From brolly to Bolly: what a difference a good manager makes. As Fabio Capello masterminded the destruction of Croatia, as the champagne corks popped and a jubilant Wembley let loose its delight at reaching the World Cup, the memory of Steve McClaren clutching his umbrella as Slaven Bilic’s side won here two years ago was consigned to history.
The future looks promising indeed under Capello, who has invigorated a group of players that grew demoralised under McClaren’s lacklustre leadership.
How Wembley loved it, as Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard both scored twice, Wayne Rooney added another and the outstanding Aaron Lennon led Croatia’s defenders a merry dance.
How the England football family revelled in it, former captains like Bryan Robson and Alan Shearer standing to salute the latest generation charged with ending 44 years of hurt. How the Football Association money men clapped their hands in glee; qualification for a tournament is usually estimated to be worth £100 million to English football. Even the Government will benefit from an additional £1 billion of revenue gushing into the dried-up river of the economy. TV show-rooms and off-licences can expect a bumper summer.
Capello’s impact is phenomenal. The Italian has got England footballers believing again, has sent fans racing to assorted websites snapping up tickets for South Africa. Before kick-off, 45,000 World Cup tickets had been sold to residents of the UK, mainly English, and that number could now double after England qualified in such style.
Inevitably, the country will jettison all sense of perspective, ignoring the quality of Spain, Brazil, Germany and Holland as punters rush to bookmakers to place substantial wedges on England returning from Johannesburg with the trophy that most fixates the nation.
Fortunately, as all around him people were losing their head, Capello kept his. He has been to a World Cup before, the 1974 affair in Germany, and knows the difficulties. He has seen the flaws in his improving England side that still need eradicating, the defensive slips by Glen Johnson and Robert Green that allowed Croatia their late consolation through Eduardo.
The prince of pragmatism, Capello will not get carried away. An instructive cameo was staged after the final whistle: John Terry marched across to celebrate with Capello, stuck out a hand and then moved to give his manager an English-style bear-hug. The Italian was having none of it. Capello is Terry’s manager, not his mate.
And that is why he has such an effect on them. McClaren tried to be chummy. Capello keeps his distance, proving utterly ruthless with those who fail to take their opportunity like Shaun Wright-Phillips, Joleon Lescott and Carlton Cole, all disappointing against Slovenia on Saturday, all failing to make even the bench last night.
The determination of Capello’s chosen ones was inescapable, starting in the tunnel where they stared ahead, utterly focused, aware that the eyes of the nation were upon them. Even Capello, lining up behind them, instinctively stretched his leg muscles before stepping out in a stadium where he once scored for Italy.
Bilic proffered the hand of peace, following their disagreement in the build-up, which Capello took coldly and briefly, cutting short Bilic’s attempt at conversation. England’s manager wanted his players’ football to do the talking.
They did not let him down. Fast out of the traps, pressing hard and high up the field, Lennon, Lampard, Gerrard, Rooney and Emile Heskey tore into Bilic’s men. The tempo was good, the
4-2-3-1 tactics spot-on. Croatia were forced on the back-foot, pummelled by the combinations put together by hungry hosts brimming with quick footwork and fluid movement.
Croatia have choked on English vapour trails before in this qualifying campaign, on the chaos caused by the dashing raider Theo Walcott in Zagreb. Here it was Lennon, startling Croatia’s defence with a turn of pace that the watching Usain Bolt must have admired.
The Tottenham attacker got the party started early, speeding past Nikola Pokrivac and gliding past Josip Simunic, who inexplicably tripped him. Penalty. No question. No need for Uefa intervention. And no chance of Vedran Runje saving, Lampard placing the ball expertly into the net.
England were rampant. Gareth Barry, embodying England’s ebullience, let fly from 25 yards, denied only by Runje. Wembley roared its approval, thrilling to the adventure of the men in white, admiring the intelligent way Capello’s players kept the team shape. Bewitched by England’s football, the fans even forgot to boo Eduardo. Briefly.
One became two after 18 minutes via a direct goal that showed England have not lost their “Englishness’’ under Capello whatever Bilic might believe. Two Merseysiders, Rooney and Gerrard, linked up effortlessly in midfield, men from the same city on the same wavelength, the Liverpool captain soon sweeping the ball wide to Lennon.
This time, the winger varied his approach, taking two touches before lifting in a cross which Gerrard headed firmly home. As Wembley celebrated, there continued to be so much to admire in Lennon’s contribution, notably the way he darted back to help out Johnson, dispossessing Daniel Pranjic, frustrating Croatia.
The scoreboard could have carried a tennis score by the break. Runje, the excellent Lens keeper, saved Lampard’s fizzing 30-yard free-kick, parried shots from Lennon and Heskey before diving at Heskey’s feet. No matter.
England went through the gears again after the break. Johnson ran on to Gerrard’s firm pass, eluded Pranjic and cut the ball back for Lampard to score with a measured header. England were heading to South Africa in every sense, Gerrard nodding in Rooney’s hoisted cut-back.
Although Eduardo exploited hesitancy in England’s defence, a horrendous
mis-kick from Runje gifted Rooney a chance he drilled home. Finally Capello’s granite features broke into a smile. First mission accomplished. He will demand much more.
Fabio Capello called England’s 5-1 win over Croatia the “best performance” under him as the squad qualified for the 2010 World Cup finals.
England cantered to victory at Wembley thanks to goals from Frank Lampard (2), Steven Gerrard (2) and Wayne Rooney to keep up their 100% qualifying record.
“I think this was the best performance under me. We played fast, pressed the ball and our movement was fantastic.”
The romp was England’s eighth win out of eight in Group Six, ensuring their qualification for next summer’s tournament in South Africa with two games to spare.
They have scored 31 goals in that time, conceding only five, and the difference between England under Capello compared to predecessor Steve McClaren could hardly be more marked.
It was at Wembley that McClaren watched his England side fail to qualify for Euro 2008 with a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Croatia.
But Wednesday’s procession made it 9-2 on aggregate over the two games in which the sides have met in this campaign, following a 4-1 win in Zagreb last September.
“Both of our performances against Croatia pleased me,” stated Capello. “We need to press hard, play fast and develop our movement on and off the ball – and we showed that in both games.
“In the first 20 minutes tonight we were fantastic. I don’t think we’ve ever been so strong and compact as we were at the start of this game.”
And the Italian hinted he would give the fringe players in the squad the chance to impress in the final two qualifying games and he added: “I think I will give others a chance and have a look at things.
“I don’t need to decide now but it is an option, yes.”
Captain John Terry was equally pleased but echoed his manager’s sentiments to guard against complacency from now on.
“When we play like that, pressing opponents and working the ball, we’re a difficult opposition for any side,” said the Chelsea defender.
“But don’t forget, it’s taken a year or so for us to get this good and we’ve still got a way to go to get to where we ultimately want to be. But we’re on the right track.”
Terry meanwhile claims to have been spat at by Bolton striker Ivan Klasnic during the second half of Wednesday’s victory.
However, the 28-year-old insists the incident should not detract from the joy of qualifying for the World Cup.
“It’s not a nice situation,” said Terry.
“He is the first person who has ever spat at me. It’s one of those things but let’s not let it ruin a massive night for us.”
Two-goal midfielder Lampard, though, insisted the players should be allowed to enjoy their qualification and commented: “The way we’ve played tonight typifies our campaign I think.
“We’ve got a long way to go to win the whole thing, obviously, but we’ve qualified and we’re there. It’s nice to get excited at the moment and we will celebrate this, I’m sure.”
Croatia boss Slaven Bilic was left in awe of England’s performance and believes that if Capello’s side can continue in the same vein then they will be contenders to win the World Cup next summer.
“We didn’t expect this in our worst nightmares,” conceded Bilic. “They were fantastic from the start.
“They didn’t surprise us. They played their own game and they looked the sharper, more aggressive side even before the first goal.
“We were very happy at half-time that it was only 2-0. It could have been five. Our goalkeeper was fantastic.
“When we conceded a third goal we could not come back. I would like to congratulate them for a fantastic performance.
“If they manage to play like this then of course they can the World Cup.”
Australian jockeys staged a mass nationwide walkout Thursday in protest at the introduction of new rules restricting the use of whips.
Race meetings in four different states were canceled when leading jockeys refused to continue riding after the Australian Racing Board (ARB) rejected their plea to amend the new laws.
The ARB introduced rules at the start of last month implementing the use of padded whips and restricting the number of times jockeys can hit a horse in the last 200 meters of a race.
But the decision over the number of times jockeys can hit their horses has been widely criticized by sections of the racing community who believe the rules prevent horses from racing on their merits and the subsequent penalties and suspensions handed down to jockeys were unfair.
Jockeys provided a submission asking to be allowed to use their own discretion over the last 100 meters of a race as long as they were in contention, but their request was rejected, prompting the immediate strike action.
“With its decision today to ignore the call of all stakeholders to make a minor variation to the rules relating to the whip, the ARB has succeeded in unleashing a great bitterness and division between stakeholders and administrators,” the Australian Jockeys’ Association (AJA) said in a statement.
“It shows the ARB is completely out of touch with its constituents.”
Jockey Glen Boss, who has ridden the winner of the Melbourne Cup on three occasions, said riders had been given no alternative other than to take matters into their own hands.
“We certainly didn’t want it to come to this but as a jockeys’ association we have got to show our strength,” Boss told Australia’s TVN racing network.
“We’ve tried to go to the ARB to explain the situation that we just need to tweak. We’re not asking for a lot. We are asking for 100 meters where we can do our best and we’ve got the support of everyone in the industry.”
Thursday’s walkout threatens to spill over into this weekend’s multi million dollar Spring Carnival races but the ARB said they were standing by their new rules, although they will be reviewed as planned in February 2010.
“Ultimately the Australian Racing Board’s obligation is to do what is in the best interests of the industry, now and in the future, not what is popular,” ARB chairman Bob Bentley said in a statement.
“In this instance the Board does not believe that there is evidence that warrants backtracking on the changes that came into effect on 1st August, 2009. This decision was arrived at unanimously.”
The ARB rules include a limit on the number of times a jockey can hit a horse before the last 200m, and a ban on hitting horses in three consecutive strides in the final 200m.
Olympic medalist Vijender Kumar has assured India of its first men’s world championship boxing medal.
The middleweight beat Sergiy Derevyanchenko of Ukraine 12:4 on points in Milan in the 75-kg category quarter-finals on Wednesday to guarantee at least a bronze.
“It is indeed exhilarating to have had the honor of breaking two barriers consecutively for India in boxing,” Vijender said in a statement issued Thursday.
The 23-year-old Vijender won India their first Olympic boxing medal in Beijing last year with a bronze performance and was awarded his country’s highest sporting prize for that achievement. The top seed will next meet Uzbek Abbos Atoev in the semi-finals Friday.
Under fire after a drab start to their Bundesliga campagn, the German giants break the bank for the Dutch winger.
Bayern Munich, winless in their first three games of the season, have been fighting off crisis talk for a week, ever since they fell 2-1 to promoted side Mainz.
On Friday, they let their checkbook do the talking.
The Munich team unveiled the acquisition of Dutch midfielder Arjen Robben, for whom they paid Real Madrid 25 million euros. That equals the price Bayern paid for Franck Ribery two years ago, the second most expensive transfer in the club’s history.
Coach Louis van Gaal said his club’s purchase of Robben would pay immediate dividends.
“I’m delighted,” said van Gaal, “because now I have another creative player. He’s an explosive player.”
Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: van Gaal has a new player to fire up in training
Van Gaal, who once coached Robben at the Dutch youth national squad level eight years ago, also said the young star would bring the Bayern side more tactical options, allowing the team to play not just a 4-3-3, but other systems as well, with Robben and French winger Franck Ribery able to swap roles.
Sleeping on the move
Robben himself said that he had mulled the move for some time before accepting that he had to leave Madrid, where playing time could have been scarce after the Spanish side added the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Kaka over the summer.
“In the end I decided I really wanted to move to a huge club like Bayern,” Robben told Bayern’s television channel FCB.tv.
Robben added that he was familiar with the club’s illustrious history and that Bayern representatives had made a good impression on him through the negotiation process.
“I’m delighted to be here,” he said, “I’m totally fit, I had a good pre-season with Real Madrid and I’m ready to play.”
Robben looks likely to start against Wolfsburg already on Saturday.
Five-times champion Roger Federer weathered a mighty Swedish storm before beating 12th seed Robin Soderling 6-0 6-3 6-7 7-6 to reach the semi-finals of the U.S. Open Wednesday.
Gusting winds and the magic of Federer threw Soderling off course in a first set that flashed by in just 25 minutes on an unseasonably cool night at Flushing Meadows.
Yet, just when it seemed that Federer would blow away Soderling to roll into his 22nd consecutive grand slam semi-final, the Swede perked up and set pulses racing for over an hour as he inched toward an unlikely upset.
“It feels great. It was so close toward the end. It’s just a great relief to come through because Robin started playing better and better as the match went on,” said Federer, who will take on fourth seed Novak Djokovic for a place in Sunday’s showpiece.
“I knew he was going to be tough.
“The beginning was a bit too easy. All of a sudden he fought his way into the match and showed what a great player he is.
“I had a really good start. I thought it was cold so I think I felt at home being from Switzerland. Then it got even cooler and him being from Sweden I think that played in his favor,” joked the top seed.
“I thought it was a great match toward the end.”
His victim added: “I never played anyone who played that well in windy conditions… but it’s tough to play worse than I did in the first two sets, so it could only get better.”
Soderling entered the match with a 0-11 record against the all-conquering Swiss and looked to be heading toward another mauling as he did not register on the scoreboard until holding for 1-1 in the second set.
But that only turned into a brief respite as he was powerless to stop Federer from breezing through it in double quick time, sparking a mass exodus from Arthur Ashe Stadium.
CAUGHT COLD
But if the thousands of fans who streamed out early had stuck around for only a few more minutes, they would have seen the tide turning as Soderling suddenly warmed up to the task.
He crafted two break points in the sixth game but could only shake his head in disbelief as Federer fired down two thunderbolt deliveries to get out himself out of a corner.
The 15-times grand slam champion looked to be heading for another straight-sets win when he steamed ahead 4-0 in the tiebreak but to the astonishment of the crowd, he was overtaken.
