Category Archives: SPORTS

A whole decade might have passed since Sydney Olympic played at the elite level of Australian football but don’t think the two-time national champions remain sated by past glories.

“We want to be the best club in the country, as simple as that. We want to be number one again,” says George Mpliokas, Olympic’s media manager. “When a big club gets relegated, be it Europe, Asia or South America, they don’t roll over and stop caring. They want to get back to the top. We’re a big club and we’re no different.”

Of course, there is no mechanism for promotion in Australian football, and not for the foreseeable future. That means Olympic’s grand ambition can’t be fulfilled just yet, even if their geographical catchment, wedged directly between Sydney FC and Western Sydney, is often discussed as an area of A-League potential.

But over a 48-hour stretch, commencing this Sunday at 4pm, Olympic are the big-ticket football item in Sydney once more. It starts with the marquee clash of football in this state: the NSW Premier League grand final, held against Blacktown City, at Edensor Park.

“We’re hoping for between 5000 and 10,000 to head out to the “Chicken Farm” [the mischievous nickname for the home ground of their arch-rivals, Sydney United],” Mpliokas said. “And we’re hoping for the same amount to pack out Lambert Park two days later.”

That second match, on Tuesday night, is Olympic’s clash with Victorian Premier League club Bentleigh Greens – where a spot in the FFA Cup quarter-finals is on the line.

It can’t be held at Olympic’s usual venue, Belmore Sports Ground, because they couldn’t secure the venue for the match, an unfortunate reality of sharing with NRL club Canterbury-Bankstown.

While Olympic are revelling in having their name up in national lights, a rarity in the A-League era for lower-tier clubs, they’re not exactly thrilled about having to play twice in three days.

“Our players aren’t full-time, so I don’t know how they’ll do their recovery when they have to go back to work on the Monday,” Mpliokas said. “We wanted to have it moved but the FFA said we have to play. We’re not complaining though it’s a pretty tough ask.”

But this is an Olympic side which has got used to doing things the hard way. At the end of last season, coach Peter Tsekenis and assistant coach Peter Papoythis quit, followed by several players, including captain Phil Makrys. It’s understood not all was well between the boardroom and the dressing room.

The Belmore-based club had to rebuild from scratch under new coach, ex-Socceroo Grant Lee, who infused the group with young talent, albeit with 38-year old veteran Paul Henderson between the posts. Even to get to the grand final, they had to upset minor premiers Bonnyrigg, a feat managed on penalties.

The squad has performed so well that subsequent interest from the A-League has been inevitable. After trialling with the Wanderers, Japanese pair Taiga Soeda and Go Shirai have caught the eye of Graham Arnold at Sydney FC. The form of Harris Gaitatzis and right-back Brayden Sorge hasn’t gone unnoticed, either.

But Blacktown City has ample talent of their own, including ex-Sydney FC pair Mitch Mallia and Zach Cairncross plus Kearyn Baccus, who was included in a Socceroos’ training camp barely three years ago. Their Japanese import, Ryuji Miyazawa, provides the creative spark.

On Tuesday, Olympic will need to curb Bentleigh’s gun New Zealand striker Ryan De Vries, a player coach John Anastasiadis is “baffled” isn’t in the A-League.

Interestingly, the Greens boast two winners of the Football Superstar reality television show, Luke Pilkington and Liam McCormick, who spent time at Melbourne Victory and Brisbane Roar respectively.

source: smh.com.au

Pablo Zabaleta has warned Arsenal not to read too much into their win over Manchester City last month as they prepare to lock horns again.

Arsene Wenger’s side beat the Barclays Premier League champions 3-0 in the Community Shield at Wembley courtesy of goals from Santi Cazorla, Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud. City return to London to face Arsenal in a mouth-watering Barclays Premier League encounter on Saturday and Manuel Pellegrini’s men will still be licking their wounds after suffering a shock 1-0 home defeat to Stoke City last time.

Zabaleta is expected to recover from a knock sustained in Argentina’s friendly victory over world champions Germany last week to take his place in the City side and the defender expects Pellegrini’s team to give a better account of themselves in the capital this time around.

“It [the Community Shield defeat] was the first game of the campaign and the squad were not all back from the summer or 100 per cent fit,” the full-back told City’s website. “We are much stronger than we were a month ago and we will continue to improve and get back into our stride as each game goes by.

“That said, Arsenal are a very good team and it is always a hard game at the Emirates. They have improved their squad and brought in some great players to strengthen their title bid but we are looking to bounce back after the Stoke defeat and we will go there to win three points.”

Zabaleta is wary of the threat posed by Arsenal’s big-money signing Alexis Sanchez. The right-back believes the Chile forward will prove to be a shrewd acquisition.

“Sanchez is a very quick, sharp player who can play wide or as a striker but I feel he is most dangerous when he is on the flanks,” he said. “He did very well at Barcelona and he is a difficult player to face because you know you are in for a tough afternoon when you face him.

“He is also works very hard for the team, especially when they don’t have the ball and he has become a very important player for Chile so he is a great signing for Arsenal.”

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has confirmed that midfielder Fernando and striker Stevan Jovetic have been ruled out of the match.

Fernando picked up a knock against Stoke in City’s last BPL fixture and suffered a further injury in training, sidelining him for Arsenal as well as the crucial games against Bayern Munich and Chelsea.

Jovetic has also been ruled out of the trip to the Emirates after tweaking his hamstring on international duty but Pellegrini is hopeful that “he will be OK next week”.

Wenger could hand a debut to deadline-day signing Danny Welbeck following his move from Manchester United. The forward scored both goals in England’s 2-0 Euro 2016 qualifying win against Switzerland on Monday and has been given the chance to kick-start his career at Arsenal.

Arsenal were held to a 1-1 draw at Leicester City in their last league match, but Wenger views Saturday’s encounter as a chance to demonstrate the progress that the FA Cup holders have made.

“Saturday is a good opportunity to show we have grown as a team and we are ready for the fight,” said the Frenchman.

Ramsey’s fitness will be assessed after the midfielder picked up an ankle injury in Wales’ victory in Andorra on Tuesday, while Kieran Gibbs (hamstring), Mikel Arteta (ankle) and Mesut Ozil (knock) have all been passed fit.

Arsenal have not beaten City in the last four Barclays Premier League meetings between the two sides and were beaten 6-3 at the Etihad Stadium last season.

Arsenal (from): Martinez, Ospina, Szczesny, Chambers, Debuchy, Gibbs, Koscielny, Mertesacker, Monreal, Arteta, Cazorla, Coquelin, Diaby, Flamini, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ozil, Ramsey, Rosicky, Wilshere, Alexis, Campbell, Podolski, Sanogo, Welbeck.

Manchester City (from): Caballero, Hart, Wright, Boyata, Clichy, Demichelis, Kolarov, Kompany, Mangala, Nastasic, Sagna, Zabaleta, Fernandinho, Lampard, Milner, Nasri, Navas, Silva, Sinclair, Toure, Aguero, Dzeko.

source: premierleague.com

Port Melbourne Sharks must win their match against Werribee City to stay in the NPL. Photo: Kostas Deves.

Focus has shifted to who will stay and who will go in the NPLV

Port Melbourne Sharks will be fighting to save their place in the NPL today as the fight to stay reaches boiling point. After South Melbourne claimed the NPL title last week, the focus now shifts to the three-way battle for survival between Ballarat, Port Melbourne and Werribee City.

Only one of the three will join Goulburn Valley in the NPL 1 next season, with the three sides locked on 27 points ahead of the final day.

If Ballarat loses to Oakleigh, a draw will be enough for Port Melbourne and Werribee to stay in the top flight.

The Sharks will have a fighting chance if they use their defence wisely against Werribee City, and with a home advantage could be getting more than their usual draws.

Their last match was a 1-1 draw against Pascoe Vale, while Werribee City drew 0-0 to a more impressive Heidelberg United.

Heidelberg sit third on the ladder, and while they still average two goals a game, they’ve lost some passion in the last couple of games.

They take on Dandenong Thunder in the last match of the season on Sunday, hoping to return to their high scoring ways with the help of Kaine Sheppard and Daniel Heffernan.

source: Neos Kosmos

One of only two countries in Europe in last 16 of both FIFA and FIBA World Cup.Sunday was a sour day for Greek fans, given the elimination from the World Basketball Cup to Serbia and the home loss to Romania in the opening match for soccer’s Euro 2016 qualifiers.

And yet viewing the state of the two national teams in this couple of sports that are among the most popular around the world shows that, despite its domestic crisis, Greece stands among the global elite in sports, as it is one of just two European countries to have seen their teams enter the last 16 of both World Cups, in soccer and basketball, this summer.

Six countries managed to make the first knockout stages of both the World Cups of FIFA and FIBA this summer, but only two of them were European: They were the USA, Brazil (which hosted the FIFA World Cup), Argentina, Mexico, France and Greece.

While Greece is no stranger to success on the global basketball stage, having played in the final of the 2006 tournament after beating none other than Team USA in the semis, it reached the last 16 of soccer’s World Cup for the first time ever in Brazil, while such European giants as Spain, Italy and England went home early.

In basketball, the national team is undergoing a major overhaul with the hiring of coach Fotis Katsikaris. Greece bowed out early from the World Cup in Spain, probably being the victim of its own success at the group stage, but scored five wins in six games in total and produced the kind of teamwork one would have expected from sides that have been together for a long time.

In soccer, too, Greece has a new manager in Italian Claudio Ranieri, who had to face the toughest home game in the qualifying group – against Romania – without the chance to see his new players even in a friendly game, to say nothing about having to field a team at home without its fans at the Karaiskakis Stadium.

Therefore Sunday may have seemed like a day of fall after a glorious summer for Greek team sports, but in fact it was more like winter before the spring comes again in both soccer and basketball in Greece.

source: ekathimerini.com

Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsey hopes he never plays on an artificial surface again as he battles to be fit for Manchester City’s visit to the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.

Ramsey rolled an ankle in the closing stages of Wales’ Euro 2016 victory in Andorra on Tuesday night and should know in the next 24 hours whether he is fit enough to line up against the reigning Barclays Premier League champions.

“I hope that’s the last time I play on a plastic pitch,” said Ramsey. “The pitch was very hard, there was no give in it, and I rolled my ankle a little bit.

“I could feel it, but hopefully it will be nothing and I’ll be available for Saturday.

“Manchester City at home, those are the games you want to play in so hopefully it won’t be a problem.”

If Ramsey is passed fit he will line-up for the first time with Danny Welbeck, Arsenal’s £16m deadline-day signing from Manchester United.

Welbeck will be full of confidence after scoring twice in England’s 2-0 European Championship qualifying victory over Switzerland on Monday night and Ramsey believes the former United man will add something different to the Arsenal attack.

“He showed for England what a good player he is with those two goals,” Ramsey said.

“He’s a player who is very good technically, can get in behind teams and score goals.

“I think he will bring something different – the runs in behind, his pace.

“His power and his finishing will benefit us for the rest of the season.”

Ramsey admitted Wales struggled for cohesion against the minnows of Andorra but insisted the result was all that mattered.

“Due to the pitch we couldn’t get into our stride,” Ramsey said. “Normally we play quick, keep it on the floor, play around teams, stuff like that.

“But you couldn’t play the ball quickly and I just don’t know how you’re meant to play football on that pitch to be honest.

“Cyprus won in Bosnia and I think in this group teams will take points off each other and a lot of teams will struggle here as well on that pitch.”

source: independent.co.uk

Ο Φάμπιο Καπέλο ρωτήθηκε για τα φαβορί για την κατάκτηση του Champions League και επεσήμανε ότι η Μπάγερν Μονάχου και η Τσέλσι έχουν τον πρώτο λόγο.

«Αν και οι Ισπανικές ομάδες παραμένουν επικίνδυνες, στην Ευρώπη βλέπω μεγάλα φαβορί τις Μπάγερν και Τσέλσι. Όσο για τις Ιταλικές ομάδες, δυστυχώς μοιάζει δύσκολο να πετύχουν κάτι, παρόλο που η Ατλέτικο μας έδειξε πως το πάθος και η θέληση μπορεί να κάνει την διαφορά», είπε ο εκλέκτορας της Ρωσίας και αναφέρθηκε στον Σουάρες, την Μπαρτσελόνα και τη Ρεάλ:

«Παίκτες σαν τον Σουάρες κάνουν την διαφορά, όμως κάποιος πρέπει να μαρκάρει. Ο Λουίς το κάνει, ο Μέσι και ο Νεϊμάρ όχι τόσο. Εκεί θα κριθεί η επιτυχία αυτού του εκπληκτικού “τρίο”. Αν διάλεγα ακόμα μία ομάδα να διεκδικήσει το πρωτάθλημα, πάντως, θα ήταν η Ρεάλ, που είναι η μοναδική σε αυτό το επίπεδο».

zougla.gr

Η Εθνική Ελπίδων έκανε αυτό που έπρεπε, νίκησε 3-1 στην Κατερίνη την Πολωνία, αλλά δεν κατάφερε να εξασφαλίσει τη συμμετοχή της στα μπαράζ πρόκρισης στην τελική φάση του Ευρωπαϊκού Πρωταθλήματος 2015, καθώς η Σουηδία νίκησε στις καθυστερήσεις 4-3 την Τουρκία!

Η ελληνική ομάδα προηγήθηκε στο 12′ με τον Καρέλη, όμως οι Πολωνοί ισοφάρισαν στο 24′ με τον Πρζιμπίλκο. Στη συνέχεια η εθνική πίεσε για άλλο γκολ, έχασε ευκαιρίες και ο Γιαννιώτας με πέναλτι στο 86′ πέτυχε το 2-1.

Ο ίδιος παίκτης στο τρίτο λεπτό των καθυστερήσεων σημείωσε και το 3-1 κι όλοι πίστεψαν πως είχαν εξασφαλίσει την πρόκριση, καθώς το αποτέλεσμα στον αγώνα Σουηδίας-Τουρκίας ήταν 3-3.

Την ίδια στιγμή όμως, πέτυχαν γκολ και οι Σουηδοί και η πρόκριση χάθηκε… Η σύνθεση της ελληνικής ομάδας: Καπίνο, Μαρινάκης, Σταφυλίδης, Μπουγαΐδης, Τριανταφυλλόπουλος, Μπάλλας (85΄ Γιαννιώτας), Μαυρίας (71΄ Μπακασέτας), Λαγός, Βέλλιος, Καρέλης, Μπουχαλάκης (62΄ Μπούζας)

Η τελική βαθμολογία στον όμιλο:

1. Σουηδία 20-14 16β.

2. Ελλάδα 20-10 15

3. Πολωνία17-10 15

4. Τουρκία 16-11 13

5. Μάλτα 2-30 0

Πηγή: in.gr