The qualifying draw for the 2014 World Cup will take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from 7-9pm BST.
EUROPE (UEFA)
13 qualifiers from nine groups, eight groups of six and one of five. Nine group winners qualify and eight runner-up playoff for the remaining four places. Worst runner-up does not advance from the group.
Group A Croatia, Serbia, Belgium, SCOTLAND, Macedonia, WALES
Group B Italy, Denmark, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Armenia, Malta
Group C Germany, Sweden, IRELAND, Austria, Faroe Islands, Kazakhstan
Group D Netherlands, Turkey, Hungary, Romania, Estonia, Andorra
Group E Norway, Slovenia, Switzerland, Albania, Cyprus, Iceland
Group F Portugal, Russia, Israel, NORTHERN IRELAND, Azerbaijan, Luxembourg
Group G Greece, Slovakia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Lithuania, Latvia, Liechtenstein
Group H ENGLAND, Montenegro, Ukraine, Poland, Moldova, San Marino
Group I Spain, France, Belarus, Georgia, Finland
SOUTH AMERICA (CONMEBOL)
5.5 qualifiers. Brazil qualify automatically as hosts. Top four qualify from an all-in-one group of nine teams. Fifth-placed team enters inter-continental playoff.
Round-robin group Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela
AFRICA (CAF)
5 qualifiers. 12 teams enter preliminary playoff to join another 28 teams in 10 groups of four. The 10 group winners advance to a playoff round in which the five winners qualify.
Group A South Africa, Botswana, Central African Republic, Somalia/Ethiopia
Group B Tunisia, Cape Verde Islands, Sierra Leone, Equitorial Guinea/Madagascar
Group C Ivory Coast, Morocco, Gambia, Chad/Tanzania
Group D Ghana, Zambia, Sudan, Lesotho/Burundi
Group E Burkina Faso, Gabon, Niger, Sao Tome e Principe/Congo
Group F Nigeria, Malawi, Seychelles/Kenya, Djoubouti/Namibia
Group G Egypt, Guinea, Zimbabwe, Comoros/Mozambique
Group H Algeria, Mali, Benin, Eritrea/Rwanda
Group I Cameroon, Libya, Guinea-Bissau/Togo, Swaziland/Congo DR
Group J Senegal, Uganda, Angola, Mauritius/Liberia
ASIA (AFC)
4.5 qualifiers. 20 teams are drawn into five groups of four. The five group winners and runners-up advance to the final group stage of two separate groups. The top two from both of these groups qualify with the third-placed teams entering a playoff for the right to play an inter-continental playoff.
Group A China, Jordan, Iraq, Singapore
Group B South Korea, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Lebanon
Group C Japan, Uzbekistan, Syria, North Korea
Group D Australia, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Thailand
Group E Iran, Qatar, Bahrain, Indonesia
NORTH & CENTRAL AMERICA, AND CARIBBEAN (CONCACAF)
3.5 qualifiers. 24 teams are drawn into six groups of four with a further six teams receiving byes. The six group winners join the six teams with byes in the next round in which they are drawn into three groups of four. The three group winners and runners-up advance to the final round, a group of six. The top three teams qualify while the fourth-placed team advances to an inter-continental playoff.
Group A El Salvador, Surinam, Cayman Islands, Dominican Republic
Group B Trinidad & Tobago, Guyana, Barbados, Bermuda
Group C Panama, Dominica, Nicaragua, Bahamas
Group D Canada, St Kitts and Nevis, Puerto Rico, St Lucia
Group E Grenada, Guatemala, St Vincent & Grenadines, Belize
Group F Haiti, Antigua and Barbuda, Curacao, US Virgin Islands
Then:
Group A United States, Jamaica, Winner E, Winner F
Group B Mexico, Costa Rica, Winner A, Winner B
Group C Honduras, Cuba, Winner D, Winner C
OCEANIA (OFC)
0.5 qualifiers. Eight teams will contest the group stage of the 2012 OFC Nations Cup in two groups of four. The winners and runners-up in the two groups contest a final group of four in which the winners will advance to an inter-continental playoff.
Group A Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Winner 1*, Tahiti
Group B Fiji, New Zealand, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea
Winner 1*: American Samoa, Cook Islands, Samoa or Tonga
INTER-CONTINENTAL PLAYOFFS
2 qualifiers. Asian fifth-placed side v South American fifth-placed side,
North American fourth-placed side v Oceania winners
Saturday, 30 July 2011
Friday, 29 July 2011
F1 2011 Special: BBC breaks the chain
FORMULA ONE fans will have to fork out £487 to watch every race live in 2012 after today's carve-up by Bernie Ecclestone, the BBC and Sky.
The new seven-year deal allows Skysports to cover all the races while the BBC will only show 10 from each season and post-race highlights of any Grand Prix not shown live.
Unsurprisingly, the decision has resulted in a huge backlash on social media sites and even on the SkySports website itself.
Meanwhile, a blog by the BBC's Head of F1, Ben Gallop, has already attracted over 2500 comments, none of which seem to be in any way positive.
On the blog, Mr Gallop attempts to rationalise the decision by confirming that the races at Monaco and Silverstone, as well as the season finale, will still be shown on free-to-air television.
But his suggestion that the BBC is "sharing the coverage" in "partnership" with Sky simply pays pointless lip-service to the viewer.
For, while Sky is able to tell the whole story of a season from next year, the BBC's narrative will be continually interrupted. As one commenter states below the line: "It will be like reading every other page of a book."
Further on, Mr Gallop also states the BBC has chosen to make this deal because of the necessary cut-backs which it has to make.
"The bare facts speak for themselves," he wrote. "The BBC needs to save money.
"Given the financial circumstances in which we find ourselves, we believe this new deal offers the best outcome for licence-fee payers."
But that comment ignores the fact that, since the BBC regained coverage of F1 from ITV three years ago, it has gone from strength to strength.
The viewer experience has been enhanced by various features including the driver tracker, the screening of practice sessions and the introduction of a post-race forum
Consequently, viewing figures for F1 are at a ten-year high this season as exciting races are overseen by a BAFTA-award winning team, no less.
Indeed, if those were the circumstances for a prime-time entertainment show, would the BBC have been so quick to target it for cost-cutting?
Certainly, this cull is an odd way to reward the likes of presenter Jake Humphrey, his side-kick Eddie Jordan, and commentators Martin Brundle and David Coulthard for their excellent coverage.
But, of course, it is the viewers unable or unwilling to pay for Sky who will suffer most.
Admittedly, shooting down the blog by Mr Gallop is a little like shooting the messenger and undoubtedly a large share of the blame must be laid at the door of Formula One Management chief Mr Ecclestone.
Just two months ago after the Turkish GP, Mr Ecclestone seemed to rule out a bid from Sky when the rights were due to be renewed in 2013.
He said: "Sky is doing an incredible job but if you look at their audience figures they are nowhere...It would be almost impossible for teams to find sponsors. That would be suicidal."
But that appears now to have been a bare-faced lie from Mr Ecclestone and the feeling persists that he has done this for the benefit of his bank balance only.
Apparently, the teams were not even consulted on the matter but, if they had been, it seems inevitable there would have surely been some major representations.
Perhaps more than in any other sport, the teams rely on their sponsors to meet their running costs.
Any chance of sponsors pulling out due to a dwindling viewership and a lack of exposure would set off alarm bells.
That definitely would have been the case if Sky's F1 coverage is anything like their previous failure to make inroads into motorsport with the dreadful uninteresting A1 GP series.
So, in short, the worst case scenario could be a falling viewership leading to sponsors potentially pulling out meaning teams actually going under.
And what exactly is there to like about any of that?
The new seven-year deal allows Skysports to cover all the races while the BBC will only show 10 from each season and post-race highlights of any Grand Prix not shown live.
Unsurprisingly, the decision has resulted in a huge backlash on social media sites and even on the SkySports website itself.
Meanwhile, a blog by the BBC's Head of F1, Ben Gallop, has already attracted over 2500 comments, none of which seem to be in any way positive.
On the blog, Mr Gallop attempts to rationalise the decision by confirming that the races at Monaco and Silverstone, as well as the season finale, will still be shown on free-to-air television.
But his suggestion that the BBC is "sharing the coverage" in "partnership" with Sky simply pays pointless lip-service to the viewer.
For, while Sky is able to tell the whole story of a season from next year, the BBC's narrative will be continually interrupted. As one commenter states below the line: "It will be like reading every other page of a book."
Further on, Mr Gallop also states the BBC has chosen to make this deal because of the necessary cut-backs which it has to make.
"The bare facts speak for themselves," he wrote. "The BBC needs to save money.
"Given the financial circumstances in which we find ourselves, we believe this new deal offers the best outcome for licence-fee payers."
But that comment ignores the fact that, since the BBC regained coverage of F1 from ITV three years ago, it has gone from strength to strength.
The viewer experience has been enhanced by various features including the driver tracker, the screening of practice sessions and the introduction of a post-race forum
Consequently, viewing figures for F1 are at a ten-year high this season as exciting races are overseen by a BAFTA-award winning team, no less.
Indeed, if those were the circumstances for a prime-time entertainment show, would the BBC have been so quick to target it for cost-cutting?
Certainly, this cull is an odd way to reward the likes of presenter Jake Humphrey, his side-kick Eddie Jordan, and commentators Martin Brundle and David Coulthard for their excellent coverage.
But, of course, it is the viewers unable or unwilling to pay for Sky who will suffer most.
Admittedly, shooting down the blog by Mr Gallop is a little like shooting the messenger and undoubtedly a large share of the blame must be laid at the door of Formula One Management chief Mr Ecclestone.
Just two months ago after the Turkish GP, Mr Ecclestone seemed to rule out a bid from Sky when the rights were due to be renewed in 2013.
He said: "Sky is doing an incredible job but if you look at their audience figures they are nowhere...It would be almost impossible for teams to find sponsors. That would be suicidal."
But that appears now to have been a bare-faced lie from Mr Ecclestone and the feeling persists that he has done this for the benefit of his bank balance only.
Apparently, the teams were not even consulted on the matter but, if they had been, it seems inevitable there would have surely been some major representations.
Perhaps more than in any other sport, the teams rely on their sponsors to meet their running costs.
Any chance of sponsors pulling out due to a dwindling viewership and a lack of exposure would set off alarm bells.
That definitely would have been the case if Sky's F1 coverage is anything like their previous failure to make inroads into motorsport with the dreadful uninteresting A1 GP series.
So, in short, the worst case scenario could be a falling viewership leading to sponsors potentially pulling out meaning teams actually going under.
And what exactly is there to like about any of that?
Thursday, 28 July 2011
London 2012: One year to go for the Olympics
SPLASH! London called out to the Olympic Games last night with the main event now under a year away.
Plymouth diver and major medal hope Tom Daley, 17, christened the Aquatics Centre in Stratford with an inward one-and-a-half somersault pike, a dive he will perform in the synchronised competition next year.
There followed a swimming race between various British Olympic legends and competitors including Duncan Goodhew, Roger Black, Tessa Sanderson, Steve Backley, Gail Emms, Allison Curbishley and Jamie Baulch.
Five-time Olympic 50m swimmer Mark Foster won the race inside 25 seconds with former javelin gold medallist Sanderson coming last almost a minute later.
Meanwhile, the crowd in Trafalgar Square attempted to replicate the atmosphere from when London beat Paris in the bidding process for the Olympics 2012 on 6th July 2005.
The BBC screened a special programme during which The Feeling played a cover version of David Bowie's Heroes.
However, the strangest musical juxtaposition came about when a series of Conservative politicians were introduced to the stage by the sound of London Calling by left-wing punk band The Clash.
British Olympic Association chief Lord Colin Moynihan was joined, of course, by Logoc chairman Lord Sebastian Coe - but also by London mayor Boris Johnson and Prime Minister David Cameron.
In fairness to Mr Cameron, he made a fine welcoming speech to the visiting Olympic associations and he made clear his appreciation for the effort which has already been made by the Games organisers.
Mr Cameron said the Olympics would be "the greatest ever Games in the world's greatest country" and added: "It's on time [and] it's on budget.
"The great stadium is finished, the Aquatics Centre is finished, the Velodrome is finished and I believe this can be a great advertisement for our country."
But, while most of the venues may now be ready, the big question is: are the British athletes? And, perhaps, the even bigger question is: are the British public?
More follows tomorrow.
Plymouth diver and major medal hope Tom Daley, 17, christened the Aquatics Centre in Stratford with an inward one-and-a-half somersault pike, a dive he will perform in the synchronised competition next year.
There followed a swimming race between various British Olympic legends and competitors including Duncan Goodhew, Roger Black, Tessa Sanderson, Steve Backley, Gail Emms, Allison Curbishley and Jamie Baulch.
Five-time Olympic 50m swimmer Mark Foster won the race inside 25 seconds with former javelin gold medallist Sanderson coming last almost a minute later.
Meanwhile, the crowd in Trafalgar Square attempted to replicate the atmosphere from when London beat Paris in the bidding process for the Olympics 2012 on 6th July 2005.
The BBC screened a special programme during which The Feeling played a cover version of David Bowie's Heroes.
However, the strangest musical juxtaposition came about when a series of Conservative politicians were introduced to the stage by the sound of London Calling by left-wing punk band The Clash.
British Olympic Association chief Lord Colin Moynihan was joined, of course, by Logoc chairman Lord Sebastian Coe - but also by London mayor Boris Johnson and Prime Minister David Cameron.
In fairness to Mr Cameron, he made a fine welcoming speech to the visiting Olympic associations and he made clear his appreciation for the effort which has already been made by the Games organisers.
Mr Cameron said the Olympics would be "the greatest ever Games in the world's greatest country" and added: "It's on time [and] it's on budget.
"The great stadium is finished, the Aquatics Centre is finished, the Velodrome is finished and I believe this can be a great advertisement for our country."
But, while most of the venues may now be ready, the big question is: are the British athletes? And, perhaps, the even bigger question is: are the British public?
More follows tomorrow.
Monday, 25 July 2011
Copa America 2011: Suarez and Forlan fire Uruguay to victory
FINAL
Uruguay 3 (Suarez 11, Forlan 41, 89)
Paraguay 0
Uruguay Muslera - M Pereira, Lugano (c), Coates, M Caceres (Godin 88) - Gonzalez, Perez (Eguren 69), Arevalo, A Pereira (Cavani 63) - Forlan, Suarez. Booked: Caceres, D Perez, M Pereira, Coates.
Paraguay Villar (c) - Piris, Veron, da Silva, Marecos - Vera (H Perez 64), Ortigoza, V Caceres (Estigarribia 64), Riveros - Zeballos (Barrios 76), Valdez. Booked: Vera, V Caceres.
Attendance 52,000 at the Estadio Monumental Referee Salvio Fagundes (Brazil)
LUIS SUAREZ and Diego Forlan both scored as Uruguay easily beat Paraguay in Buenos Aires to take an overall lead in the total number of Copa Americas.
Liverpool striker and player of the tournament Suarez opened the scoring in the 11th minute with a deflected strike but, even at that early stage, it was a deserved lead against the toothless Paraguayans.
The match was all one-way traffic with Uruguay dominating for the rest of the first half and so it came as no surprise when Oscar Tabarez's men scored their second just before the break.
This time, it was Atletico Madrid man Forlan who struck his first goal of the tournament after Paraguay had cheaply surrendered possession.
For most of the second half, Uruguay relaxed but it was rarely enough to allow Paraguay a sniff of getting back in the game.
Paraguay did hit the bar on 54 minutes when Nelson Valdez struck a spectacular volley but it was actually Uruguay who finished more strongly.
Sebastian Eguren almost scored in the 74th minute but was foiled when the tournament's best goalkeeper Justo Villar stuck out his left arm with the ball heading for the net.
But Villar was finally beaten for a third time in the last minute by Forlan. The 32-year-old equalled the national record of 31 goals held by Hector Scarone in his 82nd cap with a fine strike after collecting a pass from Suarez.
Uruguay had won and confirmed the arrival of a new golden generation after their third place in last year's World Cup finals, their best result in that tournament since 1970.
The Uruguayans now have 15 Copa America titles as compared to Argentina's 14 and Brazil's eight.
Led by an experienced coach in Tabarez, they importantly have a strong spine in their team of goalkeeper Fernando Muslera, captain and centre-back Diego Lugano, and midfielders Diego Perez and Alvaro Pereira.
And then, of course, Uruguay has been blessed with Forlan and Suarez up front, perhaps the most lethal strike-force currently playing international football.
At the start, though, this was a rather odd tournament. Even eventual winners Uruguay could only take a point from their opening two matches in 1-1 draws against Peru and Chile.
Thankfully for them, Pereira scored early on in the third match against Mexico to ensure progress but only as a runner-up in Group C behind Chile.
Even then, the Chileans had only secured top spot with a last-minute goal over third-placed Peru who qualified as the best third-placed team.
Meanwhile, hosts and pre-tournament favourites Argentina laboured to consecutive opening draws in Group A against Bolivia and Colombia.
Those results for La Albiceleste allowed the Colombians to take control of the group and they duly finished top with three clean sheets after wins against Bolivia and Costa Rica who both went out.
Argentina only confirmed their progression on the final matchday although there were few nerves on display in the routine 3-0 win over the disappointing, if youthful, Costa Ricans.
It should easily have been a more handsome win with Gonzalo Higuain particularly guilty of missing a hatful of easy chances laid-on by Lionel Messi.
But, with Messi pulling the strings behind a front three of Higuain, Angelo di Maria and Sergio Aguero, the Argentines finished the group stages finally looking as if they may justify their favourites tag.
Finally, in Group B, Brazil also began with two draws though they produced contrasting performances in the 0-0 against Venezuela and the 2-2 against Paraguay.
In the first match, Brazil did everything except score against a stout and determined Venezuelan side but, against Paraguay, the Selecao had to come from behind twice.
The second equaliser from Fred came in the last minute of the match and the concession of late goals became a running theme for Paraguay who drew all three of their group games.
Paraguay's tendency to lapse late on reached new levels against Venezuela when they failed to see out the game despite going 3-1 up with five minutes left through a Cristian Riveros strike.
Instead, the impressive Vinotinto scored twice in stoppage time through Nicolas Fedor and Grenddy Perozo to salvage a 3-3 draw.
Both Venezuela and Paraguay made it through but it was Brazil, despite their earlier troubles, who finished top of the section after a fine display in beating Ecuador 4-2.
Alexandre Pato and Neymar both scored twice as the Brazilians proved too strong for Ecuador who had just about stayed in the game for the first hour thanks to two goals from Felipe Caicedo.
And so, despite the tournament threatening otherwise, the big names all made the cut. Bolivia, Ecuador and the two development squads from the invitees Costa Rica and Mexico were the teams which went home.
However, the rumbles of a shock had been present throughout the group phase and, in the Quarter Finals, the rumble erupted as all four favourites lost.
Colombia can consider themselves unlucky having hit the woodwork three times while the previously in-form Radamel Falcao also missed a second-half penalty.
The Peruvians held on until extra time then dealt a double sucker-punch with substitute Carlos Lobaton and captain Juan Manuel Vargas scoring either side of the extra time interval for a 2-0 win.
The drama that evening had only just begun as Argentina and Uruguay responded brilliantly to a raucous atmosphere for the Rio de la Plata in Santa Fe.
There were two goals in the opening 17 minutes with Perez sliding in from close range for the visitors before Higuain got the hosts back on terms with a fine strike.
And it looked to be 'advantage Argentina' when goalscorer Perez stupidly got himself sent off for two bookings just before half time.
But Sergio Batista's men toiled in the second half despite their numerical supremacy and even this advantage was removed when Argentine captain Javier Mascherano repeated Perez's error.
Nevertheless, Argentina were the better side and Uruguay keeper Muslera had to be in the form of his life to deny most notably Higuain with a brilliant reflex save.
It seemed written in the stars that Muslera would play the decisive part in the tie and that became even more apparent when the match went to penalties.
Uruguay were nerveless in the shootout, converting all five of their penalties, whereas anxious Argentina rode their luck throughout the exchange.
Javier Pastore only just managed to squeeze his penalty underneath Muslera and Higuain scored via the underside of the bar.
By then, though, Muslera was already eyeing glory after he saved substitute Carlos Tevez's weak spot-kick. The Manchester City man evident had something else on his mind...
Tevez proved to be the solitary failure once Martin Caceres confirmed Uruguay's place in the semis with the final kick.
Argentina were out of their own tournament and, unsurprisingly, manager Batista has subsequently resigned before the Argentine Football Association (AFA) had a chance to act.
In the third quarter final, Brazil took on Paraguay in a repeat of their group stage clash which Paraguay had come ever so close to winning.
This time, sadly, Paraguay reverted to their shells and only managed their first attack in the last moments of normal time and their first shot on target in the last minute of extra time.
Brazil huffed and puffed but it was to no avail as the match drifted into the extra period.
Midfielders Ramires and Lucas Leiva had seen plenty of the ball but neither produced anything of note and the latter compounded his failures by getting sent off after an on-field brawl with Antolin Alcaraz.
With Paraguay killing the game, the brawl was just about the most interesting aspect of extra time and more Copa penalties became inevitable.
In the shoot-out, Brazil gave a comical performance, missing all four of their kicks as Paraguay went through with a two-out-of-three success rate.
Defenders Thiago Silva and Andre Santos had stepped up for Brazil along with Elano and Fred while Robinho, who had played on the periphery throughout, declined to take one.
Ultimately, Brazil had failed to hold their nerve, and badly.
Just 12 months after their surprise World Cup exit to Netherlands despite holding a 1-0 half-time lead and just 36 months before they host the World Cup themselves, the signs are not looking good for home success in 2014.
Success for Venezuela in 2014 would simply mean qualification for the finals and the continent's only previous whipping boys breached another barrier in this tournament by reaching the semi finals for the first time.
Their 2-1 extra time win in the last eight came against Chile who were much-fancied after their group stage performances.
Once again, though, the underdogs came out on top having ridden their luck.
Venezuela actually started brighter and Ozwaldo Vizcarrondo gave them the lead with a header on 34 minutes.
After the break, though, the Chileans were better and pushed for a winner once Humberto Suazo had equalised with 20 minutes to go.
But the coup de grace came from Venezuela with just nine minutes left when Gabriel Cichero scored from close range to complete an extraordinary couple of days.
Colombia, Argentina, Brazil and Chile had been eliminated. It was becoming ever clearer that this was Uruguay's time again.
First, though, they had to deal with Peru who were appearing in their first semi final at the Copa America since 1997.
The opening half was as tight as to be expected but Suarez removed the shackles in the second period and scored twice in five minutes to kill off the tie with half an hour left.
Suarez struck the first on the rebound after Raul Fernandez could only push out Forlan's stinging long-range effort - and, five minutes later, the tie was over once Suarez had rounded Fernandez after Pereira's ball over the top.
Peru's last hope of a dramatic comeback ended 10 minutes after Suarez's second when captain Vargas was sent off for an elbow borne of frustration.
It was a terribly disappointing end to a fine tournament for Peru who had finished bottom of the 2010 World Cup qualifying group with just 11 goals and 13 points from 18 games.
Hopefully, they can build on a truly unexpected semi final berth and, indeed, a third-placed finish following a 4-1 win over Venezuela in the playoff thanks to Jose Guerrero's hat-trick.
The score was a little harsh on the Venezuelans as two of top scorer Guerrero's goals came in the last few moments against tired legs. Nevertheless, Venezuela can also be proud of their efforts in this tournament.
Indeed, they could have gone further with a bit of a luck, losing out to Paraguay 5-3 on penalties after a 0-0 draw in which they struck the woodwork three times.
That penalty shoot-out ensured Paraguay progressed to the Final without having won a match inside 90 minutes or even 120 minutes.
Five consecutive draws - five goals for, five against in five matches - the beautiful game, this certainly was not. Neither was another brawl which marred the end of the Venezuela-Paraguay tie.
The spectre of Paraguay's anti-football winning the day loomed large over the tournament but Uruguay ended that prospect comprehensively with their new golden generation.
RESULTS AND STATISTICS
GROUP A
Colombia (7 points) and Argentina (5 points) progress to the Quarter Finals. Costa Rica (3 points) and Bolivia (1 point) are eliminated.
GROUP B
Brazil (5 points), Venezuela (5 points) and Paraguay (3 points) progress to the Quarter Finals. Ecuador (1 points) are eliminated.
GROUP C
Chile (7 points), Uruguay (5 points) and Peru (4 points) progress to the Quarter Finals. Mexico (0 points) are eliminated.
QUARTER FINALS
SEMI FINALS
THIRD PLACE PLAYOFF
FINAL
Uruguay 3 (Suarez 11, Forlan 41, 89)
Paraguay 0
Uruguay Muslera - M Pereira, Lugano (c), Coates, M Caceres (Godin 88) - Gonzalez, Perez (Eguren 69), Arevalo, A Pereira (Cavani 63) - Forlan, Suarez. Booked: Caceres, D Perez, M Pereira, Coates.
Paraguay Villar (c) - Piris, Veron, da Silva, Marecos - Vera (H Perez 64), Ortigoza, V Caceres (Estigarribia 64), Riveros - Zeballos (Barrios 76), Valdez. Booked: Vera, V Caceres.
Attendance 52,000 at the Estadio Monumental Referee Salvio Fagundes (Brazil)
LUIS SUAREZ and Diego Forlan both scored as Uruguay easily beat Paraguay in Buenos Aires to take an overall lead in the total number of Copa Americas.
Liverpool striker and player of the tournament Suarez opened the scoring in the 11th minute with a deflected strike but, even at that early stage, it was a deserved lead against the toothless Paraguayans.
The match was all one-way traffic with Uruguay dominating for the rest of the first half and so it came as no surprise when Oscar Tabarez's men scored their second just before the break.
This time, it was Atletico Madrid man Forlan who struck his first goal of the tournament after Paraguay had cheaply surrendered possession.
For most of the second half, Uruguay relaxed but it was rarely enough to allow Paraguay a sniff of getting back in the game.
Paraguay did hit the bar on 54 minutes when Nelson Valdez struck a spectacular volley but it was actually Uruguay who finished more strongly.
Sebastian Eguren almost scored in the 74th minute but was foiled when the tournament's best goalkeeper Justo Villar stuck out his left arm with the ball heading for the net.
But Villar was finally beaten for a third time in the last minute by Forlan. The 32-year-old equalled the national record of 31 goals held by Hector Scarone in his 82nd cap with a fine strike after collecting a pass from Suarez.
Uruguay had won and confirmed the arrival of a new golden generation after their third place in last year's World Cup finals, their best result in that tournament since 1970.
The Uruguayans now have 15 Copa America titles as compared to Argentina's 14 and Brazil's eight.
Led by an experienced coach in Tabarez, they importantly have a strong spine in their team of goalkeeper Fernando Muslera, captain and centre-back Diego Lugano, and midfielders Diego Perez and Alvaro Pereira.
And then, of course, Uruguay has been blessed with Forlan and Suarez up front, perhaps the most lethal strike-force currently playing international football.
At the start, though, this was a rather odd tournament. Even eventual winners Uruguay could only take a point from their opening two matches in 1-1 draws against Peru and Chile.
Thankfully for them, Pereira scored early on in the third match against Mexico to ensure progress but only as a runner-up in Group C behind Chile.
Even then, the Chileans had only secured top spot with a last-minute goal over third-placed Peru who qualified as the best third-placed team.
Meanwhile, hosts and pre-tournament favourites Argentina laboured to consecutive opening draws in Group A against Bolivia and Colombia.
Those results for La Albiceleste allowed the Colombians to take control of the group and they duly finished top with three clean sheets after wins against Bolivia and Costa Rica who both went out.
Argentina only confirmed their progression on the final matchday although there were few nerves on display in the routine 3-0 win over the disappointing, if youthful, Costa Ricans.
It should easily have been a more handsome win with Gonzalo Higuain particularly guilty of missing a hatful of easy chances laid-on by Lionel Messi.
But, with Messi pulling the strings behind a front three of Higuain, Angelo di Maria and Sergio Aguero, the Argentines finished the group stages finally looking as if they may justify their favourites tag.
Finally, in Group B, Brazil also began with two draws though they produced contrasting performances in the 0-0 against Venezuela and the 2-2 against Paraguay.
In the first match, Brazil did everything except score against a stout and determined Venezuelan side but, against Paraguay, the Selecao had to come from behind twice.
The second equaliser from Fred came in the last minute of the match and the concession of late goals became a running theme for Paraguay who drew all three of their group games.
Paraguay's tendency to lapse late on reached new levels against Venezuela when they failed to see out the game despite going 3-1 up with five minutes left through a Cristian Riveros strike.
Instead, the impressive Vinotinto scored twice in stoppage time through Nicolas Fedor and Grenddy Perozo to salvage a 3-3 draw.
Both Venezuela and Paraguay made it through but it was Brazil, despite their earlier troubles, who finished top of the section after a fine display in beating Ecuador 4-2.
Alexandre Pato and Neymar both scored twice as the Brazilians proved too strong for Ecuador who had just about stayed in the game for the first hour thanks to two goals from Felipe Caicedo.
And so, despite the tournament threatening otherwise, the big names all made the cut. Bolivia, Ecuador and the two development squads from the invitees Costa Rica and Mexico were the teams which went home.
However, the rumbles of a shock had been present throughout the group phase and, in the Quarter Finals, the rumble erupted as all four favourites lost.
Colombia can consider themselves unlucky having hit the woodwork three times while the previously in-form Radamel Falcao also missed a second-half penalty.
The Peruvians held on until extra time then dealt a double sucker-punch with substitute Carlos Lobaton and captain Juan Manuel Vargas scoring either side of the extra time interval for a 2-0 win.
The drama that evening had only just begun as Argentina and Uruguay responded brilliantly to a raucous atmosphere for the Rio de la Plata in Santa Fe.
There were two goals in the opening 17 minutes with Perez sliding in from close range for the visitors before Higuain got the hosts back on terms with a fine strike.
And it looked to be 'advantage Argentina' when goalscorer Perez stupidly got himself sent off for two bookings just before half time.
But Sergio Batista's men toiled in the second half despite their numerical supremacy and even this advantage was removed when Argentine captain Javier Mascherano repeated Perez's error.
Nevertheless, Argentina were the better side and Uruguay keeper Muslera had to be in the form of his life to deny most notably Higuain with a brilliant reflex save.
It seemed written in the stars that Muslera would play the decisive part in the tie and that became even more apparent when the match went to penalties.
Uruguay were nerveless in the shootout, converting all five of their penalties, whereas anxious Argentina rode their luck throughout the exchange.
Javier Pastore only just managed to squeeze his penalty underneath Muslera and Higuain scored via the underside of the bar.
By then, though, Muslera was already eyeing glory after he saved substitute Carlos Tevez's weak spot-kick. The Manchester City man evident had something else on his mind...
Tevez proved to be the solitary failure once Martin Caceres confirmed Uruguay's place in the semis with the final kick.
Argentina were out of their own tournament and, unsurprisingly, manager Batista has subsequently resigned before the Argentine Football Association (AFA) had a chance to act.
In the third quarter final, Brazil took on Paraguay in a repeat of their group stage clash which Paraguay had come ever so close to winning.
This time, sadly, Paraguay reverted to their shells and only managed their first attack in the last moments of normal time and their first shot on target in the last minute of extra time.
Brazil huffed and puffed but it was to no avail as the match drifted into the extra period.
Midfielders Ramires and Lucas Leiva had seen plenty of the ball but neither produced anything of note and the latter compounded his failures by getting sent off after an on-field brawl with Antolin Alcaraz.
With Paraguay killing the game, the brawl was just about the most interesting aspect of extra time and more Copa penalties became inevitable.
In the shoot-out, Brazil gave a comical performance, missing all four of their kicks as Paraguay went through with a two-out-of-three success rate.
Defenders Thiago Silva and Andre Santos had stepped up for Brazil along with Elano and Fred while Robinho, who had played on the periphery throughout, declined to take one.
Ultimately, Brazil had failed to hold their nerve, and badly.
Just 12 months after their surprise World Cup exit to Netherlands despite holding a 1-0 half-time lead and just 36 months before they host the World Cup themselves, the signs are not looking good for home success in 2014.
Success for Venezuela in 2014 would simply mean qualification for the finals and the continent's only previous whipping boys breached another barrier in this tournament by reaching the semi finals for the first time.
Their 2-1 extra time win in the last eight came against Chile who were much-fancied after their group stage performances.
Once again, though, the underdogs came out on top having ridden their luck.
Venezuela actually started brighter and Ozwaldo Vizcarrondo gave them the lead with a header on 34 minutes.
After the break, though, the Chileans were better and pushed for a winner once Humberto Suazo had equalised with 20 minutes to go.
But the coup de grace came from Venezuela with just nine minutes left when Gabriel Cichero scored from close range to complete an extraordinary couple of days.
Colombia, Argentina, Brazil and Chile had been eliminated. It was becoming ever clearer that this was Uruguay's time again.
First, though, they had to deal with Peru who were appearing in their first semi final at the Copa America since 1997.
The opening half was as tight as to be expected but Suarez removed the shackles in the second period and scored twice in five minutes to kill off the tie with half an hour left.
Suarez struck the first on the rebound after Raul Fernandez could only push out Forlan's stinging long-range effort - and, five minutes later, the tie was over once Suarez had rounded Fernandez after Pereira's ball over the top.
Peru's last hope of a dramatic comeback ended 10 minutes after Suarez's second when captain Vargas was sent off for an elbow borne of frustration.
It was a terribly disappointing end to a fine tournament for Peru who had finished bottom of the 2010 World Cup qualifying group with just 11 goals and 13 points from 18 games.
Hopefully, they can build on a truly unexpected semi final berth and, indeed, a third-placed finish following a 4-1 win over Venezuela in the playoff thanks to Jose Guerrero's hat-trick.
The score was a little harsh on the Venezuelans as two of top scorer Guerrero's goals came in the last few moments against tired legs. Nevertheless, Venezuela can also be proud of their efforts in this tournament.
Indeed, they could have gone further with a bit of a luck, losing out to Paraguay 5-3 on penalties after a 0-0 draw in which they struck the woodwork three times.
That penalty shoot-out ensured Paraguay progressed to the Final without having won a match inside 90 minutes or even 120 minutes.
Five consecutive draws - five goals for, five against in five matches - the beautiful game, this certainly was not. Neither was another brawl which marred the end of the Venezuela-Paraguay tie.
The spectre of Paraguay's anti-football winning the day loomed large over the tournament but Uruguay ended that prospect comprehensively with their new golden generation.
RESULTS AND STATISTICS
GROUP A
Colombia (7 points) and Argentina (5 points) progress to the Quarter Finals. Costa Rica (3 points) and Bolivia (1 point) are eliminated.
| Date | Venue | |
| 2 July | La Plata | ARGENTINA 1-1 BOLIVIA |
| 2 July | Jujuy | COLOMBIA 1-0 COSTA RICA |
| 7 July | Santa Fe | ARGENTINA 0-0 COLOMBIA |
| 7 July | Jujuy | BOLIVIA 0-2 COSTA RICA |
| 10 July | Santa Fe | COLOMBIA 2-0 BOLIVIA |
| 12 July | Cordoba | ARGENTINA 3-0 COSTA RICA |
GROUP B
Brazil (5 points), Venezuela (5 points) and Paraguay (3 points) progress to the Quarter Finals. Ecuador (1 points) are eliminated.
| Date | Venue | |
| 3 July | La Plata | BRAZIL 0-0 VENEZUELA |
| 3 July | Santa Fe | PARAGUAY 0-0 ECUADOR |
| 9 July | Cordoba | BRAZIL 2-2 PARAGUAY |
| 9 July | Salta | VENEZUELA 1-0 ECUADOR |
| 13 July | Salta | PARAGUAY 3-3 VENEZUELA |
| 14 July | Cordoba | BRAZIL 4-2 ECUADOR |
GROUP C
Chile (7 points), Uruguay (5 points) and Peru (4 points) progress to the Quarter Finals. Mexico (0 points) are eliminated.
| Date | Venue | |
| 4 July | San Juan | URUGUAY 1-1 PERU |
| 5 July | San Juan | CHILE 2-1 MEXICO |
| 8 July | Mendoza | URUGUAY 1-1 CHILE |
| 9 July | Mendoza | PERU 1-0 MEXICO |
| 12 July | Mendoza | CHILE 1-0 PERU |
| 13 July | La Plata | URUGUAY 1-0 MEXICO |
QUARTER FINALS
| Date | Venue | |
| 16 July | Cordoba | COLOMBIA 0-2 PERU aet. |
| 16 July | Santa Fe | ARGENTINA 1-1 URUGUAY aet. URUGUAY won 5-4 on pens. |
| 17 July | La Plata | BRAZIL 0-0 PARAGUAY aet. PARAGUAY won 2-0 on pens. |
| 17 July | San Juan | CHILE 1-2 VENEZUELA |
SEMI FINALS
| 20 July | La Plata | PERU 0-2 URUGUAY |
| 21 July | Mendoza | PARAGUAY 0-0 VENEZUELA aet. PAR won 5-3 on pens. |
THIRD PLACE PLAYOFF
| 23 July | La Plata PERU | 4-1 VENEZUELA |
FINAL
| 24 July | Buenos Aires | URUGUAY 3-0 PARAGUAY |
SCORERS
5 goals Pablo Guerrero (Peru)
4 Luis Suarez (Uruguay)
3 Sergio Aguero (Argentina)
2 Neymar, Alexandre Pato (Brazil), Radamel Falcao (Colombia), Felipe Caicedo (Venezuela), Diego Forlan, Alvaro Pereira (Uruguay)
1 Angel di Maria, Gonzalo Higuain (Argentina), Edivaldo Rojas (Bolivia), Fred, Jadson (Brazil), Esteban Paredes, Alexis Sanchez, Humberto Suazo, Artuto Vidal (Chile), Adrian Ramos (Colombia), Jose Campbell, Josue Martinez (Costa Rica), Nestor Araujo (Mexico), Antolin Alcaraz, Lucas Barrios, Nelson Haedo Valdez, Cristian Riveros, Roque Santo Cruz (Paraguay), William Chiroque, Carlos Lobaton, Juan Manuel Vargas (Peru), Diego Perez (Uruguay), Juan Arango, Gabriel Cichero, Nicolas Fedor, Cesar Gonzalez, Grenddy Perozo, Salomon Rondon, Oswaldo Vizcarrondo (Venezuela)
1 own goal Andre Carrillo (Peru) for Chile
INDIVIDUAL AWARDS
Most Valuable Player Luis Suarez (Uruguay)
Best Young Player Sebastian Coates (Uruguay)
Best Goalkeeper Justo Villar (Paraguay)
TOTAL COPA AMERICAS WON (most recent victory)
15 Uruguay (2011)
14 Argentina (1993)
8 Brazil (2007)
2 Paraguay (1979), Peru (1975)
1 Colombia (2001), Bolivia (1963)
0 Chile, Ecuador and Venezuela have never won the Copa America, nor have any invitees.
Tuesday, 19 July 2011
Murdoch empire starts to fall apart
THE PHONE-hacking scandal has moved onto a new level in the last two weeks with arrests, resignations, apologies and recriminations.
Since my last post 12 days ago, the 168-year-old News of the World officially closed on 7 July and Rupert Murdoch withdrew his bid for full control of BSkyB on 13 July.
On 15 July, 11 days after it was revealed Millie Dowler's phone had been hacked, Rebekah Brooks - the chief executive of News International - eventually fell on her sword.
Two days later, on Sunday, she was arrested by the Metropolitan Police on suspicion of phone-hacking and making illicit payments to police officers. She was released on bail until October.
Just hours on from that, the country's most senior police officer, Met Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson then resigned.
Stephenson had received criticism for hiring former News of the World executive editor Neil Wallis as an advisor and for using a luxury health spa owned by a company for which Wallis also worked.
But the Commissioner departed with a stinging criticism of his own in the direction of Prime Minister David Cameron for the PM's ill-judged appointment of former News of the World editor Andy Coulson as his director of communications.
It is worth noting here that Coulson had been arrested on 8 July for conspiring to intercept communications. On 14 July, Wallis was arrested under suspicion of committing the same offence.
Before Brooks' arrest on 17 July, News International used their own newspapers and others to print a full-page apology.
The apology took the form of a letter from Murdoch in which he wrote: "The News of the World was in the business of holding others to account. It failed when it came to itself.
"We are sorry for the serious wrongdoing which occurred. We are deeply sorry for the hurt suffered by individuals affected. We regret not acting faster to sort things out."
However, in the next line, Murdoch added: "I realise that simply apologising is not enough." Even the 80-year-old Australian media mogul appears to think he is a busted flush in Britain.
That so much was evident by spiking of the BSkyB bid, although Murdoch and News International took it upon themselves to give the government and Parliament perhaps one last run around.
First, Culture secretary Jeremy Hunt looked less than impressive in referring the bid to the Competition Commission shortly after Murdoch confirmed he was happy to do this.
And then Murdoch pre-empted a special debate in the House of Commons on the bid by withdrawing it before proceedings started anyway.
Nevertheless, the debate went ahead and the MPs acted as if a millstones had been removed from their necks and spoke against Murdoch and News International without fear of reprisal.
These were quite extraordinary moments with members on all sides of the House lining up to pour scorn on the man who has indirectly controlled British politics since the rise of Margaret Thatcher in 1979.
The British political system may remain far from perfect, to say the least, but it seems now to be free of the clutches of Murdoch at last.
Even former Prime Minister Gordon Brown was in the chamber for only the second time since his general election defeat last May.
And the former Labour leader used his rare appearance to lay into News International.
He accused NI of "law-breaking on an industrial scale" and claimed it had "descended from the gutter to the sewers".
Mr Cameron had pointed out earlier at Prime Minister's Questions that, despite there being questions over his relationship to Coulson, he had at least set up an independent inquiry which his predecessor Mr Brown had failed to do.
However, Mr Brown attempted to defend himself saying his moves to set up a judicial review were blocked by senior civil servants.
Meanwhile, his successor Ed Miliband has had his strongest few weeks since gaining the Labour leadership last September.
Mr Miliband was written off as a weak performer after mixed May election results.
But, in this scandal, he has been judged to have set the agenda, giving his personal poll ratings a much-needed boost to the heady heights of -28 'approval'. Mr Cameron remains ahead of Mr Miliband on -13, though.
And, of course, the Labour leader has not emerged entirely squeaky clean from the scandal himself after confirmation he had also attended events in Brooks' lair.
I guess the mere fact that Mr Miliband was even present as Leader of the Opposition just goes to show how deep Murdoch and the other top brass at News International had their claws into British politics.
Ah, Murdoch and Brooks - back to them, inevitably.
Inevitable because they will provide the next development of this fascinating story when they appear before a House of Commons Select Committee tomorrow.
There, we will see if Parliament really will show its teeth having been freed from the leash of the Murdoch empire.
Since my last post 12 days ago, the 168-year-old News of the World officially closed on 7 July and Rupert Murdoch withdrew his bid for full control of BSkyB on 13 July.
On 15 July, 11 days after it was revealed Millie Dowler's phone had been hacked, Rebekah Brooks - the chief executive of News International - eventually fell on her sword.
Two days later, on Sunday, she was arrested by the Metropolitan Police on suspicion of phone-hacking and making illicit payments to police officers. She was released on bail until October.
Just hours on from that, the country's most senior police officer, Met Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson then resigned.
Stephenson had received criticism for hiring former News of the World executive editor Neil Wallis as an advisor and for using a luxury health spa owned by a company for which Wallis also worked.
But the Commissioner departed with a stinging criticism of his own in the direction of Prime Minister David Cameron for the PM's ill-judged appointment of former News of the World editor Andy Coulson as his director of communications.
It is worth noting here that Coulson had been arrested on 8 July for conspiring to intercept communications. On 14 July, Wallis was arrested under suspicion of committing the same offence.
Before Brooks' arrest on 17 July, News International used their own newspapers and others to print a full-page apology.
The apology took the form of a letter from Murdoch in which he wrote: "The News of the World was in the business of holding others to account. It failed when it came to itself.
"We are sorry for the serious wrongdoing which occurred. We are deeply sorry for the hurt suffered by individuals affected. We regret not acting faster to sort things out."
However, in the next line, Murdoch added: "I realise that simply apologising is not enough." Even the 80-year-old Australian media mogul appears to think he is a busted flush in Britain.
That so much was evident by spiking of the BSkyB bid, although Murdoch and News International took it upon themselves to give the government and Parliament perhaps one last run around.
First, Culture secretary Jeremy Hunt looked less than impressive in referring the bid to the Competition Commission shortly after Murdoch confirmed he was happy to do this.
And then Murdoch pre-empted a special debate in the House of Commons on the bid by withdrawing it before proceedings started anyway.
Nevertheless, the debate went ahead and the MPs acted as if a millstones had been removed from their necks and spoke against Murdoch and News International without fear of reprisal.
These were quite extraordinary moments with members on all sides of the House lining up to pour scorn on the man who has indirectly controlled British politics since the rise of Margaret Thatcher in 1979.
The British political system may remain far from perfect, to say the least, but it seems now to be free of the clutches of Murdoch at last.
Even former Prime Minister Gordon Brown was in the chamber for only the second time since his general election defeat last May.
And the former Labour leader used his rare appearance to lay into News International.
He accused NI of "law-breaking on an industrial scale" and claimed it had "descended from the gutter to the sewers".
Mr Cameron had pointed out earlier at Prime Minister's Questions that, despite there being questions over his relationship to Coulson, he had at least set up an independent inquiry which his predecessor Mr Brown had failed to do.
However, Mr Brown attempted to defend himself saying his moves to set up a judicial review were blocked by senior civil servants.
Meanwhile, his successor Ed Miliband has had his strongest few weeks since gaining the Labour leadership last September.
Mr Miliband was written off as a weak performer after mixed May election results.
But, in this scandal, he has been judged to have set the agenda, giving his personal poll ratings a much-needed boost to the heady heights of -28 'approval'. Mr Cameron remains ahead of Mr Miliband on -13, though.
And, of course, the Labour leader has not emerged entirely squeaky clean from the scandal himself after confirmation he had also attended events in Brooks' lair.
I guess the mere fact that Mr Miliband was even present as Leader of the Opposition just goes to show how deep Murdoch and the other top brass at News International had their claws into British politics.
Ah, Murdoch and Brooks - back to them, inevitably.
Inevitable because they will provide the next development of this fascinating story when they appear before a House of Commons Select Committee tomorrow.
There, we will see if Parliament really will show its teeth having been freed from the leash of the Murdoch empire.
Sunday, 10 July 2011
F1 2011: Alonso seals Silverstone win but Red Bull retain control
FERNANDO ALONSO ended a nine-month wait for his 27th career win in Formula One with victory in the British Grand Prix at a revamped Silverstone circuit.
Alonso took advantage of a poor pit-stop by Sebastian Vettel to finish ahead of the German and the other Red Bull driver Mark Webber.
The win at Silverstone came on the 60th anniversary of Ferrari's first triumph there and moved Alonso up to third in the Drivers' Championship standings, ahead of McLaren pair Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button.
However, Red Bull and defending champion Vettel remain well in control of their destiny after the 23-year-old continued his season-long run of finishing either first or second in a race.
Indeed, stretching the record back further, Vettel has finished either first or second in 13 of the last 14 Grand Prix. The exception was in Korea last October when he retired.
For the record, Vettel, on 204 points, now leads team-mate Webber by 80 points at the top of the Drivers' Championship.
And, in another exciting finish, last year's British GP winner Webber was catching Vettel in the closing stages of this year's race.
But the Australian, who made his infamous outburst about being a "number two driver" at Silverstone, was denied a chance of second place once Red Bull imposed team orders going into the last lap to avoid a collision between the pair.
Race winner Alonso now has 112 points with Hamilton and Button both on 109 after a poor weekend for McLaren at their home Grand Prix.
After an unseemly public spat with Red Bull over the use of exhausts to generate downforce, the McLarens were two seconds off the pace in qualifying as Button finished fifth and Hamilton was well down in 10th.
Hamilton responded from the start and drove an excellent race to answer some of his recent critics, at one stage running second.
However, with ten laps to go, Hamilton was asked by his team to conserve fuel and so he had no answer when the two Red Bulls streamed past him.
Nevertheless, the 2008 champion continued to impress by just managing to hold off Ferrari's Felipe Massa in a dramatic last few corners in the battle for fourth.
Hamilton may reflect, though, that it was almost in spite of his team that he gained those 12 points, not because of them, and this race will have done little to diffuse rumours that he would prefer a seat elsewhere.
Button also has a right to be unhappy with his team after a pit-stop cock-up. The 2009 champion was forced to retire at the exit of the pit lane having been released from his second stop without a wheel nut in the front-right tyre.
It was the latest in a long line hard-luck story for Button who has never even appeared on a podium at the British GP in 12 attempts.
And the Frome Flyer must have felt a million miles away from the thrill of winning a race on the very last lap, as he had done in a fantastic drenched and rain-delayed Canadian GP four weeks ago.
Vettel returned to the inconsistencies of last year by running wide and letting Button through in Montreal but, of course, he still finished second.
The German then led the European Grand Prix in Valencia virtually from lights to chequered flag as he further increased his stranglehold on the Championship in the run-up to Silverstone.
Back to the British GP and, like Button, the third home driver in this year's race, Paul di Resta, can blame a pit-stop clanger for his finishing position of a lowly 15th in the Force India.
Scottish F1 rookie di Resta had impressed in qualifying sixth but, on his second stop, he was greeted at the garage with the tyres of his team-mate Adrian Sutil.
The time spent finding and uncovering his own tyres plunged di Resta into the pack and sadly lost him any chance of recording a result worthy of his stunning qualifying performance.
Alonso took advantage of a poor pit-stop by Sebastian Vettel to finish ahead of the German and the other Red Bull driver Mark Webber.
The win at Silverstone came on the 60th anniversary of Ferrari's first triumph there and moved Alonso up to third in the Drivers' Championship standings, ahead of McLaren pair Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button.
However, Red Bull and defending champion Vettel remain well in control of their destiny after the 23-year-old continued his season-long run of finishing either first or second in a race.
Indeed, stretching the record back further, Vettel has finished either first or second in 13 of the last 14 Grand Prix. The exception was in Korea last October when he retired.
For the record, Vettel, on 204 points, now leads team-mate Webber by 80 points at the top of the Drivers' Championship.
And, in another exciting finish, last year's British GP winner Webber was catching Vettel in the closing stages of this year's race.
But the Australian, who made his infamous outburst about being a "number two driver" at Silverstone, was denied a chance of second place once Red Bull imposed team orders going into the last lap to avoid a collision between the pair.
Race winner Alonso now has 112 points with Hamilton and Button both on 109 after a poor weekend for McLaren at their home Grand Prix.
After an unseemly public spat with Red Bull over the use of exhausts to generate downforce, the McLarens were two seconds off the pace in qualifying as Button finished fifth and Hamilton was well down in 10th.
Hamilton responded from the start and drove an excellent race to answer some of his recent critics, at one stage running second.
However, with ten laps to go, Hamilton was asked by his team to conserve fuel and so he had no answer when the two Red Bulls streamed past him.
Nevertheless, the 2008 champion continued to impress by just managing to hold off Ferrari's Felipe Massa in a dramatic last few corners in the battle for fourth.
Hamilton may reflect, though, that it was almost in spite of his team that he gained those 12 points, not because of them, and this race will have done little to diffuse rumours that he would prefer a seat elsewhere.
Button also has a right to be unhappy with his team after a pit-stop cock-up. The 2009 champion was forced to retire at the exit of the pit lane having been released from his second stop without a wheel nut in the front-right tyre.
It was the latest in a long line hard-luck story for Button who has never even appeared on a podium at the British GP in 12 attempts.
And the Frome Flyer must have felt a million miles away from the thrill of winning a race on the very last lap, as he had done in a fantastic drenched and rain-delayed Canadian GP four weeks ago.
Vettel returned to the inconsistencies of last year by running wide and letting Button through in Montreal but, of course, he still finished second.
The German then led the European Grand Prix in Valencia virtually from lights to chequered flag as he further increased his stranglehold on the Championship in the run-up to Silverstone.
Back to the British GP and, like Button, the third home driver in this year's race, Paul di Resta, can blame a pit-stop clanger for his finishing position of a lowly 15th in the Force India.
Scottish F1 rookie di Resta had impressed in qualifying sixth but, on his second stop, he was greeted at the garage with the tyres of his team-mate Adrian Sutil.
The time spent finding and uncovering his own tyres plunged di Resta into the pack and sadly lost him any chance of recording a result worthy of his stunning qualifying performance.
F1 2011 SEASON RESULTS
PODIUMS
Australian GP (Pole: Sebastian Vettel)
1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault
2 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
3 Vitaly Petrov (Rus) Renault
Malaysian GP (Pole: Sebastian Vettel)
1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault
2 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
3 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) Renault
Chinese GP (Pole: Sebastian Vettel)
1 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
2 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault
3 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault
Turkish GP (Pole: Sebastian Vettel)
1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault
2 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault
3 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari
Spanish GP (Pole: Mark Webber)
1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault
2 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
3 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
Monaco GP (Pole: Sebastian Vettel)
1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault
2 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari
3 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
Canadian GP (Pole: Sebastian Vettel)
1 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
2 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault
3 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault
European GP (Valencia) (Pole: Sebastian Vettel)
1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault
2 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari
3 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault
British GP (Pole: Mark Webber)
1 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari
2 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault
3 Mark Webber (Aus
REMAINING CALENDAR
24 July German GP (Nuerburg)
31 July Hungarian GP (Budapest)
28 August Belgian GP (Spa)
11 September Italian GP (Monza)
25 September Singapore GP (Singapore)
9 October Japanese GP (Suzuka)
16 October Korean GP (Yeongam)
30 October Indian GP (Greater Noida)
13 November Abu Dhabi GP (Yas Island)
27 November Brazilian GP (Sao Paulo)
F1 2011 STANDINGS
World Drivers' Championship
1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault 204
2 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault 124
3 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari 112
4 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes 109
5 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes 109
6 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 52
7 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes 40
8 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) Renault 34
9 Vitaly Petrov (Rus) Renault 31
10 Michael Schumacher (Ger) Mercedes 28
11 Kamui Kobayashi (Jpn) Sauber-Ferrari 15
12 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India-Mercedes 10
13 Jaime Alguersuari (Spa) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 9
14 Sergio Perez (Mex) Sauber-Ferrari 8
15 Sebastien Buemi (Swi) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 8
16 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Williams-Cosworth 4
17 Paul di Resta (Gbr) Force India-Mercedes 2
Nine drivers have yet to score: (18 Pedro de la Rosa (Spa) Sauber, 19 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Lotus-Renault, 20 Vitantonio Liuzzi (Ita) HRT-Cosworth, 21 Jerome d'Ambrosio (Bel) Virgin-Cosworth, 22 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) Lotus-Renault, 23 Pastor Maldonado (Ven) Williams-Cosworth, 24 Timo Glock (Ger) Virgin-Cosworth, 25 Narain Karthikeyan (Ind) HRT-Cosworth, 26 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) HRT-Cosworth).
Constructors' Championship
1 Red Bull-Renault (Aut) 328
2 McLaren-Mercedes (Gbr) 218
3 Ferrari (Ita) 164
4 Mercedes (Ger) 68
5 Renault (Gbr) 65
6 Sauber-Ferrari (Swi) 33
7 Toro Rosso-Ferrari (Ita) 17
8 Force India-Mercedes (Ind) 12
9 Williams-Cosworth (Gbr) 4
There are three teams (Lotus-Renault (Mal), Virgin-Cosworth (Rus) and HRT-Cosworth (Spa)) which have yet to score.
Saturday, 9 July 2011
England scrape Sri Lanka series wins
ENGLAND v SRI LANKA
npower Test series: England won the three-match series 1-0
First Test Cardiff England 496-5dec beat Sri Lanka 400 & 82 by an innings and 14 runs
Second Test Lord's Sri Lanka 479 & 127-3 drew with England 486 & 335-7dec
Third Test Rose Bowl England 377-8dec drew with Sri Lanka 184 & 334-5
Twenty20 international:
25 June Bristol Sri Lanka 137-1 (17.2 ovs) beat England 136-9 (20 ovs) by nine wkts
NatWest One-Day international series: England won the five-match series 3-2
28 June The Oval England 229-8 (32 ovs) beat Sri Lanka 121 (27 ovs) by 110 runs*
1 July Headingley Sri Lanka 309-5 (50 ovs) beat England 240 (45.5 ovs) by 69 runs
3 July Lord's Sri Lanka 249-4 (48.2 ovs) beat England 246-7 (50 ovs) by six wkts
6 July Trent Bridge England 171-0 (23.5 ovs) bt Sri Lanka 174 (43.4 ovs) by 10 wkts*
9 July Old Trafford England 268-9 (50 ovs) beat Sri Lanka 252 (48.2 ovs) by 16 runs
*Duckworth-Lewis methodENGLAND took four wickets in five balls to kill off a gutsy Sri Lanka comeback and secure a maiden home One-Day series win for captain Alastair Cook.
Jade Dernback took two wickets with the first two balls of the 49th over to end the tourists' challenge and give England a thrilling 3-2 win in a keenly-contested series.
Going into the decider, both sides had enjoyed two comfortable victories each with England winning the first and fourth matches and Sri Lanka winning the middle two.
England began the series at the Oval in good spirits on the back of their 1-0 Test series win. James Anderson took 4-18 as the Sri Lankans slumped to 121 all out in a crushing 110-run defeat.
It was a credit to Tillakaratne Dilshan's side that they came back so impressively on a flatter pitch at Leeds as Mahela Jayawardene racked up 144 runs in the tourists' score of 309.
England were never properly in the chase and ended up being bowled out for 240 with more than four overs left.
Confirmation that momentum had swung in Sri Lanka's favour came in the third match at Lord's.
Despite a Cook century, the visitors prevailed by a comfortable six wicket-margin as the English bowlers toiled, most notably Anderson and Stuart Broad who returned figures of 0-55 and 0-52 from their 10 overs.
However, the pitch at Trent Bridge for the fourth game looked more like one suited to Test cricket with a green tinge on the surface top.
And, having won the toss and elected to field, England soon had Sri Lanka in trouble at 20-4, eventually bowling them out for 174.
Then, stung by harsh criticism in the press for his captaincy tactics, Cook excelled again with the bat, scoring 95 off 75 balls as England strolled to a win by 10 wickets with more than half of their overs left.
Broad had done better on his home ground in Nottingham but his 2-37 could not match Anderson's 3-24 and so the Twenty20 captain made way for spinner Samit Patel on a dusty surface at Old Trafford.
England again won the toss but this time opted to set a target, starting well in reaching 75-0 off the first 10 overs.
A slight collapse to 95-3 seemed to be steadied by Jonathan Trott and Eoin Morgan's century stand but England struggled in the last 15 overs of their innings and had to be content with 268-9.
No matter, it seemed, as England struck early again with the ball to reduce Sri Lanka to 29-3 and 131-5.
However, a mid-order recovery by Angelo Mathews and Jeevan Mendis gave Sri Lanka the sniff of an unlikely victory.
Once Mendis departed on 233-6, though, the rest of the wickets followed in a flurry and Cook could content himself with a hard-fought series win.
Earlier, as mentioned, England won the Test series but that was another close-run thing.
Rain took so much time out of all three matches that it was a wonder there was any result other than 0-0 in the series. Basically, though, victory for England came down to a crazy session with the bat for the Sri Lankans.
Even at tea on the fifth day with a score of 33-2, Sri Lanka still looked safe despite still having a deficit of 63 runs.
After all, the tourists had two of their most experienced players at the crease in Kumar Sangakkara and Prasanna Jayawardene.
Surely the pair just needed to bat for another hour and the two captains would have shook hands on a draw.
But, perhaps it was the sheer inevitability of the draw which caught the tourists out as they tossed away their wickets with little due care to get all out for 82.
It was their second-lowest Test score against England and fourth-lowest overall.
The Welsh weather accounted for almost two days of play altogether and the English & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) came in for criticism for trying to stage Test cricket in Wales in May.
However, the truth is that, when it came to the two matches in the south of England, the weather was no better.
At Lord's in the second Test, a draw was declared at the start of the final hour with Sri Lanka on 127-3 in a hopeless situation still 215 runs behind.
There was a feeling among some commentators that Andrew Strauss' offer of a handshake was a little premature and another victory could have been scraped.
But, actually, it did look as if the tourists had learned their lesson and Strauss merely recognised that another dramatic collapse was not on the cards.
From a result perspective, the third Test at the Rose Bowl in Southampton - the ground's first-ever Test match - was even more disappointing.
Rain prevented even three innings from being completed as Sri Lanka opted to bat out time on the fifth day in a series, as predicted, dominated by the bat.
It is a fact which makes the anomaly that is Sri Lanka's 82 in Cardiff even more astonishing but credit must go to England for that.
England may not yet be the best in the world, statistically or otherwise, but they seem to be the only side in the world capable of produce a short burst of form which inextricably turns a match in their favour.
Strauss' men have now not lost a Test series since a defeat in the West Indies in March 2009 with seven series wins and a draw since then.
In that time, of course, there have been two Ashes series wins and, just like in Australia, England's top order were in good form against Sri Lanka.
There were centuries in the three matches for Cook twice, Ian Bell twice (once unbeaten), Morgan and a double-hundred for Trott.
Six men - Bell (an amazing 331), Cook (97.5), Trott (66.75), Morgan (56), Matthew Prior (43.33) and Kevin Pietersen (40.5) - averaged above 40 in the series.
India are next up with an even more formidable batting line-up of their own, featuring captain MS Dhoni, vice-captain Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Suresh Raina and, of course, Sachin Tendulkar.
The world champions are not number one in the Test ranking for nothing and they will arrive in England in a buoyant mood after a 1-0 Test series win in the Caribbean.
As well as their batting strength, India also possess the hugely dangerous left-arm seamer Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh who will spearhead their array of spin options.
Harbhajan celebrated becoming part of a rather exclusive club by taking his 400th Test wicket while in the West Indies, and there is a feeling that Zaheer could take advantage of an out-of-sorts captain Strauss over here.
For, amid the concern over Pietersen's propensity to get out to left-arm spinners, it emerged Strauss has an even worse record against left-arm seamers.
Meanwhile, on a somewhat separate note, it is a shame that such a talented India side seems so stubborn about the use of television replays to help officials with their decisions.
The International Cricket Council (ICC)-approved umpire decision referral system (UDRS), which has more often than not actually simply confirmed the on-field call to be correct, will not be used in the coming series.
Continued Indian bleating about the reliability of the predicted path of hawk-eye has caused it to be ditched for this contest.
Certainly, though ultimately a fair result is the most important thing, it will feel hard to feel much sympathy for India if they are on the wrong side of a couple of narrowly incorrect decisions by the umps.
Perhaps only then might the sport's current superpower change their ridiculous stance and stop standing in the way of progress.
ENGLAND v INDIA*
Test matches
21-25 Jul First Test at Lord's
29 Jul-2 Aug Second Test at Trent Bridge
10-14 Aug Third Test at Edgbaston
18-22 Aug Fourth Test at the Oval
Twenty20 international
31 Aug at Old Trafford
One-Day Internationals
3 Sep First ODI at Durham
6 Sep Second ODI at the Rose Bowl
9 Sep Third ODI at the Oval
11 Sep Fourth ODI at Lord's
16 Sep Fifth ODI at Cardiff
*England also face Ireland in a one-off One Day Internation in Dublin on 25 Aug
Wednesday, 6 July 2011
Phone-hacking: how low can the News of the World go?
THE phone-hacking saga at the News of the World has now become an outright scandal.
Previously confined to the concerns of celebrities, it is apparent that the tapping tentacles of private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, working on behalf of the News International paper, went much further.
Murdered teenager Milly Dowler was one such victim while she was missing, the Guardian reported on Monday.
Others, according to police, who may have been hacked include the parents of murdered 10-year-old schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, and the father of David Foulkes who died in the 7/7 bombings.
None of these people sought fame or notoriety. Rather, it was foisted upon them by tragic circumstances.
And, even when the phone-hacking related to celebrities, there was a sense of unease. Nevertheless, many journalists argued that these public figures were fair game having courted the media so much themselves.
Now that defence definitely cannot be used and the reputation of journalism as a profession is soiled once again.
Never mind that most local reporters would not dream of doing what the News of the World (and allegedly other nationals) have done.
FleetStreetBlues hoodies, stating 'I'm a hack, not a hacker', might help some of those reporters ride the storm of the next few days but, ultimately, it is the nationals on which journalism is judged.
This has not been a good week for the self-proclaimed Fourth Estate.
These phone-hacking revelations follow on the back of an admission by top Independent columnist Johann Hari that he routinely adds what interviewees have said or written previously, passing them off as quotes from his own interview.
But, while Hari was deservedly pilloried for his astonishing revelation, it could still be laughed off by the profession as a whole - hence these amusing tweets using the hashtag #interviewbyhari.
The difference this time is that the issue primarily concerns the News of the World (circulation of 2.78m), not the Independent (185,000), and it is of course no laughing matter.
Really, this should spell the end of the line for News of the World. It will not be - but, really, there is an argument it should*.
How the newspaper can ever take a moralistic tone on any issue again is quite beyond me.
No doubt it will still fill its pages on Sunday with stories about benefit cheats and drunken louts or teenage mums along with the news of who's screwing behind whose back, of course.
The phone-hacking issue will even be raised in Parliament today in a special Emergency Debate in the House of Commons.
Prime Minister David Cameron will surely repeat his condemnation from earlier this week of the practice of phone-hacking. But even Mr Cameron does not escape this tangled web entirely.
For, in 2007, the then-Leader of the Opposition appointed former News of the World editor Andy Coulson as his senior media advisor where he remained in place until his resignation in January this year.
In fairness, Mr Cameron was presumably unaware of how critical the phone-hacking situation would get but Mr Coulson's appointment still showed a serious lack of judgement on the Conservative leader's part.
After all, Mr Coulson had previously resigned from his position on the paper after royal correspondent Clive Goodman was jailed for four months for conspiracy to access voicemail messages left for royal aides.
At the time, Mr Coulson claiming the actions were the work of Goodman alone but this is a defence which subsequently collapsed in court.
Now, having been caught out, Rupert Murdoch's News International group should be forced to come clean altogether.
Though, if indeed they do, it is already difficult to imagine anything other than the News of the World coming out of it smelling like raw sewage.
*EDIT: Well, surprisingly, it has actually happened. This evening, News International chairman James Murdoch, son of Rupert, has announced that the last edition of the 168-year-old News of the World will be sold on Sunday.
It is unclear at this stage whether this is simply an attempt to re-brand this part of the News International but clearly the outrage regarding the phone-hacking scandal has had an effect.
When the advertisers started pulling out in their droves, it did not look good. Circulation among most newspapers is now so low that it is in fact the advertisers which provide the lifeline.
Nevertheless, the News of the World - or the News of the Screws, as it became known for its salacious celebrity gossip - has been, in journalism parlance, spiked more quickly than I expected.
Some remain skeptical that this is the end of News International's interest into producing a populist paper on a Sunday.
Justice Secretary Ken Clarke said: "All they're going to do is rebrand it".
And Lord Prescott, who believes his phone was hacked while he was in government, added: "There's no doubt it will become the Sunday Sun".
Perhaps, if that is Mr Murdoch's idea, someone should tell him that the Trinity Mirror-owned Newcastle Evening Chronicle group ncj media have already got there first.
Monday, 4 July 2011
Glastonbury 2011 and Hyde Park review: Mud, sweat and beers
BEYONCE KNOWLES brought the curtain down on the last Glastonbury Festival until 2013 with a stunning show in front of a packed crowd on the Pyramid Stage.
The 29-year-old Texan singer opened her set by stepping down onto the stage from a mini version of the Pyramid while ticker tape and fireworks filled the air.
Beyonce fronted her performance with some of her biggest hits - starting with Crazy In Love and Single Ladies - before teaching the crowd some of the lyrics to her new single, Best Thing I Never Had.
The latter part of her set included covers of Prince and Kings of Leon, and a medley of Destiny's Child tunes.
But it was hardly a mistake to leave early and close the festival in style on the West Holts Stage with Kool & The Gang who played great versions of Get Down On It and Celebrate Good Times.
Earlier on the Sunday, Don McLean won the battle of the two American legends against Paul Simon, delivering a beautiful slow version of Vincent before milking American Pie for all its worth.
Simon stirred the crowd with Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes and You Can Call Me Al but he needlessly omitted Graceland and also could not find time for any Simon & Garfunkel tunes.
Thankfully, then, the Kaiser Chiefs on Other ran through all of their hits from their first album Employment after the Eels had helped us see in a beautiful sunset.
The hot sun on Sunday had come as a welcome relief after the heavens had poured down on most of Friday and Saturday morning.
Much of the site turned into a quagmire with up to a foot of mud in places and some of the bands struggled to rouse the crowd in the rain.
U2 were the biggest of the casualties with a largely underwhelming set.
Nevertheless, it did have a classy touch when Beautiful Day was introduced by an American astronaut in the International Space Station.
And Bono and the others will have at least pleased the purists having featured virtually all their biggest hits.
Earlier in the day, the Pyramid played host to an uninspiring set by Metronomy who would subsequently disappoint again at the Wireless Festival in Hyde Park.
On the Park, American pop duo Jenny and Johnny unsurprisingly struggled to blend their summery tunes with the inclement weather, despite their best efforts.
But, back at the Pyramid, there was total reverence as 85-year-old BB King sang the blues before, over on West Holts, Dr Jimmy Cliff hosted one of the best party atmospheres of the weekend.
On Saturday, Coldplay were another act to produce a great atmosphere at the front.
However, a truly magical Glastonbury moment - like when they finished on Fix You in 2005 - eluded Chris Martin and his band as they opted instead to finish on their new single Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall.
Elbow were a sound choice in providing the warm-up for Coldplay with front-man Guy Garvey giving the appearance of a man who could not believe his band had finally made it.
Meanwhile, much earlier in the day on John Peel Stage, Ardal O'Hanlon-lookalike Jamie 'Pockets' Fox from Fight Like Apes gave the impression that he should be anywhere other than a rock band.
That was not to his detriment, though, and the Irish group - fronted by shouty female vocalist Mary-Kate 'MayKay' Geraghty - provided a hugely entertaining start to the day with both their songs and ad libs.
After repeating the trick at Wireless, I can see Fight Like Apes - and not Shite Like Apes as a self-referential Fox amusingly called them - become another favourite of mine.
Just as the Gaslight Anthem did after their visit to Glastonbury on John Peel Stage in 2009. This year, the Brian Fallon-led New Jersey rockers were back - and playing on the big, uncovered Pyramid Stage.
But the Americans did not let the big venue unnerve them and they gave the big crowd an assured display of their talent.
Of course, as always, Glastonbury Festival has far more to it than just the main music stages though Tony Benn disappointed on the Leftfield Stage by turning up an hour early, meaning I missed him for a third successive year.
Another irritation was the new late night one-way queue system. With its winding seemingly never-ending path, it did its best to exhaust revellers even before they reached the likes of Shangrai-la and the Unfairground.
Worse still, most of these areas remained clogged up with mud even after the sun had dried out the rest of the site on Sunday.
My preview post showed I was skeptical of the one-way idea beforehand and being stuck in such a big queue did little to force me to reevaluate my opinion.
It may have been more organised for the organisers but there was an element of it becoming a chore to visit the late night areas when this has always previously been one of my most enjoyable parts of the festival.
Nevertheless, Arcadia is now such an impressive structure that Orbital played a DJ set there on Saturday night and it has certainly been a pleasure to see the venue develop over the last few years.
My favourite after-hours place this year was away from the south east corner, though. The Bourbon Street Bar gained two visits from myself.
The first was to see Sandi Thom play the blues on Thursday evening, and the second was for some late night boogie back to the jazz of the brilliantly-named Rabbit Foot Spasm Band on Friday.
Glastonbury certainly tested my patience on this fourth visit but, as usual, it still came through with a kaleidoscope of flying colours.
Hyde Park
ARCADE FIRE and Mumford & Sons impressed Hyde Park on the following Thursday, managing to stir a sleepy crowd into action after earlier sets by the Vaccines and Beirut.
And last weekend, Chase & Status, the Chemical Bros., The Streets, The Hives and Pulp were top billing at the aforementioned Wireless Festival.
Wireless was not without its hitches. A poor queuing system meant that I missed the chance to see Devotchka, a band which I held back from seeing at Glastonbury.
However, my biggest beef with the Hyde Park event was its rampant commercialism.
I understand the need for a festival to pay its way with advertisers but there were enough adverts there to make your eyes and ears bleed.
Mike Skinner of the Streets even joked main sponsors Barclaycard had approved the popping of pills during the subsequent sets by Chase & Status and the Chemical Brothers.
Earlier, Canadians Arcade Fire sprung somewhat of a surprise by featuring as many songs as they did from their first two albums, Funeral and Neon Bible, rather than their most recent release The Suburbs.
Still, another chance to hear Rebellion (Lies), Wake Up and No Cars Go live was no bad thing.
On Sunday at Wireless, the Hives played a straighter bat, reminding us of their biggest songs Hate To Say I Told You So and Main Offender.
Dressed in their usual sharp suits, Swedish front-man Pelle Almqvist ever-modestly self-proclaiming his band as the only one the crowd wanted to hear.
Of course, it was Pulp who were closer to that the description and the Sheffield band dug even deeper into their back collection to perform Disco 2000 and Babies in what was effectively a greatest hits set.
Appropriately, Jarvis Cocker and his band finished on Common People and ticker tape fell from the skies to signal the end of a party.
What a party it had been, though! An epic fortnight of music, mud, sweat and beers.
The 29-year-old Texan singer opened her set by stepping down onto the stage from a mini version of the Pyramid while ticker tape and fireworks filled the air.
Beyonce fronted her performance with some of her biggest hits - starting with Crazy In Love and Single Ladies - before teaching the crowd some of the lyrics to her new single, Best Thing I Never Had.
The latter part of her set included covers of Prince and Kings of Leon, and a medley of Destiny's Child tunes.
But it was hardly a mistake to leave early and close the festival in style on the West Holts Stage with Kool & The Gang who played great versions of Get Down On It and Celebrate Good Times.
Earlier on the Sunday, Don McLean won the battle of the two American legends against Paul Simon, delivering a beautiful slow version of Vincent before milking American Pie for all its worth.
Simon stirred the crowd with Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes and You Can Call Me Al but he needlessly omitted Graceland and also could not find time for any Simon & Garfunkel tunes.
Thankfully, then, the Kaiser Chiefs on Other ran through all of their hits from their first album Employment after the Eels had helped us see in a beautiful sunset.
The hot sun on Sunday had come as a welcome relief after the heavens had poured down on most of Friday and Saturday morning.
Much of the site turned into a quagmire with up to a foot of mud in places and some of the bands struggled to rouse the crowd in the rain.
U2 were the biggest of the casualties with a largely underwhelming set.
Nevertheless, it did have a classy touch when Beautiful Day was introduced by an American astronaut in the International Space Station.
And Bono and the others will have at least pleased the purists having featured virtually all their biggest hits.
Earlier in the day, the Pyramid played host to an uninspiring set by Metronomy who would subsequently disappoint again at the Wireless Festival in Hyde Park.
On the Park, American pop duo Jenny and Johnny unsurprisingly struggled to blend their summery tunes with the inclement weather, despite their best efforts.
But, back at the Pyramid, there was total reverence as 85-year-old BB King sang the blues before, over on West Holts, Dr Jimmy Cliff hosted one of the best party atmospheres of the weekend.
On Saturday, Coldplay were another act to produce a great atmosphere at the front.
However, a truly magical Glastonbury moment - like when they finished on Fix You in 2005 - eluded Chris Martin and his band as they opted instead to finish on their new single Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall.
Elbow were a sound choice in providing the warm-up for Coldplay with front-man Guy Garvey giving the appearance of a man who could not believe his band had finally made it.
Meanwhile, much earlier in the day on John Peel Stage, Ardal O'Hanlon-lookalike Jamie 'Pockets' Fox from Fight Like Apes gave the impression that he should be anywhere other than a rock band.
That was not to his detriment, though, and the Irish group - fronted by shouty female vocalist Mary-Kate 'MayKay' Geraghty - provided a hugely entertaining start to the day with both their songs and ad libs.
After repeating the trick at Wireless, I can see Fight Like Apes - and not Shite Like Apes as a self-referential Fox amusingly called them - become another favourite of mine.
Just as the Gaslight Anthem did after their visit to Glastonbury on John Peel Stage in 2009. This year, the Brian Fallon-led New Jersey rockers were back - and playing on the big, uncovered Pyramid Stage.
But the Americans did not let the big venue unnerve them and they gave the big crowd an assured display of their talent.
Of course, as always, Glastonbury Festival has far more to it than just the main music stages though Tony Benn disappointed on the Leftfield Stage by turning up an hour early, meaning I missed him for a third successive year.
Another irritation was the new late night one-way queue system. With its winding seemingly never-ending path, it did its best to exhaust revellers even before they reached the likes of Shangrai-la and the Unfairground.
Worse still, most of these areas remained clogged up with mud even after the sun had dried out the rest of the site on Sunday.
My preview post showed I was skeptical of the one-way idea beforehand and being stuck in such a big queue did little to force me to reevaluate my opinion.
It may have been more organised for the organisers but there was an element of it becoming a chore to visit the late night areas when this has always previously been one of my most enjoyable parts of the festival.
Nevertheless, Arcadia is now such an impressive structure that Orbital played a DJ set there on Saturday night and it has certainly been a pleasure to see the venue develop over the last few years.
My favourite after-hours place this year was away from the south east corner, though. The Bourbon Street Bar gained two visits from myself.
The first was to see Sandi Thom play the blues on Thursday evening, and the second was for some late night boogie back to the jazz of the brilliantly-named Rabbit Foot Spasm Band on Friday.
Glastonbury certainly tested my patience on this fourth visit but, as usual, it still came through with a kaleidoscope of flying colours.
Hyde Park
ARCADE FIRE and Mumford & Sons impressed Hyde Park on the following Thursday, managing to stir a sleepy crowd into action after earlier sets by the Vaccines and Beirut.
And last weekend, Chase & Status, the Chemical Bros., The Streets, The Hives and Pulp were top billing at the aforementioned Wireless Festival.
Wireless was not without its hitches. A poor queuing system meant that I missed the chance to see Devotchka, a band which I held back from seeing at Glastonbury.
However, my biggest beef with the Hyde Park event was its rampant commercialism.
I understand the need for a festival to pay its way with advertisers but there were enough adverts there to make your eyes and ears bleed.
Mike Skinner of the Streets even joked main sponsors Barclaycard had approved the popping of pills during the subsequent sets by Chase & Status and the Chemical Brothers.
Earlier, Canadians Arcade Fire sprung somewhat of a surprise by featuring as many songs as they did from their first two albums, Funeral and Neon Bible, rather than their most recent release The Suburbs.
Still, another chance to hear Rebellion (Lies), Wake Up and No Cars Go live was no bad thing.
On Sunday at Wireless, the Hives played a straighter bat, reminding us of their biggest songs Hate To Say I Told You So and Main Offender.
Dressed in their usual sharp suits, Swedish front-man Pelle Almqvist ever-modestly self-proclaiming his band as the only one the crowd wanted to hear.
Of course, it was Pulp who were closer to that the description and the Sheffield band dug even deeper into their back collection to perform Disco 2000 and Babies in what was effectively a greatest hits set.
Appropriately, Jarvis Cocker and his band finished on Common People and ticker tape fell from the skies to signal the end of a party.
What a party it had been, though! An epic fortnight of music, mud, sweat and beers.
Friday, 1 July 2011
Copa America 2011: Argentina hope home advantage ends 18-year wait
ARGENTINA will attempt to win their first major title for 18 years when they host the Copa America throughout July.
The Argentines still hold the joint overall lead with 14 Copas but the last of these titles came in 1993.
Somewhat surprisingly, it is Uruguay who are the only team to match La Albiceleste's record with Brazil lagging behind in third with eight victories.
Brazil's record actually includes four wins from the last five editions and it is fair to say that the Selecao place much more emphasis on the competition than previously.
In its early days, the Copa America - which predates its European equivalent by 44 years - was seen largely as a spat between the two sides of the Rio de la Plata - namely, Argentina and Uruguay.
But it is now very much part of Brazil's football calendar, and especially so in this particular four-year international cycle.
For, Brazil - as hosts of the World Cup in 2014 - have qualified automatically for it and so the Copa America will provide a rare opportunity for them to play competitive matches.
However, the Brazilians traditionally find it tough in Argentina, having won only two competitive matches there - although the last of these did come as recently as 2009 in the World Cup qualifiers.
Argentina will be looking for revenge for that loss - and also for defeats in the Final of the last two editions of the Copa America in 2004 and 2007.
But the feeling is that, with Lionel Messi pulling the strings from midfield and Gonzalo Higuain up front, the Argentines have a good chance of ending their drought. It will come as little surprise that Argentina's weakness remains their defence.
By contrast, Brazil fans are still wondering where the joga bonito - the 'beautiful game' - has gone. Kaka spent much of last season sidelined by injury while youngster Neymar has shown only fleeting glimpses of his genius.
Overall, the current Brazil team is more closely represented by the likes of Chelsea's Ramires, an uncompromising tackler - and it all feels far too pragmatic to be Brazil.
Indeed, the South American team which, perhaps, excited the most at the last World Cup was Uruguay - and Oscar Tabarez's side went further than both Brazil and Argentina by reaching the semi finals.
Since then, Luis Suarez - unfairly lambasted and yet deservedly punished for his instinctive goal-line save in the quarter final against Ghana - helped Liverpool to recover in the second half of last season.
And the Uruguayan resurgence was further in evidence by the country's most successful club, Penarol, reaching the Final of the Copa Libertadores.
It is the first time since Newell's Old Boys in 1988 that Uruguay has provided a representative in the Final of the South American equivalent of the Champions League.
Penarol - locked at 0-0 with Brazil's Santos after the first leg - are looking for their first Copa Libertadores since 1987.
With the Big Three having dominated the competition throughout its history, the record of the other South American teams is pretty weak.
Peru and Paraguay have just two wins apiece, the last of which came in 1975 and 1979 respectively.
Colombia and Bolivia have won the Copa once but both had home advantage when they did so and, perhaps most surprisingly all of all, Chile have never won it.
Nevertheless, the marathon round-robin World Cup qualifying groups have raised the standard of play across the continent and the invitees also usually provide strong competition.
This time, the invitees - Mexico, for an eighth time, and Costa Rica for a fourth appearance - are both from the CONCACAF region.
Los Ticos were not originally invited but stepped in quickly once Japan withdrew, citing difficulties with European clubs in getting their players released.
The pair should perform creditably having already been in competitive action this summer in the 2011 Gold Cup, and both will fancy being among the eight teams who progress to the quarter finals.
Group winners, runners-up and the best two third-placed teams will contest these final stages.
ESPN will provide live coverage of every match in the UK. Kick-off times below are BST and based upon the 24-hour clock.
GROUP A
Colombia (7 points) and Argentina (5 points) progress to the Quarter Finals. Costa Rica (3 points) and Bolivia (1 point) are eliminated.
GROUP B
Brazil (5 points), Venezuela (5 points) and Paraguay (3 points) progress to the Quarter Finals. Ecuador (1 points) are eliminated.
GROUP C
Chile (7 points), Uruguay (5 points) and Peru (4 points) progress to the Quarter Finals. Mexico (0 points) are eliminated.
QUARTER FINALS
SEMI FINALS
THIRD PLACE PLAYOFF
FINAL
The Argentines still hold the joint overall lead with 14 Copas but the last of these titles came in 1993.
Somewhat surprisingly, it is Uruguay who are the only team to match La Albiceleste's record with Brazil lagging behind in third with eight victories.
Brazil's record actually includes four wins from the last five editions and it is fair to say that the Selecao place much more emphasis on the competition than previously.
In its early days, the Copa America - which predates its European equivalent by 44 years - was seen largely as a spat between the two sides of the Rio de la Plata - namely, Argentina and Uruguay.
But it is now very much part of Brazil's football calendar, and especially so in this particular four-year international cycle.
For, Brazil - as hosts of the World Cup in 2014 - have qualified automatically for it and so the Copa America will provide a rare opportunity for them to play competitive matches.
However, the Brazilians traditionally find it tough in Argentina, having won only two competitive matches there - although the last of these did come as recently as 2009 in the World Cup qualifiers.
Argentina will be looking for revenge for that loss - and also for defeats in the Final of the last two editions of the Copa America in 2004 and 2007.
But the feeling is that, with Lionel Messi pulling the strings from midfield and Gonzalo Higuain up front, the Argentines have a good chance of ending their drought. It will come as little surprise that Argentina's weakness remains their defence.
By contrast, Brazil fans are still wondering where the joga bonito - the 'beautiful game' - has gone. Kaka spent much of last season sidelined by injury while youngster Neymar has shown only fleeting glimpses of his genius.
Overall, the current Brazil team is more closely represented by the likes of Chelsea's Ramires, an uncompromising tackler - and it all feels far too pragmatic to be Brazil.
Indeed, the South American team which, perhaps, excited the most at the last World Cup was Uruguay - and Oscar Tabarez's side went further than both Brazil and Argentina by reaching the semi finals.
Since then, Luis Suarez - unfairly lambasted and yet deservedly punished for his instinctive goal-line save in the quarter final against Ghana - helped Liverpool to recover in the second half of last season.
And the Uruguayan resurgence was further in evidence by the country's most successful club, Penarol, reaching the Final of the Copa Libertadores.
It is the first time since Newell's Old Boys in 1988 that Uruguay has provided a representative in the Final of the South American equivalent of the Champions League.
Penarol - locked at 0-0 with Brazil's Santos after the first leg - are looking for their first Copa Libertadores since 1987.
With the Big Three having dominated the competition throughout its history, the record of the other South American teams is pretty weak.
Peru and Paraguay have just two wins apiece, the last of which came in 1975 and 1979 respectively.
Colombia and Bolivia have won the Copa once but both had home advantage when they did so and, perhaps most surprisingly all of all, Chile have never won it.
Nevertheless, the marathon round-robin World Cup qualifying groups have raised the standard of play across the continent and the invitees also usually provide strong competition.
This time, the invitees - Mexico, for an eighth time, and Costa Rica for a fourth appearance - are both from the CONCACAF region.
Los Ticos were not originally invited but stepped in quickly once Japan withdrew, citing difficulties with European clubs in getting their players released.
The pair should perform creditably having already been in competitive action this summer in the 2011 Gold Cup, and both will fancy being among the eight teams who progress to the quarter finals.
Group winners, runners-up and the best two third-placed teams will contest these final stages.
ESPN will provide live coverage of every match in the UK. Kick-off times below are BST and based upon the 24-hour clock.
GROUP A
Colombia (7 points) and Argentina (5 points) progress to the Quarter Finals. Costa Rica (3 points) and Bolivia (1 point) are eliminated.
| Date | Venue | |
| 2 July | La Plata | ARGENTINA 1-1 BOLIVIA |
| 2 July | Jujuy | COLOMBIA 1-0 COSTA RICA |
| 7 July | Santa Fe | ARGENTINA 0-0 COLOMBIA |
| 7 July | Jujuy | BOLIVIA 0-2 COSTA RICA |
| 10 July | Santa Fe | COLOMBIA 2-0 BOLIVIA |
| 12 July | Cordoba | ARGENTINA 3-0 COSTA RICA |
GROUP B
Brazil (5 points), Venezuela (5 points) and Paraguay (3 points) progress to the Quarter Finals. Ecuador (1 points) are eliminated.
| Date | Venue | |
| 3 July | La Plata | BRAZIL 0-0 VENEZUELA |
| 3 July | Santa Fe | PARAGUAY 0-0 ECUADOR |
| 9 July | Cordoba | BRAZIL 2-2 PARAGUAY |
| 9 July | Salta | VENEZUELA 1-0 ECUADOR |
| 13 July | Salta | PARAGUAY 3-3 VENEZUELA |
| 14 July | Cordoba | BRAZIL 4-2 ECUADOR |
GROUP C
Chile (7 points), Uruguay (5 points) and Peru (4 points) progress to the Quarter Finals. Mexico (0 points) are eliminated.
| Date | Venue | |
| 4 July | San Juan | URUGUAY 1-1 PERU |
| 5 July | San Juan | CHILE 2-1 MEXICO |
| 8 July | Mendoza | URUGUAY 1-1 CHILE |
| 9 July | Mendoza | PERU 1-0 MEXICO |
| 12 July | Mendoza | CHILE 1-0 PERU |
| 13 July | La Plata | URUGUAY 1-0 MEXICO |
QUARTER FINALS
| Date | Venue | |
| 16 July | Cordoba | COLOMBIA 0-2 PERU aet. |
| 16 July | Santa Fe | ARGENTINA 1-1 URUGUAY aet. URUGUAY won 5-4 on pens. |
| 17 July | La Plata | BRAZIL 0-0 PARAGUAY aet. PARAGUAY won 2-0 on pens. |
| 17 July | San Juan | CHILE 1-2 VENEZUELA |
SEMI FINALS
| 20 July | La Plata | PERU 0-2 URUGUAY |
| 21 July | Mendoza | PARAGUAY 0-0 VENEZUELA aet. PARAGUAY won 5-3 on pens. |
THIRD PLACE PLAYOFF
| 23 July | La Plata PERU | 4-1 VENEZUELA |
FINAL
| 24 July | Buenos Aires | URUGUAY 3-0 PARAGUAY - see tournament report here. |
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