KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS) will submit an official request to the National Security Council (MKN) and the Ministry of Health (MOH) regarding the permission to allow supporters to attend Malaysian League (M-League) football matches in the near future.
Minister of Youth and Sports Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican said the application involves phases five and six of the gradual reopening of the sports and recreation sector.
Stage five would see the attendance of spectators to the stadium on a small scale and stage six involved the presence of supporters on a larger scale, as well as the participation of foreign athletes in local tournaments.
“I had previously said that there should be three or four exit and entry points for football (at stadiums), maybe we can provide a Standard Operating Procedure, however, currently there is no place in the world where spectators are allowed to attend football matches.
“So, I think we can begin it gradually and in stages. We do not want to open it up too quickly, there could be a sharp increase in transmissions (COVID-19 cases), and we would end up with a sports cluster that erodes not only the confidence of the people, but also the government, in terms of granting us the permission (to operate again),” he told reporters after attending a dialogue session at Wisma OCM here.
The session was held with national sports associations in conjunction with the Olympic Council of Malaysia’s 193rd Executive Council Meeting.
The government had previously announced the third phase of the reopening of the sports and recreation sector which came into effect on July 15, where sports and recreation activities with physical contact, as well as the organising of local tournaments and competitions for non-contact sports without spectators have been allowed.
The fourth phase starting Aug 15 will allow the organising of local tournaments and competitions for contact sports without spectators, including the M-League competition.
In another development, Reezal Merican informed that a task force would soon be set up to review the effectiveness of the Podium Programme which began in 2015, with the aim of securing Malaysia’s first gold medal at the Olympics.
He said the special task force would be led by former National Sports Institute (NSI) chief executive officer Datuk Dr Ramlan Abd Aziz.
Asked about the ‘Road to Tokyo (RTT) 2020 Programme, Reezal Merican said it would go on as usual under the supervision of the National Sports Council and NSI.
LONDON – Sempat diremehkan, Arsenal menunjukkan diri masih layak disebut salah satu klub teras Liga Inggris. Kepantasan itu didapatkan The Gunners –julukan Arsenal– setelah dalam satu minggu terakhir, tim asuhan Mikel Arteta itu mengalahkan dua klub paling kuat di seantero Inggris saat ini, Liverpool dan Manchester City.
Momen luar biasa Arsenal bermula saat mereka menjamu Liverpool di pekan ke-36 Liga Inggris 2019-2020, Kamis 16 Juli 2020 dini hari WIB. Dalam laga tersebut, Arsenal menang 2-1. Sempat tertinggal satu gol via aksi Sadio Mane pada menit 20, London Merah membalikkan keadaan lewat gol-gol yang dilesakkan Alexandre Lacazette (32’) dan Reiss Nelson (44’).
Berkat kemenangan ini, Arsenal masih membuka asa finis di posisi enam besar, demi ambil bagian di Liga Eropa 2020-2021. Saat ini Arsenal yang duduk di posisi sembilan dengan koleksi 53 angka, hanya terpaut tiga poin dari Wolverhampton Wanderers di tempat keenam.
Kemudian, hasil apik kembali disabet Arsenal pekan ini. Meski tidak dijagokan karena dipertemukan dengan Man City yang kerap memberikan momok kepada mereka, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang dan kawan-kawan sama sekali tidak canggung.
Arsenal paham mereka dihadapkan dengan Man City yang memiliki daya serang luar biasa. Karena itu, Arteta meminta Granit Xhaka dan kawan-kawan bermain lebih dalam, untuk kemudian menyakiti Man City lewat serangan balik.
Benar saja pada menit 19, Arsenal sudah membuka keunggulan lewat sepakan Aubameyang, memanfaatkan umpang silang Nicolas Pepe. Kemudian pada 71, Aubameyang lagi-lagi menaklukkakn Ederson Moraes setelah menerima umpan terobosan dari Kieran Tierney.
Arsenal FC v Leicester City – Premier League | Pool/Getty Images
It’s been a long time since this Arsenal fanbase has had any genuine hope. The Unai Emery revolution was built on sand, and upon Mikel Arteta’s arrival in the winter, there was very little to smile about for the Gunners.
So why do we all keep tuning in to watch our team disappoint us week in, week out, even when we are 99.9% sure we will have nothing to smile about over the following 90 minutes? Because of hope.
Hope is what makes football so compelling, what gives supporters the strength to traipse to the stadium every week, and what inspires inferior players to believe they can pull off the biggest upset in the sport’s gargantuan history.
And for once, Arsenal fans have a bit of hope.
Arriving from Manchester City in December, there were plenty of people immediately questioning Arteta’s appointment, given his lack of experience as a head coach. But lest we forget, the Spaniard has had some of the best schooling that money can buy.
And watching him gesticulate frantically on the touchline, and barking instructions in several different languages from his technical area for the entire 90 minutes, it became deeply apparent that he has been ready for this role for quite some time.
After setting Arsenal up extremely defensively in their 2-1 victory over Liverpool, many expected the same from Arteta’s side against Manchester City. But the coach is clearly as pedantic over his tactics as his former boss, Pep Guardiola, and he adapted his game plan in relation to his opponents’ weaknesses.
And that’s not bad going, considering the Citizens have very few chinks in their armour at all. Arsenal packed the midfield when out of possession, forcing Man City to play the ball wide and cross into the box, a plan which Guardiola’s side often turns to in moments of desperation.
The Gunners also exploited their frailties issues in wide areas, and they were able to draw first blood through a deep, in-swinging ball which reached the feet of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Ruthless, and pulled off to perfection.
And of course, when Man City are behind, they take more risks. Arteta’s side were ready, pressing high up the pitch, with David Luiz stepping into the midfield to try and win first balls with the aggression that has made him a top-tier Premier League defender for so many years.
Man City had few answers for Arsenal’s impressive set up, and the north Londoners constantly laid traps for the Citizens, which their opponents naively stumbled into time and time again.
The second half played out exactly as the Gunners would have hoped. They dug deep, relied on resolute defending and last-ditch tackles, and then sucker-punched Man City with a ruthless counter-attack and finish. Something that would have been simply impossible under Emery, but now is becoming routine for this new-look Arsenal.
It was gritty. It was spirited. It was very un-Arsenal. It was nothing short of a masterclass from Arteta.
It’s heartening to see how far a limited and underachieving squad can be dragged with some rigorous training and good organisation, and Arteta’s abilities to squeeze every drop out of his players can only be a cause for optimism for the Gunners.
Suddenly, a team which needed completely overhauling now may only require five or six changes, or even less. And that’s good news, given the worrying noises surrounding Arsenal’s potential lack of investment over the summer, and the underwhelming renewal of several players’ contracts.
But with Arteta at the helm, Arsenal now have a manager who should be worth more to the fans than any superstar on the pitch. The upper echelons of the Premier League may still be a way off, but the fallen giants are building towards something special – and they have an FA Cup final thrown in for good measure.
Most of all, however, there is hope – and that’s more than the Gunners have had for a long, long time.
Công Phượng thi đấu ấn tượng trong màu áo CLB TP.HCM
Chủ tịch của CLB HAGL, ông Đoàn Nguyên Đức khẳng định, ông sẽ gọi Công Phượng trở lại sau khi V-League 2020 khép lại.
Gia nhập CLB TP.HCM theo bản hợp đồng cho mượn từ HAGL, Công Phượng đã và đang tìm lại hình ảnh của chính mình ngày xưa. Phong độ ấn tượng của Công Phượng trong màu áo CLB TP.HCM đang giúp cho đội bóng này bay cao trên bảng xếp hạng V-League 2020.
Chứng kiến những gì Công Phượng đang làm được, nhiều CĐV HAGL đã lên tiếng kêu gọi bầu Đức đưa Phượng trở lại để giúp đội bóng phố Núi vượt qua giai đoạn khó khăn hiện tại. Tuy nhiên, theo bầu Đức, ông chỉ gọi Công Phượng trở lại khi V-League 2020 kết thúc. Chủ tịch CLB HAGL cho biết:
“Công Phượng sẽ về lại HAGL sau V-League 2020. Đây là điều mà tôi khẳng định chắc chắn với các bạn. Công Phượng từ Bỉ về với TPHCM là vì người ta cần cậu ấy quá.”
“Bạn nghĩ sao khi người ta tha thiết mượn, chẳng nhẽ mình lại chỉ cho mượn mấy tháng? Phải cho mượn luôn cả mùa chứ lỡ cỡ mấy tháng sao đá được? Mình làm như vậy thì đâu có fair play nữa. Lúc người ta cần mình làm khó người ta đâu có được”, bầu Đức khẳng định.
TIADA keistimewaan buat pemain berpangkalan di Amerika Syarikat (AS), Wan Kuzri Wan Ahmad Kamal, walaupun statusnya sebagai adik kepada Timbalan Menteri Belia dan Sukan, Wan Ahmad Fayhsal.
Wan Ahmad Fayhsal menegaskan pemain tengah Akademi Bola Sepak St Louis itu, perlu membuktikan kebolehannya bersaing dengan 34 pemain lain dalam kem latihan pusat di Wisma FAM untuk mendapatkan tempat ke Kejohanan Konfederasi Bola Sepak Asia (AFC) 2020 B-19.
“Saya menyerahkan sepenuhnya kepada jurulatih (Brad Maloney) dan FAM (Persatuan Bola Sepak Malaysia) untuk menentukan kedudukan Wan Kuzri. Tidak bermakna dia adalah adik kepada timbalan menteri, kelebihan akan diberikan kepadanya.
“Saya yakin dengan kemampuannya sebagai pemain yang berpengkalan di AS mampu untuk menyumbang kepada skuad B-19 negara,” katanya pada sidang media selepas meninjau penganjuran Kejuaraan Cub Prix Malaysia Petronas 2020 di Litar Antarabangsa Sepang di sini, hari ini.
Wan Kuzri, 18, yang juga adik kepada seorang lagi pemain sensasi yang beraksi untuk pasukan Sporting Kansas City di AS, Wan Kuzain, memulakan latihan bersama skuad bimbingan Maloney semalam, selepas tamat tempoh kuarantin selama 14 hari dan diuji negatif COVID-19 dalam dua ujian swab sejak pulang dari negara itu.
Kejohanan AFC B-19 2020, yang dijadual berlangsung dari 14-31 Okt di Uzbekistan adalah pusingan kelayakan Piala Dunia Bawah 20, di Indonesia pada 2021.
Malaysia, yang diundi dalam Kumpulan D bersama bekas juara Qatar, Tajikistan dan Yaman, menyasarkan untuk layak ke Piala Dunia buat kali pertama secara merit.
LONDON – Chelsea dipastikan bakal melalui laga yang sulit di semifinal Piala FA 2019-2020, yang akan berlangsung pada Senin 20 Juli 2020 dini hari WIB. Sebab lawannya di semifinal tersebut adalah Manchester United, tim yang saat ini belum terkalahkan di 19 laga terakhir mereka.
Man United akan menjadi lawan yang berat bagi Chelsea karena mereka mampu tampil luar biasa semenjak Januari 2020 hingga sekarang ini. Permainan apik klub berjuluk The Red Devils itu disebut-sebut bisa terjadi berkat bantuan dari Bruno Fernandes.
Pelatih Chelsea, Frank Lampard bahkan juga mengakui bahwa efek Fernandes telah benar-benar membuat Man United tampil berbeda di pertengahan musim 2019-2020. Menurutnya, mantan gelandang Sporting Lisbon itu telah meningkatkan permainan Man United yang sempat menurun di awal musim ini.
Lampard terpukau dengan skill individu yang dimiliki Fernandes. Sebab dengan kemampuannya itu, Fernandes dapat membantu rekan setimnya di Man United dan membuat tim tersebut bermain jauh lebih baik.
Kendati begitu, Lampard tegaskan bahwa Chelsea tak takut sama sekali dengan Fernandes. Jadi, ia pun berharap Christian Pulisic dan kawan-kawan tak gentar saat menghadapi Fernandes dan Man United.
Bagi Lampard, Man United hanya mengandalkan skill individu pemain bintangnya. Jadi, jika Chelsea dapat bermain kompak dan percaya diri, maka The Blues dapat mengalahkan Man United dan mendapatkan tiket ke final Piala FA 2019-2020.
“Terlihat jelas Bruno Fernandes telah membuat perbedaan besar (di Man United). Anda dapat melihat kekuatan yang mereka perlihatkan ke tim mereka itu adalah kualitas individu para pemain mereka,” cerita Lampard, dikutip dari Football London, Sabtu (18/7/2020).
“Jika melihat hal itu, kai seharusnya dapat percaya diri dengan penampilan diri kami sendiri. Kami harus menghadapi ancaman yang mereka berikan, dan hanya perlu mengkhawatirkan tentang diri kami sendiri,” tambahnya.
Lampard tentunya bakal total membantu Chelsea berjuang di Piala FA 2019-2020. Sebab Piala FA adalah salah satu peluang Chelsea untuk dapat mengakhiri musim ini dengan gelar juara.
Selain Piala FA 2019-2020, Chelsea juga masih berpeluang memenangkan Liga Champions 2019-2020. Namun, peluangnya terbilang sangat kecil. Hal itu dikarenakan Chelsea sudah kalah 0-3 dari Bayern Munich di leg I babak 16 besar kompetisi tersebut.
LONDON – Pelatih Manchester City, Josep ‘Pep’ Guardiola, berpikir kegagalan Liverpool dalam meraih 100 poin pada musim ini tak mencoreng kehebatan sang juara Liga Inggris 2019-2020. Menurutnya Liverpool tetap tampil luar biasa pada musim ini.
Skuad asuhan Jurgen Klopp itu telah kehilangan poin penuh untuk ketiga kalinya sejak dinobatkan sebagai juara Liga Inggris 2019-2020. Pada laga terakhir, Liverpool takluk 1-2 dari Arsenal di Stadion Emirates pada Kamis 16 Juli 2020 dini hari WIB.
Kekalahan tersebut memastikan Liverpool gagal untuk menyamai atau melewati rekor poin yang dimiliki Man City yakni 100 angka. Paling maksimal, Liverpool akan memperoleh 99 poin pada Liga Inggris musim ini.
Man City menjadi tim pertama yang mampu mencetak 100 poin di Liga Inggris. Pencapaian itu didapat pada musim 2017-2018, di mana pada laga terakhir mereka sukses memenangi laga kontra Southampton.
Situasi tersebut memang menjadi momen yang tak terlupakan bagi Guardiola. Tetapi, ia tetap merasa salut dengan Liverpool yang menunjukkan performa luar biasa pada musim ini. Meski gagal memecahkan rekor miliknya, tetapi The Reds –julukan Liverpool– mampu tampil dominan.
“Menurut saya, itu tidak akan membatalkan hasil luar biasa yang telah dilakukan Liverpool (pada musim ini). Kami sekali lagi mengucapkan selamat kepada mereka,” ungkap Guardiola, mengutip dari Goal, Sabtu (18/7/2020).
“Saya selalu berpikir bahwa rekor di sana akan dipecahkan. Cepat atau lambat itu akan terjadi. Tetapi, meraih 100 poin memang tidak mudah,” tambah pelatih berpaspor Spanyol tersebut.
“Kami luar biasa ketika dua musim lalu kami melakukannya dan kami merasa luar biasa ketika kami membuat 98 poin pada musim lalu,” lanjutnya.
“Saat itu, Liverpool menghasilkan 97. Pada musim ini mereka bisa mendapatkan 99 poin. Kedua tim melakukan hal-hal luar biasa,” sambungnya.
“Suatu hari nanti catatan itu akan dipatahkan. Tetapi itu menunjukkan musim yang baik meski tidak sampai di sana (100 poin), di mana kami tampil luar biasa pada dua musim lalu,” pungkasnya.
