Capital

Kenenisa kicks off season in style

Seleshi Sehen back from injury

Five time world cross country double champion Kenenisa Bekele and athletics rising star Gelete Burka opened the new season with sensational victories at the Edinburgh annual cross country event.
Bringing together world renowned long distance athletes from all over the world, the 9.5 km event was expected to be one of the highly contested races. Including Olympic gold medalist Kenenisa, defending champion Kenyan Eluid Kipchoge who clocked the fastest time in 10 km at the end of last season, Eritrea's Olympic bronze medalist Zeresenay Tadesse and Tanzanian athletics idol Fabiano Josef were all in the line up.
Kipchoge took the initiative from the start and stayed in front until the final three laps where fast rising Zeresenay took over the lead. Zeresenay's strong pace and freshness, led many to believe that Kenenisa would not be able to over take the young athlete this time around.
However, with two laps to go, the world and Olympic champion overtook everyone and went for gold, along the way sending a message that he was at the top for good reason.
Neither bone tired Kopchoge nor surprised Zeresenay were able to catch up as Kenenisa won the race in 28:14 minutes followed by Zeresenay ten seconds later. Kipchoge finished third with Fabiano Josef coming in fourth.
In the women's event, Gelete Burka won the 6.7 km distance followed by Kenyan Vivian Cheroyet. Gelete, who was out of action due to ill health, stayed with the crowd until the final lap where she changed gear to win the race in 23:25.
With compatriot Meselch Melkamu, Australian Benita Johnson and Cheroyet in the line up, many thought Gelete's dream of retaining the championship was impossible. Cheryot came second in 23:34 followed by former world cross country champion Benita Johnson.
In the mean time, after a long absence due to injury, Olympic double silver medalist Seleshi Sehen returned to the track in a winning fashion. Seleshi had been nursing an injury for the past nine months, but his return to the track saw him win the 64th edition of the Spanish 10.53 km race.
Seleshi made the race seem easy coming home in 31:08 to herald his astonishing comeback. Seleshi told reporters his first priority in his agenda is preparing for the national cross country championship.

Barca miss Eto'o badly

Real make slow come back

After a 3-1 thrashing at the hands of city rivals Espanola, European and Spanish league defending champions Barcelona's quest the win the Primer Liga title for the third year in a row is becoming quite testing. Without star striker Samuel Eto'o and phenomenal world young player of the season Lionel Messi, Dutch manager Frank Rijkaard has started feeling the heat. When Ronaldinho's free kick was saved in spectacular fashion by the Espanola keeper, the Catalans started becoming shakier and eventually, went behind.
Javier Saviola came from the bench to score the equalizer, but to no avail as the highly awaited derby ended in the champions being trashed. Though the pressure is not yet there, Raijkaard should know that it is in the works and he should find a solution soon.
What made the Catalans calm was Sevilla's - the league leader - unexpected home defeat twenty four hours later. Spain's surprise package Sevilla, who had a string of winning runs, were suddenly hammered 2-1 by visiting side Mallorca. When leading scorer Fredrick Kanoute opened the score sheet twenty two minutes into the first half from the spot kick the crowed thought that this was another win in the bag. However, back from the break Nunez and Maxi Lopez scored in the space of fifteen minutes and humbled the home side. Sevilla lead the Primer Liga table with 37 points from 18 matches.
Real Madrid have made steady progress to catch up with Barcelona and the leaders. Ruud van Niostelrooy's first half goal was enough to see Real Madrid beat Real Zaragoza at home. While Madrid swept to the win, Los Angles Galaxy FC bound David Beckham was watching from the VIP box. Real Madrid's win meant a lot for the players and manger Fabio Capello, who is under strong pressure from supporters. Capello, who hasn't done good to his image by helping Beckham leave to the US, has yet again said that Ronaldo could leave Real if he wants, as he is surplus to the team.
Goals form Hugo Viana, Fernando Morientes and Roberto Ayala gave Valencia a deserved 3-0 victory over Levante. The other surprise victory of the weekend came as Athletico Madrid crushed Celta Vigo 3-1.
Athletico's away victory thanks to goals from Augerro and a Torres double, the side now sits fifth on the table with 32 points.

Red Devil Vs Gunners today

Sir Alex Ferguson will lead his team to the Emirates stadium as he takes over Arsene Wenger's Arsenal today as he looks to avenge his first round 1-0 defeat at the hands of the Frenchman.
ManUnited, who only lost twice so far in the league this season (to Arsenal and West Ham) are in good form despite prize player Rooney not functioning up to his potential. World Cup bronze medalist and Portugal's sports personality of the season Christiano Ronaldo is in the best form of his life scoring week after week, and currently second in the top scorers list with 13 goals. Reverting to his preferred 4-4-2 formation, Ferguson's midfield comprising of Ryan Giggs, Michael Carrick, Paul Scholes and Jei Sung Park seems to be stronger than Arsene Wenger's young blooded mid field led by Spanish ace Cesc Fabregas.
Manchester are likely to follow a wise approach to the game as Arsenal will look to their peculiarly entertaining football. With Alexander Hleb and Tomas Rosicky in the left and right flank, Brazilian Gilberto Silva the anchorman, Fabregas as the play maker and of course Thierry Henry in front, the Gunners should be feared as this formation has taken some big names this season.
Last time at Old Trafford, it was Fabregas who brilliantly set up Togolese striker Emmanuel Adebayor to score the winning goal. Sunday would bring us a game where Carrick would be fighting to annihilate Fabregas and Gilberto will be trying to cancel out Scholes.
Arsene Wenger's back four is fully loaded with the return William Gallas return from injury, meaning that Colo Ture will be at ease knowing that his goalkeeper is well protected. With Colo and Gallas in central defense, Ebue and Gael Cliche as full backs, Man United will definitely have their works cut out today.
In the mean time, Henry needs to be at his best to outwit the United defense which comprises of Rio Ferdinand and Nejamania Vidic supported by the two full backs Patrie Evra and Gary Neville. The fact that Henry is supported by another sharp forward, Robin van Persie could also be another headache for the United defense.
As in recent years, the clash between Man United and Arsenal has become the most awaited clash of the premier league and of course the teams will be looking for a win because a slip at this stage will not be a good sign for both.

Ethiopian U-23 qualify for the next round

With just two weeks preparation under his belt, the newly appointed head coach of the Ethiopian U-23 side Tesfaye Fetene led his team to a 2-0 victory over its Tanzanian counterpart on the return leg to go on to the next stage.
The under-23 side's first leg away match in Tanzania had ended in a 1-0 victory in favor of the hosts. In the mean time, the two foreign coaches Diego Garzito and his assistant Raul Savoy who coached the side for the first leg match were somehow pushed out of the hot seat to bring in former national team and Omedla winger Tesfaye Fetene to take over.
Though Worku Dergeba was expected to take over the U-23 side, Tesfaye, whose resume displays a short experience, came into the scene out of the blue. His appointment however hasn't backfired as yet as his team beat Tanzania 2-0 on home soil to go through to the next round with a 2-1 aggregate victory.
Tesfaye, who is remembered for his dribbling skills and attack, built an attack minded team spear headed by the premier league’s leading scorer Tafesse Tesfaye. The Ethiopian Coffee striker scored the opening goal midway through the first half. The visitors had the best scoring chance after kick off and they almost took the match out of the hosts hands had it not been for the heroics of the goalkeeper. Otherwise, the home side dominated the whole game but still remained true to form missing some hard to believe goals. The Ethiopian midfield was packed by Lemi Etana, Samuel Alebachew and Wasseu Maze, who fed Tafesse Tesfaye and Saladin Said with great balls, though all went to waste.
Tesfaye Fetene's tactical changes in the line up paid off in 87th minute as the Ethiopian side scored the winning goal. Saladin, who had frustrated the half empty stadium by missing golden opportunities, finally scored the winner to the delight of the home crowd. Ethiopia will now take on Egypt in the next round of the clashes.
"Whatever the result, a win is a win as far as I am concerned," said one supporter who was happy that Ethiopia made it to the next stage.
Asked how he felt about the result, Tesfaye said he was surprised by the player's spirit to win. "I found out the players were highly motivated to win the match at all costs," remarked Tesfaye.

Keeping wait

National team coaches Diego Garzito and Raul Savoy are losing patience as no response comes from EFF President Dr Ashebir WoldeGiorgis. Capital talked to Raul, assitant coach and Dr Ashebir, on the matter.

Capital - Has there been any development in the clash between yourselves and the EFF following your press conference last week?
Raul - There hasn't been any development in the past week; at least not any positive ones. We wrote a second letter to the EFF with copies to the French Embassy and the Ministry of Youth and Sport. In the letter, we ask for our contract to be returned to us and we also asked four reimbursements for plane tickets and other costs that should have been covered by the EFF to begin with.

Have you spoken with the EFF president since this problem came to the surface?
No, we haven't spoken with the president since. But on Thursday, he called us and asked us to go to his office and pick up our contracts. While on our way to do as he asked, we were met by a person we didn't know who wanted us to take a couple of envelopes and to sign for them without looking at what was inside.
When we took the envelope and looked inside, my contract was in there and it was all wrong, so we copied that. After seeking advice from our lawyer, we refrained from signing anything.
The problem with the contract we were about to receive was that it was signed for October 28, when we weren't even here in Ethiopia at that time. Though the contract said we signed on October 28, inside there was a signature that says for 13/11/1006. Another problem is that when we signed a contract, we signed for 24 months, but the one that was sent to us said that we signed a contract for 44 days and that is not correct.

What did you do when you found out that the contracts you were about to receive were not what you expected?
We immediately went to the office of the Minister of Youth and Sport Aster Mamo and told her everything that was going on. After listening to our story, she told us that everyone was happy that we were here to train the national team and that she would talk to Dr Ashebir and try to solve the situation.

If things do not go they way you expect them to, does that mean that you will continue with your legal issues?
It is hard for us to say what we are going to do, but since we want to stay in Ethiopia and work with the team, we will want to wait and see what happens before we continue with legal action. But we hope that the situation will not go as far as taking legal action.

Has anything been changed in the contract that you were about to receive?
Yes, in one of the articles, a new statement was added that wasn't there to begin with. It said that if we lost two games during the CECAFA tournament, then we will have been in breach of the contract. This was included in the contract after we signed it.

Do you believe that this will work out for the best? How is this hurting the preparation of the national team for its important game against DR Congo?
We hope that this will work out for the better, because like I said earlier, we want to keep working with the national team. If things are to work out, then I believe there is enough time to work with the national team for the match against DR Congo. If the public has confidence in us, then I believe that we can work and repay the confidence of the people.

Capital - Diego Garzito and Raul Savoy claim that they had signed a two year deal but that the contract was changed when they received it this Thursday. What do you say about this?
Dr Ashebir - Not it is not true that we signed a 2 year contract, we signed a 44 day contract. You have to understand that our federation is not so rich, so we can't sign a 2 year contract. Our plan was to keep on renewing the contract through time for four years until the South Africa World Cup. But even that takes time, negotiation and of course the federation needs to build its capacity.

If what you say is true, then why do you think they are giving these reports to the media?
I believe that they were concerned because they lost three of their games since they took over. But we didn't have any wrong ideas about the matter, all the Ethiopian Football Federation (EFF) wanted was to take the matter slow and negotiate with them to follow up on the situation.
They also claim that they asked for reimbursements for the plane tickets that they paid when they went home for vacation. What is your take on this?
We have paid everything that we owe them and we even paid the ticket for them when they left and we don't owe them anything. We wanted them to stay with the Ethiopian team, but they panicked and took the wrong direction.

This feud between the EFF and the coaches comes at a very bad time when the Ethiopian national team needs to prepare for the match against DR Congo in March. Do you believe that the problem will work out for the better?
The way I look at it, I don't think that the matter is going the way that we all wanted. If the coaches wanted to stay with the team like they claim to, then they would have tried to solve this in an amicable manner. All we wanted them to do is wait and work it out.

The coaches also say that they tried to talk to you, but you refused to see them. Is there any truth to this?
No it is not true. Even last Friday before they held the press conference, I met with Raul Savoy and we had a two hour discussion, but we couldn't come to an agreement. Even their decision to hold a press conference wasn't right. Another thing is that the French Ambassador to Ethiopia had written a letter to us and we didn't even write a response to that; the least they could have done is wait and see what we would say to him.

sport commentary

Let bygones be bygones

Even after listening to the brief response given by the Ethiopian Football Federation (EFF) following the press conference given by Diego Garzito and Raul Savoy, coach and assistant coach of the Ethiopian National team, I believe that the employer has difficulties of sticking to the term that says that the coaches are on contract until 2008.
Instead of avoiding a clash with the coaches and trying to settle the dust, the EFF chose to wage war against the two professionals as well as the media. "Those parties who write in languages that the coaches don't know and try to confuse them in order to disturb the good relationship between the federation and the coaches better be careful about what they are doing," warned the last paragraph of the statement released by the EFF.
Why waste so much time and energy in trying to scare the media and wage war on the coaches? I believe that the EFF is treading on areas that it shouldn't be meddling in rather than trying to revive the dying game of football in Ethiopia.
One thing I understood from the press conference by Garzito and assistant Raul is that they are in trouble for confronting the EFF, and those who can help them are choosing to turn a deaf ear. They went to the public, in my opinion, because there was no one to listen to their cries.
We want the EFF president Dr. Ashenafi WoldeGiorgis to tell us whether what these people are talking about is true or not. Have these people been paid their due salaries? Is it not true that a new local coach has been appointed for the U-23 national side in their absence? Are they lying when they said that their contracts have been confiscated by the president or is it actually true? Is it not true they submitted a written inquiry to have that contract agreement back and denied? If the above questions are true then I think that the Ethiopian people deserve to know why because this is their football federation and not Dr Ashebir's.
EFF's brief statement should have given clear answers for the above mentioned issues instead of covering it up. In my opinion, the questions are very simple and it doesn't take a genius to answer them. The coaches, along with the people, want a simple and precise answer because that would be the decent thing to do.
However the action taken by the EFF doesn't display such sincerity. What I don't understand and later what made me have second thoughts is why the federation tried to send a message of 'better watch out!'
I don't believe that the decision by both coaches to ask what was rightfully theirs calls for a warning of such magnitude. Furthermore, they openly stated they wanted to keep coaching the national side and prepare a side ready to take on DRC in the qualification match for CAN.
I believe that the EFF should cool things down and try and help these people do their job. If the EFF fails to do so, then once again, and true to form, the EFF will have failed the Ethiopian people. I believe that the public would like to see the coaches keep their job and see if they can lead us into the tournament that we have been shy of joining for over two decades now.
On the other end, the EFF should clarify matters, because with such openings, the officials are prone to all sorts of speculations and that is not a wise thing to do.
So let bygones be bygones and we should look forward.