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Traktorsazi Jumped to 2nd

Persepolis Roll Over Sepahan

Asian Football Confederation Champions League Group C contender Sepahan conceded a late goal succumbing to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Persepolis in the Iran Premier League on Sunday.
Sepahan, who had a chance to maintain the two-point gap over fierce rival Esteqlal before the match, dropped to third position after fellow 2013 Asian Champions League rival Traktorsazi won their match against Gahar Zagros 2-1 earlier on Sunday. Esteqlal is on top with 52 points followed by Traktorsazi with 49 points and Sepahan staying at third in the 18-team league table with 47.
In one of the tough fixtures of the league, travelling Sepahan were reduced to 10-man in the 66th minute at the Azadi Stadium after Milan Susak got his marching orders. Persepolis tightened the screw with a man’s advantage and finally their persistence paid off in the 90th minute when Hadi Norouzi scored the winner to lift his side to the sixth position.
Sepahan, who was beaten by the eventual runner-up Al-Ahli in the quarterfinals last year, will face the Saudi Arabian side once again in the ACL 2013 group stages where they will also negotiate the challenges of Qatar’s Al-Gharafa and the playoff winner Al-Nasr of the UAE.

Traktorsazi Victorious
Two second half goals in quick successions helped AFC Champions League 2013 debutants Traktorsazi record a hard-fought 2-1 win over Gahar.
After a goalless first half, Tractor broke the deadlock in the 53rd minute of the match through Javad Kazemian and 10 minutes later Mehdi Seyyed Salehi made it 2-0. They conceded late in the stoppage time to Taqi Nayebi but it was too little too late for the home side to stage any fight-back in the match.
The Iranian debutants, who were runners-up last season in the domestic league, are a team to watch in ACL 2013. They are in Group A where they have formidable opponents in the ranks of Saudi Arabia’s champions Al-Shabab, Al-Jazira of UAE and El-Jaish of Qatar. Tractor’s continental journey will begin with a historical home match against Al-Jazira on 26 February 2013.

Milan, Barca Meet Again as Drogba Eyes Return

From Page 1
“It’s a new generation, and it’s a pleasure as they are still inexperienced but they bring something extra to the team,” defender Philippe Mexes told Uefa.com.
“They can bring a lot of things to the team, this new generation is very enthusiastic. They also demand a lot in training as they are very lively, and it’s doing good to all of us in the team.
“Milan can count on them as this is a long-term project.”
Expecting them to beat Barcelona, however, might be a little too much for Milan, who performed poorly in the group stage and finished second behind Malaga.
Arsenal were beaten by second-tier Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup on Saturday and their up-and-down form is in complete contrast to Bayern, who have won their five Bundesliga matches since the winter break without conceding a goal.
With a massive 15-point lead over Borussia Dortmund, the Bavarians can concentrate their efforts on the Champions League, where they have finished runners-up twice in the last three seasons.
For Arsenal, who lost at this stage in each of the last two seasons, the Champions League appears to be their only hope of avoiding another trophy less season.
Galatasaray’s recent acquisitions could give an added edge to a team famous for their fanatical home crowd as they attempt to become the first Turkish side to reach the last eight since Fenerbahce five years ago.
The Turkish league leaders face a Schalke side in freefall after winning only one out of five league games since the winter break following the sacking of Huub Stevens and his replacement with Jens Keller.
Drogba, 34, who scored the equalizing goal for Chelsea as they drew 1-1 with Bayern in last year’s final before netting the decisive penalty, moved to Shanghai Shenhua after that but cut short his stay in China amid reports of unpaid wages.
Sneijder joined the Turkish club from Inter Milan, the side where he won the title in 2010.

Alonso Returns as F1 Testing Moves Up a Gear

Fernando Alonso will test his new Ferrari for the first time in Spain on Tuesday while former champions Williams bring Formula One’s ‘launch season’ to a close as the last team to unveil their 2013 car.
There will not be much fanfare, if any, at either event when the second of three pre-season tests gets underway at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya, Reuters repported.
In days gone by, the unveiling of new cars was an excuse for excess - whether it be through extravagant presentations in glamorous locations or enlisting the Spice Girls as part of the show - but the current age of austerity has made such lavish gestures a thing of the past.
Forget putting the car on a plinth in Venice’s St Mark’s Square (Benetton 2001) or hiring the Cirque du Soleil to perform at London’s Albert Hall (Jordan 1998).
The norm this year has been for the bright and shiny new cars to be pushed out of the garage into the sunlight and then sent on their way after a few brief words from the team boss and drivers.
When tail-enders Marussia revealed their car in Jerez this month they merely rolled it on to the starting grid and removed the travel cover without even a driver next to it.
Champions Red Bull splashed out on champagne and finger food for guests but otherwise showed off their car at the factory while McLaren and Ferrari did likewise.
“There are some reality checks going around,” observed McLaren principal Martin Whitmarsh, whose own team’s launch involved putting up temporary seating in the factory atrium with a drive-past of classic cars to mark McLaren’s 50th anniversary.
“We used to hire Alexandra Palace and launches were a competition. People don’t want to see one-million-pound ($1.55-million) extravaganzas any more. Times have changed. We peaked,” added Whitmarsh.
Williams are last to launch - the others all getting their cars out before or at Jerez - but the livery has already been revealed and new bits tried out at the previous test.

Azarenka Holds Off Serena To Defend Qatar Crown

Outgoing world number one Victoria Azarenka showed that being second best was not an option for her as she outclassed Serena Williams 7-6 2-6 6-3 to win the Qatar Open on Sunday.
Williams will replace Azarenka on top of the WTA rankings when the new list is released on Monday but the American’s hopes of capping off a memorable week with a 48th singles title were dashed by an opponent who extended her 2013 record to 14-0, Reuters reported.
Williams’s game sparkled as brightly as the diamond ring on her playing right hand during the second set but it was Australian Open champion Azarenka who was running rings around her in the third.
The Belarussian leapt to a 3-0 lead and never relinquished that advantage, polishing off Williams with an unreturnable serve in just under 2-1/2 hours.
In case anyone in the crowd had forgotten that she had entered the tournament as top dog in the world rankings, Azarenka celebrated winning her second successive Qatar title by holding both arms aloft and wagging her index fingers towards the night sky of Doha.
“It’s amazing to have achieved what I have achieved,” the Belarussian said in a courtside interview.
“I just wanted to fight and give myself every opportunity to get back. I told myself ‘you have to keep it together, you have to do something otherwise Serena’s on a roll and she’s going to bring her A-game’.
“I had to really step up my game and I’m glad that I could turn it around, stay tough and focused.”
Williams had entered the match on a high after reclaiming the top ranking for the sixth time and beating rival Maria Sharapova in the semi-finals.
Two days after becoming the oldest woman to claim the world number one accolade, it seemed the efforts of the week finally caught up with her 31-year-old limbs. The player who has a reputation of blowing away opponents was in danger of suffering the same fate herself in the third set. She hung in to save one match point on her serve at 5-2 down, thanks to a serve that was incorrectly called in, but Azarenka was not about to let her off the hook.

MancinI: I’m Best Boss in England

Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini says he is currently “the best manager in England” and is not facing the sack.
City are out of European competition and face a battle to retain their Premier League title, with Manchester United currently 12 points clear, BBC wrote.
They are in the FA Cup quarter-finals but former City player Danny Mills has suggested Mancini will be replaced at the end of the season.
“In the last 15 months I am the best manager in England,” said Mancini.
Mancini took over at Manchester City in December 2009, replacing Mark Hughes.
In his first full season in charge, the Italian led his side to third in the Premier League and Champions League qualification.
Last season Manchester City closed an eight-point gap on United to win their first Premier League title with a dramatic 3-2 final day win over Queen’s Park Rangers.
But this season his side have been left behind by United in the league and they also exited the Champions League at the group stage, finishing bottom of Group D and failing to win a match which also meant they failed to qualify for the Europa League.
There has been some restructuring behind the scenes this season, with former Barcelona technical director Txiki Begiristain appointed as director of football and speculation about Mancini’s future has been growing.
Reports linked former Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola to Mancini’s job, but the Spaniard has joined Bayern Munich. Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho, who last week said his next job would be in the Premier League, is now being touted as a possible replacement for Mancini.
After Sunday’s 4-0 FA Cup victory over Leeds, Mancini said: “Someone says for six months that Manchester City would change manager, Guardiola would come in, and after Guardiola went to Bayern Munich, now another manager.
“I won one Premier League, one FA Cup, one charity shield, there is not another manager that’s won like me in the last 15 months.

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