David Beckham shows mettle as PSG beat Marseille 2-0 in French Cup

February 28, 2013

David_Beckham

Paris, Feb 28: David Beckham showed his aging legs can still last the pace and Zlatan Ibrahimovic continued his prolific scoring as the two stars helped Paris Saint-Germain beat bitter rival Marseille 2-0 to reach the French Cup quarterfinals on Wednesday.

Beckham had played a 15-minute cameo from the bench in last Sunday's 2-0 win against Marseille in the league, helping to set up the second goal for Ibrahimovic. The 37-year-old former England captain stood up to the test of a frenzied Cup game which saw him yellow-carded late on, shortly before going off in the 86th minute.

"I am very happy to last 86 minutes. I enjoyed it," Beckham said. "I felt good. I have been working hard for the last few weeks. It helps to have players around me who work the way they do and play the way they do."

Positioned just in front of the back four, Beckham kept PSG's midfield ticking over with some neat passing.

"He had a solid game and he showed he could last," PSG coach Carlo Ancelotti said. "There are a lot of things he can show us — his experience, his passing, his aggression. I don't think he played like a 37-year-old tonight."

Ibrahimovic, meanwhile, appeared in little mood to share the spotlight, as he took his season's tally to 26 goals in all competitions, grabbing his first in the 34th minute before earning and converting a penalty in the 64th.

His goals came hours after UEFA announced a two-match ban for the Swedish forward, who will miss PSG's next Champions League match in the last 16 and also stands to miss the first leg of the quarterfinals if the team advances. The club will appeal against the sanction.

Beckham almost set up a second goal with a corner from the left in the 62nd but center half Zoumana Camara's header was cleared off the line. He was then involved in a standoff with Marseille forward

Jordan Ayew as Ayew squared up to him twice. After the first incident, Ayew was keen to continue the argument and they briefly leant their heads into each other before the referee intervened.

"It was spiky the whole game. It was like that at the weekend and it will be like that every PSG-Marseille game," Beckham said. "You always miss occasions like this. I had certain occasions like this in the U.S. Games like tonight are enjoyable," he said on Wednesday.

Beckham was booked and was taken off Ancelotti to chants of "Dav-eed Beckham, Dav-eed Beckham," at Parc des Princes.

"We didn't need to wait until tonight to know that he is a quality passer and that he is dangerous from free kicks," Marseille coach Elie Baup said.

Beckham sat very deep, just in front of the defense with Blaise Matuidi and Clement Chantome either side of him, and occasionally pushing up.

His clever pass released Gregory van der Wiel down the right in the 12th minute and his low cross reached Jeremy Menez, who shot straight at goalkeeper Steve Mandanda.

Beckham drew an 'Ole' from the Parc des Princes crowd and chants of "Beckham, Beckham" rang out after he showed superb skill to loft the ball over a Marseille player's head.

Marseille launched its first serious attack in the 28th when striker Andre-Pierre Gignac was sent scampering free down the right and his cross was intercepted by 'keeper Nicolas Douchez.

PSG broke up the other end and Ibrahimovic forced Mandanda into a low save, but the imposing Swede did not have long to wait to score.

Although Beckham is famed for his long passes, it was Chantome who picked out Ibrahimovic with a superb 40 meter pass and he shrugged off a challenge before planting the ball under Mandanda. Ibrahimovic has scored five goals in three games against Marseille this season — including three in the league.

Moments after the goal, players from both sides started pushing and shoving after midfielder Alaixys Romao clattered into Beckham, although he did not react to the challenge and even stepped in as a peacemaker as firecrackers were let off in an electric atmosphere.

Beckham was late trying to make a couple of tackles, his legs struggling to keep up with sprightly winger Mathieu Valbuena as he twice turned past him. By the 70th, he started to tire and placed his hands on his hips as he took a breather.

There was still time for a clash with Ayew, and even hothead midfielder Joey Barton briefly got involved as he appeared to reproach Beckham's involvement in the tussle, which led to staff members from both teams rushing off the bench to briefly join in as tempers frayed.

"I got an elbow from Joey. He explained it just after," Beckham said. "Joey does well for them and is a talented player. Good luck to him."

Earlier, UEFA said its disciplinary panel extended an automatic one-match sanction for Ibrahimovic's challenge on Valencia midfielder Andres Guardado in stoppage-time of a last-16, first-leg match earlier this month. The ban would rule the influential forward out of the quarterfinals, first leg if PSG advances.

Speaking after his team's win, Ancelotti said: "To get a two-match ban is incredible and I hope UEFA go back on their decision. I really hope they will reverse it because to get two games is incredible. Yes, we will appeal."

In other matches, Lorient, Bordeaux and Nancy advanced.

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News Network
June 27,2020

Jun 27: India's Test batting mainstay Cheteshwar Pujara cannot describe in words the influence that Rahul Dravid has had on his life but says he will always remain grateful to him for teaching the importance of switching off from cricket.

Often compared to Dravid, who was considered the 'wall' of Indian cricket, Pujara said he is thankful to Dravid for teaching him how to keep personal and professional lives separate.

"He helped me understand the importance of switching off from cricket. I had the same thought, more or less, but when I spoke to him, it gave me a lot of clarity about it and I was sure of what I needed to do," he told ESPNcricinfo.

"I also saw in county cricket how they keep personal and professional lives separate. I value that advice a lot. Many people consider me to be focused. Yes, I am focused, But I also know when to switch off. There is life beyond cricket."

In his illustrious international career, Dravid amassed 13288 runs in 164 Tests and 10889 runs in 344 ODIs. He also captained India in 79 ODIs, winning 42 of them, which includes the world record of 14 successive wins while chasing.

"I cannot say in one line what Rahul bhai means to me. He has always been an inspiration, and will remain one," Pujara said.

His mental fortitude and batting technique is often compared to Dravid but Pujara said "despite my enchantment with him" he never tried to "copy him."

"There is a similarity in our games, but that's not because of my fascination with him. That came mainly through my experiences with Saurashtra, where I learned that scoring a hundred alone isn't enough, you have to carry your team," he said.

"That is how I learned responsibility - it is about helping my team to raise a big total, and for that I ought to attach importance to my wicket. I learned that from my junior cricket days with Saurashtra, which was a weaker team in domestic cricket."

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News Network
May 10,2020

New Delhi, May 10: Former Australia captain Ian Chappell has proposed radical changes in the LBW laws, stating that a batsman should be given out leg before as long as the ball is hitting the stumps irrespective of the spot of its landing and impact.

Chappell also said captains should agree on one way of working up the ball which will encourage swing bowling, even as the ICC is considering the use of artificial substances to shine the ball instead of sweat and saliva in post-COVID-19 scenario.

"The new lbw law should simply say: 'Any delivery that strikes the pad without first hitting the bat and, in the umpire's opinion, would go on to hit the stumps is out regardless of whether or not a shot is attempted'," he wrote in a column for ESPNcricinfo.

"Forget where the ball pitches and whether it strikes the pad outside the line or not; if it's going to hit the stumps, it's out."

The 76-year-old said the change in lbw law would attract expected criticism from the batsmen but it would make the game more fair.

"There will be screams of horror - particularly from pampered batsmen - but there are numerous positives this change would bring to the game. Most important is fairness.

"If a bowler is prepared to attack the stumps regularly, the batsman should only be able to protect his wicket with the bat. The pads are there to save the batsman from injury not dismissal.

"It would also force batsmen to seek an attacking method to combat a wristspinner pitching in the rough outside the right-hander's leg stump," said Chappell.

He cited Sachin Tendulkar's example on how he negotiated Shane Warne's round the wicket tactic during the 1997-98 Test series in India.

"Contrast Sachin Tendulkar's aggressive and successful approach to Shane Warne coming round the wicket in Chennai in 1997-98 with a batsman who kicks away deliveries pitching in the rough and turning in toward the stumps. Which would you rather watch?

"The current law encourages "pad play" to balls pitching outside leg while this change would force them to use their bat. The change would reward bowlers who attack the stumps and decrease the need for negative wide deliveries to a packed off-side field," he said.

Chappell said his proposed change to the lbw law would also cut down "frivolous" DRS challenges.

"This change to the lbw law would also simplify umpiring and result in fewer frivolous DRS challenges. Consequently, it would speed up a game that has slowed drastically in recent times.

"It would also make four-day Tests an even more viable proposition as mind-numbing huge first-innings totals would be virtually non-existent."

On the substitute of shining the ball without sweat and saliva, Chappell said international captains should find out a way of working up the ball.

"With ball-tampering always a hot topic, in the past I've suggested that administrators ask international captains to construct a list (i.e. the use of natural substances) detailing the things bowlers feel will help them to swing the ball.

"From this list, the administrators should deem one method to be legal with all others being punishable as illegal," the cricketer-turned-commentator added.

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Agencies
June 7,2020

Mumbai, Jun 7: The Mumbai airport became home for a 23-year-old Ghanaian footballer for 74 days after he got stranded there due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown that led to cancellation of flights.

The ordeal of Randy Juan Muller reminded people of Tom Hank's character in the Hollywood film "The Terminal", and it ended after Yuva Sena, the youth wing of the Shiv Sena, reached out to help him.

Muller has now shifted to a local hotel and is waiting for airlines to resume operations so that he can fly home.

The Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) also provided him all help, including food, and allowed him to use the airport WiFi network to make calls, an official said.

Muller, a Ghana national who used to play for a club in Kerala, was scheduled to fly home by Kenya Airways flight when the lockdown was announced and he found himself stranded at the Mumbai airport.

"He would spend his time at the airport's fancy artificial gardens and somehow buy food from stalls and pass his time with the airport staff. Muller told me the airport staff was very helpful," Yuva Sena office-bearer Rahul Kanal said.

A security officer at the airport gave him mobile phone to call his family back home.

A Twitter user brought Muller's plight to the notice of Maharashtra Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray following which Kanal reached out to the footballer and helped him move into a hotel.

On Saturday, Muller thanked Thackeray and Kanal for their help.

"Thank you Aaditya Thackeray, Rahul Kanal. Thank you very very so much. I appreciate what you have done. Salute," he said.

Kanal in a tweet said when he met Muller at the airport, the latter cried with happiness.

"Have no words to salute his willpower and fight for survival in such circumstances at this age," Kanal said.

An official at the Mumbai International Airport Ltd said the footballer was provided all help.

"All personnel at the airport, including from MIAL and CISF, gave him every possible help during his stay at the airport. Besides food, he was also allowed to use the airport WiFi network to make calls. Airport staff would recharge his phone at their own expense," the official said.

The 2004 film "Terminal" of Steven Spielberg was about a man stranded at a US airport after being denied entry into the country and a military coup back home.

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