Sports FRIDAY, JUNE 26, 2015 Ahly top powerful Confederation Cup line-up JOHANNESBURG: Egyptians Al-Ahly top Army Stadium marks the debut of former Mourinho at several clubs, who quit after League two years ago. The Soweto side an eight-club field of African title winners Olympique Marseille coach Jose Anigo as failing to land the Tunisian title. impressed in qualifying for the group when the CAF Confederation Cup group boss of Esperance, who have won every Ahly and Esperance have been involved stage, scoring two goals each in away stage kicks off this weekend. The Cairo- African competition except the in some classic CAF clashes down the years, games against Ugandan, Gabonese and based outfit won the second-tier competi- Confederation Cup. most recently the 2012 Champions League Guinean opponents. Should the South tion last year and raised to 19 the record The 54-year-old, who spent two spells final won by the Egyptians. Etoile Sahel Africans equal that scoring feat, they stand number of CAF trophies they have lifted. in charge of Marseille, must tackle Ahly and Stade Malien are the other Group A a good chance of securing at least a point Ahly, compatriots Zamalek, Tunisians without six first choices. Defenders clubs and they get the ball rolling with a against the shock 2012 Confederation Cup Esperance and Etoile Sahel and South Mohamed Ben Mansour and Chamseddine Friday night clash in Mediterranean resort winners. Zamalek host Sfaxien in Cairo later Africans Orlando Pirates have won the CAF Dhaouadi and Cameroonian striker Sousse. Notorious for changing coaches, Saturday in the other Group B game, which Champions League, the marquee event on Yannick N’Djeng are injured. Suspensions Etoile have put veteran Faouzi Benzarti in brings together two highly decorated the African club football calendar. rule out Ghailene Chaalali and Iheb Mbarki charge a fifth time as they try to improve African clubs. The Egyptians are the second Completing the field are Tunisians CS and fellow midfielder and captain Oussama on 2013 group results against the Bamako most successful CAF club with nine titles Sfaxien, Congolese AC Leopards and Darragi has gone missing.”It is true that a outfit. After forcing a goalless draw in Mali, while Sfaxien have lifted the Confederation Malians Stade Malien, all former CAF week is a very short time to prepare for a Etoile suffered a shock 1-0 home loss to Cup a record three times. Each team plays Confederation Cup holders. Ahly host match of this magnitude,” Anigo admitted Stade and spoilt their chances of a semi- their three rivals at home and away and the Esperance Sunday in the final and stand- to the Tunisian media. “But we will try and finals place. first and second-place finishers in both out matchday 1 fixture and the visitors are do well against Ahly, who are a great Orlando Pirates return Saturday to groups advance to the semi-finals of a among the seven most successful African African club.” Anigo succeeded Portuguese Dolisie, where they were sunk by a cross- competition worth $660,000 (590,000 clubs with five titles. This match at the Suez Jose De Morais, a former assistant of Jose cum-shot Leopards goal in the Champions euros) to the winners. —AFP India loses out as Asian teams turn to overseas soccer talent MUMBAI: When a country with a population of 180,000 is victori- ous over a nation of more than a billion in the football arena, it would normally be classed as a shock. When Guam held off India 2- 1 in a June 16 World Cup qualifier, India coach Stephen Constantine was not surprised. Guam has deepened its pool of players by looking to the United States for professionals eligible to play for the Pacific Island team. Other Asian nations have also bene- fited from making use of scattered but eligible players, wherever they may be. India is now considering following suit. “People see losing to Guam as an upset, but for me it wasn’t an upset,” Constantine told The Associated Press. “They have 11 well-coached players that are coming from a significantly higher standard of football than we are playing here. “I want to try anything that could improve the Indian team,” the Englishman added. “We have (potential) players in the United Kingdom, the United States and Norway, and if everyone else is doing this then why not do it too?” In India, however, the debate is academic because government rules don’t allow for the so-called Players of Indian Origin (PIO) to represent India unless they surrender their original passport. Players of dual nationality are not allowed. This could be one rea- son why India is no longer the champion of the South Asia Football Federation. That tournament was last won in 2013 by Afghanistan, a team that included players of Afghan heritage plying their trade with clubs in Germany, Scandinavia and America. “I am not a politi- cian and there are a lot of complex issues surrounding this,” Constantine said. “My feeling is why can’t we issue them temporary passports while they are in the service of the national team? They are not given any rights like Indian citizens, just selected for the Indian national team, they are happy and we will give them a tem- FLORENCE: A White Team player (left) is tackled by two Green Team players during their Calcio Fiorentino match porary passport. “I admit that it is a short-term solution, not the in Florence’s Piazza Santa Croce on June 24, 2015. Calcio Fiorentino, an early form of football from the 16th cen- answers to our prayers - which is kids in schools playing football and a strong football culture.” Gary White, another Englishman, tury that originated from the ancient roman “harpastum”, is played in teams of 27, using both feet and hands was appointed to take over the Guam national team in 2012 and and allows tactics such as head-butting, punching, elbowing, and choking, but forbids sucker-punching and has made significant progress at all levels of development. kicks to the head. Goals can be scored by throwing the ball over a goal running the width of each end of the The Guam senior team has won both its games in the second giant sand pit. —AFP round of Asian qualifying for the 2018 World Cup and sits on top of Group D. Among other strategies, White sought to overcome the confines of population by recruiting eligible players abroad. “We Demoted Eulma aim to conquer Africa set up a player identification camp in the United States,” White said. “There’s also a big US navy and army base in Guam, and so we knew that there may be people who were born here who could JOHANNESBURG: Algerians Mouloudia El-Eulma set out today to play with a knife to their throats and fear in their chests,” he told play for us. “We have a wide net,” he explained. “We wanted Ryan become only the second club from a second division to win the reporters. Guy at New England Revolution in the MLS, we tried to convince CAF Champions League. Compatriots Entente Setif achieved the Title-holders Setif and USM Alger are also in Group B-the first him but we were getting beat by double figures and they were not remarkable feat in 1988, losing top-flight domestic status during time three clubs from a country are in the same Champions League interested. We had to sell the vision of a long-term future. I knew an African campaign crowned by a 4-1 final triumph over section. Merreikh claimed a notable qualifying scalp in Tunisians that if we could get Ryan, then others would follow.” Nigerians Iwuanyanwu Nationale. Champions League newcomers Esperance and Franco-Italian coach Diego Garzitto won the 2009 White said Ryan’s recruitment proved to be the catalyst: “Now Eulma play Sudanese El-Merreikh in Omdurman hoping to make a Champions League with Democratic Republic of Congo outfit TP players are contacting us.” For Constantine, it makes sense to fol- winning start as they seek consolation for a bizarre demotion. They Mazembe. “Repeated early Champions League exits are unaccept- low in the footsteps of others. “Pakistan do it and the Philippines scored 40 goals in the 30-round Algerian championship, more able to a big club like Merreikh,” stressed Garzitto. “We are now plan- have been doing it for years.” Pakistan, for example, has called up than any of the other 15 clubs, including champions Setif. But ning to go far.” After scraping past Ethiopians Saint George, Eulma former English Premier League defender Zesh Rehman as its cap- Eulma fell one point short of dodging the drop under French surprised Ghanaians Asante Kotoko and Tunisians CS Sfaxien. Setif tain. The Philippines started to select players, mainly born in coach Jules Accorsi, who turns 78 tomorrow. He concedes that his stand alone among the eight survivors in not losing a qualifier this Europe to a Filipino parent, including Neil Etheridge and Stephan team might have fared better by concentrating on avoiding season, winning and drawing against Gambians Real Banjul and Schrock. The Philippines has won both of its 2018 World Cup qual- league losses rather than trying to win matches. “Algerian clubs drawing twice with Moroccans Raja Casablanca. —AFP ifiers so far. —AP.