Milan give Serie A priority over Spurs clash

Zlatan Ibrahimovic of AC Milan

If Tuesday's Champions League last-16 first leg at home to Tottenham Hotspur is not going well, AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri may look to the players in the stands and think what might have been.

Two league draws in a row for the Serie A leaders were followed by Saturday's 4-0 romp against Parma, with cut-price January recruits Antonio Cassano and Mark van Bommel playing a part in the victory.

The pair, along with former Ajax Amsterdam player Urby Emanuelson, are ineligible to play for the seven-times winners in the Champions League having featured in earlier rounds with Sampdoria and Bayern Munich.

Milan knew this when they signed them but the pursuit of their first Scudetto since 2004 takes precedence over European competition this season.

"We're first in the championship for the first time in years so it's logical to think Milan's objective is the league title," Allegri told reporters.

No joker

Cassano's absence means Allegri is forced to play Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Robinho and Alexandre Pato as his front three, with no 'joker' on the bench to allow the coach to shuffle the pack if goals are not forthcoming.

Midfielders Andrea Pirlo and Massimo Ambrosini miss out due to injury and the combative Van Bommel could at least have patrolled the area in front of the back four even if pinging 60-metre Pirlo-esque passes is not his strong point.

Spurs, preparing for the biggest game in their first Champions League campaign, have problems too with left winger Gareth Bale missing because of a back injury and two more creative influences doubtful.

Bale lit up the San Siro with a hat-trick in the 4-3 defeat at holders Inter Milan in the group stage and was relishing a return although with AC Milan among the clubs casting an eye, his absence may be a blessing in disguise if Spurs want to keep him.

Rafael van der Vaart and Luka Modric are also key pieces in manager Harry Redknapp's jigsaw but missed the 2-1 win at Sunderland in the Premier League on Saturday.

"They're struggling at the moment. Luka's had his appendix operation and has just started jogging. Rafa's got a calf strain," said Redknapp who has Jermaine Jenas suspended.

"Hopefully they won't be too long. It's difficult to know."

Probable teams:

AC Milan: 32-Christian Abbiati; 17-Massimo Oddo, 33-Thiago Silva, 13-Alessandro Nesta, 77-Luca Antonini; 8-Gennaro Gattuso, 16-Mathieu Flamini, 10-Clarence Seedorf; 70-Robinho; 11-Zlatan Ibrahimovic, 7-Alexandre Pato

Tottenham Hotspur: 1-Heurelho Gomes; 22-Vedran Corluka, 20-Michael Dawson, 13-William Gallas, 32-Benoit Assou-Ekotto; 7-Aaron Lennon, 12-Wilson Palacios, 40-Steven Pienaar, 21-Niko Kranjcar; 15-Peter Crouch, 18-Jermain Defoe

Referee: Stephane Lannoy (France)

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Navibank cash in on Cup win

Nerves of steel: Navibank Sai Gon players celebrate after their penalty shootout victory over Becamex Binh Duong. Navibank won 10-9 to book a semi-final berth in the National Cup which will be held on August 10. — VNA/VNS Photo

HA NOI — Navibank Sai Gon defeated Becamex Binh Duong 10-9 after a penalty shootout on Saturday to secure a berth in the National Cup semi-finals.

Coach Mai Duc Chung of Navibank Sai Gon had to play in defence for his team due to a number of injuries and suspensions.

The first half saw Binh Duong dominate on home turf with foreign trio Kubheka Philani, Leandro Da Luz and Joseph Obina all testing Navibank goalie Phan Van Santos. Philani opened the scoring in the 26th minute.

However, Navibank seemed to wake up in the second half and secured an equaliser in the 70th minute through Elokan Endene who stole past the Binh Duong defence to score.

Coach Nunes R. Manuel of Binh Duong made several substitutions to try and grab a late winner and ended the match playing four up front, but to no avail.

In the shootout, Navibank's players all converted there spot kicks successfully while Leandro, who signed for Binh Duong as part of a US$700,000 transfer, missed.

"I'm really satisfied with the result and the way my players did today. We were missing several key members of our team and Binh Duong are very strong. It is a big success which will encourage us for the rest of the season but we still need more time to grow, said Chung.

His team will meet Thanh Hoa in the semi-finals. Thanh Hoa also made it to the final four after beating Ninh Binh 3-1 in a penalty shootout. Their match finished 1-1 after 90 minutes.

In other games, former V-League champions Song lam Nghe An trounced Sai Gon Xuan Thanh 4-2 and are to play Hoang Anh Gia Lai in the next round on August 10.

Hoang Anh Gia Lai earlier won 3-1 against Khatoco Khanh Hoa in the fourth quarter-final match in Nha Trang. — VNS

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Thien notches doubles victory in New Zealand ITF championship

Vietnamese teenager Nguyen Hoang Thien and his partner Jack Schipanski of Australia have won the men's doubles event at the Tennis Central U18 ITF Summer Championship in New Zealand.

Thien and Schipanski defeated Mouslay Bradley-Li Tu of Australia 6-3, 6-0 in around 60 minutes on Friday.

Later in the tournament, Thien lost 3-6, 3-6 to his partner in the men's singles semi-finals.

It is the third time in a year that Thien has triumphed in an U18 tournament. The two previous occasions were in Viet Nam.

His victory was a step towards breaking into the top 200 players in the world, a feat he plans to achieve this year.

Thien was the first Vietnamese player to be invited to play in the Australian Open.

Liem on track to defend Moscow championship crown

International Grand Master (IGM) Le Quang Liem is sitting at the top of the Russian Aeroflot Chess Festival after his first draw on Saturday in Moscow.

Liem won his first four games but could only manage to tie with host rival GM Evgeny Tomashevsky in his fifth round match.

The Vietnamese star is right on track to defending his title after defeating tournament favourite and former world champion Gata Kamsky of the US on Friday.

Liem, who is attempting to become the first Vietnamese super IGM this year, will next face GM Rustam Kasimdzhanov of Uzbekistan who is currently in fourth position.

The tournament will conclude on Saturday with a prize of US$20,000 going to the winner. — VNS

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Spanish magazine spotlights Vietnam cave

Spanish writer Mark Jenkin has extolled the wonderful beauty of Hang
Son Doong (Mountain River Cave) in the world natural heritage site Phong
Nha-Ke Bang National Park in Vietnam’s central Quang Binh province.

In
a reportage entitled “Vietnam Cave” published in the National
Geographic magazine in January 2011, M. Jenkin wrote “There is a jungle
inside Vietnam’s mammoth cavern.”

The passage to Hang Son Doong
is perhaps 300 feet wide, the ceiling nearly 800 feet tall: room enough
for an entire New York City block of 40-storey buildings, he wrote,
adding that “And the end is out of sight.”

M. Jenkin cited his
teammate Jonathan Sims, who was a member of the first expedition to
enter the cave, as saying that his team could explore two and a half
miles of Hang Son Doong before a 200-foot wall of muddy calcite stopped
them. They named it the Great Wall of Vietnam.

Measuring 200m
high and 150m wide, the cave, named Son Doong by Khanh who leads a
British caving team to explore the cave, is believed to be almost twice
the size of the current record holder, Deer Cave in Sarawak Malaysia.

Located in Phong Nha-Ke Bang grotto system, the cave is a limestone region of 2,000 sq.km./.

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Barcelona see record run ended by strugglers Gijon

Barcelona's forward David Villa (L) controls the ball close to Sporting Gijon's forward Nacho Novo (R) during their Spanish first league football match at El Molinon Stadium in Gijon.

Photo: AFP

League leaders Barcelona saw their record winning run come to an end with a shock 1-1 draw at Sporting Gijon and it could have been worse had David Villa not scored a brilliant 79th-minute equalizer to salvage a point.

Barcelona had won 16 consecutive league games to beat the old mark of the great Real Madrid side of 1960/61. But the champions saw their historical sequence broken and the two dropped points are a real boost for title rivals Real.

Barcelona are now eight points ahead of Real in the Spanish first division and Jose Mourinho's side will want to capitalize on the rare slip by winning at Espanyol on Sunday.

Unfashionable Sporting, two points above the relegation zone, took the lead through David Barral after 16th minutes and Barcelona needed a delightful chip from Villa late on to snatch a point.

"We managed to get a draw and we have to be happy with a point," said Villa. "Barcelona never settle for a draw because we always like to win, but it is true that Sporting were superior to us in certain aspects."

It was the first away points dropped all season for Barcelona, who had won all 10 of their away games prior to this game, and coach Pep Guardiola will hope for a better display on Wednesday when his side travel to Arsenal for the first leg of their last 16 Champions League tie.

A fired-up Sporting started the better of the two sides and took a surprise 16th-minute lead as Barral cut inside from the left flank and left Gerard Pique in his wake before firing low into the corner.

Barcelona don't often go behind and found it difficult to respond against hosts who defended deep in numbers.

The champions didn't have a noteworthy effort on goal until just after the half hour mark when Andres Iniesta shot across goal but goalkeeper Ivan Cuellar saved well.

On 53 minutes right back Dani Alves nipped past his man and cut the ball back for Xavi but the midfielder scuffed his shot and Cuellar smothered the effort.

Two minutes later Lionel Messi was foiled by Cuellar at his near post and Alves almost scored a minute later.

Sporting could barely get out of their half but Barcelona did not make the breakthrough until the 79th minute with Villa floating a delightful chip over Cuellar.

Villa did not celebrate the goal out of respect for hometown club Gijon where he began his career before going on to become a world superstar.

Elsewhere the future of Atletico Madrid coach Quique Sanchez Flores is hanging by a thread after a Joaquin brace helped Valencia to a 2-1 comeback win at the Vicente Calderon on Saturday.

Joaquin scored an 86th minute winner to punish Atletico, who have won just once in 2011 under Flores, and Valencia move two points above Villarreal into third place.

Atletico are seven points off the top six, with the pre-season target of Champions League football out of sight, and Flores could face the axe with his old team Valencia, where he played for 10 years and who he managed for two seasons, possibly putting the final nail in his coffin.

"The fans cheer me up because they appreciate things and that's why I will do everything I possibly can to turn things around," said Flores.

Atletico got the perfect start with Jose Antonio Reyes putting them ahead after just three minutes, however, Joaquin leveled for Valencia on 41 minutes.

Diego Forlan missed a crucial penalty on 56 minutes and Joaquin scored a fine winner curling in a right-footed shot from just outside the area with four minutes left.

It propelled Valencia into third and was the perfect preparation for their Champions League last 16 first leg match at home to Schalke on Tuesday.

In other matches, 10-man Racing Santander defeated Sevilla 3-2 in an enthralling match on Saturday to give new coach Marcelino a winning start.

Substitute Manuel Arana scored a stoppage time winner to lift Racing four points above the relegation zone while Sevilla stay six points off the top six.

Racing went two goals up inside the first 19 minutes, however, goalscorer Christian Salas was sent off on 39 minutes for violent conduct and Sevilla leveled at 2-2 before Arana's sensational winner.

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Derby hero Rooney helps Man United to sink City

Manchester United's Wayne Rooney (left) celebrates with teammate Nani.

Photo: AFP

Sir Alex Ferguson described Wayne Rooney's winning goal in the Manchester derby as the best he had ever seen, but the United manager still wants more from his star striker.

Rooney, so disappointing for much of this season, scored for just the fifth time in the league as his stunning overhead kick from Nani’s cross secured a crucial 2-1 victory over Manchester City at Old Trafford on Saturday.

"I haven't seen anything like it, that's for sure," Ferguson said. "It reminded me of Denis Law although whether Denis ever put them in with such ferocity, I'm not so sure.

"I can't ever remember a better goal at Old Trafford. There was a Rooney volley against Newcastle I remember a few years ago with that kind of ferocity and we have had some fantastic goals here."

However, Ferguson, whose side are four points ahead of second-placed Arsenal, still believes he should be getting more from Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov, currently the Premier League's leading goalscorer but left out of the starting line-up for the derby.

"I hope that is Wayne back to his best," said Ferguson. "I have to say, what I need to get out of Wayne and Berbatov are performances away from home that are as good as they are at home.

"That is the quandary. With the quality those two have, we should be dictating games away from home. When they do that, it will make a hell of a difference."

Nani had given United the lead, against the run of play, late in the first half with a very well-taken effort of his own - although it was nothing in comparison to Rooney's 78th minute winner.

"The thing is Nani's goal will be completely forgotten!" added Ferguson.

"That was a fantastic goal - an unbelievable touch, he took it round the defender, but nobody in their right mind would even talk about that. All the talk will be about that winning goal. Unbelievable."

City enjoyed control of large periods of the game and, after a lucky second half equalizer when Edin Dzeko's shot deflected off the back of David Silva, looked potential winners.

Defeat, in contrast, leaves City eight points behind United, who have a game in hand, and Rooney had no doubts as to where the winning goal belonged in the context of his career.

"Yes, I think that's the best goal of my life. I scored an overhead kick at school but that's my first since I started playing professionally," he said.

"I think it's pure instinct. You don't have time to think about what you're going to do. Nine times out of ten it hits the bar or goes wide but thankfully this one hit the top corner.

"To score that goal, and see the joy on the faces of the crowd, the manager, the players ... it's fantastic.

"To be honest, I was disappointed with my overall performance but I spoke with a few lads and they told me to stay up in the area and I'd get my chance.

"I've played in derbies before so I know it's a massive game for the whole city, especially with City being so close.

"And after dropping three points last week it was vital we won and kept the gap between us and City."

City manager Roberto Mancini sounded resigned to handing United the title although he paid tribute to the performance of his losing team.

"We were beaten by a moment of pure genius," he said. "Only a fantastic goal could decide this game. A fair result would have been a draw.

"We played well, we played as a team and we played strong here which is not easy. But United have a strong mentality and even when they don't deserve to win a game they believe they do.

"Our mentality will change when we win a title. But eight points is too much at the moment."

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Quang Liem leads Aeroflot Open chess tournament

Grandmaster Le Quang Liem

Vietnamese grandmaster Le Quang Liem, 20, made excellent performances at the international elite chess tournament Aeroflot Open 2011 in Russia for gaining complete victories at four opening rounds.

Remarkably, the defending champion Liem with Elo rating of 2,664 beat the number 1 seed and world blitz chess champion, Gata Kamsky of the US at the fourth round on Friday.

He had beaten GM Luka Lenic of Slovenia, Deshun Xiu of China, and GM Andrey Zhigalko of Belarus in the three first rounds.

Liem is now the solo leader on the table with four points and is scheduled to meet GM Evgeny Tomashevsky of Russia in the fifth round today. He is followed by two Russian grandmasters Mikhail Kobalia and Evgeny Tomashevsky, each with 3.5 points after four rounds.

The Aeroflot Open 2011 is organized in Moscow from February 7 – 18. This year, it is open to chess players of most varied qualification, from unrated to having a very high rating and separated in A, B, and C categories.

The festival has the prize fund amounting to EUR160,000 (US$217,000).

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