Germans fret over boring Bundesliga

When Borussia Dortmund became the fifth different team to win the Bundesliga in eight seasons back in 2011, the league was widely proclaimed as the most open and competitive in Europe. Three years on, many German fans are stifling the yawns as Bayern Munich run away with the title for the second year in a row with the other 17 teams floundering in their wake. Last year, the Bavarians clinched the championship with a record six...

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Rafinha named best player of La Liga in February

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English Premier League failures in Uefa Champions League not a reflection of …

In other circumstances, Chelsea’s 1-1 draw away to Galatasasary in the Uefa Champions League on Wednesday might have been greeted with more circumspection.Why hadn’t they finished off a team who had been there for the taking in the opening half hour?What went wrong with the marking for the equaliser?As it was, most in English football were just glad that they had not, like the other three Premier League teams in action, been...

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Back to gravel: Kubica takes on Rally Mexico

Robert Kubica will take on his third new rally in succession with the Ford Fiesta RS WRC next week as the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) returns to gravel for the 2014 edition of Rally Mexico.Despite some exposed gravel at the previous outing in Sweden, next week’s adventure will be a completely new challenge as crews swap sub-zero temperatures...

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Bayern make no apologies for Bundesliga dominance

“Nobody suggested to the Dutch speed skating team in Sochi, who cleaned up all the medals, that they should race in ski boots to make it more interesting.”“Bayern Munich will neither make excuses nor apologise for our good work,” Rummenigge said.“It should be remembered that this is a sporting competition, which is about achieving the best conditions and putting on the best performances and imposing yourself on the opponent,...

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Motorsport: Paddon’s WRC prep in full throttle

Hayden Paddon’s preparations for a breakthrough year in the WRC are already well in full throttle.The 26-year-old Kiwi’s joined Hyundai Motorsport to race in seven WRC rally events through this year.Co-driver John Kennard says Paddon’s already been familiarising himself with many aspects of being on the circuit full time.He says Paddon’s been doing some shakedown work and will be doing testing prior to each event, to make sure...

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Wide World of Sports TV partners

Honda’s Dani Pedrosa set the pace day two of MotoGP testing in Malaysia as injured teammate and world champion Marc Marquez said he would also miss next week’s Phillip Island test.Marquez, who is absent from the Sepang circuit testing due to a broken leg, said his surgeon had advised him against taking “unnecessary risk” so that he is fit for the season’s opening race on March 23.The 21-year-old Spaniard, who last year became...

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Frank Lampard adds to unrest over Premier League’s fixture scheduling

Frank Lampard has bemoaned a perceived lack of support offered to English clubs in Europe by the domestic game’s governing bodies as Chelsea seek to cope with a disrupted recovery and training schedule before Saturday’s west London derby at Fulham, following the 1-1 Champions League draw at Galatasaray.Chelsea had hoped that the match would be put back to Sunday but the game was not selected for television coverage. The team...

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Motorsport: Paddon’s WRC prep in full throttle

Hayden Paddon’s preparations for a breakthrough year in the WRC are already well in full throttle.The 26-year-old Kiwi’s joined Hyundai Motorsport to race in seven WRC rally events through this year.Co-driver John Kennard says Paddon’s already been familiarising himself with many aspects of being on the circuit full time.He says Paddon’s been doing some shakedown work and will be doing testing prior to each event, to make sure...

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Quality of the Premier League scuppers English clubs’ chances in the …

Inevitably, looking back at the Champions League performances in the last two weeks of Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, not to mention Bayern Munich’s win against Arsenal and Barcelona’s at Man City, people will be asking ‘what has happened to the Premier League?’ I’ve heard people on phone-ins saying: ‘All the world class players are...

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Quality of the Premier League scuppers English clubs’ chances in the …

Inevitably, looking back at the Champions League performances in the last two weeks of Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, not to mention Bayern Munich’s win against Arsenal and Barcelona’s at Man City, people will be asking ‘what has happened to the Premier League?’ I’ve heard people on phone-ins saying: ‘All the world class players are...

Read more ...

Quality of the Premier League scuppers English clubs’ chances in the …

Inevitably, looking back at the Champions League performances in the last two weeks of Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, not to mention Bayern Munich’s win against Arsenal and Barcelona’s at Man City, people will be asking ‘what has happened to the Premier League?’ I’ve heard people on phone-ins saying: ‘All the world class players are...

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Five clubs still harbour ambitions of joining runaway league leaders FC Bayern …

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Quality of the Premier League scuppers English clubs’ chances in the …

Inevitably, looking back at the Champions League performances in the last two weeks of Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, not to mention Bayern Munich’s win against Arsenal and Barcelona’s at Man City, people will be asking ‘what has happened to the Premier League?’ I’ve heard people on phone-ins saying: ‘All the world class players are...

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Real Madrid turn focus to Atletico meeting in La Liga this weekend after …

Atletico stunned their bitter local rivals 2-1 at Real’s own Bernabeu stadium in last season’s King’s Cup final and followed up with a 1-0 success at the same venue in La Liga at the end of September.However, Real have greatly improved as the season has progressed and they dumped holders Atletico out of this term’s Cup 5-0 on aggregate in their two-legged semi-final this month.Unbeaten in 27 matches in all competitions, Real...

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No let up for Schalke, Bayern next in Bundesliga

BERLIN — Runaway leader Bayern Munich can take another step toward the Bundesliga title with a win at home over Schalke, chastened by Wednesday’s 6-1 rout at home by Real Madrid in the Champions League. Bayer Leverkusen hopes to end its alarming slump against Mainz while Borussia Dortmund hosts improving Nuremberg, and Werder Bremen clashes...

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La Liga: Atletico desperate to stop rampant neighbours Real

If Atletico Madrid fail to stop the Real Madrid juggernaut on Sunday, then the race for La Liga will have a clear favourite.Los Blancos have taken an intimidating total of 41 points from their last 15 league matches, overtaking stuttering Atletico and Barcelona in the process.Real were five points behind Atletico and Barca at Christmas but...

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South Korean icon Bum

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Sepang II MotoGP Test: ‘F****d!’

MotoGP star Valentino Rossi gave a ‘colourful’ description of his surprise at Bridgestone’s decision to go ahead and change the rear tyre specification.Both the 2013 and 2014 specification rears had been evaluated during the first Sepang test earlier this month, after which it was decided that only the 2014 tyres will be made available.“The general consensus is that our 2014 specification tyres are working well,” Bridgestone’s...

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Mourinho: Oscar must get tough

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho believes that attacking midfielder Oscar needs to add more physicality to his game. ————————————————————Predict result and win big with Soccer6 ————————————————————The Brazil international has experienced a dip in form as of late and while Mourinho still backs the midfielder, he has attributed the slump to the 22-year-old’s lack of physicality. Mourinho believes that if the Blues’ star can become...

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Germans fret over ‘boring’ Bundesliga

span class="articleLocation">(Reuters) – When Borussia Dortmund became the fifth different team to win the Bundesliga in eight seasons back in 2011, the league was widely proclaimed as the most open and competitive in Europe. Three years on, many German fans are stifling the yawns as Bayern Munich run away with the title for the second year in a row with the other 17 teams floundering in their wake.Last year, the Bavarians...

Read more ...

Sepang II MotoGP Test: ‘F****d!’

MotoGP star Valentino Rossi gave a ‘colourful’ description of his surprise at Bridgestone’s decision to go ahead and change the rear tyre specification.Both the 2013 and 2014 specification rears had been evaluated during the first Sepang test earlier this month, after which it was decided that only the 2014 tyres will be made available.“The general consensus is that our 2014 specification tyres are working well,” Bridgestone’s...

Read more ...

Germans fret over ‘boring’ Bundesliga

Last year, the Bavarians clinched the championship with a record six games to spare as part of an unprecedented treble which also included the German Cup and Champions League.This time, they are threatening to improve on even that performance. Bayern have dropped only four points all season, have won their last 14 league games and have a 19-point lead.Even more worryingly for the other teams, Bayern are set to get stronger at...

Read more ...

Germans fret over ‘boring’ Bundesliga

span class="articleLocation">(Reuters) – When Borussia Dortmund became the fifth different team to win the Bundesliga in eight seasons back in 2011, the league was widely proclaimed as the most open and competitive in Europe. Three years on, many German fans are stifling the yawns as Bayern Munich run away with the title for the second year in a row with the other 17 teams floundering in their wake.Last year, the Bavarians...

Read more ...

Germans fret over ‘boring’ Bundesliga

Last year, the Bavarians clinched the championship with a record six games to spare as part of an unprecedented treble which also included the German Cup and Champions League.This time, they are threatening to improve on even that performance. Bayern have dropped only four points all season, have won their last 14 league games and have a 19-point lead.Even more worryingly for the other teams, Bayern are set to get stronger at...

Read more ...

Rally Finland chooses four

Rally GB’s hopes of retaining a four-day route for 2014 have been bolstered after Rally Finland unveiled a similar plan.The Jyvaskyla-based event (which runs from July 31-August 3) includes competitive mileage on four days from Thursday to Sunday morning – mirroring the approach taken by GB organisers last year.The World Rally Championship...

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Germans fret over ‘boring’ Bundesliga

Last year, the Bavarians clinched the championship with a record six games to spare as part of an unprecedented treble which also included the German Cup and Champions League.This time, they are threatening to improve on even that performance. Bayern have dropped only four points all season, have won their last 14 league games and have a 19-point lead.Even more worryingly for the other teams, Bayern are set to get stronger at...

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Exclusive: Liverpool Join Chelsea In Race For In

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Sepang II MotoGP test times

Reigning MotoGP champion Marc Marquez is not present, after fracturing his right leg in a dirt-track training accident.The PBM team (Michael Laverty and Broc Parkes) is also absent, having decided to focus on machine development back at its UK base. Iodaracing (Leon Camier and Danilo Petrucci), having skipped the first Sepang test, is again missing.Testing began at 10am and concludes at 6pm.CLICK HERE for live updates…1. Valentino...

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