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Essien boost for Ghana

Injury-ravaged African Nations Cup contenders Ghana have received a welcome boost with the return to full fitness of star player Michael Essien.

Essien tore his hamstring in Chelsea’s Champions League game against APOEL Nicosia on December 9 but resumed full training this week.

The 27-year-old midfielder is due to join up with his Ghana teammates in Angola on Saturday, but is doubtful for the Black Stars’ opener against Togo on Monday.

Essien is expected to be accompanied by a Chelsea doctor, according to a report on the BBC.

Ghana, four time winners of this biennial continental championship, face a tough opening group with favourites Ivory Coast waiting for them after Togo followed by Burkina Faso.

Serb coach Milovan Rajevac has had to contend with a spate of injuries to key personnel, with central defenders John Pantsil and John Mensah and midfielders Stephen Appiah and Laryea Kingston all ruled out.

The first side from Africa to qualify for the World Cup aside from hosts South Africa Ghana are seeking their first Nations cup title in 28 years.

This appetising World Cup forerunner gets under way in Luanda on Sunday with hosts Angola taking on Mali.

LUANDA (AFP)

Tags: Africa, african nations cup, Angola, appetising, burkina faso, central defenders, continental championship, cup contenders, Essien, forerunner, ghana, Ivory Coast, john mensah, john pantsil, Kingston, league game, Luanda, mali, Michael Essien, midfielders, Nicosia, South Africa, star player, stephen appiah, time winners, Togo

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Ghana held by Malawi in friendly

With both sides preparing for next week’s start of the African Cup of Nations, Ghana and Malawi played out a 0-0 draw on Tuesday in Swaziland.

The match almost didn’t happen as Ghanaian players were requesting appearance bonuses before the game, but the matter was resolved in time to allow Ratomir Dujkovic’s men to take the pitch in Mbabane.

The Malawi side never managed the breakthrough against a stern Ghanaian defense, but the Black Stars also looked a bit disinterested as the manager tinkered with lineups and tactics in his only international before the continental championship.

Ghana are winless in six games heading into the tournament, which they open on Monday against Togo. Malawi’s first game is against Algeria earlier on Monday.

Tags: African, african cup of nations, algeria, appearance, black stars, breakthrough, continental championship, Dujkovic, first game, ghana, ghanaian players, Malawi, Mbabane, pitch, six games, Swaziland, Togo

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Korean, Saudi sides meet in AFC Champions League final

Al Ittihad of Saudi Arabia take on Pohang Steelers of South Korea in the AFC Champions League final this weekend with both sides aiming for a record third continental championship.

In Saturday’s match, the Saudi giants, who defeated Japan’s Nagoya Grampus 8-3 on aggregate in the semi-finals, will have a chance to regain the AFC Champions League title they won in 2004 and 2005.

The Korean powerhouses, who beat Umm-Salal of Qatar 4-1 on aggregate in their semi-final clash, won the former Asian Club Championship in 1997 and 1998.

“Before every match, the chance to win is 50-50 for each team, so I can’t say who will win,” said Al Ittihad coach Gabriel Calderon, a former Argentine international.

“But we always play for a win and we will do so again in the final. We have a good team and that’s why we are now in the final,” he added.

Al Ittihad’s Tunisian striker Amine Chermiti, 21, has scored in his past three Champions League games since arriving on loan from Bundesliga club Hertha Berlin in August.

The attacking threat also comes from Moroccan forward Hicham Aboucherouane, who finished as the Saudi league’s joint top scorer last season and has been the club’s top scorer in the Champions League with five goals.

Skipper Mohammed Noor, who scored a hat-trick in the first leg against Nagoya in Jeddah, is expected to pull the strings behind them.

“The final is going to be great as we are going to face a good team similar to ours,” said Pohang’s Brazilian coach Sergio Farias, who led Brazil to the quarter-finals of the 2001 under-17 World Cup.

“We are playing the final as a representative of the K-League. This is the biggest motivation that we need. Al Ittihad are not easy opponents but at the same time I don’t think they feel we are such an easy side to beat either.”

Farias is expected to use a 4-3-3 formation with Macedonia striker Stevica Ristic flanked by the Brazilian Denilson and Noh Byung-Joon in a three-pronged attack.

The 27-year-old Ristic has scored three goals in his past four Champions League games, while Denilson, the team’s top scorer in the K-League, has netted seven times in the Champions League.

Noh has scored three times in this season’s competition and Kim Jae-Sung, an attacking midfielder, has four goals.

Al Ittihad, who defeated two Korean teams on their way to their 2004 victory, won the 2008-2009 Saudi Pro League.

Pohang have won the league cup and finished second in the K-League to book a place in the final stages of the play-offs.

The one-leg final at the National Stadium will kick off at 7:00 pm local time (1000 GMT), with the teams vying for the winner’s prize of 1.5 million dollars. The runners-up will receive 750,000 dollars.

TOKYO (AFP)

Tags: afc champions league, Al-Ittihad, amine, asian club championship, berlin, continental championship, farias, Gabriel Calderon, grampus 8, hat trick, hertha berlin, Japan, Jeddah, joon, k league, Macedonia, Mohammed Noor, Nagoya, noor, pohang steelers, powerhouses, pronged attack, Qatar, quarter finals, Sergio Farias, Sung, tokyo, Umm-Salal

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Gold Cup to be played in record 13 different U.S. cities July 3-26

NEW YORK – The 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup will be played in a record 13 different U.S. cities, opening at The Home Depot Center in Los Angeles on Friday, July 3 and concluding with the championship match Sunday, July 26 at Giants Stadium outside New York.

The 13 cities are more than twice than the number previously used for the continental championship and shy of only the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain and the 2002 FIFA World Cup, which used 10 venues each in Japan and South Korea. The 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States was played in nine different venues.

“By expanding the Gold Cup to 13 venues, it will give fans more opportunity to experience the championship in person,” CONCACAF President Jack Warner said.

The Gold Cup will make its first appearance in four cities: Columbus, Ohio; Phoenix; Philadelphia and Washington. A Gold Cup quarterfinal will be the first sporting event to be played at the Dallas Cowboys New Stadium.

Each venue will host one doubleheader except for the final at Giants Stadium, with the quarterfinals set for Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia (Saturday, July 18) and Dallas (Sunday, July 19), and the semifinals at Soldier Field in Chicago (Thursday, July 23).

Besides Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus (July 7), RFK Stadium in Washington (July and the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona (July 12), other first-round venues include: Qwest Field in Seattle (July 4), Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, California (July 5), Reliant Stadium in Houston (July 9), FIU Stadium in Miami (July 10), and Gillette Stadium in the Boston suburb of Foxborough, Massachusetts (July 11).

“While 13 cities create logistical challenges, we think the benefits of reaching out to more venues are clearly worthwhile,” CONCACAF General Secretary Chuck Blazer said. “The ability of so many people to see national teams play we feel is well worth the effort.”

The tournament will use the same format as in 2005 and 2007, with the 12-team field divided into three, four-team groups. The top two teams from each group will advance to the quarterfinals along with the two best third-place teams.

The three first-round groups for the qualifiers: Canada, Mexico and the United States from the North Zone; Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua from Central America; and Jamaica, Grenada, Guadeloupe and Haiti from the Caribbean, and schedule will be announced at a later time.

Haiti was approved on Sunday by the Caribbean Football Union congress to replace Cuba, which had qualified but withdrew citing developmental concerns. Haiti won a draw with Trinidad & Tobago to claim the fourth and final berth from the Caribbean.

The Gold Cup was played in six different cities in its two most recent editions, including two stadia in Los Angeles in 2005 (the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and The Home Depot Center ).

This will be the second time Giants Stadium has staged the final and first since 2005. Miami will see the Gold Cup for the seventh straight time, although it will be the first time at FIU Stadium, while the Los Angeles area will stage matches for the eighth time in 10 tournaments.

Games will be played on modern synthetic surfaces in four stadiums: Qwest Field, FIU Stadium, Gillette Stadium and the New Dallas Cowboys Stadium. Grass will be laid over the existing surface for the final in Giants Stadium.

Groups and a full schedule as well as ticket information will be available in the coming weeks.

SCHEDULE

First Round

July 3 – The Home Depot Center (Los Angeles)

July 4 – Qwest Field (Seattle)

July 5 – Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum (San Francisco)

July 7 – Crew Stadium (Columbus, Ohio)

July 8 – Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium (Washington)

July 9 – Reliant Stadium (Houston)

July 10 – Florida International University Stadium (Miami)

July 11 – Gillette Stadium (Boston)

July 12 – University of Phoenix Stadium (Phoenix)

Quarterfinals

July 18 – Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia)

July 19 –Dallas Cowboys New Stadium (Dallas)

Semifinals

July 23 – Soldier Field (Chicago)

Final

July 26 – Giants Stadium (New York)

Go to Source

Tags: 2002 fifa world cup, boston suburb, Caribbean, Central America, Chuck Blazer, COLUMBUS, columbus crew stadium, CONCACAF Champions' Cup, concacaf gold cup, continental championship, Costa Rica, county coliseum, crew stadium, dallas cowboys, dallas cowboys new stadium, first appearance, foxborough massachusetts, giants stadium, gillette stadium, jack warner, Jamaica, lincoln financial field, logistical challenges, New Stadium, New York, north zone, Phoenix, president jack, President Jack Warner, Reliant Stadium, rfk stadium, soldier field, Tobago, United States, university of phoenix

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