JEDDAH, 30 August 2003 — Champions Al-Ittihad began their title defense in the King Fahd Soccer Tournament with a facile 4-0 romp over Al-Khaleej yesterday in Alkhobar.
Al-Nasr too began their campaign with a 3-0 rout of Al-Shoala at the Prince Faisal ibn Fahd Stadium in a match which they dominated throughout. The goalscoreres were Brazilian Carioca, Ecuadorean Tonorio and Majed Al-Dossary.
Al-Qadisiya too recorded a thumping win, beating Al-Riyadh 4-0 at the Prince Muhammad ibn Fahd Stadium in Dammam. Saud Al-Kariri, Saleh Al-Sharhani, who scored two goals and Yasser Al-Qahtani struck for Qadisiya.
Ittihad took their time to settle down at the Prince Saud ibn Jalawi Stadium but once they had established their midfield superiority, Al-Khaleej were left to play catch up. Ittihad never showed real urgency in attack, but were content to draw intricate designs in their elaborate buildups.
On the occasions they unleashed their probing runs, Al-Khaleej defense failed to measure up. With Hamad Al-Munteshri getting on the scorer’s list first, it was inevitable that the champions would rack up the numbers. And they did it with ease.
Abu Shegheir, notching the side’s second, and a brace by Muhammad Nur late in the game rounded off the tally in a match in which Ittihad were rarely extended.
Next Wednesday, Al-Hilal play Al-Shabab in Riyadh, Al-Taie meet Al-Nasr in Hail and Al-Ahli take on Al-Shoala in Kharj.
Liverpool, Barca, Dortmund
Get Easy Ride in Draw
Former European champions Liverpool, Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund were all paired with comfortably beatable opponents in yesterday’s draw for the UEFA Cup first round.
Liverpool, who won the UEFA Cup in 2001, will face Slovenia’s Olimpija Ljubljana, while Barcelona will open in Slovakia against Puchov as a seeding system avoided any major clashes.
Borussia Dortmund, bundled out of the Champions League qualifiers by Club Bruges after a penalty shoot-out, will take on Austria Vienna in what should be a straightforward win for the 1997 European champions.
Newcastle United, who similarly lost on penalties to Partizan Belgrade in another midweek upset, will take on Dutch side NAC Breda, while Valencia, Champions League finalists in 2000 and 2001, drew AIK Stockholm.
An extra twist was added to Anglo-Turkish rivalry with Blackburn Rovers, coached by former Galatasaray boss Graeme Souness, paired with Genclerbirligi.
Chelsea were drawn in a Champions League group with Besiktas on Thursday, while England face a crunch Euro 2004 qualifier in Turkey in October.
The first leg ties will be played on Sept. 24, with the return legs on Oct. 15.
Fans Hurl Eggs as Serie B
Season Is Postponed
Italian soccer fans hurled eggs and insults outside Football League headquarters yesterday as the decision was taken to postpone the start of the Serie B championship by a week.
“Turn on your passion, turn off your television”, “No to modern football” and “Kick out the power brokers” read banners held by about one hundred supporters of clubs Brescia, Atalanta, Vicenza and Torino.
The fans were protesting at what they claim is the hijacking of their sport by TV money men and bureaucratic incompetence. The meeting of the Football League, which represents clubs in Italy’s top two divisions, was called to prevent a boycott of the start of the season by 19 Serie B teams unhappy about plans to expand the division to 24 clubs.
The boycott was approved last week after the Italian Football Federation readmitted to Serie B three relegated teams and Florence club Fiorentina, who were all due to play in the third level Serie C1.
Even before yesterday’s meeting started, however, the chances of avoiding a postponement looked slim. “The people aren’t stupid and they’re starting to understand what’s going on,” Cagliari President Massimo Cellino told reporters before entering the building.
“(The president of the Italian Football Federation Franco) Carraro has overstepped the mark. He’s written his own resignation letter by his behavior in the past few days,” Cellino continued. As well as delaying the start of the season, the Football League also passed a vote of no-confidence in Carraro.
Earlier, Football League president Adriano Galliani denied the chaos might disrupt the first round of Serie A matches this weekend. “Serie A will start on time, for sure,” Galliani told reporters, brushing off suggestions that some top-flight clubs might join the Serie B boycott.
