Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Having battled hard to maintain parity during the first half of their match against Germany the GB hockey squad were somewhat surprised to learn on returning to the pitch after the interval that they had fallen 1-0 behind.
Despite still walking back to the playing surface at the Olympic 2012 venue – being used for the first time – the Brits were astonished to find the German forward, Florian Fuchs, pictured left, deflecting the ball into their net.
It transpires that the changing facility is further away from the pitch than they had realised and as a result they were late in returning. Unfortunately for them, presumably to satisfy the demands of live television, the umpires are instructed to restart the game once the half-time countdown clock reaches zero – which they did.
The Germans went on to build a commanding 3-0 lead before GB replied with a late consolation goal from Ashley Jackson.
After the game GB player Richard Alexander, despite being under a gagging order to avoid controversy, commented that he hoped the team would not suffer a similar fate in the Olympics (the joy of having a ‘test’ event) and that he hoped nothing like this happened again.
Presumably, he had not been watching the earlier match between Australia and India – where the same did happen Ö well, almost! On this occasion it was the Australians who were late in returning yet they were fortunate that they were in control of the ball as the game restarted.
Retaining possession they shouted frantic instructions to their colleagues who managed to avoid a similar fate to the unfortunate Brits!
* Real Madrid claimed the La Liga in Spain for the 32nd time. Amazingly, this is the ninth time that they have secured the title in an Olympic year.
Jose Mourinho joins a select band of managers to have won a national title in four different countries. He has now finished top of leagues in Spain (Real Madrid), England (Chelsea), Italy (Inter Milan) and Portugal (Porto).
The other managers to have achieved the same feat are the Austrian Ernst Happel and Italian Giovanni Trapattoni – although they both claimed titles with two different clubs in their home countries.
While Real Madrid have three players in the top five La Liga goal scorers for the season, the top spot belongs to the irrepressible Lionel Messi. In notching a hat trick in Barcelona’s 4-1 win over Malaga, Messi surpassed Gerd Mueller’s 39-year record (while with Bayern Munich) for the most goals in a top-flight European season.
A further four goals last weekend saw him take his total to 50 league goals and 14 Champions League – truly remarkable. Real’s hotshot Ronaldo, by comparison, has 45 league goals and 10 in Europe.
* Despite having one of the largest budgets Abu Dhabi is running out of food. In fact, according to reports, they have only days left and have had to impose rations to avoid the inhabitants having to starve.
Fortunately, we’re not talking about the Emirate, rather the yacht participating in the Volvo Ocean Race. Britain’s Olympic double silver medallist and skipper Ian Walker, sporting a black-eye after a bunk bed fell on him, has had to ration the remaining food supplies as his crew race in the sixth leg to Miami.
In an attempt to keep the boat as light as possible during this downwind leg, Walker ordered only 14 days of food to be taken on board. However, faint winds in the Atlantic Ocean mean they would take longer than expected in the 4,800-mile leg from Brazil.
Even other boats that had taken a couple of extra days provision were getting concerned about their supplies, speculating on the crucial time sailing around the Caribbean.
* Roberto Mancini may well be casting an envious eye back to Italy this week, specifically at the Fiorentina match played last weekend.
With his side losing 2-0, La Viola’s coach, Delio Rossi took the decision after 32 minutes to replace Serbian winger Adem Ljajic, who responded with a sarcastic round of applause. Rossi was clearly displeased and launched himself at the startled player, landing several blows.
Unfortunately for Rossi, while club president Della Valle sympathised with his reaction, he claimed it was going too far and promptly dismissed the unrepentant manager. He has also promised to deal with Ljajic and discipline him.
It certainly puts Tevez and Mancini’s spat into perspective!
Following the decision, Fiorentina overturned the deficit and managed to secure a draw that, for now, keeps them in Serie A.
* For those who believe that Mayweather’s skills are diminishing with age, he produced a display to shatter that image as he combined a tight defence on the ropes with pin-point counter-attacking.
Floyd Mayweather improved his perfect record to 43 wins as he defeated an exhausted Miguel Cotto before, predictably, calling on Manny Pacquiao to ‘give the fans the fight they want to see’.
However, for a match that Dubai has offered to host should the two fighters’ camps reach an agreement, he will have to wait until he has finished a 90-day prison sentence for domestic violence.
Those now considering taking up a career in boxing, remember that, if you don’t have the skills of a Mayweather, your face could end up looking like this ...
