The Malaysian Insider :: Sports
The Malaysian Insider :: Sports |
| Wenger is specialist in failure, says Mourinho Posted: 14 Feb 2014 08:16 AM PST The Chelsea coach hit back at Wenger, who had earlier said that the title was Chelsea's to lose and that Mourinho had ruled his side out of the race because of a fear of failing. Mourinho, who claimed last week that everything he says and does is "mind games", returned fire by referring to Arsenal's lack of silverware since they won the FA Cup in 2005. "He is a specialist in failure, I'm not," Mourinho told a news conference. "If supposedly he (Arsene Wenger) is right and I am afraid of failure it is because I don't fail many times. "He is specialist because eight years without silverware is very long. If I do that with Chelsea, I leave and I don't come back." The remarks recalled Mourinho's famous outburst against Wenger in 2005 when he labelled the Arsenal manager a "voyeur", after becoming annoyed at comments from the Frenchman about his Chelsea team. Chelsea, who face Manchester City in the fifth round of the FA Cup tomorrow, are top of the Premier League, a point clear of Arsenal in second. Mourinho, who often provokes and antagonises other managers with barbed comments, turned his guns on Wenger after last week aiming volleys at Manchester City and their manager Manuel Pellegrini. After each manager labelled the other team as being title favourites by virtue of how much they had spent in the transfer market, Mourinho hinted City were not operating within the same UEFA Financial Fair Play guidelines. He then turned his attentions to City's Ivory Coast midfielder Yaya Toure, who aimed an off-the-ball kick at Norwich striker Ricky van Wolfswinkel in their 0-0 stalemate last weekend but escaped any FA punishment. Chilean coach Pellegrini has been reluctant to involve himself in a verbal spat and said this week that mental strength will decide who wins the Premier League and not mind games. "I don't like this history of records between managers because it is between teams," said Mourinho, who will be without injured defenders Gary Cahill and John Terry for the trip to the Etihad. "If he (Pellegrini) doesn't like to speak about me perfect, I hope it stays that way." Heavyweights City and Chelsea meet at the Etihad Stadium for their second clash in quick succession, after the London club won 1-0 to complete a league double over their title rivals 12 days ago. "It is not easy to play consecutive matches against the same team. You try to read the previous game and try to improve. Sometimes you can be influenced by the direction the game takes," Mourinho added. "We know they are strong. Our priority is always the next match." – Reuters, February 14, 2014. |
| Philippine skater hailed after reaching Sochi finals Posted: 14 Feb 2014 07:41 AM PST Michael Martinez (pic), 17, the lone representative of the tropical country in Sochi, made history after he qualified yesterday from the men's figure skating short programme for the free skate final today, despite numerous disadvantages. Among the challenges faced by the skater was the absence of snow in the Philippines which forced Martinez to initially learn his craft in a mall's skating rink. Local news reports suggested that his family had struggled to pay for his training and that the government did not provide any support to him. "We are very happy with his performance. For a guy who learned how to skate in the Philippines, to make it to the finals... it is really amazing," said Ricardo Garcia, chairman of the Philippine Sports Commission. "This is a very big issue for us. We have an athlete who is an Olympian who made it to the final rounds," he said. Garcia also stressed that Martinez had received adequate financial support from the government and private donors. Some of the country's wealthiest tycoons were sponsoring Martinez and the national skating association never asked for additional funds for him, Garcia said. Social media was agog over Martinez's success in a sport so alien to his country. Popular director Jose Javier Reyes wrote in a message to Martinez on Twitter: "the medal is immaterial. In the hearts of your countrymen, your feat is more than an Olympic Gold. You inspire?" "Was teary eyed when I saw #MichaelChristianMartinez wave his jacket with PHILIPPINES printed on it. He put his heart&soul in his performance," another tweet read. Despite the steep odds facing the young man, Garcia said "He might pull off something that will make him win. He has the capabilities. He has the attitude of a winner." The Philippine Olympic Committee asked the government for US$7,200 (RM24,000) to cover some of Martinez's additional expenses but this money was released in December, Garcia added. If Martinez does not win a medal in the 2014 games, he will use the experience "as a stepping stone to gain more experience for the next Olympics," Garcia said. – AFP, February 14, 2014. |
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