Tianjian Quanjian deny approach for Chelsea’s Costa
HONG KONG: Chinese Super League club Tianjin Quanjian distanced themselves on Tuesday from a move for Chelsea striker Diego Costa when the league’s transfer window opens next month.
The Brazil-born Spain international has been consistently linked to the Fabio Cannavaro-coached club since the turn of the year and speculation has intensified that Tianjin will seek to sign the 28-year-old this summer.
But in a statement issued on the club’s website, Tianjin denied they had been in contact with Costa’s representatives and said they would not allow themselves to be dragged into a bidding war for any foreign player.
“Regarding the rumours and reports that Tianjin Quanjian’s summer transfer plan is to buy Diego Costa, we hereby clarify the following: During the past six months the club has not communicated with Diego Costa or his agent regarding his transfer to Tianjin Quanjian,” the statement said.
“Our strategy of bringing new players to the club is based on the general principal of providing entertainment and sustainable development.
We have no intention of becoming involved in any unhealthy competition and, consequently, paying a premium price.”
Tianjin added Brazil international Alexandre Pato and Belgium’s Axel Witsel to their squad after winning the Chinese second division last year but have won just three games this season and are seventh, 12 points adrift of leaders Guangzhou Evergrande.
Cannavaro recently complained about his team’s lack of a top-class striker and reports in Europe have suggested Tianjin would seek to sign Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Borussia Dortmund.
However, the statement also claimed the club do not intend to follow the example of Shanghai SIPG and Shanghai Shenhua by paying inflated fees in the transfer market, preferring instead to focus on youth development.
“The 2017 season is our debut season in the CSL,” Tianjin said. “While focussing on enhancing the quality of our own football, we are also working hard to contribute to a healthy environment for Chinese football.
“That means we want to have world-class players playing in China for entertainment purposes and to make the CSL attractive.”
Advocaat to start Dutch rescue mission in June
THE HAGUE: Dick Advocaat will take up his role as the new Dutch coach next month, officials said Tuesday, as he looks to salvage the country’s faltering 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign.
The 69-year-old is returning for a third spell in charge of the Netherlands, who are fourth in Group A ahead of the visit of minnows Luxembourg in just over a fortnight.
“Dick Advocaat will join the Dutch XI on Tuesday, June 6,” the Royal Dutch Football Federation (KNVB) said in a statement.
“The team, which will be preparing for their World Cup qualifier against Luxembourg will also be joined by assistant coach Ruud Gullit,” it added.
Advocaat and former Ballon d’Or winner Gullit were drafted in on a “short-term” rescue mission by the Dutch federation earlier this month, with the pair signing contracts through until the end of the year.
Advocaat, a renowned disciplinarian, replaced Danny Blind after he was sacked in March following a 2-0 defeat in Bulgaria.
The shock defeat left the three-time World Cup runners-up facing the prospect of failing to qualify for next year’s finals in Russia, having also missed out on Euro 2016.
The Dutch trail group leaders France by six points after five matches, with only the top team guaranteed a place in Russia.
Sweden and Bulgaria are also ahead of the Netherlands in the race for second place and a possible play-off berth.
However Advocaat will not be in the dugout for friendlies against Morocco and the Ivory Coast, on May 31 and June 4, as he is finishing the season with Turkish club Fenerbahce.
Former Australian junior champ fined for fixing match
SYDNEY: Former Australian Open junior champion Oliver Anderson was fined Aus$500 (US$374) Tuesday for fixing a match, but escaped a conviction after admitting he threw a set, reports said.
The 19-year-old Australian appeared in the Latrobe Valley Magistrates Court over the incident during a first-round clash at the second-tier Traralgon Challenger event in Victoria in 2016.
He admitted a charge of corrupting the outcome of a sporting event.
The court heard Anderson, the 2016 Australian Open junior winner, was approached a few days before the match by a friend who asked if he would drop the first set, broadcaster ABC reported.
He agreed when he realised he could easily beat his first round opponent Harrison Lombe, some 900 spots below him in the rankings.
He lost the first set 4-6, before taking the next two sets 6-0, 6-2 to win the match.
Police were alerted to suspicious activity by betting company Crownbet after a punter tried to wager Aus$10,000 on the match, ABC said. It was rejected although a lower Aus$2,000 bet was accepted.
In addition to the fine, Anderson was placed on a two-year good-behaviour bond but no conviction was recorded.
News of the match-fixing charge surfaced just days before this year’s Australian Open, with leading players at the time voicing frustration at another scandal hitting the sport.
On the eve of the Australian Open in 2016, there were bombshell media allegations that match-fixing was rife in tennis and the authorities had done little to counter corruption.
Horschels reveal anguish behind victory tears
LOS ANGELES, California: Billy Horschel paid tribute to his wife on Monday as she revealed the personal anguish that lay behind the golfer’s emotional reaction after his victory in the AT&T Byron Nelson USPGA event at the weekend.
Horschel broke down in tears immediately after his playoff victory over world number four Jason Day on Sunday, capturing his first win since 2014 after missing four consecutive cuts leading into the tournament.
He later declined to comment directly when asked about his tearful reaction to victory. “I’m not able to talk about it right now. It’s just lot of stuff happens in the last year and this is just - this is nice,” he said.
But on Monday, Horschel’s wife Brittany took to Twitter to reveal she had been battling alcoholism.
Her treatment included a three-month stay at a rehab center in South Florida which left her husband juggling his career on the tour while caring for the couple’s infant daughter.
“I write this nervously, skeptically, but also proudly because I have embraced the woman I have become over the past year,” Brittany Horschel wrote in the post.
“One year ago, I began a journey to a healthy me; mentally and physically. I will keep this simple, ‘I am an alcoholic.’ I say that now without shame. Admitting that to myself, family and friends has saved my life and my marriage.”
“This weekend marked one year sober for me, but also marked a very hard fought year for Billy,” she added. “He deserves to soak in the glory of his win yesterday, throw his feet up and just let out a long deep breath.”
Horschel, 30, praised his wife’s statement in his own post on Twitter. “Proud of the journey that my wife is on!” he wrote. “She is an amazing mother and unbelievable wife!”
Horschel’s fourth PGA victory moves him up to 44th in the world rankings and also hands him a US Open berth after failing to qualify for last month’s Masters and the 2016 US Open.
Farhan in Guatemala Sporta Open qualifying finals
KARACHI: Pakistan’s Farhan Zaman moved into the qualifying finals of the $50,000 Guatemala Sporta Open at Sporta, Santa Catarina Pinula, Guatemala, on Tuesday. Farhan defeated Mauricio Sedano of Guatemala 11-4, 11-4, 11-3 in the first qualifying round of this high prized event. He will play against Arturo Salazar of Mexico in the qualifying finals.
