QNA – DOHA

The Qatar Tennis Federation (QTF) confirmed yesterday that Swiss tennis legend and 20-time Grand Slam titles winner Roger Federer would headline this year’s Qatar ExxonMobil Open to be held from March 8 to 13 at the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex.

Federer, who will be starting his 2021 season in Qatar after opting out of this year’s Australian Open, is a three-time former champion in Doha, triumphing in 2005, 2006 and 2011 - where he beat Russia’s Nikolay Dav-ydenko in straight sets.

His last appearance was at the 2012 tournament where he withdrew ahead of his semi-final with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga due to a back injury.

Commenting on the occasion QTF Secretary-General Tariq Zainal said, “We are delighted to have the great Roger Federer back in Doha for this year’s tournament. It is always a pleasure to have a player of Federer’s caliber at a prestigious tournament like this. Doha is home of great tennis, and it is not surprising that the tournament has continued to attract big names since it first started in 1993.”

“This year’s event promises to be greater than ever, and we look forward to welcoming all the players to this annual feast of tennis come March,” he added.

For his part, Qatar ExxonMobil Open Tournament Director Karim Alami said that “as Tour-nament Director for the Qatar ExxonMobil Open 2021, I am very happy to announce that Roger Federer has chosen our event, which will take place from March 8 till March 13, as his first stop in his return to competitive action.”

“I would like to welcome Roger back to action after a year away from compe-tition, and I am certain he will provide many more u n f o r g e t t a b l e moments to all Qatar ExxonMobil Open guests and audience, and to all the tennis world. Finally, I would also like to thank our title sponsor ExxonMobil and all our exclusive sponsors, to the Qatar Tennis Federation, and to all relevant gov-ernment entities for their continuous support during these difficult times and for making sure the Qatar ExxonMobil

Open tradition keeps going on,” he added.

The 2021 Qatar ExxonMobil Open promises to be a star-studded event with two-time Grand Slam winner Stan Wawrinka, a finalist at the 2008 event,

and Dominic Thiem, the 2020 Aus-tralian Open finalist, among the stars confirmed for the tournament and other names will be announced soon.

It is worth noting that Qatar Tennis Federation is preparing for Qatar Total

open 2021 in which it will be held days before Qatar Exxon-

mobil 2021. Qatar Tennis federation will release the list of the players com-peting in Qatar total open 2021 in the coming days, with a promise of splendid list headed by number one Ashleigh Barty.

QVA SENIOR LEAGUE: Al Rayyan beat Al Khor 3-1 (28-26, 22-25, 25-20, 25-22); Al Wakrah beat Al Sadd 3-0 (26-24, 25-17, 25-19)

WEDNESDAY 3 FEBRUARY 2021

Aguero still weeks away from return after COVID-19, says City manager GuardiolaWhen one guy suffers (from) COVID-19 it can take weeks to feel better. He is still not training on the field. He started to move a little bit yesterday so he will need a few weeks to come back.

Sport |10

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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola

Sport

We are delighted to

have the great Roger

Federer back in Doha

for this year’s

tournament. It is

always a pleasure to

have a player of

Federer’s caliber at a

prestigious

tournament like this.

Doha is home of great

tennis, and it is not

surprising that the

tournament has

continued to attract

big names since it first

started in 1993: QTF Secretary-General Tariq Zainal

Qatar Tennis Federation President Nasser bin Ghanim Al Khelaifi welcoming Swiss tennis star Roger Federer ahead of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in this January 2, 2011 file photo.

Al Duhail players taking part in a training session yesterday ahead of their 2020 FIFA Club World Cup match against Egypt's Al Ahly which will take place tomorrow.

Excitement builds ahead of Club World CupFAWAD HUSSAIN THE PENINSULA

The FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2020, set to kick off tomorrow, is taking place amid strict COVID-19 protocols but the excitement buzz ahead of the six-team tournament is building with each passing day.

Whether the players, the team officials or the die-hard fans, all the stakeholders are looking forward to an action-packed week of top-notch football, defying the difficulties of unavoidable safety and health measures taken by FIFA.

The two FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 stadiums – Edu-cation City Stadium and Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium - are ready to host the matches with fans allowed at 30% capacity throughout the tournament, which will conclude on Feb-ruary 11.

The popular event will kick off with a game between Asian champions Ulsan Hyundai FC and CONCACAF Champions League winners Tigres UANL at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium tomorrow, followed by the match between Qatar cham-pions Al Duhail and African champions Al Ahly at the Edu-cation City Stadium.

The COVID-19 tests, which is a must for all to attend the games at the venues, continued yesterday as players flexed muscles in training sessions. The players and officials, who have already arrived in Doha, are a part of medical bubbles designed to protect them from virus, yet there is no hindrance to their preparations.

Yesterday, Al Duhail players - hoping to leave a mark on their debut in the tournament - underwent another strenuous training session prior to their second round match against Al

Ahly, scheduled to kick off tomorrow at 8:30pm.

“Participation in this tour-nament means a lot to us. We are not just representing our club but we our also playing for Qatar,” Al Duhail star Bassam Al Rawi said yesterday.

“There is a lot of excitement and at the same time we feel the responsibility of doing well. This is an opportunity for us to show our potential and we are ready for this challenge,” said Bassam, who played key role in Qatar’s 2019 Asian Cup title triumph.

Al Duhail’s opponents Al Ahly, who got a warm welcome by their fans upon their arrival in Doha, are also expected to get good crowd support against the home side.

“We are also looking for good support from our home

fans, and we want to perform well in the match which is a tough one,” said Bassam.

While Al Ahly will be hot favourites to beat the Red Knights tomorrow, the Egyptian side’s goalkeeper Mohammed El Shenawy said the match will be a difficult challenge.

“We’ve got Al Duhail first up, which will be a special game because they’re an Arab team playing at home and in front of their own fans. We’re expecting a tough match,” he said.

“Al Duhail are a strong side with some quality players. They’ve made some big signings, bringing in a forward and a defender. We’ve watched their last few games in the Qatari league and we know it’s going to be a big battle. We need to prepare the best we can so we can put in a good

performance,” El Shenawy told FIFA.com.

Bayern Munich raring to win the title in Qatar

The winner of the game between the two sides will enter the February 8 semi-final against pre-event favourites Bayern Munich, who are eyeing sixth title in the astonishing 2019-20 season.

The 2013 CWC champions, this year have won the Bun-desliga, DFB Cup, UEFA Cham-pions League besides clinching the domestic and the European Super Cups.

Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer still remembers the feeling of winning the maiden CWC title when Bayern defeated Raja Casablanca 2-0 in December 2013.

“Now we’ve got the chance to play two games in Qatar.

We’re determined to win our sixth title,” Neuer told FIFA.com.

The star goalkeeper, who has visited the Qatari capital several times with his team for the winter training camps, said Doha gives a chance to focus on football.

“The conditions and the pitches are good, and the dis-tances are short between the hotel and the training complex. That puts the focus on football,” he said.

Neuer was also excited to play at the Qatar 2022 venues.

“It’s definitely a first expe-rience as far as the World Cup is concerned. We can get to know the stadiums in advance and share that knowledge with our respective national teams. I hope we’ll be able to report back positively,” he said.

This is a chance for us to show our potential, says Al Duhail's Bassam

QTF welcomes Federer's participation in Qatar ExxonMobil Open

Participation in this tournament

means a lot to us. We are not

just representing our club but

we our also playing for Qatar.

There is a lot of excitement and

at the same time we feel the

responsibility of doing well. This

is an opportunity

for us to show our

potential and we

are ready for this

challenge:

Bassam Al Rawi

11WEDNESDAY 3 FEBRUARY 2021 SPORT

Al Duhail's Moroccan defender Mehdi Benatia playing table tennis with team-mates.

Unforgettable comebacks in the history of Club World CupFIFA.COM - DOHA

It ain’t over till it’s over.The FIFA Club World Cup has

repeatedly backed up that old expression. FIFA.com looks at five of the best come-backs in the competition’s history.

AL AHLY-PACHUCA(2008 quarter-finals)

Score in the 46th minute: 2-0Final score: 2-4

Pachuca had the better chances initially, but it was Al Ahly who took a 2-0 lead after an own-goal from Fausto Pinto following a counter-attack and a strike from Flavio. They even scored again early in the second half, but the goal was disallowed for offside.

Pachuca reduced the deficit immediately after that via a Luis Montes free-kick, before Christian Gimenez sparked wild celebra-tions with the equaliser from another superb free-kick after 72 minutes. The Mexicans were the better side in extra-time, and put the seal on their come-from-behind triumph with goals from Damian Alvarez and Gimenez. Pachuca ultimately lost 1-0 to Gamba Osaka in the play-off for third place.

ESTUDIANTES-BARCELONA (2009 final)

Score in the 88th minute: 1-0Final score: 1-2

Pep Guardiola’s side were the runaway favourites to triumph and started on top, but it was their Argentinian opponents who opened the scoring just after the half-hour mark through a superb Mauro Boselli header.

Estudiantes subsequently sat very deep and battled hard to preserve their lead. Indeed, when Barcelona squandered the few chances they were able to create, it looked like the South Americans’ game plan was going to pay off. However, Pedro came off the bench and levelled the score with a header in the 89th minute. The huge sense of relief in the Barcelona camp was visible, as they were determined to win a historic sixth title that year. Messi then chested in the winner in extra-time.

PACHUCA-AL WAHDA (2010 play-off for fifth place)Score in the 81st minute: 0-2

Final score: 4-2 on penalties (after a 2-2 draw)

Two years after that quarter-final win over Al Ahly, Pachuca were able to muster

another comeback when they needed to. Goals from Ismail Matar and Mahmoud Khamees had given a hard-working Al Wahda side a deserved 2-0 advantage with just under 15 minutes to play.

Despite being a man down following a sending off, Al Wahda even pushed for a third but were caught out twice on the break through goals from Dario Cvitanich. The Mexicans went on to prevail in the ensuing penalty shootout.

REAL MADRID-KASHIMA ANTLERS (2016 final)

Score in the 59th minute: 1-2Final score: 4-2

Just like Messi seven years previously, this time Cristiano Ronaldo was the match-winner in the Club World Cup final. Karim Benzema prodded the odds-on favourites in front in the ninth minute, but Gaku Shi-basaki sent the majority of the 70,000-strong crowd in Yokohama into raptures with a brace to give the J.League cham-pions an unexpected lead with around 40 minutes left to play.

Then came the Ronaldo show. After he equalised from the penalty spot in the 60th minute, both sides continued to have chances, and Kashima still sensed an upset was possible. The match went into extra-time, with Ronaldo scoring twice more to

swing the game Real Madrid’s way, although Yuma Suzuki hit the bar for the lively Japanese side with the score still at 3-2.

AL AIN-WELLINGTON (2018 first round)

Score in the 44th minute: 0-3Final score: 4-3 on penalties (after a 3-3

draw)

Hosts Al Ain welcomed Team Wel-lington to their own stadium, but the vis-itors were 3-0 up after 44 minutes thanks to some eye-catching goals.

However, Tsukasa Shiotani pulled one back for Al Ain on the stroke of half-time, and they struck again early in the second period through Tongo Doumbia. The home side continued to push for more, but became increasingly frustrated by wayward finishing. They finally managed to force an equaliser five minutes from time when substitute Marcus Berg shot on the turn to take the game into extra-time.

It proved largely uneventful, meaning the tie had to be decided by a penalty shootout, in which Al Ain completed the comeback. Subsequent victories over Esperance Tunis (3-0) and River Plate (5-4 on penalties) even took Al Ain into the final, where they lost 4-1 to Real Madrid.

Real Madrid players celebrate with the FIFA Club World Cup trophy after defeating Kashima Antlers in the final at the International Stadium in Yokohama, Japan in this December 18, 2016 file photo.

Ulsan looking to live up to ‘Tigers of Asia’ nicknameFIFA.COM – DOHA

This week will see the ‘Battle of the Tigers’ take place. Separated by almost 11,500 kilometres on opposite sides of the Pacific Ocean, Ulsan Hyundai Tigers of the K-League and Tigres UANL of Liga MX will get the rare opportunity to see which tiger is superior when the sides face off in the second round of the FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2020.

Ulsan’s players are relishing the opportunity fresh off winning the AFC Champions League at the end of 2020. The Korea Republic side will be in familiar surroundings as the Asian club championship was postponed due to COVID-19 and restarted with a centralised tour-nament held in Qatar.

The Tigers’ sensational journey culminated with a 2-1 victory over Persepolis in the final with Yoon Bitgaram named the tournament’s most valuable player.

“I just tried to enjoy the games rather than feeling burdened with pressure to perform,” Yoon said.

“It wasn’t just me – the rest of the squad

also enjoyed playing together, which I think gave us positive energy and enabled us to perform as well as we did.

“The most memorable goal would be the one against FC Tokyo (during the group phase), when I scored direct from a free-kick. It was an important equaliser in a haniljeon derby (one involving teams from Korea Republic and Japan), which is why this game stands out for me the most.”

Not only can coach Hong Myungbo rely on Yoon to be the fulcrum of a deadly attack, he also has a sturdy defence laying the foundation of what got them to Qatar 2020 in the first place. Ulsan allowed only seven goals in ten matches throughout their AFC Champions League campaign.

Centre-back Kim Keehee and defensive midfielder Won Dujae will be key in stifling the goal-scoring threat posed by Tigres’ all-time leading goalscorer Andre-Pierre

Gignac. Just like Kim, the uniqueness of the Club World Cup is not lost on Won.

“This isn’t a competition that just anyone can enter. Whether you’re from Asia or Europe, only the best teams from each region partic-ipate. It’s a great honour and we have to be at the top of our game.

“I think all the players have the same goal: which is to go all the way. But we want to win our upcoming game first and only then think about our overall objective.”

If Tigres find a way past them, Won and Kim know they have a goalkeeper in Jo Hyeonwoo who has experience being suc-cessful on the international stage. Jo was in goal for Korea Republic when they shocked Germany at the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia.

“ W e have to come out

stronger than our oppo-nents,” Jo said. “Our 11 players gel well as a team and will produce exciting dis-plays on the pitch. We need to live up to our ‘Tigers of Asia’ nickname and prove that we’re not an easy team to play against.”

If the ‘Tigers of Asia’ can beat the ‘Tigers of Concacaf’, they will be met by a Porco (Pig) in the semi-final, the nickname of Copa Liberta-dores winners Palmeiras.

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UEFA sets rules and deadlines for Champions League games

AP – GENEVA

UEFA set Champions League clubs an extended April 2 deadline yesterday to complete their round of 16 games, with Germany’s limit on travel from England a pending problem.

Liverpool’s visit to Leipzig on Feb. 16 for a first-leg game could be affected by federal restrictions on arrivals from England where an aggressive variant of COVID--19 is spreading.

“Currently there is no special arrangement for professional athletes,” the German interior ministry

said on Tuesday.UEFA requires clubs to “cooperate with

their national association in order to obtain from the relevant authorities exemptions from

existing travel restrictions, such as border clo-sures and quarantine requirements.”

The Champions League last 16 is scheduled to finish on March 17, and quarterfinal first legs are set for April 6-7.

The scope for rescheduling games was detailed in updated competition rules pub-lished by UEFA yesterday for organizing the

knockout rounds of the Champions League and Europa League. The Europa League resumes

on Feb. 18 at the last-32 stage and the Benfica-Arsenal games also have potential travel issues. UEFA set a March 5 deadline to complete the round, six days before the last-16 stage starts.

There are already few options to reschedule postponed games in congested domestic and

international programs.National teams worldwide will

call up players for the March 22-31 international break, including World Cup qualifying games. If clubs have travel restrictions affecting their home European games, the competition rule

books set a deadline of Monday in the week before to alert UEFA.

Al Ahly players taking part in a training session in Doha yesterday ahead of their opening FIFA Club World Cup clash against Al Duhail. TWITTER/@ALAHLYENGLISH

Tigers UANL players taking part in a training session in Doha yesterday. TWITTER/@TIGRESOFICIAL

Gearing up for contest

Bayern Munich are one of only four teams with a 100 per cent winning record in the FIFA Club World Cup. Internazionale, Milan and

Sao Paulo are the other three clubs.

79 seconds is all Al Ain’s Mohamed Ahmed required to head home the fastest goal from kick-off in FIFA Club

World Cup history against Esperance at UAE 2018. It broke Diego Tardelli’s record, set for Atletico Mineiro against Guangzhou Evergrande in 2013, by 32 seconds.

44 years and ten months was the age at which Oscar Perez kept goal for Pachuca against Gremio in the

UAE 2017 semi-finals, making him the oldest player to appear in the tour-nament by over five years. He is fol-lowed by 39-year-olds Mitsuo Ogasawara, Miguel Calero, Ante Covic and Paolo Maldini.

17 years and three months was the age at which Alexandre Pato broke Pele’s record

– set for Brazil against Wales at Sweden 1958 – to become the youngest scorer in a senior FIFA men’s tournament. Pato had never even made a professional appearance when he was named in Internacional’s Japan 2006 squad, though he netted one minute into his debut three days later. Javier Zanetti, who was 37, is the com-petition’s oldest marksman.

14 years is the longest gap between a club’s consecutive appear-ances in the compe-tition. Real Madrid

appeared first at Brazil 2000 and next at Morocco 2014, while Liverpool equaled this record last year with a victorious comeback 14 years after the final lost in 2005.

8 goals is what makes Gamba Osaka 3-5 Man-chester United at Japan 2008 the highest-scoring match in Club World Cup

history. Two finals have produced an unparalleled six goals: AC Milan 4-2 Boca Juniors in 2007 and Real Madrid

4-2 Kashima Antlers in 2016. The competition has never produced a victory by more than a four-goal margin.

Toni Kroos has participated in the FIFA Club World Cup final five times and won all of them; he won the tour-nament in 2013 with Bayern

Munich, and then in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018 as a Real Madrid player.

7 goals is what makes Cris-tiano Ronaldo the leading marksman in the competi-tion’s history, having netted once for Manchester United

in 2008, four times for Real Madrid in 2016 and twice for the same side the following year. Gareth Bale is next on six goals, while Cesar Delgado, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez have five apiece. All of Suarez’s goals came at Japan 2015, making him the leading marksman at one edition.

5 finals have not been Europe versus South America. Corinthians faced

fellow Brazilians Vasco da Gama in the first, while Congolese TP Mazembe, Moroccans Raja Casa-blanca, Japanese Kashima Antlers and Emirati Al Ain played Old Continent opposition in the 2010, 2013, 2017 and 2019 deciders respectively.

4.1 goals per game was the whopping average of UAE 2018 (33 goals in eight matches),

smashing the previous record of 3.50 shared by Morocco 2013 and Japan 2016. The 2019 tournament produced the second highest average, with 3.75 goals per game scored (30 goals in eight matches).

4 players have scored Club World Cup hat-tricks: Suarez against Guangzhou Evergrande in the 2015 semi-finals, Ronaldo against Kashima Antlers

in the 2016 final, Bale against the Antlers in the last four in 2018 and ES Tunis’ Hamdou Elhouni against Al Sadd last year.

10 WEDNESDAY 3 FEBRUARY 2021SPORT

Aguero still weeks away from return after COVID-19: GuardiolaREUTERS – LONDON

Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero is out of COVID-19 isolation but still weeks away from returning, manager Pep Guardiola said yesterday.

The Premier League leaders’ all-time top scorer tested positive for the new coronavirus early last month and has not started since October due to knee surgery ruling him out early in the campaign.

The Argentine posted a message on Twitter on Sunday, however, saying he was now fully recovered.

“I was at the club’s gym today, and soon I’ll be back training with my team mates. Can’t wait,” he said.

Guardiola ruled Aguero out of Wednesday’s trip to Burnley and indicated the player would have to be patient.

“When one guy suffers (from) COVID-19 it can take weeks to feel better. He is still not training on the field,” the manager told reporters.

“He started to move a little bit yesterday so he will need a few weeks to come back.

“But it’s important that he is negative, this is the most important thing, he’s healthy again and now he can come back again. It’s important for us to have him back here.” City are three points clear of second placed Man-chester United and four ahead of champions Liverpool, with a game in hand over both.

Guardiola said City had no fresh injury con-cerns, with Nathan Ake

and Kevin De Bruyne remaining sidelined. City have won 12 games in a row in all competitions and Guardiola has never lost against Sean Dyche’s Burnley in 12 meetings, winning 11.

“The past is nothing. Every team is a new chance, a new challenge, to do a good game,” said the Spaniard. “What hap-pened in the past, I don’t pay zero attention. It is about tomorrow, what we have to do to beat them. That is only my concern.”

Marseille suspend coach Villas-BoasREUTERS – PARIS

French club Olympique de Marseille announced that they suspended manager Andre Villas-Boas yesterday, hours after the Portuguese coach said he had offered to resign over disagree-ments with the club’s board.

“Olympique de Marseille announces the pending disciplinary proceedings of Andre Villas-Boas,” the club said in a statement.

“This protective decision has become inevitable given the recent repetition of actions and attitudes which are seriously damaging to the Marseille Olympic institution and its employees, who defend it daily.”

Villas-Boas, who joined the club in 2019, had criticised the board for recruiting a player he had rejected and for informing him at the last minute that another was leaving as the transfer window closed on Monday night.

“I offered my resignation, saying that I did not agree with the sporting policy,” Villas-Boas told a news con-ference earlier yesterday.

Villas-Boas, who last month said he would leave when his contract expired at the end of the season, ref-erenced the club’s signing of Olivier Ntcham from Celtic and the departure

of striker Nemanja Radonjic for Hertha Berlin, saying he was informed of the sale at 10.30pm local time on Monday.

“We ended the transfer window with a new player. He is a player that I had said ‘no’ for,” Villas-Boas said.

Marseille said they were considering sanctions against the Portuguese coach, f o l l o w i n g d i s c i p l i n a r y proceedings.

“The comments made today at a press conference ... are unac-ceptable,” the club added. Marseille were knocked out of the Cham-pions League at the group stage and sit ninth in the French league, 16 points behind leaders Lille.

“The results - it’s my fault. I’m very upset. But if there’s something you cannot touch, it’s my profession-alism,” Villas-Boas said.

“I cannot accept this. This club has already been through a couple of messy years in terms of transfers.” Marseille travel to RC Lens today.

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Messi contract highlights tax burden for playersAP – MADRID

The leak of Lionel Messi’s multimillion dollar contract has brought attention to the high amount of taxes soccer players pay in Spain, prompting the league to raise concerns about the departure of its top stars.

Details of Messi’s €555m ($671m) contract over four seasons were released by the El Mundo newspaper on Sunday, upsetting the club and instigating the promise of lawsuits.

The contract made head-lines everywhere, and Spanish league president Javier Tebas took the opportunity on Monday to underline the high amount of taxes owed by Messi. He noted that the Argentina great has to pay about €270m ($326m) in taxes for his con-tract, nearly half of its value.

Tebas said that in Italy, for example, a player with a similar contract would have to pay about €135m ($163m) in taxes.

“We will have an exodus of talent to other countries,” Tebas wrote on Twitter. “The (league) will lose players who help gen-erate 1.37% of the country’s GDP and more than 180,000 jobs.”

Tebas has long criticized Spain’s tax requirements for soccer players, saying they put the league at a disadvantage in transfer negotiations. He has pushed for the Spanish gov-ernment to change some of its tax rules that may scare some players away. Rules in Italy and France are considered less strict on players than in Spain.

Local tax authorities in Spain have been going after soccer stars in recent years, accusing several of them of fraud over how they have interpreted the local laws, especially regarding image rights. Authorities amped their monitoring of players’ tax filings and have been making a point of bringing attention to alleged irregularities.

Messi himself was con-victed of tax fraud in Spain in 2017, receiving a 21-month sus-pended prison sentence that ended up as a fine. Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar also were among the several players tar-geted by authorities. Neymar left for French club Paris Saint-Germain and Ronaldo for Italian team Juventus. José Mourinho was investigated as well for the time he was coach of Real Madrid.

Andre Villas-Boas

Liverpool need ‘miracle’ for Van Dijk to return this seasonREUTERS – LONDON

Liverpool centre back Virgil van Dijk will need a miracle to play any part in the club’s Premier League title defence this season, manager Juergen Klopp said yesterday.

The 29-year-old Dutch defender was injured against Everton in October, needing knee surgery after goalkeeper Jordan Pickford’s reckless challenge.

British media suggested this week he may return in April.“No doctor told me there’s a chance for Virgil to play

again this season. I don’t want to say it’s impossible but it’s not likely,” Klopp told reporters ahead of Wednesday’s Premier League game against Brighton & Hove Albion.

“If there is no space (in the squad) we have to make a decision. If he’s on the list it’s only because we hope for a miracle.

“I think we have space for Virgil on the Champions League (squad) list. If we have space, then Virgil will be on the list.” Liverpool brought in defensive reinforcements on transfer deadline day, signing centre-backs Ben Davies and Ozan Kabak, even as they were hit with more bad news that defender Joel Matip was also out for the season with an ankle ligament injury.

“I don’t have the right words for it. It’s a big, big blow,” Klopp added.

“You lose the player on the pitch and also the person in the dressing room. It looks like he will need surgery ... It’s really harsh. These last few weeks ... we had to consider our situation and what we have to do. We were looking in each league and then I saw Ben and was really inter-ested ... He’s a really competitive player who is used to playing a lot of games," he said.

I offered my resignation, saying that I did not agree

with the sporting policyWe ended the transfer window with a new player. He is a player that I had said ‘no’ for.The results - it’s my fault. I’m very upset. But if there’s something you cannot touch, it’s my professionalism.I cannot accept this. This club has already been through a couple of messy years in terms of transfers: Villas-Boas

09WEDNESDAY 3 FEBRUARY 2021SportAustralia pulls out of 3-Test cricket tour of South AfricaAP - MELBOURNE

Cricket Australia has pulled out of a three-Test series in South Africa next month, citing an “unacceptable risk” of sending players there during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Interim chief executive Nick Hockley issued a statement late yesterday saying he believed there was no choice but to postpone the tour and he had informed his South African counterparts.

“Due to the public health situation in South Africa, which includes a second wave and new variant of the virus, and following extensive due dili-gence with medical experts, it has become clear that traveling from Australia to South Africa poses an unacceptable level of health and safety risk to our players, support staff and the community,” Hockley said.

“This decision has not been made lightly and we are extremely disappointed, espe-cially given the importance of continuing international cricket at this time, our valued rela-tionship with CSA, and our aspi-rations to compete in the

inaugural ICC world Test championship.”

Tim Paine’s Australia team just finished a 2-1 home series loss to India following a first defeat at the Gabba since 1988. South Africa is 1-0 down in Pakistan with the second and final Test starting tomorrow.

Hockley said the South African and Australian cricket boards weren’t able to finalize a bio-security plan for the series that was scheduled for March.

It’s a setback for coach Justin Langer and Test captain Paine, who were appointed in the wake of the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa in 2018 that resulted in 12-month bans for then captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner.

“As difficult and disap-pointing a decision as this is, especially for Justin, Tim and the team, we have a duty of care to our people and their health and safety can’t be compro-mised,” Hockley said. “We look forward to playing the series at a date to be confirmed.”

Missing the series means Australia has no control over its prospects of qualifying for the inaugural world Test

championship in July. New Zealand is in prime position, with India, England and Aus-tralia also in contention pending the outcome of the India-England series.

Australia selected two squads because of a schedule clash that involved a tour to New Zealand for five Twenty20s and the test series in South Africa.

It’s unlikely any of the Test players will be redeployed for the T20 series, with Cricket Australia saying when the sep-arate squads were announced that there wouldn’t be changes in personnel even if the South Africa series was scrapped.

South Africa also had to deal with a cancellation in early December when England withdrew from the ODI portion of its tour after a virus outbreak at the supposedly bio-secure Cape Town hotel where both teams were staying.

Both squads had members infected, along with two hotel workers.

South Africa later hosted and won a two-Test series against Sri Lanka which ended on Jan 5 in Johannesburg.

South Africa has recorded more than 1.45 million corona-virus cases and over 44,000 deaths. Since late last year, it has been battling a more trans-missible variant of the virus.

CSA acting chief executive officer Pholetsi Moseki said

costs already incurred by the organisation in planning for the Austral ia tour were significant.

“In this challenging period for cricket and its member countries, we believe the stance taken by CA is regrettable and will have a serious impact on the sustainability of the less wealthy cricket playing nations.”

South Africa angry as Australia pulls out of tour at short notice REUTERS - MELBOURNE

Australia’s decision to pull out of next month’s three-Test tour in South Africa due to the COVID-19 pandemic is “extremely disappointing” considering the hosts had put in place a number of safety measures, Cricket South Africa (CSA) said yesterday.

The tour’s postponement means New Zealand have become the first team to qualify for the inaugural ICC World Test Championship final, which will be held in England from June 18, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said.

“New Zealand are currently ranked second on the ICC WTC table with a points percentage of 70%, which has secured them a place in the final,” the ICC added.

“They will be joined by either India, England, or Australia with the second spot being determined by the outcome of the India v England four-match test series due to start on Friday.”

Cricket Australia’s interim chief exec-utive Nick Hockley had said in an earlier

statement that travelling from Australia to South Africa posed an unacceptable level of health and safety risk to players, support staff and the community.

No dates were given on when the tour might take place.But CSA Director of Cricket Graeme Smith believes the Aus-

tralian concerns are unfounded.“We are extremely disappointed by the decision of CA,”

Smith said in a statement. “CSA has been working tirelessly in recent weeks to ensure that we meet every single expectation of CA. “So to be informed about the CA decision at the eleventh hour is frustrating.”

Graeme Smith

Pakistan cricket players in action during a team training session in Rawalpindi yesterday. Pakistan host South Africa in the second Test at the same venue starting tomorrow. Pakistan won the first Test by seven wickets in Karachi last week.

South Africa seek end to batting woes in 2nd Test against PakistanREUTERS - RAWALPINDI

South Africa batsman Rassie van der Dussen says his team mates must show more appli-cation at the crease if they are to beat Pakistan in the second and final Test to share the series.

Van der Dussen scored a patient 64 in his side’s second innings of their seven-wicket loss in the first Test in Karachi, one of the few among the tourists to get to grips with the lower bounce of the wicket and the skill of the home team’s spinners.

South Africa have passed 300 just three times in their last 25 innings on the sub-continent and Van der Dussen said they

had to adjust to conditions better in the second Test starting in Rawalpindi tomorrow.

“We knew we needed 350 and if we could have batted the whole day, we would have got there,” Van der Dussen told reporters of the first Test, where they were dismissed for 220 in their first innings after winning the toss and electing to bat.

“It was a combination of good bowling, indecision from the new guys, and run outs that shouldn’t happen.

“In the subcontinent, all dis-missals are in play all of the time. Because the ball is not bouncing over the stumps, you have to set yourself up to counter being bowled and lbw,

and there are also catchers around the bat.”

There have been sugges-tions the Rawalpindi pitch will be more seamer friendly than Karachi, where there was pro-digious turn from day one, but Van der Dussen is not so sure.

“It looks like most of the grass has been taken off and how hard they will make it is difficult to say. My first impression is that there won’t be much for the new ball,” he said. “There was a fair amount of reverse (swing) in the first match and I think it will play the same role.”

South Africa have won 15 of their last 31 Tests, losing the other 16 due mainly to their frail batting.

Pakistan coach Misbah-ul-Haq has no qualms about tink-ering with his line-up, even deciding to drop one of the spin duo of Nauman Ali and Yasir Shah despite their impressive combined figures of 14-206 in the first test.

“The weather and pitch is different from what we got in Karachi,” he said.

“We are open for change if needed and it’s not compulsory to play a spinner just because he did well (in the first Test),” he said.

“The conditions are likely to be different but we have to carry on with all the good things we did in the first Test and look out for the areas where we can improve.”

'Fan favourite' Hughes inducted into Australia’s Hall of FameREUTERS - SYDNEY

Former fast bowler Merv Hughes (pictured) has been inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame, the country’s cricket board said yesterday.

Renowned for his trademark handlebar moustache as well as his aggressive bowling style, he took 212 wickets in 53 Tests between 1985 and 1994.

His career-best test figures of 8-87 came against the West Indies at the WACA in 1988 and included the final wicket of a hat-trick spread across three separate overs, two innings and two

different days. Hughes, 59, also played 33 one-day interna-tional matches claiming 38 wickets. Following his

retirement, H u g h e s worked as selector and b o w l i n g coach for Victoria state b e f o r e r e p l a c i n g Allan Border as national selector in 2005.

“ M e r v was an icon of the Australian summer for so many of us, a larger-than-life personality, a wonderful international cricketer, an ambassador for

the sport and a deserved inductee,” Australian Cricket Hall of Fame Chairman Peter King said. “A lion-hearted com-petitor, Merv boasts a proud career for Victoria and Australia in the Test and one-day inter-national arenas, paving the way for an incredible era of Aus-tralian cricketing dominance. Even as synonymous as his on-field record, Merv will be forever remembered as a fan-favourite.”

Inductees are selected by representatives from all levels of cricket including the Mel-bourne Cricket Club chairman, three ex-players, CEOs of Cricket Australia and Australian Cricketers’ Association along with two members of the media.

Langer says reports of player discontent a ‘wake-up call’REUTERS - SYDNEY

Australia’s national cricket coach Justin Langer said media reports that his coaching style had caused discontent in the dressing room will serve as a “wake-up call”.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported last week that Langer’s style had worn thin with players, with an unnamed source saying senior members of the squad were frustrated by the atmosphere among the group.

“I’m not going to ignore this... absolutely, it’s a wake-up call,” Langer, whose team were beaten 2-1 by India in their Test series last month, told ESPNcricinfo.

“Whenever I finish this coaching career I hope I’m still calling myself a novice... I’ll see this crit-icism as a great gift in a few weeks or months.

“My greatest mentors in life are the people who told me the truth and were toughest on me... I’ve always needed that honest feedback. I might not enjoy it at the time, but it’s so, so valuable.”

Langer said on the Cricket Et Cetera podcast

that he hoped his players would talk to him about issues.

“Do I get grumpy sometimes? Yeah... I’m not perfect, that’s for sure, but I’m pretty good at some of the things I do... I would rather they came straight to me, that’s the Australian way... let’s talk through it and work things out.”

Test captain Tim Paine last week stepped forward to defend Langer via News Corp, where he is contracted as a columnist, but others have been extremely hesitant to stick their heads above the parapet in public.

“JL is a passionate guy, particularly when it comes to this team and Australian cricket," Paine said. “He's also the guy who kicks the bin over and then puts the rubbish back in. He wears his heart on his sleeve, is tough, fair and at times emotional, just as he was as a player and now as a coach. You would be worried if that wasn't the case.”

Langer played 105 Tests for Australia during his career that started in 1993 and ended with an Ashes series win in 2007.

Archer defends England’s rotation policy in busy yearREUTERS - LONDON

Anyone criticising England’s much debated rotation policy has not spent time inside a bio-secure bubble to understand the toll its strict COVID-19 protocols takes on players’ mental health, fast bowler Jofra Archer (pictured below) said yesterday.

England are scheduled to play 17 Tests this year apart from the Twenty20 World Cup and other limited over internationals and while their workload in a busy year is a concern, players have been urged to come forward if the mental strain is too much.

England rested Archer and all-rounder Ben Stokes for the Sri Lanka series and both return for the four-Test India series that begins on Friday in Chennai while Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran and Mark Wood are rested for the first two Tests.

“It’s going to be a long, long year. There are a few series coming up and body management will be important,” Archer told reporters.

“Anyone that’s criticising (player rotation) has never stayed in a bubble.

“At the end of the day, humans are social people, especially when you’re not having a great game. There’s no escape, nowhere to go.

“The ECB has been great, making it a priority so you can come back fresh and ready to go. I know I’ll get my time away and focus on the job at hand. If it gets overbearing, there’s no shame in that, but right now I’m good to go.”

The four Tests are being played in bubbles in Chennai and Ahmedabad and though there is a possibility that fans will be

allowed to attend, Archer said he was not getting his hopes up after playing at empty venues amid the pandemic.

“If it happens, I’ll believe it when I see it,” he said. “The last eight months have been crazy. They’ve made promises which have never come off so I’ll believe it when fans walk in through the gates.”