Tiger Woods said Monday his fitness was ahead of schedule after arthroscopic knee surgery, and dropped a heavy clue he might use one of his four Presidents Cup captain’s picks on himself.

“I’m probably a week early. My season had ended a little bit earlier than I had expected it,” the 15-time major winner told reporters at Narashino Country Club near Tokyo.

“I had the procedure a little bit early and got ahead of it,” he added.

Woods is in Japan this week to play in the US PGA Tour’s inaugural Zozo Championship, a $9.75 million event that is the second tournament of an almost $30 million Asian swing.

He then intends to round off his year by playing in the Hero World Challenge on December 4, before going to Australia to captain Team USA in the Presidents Cup which begins on December 13.

“I thought that I had enough time to rehab it correctly and be ready for this event, be ready for Hero, and I’m going to Australia either way whether I’m playing or not,” Woods said.

“I had it done and, as I said, it’s been nice to be able to squat down and read putts and I started going at it full speed again.”

Woods, who completed a remarkable return from years of injury and personal problems to win the US Masters in April, said his knee had been giving him more pain as the year wore on.

“It progressively got worse and got to the point where it was affecting even reading putts,” the 43-year-old Woods said.

Woods has a large depth of talent from which to make his four captains picks ahead of the match against Ernie Els’s International team at Royal Melbourne.

He admitted it hasn’t been easy. “I’ve been pretty consumed by it,” he said, adding his return to fitness made it more likely that he would use one of his wildcards on himself.

– ‘Tall order’ –

“It made me more hopeful that I could play this week, play Hero and play Australia,” said Woods, who has dropped one place to number 10 in Monday’s new world rankings.

“The way I was feeling towards the middle part of the year, it was going to be a tall order to be able to do it all.”

If Woods burns one of his picks on himself that leaves him the difficulty of choosing three players from the likes US Open champion, Gary Woodland, Tony Finau, Rickie Fowler, Kevin Kisner and Jordan Spieth, who showed a return to form at the CJ Cup in Korea which ended Sunday.

All except newlywed Fowler, who is on honeymoon, are playing in Asia over the next two weeks. Woods has to nominate his side directly after next week’s WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai.

“I’ve been able to communicate with all the eight (already qualified) guys who they want on the team and who they think that will fit on the team,” he said.

Woods also reiterated he wanted to come back to Japan next year to represent the US at the 2020 Olympics.

“I would love to play in an Olympic Games,” he said.

“Over the years, having friends compete in the Olympics, seeing golf be part of the Olympics, it would be an honour to represent my country in an Olympic Games.

“Hopefully next year I can have a good year and qualify.”

Before all that, however, he was taking part in a Skins Challenge on Monday afternoon against Rory McIlroy, Jason Day and Hideki Matsuyama to kick off Zozo Championship week.

Source: AFP

Paris Saint-Germain striker Neymar will be out for four weeks with a hamstring injury he suffered playing for Brazil, the French club said on Monday.

Neymar limped off in the 12th minute on Sunday as Brazil drew 1-1 against Nigeria in a friendly in Singapore.

PSG said that an MRI scan showed that their star player had suffered “a grade two lesion” in his left hamstring.

If he is out until November 11, Neymar will miss four French league matches, including a trip to Marseille on October 17, and home and away Champions League games against Bruges.

Source: AFP

Eliud Kipchoge’s historic marathon time on Saturday was greeted with joy and pride in his native Kenya.

“I am happy today because he has won in Kenya and in the world. I thank him so much for this, for me, for Kenya and the world,” said Kipchoge’s mother Janet Rotich who watched in her home village Kapsisiywa as her son became the first man to run the marathon distance in less than two hours.

Kipchoge’s run in Vienna was broadcast live on all Kenya’s television stations.

Even so, in Eldoret, the city 40 kilometres from Kapsisiywa where the 34-year-old runner, his wife and three children live, and in Nairobi, crowds gathered in the early morning to watch the run on giant screens.

In Eldoret, the fans watched in feverish excitement as their champion ticked off the kilometres and exulted when Kipchoge crossed the finish line with a clock displaying 1hr 59 min 40 sec, throwing hats and water bottles into the air.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta quickly issued his “hearty congratulations”.

“You’ve done it, you’ve made history and made Kenya proud while at it. Your win today, will inspire tens of future generations to dream big and to aspire for greatness. We celebrate you and wish you God’s blessings,” President Kenyatta continued.

Kenya’s vice-president William Ruto, who had made the trip to Vienna, sent out a series of tweets.

“A blistering 1.59.40! Congratulations @EliudKipchoge for the historic achievement in shattering the sub-two-hour barrier for the marathon; you are arguably the greatest runner of all time.”

Athletics, along with sevens rugby, is the most successful sport in bringing Kenyans together, regardless of their social or ethnic background.

In Kapsisiywa, Eliud’s older brother, Wilson Sugut, said the run showed what individuals could achieve.

“He told the world that no human being is limited and that he will overcome this two-hour barrier,” he recalled. “People couldn’t believe it, but now we can believe it.”

Source: AFP

After a summer of courtship, with Barcelona wooing Neymar to come back, the Brazilian star and his former club have finally agreed a date — but in court rather than on the pitch.

Both sides will meet at a court in the Barcelona suburbs on Friday for a multi-million-euro legal battle over a contract dispute.

Although a court spokesman said the 27-year-old superstar was obliged to show up person, it was not immediately clear whether he would actually attend.

Barca initially sued Neymar for breach of contract after his shock transfer to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017, less than a year after signing a new five-year deal with the Catalan giants.

Worth 222 million euros ($250 million at the time), the transfer remains the highest sum ever paid for a player.

Barcelona are demanding 8.5 million euros in damages plus interest, and have refused to pay Neymar the 26 million euros which were part of his contract renewal bonus signed in 2016.

The Brazilian responded by filing suit against the club over the unpaid bonus, with the two sides set to face off at a labour court on Friday morning.

But his return to the city will be far from the triumphant homecoming the Catalan club had hoped after a summer locked in futile talks with PSG to allow the world’s most expensive player to return.

“Neymar did everything possible (to sign for Barcelona) because it was what he wanted,” Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu said earlier this month.

“The deal didn’t go through because the club could not meet PSG’s demands.”

“It’s a closed chapter,” the striker said after making his first appearance with PSG 10 days ago after four months out as he tried to secure a return to Barca. The Paris home crowd booed and jeered him during the 1-0 win against Strasbourg in which he scored the only goal.

– ‘The taxman watching’ –

With the long-running transfer saga over for now, the legal dispute takes centre stage, focusing on the contract renewal bonus that was signed between the player and the club in 2016.

Although the full sum of the bonus has never been clear, Neymar received an initial payout and was to have received the rest in stages over the course of his new contract.

But when he moved to PSG barely a year later, Barcelona refused to pay.

The Spanish club are demanding that he return the part of the bonus he already received as well as 8.5 million euros plus interests in compensation for breach of contract.

Neymar promptly filed a countersuit demanding payment of the 26 million with interest, and also filed a complaint with world footballing body FIFA, which was not taken up.

On Friday morning, the two parties will attend a private half-hour session with the judge in a bid to resolve the dispute before the hearing opens at 10:00 am in a session which is open to the public.

According to El Mundo daily, the case is being closely watched by the Spanish tax authorities who are keen to know whether the superstar, who was a tax resident in 2017, paid his dues on both the bonus and his transfer to PSG.

Neymar’s public relations agency, NR Sports, admitted in March that the tax authorities had requested documents and information relating to the ongoing lawsuit, but insisted that the player was not the subject of a new tax investigation in Spain.

– String of legal woes –

The young striker has been beset by legal problems since his arrival in Europe in 2013 following his move to the Catalan giants from Brazil’s Santos.

Barca valued the transfer at 57.1 million euros but the Spanish judicial authorities estimated it actually amounted to at least 83.3 million, trigging a string of legal cases in both countries, some of which remain unresolved.

And when he transferred to PSG following an obsessive need to emerge from the shadow of Lionel Messi and win the Ballon d’Or, things have not become any easier.

In the last few months, the superstar who has a huge social media following, found himself facing a rape allegation, which was dropped in August, and an assault charge for hitting a fan after PSG’s shock defeat by Rennes in April’s Coupe de France final.

Source: AFP

Veteran football coach Jose Mourinho says Cameroon’s legendary footballer, Samuel Eto’o should have won the prestigious Ballon d’Or at least once in his illustrious career.

The 38-year-old former Barcelona and Inter Milan star retired from football this month, posting on his social media; “The end. Towards a new challenge. Thank you all, big love.”

Mourinho who coached Eto’o at Inter Milan in Italy, and Chelsea in England, told Cameroon Radio, that the country’s all-time record goalscorer ‘was the best striker in the world for several years’.

“It’s difficult to understand how Samuel Eto’o never won the Ballon d’Or with the impressive career he had,’‘ Mourinho said.

“He played three champions league finals, winning two with Barcelona and scoring in both finals. He also won one champions league at Inter and won many league titles.

Eto’o‘s accolades

Gold at the 2000 Olympics
Africa Cup of Nations winner in 2000, 2002
African Player of the Year in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2010
UEFA Champions League winner in 2005, 2009, 2010

The closest Eto’o came to being crowned the world’s best player was in 2005, when he finished third in the running for the FIFA World Player of the Year.

Liberian football star and current head of state, George Weah, is the only African player to have been named FIFA World Player of the Year and win the Ballon d’Or.

Source: Africa News

Former Argentine football star Diego Maradona made his debut as new head coach of the team Gimnasia and Esgrima La Plata, also known as ‘The Wolf’ in the city of La Plata on Sunday.

Footage shows the 1986 World Cup-winning captain making his way through a giant wolf mouth onto the field before getting into a caddy car to be driven to meet the players.

Maradona, who until recently was living in Mexico, decided to quit his previous job after having knee surgery, leaving behind a team he led twice to the Ascenso MX finals, the Sinaola Dorados.

Maradona will embark on his sixth club management role, hoping to set the Gimnasia and Esgrima La Plata team straight after several loses.

(Source: Ruptly)

Cristiano Ronaldo admitted on Wednesday his long-time rivalry with Lionel Messi has made him “a better player” and that he enjoys a “healthy” rivalry with the Argentine great.

However, Portuguese star Ronaldo, whose influence at Real Madrid mirrored that of Messi at Barcelona before he left for Juventus, admitted that the pair have never socialised together.

“I really admire the career he has had and from his side, he has already talked of the disappointment when I left Spain because it was a rivalry that he appreciated,” Ronaldo told TVI in Portugal.

“It’s a good rivalry but it’s not unique — Michael Jordan had rivalries in basketball, there was Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost in Formula 1. The thing they all had in common is that they were healthy rivalries.”

Ronaldo and Messi have won the coveted Ballon d’Or five times each, a factor that helps each player flourish.

“I have no doubt that Messi has made me a better player and vice-versa. When I am winning trophies it must sting him and it’s the same for me when he wins,” he said.

“I have an excellent professional relationship because we have been sharing the same moments for 15 years.

He added: “We’ve never had dinner together but I don’t see why we can’t in the future. I don’t see a problem with that.”

Source: AFP

FIFA on Monday announced its shortlist for this year’s Puskas Award.

Crystal Palace’s Andros Townsend and Brazilian Matheus Cunha, who plays as a winger for Bundesliga club RB Leipzig will vie with Lionel Messi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Townsend’s stunning volley against Manchester City at the Etihad last term is one of the 10 contenders announced by world football’s governing body.

Townsend’s effort was the Premier League goal of the season in 2018-19, as awarded by Match of the Day.

The Cameroonian Ajara Nchout Njoya who plays for Norwegian club Vålerenga will also battle Zlatan and Messi courtesy of her strike on international duty against New Zealand on 20 June 2019.

She also scored a superb goal against Avaldsnes in a 2-2 draw in the Norwegian League.

Njoya dribbled past three defenders before firing her effort to the top corner of the net. The goal was adjudged the best goal in the Norwegian top-flight.

Barcelona superstar Messi registered his name on the list with his stunning chip against Real Betis in La Liga back in March.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s acrobatic volley for LA Galaxy against Toronto last September is also included, as is a remarkable mid-air backheel by Sampdoria’s Fabio Quagliarella, similarly notched last September.

Liverpool’s Mo Salah won the award last year for his virtuoso goal against Everton in the Premier League.

The list released by FIFA for this year’s Puskas Award contained the following names:

Matheus Cunha: Bayer Leverkusen vs. RB Leipzig (6 April 2019)

Zlatan Ibrahimovic: Toronto FC vs LA Galaxy (September 15, 2018)

Lionel Messi: Real Betis vs FC Barcelona (17 March 2019)

Ajara Nchout Njoya: Cameroon vs New Zealand (20 June 2019)

Fabio Quagliarella: Sampdoria vs Napoli (2 September 2018)

Juan Fernando Quintero: River Plate vs Racing Club (10 February 2019)

Amy Rodriguez: Utah Royals vs Sky Blue FC (16 June 2019)

Andros Townsend: Manchester City vs Crystal Palace (22 December 2018)

Source: Pmnewsnigeria