THURSDAY, MAY 28, 2015 SPORTS Brazil’s most successful coaches are out of a job

SAO PAULO: Some of the most successful coaches in Brazilian soccer are without a job, slowly losing out to a younger generation who are bringing fresh ideas and willing to accept lower salaries. The latest to become unemployed was for- mer Brazil and Real Madrid , who was fired by Flamengo on Monday, joining a list that already includes , , and . They were indisputable names not long ago thanks to their winning records in Brazil and abroad. Luxemburgo, Ramalho and Braga com- bined won nine Brazilian league titles, while Scolari won four Brazilian Cups and the 2002 World Cup with the national team. But most have failed to succeed recently, NEW YORK: United States women’s soccer players (from left) Hope Solo (left), Megan and now few Brazilian teams have shown inter- Rapinoe (center) and Abby Wambach (right) listen during the US women’s national est in these high-profile coaches. They have team World Cup media day. US will face South Korea on Saturday, May 30, at Red Bull become discredited after lackluster results and Arena in their final send-off match, before leaving for Canada and the 2015 FIFA many are already being called outdated and Women’s World Cup. —AP obsolete. “Football is like this, there’s nothing we can do about it,” Luxemburgo said Tuesday. “One day everything is great, but the next everything Luiz Felipe Scolari is worthless. Things change very quickly. It’s the Last barrier to way it is in football.” A big reason these coaches Brazilian league matches because he didn’t Brazilian league winner, left the club earlier this have lost space is because some remain have “the full support” of club directors. Scolari year after a series of poor results. He had been McCall and Rangers extremely expensive compared to the young- was considered an indisputable hero in Brazil under pressure by family members to take a sters in the market. Local clubs have been until about a year ago, but things changed sig- coaching break because of health problems struggling financially and can’t afford to pay nificantly after the national team’s humiliating and is not expected to coach again until the Premiership return the high salaries that these coaches continue to 7-1 loss to Germany in the World Cup. end of the year. Despite knowing Scolari and demand. Most are at a stage in their careers Gremio has hired relatively unknown coach Luxemburgo are on the market, Sao Paulo on that allow them to be picky about where to Roger Machado, who is expected to earn less Tuesday hired Colombian coach Juan Carlos GLASGOW: Rangers assistant manager smashing position. “The supporters have work and how much to earn. than a third of what Scolari made. Osorio, a relatively unknown manager who had Kenny Black says the club’s players are been fantastic and got right behind the None of the recent coaches of the Brazilian Other clubs who are betting on less-known been with Colombian club Atletico Nacional proving their doubters wrong as they pre- players and we will be giving them the national team is currently employed, including coaches include Santos, who hired one of its since 2012. Braga, the 2012 Brazilian champion pare for the first leg of their crucial playoff same again today and hopefully go to Fir Luxemburgo, Menezes and Scolari. former assistants, and Vasco da Gama, who has with Fluminense and the 2006 Copa final against Motherwell. Park with an advantage.” Luxemburgo, a five-time Brazilian league former player at the helm. Libertadores winner with Internacional, has The fallen Glasgow giants are aiming to Black also revealed that the club’s play- winner, was fired from Flamengo only three Three of Brazil’s top clubs have already been without a club since leaving Inter last year regain their top flight status after an ers will be kept away from each other in matches into this year’s Brazilian league. changed coaches in the first three rounds of after disappointing results. Menezes, Brazil’s absence of three years following liquida- training in order to avoid any injuries ahead “I was surprised,” Luxemburgo said. “I was the Brazilian league. In addition to Flamengo coach after the 2010 World Cup, has been tion and their enforced demotion to the of the crunch ties. told that I was crucial for the club this year, but and Gremio, Fluminense also made a change, unemployed since a stint with Flamengo in bottom tier of Scottish football in 2012. “We were concerned coming into the 20 days later they come and tell me that I’m no hiring to replace Ricardo 2013 and another with Corinthians in 2014. Standing in their way is current Rangers play-off games that we could pick up a cru- good anymore. I was really surprised.” Drubscky, who stayed only eight matches at Other Brazilian coaches currently unemployed manager Stuart McCall’s former club el injury but hopefully we will have every- Last week, it was Scolari who became unem- the club. Sao Paulo already started the compe- include Emerson Leao, Renato Gaucho, Celso Motherwell after the Fir Park club finished one available for selection and the players ployed, resigning from Gremio after only two tition without a coach. Ramalho, a four-time Roth, and Dorival Junior. —AP second bottom of the Scottish Premiership. will all be desperate to be involved,” Black The Ibrox club have come through two said. “We have to be really careful with how tough two-legged ties against Queen of we train. We need to limit the amount of the South and Hibernian to earn their place contact we have as well because we need in the final and host the Steelmen in the to look to come through the games with- Thais target soccer gold first leg of the final on Thursday before the out any injuries and we certainly wouldn’t return at Fir Park on Sunday. want to pick any up in training.” SINGAPORE: At the Southeast Asian Games, the them,” Singapore striker Sahil Suhaimi told The view. Concerns about a lack of adequate prepa- Rangers had been favourites to win the Meanwhile, Motherwell striker Scott men’s soccer gold medal carries more weight New Paper last month. ration have not been helped by the timing of Championship title at the start of the sea- McDonald says his side will be underdogs than any of the other 400 on offer in a region “The pressure is there and not many Wednesday’s money-spinning friendly between son but a disappointing campaign saw for the matches against the Ibrox side as where football bragging rights are the most Singaporeans think that we can go all the way. a local select and English side Tottenham them finish in third. However, assistant they bid to avoid relegation from the top priceless of commodities. The importance of It’s up to us to prove them wrong.” Singapore’s Hotspur in Kuala Lumpur. Those frustrations, boss Black believes their performances in flight. winning the 11-nation tournament led Thailand scepticism stems from frustration at the stagna- though, are minor compared to the ones being the playoffs has silenced some critics. However, the Australian international and Vietnam to move their World Cup qualifying tion of the senior national side in the two years endured by supporters of back-to-back runners- “It is exciting times here - we have come says he will relish the occasion and hopes fixture after a request to FIFA, while domestic since German coach Bernd Stange took over. up Indonesia. through the four games to arrive at this his side can use their experience to help action in other countries has also been put on The under-23’s have fared little better with Whether the country even takes part in the play-off final and we’ve had to go through them see off the Gers. hold. preparation not going to plan. Last month, head tournament remains up for debate with FIFA the ringer a little bit,” Black said. “Everyone’s written us off and we’re hap- The Thais want a 10th under-23 gold in 12 coach Aide Iskandar contracted dengue while a threatening suspension if a row between the “We have stepped up to the plate and py to take that underdog status and go editions and are heavy favourites to achieve tour of Japan resulted in defeat to a local fourth government and local football association (PSSI) silenced a few critics; a lot of people have there and hopefully pull a few surprises out their goal with a third of their 20-man squad division team. Singapore have never won the is not resolved by Friday, the start of the football had a little pop at the players and people of the bag,” the former Celtic player said. “It’s part of the Suzuki Cup title success the senior men’s gold but they will have taken heart from tournament. might say rightly so but we have managed the type of game the players relish. I haven’t side enjoyed over their Southeast Asian rivals in local club side Lions XII upsetting the odds to “We are closing our eyes and our ears to FIFA’s to get ourselves into the final. “And now played in anything as big as this for a long December. win a first Malaysian FA Cup title last weekend. letter (threatening sanctions),” PSSI secretary we’re two games away from getting the time, probably since the last time I was up Influential Charyl Chappuis maybe That surprise win over Kelantan in the final general Azwar Karim told Reuters earlier this promotion that everybody connected with here. “For me, it’s an excellent game to be missing but their rivals remain wary. “In any led to the Crown Prince of Johor lambasting the month. the club is so keen to achieve. involved in and a great challenge ahead. regional tournament, Thailand are always going state of Malaysian soccer. The Malaysians won “Hopefully, if things go well they will play on “If we can replicate the performance we “I’ve relished these situations in the past to be the favourites. But we proved in the SEA gold in 2009 and 2011 but hopes of a third suc- June 2 (against Myanmar). Otherwise they will put in against Hibs then we would be in a and I’m looking forward to it again.” —AFP Games semi-final in 2013 that we can match cess are low with many fans sharing the Prince’s have to return, which is quite sad.”—Reuters Heysel and the death of English hooliganism

LONDON: The Heysel stadium disaster was ball died”, while prime minister Margaret which a 15-year-old boy died-led by leading Nottingham Forest. Another report by another out of English stadiums. one of the blackest days in English football his- Thatcher declared war on “the hooligan prob- judge Oliver Popplewell resulted in new, wide- judge, this time Peter Taylor, found serious fail- There are isolated incidents-such as when tory, but it also prepared the ground for the lem”, which had bedevilled English football, at ranging public order powers for police. ings in the police’s handling of the tragedy Millwall fans shockingly fought between sport’s spectacular rebirth in its ancestral home and abroad, for over a decade. Recorded incidents of hooliganism sloped and ushered in the all-seater stadiums with themselves inside Wembley during an FA Cup home. John Williams, an expert on football fan off, while attendances in the English Football which the English game is now synonymous semi-final in 2013 — but the pitched battles of Tomorrow marks the 30th anniversary of behaviour from the University of Leicester, League the following season slumped to a around the world. the 1970s and 1980s have faded into memory. the day 39 people died when a wall collapsed describes it as “a moment of deep national post-war low of 16.5 million. “Heysel and Hillsborough sparked a wider Williams says that although “smaller hooli- after Liverpool fans charged their Juventus shame”. At Thatcher’s behest, the Football But the lessons of Heysel were only partial- understanding in this country that the game gan gangs” still operate away from stadiums, counterparts prior to the 1985 European Cup Association suspended English clubs from ly learnt and four years later, on April 15, 1989, was culturally important, but run through with violence inside grounds at lev- final at the run-down Heysel Stadium in European competition for a year. European tragedy befell English football again at fan-behaviour problems, lacked an effective el has become “very unusual”. Brussels. governing body UEFA went further still, Sheffield Wednesday’s Hillsborough stadium. voice for the non-hooligan customer, was While Heysel played an important role in In England, still reeling from the Bradford announcing a five-year ban on English clubs Anxieties about violence had spawned a being ineptly managed and was poorly served English football’s renewal, it also left a damag- fire 18 days earlier, which had seen 56 people and an indefinite suspension for Liverpool that culture of poor crowd management and over- by the police and government,” Williams told ing sporting legacy. There had been seven perish at Bradford City’s dilapidated Valley would last until 1991. aggressive policing, which led to 96 Liverpool AFP. English European Cup winners in the eight Parade ground, the reaction was one of shock, An inquiry into what had happened at supporters being horrifically crushed to death “Stadia in England were quickly mod- years immediately prior to Heysel, but the ban anger and disbelief. Bradford and Heysel-as well as a riot at after they were herded into over-crowded ernised after Hillsborough, the game was on English clubs denied teams such as Howard The Daily Mirror called it “the day the foot- Birmingham City’s St Andrews stadium in pens prior to an FA Cup semi-final against opened up to new supporters and fan behav- Kendall’s Everton a chance to fulfil their poten- iour improved and was more effectively man- tial. aged.” It would not be until 1999, when Closed-circuit television, the segregation of Manchester United beat Bayern Munich in rival fans, a ban on alcohol and the use of sta- Barcelona, that an English club would reach a dium banning orders, allied to a process of European Cup final again and it would be gentrification caused in part by spiralling tick- another half-decade before teams from et prices following the advent of the Premier England began to make routine appearances League in 1992, have largely forced hooligans in the competition’s latter stages.—AFP UN campaign for women’s equality

NEW YORK: Spanish football club Valencia 27. Special matches and initiatives will take CF has scored a new first for a professional place over the next four years in Spain and sports club by teaming up with the UN across the globe as part of the collabora- gender equality organisation in its global tion. Valencia CF is the only club in the top campaign to engage men and boys in the Spanish league to have a female chair- fight for women’s rights. woman, Lay Hoon Chan. Players for Valencia Club de F˙tbol (CF), “This is a long-term commitment to real- one of Europe’s major football teams, will ly help make a difference to expand advo- don jerseys with UN Women’s logo in sup- cacy efforts towards gender equality,” said port of gender equality during European Chan, the first woman to chair the club in tournaments such as the prestigious its 96-year history. Last year, UN Women Champions League, it said. launched the HeforShe campaign to “UN Women is dedicated to bringing engage men and boys in support of more men and boys into the gender equali- women’s rights, with Harry Potter actress ty conversation. Valencia’s players are Emma Watson taking a starring role. So far strong role models who will lead by exam- more than 300,000 men have pledged their ple and inspire their vast fan base,” UN commitment online, according to the Women Executive Director Phumzile HeForShe website, including US President Mlambo-Ngcuka said in a statement. Barack Obama and actor Matt Damon, but BELGIUM: A file photo taken on May 29, 1985 shows Belgium policemen facing British fans at Heysel football stadium in Brussels.May 29 The club will introduce the new jerseys there is a target to mobilise 1 billion men marks the 30th anniversary of the day 39 people died when a wall collapsed after Liverpool fans charged their Juventus counterparts pri- during an event in Columbus, Ohio, on May and boys by July this year.—Reuters or to the 1985 European Cup final at the run-down Heysel Stadium.—AFP