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Bazzani wins Shell Ethiopia's Highland Rally

Could there be any thing better for a birthday celebration than winning the historical 24 th Ethiopian Highland Rally Championship title?

The Shell Ethiopia sponsored 24 th Ethiopian High Land Rally edition took place on the roughest ever terrain, with contestants having to cover the longest distance, making the race the most gut wrenching event ever.

Add to it the four hours that each contestant has to drive and then you will get an idea of how tough the race rally was. You want some proof for this, well had it not been for FIA (the international motor governing body's) new regulation, only four out of eleven starters would cross the finishing line.

A veteran of motor sport and an adventurer who counts his racing days from the time of Emperor Haileselassie, Roberto Bazzani and his co-pilot Mark Treadwell won the tedious race.

The millennium's last Ethiopian Highland Rally title couldn't have come at a better time as it was also Bazzani's biggest ever birthday gift. On Friday February 22, 2007, Bazzani celebrated his 55 th birthday. “I am very happy for Bazzani's victory because it is a show case that patience and dedication pays off at the end of the day,” remarked retired racer.

Though eleven cars in four categories started the three-day race, only six cars from two categories finished the race. In the 1300 cc category, Roberto Sanges and co-pilot Aldo Di Pede won the title. Sanges, who comes to Ethiopia every year to take part in the Ethiopian Highland Rally, saw his true sportsmanship pay dividends as he won the title for the first time ever.

Steve Giuseppe and his co-pilot Afework Sisay came second while Paul Donikian and Panayatis Antypas finished third.

In the turbo 2000 cc category, once Roberto Gabrezi and Nikodimos Mekonen with their Subaru - Impreza quit the race due to mechanical failure, the race was between the Gula brothers and ‘Wild Lion' Roberto Bazzani and his co-pilot Marc Treadwell.

The Gula Brothers however faces a temporary technical problem on the second day, leaving Bazzani with no choice but speed his way to victory roaring through the grueling roads with nothing to stop him. He snaked through the rough roads unscratched to take the millennium's final title.

The Gula brothers with their famous 7up trademark Opel Cadet, finished second followed by the young and most admired duo Luca Olivero and Belaineh Kassaye. Unless one was there to witness the event himself, no one would believe that this very old Renault 16 really overcame that gruesome 1212 km to finish the race.

Roberto Bazzani and Mark Treadwell received their trophy from Shell Ethiopia General Manager Edgar Omoto, to a standing ovation. Roberto Sanges and Aldo Di Peda finished second with Steve Giuseppe and Afewrok Sisay coming in third.

The first ever-best sportsmanship special award went to the two youngsters Luca and Belaineh while the 5,000 birr award for the oldest racer went to Umberto Gula. Luca and Belayenh also won the 3,000 birr money prize for best team of the event. The Renault 16 navigated by Luca and Belaineh won them 5,000 birr as it won the oldest car of the Shell Ethiopia 24 th High Land Rally.

Reds beat Barca at Nou Camp

Rafael Benitez, who is still trying hard to understand the English game, has yet again proven that the European arena was his specialty. However strong he is in Europe , he hasn't been able to deliver to the Kops, their dream, a premier league title.

Liverpool, lying third in the table eight points behind second placed Chelsea , performed well to beat reigning European champions Barcelona 2-1 at the Nou Camp.

Benitez proved his worth in Europe by not only beating Barcelona , but also making the hard for the Catalans who were once feared for the flowing football they used to play. Liverpool were well organized to make sure that Barcelona never had too much of the ball.

Liverpool started the game brightly with the team going for an all out attack, trying to unnerve the Spanish giants. The bright start by the Reds was soon taken over by the Catalans as they started to string together some good passes.

On the left flank, the versatile Gianluca Zambrotta escaped from Liverpool captain Steven Gerard before skipping past another defender and floating in a well balanced cross. Deco, who went past the napping Jon-Arne Risse met the cross with an unstoppable header that went straight into the Liverpool net.

Liverpool then took the initiative and started pouring forward with Mamo Sossko marshalling the midfield and Gerard trying to support the one man attack. Steve Finnan, who was promoted to midfield from defence, was at te heart of the Liverpool moves forward and it was no surprise s his cross found the controversial Liverpool striker Craig Bellamy who headed straight at Barca goalkeeper Victor Valdez. Though Valdez had caught the ball, he carried it with him over the line and then pushed it over only for Dirk Kuijt to make sure it was a goal. The two teams went into the break on level terms.

Back from the break, Barcelona took control of the game, but Ronaldinho, Deco and Xavi were never able to create their usual flowing game as the Liverpool midfield annihilated the famous creative Barcelona moves.

Before being substituted, Argentine forward Javier Saviola stole from the Liverpool defense and sent an angled shot that was saved by Pepe Reina.

At the other end, Liverpool were unlucky not to take the lead as Gerard's free kick inside the Barca penalty area was saved by Valdez and Kuijt headed over the bar when he could have headed into the net.

Then came the stunner, as Gerard released the on rushing Kuijt who skipped past Carles Puyol and tried to shoot past Valdez , but could get the ball past the goalkeeper.

The ricocheted ball reached Bellamy, who in a split of a second chested the ball and unselfishly fed the lurking Risse and the strong Norwegian was right on cue as he unleashed an unstoppable right footed ball past the goalkeeper and defenders.

Though Sisoko was carried out of the field after being injured and was replaced by Bodo Zenden, Liverpool held out the rest of the game to record a famous victory. Barcelona however had time to see a Deco free kick bounce of the cross bar. The return leg of the game will be held at Anfield in ten days time.

Roaring victory for Ethiopian women's Olympic side

Back from a first leg victory in Liberia , the Ethiopian women's national Olympic side received a heart-warming reception by the Ethiopian Football Federation (EFF) at its headquarters last Tuesday.

The 25-member delegation that made history in Monrovia by crushing the host nation 3-0 is believed to have started a new lifeline for the soccer crazy Ethiopian public.

EFF president Dr Ashebir WoldeGiorgis gave away the 50,000-birr award waiting for the delegates who will play the return leg in March.

Though Liberian women's national team is highly supported by the government, a three-month intensive training changed all that as the Ethiopians thrashed the Liberians on their own home soil.

The Ethiopian team stayed in their own half until the first quarter of the game in which time the home team tried very hard to score the first goal and stun the visitors.

Twenty minutes into the game, the whole scenario reversed and the Ethiopian team took control of the match with so several chances coming their way. At the half hour mark, Addis Feleke, captain of her club Central Health College scored the first goal that sent the Ethiopian community in Liberia into frenzy.

With the twp teams going in to the break 1-0, the second half was much different as coach W/o Beletshachew GbreMariam and assistant Paulos Getachew changed the formation of the team so that it could focus on an all out attack.

The shock of the first goal never left the home side as they returned with a more defensive game, a move that encouraged the Ethiopians to move in for the kill.

The former national women's league top scorer Birtukan received a clever pass from a set piece, which she controlled sweetly and scored the second goal, making things more difficult for the home side.

With just under a minute to go before final whistle, Helen Seifu scored the third and final goal of the game.

In related news, the Ethiopian under 23 youth side will take over its Egyptian counter part for the All African Games qualification match. Led by head coach Tesfaye Fente, the home side that beat Tanzania 2-1 on aggregate result is now considered a strong side.

Meseret to conquer road race

Olympic champion Meseret Defar, who just a week ago took over the IAAF's athlete of the season top spot, announced that she would for the first time in her career take part in a road race.

The heat seeking Meseret will take part in the 10 km road race in Puerto Rico today Sunday February 25, 2007, and is expected to win the race if not register a new record.

The 25-year-old athlete who won both 5 km road races Newcastle and USA is confident of winning today's 10 km road race despite the field being packed with world renowned athletes. “I know world class athletes will take part in the race, but what I know is that I am well prepared to win this race,” Mesert told IAAF.

The young athlete who wants the athlete of the season title almost to the point of obsession smashed the world 3,000 meter indoor record three weeks ago

“It might not be easy to set new record, but I hope that things are smooth for a winning performance,” she said. The only athlete to hail from Addis Ababa , Meseret is the goodwill ambassador for UNICEF.

Meseret, believed by many to have the best killer sprint in the business has the pace, determination and discipline that is nothing short of making her dream to make Puerto Rico her debut venue into long distance stardom.

In related news, five times double world cross-country champion Kenenisa Bekele shattered the 2000-meter Grand Prix Indoor Championship record in Birmingham , London . The twice world athlete of the season Kenenisa broke the five year old record held by his mentor, living athletics legend Haile Gebreselassie.

True to his word, Kenenisa kicked off the season in magnificent style by winning in Spain two weeks ago, followed by breaking a record in England . Kenenisa was in such awesome form that he shaved 2:20 seconds from the previous record. Kenenisa also registered that record by beating of stiff competition from five Kenyan who all wanted to break his will.

For Kenenisa, who has his sights set on becoming the world's best athlete this season, these three wins he wins he recorded this season are nothing but warm ups to what he plans to do in the rest of the year.

Defense Force players defect in Botswana

For the first time in recent years, three Ethiopian soccer players defected while they were on international duty with their club. The squad members of the Ethiopian knock out defending champion Defense Force, Besufekad Dendena, Yohannes Berhanu and Essayas Tamerat were reported missing when they failed to appear for dinner after the successful away draw against Botswana counter part Etwani FC.

Defense Force head coach Asrat Haile was quoted as saying that the players who defected in Botswana were three of his best and that he had feared that would show on the return leg.

Though it used to be the dream of every player to make it to the national team and then defect while on international duty, it hasn't been the case recently. Ethiopian players were famous for defecting while going o Egypt for a game. Botswana is known to be Africa 's most stable democracy with a fast growing economy thanks to its diamond resource and might attract the three players once they set foot in the capital Gaboroni where the match took place.

The players had been guests of the hotel ‘President' until the match day - Sunday - when they decided to pack in the dark while the squad members and team leaders were attending evening meal, according to Adrew Montesha, commander of the Gaboroni police force.

Asrat, who was disappointed about loosing his best players, said that they had each received a salary of 1850 birr per month, an equivalent to 180 USD.

Besufekad, who has a regular place in the Defense forces team, moved from Insurance last season and has reportedly made a personal 10,000 birr while Yohanes Berhanu joined Defense Forces for a salary of 7000 birr as compared to his earlier 300 birr salary.

Isayas Tamrat was a regular military but' joined the football club for a 1000 birr monthly bonus in addition to his 1850 birr monthly salary.

Asrat, whose team is dwelling in mid table, will have a hard time in the premier league following the defection of his prized players. Defense Forces beat Etwani FC 1-0 at home at the Addis Ababa stadium last Sunday in the absence of the three players. Defense Force have made it through to the next round of the confederation cup qualification matches.

Mohamed Naser's world class second half strike saw the Knock out champion's take a deserved 1-0 win over the visiting side.

As expected, Etwani started the game brightly and had goal scoring chances in the first half, but goalkeeper Habtamu Bekele's superb performance denied the visiting team from taking the lead.

COMMENTARY

Money spent for a good cause

If I were Abenet GebreMeskel, patron to the Ethiopian premier league defending champions Saint George, I would never get bothered too much about the senior side full of the country's best talents.

Unless it is by some odd reason, Saint George should win repeatedly the premier league title with who ever appointed as head coach. When Hans, St George's Dutch head coach was sacked in mid season three years ago, his assistant, former national team defender Dagnachew Demisse took over and led the team to a fourth title without a single defeat on his way to the top. Even before that, Seyoum Kebede who had been an assistant coach stirred Saints to a championship title.

In the league's eight-year history, St George failed to win the title in just three occasions. I am saying this because coaches are not the only ones to take credit for a team's win, in the case of St George, it is full of great players that they might win under any coach may be without one. This means that in most cases Abnet's blank check gets more credit than those coaches coming and going regularly.

If Saint George wants to buy a player even to strand him on the reserve bench, nothing could stop it from doing so. Because the money is there, no one thinks twice to sign for Abenet.

If a team proves to be strong enough to win the title, St George could simply sign the team's most prolific player and take the team's leg from under it. Since any premier league player is an easy prey for the Saints, winning title after title is no more in question. So I believe that one should not worry much about an already championship mould team, instead we should try and fix the problems from the source.

Once again, if my dream of wearing Abenet's shoes came true, I would go out and search for a seasoned junior team coach with African experience and bring him to take over as director of a new soccer youth academy. That very person would not only be responsible for coaching but also with full responsibility of running the academy with a free hand to hire his local assistants.

If a soccer academy were too big a project, I would still go for that coach and appoint him as coach of Saint George's junior and youth sides. He would scout talents from all over the country then start coaching them

I would start the project with about 30 talented kids and with time, St George would have players that would win it title after title and make it a feared team. Many would graduate with technical and tactical discipline and fill the gaps of well trained soccer players that we have today. Some of the young graduates could even play for other clubs and make their mark in the league. I think this would have been the best decision to be made both as business man or as a soccer genius. I think it is better to sweat on the junior sides since they have a future in sport as well as in life. Why waste good money on foreign coaches who hardly understand the country's soccer and labor to take the team to top of the table. An Italian, a Dutch, a Serbian and an Englishman have come and gone with nothing to show that the country has a good future in the sport.

It is bizarre to bring in coaches to help a team win just local titles when the team is already packed with best talents. I would rather have a good junior team coach that would build a well to do team that would be strong locally and even in the continental level after some time. Every one would then praise me as the savior of the country's football. This strategy will not only help the league level, but also in building a stronger national team.

A person doing this would earn himself a name as father of Ethiopian football. What a dream!