Mario Gotze ruled out of Champions League final
Mario Gotze will miss the Champions League final – meaning he will avoid another angry backlash from furious Borussia Dortmund fans.
The forward has been ruled out of Saturday’s showpiece at Wembley with a thigh injury.
It is a major blow for manager Jurgen Klopp, who leads his side into battle against Bayern Munich in a bid to be crowned champions of Europe.
Yet, Gotze may be relieved to avoid another backlash from fans after going house hunting in Munich in the build-up to Saturday’s all-German Champions League final.
Out: Mario Gotze will miss the Champions League final because of injury Already pilloried by an outraged Dortmund public for agreeing to join bitter rivals and Wembley opponents Bayern after this weekend’s season finale, the 20-year old has risked further alienating them by viewing property in the Bavarian capital while his team-mates prepared for the biggest game of their lives.
The trip last week was ostensibly for a consultation with a Munich specialist but he ended up dividing his time between having his hamstring injury treated and touring one of the city’s most desirable residential areas.
He evidently viewed an apartment that was to his liking and while no-one can blame him for planning ahead, it is bound to be seen as insensitive by Dortmund followers so close to his planned farewell appearance against the team he is about to join, in the biggest club game German football has known.
Still a fortnight short of his 21st birthday, he will apparently take any escalation of hostility towards him in his stride.
Such a sustained level of abuse, since his 31.5million defection to Bayern was announced a month ago, might normally be enough to test the fortitude of the most seasoned campaigner, but a Dortmund source insisted: ‘You will not find a cooler customer than Mario.
Burn it up: Some protesting Dortmund supporters set fire to a Gotze shirt and filmed it ‘Throughout all that has happened over the past few weeks, he has remained the same person, single-minded in his outlook and absolutely determined to sign off as a Champions League winner.
‘You would think he was in his mid-30s, such is his temperament.
He is completely in control of his emotions and never gets flustered or intimidated by anything.
‘This will be the biggest game he has played in, and it could be made all the more difficult if he is singled out by the fans, but there won’t be any nerves.
There never are.
‘Everyone at the club considers him a good guy, and you have to admire his self-belief.
Nothing fazes him.’ Loud and proud: Borussia Dortmund fans are always in fine voice in their famous Westfalenstadion News of the escape clause in his contract being triggered caused growing anger and resentment and forced manager Klopp to intervene and appeal for calm, as his side prepared for their Champions League semi-final first leg against Real Madrid at the Westfalenstadion last month.
Despite Klopp’s best efforts, Gotze still needed a police escort to and from training the following day, and there was little sign of fans reconciling themselves to his departure, as they stepped up their protests.
A photograph posted on Twitter showed Gotze’s yellow Dortmund shirt hanging on a peg, with JUDAS scrawled across where his name should be.
On YouTube, there was footage of another Dortmund jersey, with his name and number on the back, being burned, in what looked like someone’s garage.
Anger: Dortmund fans were not happy when they learned Gotze would be joining Bayern Munich In a more sinister development, there were reports his younger brother returned home from school early, after suffering ‘traitor’ taunts, and that the family home had been spray painted by Dortmund ultras.
The extreme reaction underlined why Dortmund had been at pains to keep the move under wraps.
They had no choice but to go public, though, after chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke was alerted to top-selling German newspaper Bild having impeccably-sourced evidence that the transfer had been agreed.
As part of the bitter fall-out, Robert Lewandowski may have to wait to join his team-mate at the Allianz Arena.
Not you as well: Robert Lewandowski could also be set to leave Dortmund for rivals Bayern Munich Such is Dortmund’s ill-feeling towards their Bundesliga rivals that they are ready to dig their heels in and make Lewandowski see out the remaining 12 months on his contract, rather than sell him to Bayern now.
Lewandowski has made it clear he wants to follow Gotze to Bayern, and they have not only agreed to meet the asking price but drawn up a contract that has been met with the Dortmund striker’s approval.
But Watzke is having none of it and is adamant he would rather forfeit upwards of 20m than sanction another Bayern raid on Klopp’s best players.
As German football gears up for its big night at Wembley, it looks like being a case of who blinks first, off the pitch as well as on it.
Mario Goetze house-hunting in Munich before Champions League final
Mario Gotze can expect another angry backlash from furious Borussia Dortmund fans after going house hunting in Munich in the build-up to Saturday’s all-German Champions League final.
Already pilloried by an outraged Dortmund public for agreeing to join bitter rivals and Wembley opponents Bayern Munich after this weekend’s season finale, the 20-year old has risked further alienating them by viewing property in the Bavarian capital while his team-mates prepared for the biggest game of their lives.
The trip last week was ostensibly for a consultation with a Munich specialist but he ended up dividing his time between having his hamstring injury treated and touring one of the city’s most desirable residential areas.
Location, location, location: Mario Gotze (right) has started looking for a place in Munich He evidently viewed an apartment that was to his liking and while no-one can blame him for planning ahead, it is bound to be seen as insensitive by Dortmund followers so close to his farewell appearance against the team he is about to join, in the biggest club game German football has known.
Still a fortnight short of his 21st birthday, he will apparently take any escalation of hostility towards him in his stride.
Such a sustained level of abuse, since his 31.5million defection to Bayern was announced a month ago, might normally be enough to test the fortitude of the most seasoned campaigner, but a Dortmund source insisted: ‘You will not find a cooler customer than Mario.
‘Throughout all that has happened over the past few weeks, he has remained the same person, single-minded in his outlook and absolutely determined to sign off as a Champions League winner.
‘You would think he was in his mid-30s, such is his temperament.
He is completely in control of his emotions and never gets flustered or intimidated by anything.
‘This will be the biggest game he has played in, and it could be made all the more difficult if he is singled out by the fans, but there won’t be any nerves.
There never are.
Burn it up: Some protesting Dortmund supporters set fire to a Gotze shirt and filmed it ‘Everyone at the club considers him a good guy, and you have to admire his self-belief.
Nothing fazes him.’ Despite being a Bayern player in all but name, there is no question of how he will approach the game according to the club insider, who added: ‘He hasn’t said whether he will celebrate if he scores, because he tends not to think too much about things like that.
But you can be sure he will.
‘The deal with Bayern doesn’t even enter the equation.
His view is that he’s contracted to Dortmund until the end of the season and he has the chance to win something that would be the pinnacle of his career so far.
There are no mixed feelings or divided loyalties whatsoever.’ Despite his provocative property search, the feeling in Dortmund is that supporters are so desperate to beat Bayern, they will lay off Gotze, for fear of damaging their team’s prospects with a negative atmosphere that could prove counter-productive.
Loud and proud: Borussia Dortmund fans are always in fine voice in their famous Westfalenstadion For the Dortmund playmaker, still a doubt after suffering a reaction to his hamstring in training, it would come as a welcome respite.
News of the escape clause in his contract being triggered caused growing anger and resentment and forced manager Jurgen Klopp to intervene and appeal for calm, as his side prepared for their Champions League semi-final first leg against Real Madrid at the Westfalenstadion last month.
Despite Klopp’s best efforts, Gotze still needed a police escort to and from training the following day, and there was little sign of fans reconciling themselves to his departure, as they stepped up their protests.
A photograph posted on Twitter showed Gotze’s yellow Dortmund shirt hanging on a peg, with JUDAS scrawled across where his name should be.
Anger: Dortmund fans were not happy when they learned Gotze would be joining Bayern Munich On YouTube, there was footage of another Dortmund jersey, with his name and number on the back, being burned, in what looked like someone’s garage.
In a more sinister development, there were reports his younger brother returned home from school early, after suffering ‘traitor’ taunts, and that the family home had been spray painted by Dortmund ultras.
The extreme reaction underlined why Dortmund had been at pains to keep the move under wraps.
They had no choice but to go public, though, after chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke was alerted to top-selling German newspaper Bild having impeccably-sourced evidence that the transfer had been agreed.
As part of the bitter fall-out, Robert Lewandowski may have to wait to join his team-mate at the Allianz Arena.
Not you as well: Robert Lewandowski could also be set to leave Dortmund for rivals Bayern Munich Such is Dortmund’s ill-feeling towards their Bundesliga rivals that they are ready to dig their heels in and make Lewandowski see out the remaining 12 months on his contract, rather than sell him to Bayern now.
Lewandowski has made it clear he wants to follow Gotze to Bayern, and they have not only agreed to meet the asking price but drawn up a contract that has been met with the Dortmund striker’s approval.
But Watzke is having none of it and is adamant he would rather forfeit upwards of 20m than sanction another Bayern raid on Klopp’s best players.
As German football gears up for its big night at Wembley, it looks like being a case of who blinks first, off the pitch as well as on it.
The great European Cup teams: Real Madrid 1955-60
Alfredo Di St fano scores Madrid’s second goal during the 7-3 demolition of Eintracht Frankfurt in the 1960 European Cup final.
Photograph: Hulton Deutsch/Getty Images On St Crispin’s Day in 1960 Real Madrid beat Eintracht Frankfurt 7-3 to win the European Cup in front of a crowd of 127,621 at Hampden Park.
It was by common consent one of the finest exhibitions of attacking football ever seen in Britain up to that point and reminded fans on both sides of the border of the shortcomings of the domestic game.
As one commentator, Ivan Sharpe, observed, Madrid’s performance “clinched the claim that we must really take stock of the parlous plight into which our football has descended.
Insularity has led it to slip far behind world developments in tactics”.
Viewed today in grainy black and white, Real Madrid’s football, while undoubtedly of a high quality, appears sedate compared to, say, the present Barcelona team at their best.
Given the time and space that the likes of Alfredo Di St fano and Ferenc Puskas were allowed by Eintracht’s defenders, Lionel Messi would have scored half-a-dozen before half-time.
Nevertheless the impact of that match on British football, clubs and fans alike, was considerable.
Until then there had been a tendency to regard European competition as a mere diversion from the more serious business of winning leagues and cups at home.
The one English team to make serious progress in the European Cup, Manchester United, had been destroyed in the Munich air crash two years earlier.
Football in England was still in the throws of the gloomy reappraisal that had followed Hungary’s 6-3 rout of the national side at Wembley in 1953.
Things were improving.
In 1960 Burnley’s studious passing game had denied Stan Cullis’s Wolverhampton Wanderers, devotees of the long ball, a championship hat-trick and a month before Madrid bewitched Hampden the Tottenham team that would complete the double the following season had outplayed Wolves at Molineux.
Madrid broadened the horizons of British clubs who now became convinced that the European Cup and the newly-born Cup Winners’ Cup demanded serious attention.
The success of Tottenham and West Ham in the latter tournament in 1963 and 1965 were followed by the European Cup triumphs of Celtic and Manchester United in 1967 and 1968.
The roaring applause of that huge Hampden crowd that greeted Madrid at the final whistle in 1960 had far-reaching echoes.
The match proved to be this Madrid team’s grand finale.
It was their fifth European Cup success in as many seasons nobody else had won the thing but after that the trophy only found its way to the Bernab u once in 37 years.
Madrid then won the Champions League on three occasions between 1998 and 2002, the last time at Hampden when they beat Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 with Zinedine Zidane scoring the winner, a superb volley that would not have been out of place 42 years earlier.
In 1960 parts of the Madrid team were approaching the veteran stage.
Di St fano was 34, Puskas 33.
Yet such was the multi-national talent at their disposal that Didi, the inspiration behind Brazil’s World Cup triumph in Sweden two years earlier, was not even in the squad.
Another Brazilian, Canario, who had made few first-team appearances, was brought in with Luis del Sol and the speedy Francisco Gento complementing the skills of Di St fano and Puskas.
Eintracht Frankfurt were bound to appear modest by comparison.
For a start their team did not contain one current West German international.
At the same time they were hardly patsies, having overwhelmed Rangers, the pride of half of Glasgow, 12-4 on aggregate in the semi-finals.
For 20 minutes Madrid’s football was nonchalant to the point of careless.
Then Richard Kress gave Eintracht the lead from Erwin Stein’s cut-back.
Big mistake.
Madrid changed up several gears and Di St fano ran the rest of the match while scoring three goals, Puskas getting the other four.
Stein’s two for Eintracht were hardly noticed.
The beautiful simplicity of Madrid’s seventh goal epitomised the whole character of their football.
Di St fano gathered a pass from Del Sol in his own half and proceeded to swerve and dummy his way through a tiring defence to put the ball into the net.
That Eintracht would turn up at all had been in doubt, the West German FA having banned any of its teams from competing against sides including Puskas after he had accused their players of being on drugs when they beat Hungary in the 1954 World Cup final.
The 1960 final only went ahead after Puskas had formally apologised, for which Hampden and football history, if not Eintracht, will always be grateful.
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Football transfer rumours: Carlos T vez to Juventus or PSG
Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez is wanted by Monaco, Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus.
Photograph: Alex Livesey/Getty Images So that’s that, then.
With just the Champions League and Championship play-off finals to look forward to and no significant summer soccer jamboree on the horizon apart from the European Under-21 Championship, Under-20 World Cup, Confederations Cup, Women’s Euro 2013 and the Copa Libertadores, the football landscape is looking a fairly barren, desolate and windswept place this morning.
With so little action to look forward to, bereft football fans can at least console themselves with the knowledge that with little else to report, rumour mills everywhere are set to go into over-drive, the gears and crankshafts whirring and clanking loudly as their sails spin faster than the propellers on a Lancaster bomber.
Needless to say, the Rumour Mill is no exception.
Assorted tabloids have suggested that a deal to bring Radamel Falcao to Manchester City is as good as done, reporting that the Premier League runners-up have agreed an eye-watering 54m British record transfer fee for the prolific Atletico Madrid goal-getter.
City themselves are remaining tight-lipped on the matter, possibly because so many unnamed club “insiders” are too busy taking pot-shots at the retreating figure of recently departed manager Roberto Mancini to devote their energies to more important matters.
However, speculation linking Carlos Tevez with a move out of the Etihad Stadium lend credence to that linking Mr Falcao with a move in.
Juventus have made no secret of their interest in signing the scurrying Argentinian striker, while the player himself has told a French TV station that he would open to a move to Paris Saint-Germain, despite having failed to agree terms with the French champions once before.
“There was interest from PSG for me, and we talked with Leonardo, but we could not reach an agreement,” he told one French TV station in one of those interviews he may claim was misinterpreted and taken out of context.
“But it remains an interesting option as the French championship is moving very fast.
If Leonardo called me, it’s not a problem for me to come, really no problem to come to Paris and France.” Monaco are also believed to be interested in Carlito, who will now have more time to devote to the 250 hours of community service he presumably has to complete for those motoring offences before moving to France, Italy or anywhere else.
The future of Nike UK athlete Wayne Rooney remains up in the air, although yesterday’s Mirror reported that Chelsea are prepared to splash out up to 30m for the out-of-sorts striker.
Needless to say, Paris Saint-Germain are also interested in bringing the 27-year-old to the Parc des Princes and should he decide his future lies away from Old Trafford, the prospect of a vulgar bidding war is likely to have Manchester United bean-counters slavering at the mouth.
Liverpool striker Andy Carroll might also find himself playing in Ligue 1 next season, if yesterday’s Telegraph is to be believed.
The giant Geordie’s loan spell at West Ham ended yesterday, but while the Hammers wish to make his stay at Upton Park a more permanent one, they are reluctant to stump up the 16m demanded by Liverpool and may be outbid by wad-waving Ligue 2 champions Monaco, who are backed by Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev.
The newspaper did, however, stress that the chances of Carroll moving to Monaco were “remote”, while Sam Allardyce has voiced his hope of wrapping up his move to West Ham “as quickly as possible”.
Tottenham Hotspur manager Andr Villas-Boas will attempt to shrug off the disappointment of his side’s failure to finish in the top four by signing up Porto midfielder Jo o Moutinho for next season’s campaign.
But hey! Guess what! Yep, wad-waving Ligue 2 champions Monaco may hijack the move.
Having spent last season on loan at Sunderland, where he was one of very few players to emerge from the campaign with anything resembling credit, Tottenham full-back Danny Rose is believed to be making loud pinging noises on Liverpool’s radar.
Meanwhile in Sunderland, Paolo Di Canio is making loud shouty noises, fining assorted members of the indisciplined rabble he inherited for their lack of professionalism and promising a clear-out of the many ne’er-do-wells he claims have infested the home dressing room at the Stadium of Light.
One presumes casino-going full-back Phil Bardsley will be one of the first out the door.
Having further endeared himself to his West Bromwich Albion team-mates by criticising them in the wake of the 4-0 hiding they shipped at the hands of Norwich City, Peter Odemwingie ‘s days at West Brom appear to be even more numbered than usual.
After a season to forget, the Nigerian striker is expected to bring his unique brand of dressing room harmony to the KC Stadium, with Hull City sending 3m the other way.
With just two rounds of games left in the Spanish top flight this season, Spanish newspaper El Mundo claim that Real Madrid may sack Jos Mourinho ahead of the tedious media circus that will surround his apparently inevitable second coronation at Stamford Bridge.
With Carlo Ancelotti having made public his desire to leave Paris Saint-Germain and mull over an offer from Real Madrid, the Rumour Mill waits with interest to see if wad-waving Ligue 2 champions Monaco will attempt to hijack either deal.
In slightly less glamorous managerial merry-go-round news, Lord Voldemort lookalike and ex-Portsmouth, Blackpool and Blackburn Rovers boss Michael Appleton will be unveiled as manager of newly promoted Championship side Doncaster Rovers today.
And finally, annoying but effective Real Madrid and Portugal centre-half Pepe will become one of Manuel Pellegrini’s main transfer targets when the Chilean takes over at Manchester City.
Here’s hoping wad-waving Ligue 2 champions Monaco attempt to hijack the deal.
Australians on the back foot ahead of Lions tour after Email farce
Australian attempts to form a united front in the national cause of beating the Lions have already started to unravel.
An untimely leak has created an almighty mess Down Under.
What started off as a routine consultation exercise by Wallaby head coach Robbie Deans has ended up causing major embarrassment.
Deans emailed the coaches of the five Australian Super 15 sides, asking for their feedback about Test selection.
Four of them replied, ranking players in each position as requested and those nominations were collated into a potential line-up.
Deans emailed the results to the coaches Ewen McKenzie (Reds), Jake White (Brumbies), Damien Hill (Rebels) and Michael Foley (Force), who are all understood to have participated, and Michael Cheika, of the Waratahs, who reportedly did not respond.
Unfortunately, for the coaches who took part and the players they evaluated, the email has been published in a newspaper and all hell has broken loose.
Scroll down for video Embarrassing: Australian coach Robbie Deans saw an email with a proposed Test side to face the Lions leaked to a newspaper While England went through a whodunnit leak saga following the last World Cup, at least that took place in the aftermath of the tournament, not in the build-up.
This episode has the potential to create significant ill-feeling when solidarity is required.
Foley, who played against the Lions in 2001, yesterday summed up the problem, saying: I feel for the players that have to read that sort of thing in the media and then try and second guess things when all they should be thinking about right now is how they re going to play.
Shame: Michael Foley said the players would not have liked reading the email in the press I think this sort of speculation on the eve of the squad being announced could be a distraction.
I don t know if a witch-hunt helps anybody, but I would like to know where (the leak) came from.
The ARU have denied any involvement in the leaking of the email amid suggestions that it was a deliberate ploy to soften the blow for players who will be left out of Deans provisional squad, to be named on Sunday.
Those not included in the feedback XV include Quade Cooper and the new sensation Waratahs back Israel Folau, who has already made his name in rugby league and Aussie rules football.
While Kurtley Beale’s name appears among the replacements in this selection-by-committee, the responses were sent last month, and since then he has taken indefinite leave to tackle his alcohol-related issues in a clinic.
The Lions will hope he takes his time and that the ARU hunt for a mole becomes a major sideshow.
Brian O Driscoll has chosen to play on for another season and all of Ireland and far beyond will rejoice at the news.
Now it must be hoped that the 34-year-old centre’s scriptwriter is preparing a fitting send-off.
This column cast doubt on the wisdom of a career extension, given the increasing injury interruptions which have stalked the great man.
That sentiment stands, especially if O Driscoll (right) returns from Australia as a key figure in a Lions series triumph.
It would be an ideal point to exit the stage, but such perfect scenarios rarely occur.
Play on: Brian O’Driscoll has confirmed he will continue to play next season He didn t want his last Ireland memory to be a yellow card and a ban for stamping during a defeat in Rome, so he will play on, still hungry.
He has not recovered from a back spasm before tonight’s Amlin Challenge Cup final against Stade Francais in Dublin, but the iconic No 13 hopes to be fit to give the Wallabies the runaround next month.
Kiwis dominate the coaching roles Vern Cotter, the Kiwi coach of Clermont Auvergne, is considering an offer to take charge of Scotland.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK You have guys like Bakkies Botha, Danie Rossouw and Chris Masoe in the Toulon line-up and they re not exactly going to come out and start tickling you in a ruck, are they? Clermont’s former Scotland lock Nathan Hines gears up for the Heineken Cup final with a sarcastic take on the forward battle that awaits in Dublin.
It is quite understandable why the SRU have approached him.
As his Double-chasing side prepare for an all-French Heineken Cup final against Toulon, there is no doubting his credentials.
Should he accept the offer, Cotter, 51, would further enhance New Zealand’s booming export business running Test rugby sides.
If he says yes, there would be five Kiwis in head coach roles among the top 10 nations in the IRB world rankings, including Steve Hansen (New Zealand), Robbie Deans (Australia), Warren Gatland (Wales) and Joe Schmidt (Ireland, from the end of this season).
Whenever Hansen’s time is up, it looks like the NZRU will have no trouble finding a ready-made successor The Last word The Barbarians have finished compiling a squad to spell danger for England and the Lions.
Amid the superstars from all parts, there are several players with a strong personal agenda.
Take James Hook, the multi-talented Wales back overlooked by the Lions, who will strive to make his frustration vividly apparent in Hong Kong on June 1.
The same goes for Dwayne Peel, the ex-Lions Test scrum-half who has fallen off Gatland’s radar since moving to Sale.
Facing the Lions: Jim Hamilton and James Hook are in the Barbarians squad to face England and the Lions Scotland lock Jim Hamilton is another driven to show the Lions he should be on their side, and Dean Mumm will want to alert Australia to his enduring qualities.
Elliot Daly will aim to make a mockery of his England squad omission at Twickenham next Sunday, and Martin Castrogiovanni will hope to attract a new employer after his proposed move from Leicester to Toulon fell through.
So much motivation.
So much danger.
Wigan win big and football managers head for merry-go-round
Wembley winners Wigan goalscorer Ben Watson and manager Roberto Mart nez celebrate winning the FA Cup.
Photograph: Alex Morton/Action Images A wonderful week for Wigan Athletic, who won their first major trophy, beating Manchester City 1-0 in the FA Cup final thanks to a last-minute headed goal from Ben Watson.
They’ll be spinning on their knees in the streets of Wigan all summer provided the cup winners don’t also get relegated.
Their manager, Roberto Mart nez, is also the bookies’ favourite to replace David Moyes at Everton.
Spare a thought too for Roberto Mancini as rumours from Spain suggest last year’s Premier League champion manager will be sacked and replaced by Manuel Pellegrini, 59, a Chilean who has never won a trophy outside South America.
What could possibly go wrong? Alonso slouches to victory The Spanish Grand Prix: a race where brakes squeal, gears crunch, an entire ecosystem-worth of fossil fuel, balaclava helmets and high-end vol-au-vent fillings is consumed and then Fernando Alonso wins.
Actually, last week’s victory at the Circuit de Catalunya was only Alonso’s second, but don’t tell that to the adoringly triumphalist Spanish crowd that cheered him home ahead of Kimi Raikkonen, Felipe Massa and Sebastian Vettel, who leads the championship by four points.
Thanks to the current obsession with preserving tyres, it was a slightly dull race once again, essentially a battle to see who can go least slow.
“When I see a car behind I let it past because I don’t want to damage my tyres,” Jenson Button said after trundling home in eighth place, but still retaining reasonable hopes of picking up the Shiniest Tyres rosette.
New Root to Ashes England’s cricketers began their warm-up for the impending endless Ashes summer with an opening skirmish against the touring New Zealand team at Leicester.
Captain Joe Root scored 179 as England Lions had the better of a three-day draw, raising a vague possibility of England’s up-and-coming Yorkshireman passing 1,000 runs before the end of May.
There was more good news for England as Graeme Swann and Kevin Pietersen both look on target for an early Test return.
Pietersen might yet play for Surrey on 12 June.
The ECB have denied it.
But we have, let’s face it, been here before.
Back on top at tennis Rafael Nadal continued his swagger back towards the peak of men’s tennis with his fifth title of 2013, swatting aside Stanislas Wawrinka in the final of the Madrid Open.
The women’s tournament was won by the enduringly invincible Serena Williams, who beat Maria Sharapova for the 13th time in 15 matches to retain her title, her world No 1 spot, and her characteristic sense of swagger.
Andre Villas Boas Tottenham manager love of bikes and vintage cars
Tottenham have certainly been motoring this season as they chase a place in the top four and a coveted spot in the Champions League.
Many people consider Player of the Year Gareth Bale to be the well-oiled engine helping Spurs move seamlessly through the gears.
But is Andre Villas-Boas’ and his love for motorbikes and classic cars the real driving force behind their success? Easy rider: Andre Villas-Boas as he might look driving one his motorbikes Speaking to the Times magazine on Saturday, he said: ‘It helps to have a hobby.
Whenever I have the chance, I go back to my motorbikes and my cars.
It’s not an escape from the stresses of the job, but it is a passion.’ Villas-Boas takes Tottenham to his former club tomorrow night when they visit Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea.
The Blues, who sit three points above their rivals in second place in the Premier League, will all but confirm another shot at the Champions League with victory.
Villas-Boas’ love of motors is no secret; he first told of his passion when in charge of Chelsea, revealing he owned five bikes and shares 12 vintage cars.
Rollercoaster: Villas-Boas can get away from the pressures of football management by taking a ride ‘It feels fantastic,’ he said.
‘You feel the need for it.
Driving is very adrenalin-fuelled and it makes me feel good.
We all have our passions and respond in different ways.
‘It has been a lifelong passion.
My first bike was a 350cc heavy engine.
I took my licence and drove it in a national competition in Portugal then I broke my arm so I was out.
I was coaching Porto youth at the time.
The first bike was a Yamaha XT 350, then I had Hondas then a couple of KTMs.
I have a couple of them now.’ Villas-Boas also hopes to one day take part in the Dakar Rally which is now held in South America.
‘I have a couple of bikes from the Dakar Rally that I own,’ he added.
‘One is for my collection, the other I ride it.
I am a bit of a crazy head so I have enduro-bikes as well.
I go into mountains with the big rocks and almost kill myself.
I have a couple of trials bikes and cars with different owners, because we have an extension collection and split ownership of them.’ Race is on: Tottenham take on Chelsea tomorrow night in a top-four shootout at Stamford Bridge Meanwhile, the 35-year-old had admitted he faces a tough task in steering Spurs into Europe’s premier competition.
‘It will be extremely difficult, but if we achieve these nine points we will be enjoying Champions League football next season,’ he said.
‘That is our aim, but we understand that other teams are improving and it will probably go down to the wire.
‘The three points gives us a wonderful opportunity against a team that is fighting for the same objectives as us.’ Boys and their toys Andre Villas-Boas is not the first in football to have a passion for bikes…
David Beckham was a regular on his while living in Los Angeles Former Chelsea and Tottenham keeper Carlo Cudicini owned a BMW superbike but was knocked in a crash in London almost four years ago It should surprise nobody that Mario Balotelli owned a bike…
but he was banned from driving it by Manchester City for insurance reasons.
And Wayne Rooney designed a diamond-encrusted bike which sold at auction for 43,000.
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Hesjedal piles on Giro d’Italia pressure but Wiggins survives unharmed
Ryder Hesjedal, second from left, sprints to third place on the third stage of the Giro d’Italia after splitting the field with his attacks.
Photograph: Gian Mattia D’Alberto/AP When the defending champion in a major stage race makes most of the running over the final 20km of a stage, uphill, down dale and right up to the finish sprint, even if the eventual outcome is a somewhat miserly gain of eight seconds, as Ryder Hesjedal did in stage three of the Giro d’Italia, the runes are easily read.
He is clearly a Ryder in form.
As the third man in the pundits’ forecasts alongside Vincenzo Nibali and Sir Bradley Wiggins, he will need to look for openings and, on the evidence of the final kilometres into Marina di Ascea, he is able to spot them.
There was considerable collateral damage with the race split to smithereens behind an elite lead group of 17, and numerous crash victims, while the man who emerged as the main beneficiary of the day was the Italian Luca Paolini, who won the stage and the leader’s jersey.
The first “real” road race stage of the Giro, after a circuit race in Naples and a team time trial, offered sumptuous coastal scenery and had all the predictable chaos of rush-hour anywhere in Italy.
The pressure piled on by Hesjedal midway up the final climb, the Sella di Catona, split the lead group immediately, with only seven men able to stay with him, including Wiggins and Nibali.
The main absentee was Cadel Evans of Australia, whose BMC team could be seen leading the chase 100m or so behind.
Hesjedal’s move appeared to be planned, with two members of his Garmin-Sharp team hitting the front and setting a ferocious pace, so much so that one of them, the Lithuanian Ramunas Navardauskas, misjudged a bend, was forced on to the verge and disappeared.
The tempo set by Hesjedal and his henchmen saw off the hopes of the Italian Fabio Taborre, who had taken a solo lead from the morning’s seven-man escape with his eyes on the pink race leader’s jersey, and it did for the man who started the day in the maglia rosa, Salvatore Puccio of Sky, who finished 7min 5sec back.
If the climb gave an immediate indication of who was in form and alert, the sinuous descent through the olive groves provided other signs.
The lead group had swelled in numbers to about 35 but Hesjedal’s second attack, downhill this time, piled on the pressure.
At the front it looked seamless but the fall-out behind reflected the demands such a finale makes on minds and bodies.
The continual hairpins whittled the lead group again, to just 16 at the finish line, with Wiggins and most of the overall contenders among them.
The main loser was the grizzled Italian Michele Scarponi, who was awarded victory in the 2011 Giro d’Italia after finishing second to Alberto Contador, who was stripped of the title for a doping offence.
Scarponi was involved in a minor crash which damaged his gears, leaving him waiting forlornly for a team support vehicle.
His loss of 44sec was an early setback, while the climbing duo from the French Ag2r team of Carlos Betancur and Domenico Pozzovivo also fell foul of the descent, losing 34sec.
It was Paolini who profited most, however, taking advantage of a lull on a brief rise to spring clear, gaining 16sec by the finish line and winning the maglia rosa to go with the stage win, thanks to the 20sec time bonus.
This is his Giro debut, which seems bizarre for an Italian cyclist of 36 with his consistent winning record of semi-Classics and stages.
Hesjedal’s final move came in the finish sprint, for second place as Paolini celebrated his victory beyond the line.
It was Evans who ran in second, the Canadian third, meaning they had recouped 12sec and 8sec respectively of the time they lost in Sunday’s team trial on the island of Ischia to Wiggins and Puccio’s Team Sky.
Tuesday’s stage is one of the longest of the race at 246km and has a climb to the finish.
Last year’s winner may well have an opportunistic glint in his eye again.
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