15/04/2026

SPORTS WEDNESDAY | APR 15, 2026

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Old guard, big moment Neuer’s experience proves decisive in high-stakes Champions League clash with rivals Real B AYERN MUNICH veteran Manuel Neuer is saddling up for tomorrow’s Real Madrid quarterfinal second leg at home in what could be his final

SIDENETTING Italy turn to Malago

Manuel Neuer will be playing huge part for Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarterfinal, 2nd leg match against Real Madrid tomorrow. – REUTERSPIC

SERIE A clubs endorsed Giovanni Malago yesterday, who headed the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, for the presidency of Italy’s football federation after the men’s national team failed to qualify for a third straight World Cup. Ezio Simonelli, the president of Serie A, told reporters after a meeting in Milan that 18 of the league’s 20 clubs had picked Malago to succeed Gabriele Gravina as FIGC chief. Gravina stepped down earlier this month amid the fallout from the playoff defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina. “The ball is now in Malago’s court: he has to carry out his research, formalise his candidacy and present his programme for the presidency,” said Simonelli. Malago is set to meet with representatives of the top flight clubs “in the coming days” to discuss his proposals for Serie A, Simonelli added, with elections for a new FIGC president scheduled for June 22. Malago, 67, was president of the Milan-Cortina organising committee and also head of the Italian Olympic Committee (Coni), the country’s highest sporting body, between 2013 and 2025. He will have to impress more than just the Serie A clubs however as they carry just 18% of the votes, compared to 34 percent held by Italy’s amateur football authorities. Queiroz named Ghana coach GHANA have appointed Carlos Queiroz as head coach, the country’s football association said yesterday, with the Portuguese set to make his fifth consecutive World Cup appearance. Queiroz, 73, left his role as Oman coach last month after the side failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. Ghana were left without a coach 72 days before the World Cup kickoff after parting company with Otto Addo following friendly defeats by Austria and Germany in March. “The Executive Council of the Ghana Football Association, working with all key stakeholders, has appointed Carlos Queiroz as head coach of the senior national team, the Black Stars,” the GFA said in a statement. Queiroz led Portugal to the round of 16 at the 2010 World Cup and later coached Iran at the last three editions of the tournament, recording three wins in 13 matches. Ghana have been drawn in Group L alongside Croatia, England and Panama.

“You shouldn’t take it for granted, but for him it’s an everyday occurrence.” Neuer’s spectacular saves make highlight reels, but his leadership has been crucial as Bayern have rebuilt from 2023-24’s third place Bundesliga finish, to once again con tend for the Champions League. Bayern coach Vincent Kompany, in just his second season managing a club with Champions League ambitions, said so after the first leg. “Manu only has to say one sentence and he brings order to the team. That’s why his role to me as a leader is just as important as what he does on the pitch,” Kompany said, adding Neuer “made things much easier for me at the beginning than I thought”. Heading into tomorrow’s return leg, Neuer is the only current Bayern player to have expe rienced victory over two legs against Madrid. Since getting past the Spaniards in the 2012 semifinals, Bayern had not even won a match against Los Blancos in their eight meet ings – up until last week. And the Gelsenkirchen native will have even more motivation to get across the line against Real this time around. Two years ago, with Bayern ahead against Los Blancos in the dying stages of their semifi nal return leg, Neuer spilt a Vinicius powerfil shot which Joselu managed to tap in to level things up. Minutes later, Joselu scored again and Bayern were eliminated, with Real going on to win the title at Wembley. Despite their first leg lead, Bayern know their opponents well – with 29 games between the sides, no European fixture has been played more – and remain wary of the Champions League specialists. Real suffered another La Liga setback on Saturday and are now nine points behind Barcelona, but Joshua Kimmich recognised that the 15-time winners can turn it on when they have the Champions League anthem ringing in their ears. “It doesn’t matter at all what form Kylian Mbappe and his teammates are in. “When it’s the Champions League, they perform,” the 31-year-old Kimmich said Saturday. “We know exactly who we are playing against. “It’s a brutally difficult task,” Leon Goretzka said the same day. “We know how quickly they can create scoring opportunities. We know what to expect.” – AFP to represent India in F1, thinks it will take years for those aspects to be sorted out. “Good to see the ambition, but 2027 is too soon for the level of work needed to make this happen. I would love to see the Indian GP back, but the owners need to carry out work on the track, work on the financial model and the regulatory and taxation issues. 2029 or 2030 at the earliest,” he said. F1 says there are around 79 million F1 fans in India, which represents only a small fraction of the country’s population of 1.48 billion. There is no driver currently representing India, though Britain’s Arvid Lindblad has Indian grandparents and drove an F1 car on the streets of Delhi during a Red Bull showrun in March. – Express Newspapers

season before riding off into the sunset. Though not the risk-hungry, “sweeper keeper” of his prime, the two-time Champions League winner was outstanding in Bayern’s 2-1 first-leg victory in Madrid. Named man of the match, Neuer made nine saves and succeeded in keeping Real’s danger men Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior at bay, for the most part. Neuer, who turned 40 in March, has a con tract in Munich until the end of the season. Bayern seem willing to offer their long time ‘keeper and captain another year, but Neuer has

repeatedly said he is still weighing up his future. The 2014 World Cup winner has struggled with

muscle injuries in the past two seasons.

Normally the first name on the teamsheet, this campaign he has missed 11 games as he battles persistent calf muscle strains. Having already ruled himself out of World Cup contention this summer, ending the sea son with a third Champions League crown alongside a record-equalling 13th Bundesliga title would be a perfect sign-off. While Bayern have always sat atop German football, Neuer’s arrival alongside other modern greats including Thomas Mueller, Philipp Lahm and Bastian Schweinsteiger helped push the club into the stratosphere. Bayern had never won more than three Bundesliga titles in a row before Neuer signed in 2011 but have only missed out twice in the 15 subsequent seasons. Two of Bayern’s six Champions League titles have come with Neuer between the sticks. Even after 15 years, Bayern are still not immune to Neuer’s brilliance. CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen last week said: “We had something Real didn’t – our world class goalkeeper, our x-factor.” Bayern outstanding centreback Jonathan Tah asked reporters, “are you surprised?”, and added: “He simply exudes something special, especially with the saves he keeps making. Mandaviya said the Indian government would work to remove that barrier and suggested other circuits in the country could be upgraded to host future races too. He claimed: “The government will help in getting the tax relaxations that had become a bone of contention, so that it is a viable venture for the organisers. “Not just BIC, we have good tracks in Chennai and Hyderabad as well. Government’s role would be to deliver on infrastructure and handle tax related issues. For instance, if the entertainment tax cannot be altogether repealed, we will try to ensure that reimbursements are provided to incentivise the project. It is an inter-ministerial matter and we are trying our best to make it attractive for Formula 1. Karun Chandhok, one of only two drivers ever

India minister makes bold F1 Indian GP claim

FORMULA 1 chiefs are eyeing a return of the Indian Grand Prix after more than a decade away. But not, however, nearly as soon as the Asian coun try’s sports minister has publicly pledged. India hosted an F1 race for just three years between 2011 and 2013, all three of which were won by Sebastian Vettel. Politician Mansukh Mandaviya claimed yester day that Red Bull will soon get the chance to defend their perfect record in the world’s most populous country.“There will be an F1 race in India in 2027. This is 100 percent happening. The first race will be at Buddh International Circuit,” he claimed. But that would be an extremely ambitious timeline and one which F1 chiefs had made clear is a fantasy. They did, however, leave the door open

to a return to India which is seen as a key economic market for the sport. An F1 spokesperson said: “While India is a valuable market for Formula 1’s continued growth with an amazing passionate fanbase, we won’t be racing there in 2027.” A source hinted there have been talks between F1 and the Indian government, but said: “We are not close to an agreement”. The 2013 race at Buddh proved to be F1’s last in India, as bureau cratic red tape rendered the event economically unviable. The state government of Uttar Pradesh decided at the time that F1 was a form of enter tainment, not sport, and so profit-eating taxes were levied on the Grand Prix. It was not a cost that the circuit, which was pay ing around £25 million (RM134m) per year to F1 just for the rights to host the event, could bear.