Sepahan players

Thirteen matches will be held on May 21 in the Asian Champions League to determine which three teams will reach the knockout stage. So far, Uzbekistan’s Kuruvchi, Iran’s Saipa, Kuwait’s Alqadsia and Japan’s Gamba Osaka have reached the knockout stage while Japan’s Urawa Reds is automatically present in this stage as last year’s champion, MNA reported.
On the final day of the preliminary stage, Saipa faces UAE’s Alwasl and Sepahan vyes against Kuruvchi.
Saipa has already reached the knockout stage and the result of its match does not affect its status in the league. Sepahan will be playing to defend its marred reputation since, irrespective of the result, the club cannot make it to the next round.

Owen Hargreaves

Owen Hargreaves believes Manchester United’s run to the Champions League final vindicates his move to English soccer as the midfielder attempts to capture a second winners’ medal in the competition.
Hargreaves was a Champions League winner with Bayern Munich in 2001 but ended a highly successful decade-long stay with the German club last year to join United in a reported 17 million ($33.2 million) deal.
“At 26, I just thought I needed a new challenge.
I was very comfortable in Munich, almost too comfortable,“ the England international told reporters ahead of Wednesday’s final against Chelsea in Moscow.
“I just wanted to take the next step; new coaches, new team-mates and a new challenge.
The only reason I would leave Bayern Munich was for a top club and Manchester United is that.
“I’m very happy that I took this step because I thought we had the players and the potential to achieve something special.“
That could happen on Wednesday as United, who retained the Premier League title a little over a week ago, look to repeat their 1999 European success over Bayern Munich, when Hargreaves was in the early stages of his career with the Bundesliga side.
“I just thought I’d been through everything I could possibly go through in Munich. I had a fabulous time there. It was a real pleasure and I learnt a lot,“ he added.
“I just thought that, having won the league four times, the cup three times, the Champions League once, it was a good time to move on.
I was at a great age and I thought United was the best place for me. I’m glad I made the move.“

Joan Laporta

Brazil’s two-time World Player of the Year Ronaldinho is set to leave Barcelona, the club president Joan Laporta has said.
Laporta told the Catalan TV3 station that the midfielder, who struggled with injuries and poor form last season, needed new challenges.
“When the wheel turns, it’s normal that the key figures leave,“ he said. “I would very much like for Ronaldinho to leave like (coach) Frank Rijkaard and that we can keep the memories of a player who helped us win two league titles and one Champions League trophy.“
Barcelona, who failed to win a trophy for the second straight year in the 2007-08 season, announced on May 7 that Rijkaard would leave at the end of the season and be replaced by former player Josep Guardiola.
Bernd Schuster, the coach of league champions Real Madrid, meanwhile, scoffed at press reports that he was preparing to launch a mega-deal to bring Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo to the capital city.
“I prefer to spend my time talking about things that have some bearing to reality,“ he told a press conference late on Sunday.
Marca sports daily had reported that Real were still interested in buying Ronaldo who has put off all talk of his future until after Wednesday’s Champions League final in Moscow against Chelsea.

The San Antonio Spurs booked their place in the Western Conference final with a 91-82 Game Seven win over the Hornets in New Orleans on Monday.
The defending NBA champions will play the LA Lakers in the conference final, with the first game in LA on Wednesday, BBC reported.
The Spurs held a 71-56 lead going into the fourth quarter but the Hornets cut that to 83-80 with 90 seconds left.
San Antonio, for whom Argentine Manu Ginobili scored 26 points, pulled away again to clinch the series 4-3.
Point guard Tony Parker also contributed 17 points and Tim Duncan 16 to help the Spurs to a rare away win.
David West top-scored with 20 points for the Hornets, but play-maker Chris Paul, a first-year All Star, was held to 18 points and eight rebounds.
“We did a very good job on him and we’ve got to give Tony Parker and Bruce Bowen a lot of credit,“ said Ginobili.
“Chris Paul is a heck of a player. He is very smart and good finishing at the paint so it was a tough job. But they did unbelievable work in the last two games.“
The Hornets failed in their bid to reach the conference final for the first time in the franchise’s 20-year history, but coach Byron Scott was delighted with their progress.
“You don’t go from not making the play-offs to winning the championship, it just doesn’t work that way, but I think we have developed something special here,“ he said.

International Olympic Committee’s monitoring team is on a three-day visit to London from Tuesday to check on the progress for the 2012 Games.
The Co-ordination Commission will tour Olympic sites and be briefed on the progress over the last year, BBC Sport reported.
One area of potential concern is the Olympic Village, where work is due to start next month without a contract with the constructors.
But the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) insists that plans are on track.
It admits that the ’challenging’ global economic climate has made agreeing a final deal with Australian firm Lend Lease more difficult.
But it says interim agreements will allow the work to start in June.
An ODA spokesman said, “The Olympic Village site is now clear. Planning applications for the first blocks of the flats have now been submitted and Lend Lease are due to start piling next month.
“We expect to sign interim agreements shortly and aim to have financial arrangements in place before the main build later this year.
“The changing economic situation remains a challenge but we remain on-program.“