The Malaysian Insider :: Sports
The Malaysian Insider :: Sports |
| No time for horsing around at Inter Milan Posted: 20 Oct 2011 08:30 AM PDT
With only four points from six Serie A matches so far, Inter, given an invitation to visit Mongolia, could be contemplating trips to less exotic places such as Padova, Bari and Brescia if they do not start picking up points soon. Ranieri (picture) made a bright start when he replaced Gian Piero Gasperini, fired after five competitive games in charge, with a 3-1 win at Bologna . The revival was brief, however, as they slumped to a 3-0 home defeat against Napoli then lost 2-1 at Catania a week ago when new signing Diego Forlan was missing with a hamstring injury. That has left them level with relegation candidates Bologna and Lecce and only two points clear of bottom club Cesena. The bright spot for Ranieri has been Inter's European form, with Tuesday's 1-0 win at Lille following their earlier 3-2 victory over CSKA Moscow. "One swallow does not make a spring but the important thing is to have won," he said after Tuesday's match against the French side. "The lads are working hard, they are taking it seriously, it's a black period but we want to turn over the page and this result is good for morale." Inter's troubles have certainly not discouraged Elbegdorj, a self-confessed Inter fan who said he stays up at night to watch their matches. Elbegdorj visited Inter yesterday and suggested that the club could help to develop football in his country, currently a modest 167th in the FIFA rankings. "There are thousands of Mongolians who are fans of Inter. We are building a stadium for football and we are setting up an academy for youngsters who want to play this sport and we would like to collaborate with Inter," he said. "We're proud of our history and our conquests. Everyone knows the figure of Gengis Khan. In our country, there are more horses than people, six million horses and three million people. They are the most famous horses in the world. I hope that in the future our country can also be famous for football." Juventus and Udinese, level at the top with 12 points apiece and both still unbeaten, have home matches, Juve hosting Genoa on Saturday (1845) and Udinese entertaining Novara on Sunday (1300). Defending champions Milan, in 13th place with eight points and themselves far from convincing, visit Lecce on Sunday (1030). Like Inter, their form has been better in Europe and yesterday's 2-0 win over BATE Borisov left them with seven points from three group games and cruising towards the last 16. – Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| Pearce to coach British team at 2012 Olympics Posted: 20 Oct 2011 05:33 AM PDT
The 49-year-old Pearce, who has been in charge of England's under 21s since 2007, was chosen by the Football Association (FA) to lead a combined British soccer team at an Olympics for the first time since 1960. Pearce (picture) will, in theory, select mainly under-23 players from England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland although the participation of a British team has been problematic. In June, the BOA angered Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales by announcing an "historic agreement" for Britain to field a united team for the first time in 52 years. The three home associations, worried about their national identities in world soccer, issued a joint statement rejecting the BOA's statement and voiced their opposition to their players taking part in the Games. Pearce, who spent most of his playing career with Nottingham Forest where he earned a reputation as a hard man, played for England 78 times. While most of the British squad will be under 23s, the rules state that he can select three over-age players with former England captain David Beckham keen to be part of it. Former England coach Hope Powell would lead the women's Olympic team, officials said. – Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
MILAN, Oct 20 – Mongolia president Tsakhia Elbegdorj talked of Genghis Khan and his country's famous horses during a visit to Inter Milan this week but coach Claudio Ranieri will have more mundane things on his mind against Chievo on Sunday (1300 GMT).
LONDON, Oct 20 – Former England defender Stuart Pearce will coach the British soccer team at the London Olympics next year, the British Olympic Association (BOA) confirmed today.| You are subscribed to email updates from The Malaysian Insider :: Sports To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
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