NBA | Page 6 FOOTBALL | Page 4 Warriors roll Messi hits To Advertise here Thunder to hat-trick as Call: 444 11 300, 444 66 621 match Bulls’ Barca extend 1996 mark unbeaten run Saturday, March 5, 2016 Jumada I 25, 1437 AH CRICKET Pakistan salvage GULF TIMES their pride with consolation win SPORT Page 5 FOOTBALL Al Rayyan get ready for Qatar Stars League party With 57 points in their kitty, a draw against Al Wakrah today would be enough for the Lions to nail their eighth league title By Sports Reporter need in this moment and we are missing Doha it. We have a week before our next game Coach Jorge Fossati being embraced by and we will work on this aspect during his adoring players after one of Al Rayyan’s that,” said Osim during his pre-match t’s no secret that Al Rayyan fans have matches. At right, captain Rodrigo Tabata press conference. endured a frustrating time over the Kharaitiyat have performed incon- years, thanks to their team’s inabili- sistently this season and are not where ty to translate promise and potential they ought to be, but Osim believes that Iinto titles as often as they would have his team should accept the situation and wanted. work hard to get out of it. But today, as Jorge Fossati’s men take “We have many people in our club on Al Wakrah in the Qatar Stars League who think that we don’t belong where at Al Sadd Club, they would be hoping we are in the standings right now. But that the joy of winning the league title we are where we are. We have to act ac- after a gap of 21 years would wash away cording to where we are and not like we some of that pain and lay the foundation belong somewhere else. We need to work for greater glories in the future. hard and get out of this situation,” said In fact, Al Rayyan have announced the Bosnian. plans for a big celebration complete with Meanwhile Arabi are also under pres- an open bus tour as their win is only a sure, having suff ered two consecutive matter of formality. With 57 points from losses but Zola is keen to use this game 20 matches in their kitty, a draw against to get back to winning and move closer Al Wakrah today would be enough to nail to their aim of achieving a top-4 fi n- their eighth league title, the previous ish. “This is an opportunity for us. As one coming in 1994-95. a game, it’s easier than the last two we The Lions’ relentless march towards have played. But I will treat it as a game the title has left El Jaish, Lekhwiya and like we are playing a team that’s a top of Al Sadd now scrapping for second place the league,” said Zola. with 39, 37 and 35 points, respectively, The Italian added that his team will taking some of the edge from the tour- have to play with total focus if they were nament that has witnessed some close to emerge victorious. “We are com- fi nishes during the past few years. ing from two losses. We lost the last But the current scenario is such that tion can tilt the balance heavily in your team has even managed to hold them to Meanwhile, in another game today, have played since the start of 2016, they one badly. I am sure that the players are even if the sporting gods conspire to en- favour. a draw. sixth-placed Al Arabi — coached by have won just one match, had a draw and aware of that. We will have to be focused sure that second-placed El Jaish go on to Attacking midfi elder and captain Fossati, who led Al Sadd to the Asian Gianfranco Zola — will be looking to suff ered four losses. This set of results if we want to win the game, because win their next six games while Al Rayyan Rodrigo Tabata has marshalled his re- Champions League title in 2011, howev- pick up points to get back into the top has seen them drop to 12th in the stand- Kharaitiyat will also want to win. It’s an lose theirs, the Lions would probably sources with distinction, emerging as er is keen to carry on with the good work, four. ings, just one point away from Qatar easy game on paper but we will have to still win the title on goal diff erence. the leading scorer in the tournament so saying he won’t be resting on his laurels Al Arabi, with a tally of 30 points, take Sports Club in 13th place. treat it with respect.” While the 18-point gap between the far with 17 goals, while teammates Ser- after winning the league. on Al Kharaitiyat who are placed 12 with Relegation is suddenly a huge threat In the day’s last match, 10th placed Al top two teams with six games to go be- gio Garcia and Sebastian Soria are not far “There are more games left in the tour- 21 points from 20 matches. To enter- and Kharaitiyat coach Amar Osim be- Ahli will look to pull away from the QSL fore the league concludes may be un- behind on 12 and 9, respectively. nament and we would like to win them tain ideas of sneaking back into top four lieves improving the confi dence of the relegation zone when they face Al Sailiya precedented in the history of the com- A solid defence has also ensured that too. And then with the Qatar Cup and would require Zola’s men to break the players is the key to getting back to win- at Al Ahli stadium. Ahli will be hoping to petition, it also underlines the fact how a Al Rayyan have lost only one match in 20 Emir Cup coming up we want to be at our two-match losing streak. ning ways. “We will try to improve our add to their tally of 22 points, to relieve good coach and a perfect team combina- games, against Al Sadd in December. No best,” the Uruguayan said on Thursday. In the six matches that Al Kharaitiyat confi dence which is the main thing we their relegation fears. BOTTOMLINE Probe ‘can’t rule out’ vote-buying for 2006 WC AFP FIFA welcomed the report, but said “many Frankfurt questions still remain to be answered.” It added This file photo taken on July 6, 2000 shows German bidding committee leader that its inquiry into Germany’s 2006 bid had Franz Beckenbauer (R) being congratulated on stage by German delegation been “hampered” by key witnesses refusing to member and Interior Minister Otto Schily after Germany was designated to host the n independent inquiry said yesterday give evidence. 2006 FIFA soccer World Cup by the vote of the FIFA executive committee in Zurich. it could not rule out Germany bought German football has been roiled by allega- An inquiry by lawyers from Freshfields, commissioned by the German Football votes to secure the 2006 World Cup tions, fi rst levelled by magazine Spiegel last Federation DFB, said it could not rule out the possibility that bribes were paid. and linked Franz Beckenbauer to a October, that the DFB used a slush fund to buy A“mysterious” deal with disgraced FIFA offi cial votes to secure the tournament. Jack Warner. It is the latest in a series of scandals to rock The investigation commissioned by the Ger- world football. Thirty-nine individuals face US man Football Federation (DFB) said that some charges over more than $200 million in bribes paper documents were missing, electronic fi les for football deals. Swiss authorities are inves- were password-protected, and some key wit- tigating FIFA whose longtime president Sepp nesses refused to co-operate. Blatter has been banned for six years. World body FIFA separately complained that At the heart of the German claims was a 10 its investigation into the 2006 World Cup had million Swiss franc (6.7 million euro/ $8 mil- been “hampered” by key witnesses who re- lion, according to the exchange rate at that fused to give evidence. time) payment that Spiegel said was bor- The German inquiry outlined a money trail rowed by the DFB from the late Robert Louis- linking Beckenbauer, the national football Dreyfus, when he was CEO of German sports- legend and World Cup organising commit- wear giant Adidas. It said the money was to tee chief, former Adidas chief Robert Louis- buy the votes of four Asian members of FIFA’s Dreyfus and Qatar’s Mohammed bin Hamman, 24-strong executive committee. who has since been banned from football for life In 2000, Germany won the bid to stage the over corruption claims. 2006 World Cup, beating South Africa by 12 million Swiss francs into a joint account with Duve said that although the payments the World Cup 2006 was awarded to Germany, Beckenbauer was warned and fi ned by FIFA votes to 11, with one abstention. Louis-Dreyfus from which money was trans- raised questions, the inquiry was unable to Franz Beckenbauer on behalf of DFB and Jack last month for his failure to co-operate with Following the allegations, the DFB’s former ferred to a Qatari account reportedly linked to establish a direct link to the World Cup votes. Warner on behalf of CONCACAF signed a deal a separate investigation into the award of the boss Wolfgang Niersbach claimed the fed- bin Hamman.