SPORTS SATURDAY, APRIL 25, 2015

Olympics a long way off as Ghana face Liberia

JOHANNESBURG: Ghana begin tomor- Janeiro airline schedules. An eight-nation allowing South Africa in. But a Meteors team coached by 70- row a potentially long, difficult journey tournament follows during December in Olympic qualifiers are restricted to year-old former national team star Malik they hope will end at the 2016 Olympic Senegal with two groups, semi-finals, a under-23 footballers with three ‘wild- Jabir made hard work of overcoming Games football tournament in Brazil. third-place play-off and a final, and the cards’ allowed at the August 3-20 2016 Mozambique, needing an own-goal and a First up for the Black Meteors are top three finishers secure Olympics finals in six Brazilian cities. late Bright Adjei strike to squeeze Liberia in the initial of three qualifying places. It would mean the Meteors need- Three first-round fixtures in Africa this through. Jabir must do without young rounds for a December tournament that ing to play 11 matches-four more than weekend include Ghana hosting Liberia, Ghanaian stars based abroad as their will determined which three African coun- many other hopefuls like Nigeria and Botswana at home to Kenya and Rwanda clubs have declined to release them tries go to South America. South Africa. Nigeria and South Africa and hosting Somalia with the first and second because the qualifiers do not form part of Having to enter a tournament at such Algeria, Egypt, Gabon, Ivory Coast and legs two weeks apart. Already underdogs, the FIFA international calendar. an early stage is rare for a Ghanaian Morocco received byes to the third round Liberia and Somalia face the additional Liberia have called up Sporo Somah national team, but poor 2012 Olympic because they qualified for the pre-2012 obstacle of having to stage their ‘home’ from reigning Ivorian champions Sewe Games qualifying results did them no Olympics tournament. match outside the country. San Pedro, Greece-based Herron Berrian favours seeding-wise. South Africa had the worst record-two Ebola epidemic concerns prevent and Cooper Gayria from an American uni- Congo Brazzaville await Ghana or draws and a loss-four years ago and were Liberia using Monrovia and no interna- versity team. Liberia in the second round and whoever initially placed in the second round. tional football has been played in vio- Rwanda also picked footballers playing from the trio makes the next stage must But the withdrawal of original 2015 lence-torn Mogadishu for decades. Ghana abroad with Irish coach Johnny McKinstry confront former gold medalists Nigeria. tournament hosts Democratic Republic of should be sharper than Liberia having including Belgium-based Solomon Should Ghana survive all that, they will Congo led to Senegal taking over and played a qualifier for the All-Africa Games- Nirisarike and Bonfils Kabanda from an still be a long way from checking Rio de they dropped out of the third round, another under-23 tournament-recently. Italian fourth-tier club. —AFP

Bayern poised for German title

BERLIN: Treble-chasing Bayern Munich could claim their first silverware of the season this weekend with the Bavarian giants poised to become German champions for the 25th time. With five games left, Bayern are 12 points clear before they entertain Hertha Berlin at the Allianz Arena on Saturday, with nearest rivals Wolfsburg not play- ing until Sunday, when they face a stiff test at Borussia Moenchengladbach. Pep Guardiola’s side therefore need only better Wolfsburg’s result to officially wrap up yet another title. However, even if Wolfsburg win, their hugely inferior goal difference would mean the title race is effectively over anyway. Bayern are buzzing from their stunning 6-1 drub- bing of Porto in Wednesday’s Champions League quarter- final, second leg which took them through to the last four and kept alive their hopes of repeating their 2013 treble, MONACO: Juventus’ teammates celebrate after qualifying for the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League following when they won the domestic double and lifted the the quarter final second leg football match. — AFP European Cup. However, their current punishing schedule of a game every three or four days shows no sign of relenting as they Unstoppable Juve on host Borussia Dortmund in the German Cup semi-final next Tuesday in a repeat of the 2014 final, which Bayern won 2-0 after extra-time. verge of 31st scudetto Injuries continue to leave Guardiola with a thin squad at his disposal, with Franck Ribery, Mehdi Benatia and David Alaba still on the sidelines and Holger Badstuber MILAN: Unstoppable Juventus will hope to leg to advance 1-0 on aggregate. Juventus Garcia welcomes Gervinho back to the having been ruled out for the rest of the season with a follow up qualifying for the Champions make the short trip to Torino’s Stadio squad after a three-game absence thigh tear. However, Spain midfielder Javi Martinez this League semi-finals for the first time in over Olimpico for the ‘Derby della Mole’-named although expecting goals from the Ivorian week returned to training for the first time since tearing a decade by clinching a 31st title after one of ’s major landmarks-as firm striker, who has not scored in the league the cruciate ligament in his left knee last August, although tomorrow. favourites having not lost to their city rivals since November, could be a long shot. it is doubtful he will play again this season. And there is With a 15-point lead on Lazio and Roma since 1995. Either way, Garcia expects a much- hope that leading scorer Arjen Robben will return either and seven games remaining, Juventus But that hasn’t stopped former improved performance from his side fol- this weekend or against Dortmund next Tuesday after six already have one hand on what will be their Bianconeri striker Fabio Quagliarellia, who lowing their second consecutive draw, weeks out with an abdominal injury. fourth consecutive scudetto. But they can joined Torino last season after failing to nail against Atalanta, last week which left him “Arjen is well on his way. We can hope he’ll return make the Italian league title mathematically down a regular starting place under former fuming. “Sometimes you suffer defeats that soon,” said chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, who admit- safe if they beat Torino away in the city der- Juve coach , from dreaming leave you disappointed, but this draw was ted that he would rather not wrap up the league title by and both Lazio and Roma lose their of causing an upset. worrying. The extent to which we were because of a slip-up from one of Bayern’s rivals. “It’s more games, at home to Chievo and away to “I hope it’s me who scores the winning negative stunned me,” said Garcia. satisfying to leave the pitch as confirmed champions,” he Inter Milan respectively. goal on Sunday,” said Quagliarella, who has Things are looking far brighter in the said before speaking with confidence about Bayern’s That would leave Juventus 18 points scored an impressive 12 goals this season light blue half of Rome, with Lazio who saw prospects on all fronts in the run-in. clear of the pack with six games remaining for the Granata. Securing the title is only a an impressive streak of wins stopped at “We have difficult matches coming up. We’re in good but the Turin giants could not be caught by matter of time for Juventus, but the fight eight in a 2-0 defeat to Juventus last time shape right now. We want to take everything that’s pos- Lazio and Roma because they hold the for European places continues in earnest. out-hosting struggling Chievo. sible.” With fourth-placed Gladbach battling Bayer head-to-head tiebreaker on both capital Lazio and Roma are neck and neck for the Lazio are still without Dutch defender Leverkusen for Germany’s third automatic Champions sides. Juventus on Thursday were still com- league’s second automatic Champions Stefan De Vrij, one of their pillars of this sea- League berth, Wolfsburg are set to name a full-strength ing down from the high of reaching the last League qualifying spot and the pressure son, and lost Argentina international Lucas side for Sunday’s showdown at Borussia Park. Indeed, four of the Champions League for the first this weekend is on the latter. Biglia to an ankle sprain that will keep him both Germany winger Andre Schuerrle and their star time since they went all the way to the Inter host Roma for the 100th time in all out for several weeks. Belgium midfielder Kevin de Bruyne were left out of the 2003 final before losing to AC Milan in a competitions and, although Roma have But before their reverse at Juventus, squad for Thursday’s Europa League quarter-final sec- penalty shoot-out. But Chilean attacking won the past three fixtures in Milan, Rudi Lazio hit nine goals in three games. In that ond leg at Napoli to keep them fresh for the midfielder was quick to remind Garcia’s men may not be quite so confident time, Chievo scored just twice on their way Bundesliga. Meanwhile, Leverkusen go to near neigh- his fellow teammates there is a title to be this time. Roma are struggling to emerge to a win, a draw and a defeat. bours Cologne chasing an eighth successive win but won, too. “We’ll start thinking about the from a recent slump and Inter, who domi- Napoli, in fourth, host Sampdoria in without Gonzalo Castro, who is out for the rest of the derby tonight. We have a scudetto to win,” nated city rivals AC Milan in a scoreless Sunday’s late game looking for a win that season with a knee injury. —AFP Vidal said after Juventus held Monaco to a draw last week, are battling to stay in con- would keep their Champions League hopes scoreless draw in their quarter-final second tention for next season’s Europa League. alive. —AFP