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Mosha arejeshwa Yanga kwa kishindo
• Wanachama wamchomoa nyumbani kwake

na Mwandishi wetu


UNAWEZA usiamini, lakini ndio ukweli wenyewe kwamba kundi la wanachama wa klabu ya Yanga, jana waliamua kukata mzizi wa fitna kwa kumwendea Makamu Mwenyekiti wa klabu hiyo, Davis Mosha, na kumsihi abatilishe uamuzi wake wa kujiuzulu kwenye nafasi hiyo.
Walichofanya wanachama wa matawi yapatayo 11 kutoka mkoa wa Dar es Salaam na Pwani, ni kufunga msafara wa Coaster nne, Hiace mbili, bajaji na magari binafsi, na kuvamia nyumbani kwa Mosha maeneo ya Mikocheni kwa lengo moja la kumsihi arejee madarakani kwa hoja ya maslahi ya klabu hiyo kwa sababu ndiye mwenye uwezo wa kuiongoza Yanga.
Wakiwa katika msururu huo, wanachama hao walipofika kwa Mosha na kueleza kilichowapeleka, Mosha alionekana kuwa mgumu kwa hoja kuwa alijiuzulu kutokana na hali halisi iliyoko Yanga hasa baada ya kushauriana na familia yake.
Baada ya mazungumzo marefu, wanachama hao walimuomba aambatane na wao hadi makao makuu ya klabu hiyo, makutano ya mitaa ya Twiga na Jangwani, Kariakoo, jijini Dar es Salaam kwa majadiliano zaidi kwa maslahi ya Yanga.
Wakizungumza kwa nyakati tofauti, wanachama hao walisema wameona Yanga inayumba baada ya kujiuzulu kwake, hivyo hana budi kurejea ili kuinusuru klabu hiyo.
Wakienda mbali zaidi, wanachama hao walidai kuwa licha ya mwenyekiti wao Lloyd Nchunga kudai hawezi kufanya kazi pamoja na Mosha, uchunguzi wao umebaini kuwa mwenyekiti ndiye chanzo cha msigano baina yao kwa sababu amekuwa akifumbia macho vitendo vya kihuni anavyofanyiwa Mosha.
"Sisi tuko nyuma yako na ndiyo maana tulikupa kura nyingi kuliko kiongozi yeyote katika uchaguzi, hivyo tunakuamini na tunakuomba urejee kukataa kwako kutafanya Yanga ikose asilimia 85 ya wanachama ambao ndio tumekuchagua," alisema mmoja ya wanachama Saidi Bakari (0035).
Kwa upande wake Mosha alisema kuwa aliamua kujiuzulu kutokana na sababu tofauti ikiwamo kutishiwa maisha, ukiukwaji wa katiba, sambamba na kufanyiwa fujo na baadhi ya wanachama hali ambayo aliona inamshushia hadhi yake aliyonayo katika jamii.
"Nimewasikia na nitaendelea kuwa pamoja nanyi kwani mimi ni mwanachama halali lakini nilitoka baada ya kuona hali si nzuri ili kulinda heshima yangu, hata hivyo mnatakiwa mkazungumze na Kamati ya Utendaji iitishe Mkutano Mkuu," alisema Mosha.
Mosha aliongeza kuwa kuna baadhi ya viongozi ambao wameingia Yanga kwa ajili ya kujipatia maslahi yao na wamekuwa wakiwatuma baadhi ya watu kumletea vurugu, lakini yeye amekwenda Yanga kwa ajili ya kuisaidia na si kuvuna.
"Mimi nimeingia Yanga kwa ajili ya kuisaidia wala si kuvuna, uongozi si elimu bali kipaji na mimi kipaji hicho ninacho, Yanga si sehemu yangu ya kwanza kuongoza lakini nimekuwa nikisikitishwa na mwenendo wa baadhi ya viongozi wenzangu dhidi yangu," alisema.
Baada ya kutoa dukuduku lake hilo Mosha aliongozana na msafara wa wanachama hao mpaka makao makuu ya klabu hiyo ambako baada ya kusikiliza tena maombi ya wanachama, aliamua kuendelea kuingoza Yanga.
 
Dewji ataka Phiri apigwe ‘stop' Simba


na Mwandishi wetu


MWANACHAMA maarufu wa Simba, Azim Dewji, ameutaka uongozi wa klabu hiyo kutouvumilia utovu wa nidhamu unaofanywa na Kocha Mkuu, Mzambia Patrick Phiri, na badala yake amependekeza asimamishwe.
Dewji, mfadhili wa zamani wa Simba, aliyeifikisha fainali za Kombe la CAF barani Afrika mwaka 1993, aliyasema hayo jijini Dar es Salaam jana, alipokuwa anazungumzia uwezekano wa klabu yake kuitoa TP Mazembe ya Jamhuri ya Kidemokrasia ya Kongo (DRC), katika michuano ya Ligi ya Mabingwa Afrika mwaka huu.
Klabu hizo zinakutana katika raundi ya kwanza ya Ligi ya Mabingwa, ambako katika mchezo wa kwanza, Simba iliteleza kwa kufungwa mabao 3-1, lakini sasa ikijiandaa kujibu mapigo katika mchezo wa marudiano mwishoni mwa wiki hii.
"Nilikuwa Lubumbushi kuiongezea nguvu timu, tumefungwa, lakini Mazembe wanafungika. Hata hivyo kwa staili hii ya kocha Phiri (Patrick) mtafanyaje vizuri? Kule niliona mapungufu kadhaa kama ilivyokuwa kwa viongozi, wachezaji na Wanasimba wengine. Kama kocha angeendelea na programu yake kwa wakati, timu ingekuwa imeshakaa sawa, lakini angalia, kocha bado yuko kwao Zambia wakati timu iko vitani, tena na wazoefu kama Mazembe, inashangaza sana!" alisema.
Dewji aliongeza kuwa kwa kocha anayeipenda kazi yake, kamwe asingethubutu kuitelekeza timu kwa karibu wiki moja, katika kipindi cha maandalizi ya mchezo wa marudiano.
"Nakuambia, kwa kocha anayeipenda kazi yake, siku mbili alizopewa zingemtosha na kurejea, lakini amejiongezea siku hadi wiki. Katika suala la nidhamu, wachezaji wajifunze nini kutoka kwake? Naushauri uongozi kwamba ili kuweka nidhamu ndani ya klabu, akirejea asimamishwe hadi baada ya mechi na Mazembe. Angekuwa na uchungu angekuwa na timu kuipika zaidi na zaidi, lakini hajaonyesha kujali zaidi ya kuwapiga danadana viongozi," alisisitiza Dewji.
Simba, baada ya kuteleza wiki iliyopita huko DRC, inapaswa kuibuka na ushindi wa mabao 2-0 ili iendeleze rekodi ya kuwavua ubingwa wafalme wa soka Afrika, kama ilivyokuwa kwa Zamalek ya Misri mwaka 2003.
 
Zanzibar Heroes yachangiwa milioni 93/-


na Mwandishi wetu, Zanzibar


RAIS wa Serikali ya Mapinduzi ya Zanzibar (SMZ), Dk. Ali Mohammed Shein juzi usiku aliwaongoza wadau mbalimbali kukusanya jumla ya sh 67,981,000 na dola za Kimarekani 17,900 sawa na zaidi sh 93,041,000 za Kitanzania katika hafla maalum ya chakula cha usiku kuichangia timu ya Taifa ya Zanzibar ‘Zanzibar Heroes' kwenye hoteli ya Zanzibar Beach Resort visiwani hapa.
Katika hafla hiyo iliyoandaliwa na Kampuni ya Future Century Ltd, kampuni, taasisi na wadau mbalimbali walijitokeza katika kuchangua mfuko huo wa mashujaa wa soka Zanzibar na kufanikisha kupatikana kwa fedha hizo ili kufanikisha maendeleo ya soka la Zanzibar ambalo hivi karibuni limeonekana kutosonga mbele.
Waliojitokeza kuchangia katika hafla hiyo ni pamoja na Klabu ya Azam FC, Carl Salisbury, Shirika la Bandari Zanzibar (ZPC), Benki ya Watu wa Zanzibar, Abubakar Bakhresa aliyenunua jezi iliyosainiwa na Dk. Shein, Multi Choice, Zanzibar Beach Resort na mdau Ahmada Yahya Wakili.
Mbali ya jezi, vitu vingine vilivyonadiwa ni pamoja na picha mbili za Rais Dk. Shein na kufanya jumla ya fedha zilizopatikana usiku huo kufikia zaidi ya sh sh 93,041,000.
 
Free Media Queens yaiadhibu Habari Corporations


na Mwandishi wetu


TIMU ya netiboli ya Free Media Queens jana iliibuka kidedea baada ya kuizamisha New Habari kwa magoli 26-8 katika mchezo wa kuwania kombe la Shirika la Hifadhi ya Jamii (NSSF) uliochezwa viwanja ya Sigara (TCC), Chang'ombe jijini Dar es Salaam.
Mchezo huo uliokuwa mkali huku timu zote zikionekana kucheza kwa uwezo mkubwa na kuvuta mamia ya mashabiki waliokuwa wakifuatilia mchezo huo, Free Media ikiongozwa wakali wake Efrasia Massawe (GS), na Marieta Mkoka (GA), hadi nusu walikuwa mbele kwa magoli 11-5.
Nusu ya pili, baada ya New Habari wakiona maji yanazidi unga, walianza kutupa lawama kwa waamuzi kwamba walikuwa wakiibeba Free Media hatua iliyowalazimu kumtoa nje ya uwanja mchezaji wao mmoja.
Licha ya New Habari kujitutumua kutaka kupunguza idadi ya mabao, walikutana na ngome ngumu ya Free Media iliyokuwa chini ya Hellen Ngoromera (WD), Irene Mark (WA), Betty Kangonga (GD), na Mariana Mathias (GK).
Hadi mchezo unamalizika timu ya New Habari Cooperation haikufua dafu kwa Free media Queens ambao walikuwa wakiongoza kwa magoli 15-3.
Free Media Queens inatarajia kukutana tena Mwananchi Communications Aprili 2 ambapo itakuwa ni mechi ya nane kwenye kundi B.
Timu itakayoshinda kati ya hizo itatinga nusu fainali ya mashindano hayo ambayo hufanyika kila mwaka na yameandaliwa na Mfuko wa Hifadhi ya Jamii (NSSF).
 
Kimondo aukosa mkanda wa WBC


na Mwandishi wetu, Arusha


BONDIA Pascal Ndomba ‘Kimondo', juzi alichemsha kwa Isa Akberbayev wa Kazakhstan baada ya kuchapwa kwa TKO raundi ya pili katika pambano lililopangwa kuwa la raundi 12.
Pambano hilo la uzani wa kati lilikuwa la kuwania ubingwa wa Dunia wa WBC, lilipigwa katika ukumbi wa DIVS, Ekaterinburg, nchini Russia.
Pambano hilo lilichezeshwa na mwamuzi Viktor Panin alilazimika kumaliza pambano katika dakika ya 2:58 ya raundi ya pili baada ya kuona Kimondo hataweza kuendelea na pambano hilo ambalo majaji walikuwa Roman Petrov, Semen Stakheev na Floris Rakhmatullin.
Wakati huo huo, bondia mkongwe hapa nchini, Joseph Marwa ‘Angry Lion' anatarajiwa kupanda ulingoni Mei 15 kuzipiga na Alphonce Mchumiatumbo, pambano la uzani wa juu.
Kwa mujibu wa mratibu wa pambano hilo Agar Peter ambaye ni makamu Rais wa Shirikisho la masumbwi nchini (PST), pambano hilo litafanyika kwenye ukumbi wa DDC Keko, jijini Dar es Salaam.
Alisema pambano hilo limeandaliwa na Kampuni ya Forodha, iliyo chini ya Abiola Enterprises ya jijini Dar es Salaam na mazungumzo na mabondia watakaocheza mapambano ya utangulizi yanaendelea.
 
Ligi Arusha yamalizika, hakuna bingwa


na Mwandishi wetu, Arusha


FAINALI za soka za kusaka bingwa wa mkoa wa Arusha kwa ligi ya taifa ngazi ya mkoa zimemalizika lakini kukiwa bado bingwa wa fainali hizo hajatangazwa kutokana na utata uliojitokeza katika ligi hiyo.
Hadi fainali hizo zikimalizika Machi 23, timu za Flamingo na Polisi zilifungana pointi huku Flamingo ikiwa na mabao 8 ya kufunga na matatu ya kufungwa na Polisi ikiwa na mabao 6 ya kufunga na haijafungwa bao hata moja na mmoja wa viongozi wa chama cha soka Mkoa wa Arusha (ARFA), Geradi Munisi akinukuliwa na chombo cha habari ambacho si Tanzania Daima hapa nchini kwa mtazamo wake akieleza kwamba polisi ndio mabingwa.
Mara baada ya tamko hilo la Munisi uongozi wa timu ya Flamingo ulikuja juu na kudai kuwa Polisi hawezi kutangazwa bingwa kwa kuwa tayari kuna rufaa mbili zipo kwa viongozi wa chama hicho mkoa ambapo moja ni ya timu ya Flamingo dhidi ya polisi ambayo imepinga timu hiyo kuchezesha wachezaji wawili Hamisi Waziri na Abdalah Chimbonda bila kufuata taratibu za usajili.
Aidha rufaa nyingine ni ya chama cha soka wilaya ya Monduli dhidi ya timu hiyo ya polisi pia ikipinga wachezaji hao wawili Abdalah na Hamisi kuchezeshwa na bila kufauta taratibu kwa kuwa wachezaji hao walichezea timu ya jeshi ya TMA ya Monduli katika ligi hiyo ya mkoa na hawajahamishwa ili kucheza timu hiyo ya polisi.
Kufuatia hali hiyo uongozi wa ARFA ambao umekuwa ukikumbwa na migogoro ya ubingwa kila mwaka na ukituhumiwa kuandaa bingwa wa mkoa kila mwaka na kutofuata taratibu sahihi za kumpata bingwa huyo umekaa kimya bila kutoa taarifa yoyote kuhusiana na utata huo na hata walipopigiwa simu kutaka ufafanuzi wamekuwa wakikata simu hizo bila kupokea.
Katibu wa Flamingo, Shaban Juma akizungumza na Tanzania Daima alisema huu ni mwaka wa pili kwa timu hiyo kufanyiwa hujuma na chama cha soka mkoa wa Arusha katika harakati zake za kutwaa ubingwa na hivyo mwaka huu wameamua kutokaa kimya na kuamua kupambania haki yao mahala popote pale.
Juma alisema uongozi wa mkoa tangu ligi inaendelea walikuwa wakiindaa timu ya polisi iweze kunyakua ubingwa na ndio maana timu hiyo ilicheza ligi bila kufuata taratibu mbalimbali za usajili ikitumia wachezaji na kusajili kila siku hadi siku mbili kabla ya ligi kumalizika ikamsajili Abdalah Chimbonda na chama hicho kuruhusu acheze.
Aidha timu hiyo imemtumia pia mchezaji Kasiani Ponela ambaye alicheza fainali za ligi daraja la kwanza iliyomalizika hivi karibuni jijini Tanga na timu nne kupanda ligi kuu akiwa na timu ya Morani ya Manyara lakini chama hicho kiliruhusu pia aichezee timu ya Polisi katika fainali za ligi ya taifa ngazi ya mkoa bila kufuata taratibu na kanuni za ligi.



 
Wanachama Wamrudisha Mosha Send to a friend Sunday, 27 March 2011 21:25

Clara Alphonce
WANACHAMA wa matawi 11 kutoka matawi mbali mbali ya klabu ya Yanga jana yamemrudisha madarakani Makamu mwenyekiti wa klabu hiyo Davis Mosha baada ya mwezi uliopita Mosha kuandika barua ya kujiuzulu wadhifa wake.

Mosha hivi karibuni aliiandikia barua kamati ya Utendaji ya Yanga kuwajulisha nia yake ya kujiuzulu nafasi yake kwa madai kuwa amekuwa akitishiwa kuuawa na baadhi ya wanachama wa klabu hiyo na kudhalilishwa katika vyombo vya habari.

Wanachama hao ambao wamemrudisha Mosha madarakani wakiongozwa na wazee wa Yanga, walianza maandamano muda wa saa tano asubuhi wakitokea Rose Garden mpaka nyumbani kwake Mikochezi wakimshinikiza kurudi madarakani.

Mmoja wa wanachama hao Said Bakari kutoka tawi la Uhuru kadi namba 003544 alisema kuwa wameamua kufanya hivyo kutokana na kutoridhishwa na kujiuzulu kwa kiongozi wao huyo.

Alisema wao wanachama ndio wana uwezo wa kumuondoa kiongozi huyo na si mtu mwingine hivyo kwa kuwa wao ndio walimchagua kuwa kiongozi wao katika uchaguzi mkuu wa klabu hiyo uliyofanyika mwaka jana walijua ndio anaweza kuwaongoza kwa sababu ni mpiganaji.

''Sisi tunamtaka Mosha ndio kiongozi wetu tuliomchagua wenyewe tena kwa kura nyingi na leo (Jana) tumekuja kumchukua na tunamrudisha madarakani kwa kumpeleka klabuni ili akatolee tamko huko,'' alisema Bakari.

Kwa upande wake Mosha alisema kuwa aliamua kuandika barua ya kujiuzulu baada ya kuona anatishiwa maisha hivyo hivi sasa amekubali kurudi madarakani kwa sababu aligombea uongozi Yanga ili aisaidie Yanga na sio Yanga imsaidie.

Wakati huo huo Juma Mtanda anaripoti kutoka Morogoro kuwa Ruvu Shooting imeichapa mabao 3-2 JKT Ruvu katika mchezo wa Ligi Kuu Tanzania Bara uliochezwa kwenye Uwanja wa Jamhuri mjini Morogoro.
 
Washambuliaji Stars waongoza kukosa mabao Send to a friend Sunday, 27 March 2011 21:24
Sosthenes Nyoni
PAMOJA na ushindi wa mabao 2-1 ilioupata timu ya taifa, Taifa Stars dhidi ya Jamhuri ya Afrika ya Kati, safu yake ya ushambuliaji imeweka rekodi ya kupoteza nafasi nyingi za kufunga.

Katika mchezo huo wa kusaka tiketi ya kucheza fainali za Mataifa ya Afrika 2012, washambuliaji wa Stars walipoteza nafasi nyingi za kufunga za wazi kutokana na uzembe, kukosa umakini.

Kati ya nafasi zaidi ya kumi zilizopatikana kwa Tanzania iliweza kutumia nafasi mbili, huku wapinzani wao walifanikiwa kutegeneza nafasi tatu na kuitumia moja kupata bao la kuongoza.

Mshambuliaji Athuman Machupa alipoteza nafasi nne za kumaliza mchezo huo akifuatiwa na Mrisho Ngasa aliyeshindwa kufumania nyavu mara tatu sawa na Nurdin Bakari, huku Mbwana Samata akikosa nafasi moja kabla ya kujirekebisha na kufunga bao.

Katika mchezo huo Taifa Stars ilifanikiwa kutegeneza kona nane na kuitumia moja kupata bao la ushindi lililofungwa na Samata dakika ya 93, huku Afrika ya Kati ikipata kona tatu tu.

Stars katika mchezo huo ilipiga mashuti mara tano goli yaliyodakwa na kipa na mengine kupaa, lakini wapinzani wao walipiga mashuti matatu na moja lilizaa goli la kuongoza kwa vinara hao wa Kundi D.

Aidha Taifa Stars ilipiga mashuti nje la lango mara tisa wakati Afrika ya Kati ilipiga mashuti nje ya lango nne huku kila upande ukipata kadi moja ya njano na hakukuwa na kadi nyekundu.
 
Serikali yajitosa kurejesha Five Stars Send to a friend Sunday, 27 March 2011 21:23

Imani Makongoro
SERIKALI imesema itajitolea kwa kadri iwezekanavyo ili kusaidia kupatikana kwa wanamuziki wengine watakaounda kundi la taarabu la Five Stars Modern Taarab baada ya kuwapoteza nyota wake 13 katika ajali iliyotokea mkoani Morogoro.
Akizungumza katika dua ya kuwaombea wanamuziki hao katika hoteli ya Starlight, Naibu Waziri wa Habari, Vijana, Utamaduni na Michezo Dk Fenella Mukangara alisema atashirikiana na wadau kuhakikisha wanapatikana wasanii wengine pamoja na vyombo kwa kundi hilo.

Dk Mukangara alisema ili kulifanikisha hilo, serikali na viongozi wa kundi hilo watashirikiana bega kwa bega na kutoa wito kwa vijana kutokata tamaa baada ya vijana wenzao kupoteza maisha katika ajali hiyo na kuwataka kujipanga upya kwa ajili ya kulirudisha kundi hilo.

Alisema serikali katika jitihada za kufanikisha azma hiyo watawasiliana na Shirika la Utangazaji Tanzania (TBC) ili kuzipiga nyimbo za kundi hilo na kusaidia kuuza kazi zilizofanywa na kundi hilo.

Waziri huyo alisema serikali itaendelea kuwapa ushirikiano kwa muda wote viongozi na familia za marehemu waliokumbwa na msiba huo. Mkuu wa Wilaya ya Mkuranga, Henry Clemence alitoa wito kwa wasanii kutunga tungo za kupigia kelele madereva wazembe kwa sababu ajali ndiyo mojawapo ya matukio yanayomaliza Watanzania wengi.

Clemence ambaye pia ni Mwenyeji wa Wanachama wa Taasisi ya Wasanii Tanzania (Shiwata), wilayani Mkuranga alisema pengo la wanamuziki hao halitozibika.

Mwenyekiti wa Shiwata, Taalib Kassim alitoa shukrani kwa viongozi wa serikali kwa kuonyesha kuwajali wasanii ambako asilimia kubwa ya viongozi wa serikali kupitia wizara walihudhuria katika dua ya kuwaombea marehemu hao walifariki katika ajali hiyo.

Kassim alisema Shiwata inawashukuru viongozi wa serikali kwa kuonyesha kuguswa na tukio hilo ambalo limetingisha taifa. Viongozi waliohudhuria katika dua hiyo ni pamoja na Mkurugenzi wa Utamaduni, Profesa Hermas Mwansoko, Msaidizi wake, Anjela Ngowi, Katibu Mtendaji wa Baraza la Sanaa la Taifa (Basata ), Ghonche Materego na wadau mbalimbali wa sanaa nchini.
 
Ujerumani, England zatesa Ulaya Send to a friend Sunday, 27 March 2011 21:21

LONDON, England
UJERUMANI imeendelea kujiweka vizuri kwenye kampeni zake za kufuzu kwa fainali za Mataifa ya Ulaya 2012, kwa ushindi wake mnono wa mabao 4-0 dhidi ya Kazakhstan, huku England ikirudi kileleni mwa kundi kwa ushindi wa 2-0 dhidi ya Wales.

Washambuliaji Miroslav Klose na Thomas Mueller kila moja alifunga mabao mawili kwa Ujerumani na kusafisha njia ya kufuzu kwa mara ya tano mfululizo Euro 2012, Nao Frank Lampard na Darren Bent aliifungia England mabao pekee na kusahau sare yao waliopata mwaka jana dhidi ya Montenegro.

Kwingineko katika Kundi F, Croatia waliruhusu bao dakika za mwishoni na kulala 1-0 dhidi ya Georgia, nao mabingwa wa zamani wa Ulaya, Ugiriki walipata bao dakika za mwishoni na kuilaza Malta 1-0.

Hispania na Uholanzi zimeendeleza ubabe wao kwenye kampeni za kufuzu kwa Euro 2012 hapo Ijumaa, Ujerumani inaongoza Kundi A kwa pointi 15, nane zaidi kwa Ubelgiji iliyoshinda 2-0 dhidi ya Austria pale Ijumaa. Kazakhstan imepoteza mechi tano na haijafunga bao lolote.

Mshambuliaji Edin Dzeko alifunga bao zikiwa zimebaki dakika ya saba na kuipa ushindi Bosnia wa 2-1 dhidi ya Romania inayoshika nafasi ya pili wakiwa nyuma kwa pointi tano kwa vinara Ufaransa katika Kundi D. Bosnia bado ipo nafasi ya nne baada ya Albania kuifunga Belarus 1-0.
 
Botswana yafuzu, Kenya, Uganda, Sauzi, Senegal safi Send to a friend Sunday, 27 March 2011 21:21

JO'BURG, Afrika Kusini
BOTSWANA imefuzu kwa mara ya kwanza kucheza fainali za Mataifa ya Afrika huku vigogo Afrika Kusini na Senegal nazo zimejiweka kwenye mazingira mazuri ya kuungana naye.

Jerome Ramatlhakwane, ambaye hana namba ya kudumu kwenye kikosi chake cha Vasco da Gama inayoshiriki Ligi Kuuu ya Afrika Kusini, alifunga bao la mapema mwanzoni mwa kipindi cha pili na kuipa Botswana ushindi mzuri wa bao1-0 dhidi ya Chad.

Pamoja na Pundamilia hao wanaotoka nchi yenye utajiri wa almasi na ikiwa na watu milioni mbili wanaweza kupoteza kiti cha uongozi wa Kundi K, lakini wamejihakikishia kufuzu kati ya timu mbili za juu na kuelekea Gabon na Equatorial Guinea.

Mshambuliaji Ramatlhakwane alifunga bao hilo dakika ya 50, nyota huyo amefunga mabao matano kati ya saba yaliyowafanya kufikisha pointi16 katika mechi sita waliwazocheza, pamoja na ule wa ushindi wa nyumbani na ugenini dhidi ya mabingwa wa Afrika wa mwaka 2004, Tunisia.

Mabao yote aliyoyafunga yaliamua mechi na shujaa mwingine ni kocha Stanley Tshosane, ambaye amekuwa na mafanikio makubwa tangu alipotua Botswana.

Botswana haijawa kufuzu kwa fainali za Mataifa ya Afrika tangu yalipoanzishwa mwaka 1957.

Mchezaji Moses Chavula alifunga bao kwa mpira wa adhabu dakika ya 18 na kuipa ushindi Malawi 1-0 nyumbani dhidi ya Togo na sasa wanasubili mchezo wao dhidi ya Tunisia jijini Blantyre mechi itakayoamua nani ataungana na Botswana.

Uzuni ilibadilika kuwa furaha dakika za mwishoni wakati Katlego Mphela na Demba Ba walipofunga mabao ya ushindi na kuzipa pointi tatu muhimu kwa Afrika Kusini na Senegal na kuwaweka matatani mabingwa wa zamani Misri na Cameroon.

Misri iliyotwaa ubingwa wa Afrika mara tatu mfululizo na kuweka rekodi ya kutwaa taji hilo mara saba, walitegeneza nafasi nyingi za kufunga kabla ya Mphela kufunga bao la ushindi zikiwa zimebaki dakika tatu mpira kumalizika na kuamsha shangwe jijini Johannesburg.

Senegal iliyofunga mabao 11, katika mechi mbili zilizopita, lakini walijikuta kwenye wakati mgumu mbele ya Cameroon na kuwalazimu wasubili hadi dakika ya 92, wakati mshambuliaji wa West Ham, Ba alipoamsha cheleko jijini Dakar.

Matokeo hayo yanaifanya Misri kuwa nyuma kwa pointi sita kwa Afrika Kusini katika Kundi G, nao mabingwa mara nne Cameroon wamebaki nyuma kwa pointi tano kwa vinara Senegal katika Kundi E zikiwa zimebaki mechi tatu kumalizika kwa mzunguko huo.

Uganda, ambayo haijafuzu kwa fainali za Afrika tangu ilipotinga fainali na kukosa ubingwa mbele ya Ghana miaka 33 iliyopita, inaonekana ipo kwenye kiwango chini ya kocha wao Mscotland, Bobby Williamson na shujaa wao David Obua kutoka kwa Edinburgh club Hearts.

Mshambuliaji huyo mrefu alifunga bao katika kipindi cha kwanza nchini Guinea Bissau na kuipa Uganda ushindi wa bao 1-0 na kuendelea kuongoza kwa pointi saba, tatu zaidi ya Kenya, na mechi zake mbili zilizobakia kati ya tatu atacheza jijini Kampala.

Kenya iliamka na kuichapa Angola 2-1 jijini Nairobi japokuwa mfungaji wa bao la ushindi kiungo wa Inter Milan, Macdonald Mariga alipokea kadi mbili za njano hivyo hatazikosa mechi ya marudiano hapo mwezi Juni.

Miamba mingine ya Afrika Mashariki, Tanzania walitumia vizuri uwanja wake wa nyumbani shukrani kwa bao la kichwa la Mbwana Samata akiunganisha kona dakika za majeruhi kuipa Taifa Stars ushindi wa mabao 2-1dhidi ya Jamhuri ya Afrika ya Kati katika Kundi D.
 
José Mourinho: I was 'hours away' from being England manager in 2007

• Mourinho claims he was offered job after Steve McClaren's exit
• Real Madrid coach says late change of heart stopped him




  • Press Association
  • guardian.co.uk, Monday 28 March 2011 10.15 BST <li class="history">Article history José Mourinho has claimed he was offered the England job before it was given to Fabio Capello. Photograph: Felix Ordonez/Reuters José Mourinho has revealed he came within "hours" of taking the England manager's job before the appointment of Fabio Capello.
    The Real Madrid coach said he would have been Steve McClaren's successor in 2007 had it not been for a last-minute change of heart. Mourinho, who had left Chelsea two months before McClaren was sacked by England, decided late in the day he wanted to remain in club management.
    The Portuguese said in an interview with the French sports daily L'Equipe: "I was hours away &#8211; I almost signed up for the England national team. But at the last minute I began thinking, 'I am going to coach a national side, there will be one match a month and the rest of the time I will be in my office or overseeing matches.'
    "And then to have to wait until the summer to compete in a European Championship or a World Cup? No, it wasn't for me. So at the last moment I pulled back, preferring to wait for the right job to come along, a good club, a challenge that could motivate me. That was Inter."
    Mourinho was out of the game for nine months before being appointed Internazionale coach in June 2008, leaving them for Madrid last summer.
    "When I left Chelsea, the first month was fantastic. I went to Africa, to Japan, I did tons of things I had not been able to do," he added. "The second month was also good, but from the third onwards it was horrible, just awful."
    Mourinho admitted he also came close to taking the Paris Saint-Germain job after leaving Stamford Bridge, but decided against it as he was not convinced by Ligue 1's quality.
    Asked why he did not take the PSG post, he said: "I do not know. Perhaps because of the feeling that England, Spain or Italy are more powerful leagues, and we must make the most of the best years of our career by working at the highest level."

 
England can survive without the talents of Wayne Rooney &#8211; for now

&#8226; Manchester United striker will miss Switzerland game
&#8226; Wales are yet to register a point in Group G





Euro 2012 Qual Group G

Wales 0
England 2
  • Lampard (pen) 7,
  • Bent 15


  • Kevin McCarra at Millennium Stadium
  • The Guardian, Monday 28 March 2011 <li class="history">Article history Darren Bent celebrates his third goal in as many games for England in the 2-0 win over Wales. Photograph: Carl Recine/Action Images Wales caused few problems but Wayne Rooney is often ready to pose difficulties for himself. He can churn with frustration even when his team is coasting to victory as England were at the Millennium Stadium. Fabio Capello might remember the afternoon for the booking that will see the forward suspended from the next Euro 2012 qualifier, against Switzerland at Wembley in June. Unruliness in Cardiff undermined any notion that Rooney is fully at ease after all the disruption of the past year or so.
    It was remiss of Capello not to remind him of the caution he was carrying into the fixture on Saturday but the evidence that the player would have paid attention is thin. The Portuguese referee, Olegário Benquerenca, had been lenient shortly before a yellow card became unavoidable for Rooney's challenge on Joe Ledley. Considering how sturdy he appears, it seems all the more incongruous that there should be such a volatility of mood.
    Rooney is readily distracted or annoyed. At the weekend Capello fielded him a little towards the left in a three-man attack. With Ashley Cole advancing from the full-back position there was no suggestion that Rooney was being cast as a winger. Indeed, as a right-footer, the notion was that he would naturally come into the middle and link with Darren Bent. As in the past this sort of plan did not work.
    For a man of such extensive talent, Rooney is less flexible than expected. If, for instance, he is cast as a target man, the frustrations sweep over him because he cannot roam and has to deal with the close attentions of a centre-half. More generally it has been quite some time since he was at ease with England.
    In his last 15 appearances for his country he has now scored once, although that goal was valuable since it gave the team the lead in the 3-1 win over Switzerland six months ago. The day will come when Capello needs the full force of Rooney's talents but for the time being it is easy enough to be patient. Since February the goals have started to come for him with Manchester United at least.
    There is no tone of crisis while his club and England are each at the head of the table in their respective competitions. Even the caution at the weekend was a source of fun for the humorist who tweeted in the name of his 16&#8209;month&#8209;old son Kai: "Daddy's been booked. He said that he would be. Now he can come on our summer holiday."
    If sixth place in the Fifa rankings looks too high for England, the position of 116th may well be appropriate for Wales. Aaron Ramsey, 20, was appointed captain by Gary Speed but it is little more than a year since the Arsenal player broke tibia and fibula in his right leg. It was natural that the Wales manager should attempt to signal a new start but too much was being required too soon of the midfielder.
    At the heart of the game Jack Wilshere thrived for England while Scott Parker was behind him and attended to any defensive duties there. The Arsenal teenager has vast energy to complement technique and imagination. It is folly to think that a thrilling England side has now sprung into being but there were good moments at the weekend.
    Welsh hopes were slight and it was imperative that they got the very best out of each man. Instead there was a hint of underachievement even though the team has no points in Group G and is thereby on the same footing as Kazakhstan, Andorra, San Marino, Malta and Liechtenstein.
    Speed has to make the most of the assets he has. In that regard it was an error to waste Craig Bellamy on the right, where Cole was a formidable opponent. It did not take long for the attacker, who is on loan to Cardiff from Manchester City, to be switched to the other flank but Wales were 2-0 down by then. James Collins, stumbling, had bundled into Ashley Young and Frank Lampard converted the penalty in the seventh minute.
    Young was to prosper and show accuracy with his deliveries from the right. When Glen Johnson sent a magnificent pass to him after 14 minutes, Young's low cross was turned in by Darren Bent. The Aston Villa attacker has now scored in three consecutive appearances for England.
    At the level of the qualifiers at least an old-fashioned poacher has true worth. That contribution has helped his side to lead Group G on goal difference from Montenegro. It is a satisfactory position but also one that should prevent anyone from being smug.

 
England can survive without the talents of Wayne Rooney – for now

• Manchester United striker will miss Switzerland game
• Wales are yet to register a point in Group G





Euro 2012 Qual Group G

Wales 0
England 2
  • Lampard (pen) 7,
  • Bent 15


  • Kevin McCarra at Millennium Stadium
  • The Guardian, Monday 28 March 2011 <li class="history">Article history Darren Bent celebrates his third goal in as many games for England in the 2-0 win over Wales. Photograph: Carl Recine/Action Images Wales caused few problems but Wayne Rooney is often ready to pose difficulties for himself. He can churn with frustration even when his team is coasting to victory as England were at the Millennium Stadium. Fabio Capello might remember the afternoon for the booking that will see the forward suspended from the next Euro 2012 qualifier, against Switzerland at Wembley in June. Unruliness in Cardiff undermined any notion that Rooney is fully at ease after all the disruption of the past year or so.
    It was remiss of Capello not to remind him of the caution he was carrying into the fixture on Saturday but the evidence that the player would have paid attention is thin. The Portuguese referee, Olegário Benquerenca, had been lenient shortly before a yellow card became unavoidable for Rooney's challenge on Joe Ledley. Considering how sturdy he appears, it seems all the more incongruous that there should be such a volatility of mood.
    Rooney is readily distracted or annoyed. At the weekend Capello fielded him a little towards the left in a three-man attack. With Ashley Cole advancing from the full-back position there was no suggestion that Rooney was being cast as a winger. Indeed, as a right-footer, the notion was that he would naturally come into the middle and link with Darren Bent. As in the past this sort of plan did not work.
    For a man of such extensive talent, Rooney is less flexible than expected. If, for instance, he is cast as a target man, the frustrations sweep over him because he cannot roam and has to deal with the close attentions of a centre-half. More generally it has been quite some time since he was at ease with England.
    In his last 15 appearances for his country he has now scored once, although that goal was valuable since it gave the team the lead in the 3-1 win over Switzerland six months ago. The day will come when Capello needs the full force of Rooney's talents but for the time being it is easy enough to be patient. Since February the goals have started to come for him with Manchester United at least.
    There is no tone of crisis while his club and England are each at the head of the table in their respective competitions. Even the caution at the weekend was a source of fun for the humorist who tweeted in the name of his 16&#8209;month&#8209;old son Kai: "Daddy's been booked. He said that he would be. Now he can come on our summer holiday."
    If sixth place in the Fifa rankings looks too high for England, the position of 116th may well be appropriate for Wales. Aaron Ramsey, 20, was appointed captain by Gary Speed but it is little more than a year since the Arsenal player broke tibia and fibula in his right leg. It was natural that the Wales manager should attempt to signal a new start but too much was being required too soon of the midfielder.
    At the heart of the game Jack Wilshere thrived for England while Scott Parker was behind him and attended to any defensive duties there. The Arsenal teenager has vast energy to complement technique and imagination. It is folly to think that a thrilling England side has now sprung into being but there were good moments at the weekend.
    Welsh hopes were slight and it was imperative that they got the very best out of each man. Instead there was a hint of underachievement even though the team has no points in Group G and is thereby on the same footing as Kazakhstan, Andorra, San Marino, Malta and Liechtenstein.
    Speed has to make the most of the assets he has. In that regard it was an error to waste Craig Bellamy on the right, where Cole was a formidable opponent. It did not take long for the attacker, who is on loan to Cardiff from Manchester City, to be switched to the other flank but Wales were 2-0 down by then. James Collins, stumbling, had bundled into Ashley Young and Frank Lampard converted the penalty in the seventh minute.
    Young was to prosper and show accuracy with his deliveries from the right. When Glen Johnson sent a magnificent pass to him after 14 minutes, Young's low cross was turned in by Darren Bent. The Aston Villa attacker has now scored in three consecutive appearances for England.
    At the level of the qualifiers at least an old-fashioned poacher has true worth. That contribution has helped his side to lead Group G on goal difference from Montenegro. It is a satisfactory position but also one that should prevent anyone from being smug.
 

Euro 2012 qualifier: Wales 0-2 England

Scott Parker shines for England in Wales after death of his father

West Ham midfielder re-states his international case after more than four years following a week of personal trauma




  • Scott Parker (second left) gets fully involved in midfield for England at Cardiff. Photograph: Tom Jenkins for the Guardian An emotional Scott Parker expressed regret that his father had not witnessed his first competitive appearance for England in more than four years but said that he had felt compelled to play on for club and country in his memory.
    Mick Parker passed away the night before Parker's West Ham United played Tottenham Hotspur earlier this month, having failed to recover from major surgery after a long illness. Last month, Parker dedicated his goal against Liverpool to his father, and he chose to play on after his death.
    The 30-year-old midfielder was arguably England's most impressive player against Wales at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday and he earned praise from team&#8209;mates and management staff.
    "It has been a tough week," said Parker, who at one stage was excused training with the national squad, as he came to terms with his father's death. "He had been ill for a long while and passed away on that Friday," said Parker, who is a doubt for Ghana game due to shoulder and calf injuries. "I have been dealing with that in my own way, trying to stay strong in my own way, and I suppose the one disappointing fact about the Wales game for me was that [my father] wasn't here to see me play for England, but I'm sure he was looking down and was very proud.
    "I'd been with him on the Friday and then met up with the [West Ham] team in the hotel ahead of the Tottenham match. He passed away late that night, so I went back to the hospital. He would have wanted me to have played on the Saturday. I suppose it was the one time I've gone out for a game and, whether we won, lost or drew, or whether I played well or poorly, it didn't really matter. I needed to be out there for him. It sounds clichéd, but that's the reason I played."
    The midfielder, who has been in inspirational form at West Ham this season, on Saturday made his first competitive international start since the Euro 2008 qualifying defeat in Croatia in the autumn of 2006. He excelled in a central role that allowed Jack Wilshere and Frank Lampard greater freedom. Parker &#8211; whose first four caps were won under four managers &#8211; conceded that he had to take this chance to impress if he was to be a part of Fabio Capello's long-term plans, having endured life on the fringes of the national team for too long.
    "At times it has been a bit disappointing for me, but I have just cracked on with it and seen what happens," he said. "One thing I've learnt in my career is that, when the opportunity comes, you need to grab it with two hands.
    "If you go back through my career, whether it be when I went out on loan at Norwich and I came back and Alan Curbishley put me in the team at Charlton, there have been occasions like that. It was my one chance to get in the team and I took it.
    "That's the way it is for me. That's the way it always seems to be. I thought about that before kick&#8209;off on Saturday: I knew I had to take my chance in this game, for definite."
    Wilshere said that Capello had shown his squad re-runs of Barcelona's recent Champions League defeat of Arsenal, in an attempt to illustrate how he wanted them to pressurise the Wales team into conceding possession. On Saturday the tactic proved spectacularly successful &#8211; particularly in the first half.
    "We tried to press like they do, high up the pitch," said the 19-year-old Arsenal midfielder.
    "Barcelona are the best at it in the world and we have to learn from teams like that. It wasn't painful for me to watch &#8211; at my age I am always learning and I can only learn from players like that."

 
Euro 2012 qualifier: Wales 0-2 England

Craig Bellamy says Wales recovery can quicken up under Gary Speed

&#8226; Former Wales captain hails new professionalism
&#8226; Speed wants better Millennium Stadium pitch




  • Stuart James in Cardiff
  • guardian.co.uk, Sunday 27 March 2011 22.00 BST <li class="history">Article history Craig Bellamy of Wales pursues England's Ashley Cole during their Euro 2012 qualifying match at the Millennium Stadium. Photograph: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images Wales have no points and are bottom of their Euro 2012 qualifying group, after being comprehensively beaten by England. But Craig Bellamy left the Millennium Stadium with a smile on his face and a spring in his step. The Cardiff City striker believes that the off-field changes that have been introduced by the new Wales manager, Gary Speed, have revitalised a set-up that used to be run in an "amateur" way, and thus provided renewed hope.
    Although Bellamy, who at 31 has been beset by injury problems, doubts whether he will be around to see the fruits of Speed's labour, he is convinced that Welsh football finally has some direction. That might not have been evident in the first half against England, when Wales struggled to move the ball with any purpose and turned the volume down on their own supporters by conceding two poor goals in the first 15 minutes, but Bellamy sees a bigger picture.
    The former Wales captain said: "You've seen me going away from defeats in the past very downhearted, because I felt there wasn't going to be much improvement next time. But I'm bubbly, and with this group of youngsters the team will improve in the next few years. It's been a great week &#8211; the best week I've been involved in with Welsh football, to be honest. I've spent all my career involved in really highly professionally run clubs, and when I used to come to Wales it was amateur. This year I've come to Wales and it has been exceptional.
    "All my career I've been fortunate because I've had my individual success, but for the first time I really see a future and I really see the national team being able to do something. We have to look to a new era with Wales. Good teams are very rarely seen but we have to be patient. I've seen them train and some of the boys who weren't playing, like [Swansea midfielder] Joe Allen, have exceptional talent."
    The short-term view, however, is nothing like as attractive. Wales are stuck in a rut in terms of results, and although Speed was keen to praise his players for their performance in the second half against England, he also said there was "a lot of work to be done". He could be forgiven for harbouring concerns about James Collins's form. The Aston Villa defender, who conceded the penalty that Frank Lampard converted, has been at fault for a goal in all four Euro 2012 qualifiers.
    Speed was unhappy with the playing surface at the Millennium Stadium, complaining that it "looked like a park pitch at the start of the week", because of the amount of rugby played on it. He said Wales would seek assurances that it would be in a "playable state" in future, although it could be some time before they use the venue again. Asked whether he felt the performance was good enough to bring 70,000 people back, Speed replied: "Not at the moment, probably not. But in time, I think we can."

 
Euro 2012 qualifier: Wales 0-2 England

England suffer from Fabio Capello's inadequate attention to detail

For £6m a year, Fabio Capello should have warned Wayne Rooney about the consequences of a yellow card



  • England's Wayne Rooney is booked during the qualifier against Wales in Cardiff on Saturday. Photograph: Michael Regan/Getty Images Straight after the victory over Wales on Saturday, Fabio Capello admitted that Wayne Rooney had been surprised to discover the consequences of a booking that will keep the forward out of England's next Euro 2012 qualifying match.
    It seemed only natural to ask whether the manager was not in the habit of alerting players already carrying a yellow card from a previous match &#8211; Rooney had been cautioned against Montenegro in October &#8211; that a further infringement would trigger an automatic suspension.
    "Usually we did this," Capello replied. "This time, no."
    An oversight, clearly. But we are looking here at a man paid £6m a year by the Football Association to prepare the England team for major championships, and who added a posse of Italian assistants to the FA's payroll in order to help him with the task.
    Yet what all that money does not buy, apparently, is an attention to detail scrupulous enough for any of them &#8211; not Franco Baldini, not Italo Galbiati, certainly not Capello himself, who after three years in the job can still barely utter a sentence in English without giving birth to an ambiguity &#8211; to have taken Rooney aside during the build&#8209;up to Saturday's match and warned him that another episode of rashness would put his participation in the match against Switzerland at risk.
    As it happens, England's position in Group G means that a blip against the Swiss would be likely to have a more damaging effect on morale &#8211; particularly following the draw against Montenegro &#8211; than on the team's chances of making it to the climax of the tournament in Poland and Ukraine. But assumptions should be resisted until England have decisively drawn ahead of the Montenegrins, with whom they share the lead in the group at the halfway point. And if morale is important, so too is every chance to pursue the work of building a team, given that Capello is granted only a dozen or so opportunities in an average year (12 in 2010) to forge players from different clubs into an effective unit.
    It's a small thing, you might say, and Rooney could be thinking that at least, by avoiding the match against Switzerland at Wembley on 4 June, he will be able to take an undisturbed summer holiday at the end of a season marked by all kinds of personal difficulties, public controversies and fluctuations of form. But if there is to be a significant role in England's future for players such as Jack Wilshere and Darren Bent, it is surely important that the man hitherto known as the nation's one indisputably world-class player should be given every possible opportunity to play alongside them.
    Small things also tend to give away a bigger picture. If success comes from the "aggregation of marginal gains", as Dave Brailsford put it when explaining the reasons behind the British cycling team's remarkable success in the 2008 Olympics, then the failure to take the minor step needed to help ensure Rooney's continued availability suggests that details are not the Capello regime's speciality.
    Given the Italian's history of achieving success in demanding environments, this suggests that he may not be giving his fullest attention to a job he knows has only a further 15 months to run, and with which his hitherto distinguished career will surely come to an end. No doubt he would wholeheartedly disagree. But the continued use of a translator and the occasional forgetting of players' names, not to mention the clumsy failure to communicate a change of captaincy to the incumbent skipper, suggest otherwise.
    He is not enjoying himself. That much is plain from his general demeanour, in particular from the increasing impatience with which he handles the sometimes hostile interrogation that comes with the territory. He bristled on Saturday, for example, when asked why it had taken him so long to give Scott Parker a first England start since the disaster in Zagreb under Steve McClaren in October 2006.
    It was a perfectly reasonable question, given that Parker might have been given a much earlier chance to show whether or not he is the best available replacement for poor Owen Hargreaves, as his performance suggested &#8211; albeit against poor opposition &#8211; in Cardiff. The West Ham United man might not have quite the class of a Makelele or a Mascherano, but he is a player of neatness and common sense, and England have needed just such a man in his position for years. And he is certainly a better player at 30 than he was at 20.
    "He is playing very well," Capello said. "I know the value of this player. It's the second or third time he played for me," he added, counting appearances as a substitute. He couldn't quite remember exactly how many.
    Just in front of Parker in a 4-1-4-1 formation, Wilshere again made his technical quality and astonishing maturity count in his first start in a competitive fixture. Now the debate is open over whether he, Kyle Walker and Andy Carroll should be part of Stuart Pearce's squad at the European Under&#8209;21 Championship finals in Denmark this summer.
    The FA believes that if England are to follow the example of Spain and Germany, the young players should be given as much tournament experience as possible.
    A personal view would be that, unlike Mesut Ozil, Sami Khedira and Thomas Müller in 2009, Wilshere is already established as a first&#8209;choice player in the senior England team and would derive more benefit, at this stage in his already hectic career, from a couple of weeks' rest than from a fortnight of intense competition.
    Capello was reluctant to commit himself on the issue. "This is a decision for Stuart Pearce and the manager of Arsenal," he said. Not his job, obviously.

 
Euro 2012 qualifier: Wales 0-2 England

England suffer from Fabio Capello's inadequate attention to detail

For £6m a year, Fabio Capello should have warned Wayne Rooney about the consequences of a yellow card



  • England's Wayne Rooney is booked during the qualifier against Wales in Cardiff on Saturday. Photograph: Michael Regan/Getty Images Straight after the victory over Wales on Saturday, Fabio Capello admitted that Wayne Rooney had been surprised to discover the consequences of a booking that will keep the forward out of England's next Euro 2012 qualifying match.
    It seemed only natural to ask whether the manager was not in the habit of alerting players already carrying a yellow card from a previous match – Rooney had been cautioned against Montenegro in October – that a further infringement would trigger an automatic suspension.
    "Usually we did this," Capello replied. "This time, no."
    An oversight, clearly. But we are looking here at a man paid £6m a year by the Football Association to prepare the England team for major championships, and who added a posse of Italian assistants to the FA's payroll in order to help him with the task.
    Yet what all that money does not buy, apparently, is an attention to detail scrupulous enough for any of them – not Franco Baldini, not Italo Galbiati, certainly not Capello himself, who after three years in the job can still barely utter a sentence in English without giving birth to an ambiguity – to have taken Rooney aside during the build&#8209;up to Saturday's match and warned him that another episode of rashness would put his participation in the match against Switzerland at risk.
    As it happens, England's position in Group G means that a blip against the Swiss would be likely to have a more damaging effect on morale – particularly following the draw against Montenegro – than on the team's chances of making it to the climax of the tournament in Poland and Ukraine. But assumptions should be resisted until England have decisively drawn ahead of the Montenegrins, with whom they share the lead in the group at the halfway point. And if morale is important, so too is every chance to pursue the work of building a team, given that Capello is granted only a dozen or so opportunities in an average year (12 in 2010) to forge players from different clubs into an effective unit.
    It's a small thing, you might say, and Rooney could be thinking that at least, by avoiding the match against Switzerland at Wembley on 4 June, he will be able to take an undisturbed summer holiday at the end of a season marked by all kinds of personal difficulties, public controversies and fluctuations of form. But if there is to be a significant role in England's future for players such as Jack Wilshere and Darren Bent, it is surely important that the man hitherto known as the nation's one indisputably world-class player should be given every possible opportunity to play alongside them.
    Small things also tend to give away a bigger picture. If success comes from the "aggregation of marginal gains", as Dave Brailsford put it when explaining the reasons behind the British cycling team's remarkable success in the 2008 Olympics, then the failure to take the minor step needed to help ensure Rooney's continued availability suggests that details are not the Capello regime's speciality.
    Given the Italian's history of achieving success in demanding environments, this suggests that he may not be giving his fullest attention to a job he knows has only a further 15 months to run, and with which his hitherto distinguished career will surely come to an end. No doubt he would wholeheartedly disagree. But the continued use of a translator and the occasional forgetting of players' names, not to mention the clumsy failure to communicate a change of captaincy to the incumbent skipper, suggest otherwise.
    He is not enjoying himself. That much is plain from his general demeanour, in particular from the increasing impatience with which he handles the sometimes hostile interrogation that comes with the territory. He bristled on Saturday, for example, when asked why it had taken him so long to give Scott Parker a first England start since the disaster in Zagreb under Steve McClaren in October 2006.
    It was a perfectly reasonable question, given that Parker might have been given a much earlier chance to show whether or not he is the best available replacement for poor Owen Hargreaves, as his performance suggested – albeit against poor opposition – in Cardiff. The West Ham United man might not have quite the class of a Makelele or a Mascherano, but he is a player of neatness and common sense, and England have needed just such a man in his position for years. And he is certainly a better player at 30 than he was at 20.
    "He is playing very well," Capello said. "I know the value of this player. It's the second or third time he played for me," he added, counting appearances as a substitute. He couldn't quite remember exactly how many.
    Just in front of Parker in a 4-1-4-1 formation, Wilshere again made his technical quality and astonishing maturity count in his first start in a competitive fixture. Now the debate is open over whether he, Kyle Walker and Andy Carroll should be part of Stuart Pearce's squad at the European Under&#8209;21 Championship finals in Denmark this summer.
    The FA believes that if England are to follow the example of Spain and Germany, the young players should be given as much tournament experience as possible.
    A personal view would be that, unlike Mesut Ozil, Sami Khedira and Thomas Müller in 2009, Wilshere is already established as a first&#8209;choice player in the senior England team and would derive more benefit, at this stage in his already hectic career, from a couple of weeks' rest than from a fortnight of intense competition.
    Capello was reluctant to commit himself on the issue. "This is a decision for Stuart Pearce and the manager of Arsenal," he said. Not his job, obviously.

 

International friendly: Brazil 2-0 Scotland

Brazil's Neymar answers back after banana is thrown in Scotland match

&#8226; Incident follows forward's second goal in 2-0 friendly win
&#8226; 'The stadium was jeering. The atmosphere of racism is sad'




  • Ewan Murray at Emirates Stadium
  • guardian.co.uk, Sunday 27 March 2011 22.24 BST <li class="history">Article history The banana was thrown on the pitch shortly after Neymar scored a late penalty against Scotland at the Emirates Stadium. Photograph: Tom Jenkins Brazil's Neymar accused supporters of racially abusing him at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday in an incident which overshadowed the forward's excellent display and two goals for his country against Scotland.
    Neymar's team-mate Lucas Leiva removed a banana from the playing surface shortly before the end of Brazil's 2-0 victory over the Scots. Moments earlier Neymar had scored a penalty, his second goal of the match.
    Brazilian media reports suggested that the item had been aimed at the 19-year-old Neymar, despite it coming at the end of the ground which was populated almost entirely by South American fans.
    "I feel great and scored two but what happened with the banana is sad," he said. "I don't want to make a big deal of it. I was running down the touchline in the second half and saw it but I didn't see where it came from.
    "They were jeering me a lot, even when I was about to kick the penalty. The entire stadium was jeering. This atmosphere of racism is totally sad. We leave our country to play here and something like this happens. It's sad. I'd rather not even talk about it, to keep the subject from escalating."
    When asked specifically about the affair, Lucas said: "There is no more space for racism in the world. They say it's the first world here in Europe but it's where it happens the most. That has to change. Everybody is equal today. It's a matter of respect."
    The Brazil manager, Mano Menezes, claimed to be unaware of the banana incident. His side have played at the Emirates six times in the past five years and this is the first incident of its kind. "We didn't have the displeasure of watching that," he said. "If it happened, it is lamentable but I have not had confirmation of that event."
    A spokesman for Arsenal said the club were aware of the banana appearing on the pitch but that they were awaiting further reports before deciding what action, if any, to take.
    Last week the Brazilian player Roberto Carlos was furious after a supporter threw a banana at him during a club game in Russia.
    Although Neymar did not point the finger specifically at Scottish fans, the Tartan Army's spokesman Hamish Husband defended the record of that group and denied any suggestion of wrongdoing.
    "Neymar was booed during the game because we felt he was feigning injury," said Husband. "Racism has no place within the Tartan Army and, if it did exist, it would be stamped out immediately. Any suggestion of racism from Scottish fans is absolute tosh. We would not tolerate that it if existed within our ranks."
    Craig Levein, the Scotland manager, added: "I don't know anything about it."A spokesperson for the Scottish Football Association said: "There has been no such incident reported to the police or the stadium safety officer. In fact, the tens of thousands of Scotland supporters who travelled to the Emirates were commended for their behaviour.
    "The Scotland supporters are known the world over for their impeccable behaviour and we have no reason to believe that, after speaking to the relevant authorities, they have been anything other than exemplary.
    "The Scotland fans helped create a wonderful spectacle inside the Emirates and throughout London and should be applauded for their support."

 

International friendly: Brazil 2-0 Scotland

Brazil's Neymar answers back after banana is thrown in Scotland match

• Incident follows forward's second goal in 2-0 friendly win
• 'The stadium was jeering. The atmosphere of racism is sad'




  • Ewan Murray at Emirates Stadium
  • guardian.co.uk, Sunday 27 March 2011 22.24 BST <li class="history">Article history The banana was thrown on the pitch shortly after Neymar scored a late penalty against Scotland at the Emirates Stadium. Photograph: Tom Jenkins Brazil's Neymar accused supporters of racially abusing him at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday in an incident which overshadowed the forward's excellent display and two goals for his country against Scotland.
    Neymar's team-mate Lucas Leiva removed a banana from the playing surface shortly before the end of Brazil's 2-0 victory over the Scots. Moments earlier Neymar had scored a penalty, his second goal of the match.
    Brazilian media reports suggested that the item had been aimed at the 19-year-old Neymar, despite it coming at the end of the ground which was populated almost entirely by South American fans.
    "I feel great and scored two but what happened with the banana is sad," he said. "I don't want to make a big deal of it. I was running down the touchline in the second half and saw it but I didn't see where it came from.
    "They were jeering me a lot, even when I was about to kick the penalty. The entire stadium was jeering. This atmosphere of racism is totally sad. We leave our country to play here and something like this happens. It's sad. I'd rather not even talk about it, to keep the subject from escalating."
    When asked specifically about the affair, Lucas said: "There is no more space for racism in the world. They say it's the first world here in Europe but it's where it happens the most. That has to change. Everybody is equal today. It's a matter of respect."
    The Brazil manager, Mano Menezes, claimed to be unaware of the banana incident. His side have played at the Emirates six times in the past five years and this is the first incident of its kind. "We didn't have the displeasure of watching that," he said. "If it happened, it is lamentable but I have not had confirmation of that event."
    A spokesman for Arsenal said the club were aware of the banana appearing on the pitch but that they were awaiting further reports before deciding what action, if any, to take.
    Last week the Brazilian player Roberto Carlos was furious after a supporter threw a banana at him during a club game in Russia.
    Although Neymar did not point the finger specifically at Scottish fans, the Tartan Army's spokesman Hamish Husband defended the record of that group and denied any suggestion of wrongdoing.
    "Neymar was booed during the game because we felt he was feigning injury," said Husband. "Racism has no place within the Tartan Army and, if it did exist, it would be stamped out immediately. Any suggestion of racism from Scottish fans is absolute tosh. We would not tolerate that it if existed within our ranks."
    Craig Levein, the Scotland manager, added: "I don't know anything about it."A spokesperson for the Scottish Football Association said: "There has been no such incident reported to the police or the stadium safety officer. In fact, the tens of thousands of Scotland supporters who travelled to the Emirates were commended for their behaviour.
    "The Scotland supporters are known the world over for their impeccable behaviour and we have no reason to believe that, after speaking to the relevant authorities, they have been anything other than exemplary.
    "The Scotland fans helped create a wonderful spectacle inside the Emirates and throughout London and should be applauded for their support."
 
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