QVA SENIOR LEAGUE: Al Arabi beat Qatar SC 3-2 (23-25, 25-18, 25-23, 23-25, 15-13); Police beat Al Gharafa 3-1 (25-19, 22-15, 25-16, 25-16)

TUESDAY 2 FEBRUARY 2021

Serena Williams cruises past Gavrilova in Yarra Valley Classic openerIt feels good to be back here. I felt I was definitely composed and in a zone and trying to do the things I’ve been working on.: Williams says after defeating Daria Gavrilova in Melbourne yesterday.

Sport |08

SYIas

Serena Williams

Sport

FAWAD HUSSAIN THE PENINSULA

Reigning QNB Stars League (QSL) champions Al Duhail will enter the field as the underdogs when they face Egypt’s Al Ahly – regarded as the world’s most decorated club - on their FIFA Club World Cup debut on Thursday.

The second round clash at the Edu-cation City Stadium will be the toughest test yet for Sabri Lamouchi-coached Red Knights, who are representing hosts Qatar, just like Al Sadd did in the last edition.

Al Duhail – formed in 2017 with the merger of Qatar football giants Lekhwiya and El Jaish – have accom-plished much in country’s football circuit, collectively winning seven QSL, three Amir Cup, three Qatar Cup and two Sheikh Jassim Cup titles since Lekhwiya was founded in 2009.

But, they are still aspiring to achieve success at the continental or the global stage.

However, Egypt’s Al Ahly – the reigning African champions

have a glorious history since it was established in 1907. They have won a staggering 139 titles including 42 Egyptian Premier League titles, 37

Egyptian Cup crowns and 11 Egyptian Super Cups. The Red Devils are also the most successful club in Africa, winning a total of 20 continental tiles including nine CAF Champions League crowns.

Lamouchi, as he prepares his side for the Club World Cup in a closed

training camp, is realistic in his approach and aware of the big task for his side on Thursday.

“We are not Bayern Munich, Al Ahly or Tigres UANL. They are big teams who have many continental titles to their name, so it is definitely going to be a difficult test for us,” the Frenchman said in an interview.

“Al Ahly are the best side of Africa where the standard of football is very high. They are definitely the favourites against us,” Al Duhail coach added.

Lamouchi, however, did not rule out his team’s chances, saying his players have ability to pull off a shocker.

“There are always surprises in football. We must play as a team, respect our opponent and do our best. The team knows the value of the Club World Cup. One thing I am sure of is that the players will not give up and will do their best to leave a mark (on their debut),” he added in his interview with Doha Stadium magazine.

We are ready to face Al Ahly: Almoez

Al Duhail - with the likes of Qatar national players centre back Bassam Al Rawi, midfielders Ali Afif and Assim Madibo, who played key role in Al Annabi’s AFC Asian Cup glory in 2019 - have the potential to stun top sides.

Almoez Ali, who finished as the top scorer for Qatar in Asian Cup title-win can also be a dangerous player against any opposition, and the 24-year-old is eyeing an outstanding show.

“We are ready to face Al Ahly. Eve-ryone in the team is excited and looking to give a very good per-formance at the Club World Cup,” he said yesterday.

“We are looking to be at the same l e v e l of other teams,

which have high standards. We will have to give special performance. We will give everything in the match (against Al Ahly) and we hope we will give surprise to the fans and reach the semi-final,” the striker added.

Almoez said the team is also banking on the support of home fans in the elite tournament.

“When Al Sadd represented Qatar (in the last edition) they got huge support from the fans. Now, we are representing Qatar and we are hoping for the same support that will be a huge motivating factor for us,” he said.

“The fans support can get the best out us and help us leave a clear imprint on this tournament.”

Another Al Duhail forward Ismail Mohamed said the team was in good shape for the event.

“Our preparations are good and the team has shown excellent performance in the last match. We hope to continue the same momentum. Competing in the event is an honour and all the players are looking to give all-out effort,” he said.

Al Duhail, in their last compet-itive match before the Club World Cup, thrashed QSL rivals Al Ahli 6-0 in the Amir Cup Round of 16 on January 25.

There are always surprises in football. We must

play as a team, respect our opponent and do our

best. The team knows the value of the Club

World Cup. One thing I am sure of is that the

players will not give up and will do their best to

leave a mark (on their debut): Al Duhail

coach Sabri Lamouchi

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We are ready to face Al Ahly. Everyone

in the team is excited and looking to

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to give special performance.

We will give everything in

the match (against Al Ahly)

and we hope we will give

surprise to the fans and

reach the semi-final:

Almoez Ali

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Our preparations are good and the

team has shown excellent performance

in the last match. We hope to continue

the same momentum. Competing in the

event is an honour and all the players

are looking to give all-out effort:

Al Duhail forward Ismail Mohamed

Al Duhail SuqadCoach: Sabri Lamouchi

(France)Mohammed Al Bakri (Qatar), Mohammed Musa (Qatar), Ali

Malolah (Qatar), Medhi Benatia (Morocco), Bassam Al-Rawi

(Qatar), Ahmed Yasser (Qatar), Ismaeel Mohammad (Qatar), Luiz Júnior (captain) (Qatar), Edmilson Junior (Belgium),

Karim Boudiaf (Qatar), Mubarak Shanan Hamza (Qatar),

Abdullah Al-Ahrak (Qatar), Khalifa Ababacar (Qatar), Sultan

Al-Brake (Qatar), Almoez Ali (Qatar), Ali Afif (Qatar), Salah

Zakaria (Qatar), Khaled Mohammed (Qatar), Assim

Madibo (Qatar), Ali Karimi (Iran), Michael Olunga (Kenya),

Mohammed Muntari (Qatar) and Dudu (Brazil)

Definitely it (Club World Cup) is a good chance

for me and my team-mates and it is a challenge

for everyone, and we are ready for the matches

and ready to face the challenges that are in our

path. Everyone here trust in my abilities to

contribute to the attack line, and inside the

stadium we all support each other. This

championship will be a good chance for all

of us and from my side I will do my best:

Al Duhail's Michael Olunga

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Al Duhail's players taking part in a training session at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium yesterday.

Qatar’s Al Duhail eye special show in maiden Club World Cup appearance

11TUESDAY 2 FEBRUARY 2021 SPORT

Fans urged to plan ahead before attending Club World Cup matches

THE PENINSULA – DOHA

Fans planning to attend FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2020 matches are being advised to take the Doha Metro and arrive at least one hour before kick-off.

Qatar will host the 17th edition of the tournament from 4-11 February. The tournament was due to be played in December but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Matches will take place at two FIFA World Cup 2022 sta-diums: Ahmad Bin Ali and Education City, with a maximum capacity of 30% at each venue due to COVID-19 precautions.

In order to help fans to plan their journeys, the FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2020 Local Organising Committee (LOC) has announced a range of key advice – including to arrive early, respect social distancing and be aware of temporary road restrictions in the vicinity of tour-nament venues.

Abdulaziz Al Mawlawi, the LOC’s Host Country Operations Director, said: “Our main message to fans is to plan ahead before you travel. Check the official channels and social media for any updates in relation to road closures, public transport and COVID-19 protocols.”

Fans will be able to travel to all matches by the Doha Metro, car or taxi. Each stadium will open three hours before kick-off. Parking and taxi areas will be available from three hours before kick-off and the Doha Metro will be running a full service each day.

Al Mawlawi continued: “We encourage all spectators to arrive at least one hour before kick-off. Be prepared to follow any social distancing measures – wear a mask, show your EHTERAZ app when prompted and don’t get too close to anyone who is not from the same household.

“We are also advising people not to be in a rush to leave the stadium after the match ends. Traffic is likely to be heavy and people may need to wait to board the Doha Metro due to social dis-tancing measures. Metro services will be running much later than usual to help ensure fans have a smooth journey back home.”

Al Mawlawi also advised anyone not attending matches to allow extra time for their journey by road or metro. He also pointed out that temporary road restrictions would be in place around each stadium on match days.

Follow @roadto2022 and @road-to2022news on Twitter and Instagram for the latest travel advice.

AHMAD BIN ALI STADIUM Distance from central Doha: 22kmDoha Metro: Within walking distance of Al Riffa Station (Green Line)FCWC 2020 matches: February 4 – Tigres UANL vs Ulsan Hyundai FC (kick-off 17:00)February 7– Match 4 (kick-off 18:00)February 8 – Match 6 – qualifier vs FC Bayern Munich (kick-off 21:00)

Metro: Later metro services will be organised after Match 6 to allow fans to return home. Please listen for announcements

Parking: Parking will be available a short walk from the stadium. Please be aware temporary local road restrictions will be in place near the stadium and may not be picked up by your in-car nav-igation. Please refer to our access maps for your best route.

Accessible parking: Accessible parking is available but must be arranged in advance by those that qualify. When you collect your match ticket from QNCC please ask about accessible parking and you will be provided with the necessary permit.

Taxi: Kareem, Karwa and Uber services will be able to access the dedi-cated taxi area near the stadium.

Storage: Limited storage facilities – click here for details of prohibited items.

EDUCATION CITY STADIUM Distance from central Doha: 13kmDoha Metro: Within walking distance

of Education City Station (Green Line)FCWC 2020 matches: February 4 – Al Duhail SC vs Al Ahly SC (kick-off 20:30)February 7– Match 5 (kick-off 21:00)February 11– Third-place play-off (kick-off 18:00)February 11– Final (kick-off 21:00)

Metro: Later metro services will be organised to allow fans to return home. Please listen for announcements.

Parking: Parking is available to the south and east of the stadium. From the Southern Car Park, it is a 5-10-minute bus journey to/from the stadium. From the Eastern Car Park, it is a 10-15-minute bus journey or a 40-45 minute walk. Please consider walking, particularly after the match, as buses are expected to be busy. Also, please be aware, tem-porary local road restrictions will be in place near the stadium and may not be picked up by your in-car navigation. Please refer to our access maps for your best route.

Accessible parking: Accessible parking is available but must be arranged in advance by those that qualify. When collecting the match ticket from QNCC ask about accessible parking and you will be provided with the necessary permit.

Taxi: Kareem, Karwa and Uber services able to access dedicated taxi area near the stadium.

Storage: Limited storage facilities – click here for details of prohibited items.

TRAVEL ADVICE FOR THOSE NOT ATTENDING MATCHESDoha Metro and local roads are

expected to be busier than usual imme-diately before and after each match, while temporary road restrictions will also be in place near each stadium. It is recommended to avoid travelling at the busiest times.

Roads: Expected to be busier than usual around each stadium for about two hours before and two hours after each match.

Metro: Green Line is expected to be busier than usual at the following times.

February 4Services toward Al Riffa station from

14:00 to 16:00 and services from Al Riffa station after 19:00.

Services towards Education City station from 17:30 to 19:30 and services from Education City station after 22:30.

February 7Services towards Al Riffa station from

15:00 to 17:00 and services from Al Riffa station after 20:00.

Services towards Education City station from 18:00 to 20:00 and services from Education City station after 23:00.

February 8Services towards Al Riffa station from

18:00 to 20:00 and services from Al Riffa station after 23:00.

February 11Services towards Education City

station from around 15:00 and services from Education City station after 23:00.

Al Ahly players in action during a training session in Doha. Pic: Twitter/@AlAhly

Palmeiras players taking part in a gym session yesterday prior to their departure to Doha. Pic: Twitter/ @Palmeiras

Playing for my country at the World

Cup and then taking part at the Club

World Cup is a major achievement

for me. They’re two competitions

that every player dreams of taking

part in. It’s an added responsibility

for me. Playing at an international

tournament like the Club World Cup

takes a lot of determination and hard

work. Al Ahly, the players, and the

coaching staff have all made a huge

effort to be at this competition:

Al Ahly SC goalkeeper

Mohamed El Shenawy

FIFA pledges taking no health risks in Qatar 2022 qualifiers

AP – GENEVA

With 3,000 soccer players due to travel internationally for World Cup qualifying games next month, FIFA Pres-ident Gianni Infantino said yesterday all will conform to health rules in the corona-virus pandemic.

“We will certainly not take any risk for the health of anyone when we play football,” Infantino said in a World Health Organization news conference.

Delays in the 2022 World Cup qualifying program in most continents led FIFA last year to create new games dates next January. They will help make up the backlog in an increasingly tight schedule with broadcasting rights already sold.

In Asia, 40 national teams are due on March 25 to resume qualifying groups that last played in November 2019.

A total of 135 teams are due to play World Cup qual-ifiers next month, and 48 more have preliminary games for the 2022 African Cup of Nations.

“We will see where we can play, in what conditions,” the FIFA leader said, pledging to “do it by adhering to a clear health protocol.”

“We can see and we have been hearing earlier today from Dr. Tedros again that the situation is evolving week by week, day by day,” Infantino said, sitting beside WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Many of the players who return home for national duty play for clubs in Europe, including in England which is experiencing an aggressive new variant of COVID-19.

FIFA eased its rules last year that require clubs to release players to national teams. Exemptions were offered if players had to travel to countries imposing man-datory quarantine or self-iso-lation for at least five days upon arrival or their return.

Asked if FIFA expected stadiums to be full when the World Cup opens in Qatar in November 2022, Infantino said: “Yes. We must have this.”

“COVID will be defeated by then,” he said, at a briefing on FIFA’s latest work with WHO.

FIFA will use the six-team Club World Cup starting on Thursday in Qatar to promote messages on health safety and fair distribution of vaccines.

Infantino, who is a member of the International Olympic Committee, repeated the Olympic body’s view ahead of the Tokyo Games opening in July that athletes should not get inoculations before key workers.

“We don’t consider football players as a priority group in this respect,” he said.

Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium

Education City Stadium

Al DuhailCoach: Sabri Lam-

ouchi (France)Mohammed Al Bakri

(Qatar), Mohammed Musa (Qatar), Ali

Malolah (Qatar), Medhi Benatia (Morocco),

Bassam Al-Rawi (Qatar), Ahmed Yasser (Qatar),

Ismaeel Mohammad (Qatar), Luiz Júnior

(captain) (Qatar), Edmilson Junior (Belgium), Karim Boudiaf (Qatar),

Mubarak Shanan Hamza (Qatar), Abdullah Al-

Ahrak (Qatar), Khalifa Ababacar (Qatar), Sultan

Al-Brake (Qatar), Almoez Ali (Qatar), Ali

Afif (Qatar), Salah Zakaria (Qatar), Khaled

Mohammed (Qatar), Assim Madibo (Qatar),

Ali Karimi (Iran), Michael Olunga (Kenya),

Mohammed Muntari (Qatar) and Dudu

(Brazil)

Al AhlyCoach: Pitso

Mosimane (South Africa)Mohamed El

Shenawy (captain) (Egypt), Ahmed Ramdan Beckham (Egypt), Yasser

Ibrahim (Egypt), Kahraba (Egypt), Hamdy Fathy (Egypt), Marwan

Mohsen (Egypt), Mohamed Sherif (Egypt),

Ayman Ashraf (Egypt), Badr Benoun (Morocco),

Hussein El Shahat (Egypt), Aliou Dieng

(Mali), Ali Lotfi (Egypt), Amr El Solia (Egypt),

Salah Mohsen (Egypt), Mohamed Magdy

(Egypt), Saad Samir (Egypt), Ali Maâloul

(Tunisia), Akram Tawfik (Egypt), Walter Bwalya

(Congo), Taher Mohamed (Egypt), Junior

Ajayi (Nigeria), Mohamed Hany (Egypt)

and Mostafa Shobeir (Egypt)

Bayern MunichCoach: Hans-Dieter Flick (Germany)

Manuel Neuer (captain) (Germany),

Niklas Süle (Germany), Benjamin Pavard (France), Joshua

Kimmich (Germany), Serge Gnabry (Germany),

Javi Martínez (Spain), Robert Lewandowski (Poland), Leroy Sané (Germany), Douglas Costa (Brazil), Eric

Maxim Choupo-Moting (Cameroon), Jérôme

Boateng (Germany), Leon Goretzka

(Germany), Alphonso Davies (Canada), Bouna

Sarr (France), Lucas Hernandez (France), Marc Roca (Spain),

Corentin Tolisso (France), Thomas Müller (Germany), David Alaba (Austria),

Kingsley Coman

(France), Alexander

Nübel (Germany),

Ron-Thorben Hoffmann

(Germany) and Jamal Musiala

(England)

PalmeirasCoach: Abel Fer-reira (Portugal)Weverton (Brazil),

Marcos Rocha (Brazil), Emerson Santos (Brazil),

Benjamín Kuscevic (Chile), Patrick de Paula (Brazil), Alan Empereur

(Brazil), Zé Rafael (Brazil), Luiz Adriano (Brazil), Rony (Brazil), Mayke (Brazil), Luan

(Brazil), Gustavo Scarpa (Brazil), Gustavo Gómez (Paraguay), Matías Viña (Uruguay), Lucas Lima (Brazil), Jailson (Brazil), Raphael Veiga (Brazil),

Vinicius Silvestre (Brazil), Gabriel Menino (Brazil), Gabriel Veron (Brazil), Danilo (Brazil),

Willian (Brazil), and Felipe Melo (captain)

(Brazil)

UANLCoach: Ricardo Ferretti (Brazil)

Nahuel Guzmán

(Argentina), Carlos Salcedo

(Mexico), Hugo Ayala (Mexico), Rafael Carioca

(Brazil), Jordan Sierra (Ecuador), André-

Pierre Gignac (France), Diego Reyes (Mexico),

Juan Sánchez Purata (Mexico),

Leonardo Fernández (Uruguay), Aldo Cruz

(Mexico), Guido Pizarro (captain) (Argentina),

Javier Aquino (Mexico), Francisco Meza

(Colombia), Raymundo Fulgencio (Mexico), Luis

Quiñones (Colombia), Luis Rodríguez

(Mexico), Jesús Dueñas (Mexico), Carlos

González (Paraguay), Julián Quiñones

(Colombia), Juan Pablo Chávez (Mexico), Érick Ávalos (Mexico), Arturo Delgado (Mexico) and

Patrick Ogama (Mexico)

Ulsan HyundaiCoach: Hong

Myung-bo (South Korea)

Jo Su-huk (South Korea), Bae Jae-woo (South Korea), Jason Davidson (Australia),

Dave Bulthuis (Nether-lands), Kim Tae-hyeon

(South Korea), Shin Hyung-min (South

Korea), Kim In-sung (South Korea), Kim Ji-hyeon (South Korea),

Yoon Bit-garam (South Korea), Lee Dong-jun

(South Korea), Kim Min-jun (South Korea),

Won Du-jae (South Korea), Kim Sung-joon

(South Korea), Kang Dong-hyeok (South

Korea), Jo Hyeon-woo (South Korea), Kim Tae-

hwan (South Korea), Kang Yun-gu (South Korea), Seo Ju-hwan

(South Korea), Lee Ho (South Korea), Lee

Hyeong-kyeong (South Korea), Kim Kee-hee (South Korea), Seol

Young-woo and Lukas Hinterseer (Austria).

10 TUESDAY 2 FEBRUARY 2021SPORT

Head coach Hansi Flick: “We’re looking

forward to the tournament. We want to

compete at the Club World Cup, and we want

to win it.”

Manuel Neuer: “We won the Club World Cup

in 2013. It’s a special title that you can only

win if you’ve already won the Champions

League. We’ll do everything we can to

triumph again. I’d be delighted with a repeat

of 2013.”

Thomas Müller: “We want to complete the

sextuple and we’re looking forward to

competing for this sixth title after the

Champions League, the championship, the

DFB Cup and the German and UEFA Super

Cups.”

CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge: “We qualified

for the Club World Cup as Champions League

winners and will give everything to win the

tournament. The team want to keep making

history. I would like to thank FIFA and

President Gianni Infantino for making it

possible to compete for this title even in the

time of coronavirus.”

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Myung-bo (((SoSoSoSoSoSoSSSSoSoSoSoooutututuutututtutu hhhhh hh Korea)

Jo Su-huk (Sououuuuuuuuththththhththttt Korea), Bae Jae-woo ooo(South Korea), Jason Davidson (Australia),

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history. I would like to thank FIFA and

President Gianni Infantino for making it

possible to compete for this title even in the

time of coronavirus.”

Al Ahly President Mahmoud Al Khatib posing for a photograph with the FIFA certificate presented for their participation in the Club World Cup.

Club World Cup next big title: NeuerFCBAYERN.COM

To set the mood for the new year, Manuel Neuer (pictured) has written to the fans and members of the record champions in the foreword of the latest edition of the FCB members’ magazine ‘51’.

“On behalf of the team, I wish you all the best for 2021, with happiness and joy, not least regarding your FC Bayern - and, most importantly, good health,” said The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper 2020.

“We’re looking ahead to 2021 with optimism. Our greatest wish for the new year, I think everyone is united on this, is that this pandemic will soon be overcome.”

The players, the FCB captain relates, are tremendously affected by the fact that the usual closeness to the fans in the stadium is not possible at the moment because of the coro-navirus. “Those of you who play sport know for sure that success in training and success in competition feels dif-ferent,” he explains.

“The passion you ignite in the stands makes a big difference. We

players pick up on your emotions, we experience them with you: You carry us over the line when it really matters.”

Incomparable team spiritHe recently spoke at length with

Joshua Kimmich, and they both agreed: “If you look closely now, you can see how we players have changed. We push each other more than we used to, because we have to release these forces more from within. After making a save I would rarely, or really never, cheer - today I make a fist as a sign for all of us, for me: Yes, we’re here, we’re strong!” Neuer is happy “that we currently have such a great team, which has formed a unit with the coaching staff, in which we can compensate for the empty stands as best we can, because unfortunately you’re not there at the moment. We can be proud of this team - I personally have never expe-rienced team spirit like it, and I’ve been in football for quite a while.”

Making the best of the situationNeuer also understands how the

fans feel, how much they miss the stadium experience: “If I were a fan today, I would watch every game on TV - just like when I was a kid. Back then, we would certainly have created an alternative to the stadium to com-pensate at home; with my parents and my brother, every game would have become a mini event, a fixed date when everyone got together. Eve-ryone would have taken the time to make the most of it.”

Eyes on the next titleManuel Neuer won the Club

World Cup in Morocco in 2013. He aims to repeat that triumph in Qatar in February.

With regard to his sporting goals, Neuer says: “The next big title for our team is coming up soon in 2021. Winning the Club World Cup in 2013 was a great expe-rience. Winning the Cham-p i o n s L e a g u e again has n o w

earned us the chance to make history with this title. We want to seize this opportunity. For the club, for our-selves - and last but not least for our fans!”en, we would certainly have created

n alternative to the stadium to com-ensate at home; with my parents and

my brother, every game would have ecome a mini event, a fixed date hen everyone got together. Eve-

yone would have taken the time tomake the most of it.”

Eyes on the next titleManuel Neuer won the Club

World Cup in Morocco in 2013. Hems to repeat that triumph in Qatar February.

With regard to his sporting goals,euer says: “The next big title for ouram is coming up soon in

021. Winning the ClubWorld Cup in 2013

as a great expe-ence. Winning

he Cham-i o n s

e a g u e gain has

o w

fans!”

Who will vie for honours in Qatar: FIFA Club World Cup 2020 squads

Neymar wants to stay at PSG, hopes Mbappe remains tooREUTERS – PARIS

Paris St Germain forward Neymar said he wants to remain at the Ligue 1 champions and hopes Kylian Mbappe will also pledge his future to the club.

Neymar joined PSG from Barcelona in 2017 for a world record fee of €222m ($269.26m) but Spanish media have fre-quently linked the 28-year-old with a switch back to the Catalan side. Mbappe has 18 months remaining on his contract in Paris and new manager Mauricio Pochettino has played down reports the French forward could be on the move to Real Madrid.

“I’m very happy today. Things have changed a lot, I can’t exactly explain why - if it’s just me, or something else has changed,” Neymar, whose contract expires in June 2022, told French television channel TF1.

“I have adapted. I feel calmer and I’m very happy here. I want to stay at PSG and I hope Kylian will stay too. Of

course, that’s the wish of every PSG supporter... With Kylian, we have a rela-tionship of brothers ... We really like to play together.

“We want PSG to be a great team and I want to continue doing what I’ve done every day in Paris -- play football and be happy. That’s the most important

thing.” PSG are third in Ligue 1, three

points behind leaders Lille.

Show more respect to Messi, says Koeman after contract leakREUTERS – BARCELONA

Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman rallied behind Lionel Messi after the Argentine delivered a vintage performance in Sunday’s 2-1 home win over Athletic Bilbao, hours after full details of Messi’s lucrative contract were published in the Spanish media.

Messi scored his 650th goal for the Catalans with a sumptuous free kick to put Barca in front against Athletic while Antoine Griezmann struck the winner after Jordi Alba had scored an own goal to pull the visitors level.

The day had begun with newspaper El Mundo revealing the total amount Barca had spent on Messi’s last con-tract with the club, also declaring the cost of the deal had “ruined” Barca by causing their current financial crisis.

“I don’t understand how anyone could link Messi to Barca’s ruin. He has spent years proving his quality and doing great things for this club, helping it win many important trophies,” Koeman told a news conference.

“Whoever published this had bad intentions and wanted to cause Barca damage. But we have to be united and focused, we have to forget about whatever has been published. Without Leo we couldn’t aspire to win very much.

“We have known for a very long time that he is the best player in the world, he has done so much for this club and is decisive. We have to respect everything Messi has done.” Barca have threatened to sue El Mundo for pub-lishing confidential information and said they were not responsible for leaking the contract to the newspaper, although Koeman said the club needed to get to the bottom of the issue.

“If this was someone from the club they cannot have a future here,” he added.

Also on Sunday, La Liga President Javier Tebas described the publication of the contract as sensationalist jour-nalism, adding that B a r c a were experiencing f i n a n c i a l problems due to the coronavirus pandemic and not because of M e s s i ’ s contract.

alism, adding that B a r c aere experiencing

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09TUESDAY 2 FEBRUARY 2021 SPORT

AP — RAWALPINDI, PAKISTAN

Pakistan head coach Misbah-ul-Haq doesn’t want his team to get complacent ahead of this week’s second Test match against South Africa.

The home side fought back from 27-4 in its first innings at Karachi to beat the Proteas by seven wickets and take a 1-0 lead the two-match series. The second Test starts at Pindi Cricket Stadium on Thursday.

Yasir Shah and 34-year-old left-arm spinner Nauman Ali, playing in his first Test match, shared 14 wickets between them against a struggling South Africa batting line-up.

“It was a much-needed victory,” Misbah said.

“The team came back from a difficult position, but we don’t want to be com-placent. South Africa is a tough team and we know they will come back hard at us.”

Since taking over as head coach in 2019, Misbah has lost three away Test series - against Australia, England and New Zealand - but his Pakistan side has beaten

less formidable teams like Sri Lanka and Bangladesh at home. Misbah and bowling coach Waqar Younis were summoned by the Pakistan Cricket Board after the team lost a Test series 2-0 in New Zealand last month. Both coaches were given another chance, but their longer-term futures were tied to the outcome of the current home series against South Africa.

“My focus is on this series,” Misbah said. “We will put all our energies in this Test match and see how we can win. Other things are uncontrollable and there is no point in thinking about it.”

Middle-order batsman Fawad Alam’s dream return to Test cricket played a key role in Pakistan putting up a formidable total of 378 in the first innings after South Africa was bowled out for 220 inside two sessions on the first day.

Left-handed Alam, playing in only his eighth Test match in 11 years, made a gritty 109 and revived Pakistan after a top-order collapse with Faheem Ashraf and Azhar Ali also scoring useful half centuries.

But the conditions in Rawalpindi will be much cooler than they were in Karachi and Misbah said the team may change its bowling lineup to include four fast bowlers and only one spinner.

The dry pitch in Karachi gave the two Pakistan spinners plenty of assistance, but Misbah was not sure if he could get a similar type of wicket and conditions in Rawalpindi.

If Pakistan opts for a fourth fast bowler, Haris Rauf is a possible option to make his Test debut in his hometown.

“Haris is bowling well with the old ball,” Misbah said. “If the need arise we will see him.”

Pakistan coach warns against complacency in second Test

My focus is on this series. We will put all our

energies in this Test match and see how we

can win. Other things are uncontrollable and

there is no point in thinking about it.

Misbah-ul-Haq

Pakistan head coach

Pakistan's Fawad Alam during nets at the Pindi Cricket Stadium, yesterday.

Patrick Reed prevails at Torrey Pines for ninth career victoryREUTERS — SAN DIEGO

Patrick Reed pushed aside a weekend of controversy to shoot a steady 4-under-par 68 on Sunday and cruise to a five-shot victory at the Farmers Insurance Open on the South Course at Torrey Pines Golf Course outside San Diego.

Reed finished the tour-nament at 14-under 274, well ahead of a group of five that included Tony Finau, Ryan Palmer, Xander Schauffele, Norway’s Viktor Hovland and Sweden’s Henrik Norlander.

The victory sets up Reed to be among the favorites for the US Open in June, which will also take place on Torrey Pines’ South Course.

Reed was the talk of golf Saturday and into Sunday morning after he picked up his ball on the 10th hole during Sat-urday’s third round before calling over a rules official to confirm the ball was embedded in soggy ground. The ball actually bounced before coming to rest, but he still was awarded a free drop and sal-vaged par.

The move ultimately was considered within the rules, although ethical questions remained. Fueling the scrutiny was an episode in 2019 where Reed appeared to ground his club in a bunker before playing a shot.

Reed struggled on Saturday after his 10th-hole controversy, watching a four-stroke lead turn into a tie after three rounds with Mexico’s Carlos Ortiz at 10-under par.

Like Saturday, Reed made a move on the front nine when he shot a 3-under 33 that included an eagle on the par-5, sixth hole and a bogey on the par-3 eighth. From there, he avoided trouble by shooting a 1-under on the back nine while the competition fell by the wayside. Reed was 8 under on the front nine in the final two rounds.

“My biggest takeaway was mentally, I hung in there and stayed the course,” Reed said after his ninth career victory.

“... We felt like we did (the

right thing), the rules officials felt like they did that at the same time so with that being said I felt fine, I felt great throughout the day. And at the end of the day, I wouldn’t have felt any other way. I was able to shoot a low number (Sunday) and get the job done.”

Hovland was within a shot of Reed on Sunday before con-secutive bogeys at 14 and 15, and another at 17 to finish at 71. Finau tried to make a late charge before finding water at 18 for a bogey.

Schauffele and Norlander carded final-round 69s while Palmer shot 70.

A three-way tie for seventh place at 8 under included Will Zalatoris (71 on Sunday), Lanto Griffin (72) and Spain’s Jon Rahm, who shot consecutive even-par 72s on Saturday and Sunday after a 67 on Friday.

Ortiz stumbled to a 6-over 78 Sunday while playing in the final group and finished in a tie for 29th place at 4 under.

It was the first victory for Reed, who also won the 2018 Masters, since he won the WGC-Mexico Championship in February of last year. He has now won one tournament in each of the last four years.

Australia’s Marc Leishman, the tournament winner in 2020, shot a 2-under 70 to finish at 5-under 283 and in a tie for 18th place.

Patrick Reed poses with the winner’s trophy following the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open golf tournament at Torrey Pines.

Reed finished the tournament

at 14-under 274, well ahead of

a group of five that included

Tony Finau, Ryan Palmer,

Xander Schauffele, Norway’s

Viktor Hovland and Sweden’s

Henrik Norlander.

The victory sets up Reed to be

among the favorites for the US

Open in June, which will also

take place on Torrey Pines’

South Course.

REUTERS — LONDON

She was never given the chance to shine on an Olympic stage, but squash superstar Nicol David may derive some compensation from being named the World Games Greatest Athlete of All Time.

Winning the accolade yesterday with almost three times as many votes as the runner-up, the Malaysian

said she hoped the award would help to boost the profile of a sport seemingly unloved in key quarters.

“Hopefully it can elevate attention for the future of squash,” David said as the sport -- already part of the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games -- now eyes inclusion in the Paris Olympics in 2024. For years David has been the face of a

campaign to admit squash to the Olympics, but has instead had to watch sports including rugby sevens, climbing, karate, surfing and skate-boarding gain the stamp of approval ahead of it.

While tennis players, badminton players and table tennis players all enjoy their spell in the Olympic sun every four years, squash still peers in from the outside.

The now-retired David, ranked world number one for a record 108 consecutive months, beat Irish tug-of-war titan James Kehoe into second place, with third going to Ukrainian power-lifter Larysa Soloviova.

Athletes on the shortlist came from sports including lifesaving, sumo, dancesport and racquetball.

The World Games take

place every four years -- a year after the Summer Olympic Games -- and feature athletes, sports and disciplines that are not part of the Olympics.

Founded in 1980, the 11th edition will be held in Bir-mingham, Alabama, in July 2022, when some 3,600 ath-letes from more than 30 sports and 100 countries will take part.

Nicol David David shines even if Olympics remain elusive

Gasly becomes sixth Formula One driver to test positive for virusREUTERS — LONDON

AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly said he had tested positive for COVID-19, meaning six of Formula One’s 20 race drivers have now contracted the virus.

T h e 2 4 - y e a r - o l d Frenchman, who recently posted pictures on Instagram of training in Dubai, made the announcement on Twitter.

“I wanted to let you know that I tested positive for COVID-19. I have told everyone I’ve been in contact with during these last days,” he said on Twitter.

“I’m currently self-isolating and following the protocol set by the local health authorities. I’m feeling OK, and will con-tinue to follow my training plan from home while I remain in isolation.”

Mexican Sergio Perez, Canadian Lance Stroll, seven times world champion Lewis Hamilton, McLaren’s Lando Norris and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc have all tested pos-itive since the start of the pandemic.Norris and Leclerc tested positive after also

spending time in Dubai post-season.

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff, Williams principal Simon Roberts and Aston Martin team owner Lawrence Stroll as well as Pirelli tyre boss Mario Isola have also had the virus. The season starts in Bahrain on March 28.

Last year’s championship was hit by the pandemic, with the planned opener in Australia cancelled after a McLaren team member tested positive.

Pierre Gasly

Correa to return to racing after Hubert’s fatal accidentREUTERS — LONDON

Ecuadorian-American Juan Manuel Correa announced his return to racing yesterday after recovering from the severe leg injuries he suffered in a 2019 Formula Two crash in which Frenchman Anthoine Hubert died.

The 21-year-old said he would drive for the ART Formula Three team.

“Announcing my return to the race tracks is one of the proudest moments in my pro-fessional career,” Correa said in a statement, promising to honour Hubert’s memory.

“My dream is still to reach F1 and this is the first step in my comeback.”

Hubert, 22, died after he

crashed and his stationary car was then hit by Correa’s during the Belgian Grand Prix support race at Spa-Francorchamps.

The FIA said in a subse-quent report that Correa hit Hubert’s virtually stationary car at 218 kph.

Hubert was the first driver to die at a Formula One race weekend since Brazilian triple champion Ayrton Senna and Austrian Roland Ratzen-berger at Imola in Italy in 1994.

Correa suffered 20 frac-tures to his legs and feet, spending two weeks in an induced coma and wearing a leg brace for more than a year.

He underwent 25 bouts of surgery to his legs but avoided amputation.

New Rugby Australia boss demands success from WallabiesREUTERS — MELBOURNE

Reviving the Wallabies’ fortunes is the biggest challenge for Rugby Australia as it looks to survive in the nation’s cut-throat sports market, new RA chief executive Andy Marinos said.

Marinos took over yesterday from interim CEO Rob Clarke, who leaves after negotiating a new broadcast deal and overseeing deep cuts to player salaries and staff in a bid to keep the game afloat as the COVID-19 pandemic hammered finances.

In coach Dave Ren-nie’s first year in charge, the Wallabies lost an 18th successive Bledisloe Cup series to New Zealand in 2020 and finished bottom of a Tri-Nations tour-nament behind the All Blacks and Argentina.

Former Wales inter-national Marinos said the Wallabies and Australia’s other national teams had to deliver better results if RA was to achieve success away from the field.

“You can’t be suc-cessful off the field if you’re not successful on the field,” Zimbabwe-born Marinos told reporters yesterday in his first media conference as CEO.

“So that’s our biggest challenge. To improve our high performance and get a more competitive and winning team.

“That makes the rest of the business a lot easier to manage and drive com-mercial value.

“We’re wanting to get out and grow the game in the community. Well, people need heroes.”

Marinos also backed RA Chairman Hamish McLennan’s “extension of the rugby friendship” to the Lions and South Africa.

08TUESDAY 2 FEBRUARY 2021Sport

Football family, media mourn Dr. AwadaQatar’s Marzo

finishes as top scorer in Egypt

THE PENINSULA – DOHA

The Qatar Football Association (QFA) has joined the country’s football family at large and the media industry in offering condo-lences after the passing away of Dr. Mohamed Awada, advisor to the President of QFA.

“The Qatar Football Association offers its sincere condolences and sympathy to the family and relatives of the late Dr. Muhammad Awada,” the QFA tweeted.

Dr Awada died after contracting the coronavirus during a family trip to Beirut, details showed across social media plat-forms. Dr Awada was transferred to Turkey to complete his treatment, which lasted about two weeks, it was reported.

CEO of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Nasser Al Khater also tweeted: “Dr Muhammad Awada gave us from his big heart. He was a brother, a friend and a teacher before he was a classmate.”

The Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) also offered condolences to Dr Awada’s family through their Twitter handle. Dr Awada was also a senior advisor at the SC.

“With his death, the sports media com-munity has lost one of its true figures. He always devoted his life to serving sports and the media locally and in the Arab world. He continued his successful career by handling assignments in the Qatar 2022 World Cup file. With his passing, a rich sports history will remain in our minds forever,” President of the Lebanese Football Association Hashem Haider said in a statement.

A former Editor-In-Chief at Doha Stadium magazine, Dr Awada, 59, was mourned by the popular publication.

“The Doha Stadium family mourns Dr. Muhammad Awada, former Editor-In-Chief of Doha Stadium. May God have mercy on Dr Awada’s soul. We offer our sincere condolences to his family, rela-tives and friends in the sports and media family inside and outside Qatar,” the mag-azine said in a post on its website.

Dr. Mohamed Awada

Frankis Carol Marzo

QMMF chief Al Mannai wins FIM membershipQNA — GENEVA

President of Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) Abdulrahman bin Abdullatif Al Mannai (pictured) yesterday won the membership of the Board of Directors of the International Motorcycling Federation (FIM) for the next four years.

He was elected during by-elec-tions for three seats held during the first online edition of the FIM’s General Assembly that took place over two days in Geneva, Switzerland.

Al Mannai won 51 votes, while President of the Argentine Feder-ation Ignacio Fern-andez received 56 votes and Pres-ident of the Swedish Feder-ation Hakan L y m a n got 50 votes. T h e

Qatari candidate’s winning was as a result of his excellent electoral programme, which focused mainly on the talented youth, through the Qatar Mechanical Sports Academy, which was officially launched in October 2018 and has a great number of young talents from around the world, in addition to the leading role of the State of Qatar in motorcycle sport, as it hosted the inaugural round of the MotoGP World Championship for 13 con-secutive times, and 17 times since it

first hosted it in 2004.In a statement, Al Mannai

expressed his pride as a Qatari and Arab citizen for the achievement of winning membership of the International Motor-cycle Federation, pointing out that obtaining this great international position confirms the

importance and weight of the

State of Qatar at the inter-

n a t i o n a l level.

H e s t a t e d t h a t

winning this position was not a coincidence, but rather it was a result of tireless work and effort throughout the past period since assuming the task of the president of the QMMF, stressing that during his term in the FIM, he will try to build bridges of trust and cooper-ation with all federations in various continents of the world.

Al Mannai considered his new position as a great challenge, while affirming at the same time his ability to take responsibility. He added that development and progress achieved in various fields of sport in the past few years prove the Qatari capabil-ities on the ground.

Abdulrahman bin Abdullatif Al

Mannai was elected during

by-elections for three seats held

during the first online edition of the

FIM’s General Assembly that took

place over two days in Geneva,

Switzerland. Al Mannai won 51 votes,

while President of the Argentine

Federation Ignacio Fernandez

received 56 votes and President of

the Swedish Federation Hakan

Lyman got 50 votes.

General Assembly that took place ver two days in Geneva,witzerland.

Al Mannai won 1 votes, while

President of the Argentine Feder-

tion Ignacio Fern-ndez received 56otes and Pres-dent of the wedish Feder-tion Hakan y m a n

ot 50 otes. h e

secutive times, and 17 times sfirst hosted it in 2004.

In a statement, Al Mexpressed his prid

Qatari and Arab cfor the achievemwinning membersthe International Mcycle Federation, poout that obtainingreat internatposition confirm

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State ofat the

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QNA — CAIRO

Qatari handball team player Frankis Carol Marzo won the top scorer title in the 27th World Men’s handball Championship, which concluded in Egypt on Sunday .

Marzo scored 58 goals in 7 matches for the Qatari national team, which made exit in the quarter-finals. The Norwegian top goal scorer Sander Sagosen came second with 54 goals.

Marzo is the second Arab player to win the World handball Champi-onship top scorer title after Tunisian Wissam Hammam, who won the title in the 2005 edition.

The Denmark national team won the World Championship for the second time in a row after winning the final match against Swedish coun-terpart (26-24).

The Spanish national team took third place after winning against French counterpart (35-29) .

Meanwhile, Denmark’s legendary player Mikkel Hansen was named the MVP, Most Valuable Player Award, after leading his country to a second world title in a row.

Hansen, who had claimed the same award in 2011 2015 and 2018, has displayed a remarkable and bril-liant performances throughout the championship, despite missing the games against Qatar and Japan in the Main Round.

However, he was a great influ-encer to his team in leading them in decisive games in the knock-out stage.

The 33 year-old scored 48 goals in seven games and assisted in 26 more goals, with a total of 74 goals in the event.

Serena cruises past Gavrilova in Yarra Valley Classic openerREUTERS — MELBOURNE

Serena Williams showed no signs of rust as she began her season with a comfortable 6-1, 6-4 win over Daria Gavrilova in Melbourne yesterday to reach the Yarra Valley Classic round of 16.

The 23-time Grand Slam champion, who is warming up for the Australian Open, was at her dominant best after a slow start in which she saved four break points in the opening game of the contest at Margaret Court Arena.

Former world number one Williams has not played since withdrawing from last year’s French open second round in September with an Achilles injury, but made quick work of Gavrilova, striking 27 winners including 16 in the opening set.

“It feels good to be back here,” the 39-year-old Wil-liams, who is chasing a record-equalling 24th major, said in an on-court interview.

“I felt I was definitely com-posed and in a zone and trying to do the things I’ve been working on.”

Up next for Williams is Bul-garian Tsvetana Pironkova, who she was due to face at Roland Garros before her injury.

The American said she was looking forward to the meeting with fellow mother Pironkova, who spent three years away from the sport raising her son before returning in 2020.

“It’s important for me just to see what she did and what I did and what we can both do better. I’m always rooting for her, she’s such a great story.

She’s a good person,” Williams added.

Another former world number one, Karolina Pliskova, also advanced to the next round in style, firing seven aces and 30 winners in her 6-3 6-2 victory over Italian Elisabetta Cocciaretto.

The 30-year-old Czech next meets former Australian Open semi-finalist Danielle Collins, who beat Nina Stojanovic 6-1, 6-2.

Also advancing were Anas-tasia Pavlyuchenkova, who beat Misaki Doi 6-1 6-4, and Petra Martic, who downed Vera Lapko 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.

The tournament is one of six arranged by Tennis Australia before the Australian Open, which begins on February 8.

Three people left in Aus-tralian Open quarantine

Meanwhile, all but three of the Australian Open cohort of more than 1,000 players,

coaches and officials have been cleared from quarantine in Mel-bourne ahead of the Grand Slam, health officials said on Monday.

COVID-19 Quarantine Vic-toria said 12 people linked to the tournament exited isolation on Sunday, leaving three active cases still to be cleared.

The vast majority of the players and their entourages undergoing 14 days of isolation in Melbourne and Adelaide were released by midnight on Saturday and have started pre-paring for the Grand Slam.

Spain's Paula Badosa was the only player to have con-firmed that she tested positive for COVID-19, restarting the clock on her mandatory period of isolation.

Victoria state, of which Mel-bourne is the capital, recorded its 26th successive day of zero community transmissions yesterday.

Serena Williams of the US celebrates after winning her match against Australia’s Daria Gavrilova, yesterday.

It feels good to be

back here. I felt I was

definitely composed

and in a zone and

trying to do the things

I’ve been working on.

Injured Johnson-Thompson out until March

REUTERS — LONDON

Heptathlon world champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson will be out of action until March after sustaining an Achilles tendon injury in training at the end of the year but she says the issue has not affected her plans for the Tokyo Olympics.

The 28-year-old emerged as one of Britain’s top gold medal prospects for Tokyo after winning the world title in Doha in 2019 ahead of Rio Olympics champion Nafi Thiam of Belgium.

Johnson-Thompson said she was recovering back home in Liv-erpool and that her protective boot was due to come off on Monday. She would then head to her training base in Montpellier, France.

“This is not the start to the year I was hoping for but I’m pleased to

be able to share this off the back of a positive few weeks... This news doesn’t impact my plans for 2021, Tokyo is still very much the focus,” she wrote in an Instagram post.

Johnson-Thompson finished 14th at the 2012 London Olympics and was sixth in Rio four years later. The Tokyo Games are due to begin on July 23.

Britain’s Katarina Johnson-Thompson celebrates after winning gold at IAAF World Championships in Doha, in this October 3, 2019 file photo.