1. * SUNDAY TIMES OF INDIA, BENGALURU
FEBRUARY 28, 201622 TIMES SPORT
Zurich: Sepp Blatter feels relief at no longer
being FIFA president and warmly praised his
successor Gianni Infantino on Saturday. Blat-
ter seemed happy and at peace in an interview
with The Associated Press to reflect on the end
of 17 often combative years atop soccer’s scan-
dal-hit governing body.
“It is a relief. I had this burden on me,” he
said, enjoying his first day out of FIFA’s em-
ployment since 1975. On Wednesday, his FIFA
ethics ban for financial conflicts of interest
was cut to six years. Being suspended or not,
I was still the elected president. And now it is
finished,” Blatter said.
A weight was lifted off him Friday evening
theminutehewatchedontelevisionasInfantino
won the election to replace him. “It was even a
welcome day yesterday, 18:01, when they had a
new president,” he said in the European style
for 6:01 p.m. He then paused and exhaled deeply.
When the moment arrived, Blatter said he
waswithhisdaughter,Corinne,atherapartment
inZurich.Hewasdrinkingaglassof whitewine
from his native Valais region in Switzerland. “It
was important for FIFA to have a change,” said
Blatter, who turns 80 in two weeks.
Blatter and the 45-year-old Infantino were
born in the neighboring towns of Visp and
Brig. “He is a young man, he is powerful, he
has a lot of energy and I am sure he will do the
right job,” Blatter said.
“It is a repetition of history, that is some-
thing,” said Blatter. “If a majority of the 207
national associations so clearly indicated
where they want to go then I can only say, 'Gi-
anni, good luck and do it’,” Blatter said. AP
I had the FIFA burden: Blatter
Sam Borden
Zurich:GianniInfantinolooked
outatthepeoplewhoruleglobal
soccer, the members of FIFA.
Once,twice,hetriedtobeginhis
speech, clearly stunned. He had
justwontheFIFApresidencyon
Friday,butseemedtobestillsort-
ing out how it had happened.
Infantino’s ascent to per-
haps the most powerful posi-
tion in sports was hardly fore-
seeable several months ago. As
soccer’sbeleagueredgoverning
body reeled from one crisis —
that of widespread corruption
allegations and arrests among
itsleadership—itseemedtobe
headed for another. Sheikh Sal-
man bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa, a
member of Bahrain’s royal
family, was considered the fa-
vorite to become the next FIFA
president in Friday’s election
but faced questions about pos-
sible connections to the bloody
crackdown on pro-democracy
protesters in his country.
Instead, Infantino, a Swiss
administrator, will try to lead
global soccer out of its darkest
period after FIFA’s voting mem-
bers, in an upset, chose him to
followthesuspendedSeppBlat-
ter, once a Swiss administrator
himself. Infantino, 45, becomes
just the ninth president in FI-
FA’s 111-year history, a reality
that is emblematic of its
long-embedded resistance to
change.
Soccer’s leaders are under
intense scrutiny from law en-
forcement officials in the Unit-
ed States and Switzerland.
The long-derided executive
committee — notorious for
decades of scandals, bribery
and political intrigue — will
be replaced by a 36-member
FIFA council that must in-
clude at least six women.
“A new era has been started
aswespeak,”saidInfantino,the
secretary general of UEFA, Eu-
ropeansoccer’sgoverningbody,
since2009.“Youwillbeproudof
FIFA.Youwillbeproudof what
FIFA will do for football.”
After entering the race on
the final day to declare a can-
didacy, Infantino embraced
the challenge of convincing
the delegates that he was not
simply a Eurocentric leader.
In his remarks to delegates
before the election, Infantino
spoke in six languages — Eng-
lish, Spanish, French, German,
Italian and, for a short spell,
Portuguese—ashetriedtocon-
nect with each region. He did
enough, promising to return
moremoneytothememberfed-
erations. NYT NEWS SERVICE
I will work
tirelessly to
bring football
back to FIFA and FIFA back
to football, this is what we
have to do.
“I am feeling a lot of
emotion and have not fully
realised yet what has
happened today. It is still
very fresh and it’s been a
long and exciting journey
and I probably need some
time to chill out and see
what has happened.
“I would like to see a big
development of football
all over the world.”
— Gianni Infantino
FIFA PRESIDENT
Infantino to
lead FIFA
into new era
He is a young
man, he is
powerful, he
has a lot of
energy and I am sure he
will do the right job. All I
can say, ‘Gianni, good
luck and do it’. — Sepp Blatter
Bengaluru: Mizo football fans will be in for a
Sunday treat as last year’s runners-up Bengalu-
ru FC look to get their title challenge back on
track after losing two of their last three home
matcheswhentheytakeondebutantsAizawlFC
in the I League at the Sree Kanteerava stadium
here.
While the visitors have emerged as the flag-
bearers of Mizoram in the top tier, the Mizo
footballers have already made their presence
feltdonningthecoloursinmostof thetopclubs.
Even Bengaluru FC have five Mizo players, in-
cluding striker Beikho and goalkeeper Lalth-
uammawiaRalte,intheirroster.
Thehostswouldaimforanemphaticwinon
Sunday to resurrect their title challenge. They
are now third in the standings with15 points af-
ter having dropped six points in their last three
home matches, losing to Sporting Clube de Goa
and Mohun Bagan. The only solace was their
thumping winagainst DSKShivajians.
However, BFC coach Ashley Westwood, who
was livid after his side lost to Sporting Clube de
Goa here on February 6, felt his side is still very
muchatopcontenderforthetitle.
“It is upsetting to lose any match but we are
still in it. If we can win six of the remaining
eight matches then we are on course. Overall if
youwin11of the16matchesthenyouareset(for
thetitle).WearetoplayEastBengalandMohun
Bagan so it’s still very much in our hands. Also
it is unlikely that Bagan are going to win all
theirmatches,”Westwoodtoldreportershere.
Itwillbeanothertrickymatchforthetitleas-
pirants as Aizawl would look to go all out and
make the most of their travel-weary opponents
who returned from Laos after losing their AFC
Cup opener to Lao Toyota on Wednesday. “Con-
sidering the strength of Bengaluru we will first
keep our goal safe and then try and move for-
ward. In our home match against Bengaluru we
had around 60 per cent of the possession. Just
like they came to our place and won we want to
dothesamehere,”Aizawl’snewcoachJaharDas
said. “It would be an exciting game to watch
with all the Mizo players in action. Our team is
composed mostly of Mizos and even Benglauru
FC has got four players from Mizoram,” he add-
ed.Thevisitorswouldbelookingfortoanother
upset win after they defeated Mumbai FC in Ai-
zawllastSaturday.
Asked about the talk that some of the key
players in BFC are not getting enough time on
the field, Westwood said it was because of the
tight schedule. “We are playing five games in14
days and so we have to chop and change the
squad to keep our players fresh,” he said citing
theincreasingnumberof injuriesintheside.
The coach said the team would look forward
to the return of Sunil Chhetri, who was out of
action owing to an injury, for Sunday’s fixture.
“We look forward to Sunil getting back on the
pitch as he has recovered and will available for
tomorrow’smatch,”hesaid.
Today’smatch:AtBengaluru:BFC vs Aizawl FC, 7pm.
Results:AtVasco:Salgaocar1(DarrylDuffy71)losttoMohunBagan3
(JejeLalpakhlua13,GlenCornell30,45+2).
At Mumbai: Mumbai FC 2 (Kozawa 18, Rane 53) drew Sporting Clube
deGoa:2(AlAmna8,VFernandes59).
BFC seek victory at home
Chhetri Set To Return; Aizawl Look For An Upset
Biju.BabuCyriac@timesgroup.com
I-LEAGUE
BACK IN ACTION: BFC’s Sunil Chhetri during a practice session
at the football stadium on the eve of the I-League match against
Aizawl FC in Bengaluru on Saturday
Syed Asif
V Praneet and Reshma Maruri won the boys and
girls singles titles in the Tennis Temple Acade-
my-AITA Under-16 Talent Series tennis champi-
onship in Bengaluru on Friday. In the finals,
Praneet downed Arjun Sriram 6-3, 6-2 while
Reshma Maruri routed Lakshanya Vishwanath
6-1, 6-0. The Pathange siblings, Aryan and Arnav,
won the boys doubles title beating Nikhil
Niranjan and Vishal Pagadala 6-3, 6-2.
Lowry shinesfor Raptors:KyleLowryscored
43 points and hit a jumper with 3.8 seconds left
to break a tie as Toronto Raptors beat Cleveland
Cavaliers 99-97 in the NBA on Friday.
Results:AtlantabtChicago103-88;MemphisbtLALakers112-95;
DallasbtDenver122-116(OT);NewYorkbtOrlando108-95;Toronto
btCleveland99-97;LAClippersbtSacramento117-107;Indianabt
Charlotte95-96;WashingtonbtPhiladelphia103-94.
SAI,AGORCinfinal: PLThimmannascoreda
brace as SAI defeated Central Excise 2-0 to
march into the final of the 19th Field Marshal
Cariappa Memorial hockey tournament in
Bengaluru on Saturday. In the final, SAI will take
on AGORC, who edged out DYES 3-2.
Results:SAI2(PLThimmanna42,44)btCentralExcise0;AGORC
3(Rafiq2,Bidappa38,MGPoonacha54)btDYES2(Kumar29,
Pavan70).OnSunday:Final:SAIvsAGORC(4pm).
Praneet, Reshma champs
Madrid: Antoine Griezmann scored
a goal early in the second half to give
Atletico Madrid a 1-0 win over Real
Madrid at Santiago Bernabeu Stadi-
umonSaturday,keepingAtletico'sti-
tle hopes alive and virtually ending
therival'schancesinLaLiga.
TheFrenchforwardscoredwitha
left-footer in the 53rd minute after a
cross by Brazilian left back Filipe
Luis, helping visiting Atletico pull
within five points of leader Barcelo-
na, which hosts Sevilla on Sunday.
Real Madrid could drop 12 points be-
hind Barcelona if the Catalan club
wins Sunday. It was Real Madrid's
first defeat at home since a humiliat-
ing 4-0 loss to Barcelona in Novem-
ber. The team had won seven straight
atBernabeu.
Fans loudly jeered Real Madrid
president Florentino Perez, calling
for his resignation. It's the third sea-
son in a row that Atletico beat Real
Madrid at Bernabeu in the Spanish
league. Griezmann got the winner in
a breakaway that started near mid-
field. He carried the ball to the top of
thearea,fedLuisontheleftflankand
the Brazilian passed it right back for
Griezmann's shot from near the pen-
altyspot.
Atletico had not scored a goal in
its last two games. It hasn't conceded
in four straight matches. Real Ma-
drid started pressuring and con-
trolledtheearlypartsof thegamebut
Atletico improved and didn't allow
thehoststo createmanychances.
ULLOAISFOXES’HERO
Leicester City eked out a critical win
against struggling Norwich City
with a late, late winner from Leonar-
doUlloathatsawthemopenupafive-
point lead at the top of the Premier
League on Saturday. Following their
crushing stoppage time defeat at Ar-
senal last time out, the Foxes were,
according to manager Claudio Ra-
nieri, “ready for the fight” but for
most of the match seemed curiously
becalmedasNorwichhadthebestop-
portunities.
Cameron Jerome squandered an
outstanding chance for the Canaries
just before halftime, glancing a head-
er just wide, but though producing
one of their flattest performances of
the season, Leicester sent the King
Power Stadium wild in the dying sec-
onds. Argentine Ulloa proved the
homefans'hero,slidinginattheback
postinthe89thminute.
Late goals from Cesc Fabregas
and Branislav Ivanovic saw Chelsea
come from behind to beat in-form
Southampton 2-1 at St Mary's Stadi-
um. Southampton took a first-half
lead through Shane Long, but Fabre-
gasdrewChelsealevelon75minutes,
and Ivanovic headed the winner in
the89thminute.
The champions extended their
unbeaten league run since interim
manager Guus Hiddink was appoint-
edinDecemberto11games.
EASYFORBAYERN
Bayern Munich scored twice in eight
minutes to beat VfL Wolfsburg 2-0 on
Saturday and go11points clear at the
top of the Bundesliga as they chase
an unprecedented fourth consecu-
tive league crown. Kingsley Coman's
66th-minute volley and Robert Le-
wandowski's 23rd goal of the cam-
paign lifted Bayern to 62 points, 11
ahead of second-placed Borussia
Dortmund. For Champions League
club Wolfsburg, last season's run-
ners-up and German Cup winners, it
was another frustrating afternoon,
stuck in eighth place after winning
justoneof theirlast10matches.
Results: Spanish League: Real Madrid 0 lost to Atlet-
icoMadrid1(AntoineGriezmann53).
EPL: West Ham United:1(M Antonio 30) bt Sunderland
0;StokeCity2(MArnautovic51pen,56)btAstonVilla1
(L Bacuna 79); Watford 0 drew AFC Bournemouth 0,
Southampton 1 (S Long 42) lost to Chelsea 2 (Fabregas
75,BIvanovic89),LeicesterCity1(Ulloa89)btNorwich
City0.
German League: Wolfsburg 0 lost to Bayern Munich 2
(Coman 66, Lewandowski 74); Hamburg 1 (Drmic 7)
drew Ingolstadt 1 (Hinterseer 61); Stuttgart1 (Werner
18)losttoHannover2(Schulz32,83);WerderBremen2
(Ujah 33, Pizarro 89) drew Darmstadt 98 (Wagner 44,
Sulu82). AGENCIES
Super Sub Ulloa Nets Leicester Winner; Bayern Extend Lead In Germany
ON TARGET: Atletico's Antoine Griezmann celebrates after scoring against Real Madrid
AP
Atletico shock Real in derby
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