Paulinho among footballers stranded by China’s coronavirus lock-out

Shanghai (AFP) – Oscar and Hulk jetted in just in time but fellow Brazilian Paulinho reportedly heads a long list of foreign stars locked out of China as the country attempts to stop imported coronavirus cases.

There are no suggestions that former Barcelona midfielder Paulinho has the deadly disease, but China closed its borders at the weekend to returning foreigners, even those with work and residence permits.

Former West Ham United striker Marko Arnautovic is also among the more than 30 overseas players and coaches still abroad, reports say, dealing another blow to hopes that the Chinese Super League (CSL) season could begin any time soon.

Arnautovic’s Shanghai SIPG had more luck with Oscar, Hulk and new signing Ricardo Lopes, hastily chartering a small aircraft to fly them back from Brazil.

They landed in Shanghai on Friday night along with their families, according to local media, having departed Sao Paulo and making a brief stop in Malta to refuel.

The trio will now spend 14 days in isolation as required by the Chinese government for all arriving foreigners, which should also prevent any potential spread of coronavirus to the rest of the SIPG squad.

But Brazilian international Paulinho, 31, and compatriot Anderson Talisca failed to make it back to CSL champions Guangzhou Evergrande, the Guangzhou Daily said.

Shanghai Shenhua’s Colombian international Gio Moreno is another stranded at home after many international air routes were suspended because of the virus outbreak.

Marouane Fellaini, Shandong Luneng’s former Manchester United midfielder, is the only known coronavirus case in the CSL, having recently returned to China.

It is unclear when China will lift its restrictions on the entry of foreigners, having announced the “temporary” measure on Thursday. It also slashed the number of international flights serving the country.

Fabio Cannavaro, the Italian World Cup-winning captain and Evergrande coach, is in China and posted pictures of himself riding his bike at the weekend having completed a period of quarantine.

The CSL season was supposed to begin on February 22 but was indefinitely postponed after the coronavirus emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December.

It has since developed into a pandemic, killing or infecting hundreds of thousands of people across the world, although the number of locally transmitted cases in China has supposedly dwindled.

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Scrap season if it can’t be finished by end of June says Kane

London (AFP) – England captain Harry Kane said on Sunday the Premier League season should be cancelled if it cannot be completed by the end of June because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The English top-flight is currently suspended until at least April 30 due to the COVID-19 outbreak, with a likely further delay to be announced soon.

There is no clear idea about when or if football will be able to resume, but Euro 2020 has been cancelled, which opens a window to bring domestic seasons to a conclusion in the summer.

But Tottenham striker Kane does not want Premier League chiefs to let the current campaign go past June or even the start of what would be the 2020-21 season in August, as has been suggested in some quarters.

“I know the Premier League will do everything they can to finish the season, and that they are looking at every option possible,” Kane said in an Instagram Live conversation with former Liverpool star Jamie Redknapp.

“I think, for me, we do need to try to finish the season. But there needs to be a point where enough is enough.

“Playing into July or August and pushing next season back I don’t see too much benefit in that. But obviously I don’t know too much about behind the scenes and financially.

“Probably the limit for me is the end of June. If the season’s not completed by the end of June we need to look at the options and just look forward to next season.”

Premier League matches could potentially be staged behind closed doors in a bid to complete this campaign once the current lockdown in Britain is over.

Kane does not think dragging out the season will help anyone though, especially if it delays the next term.

“The further this season is pushed on, it would have such a big knock-on effect for next season, with the Euros in 2021, and even World Cup 2022. But that’s just my opinion,” he said.

“Football is secondary at the moment. I know there still have to be plans in place, and I’m sure everyone is trying to do that.

“All that is out of my hands though, there’s nothing I can do personally, so from my point of view we’ve just got to wait and see what happens. Hopefully this clears up as soon as possible, and we can try to get back to normal.”

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African football date-juggling looms amid coronavirus pandemic

Johannesburg (AFP) – The May semi-finals and finals of the two annual African club competitions are likely to fall victim to the coronavirus pandemic sweeping the continent. 

After two-leg semi-finals in the competitions between May 1 and 10, the Champions League final is set for May 29 in Douala, five days after Rabat hosts the Confederation Cup title decider.

But the postponement of both competitions seems inevitable as the full impact of the COVID-19 disease has still to be felt in the continent with the most fragile public health systems.

Already, two rounds of 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers and the African Nations Championship in Cameroon have been postponed due to the killer COVID-19 disease.

Here, AFP Sport considers the date-juggling options in the major African national team and club competitions:

World Cup

— Home and away preliminary round ties last September reduced the number of contenders from 54 to 40 for five places at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Next comes 10 six-matchday groups between October 5, 2020, and October 12, 2021, with the table-toppers paired in five two-leg showdowns to decide who represents Africa.

Group dates this October and November may have to accommodate delayed 2021 Cup of Nations qualifiers instead, but there are sufficient international windows next year to catch up.  

Africa Cup of Nations

— Qualifiers for the 24-nation tournament in Cameroon from January 9 to February 6 2021 have fallen two rounds behind after fixtures scheduled for this month were cancelled.

It is hard to imagine the single round set for June 1-9 taking place and there must also be doubts about matches planned for August 31-September 8. 

CAF will hope they can stage double matchdays between October 5-13 and November 9-17 — dates currently allocated to World Cup group games — and complete qualifying.  

African Nations Championship

— The April 4-25 tournament in Cameroon, which is restricted to footballers playing in their country of birth, has been postponed due to the coronavirus. 

With no foreign-based stars involved, the tournament does not have to fit into a FIFA international window, creating flexibility when it comes to finding new dates. 

Apart from the football, the Nations Championship offers Cameroon an opportunity to test whether they are ready for a much more demanding task — staging the 2021 Cup of Nations. 

CAF Champions League

— The semi-finals pit Casablanca clubs Raja and Wydad against Cairo outfits Zamalek and Al Ahly respectively, raising the possibility of a first final between clubs from the same country.

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Xavi wants ‘total harmony’ to return to Barcelona as coach

Madrid (AFP) – Xavi Hernandez has reiterated his desire to coach Barcelona in the future but suggests he will not return until a different board brings a new sense of direction to the club.

Hernandez is in charge of Al-Sadd in Qatar and turned down an approach in January after Barca sacked Ernesto Valverde, which led to the surprise appointment of Quique Setien. 

In an interview with Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia published on Sunday, Xavi said Neymar would be a “spectacular signing”, and singled out former Spain defender Carles Puyol and the one-time Dutch winger Jordi Cruyff as people he would like to work with. 

Yet the relationship between Barcelona’s board, led by president Josep Maria Bartomeu, and the players has remained tense, with Lionel Messi’s public criticism of technical secretary Eric Abidal among a number of off-field controversies. 

“I am clear that I want to return to Barca, I am very excited,” said Xavi, who was asked if a change of board would be needed for it to happen. “Obviously I would like to be in tune with everyone,” he said. “In the dressing room there can’t be a negative or toxic atmosphere.” 

“Everything has to fit,” Xavi added. “I would like to come in with people from my environment that could form a good team.” 

Pushed on whether working with the current board would be a deal-breaker, Xavi said: “It wouldn’t be definitive but I insist I would like to have total harmony. I don’t know if that can happen… I have nothing against anyone and I don’t have a bad relationship with Bartomeu.

Xavi mentioned the likes of Puyol, whom he played with under Pep Guardiola, and Cruyff, son of Johan and former Barca and Manchester United winger, as the kind of people he would like to work alongside. 

“I would like to work with people in whom I have confidence, with whom there is loyalty,” said Xavi. “We are talking about Carles Puyol, who was captain of Barca, and Jordi Cruyff, a very good businessman with a lot of experience as a technical secretary.”

He also said Neymar, whom the Catalans tried and failed to sign from Paris Saint-Germain last summer, would be a “spectacular signing”. 

“Most of the squad seems extraordinary,” Xavi said. “The base is very good. I would sign forwards, like Neymar. I don’t know if he would fit in a social sense but in football terms I have no doubt he would be a spectacular signing.” 

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South African Premiership finish date ‘unrealistic’, warns doctor

Johannesburg (AFP) – Former South Africa national team doctor Ntlopi Mogoru says it is “unrealistic” to expect the country’s Premiership to finish by the end of June as the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread.

League spokesperson Mato Madlala had said that if a three-week national lockdown that began two days ago stems the diffusion of the deadly COVID-19 disease, the season can finish by June 30.

But Mogoru disagrees, saying the bodies of the Premiership footballers are going to “shut down” during the lockdown, which forbids people to leave home except for essential shopping.

“They must extend it (the end of the season) until at least the end of July because players will be extremely unfit when they return to training,” he told the Business Day newspaper.

“Gyms will be closed during the lockdown and some of the players do not have adequate training equipment at home.

“Training at home is not the same as working every day with a dedicated fitness trainer. Some of them are going to eat junk (food), consume too much sugar and drink alcohol.”

Clubs have between six and nine league matches left to play this season, with a title race led by Kaizer Chiefs and the struggle to avoid relegation wide open.

The 16 clubs in the Premiership, which is sponsored by a leading South African bank, receive a two million rand ($115,000/100,000 euro) monthly grant thanks to TV rights and advertising.

Winning the league makes a club 15 million rand richer and the three knockout competitions offer first prizes of eight, seven and four million respectively.

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Spurs star Son returns to South Korea for ‘personal reasons’

London (AFP) – Tottenham forward Son Heung-min has been allowed to fly home to South Korea for “personal reasons”.

Although Britain is on lockdown due to the coronavirus, the Premier League club on Sunday said Son has been given permission to return to Asia.

The 27-year-old has been recovering after suffering a fractured arm during Tottenham’s win at Aston Villa on February 16.

It was reported Son and his parents arrived in Seoul on Sunday and will spend two weeks in quarantine in line with South Korean government guidelines.

Son had already spent two weeks in self-isolation in Britain after returning from South Korea at the end of February, having travelled home for surgery.

He will take part in Tottenham’s remote training programme, which is set to begin via video call on Monday.

Son was not expected to return from injury this season, but the pandemic has postponed English football until at least April 30.

Meanwhile, Son’s Tottenham team-mate Steven Bergwijn has travelled to the Netherlands ahead of the impending birth of his child.

“The club has given permission for both Heung-Min Son and Steven Bergwijn to return to their home countries,” a statement on Tottenham’s website said.

“Both players will continue their individual rehabilitation and training programmes during their time away.”

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Juventus players agree to take pay reduction in 90-million-euro cost cut

Milan (AFP) – Juventus on Saturday announced that they had cut their players’ and coach Maurizio Sarri’s salaries after all Italian sport was suspended until at least April 3 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“The economic and financial effects of the understanding reached are positive for about 90 million euros ($100.5 million) for the 2019/2020 financial year,” said a club statement.

Over 10,000 people have died from COVID-19 in Italy, more than in any other nation.

Italian champions Juventus, who led second-placed Lazio by a point in Serie A before the suspension of the season, said they had agreed a “reduction” for pay from March until June.

Juve added that should the season be finished later in the year, the players could be paid extra in those months.

“Juventus would like to thank the players and the coach for their commitment at a difficult time for everyone,” the Turin giants said.

Players at other big European clubs have also agreed to take pay cuts, including Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund in Germany.

Juventus’ highly-paid stars include five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo and Wales midfielder Aaron Ramsey, who joined from Arsenal on a free transfer last year.

Earlier this week, Italian sports minister Vincenzo Spadafora said he was “very, very doubtful” that Serie A action would return as previously hoped in early May.

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