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Home , Antoine Griezmann, Diego Costa, Sol Campbell

TUESDAY, MARCH 4, 2014 SPORTS Llorente, Tevez double act strikes again for Juve ITALY: The Fernando Llorente and Carlos is what ’m there for.” Tevez double act struck again on Sunday A Dries Mertens penalty gave Napoli the with both players scoring to give Juventus lead at relegation threatened Livorno in the a 2-0 win at AC which strengthened 32nd minute but the hosts levelled before their grip on Serie A. halftime when Reina allowed Ibrahima Llorente opened the scoring with his Mbaye’s shot to slip under his body. “We 11th goal of the season and Tevez rifled a should have made the game safe,” said spectacular long-range effort in off the exasperated Napoli coach Rafael Benitez. underside of the crossbar, making him the “I’m disappointed. We had control of the championship’s topscorer with 15. match in the first half and we should have Third-placed Napoli once again slipped made the most of it.” up against lowly opposition, drawing 1-1 at A fifth-minute goal by Albania captain Livorno after an own goal by goalkeeper Lorik Cana gave Lazio the points at fourth , and fading Fiorentina lost 1-0 placed Fiorentina, who have won only one at home to Lazio. of their last six games. Sassuolo substitute Domenico Berardi contrived to get himself sent off after only LASHING OUT 48 seconds on the pitch as the Serie A Berardi, Sassuolo’s leading scorer with strugglers lost 1-0 to Parma, their fifth 12 goals, came on in the 71st minute, hav- straight defeat under coach Alberto ing been dropped, and the 19-year-old was Malesani. Juventus are well on course for dismissed almost immediately for lashing their third successive Serie A title after out at Cristian Molinaro. completing the double over Milan, who are Sassuolo, bottom of the table with 17 a modest 10th. points, have lost every game since their 4-3 ’s side have 69 points win over AC Milan in mid-January and nev- from 26 games, 11 ahead of AS Roma who er recovered after Marco Parolo scored for were held to a goalless draw at home by sixth-placed Parma in the second minute. Inter Milan on Saturday. Eusebio Di Francesco, who led Sassuolo Napoli are a further six points back in out of Serie B last season, was fired at the third. Clarence Seedorf’s Milan dominated end of January and replaced by Malesani the first half at with Kaka having who has lost his first five games in charge. one shot cleared off the line by Leonardo Berardi was one of four players sent off Bonucci before being denied by a Gianluigi in Serie A on Sunday. Bologna had Buffon save. Jonathan Cristaldo dismissed after he was ITALY: Atletico Brazilian forward (right) tries an acrobatic shot as AC Milan defender Ignazio Abate tries to But Juventus went ahead one minute booked twice in a minute although they stop him in this file photo. —AP before halftime when Claudio Marchisio held on for a goalless draw at Verona and pounced on a mistake and a quick also missed a penalty when Rolando exchange passes led to Llorente scoring Bianchi’s effort was saved by Rafael. from close range. Bostjan Cesar was sent off for two yellow World Cup teams mark 99 Tevez made the game safe in the 68th cards as lowly Chievo Verona went down minute when he collected the ball in space, 2-1 at Atalanta while Catania, who are in took a couple of strides forward and scored the relegation zone, had Giuseppe Bellusci days to go with friendlies with a powerful rising shot from 25 metres. sent off in the first half of their 2-0 defeat “We made the most of our chances, and at Genoa. Sampdoria won 2-0 at Torino had a bit of good luck,” Buffon told and Cagliari beat Udinese 3-0 in the other : World Cup contenders will hope to It’s not hard to see why. Diego Costa has 21 France debut against the Netherlands. reporters. “I made some good saves which games. — find out this week if they are better prepared for goals for Atletico Madrid this season - second Griezmann was previously banned from rep- the tournament than some of the Brazilian stadi- only to Real Madrid forward in resenting France until the end of 2013 for going ums they will be playing in. Spain. to a nightclub in 2012 during the playoffs for the The 32 finalists will mark 99 days until the “He’s done enough to merit being here,” 2013 Under-21 European Championship. opening match in Brazil by playing friendlies Spain defender said. “He can bring tomorrow, the last chance for many coaches to a lot of positive qualities.” Diego Costa will col- NEW FACES FOR test players before naming their World Cup lect make his first appearance on familiar territo- With several long-term injured players, squads. ry: Atletico’s Vicente Calderon Stadium. including Sami Khedira and Ilkay Gundogan, Eighteen of the qualified nations will face-off Germany coach Joachim Loew must test other against each other, with the most eye-catching IMMOBILE GETS THE CALL options before the World Cup. game seeing world champion Spain taking Italy. The focus is on the strike force for Italy, too. It was still a surprise move putting four new- Here after five things to know about tomor- is out injured and Daniele De comers in the squad to face Chile - especially row’s matches: Rossi was dropped for breaking Cesare Sampdoria defender Shkodran Mustafi. Prandelli’s code of ethics while playing for Roma. Although Mustafi has played for all German jun- DIEGO COSTA’S SPAIN DEBUT So Torino forward Ciro Immobile has been called ior teams, his club football has been mainly This is more than just a friendly for Diego for up the first time after scoring 13 goals this abroad and he is hardly known in Germany. Costa. It’s a chance for the Brazilian-born striker season. Apart from the injured Thomas Mueller and Sven to make his long-awaited debut for Spain. Bender, Loew also left out Mario Gomez, Mats The naturalized Spanish citizen brings a more FRENCH REDEMPTION Hummels, Marco Reus, Julian Draxler and physical, tenacious forward to the squad, with coach Behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Diego Costa, Benedikt Hoewedes, who all only recently dropping and third place in the Spanish league scoring chart is returned to action. Forward Max Kruse and goal- , key players from successful World Cup held by with 15 goals. And keeper Rene Adler have been in poor form and and European Championship campaigns. the forward could now make his were also dropped. —AP Taricco: Poyet is a consensus boss LONDON: Gustavo Poyet has plotted a Sunderland revival by opting for a consensus rather than a dictatorial approach to management, according to his number two Mauricio Taricco. The north-east club looked down and out when the for- mer replaced controversial Italian Paolo Di Canio in October, with the team seemingly strand- ed at the foot of the with one point from seven matches. Sunderland’s fortunes have improved under Poyet, climbing to third from bottom, advancing to the FA Cup quarter-finals and reaching Sunday’s League Cup final at Wembley where they gave strong favorites Manchester ITALY: Juventus’ midfielder Andrea Pirlo (left) vies with AC Milan’s Brazilian City an early fright before going down 3-1. “We talk a lot with the players, we listen to them and forward Kaka during the Serie A football match. —AFP then we try tactically to put them on the pitch in a way that they can give their best,” Taricco told Reuters in an interview after the final. Taylor: Campbell “I think these things help to be able to play as we did against a team that ... if you try to stand up to them as equals they will overrun you,” he added of Premier League wrong on racism title-chasing City. Argentine Taricco said the South American duo believe LONDON: Former England manager Graham going. Sol has never had the demeanor where player involvement is vital to the way they work. “We’re Taylor said Sol Campbell was giving his biogra- he is aggressive on the pitch and put people in open and honest. I like to give players things I didn’t have phy “a good sell” as he rejected the ex centre- their place,” added Wright, who played along- as a player, like analysing how to get the best out of me,” back’s claims he was not chosen as national side Campbell for England in the 1990s. added the Sunderland assistant. team captain because he was black. “During “People say wasn’t like that, “This is something we talked about when we were play- my time as England manager I never had any but he only had to raise his eyebrows to put ers,” he said of his former Tottenham Hotspur team mate influence from the FA (England’s governing someone in their place. Maybe Sol could have Poyet. Football Association) on who should be grown into it but it’s down to the manager who “We talked about our ideas, what we wanted to do England captain regarding a player’s race,” he wants. and ultimately to win and enjoy success obviously. I think Taylor told the BBC. “Sol was more than good enough to be a the two things go hand in hand ... but many people think “I gave the captaincy to (the black captain but I personally believe there were you have to be a bad person to manage a team. former Manchester United and Liverpool mid- better candidates at the time.” John Barnes, “The team had a good shape on Sunday and played fielder) and I was never given the impression the former England winger who as a black good football against a great team,” said Taricco. “City by the FA that I should not have given it to him,” player in the late 1970s and early 1980s had scored two quality goals. They’ve spent 300, 400 million added Taylor, England manager from 1990- bananas thrown at him by racist fans and was pounds, their players are on 250,000 pounds a week, PORTUGAL: Benfica’s Serbian midfielder Ljubomir Fejsa (right) vies with 1993. subjected to abusive taunts from the terraces, that’s the difference.” Belenenses’ defender Joao Meira during the Portuguese League football “Sol is making a real go of giving his book a also thought Campbell was wide of the mark. Taricco, who also worked under Poyet at match. —AFP good sell. I cannot go along with what he is “I don’t think Sol would have been captain Championship club Brighton and Hove Albion, said life saying.” Campbell, one of the leading black for 10 years because if you look at who the was tough towards the foot of the Premier League table. English footballers of his generation, claimed captains were- and then after that “We found ourselves with an enormous (points) he would have been captain of the national ,” Barnes said. deficit when we got there and although we’re now in a Majestic Gaitan goal side “for more than 10 years” had he been “Then David Beckham became captain situation where we depend on ourselves, it’s hard,” he white. and that was a PR exercise for the FA. I don’t explained. gives Benfica victory He made the controversial allegations in a think necessarily it was because of the colour “During each match we’re either with our backs to the new biography, extracts of which were seri- of Sol’s skin.” wall or we’re just out of the drop zone. When we arrived alised in Britain’s Sunday Times last weekend. Sven Goran-Eriksson, England manager for we were down,” said Taricco. PORTUGAL: Nicolas Gaitan ran nearly 50 “Nico is in excellent form and very con- The 39-year-old former Tottenham Hotspur much of Campbell’s international career, was The 40-year-old said he had no ambitions to take over metres and chipped the opposing goal- fident,” said Benfica coach Jorge Jesus. “He and Arsenal defender said: “I believe if I was equally adamant race had played no part in a club as the number one. “He’s a leader, I’m not,” Taricco keeper to score an extraordinary goal and scored an excellent goal.” Benfica, who white, I would have been England captain for his captaincy choice. said of Poyet. “I always told Gustavo that when he need- give Portuguese league leaders Benfica a have 52 points from 21 games, stayed five more than 10 years-it’s as simple as that. “Not a chance - during my years, not a ed me I could help him. 1-0 win at Belenenses on Sunday. clear of Sporting who beat Braga 2-1 on “I think the FA (England’s governing chance,” the Swede told Britain’s Daily “We have two different points of view. He’s in love The Argentine collected the ball near Saturday. Football Association) wished I was white. I had Telegraph in an interview published yester- with football, I like it a lot but try to get away from it the touchline around 10 metres inside his Third-placed Porto (43 points), champi- the credibility, performance-wise to be captain,” day. from time to time. “He finds that difficult so I help him own half and accelerated away from three ons for the past three seasons, dropped added Campbell, who led his country on three Sunday saw former FA executive director with that. If it weren’t for him I don’t think I’d be so opponents. He then burst between two further behind when they were held 2-2 occasions. David Davies, at the organisation when involved,” said Taricco. defenders to give himself a clear run on at Vitoria Guimaraes after leading 2-0. But other black former England internation- Campbell was a player, deny English football “I’m here because I like what he’s doing. I share a lot of goal and chipped the ball over goalkeep- Ricardo Quaresma, with a penalty, and als disputed Campbell’s contention, with chiefs applied any kind of pressure on man- what he thinks, I like the way he treats the players. I er Matt Jones from around 25 metres. Luis Carlos Lica put Porto in control but Arsenal great Ian Wright saying: “I think he’s got agers over the choice of national captain. “My would have liked to have him as my manager. The eighth-minute goal was the high Moussa Maazou pulled one back before the credentials to be captain, but to be captain belief is (the allegations) are wrong,” Davies “I’m sure if he’d been my manager I’d have been a bet- point of an otherwise scrappy game the break and Marco Matias levelled sev- for 10 years? I’m not sure when you see some said. ter player. He would have valued me more, he would which ended with Belenenses fuming en minutes after the restart. of the players that were around then.” So far the current FA hierarchy have made have planned matches to help me and my team mates.” over a disallowed goal when Tiago Bottom club Pacos de Ferreira gave no public response to Campbell’s remarks and Sunderland, who are one point from Premier League Caeiro’s second-half effort was ruled out new coach Jorge Costa a winning start ‘BETTER CANDIDATES’ British media reports said it was understood safety with 12 games to go, visit mid-table Hull City in after the referee consulted with the with a 3-1 victory over Maritimo, only “I want a captain that goes in and gets you they had no plans to comment. —AFP the FA Cup on Sunday. —Reuters linesman. their fourth of the season. —Reuters