Arsenal flop Chamakh joins Palace on one-year deal

Morocco striker Marouane Chamakh has ended his Arsenal nightmare by joining Crystal Palace on a one-year deal, the Premier League newcomers said in a statement on Monday.

Chamakh arrived at Arsenal on a free transfer from French club Girondins Bordeaux in 2010, but never established himself at the Emirates Stadium, scoring eight league goals in 40 appearances.

The 29-year-old was loaned to West Ham United in January but only played three times.

Soccer-Blatter says Qatar World Cup should take place in winter

FIFA president Sepp Blatter said on Wednesday the 2022 World Cup should be switched to the winter months because of the blistering heat in Qatar during the summer.

Blatter admitted he had to take his share of the blame for not taking the heat problem sufficiently into consideration when awarding the tournament to Qatar in 2010.

“The World Cup must be a festival of the people. But for it to be such a festival, you can’t play football in the summer,” Blatter told a conference in Kitzbuehel, Austria.

“You can cool down the stadiums but you can’t cool down the whole country and you can’t simply cool down the ambience of a World Cup. The players must be able to play in the best conditions to play a good World Cup.”

Blatter had previously said that any request to change the timing of the 2022 World Cup would have to come from the organizers. In March he said the World Cup was a competition “that has to be played in June and July.”

“We must protect our partners, our sponsors, our television partners. We must be very strong about this. We still have enough time. I will open discussions in the executive committee in October,” Blatter told reporters.

“The executive committee will most certainly follow my proposal. And then we will have dealt with the topic for good.”

The head of Qatar’s organizing committee, Hassan Al-Thawadi, told the conference in Austria by video link: “If it’s a wish of the football community to have the World Cup in winter, then we are open to that.” Games are scheduled to be played in air-conditioned stadiums.

Moving the World Cup to the winter would have a seismic effect in Europe. Many leagues outside Britain have a winter break but they would need a hiatus of at least six weeks to accommodate national teams preparing for, and playing at, the World Cup finals.

“We have to have the courage - that is FIFA’s executive committee - to play this World Cup in the winter and to start to work out now what impact this will have on the international calendar,” Blatter said.

“You just have to have the courage to say it at some point because you have to start to get awareness into the leagues that something has to be changed.

“It would only be for one year, afterwards you’d be back to the normal routine. But I will advocate that,” he told Sky Germany television.

Blatter said his change of heart had followed medical information about the effects of the heat on players, but he admitted his standing would be affected by the volte-face.

“I personally have had to take a lot of criticism but I have strong shoulders and it doesn’t really bother me.

“There has been a fresh medical investigation into what it would be like to play football there in the summer and we have to take into account the health, not of the spectators, but of the players,” he told Sky Germany.

“We didn’t underestimate this topic. It wasn’t looked at properly. Because even back then our chief medical officer said you can’t play in June/July.

“But the point is 2022 was a long way away when we decided this in 2010. Now we’re in 2013, three years later and now it’s time to think about what was maybe not done so well.” 

Expectant fans wait for Murray moment

77 years of hurt never stopped these tennis fans dreaming.

Just hours before Andy Murray aims to make history against Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final, hundreds of fans were joining the queue despite being told they were in for a five hour wait.

There is just no stopping these fans, who would go to the ends of the earth to show their support for Murray, tennis and sport.

Not all of these fans are British though, many nationalities have been swept up in Murray Mania.

I ask Joanne Lucic from New Zealand why she was sitting in the scorching sun waiting for hours to see a British tennis player.

“I’m crazy! I’ve been swept away by the hype, my friend Amy is a huge fan. It’s fun queuing with these guys, the whole day is a ball,” the 33-year old said.

“I’ve also been influenced by the media coverage on Murray. I wasn’t keen on him before but now I’m ‘Go Murray’ all the way. The media have brought out his personality a bit more – last year when he cried it was a big winner with the crowd.”

For brand Murray - those infamous tears on Centre Court cannot be underestimated. That was the moment the doubters let Murray into their hearts.

Hill heartbreak

“I was on the hill last year. It was a heartbreaking moment. Everyone was in tears and the whole place went silent. That turned a lot of people to support him and the Olympics as well. People have turned to sport a lot more,” says 28-year old Brit Rachael Evans.

The Olympics showed British people love their sport, but with numerous sporting events taking place over the summer, this love affair isn’t ending anytime soon. Particularly when British sport is on a high with recent cricket, rugby and golf success.

Tennis on the other hand is a different story.

Everybody will be watching Murray and if he wins the happiness factor will be through the roof. And maybe there will be some tears of happiness this time David Brown, Andy Murray fan

“For 17 years I’ve been camping here in the hope of someone British winning the final.”

Not continuously,  57-year old Brit David Brown informs me. 

“Wimbledon is fabulous and quintessentially British. It’s everything about Britain, the queuing, the politeness – I was talking to some Americans tennis fans earlier who said it was light years ahead of other Opens.” 

Whether it's better than other tournaments is debateable, but what makes Wimbledon special is that Murray is contesting a Grand Slam on home soil. Something rare, with a Serbian, Swiss and Spaniard making up the top four.

American Andy Roddick was the last man to win his home grand slam at the U.S. Open a decade ago.

“Everybody is interested, everybody knows he is in the final even those not into sport. They all want to know about it,” says David.

“British love sport and the Olympics proved that. It raised the feeling across the country and it’s the same today. Everybody will be watching Murray and if he wins the happiness factor will be through the roof. And maybe there will be some tears of happiness this time.” 

If you scour the Wimbledon queue hard enough, you will bump into a Serbian fan. And the beauty of it is they won’t be surrounded by aggressive Brits lobbing bottles at their heads.

Tennis, at its best, is very different to football at its worse. Win or lose, fans of all nationalities are going to have a good time. Goodwill defeats aggression.

“I’m not very confident to be honest, it’s intimidating the amount of support Murray has. I support Djokovic but I will be pleased for everyone if Murray wins,” says Serbian Anna Ivanovitch.

One man I passed even sported a sign saying “Keep calm and support Djokovic,” he told me he had received no death threats so far.

Other than the Andy Murray clan itself – the people taking the event most seriously are the kids. During the two weeks I've spent at Wimbledon I have been infected by their youthful enthusiasm and unquestioning support of their hero.

Today, right in front of the big screen, will be a group of little ones screaming his name until their voices run hoarse. And in amongst them perhaps there will be a future Andy Murray.

Lots of these children are right now waiting hour after hour to see him - a remarkable feat achieved without bribery or corruption from parents.

I spoke to brothers Michael and Joseph, from Murray's homeland Scotland, who had been queuing for five hours with their father.

“I don’t care how long I wait as long as I see Andy Murray,” said six-year old Michael.

Children waiting patiently in queue – perhaps this is the best way to describe the Andy Murray phenomenon. 

Joanna Tilley is a freelance journalist working with Al Jazeera on the Sport website and reporting from the Wimbledon Championships.

Barcelona still have cash in the attic

Barcelona's transfer resources have not been exhausted by the $78 million they paid for Brazil forward Neymar, a club spokesman said on Tuesday.

Neymar will line up alongside World Player of the Year Lionel Messi in a formidable forward line for the Spanish champions but they probably need to strengthen a defence that was worryingly porous last season.

"Barca can afford all the transfers the technical staff deem necessary, as has always been the case," Toni Freixa, spokesman for the club's board of directors, told a news conference.

Barca can afford all the transfers the technical staff deem necessary, as has always been the case... But we cannot of course tell the market how much we are prepared to spend Toni Freixa, Barcelona spokesman

"But we cannot of course tell the market how much we are prepared to spend."

The club's 35-year-old captain Carles Puyol has suffered a series of injury problems and Barca's central defensive pairing last season was typically Gerard Pique and Javier Mascherano, a converted midfielder.

Barca romped to a fourth title in five years but conceded 40 goals in 38 matches, 11 more than the previous campaign.

Neymar's Brazil team-mate Thiago Silva told reporters this week that Barca coach Tito Vilanova had tried to coax him to the Catalan capital but the centre-back's club, Paris St-Germain, are reluctant to part with him.

Vilanova has seemed reluctant to heap too much responsibility on Spain Under-21 international Marc Bartra. He had a fine European Championship in Israel last month and could play more of a role next season.

Alex Song, another midfielder, was bought from Arsenal because he can also fill in at centre back but has proved a disappointment.

Daniel Alves and Jordi Alba are fixtures at right and left back respectively and Barca have Martin Montoya and Adriano as cover.

The arrival of Neymar may trigger the exit of David Villa, who has not been the same lethal marksman since breaking his leg at the Club World Cup in late 2011 and will be 32 in December.

Aussies on top at Tour de France

Australian Simon Gerrans took the Tour de France leader's yellow jersey when his Orica-GreenEdge outfit won Tuesday's team time trial, 24 hours after he had won the third stage.

The Australian team crossed the line in 25 minutes 56 seconds, making it the fastest stage in the Tour's history.

They finished one second ahead of Belgian world champions Omega Pharma Quick-Step with Britain's Team Sky a further two seconds behind in third.

"It has been a dream start for us," Orica-GreenEdge sporting director Matt White said in a finish-line interview.

"We knew we would be competitive but to win (the time trial), we are very surprised."

Gerrans beat pre-stage favourite Peter Sagan of Slovakia to win Monday's individual honours and now leads the overall standings ahead of team mates Daryl Impey of South Africa and Michael Albasini of Switzerland.

The team were in the limelight for the wrong reasons on Saturday's opening stage when their bus got stuck under the overhead banner at the finish line as the speeding peloton was approaching.

Omega Pharma Quick-Step were hampered by problems with German individual time-trial world champion Tony Martin, who suffered concussion and an elbow wound in a crash in the opening stage, and Briton Mark Cavendish, who has had bronchitis.

Team Sky had their own woes with team pursuit Olympic champion Geraint Thomas of Wales riding despite a small pelvis fracture, though he kept up with his team mates until the finishing stretch.

Lisicki continues her Wimbledon march

Germany's Sabine Lisicki followed-up her shock defeat of Serena Williams with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Estonia's Kaia Kanepi on Tuesday to reach her second Wimbledon semi-final.

The German 23rd seed, who also made the last-four as a wildcard in 2011, goes on to face Polish fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska, the runner-up to five-time champion Williams last year, for a place in the final.

"It was an amazing match yesterday, but I had to make sure that I had calmed down and was ready for today," said Lisicki, who completed victory in her fourth Wimbledon quarter-final just before rain began to fall.

It was an amazing match yesterday, but I had to make sure that I had calmed down and was ready for today Sabine Lisicki, Wimbledon semi-finalist

"I have had experience of other years to help me. I also played the semi-finals in 2011 so that helped me be ready for today."

Her semi-final opponent Radwanska downed China's Li Na in a match between the tournament's top two seeds. 

The Polish fourth seed beat the sixth seed 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 6-2 in a two-hour, 43 minute thrilling contest on Centre Court. 

Li Na refused to give up the fight saving seven match points to the delight of the crowd, however, the strength of Radwanska was too much for the Chinese top seed.

After downing Williams in the fourth round, Lisicki, who was defeated by Maria Sharapova in the semi-finals two years ago, insisted she felt no pressure coming into Wednesday's match.

"There's no pressure. I just keep playing the game that I love," she said.

It's also a surface she loves - the German's record at Wimbledon stands at 18 wins and just four losses while she is only 16-15 at the three other Slams.

Kanepi has now played and lost six quarter-finals at the majors.

"I hit winners in previous matches and did well, but today I was missing a lot," admitted the 28-year-old.

"But on grass there is no Plan B. I just have to go for my shots. If there is a ball, I have to hit it."

Solid win

Lisicki showed no signs of a hangover from her two-hour, three-set triumph over Williams 24 hours earlier as the 23-year-old Florida-based German broke the world number 46 Kanepi in the opening game on a half-full Court One.

She backed it up with another solid break in the ninth game to take the opening set.

Lisicki, whose ranking slumped to 218 in March 2011 as she battled a career-threatening ankle injury, suffered a brief wobble when she was broken for the first time in the third game of the second set by the 2010 quarter-finalist.

But she levelled immediately before going on to claim five of the next six games to clinch victory inside just 65 minutes on the back of 23 solid winners.

Later on Tuesday, 2011 champion Petra Kvitova, the highest seed left in the bottom half of the draw following the shock first week exits of Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka, takes on Belgium's Kirsten Flipkens.

Czech eighth seed Kvitova, the only player born in the 1990s to win a major, is bidding for a third Wimbledon semi-final.

Flipkens, the 27-year-old 20th seed, is playing in her first Grand Slam quarter-final.

She missed the tournament last year after spending two months away from the sport battling blood clots in her legs, an absence which saw her ranking plummet to 262 in the world.

The winner of that tie will face either French 15th seed Marion Bartoli, the 2007 runner-up, or American 17th seed Sloane Stephens, who was a semi-finalist at the Australian Open this year.

Pirelli introduce stronger tyres in Germany

Formula One teams will have stronger rear tyres at the German Grand Prix this weekend, and a new type from the Hungarian race at the end of this month, Pirelli said on Tuesday.

A series of high-speed tyre blowouts triggered safety fears and driver complaints at Silverstone last weekend.

Six drivers - Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari drivers Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa, McLaren's Sergio Perez, Toro Rosso's Jean-Eric Vergne and Sauber's Esteban Gutierrez - were all lucky to escape serious incidents after suffering dramatic failures during the race.

Hamilton, who led when his left-rear tyre exploded, said something needed 'to be done straight away' to solve the issue.

I'd like to re-emphasise the fact that the 2013 range of tyres, used in the correct way, is completely safe Paul Hembery, Pirelli's motorsport director

It appears Pirelli have listened to the criticism from all quarters and have been quick in their response.

The Italian company said in a statement that it would bring in rear tyres with inner belts made of Kevlar, a reinforced fibre, which had been made originally for teams to try out in Canada last month but were not used.

From the Hungary race onwards, new tyres that will combine the 2012 structure and 2013 compounds will be introduced after being tested at Silverstone in mid-July.

Pirelli also said teams contributed to the dramatic blowouts by mounting their tyres the wrong way around and using insufficient pressure.

Pirelli said teams had put tyres intended for the right side of the car on the left to gain a competitive advantage, had run them at lower pressures than recommended by the manufacturer and used extreme cambers.

"I'd like to re-emphasise the fact that the 2013 range of tyres, used in the correct way, is completely safe," said Pirelli's motorsport director Paul Hembery.

"What happened at Silverstone though has led us to ask for full access to real-time tyre data to ensure the correct usage and development of tyres that have the sophistication we were asked to provide and extremely high performance that has lowered lap times by more than two seconds on average."