Vidic ready to win at all costs

Nemanja Vidic is sure Manchester United will beat Barcelona in the Champions League final - and does not care about the style in which they do it.

Wednesday’s match in Rome pits holders United against the team regarded as the most attractive in Europe this season.

But United defender Vidic, 27, told BBC Sport: “All that matters is the result, you’ll quickly forget about the style.

“Football is not about the style - it’s about the winning and we have the confidence and belief to do it.”

The Serbia international added: “I don’t think we are arrogant - we respect Barcelona but we believe in ourselves and in the players we have.

“We won the league and have reached the Champions League final so we have to believe we can win it. We know it’s going to be a hard game and have big jobs to do but we are excited and we will try to hurt them.”

Unlike Vidic, United manager Sir Alex Ferguson conceded he would like to win in a manner that will earn his team plaudits and insisted: “We have our own style and hope we can express ourselves the way we want to on Wednesday.”

The Scot acknowledged that with the opposition being Barca many fans would expect an attractive final and he hoped United could play their part in delivering that.

“Football is always needing a boost,” he said. “We have negatives in the game that surface every year in all different ways.

“But when we get a game of football that paints the real story of football then we’re all lifted by it. I think Barcelona and Manchester United can do that in this final.

“There is a strong possibility it will be a very good final.”

Barca have scored 104 league goals this season, setting Spain and Europe alight with their unique brand of attacking football.

It has taken them to within touching distance of becoming the first club to win La Liga, the Copa del Rey and European Cup in one season.

At times this season Pep Guardiola’s side have looked unstoppable, not least during their 6-2 demolition of title rivals Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, but Ferguson said Chelsea’s semi-final performance against the Catalans gave him reason to be cheerful.

The Blues held Barca to a 0-0 draw at the Nou Camp and in the second leg, a dominant performance resulted in Chelsea entering stoppage time 1-0 up before the visitors equalised to go through on away goals.

“I watched their game against Real Madrid and it was an absolutely magnificent performance,” stated Ferguson.

“I said to myself, ‘Christ, we might have to play them’ but then Chelsea showed that they can be beaten so I take some encouragement from that.”

United have won three, lost two and drawn four of their nine previous meetings with Barca.

The pair met at the semi-final stage last season, playing out a 0-0 draw in the first leg before a spectacular strike by Paul Scholes gave United a 1-0 win in the return.

Ferguson’s men went on to beat Chelsea in the final and are bidding to become the first side to win back-to-back Champions League titles.

Victory would mean United would join Real Madrid, AC Milan, Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Ajax in the group of clubs to have won four or more European Cups.

“I’m well aware of how special it is but sometimes it’s more about getting the job done than and the small details of winning the game over what surrounds the occasion,” commented United midfielder Michael Carrick.

“People keep mentioning about winning it twice along with the league and everything else. Hopefully on Thursday we can sit back and appreciate it but until then it really is about getting the job done and winning the game.”

Carrick was pleased to see Barca edge past Chelsea to reach the Rome showpiece and set up a meeting with United, who beat Arsenal 4-1 on aggregate in the other semi-final.

“I wouldn’t say I’m glad it’s not Chelsea but now that it’s Barcelona it really feels like it’s a special European final,” said the 27-year-old. “They are a massive club and have something special about them.

“To meet them at this time as well - with both of us at the top of our leagues - the time is right for a good game of football and a real test for both teams.

“We’re confident for the same reason as them. Of course we respect them and appreciate the likes of Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta - they’re special players and there’s no doubt about that.

“But we’re good enough to win, we’ve been there, we’re the champions and we’ve done it before. That gives you enough confidence to believe you can do it again.”

Spain upsets Argentina to win Davis Cup title

Spain won its third Davis Cup title despite missing top-ranked Rafael Nadal, upsetting Argentina 3-1 in the final on Sunday.

Fernando Verdasco defeated Jose Acasuso 6-3, 6-7 (3), 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 as Spain won the best-of-five final 3-1 in front of a boisterous Argentine crowd at Islas Malvinas Stadium.

Argentina lost at home for the first time in 10 years in Davis Cup competition.

Verdasco, replacing David Ferrer in the reverse singles, overcame nine double-faults to beat a shaky Acasuso in 3 hours, 56 minutes.

The 48th-ranked Acasuso was a late replacement for the injured Juan Martin del Potro, Argentina’s top-ranked player at No. 9.

Spain won its first Davis Cup title win on the road, adding to home victories against Australia in the 2000 final

and the United States in 2004.

After winning match point, Verdasco dropped to the ground in celebration and was embraced by his teammates.

“It’s the most exciting victory of my life,” Verdasco said.

“Playing for my country, against the best players, it’s a dream. I have to thank God for this moment.”

Argentina, which last lost in front of its fans in 1998 to Slovakia, had reached the final twice previously, losing to the U.S. in 1981 and Russia in 2006. It was its first final at home.

Argentina had entered the final heavily favored to win its first title after Nadal withdrew last week because of a knee injury.

Nadal said he would have loved to be in Argentina to celebrate with his teammates.

Verdasco was quick to recognise the efforts of the other players who helped Spain reach the final, including Nadal, Tommy Robredo and Nicolas Almagro.

But despite the support of nearly 10,000 fans, Acasuso was not able to keep up with Verdasco, who had played well in the doubles’ victory alongside Feliciano Lopez.

Acasuso served 14 aces, but his 47 unforced errors kept him from breaking through.

Both players struggled on serve, with Verdasco being broken five times and Acasuso nine.

Acasuso had won his only other match against Verdasco, whose Davis Cup singles record improved to 4-3. Acasuso is 5-3.

The 20-year-old Del Potro, one of the hottest players on tour this year, injured his right thigh in a four-set loss to Lopez on Friday.

Verdasco came in for David Ferrer after he lost his singles match in three sets to David Nalbandian, also on Friday.

Spain’s doubles win Saturday ensured it needed just one victory on the final day to clinch the title, while the Argentines were left with the difficult task of having to win both Sunday matches.

Verdasco broke Acasuso’s service in the sixth game, going up 4-2 to easily win the first set.

That silenced the crowd, but Acasuso lifted the fans by winning the second-set tiebreaker after each player broke twice. One of the breaks came when Acasuso was serving for the set at 5-4.

The Argentine kept pressing in the third set, breaking Verdasco in the first game and twice more to lead 2-1 despite dropping serve twice.

Verdasco stayed in the match with a solid fourth set, breaking Acasuso to lead 4-2 and winning four of the last five games.

The Spaniard then dominated the fifth set, winning the first four games and cruising to victory.

The scheduled match between Nalbandian and Lopez would not be played.

The title moved Spain from fourth to second in Davis Cup rankings, behind Russia. Argentina would have reached No. 1 with a victory.

It was Spain’s third win over Argentina in as many attempts. The other two victories, in 1926 and 2003, came at home on clay.

The Argentines chose the blue indoor hard-court for the final, trying to curtail the Spaniards’ advantage on clay.

It was only the 12th time in 28 finals that the home team had lost since the inaugural World Group in 1981.

It was the second time the Davis Cup final was held in Latin America, after Chile lost to Italy in 1976. Argentina joined Romania and India as the only nations to fail to win a title in its first three final appearances.

Poor defending leaves Dempo’s dreams in tatters

Poor defending dashed Dempo’s hopes of becoming the first Indian club to reach the final of the AFC Cup after they were demolished 1-4 by Lebanon’s Safa FC in the return leg semi-final tie to go down 1-5 on aggregate, in Hyderabad on Tuesday.Needing to win by at least a 2-0 margin to break the monopoly of West Asian countries in this tournament after the Goa club lost 0-1 in the first leg in Beirut, Armando Colaco’s boys were staring down the barrel as early as the ninth minute when Mohammad Kassas headed home from a free-kick.

Even before they could regroup, Dempo conceded the second goal when Kassas knocked in his second from close in the 19th minute. And, down by two goals in the first half, it was an uphill task for Dempo.

“Conceding an early goal was a real setback for us,” admitted Dempo’s stand-in coach Mauricio Afonso at the post-match press conference.

Dempo tried hard to get things back on track and Mboyo Iyomi managed to reduce the deficit when he stabbed home in the 60th minute.

With the score reading 2-1 (3-1 overall), Dempo needed three more goals in the next half hour to progress to the title round but were undone by two quick goals towards the end of the match.

Hussein Tahan, who replaced Rony Azar, scored a brace (89 and 90+4) to take the Lebanese side to the final in their debut AFC Cup campaign.

Afonso claimed they were undone by some poor defending.

“I accept defeat. I am not blaming anybody but I am not happy with the defending,” said the club’s assistant coach, who was standing in for Armando Colaco, who was down with fever.

Afonso, though, was happy for the team which has gone where no Indian team has gone before.

“I am happy we have managed to reach this stage. Congratulations to Safa and wish them all the best for the finals.”

Samir Saad, coach of the Lebanese outfit felt it was Dempo’s bad luck that they could not make the final.

“We scored an early goal and that gave us motivation. We were able to maintain the tempo. We played well and expected to win,” said Saad.

The finals will be played on 31st October and 7th November on home and away basis.

Anand wins again extends lead against Kramnik

World champion Viswanathan Anand has scored his second sensational victory with black against Vladimir Kramnik of Russia in the fifth game of the world championship, thus extending his lead to two points.

If anyone believed that the World championship match was interestingly poised after Anand got into lead winning the third game, they were all in for a surprise when the Indian stalwart did an encore and punished Kramnik yet again once the game took a tactical turn.

It was yet another Slav by the Indian ace and Kramnik went for what he had chosen in the third game, giving an idea that he had prepared something against the variation.

However, Anand had other ideas and once again he was the one to come out with another surprise. If Kramnik thought he was going to deviate from the earlier game, he was proven wrong as on the 15th move Anand came up with a new idea.

Like in the third game, Kramnik yet again felt the heat and spent a lot of time on his clock. Anand got a good lead on the time while his position also remained intact.

Kramnik went for unwarranted complications instead of going for equalising, which caused him dearly. The Russian was under pressure when Anand just improved the position of his pieces and maintained a fairly balanced position.

With the clock ticking away and not much in sight had a horrendous effect on Kramnik. Anand was probably hoping for the disaster that struck the Russian on the 29th move.

Anand draws with Kramnik

Viswanathan Anand held an upper hand with an extra Pawn but settled for a draw in a tense encounter with Vladimir Kramnik of Russia after 32 moves in the Second game of the world chess championship now underway in Bonn (Germany) :

In a daring strategy, Anand abandoned his pet King Pawn (1.e4) on the first move and opted opening the game with the Queen Pawn, thus aiming to surprise his Russian opponent.

Thus, Anand seems to be aiming to sidestep Kramnik’s ploy which worked well for him against Kasparov in 2000 World Championship match.

Avoiding both the Petroff or the Berlin system of the Ruy Lopez against 1.e4, Anand may thus be trying to reach dynamic positions and invite Kramnik to come out of his shell.

If this is going to be Anand’s strategy with White pieces for the match, the world of Chess will definitely be treated to some open fights on the even-numbered games, as witnessed on Thursday.

Starting with 1.d4 for which Kramnik responded with the Nimzo Indian Defence, Anand went in for an Open middlegame position with irrational Pawn structure, thus making his intentions clear to have an open fight.

With his unconventional 8..f5, Kramnik aimed to surprise his opponent in turn and the game entered a tense middlegame, where Anand enjoyed a slight advantage due to his Bishop pair.

Understandably, this being the early stages of the match both traded slight inaccuracies between moves 14 17 and by move 18th, Anand had once again regained a slight initiative, though Kramnik managed to exchange Queens.

Anand boldly took his King on a march to the g3 square, for which Kramnik replied with 21Ndf6?, an obvious mistake which was widely criticised by the assembled Grandmaster spectators at the Venue.

Anand responded with the cool 21.Bb1, which made Kramnik realise the precariousness of his position and sacrifice a Pawn to wriggle out.

But, just when it looked that Anand was going to start the process of realising his material advantage, a few inaccuracies and a mounting time trouble brought Anand under pressure and he agreed to a draw on move 32 when Kramnik seemed to be getting his pieces active with a strong outpost on d4.

It looked like an overcautious decision by Anand as he still looked better in the final position, but it was dictated by the normal cautious approach of anyone involved in a World Championship match.

India continue to dominate CYG with 12 medals

India continued their dominance in the third day of the Commonwealth Youth Games at Pune on Tuesday and consolidated their position atop the standings, taking their medals tally to seven golds, five silver and four bronze.
England closely follow the hosts with six golds, one silver and two bronze.

India bagged four golds, four silvers and four bronze at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex at Balewadi on Tuesday to add to their yesterday’s tally of three golds and one silver.

Meanwhile in girls’ badminton event, Beijing quarter-finalist Saina Nehwal eased past Deborah Godfrey of South Africa to 21-7 21-4 to storm into the pre-quarterfinals, while national champion Guru Sai Dutt beat Joel Debel of Seychelles 21-04 21-02 to move into third round.

Not considered as India’s forte, athletics however earned India a gold through Maharashtra’s Dheeraj Mishra who leapt 15.42m to emerge on top in the triple jump.

England’s Benjamin Williams (15.41m) finished second, while Boipelo Molahatlhego of South Africa secured the bronze with a distance of 15.20m. Indians also bagged two silver and three bronze medals in athletics.

Though the hosts missed a gold in the men’s hammer-throw which was topped by Peter Smith of England with a distance of 68.38m, Indian duo of Narayan Chandrodaya (68.38m) and Ejaj Ahmed (64.97m) took the silver and bronze respectively.

The other silver came from Gayathri Govindharaj, who with a timing of 14.00s finished second in 100m hurdles. Kierre Beckles (Barbados) and Australia’s Brianna Beahan took the gold and bronze respectively.

The other two bronze medals came through Jasdeep Singh (shot put) and Poonam Rani (women’s javelin).

Meanwhile, India shooters continued to shine for the second day in succession with Hyderabad’s Kynan Darius Chenai bagging a gold in the boys trap event and Ankush Bharadwaj clinching his second medal, a bronze in 10m Air Pistol event.

Mistake-ridden Darius, however, had a nervous final round where he shot 17, while the eventual bronze medalist Michael McNabb of Australia shot 19. But his earlier rounds scores of 111 was enough for the Hyderabad sharp shooter to finish on top with 128.

Having shot a poor 106 in the earlier rounds, Australian McNabb’s splendid comeback in the final round took his tally to 106 and thus a bronze.

Malta’s Ryan Bugeja, who shot on par with the Indian with the final round score of 17, had to settle for the silver medal after finishing one point shy of Darius.

Yesterday’s gold medalist in 50m pistol event, Bhardwaj added a bronze to his tally after firing 94.9 in the final round to finish with a total of 645.9.

Gold went to James Hendry Matthews of Canada with a final score of 96.1 and a total of 653.1. Singapore’s Chen Christopher finished with the silver with a total score of 650.7 and in the final he shot 95.7.
Loss of concentration due to a lighting problem cost Rushad Damania of India a medal, who missed the bronze by a margin of less than two points in the boys 50m rifle prone event.

Bad light forced Rushad to change his place and he shot 97.3 in the final to take his total to 679.3.

But Rory McAlpine of Scotland with a final round score of 99.4 took his tally to 681.4 en route to a silver, while James Huckle took the gold with 687.6.

India had a poor fifth place finish in the girls 50m rifle prone event with Aparajita Tivary totalling 579. Kay Copland (Scotland) clinched the gold with 585, while Nurfarah Afiqah of Malaysia took the silver totalling 582.

Sheree Cox of England had to contend with the bronze, finishing one point adrift of the Malaysian.

Yesterday saw shooting earn two gold for India with Bhardwaj emerging winner in a two-way race in the 50m pistol and Rahi Sarnobat in the girls 25m pistol.

Taking advantage of the thin participation, India also bagged two gold medals in wrestling event.
Ajit Patil opened the medal account in wrestling for the hosts when he emerged on top in the 39-42kg category which saw representation from four countries.

In his first round bout, the Kolhapur lad beat Pakistan’s Salamat Ali 8-0 to ensure a medal for India and then knocked out England’s Jack Longthrone 6-1 in the second bout to finish on top in the round robin.

In the gold medal bout, the Bombay Engineering Group (BEG) grappler pinned down Jonathan Babulall of Canada to pocket the gold.

Salamat bagged the silver, while Babulall settled for a bronze.

In the 46kg category, which saw a three-way race, Delhi’s Deepak Kumar emerged on top. Trained under his father Ramnath, the gold today was his third international medal.

He has a gold in a Russian meet in 2007, while in Uzbekistan last year he had bagged a bronze.
Yukar Sibi and Laxmi N fetched two silvers for India in the men’s 62kg and women’s 53kg categories of weightlifting.

The Army Sports Institute’s (ASI) girl Sibi lifted 112kg in snatch and 147kg in the clean and jerk category to finish with a total of 259kg and settle for a silver behind Aricco Jumitih of Malaysia. Uganda’s Charles Ssekyaaya took the bronze.

Laxmi, who trains in SAI Bangalore, lifted 149kg (snatch 67kg, jerk 82kg) to finish with 149kg for the silver. Zoe Smith of England took the gold, while Bangladesh’s Fayema Akther had to settle for the bronze.

The top two seeded paddlers Neha Aggarwal and Soumi Mondal also maintained their winning streak to make the last eight of the table tennis event.

Indian sports associations backward looking: Modi

Indian Premier League Chairman Lalit Modi believes a big difference could be made to Indian sports by by-passing the backward looking associations and resisting the interference from various quarters.
“It is difficult to by-pass the associations but we can make a big difference and can see great change if we find the right talent. We have started to do this,” he said.
“We are developing individual sports with the BCCI sanctioning Rs 100 crore per year to them,” he said in New Delhi on Monday.
Modi, who conceptualized the highly successful IPL Twenty20 tournament, said for the success in sports “we have to start at young age”.
“It has to be without interference, there is too much interference by many people. There is no infrastructure as well,” he said.
Asked if he would do something for the other team games or the individual sports, Modi said “it was easier for the individual games but very tough for the team games”.
On IPL venture, he said, “It was very tough. We’d lot of barriers. Mr (Sharad) Pawar allowed me to go and work independently.”
Asked how he convinced the international players, Modi said, “Primarily IPL was scheduled in the off-season except for the West Indies and England. Then the players were given participation fee and share-holding benefits,” he said.