-placed to support Qatar in both its prepara-tions for the tournament and in delivering a sustainable legacy. A sig-nificant proportion of the 600 British businesses operating in Qatar are already supporting your World Cup preparations and I hope our nation continues to share its wealth of exper-tise in sport,” he added.

Hassan Al Thawadi, the Secretary General of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy speaks during the opening of 'Sport is Great' presentation in Doha yesterday.

27THURSDAY 10 NOVEMBER 2016 SPORT

Hawks end Cavaliers' perfect startCleveland AFP

The Atlanta Hawks handed Cleveland their first loss on Tues-day with a 110-106 win, breaking a series

stranglehold that saw the Cava-liers sweep Atlanta out of the play-offs the last two years.

The Hawks' victory snapped an 11-game losing skid to Cleve-land, who dropped to 6-1 on the season as they were the NBA's last unbeaten team.

"We were tired of getting pushed around by Cleveland and we wanted to beat these guys," said Hawks centre Dwight Howard.

This is a much different Hawks team than the one that had been dominated by the Cav-aliers and Howard is one of the reasons why.

The addition of Howard to the lineup is part of the roster shakeup that coach Mike Buden-holzer had hoped would allow them to compete with the Cavaliers.

"They've dominated the East-ern Conference for a long time now," Hawks forward Kent Bazemore said.

"They're definitely the meas-uring stick, and we passed our

first test. This is one of the big-gest wins I've had since I've been here.

"They're a very, very special team and for my two years here, they've kicked our butts."

Cleveland swept the Hawks

in the conference semi-finals last spring when they set three-point shooting records and won each game by an average of 12.5 points.

The Cavaliers swept all seven meetings between the two last

season, including the postseason.

Howard finished with 17 rebounds for Atlanta despite having to leave the game briefly in the first quarter to get stitched up for a cut to the lip.

"We are tired of what people said about us in the past and we wanted to change that," Howard said. "We are going to grow as a team. Our chemistry gets better with every game."

Dennis Schroder scored a career-high 28 points, Bazemore added 25 and Paul Millsap tal-lied 21 for the Hawks in front of a crowd of 20,500 at Quicken Loans arena in Cleveland.

Bazemore made a couple of clutch baskets in the final four minutes. His three-pointer with 3:33 left extended the Hawks' lead to 101-95.

He followed with a baseline jumper in the final seconds to put the game out of reach after a three-point play from Kevin

Love had pulled Cleveland within 108-106 with 25 seconds left.

Kyrie Irving scored 29 points, LeBron James had 23 points, nine rebounds and five assists and Love added 24 points and 12 rebounds for Cleveland, who missed 31 three-point attempts.

In Memphis, Marc Gasol hit a short shot as time expired to lift the Memphis Grizzlies past the Denver Nuggets 108-107.

Emmanuel Mudiay, who scored a game-high 23 points, put the Nuggets on top with eight seconds left.

Trailing 106-105, Denver trapped Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley on an inbounds play.

Gary Harris stole the ball and passed to Mudiay, who finished with a dunk.

The teams then exchanged turnovers in the final seconds. Vince Carter lobbed the ball from the baseline on the inbounds play to Gasol for the winning shot.

Gasol finished with 19 points and six assists while Danilo Gall-inari led the Nuggets with 21 points.

In New York, Brook Lopez scored 26 points, and the Brook-lyn Nets made enough plays down the stretch for a 119-100 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Penguins rally to topple Oilers in NHLPittsburgh Reuters

Sidney Crosby isn't ready just yet to pass the torch, but rising star Connor McDavid

showed on Tuesday why he may one day challenge the superstar for the title of the NHL's best player.

The Pittsburgh Penguins overcame a three-point night from the 19-year-old McDavid with a 4-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers in the first head-to-head matchup between the two.

Conor Sheary scored his second goal of the game with 1:42 remaining, and the Pen-guins battled back from a two-goal deficit in front of a

crowd of 18,500 at the Consol Energy Center arena.

"I don't think we wanted to be in a back-and-forth game," Crosby said. "They've got a lot of skill and they showed it tonight." The Oilers top line of Patrick Maroon, McDavid and Jordan Eberle capitalized on a succession of rushes to open a 3-1 lead in the second period. Pittsburgh forward Evgeni Mal-kin tied it in the third with a brilliant one-handed sweep of Phil Kessel's pass to the net.

Eberle scored twice and McDavid set up all three Edmon-ton goals. Crosby didn't score, the first time he hasn't collected a point in 14 contests. The Pen-guins showed a lot of resiliency with yet another in a succession of comebacks from two-goal deficits this season. Sheary won it by scoring from the side of the net. Oilers Benoit Pouliot was trying to push it away from Sheary, but it appeared to deflect off the Oilers' stick and past goalie Cam Talbot.

Johnson to join McIlroy, Stenson in Abu DhabiDubai Reuters

US Open champion Dustin Johnson (pictured) will make a rare foray on the

European Tour when he plays at the Abu Dhabi Championship in January.

The world number three is to join second-ranked Rory McIlroy, number four Henrik Stenson and 10th-ranked Rickie Fowler in competing for the Fal-con Trophy.

"I'm really looking forward to it and pleased to have the opportunity to play in Abu Dhabi," Johnson said in a news release on Tuesday.

"I've never been there but I've heard really good things about the golf course from Rickie and Rory."

Johnson's fellow American Fowler will be the defending champion at the Jan. 19-22 event.

"Abu Dhabi was a high point for my 2016 season along with competing in the Olympic Games and being on the

winning USA Ryder Cup team," Fowler said.

"Coming out on top against the strongest field on the Euro-pean Tour was as good a start as anyone could aspire to."

Meanwhile, British Open winner Stenson believes money-list rival Danny Willett will "push me to the limit" in this week's $7m Nedbank Challenge, the penultimate event of the Euro-pean Tour season.

Stenson holds a command-ing lead of 252,163 points over the second-placed Englishman and will secure a second order of merit title in four years if he

wins in South Africa and Willett is outside the leading 10 play-ers. Any other result and the race to end the season on top of the pile will continue at the $8m DP World Tour Championship in Dubai next week.

Stenson missed last week's Turkish Airlines Open and the out-of-form Willett spurned the chance to close the gap by fin-ishing in a tie for 68th place.

"I've had a really good year and it would be nice to finish off by being Europe's number one," Stenson told a news conference at the Gary Player Country Club on Tuesday.

"I'm sure Danny's going to try and find some game over the last couple of weeks and push me to the limit."

Third-placed Rory McIlroy, who has opted not to play this week, will hope his money-list ambitions are still intact when he returns in Dubai.

Stenson, though, would cap a dream year if he ended up as Europe's number one.

"It was kind of the final piece of the puzzle," he said.

Justin Anderson (1) of the Dallas Mavericks battles Brandon Ingram (14) of the Los Angeles Lakers for a loose ball during the first half of their game at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California on Tuesday.

First loss of seasonFirst loss of the season to Cleveland while Hawks end an 11-game losing streak

Schroder scores a career-high 28 points, Bazemore adds 25 and Millsap tallies 21 for the Atlanta Hawks in the 110-106 win

Jordan Eberle (14) of the Edmonton Oilers is congratulated by team-mates after scoring a goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG PAINTS Arena on Tuesday.

New Jersey 3 Carolina 2

Vancouver 5 NY Rangers 3

Detroit 3 Philadelphia 2

Pittsburgh 4 Edmonton 3

San Jose 3 Washington 0

Los Angeles 7 Toronto 0

Montreal 3 Boston 2

Nashville 3 Ottawa 1

Winnipeg 8 Dallas 2

NHL RESULTS

Los Angeles AFP

Former world champion Andre Ward says the win-ner of next week's

showdown of unbeatens between himself and world light-heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev should be seen as boxing's pound-for-pound king.

"It would be really hard to go against that, based on both our resumes and us stepping up and being willing to fight," Ward said on Tuesday on an interna-tional conference call. "

The winner of this fight should be pound-for-pound

number one." The November 19 matchup in Las Vegas will see Russia's Kovalev, 30-0 with one drawn and 26 knockouts, defend the World Boxing Asso-ciation, International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Organization crowns for a fifth time since beating Bernard Hop-kins for them all in a unification bout.

"This fight is a great oppor-tunity for both of us to show the boxing world who is the best pound-for-pound," Kovalev said. "It's going to be a war between us."

Ward, a 32-year-old Amer-ican, is 30-0 with 15 knockouts. He was the 2004 Athens

Olympics light heavyweight champion, the most recent US fighter to claim Games gold.

"I've heard people say I'm not the same fighter I was in my 20s and I hope I'm not," Ward said. "I should be getting better."

After an 18-month layoff, Ward fights for the third time in 17 months, his most recent tri-umph a unanimous decision over Colombia's Alexander Brand three months ago before a hometown crowd in Oakland, California.

"It's surreal," Ward said. "Fighting as a young kid we never got too caught up in our-selves. I get a little scared to look

back on what we've accom-plished and relish it because the clock is still ticking. I'm still going. I've got to show up and do what I'm still doing. When I do peek back, just for a split sec-ond, it's overwhelming."

Ward, who held a share of the world super middleweight crown from 2009 to 2013, says the fight will go beyond easy labels of Kovalev as a big puncher and Ward as an elusive target trying to get rivals off their game.

"If it was just about me being a neutralizer some of these big punchers would walk right through me. There's more to me than that," Ward said. "He's not

a brawler. He thinks in there. We're ready for whatever he brings. That's the key. It's about making constant adjustments.

"There's a lot at stake. It's going to come down to who wants it more. I'm ready, I'm excited and I can't wait to fight. I just have to make the most of this."

Kovalev, 33, had been in talks to fight for an undisputed title with Haitian-born Canadian southpaw Adonis Stevenson, the World Boxing Council champion who is 28-1 with 23 knockouts, but when no deal could be struck, Kovalev surrendered his mandatory challenger rights to face a fighter he said he thinks

will be his toughest foe yet. "He has never lost before. But it's my job. Let me do it and break his zero," Kovalev said.

"I don't have any different strategy. My strategy is just to win.

"He's in the way of my goals and my dreams. I can't give this to him. I want to destroy him."

Kovalev, coming off a vic-tory in Russia last July over Malawi's Isaac Chilemba, says he expects Ward will be an elu-sive target but eventually a sore one.

"He will be changing posi-tions the whole fight. He will be feeling uncomfortable after feel-ing my punches," Kovalev said.

Kovalev faces Ward in Vegas title showdown

28 THURSDAY 10 NOVEMBER 2016 SPORT

Root and Moeen put England on topRajkot AFP

Joe Root said England played fantastic cricket yesterday after his sparkling century helped the tourists reach 311 for four at stumps on the

opening day of the first Test against India.

The 25-year-old put on 179 with Moeen Ali, who reached the close one run shy of his century, after India's spinners had reduced the tourists to 102-3 on a placid track.

Ali, who is on the verge of his fourth Test century, was at the crease with Ben Stokes who was

on 19 at Rajkot's Saurashtra Cricket Association ground.

Root smashed 11 fours and a six during his 124-run knock before being caught and bowled by Umesh Yadav, who almost dropped the chance as he rushed to celebrate the dismissal.

With Ali standing tall at one end, England looked set for a big first innings total, vindicating captain Alastair Cook's decision to bat first.

Root celebrated his 11th Test ton, and third against India, by waving his bat towards a grate-ful England dressing room.

In completing the feat, Root became the first overseas player to score a century in India since Australia's Michael Clarke in 2013.

"The way we played throughout the day was fantas-tic," Root said after the day's play.

"We always thought that seam bowling would be useful early on, but the guys handled it well and that allowed the boys in the middle order to build partnerships.

"I look forward to watching Moeen bat all day tomorrow too. It's pleasing, something to build on and a good position to be in."

Ali put in a focused perform-ance, negotiating 192 balls during his 243-minute stay at the crease.

The Root-Ali pair piled on the misery for India who were also set back by an injury to pace

spearhead Mohammed Shami.Earlier, a gripping opening

session saw opener Haseeb Hameed, 19, become the fifth youngest player to play for England.

The youngster, dubbed "Baby Boycott" for his unflappable style, made 31 during his 98 min-utes at the crease before falling lbw to top-ranked spinner Rav-

ichandran Ashwin (2-108).Ashwin also dismissed Ben

Duckett for 13 but went wicket-less in the last two sessions.

Hameed and Cook (21) both benefited from the largesse of India's fielders who dropped some early chances.

Cook was dropped off Shami on the third ball of the innings, while Hameed got a reprieve on

13 when Murali Vijay grassed his catch at first slip.

The England skipper, who surpassed Michael Atherton's record of 54 Tests as England captain, was adjudged leg before off left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja.

TV replays showed the ball would have missed the leg stump but Cook did not refer to the third

umpire even though the decision review system is being used for the first time by India in a home series.

Hameed showed little sign of nerves against top-ranked India, hitting Shami for boundaries twice in an over and driving Ash-win for an elegant four in the covers.

India's batting coach San-jay Bangar conceded the sloppy fielding had cost his side dearly.

"They (England batsmen) applied themselves really well and made full use of the condi-tions on offer," he said.

"It's still day one and had we taken those catches, we could have taken six wickets and con-ceded 25-30 less runs."

England (I innings):A Cook lbw Jadeja 21

H Hameed lbw Ashwin 31

J Root c&b Yadav 124

B Duckett c Rahane b Ashwin 13

M Ali (batting) 99

B Stokes (batting) 19

Extras (B-1, LB-2, NB-1) 4

Total (for 4 wkts) 311 Fall of wickets: 1-47, 2-76, 3-102, 4-281.

Bowling: Shami 12.1-2-31-0, Yadav 18.5-1-68-1,

Ashwin 31-3-108-2, Jadeja 21-2-59-1 (1nb), Mishra

10-1-42-0.

India: Virat Kohli (capt), Murali Vijay, Gautam

Gambhir, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane,

Wriddhiman Saha, Ravichandran Ashwin, Amit

Mishra, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami,

Umesh Yadav.

SCOREBOARD

Sparkling ton

11

99

The 25-year-old Root compiles his 11th Test century and third against India.

Ali one run shy of his fourth Test ton having negotiated 192 balls during his 243-minute stay at the crease.

England's Moeen Ali (left) listens to team-mate Joe Root as they walk back to the pavilion on the first day of the first Test cricket match at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot, yesterday.

Herath spins Sri Lanka to brink of victory against ZimbabweHarare AFP

Rangana Herath registered his second five-wicket haul in as many days as Sri

Lanka closed in on victory in the second Test against Zimbabwe at Harare Sports Club yesterday.

Herath followed up his five-wicket haul in the first innings with 5 for 45 in the second as Zimbabwe, set 491 to win, went to stumps on the fourth evening on 180 for seven.

While Herath's 5 for 89 on Tuesday had made him just the third bowler to take five-wicket hauls against all nine Test oppo-nents, on Wednesday he became the first bowler to take 50 wick-ets in the current calendar year, having done so in just eight Tests.

"He's bowled really well. It's very rare to see him bowl a loose ball, which is his strength," said Sri Lanka batsman Dimuth Karunaratne.

"The wicket is two-paced and has some uneven bounce, and he's been bowling wicket-to-wicket, which is the key."

The tourists began the fourth day on 102 for four in their second innings, with an overall lead of 334, and spent the first half of the day

extending that advantage. With first innings centurion Karu-naratne anchoring the innings with a patient 88 and Kusal Perera adding a quickfire 62 towards the end, Sri Lanka were able to declare their sec-ond innings on 258 for nine to set Zimbabwe 491 to win.

Although they were unable to claim 20 wickets for an eighth straight Test match, Zimbabwe's bowlers managed to slow Sri Lanka's scoring in the first ses-sion, then picked up wickets when the visitors went on the attack after lunch.

Leg-spinner Graeme Cremer finished with figures of 4 for 91 after taking three late wickets, while fast bowler Carl Mumba took 3 for 67.

"There was a lot of pressure before we came into the day," said Zimbabwe batsman Sean Williams.

"I think we were really good with the ball -- our bowlers came back well.

"But then with the bat, sen-ior players such as myself are getting starts and not finishing."

Left with 136 overs to bat in order to save the match, Zimba-bwe saw Brian Chari bowled by Herath in the eighth over of their innings, before the left-arm

spinner trapped Hamilton Masa-kadza lbw in his next over.

After tea, Herath struck again, having Tino Mawoyo caught at slip, before Williams and Craig Ervine battled back with a 74-run stand for the fourth wicket.

The pair counter-attacked to good effect, but were eventually separated when Williams edged a delivery from Lahiru Kumara to slip to depart for 45.

Malcolm Waller fell for a duck in the very next over, before

Herath snapped up two more quick wickets late in the day, completing the seventh 10-wicket match haul of his career.

Ervine batted through to reach the close of play on 65 not out, but will only have tail-enders for company on the final day.

"Craig is batting well, but we'll work on their other bats-men to try and pick up the last three wickets as soon as possi-ble," said Karunaratne.

Sri Lanka (I innings): 504Zimbabwe (I innings): 272Sri Lanka (II innings):D Karunaratne lbw Mpofu 88

K Silva c Waller b Mumba 6

K Mendis c Mpofu b Mumba 0

U Tharanga lbw Cremer 17

D de Silva c Chari b Mumba 9

A Gunaratne lbw Tiripano 39

K Perera c Williams b Cremer 62

D Perera c Masakadza b Cremer 2

R Herath b Cremer 4

S Lakmal (not out 21

Extras (B-6, LB-4) 10

Total (for 9 wkts decl) 258Fall of wickets: 1-14, 2-16, 3-44, 4-84, 5-153, 6-198,

7-201, 8-211, 9-258.

Bowling: Mpofu 21-8-51-1; Mumba 19-4-67-3; Cremer

21.4-2-91-4; Tiripano 11-4-14-1; Williams 6-0-21-0;

Chari 1-0-3-0; Masakadza 2-1-1-0.

Zimbabwe (II innings):T Mawoyo c D de Silva b Herath 15

B Chari b Herath 8

H Masakadza lbw b Herath 11

C Ervine (batting) 65

S Williams c K Mendis b Kumara 45

M Waller c K Perera b D de Silva 0

P Moor c K Mendis b Herath 20

G Cremer b Herath 5

D Tiripano (batting) 0

Extras (B-4, LB-4, W-3) 11

Total (for 7 wkts) 180 Fall of wickets: 1-16, 2-32, 3-39, 4-113, 5-114, 6-166,

7-176.

To bat: C Mumba, C Mpofu

Bowling: S Lakmal 11-2-48-0; R Herath 16-3-45-5; D

Perera 6-1-27-0; L Kumara 9-0-42-1 (w-1); D de Silva

3-0-10-1.

SCOREBOARD

Sri Lanka captain Rangana Herath is pictured during the fourth day of the second Test match against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club, yesterday.

Ashour pulls out of 2016 Qatar ClassicArmstrong Vas The Peninsula

World Championship runner-up Ramy Ash-our of Egypt became

the second top ranked player to pull out of the upcoming Qatar Classic in the last two days.

On Tuesday, former World Champion Gregory Gaultier of France was forced to withdraw from the November 13 to 18 PSA event as he was unable to recover from the ankle injury he sustained during last week’s PSA Men’s World Championship. Ashour had to take the painful decision after failing to recover from the hamstring injury he picked up during last week’s PSA Men’s World Championship final.

The maverick Egyptian has suffered a barrage of hamstring injuries over the past two years, however his body looked to be coping as he made it all the way to the final in Cairo.

But he was forced to shake hands in the fourth game of his clash with compatriot Karim Abdel Gawad, bringing a pre-mature end to the match and preventing ‘The Artist’ from appearing in Qatar, the scene of two of his three World Champi-onship triumphs.

The injury will also dent Ashour's hopes of being one of the eight qualifiers for the sea-son-ending Dubai PSA World Series Finals as he will be una-ble to accrue vital points on the PSA Road to Dubai Standings - where he currently sits in third place - with the Qatar Classic

acting as the third stage on the PSA Road to Dubai.

As a result of the injury, German No.1 Simon Rösner takes Ashour's place as the number eight seed and will meet a qualifier in the open-ing round, while Switzerland’s Nicolas Mueller moves into the main draw and will also face a qualifier.

On Tuesday, Gaultier’s hopes of regaining the Qatar Classic title came to a prema-ture end. The 33-year-old Frenchman, a 2011 Qatar Clas-sic winner and a runner-up last year in Doha, picked up the injury during his quarter-final clash with Egypt’s Tarek Momen in Cairo last week and was forced to withdraw from his semi-final fixture with World No.10 Ashour as a result. His

PSA World Championship winner Ramy Ashour is seen with Nabeel Ali bin Ali, President of Qatar Squash Federation after winning the world championship in Doha in this file picture of November 22, 2014.

[1] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) vs Cameron Pilley

(AUS)

Leo Au (HKG) vs [Qualifier]

James Willstrop (ENG) vs Chris Simpson (ENG)

[Qualifier] vs [8] Simon Rösner (GER)

[7] Tarek Momen (EGY) vs [Qualifier]

Gregoire Marche (FRA) vs Mohamed Abouelghar

(EGY)

Saurav Ghosal (IND) vs [Qualifier]

[WC] Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi (QAT) vs [4] Nick Mat-

thew (EGY)

[3] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) vs [Qualifier]

Tom Richards (ENG) vs Zahed Mohamed (EGY)

Max Lee (HKG) vs Ryan Cuskelly (AUS)

[Qualifier] vs [6] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY)

[5] Ali Farag (EGY) vs [Qualifier]

Cesar Salazar (MEX) vs Omar Abdel Meguid (EGY)

Nicolas Mueller (SUI) vs [Qualifier]

Daryl Selby (ENG) vs [2] Omar Mosaad (EGY)

QATAR CLASSIC 2016

ankle problem is the latest in an injury-hit year for the Frenchman, who has already spent two months on the sidelines after damaging ligaments on the same ankle during January’s JP Morgan Tournament of Champions.

The qualifying rounds will be held on November 11 and 12.

The Peninsula

Runners from 20 countries have arrived in Doha to participate in the 2nd

International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU) 50km World Championship that takes place in the Aspire Zone in Doha on Friday evening.

The opening ceremony of the IAU 50km World Championship will be held today at 6.00pm and feature a Parade of Nations involving the athletes taking part. This will be followed by opening remarks delivered by representatives of the IAU, Aspire Zone Foundation (AZF) and Qatar Athletics Federation.

The IAU accredited championship will feature world-leading ultrarunners from 20 countries competing in the men’s, women’s and group

categories. This is the second time that AZF has organized and hosted the IAU 50 km World Championship, following the enormous success of last year’s event. Participating countries include Argentina, Canada, Croatia, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Germany, Great Britain, Japan, Kenya, Latvia, Mongolia, Netherlands, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Chinese Taipei, Uruguay, United States of America, and Zimbabwe. The IAU’s commitment to host the international championship for three consecutive years in Qatar is testament to AZF’s organisational capabilities,

world-class facilities and expertise.

Meanwhile, Aspetar will hold a medical awareness symposium for all teams participating in the IAU 50km World Championship. During the symposium, a number of world-class nutrition, sports science and medical experts will share information and best practice for athletes, physicians, and coaches on injury prevention measures to follow during the competition.

Hundreds of running enthusiasts are now registered for the “Aspire International 6:50 km Race”

Taking place alongside the

main IAU international races, AZF is organizing the fourth edition of the “Aspire International 6:50 Race”. This unique event gives more than 200 running enthusiasts from the local community the opportunity to take part alongside IAU professional ultrarunners.

Since its inception, AZF has been keen to engage the public in a range of sporting activities in support of its mission to promote physical activity amongst members of the local community.

This year’s “Aspire International 6:50km Race” has prompted a huge response and

attracted large numbers of registrations thanks to the success and popularity of last year’s event.

More than 78 Qataris and expats will take part in the individual race category, which challenges runners to complete 50km in six hours. Five Qatari men’s teams and two Qatari women’s teams are amongst the 25 that have registered to take part in the team relay event.

This year ’s World Championship features a redesigned race course comprising tarmac, tile and paved roads. These will be closed to traffic and well lit for the duration of the evening race.

The race course will be fast, with minimal gradient and wide turns. Fan Zone Offers Fun for All Family Members Building on the huge success of the Fan Zone during last year’s event, AZF will set up a “Fun Area” offering entertainment, games and activities for all the family designed to instil passion and enthusiasm for sport in children at a young age.

AZF has teamed up with the Qatar Athletic Federation (QAF) as organising partner, the Movenpick Hotel Al Aziziyah as the hospitality partner, and social network Qatar Living as community partner for the event.

29THURSDAY 10 NOVEMBER 2016 SPORT

I will miss the locker-room banter: Ismail Rizwan RehmatThe Peninsula

After 23 years with Al Rayyan and the Qatar national team, retiring basketball star Yaseen Ismail

says he will miss the 'locker-room banter'.

Ismail, who plays his farewell game tomorrow at Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiyah Arena, admit-ted saying 'goodbye' is the hardest part for any professional athlete.

"It is difficult to say good-bye," Ismail told The Peninsula in a candid conversation ahead of his farewell game.

"I am going to miss the locke-room banter, my teammates," he added.

Excerpts from an interview with Ismail who remained a one-club wonder with Al Rayyan throughout his 23-year associa-tion with the game.

Q: How do you look back at your long career?

A: More than two decades, yes. Yes, definitely it is a moment of happiness and sadness at the same time. After 23 or 24 years

with Al Rayyan or Qatar team, it is difficult to say goodbye. I am stopping from active basketball. I am retiring from the sport. I am going to miss the locker-room banter, my teammates. But this is life. Everything comes to an end. For everything, there's a last day. I am happy for what I have done with the national team. I won everything with the national side. I am a GCC champion. I have won Arab championship. I have the Asian gold medal. We were second at the Doha Asian Games (in 2006). I won the World 3x3 title. I have 46 titles with my club Al Rayyan in 23 years. I am happy. It is time to give the next gen-eration the opportu-nity to take over.

Q: Clearly you have had a very satisfying career, yes?

A: Yes, definitely. No regrets but there were a lot of sacrifices that I had to make. There were lot of injuries. There were a lot of good and bad moments. But this is the life of a professional sports person. But I would say 80 percent of my long career was a success. I won so many titles. Winning in Asia and in the Arab world makes me a happy man.

Q: What are your favourite moments in your career?

A: There are lot of moments that made me happy. When you say you have won 60 trophies that means there are so many

great moments. I remem-ber winning the Asian

championship in Malaysia in 2002. That was the first title I won with my club. It was a nice feeling. When we

won the first GCC Champion-

ship, that was a great feeling too. The World Cup in 2014 was a great moment as well. And the most memorable time was two years ago - when we had lost two back-to-back league titles. I think we didn't win in 2012 an 2013.

We had so many injuries to important players. We came back and we won the 2014 league title.

I was 36 at that time. It was tough, I enjoyed that as well. I was feeling elated. Then we won the Arab championship in Morocco in 2014. That was the first time we had won that title after 16 seasons. The last time we played in that championship was in 1999. Thank God for all the great moments in my career.

Q: What will you miss most about competitive basketball?

A: I am going to miss the locker-room and my team-mates. All these things I enjoyed a lot. Now I have two sons. They also play the game. One is 12 years old. The other is playing U-14s.

His name is

Hamad. I am enjoying playing with them. I watch them prac-tice. I talk to them. I am always there for them. I guess I won't miss being on the court. I have been there all my life. I am

always close to my kids. I will take them to practice, to the games. I will always be busy with them.

Q: Do you have any other plans?

A: Plans? Well, I don't know at this point in time. No coach-ing, of course. Maybe in management. Maybe I would be (joining) the federation. I will take a month off after my retire-ment. Then I will decide my future course of action - whether I will be with Al Rayyan or with the Qatar national side.

Q: What's your height and who is your all-time favourite player?

A: I am 2 metres 3 centime-tres tall. My all-time favourite players are Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan. Those guys were awesome. I never got to meet them. Early in my career I was on trial with the Dallas Maver-icks in Houston and with Indiana Pacers. I never had the chance to meet those guys but hopefully I could meet them in the future.

Q: Your prediction on the NBA season?.

A: My favourite team is San Antonio Spurs. They can win.

of his farewell game."I am going to miss the locke-

room banter, my teammates," headded.

Excerpts from an interview with Ismail who remained a one-club wonder with Al Rayyan throughout his 23-year associa-tion with the game.

Q: How do you look back atyour long career?

A: More than two decades, yes. Yes, definitely it is amoment of happiness and sadness at the same time. After 23 or 24 yearsAfter 23 or 24 years

is time to give the next gen-eration the opportu-nity to take over.

great moments. I remem-ber winning the Asian

championship in Malaysia in 2002.That was the first title I won with myclub. It was a nice feeling. When we

won the first GCC Champion-

played in that championship wasin 1999. Thank God for all the great moments in my career.

Q: What will you miss mostabout competitive basketball?

A: I am going to miss thelocker-room and my team-mates.All these things I enjoyed a lot. Now I have two sons. They alsoplay the game. One is 12 yearsold. The other is playing U-14s.

His name is

Hamad. I am enjoying playing with them. I watch them prac-tice. I talk to them. I am always there for them. I guess I won'tmiss being on the court. I have been there all my life. I am

trpMathoicPtoI

N

A

I am a GCC champion. I have Arab championship. I have the Asian gold medal. We were second at the Doha Asian Games (in 2006). I won the World 3x3 title. I have 46 titles with my club Al Rayyan in 23 years. I am happy.

I will take a month off after my retirement. Then I will decide my future course of action - whether I will be with Al Rayyan or with the Qatar national side.

Abdullah Al Khater, Manager of Events at Aspire Zone Foundation poses for a photo with the British delegation which arrived in Doha yesterday to take part in the IAU 50km World Championship. The Championship will be held on Friday.

All set for IAU 50km World Championship 2016 in DohaAthletes from 20 countries arrive in Doha to take part in the second Ultrarunners World Championship

200 running enthusiasts set to take part alongside IAU professional athletes

Yaseen Ismail

Qatari basketball player Yaseen Ismail speaks to media during a recently held press conference in this file photo.

30 THURSDAY 10 NOVEMBER 2016 SPORT

Redemption time as Brazil face Argentina Belo HorizonteAFP

A resurgent Brazil return to the scene of the most humiliating defeat in their history today when they face Argentina in a

titantic 2018 World Cup qualifier.Two years ago at Belo Horizon-

te's Estadio Mineirao, Brazil were ripped apart 7-1 by Germany in the World Cup semi-finals, a traumatic mauling that sent the football-mad country into a nosedive of despair.

But fast-forward to 2016, and Brazil look to be a team firmly on the road to recovery as they prepare for the 107th meeting with Argentina at the 61,800-seat venue.

A disastrous Copa America Cen-tenario campaign -- which saw Brazil eliminated in the first round of the tournament for the first time since 1987 -- led to the dismissal of coach Dunga in June.

Dunga's replacement, Tite, the successful former Corinthians coach, has overseen a renaissance which has left admirers talking about a return of the Selecao's fabled "jogo bonito" ("beautiful game").

A stylish 3-0 win at Ecuador in September -- the first in Brazil's his-tory -- was followed by a 2-1 win over Colombia before a 5-0 drub-bing of Bolivia.

A further win over Venezuela in October -- Brazil's fourth straight qualifying victory -- catapulted Tite's side to the top of Brazil's 10-team round-robin standings, with 21 points from 10 games.

"I don't have the adjectives. I'm living the dream of any Brazilian coach," Tite said after naming his squad for this week's clash with Argentina. "I try not to think too much about the history. I'm just focused on the strategy."

Brazil are likely to face the most searching examination of their reawakening against Argentina, who will welcome back Lionel Messi after the Barcelona superstar missed their last three games through injury.

Tostao, a veteran of Brazil's mag-ical 1970 World Cup-winning side, wondered whether a decisive win over Argentina could finally help the country turn the page on the trau-mas of 2014.

"Would it not be a symbolic land-mark to end the depression, the mourning, even if it not against Ger-many," the 69-year-old midfielder wrote in an opinion piece.

Brazil's rediscovered joie de vivre has been best exemplified by the form of Neymar, dazzling in the win over

Bolivia last month, while others such as Liverpool's Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino have also shined under Tite.

Manchester City-bound teenager Gabriel Jesus has also impressed, scoring three goals in four games under Tite.

While Brazil's fortunes have been on an upswing, Argentina's form has tailed off in recent matches.

With Messi missing, Argentina lost one and drew two of their last three games, a run of results that saw them fall off the pace.

A retrospective FIFA decision to award Chile a 3-0 win over Bolivia for the fielding of an ineligible player also hurt Argentina, promoting the Chileans to fifth spot and leaving the Albiceleste in sixth.

The return of Messi to Argenti-na's ranks should calm the two-time world champions' nerves. Messi arrived in Belo Horizonte this week after hitching a lift in the private jet of Barcelona teammate Neymar.

In other matches today, second-placed Uruguay meet third-placed Ecuador in Montevideo while fourth-placed Colombia take on fifth-placed Chile in Barranquilla.

Chile's preparations have been jolted by a late injury to striker Alexis Sanchez. The Arsenal star suffered a muscle strain during training in San-tiago, preventing him from travelling to Colombia.

The top four finishers in South America's standings qualify automat-ically for the 2018 finals in Russia. The fifth placed side faces a play-off.

Selecao vs AlbicelesteBrazil face Argentina for the 107th time at Belo Horizonte's Estadio Mineirao, where they lost 7-1 to Germany in 2014 World Cup.

Brazil was eliminated of 2016 Copa America in the first round of the tournament for the first time since 1987.

Injured Sanchez to miss Colombia tie SantiagoAFP

Arsenal star Alexis Sanchez suffered a muscle strain on Tues-

day that will keep him out of Chile's looming World Cup qualifier against Colombia, his national team said.

The 27-year-old striker picked up "a low-grade mus-cular injury" in training, Chile's National Football Association said in a statement.

It was the squad's last training session before they leave for Thursday's playoff in Barranquilla, Colombia.

"The player will remain in Santiago, undergoing treat-ment and evaluation ahead of the match against Uru-guay" in Chile on November 15, the body said.

Sanchez's absence for the tough Colombia match is a serious blow to coach Juan Antonio Pizzi.

His squad is in fifth place in its qualifying group, fight-ing to reach the 2018 World Cup finals in 2018.

Another key player, Inter Milan midfielder Gary Medel, is also out for today's match, suspended until the Uruguay tie.

Alexis Sanchez

North Ireland decide against wearing poppies, England and Scotland set to defy FIFA ban LondonAFP

Northern Ireland's players will not wear commem-orative poppies in their

World Cup qualifier against Azerbaijan tomorrow, the Irish Football Association said.

The football associations of England and Scotland, who meet at Wembley the same day, have decided to defy a ban by world governing body FIFA on politi-cal, commercial or religious symbols.

But while their players will wear black armbands with pop-pies, the threat of sanctions by FIFA means Northern Ireland's players will wear plain black armbands for their Armistice Day game in Belfast.

People in the United King-dom wear poppies to remember their war dead and the English and Scottish FAs have argued it should not be seen as a political symbol.

"We asked FIFA if permis-sion could be granted for the Northern Ireland team to wear

a poppy on the shirt or on an armband," IFA chief executive Patrick Nelson said in a state-ment on Tuesday.

"FIFA advised that they could give no guarantee that there would not be disciplinary proceedings if the Northern Ire-land team was to wear a symbol of remembrance on the playing shirt."

The IFA revealed plans for a l t e r n a t i v e f o r m s

of commemoration prior to tomorrow's game, including a minute's silence.

Premier League teams have taken to wearing jerseys with poppy emblems for fixtures prior to Armistice Day in recent years.

England's interim manager Gareth Southgate and Scotland captain Darren Fletcher have backed the decision to wear poppies despite FIFA's stance.

England's game against

Scotland and Northern Ireland's meeting with Azerbaijan fall on November 11, which was the date the Armistice was signed to end World War I in 1918.

British Prime Minister Theresa May has described FIFA's stance on the matter as "utterly outra-geous" and a petition against the poppy ban has been signed by over 315,000 people.

Bale retains Welsh Player of the Year crown LondonAFP

Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale was named Welsh Player of the Year for the fourth successive year and sixth time in seven years in Tuesday's Football Association of Wales awards.

Bale, 27, inspired Wales to a shock semi-final showing at Euro 2016, scoring three goals in the group phase, and needs three goals to equal Ian Rush's national scoring record of 28.

The year has also seen him win his second Champions League title with Madrid.

"Massive honour to be named @FAWales Player of the Year!" Bale wrote on Twitter. "Big thank you to all the Boys, Staff and Fans."

Manager Chris Coleman received an FAW Special Award at the ceremony in the Vale of Glamorgan, south Wales.

Stoke City midfielder Joe Allen, named in the Euro 2016 team of the tournament, was voted Players' and Fans' Player of the Year, with Reading full-back Chris Gunter collecting the media award. Football: Foot fracture rules Kroos out for Germany

Foot fracture rules Kroos out for Germany BerlinAFP

Real Madrid's Toni Kroos is the latest German star ruled out of tomor-

row's 2018 World Cup qualifier away to San Marino with a fractured foot.

The 26-year-old misses the qualifier, four days before Germany's friendly against Italy in Milan, with a hairline fracture of the metatarsal bone.

Spanish sports daily Marca say the German inter-national may need surgery and claims Kroos could be ruled out for up to three months.

He suffered the injury in Sunday's 3-0 Spanish league win over Leganes and can not train for the next ten days, the German Football Association (DFB) announced Tuesday.

Kroos had the injury con-firmed after a scan in Munich with the national team doc-t o r H a n s - W i l h e l m Mueller-Wohlfahrt.

The attacking midfielder joins centre-back Jerome Boateng and Captain Manuel Neuer. The 30-year-old Bay-ern Munich goalkeeper withdrew because he felt unwell shortly before Germa-ny's flight to Rimini to face the microstate in northern Italy.

Both Kroos and Juventus' Sami Khedira were only called up for the qualifier against San Marino, in Serrav-alle before being released to their clubs.

Poppy controversy

315,000

1918

A petition against the poppy ban has been signed by over 315,000 people in UK.

England match falls on November 11 which was the date the Armistice was signed to end World War I in 1918.

Gareth Bale

Toni Kroos

Brazil's player Neymar attends

a training session ahead of their match against Argentina at

Mineirao Stadium, in Belo Horizonte , Brazil , yesterday.

A giant poppy is displayed during a minute's silence in honour of Remembrance Day during Premier League match between Liverpool and Watford at Anfield Stadium in Liverpool, England on Sunday.

31THURSDAY 10 NOVEMBER 2016 SPORT

Inter appoint Pioli as new manager MilanAFP

Inter Milan on Tuesday named the experienced Stefano Pioli as their third coach in just four months following the sacking last week of Dutchman Frank

de Boer.Taken over in June by new Chi-

nese owners, Inter are struggling badly this season and are sitting ninth in Serie A and last in their Europa League group after a dis-astrous start to the campaign.

The 51-year-old Pioli faces a fiery start to his reign -- a local derby at city rivals AC Milan on November 20.

The Italian has signed a con-tract until June 2018 to take over from de Boer, who was sacked a week ago following a 1-0 defeat at Sampdoria, Inter's fifth loss in 11 outings.

Pioli is vastly experienced, hav-ing previously coached an array of Italian clubs including Parma, Sas-suolo, Bologna and Lazio, leading the latter to third place in Serie A in 2015, before being fired in the middle of last season.

Since de Boer's departure youth team coach Stefano Vecchi has overseen a 2-1 Europa League loss at Southampton and a hard-fought win over tailenders Crotone in Serie A.

New Chinese owners Suning appointed de Boer as a replacement for Roberto Mancini two weeks before the start of the Serie A sea-son, tasked with restoring Inter's dented reputation at home and in Europe.

That burden now lies with Pioli, a former defender who played for various Italian teams, including Juventus and Fiorentina, before hanging up his boots and taking up football management.

Inter have not won the Italian title since Jose Mourinho guided them to the Scudetto in 2009-2010, the same season they also won the Champions League.

Former Paris Saint-Germain coach Laurent Blanc was linked with the vacancy following de Boer's exit, but several players said there had been communication problems with the Dutchman and voiced preference for an Italian.

After the win over Crotone, Inter captain Mauro Icardi said: "It is better if it's an Italian who takes over because he will know the Ital-ian championship.

"We are nearly at Christmas already and there is no time to lose. Champions League qualification is still the aim."

Stefano PioliFormer PSG coach Laurent Blanc was linked with the vacancy but Inter players preferred an Italian due to communication issues.

Pioli, a former defender who played for Juventus and Fiorentina, before hanging up his boots and taking up football management.

Inter's eight coaches since 2010MilanReuters

Stefano Pioli became Inter Milan's ninth coach since Jose Mourinho's departure in 2010 when he was appointed on Tuesday.

This is what happened to the other eight:

1. Rafael Benitez (June to Decem-ber 2010): Inherited Mourinho's treble-winning squad for the 2010/11 season but the Spaniard's side was trou-bled by injuries. Inter won the Club World Cup in December but Benitez was sacked hours later after upsetting owner Massimo Moratti by publicly demand-ing new players.

2. Leonardo (December 2010 to June 2011): The Brazilian led Inter to a second-place finish in Serie A but was undermined by their Champions League quarter-final defeat by Schalke 04 and left a month after the season ended.

3. Gian Piero Gasperini (June to September 2011): Gasperini had just five games in the Inter hot seat, which included four defeats. The final straw was a 3-1 defeat by promoted Novara.

4. Claudio Ranieri (September 2011 to March 2012): Ranieiri lasted six months before he, too, was fired. Rani-eri struggled with an aging side and twice broke the record for fielding the oldest team in the Champions League. He left with Inter eighth in Serie A.

5. Andrea Stramaccioni (March 2012 to May 2013): Initially promoted from the youth team on a caretaker basis, the 37-year-old did well enough in the last matches of the season to earn a three-year contract. Inter then won

their first seven games of the 2012-13 season but it was a false dawn. After a bout of injuries, they eventually finished ninth with 16 defeats in 38 matches. The coach was fired days after the end of the season.

6. Walter Mazzarri (May 2013 to November 2014): The last coach of the Moratti era, Mazzarri had revived Napoli during his four years in charge. He led Inter to fifth place in 2013/14, a respectable effort in what was regarded as a transitional season, but became new president Erick Thohir's first sack-ing after a poor start to the following season left them ninth. It was the first time Mazzarri had been fired in his career.

7. Roberto Mancini (November 2014 to August 2016): Mancini had led Inter to three successive Serie A titles and returned to try and build a new side. After finishing the season eighth, they made a flying start to 2015-16, winning their first five games, and led the table just before Christmas. But it was another false dawn and, after an inexplicable slump, they finished fourth and missed out on the Champions League, their stated target. Chinese electronics retailer Suning took over the club in June and Mancini, increasingly frus-trated over a lack of new signings, left in August two weeks before the new season.

8. Frank de Boer (August to November 2016): Despite having no pre-vious playing or coaching experience in Serie A, for yet another transitional sea-son following the sale to Suning. Fired after losing seven out of 14 competitive games in an 85-day period.

Suarez in Barcelona extension talks BarcelonaAFP

European Golden Shoe winner Luis Suarez said negotiations to extend his contract with

Barcelona until 2021 were running smoothly.

The 29-year-old, who claimed the award for a second time after finishing top scorer across Europe last season, originally joined Barce-lona on a five-year deal from Liverpool in 2014.

"Negotiations are moving along nicely in the right direction," Sua-rez told a press conference in Uruguay, where he is preparing for a World Cup qualifier with Ecuador on Thursday.

"Both parties want this deal to go through," said the centre-for-ward, who scored 40 Liga goals in 35 games last season and 59 goals from 53 games in all competitions.

Barcelona-based sports daily El Mundo Deportivo reported

yesterday the Spanish champions had offered Suarez an improved deal until June 2021, two years beyond his current contract.

"Luis Suarez, ready," read its headline, while Marca also reported the imminent deal.

"His salary rise will be substan-tial," said Marca.

"Right now he earns €16m ($17.6m) a season, his new deal will push that to €25m a season," it added.

Brazilian superstar Neymar signed a new five-year contract in late October that will keep him at Barcelona until 2021.

The deal, which had been agreed in June, includes a buy-out clause of up to 250 million euros as Barca seek to ward off interest from poten-tial suitors.

Argentina's Lionel Messi is con-tracted to Barcelona until 2018 and will be offered a contract extension in the coming months, the club said recently.

Vivien set for Al Arabi returnThe Peninsula

Vivien is set for return to QSL side Al Arabi, who has been handed

an injury boost ahead of their seventh round QSL match against Al Gharafa on Satur-day the 19th of November, after the international break.

The club announced via their official website that summer signing Vivien Assie Koua has fully recovered from his knee injury and is now training with the first team. Vivien has yet to start to play for the Dream Team this term, and his return will be a major boost for the side that has yet to announce a replacement for Gerardo Pelusso.

Al Arabi are currently tenth in the QSL standings, and have six points from six games.

Al Sailiya preparing for round seven The Peninsula

QSL strugglers Al Sailiya have confirmed that they have readied a

host of players ahead of their crunch round seven game against Al Kharaitiyat.

The club confirmed last night that six players, includ-ing Mohammed Muddather, Raoul Loé and Faouzi Aaish have undergone fitness work at the clubs training ground. Head coach Sami Trabelsi will be hoping that the players can get back to full fitness ahead of their big game against fel-l o w s t r u g g l e r s A l Kharaitiyat.

The Peregrines have yet to register a win this season and are currently in thir-teenth place in the QSL standings, with just two points from the opening six games of the season.

QSL midfielders setting the tempoThe Peninsula

With the interna-tional break starting, and the

QSL taking a break, we look at some of the midfielders who are setting the agenda for their sides at the start of the 2016/2017 QSL season. All of the statistics used in the story have been supplied by the Stats Company, the QSL’s official statistical partner.

Unsurprisingly Al Sadd’s captain Xavi Hernandez leads the way as the stand-out midfielder in the first six rounds of the QSL season.

The midfield maestro has been the consummate professional in his second season with the club and has quietly been going about his work in the centre of the park.

The former World Cup winner leads the way in

passes racking up 475 in the first six games. Likewise Xavi’s presence has also been felt further forward this season, with the Span-iard creating 33 chances for his Al Sadd team-mates, the highest number in the league.

Former QSL champions Lekhwiya have started the season on good form, and have three midfielders who have made it into our must watch list.

Reigning QSL player of the month Nam Tae Hee has been marking the difference for the Red Knights. Nam has racked up 370 passes in the opening six of the sea-son, along with creating 20 chances for his side, the third highest in the league. The South Korean has also been more prolific in front of goal this season scoring five and assisting his team-mates on three occasions.

The Lekhwiya midfield pairing of Luis Martin and Karim Boudiaf also join the must watch list with their commanding performances in the spine of Djamel Bel-madi’s side.

The Qatar internation-als have racked up impressive passing stats. Martin is second on the list of most passes with 442, whilst Boudiaf is not far behind on 417 the third high-est tally in the league.

The second South Korean midfielder on the list is the ever dependable Koh Myong-jin of Al Rayyan. The Lions have yet to be beaten this term, and all action mid-fielder Koh has certainly contributed significantly to the early title defense of Al Rayyan.

Koh has registered 412 passes so far, along with 162 forward passes in the open-ing six games.

Ronaldo bags 'long-term' Nike deal MadridAFP

A day after signing a bumper fresh contract with Real Madrid, Cris-tiano Ronaldo has boosted his

mind-boggling earnings with a new deal with Nike, the American sports giant said yesterday.

Together the multimillion mega-deals are expected to cement Ronaldo's status as the world's highest-paid sportsman, ahead of great Barcelona rival Lionel Messi.

According to American magazine Forbes, Ronaldo trumped Messi in 2016 with an income of $88m (€80m, £71m).

There are no concrete figures, but Ronaldo's new five-year contract with Real is expected to net the 31-year-old Portuguese forward in the region of a basic salary of €25m.

He could also bag up to €40m-a-year for the Nike deal, according to Marca.

Marca and AS, the Spanish sports dai-lies, said the Nike deal is for life, rather like the one between Nike and basket-ball legend Michael Jordan.

Xavi Hernandez

Stefano Pioli

Cristiano Ronaldo

Luis Suarez