SUNDAY, AUGUST 3, 2014 SPORTS Russia’s big guns ready for new season MOSCOW: Red Army side CSKA Moscow start their internationals Alan Dzagoev and Georgy dominated the play but squandered all of our further step ahead.” The country’s most successful defence of the Russian Premier League title this Shchennikov, Latvian midfielder Aleksandrs Cauna chances while the hosts capitalised on their rare club Spartak Moscow open the Premier league on weekend bracing for an offensive by Andre Villas- and Sweden’s stopper Rasmus Elm, who has stom- opportunity,” he said. Friday when they take on two-time champions Boas’ Zenit St Petersburg. ach problems . The Torpedo match will be “a serious Another Moscow side, Lokomotiv, two-time for- Rubin Kazan Nine-time league winners Spartak are CSKA start against city rivals Torpedo Moscow, test of our readiness for the new season,” the coach mer champions and bronze medal winners’ last sea- now under Swiss manager Murat Yakin, who took who are back in the top league for the first time said. Villas-Boas, starting his first full season with son, are also among the title contenders. over the Moscow side in the summer break. since 2006. Zenit, who have brought in Argentina’s Zenit who finished second in 2013-14, said his play- The manager of the railway-backed side, Leonid “I can assure all our supporters that Spartak are World Cup defender Ezequiel Garay, will take on ers are hungry for success. “Our goal is to win the Kuchuk, has said Lokomotiv are good enough to ready for the start of the new season,” said Yakin, who other league newcomers Arsenal Tula. Russian league and to gain a place in Europe’s top win the national title for the first time in a decade. led Swiss high-flyers Basel, to back-to-back national Even though they have four top players injured, 10,” the former Porto, Chelsea and Tottenham man- “Last season we had fair chances to win the titles. “Of course it will be hard to start the season with CSKA won Russia’s Super Cup on Saturday, battling ager said. The Portuguese coach vowed to pursue a Russian title but missed it at the season’s very end,” a series of six away matches but the team’s perform- back from a goal down to beat national cup win- “much more offensive football.” However their he said. “But last season wasn’t a complete disaster ance in recent warm-up encounters showed that my ners Rostov 3-1. “It was very important for us to win defeat on Wednesday to Cyprus minnows AEL in the as Lokomotiv won their first league medal since players have gained their form,” he told Russian this trophy as we’ve experienced personnel prob- Champions League third qualifying round has 2006. “Now I know what we are missing and why we media. “Spartak have not won Russia’s title since 2001 lems,” said CSKA head coach Leonid Slutsky. raised doubts about Zenit’s readiness. have failed to grab the title. I hope this time we will and I think now it is the right time to change the situ- CSKA start the campaign without injured Russian Villas-Boas was unable to explain the loss. “We be able to learn from our past mistakes to a make a ation for the better,” said Yakin. — AFP PSG cruise to Champions Trophy triumph in China BEIJING: French Ligue 1 title-holders Paris Saint- Germain added the Champions Trophy to their growing list of accolades with a 2-0 win over Cup winners Guingamp in Beijing yesterday. Star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored both goals inside the opening 20 minutes as the champions effectively ended the match as a contest inside the first period. “We came here (to Beijing) because of the Champions Trophy and therefore to win it,” said PSG coach Laurent Blanc. “It’s something very positive. The other positive is that we continued our preparation, our hard work and we didn’t reduce our training programme due to today’s match.” PSG were without several regular starters who are still recovering after their World Cup exertions, including captain Thiago Silva and new signing David Luiz, but Blanc used the opportunity to give some younger players a BRAZIL: Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (right) and former Brazilian football team chance. coach Dunga shake hands during a meeting with Brazilian footballers who have “This month of August will be quite strange played in Japan. Abe is on a three-day official visit to Brazil. — AFP as we have players arriving at different times and not everyone is in the same physical condition. “But we have young players and it’s the No Brazil ‘blacklist’ coach’s job to have faith in them, like tonight.” It was the capital-based outfit’s second successive for new coach Dunga victory in the competition, between the French BEIJING: Paris Saint-Germain celebrate with the trophy after winning their French season- champions and Cup winners, having defeated opening Champions Trophy football match against Guingamp. — AFP BRASILIA: New Brazil coach Dunga ing changes straight away. Bordeaux in Gabon in 2013. form the penalty spot after Jean-Christophe for us. “Consequently, it’s not unsurprising that declared on Friday that competence is all “There is no blacklist after the World They also won the first ever edition in 1995, Bahebeck was brought down by Lars Jacobsen. he made the difference and was man-of-the- that matters to him and added that there is Cup. Football is like life, like work-compe- beating Nantes on penalties. Guingamp coach The big Swede was enjoying a purple patch match.” Guingamp’s best opportunity came in no “blacklist” for players who underper- tence is what counts,” he said. “The players Jocelyn Gourvennec said his side’s defeat was no and in the last minute tried his luck from inside the 31st minute when Brazilian centre-back formed at the World Cup. are chosen not based on what we might surprise. “PSG won in a logical manner. We had a his own half, although without success. Marquinhos was harshly adjudged to have “Competence is all that matters when it think they are capable of doing, but on few chances to get back into it with dead-ball Frighteningly, Blanc said there is a lot more to brought down Claudio Beauvue, but Italian goal- comes to choosing a national team, not what they are achieving at the time.” situations but it was tough chasing the ball in come from Ibrahimovic. “Ibra is not in top form, keeper Salvatore Sirigu, who was a virtual spec- friendship or marketing,” said the former A number of Scolari’s choices-including this heat and they hold it better than us,” he said. like the rest of the team,” said the former France tator throughout, saved Mustapha Yatabare’s midfielder, who captained Brazil to World picking misfiring strikers Fred and Jo-were “No team in France and very few in Europe coach. “We expect to have a lot of competition spot-kick. Cup glory in 1994 and then coached the heavily criticised by the Brazilian media manage to have more possession than PSG.” from teams who are further advanced in their PSG begin their quest for a third straight Selecao at the 2010 finals. during the World Cup. Ibrahimovic opened the scoring after just nine preparation than us but despite all that, we Ligue 1 title on Friday at Reims while Guingamp Dunga was brought back for a second The Selecao will play a friendly on minutes when taking goalkeeper Mamadou always want to play good football and to finish host Saint-Etienne next Saturday in their open- spell at the helm as Brazil look to pick up September 5 against Colombia before fac- Samassa by surprise with a shot from 20 yards. off chances, and Ibra finishes off a lot of chances ing Ligue 1 fixture of the season.— AFP the pieces following their traumatic World ing Ecuador three days later as they start On 20 minutes he doubled the advantage Cup campaign, which ended in a record- preparations for next year’s Copa America breaking 7-1 defeat to Germany in the in Chile. semi-finals last month. Dunga’s squad for the matches, which That was followed by a comprehensive will be played in Miami and at New Jersey, 3-0 defeat to the Netherlands in the third- will be announced on August 19. “We will place play-off, and coach Luiz Felipe Scolari have the chance to turn things around and was not kept on after his contract expired. show that what happened (at the World The manner in which Brazil bowed out Cup) was a one-off,” the new coach added. of the tournament will have traumatised “Brazil has good players. They were criti- many of their players, but Dunga hinted cised because they did not get the results that he will not now look to make sweep- that people hoped they would.” — AFP Falcao returns for Monaco LONDON: Monaco striker Radamel team-mate James Rodriguez from Falcao made his first appearance for over Monaco in a deal worth around 80 mil- six months as a second-half substitute in lion euros ($108 million, £63.9million). his side’s 2-2 friendly draw against But Jardim said: “At this moment, Valencia in London yesterday. regardless of what people say, Falcao is The 28-year-old Colombia internation- with us. He’s in the final stages of his al had not played since rupturing the recovery.