THURSDAY, AUGUST 21, 2014 SPORTS Atletico aim to upstage big spenders again MADRID: While Real Madrid and Barcelona and in the first leg of the Spanish Super Revamped Barcelona have once more spent vast sums to win Cup against Real Madrid they gave away Real are brimming with confidence back the La Liga crown, they are set to face little space to earn a 1-1 draw ahead of the after comfortably winning the European dogged competition again from champi- decisive leg back at the Calderon on Friday. Super Cup against Sevilla and have set ons Atletico Madrid who have a side built their sights on all six trophies available on a fraction of the cost. Atletico became Relaxed, confident during the season. Real have made adjust- the first team since Valencia in 2004 to “We are looking forward to the season ments to the side that won the Champions knock Real and Barca from top spot, and we know that there will be a lot of League against Atletico, with midfielder breathing new life into the Spanish cham- expectation placed on us,” Atletico mid- Toni Kroos and keeper Keylor Navas com- pionship that had become a two-horse fielder Gabi Fernandez told Spanish paper ing in after shining at the World Cup. race. Diego Simeone found success by As. “It is difficult to say whether the team is Barcelona, however, have made major building a side based on a strong team better or worse with the changes. changes. Following the Catalan side’s first ethic and the belief that through hard Important players for the team have gone season without a major trophy in six years, work they could come out on top. but at the same time others have arrived, Barca have brought in Luis Enrique as Unsurprisingly, with Atletico winning the who are strong on a national and coach and strengthened the squad in league and reaching the Champions European scale, from top clubs. “Atletico’s many areas of the pitch. League final, their playing stocks have base is solid, we are very sure about our While the signing of Suarez has cap- been raided by richer clubs and talisman style of play and what our jobs are. The tured the attention of fans, the addition of Diego Costa has left for Chelsea. team is relaxed, with a lot of confidence defenders Jeremy Mathieu and Thomas But Atletico have also made some and we will have to see if we are better or MADRID: Real Madrid’s Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti (right) greets Atletico Vermaelen was badly needed and they shrewd buys ahead of the new season and worse than last year.” Madrid’s Argentinean coach Diego Simeone before the Spanish Supercup first- could make the difference in Barcelona’s replaced Costa with the accomplished Gabi said it did not concern him that leg football match on August 19, 2014. — AFP title hopes. Mario Mandzukic from Bayern Munich. The few backed Atletico last season but con- and it only happens when we are champi- want to be the best.” As Atletico lost key The defense has been Barca’s main last time Atletico won the championship in ceded the team faced a tougher task than ons. Everyone expects us to drop off and players, Real and Barcelona once again weak point in recent seasons and they are 1995-96, they quickly went downhill and their better-resourced rivals. “Personally go downhill but we have shown we are a reinforced with the cream of the market in the first centre-halves to be signed by the ended up relegated four years later but what people say doesn’t bother me team capable of everything. the close season. Last year, the marquee club since Dmytro Chygrynskiy in 2009. this time the club is better managed. The although it is true that is nice if your work “The team still has the same dreams. signings were Gareth Bale and Neymar for Coach Enrique is also set to reintroduce key to the side’s prospects, though, is is valued,” he said. “We are not better or We are all very ambitious and just because Real and Barca respectively. This year, Barca’s trademark short passing game fol- again set to be their compactness and worse and yet it is more difficult for us than we are not shouting it from the roof tops James Rodriguez and Luis Suarez have lowing the unsuccessful experiment under defensive frugality. They have conceded Real Madrid or Barcelona to win titles. It is doesn’t mean we don’t feel that way. We been brought in, both for a figure close to Tata Martino who tried a more direct just one goal in seven pre-season friendlies harder for our good work to be recognized are working with the same drive and we 65 million pounds ($108 million). approach. — Reuters CHAMPIONS LEAGUE PLAYOFFS News Ba strikes the bar, in brief Kuwait defeat Persipura Besiktas held 0-0 Jayapura 3-2 in AFC Cup KUWAIT: Kuwait Club soccer team on Tuesday beat Persipura Jayapura of Indonesia 3-2 in the quarter-finals of the Asian Football Confederation’s AFC Cup at the Higuain rescues Napoli; Kuwait SC Stadium. Al-Qadisiya held a 1-1 draw with Al- Hadd of Bahrain in the same competition. Kuwaiti player Salzburg beat Malmo Shadi Al-Hammami scored the opener in the fourth minute, while Persipura Jayapura’s Lim Joon-sik scored BERNE: Besiktas hit the bar straight the Italian side’s Argentina forward the equalizer in the 13th minute and his teammate from kickoff as they were held 0-0 Higuain leveled in the 68th minute Gerald Pangkali scored the second goal in the 23rd at home by Arsenal in Tuesday’s when he brilliantly pulled down a minute of the first half. In the second half, Kuwaiti play- Champions League playoffs while a pass and, despite being surround- ers created many attacks on the goalkeeper of their rival. Their teammate Ali Al-Kandari scored the second and superb Gonzalo Higuain goal res- ed by three defenders, managed to third goals in the 83rd and 87th minute respectively. In cued Napoli in a 1-1 draw with visi- make space and score with a low the second game, Al-Qadisiya made an excellent per- tors Athletic Bilbao. Jonatan shot into the far corner. Jose formance in the first half, scoring the opener by Badr Al- Soriano struck the woodwork three Callejon and Higuain missed sitters Motawaa in the fifth minute, yet some opportunities times and scored in Salzburg’s 2-1 and the latter also saw a close- were wasted. In the second half, Bahraini team dominat- win over visiting Malmo, Bayer range effort brilliantly stopped by ed the game and managed to score the equalizer by Leverkusen won 3-2 at FC Gorka Iraizoz as Napoli pressed in a Nawaf Al-Khaldi in the 47th minute. Copenhagen and a late goal gave frenetic ending. “Considering the Steaua Bucharest a 1-0 home win way the game went, we can consid- over Ludogorets Razgrad in the er our reaction positive and must Ramsey says ‘sorry’ for other first leg ties. Arsenal, aiming begin again from that,” said Napoli Champions League red to reach the group stage for the coach Rafael Benitez. LONDON: Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey apolo- 17th season in a row, will be happy Austrian champions Salzburg, gized to the club’s supporters yesterday after being to have survived their tricky trip to who have been eliminated in the sent off in his side’s 0-0 Champions League play-off Istanbul, especially after Welsh mid- qualifiers six times since Red Bull’s draw away to Turkish side Besiktas.”Thank you to all the fielder Aaron Ramsey was sent off takeover in 2005, once again made fans that made the trip,” Ramsey wrote on his official in the 80th minute for a second life difficult for themselves against Twitter page. “Sorry for the red card. I’m sure the lads bookable offence. Malmo. will do the job in the second leg.” The Welsh midfielder, Beskitas’s Senegal forward Franz Schiemer and Soriano put 23, was sent off in the 80th minute of Tuesday’s game Demba Ba, who scored a hat-trick them 2-0 up in less than an hour in Istanbul after picking up two yellow cards. Arsenal in the previous round against and the Spaniard also hit the wood- manager Arsene Wenger was critical of Serbian referee Feyenoord, took a pot-shot at goal work three times as Salzburg domi- Milorad Mazic’s decision to dismiss Ramsey, describing straight from kickoff and his effort, nated the game. But the game end- it as “unbelievable”. “I think not the first and not the aided by the swirling wind, forced ed farcically for the hosts when a second yellow card was deserved for Ramsey,” Wenger Wojciech Szczesny to push the ball mix-up between Schiemer and told reporters. “When you see some of the fouls com- on to the bar. The Polish keeper keeper Peter Gulacsi in the 90th left mitted and you go home with a red card for Ramsey, it also turned away Ba’s fierce left- Emil Forsberg to tap into an empty is somewhat unbelievable.” Ramsey, who scored the footed volley after 10 minutes as net for the 1979 European Cup run- winning goal in last season’s FA Cup final and was vot- Arsenal survived a difficult open- ners-up, who have never played in ed Arsenal’s player of the year, will now be suspended ing.