SPORTS WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2014 Villarreal drub Sociedad MADRID: Villarreal landed a stunning blow on a poten- tial rival for a European qualification berth when Giovani dos Santos and Ikechukwu Uche each struck twice in a 5-1 drubbing of Real Sociedad in La Liga on Monday. The resounding victory for the team known as “yellow submarine” lifted them above Sociedad into fifth on 34 points at the halfway stage of the season, two ahead of the San Sebastian-based side and two behind another Basque club, fourth-placed Athletic Bilbao. Villarreal produced a brilliant display of attacking football at their Madrigal stadium, with former Tottenham Hotspur forward Dos Santos on scintillating form. It was the latest evidence they fully deserve to be playing among the elite of Spanish football after spend- ing a year in the second division last term. Mexican Dos Santos fired them ahead in the 17th minute before crossing for Nigerian Uche to make it 2-0 in the 27th. Dos Santos, a product of Barcelona’s academy who has also had stints at Ipswich Town, Galatasaray and Real Mallorca, grabbed his second six minutes later as Sociedad were swept aside by the home side’s intensity and attacking verve. Uche completed his double from another Dos Santos assist 10 minutes into the second half and Moises Gomez added a fifth in the 58th before Imanol Agirretxe pulled one back for Sociedad on the hour. Villarreal had SPAIN: Villarreal’s Argentinian defender Mateo Musacchio (left) vies with Real Sociedadís forward Imanol not won at home since the end of October and the vic- Agirretxe during the Spanish League football match. — AFP tory will give them a boost for their next game tomor- row, when they host Sociedad again in the last 16 of the after a long time without a victory,” Villarreal fullback vein and we can finish in the best way possible.” King’s Cup. Mario Gaspar told Spanish television broadcaster Cuatro. Champions Barcelona and Atletico Madrid are level on Last week’s first leg in San Sebastian ended 0-0 and “I think we enjoyed ourselves on the pitch, you could 50 points at the top after they drew 0-0 at the Calderon the winners of the tie will play Almeria or third-tier see that, and now we have to focus on Thursday as we on Saturday and third-placed Real Madrid closed to Racing Santander in the quarter-finals. are also very excited about the Cup,” he added. within three points of the leaders when they won 1-0 at “We were really keen to start winning at home again “I hope that the season continues for us in the same Espanyol on Sunday. — Reuters Cristiano Ronaldo The German Five years on, experience Ronaldo back By Ahmad Al-Othman KUWAIT: AC Milan in 2000, Barcelona in 2009, Real as world’s best Madrid in 2012 and only a couple of days ago, the Bavarian giants Bayern Munich. This promising trend is MADRID: It has taken Cristiano Ronaldo a long time to starting to pay its dividends and satisfy Kuwaiti football be back on top of the world. Since winning the Ballon fans around the country and even the Arabian Gulf. d’Or for the first time after leading Manchester United Everything was perfectly set up for the memorable bat- to Champions League glory in 2008, he has been rele- tle — the spectators started flooding the stadium hours gated into second place in three of the last four years as prior to the friendly and the general organizing was more than promising. Barcelona rival Lionel Messi won the award for an When looking at Bayern Munich’s recent success, unprecedented four consecutive times. no wonder they were given a welcoming and warm On Monday, however, he was finally crowned World reception since they set foot on Kuwaiti sands. Prime Player of the Year for a second time as he beat Messi Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah honored the and Bayern Munich’s treble-winning playmaker Franck reigning European Champions on Monday at Seif Ribery to football’s highest individual award. Palace, a clear sign of the magnitude of Bayern’s visit. By swapping Manchester for Real Madrid in the sum- Their hardcore fans assembled in front of the Radisson Blu Hotel in Salwa where the players stayed and the for- mer of 2009, Ronaldo accepted the challenge of con- tunate ones had the privilege of taking a photo or two. stant comparisons with Messi. You could easily notice how the fans enjoyed their Unfortunately for the Portuguese, though, his mar- evening, with the majority Kuwaiti faithful being more riage with the world’s richest club initially wasn’t as per- AMSTERDAM: In this Sept. 27, 2010 file photo, AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri (left) and player Clarence than vocal throughout the tie. A special mention goes fect as he had envisaged. Barca and Messi’s dominance Seedorf answer questions during a press conference. — AP to the Bayern supporters section that by the looks of it has continued as they have racked up 12 trophies to had one entertaining night. One thing was for sure — Madrid and Ronaldo’s three since he moved to Spain. the German side thought for a second they were play- The Catalans were once again superior on a collec- Former star Seedorf ing at the Allianz Arena in Bavaria! The full-house stadi- um had closed entry gates half an hour ahead of the fix- tive level in 2013 as they sealed their 22nd league title ture, an evident indication of the enormous demand. with a club record 100 points. The attending crowd was estimated to be close to However, with Messi’s year having been blighted by to coach AC Milan 20,000, and worth mentioning there were European fol- injuries, the last 12 months did signal a change on the lowers scattered in the stands of the Kaifan stadium. individual front for Ronaldo. Some would argue that the foggy weather was the Despite his remarkable goalscoring record, Ronaldo RIO DE JANEIRO: Dutch veteran Clarence Seedorf con- His performances in midfield helped Botafogo to only downside of the day, but many would debate it wasn’t always greeted with the hero’s worship he firmed yesterday he is taking over as coach of AC Milan, qualify for the Copa Libertadores, the South American gave them a “European inspiration” against the World replacing Massimiliano Allegri.The seven-times equivalent of Europe’s Champions League, which starts thought he deserved from the club’s fans. Champions, which had a genuine outcome. As for the European champions sacked Allegri after a shock week- on January 29, for the first time in 17 years. match itself, surely no one expected the local side to get Yet, driven by fear that he could have been running end loss to Sassuolo and have turned to Seedorf, who Botafogo had been hoping he would stay on for that anything out of the contest, even the most extremist of down his contract with the intention of leaving Madrid, won a host of honors in Milan as a player. Seedorf, 37 event-but finally allowed him to move on with their optimists. Despite the thrashing, Kuwait Club was more 2013 marked a turning point in the adulation Ronaldo and the first man to win the Champions League with blessing as Milan plumped for him ahead of former than competent during the first 45 minutes, and a word now receives every time he steps foot inside the three different clubs after stellar spells with Ajax, Real striker Filippo Inzaghi, the club’s youth coach. of praise goes to Brazilian forward Rogeiro and defend- Santiago Bernabeu. Madrid and Milan, has spent the past 18 months with “There is a feeling of sadness,” said club chairman er Fahad Humoud. Ronaldo finally quashed any speculation surround- Rio-based Botafogo. Mauricio AssumpÁ„o, who saluted Seedorf for his Hosting a match of this caliber is truly an honorable ing his future by extending his contract with Madrid But he said now was the time to take up a new chal- efforts. “It is sad to see you stop playing, yet there is achievement for all parties involved in the sport. The until 2018 in September in a deal that saw him become lenge-and hang up his boots. “I am going to stop play- pleasure that the footballing world is gaining you as a German side is seen by many as the team to beat and ing after 22 years. It was a difficult night-but I am satis- coach. The others will now have to chase after Milan,” hot favorite for a consecutive Champions League tri- the world’s best paid player. umph, especially after adding Mario Gotze and former And the backing he now receives was most visibly fied with what I have achieved in my career,” said Assumpc„o predicted. Seedorf. After Sunday’s reverse to Sassuolo, Milan stand just Barcelona midfielder Thiago Alcantara to their talented displayed when thousands of Real fans donned masks “This experience of a year and a half (with Botafogo) 11th in the table, 30 points behind leaders Juventus and squad. After bagging a memorable five trophies from a of their hero in support of his bid to win the Ballon d’Or helped me grow and will help me in the next stage of 20 behind Napoli, who occupy the third and last qualify- possible six, in addition to the eminent arrival of Robert following incendiary comments from FIFA president my life-as coach of Milan,” Seedorf told reporters in Rio.