FLOWER REFUSES TO COMMIT TO ENGLAND FUTURE

Former Zimbabwe captain, now England coach Andy Flower refused to comment on his future following the loss of the Ashes series in Australia.  A third successive win saw Australia take the urn for the first time since 2007, with two matches still to play. 

"We have Two tests and I am hungry to do well in those," Flower said. "That's as far as I am looking at the moment. We need to decide whether we're merely focusing on these two games or looking further and exposing other players but we haven't had those meetings yet." 

England had won three successive Ashes series under Flower, who was appointed full-time team director in 2009. The 45-year-old Zimbabwean said no rash decisions would be made and added: "I want to meet with our coaches, I need to meet with [England captain] Alastair Cook. I need to meet with the selectors as well and we'll get some clarity on those issues. I'm always very hungry to deliver my best as part of the England cricket group, and that hunger does not dissipate at all." 

England head to Melbourne for the Boxing Day Test at the MCG with supporters fearing a repeat of the 2006-07 series in which they were whitewashed 5-0 during the reign of Duncan Fletcher.
Following that series Fletcher continued in the role before resigning after the 2007 World Cup when England finished fifth in the Super Eight phase and were unable to qualify for the semi-finals. 

Flower added: "My desire now is to prepare this team for Melbourne and [the final Test starting on 3 January in] Sydney and ensure we are competing to win those Test matches.
"I don't really want to look too much further than that because I think my responsibility is to focus on those two games."

DRIVETIME SPORTS ON STAR FM WITH CHIEF KOTI

WARRIORS GET KIT SPONSORSHIP

Zimbabwe National team went into camp lastnight for final preparations of the 2014 edition of the CAfrican Nations Championship, which begins on the 11 of next month . The team will this afternoon get a boost as kit giants Umbro will be presenting their kit sponsorship to the team in Harare at ZIFA President's offices. Representing the sponsors was Sales Manager at Umbro South Africa. Donovan Bell while the Warriors Gaffer Ian Gorowa was at the handover with three of his troops, defender Patson Jaure, goalkeeper Tafadzwa Dube and midfielder Masimba  Mambare.

You can hear the interviews on Star FM's Daily Sports Zone at 18:05hrs.  

www.starfm.co.zw

 

CRICKETERS CONTINUE WITH STRIKE
Senior cricket Players continue with the strike as Zimbabwe Cricket fails to meet their financial demands. There has been no action at match centers so far were the Mid West Rhinos play against Southern Rocks at Kwekwe Sports Club and Mountaineers v Mashonaland Eagles at Mutare Sports Club. 

OTC spoke to some of the players this morning and they have maintained that they wont change their stance until ZC comes good on their promise to pay them the owed salaries. "We are not playing until these people pay us what is due"said one senior batter in the national team set up.

 "We know the issues going on with the banks with regards the liquidity crises but we wont take such excuses either. We will patiently wait for them to make a plan for our money" said another senior player in a telephone interview.

   

AC Milan star Gennaro Gattuso investigated for match fixing

Former AC Milan midfielder Gennaro Gattuso is being investigated for match-fixing, Associated Press reports.

Four other people have been detained in connection with the alleged fixing of matches in Serie A three seasons ago.Ex-Rangers star Gattuso, 35, is retired and was sacked by Serie B side Palermo after just six league games as manager. He won two Serie A titles and two Champions League crowns during his 13-year spell with Milan and also the 2006 World Cup with Italy in Germany. 
Gattuso took charge of Palermo in the summer after being sacked by Swiss side Sion but won just two games and has been replaced by Giuseppe Iachini.Cremona prosecutor Roberto Di Martino told AP that Gattuso and retired Milan and Lazio player Cristian Brocchi were allegedly part of a group that fixed Serie A and other matches at the end of the 2010-11 season.A wide-ranging criminal and sporting probe into illegal betting and match fixing in Italy has already led to several arrests and bans.
Juventus manager Antonio Conte was suspended for 10 months for not reporting match fixing when he was in charge of Siena, then in Serie B, in the 2010-11 season. 

Former Lazio captains Giuseppe Signori and Stefano Mauri, as well as ex-Atalanta captain Cristiano Doni also served bans with several clubs having points deducted. 

Here are some of the issues Howard Musonza and I (Chief Koti) discused on tonight's edition of the Daily Sports Zone on Star FM at 18:05hrs.
www.starfm.co.zw

 
FOOTBALL MATTERS
WARRIORS GET INTO CAMP TONIGHT
The Warriors technical team has named the squad for the CHAN games in SA early next year. The players are expected to go into camp tonight and will begin preparations tomorrow. The tournament kick offs on the 11th of January and Zimbabwe are planning to have one more friendly against Gabon on the 7th of January. Zimbabwe who will be making their 3rd appearance have been drawn alongside, Morocco, Burkina Faso, Uganda and will play their matches at Cape Town's Newlands Stadium.

Goalkeepers: George Chigova, Maxwell Nyamupangedengu, Tafadzwa Dube, Munyaradzi Diya
Defenders: Oscar Machapa, Hardlife Zvirekwi, Augustine Mbara, Themba Ndlovu, Partson Jaure, Eric Chipeta, Felix Chindungwe
Midfielders: Danny Phiri, Pascal Manhanga, Frankson Bushire, Wonder Kapinda, Charles Sibanda, Tawanda Muparati, Silas Songani, Masimba Mambare, Kuda Mahachi, Ali Sadiki, Peter Moyo
Strikers: Simba Sithole (Dynamos), Simba Sithole (How Mine), Lot Chiwunga , Misheck Mburayi

LAST NIGHT, was the initial deadline for Dynamos and How Mine to register their squads with the Confederation of African Football for the 2014 continental competitions. Dynamos will play in the CAF Champions League with How Mine playing in the second-tier CAF Confederation Cup. Kenny Mubaiwa says they managed to register 26 players yesterday while Howmine Chairman, Mlondolozi Nkomo said they met the deadline yesterday but they are hoping to add more players to their 26 men squad submitted late last night.

IN CRICKET,  MOUNTAINEERS UNLIKELY TO FIELD A SIDE TOMORROW
 Mountaineers captain and National team batsman, Tino Mawoyo says they will not play until they are paid what is due to them. Mountaineers is set to do battle with the Mash Eagles at Mutare Sports Club tomorrow in their Logan Cup opening match. The Mashonaland Eagles travelled to Mutare with a squad of rookies but the hosts the Mountaineers failed to field a side and the Eagles had a walkover. "All l can say to you Chief is we are not playing until we are paid what is due to u, you can call a little later as Im about to enter into a meeting" he said.
Meanwhile ZC issued a statement saying "Going into the weekend, the Zimbabwe Cricket managing director, Mr Wilfred Mukondiwa, held a meeting with national team captain Brendan Taylor and some other senior players. He told them the plans underway to secure their salaries. Given the progress ZC had made then to get the money, the expectation was that the players’ salaries would be deposited into their accounts tomorrow (Tuesday the 17th of December, 2013) and the players were informed accordingly. Against that background, management went into the weekend expecting that the players would turn out for their matches. Because we remain in discussion with financial institutions over the player salaries, we are unable to actually provide guarantees of specific dates except expectations – which expected dates may not be met if negotiations take longer."


INTERNATIONAL
The draw for the UEFA Champions League knock out phase has been made and will see some potentially explosive games with Barca meeting Man City and Bayern Munich meeting Arsenal.
UEFA Champions League draw:
Barcelona v Manchester City
Arsenal v Bayern Munich
Manchester United v Olympiakos
AC Milan v Atletico Madrid
PSG V Bayern Leverkusen
Chelsea v Galatasary
Real Madrid v Scalke FC
Zenit Petersburg v Borussia Dortmund

The first legs are set to be played on 18/19 and 25/26 February and  the return matches on 11/12 and 18/19 March.
JOIN THE DISCUSSIONS FOLLOW CHIEF KOTI ON TWITTER & FOLLOW ON FACEBOOK
www.twitter.com/chiefkoti OR www.facebook.com/chiefkoti

Tottenham have sacked manager Andre Villas-Boas in the wake of Sunday's 5-0 thrashing by Liverpool. The defeat was the club's worst at White Hart Lane in 16 years and left Spurs seventh in the Premier League - eight points behind leaders Arsenal. Villas-Boas, 36, took over at Tottenham in July 2012.


"The club can announce that agreement has been reached with head coach Andre Villas-Boas for the termination of his services," said a Spurs statement."The decision was by mutual consent and in the interests of all parties."Villas-Boas was dismissed by Chelsea in March 2012 after just over eight months in charge at Stamford Bridge, and he was hoping to rebuild his reputation at Tottenham,
But he had come under increasing pressure in recent weeks as his side struggled to keep pace with the top four in the league.

His side lost 6-0 to Manchester City on 24 November and, despite a draw against Manchester United and wins at Fulham and Sunderland, the defeat by Liverpool proved the final straw for the Spurs hierarchy.Villas-Boas said he would not "resign" as he was not a "quitter" after the loss to the Reds but, after being summoned to a meeting with Spurs chairman Daniel Levy on Sunday, his future was taken out of his hands.

"We wish Andre well for the future," added the Spurs statement. "We shall make a further announcement in due course."The early names being linked with replacing the Portuguese include current Russia boss and former England manager Fabio Capello, ex-Chelsea boss Roberto Di Matteo, Swansea boss Michael Laudrup and Tottenham's current technical director Franco Baldini.
Former Tottenham playmaker and ex-England boss Glenn Hoddle has also been mentioned as a contender.

Former Spurs striker and BBC presenter Gary Lineker tweeted:  "Would love to see Glenn Hoddle given another chance at this level. Has a brilliant football mind."Italian Baldini, 53, helped oversee the club's transfer dealings during last summer when the club had to contend with the sale of Gareth Bale to Real Madrid for a world record £85.3m.
 
Bale scored 21 goals last season as Spurs finished a point behind fourth-placed Arsenal to miss out on Champions League qualification.Tottenham recruited Paulinho, Roberto Soldado, Nacer Chadli, Etienne Capoue, Christian Eriksen, Vlad Chiriches and Erik Lamela with the money from the sale of the Wales international but the team has been unconvincing so far this season.
Villas-Boas had only managed one win from his previous six home league games, with his side scoring just 15 goals in 16 top-flight matches.

First published by bbc.com

KANGWA SET TO DOMINATE HIGHLANDERS AWARDS

Highlanders will be honouring players who excelled in the 2013 season on a day yet to be announced. The club executive is likely to consult its sponsors who include top tare partners BancABC among others.The team had a brilliant campaign before losing the title to bitter rivals Dynamos by a superior goal difference.

Bosso’s left-back Bruce Kangwa, who had a fabulous season is likely to dominate the Highlanders awards. After missing out on this year’s Castle Lager soccer star finalists due to the dreaded six yellow cards rule. Kangwa’s misery with the league’s sponsors awards started last year where he had a formidable season, but missed out when Highlanders dominated the awards with four players — skipper Innocent Mapuranga, Masimba Mambare, Erick Mudzingwa and goalkeeper Ariel Sibanda made it into the calendar.

The attacking midfielder-turned left-back has been influential at Bosso both in defence and in attack as a wing-back, building up raids from his flank to combine well with left linkman Milton Ncube, a combination which produced a number of important goals for Highlanders.
Kangwa has been good in attack, where he was introduced at Highlanders by Madinda Ndlovu together with Rahman Kutsanzira and has been equally good on recovery to launch raids upfront aided by his love for speed.

The Bosso speed king is definitely tipped to dominate the club awards, this after he was voted most improved player last season. Mudzingwa, hampered by injury this year which saw him on the sidelines, dominated last year’s awards, picking up two accolades, the most consistent player and the players’ player of the year awards on a year the player of the year award went to Masimba Mambare.
Mudzingwa walked away with $4 250 for his respective awards last year while Mambare picked up a cool $5 000, courtesy of BancABC.

Shotstopper Sibanda picked up $1 250 for being the most disciplined player, but both him and Mudzingwa like Kangwa, do not be feature in this year’s Castle Lager soccer stars list.
Another player who might prove a big challenge to Kangwa in the club awards is goalkeeper Munyaradzi Diya, who wrested the number one jersey from Sibanda and became the darling of the multitudes of Highlanders supporters.

This year’s top goalscorer award goes to veteran Njabulo “Tshiki” Ncube while central defender Dumisani “Fazo” Ndlovu, who ended the season nursing an injury, is tipped to win the most improved player award. Youthful Gabriel Nyoni, in his debut season with the Bulawayo giants, a club that he joined in mid-season, is tipped to win the most promising player and goal of the season awards.

Highlanders’ treasurer Jerry Sibanda on Friday said they were still waiting to get a nod from sponsors BancABC before the date for the awards is announced. “We are still waiting for our sponsors. There are still one or two things that we have to finalise, but the awards will probably be held next Friday,” Sibanda said.