FFOOTBALLOOTBALL | Page 2 TTENNISENNIS | Page 7 Emotional Bushfi re Setien takes smoke hits over as new Australian Barca coach Open build-up Wednesday, January 15, 2020 CRICKET Jumada I 20, 1441 AH Warner, Finch hit GULF TIMES tons as Australia pummel India SPORT Page 4 RALLYING Al-Attiyah slashes Sainz’s Dakar lead to 24 seconds Leader Sainz loses six minutes to al-Attiyah Q Peterhansel wins ninth stage Reuters Qatar’s al-Attiyah, driving a we lost fi ve minutes or something champion Fernando Alonso had a Husqvarna, trimmed Ameri- Jeddah Toyota Hilux, fi nished second like that,” said the Spaniard. another strong day and moved can Honda rider Ricky Brabec’s behind French 13 times win- “After, I don’t know...the up to 10th overall in his Toyota. overall lead to 20 minutes and 53 ner Stephane Peterhansel in the tread came out of the tyre and we Three days remain in the en- seconds. efending champion 410km ninth special stage from needed to stop. No puncture, it’s durance event, being held in the Toby Price, the defending Nasser al-Attiyah Wadi Al Dawasir to Haradh in the like delamination of the tyre. It Middle East for the first time. champion for KTM, was second slashed Carlos Sainz’s Saudi Arabian desert. was not a good day for us”. Chilean Pablo Quintanilla on the stage and third overall, Dakar Rally lead to 24 Two-times winner Sainz, who Peterhansel thrust himself was the motorcycle stage win- 26 minutes off the lead. Dseconds in the car category yes- had led by more than six minutes back into the overall reckoning, ner after Monday’s timed ac- The Australian was first on terday, while motorcycle riders at the overnight bivouac, was now six and a half minutes off the tion was cancelled following the the scene of Goncalves’ acci- returned battling their emotions fi fth in his Mini buggy. lead after his third stage win of death on Sunday of Portuguese dent and said he finished Sun- as well as the tough terrain after a “In the fi rst part we lost a little the 2020 event. veteran Paulo Goncalves. day’s stage “dehydrated with fatal crash at the weekend. bit of time, we lost the way and Double Formula One world Quintanilla, second overall on tears” after a failed effort to Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz in their Mini Buggy in action during stage 9 of the Dakar Rally, between Wadi Al-Dawasir and Harad in Saudi Arabia yesterday. PICTURE: Frederic Le Floc’h /DPPI / Red Bull Content Pool save him. “No doubt this is go- Alpine skier Luc Alphand, who ing to be one of the toughest was on the first helicopter to stages we’re all going to have land. “Helping holding drip to tackle and not because of bags, getting bags of medical the terrain or navigation,” the equipment and guiding other Australian posted on Instagram riders around a bad scene. We before yesterday’s start, with a all worked as long as we could heart emoji. but there was nothing we could He had earlier explained how do,” continued Price. he came over a crest, saw a rider “I helped assist carrying him down ahead of him on the dunes to the helicopter as it was the and knew it was serious. right thing to do. I was fi rst at his He was joined by Slovak rider side and wanted to be the last to Qatar’s Nasser Saleh al-Attiyah in action during stage 9 of the Dakar Rally between Wadi Al-Dawasir and Harad in Saudi Arabia yesterday. Stefan Svitko and retired French leave.” ASIAN U23 CHAMPIONSHIP Qatar facing crunch match against Japan AFC “We know it is going to be a very “I think I have to show more ability we were behind but we managed to Bangkok diffi cult one. This generation of Japan than I have in selecting the squad for come back and equalise to get the is a good one and they have a great this tournament,” said Moriyasu. point,” said Tishreen forward Dali. squad at this level but we have to “It was a really disappointing result “Against Japan, we started with atar head coach Felix show we can compete against teams and we don’t know who will be in the better concentration, and the players Sanchez will lead his like that.” fi nal squad for the Olympics. We still kept a disciplined formation.” team into their fi nal Group Despite coming to Thailand with have a large group and we still have “We wanted to play on the wings B meeting with already- high hopes of a run deep into the the overage players who can come in with long balls, using counter-at- Qeliminated Japan today knowing they tournament, Japan are already out of and strengthen the team that will be tacks and we managed to score the must secure a win to stand a chance contention for a quarter-fi nal berth playing at the Olympics.” second goal from a counter-attack. of advancing to the quarter-fi nals of after back-to-back defeats in their Meanwhile, Alaa Aldin Dali has “We can say that this is a historical the AFC U23 Championship Thailand fi rst two games. urged Syria to be fully focused in their win, as we secured the three points 2020. As a result, their focus has started fi nal Group B tie against Saudi Arabia and have come very close to reaching Sanchez’s side have drawn both of to shift towards the nation’s host- today. the next round. their opening games – against Syria ing of the Olympic Games in July and Dali has been Syria’s super-sub in “There is no secret to the goals I’ve and Saudi Arabia – to sit in third place August. Thailand 2020, coming off the bench scored. These goals came as a result in the standings on two points, two The loss against Syria coupled in their group opener against Qatar to of my teammates’ support, and when points adrift of the leading duo with with the opening day defeat at the help salvage a 2-2 draw, and was on I went on as a substitute my team- just one round of matches remaining. hands of Saudi Arabia means Hajime target again when his incredible run mates put their trust in me.” With the Syrians and Saudi Arabia Moriyasu’s side have no chance of from the half-line mark ended with The win over Japan means Syria’s due to face each other at Thammasat progressing to the knockout rounds him slotting past Japanese goalkeeper hopes of playing in the Tokyo Olym- Stadium, Qatar’s hopes are hanging of a tournament the Japanese won Keisuke Osako to ensure a 2-1 win on pics remain alive but Dali, 23, knows by a thread as should the other match in 2016. Sunday. Saudi Arabia will be tough opponents. end in a draw, the head-to-head record Moriyasu, who also doubles up as Their victory over the 2016 cham- “We entered this Championship of the three teams will come into play. head coach of the country’s senior pions propelled Syria to the top of the with the intention of qualifying for “It’s our last group game and it’s very side and who led Japan to the fi nal of group, and a win over Saudi Arabia the Tokyo Olympic Games. important,” said Sanchez, who has tak- the AFC Asian Cup last January, ac- will assure them a fi rst appearance in “The last match against Saudi Ara- en the West Asian nation to the semi- cepted he was to blame for his side’s the quarter-fi nals since the inaugural bia will not be easy but if we remain fi nals of this competition in each of the struggles at the tournament in Thai- edition in 2013-14. focused, I am sure we can advance to Qatar players during a training session in Bangkok yesterday. last two editions. land. “In the fi rst match against Qatar, the quarter-fi nals.” Gulf Times 2 Wednesday, January 15, 2020 FOOTBALL FOCUS Barcelona put faith in purist Setien aft er sacking Valverde ‘Throughout his career he has been a proponent of possession based, attacking football that has been attractive to the fans’ AFP Madrid Emotional Setien surprised to be given dream job at Barcelona uique Setien began his fi rst session as Barce- lona coach yesterday morning just as the sackedQ Ernesto Valverde drove out of the training ground for the last time. Valverde had said goodbye to the players, collected his things and left, closing the page on a brutal few days that had fi nally seen him sacked on Monday night. After Barca’s public pur- suit of Xavi Hernandez ended in failure, they have turned to Setien, the 61-year-old who has dedicated his coaching career to a belief in exciting, possession- based football. Ernesto Valverde. Barcelona confi rmed Set- ien’s appointment following a board meeting that lasted more than four hours at the Camp Nou on Monday afternoon. His contract, which runs until June 2022, appears also to be a show of faith. Valverde is the fi rst coach to Barcelona’s president Josep Maria Bartomeu (left) and football director Eric Abidal (right) pose with Barcelona’s new coach Quique Setien during his off icial presentation in Barcelona yesterday. (AFP) be sacked by Barca mid-season since Louis van Gaal in 2003 and Quique Setien said yesterday that being coaching the best players in the world.