CSL Preview: Shanghai Greenland unearth new name for derby

7 March 2014 02:54

Shanghai Greenland will be keen to regain local bragging rights over Shanghai Shenxin when the Chinese Super League resumes this weekend.

Shenxin have failed to win their past five Shanghai derbies against Greenland but finished as the highest-placed Shanghai club last season.

Under a new head coach, Cheng Yaodong, Shenxin will aim to break that drought when they host Greenland on Sunday in the opening round of the CSL, while their visitors will be desperate to make up for a frustrating 2013.

Greenland – who completed last season under their former name Shanghai Shenhua – finished eighth, one spot below Shenxin and two points behind, after copping a six-point penalty at the start of the season, having been found guilty of match-fixing in 2003.

The CSL’s third Shanghai team, Shanghai SIPG, finished ninth, one point adrift of Shenhua.

Shenhua were a significant force in China in the late 90s, winning a national title and a Chinese FA Cup, while they won the league again in 2003 before having that championship stripped from them last year as part of the match-fixing investigation.

By contrast, Shenxin have spent most of their history in the lower tiers of Chinese football before promotion to the CSL in 2006.

Having been purchased by Greenland Holding Group Company Limited at the end of January, Shanghai Shenhua became Shanghai Greenland and will compete under their new name for the first time this weekend.

Greenland’s head coach Shen Xiangfu will look to Syrian striker Firas Al Khatib to lead the line again this season after the 30-year-old topped the team’s goal-scoring charts in 2013 with 11.

Shen has also brought in Columbian striker Luis Carlos Ruiz for €3million to bolster Greenland’s frontline with the 27-year-old joining compatriot Giovanni Moreno in Shanghai.

Moreno, an attacking midfielder, scored nine goals for Shen’s team last season.

Shenxin will rely on Brazilian striker Kieza (11 goals in 2013) for inspiration in the final third.

Reigning champions Guangzhou Evergrande will begin their defence of the CSL title on Saturday when promoted Henan Jianye visit the Tianhe Stadium.

Shandong Luneng, who finished second in 2013, will open the season on Friday against another promoted club – Harbin Yiteng – while Beijing Guoan will host Changchun Yatai on Saturday.

In other fixtures, Jiangsu Sainty will welcome Guizhou Renhe, Hangzhou clash with Dalian Aerbin, Shanghai SIPG will travel to Liaoning Whowin and Tianjin Teda face Guangzhou R&F.

MLS Preview: Sporting KC set for busy schedule, LA Galaxy host Real Salt Lake

7 March 2014 02:07

MLS Cup holders Sporting Kansas City face a marathon start to the season with Saturday’s trip to Seattle their first of five games in 15 days.

Sporting will begin the 2014 MLS season away to Seattle Sounders before hosting the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions League quarter-final against Mexico’s Cruz Azul on Wednesday, followed by matches against FC Dallas, the Liga MX leaders and San Jose Earthquakes.

Kansas City’s star midfielder Graham Zusi believes Sporting are ready to go, however, having played two games a week for the past fortnight.

“We played an awful lot of games (during pre-season),” Zusi said on Tuesday.

“We set up the schedule so we’d play every Wednesday-Saturday, like we will be in the coming weeks.

“So I think we’ll be up for it. We’ll be ready.”

Sporting played seven pre-season matches since the start of February and won four of their past five before losing 4-1 to Columbus Crew last week.

But the reigning champions will take a significant step up on Saturday, playing in front of one of the loudest stadiums in the MLS, before another big challenge against Cruz Azul, who have won their past eight matches.

Kansas City coach Peter Vermes conceded he will have to use his entire squad to get through the opening fortnight of the new season.

“We’re definitely going to have to manage minutes for the players, and then also take into consideration that going up to Seattle we’re going to be playing on (artificial) turf,” Vermes said.

“So there are a lot of variables you have to add into the equation. At the end, there’s no doubt that there’s a strategy per game, and also looking long term at what we want to do.”

While Sporting enter the new season with confidence after their success in 2013, the Sounders will be keen to improve after finishing fourth in the Western Conference last campaign, before they were eliminated from the play-offs in the second round.

Seattle will welcome United States international Clint Dempsey back on Saturday with the 30-year-old having spent the off-season on loan at Fulham but Sounders coach Sigi Schmid said his other players needs to make the difference this season.

“I think everyone should just back off a little bit and not put so much pressure on him,” Schmid said.

“All of a sudden there’s this expectation that he’ll be this magic man every time he steps on the field.

“He doesn’t have to be a magic man every time he steps on the field; he has to be Clint Dempsey.”

Portland Timbers – who won the Western Conference last season, eliminated arch-rivals Seattle and then lost to MLS Cup runners-up Real Salt Lake – will begin their new campaign at home against Philadelphia Union, while the East’s top team from 2013, the New York Red Bulls, will travel to take on the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Real will travel south to face the Los Angeles Galaxy in a rematch of the West’s semi-finals, DC United will host Columbus, while Houston Dynamo and Dallas will welcome New England Revolution and Montreal Impact to Texas respectively.

On Sunday, Chivas USA will host Chicago Fire in Los Angeles.

Hodgson offers Wilshere sympathy

6 March 2014 23:12

Roy Hodgson has lamented the “very sad” injury sustained by Jack Wilshere during England’s friendly against Denmark.

Wilshere received lengthy treatment after a heavy collision with Denmark captain Daniel Agger early in the game at Wembley on Wednesday, but went on to play almost an hour before being substituted.

The initial prognosis on the injury was positive, with the 22-year-old thought to have only suffered bruising to his left foot, but his club Arsenal announced on Thursday announced the midfielder will be out for around six weeks with a hairline fracture.

That means Wilshere will miss the majority of the rest of the domestic season, and could face a race against time to be prove his fitness ahead of the FIFA World Cup, with England manager Hodgson due to name his provisional 30-man squad for the tournament on May 13.

And Hodgson has spoken of his sympathy for Wilshere, who he hopes will make a rapid recovery.

“It’s always sad when you have a player come from a club, use him on international duty and he gets an injury,” the former Fulham and Liverpool boss told Sky Sports News.

“It’s very sad and disappointing for Jack and Arsenal, but unfortunately these things happen.

“It was an honest challenge but he took a nasty kick and I can only hope he recovers as early as possible.”

Rodgers eyes Anfield legacy

6 March 2014 22:46

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has outlined his desire to leave a legacy of development at Anfield.

Rodgers has led Liverpool to second in the Premier League table this season, with a brand of exciting attacking football that has seen them plunder 73 goals in just 28 matches – the highest number in the division.

The Merseysiders are on course for a return to the UEFA Champions League after a four-campaign absence and, sitting just four points adrift of leaders Chelsea, are in contention to end their 24-year wait for a 19th top-flight title.

Rodgers has attracted plaudits for his willingness to blood youngsters, with Raheem Sterling and Jon Flanagan now established members of the side and the likes of Joao Teixeira, Jordon Ibe and Brad Smith also making first-team appearances since his arrival from Swansea City in June 2012.

And the Northern Irishman has explained that this policy is equally as vital to him as winning silverware.

“There’s no point in having a youth system and an academy system in place if you’re not going to look from within,” Rodgers told Liverpool’s official website.

“For me, it’s how I work, it’s also part of my definition of success.

“When I eventually retire from football, I want to be able to look back and see that not only have I won trophies, but I’ve developed a football club that has brought through their own youth players and individuals and made them better. That is very important in my work.

“Other managers may be different and might just be about purely winning trophies, but for me success isn’t just about picking up the trophy at the end of the season.

“It’s also about the football club, giving value to young players and seeing them develop.”

Rodgers went on to insist Liverpool remain a work in progress, despite the huge strides forward the club has taken this season.

“I’ve been satisfied in terms of the progress we have made but there is still a long way to go in terms of where I want to go with the whole project,” he added.

“We’re recognised now as one of the most exciting teams in the country to watch, over the next 18 months we want to eventually be really challenging on the trophy front.”

Ligue 1 Preview: Bastia v Paris Saint-Germain

6 March 2014 20:49

Paris Saint-Germain have a healthy lead at the top of Ligue 1, but Laurent Blanc will not allow his men to rest on their laurels at Bastia.

The reigning champions have opened up an eight-point gap at the summit, with their 2-0 victory over rivals Marseille last weekend following second-placed Monaco’s 2-0 defeat to Saint-Etienne.

That gap appears unassailable, as PSG have lost just once in 27 top-flight outings this season and are now on an 11-game unbeaten run.

But speaking after the Marseille match, head coach Blanc insisted his side have no room to celebrate until the retention of their Ligue 1 title is a mathematical certainty.

If recent history is anything to go by, though, PSG should move three points closer to that goal at Stade Armand Cesari on Saturday, as they have won the last seven meetings between the clubs.

This season’s reverse fixture this season also suggests Blanc’s men will collect another three points, as both Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Edinson Cavani bagged a brace in a 4-0 demolition at the Parc des Princes in October.

Bastia’s recent form also counts against them, with Frederic Hantz’s men having lost two and drawn one of their last three Ligue 1 fixtures.

However, Bastia can take solace from a strong record on home soil this season, with eight of their 10 league victories coming at Stade Armand Cesari.

Bastia are faced with the daunting task of lining up against Ligue 1’s hottest striker partnership, however, in the form of Ibrahimovic and Cavani.

The duo have notched 36 Ligue 1 goals between them this term, with Swede Ibrahimovic currently topping the scoring charts with 22 strikes ahead of his Uruguayan team-mate on 14.

Cavani had missed five matches with a thigh injury before the victory over Marseille, but showed no signs of being off the pace after coming off the bench to grab PSG’s second goal with a powerful header.

The 27-year-old has been granted permission to return to his homeland for personal reasons during the week, but is expected to return in time for the contest.

In contrast to PSG’s daunting firepower – which has seen them score 64 Ligue 1 goals this term, 20 more than second-placed Monaco – Bastia have struggled for goals this season, with no team in the top 10 having netted fewer than their tally of 31.