WEDNESDAY, JULY 16, 2014 SPORTS Deila eyes Euro boost to start Celtic reign

LONDON: Celtic manager Ronny Deila will call on all Glasgow club into the group stages where they can “Everyone is available for this match and we want are doing. “I think we have a good plan for that. This three of his World Cup stars as the Norwegian looks compete against the cream of the continent. to put as strong a team as we possibly can on to the is going to be the first important game and I think to start his reign with a crucial Champions League That means negotiating the treacherous qualify- pitch. We really want to win but we will need a good after the two weeks in Austria we have prepared as victory against KR Reykjavik late yesterday. ing stages, a journey that starts with the second performance up in Iceland.” well as possible.” Deila admits it is not ideal to have Deila was the surprise choice to take over from round first leg tie in the unglamorous surroundings With Celtic’s captain Scott Brown ruled out for such an important game thrust upon his side before Neil Lennon, who quit at the end of last season, after of the 3,000-capacity Vollur Stadium. three months with a serious hamstring tear suffered the domestic season has started, but he is banking leading Stromsgodset to their first title in Norway for And with so much at stake he has asked Nigeria last week, Deila has already been hit with one major on his players’ experience of the qualification 43 years. defender Efe Ambrose, Honduras defender Emilio blow and he can ill-afford a second on the pitch. process to come through for him. “I can’t do any- With domestic dominance in Scotland virtually Izaguirre and England goalkeeper Fraser Forster, He has opted to slow his changes to the team’s thing about that. Every minute of the day I try to do assured given Rangers’ continued absence from the who all made the trip to the World Cup in Brazil, to tactics-he wants to adopt a high-tempo pressing the best for the team,” Deila said. top-flight, it is the Champions League where Celtic return to club action sooner than preferred against game-and revert to their more familiar style against “A lot of the players here have been through this now define their progress. Deila, 38, knows he can’t the Icelandic champions, who have won their last Reykjavik in a bid to ensure his players aren’t out of before so we have enough knowledge to go afford an embarrassing European exit if he is to win five matches. “All our players who are at the World their comfort zone in such an important fixture. through at this stage. “They are used to winning over the skeptics who claim he doesn’t have the Cup are ready to play in this game. Fraser, Efe and “We need to take things step by step,” Deila said. football games and that is the most important part. experience to succeed with the Scottish champions. Emilio have all come straight from the World Cup so, “In time we want to raise the tempo of the team but “If we are on top of it then we will have an intensity To keep the critics onside, Deila must take the of course, they are ready to play,” Deila said. of course the players have to feel safe in what they Reykjavik will struggle with.” — AFP From Brazil to Russia: A look at 2018 World Cup

MOSCOW: Brazil barely managed to get everything swing. “All of the projects are being developed pretty invasion by Zenit St. Petersburg supporters in which ready in time for the World Cup. Russia insists it won’t much at the same speed, with one or two exceptions,” an opposition player was punched in the head. have any such problems in 2018, although the coun- architect Peter Lavelle of the Populous firm, which “Russian football is making certain efforts towards try faces other pressing issues - including racism and designed the Kazan and Sochi stadiums and is work- combatting (racism),” Sorokin said. “This thing exists violence. ing on the Saransk and Rostov-on-Don arenas, told everywhere, we are no exception. So we are going to Just like in Brazil, the sheer size of Russia is set to The AP. But as long as projects remain uncertified, do what we can.” cause logistical challenges for organizers and fans in delays are inevitable, warned construction analyst Some Russian clubs’ fans have shown they are “on 2018, with thousands of kilometers (miles) separating Vitalie Iambla of consultancy firm PMR. a different planet in terms of their mindset,” said Piara some host cities. But the successful staging of the “We will have also stadiums built . a few weeks or Powar, head of anti-discrimination group FARE, which Sochi Winter Olympics in February without any major months before the first whistle of the tournament,” he is monitoring Russia ahead of 2018. “We have football organizational problems has raised Russians’ confi- said, adding that rising building material costs and fans going on the rampage, looking to attack visible dence in producing a high-class tournament. the ruble’s decline against other currencies over the ethnic minorities. So in that sense, the whole shebang After the games, Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko told last year are likely to cause cost overruns. is there and it’s getting worse.” parliament that Russia would avoid the “Brazilian sce- The government’s model for the new stadiums is Last year, Russia passed its Fan Law, which intro- nario” of massive construction delays. the Kazan Arena, which opened on time last year duces stadium bans for troublemakers at sports Of the 12 stadiums in 11 host cities, two are com- costing around $400 million. events. Powar said the law was “very stringent” but plete but must be reconfigured to host football. A The St. Petersburg stadium, however, is a sign of needs to be accompanied by education initiatives. third, the Spartak Stadium in Moscow, will open in what can go wrong. The 69,000-capacity arena, which The budget for the World Cup has been set at 660 September. The others, including Moscow’s 81,000- will host a 2018 semifinal, is scheduled to open in billion rubles ($19.24 billion), but the question of total capacity Luzhniki where the final will be played, are 2016, far beyond its one-time finishing date of costs is thorny. The official figure covers the stadiums new projects where construction has either started or December 2008. During that time, construction has and some stadium-related infrastructure, but not oth- will begin this year. been marred by delays while costs have soared to er developments such as around $20 billion of rail The Russian government insists it will complete $1.1 billion, something Prime Minister Dmitry upgrades linked to the World Cup preparations by the the stadiums on time, although Mutko told local Medvedev has labeled “disgraceful.” Transport Ministry. media in March that some aspects of the design But a bigger issue may be fan racism, after inci- Another worry for Russia is the performance of its process “gave cause for disquiet” as deadlines were dents in Russian club football in recent years. Monkey team, which was knocked out in the group stage in missed. “That is a normal working concern,” organiz- chants aimed at Manchester City midfielder Yaya Brazil without a win. That poor performance put ing committee head Alexei Sorokin told The Toure by CSKA Moscow fans during a Champions coach Fabio Capello’s job in question, while renewed Associated Press. “That does not mean we are lying League game in November earned the club the first of focus is being given to developing young players for down calmly and waiting for things to happen. It sug- two UEFA racism sanctions last season, and highlight- 2018 and even naturalizing foreign talent, a sugges- gests that we are ... attentive to it.” ed Russian football’s problems with discrimination tion that in recent months has been mooted in the Six stadiums still need to go through a design cer- and violence. Last season also saw a swastika flag government. However, one thing is on Russia’s side. tification process before construction enters full waved at a Spartak Moscow game, and a violent pitch As host, it will not need to qualify. — AP Avoiding milkshakes fired Germans to glory

BERLIN: The omens were not good. In late May, as dubbed “Campo Bahia”. the Germany football team gathered at their World The fortress, erected in the middle of a poor town Cup training camp in Italy, news broke that manager of 800 residents, was protected by high walls and Joachim Loew had been stripped of his driver’s armed guards. Some 30 kilometres (18 miles) and a license for six months after a series of speeding tick- 15-minute ferry-crossing from the nearest city of ets. Days earlier, Kevin Grosskreutz, a versatile Porto Seguro, the camp’s isolation meant no distrac- defender, had been caught urinating in the lobby of a tions, no sponsors, no well-wishers and no journalists luxury hotel in Berlin. Two other players, attending a to stir dissent. “We’re glad that none of you tried to public relations event, had been involved in a high- climb over the walls and sneak into the camp,” team speed car crash that seriously hurt two pedestrians. manager Oliver Bierhoff told reporters on the eve of The troubled start fuelled public panic about the final. “The conditions for the team to focus and Loew’s coaching strategies. The training camp, concentrate were ideal.” Loew and his players kept designed to get the players ready for the tropical heat their distance from the 100 or so German reporters of Brazil, was beset by cold temperatures and heavy who followed the team. Unlike his predecessors Rudi rain. Then, in a friendly against Armenia before their Voeller and Juergen Klinsmann, Loew did not to departure for Brazil, Germany lost Marco Reus, one of speak to journalists on the plane journey to the World the team’s best players, to an ankle injury. Cup. Once in Brazil, reporters were fed information in With a “golden generation” of some of the best tightly controlled daily news conferences. Only the soccer players Germany has ever produced, there is odd player and occasionally an assistant coach were little doubt the pressure on the 54-year-old Loew was sent up to answer questions. Loew attended just two building as he set off for Brazil. in five weeks and even bluntly told the reporters that Eighty one million Germans - desperate for a he was not reading German newspapers - and nei- fourth world title after wins in 1954, 1974 and 1990 - ther were his players. felt it was time for the sharply dressed, mop-haired The manager was spotted almost every day jog- manager to deliver or quit. The “Bundestrainer” — as ging or walking along the beach. “That’s where he Germans call the head coach — had taken his talent- lets off steam,” said captain Philipp Lahm. laden team to the semi-finals of their last four major international tournaments, but failed to win a trophy. NEW PHONES That was just not good enough in a country The players also got new cell phone numbers where the World Cup has been an integral part of before the tournament, effectively cutting off their post-World War Two identity ever since the 1954 media contacts. “Sorry, I don’t have my cell phone “Miracle of Berne”. That improbable triumph, histori- anymore so I can’t get your text messages,” Loew told ans say, gave the broken, bombed-out nation such a one exasperated tabloid reporter. boost it helped spark West Germany’s economic mira- Klinsmann’s assistant coach from 2004 to 2006, cle. So how did Germany overcome all their problems Loew was part of a revolution in the German team. and go on to beat hosts Brazil in a sensational 7-1 Klinsmann, a former Germany striker, added physical semi-final thrashing before edging Argentina 1-0 in fitness specialists, a psychologist and urged the team extra-time in the final? to play more open, attacking soccer. That was credit- The answer: attention to detail, ignoring distrac- ed with helping Germany to the European tions and milkshakes. Talking to reporters after arriv- Championship final in 2008 and the semi-finals of the ing at Germany’s Brazilian base in Santo Andre, an World Cup in 2006 and 2010. ROME: Former Chelsea left back Ashley Cole poses with his isolated town on the Atlantic shore, Loew outlined his But after Loew’s entertaining squad lost yet new Roma jersey during the official presentation. Cole signed thoughts. “I’ve been around long enough to realise another semi-final at the 2012 European a two-year deal with Roma last week and was presented with that some of these same kinds of debates repeat Championship to outsiders Italy, the mood began to the Giallorossi’s No. 3 shirt yesterday. — AP themselves from tournament to tournament,” he said. turn. Loew had made wholesale changes before the “Obviously people are going to have different Italy match. When Germany lost, critics said Loew was opinions on the lineup and on the tactics. But I’m guilty of over-coaching and was a control freak. Australia to play Belgium going to try to stay away from of all that.” In Brazil he decided he would not get burned like in Asian Cup warm-up that again and re-jigged his high-scoring team to SIX WARM-UPS give it more defensive strength by including four More than any other squad at the World Cup, towering centre-backs, sacrificing speed and crossing MELBOURNE: Australia will play a friendly against World Cup Loew and his players treated each of their six match- proficiency for a tighter defence. quarter-finalists Belgium in September as the Socceroos seek a es as warm-ups along the way to the final they always The move was poorly understood and widely criti- testing warm-up ahead of next January’s Asian Cup on home seemed confident of reaching - and winning. cised. The German public wanted attractive, high- soil. Ange Postecoglou’s team will face the Red Devils in Liege Victories in the group stage and the early knock-out scoring play and assured victories. on Sept. 4 before heading to the Middle East to play friendlies phase brought not celebrations but a quiet round of In the eyes of many, Loew also committed a cardi- against the United Arab Emirates (Oct. 10) and Qatar (Oct. 14), banana milk shakes at the German compound. nal sin by putting his captain Lahm, considered by Football Federation Australia (FFA) said yesterday. Loew repeated a simple sporting mantra after many to be the world’s best right back, into midfield “Belgium will give us a good post-World Cup indication of each win - victory was meaningless unless they won for the first four matches. how we are progressing and then we will get some good hit the cup. With customary German thoroughness, Germany struggled at times and the criticism Loew and his coaches were as well-prepared as possi- escalated. When a reporter accused Loew of appear- outs against Asian opposition to help us prepare tactically for ble. They spent two years focusing on every detail ing to be content with the shaky 2-1 extra-time win the Asian Cup,” Postecoglou said in an FFA statement. from tactics to vegetation. over Algeria in the last 16, Loew snapped. The Socceroos hoped to book another match in Europe dur- A team of 50 students at the University of Cologne “Should I really be disappointed that we made it ing the September international window and two more at compiled an enormous data base of information to the quarter-finals?,” he said. An opinion poll home in November, the FFA added. about every team, their strategies and their players. showed 93 percent of Germans wanted Lahm to The lowest-ranked team at Brazil, Australia lost all three of German staff took care to make sure the grass on return to full back and Loew moved him there for the their matches to crash out of the group phase and register the their training pitch near their compound was “South final three matches. “No, I don’t have a closed mind nation’s worst result in four World Cups but won admirers for American” and identical to that used in Brazilian when it comes to advice,” Loew said. “A team needs to their spirit and enterprising play. pitches. Loew picked the base because it was two improve their performance through the course of the “Our performances in Brazil at the World Cup reaffirmed that hours flying time from the bright lights of Sao Paulo tournament. That’s the art that a team needs to mas- we are moving in the right direction but it also showed we and Rio de Janeiro, where many of the other 31 ter.” After the victory over Argentina, Loew smiled for need to improve if we want to be regarded as one of the lead- teams set up. He also wanted his players to be in a the first time in weeks and said he was keen to fulfil tropical part of Brazil to get ready for the scorching his contract, which has another two years to run. ing football nations, which is our ultimate target,” Postecoglou afternoon conditions they would experience. “This is something for eternity,” he said. “We’re said. Belgium won all three of their Group H matches and beat SHANGHAI: Ukraine’s Oleksandr Bondar jumps into the water during To blot out distractions further Germany struck a the first European team to win the World Cup in the United States 2-1 in a round of 16 encounter before bowing the team event of the 19th FINA Diving World Cup. The Chinese won deal with a German developer in Brazil to build them South America. It took 10 years of hard work to out to Argentina in the quarter-finals. Australia will host the the team event ahead of Ukraine and Russia. — AFP a spanking new 14-villa luxury compound they get here.” — Reuters Asian Cup from Jan. 9. — Reuters