A traditional Epirote octopus dish

Dora Kitinas-Gogos

Ingredients:

1 medium- size octopus
1 kg potatoes cut into pieces
1 cup of brown vinegar
1/2 teaspoon red pepper
1/2 teaspoon sweet pepper
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup of olive oil

Method:

1. First boil the whole octopus boiled with 2 cups water and a little vinegar
2. Then we cut the octopus into small pieces and put back in the pot with red and sweet pepper tomato paste and oil.
3. After waiting two hours
4. Add the potatoes and leave to under 30 minutes

source: Neos Kosmos

From Algeria’s heroics to Zamorano’s lively language, the 2014 Fifa World Cup has provided plenty of memorable moments.

Here BBC Sport reflects on the tournament – in alphabetical form.

A is for Avenida Atlantica and Algeria

Avenida Atlantica is the chaotic stretch of dual carriageway that sweeps around the ocean parallel to Copacabana Beach.

It served as the heartbeat of the Fanfest and temporary resting place for supporters from around the world with no permanent home in Rio.

Argentine camper fans parked overnight were a feature as were early morning sights of breakfast being cooked and served.

The disappointment of Cameroon, Ghana and Ivory Coast left Algeria to fly the African flag – and they did their continent proud.

The Desert Foxes reached the knockout stage for the first time and produced a stirring last-16 display against Germany, only to succumb in extra time.

Coach Vahid Halilhodzic, who stepped down after the tournament, and many of his players left the field in tears, but a sea of fans greeted the squad in Algiers and state TV dedicated a special programme to the squad entitled “Thank You Heroes.”

B is for bite

Few inside the Estadio das Dunas in Natal could believe their eyes when Luis Suarez committed the most infamous act of this, or perhaps any other, World Cup.

The post-match news conference set the tone for the Uruguayan denials and Suarez swept through the mixed zone like a man who knew he was in trouble. Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini, who was bitten, said little as he walked onto the team bus.

BBC Sport’s Ben Smith asked, “did it hurt?” “Yes, it did.” Ultimately, it hurt Uruguay more.

Suarez was suspended for their last-16 match with Colombia – the first absence of a four-month ban – as they lost 2-0.

C – Costa Rica, controversy and craques

Costa Rica came into the World Cup, bereft of two of their best players, and in a World Cup group with three former world champions (including England). They left it agonisingly close to the semi-finals and to a hero’s welcome back home.

Having beaten Uruguay and Italy, and drawing with England in a dead rubber, they then saw off Greece in a penalty shootout in the last 16 but lost to the Netherlands by the same format in the quarter-final.

Had Marcos Urena taken his chance in the 117th minute – or Louis van Gaal not brought on Tim Krul (see K) for the penalty shootout, they could have been in the last four.

The opening match between Brazil and Croatia drew as much attention for decisions made by referee Yuichi Nishimura as it did for the actual football.

Few games passed without moments of controversy, the biggest coming when Luis Suarez bit Giorgio Chiellini (see B).

Algeria were fined for use of lasers by their supporters, Cameroon embroiled in match fixing allegations, one England fan had a piece of his ear bitten off by another England fan and Arjen Robben was accused of diving.

This was the World Cup when the craques came to the party in a very big way.

The Brazilian term, which originates from British military parlance, is used to identify a team’s star player, the man who carries the hopes of a nation.

Lionel Messi, Neymar (see N), James Rodriguez (see J), Robin van Persie, Thomas Muller and the rest all raised their game to light up the tournament in a way many of the world’s best failed to in South Africa. Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney were exceptions.

D is for dancing and Deschamps

Celebration of the tournament arguably belonged to the superb Colombians, who showed a hip-shaking, rhythmic ability that captured the sheer joy and fun of a World Cup in the home of samba.

As far as a celebratory dance goes it was off the scale.

Avoiding the mutiny that scarred France’s 2010 World Cup debacle was one thing, leading them to the quarter-finals with an attractive style of play that had some tipping them as dark horses for the title another.

Didier Deschamps has returned Les Blues to the top table of world football and, despite a meek surrender to Germany, they will now be among the favourites when they host Euro 2016.

E is for England

In World Cup terms, it was a blink and you missed it campaign from England.

Out after two group defeats by Italy and Uruguay, any gloss of optimism after the opening game was removed on close inspection of the rest of the tournament, which suggested England are being left behind.

Coach Roy Hodgson is the man entrusted with playing catch up – but has he got the style and inspiration to do it?

F is for fans and futsal

They came from all corners of the globe. They came in all shapes and sizes. They were not going to miss football’s biggest fiesta.

Some drove cars from San Francisco, others camped, some slept wherever they could. Those that travelled from South and Central America brought unrivalled noise, colour and passion to this tournament.

Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia, Mexico and Argentina fans stole the show.

Some US fans gave up their jobs to stay and watch, while a few Costa Rica fans spent triple their original budget just to follow their country’s surprisingly extended adventure.

There were even England fans, still wearing the shirt, clinging on to be part of this World Cup right to the end. And who can blame them?

Futsal – the game that made Brazil great remains as popular and widespread as ever before.

They play in small spaces in Sao Paulo, by the beach in Salvador and Revife.

They play by the light of the moon and the street lamps when the sun goes down. The ball flashes around these courts in a blur, the speed of mind and of foot grooving a technique that develops one fine Brazilian footballer after another.

G is for goals, goals and more goals

There were 136 of them in the 48 group games – an average of 2.83 per fixture. This was a record for a World Cup, with six more than 2002.

Since then the goals have slightly dried up (Brazil v Germany aside) but we are only two goals away from a tournament record with the final to come.

We have seen 170 strikes – one short of the 171 scored in 1998.

There has been quality as well as quantity.

James Rodriguez’s left-foot thunderbolt, Robin van Persie’s acrobatic header, Tim Cahill’s strike that thumped the underside of the crossbar before bouncing down over the line – creating memories that will last a lifetime.

H is for Howard, the American hero

Inside Arena Fonte Nova mouths fell open and even the Belgium players could only applaud as Tim Howard produced one of the great individual performances of the World Cup.

The US goalkeeper was a one-man wall of steel, as Belgium bombarded the US goal in Salvador.

Howard made more saves (15) in a World Cup match than anyone since records began.

In the end, he was beaten twice and so were his nation but only after a brave and thrilling comeback in extra-time. USA President Barack Obama called to express his pride and he became a trending topic on social media with the hashtag #ThingsTimHowardCanSave.

In addition, someone changed the US Secretary of Defence on Wikipedia to Tim Howard.

I is for injuries

Radamel Falcao, Franck Ribery, Marco Reus and Rafael van der Vaart were ruled out before a ball had been kicked, though their nations still all reached the quarter-finals or better.

The same could not be said for Thiago Alcantara, Riccardo Montolivo or Theo Walcott, whose teams fell at the group stage, while Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain travelled to Brazil but did not play.

During the competition, Neymar was the most high-profile casualty, Sergio Aguero and Angel Di Maria also suffered problems, and Cristiano Ronaldo was not at full fitness.

J is for Jesus and James Rodriguez

Get there first thing or be prepared to queue for hours to visit Christ the Redeemer, the 36m tall statue of Jesus that looks down over the Maracana and the rest of Rio de Janeiro.

It has been throbbing with football fans throughout the tournament.

There has also been a very religious feel to many celebrations, while Brazil captain Thiago Silva spent the minutes before his team’s penalty shootout victory against Chile deep in prayer.

Never has there been as much discussion in Britain about how to say the word James. But the Colombian, named after James Bond, but pronounced “Ham-ez” stole the show in Brazil.

The 22-year-old, who stepped into the limelight following the injury to Monaco team-mate Radamel Falcao, scored six goals in five games – making him the World Cup’s top scorer going into the final.

His club side paid £38.5m to sign him from FC Porto last summer – it’s fair to say they’ll be making a profit if they cash in on him now.

K is for Klose and Krul

Miroslav Klose came into the tournament needing two goals to become the World Cup’s all-time leading scorer. He got them.

The 36-year-old Lazio player scored with his first touch, from a yard out, against Ghana and become the joint top-scorer in World Cup history, alongside Ronaldo. He then scored his landmark 16th in the 7-1 rout of Ronaldo’s former side Brazil.

Tim Krul did not figure much but he sure made a big impression.

Brought on with seconds of extra-time remaining in the Netherlands’ quarter-final tie against Costa Rica, he did his best to put his opponents off, dived the right way all five times and saved twice to become an unlikely hero, and perhaps a little bit of a villain as well.

In their semi-final Louis van Gaal could not bring him on as he had already made three substitutions and number one Jasper Cillessen failed to stop any penalty as Argentina won.

L is for Lapa and David Luiz

Want to find the party in Rio on a Saturday night?

Head down to Lapa in the centre of Rio and you’ll have your answer.

A throbbing mass of humanity partying in such great number that cars can only weave their way down the road with great difficulty. Make sure you head to the petrol station in the centre of Lapa.

There’s nowhere else where you can party and get a litre of unleaded at the same time.

David Luiz opened the tournament by leaving Chelsea for Paris St-Germain, scored a cracking free-kick in the win over Colombia and ended up in tears after what Alan Hansen called “one of the worst performances I have ever seen”, skippering his side in the 7-1 semi-final defeat by Germany.

M – Mate, Manaus and Messi

No trip to the chilly southern city of Porto Alegre, which staged five matches, was complete without some mate to warm the cockles.

While the liquid of choice in most other parts of the country was ice-cold water or beer, this tea-like drink – served in a gourd, sipped through a bomba (metal straw) and a speciality of the gauchos – was the perfect companion as the temperatures plummeted.

Manaus was the World Cup’s most exotic and unique location.

In the heart of the Amazonian rainforest, the descent into the airport painted a spectacular picture of both the rainforest and then the giant sweep of the river.

A mix of colonial buildings – including an opera house – and with a Caribbean air, temperatures and humidity were at their most fierce here.

The man who finally stepped out of Diego Maradona’s shadow, Lionel Messi was the undisputed star of the show for Argentina.

He scored the winner in his team’s opening game against Bosnia-Hercegovina, leaving a trail of opponents backsided on the turf, and never looked back – scoring the only goal against Iran and adding two more against Nigeria.

He was a shining light in an occasionally dull team. The water in the desert, as boss Alejandro Sabella described him.

N is for Neymar

The poster boy of this tournament, the man that all of Brazil loves and the name on the back of a million counterfeit shirts – it is hard not to feel sorry for poor old Neymar.

The 22-year-old carried the hopes of 200 million people on his young shoulders and did it with style, grace and humility.

Yet his dream of guiding Brazil all the way to victory was ended when he broke a vertebra in his back following a challenge by Colombia’s Juan Zuniga in their quarter-final tie.

Brazil wept, but Neymar told them they must keep believing in a video message the following day. David Luiz and Julio Cesar held up his jersey before their 7-1 semi-final humiliation by Germany where he was greatly missed.

O is for organisation

The build-up to the World Cup was dominated by legitimate fears over stadiums, infrastructure, safety and protests, but many of the concerns failed to materialise.

Although everybody will have a different view and not everything was perfect – some construction projects were incomplete, while minor building work was still taking place at certain venues and airports as the tournament began – the event ran fairly smoothly with few major issues.

Teams seemed happy with their facilities, pitches were in reasonable condition and the majority of spectators were content with the matchday experience.

Transport tended to be painless, security tight and public unrest largely absent.

P is for people (kind, courteous, usually smiling, always happy to help)

Brazil and its people opened their arms to the world and left a brilliant impression on most who visited.

The poverty was excruciating to witness, but the positivity in adversity a joy to behold. Language barriers were an issue but never insurmountable.

The spirit, vibrancy and love of football were infectious, the passion for nation in spite of political grievances was inspirational.

The warmest of welcomes, the fondest of farewells.

Q – Queiroz

Iran coach Carlos Queiroz stepped down after the World Cup – where they drew with Nigeria and were seconds away from holding Argentina.

The Portuguese was not happy with a lack of government financial backing – which was largely caused by political restrictions placed on the country.

However after the tournament, the Iran Football Federation offered him a new contract and said it was hopeful he would reconsider.

R is for rain, especially in Recife

It might not happen all that often, but when it does it tends to be spectacular.

The journey to Arena Pernambuco on 26 June was like none previously experienced by the BBC team making its way slowly to the stadium.

The rain started to fall during the night. By morning, Recife’s roads had become rivers.

The water was so deep in places that waves swept up and down the streets. The route to the stadium was not passable, but locals sensed an opportunity.

They charged fans, media, anyone else, small amounts of money to push cars, vans and even buses, through the flood water. Hundred of US fans even ditched their vehicles and walked more than 10 miles to the match. Football won out.

S – Seven, struggling Spain and spectacular saves

Seven – the number that sent Brazil into meltdown and despair, hurtling towards a new low, an entirely new nightmare.

Forget 1950, the 7-1 semi-final humiliation against Germany was the lowest point in their football history. It will never be forgotten in Brazil, and for the most painful of reasons.

Another team to be humiliated were holders Spain. They lost 5-1 to the Netherlands in their opener – in what looked like it would be the most shocking result of the tournament until Germany met Brazil.

It was always a big ask to retain the title, but few predicted Spain would fall at the group stage.

Inside both Arena Fonte Nova and the Maracana, where they were stunned by Netherlands and Chile respectively, there was a palpable sense that we were witnessing something historic: the end of an era.

La Roja’s six-year rule of the game is over, a turnover of players is sure to follow and uncertainty surrounds the future of coach Vicente Del Bosque.

‘Tiki taka’ remains at the heart of Spain’s philosophy, but it must evolve if they are to challenge again.

What we also saw during the World Cup was a host of spectacular saves.

Germany’s Manuel Neuer was not only about saves but caught the eye with the way he patrolled his half of the pitch, rushing out and acting like an extra defender.

Mexico’s Guillermo Ochoa, Costa Rica’s Keylor Navas and, of course, the US’s Tim Howard (see H) were among those who went home with their share price on the rise.

T is for tears, in many different places

Brazil set the tone with an emotional rendition of their national anthem before the tournament opener against Croatia – and for the likes of Neymar, David Luiz and Julio Cesar it was not a one-off but a sign of things to come.

The media and ex-players urged them to stop crying and this was part of the reason why coach Luiz Felipe Scolari called a psychologist into the camp.

Elsewhere, the Chile team – especially Gary Medel – were in pieces after their elimination, as were Algeria coach Vahid Halilhodzic, Antoine Griezmann of France and Colombia’s James Rodriguez.

U is for underdogs, the USA and Urca

Costa Rica (see C) were not the only surprise package in Brazil. Few tipped Chile to progress at Spain’s expense or USA at Portugal’s.

Dubbed ‘the Spain of South America’, Chile ended up eliminating the world and European champions to end their era of dominance.

Jorge Sampaoli’s men were denied a last-16 victory over hosts Brazil by the width of a crossbar when Mauricio Pinilla smashed his shot against the crossbar.

Other teams threatened upsets without delivering the final blow, among them Australia and Mexico against Netherlands, Iran and Switzerland against Argentina, Ghana and Algeria against Germany.

It proved there is strength in depth at international level and added a romantic element to a gripping event.

Was this the World Cup that saw football break through its final frontier?

A friendly time-zone, a successful team and a travelling support that was bigger than any other, all came together to create a unique blend that led to record TV audiences and crowds of tens of thousands watching on Stateside.

Barack Obama watched from Air Force One and the White House.

Urca Military Base, a short drive from Copacabana and in the shadow of Sugarloaf mountain, was England’s training headquarters for their short stay in Brazil.

Magnificently appointed. Spectacular setting. Hardly used.

V is for vanishing spray

It may resemble shaving foam and more than a few referees may have sprayed the players’ boots, but the spray that marks 10 yards the wall must retreat has been a genuine success story of this World Cup.

It has been utilised in Brazilian and Argentine football for several seasons, was trialled at last year’s Fifa Under-20 World Cup and will be introduced to the Champions League next season.

Contained in a holster attached to the official’s shorts, it is used to mark the spot of a free-kick near the penalty area and the distance away that a defensive wall must stand, disappearing from the grass within a minute.

W is for water and words of inspiration

The first cooling break in World Cup history took place in the intense heat of Fortaleza when Netherlands beat Mexico.

It gave the players the chance to rehydrate – and much more besides.

On the field, the temperature was recorded at 39C but rather than simply use the time to rehydrate his players, Dutch coach Louis Van Gaal later revealed he used the time to make a tactical switch that turned the game Netherlands’ way in the last 15 minutes.

If the World Cup does to take place in Qatar in 2022, we may be seeing many more of these.

X is for Xherdan Shaqiri and X-Ray

Known as the Alpine Messi, Switzerland striker Xherdan Shaqiri has been linked with a summer move from Bayern Munich to Liverpool.

Not just included here because his name helpfully starts with an X, he scored the only all left-footed hat-trick in World Cup history and was named man of the match twice as his team reached the last 16.

Not long after Neymar was stretchered off it was an X-ray that confirmed everyone’s worst suspicions – that the darling of Brazil was out of the World Cup. Within hours, an image of the scan was doing the rounds on social media.

Y is for yellow (and green)

Everywhere. On the streets, in the bars, hanging from hangers at every market stand.

Brazil is a country bathed in the yellow and green of Brazil.

On a Selecao matchday you cannot move without seeing Brazil shirts. Generally with a number 10 on the back, and the name Neymar Jr above it. The most iconic kit in world football.

Z is for Zamorano

Chile legend Ivan Zamorano was working in Brazil as a television pundit – and apparently engaged in some lively language when Mauricio Pinilla struck the crossbar late in his team’s game against Brazil.

Zamorano, nicknamed Bam Bam, reckons this current Chile team have broken the mould and can go on to achieve great things.

source:bbc.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Javier Mascherano spoke his mind before Argentina’s quarter-final win over Belgium[EPA]

The former Liverpool midfielder has been a key player for Alejandro Sabella’s push to the semi-finals but their paltry return at football’s top table since reaching the final as defending champions in 1990 has hit him hard.

For a country like Argentina, one so rich in World Cup heritage, not reaching a semi-final for 24 years is tantamount to absolute failure.

The fact that in the 28 years since last lifting the most famous trophy on the planet Brazil have reached the holy grail twice just adds to Argentina’s intense pain.

With two failed campaigns under his own belt, Mascherano simply will not tolerate a third.

Before the quarter-final win over Belgium on Saturday Sabella, who has been boosted by the return to fitness of Sergio Aguero with the Manchester City striker set to be on the bench tomorrow, invited members of his squad to speak their minds in the build up to kick-off in Brasilia.

Mascherano’s words were stark, brutal and very much to the point.

“I am tired of eating this ****,” he said in the dressing room of the Estadio Nacional, urging Lionel Messi and Co to end their last-four drought once and for all.

At the end of a vibrant 90 minutes from the South Americans, led of course by that man Messi, the wait was over.

Now though, with Holland standing in their way of a trip to Sunday’s final in the Maracana, the expectations of emulating Diego Maradona’s glory run of 1986 are growing by the second.

Argentina’s key man Lionel Messi will come face-to-face with Dutch star Arjen Robben [EPA]

Mascherano is ready.

“I love this profession, I love what I do but it has been 24 years since we have played a semi-final,” he said.

“We always say things to motivate, I am not sure how these intimate moments get out but it happens. Every player said something and when people speak, we all listen.

“The atmosphere has been spectacular. We hope it all ends in the best form for Argentina.

“Of course it is fantastic to have got to the semi-finals but now we want to be in the Maracana on July 13. The expectations are growing and we have to try and match them.

“The squad is very happy and we go into such a massive game with real enthusiasm..We know we will will have a great chance on Wednesday.

“To reach the semi-finals was not only a relief for me but for all the guys. We knew what was at stake and we were so desperate to stay at the World Cup.

“When we went to bed we knew that when we woke up, the first thing in our minds will be Holland. To think about being in a World Cup semi-final is a unique and beautiful thing to experience.

“For a football fan like me, 24 years is a very long time. The expectations grow but fate has put us where we are now. We need to keep up.”

The way Argentina disposed of Belgium on Saturday was impressive. Louis van Gaal’s side, however, will surely provide much sterner a test.

source: express.co.uk

LUIS FELIPE SCOLARI saw his Brazil side end their World Cup on a whimper after a miserable 3-0 defeat to the Netherlands in Brasilia’s Estadio Nacional.

The game was billed as an opportunity for the hosts to redeem some national pride after their 7-1 thrashing at the hands of Germany.

But three goals from Robin Van Persie, Daley Blind and Georginio Wijnaldum inflicted a second successive defeat for Scolari’s men.

It took three minutes for Holland to break down Brazil’s weary defence – in extremely dubious circumstances.

Thiago Silva brought down Arjen Robben just outside the box, but referee Djamel Haimoudi deemed it a penalty – and pointed to the spot.

Subsequently booking Silva rather then sending him off – despite the Brazilian being the last man.

Manchester United forward Robin Van Persie duly stepped up to smash the ball home.

Daley Blind soon added a second after some catastrophic defending from former Chelsea man David Luiz.

Luiz inexcusably headed a tame cross back into his own six-years box, where an unchallenged Blind was able to pick his spot and stroke the ball beyond the outstretched Julio Cesar.

Many were fearing a repeat of Brazil’s semi-final thrashing.

But Van Gaal’s side are an entirely different entity to Joachim Low’s side and were content to protect their lead.

Fernandinho’s introduction at half-time yielded little change.

The same structureless and panicked style of play was all too easy for the Dutch defence to deal with.

Brazil’s misery was compounded with Wijnaldum’s well taken snapshot – taking the hosts tally to 10 goals conceded in just two games.

The players left to a chorus of boos from unhappy Brazil fans – many wondering if even Neymar could have made a difference.

source: express.co.uk

On the coldest Brisbane morning in more than a century, Prime Minister Tony Abbott received the warmest of receptions when he addressed the Liberal National Party faithful at its annual state conference on Saturday.

Border protection, the carbon tax repeal and the new composition of the Senate predictably formed the key components of his half-hour speech and, while applause came thick and fast inside the Royal International Convention Centre at the RNA Showgrounds, the reception was frostier from a small group of protesters outside.

Though vocal, the group failed to disrupt the delivery of Mr Abbott’s speech, and both he and Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop gave the protesters the slip.

Mr Abbott opted for a side entrance on his flying visit to Brisbane. Inside, Mr Abbott mused on what he termed an “interesting week” in the Senate, during which Clive Palmer, whose trio of senators hold the balance of power, announced they would block the repeal of the carbon tax.

He vowed to push ahead with repealing the controversial, Labor-imposed tax.

“Mr Palmer will change his mind come Monday but [Opposition Leader] Bill Shorten will still be there, supporting putting your power prices up,” he said.

“We won’t rest until the carbon tax is gone. It’s adding 9 per cent to your power bills. It’s a $9 billion handbrake on our economy. It must go.”

A week after Premier Campbell Newman spruiked his own state-saving record, Mr Abbott, to much crowd enthusiasm, similarly spruiked himself as the nation’s saviour, while defending his much-maligned budget.

“You and we are rescuing our country . . . it is only us who can rescue our country right now,” he said.

“I would much rather be delivering a tough but necessary budget than justifying incompetence and trying to explain away dishonesty.

“Isn’t it refreshing to have a government that says what it means and does what it says?”

On another of his key election promises, stopping the boats, Mr Abbott defended his government’s tough border protection measures, following a week in which Immigration Minister Scott Morrison came under fire for the secrecy surrounding the fate of 153 south Asian asylum seekers, who were held at sea by Australian authorities.

“I’m not declaring victory but, my friends, we are stopping those boats,” he said. “The most compassionate thing we could do was stop the boats.

“Stopping the boats stops the deaths, that’s why the most decent and compassionate thing this government has done is, for more than six months, ensured no successful people-smuggling venture to this country.

“We will never waiver, we must have secure borders, the sign of a sovereign country is secure borders.”

Mr Abbott again defended some of his more controversial budget measures, such as university deregulation and the Medicare co-payment, some of which formed the basis of the protest outside. “I know there are many tough elements of this budget but the Australian people want to be told the truth,” he said. “When you leave school, you will be earning or learning.

“And, yes, we do want to see a modest co-payment for Medicare services, we want our great health system to be sustainable for the long term.”

Mr Abbott also canvassed his government’s $50 billion infrastructure spend, his $20 billion medical research fund and a budget slowly returning to surplus.

“The Coalition is carefully and methodically fulfilling the commitments we made to the Australian people,” he said. “We want an Australia where each generation can leave to its children a better life, that is the Australia we are building.

“Good government is not about us, it’s about you.”

source:smh.com.au

Ian Thorpe has revealed he is gay in a tell-all interview that ends years of the swimmer’s struggle with his sexuality.

The 31-year-old Olympic champion reportedly confirms his sexuality for the first time in his brave interview with British veteran Sir Michael Parkinson, which is due to air tonight.

News Corp reports Thorpe will make a full admission that he is gay despite having dated women in the past.

Parkinson has described the interview as one of the best he has ever conducted.

“I think his sexuality is no one’s business but his own. But I think it’s one of the best interviews I have ever done in terms of (Thorpe) talking about depression and things like that,” Parkinson said.

It has been reported Thorpe was paid $400,000 for the tell-all.

The emotional interview was conducted last month and includes Thorpe detailing his years of depression.

Channel 10, which airs the interview tonight, has not commented on whether Thorpe details his sexuality.

source:thesundaytelegraph