Sampaoli named Marseille coach

MARSEILLE: Marseille have appointed Jorge Sampaoli as their new coach, the troubled French club’s American owner Frank McCourt announced in a statement on Friday.

Sampaoli, a much-travelled Argentine, replaces Andre Villas-Boas who was suspended on Feb 2.

McCourt, who promised “profound changes” at the club, also replaced president Jacques-Henri Eyraud, who has become a target of fan discontent, with sporting director Pablo Longoria.

McCourt said Eyraud would be joining the club’s supervisory board.

Marseille, second when last season was cut short, are seventh this season, 20 points behind leaders Lille.

“This is a new chapter for Olympique de Marseille, and I am personally committed to making it a success,” McCourt said in the statement.

“I have entrusted the presidency of the club to Pablo. His experience as sports director and talent scout is matched only by his love of the game. His main priority will be to put football back at the heart of OM.”

Sampaoli’s arrival had been expected since he requested the termination of his contract with Brazilian club Atletico Mineiro on February 22. He was in charge as they beat Palmeiras 2-0 on Thursday in their final match of the season to finish third in the table.

The 60-year-old is a former Chile, Argentina and Sevilla coach. He has signed a contract with Marseille until June 2023.

He is known for his hot temper and also for an attacking style of play.

“I have been told all my life that OM is a passion. That the Velodrome lights up when the team goes to the stadium,” said Sampaoli, quoted in a club press release.

“Marseille is a people’s club and I feel myself in this heat. We’re not here to hide: we’re going to play hard.”

According to a source in his entourage, Sampaoli was planning to fly to France at once. He might have to observe quarantine when he arrives.

Marseille play second-place Lyon on Sunday evening and then visit Lille on Wednesday. Nasser Larguet, the head of the Marseille academy, has been appointed interim manager.—AFP

Bremen end Frankfurt’s unbeaten run

BREMEN: Werder Bremen’s US forward Josh Sargent scored the winner as his struggling side came from a goal down at halftime to beat Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 in the Bundesliga on Friday and hand the visitors a first league defeat of the year.

Victory moved Werder eight points above the relegation zone while ending fourth-placed Frankfurt’s 11-match unbeaten run in the Bundesliga, stretching back to early December.

Bremen, who had won only three of their previous 25 home league games, fought back with a strong second-half performance after Frankfurt had taken a ninth minute lead when Andre Silva headed his 19th goal of the season in the Bundesliga.

Theodor Gebre Selassie equalised two minutes into after the break, at the end of a flying run down the right flank, but only following a VAR check after initially being flagged offside.

Sargent then grabbed the decisive goal in the 62nd minute, which also required VAR verification before being awarded.

The hosts had two other efforts ruled out because of offside and in the first half Milot Rashica fired against the crossbar.

“They were just a little too strong for us after halftime,” said Frankfurt’s veteran captain Makoto Hasebe.

However, they remain well positioned for a berth in next season’s Champions League, five points ahead of fifth-placed Bayer Leverkusen, who host Freiburg on Sunday.—Reuters

Askari Club, Mumba Squad in basketball final

KARACHI: Askari Club and Mumba Squad beat their respective opponents in the semifinals to storm into the final of the Honda Atlas Cup basketball tournament at the Arambagh-Abdul Nasir court here on Friday.

In the first semifinal, Askari Club outplayed Bounce Club 55-40. Shahmir Zaheer led the way for the winners with a fantastic display, scoring 19 points with four three-pointers. He was well supported by Syed Bakhtiar (16 pts) and Anas Usman (12 pts).

For the losing side, the main scorers were Rehab Khan and Zia Ahmed with 11 points each.

In the second semifinal, Mumba Squad overcame stiff challenge from Omega Club to win 63-57. Saad Khan (17 pts) was the architect of victory for the winners and was well backed up by Kenneth Johnson who scored 15 points while PIA pilot Raja Jahanzeb scored 12 points.

For the losing side, Dr Abid Abbas was brilliant on the court and scored 23 points with the help of five three-pointers. Anas Azhar (16 pts) and Hasan Zafar (12 pts) also played superbly.

POA’s media coordinator Asif Azeem was the chief guest on the occasion and announced to sponsor the girls basketball tournament scheduled for March 23. He further said that DMC South will fully support the tournament which will be held in the name of late international player Abdul Nasir who recently passed away.

Meanwhile, in the tournament’s final set for Sunday, CEO Honda Power Teruki Hatano will be the chief guest.—Agencies

Bilbao play 1-1 draw at Levante

BARCELONA: Athletic Bilbao drew at Levante 1-1 in the La Liga on Friday, five days before they meet again to decide which advances to the final of the Copa del Rey.

Roger Mart scored his 10th goal of the season for Levante after the striker converted a 34-minute penalty following Unai Nez’s foul of Jorge de Frutos in the area.

Ral Garca equalised in the 56th from a penalty conceded by Nikola Vukcekics foul of Alex Berenguer.

The stalemate left Levante in eight place and Bilbao in ninth. On Thursday, the two will meet for a third time in three weeks when Levante again host Bilbao in the return leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final. The first leg at San Mams Stadium stadium ended 1-1. The other cup semi-final will be decided on Wednesday, when Sevilla take a 2-0 advantage to Barcelona at Camp Nou.—AP

Crescent Club reach semis

LAHORE: Crescent Club beat Ghalib Sports by four wickets at the Pindi Gymkhana ground to qualify for the semi-finals of the 36th M. Yaseen Akhtar Memorial Cricket Tournament here on Saturday.

Summarised scores:

GHALIB SPORTS 131 in 18.3 overs (Ahmed Bilal 52; Baber Ali 3-22, M. Saeed 2-1); CRESCENT CLUB 134-6 in 19.5 overs (Akhter Shah 42, Asadullah 33; Ali Raza 3-20, Zahid Khan 2-14).

Published in Dawn, February 28th, 2021