Alonso: Bundesliga much quicker than La Liga

The ex-Spain international is impressed by the pace of the German game and has stressed Bayern want to win the Champions League this term

Bayern Munich midfielder Xabi Alonso feels the Bundesliga is much quicker than La Liga and added that playing in the German top flight reminds him of his time in the Premier League.

The 32-year-old enjoyed successful spells with Liverpool and Real Madrid, winning the Champions League with each club, before joining Bayern ahead of the 2014-15 campaign and he has no regrets over his decision to move to the Allianz Arena side.

"The Bundesliga is much quicker; it's more physical than La Liga, which is more technical," the midfielder told Uefa.com.

"I've said a few times the Bundesliga is closer to the Premier League than the Liga.

"But the atmosphere and the stadiums are fantastic, and that plays a big role in how attractive it is for a player."

The experienced midfielder then went on to discuss Bayern's Champions League ambitions and insisted that they are determined to go all the way.

"Last year Bayern were really close to getting to the final. In recent years they have had great runs and hopefully this will be another great year.

"But the expectations are to win it; you know you are coming into a club with the highest expectations. It's a great responsibility, a great pressure for us."

Alonso also took the time to praise Bayern coach Pep Guardiola.

"Pep tries to improve in each training session. For every game, he tries to bring new things to the team, to add new concepts.

"That makes it special, because even [having played] for years with different managers, you feel he brings something different to the team."

Dortmund stopped me joining Real Madrid - Gundogan

The midfielder is determined to recapture his top form following his injury nightmare and has his eyes set on a move to a major club in England or Spain

Borussia Dortmund midfielder Ilkay Gundogan has revealed the club once turned down a transfer bid fromReal Madrid.

The Germany international became one of the hottest properties in Europe in the 2012-13 season thanks to his performances both in the Bundesliga and Dortmund's run to the Champions League final.

A back injury has since blighted his career, with Gundogan forced to miss most of the last 18 months of football, including Germany's successful campaign at the World Cup this summer.

However, the 24-year-old is determined to recapture the form that led Madrid to make a move for his services and says his heart is set on joining a major club in England or Spain in future.

"Real Madrid made a bid but my club didn't want to accept it. I was under contract for two more years," he told TRT.

"My injury broke my plans. I didn't play for 14 months. Now I want to make up for this time with success. One day, I'll leave here, I want to play for one of the big teams in Spain or England."

Gundogan is also desperate to enjoy success at Euro 2016 after missing out on Brazil this summer and says he still hopes to get his hands on the World Cup trophy.

"I was not supposed to be injured for the World Cup. I would have been in the first XI," he said.

"We were very good and it went to plan. I'm sad I didn't realise my dream but I have Euro 2016 in front of me. I want to add a World Cup in my career.

Debate: Messi v Raul - who is the bigger Champions League legend?

he Argentine is now level with the Real Madrid icon on 71 strikes in Europe's premier club competition, but which of the two has had the greatest impact on the tournament?

By Ben Hayward & Kris Voakes

Both players are synonymous with the Champions League. Raul Gonzalez won three titles with Real Madrid between 1998 and 2002, while Lionel Messi has also claimed the coveted trophy thrice in his career at Barcelona.

Raul was just 20 when Madrid beat Juventus to win their seventh European Cup crown (their first in the Champions League era) in 1998. The first in colour, as it is often described in Spain, following previous triumphs in 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960 and 1966.

The striker then scored a memorable breakaway goal in the 3-0 final win over Valencia in 2000 and added another as Madrid claimed the title again in 2002 with a 2-1 victory over Bayer Leverkusen. And en route to those triumphs, there were also crucial strikes against more of Europe's elite, such as Bayern Munich and Manchester United.

Messi, meanwhile, was still a teenager when Barca were proclaimed champions in 2006 and sat out the latter stages after picking up an injury against Chelsea earlier in the competition.

Nevertheless, the Argentina attacker played a starring role in the 2009 win as he headed home the second goal to seal victory for Barca over Manchester United and Cristiano Ronaldo in Rome. And two years later, he put Sir Alex Ferguson's side to the sword once again with a superb strike in the 3-1 Wembley win.

Now with 71 goals apiece in Europe's premier club competition and also three titles each, both players have made an indelible impact on the Champions League. But which of the two is the tournament's bigger legend? Here, two Goal writers go head to head on the matter ...

"MESSI SAVES HIS BEST FOR THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE"

 
By Ben Hayward

When his playing days are over, Lionel Messi will be remembered for so many magical moments in a Barcelona shirt - but the Argentine attacker always seems to save his very best for the Champions League.

Although not a pivotal part of Barca's win in 2006, the forward made the world sit up and truly take notice in 2009 as he headed home his side's second against Manchester United in Rome. Before that game, the talk had been focused on his duel with Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese, many believed, was the more complete player - yet it was the Argentine who won the match with a rare and brilliant header past Edwin van der Sar.

In 2011, his contribution was even greater. Drawn against Real Madrid in the semi-finals, Messi silenced the Santiago Bernabeu with both goals for Pep Guardiola's side in a 2-0 win and the second is considered by many his best Barca goal as he dribbled past several players before slotting superbly past Iker Casillas.

In the final, he followed up with another special strike as he hit home from long-range against Manchester United in the 3-1 Wembley win to seal a third title for the Catalan club in the space of five seasons.

But that's just the tip of the iceberg. His fantastic four-goal show against Arsenal in 2010 saw him decribed as a "Playstation" player by Arsene Wenger, while his five versus Bayer Leverkusen in 2012 is a competition record and he is also the only player to have hit four hat-tricks in the Champions League.

So while Raul's role in Madrid's success was important, Barca's success in the Champions League under Pep Guardiola would have been unthinkable without Messi.

"Without Leo we would have been competitive," Guardiola once said. "But we wouldn't have been able to achieve all that we did."

That is certainly true and at the age of 27, the Argentine is set to smash Raul's record (along with Cristiano Ronaldo, who is on 70 strikes in the competition) if he stays at Barca for the coming campaigns.

Raul is a Champions League legend, but Messi is on another level.

Follow Ben Hayward on 

"RAUL'S IMPACT IN EUROPE IS OFTEN FORGOTTEN"

By Kris Voakes

In time, Lionel Messi may well become the undisputed king of Champions League football. After all, time is very much on the 27-year-old’s side.

But when you are in the midst of one generation, it is sometimes difficult to remember those of times gone by. With Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo having made a two-player duel of the modern game, the achievements of Raul have been belittled by many who forget just what an impact he had on European football.

At a time when the Champions League boasted far greater quality in opposition defences, Raul negotiated stars such as Paolo Maldini, Matthias Sammer, Jurgen Kohler, Roberto Ayala, Alessandro Nesta and Paolo Montero on his way to 71 goals over a period of almost a decade and a half.

Such fantastic depth in defences meant that Raul’s career was one forged at a time when even the very best strikers were limited to 25 goals a season. Yet the ‘King of Spain’ was the star man of that Champions League era.

He was a goal hero in two of Real Madrid’s three final wins between 1998 and 2002, but more than that he continued to find the net as times became tougher for the previously all-conquering Spaniards. The Decima which was eventually attained in 2014 became such an infamous target of the club’s exactly because they’d fallen from such massive heights, yet Raul didn’t fall one bit.

He was still scoring with as unerring regularity in his final Champions League campaign with Schalke in 2011 as he had been for most of his spell with Real Madrid. And he did so without any of the teams in which he played being built around him.

Not once between 2004-05 and 2009-10 did Madrid reach anything further than the round of 16, yet that didn’t affect Raul’s ability to find the net. Indeed, he became more of an all-round striker as his career went on.

It mattered not that he had gone from being served by Zidane, Figo, Redondo and Beckham to feeding off the comparative scraps supplied by Drenthe, Baptista and Diarra. Raul continued to develop as a forward, adding more guile to his previous persona as a poacher.

So Messi might be the star of a free-scoring generation, but Raul was the king when goals were far less easy to come by.

Pakistani firm targeting global expansion

Plagued by energy crisis and security concerns, aggressive business expansion is not on the agenda of many in the country. STOCK IMAGE

KARACHI: 

Pakistan hardly makes the news for positive developments. An aura of negativity has crept in with most failing to acknowledge the good that comes along every now and then.

Businesses in Pakistan face the same issue. Plagued by energy crisis and security concerns, aggressive expansion is not on the agenda of many.

However, the country’s e2e (end-to-end) Supply Chain Management (SCM), as part of its global expansion plan, has established premises in Singapore in a bid to tap into important emerging markets in Southeast Asia.

The company’s strategy is to enter the economic hubs of their respective regions, says its chief.

“The e2e management has long been committed to the high growth in Southeast Asia Market. We see Singapore as a strategic economic hub,” e2e SCM’s Chief Executive Officer Abid Butt said, adding that the new office would focus on Pakistan-based businesses [their prevailing clientele] and explore new business opportunities in emerging markets that are controlled from Singapore.

Establishing an office in Singapore is an important step towards opening future avenues into markets of Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand, the CEO said.

However, this development is only a small move towards implementing the bigger game plan —planning to expand its operations in other economic hubs in the Middle East and Far East regions.

“As part of our aggressive expansion plans, we are launching our Dubai office in December and going to Hong Kong next year,” the CEO told The Express Tribune in a telephonic interview.

“Our objective is to become a global player and the best strategy to achieve this goal is to enter the regional economic hubs and expand from there,” the INSEAD graduate said responding to a question about the company’s growth plans.

The CEO explained that the purpose of going to places such as Singapore, Dubai and Hong Kong is simple — you can control other markets from these economic hubs. Giving an example, he said a lot of business decisions regarding Indonesia are taken in Singapore, not in Indonesia. “I have been to these places and I know the importance of being there.”

Acknowledging the challenges associated with entry to a mature market, Butt said, “It is our second strategy, which is focused on reducing the business risk.

“Our global competitors are expanding into frontier markets in Africa but we are already in a frontier market. It doesn’t make sense to enter another frontier market, which will only increase the risks.”

This may not be a bad strategy as the company already got off to a humble beginning in Singapore.  “Our volumes in Singapore are already close to 20% of our Pakistan turnover,” Butt said.

Though it will be challenging for a new player to grab a share in the far more developed markets of Singapore, Dubai and Hong Kong, Butt’s strong international background in the logistics and supply chain areas is likely to help him.

It was his international exposure and expertise that helped e2e grow its revenues by a massive 1,918% between 2008 and 2010 and become the Pakistan’s fastest growing company on the list of AllWorld Network, an international ranking system for growth companies in emerging markets.

Looking ahead: Egypt to offer projects to foreign investors

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has put economic recovery at the top of his agenda, and the March 13-15 conference in the resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh will highlight a series of projects for which investment is wanted. PHOTO: REUTERS

CAIRO: Egypt will offer a slew of projects to domestic and foreign investors at a conference in March aimed at kick-starting an economy battered by years of political unrest, the prime minister said Saturday.

Falling tourist revenues and slowing investments have left Egypt’s economy in ruins after nearly four years of turmoil that saw two presidents ousted following mass street protests.

But President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, elected by a landslide this year, has put economic recovery at the top of his agenda, and the March 13-15 conference in the resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh will highlight a series of projects for which investment is wanted.

The premier, Ibrahim Mahlab, told reporters in Cairo the gathering will be the “cornerstone for Egypt’s economic revival and aims to provide the resources used … to improve health care services, the educational system and provide energy to all.”

Among them, he mentioned at least 10 projects in energy and river transport, but did not elaborate.

Mahlab said the conference is a message to the world that “Egypt needs a strong economy that can stabilise the whole region.”

“Our economy is about to recover … All the economic indicators point to this … and this conference is to support the Egyptian economy.”

In August, Sisi launched the construction of a $4 billion (3.2 billion euro) expansion of the Suez Canal that aims to speed up traffic and foresees the creation of one million jobs.

Sisi has set an ambitious target of digging the new canal in one year, which will run parallel to the original one, built 145 years ago.

Contingent on another case: Judge signs off $450-million settlement deal

The agreement is contingent on the upholding of a verdict in a July 2013 federal court ruling that Apple violated antitrust laws by orchestrating a conspiracy with five publishers to raise e-book prices. PHOTO: REUTERS

SAN FRANCISCO: A US judge has signed off on Apple’s $450-million legal deal to compensate consumers harmed by an illegal price-fixing conspiracy for electronic books.

The settlement negotiated to avoid trial in the civil case brought by authorities in 33 states calls on Apple to reimburse consumers to the tune of about $400 million and then pay legal costs and fees.

The settlement was deemed by the court to be “fair, reasonable and adequate”.

In an unusual twist, the agreement is contingent on the upholding of a verdict in a July 2013 federal court ruling that Apple violated antitrust laws by orchestrating a conspiracy with five publishers to raise e-book prices. Apple is appealing the decision.

If Apple’s federal conviction is overturned, no money will be paid. In the case of a retrial, Apple will pay a reduced settlement figure. Apple declined to comment for this report.

“This settlement proves that even the biggest, most powerful companies in the world must play by the same rules as everyone else,” New York state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said in June when the agreement was reached.

The case centers on Apple’s deal with the publishers as it introduced its iPad tablet, the varied uses of which included a challenge to Amazon’s Kindle electronic book reader.

The complaint, filed on behalf of consumers, accused Apple of working with five top publishers in 2009-2010 to set the prices of electronic books in an Apple-led effort to break into rival Amazon’s dominance of the market.

Their complaint was filed on the heels of July’s federal court verdict against the iPhone and iPad maker, finding Apple guilty of conspiracy to fix prices of e-books with the publishers.

The judge in the case issued an injunction barring Apple from any similar practices and ordered the company to work with a court-appointed monitor on compliance.

Prior to Apple’s entry into e-books, the publishers – all of whom have settled in the case – complained about Amazon’s $9.99 price for most titles.

Apple and the publishers agreed on contracts that let publishers set the price of most bestsellers at $12.99 or $14.99, but Apple won a provision that allowed it to match the prices of Amazon or any other retailer.

Energy crisis: Pakistan looking to form coal supply chain

Difficulties in arranging huge amounts of loans and regulatory issues have delayed the start of work by at least a year. PHOTO: REUTERS

KARACHI: 

Pakistan has started work on establishing a coal supply chain for various power plants in an attempt to address the country’s electricity shortage and reduce the reliance on expensive furnace oil, said an industry official on Saturday.

Coal, in the millions of tons, would have to be imported for power plants, which the government has been pushing investors to build in Punjab and other parts of the country.

But difficulties in arranging huge amounts of loans and regulatory issues have delayed the start of work by at least a year.

“I don’t know how long it takes but the fact is that circumstances require the addition of at least 10,000 MW based on coal,” said Aasim Siddiqui, managing director at the Marine Group of Companies, in a meeting with a group of journalists.

Marine Group is building a 12-million-tons a year terminal at Port Qasim to handle coal imports. It is also hoping to get into the business of transporting coal through rail.

Siddiqui said that the terminal, which should be completed by mid-2016, will be able to utilise its entire capacity.

“We are hoping to sell 5 million tons a year to cement plants, 3 million tons will be imported for K-Electric and another 5 million for two other power plants,” he said.

There have been concerns that while coal-based power plants are being promoted vigorously, not enough has been done to arrange for the transportation of coal.

But he said that Pakistan Railways has already issued a tender for purchase of 50 locomotives, powerful enough to move large shipments of coal.

Pak-China Economic Corridor

Siddiqui, who is also the All Pakistan Shipping Association (APSA) chairman, sees 7 million more containers passing through Pakistani ports once China starts using Gwadar port and road link via its neighbour. This is an increase of at least three times in existing traffic.

“Cost of doing business in China’s east coast region has gone up in recent years,” he said. “They are moving the industry to the western parts, which are closer to Pakistan.”

Trade traffic from Europe travels 19,000 miles to reach western China. However, the distance can be cut to 9,000 miles if Pakistani ports and roads are used.

China has been in control of Gwadar port for the past few years but it has hardly seen any activity.

“Even ports like Jebel Ali and Port Qasim remained dormant for 10 years. That shouldn’t be a concern. It takes time to woo the shipping lines but once they do then everything changes.”

As the APSA chairman, he said that he wanted to prepare the industry for the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead.

“Imagine the economic activity this amount of cargo will generate. Entire cities will prop up along the routes — there will be hotels, restaurants and petrol pumps. Cargo villages and other affiliated industries will come up,” he said