DOHA, 30 November — Al-Ahli of Saudi Arabia, the soccer powerhouse among Asian clubs, maintained their superiority as they thrashed their Gulf rival Al-Rayan of Qatar 5-0 in a one-sided affair in a second group match of the 17th Prince Faisal ibn Fahd soccer tournament for the Champions Club Soccer Cup being played here yesterday.
Striker Khaled Al-Kahooji registered the first goal for Ahli at the eight minute of the first half and left the door open for teammates to increase the tally in Ahli’s favor.
The second goal followed two minutes later from a long shot by Obaid Al-Dossari. Ahli was leading 2-0 at end of the first half.
The second half statred aggressively as it seemed that everybody was in a hurry to score but Fawzi Al-Shehari availed the opportunity and contributed the third goal at the 10th minute of the second half.
Al-Khaooji struck again to score the fourth goal. Al-Rayan’s goalkeeper was helpless against Ibrahim Suwaid’s penalty kick two minutes before final whistle and thus the fifth goal was scored.
Al-Ahli will play against Tunisian Al-Safaqsi today while Al-Rayan will meet Jordan’s Al-Faisali club.
Juventus rout Leverkusen in delayed second-phase opener
In Turin, Italy’s Juventus thrashed Bayer Leverkusen of Germany 4-0 here yesterday at the Stadio Delle Alpi to get off to a perfect start in their first second-phase Group D Champions League match.
The match, played at the third time of asking after twice being postponed for fog, was one-way traffic with Juve romping to a 3-0 interval lead thanks to goals from David Trezeguet, Alessandro Del Piero and Igor Tudor.
After the break the outstanding Trezeguet added his second to post a personal club tally of 14 goals in all club matches this season.
Leverkusen, who had struggled to find a hotel Wednesday night after UEFA decreed the game be played yesterday and eventually spent the night some 80km away at Saint Vincent in the Alps, looked disorientated but Juventus were quickly into their stride and defender Alessandro Birindelli forced an early save from Hans-Jorg Butt.
After eight minutes Trezeguet put the hosts in front after a game of head tennis in the Leverkusen area.
A cross was head back across goal by Del Piero and Leverkusen defender Jens Nowotny headed the ball up into the air. The Frenchman was first to react and beat Butt to the ball to head the opener.
Ulf Kirsten and Oliver Neuville both failed to hit the target when well placed for Leverkusen while at the other end Del Piero fired high after losing his marker with a brilliant piece of skill. Birindelli was cautioned after 24 minutes for a foul on Bayer’s Brazilian winger Ze Roberto but after 37 minutes Juve made it 2-0.
A ball from Lilian Thuram caught the German defense square and Trezeguet advanced, drew Butt and slipped the ball sideways to Del Piero who scored.
Del Piero, with Gianluca Pessotto one of two survivors of the Juve team that won this competition in 1995-6, immediately ran across to thank Trezeguet for setting him up on a plate.
With half-time approaching Juve turned up the heat. Birindelli’s center was perfect for Trezeguet who headed goalwards but Butt denied him, tipping the ball behind for a corner.
But the goal was not long in coming. A Del Piero corner was miscued by Mark Iuliano and looked as if it was going out but Alessio Tacchinardi put it back in the danger zone with an acrobatic overhead kick and Tudor reacted quickly to fire home from close range.
The second half began in lackluster fashion with Juve’s Nedved and Leverkusen’s Michael Ballack booked in separate incidents but on the hour mark it was 4-0 to the side from Turin.
It was a well-worked goal. Pessotto played in Czech Pavel Nedved on the left and his cross was met first time by Trezeguet whose volley found the corner of the net via Butt’s fingertips. Minutes later Trezeguet missed a glorious chance to make it a hat-trick when he miscued wide after good work by Del Piero. The Frenchman was later replaced by Nicola Amoruso.
FIFA promise to guarantee
World Cup security
In Pusan, South Korea, FIFA General Secretary Michel Zen-Ruffinen has said that next year’s World Cup finals will be the safest ever staged with both the South Korean and Japanese governments promising the highest level of security possible.
"We have had a very good response from both governments and their security agencies regarding all security matters," said Zen-Ruffinen yesterday.
"In one sense it is the responsibility of the governments to ensure the safety and security of the supporters, players and stadiums rather than FIFA’s responsibility, but the fact is, the response from the governments has been so positive that we can already say the World Cup will be the safest one yet staged."
FIFA vice-president David Will, a member of FIFA’s Security Committee, which met on Thursday ahead of Friday’s Executive Committee meeting, endorsed Zen-Ruffinen’s comments adding: "After the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, the focus of World Cup security changed from hooliganism to the matter of absolute paramount safety for the stadiums, the fans and the players.
