Sport magazine 322

Issue 322 | September 13 2013

Giant,

killer But Nemanja Vidic shows Sport his softer side in an exclusive interview

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FROM THE DIRECTOR OF APOLLO 13 AND A BEAUTIFUL MIND

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Contents

18

Issue 322, September 13 2013 Radar 07 The transformers The finest sporting portrayals in cinema history: Pele in Escape to Victory (as himself) not included

08 Wisden’s misses Some great players have never been Wisden Cricketers of the Year – are these the five best?

10

Stars of tomorrow We ask the experts which young rugby players will be pushing for an England place in the 2015 World Cup

oFeatures this coming week

18

Nemanja Vidic Man Utd’s hulking defender sings to us and discusses Ben 10 (and talks about football too, natch)

26 The Champions League Ahead of the group stages, we assess every single team and pick out the players to watch

Cover and main image this page: Tom Oldham Photography, Christopher Lee/Getty Images, Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

33 Christine Ohuruogu She’s one of Britain’s finest ever athletes, but does she get the recognition she deserves?

07

33

36 The greatest fighters Floyd Mayweather fights this week, but who are his rivals for the title of best boxer in the world?

Extra Time

36

52 Kit A one-off jacket for which you might even buy a Harley-Davidson

60

54 Gadgets Featuring our favourite smartwatch yet: and yes, it does tell the time

56 Grooming Who knew Aussie men were so into their grooming? Including grass lily

60 Entertainment One of the very few places where Grand Theft Auto V meets Rick Stein (backing vocals by Elvis Costello) | September 13 2013 | 05

Radar

p08 – The greatest cricketers never to be named on Wisden’s coveted list

p10– The young England rugby players gunning for a 2015 World Cup spot

Transformers

Rex/Snap, Rex/United/Everett, Rex/Sony Pics/Everett

A

s Formula 1 drama Rush is released, Sport picks out the five best big-screen portrayals of real-life sporting titans

Robert De Niro as Jake LaMotta Raging Bull, 1980 Russell Crowe in Cinderella Man, Mark Wahlberg in The Fighter, Carl Weathers in Rocky (Apollo Creed was real, right?) – boxers bring out the best in actors. However, De Niro’s mix of self-destructive violence, sneering bravado and excess as middleweight icon LaMotta is one of cinema’s greatest ever performances.

Michael Sheen as Brian Clough The Damned United, 2009 The arrogance. The charisma.

The intelligence, stubbornness and ego tinged with insecurity.

There’s a lot to get right playing Clough, and it could easily lapse into parody. But firing out Old Big ‘Ead’s dry one-liners in his nasal twang, the chameleonic Sheen nailed it in this drama about Clough’s 44 days in charge of Leeds.

Ian Charleson as Eric Liddell Chariots of Fire, 1981 This epic with a rousing score also boasts a superb cast. Ian Charleson excels as devout Christian Liddell, a Scot whose chances of 1924 Olympic glory hang in the balance when he decides he cannot race on the Sabbath. Ben Cross is also never better as England’s Harold Abrahams, who overcomes anti-semitism in pursuit of his Olympic dream.

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Matt Damon as Francois Pienaar Invictus, 2009 Slim, 5ft 10ins actor Damon and strapping 6ft 3ins South African Rugby World Cupwinning captain Pienaar may seem an unlikely fit, but the Hollywood pretty boy’s display is imperious in this drama about how Pienaar and Nelson Mandela bonded a nation in 1995. Even the Afrikaans accent sounds right.

Daniel Bruhl as Niki Lauda Rush, 2013 It’s near-impossible to choose between Chris Hemsworth’s portrayal of James ‘The Cad’ Hunt and Bruhl’s of Niki ‘The Rat’ Lauda as the drivers vie for the 1976 Formula 1 title.

The latter takes the chequered flag for physically becoming the Austrian, capturing his cold aloofness yet fierce competitiveness as he comes back from horrific injury. | September 13 2013 | 07

Radar

Nearly men M

ost of the greats have featured on Wisden’s annual list of Cricketers of the Year, and thus in Simon Wilde’s new book chronicling the winners. We asked Wilde to pick out the best five players who never made the list.

Wisden Cricketers of the Year, by Simon Wilde (Wisden) out now

WES HALL, West Indies (48 Tests, 1958-69; 192 wickets, average 26.38)

BISHAN BEDI, India (67 Tests, 1966-79; 266 wickets, average 28.71)

Forming with Charlie Griffith one of the most famous new-ball pairings, Hall helped revive fast bowling in the West Indies at a crucial time, and pave the way for the pace champions of the 1970s. Hall galloped to the wicket over 30 yards before unleashing the ball with an explosive action.

Bedi reinforced the image of spin bowler as artist: an inelegant batsman and fielder, he moved beautifully when it came to bowling six successive balls to tangle an opponent in his web of deceit. Also a fierce competitor – the Dennis Lillee of spinners, said Tony Lewis.

JEFF THOMSON (Australia, 51 Tests, INZAMAM-UL-HAQ, Pakistan (120 Tests, 1972-85; 200 wickets, average 28.00) 1992-2007; 8,830 runs, average 49.60)

ABDUL QADIR, Pakistan (67 Tests, 1977-90; 236 wickets, average 32.80)

In the mid-1970s he was as supple, quick and terrifying as any bowler ever has been, before an injury to the shoulder diminished him. He was instrumental in Australia winning the Ashes in 1974-75 – and in the widespread introduction of protective headgear.

Before Shane Warne came along, the ebullient, highly strung Qadir flew the flag for wrist spin in the Test arenas of the 1980s. Successful at home but did not travel well, and struggled to make an impact on soft English pitches – though he took 10 wickets at the Oval in 1987.

He would never have been chosen for his fielding or running between the wickets, but his size did not prevent him judging impeccably how – and when – to hit a cricket ball. He did so with a violence that sat oddly with his quiet, gentle nature. Pakistan cricket has had few more popular champions.

Run a mile!

T

here are still a few team places left in this year’s Bloomberg Square Mile relay, which takes place next Thursday.

Sport is media partner of the event, which is the ultimate corporate running race in the UK and attracts some of the biggest names in business.

Every team has 10 runners, who each complete a devilish one-mile circuit through the City of London.

It’s not for the faint-hearted either – last year’s individual winner, David Nightingale of Capstone Investment Advisors, completed his mile in four minutes 36 seconds. Barclays were the winning team, completing their 10 miles in 51 minutes 12 seconds. Sport will be running too – we’re in serious training (honest... well, sort of).

To book one of the final team places available, go to www.squaremilerelay.com

08 | September 13 2013 |

Adrian Murrell/Getty Images, Arif Ali/AFP/Getty Images, Hulton Archive/Getty Images

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Radar

TIME TO SHINE Jack Clifford (age 20, back row, Harlequins) Nick Walshe: “Not a massive speaker, he just leads from the front and makes good decisions off the field. He’s got a great attitude, and he’s well respected by his peers and the management.

Very unlucky not to win player of the tournament at the U20 World Cup.” Jon Callard: “His instinct for knowing when to play and when not to play is top drawer. There’s nothing programmed about him, he’s just very aware about the game.

His understanding and rugby ability is, I would say, a degree above the other guys.”

Luke Cowan-Dickie (20, hooker, Exeter Chiefs) NW: “Luke only converted from loosehead to hooker last season, so he’s still very raw, but he has a natural aggression and competitiveness. He doesn’t care who’s in his way. He’s a very good rugby player with very good ball skills.

Maybe 2015 will be a touch too soon, but he has got unbelievable talent.”

Stuart Lancaster: “The most pleasing thing for me is that his feet are on the ground and he’s getting good coaching and development at Exeter. The next step for him is to get regular Premiership rugby. I think he’ll come through very quickly once he starts getting game time.”

J

ust two years from 2015, and we are finally accepting that the flying car, hoverboard and conveniently located manure truck-filled world we saw in Back to the Future 2 might not come to fruition.

On the plus side, the Rugby World Cup kicks off two years on Wednesday, when England get the tournament under way at Twickenham (start the countdown right now).

Jack Nowell (20, back three, Exeter Chiefs) JC: “To be thrown in last year and play first-team games shows the kid's got something special. Whether he's a full-back, a winger or an outside centre, we shouldn't be too concerned about at this stage. He's a gifted footballer. Just take the World Cup final – when he was changed to the left wing he was given the opportunity to roam and that's what sparked the revival of the team.”

NW: “His attitude is spot on.

We had to monitor his injury but he wanted to train all the time because he didn’t want the boys thinking he was a prima donna because he had played in the Premiership.”

With the new Aviva Premiership season up and running, who are the youngsters looking to force their way into Stuart Lancaster's World Cup reckoning?

Sport asked the experts – Lancaster himself, fellow coach Jon Callard and Nick Walshe, England U20s World Cup-winning coach – to give us the lowdown on the hottest young talent in England.

Henry Slade (20, fly half, Exeter Chiefs) NW: “The development of Henry this year has been absolutely amazing. He’s gone from a young man not really making good decisions, to this year controlling us through the Six Nations and the World Cup. He’s got an understanding of the game – when to put the ball into the corners, when to run it – and he’s an all-round very good player. He’s very tough in defence, too, so he’ll put his body on the line, which is fantastic. It’s a bit like Stuart said about Luke – his first job is to push his way into the Exeter first team. I believe he’ll do a fantastic job for them, and then he’ll really put pressure on the senior 10s in the country.”

Dave Sisi (20, back row, Bath) NW: “Dave’s interesting because, between injury and lack of game time at London Irish, the only rugby he’s played in 2013 is for England. If he has a full season at Bath, he could cause some serious damage. Before he got injured, he played against Cardiff, and Sam Warburton made a point of praising him after the game. He can play across the back row, and he’s a big man who is not easy to stop.”

BMW is a sponsor of England Rugby, driving the Ultimate Performance through the BMW Performance Academy

T

hrowing yourself off a cliff just because you’re in Wales seems a bit extreme to us. But this weekend a whole load of professionals will make a special trip to Pembrokeshire’s Blue Lagoon to do just that, at the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series. The event is the sixth stop of this year’s competition, with British diver Gary Hunt leading the overall standings. He’ll join a host of divers from around the world, who will be throwing themselves from a 27.5m-high platform (about the height of an eight-storey building) into the Celtic Sea, reaching speeds of up to 90kph.

It’s one way of leaving Wales, we guess.

Find out more at redbullcliffdiving.com

10 | September 13 2013 |

Dean Treml/Red Bull Content Pool, Getty Images

Splash and grab

Radar Editor’s letter Always in the picture: Blatter just keeps on winning friends and influencing people www.sport-magazine.co.uk @sportmaguk facebook.com/sportmagazine

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As a winter World Cup moves closer, the FIFA president continues to rile pretty much everyone

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Acting editor Tony Hodson @tonyhodson1

met in Geneva to discuss the possibility of moving the 2022 World Cup, to be held in sunny Qatar, to winter.

“We’re not in a hurry, there are still nine years to go,” said a seemingly relaxed ECA chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge after the summit. “The feeling is it is probably better to play it in winter.”

That will come as music to the wrinkled ears of Sepp Blatter, who nevertheless this week admitted that “it may well be that we made a mistake” in awarding the tournament to Qatar in the first place. “If we maintain, rigidly, the status quo, then a World Cup can never be played in countries that are south of the equator, or indeed near the equator,” he then countered, in bellicose mood.

Blatter is an old man in need of a geography lesson, and then a history one too. The first World Cup was held in July 1930 in Uruguay (south of the equator), and he himself presided over the most recent tournament in South Africa (also south of the equator). However much he bangs on about Europe no longer ruling the world, he forgets that every footballing nation on earth has planned for a summer World Cup every four years for more than three-quarters of a century, whether in northern hemisphere or south.

There should never be any reason to change that – not unless some bright sparks decide to stage it somewhere as climatically inappropriate as Qatar, that is.

12 | September 13 2013 |

I’ve yet to fully understand how US Open organisers somehow contrived to end up with their men’s final taking place on a school night, but as I watched Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic exchange increasingly brutal blows on Monday evening, the schedule became largely irrelevant.

It was by no means the closest match these two absolute warriors have played, nor indeed the longest, but that didn’t make it any less compelling – and, of course, it also featured one of the greatest rallies their sport has ever seen. Nadal is now 27 years old, Djokovic 26; both have plenty of miles on the clock, but this is an all-time great rivalry that looks set to run for some time to come. We should enjoy it while it lasts – even when it’s on a Monday.

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I’m all for sports working hard to give fans and television viewers as much insight as possible, and in recent years Formula 1 has done a relatively decent job on that score.

But please, pretty please, can we dispense with the horrendously saccharine communication between victorious driver and team at the end of every race?

The more I hear Sebastian Vettel whooping his way across the finish line, the more I pray for Mark Webber to commemorate his imminent Red Bull departure by giving his panto villain teammate a good old-fashioned knuckle sandwich. And is it me, or does team principal Christian Horner – “well done Seb, that was a great drive” – sound disconcertingly like Tim Henman?

Philippa Morrow, Julia Demetriou, Claire Furlong

LAUNCH OF THE YEAR

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n Tuesday, the European Clubs Association, a coalition of 207 of the biggest clubs in Europe,

Creative Solutions Account Manager:

Radar Opinion

It’s like this…

Bill Borrows

Flats on Friday

David Lyttleton

W

Hypocrites at every turn

I

f you have a problem and no one else can help, forget the A-Team. Just blame it all on damned foreigners. That’s the English way. This week alone there have been contributions from Little Englanders ranging from Vinnie Jones to Greg Dyke and Rio Ferdinand.

The hypocrisy is astounding.

Jones reckons: “England is not the country I grew up in... if someone blindfolded you and you landed at Heathrow, you wouldn’t have a clue where you were.

We should get our own house in order before we open the doors.” In other words, there are too many immigrants in England. The words of a former Welsh international who now lives in America.

Next came Dyke, who denied being xenophobic having said: “What none of us could have foreseen was that because of the success of the Premier League, 20 years later we would end up with a league largely owned by foreign owners, managed by foreign managers and played by foreign players.

It could be argued that the England set-up has been weakened by the creation of the Premier League.”

This is the same Greg Dyke who, as the former chairman of Brentford, has just left a club managed by the German Uwe Rosler. He then went on to point out the number of foreign players signed by Sunderland before noting that the Newcastle team that faced Manchester City earlier in the season had only one English player in its starting line-up.

This match also proved particularly irksome to former England captain Ferdinand, who branded the

14 | September 13 2013 |

attitude of some clubs as “a disgrace” and said: “There was barely an English player on the pitch, three out of 22 starters.” This would be to ignore Micah Richards, who was out injured, and to forget – but then he has a habit of forgetting things – that less than three years ago City provided six players for an England Euro 2012 qualifier against Switzerland: Hart, Lescott, Barry, Milner, Johnson and Wright-Phillips. Manchester United, who Ferdinand described as “a leading light of youth development”, could count only former Everton prodigy Wayne Rooney in that team.

Newcastle have an English owner and manager, while the current Premier League champions have a bunch of extras from Witness running the club from the States and have appointed just three English managers since the end of the Second World War. To quote Jones to Ferdinand while evading all accusations of xenophobia in the style of Dyke: “That is a disgrace. Get your own house in order.” @billborrows

Plank of the Week Raymundo Beltran, Glasgow Beltran may have been unfortunate not to win the WBO lightweight title bout against champion Ricky Burns, but the point is not about the scoring; rather, how could he let a fight against an opponent with a broken jaw from the second round go the distance?

hen you think about it, watching sport on TV is a bit weird. You get to see the game – which is not weird – then you sit and listen to a gaggle of so-called experts tell you what they think of the action. In order to be on there in the first place, a pundit, seemingly, should be either sufficiently eloquent or sufficiently famous.

And labelling a pundit as the latter is no insult. As a sports fan, if Paul Scholes or Eric Cantona were in the seat being asked about Stoke’s defensive set-piece organisation, or if Martin Johnson or Richie McCaw were offering their views on an Aviva Premiership breakdown, I would listen as intently as an arctic fox with the faint breaths of undersized prey in his pricked-up ears to whatever they said. For me, though, the blend of notoriety, content and chemistry is vital – for, without any one of them, the concept falls over.

There are lots of other, perhaps less obvious, factors that can make or break a sports broadcast: dress sense is one. Too formal, and the audience could find it stuffy and difficult to relate. Too casual, and you all look like students, alienating the generation that took pride in its appearance. Language is important, too, and for similar reasons. All pundits want to look clever, but nobody likes a smartarse. All pundits want people to understand and like their work, but speaking in too basic a manner can seem condescending – like you’re explaining things to a room full of children.

All of these things are adding up to make me nervous about Match of the Day. First they binned Mark Lawrenson, probably because he looked like a Corrie character from the 1980s and offered comment with all the enthusiasm and vigour of a hibernating bear.

His approach perhaps wasn’t snappy enough for the bods upstairs, but I thought he was brilliant and has been sorely missed since his exclusion. In my view, this approach was Lawro’s best asset; he represented the antithesis of the media-trained generation. When asked his opinion he did not, like so many do these days, run a rapid risk assessment in his brain, wondering what he might say that could both sound sharp enough and offend no one. He just answered, and if he didn’t think it was that important, he didn’t gesticulate and exaggerate to make it seem like it was. He was totally honest – totally comfortable in his own skin – and I miss him.

Alan Hansen will leave an even bigger hole. Never mind the immaculate side-parting and the shirt that was buttoned low enough to remind everyone that Barry Manilow was on tour. He is a brilliant, brilliant pundit. Full of opinion with the voice and shine of a movie star, he is just as comfortable declaring Titus Bramble’s efforts diabolical as he is mocking his own oil-tanker turning circle from the good old days at Anfield (where he remains a god). These are two old blokes who just like chatting about their game, but that’s all we ever wanted. Chemistry? Along with Des Lynam, they invented it. @davidflatman

Frozen in time

16 | September 13 2013 |

It takes a lot to get the most powerful man in the country up out of his seat. Rumour has it that Dave Cameron only gets up when he’s dropped his caviar sandwich. In the case we see here, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is up highest out of his chair, flag in hand, getting justifiably excited by the announcement that the 2020 Summer Olympics is to be held in Tokyo. Words of advice from London 2012... Do: hire your nation’s finest film director to plan the opening ceremony. Don’t: at any point give Russell Brand a megaphone and put him on a bus. | 17

Ian Walton/Getty Images

Land of the rising bums

Nemanja Vidic

18 | September 13 2013 |

NemaNja Vidic is siNgiNg Tom Oldham Photography

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his is an unexpected turn of events, and we don’t know what to do with our face.

Does he want us to laugh? It would certainly be comical if we weren’t so terrified, because Manchester United’s famously hard captain is softly performing a couple of bars of the song they play at the darts when someone lands a 180. His cold blue eyes are locked on ours throughout, and his mouth forms a shape that could be a smile or a snarl. What if he doesn’t want us to laugh?

Contemplating the tree-trunk thickness of Vidic’s tanned arms, and the Old Trafford chant about how he’ll ‘f**king murder ya’, we try to suppress the chuckle building in our chest. As a result, we make a noise that we’ve never made before – a sound that conveys a whole range of meaning, from ‘that was really nice, Nemanja’ right the way through to ‘please don’t kill me’.

We need not have worried, of course, because off the pitch the central defender is a gentle giant – and also a darts fan, hence the singing. With his shaven head and, er, omnidirectional nose, he’d probably fit right in with the raucous crowd at the

Lakeside – although you’re not likely to see him there holding up a Ladbrokes sign and necking a pint of Foster’s.

We’re speaking to him in another unlikely location – the ramshackle dugout of a local football club on the outskirts of Manchester, where he’s spent the morning doing a photoshoot. It’s a world away from the glittering lights of Old Trafford, where United will start their Champions League campaign on Tuesday. In a way, it suits him; the Serbian is not your typical hardman off the pitch (his love of the arrers aside), but he’s no preening Premier League prima donna either – he turns up to our interview early, for one thing. Still, the relative smallness of the surroundings grant this giant centre-back an aura to match his 6ft 4ins frame.

It is that presence that makes the 31-year-old so valuable to the Premier League champions going into his eighth full season at the club.

Like most who thrived under the Alex Ferguson regime, Vidic is a staunch company man. It’s evident in the way he quickly corrects himself when telling us about a training ground visit from Phil Taylor and some other darts legends, and accidentally k

| 19

Nemanja Vidic refers to the ground by its pre-sponsorship name of Carrington – before amending it to the “Aon Training Centre” with a wry smile. As he answers our questions in accented and occasionally broken English, he’s positive, if a little vague, about the changes at Old Trafford under David Moyes.

What kind of changes has Moyes brought in?

“The training is different – different kind of routines – which is normal when the new manager comes. Obviously he’s brought his staff as well, who have worked with us for two months, and we’ve got to know each other more. It’s all positive – I think we are in good shape.”

“i’m NO diffERENT TO OThER PlayERs. iT’s always TOUgh TO waTch ThE gamE whEN yOU’RE iNjUREd OR NOT PlayiNg”

Tactically, does he want you to do anything differently?

“It’s not big, big changes – we have similar players – but he’s trying to teach the players different things. There are lots of positives, and now it’s the time to show them on the pitch.”

Is there anything you miss about the old set-up?

“You know what, we had success with [Sir Alex] Ferguson. It was a pleasure and I’m glad I worked with him, but you know something new always comes – it’s new challenges, new training, new preparations.”

Anything you won’t miss?

“Not really – I don’t look at it that way. I had a great time with Sir Alex and we had so much success.

I will always remember it as a good time.”

Do you still see him?

“Yeah, actually I saw him at Wimbledon – accidentally we had seats next to each other. We were supporting the different players [Murray and Djokovic] and it was fun, it was nice to see him there. I was not his player at the time – he looked relaxed and he was with his family.”

Did you see a different side to him?

“No, he’s always him, you know? He’s not the kind of person who will change. He is straightforward – Moyes has a similarity with Sir Alex, he’s straightforward as well.”

Does Moyes have his own version of the famous ‘hairdryer treatment’?

“No – until now he didn’t really have any need to, like you say, hairdryer and shout at players, because at the moment everything is going smooth [this was before the 1-0 defeat to Liverpool in the Premier League]. The players are training well, and as long as it’s like that he won’t have any reason to do it. Hopefully it will stay like that.”

Tom Oldham Photogarphy

RETURN TO EUROPE

The start of the season hasn’t gone entirely to plan, with five points dropped after only three league games, but United have conceded just two goals so far this season – and Vidic has played every minute. It’s no surprise; United tend to defend better with the big Serbian on the pitch.

Last season they conceded 47 goals in the 32 games he didn’t start, compared with 18 in the 22 games he did. Just two of those games came in the Champions League, though – and Vidic has played a 20 | September 13 2013 |

total of just four European games in the fairly calamitous continental campaigns of the last two seasons. We can still see the scars on his knee that tell the story behind those absences.

You were fit for the start of the season last year and the year before, but got injured around this sort of time...

[In a slightly accusatory tone] “You’re projecting that I’ll get injured again in September?”

[Nervously] Well, hopefully not – but is it something that worries you?

“It does not worry me because I’m feeling well, I’m training well. The injury I had, it was like an accident on the pitch – some player stood on my leg and I had the ligament problem.

And afterwards, because of that, I got another problem, a knee injury – but that was a consequence of the injury I had before.”

Have you had to change your game to compensate for the injuries?

“No, no, not really – I believe I’m still playing the same way. It helps when you go through preseason, and that’s why I’m glad I’ve been through pre-season. I had a good four, five weeks of training, and that helps. If I start with an injury and join the team in December, they’re all fully fit,

they’ve played many games and they’re in form.

Now I start at the same level as them, and I can gradually go up and be better.”

The team seems to struggle a bit defensively when you’re not there. Is that difficult to watch?

“It’s always tough when you’re not playing – when you’re watching the game, when you’re injured, it’s tough to watch. I’m no different to other players.”

You’ve maybe not played as much Champions League football as you would have liked over the past two seasons – are you looking forward to the prospect of a full season?

“Yeah I’m looking forward. I had the injury, obviously – that took me off football for quite a while – but it’s a new year, I’m looking forward to this year.

Hopefully I can play as many games as I can, be part of the team and help the team.”

Do you think United can win the Champions League this season?

“It’s not something easy. Any team in the world can say: ‘We want to win the Champions League.’ [We think about correcting him here, but decide against it. You would do the same] We have a target, and that’s why we prepare hard. We think we can go to the later stages and with a bit of luck, yeah, we can win the tournament.” k Download the free Sport iPad app from the Apple Newsstand

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Nemanja Vidic

PE R F EC T PA IR

“WE gAvE EvERyThIng, WE TRIEd EvERyThIng– obvIously WITh TEn mEn IT WAs Tough” Is it getting harder to compete with the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich...

[Interrupting] “Manchester United.”

But are United still at that level?

“You know two years ago, Chelsea won – did you believe Chelsea were gonna win that title?

Barcelona won everything the last three years, but last year Bayern Munich came. It’s not something where you can say that someone will win the title.

I’ve been here eight years; I’ve played three finals, one semi final, two quarter finals – and that means that sure, United is always in the last stages of the Champions League. Hopefully we can do that again this year. With luck against Madrid last year, maybe we would have been in the quarter finals – and who knows what would have happened then.”

Pierre-Philippe Marcou/AFP/Getty Images, Alex Livesey/Getty Images

That Madrid game was obviously quite difficult, with Nani’s harsh dismissal – did you feel a sense of injustice afterwards?

“We gave everything – obviously with 10 men it was tough after that to play against Madrid. Maybe, yeah, we were disappointed with some things on the night, but we get over it. It’s a new season, new challenges – even when we lost that game, we didn’t think about it. We had at the time the Premier League to win, so you don’t have time to be sad – you have to be focused.”

Sir Alex obviously had a lot of Champions League experience – do you expect there to be a learning curve for David Moyes in Europe?

“I think football is the same everywhere... he has been the manager of Everton for more than 10 years; he’s facing teams like Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and Man Utd every year, and that means he has the experience to play against top teams.

Obviously he has, I believe, better-quality players now at Manchester United – and I believe he has enough experience to drive us on.”

They’ve been defensive partners for years – but how well does Vidic get on with Rio Ferdinand off the pitch?

Is it difficult to adjust to playing without Ferdinand when he’s not there?

“It’s not difficult, but I have to say the amount of games I play with Rio makes the partnership a bit easier.”

Do you get on off the pitch? You seem like quite different characters.

“To be fair, we’re spending more than three hours together every day, and we’re happy to go home and have a bit of rest from the football – not speak about football.”

opponents, to see who I will play against. But these days I’m watching more cartoons and music because of the kids – they’re the ones in charge of the TV now.”

What do they like?

“They’re watching cartoons – they’re watching the Ben 10.”

What do you put on if you get the TV to yourself?

“I love movies, some sports channels – maybe golf, tennis. I love tennis – I follow the Serbian tennis players: Djokovic, Tipsarevic, Troicki, Ivanovic and Jankovic. We’ve had some good tennis players in the last few years – we didn’t have any for so many years, and in the last five years we have five, six, seven. It’s exciting.”

What kind of movies do you like? We’d pictured you as an action movie kind of guy.

“Anything: action, thrillers, dramas. I love the... what do you call them? With Iron Man and stuff like that?”

Superhero films?

“Superhero films – it’s nice, it’s just relaxing. You don’t have to think much – they’re just fighting, running everywhere.”

You’ve got very different interests – he’s got his restaurant and his magazine...

“Yes, but that actually makes it even more interesting I think. We’re going well off the pitch and on the pitch – I would say we have a good atmosphere in the training ground, and we have good banter, good fun. Not just Rio and myself, I think the whole team – it’s good to be part of that environment.”

Did he ever try to pull a prank on you when he was doing Rio’s World Cup Wind-Ups? “No, no. Actually, I came after that I think – he’d finished the show already.”

What would you have done if he’d tried to?

“I don’t know... I haven’t thought about it. He obviously targeted the players that were more interesting to the people, and obviously tried with a few players, but probably it doesn’t happen with all of them.”

How well do you react to pranks and jokes generally?

[Deadpan] “I don’t know. Test me.”

We haven’t got anything prepared.

[Still deadpan] “You should have prepared better.”

We’d be too frightened anyway...

[Booming laugh]

Fighting, running, saving the day. These are things that Vidic the superhero is going to have to do in abundance this year if United are to progress in Europe, starting with the visit of Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday. As club captain, he can act as a bridge between the success of the Alex Ferguson era and the new manager, helping David Moyes overcome his relative lack of European experience. If Vidic can do all of that, successfully steer clear of injuries and, as he says, get a bit of luck, he could well be singing again come May – in the Champions League final.

Amit Katwala @amitkatwala

Do you watch much football outside of ‘work’?

“Sometimes. English football most of the time – but most of the time I’m looking because of the 22 | September 13 2013 |

Nemanja Vidic wears PUMA Powercat boots. For more information go to www.pumafootballclub.com Download the free Sport iPad app from the Apple Newsstand

Champions League

European vacation

A penalty kick of a group for Chelsea, challenges for both Manchester sides and a group of potential death for Arsenal... welcome to our group-by-group guide to this season’s Champions League proper

Matthew Peters/Man Utd via Getty Images, Alexander Khudoteply/AFP/Getty Images

Group A : United in concern Let’s make no bones about this: Manchester United may be the top seeds here, but they have been handed a tricky enough opening section.

Perfect timing for an already beleaguered David Moyes, who makes his group-stage bow on the back of an unimpressive start to the Premier League season and a transfer window he would probably rather forget.

New man Marouane Fellaini brings about as much Champions League experience as his gaffer, and will surely have to curb his all-elbows approach in the face of European referees, but the whole squad will need to deliver if United are to navigate a group of possible pitfalls. Deepest of those is the presence of Shakhtar Donetsk, whose last-16 departure to Borussia Dortmund last term belied the quality of the football they had played to get there. Creator-in-chief Henrikh Mkhitaryan has since been snapped up by their conquerors, while both Willian (Chelsea) and Fernandinho (Man City) 26 | September 13 2013 |

have found their way to England – but the Ukrainian champions have restocked the shelves (see right) and look ready to give United the same headaches they caused Chelsea 12 months ago.

A competitive Group A is completed by two less-heralded teams from the big-dog leagues of Europe. Liverpool fans will be lending their support to a Bayer Leverkusen side managed by Anfield legend Sami Hyypia and relying on the goals of last term’s surprise Bundesliga top scorer, Stefan Kiessling – but the Germans return to the Champions League without the threat of Andre Schurrle (now at Chelsea) and look short on star quality. That leaves Real Sociedad, back on Europe’s biggest stage for the first time in more than a decade. The Basques dumped Lyon out in the qualifying round, and new striker Haris Seferovic has begun his La Liga career in some style.

Plenty for Moyes to ponder, then, but a home win over Leverkusen on Tuesday should give United the early momentum needed to secure a safe passage through. We’re stressing the ‘should’, though. >

One to watch Fred, Shakhtar Donetsk Not to be confused with Fred the Brazilian striker who plied his trade in this competition for Lyon, this is Fred the Brazilian midfielder – one of five big-money signings Shakhtar have made to help ease the pain of their summer losses (keep an eye out also for forward Bernard, another Brazilian).

Two strikes in the recent Ukrainian Super Cup prove that this lad knows where the goal is, too.

Opening fixtures Tuesday 7.45pm Manchester United v Bayer Leverkusen (ITV) Real Sociedad v Shakhtar Donetsk (Sky Sports)

All pictures Getty Images

Champions League The Groups

Group B : Baptism of fire

Group C : French fancies

Group D : Third time lucky?

Your average Turkish football fan is no great respecter of reputation, so Real Madrid’s newest galactico (do they even use that phrase any more?) can expect a vocal welcome if and when he steps on to the Turk Telekom Arena pitch next Tuesday.

Gareth Bale’s new employers are predictably firm favourites to top Group B, but they had no easy ride when faced with Galatasaray in the quarter finals of last year’s Champions League, and are no certainties to kick off their latest campaign with a win. Both Karim Benzema and new boy Isco have started the La Liga season in goalscoring form, however. With a sulking Cristiano Ronaldo and a fit and firing Bale operating in behind whoever leads the line, Madrid should still proceed.

That leaves the Turkish champions, who will again rely on the skills of playmaker Selcuk Inan and goals of Burak Yilmaz, to likely fight it out with Serie A holders Juventus for second spot. Antonio Conte has ensured his Old Lady returns a stronger attacking force than 12 months ago, with Carlos Tevez and Fernando Llorente adding to the resident goal threat of Mirko Vucinic. With that in mind, Juve should get the better of Galatasaray and group outsiders FC Copenhagen, for whom the 87-yearold Olof Mellberg is unbelievably still playing.

Lyon’s qualifying-round exit means France have only two representatives in this season's group stage, but in nouveau riche Paris Saint-Germain they boast genuine challengers. Carlo Ancelotti has swanned off to Madrid after guiding PSG to the last eight of last season’s Champions League, but the respected Laurent Blanc has come in to replace him and the spending has continued: a combined €50m on teenage defenders Lucas Digne and Marquinhos, and €63.3m on Uruguayan hitman Edinson Cavani (above), who joins Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Ezequiel Lavezzi in a fearsome front line.

Despite a slowish start to the French domestic season, it is inconceivable that PSG won’t qualify; they should top an uncompetitive looking Group C ahead of Benfica, who failed to make it out of a pool from which Celtic progressed last season but have since recruited one of Europe’s brightest attacking talents in the Serbian forward Lazar Markovic.

The section is completed by 40-times Greek champions Olympiacos, who look set to become the latest club at which Javier Saviola flatters to deceive, and Anderlecht, who win the Belgian league nearly as often but almost never make any kind of mark on this particular competition.

Expect more of the same this time around.

Can Manuel Pellegrini succeed where Roberto Mancini failed, in steering Manchester City through the Champions League group stages? The omens are good, and not just because his new men have received a more generous draw than in past years – the Chilean has pedigree, having guided Villarreal to the 2006 semi finals and Malaga to the quarters only last year. Fernandinho adds crucial Champions League nous to the City midfield, while Alvaro Negredo looks like adding the cutting edge so lacking in last season’s dismal European effort.

Czech champs Viktoria Plzen return for a second crack at the Champions League and should prove the whipping boys, but 2010 quarter-finalists CSKA Moscow completed a double in Russia last season – with Sweden’s mighty Rasmus Elm and playmaker Alan Dzagoev at the heart of their midfield, this is the side that could most threaten City’s progression.

That’s because the final team in Group D is Bayern Munich. The Germans deservedly won a fifth Big Ears last season, and have strengthened since the arrival of Pep Guardiola. Mario Gotze and Thiago Alcantara have come in for a combined €62m, with Mario Gomez the only notable departee.

Evolution rather than revolution, then – and that spells danger for the rest of Europe. >

One to watch

One to watch

One to watch

Burak Yilmaz, Galatasaray

Lazar Markovic, Benfica

Mario Gotze, Bayern Munich

Only Ronaldo and Dortmund’s Robert Lewandowski scored more in last season’s Champions League than the hulking 28-year-old. After a peripatetic career in the Turkish league, Yilmaz has been something of a late bloomer, but he is a beast in the air who can really play – witness his strike in the last-16 first-leg draw with Schalke last season.

Not yet 20, Markovic is a skilful and mobile attacker who can operate out wide or through the middle.

Already a full Serbian international, he moved to Portugal from Partizan Belgrade in the summer and has already made his mark; he scored in his first two league appearances for Benfica, including a beauty away at Sporting Lisbon.

The obvious selection, but the 21-year-old attacking midfielder was the defending champions’ €37m flagship signing this summer. He starred in Dortmund’s run to the final last season (conveniently missing the Wembley showpiece against the club for whom he had already signed), and can light up the tournament again this year.

Opening fixtures

Opening fixtures

Tuesday 7.45pm

Opening fixtures

Tuesday 7.45pm

Galatasaray v Real Madrid (Sky Sports) FC Copenhagen v Juventus (Sky Sports)

Tuesday 7.45pm

Bayern Munich v CSKA Moscow (Sky Sports) Viktoria Plzen v Manchester City (Sky Sports)

28 | September 13 2013 |

Benfica v Anderlecht (Sky Sports) Olympiacos v PSG (Sky Sports)

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Champions League The Groups

Group E : Blue routine

Group F : Gunner be tricky...

He may have tasted Champions League glory with Porto and Inter, but the one great regret of Jose Mourinho’s managerial career is his failure to lift the big jug in his first spell at Chelsea. He will be thankful for a second chance, then, and grateful too that his old-new boys have been drawn in such an easy group.

Conceding 10 goals in four games against Juventus and Shakhtar was behind the club’s group-stage exit last season, but Mourinho has already returned a greater defensive edge and will look forward to incorporating proven Champions League performers Samuel Eto’o and Willian alongside the likes of Eden Hazard and Oscar (above), who starred with five group-stage goals last term.

If the Blues are to experience any discomfort, it is most likely to come from Schalke. The German club reached the round of 16 last season, topping a group containing Arsenal along the way, and the signings of midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng and striker Adam Szalai give them attacking options over and above the reliable Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. Perennial Swiss champions Basel were no match for Chelsea in last season’s Europa League semis, and look too reliant on the goals of veteran striker Marco Streller. And that leaves Steaua Bucharest – Romanian Liga I winners for the first time in seven years, but with only one Champions League win in 18 group-stage games going back three campaigns and seven seasons. Their 1986 European Cup win feels a very long time ago.

No actual league champions here, but it has come to pass that Arsenal find themselves in an absolute beast of a section containing last season’s runnersup and a side that beat them to one of the major signings of the summer.

No one beat them to Mesut Ozil, however, and it is the German upon whom fans are pinning their hopes ahead of a 425th crack at the Champions League.

They won’t win it, because they never do – but if Ozil can settle quickly, and the Arsenal that won in Munich last season turn up enough, they should progress.

The 2013 runners-up Borussia Dortmund start favourites, however. Mario Gotze has left for Bayern, but Armenian wizard Henrikh Mkhitaryan looks a worthy replacement, and the hugely likeable Jurgen Klopp has held on to star striker Robert Lewandowski while signing another forward in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Dortmund have won four from four in the league, and look good.

Napoli, now managed by Rafa Benitez, will also provide a stern test. Just over half of the €64m earned by the sale of Edinson Cavani to PSG has gone on former Arsenal target Gonzalo Higuain, although it is Slovakian playmaker Marek Hamsik who has starred in his side’s early-season table-topping form in Italy.

The group is completed by Marseille, quarter-finalists two years ago but now in the shade of moneybags PSG in France. If they are to compete here, they will need much-maligned forward Andre-Pierre Gignac to be at his lumbering best.

One to watch

One to watch

Adam Szalai, Schalke

Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Borussia Dortmund

The bruising Hungarian frontman was signed for €8m from Mainz in the summer and proved integral to his new club qualifying for the group stage, netting a decisive brace in the 3-2 away win over the Greek side PAOK. Has two in four Bundesliga appearances thus far this season, and will relish the likely physical battle with the Chelsea rearguard.

Dortmund obliterated their transfer record when signing the Armenian for €27.5m from Shakhtar this summer, but he has already looked worth the money in helping his new club to the top of the early-season Bundesliga. A clever footballer who can play as a conventional forward or in a supporting role, he offers pace, skill and a howitzer of a shot. Tasty.

Opening fixtures

Opening fixtures

Wednesday 7.45pm

Wednesday 7.45pm

Schalke v Steaua Bucharest (Sky Sports) Chelsea v Basel (Sky Sports)

Marseille v Arsenal (Sky Sports) Napoli v Borussia Dortmund (Sky Sports)

30 | September 13 2013 |

Group G : Iberian whirl

Group H : Champions league

A low-key group that looks set to be fought out between Atletico Madrid and Porto, even if both sides have lost important individuals to Monaco over the summer. Atletico are desperate to turn two recent Europa League titles into Champions League progress; as such, manager Diego Simeone reacted swiftly to the departure of €60m forward Radamel Falcao, signing proven quality in the shape of David Villa (above) and real potential in the 21-year-old Brazilian Leo Baptistao.

Porto are two-time European Cup winners, but new boss Paulo Fonseca inherits a squad shorn of its midfield heartbeat in the departed duo of Joao Moutinho and James Rodriguez. The arrival of the feted young Colombian Juan Quintero will help fill that gap, while goal machine Jackson Martinez is certainly one to keep an eye on.

It would be dangerous for either side to underestimate the threat of Russian league runners-up Zenit St Petersburg, who can now call upon the wildly fluctuating form of the returning Andrey Arshavin to complement the wildly fluctuating fitness of Hulk. No one should be too worried about group outsiders Austria Vienna, however – if they are to achieve anything in their first crack at the Champions League group stage, star forward Philipp Hosiner is going to have to do something very special indeed.

A section comprised of four clubs that have won the European Cup or Champions League, but the reality is that only one of them has any realistic chance of winning the trophy this time around. That is of course Barcelona, who retain the world’s greatest player in Lionel Messi (five goals in three La Liga games this season) and the tiki-taka style that has so enthralled European football fans in recent years. It is too early to assess the still nascent reign of manager Gerardo Martino, and indeed the potential impact of Brazilian wunderkind Neymar, but both will have time to adapt through a group stage that is unlikely to challenge the Catalan giants.

Seven-time winners AC Milan are simply not the force of old, and have made a slow start to the Serie A season, but they still look second best in the group – and with resident lunatic Mario Balotelli in the side they should at least prove worth watching. Frank de Boer has performed wonders at Ajax, winning the Eredivisie for the past three seasons, and in 19-year-old Danish winger Viktor Fischer he has at his disposal one of Europe’s brightest prospects. And that leaves Celtic, who scraped in by the skin of their teeth and return with a weaker squad than they had when heroically making the knockout phase in last season’s competition. They should have no chance here, but we wouldn’t want to be the ones to tell Neil Lennon that.

One to watch

One to watch

Jackson Martinez, Porto

James Forrest, Celtic

There is nothing hugely subtle about the Colombian striker, but his record of 29 goals in 33 Primeira Liga appearances for the Portuguese champions suggests there doesn’t need to be. Martinez is strong, quick and direct; he scored three goals in his debut Champions League campaign last season – odds are he’ll go even better this time round.

Something of a throwback to the days of Jimmy Johnstone (ask your dad, or your grandad), Forrest is a quick, tricky, direct winger who can frustrate and entertain in equal measure. Has struggled with injuries in his short career, but was in the right place at the right time to bang in the goal that earned Celtic their spot in the group stages.

Opening fixtures

Opening fixtures

Wednesday 7.45pm

Wednesday 7.45pm

Austria Vienna v Porto (Sky Sports) Atletico Madrid v Zenit St Petersburg (Sky Sports)

AC Milan v Celtic (Sky Sports) Barcelona v Ajax (Sky Sports)

| 31

Christine Ohuruogu

T

he finest line divides success from failure, and no one knows that better than British 400m runner Christine Ohuruogu.

She won gold at the World Athletics Championships in Moscow by just fourthousandths of a second last month, overhauling Botswana rival Amantle Montsho and pipping her to the line in a photo finish.

“I’ve never won by such a small margin,” she tells us. “It just shows you how races can be won and lost. It’s just literally milliseconds, millimetres... and that’s why you have to keep going right to the end.”

That’s a mantra that applies equally to Ohuruogu’s whole 2013 season – which comes to an end this weekend, and could have been considered mixed until the race in Moscow. She set out to break the longstanding British record, which was set

by Kathy Cook back in 1984, and had to wait until that gold-medal winning race in Russia to do it, in a time of 49.41 seconds.

“We were planning to break the record all season,” she explains. “It’s a fast record, but compared to what the other girls have run it’s not actually that fast. It was a bit surprising that I hadn’t at least come close, having won two Olympic medals and having won the world title before. It’s a little surprising that it was still standing, but it was nice to get it done at the championships – and also come away with the gold medal.”

We ask Ohuruogu whether, at 29, she has reached her athletic peak by breaking that British record – or if she will be able to keep bringing that time down in the years to come.

“I don’t know really,” she admits. “It all comes down to how healthy you are, whether you’ve got the right competition. Unfortunately I haven’t got a crystal ball, so I can’t answer those questions.” >

Ian Walton/Getty Images

Leaving it late New 400m world champion Christine Ohuruogu looks back on a successful season – one that culminated in the most nail-biting finale imaginable

| September 13 2013 | 33

Christine Ohuruogu

Another question she won’t be pinned down on is how many more major championship medals she will look to add to her haul of Olympic, world, European and Commonwealth titles. “If my coach had his way he would probably have me going until 2020,” she laughs. “I’m always quite cautious.

I know how hard the training is, and how much we put our bodies through, and I’ve been injured quite a few times – so I err on the side of caution. But if you’re healthy and you’re happy, you can go on for as long as you want.

“There are many athletes who are well into their 30s, some even nearly 40, and they’re still competing and going out and doing really well. One person I really admire is Felix Sanchez [Dominican 400m hurdler] – he’s now 36 and he won his second Olympic gold last year. That’s after so many people telling him he shouldn’t do it, he should retire. I think for me he is the hero of 2012 – I learned so much by watching him, and watching how he conducted myself. So I never write anything off – I think if you’re in the right frame of mind and you really have something that you’re going for, then anything is possible. I’m just a bit cautious – maybe I’m just scared of all the hard work!”

Loic Venance/AFP/Getty Images

Golden girl?

Ohuruogu has perhaps not been rewarded for her hard work in the same way as some of our other athletes. Her achievements make her one of the finest British female athletes of all time, yet the public have perhaps not taken her to their hearts in the same way as, say, Jess Ennis-Hill. Does she feel she gets the recognition she deserves?

“People have said that, but it doesn’t really enter my consciousness to be honest,” she answers. “I think I tend to be a very quiet 34 | September 13 2013 |

“It just shows you how races can be won and lost. It’s literally milliseconds, millimetres... and that’s why you have to keep going right to the end” person, which maybe doesn’t really play well in my favour. But I’m really kind of content with what I’ve done and what I’ve achieved.

Sometimes you can get dragged into... I call it a quagmire... but you can get sucked into opinions and deceptions and all this stuff.

“Deep down I’m happy with what I’ve done. I’m going out and living my life and doing the best I can, and that’s what makes me happy. I don’t really know what the perceptions are [about me]. I’ve never been here before, so I don’t really know what I’m supposed to get or how I’m supposed to look. I’ve got my medals, I’m happy with those; my coach is brilliant and I really enjoy working with him. We don’t want a marching band or trumpets; we just want to go and do our work, train and have a laugh.”

Winter break

With her serious competitive duties coming to an end in Brussels last weekend, at the final Diamond League meeting (she finished fifth, for a fourth place in the overall standings), Ohuruogu has just one last assignment before a well earned break.

“I will be taking some time off and trying to figure out what my next couple of steps are, and maybe trying to work out the next few years,” she tells us.

Before that, though, there’s a trip up to Newcastle this weekend for the Great North

City Games, where she will be racing over an unusual distance of 150 metres on a temporary track in the town centre.

She is relishing the opportunity to promote her sport beyond its usual setting.

“It’s not so much for our benefit,” she says.

“It’s for the crowd. Not everyone gets a chance to be in the stadium and watch world-class athletes compete, so it’s nice that they’ve taken track and field and put it in the street, where everybody can access it.

Hopefully some guys that have never been in the stadium will watch us compete and think: ‘Yeah I’m gonna buy tickets for the Commonwealth Games.’ Or ‘I’m gonna go to the Europeans’ or ‘I’m gonna try and bid for tickets and go to Rio.’” All of those events are on Ohuruogu’s horizon, with next year’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow offering a chance for her to reclaim the title she was unable to defend in Delhi three years ago because of injury.

By her own admission, she “can’t really target anything other than a medal” in that, although she will face undoubtedly stiff competition from defending champion Montsho once more.

Hopefully, for the nerves of those fans who have thrown their support behind Ohuruogu, she’ll prevail by more than a fraction of second next time.

Amit Katwala @AmitKatwala

The CityGames series aims to introduce athletics to a whole new audience by taking the sport out of the stadium and into the city. Find out more at greatcitygames.org

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The Top 10

Pound-for-Pound rumble

All pictures Getty Images

10 9 8 7 6 Saul alvarez

Carl froCh

Guillermo riGondeaux

manny PaCquiao

Tim bradley

Light-middleweight, 42-0 [wins-losses] (30 KOs)

Super-middleweight, 31-2 (22 KOs)

Super-bantamweight, 12-0 (8 KOs)

Welterweight, 54-5 (38 KOs)

Welterweight, 30-0 (12 KOs)

Flame-haired Mexican nicknamed ‘Canelo’ (cinnamon) sets women’s hearts a-flutter and tenderises men’s ribs with his wicked left hook. Just 23 years old, but threw off whispers he was being protected by outpointing the tricky, then-unbeaten American Austin Trout in April. Earns place in the top 10 by virtue of being number one in his weight division and having just bested his closest rival.

What next? He takes on Planet Earth’s best boxer this weekend (see page 38).

Easy-peasy.

If this list rated the hardest-working champions, Froch may be number one.

The Nottingham Cobra’s ring record reads as a who’swho of boxing’s super-deep super-middleweight division.

He lost on points to the number-two man on this list in 2011, but since then he’s destroyed previously unbeaten Lucian Bute and avenged his loss to Danish ace Mikkel Kessler. An iron-chinned warrior and an underrated boxer.

What next? Probably a rumba. But after TV show Stepping Out ends, he fights George Groves in November.

After just a dozen fights, most gifted professionals are still pummelling hapless journeymen. However this exiled Cuban – a two-time Olympic gold-medallist – turned pro in the US in 2009 aged 28, and has excelled since. A slick southpaw who’s so tricky to catch that he could walk through a rainstorm and not get wet, he picked up a world title in just his seventh fight and upset vaunted puncher Nonito Donaire in April.

What next? A move to featherweight is possible, as he searches for credible fighters willing to face him.

He’s lost his last two bouts, yet he retains a top-10 place. Firstly because his points loss to Tim Bradley was highly controversial, and secondly as his shock, one-punch knockout at the fists of Juan Manuel Marquez came in a fight Pacquiao was probably winning (and against a fighter over whom he’d edged to points wins twice before). At 34, his whirlwind dynamism may be slowing to mortal levels, but still a dangerous customer.

What next? November’s fight against Brandon Rios should tell us how much the great Filipino has left.

Many ringsiders may have scored his 2012 upset win over Manny Pacquiao the way of the Pac Man, but Californian Bradley fought the majority of that bout hampered by a twisted ankle, yet was still highly competitive. The busy, tenacious 30-year-old is also the only man to defeat classy Devon Alexander, and in his March fight against Ruslan Provodnikov actually showed he could be fun to watch as he brawled to victory over the Russian.

What next? A mouthwatering clash against the brilliant Juan Manuel Marquez a month from now.

36 | September 13 2013 |

As two elite tAlents in floyd mAyweAther Junior And sAul AlvArez clAsh in A lAs vegAs megA-fight, we count down the best fighters in boxing

5 4 3 2 1 sergio mArtinez

wlAdimir KlitschKo

Middleweight, 51-2 (28 KOs)

Heavyweight, 60-3 (51 KOs)

A boxing marvel to match his ‘Maravilla’ nickname, this Argentine has excelled late in his career, despite having a style based on reflexes and athleticism. At 38, careerdefining victories (against the likes of Paul Williams and Julio Cesar Chavez Junior) may be in the past. Many experts would pick Gennady Golovkin to best him, but until the Kazakh fights a top-five middleweight, Martinez is still the boss in this weight class.

What next? Out for the rest of 2013 after knee surgery, his fans want him to face Golovkin – but his advisors may have other ideas.

The paucity of quality heavyweights makes it tricky to judge the 37-yearold Ukrainian’s value. Has generally been imperious since two knockout losses in four fights left his career in tatters in 2003-04.

Ramrod jab, punishing right hand, size and sharp boxing skills make him a formidable opponent, as David Haye can attest. Bigger brother Vitali is also unbeaten in around a decade, but looks a boxer past his prime these days.

What next? Next opponent is a good one: former Olympic champ Alexander Povetkin, who is 26-0 (but will still get pancaked).

JuAn mAnuel mArquez

Andre wArd

floyd mAyweAther

Super-middleweight, 26-0 (14 KOs)

Welterweight, 44-0 (26 KOs)

Spent much of his career in the shadow of his fellow Mexican greats Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera, but his sensational stoppage of old rival Manny Pacquiao last year finally gave the now 40-year-old Marquez the careerdefining triumph he’s long deserved. A crisp technical boxer in his younger days, he’s actually morphed into a more risk-taking, powerfulpunching fighter in his relative dotage.

What next? Tim Bradley: unbeaten and a decade younger than Marquez. But the Mexican is a narrow pre-fight favourite.

The only boxer who can currently rival Mayweather for the hypothetical title of pound-for-pound king. At his peak at 29, he has used his mix of precision boxing, awkwardness, toughness – plus a few dirty tricks – to defeat elite-level fighters such as Carl Froch, Mikkel Kessler and Chad Dawson with remarkable ease. What a shame shoulder surgery has kept him out of the ring for all of 2013 thus far.

What next? November is rumoured to be the month of his comeback. May step up to light-heavyweight in search of a challenge.

Welterweight, 55-6 (40 KOs)

You can quibble about his declining to face Manny Pacquiao or an ever-soslight slowing of his rapid hands and feet at the age of 36, but the Vegas resident is still the most magnificent pussycat in boxing’s jungle.

Versatile, never out of shape and with a supreme defence, his biggest asset is his boxing IQ. Whichever of his madcap family is acting as his trainer, Mayweather needs no help dissecting a fight or opponent.

What next? ‘Money’ Mayweather is on a guaranteed minimum of just the $41.5m to fight Canelo Alvarez this weekend. | 37

Boxing

WORKing WitH MayWeatHeR

aSHley tHeOpHane, tHe BRitiSH WelteRWeigHt WHO figHtS On tHe MayWeatHeR/alvaRez Bill, On SHaRing a Ring WitH tHe WORlD’S tOp BOxeR

ROcK anD SHOulDeR ROll

“Being around Floyd, it’s not even like watching a sports star, it’s like watching a rock star. His fights are events in themselves – people fly in from all over the world. The glitz and glamour is good, but it’s about Floyd Mayweather and not Ashley Theophane, so it’s important I stay focused on my boxing and winning my fight.

Mayweather Promotions signed me because they believe I can go on to do some great things – they didn’t sign me as no charity case.”

nigHtMaRe SpaRRing

“They say Floyd is the greatest defensive boxer. So the other day, when he told us he was just going to practise on his defence in training, it was a nightmare to even hit him.

He’s very smart. He’s super-fast. If you make a mistake, he’ll make you pay. I’m very proud to even spar with Floyd. Being in there with the best in the business can only bring me along as a fighter.”

SHOWing lOve

“Many people have the wrong impression of Floyd. He didn’t know me when I first came into his gym, but he showed me love. He asked me who I was, he was interested in my career and said: ‘We’ll spar – I want to see how good you are.‘ Sometimes you only hear the negative, but

George Johnson/Phenom Photography, Mike Stobe/Getty Images

Saturday Boxing | Saul alvarez v Floyd Mayweather Junior | MgM grand, laS vegaS | Boxnation 2aM

Floyd Mayweather Junior isn’t just the best fighter in boxing, he’s also its savviest matchmaker. The American picks rivals at the ideal time, usually when they're just hitting the slide, so it raised eyebrows when he selected the man thought to be his hardest realistic challenge – undefeated light-middleweight kingpin Saul Alvarez – for this contest.

However, a close look at the pair’s strengths, and you begin to see Mayweather’s logic.

What problems Mayweather has encountered in his 44 wins in 44 pro fights tend to come from either southpaws or relentless pressure fighters. Alvarez is a bull-strong, clever boxer who packs thudding power. But, despite being a hardy Mexican, he tends to use his footwork to

38 | September 13 2013 |

put the pressure on in spurts rather than constantly pushing back on an opponent. He may try to up his workrate against Mayweather, who was hit more than usual when Miguel Cotto forced him on to the ropes in 2012.

To do that, he will have to get past Floyd’s speedy jab and pinpoint-accurate straight rights. There’s also the quandary of who benefits from the 152lb catchweight.

Mayweather has looked uneasy in his two fights above welterweight, yet Alvarez is now a big, 154lb light-middleweight – dropping the extra two pounds may drain him. It all adds up to an enticing super-fight, but the suspicion is that the red-headed Alvarez may just be too green for this most formidable of challenges.

he does a lot for charity and his community; helping other people achieve their dreams. A lot of boxers don’t make money, but this will be my highest-paid fight. So he’s looking after me.”

alvaRez againSt MayWeatHeR

“Floyd will be too smart for him. You just have to look at Alvarez’s last fight against Austin Trout, where I think he struggled. Floyd will be quicker and smarter than Trout. I won’t be shocked if Floyd wins every round on the scorecards, because he’s in great shape and he’s just too good. Who can compete with him?”

tHeOpHane’S Big nigHt

“For my fight, I’ve got a young lion in front of me in Pablo Cesar Cano. He’s lost just three times in 30 fights, so he’s coming to win. He’s also going to have all the Mexicans there behind him. But, if you look at our records, I’ve beaten better boxers than him. I’m also training and sparring with Floyd Mayweather and [IBF light-middleweight titleist] Ishe Smith. So I’ve got two world champs who I’m preparing with for this fight. After this win, I want to go after some big names in the world of boxing.”

Mayweather vs Alvarez is live and exclusive on BoxNation (Sky 437/Virgin 546) on Saturday.

Subscribe via boxnation.com

Still May Day

’s n o d n o L t u o b a t u o d n i F g n i h T g ts i n B e t v x e e / N om c . n o d visitlon

PruHealth World Triathlon Grand Final London 11-15 September 2013 Come and Watch for Free in Hyde Park SaT 14 SePTemBer

SuN 15 SePTemBer

elite Women from 08.30

elite men from 13.30

Free acTiviTieS aNd BiG ScreeN iN TraFaLGar Square Live on BBC TV

Fuel in the Fire While some athletes will take warm memories of last summer’s Olympics with them to the World Triathlon Grand Final in Hyde Park this weekend, Britain’s Jodie Stimpson will be channelling her disappointment at missing out 12 months ago to fuel her race to the finish 40 | September 13 2013 |

Jodie Stimpson

J

odie Stimpson has come a long way in the 12 months since London 2012.

Then, she was overlooked for a spot in the GB women’s triathlon team, with the sport’s national governing body deciding that the ‘domestique’ route provided the best chance of a GB gold medal.

That meant a spot on the start line for 20-year-old Lucy Hall, who had never finished higher than 37th in a World Series race over the Olympic distance. She was, though, one of the fastest swimmers in the field, meaning she could potentially help Britain’s top medal hope Helen Jenkins to split the pack, giving her a better chance of winning gold. “I find it sad that GB have gone down the domestique route,” wrote Stimpson on her blog at the time. “I’m not going to lie, and will openly say that I am absolutely devastated... words cannot explain just how much.”

One year on, and Stimpson is heading to the World Triathlon Grand Final in Hyde Park as the fourth-placed woman in the ITU rankings, just 165 points behind fellow Brit Non Stanford. This season has been something of a breakthrough for Stimpson, who achieved her first World Series podium finish in Yokohama in May, and followed that up with her first ever series victory in Kitzbuhel two months later. This weekend, she’s in London for a race she’s been targeting ever since August 4 2012.

How sweet has it been to mark yourself out as one of the best in the world after missing out on a home Olympic Games?

“It definitely has driven me on to not miss another Olympics, because I don’t want to be in that situation again – having to watch the race on TV at home. I just had to try and use it as a training tool and as motivation to get

my head down. And it did refocus me, but it was also really devastating – one of the hardest things I’ve had to go through.”

You have raced in Hyde Park before, as part of the World Championship Series.

Is it a course that particularly suits you?

“I love it – it’s one of my favourite races. The course is fantastic, but it’s more about the atmosphere and the lift that the crowd gives you – I was gutted to miss it last year. It’s the race I’ve targeted right from the start of this season. It’s a flat course and not too technical, which means that the swim, bike and run are going to be really competitive.

A breakaway is definitely possible, so I’ve just got to make sure I’m there for that.”

You’re fourth in the rankings, just behind Non Stanford. What’s your aim going into the race?

“We try not to focus on positions, so it’s just about doing the best job I can on the day – and if that’s on the podium, then fantastic.

I haven’t even looked at the points or the rankings, I just know I’m not far behind Non. My goal has always been London, and never really the overall series. The ranking has come because I’ve had such a good year, but at the minute that’s really just a bonus. I just want to end the season on a good note.”

What do you think has made the difference this year, in terms of your results?

“I changed coaches to Darren Smith about a week before the Olympics, and he’s made such big changes – from my training and my whole attitude to everything around training, including nutrition and mental preparation.

It has really been life-changing, so it’s got to be down to him really.”

What has been the biggest change that he has made?

“He doesn’t focus on the mass of training that you do – instead, there’s a lot of technique work involved. So it’s about doing things right before you can start really putting the miles in... stripping everything right back. He’s changed my technique in the swim, bike and run. At the beginning it was really annoying because he wouldn’t let me train hard – as I perceive it – until I got the technique right. That was really frustrating, but it has obviously paid off.”

Great Britain is doing so well in the World Triathlon Series this year as a whole, with the Brownlee brothers in first and second spot in the men’s rankings, and yourself and Non Stanford in the top five for the women.

Is Britain now one of the world’s strongest nations in triathlon?

“Yes, definitely – I think we’re proving that in the consistency of our top placings this season. There are other strong nations out there, Australia probably being the closest to us in terms of the depth they have. But it’s great to be part of the GB team at the minute. In the past we’ve always had someone dominant – Chrissie Wellington in the long distance, Simon Lessing and then obviously Alistair Brownlee. So we’ve always had the odd person in the spotlight, but the difference is that now we’ve got four or five.”

Sarah Shephard @sarahsportmag The PruHealth World Triathlon Grand Final is free to watch, with the best vantage points being around the Serpentine, Buckingham Palace and Wellington Arch. For more details, go to www.worldtrilondon.com

“It defInItely has drIven me on to not mIss another olympIcs, because I don’t want to be In that sItuatIon agaIn – havIng to watch the race on tv at home” | 41

7 Days OUR PICK OF THE ACTION FROM THE SPORTING WEEK AHEAD

SEP 13-SEP 19 HIGHLIGHTS » Football: Premier League » p44 » Cycling: Tour of Britain » p46 » Golf: Tour Championship » p46 » Cricket: England v Australia ODIs » p48 » Horse Racing: St Leger »p50

FRIDAY > TENNIS | DAVIS CUP WORLD GROUP PLAYOFFS: CROATIA v GREAT BRITAIN | STADION STELLA MARIS, CROATIA | BRITISH EUROSPORT 9.45AM

Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

Opportunity knocks

Dan Evans, whose exploits at the US Open – beating

The last time GB and Croatia met was in 2007,

number 11 seed Kei Nishikori and world number 52

when a team comprising the Murray brothers and Tim

Bernard Tomic – will move him closer to the world's

Henman, in his last ever Davis Cup appearance, scored

top 100. British number two James Ward is also in the

a convincing home victory 4-1. That tie was played on

team, along with doubles specialist Colin Fleming.

the grass courts of the All England Club however –

With world number 19 Marin Cilic ruling himself

a surface and an environment that will be in marked

out of action until an appeal process is completed

contrast to the one Murray and co will find in the

After having more time than he may have wanted to

following his failed drugs test in April, Croatia's team

Stadion Stella Maris this weekend.

recover from his exploits at the US Open, Andy Murray

will be led by world number 38 Ivan Dodig. Murray

With Britain's record in World Group playoffs

this weekend steps back into the Davis Cup fold for

beat him in straight sets en route to winning the US

somewhat uninspiring – they've won eight of the 18

the first time since 2011, in a bid to help Great Britain

Open last year – but that is their only meeting to date

they've contested – the world number three will hope

return to the World Group for the first time in five

and, with Croatia choosing to play this tie on clay, the

the winning habit he's found over the past year or

years. The tie sees Murray travel to Croatia along with

outcome is not a foregone conclusion.

so can rub off on the rest of the team.

42 | September 13 2013 |

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Or Grandad. No cousins or nephews. Not the boys from the rugby club or the lads from the pub. No boyfriends or husbands or father-in-laws. Not the chap from the chip shop or the noisy lads at the back of the bus. Not your best mate. Not a single stranger.

No one whatsoever.

No one should face cancer alone.

With your support, no one will.

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7 Days

Premier League

MONDAY SWANSEA v LIVERPOOL LIBERTY STAdIum | SkY SPORTS 1 8Pm

Sound the new signing klaxon – the season may be three games old, but this week’s round of fixtures will see a lot of familiar faces in unfamiliar shirts sAturDAY EVERTON v chELSEA | gOOdISON PARk | SkY SPORTS 1 5.30Pm

Table-topping Liverpool won’t be relishing the prospect of taking on their gaffer’s old team. Since Swansea were promoted two years ago honours have been shared, with a win apiece and two draws. If fit, Daniel Sturridge will be the man to watch for Liverpool: his goal-agame return is the reason the Reds have a maximum nine points. But it’s in defence where they have been most impressive – it’s hard to see how the Swans will break through.

sAturDAY STOkE v mAN cITY | BRITANNIA STAdIum | 3Pm

By common consent, Everton ‘had a good window’.

and McCarthy will add drive and bite to a midfield that

Stoke City are a surprise package

While their best bit of business may have been the

passes the ball prettily but, thus far, with little end result.

this season – not just in their results,

non-sale of Leighton Baines, they will undoubtedly be

It will be interesting to see how Jose Mourinho

but also in the way they play. Wins

strengthened by the deadline day deals for Gareth Barry,

approaches this match. Having started striker-less

against Crystal Palace and West Ham

James McCarthy and Romelu Lukaku, even allowing for

against Manchester United, he is again proving that his

do not suggest a push for the

the departure of Marouane Fellaini.

first priority is not losing, although he does now have

Champions League is around the

Lukaku, on loan from this week’s opponents Chelsea,

Samuel Eto’o at his disposal. Well past his best he may be,

corner, but they have quietened the

could prove vitally important for the goal-shy Toffees. But

but the Cameroonian should still be good enough to start

doubters who thought them

the young Belgian will have to wait for his debut as he’s

ahead of Fernando Torres and Demba Ba.

relegation certs. Man City may have

ineligible this week under the terms of his deal – so once

In essence, then, a midfield battle that may not be easy

scored eight in three, but four of

again, the scoring duties will fall to Nikica Jelavic (above).

on the eye. Both sides keep the ball well, but can either

those came against an awful

With 16 goals in 53 Everton games, however, he’s no Bob

create enough chances to go and win it? Should Eto’o

Newcastle and two in defeat. It’s time

Latchford – so manager Roberto Martinez will hope Barry

play, he could just be the difference.

for Alvaro Negredo (above) to start.

44 | September 13 2013 |

saturdaY MAN UTD v CrYSTAL pALACE | OLD TrAFFOrD BT SpOrT 12.45pM

saturdaY ASTON VILLA v NEWCASTLE | VILLA pArk | 3pM

saturdaY FULHAM v WEST BrOM | CrAVEN COTTAGE | 3pM

saturdaY HULL v CArDIFF | kC STADIUM | 3pM

All eyes at Old Trafford will be on

They may be everyone’s favourite

Too early in the season for what we

If Fulham v West Brom is a

Marouane Fellaini, as David Moyes

second team, with their emphasis

might term a ‘classic six-pointer’?

six-pointer, then what on earth is

tries to win over the Stretford End.

on youth and playing ‘the right way’,

Oh go on, indulge us. West Brom are

this? Seven? Eight? To be fair, both

He’ll be hoping for a big display from

but there is a fear Villa flattered to

goalless, while Fulham couldn’t

teams have started as well as

the big man with the big hair, and

deceive with a great opening-day

score, or barely even threaten,

anyone may have expected –

if he can impose himself on the

victory over Arsenal. True, Chelsea

against Newcastle last time out. Still,

especially Cardiff, whose win over

midfield, then United can go to

and Liverpool don’t represent easy

at home and with the magic boots of

Man City was spectacularly good.

town. Still, Palace fans will be

opposition, but they need to get back

Dimitar Berbatov surely about to

Hull’s home games will be vital (as

delighted with their team’s start,

on track against Newcastle, whose

come good, they should have too

proven by victory at the KC over

and they did good business on

season is in direct contrast. Awful

much for the Lukaku-less Baggies

Norwich) and Steve Bruce knows

deadline day. Cameron Jerome,

against Man City, they’ve steadied

– whose eighth-place finish last

this is one he needs to win. Tom

Barry Bannan and Adrian Mariappa

the ship but have scored just one in

season seems a distant (and unreal)

Huddlestone’s ability to keep

will improve them. No walkover, this.

three. Papiss Cisse needs to step up.

memory to their fans.

the ball will be vital.

saturdaY TOTTENHAM v NOrWICH | WHITE HArT LANE | 3pM

sundaY SOUTHAMpTON v WEST HAM | ST MArY’S STADIUM SkY SpOrTS 1 4pM

Premier League tabLe L

F

A

Pts

1

Liverpool

3

3

0

0

3

0

9

2

Chelsea

3

2

1

0

4

1

7

3

Man City

3

2

0

1

8

3

6

4

Arsenal

3

2

0

1

5

4

6

5

Stoke

3

2

0

1

3

2

6

6

Tottenham

3

2

0

1

2

1

6

7

Man Utd

3

1

1

1

4

2

4

8

West Ham

3

1

1

1

2

1

4

9

Norwich

4

P

W D

3

1

1

1

3

3

10 Southampton 3

1

1

1

2

2

4

11 Cardiff City

1

1

1

3

4

4

3

12 Newcastle

3

1

1

1

1

4

4

13 Aston Villa

3

1

0

2

4

4

3

14 Crystal Palace 3

1

0

2

4

4

3 3

Rarely has a transfer been greeted

If Tottenham had made all their

Two teams with identical records,

15 Everton

3

0

3

0

2

2

with such wild enthusiasm as that

summer transfers on deadline day,

but Saints will be hopeful of three

16 Swansea

3

1

0

2

3

5

3

3

1

0

2

2

4

3 3

of Mesut Ozil to Arsenal. While a

Daniel Levy would be proclaimed a

points at home. West Ham were

17 Fulham

creative midfielder may not have

genius. As it is, all their business was

poor against Stoke and look bereft

18 Hull

3

1

0

2

1

4

been top of the Gunners’ wishlist, he

done in advance, while Mesut Ozil

in attack – hence trying to sign

19 Sunderland

3

0

1

2

2

5

1

20 West Brom

3

0

1

2

0

3

1

is one of the very best in the world.

arrived up the road to steal the

Carlton Cole, the striker they

Contrast a player of his calibre with

headlines. Defeat in the north

previously released. No such worries

the lot at Sunderland – still winless

London derby left Spurs fans,

for Southampton, who have Rickie

and, according to boss Paolo Di

previously so hopeful, feeling like,

Lambert, fresh from England duty,

Canio, “empty in the brain”. It could

well, Spurs fans again. Norwich are

leading the line with record signing

be a long season for all concerned at

no pushover, but Tottenham may

Pablo Osvaldo. While the Hammers

the Stadium of Light: expect Arsenal

have too much possession and a

are hard to break down, it’s hard to

1,069

to breeze past the Black Cats.

finisher in Roberto Soldado (above).

see them holding firm for 90 minutes.

Everton (now there’s a surprise)

Most top-flight draws by any club:

Download the free Sport iPad app from the Apple Newsstand | 45

All pictures Getty Images

saturdaY SUNDErLAND v ArSENAL| STADIUM OF LIGHT | 3pM

7 Days sunday CyClinG | Tour of briTain sTaGE 1: pEEblEs–DrumlanriG CasTlE | briTish EurosporT hD 2pm

Britain by bike Bradley Wiggins hasn't been seen much on these shores lately, so it's good of him to mark his return with a week-long tour of the country. He won't be alone though, because his return actually forms part of the Tour of Britain – a race that is set to be bigger and more challenging this year than ever before.

Celebrating a tenth outing in its modern form, the 2013 Tour will feature 114 riders from 19 teams starting out on the eight-stage route from the Scottish Borders town of Peebles to London – where it will climax with 10 circuits around the capital before finishing on Whitehall. On the same day, an elite women's Westminster Grand Prix will be held on the Whitehall circuit, with some of Britain's top female cyclists taking part in a one-hour race.

Wiggins will be joined on the Tour's start line by former Team Sky colleague Mark Cavendish, who's now riding for Belgian team Omega Pharma-Quick Step. While Wiggins is yet to win a single stage of the race, Cavendish has seven to his name.

Last year's winner was Brit Jonathan Tiernan-Locke, but he's been given a mid-season break by Team Sky so will miss his title defence. It's probably wise, with this year's event including a Lake District stage ending with the notorious uphill climb into Kendal, and a first ever summit finish on the Dartmoor peak of Haytor.

Thursday > Golf | Tour Championship | EasT lakE Golf Club, aTlanTa | sky sporTs 2 6pm

Very few people outside of

end, because it comes with a

PGA Tour HQ have the faintest

$10m prize. Ten. Million. Dollars.

idea how the FedEx Cup

Stenson, one of the world's

a climax regardless next week.

most gifted but unpredictable

And despite its baffling

46 | September 13 2013 |

Right now, Swede Henrik

actually works, but it comes to

golfers, is in prime position

nature of points accrued

to win the pot. He has had a

through the season (different

remarkable run of form since

points for different events),

finishing runner-up at The

playoffs and players dropping

Open, and led Tiger Woods by

out, one thing is abundantly

14 points going into this week’s

clear: winning the FedEx Cup

BMW Championship. And what

pleases your bank manager no

do points make? Prizes.

Download the free Sport iPad app from the Apple Newsstand

Bas Czerwinski/AFP/Getty Images, Jared Wickerham/Getty Images

The $10million men

Helen Jenkins, GB TRIATHLETE DOUBLE WORLD CHAMPION

Superior hydration SiS GO Hydro restores the electrolytes and fluids lost through sweat, helping you to hydrate effectively and perform at your best.

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7 Days Sunday nFl | denver BronCos @ new york giants | metliFe stadium, new york | sky sports 2 9pm

Oh brother!

Seven touchdown passes. Four hundred

come January, they could go head to

and sixty-two yards. Twenty-seven

head, arm to arm, in the Super Bowl –

complete passes. No interceptions.

providing maybe the sport’s most

It’s tempting to say Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning hit the

compelling storyline yet.

Eli’s stats last weekend bear

ground running against the Baltimore

comparison with his brother’s: he too

Ravens when the NFL kicked off last

completed 27 passes, for a total of 450

weekend, were it not for the fact that

yards, and threw three TDs. But those

that is the one thing he did not do.

efforts were in vain as the Giants

Rarely has the NFL seen such an aerial

succumbed 36-31 to the Dallas Cowboys

bombardment – not since 1969 has a QB

– the key play being an interception that

thrown seven touchdowns – and this

Manning threw to Brandon Carr.

against the team that beat Denver in last

The Broncos are expected to have too

year's playoffs. Manning (left) went to

much in defense this week – the Cowboys

town, with his team of electric-heeled

hit the Giants for six turnovers – but it’s

receivers – Wesley Welker, Julius Thomas

the offensive battle, particularly through

and Demaryius Thomas – snaring two TDs

the air, that will have spectators drooling.

apiece in the Broncos’ 49-27 win.

This week, though, they may find

In the earlier game on Sky Sports 2 (5.30pm), Minnesota Vikings travel to

themselves on the receiving end when

Chicago Bears with both hoping to

they travel to New York to face the Giants

improve on Week 1 performances. The

— and Peyton's little brother Eli (right).

Bears beat the Cincinnati Bengals, but it

The brothers have met twice before in the

was far from impressive, while the Vikings

regular season (Peyton the victor both

gave an error-strewn display as they were

times) but there is a very real chance that,

gunned down 34-24 by the Detroit Lions.

Saturday CriCket | england v australia: Fourth odi | sophia gardens, CardiFF | sky sports 2 10.15am

The summer of international cricket may be over for a good proportion of the England elite squad – how edifying it was to see Stuart Broad prancing up and down the grid at Monza last Sunday – but no such luck has befallen the one-day international against Australia on Saturday.

Regardless of the battering Eoin Morgan and his team took at Old Trafford on Sunday, the series is still alive heading into its final two clashes, with the curtain coming down at the Rose Bowl on Monday. Morgan will need more from an inexperienced bowling attack missing the aforementioned Broad, Jimmy Anderson and Graeme Swann, but there were some bright sparks at Old Trafford – most notably from the aggressive hitting of wicketkeeper Jos Buttler (right) down the order.

Secondstringing us along?

The 23-year-old is growing into his international limitedovers career – something that augurs well with less than two years to go until the next World Cup. For Australia captain Michael Clarke, meanwhile, Sunday’s 88-run stroll represented a first significant international victory in more than eight months of cricket.

Here’s hoping he has a similar wait for his next one.

48 | September 13 2013 |

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Ezra Shaw/Getty Images, Ronald Martinez/Getty Images, Julian Finney/Getty Images

fans, who will no doubt fill Sophia Gardens for the fourth

TICKETS ON SALE NOW! VISIT EVENTIM.CO.UK 8 OCTOBER 2013 PHONES 4U ARENA MANCHESTER NBA UK

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7 Days Saturday horSe racing | LadBrokeS St Leger | doncaSter | channeL 4 3.50pM

Classic climax

Saturday rugBy League | Super League QuaLifying finaL: Warrington WoLveS v LeedS rhinoS haLLiWeLL JoneS StadiuM | Sky SportS 3 3pM

Rhinos rejuvenated

The fifth and final Classic of the British flat-racing season is the oldest, the longest

With the regular Super League season completed, the march

and these days the least fashionable, but the

to the Grand Final at Old Trafford in October begins with the

St Leger remains one for the traditionalists

first round of playoffs this weekend.

The pick of the fixtures is the Saturday afternoon qualifying

– and, as last year's renewal proved, there is

final that pitches Warrington Wolves, Super League runners-up

life in the old race yet.

behind Huddersfield, against the Leeds Rhinos. The Rhinos

Twelve months ago, the now disgraced trainer Mahmood Al Zarooni and his 25/1

have won the title after finishing fifth in the past two seasons,

outsider Encke spoiled the party for Camelot,

but come into this season's playoffs in ominous form. They

the star colt widely expected to complete a

ended the regular season in third place, on the back of a 20-6

first Triple Crown for more than 40 years. No

victory at Wigan that saw many of their long-term injured

such drama is likely at Doncaster tomorrow,

players back and in form.

Veteran prop Jamie Peacock, now a venerable 35, has been

with much less intrigue and no history at stake,

in the form of his life, while the return of stand-off Danny

but a fascinating race awaits all the same.

McGuire (below) after a broken leg has given coach Brian

A competitive market is led by Galileo Rock, who was third in the Epsom Derby and

McDermott a strong squad to take to the Halliwell Jones

second in the Irish equivalent, but victory

Stadium. Warrington, the Rhinos' victims in last year's Grand

often goes to a horse that improves for the

Final, will themselves take heart from last weekend’s 14-12

longer trip: that brings in Aidan O'Brien's

victory in testing conditions away at Catalan Dragons.

Meanwhile, it's last-chance saloon for the four sides

Leading Light, a winner over two miles at Royal Ascot, but also the unexposed Excess

contesting the two elimination finals. Saturday evening sees

Knowledge. The three-year-old colt has won

St Helens host Hull KR (Sky Sports 3, 5pm) on the back of a run

only one of his five career starts, but is a

of six wins in seven games, and with influential England hooker

strong galloper who will relish the long

James Roby back after injury. The night before, Hull FC are at

Doncaster straight – and trainer John Gosden

home to Catalan Dragons (Sky Sports 1, 8pm), with both going

(pictured) has won three of the last six

into the match in the wake of disappointing home defeats.

runnings of the race. That'll do for us.

Monday > Snooker | Shangai MaSterS | Shanghai grand Stage | BritiSh euroSport 7.30aM

China in their hands Snooker's growing popularity in the east

Scot bombed out in the first round of this

is reflected in the fact that five of this

year's World Championship, but bounced

season's 12 world ranking events are

back to form to make the final of the Wuxi

scheduled to take place in China – and the

Classic (another Chinese tournament) in

second of those, the Shanghai Masters,

June. He lost that match to Aussie Neil

breaks off on Monday.

Robertson, who lurks in the opposite half

Four-time world champion John Higgins (below) was the victor here last

of the draw here.

The two lead a strong field that will

year, making a maximum 147 in a thrilling

nevertheless miss the presence of

10-9 win over Judd Trump in the final. The

reigning world champ Ronnie O'Sullivan, Tony Marshall/Getty Images, Adrian Dennis/Getty Images, Alex Livesey/Getty Images

whose continued absence from the tour gives him plenty of time to indulge in his twin hobbies of running and tweeting about running.

50 | September 13 2013 |

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Extra timE Making the most of your time and money

P60 remember, stealing cars in real life is bad.

But Grand Theft Auto V is out...

Kit

Born to run Wrangler powered by alpinestars indy Jacket

We like clothes that are functional. We also like clothes that look cool. Combine the two, and we’re putty in your hands. Step forward and take us in your hands, then, Alpinestars, because this jacket is ticking all the right boxes.

To celebrate their 50th anniversary, the Italian motorsport moguls have teamed up with American jeanswear giants Wrangler to produce a jacket that looks ace and rides even better. Suave on the surface, with a vintage look that will keep you looking swish, it’s the sturdy hidden features that really make it: Bio Armor protection on the elbows and shoulders, and a chestpad compartment boasting PE padding. Even better, there are only 65 of them being made, each individually numbered, so there’s no need to go all ‘handlebar moustache’ to be truly unique. For that, we can all be thankful. £422 | 0845 600 8383 52 | September 13 2013 |

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iPad edition on Newsstand now

eT

Gadgets

freSh new SOunDS

Lots of new gadgets have been announced at the IFA trade show in Berlin and elsewhere – we take a look at some of the best

Philips M1X DJ Sound System

Designed in conjunction with superstar DJ Armin van Buuren, the M1X, like most gadgets these days, is designed to be used in conjunction with an iPad or iPhone. It connects via Bluetooth or an Apple Lightning connector – and, with the right app, you can mix tracks, scratch records on the two control platters, and generally make one hell of a racket with the 80-watt speakers. €400 | From November

Sony Cyber-Shot QX Lens Cameras

Sony’s new range of proper lenses clip on to your smartphone in an original manner, fusing the benefits of smartphone photography with the quality you only get from proper lenses. They connect to the phone by wi-fi, but can also be used on their own.

From $250 | store.sony.com 54 | September 13 2013 |

Kindle Paperwhite 2

The best e-reader on the market has been improved, with new features including a Vocabulary Builder, and a new Page Flip feature that lets you skip ahead without losing your place – the digital equivalent of keeping your finger in a choose-yourown-adventure book. Now, is Goosebumps on Kindle? £109 | Out October 9

Samsung Galaxy Gear Smartwatch

This is the only smartwatch we’ve seen to date that we’d actually contemplate wearing in public. It’s launching alongside the Galaxy Note 3 later this month, and enables you to make hands-free calls, preview messages and, of course, tell the time. Brilliant. £TBC | Out September 25

iOS 7

Apple announced [something] after we went to press on Tuesday, but we’re sure you already know about that. What you might not know if you’re already an iPhone/iPad user is that iOS 7 is now available to all users. There are loads of improvements, plus a longoverdue visual makeover.

Find out more at apple.com

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ET

Grooming

ViTAl SiGnS

Our selection of products with which to scrub, exfoliate and charge your skin – as nature intended, probably

From a land down under

VitaMan

Plundering the Australian outback – or “nature’s pharmacy”, as they would have it – VitaMan formulates each product using botanical ingredients native to Oz. On the right, the Face and Body Cleanser (£23.50 for 250ml) contains anti-bacterial plant extracts that help prevent skin irritations. On the left, their rich, non-greasy Face Moisturiser (£34.50 for 150ml) contains aloe vera, vitamins A and E, and grass lily – which promotes the rapid healing of skin, hydrates and relieves itching. And at the back, the Exfoliating Soap (£21.50 for 200g) with massage bumps has a light, spicy and woody scent and is great for sore muscles. All in all, Australia’s only meaningful contribution on English soil this summer.

Plant life Aveda Tourmaline Charged Exfoliating Cleanser

Purveyors of the “art and science of pure flower and plant essences”, Aveda have infused their exfoliating cleanser with tourmaline crystals and jojoba beads – which increases skin cell turnover to reveal radiance. Its creamy formula with mango butter means it smells ruddy good, which can only improve upon your own natural scent. £21 for 150ml | aveda.co.uk 56 | September 13 2013 |

Animal magic Rhino Skin Armour Anti-Bacterial Facial Wash

If you have thick skin that forms huge folds all over your body, this new range isn’t going to help you. The crash (the collective noun for rhinos) does, however, include a moisturiser and aftershave alongside the face scrub, which features mild surfactants to cleanse, and sunflower and coconut-derived emollients to help your skin retain moisture. £4.99 for 150ml | tesco.com

Comfort break ESPA Postshave Rescue

Should you need rescuing – and, let’s face it, at some point we all do – ESPA’s offering instantly cools, soothes and provides an “intensive hit of comfort” to calm skin after shaving. With anti-bacterial tea tree and antiseptic thyme to ease irritations and spots, and clarifying lemon to balance oil, it will leave skin clear and healthy-looking. A final step, say ESPA, towards smooth, supple skin. £24.50 for 70ml | espaskincare.com

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Advertising Feature

FACE THE FACTS f this season’s transfer window taught us anything, it’s that a lot of stuff and nonsense is spoken before the truth comes out – and male hair loss is very much the same. Research shows that eight million men in the UK currently suffer from hair loss, and a staggering 40 per cent of men under 35 are already losing their hair. At the end of the day, that’s a hell of a lot of people with their own ideas and opinions to share.

Thankfully, the experts at REGAINE® are here to help.

If your hair’s starting to thin or recede, you know you’re not alone, but do you know what’s causing it? And, more importantly, do you have any idea what can help? Allow us to present our favourite facts and fictions. The rest, as they say, is up to you.

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HAir LoSS: THE FACTS

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TRUE: Haircare products don’t cause hair loss. You can mix as much gel, mousse or spray into your hair as you like.

Some hairstyles can cause hair loss.

TRUE: Styles that put too much tension on hair – such as tight plaits, ponytails, cornrows or winding too tightly on to rollers (especially heated rollers) – can cause some hair loss.

Hair dyes can cause hair loss.

TRUE: Most hair-colouring treatments contain chemicals that, if not properly used, are harmful to hair. However, such dyes don’t cause permanent hair loss.

Stress can cause hair loss.

TRUE: Stressful episodes, such as an accident or surgery, can cause hair production to shut down temporarily.

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HAir LoSS: THE FiCTion

Hair loss comes from the mother’s side.

FALSE: Baldness is hereditary, but it’s not limited.

The hair-loss gene can come from either parent.

Frequent ejaculation can cause baldness.

FALSE: There’s no proven link. There’s also no truth to the myth that the more sex you have the less hair you’ll lose.

Washing your head in cold water can cure baldness.

FALSE: Washing your head every morning in cold water may boost blood circulation, but it does nothing for baldness.

Losing hair every day means you’re balding.

FALSE: You might lose hair every day – it’s normal to lose as many as 100 hairs a day – but these will usually grow back.

Long exposure to the sun leads to hair loss.

FALSE: Hair loss occurs at the follicle level. Fortunately, your hair acts as a shield against the sun to protect the roots.

Constantly wearing hats can cause baldness.

FALSE: Unless your hat is so tight that it puts excessive tension on the hair, it doesn’t matter if you wear a cap all the time.

A bad diet can cause hair loss.

FALSE: There is some evidence that a diet low in iron may be linked with hair loss. But, in general, diet won’t affect hair loss.

Cutting your hair can help prevent hair loss.

FALSE: Hair feels thicker after a cut because it’s thicker at the base. Cutting your hair will not help to prevent baldness.

Wigs and toupees can make hair loss worse.

FALSE: Hair doesn’t need to breathe. Only the roots are alive.

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| 57

Extra time Gina Carano

Acting up

Steve Shaw

Y

ou may have strong views on Fast & Furious 6.

If, however, they are not overwhelmingly positive, can we suggest you don’t mention them in the earshot of Gina Carano? It may just be the last thing you ever do.

For our money, 6 is the very best of all the Fast & Furious family. As sequels go, it’s right up there with Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 – a computer game that, purely coincidentally, also happens to star Carano, who is also one of the best female MMA fighters in the world. A critic describes her thus: “Tremendous presence – an intriguing mix of muscular power and eye-catching femininity.”

A very wise piece of critiquing, we say.

Fast & Furious 6 is available on Blu-ray™ and DVD with Ultraviolet™ and digital download from September 16

58 | September 13 2013 |

| 59

ET

Entertainment

GRAnD AMBITIonS

Rockstar Games’ latest masterpiece looks set to justify its $265m budget, while the White House is attacked. Again.

Game

Film

White House Down

There’s treble the fun in the most hotly anticipated game release of 2013, as Grand Theft Auto V has three fully fleshed-out protagonists. Michael (above), a Ray Winstone in Sexy Beast-style ex-con drawn back into the underworld; Franklin, an ambitious street hood on the rise; and rambling loose-cannon psycho Trevor (clearly last in the queue when they were handing out the tough guy names). Each has his own individual skills, from piloting

Music

Wise Up Ghost Elvis Costello and The Roots

Roots plus Costello: a hipster’s dream collaboration for this fresh new album. As you might expect from such individually eclectic creators, it draws on various styles, from ska to jazz to 1970s funk. Sugar Won’t Work shows the team-up at its best: a percussive rhythm, strings and Costello’s soaring, warbled croon.

Out Monday 60 | September 13 2013 |

to sniping, and you choose when to flit between them as you complete missions and heists that look more like a scene from The Dark Knight Returns or Heat than anything normally seen in the gaming world. For all the new weapons, cars and slicker controls, however, the star of the game looks like the setting.

The LA-based ‘Los Santos’ gleams with cinematic visuals, yet has a seedy underbelly packed with junkies and weirdos. Time to step into the madness.

Out Tuesday

Book

Under a Mackerel Sky Rick Stein

Memoir from the big fish of the seafood cookery scene covers his younger years, from the suicide of his father when Rick was in his teens to him heading to Australia with just a suitcase. Also covers his early entrepreneurial days, in which he opened a mobile disco that was frequented by brawling fishermen. We’re hooked.

Out now

Music

Exhibition

In Rolling Waves The Naked and Famous

The Kiwi indie band blasted out some splendid power-pop with their 2010 debut Passive Me, Aggressive You. The wall of rousing synths and guitars return – and if the early tracks aren’t quite as ludicrously catchy and uplifting as on their first album, Alisa Xayalith’s impassioned, bombastic vocals still sparkle.

Out Monday

Michael Peto Photographs National Portrait Gallery

London in the 1950s and ’60s is captured in this small display of snaps from Hungarian-born photojournalist Michael Peto. Sir Ian McKellen, Nelson Mandela on a 1962 trip to the capital, as well as Paul McCartney with his fellow Beatles plus director Richard Lester during the filming of Help! (above), can all be gawped at.

Opens Tuesday

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© University of Dundee, The Peto Collection

Grand Theft Auto V

Not a good year to be the US President in Hollywood, but after the po-faced Olympus Has Fallen, this White House takeover thriller is enjoyably hokey. That’s down to the chemistry between Channing Tatum’s cop on a tour of the big house and Jamie Foxx as an Obama-like prez. The two are thrown together when terrorists lay siege and Tatum is separated from his daughter.

So, yes, it’s a rehashed Die Hard script once more – but at least this one has a reporter yelling: “Oh my God, it’s President Sawyer – and he’s got a rocket launcher!” A guilty pleasure treat.

Out today

S G N I N R O M R O F

U O Y N E H W T I H LY L A T N E D I ACC

L L A Y L P RE t I h t i W # Not

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t s a f k a Bre

B U S B U S

BEECHWOOD SMOKED BACK BACON SUB & DRINK †

Breakfast available until 11am Monday-Friday. Most stores open Monday-Friday from 7am. Weekend opening times may vary. See in-store for details. †Beechwood Naturally Smoked Back Bacon with added smoke flavour. £2 Breakfast deal valid on Bacon, Sausage or Egg & Cheese 6-inch Subs or flatbread and either a regular size coffee, cappuccino, latte, tea, bottle of Tropicana Juice, regular 16oz carbonated dispensed drink or 500ml bottle of water. Terms and conditions apply. Not valid for double meat, extra cheese, bacon or any other extras. Prices and participation may vary. Not to be used in conjunction with any other offers or discounts. ©2013 Doctor’s Associates Inc. SUBWAY® is a registered trademark of Doctor’s Associates Inc.