Category Archives: SPORTS

Bayern 4-2 Juventus (aet; agg: 6-4)
After Thomas Müller forced extra time, substitutes Thiago Alcántara and Kingsley Coman capped a remarkable Bayern comeback in the round of 16.

Two goals in three extra-time minutes from substitutes Thiago Alcántara and Kingsley Coman decided a roller-coaster UEFA Champions League round of 16 tie in Bayern München’s favour, as an initially excellent Juventus display foundered amid a dramatic finale to an already see-saw encounter.

In a direct reversal of the Turin first leg, and at a ground where Bayern had won their preceding nine UEFA Champions League home matches, Juve led 2-0 through Paul Pogba and Juan Cuadrado’s first-half goals only to be pegged back just short of the final whistle. For all Bayern’s possession football, the hosts were revived by headers from crosses – Robert Lewandowski’s 73rd-minute conversion of a Douglas Costa centre, followed by Thomas Müller nodding in Kingsley Coman’s wicked 91st-minute delivery.

That paved the way for Thiago, who finished off a one-two with Müller by rifling past Gianluigi Buffon with 108 minutes on the clock. Some 120 seconds later Coman – ironically, a player on loan from Juventus – broke to fire in the irreversible fourth.

That turnaround made a distant memory of the brilliant start from Massimiliano Allegri’s men. Pogba’s fifth-minute breakthrough stemmed from Sami Khedira’s positive forward pass which, via a miscontrol from David Alaba under pressure from Stephan Lichtsteiner – and with Manuel Neuer stranded – the Frenchman finished comfortably.

With Juve pressing high, Bayern were rattled and it was no surprise when Juve struck again on 28 minutes. Álvaro Morata’s brilliant surge upfield was rewarded with a classy finish by Cuadrado. The Bundesliga leaders were being outgunned by opponents missing Paulo Dybala and Giorgio Chiellini; Cuadrado could have made it three.

Josep Guardiola’s men had scored at least three goals in each of their last seven home fixtures in the competition. Similar was needed here and Lewandowski eventually weighed in with one. Müller then levelled the tie, before the substitutes finished the job in extra time.

Bayern bounce back with superb second half
If the Bavarians were in a state of shock at 0-2 down, they would have been dead and buried had Morata finished one of his three second-half chances. But the Coman substitution gave the Bundesliga leaders a new lease of life and once Lewandowksi made it 2-1, it was inevitable they would get another.

Brave Juventus unable to hold on
Knowing they required an away goal, Juventus took the game to Bayern and were rewarded immediately. They unsettled the hosts with a magnificent first-half showing and will rue not converting their opportunities for a third, but in the end they were unable to resist the Bayern goal machine.

Key man: Kingsley Coman
His 60th-minute introduction proved the catalyst for Bayern’s comeback, injecting pace and energy into the home attack. He wreaked havoc with his crossing and supplied the crucial assist for Müller’s equaliser before putting the match out of sight with Bayern’s fourth.

source:uefa.com

Josep Guardiola said his respect for Juventus increased after they came back to draw the first leg 2-2, as Bayern München host a team with injury absences and a doubt over Mario Mandžukić.

Josep Guardiola, Bayern coach
We have to accept the result of the first leg. I would have preferred 5-0 but now we have to deal with it. Juventus are Juventus, with their own special spirit. The situation is the same as ever: Juve will be very strong opponents.

I know the Italian mentality, it has won them so many trophies. They wait for their moment. They know how to defend and how to score goals. After the first game, my appreciation and respect for Juve is even greater.

Juve can defend with ten men, with concentration and focus. I don’t like this style of play, but I am impressed by the way they do it. They can also keep the ball with players like Paul Pogba, and they can attack. Juve can always score goals. We really will need to be at our best to win. We’re all looking forward to this ‘final’.

Massimiliano Allegri, Juventus coach
We have to play a perfect game tomorrow. If we are not able to do so, it will be very difficult. We know Bayern are a team that normally take control of the game, 60 to 70% of the time.

Of course it is a pity that we have some injury problems. But we cannot risk anything with those lads, there are many other, very important, games for us in Serie A and the Coppa Italia.

Mandžukić is an extraordinary player. We will decide tomorrow if he will play or not. He trained well, but we do not know yet if he is going to play from the start. There are two players missing – this is not a drama, but of course it is sad. A drama for me is something else in life …

It is possible Bayern are underestimating Juventus. But I don’t think so, they have lots of respect for us, as we do have for them. We have to be very careful and try to be the better team tomorrow. It is as simple as that.

Possible lineups
Bayern München: Neuer; Lahm, Kimmich, Alaba, Bernat; Vidal, Alonso; Robben, Müller, Costa; Lewandowski.
Out: Boateng (adductors), Badstuber (ankle)
Doubtful: Martínez (match fitness), Robben (cold)
Misses next match if booked: Boateng

Juventus: Buffon; Lichtsteiner, Barzagli, Bonucci, Evra; Cuadrado, Khedira, Hernanes, Pogba; Morata, Mandžukić.
Out: Cáceres (Achilles), Marchisio (calf), Dybala (calf), Chiellini (calf)
Doubtful: Mandžukić (groin)
Misses next match if booked: Sturaro

source:uefa.com

Luis Enrique warned Barcelona to be wary of “quality players like Mesut Özil and Alexis Sánchez”, insisting defending a 2-0 lead at home against Arsenal will “not be easy”.

[The 2-0 win in London] was a good result but it doesn’t change our approach. It is still an open match, our opponents are dangerous and we need to play very well to go through. Sometimes the match looks perfect because of the result, but there is always room for improvement. That’s why football is so complex – 11 players have to do the same things at the same time.

We have to try to handle quality players like Mesut Özil and Alexis Sánchez. We want to keep the ball as much as possible to avoid counterattacks – it will not be easy, but lately we have being doing that well. Alexis is a very important player for Arsenal and his national team. He is a quality player, fast and attacking, and he has improved his game since he went to Barcelona. We have to be careful with him.

Arsène Wenger, Arsenal manager
The key for us will be a solid defensive performance. We have to attack and that suits us. We will do that knowing that the magicians of Barcelona will demand a good defensive performance from ourselves. Koscielny is important for us because he has lots of pace and Barcelona are good on the counterattack.

We have won almost everywhere in Europe, but still not here and we need to do that now. Barcelona are in a good position, but we have a chance. Our approach wasn’t too bad [in the first leg]. We just lost our shape a bit after half-time and got caught on the counterattack.

I don’t think the football gods owe us anything, but I owe a lot to football. We want to come here and give a positive performance. We will play with passion and commitment and show our talent.

Possible lineups
Barcelona: Ter Stegen; Alves, Mathieu, Mascherano, Alba; Busquets; Rakitić, Iniesta; Messi, Suárez, Neymar.
Out: Rafinha (knee), Sandro (hamstring), Piqué (suspended)
Doubtful: none
Misses next match if booked: none

Arsenal: Ospina; Bellerín, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal; Coquelin, Elneny; Campbell, Özil, Sánchez; Giroud.
Out: Ramsey (hip), Čech (calf), Cazorla (Achilles), Oxlade-Chamberlain (knee), Rosický (thigh), Wilshere (calf/shin), Chambers (not in squad)
Misses next match if booked: Monreal, Özil, Campbell, Giroud

source:uefa.com

Barcelona boss Luis Enrique hailed Arsene Wenger a ‘chosen one’ on the eve of their clash in the Nou Camp but warned Arsenal to prepare for more Champions League misery.

Under-fire Wenger and his ailing team head for Spain, clinging to the hope that the European champions will be weakened by complacency after winning 2-0 in the first leg in London.

The Premier League team’s chances will be boosted if stars like Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar attempt to coast into the last eight of the competition, but Enrique insists it cannot happen.

‘We are not going to change,’ said the Barca manager. ‘We want to be better than Arsenal. If we can that is perfect.

‘There will be no change in our approach. Maybe that is a question for Mr Wenger, whether he will change. But even if they change, we want to stop them.

‘I am not concerned about my players being too relaxed. These are champions we are talking about. The players are aware of that. This will not happen. I know that.

‘We do not change our training or preparation. The opponent is still dangerous and we will have to play very well.’

Wenger is in his 20th season as Arsenal manager but criticism has increased in recent weeks, as his team crashed out of the FA Cup and failed to seize the initiative in the Premier League title race.

After back-to-back FA Cup wins, they face the prospect of another season without a trophy, but Enrique said: ‘Wenger is a very good coach. Only the chosen ones can be there for a long time. For me it is impossible.

‘I don’t have a deep knowledge to assess his situation but every time there are more coaches out there and every time there are more possibilities, the team and club is the same.

‘That is why it is difficult to be there 20 years which shows you Mr Wenger has done a good job.’

Enrique branded Arsenal’s style as ‘direct’, and added: ‘They do not elaborate much but we solved that in the first-leg.

‘They have quality players like Theo Walcott, Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil. We want to keep the ball and not see many of their counter attacks.

‘We know Alexis. He was here for three seasons. I am sure it will stimulate him. He is a very important player for Arsenal; a quality player, very fast, a good attacker. He has improved since he was at Barcelona in his football way of playing.’

Gerard Pique is injured, but Barcelona expect Neymar to be refreshed after giving him a four-day break.

‘I don’t think he will be feeling pressure,’ said Enrique. ‘All people go home to Brazil and have a good time. He is playing well. He doesn’t score that much but he is still making goals.’

source:dailymail.co.uk

Les Darcy’s training gloves are now on display at Maitland Regional Art Gallery, a century after the prized fighter wore them.

The gloves arrived at the gallery two weeks ago, but have only just been opened to the public to see.

The gallery got their hands on the mitts from an auction, which happened to be held on the same day that memorabilia donated by Les Darcy’s sister-in-law Iris was unveiled at the gallery.

Maitland Regional Art Gallery collection management curator Cheryl Farrell said it was likely that Darcy used the gloves while training in Maitland in 1915-16.

Ms Farrell said it was great to see the gloves return to Maitland.

“We were really excited and really determined to bring them back,” she said.

“We didn’t want them to go anywhere else.”

Maitland Mayor Councillor Peter Blackmore said having the gloves in Maitland was an acknowledgement of the town’s history.

“Les Darcy is often referred to as Maitland’s favourite son,” he said.

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“He was larger than life.

“[It’s great] to be able to see his gloves as part of our collection.”

The display is expected to be a draw card for many people, boxing fans or not.

“People out of curiosity will want to see it, I want to see it!” Cr Blackmore said.

The gloves have been set up next to Iris Darcy’s memorabilia, which includes postcards, a waistcoat, a watch, and other personal momentos.

Ms Farrell said the gallery is always on the lookout for more Les Darcy items.

source:theherald.com.au

The last four Champions League quarterfinal spots are up for grabs this week with Barcelona and Manchester City both well-placed, while a European heavyweight will head for the exit after Bayern Munich play Juventus.

Five-time champion Bayern were looking certain to advance from the Round of 16 with a two-goal lead during the first leg in Turin, only for late goals from Paulo Dybala and Stefano Sturaro to earn Juventus a 2-2 draw and revive the Italian league leader’s hopes for Wednesday’s second leg in Munich.

Spanish league leader Barcelona hold a 2-0 lead over Arsenal, who need to get over the disappointment of Sunday’s FA Cup exit to Watford, the 2-1 defeat at home ending their bid to win the trophy for a third straight year.

Barcelona haven’t lost in a total of 37 games straight across all competitions, a Spanish record, and can count on home support on Wednesday.

Manchester City are in a similarly comfortable position ahead after beating Dynamo Kiev 3-1 away in their last-16 first leg, while Atletico Madrid and PSV Eindhoven are scoreless ahead of Tuesday’s other game.

Here are some things to know ahead of the last Round of 16 games:

BAYERN MUNICH-JUVENTUS

Bayern hope to finish the job at home after conceding late goals to Juventus and allowing the two-time champion back in the tie.

Bayern have won their last three games at home against Italian sides, and has looked unstoppable this season in Munich, winning their three group games against Dinamo Zagreb, Arsenal and Olympiakos by an aggregate score of 14-1.

Pep Guardiola’s side warmed up for Juve’s visit with a 5-0 win over Werder Bremen on Saturday, when Arjen Robben had a rest and Mario Goetze made his comeback after five months out with a thigh injury.

“I believe we showed today that we’re in quite good form,” Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said. “I’d say we’re looking with optimism at Wednesday.”

Juve defeated Sassuolo 1-0 at home on Friday, the side’s 10th consecutive league game without conceding.

BARCELONA-ARSENAL

Barcelona are bidding for their 10th straight win at home in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Even a draw at the Camp Nou, where they haven’t lost in more than a year, will be enough to keep the Catalan club on track to become the first side to defend the Champions League since the old European Cup was given a shake-up in 1992-93.

“It won’t be an easy game at all,” said Belgian defender Thomas Vermaelen, a former Arsenal player. “Although we have a small lead, you can never say that they are out. They have very quick players and that makes them dangerous. We’ll need to concentrate.”

Barcelona’s last home defeat was against Malaga in February 2015.

MANCHESTER CITY-DYNAMO KIEV

Manchester City are on the brink of qualifying for the Champions League quarterfinals for the first time, in a season when their domestic form is starting to go off the rails.

Nine points off the lead in the Premier League, it appears the rest of this season boils down to success in the Champions League.

City produced one of their best displays of the season to beat Dynamo 3-1 in the first leg, making the English team a heavy favorite to advance — especially since Dynamo has never won in England.

The last time Dynamo reached the quarterfinals was in 1999, when Sergei Rebrov — the team’s current coach — was leading its attack.

ATLETICO MADRID-PSV EINDHOVEN

Atletico are bidding to reach the quarterfinals for the third straight season and are coming off a scoring streak of nine goals in their last three games. They have won four in a row in the Spanish league.

PSV captain Luuk de Jong returns from his one-match suspension and hopes to lead the team to its first victory in Spain in 13 games. Following the scoreless first leg in Eindhoven, however, a score draw also would be enough to send PSV through.

Recent history is against Phillip Cocu’s team. PSV failed to win any of their three away matches so far this Champions League campaign, losing at CSKA Moscow and Wolfsburg and securing a goalless draw at Manchester United.

Tuesday’s game comes days before what is likely to be the decisive match in the Dutch Eredivisie next weekend, between PSV and Ajax.

“We have shown in the past we can play well in big matches,” De Jong said. “We have to do it again in these two games.”

source:ibnlive.com

Anfield responded to Klopp’s rally cry

Finally Jurgen Klopp may have a sense of what Anfield can be like. He’s witnessed the stadium when the fans are arriving rather than leaving early, as has been the case on a couple of notable occasions so far in his reign.

The Kop was packed 30 minutes before kick-off, louder before a ball was kicked than for most of the games of his tenure to date. The pre-match rendition of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ was probably the longest the stadium has heard.

The task for Klopp is to build a team worthy of such occasions – and capable of ensuring there are far more of them. There was certainly an extra yard in the step of the Liverpool players in the early stages, players from both sides evidently affected by the atmosphere. The gauntlet has been thrown to the Stretford End ahead of the second leg.

Better late than never with Sturridge’s penalties

Daniel Sturridge was notorious by his absence when Liverpool were beaten in the penalty shoot-out against Manchester City in the Capital One Cup. He insisted on picking up the ball when the opportunity came here.

No doubt there was plenty of frustration in his left-footed strike to put Liverpool ahead. In the striker’s defence, he could barely walk at full-time at Wembley – and he was absent in the next game – but his determination to take responsibility on this occasion would have delighted his manager.

Liverpool’s successive defeats to United heading into this game were largely a consequence of being bereft of the strikers that ripped their rivals apart when Sturridge was in tandem with Luis Suarez. The difference when Sturridge is on the pitch and in the mood demonstrates the side is different proposition with him.

source:telegraph.co.uk

Those born outside Greece to at least one Greek-born parent or grandparent can obtain a Greek passport.

The Visa Restrictions Index (Business Insider, UK, 29 Feb. 2016) ‘evaluates’ the strength of passports of most countries in the world. The main criterion is in how many countries the holder of a certain passport can enter without having to issue a specific visa. According to this survey, the more visa-free access you have in countries all over the world, the more valuable your passport is.

The recently issued Henley & Partners’ Visa Restrictions Index concludes that the strongest passport is the German one, since it gives access to 177 countries without the need of a visa for its holder. The Greek passport ranks in seventh spot, along with that of New Zealand, as it gives visa-free access to 171 countries.

Those born outside Greece to at least one Greek-born parent or grandparent can obtain a Greek passport, provided certain documents are filed and processed by the Greek administration. If all birth and marriage certificates are in good order, there is no need for the applicant to speak Greek. The application is filed either at the Consulate of Greece at the country of residence of the applicant, or directly in Greece, with a proxy, or a combination of the above.

To apply and obtain your Greek passport, which is a European Union (EU) passport and allows you free entry, residence, work and status equal to local citizens in every EU member state, you have to first locate the birth certificate (birth record is not enough) of your parent or grandparent, who was born in Greece. Then, you must obtain the marriage certificate of that person, and then the birth of the next in line ancestor, until we reach your birth certificate.

If you have only one Greek grandparent, and you are now above 18 years old, the type of marriage of your grandparents is of significance. If you have only a Greek-born grandfather, you must obtain a religious marriage certificate of your grandparents. If, on the other hand, you only have a Greek-born grandmother, you must have a civil (not religious) marriage certificate of your grandparents. If you have only one Greek-born parent, the type of marriage of your parents (civil or religious) will not be an obstacle to your Greek citizenship.

The names of each ancestor must be consistent from one public document to the other. If a person is named Stathopoulos in his Greek birth certificate, being named Stathes in his foreign marriage certificate may create the need to identify that Stathopoulos, who was born in Greece, and Stathes, who was married in the USA/Canada/Australia etc. is one and the same person.

Males born outside of Greece to Greek parents or grandparents can obtain their Greek passport without having to serve in the Greek army, as long as they do not reside in Greece more than six months within the same calendar year, while they can reside the whole year long in any other EU country.

* Christos Iliopoulos is attorney at the Supreme Court of Greece, LL.M.

source:neos kosmos

PSG poked fun at the Spain striker in the build-up to the second leg but while he delivered on the night, several of his high-profile team-mates looked out of their depth.

Chelsea entered the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie with Paris Saint-Germain far from out of the running for a second European title in five seasons but, after this lesson from the French champions, it is clear the Blues won’t be back at Europe’s top table for some time to come.

Since Guus Hiddink’s arrival as interim manager there have been signs domestically that this Chelsea side still have what it takes to challenge the best England has to offer. Their league campaign was effectively over by the time Jose Mourinho was sacked, but they are likely to be back in the title shake-up in 12 months’ time.

And while against PSG they certainly threatened to turn the tie on its head either side of half-time with some energetic attacking play, their lack of potency going forward and inability to keep the ball for prolonged periods was evident against a team that was willing to wait for their opportunities and kill off their hosts.

There was an arrogance about the way Laurent Blanc’s side passed the ball in midfield and though it occasionally cost them – particularly when Pedro won the ball 40 yards from goal in the build-up to Diego Costa’s equaliser – there was a professionalism about their play that hinted they could yet test the biggest sides in the latter stages of this competition.

The gap between the two sides was most clear when rookie forward Bertrand Traore replaced the stricken Costa around the hour mark. Blanc was able to call upon Edinson Cavani, a player the majority of the Premier League’s top clubs are likely to fawn over this summer, from his bench.

Alexandre Pato was signed in January to provide back-up for Costa when required but is still yet to play for Chelsea and is likely to be shipped back to his homeland as quickly as he arrived two months ago.

What makes the result even more disappointing is that Chelsea will have no opportunity to put right their wrongs next term. They are extremely unlikely to secure a spot in the Premier League’s top four despite an upturn in results and are facing up to a final two months of the season with just the FA Cup to play for.

The likes of Gary Cahill, Branislav Ivanovic and John Obi Mikel are unlikely to get another shot at winning European football’s ultimate prize, while all signs point to John Terry leaving the club at the end of the current season.

The task for Antonio Conte for when he takes over, as seems inevitable, is to build a squad capable of challenging on all fronts once again. It is clear that those in the squad that were part of the 2012 winning team are no longer at the level to repeat the feat and while Costa, Cesc Fabregas and Willian still have plenty of miles in their legs, there are too many players at the club who cannot take the biggest of matches by the scruff of the neck.

A return to contention in this competition will never be beyond a club of Chelsea’s wealth and while a lack of Champions League football could harm their chances of securing all the signings Conte wants immediately, their pull remains large enough to start the rebuild away from the prying eyes of Europe’s great and good.

On Wednesday, though, Blues fans were forced to watch the PSG players celebrate in front of their own supporters for the second year running. Blanc has built a squad capable of beating them with ease and that will not sit well with Roman Abramovich.

source:goal.com

The Champions League clash between Barcelona and Arsenal features two clubs with combined revenues of almost one billion euros — the highest ever for a last-16 tie in the competition, according to new figures.

The Deloitte Football Money League, which profiles the highest-earning clubs in world football, puts the two clubs’ combined revenue from 2014-15 at €996.3 million (£769.9 million). Barcelona’s revenue is €560.8m (£433.3m) and Arsenal’s €435.5m (£336.5m).

The clubs in the last 16 have a total revenue of more than €4.3 billion (£3.3 billion).

The European tie with the second highest joint revenue takes place in the Europa League, where Manchester United take on Liverpool in a meeting featuring teams with a combined revenue of €911.3 million (£704.2 million).

source:espnfc.com