126

22 TENNIS

26 FILMS

Roger Federer eyes The 20 best sports US Open glory movies of all time

THE MOST EXPENSIVE FOOTBALLER IN HISTORY TALKS TO SPORT

Issue 126

30 ATHLETICS

Jessica Ennis, world champion

32 FOOTBALL

The Premier League weekend

contents issue 126, august 28 2009

03

In this week’s issue of Sport

editoR’s letteR time waits for no man, as they say, and that’s especially so in sport’s ongoing soap opera: already, last weekend’s wonderful ashes victory seems but a distant memory (albeit a nice one). and we’re all about looking ahead here at Sport, not backwards, so you won’t find us gloating over our cricketing superiority (well, maybe a little). Instead, it’s the start of another La Liga season that has caught our attention, and the opportunity to speak to Cristiano Ronaldo about his recordbreaking transfer to Real Madrid. Elsewhere, we’ve conducted a very unscientific poll (of Sport staff) to list our favourite sports films of all time. Purists may disagree, but we merely say pah and tish. Not only that, we’ve been chatting to Roger Federer and Jess Ennis too. the fun never stops here, it really doesn’t. We’re still tweeting too: have a look at twitter.com/sportmaguk. ta-ra for now.

federer 22 roger loRding it in the us

sports films 26 top do you agRee?

simon caney

For all our distribution points, visit www.sport-magazine.co.uk

Sport Magazine Part of UTV Media plc 18 Hatfields, London SE1 8DJ Telephone 020 7959 7800 Fax 020 7959 7942 Email [email protected] EDITORIAL Editor-in-chief Simon Caney (020 7959 7951) Deputy Editor Tony Hodson (7954) Associate Editor Nick Harper (7897) Features Editor Mark Bailey (7915) Senior Writer Sarah Shephard (7958) Staff Writer Lawrence Barretto (7901) Picture Editor Julian Wait (7961) Art Editor Jason Keens (7907) Sub Editor Jo Gunston (7952) Production Manager Tara Dixon (7963) Thanks to Marc Barker, Hakkie-Tikkie Media

COVER IMAgE by ALEJAnDRO gOnzALEz/REAL MADRID VIA gETTy IMAgES

COMMERCIAL Sales Director Matt Wilson (7925) Agency Sales Director Iain Duffy (7991) Advertising Managers Paul Brett (7918), Dan Dawson (7822), Jeff Jones (7873) Marketing and Creative Services Manager Adam Harris (7426) Distribution Manager Sian George (7852) Head of Online Matt Davis (7825) PA to the MD Laura Muggridge (7927) Managing Director Adam Bullock Colour reproduction by Rival Colour Ltd Printed by St Ives Web Peterborough © UTV Media plc 2009 UTV Media plc takes no responsibility for the content of advertisements placed in Sport magazine £1 where sold

16 the knowledge

LAUNCH OF THE YEAR

don’t forget

help keep public transport clean and tidy for everyone by taking your copy of Sport away with you when you leave the bus or train.

2008

features

lifestyle

04 mcqueen helmets

36 sport active

the coolest crash helmets you’ll ever see, probably



Get fit for rugby, plus an adventure holiday bonanza

06 record transfers

From alf Common to Cristiano Ronaldo, via Warney Cresswell

08 football books

Average distribution 305,341 for Jan 1 2009 to June 30 2009

ronaldo Real’s new galactico



Eight tomes to keep you quiet for at least a week or two

10 the ferrari go-kart

sod the kids, pedal this down the street yourself

30 jess ennis



We speak to the new heptathlon world champion

44 profile

arianny Celeste – one of the uFC’s Octagon Girls

32 seven days of sport

another Premier League week, the start of La Liga, plus everything else happening on Planet sport

46 sporting bodies

Phillips Idowu, the best triple jumper in the world

a u G u s t 2 8 2 0 0 9 w w w. s p o r t - m a g a z i n e . c o . u k

04

A veritable smorgasbord of this week’s best sporting ‘stuff’

Own it...

BULLITT TIME On the great list of effortlessly cool iconic figures, both living or carked, Steve McQueen is always guaranteed to crop up towards the top. Rugged, man’s man looks, tick. Rebellious anti-authority leanings, tick. A penchant for fast cars and motorbikes, and a fondness for driving them at speeds that made his handsome face rattle, tick. Lived fast died

young and all that business, tick. The King of Cool ticked every box, particularly as he also insisted on doing all his own stunts in his action-packed films – see Bullitt and Le Mans for all the proof you’ll need. Fittingly, then, writes The Knowledge,, finally getting to its point, McQueen has proved to be the inspiration behind a range of the sleekest,

AUGUST 28 2009

W W W. S P O R T - M A G A Z I N E . C O . U K

The Ruby brand is sold in the UK at Selfridges and Harvey Nichols. For further details see www.ateliersruby.com.

THE PRIZE MONEY IN DOLLARS EARNED BY ROGER FEDERER. HE’LL HIT $50 MILLION IF HE REACHES THE SECOND ROUND OF NEXT WEEK’S US OPEN. SEE INTERVIEW PAGE 26

ROB WALLS/REX FEATURES

49,977,919

sexiest, most effortlessly cool auto helmets we ever did see. Created by high-end (that is, expensive) Parisien designers Les Ateliers Ruby, the Ruby is ‘a brand which keeps heroes and heroines moving quickly and safely day to day’. There’s no guarantee of absolute safety in this day and age, of course, but if, like McQueen, you like to drive fast and loose and end up head-first in a ditch or kissing a bus, you’ll look a damn sight cooler in your crumpled heap wearing one of these babies.

06

THE KNOWLEDGE

Nokia 5530

The money men

THE SKY’S THE LIMIT

Only at The Carphone hone

To celebrate our cover feature with Cristiano Ronaldo (turn to Page 16), The Knowledge looks at the men who’ve set landmark records as the ‘the most expensive players on the planet’. Who’d have thought Falkirk would smash the world record, eh?

£1,000

£5,000

Sunderland to Middlesbrough 1905

West Ham United to Falkirk 1922

WARNEY CRESSWELL South Shields to Sunderland 1922

£72,000

£93,000

£152,000 £250,000

River Plate to Juventus 1957

Barcelona to Internazionale 1961

ALF COMMON

£52,000

HANS JEPPSON

£500,000 £922,000

JUAN SCHIAFFINO Penarol to AC Milan 1954

£5,500

£10,890 DAVID JACK

Bolton Wanderers to Arsenal 1928

OMAR SIVORI

£1.2m

LUIS SUAREZ

£1.75m

£3m

Juventus to Vicenza 1976

Boca Juniors to Barcelona 1982

BERNABE FERREYRA Tigre to River Plate 1932

ANGELO SORMANI Mantova to Roma 1963

PIETRO ANASTASI Varese to Juventus 1968

JOHAN CRUYFF

Ajax to Barcelona 1973

GIUSEPPE SAVOLDI Bologna to Napoli 1975

£5m

£6m

£8m

PSV Eindhoven to AC Milan 1987

Fiorentina to Juventus 1990

JEAN-PIERRE PAPIN Marseille to AC Milan 1992

£13m

£15m

£19.5m

£21.5m

Blackburn Rovers to Newcastle United 1996

Barcelona to Internazionale 1997

Sao Paulo to Real Betis 1998

DIEGO MARADONA Barcelona to Napoli 1984

RUUD GULLIT

£12m

GIANLUCA VIALLI Sampdoria to Juventus 1992

PAOLO ROSSI

£23,000

£10m

ROBERTO BAGGIO

GIANLUIGI LENTINI Torino to AC Milan 1992

DIEGO MARADONA

ALAN SHEARER

RONALDO

£32m

£35.5m

£37m

Lazio to Internazionale 1999

Parma to Lazio 2000

Barcelona to Real Madrid 2000

£45.6m

£56m

£80m

CRISTIAN VIERI

HERNAN CRESPO

ZINEDINE ZIDANE Juventus to Real Madrid 2001

CRISTIANO RONALDO Manchester United to Real Madrid 2009

AC Milan to Real Madrid 2009

HAVE SOME OF THAT The highest individual scores in the brief history of Twenty20 internationals, by country AUGUST 28 2009

LUIS FIGO

KAKA

The stats

DENILSON

Chris Gayle Ricky Ponting Tillakaratne Dilshan Herschelle Gibbs Misbah-ul-Haq Mohammed Nazimuddin

West Indies Australia Sri Lanka South Africa Pakistan Bangladesh

117 98* 96* 90* 87* 81

Paul Collingwood/Kevin Pietersen Hamilton Masakadza Gautam Gambhir Brendon McCullum

England Zimbabwe India New Zealand

79 79 75 69*

The NatWest Twenty20 Internationals between England and Australia are at Old Trafford on Sun Aug 30 and Tues Sept 1

POPPERFOTO/GETTY IMAGES. GIANNI FERRARI/GETTY IMAGES. SHAUN BOTTERILL/ALLSPORT. CLAUDIO VILLA/ALLSPORT. ALLSPORT UK/ALLSPORT. MIKE HEWITT/ALLSPORT. SIGFRID CASALS/GETTY IMAGES. DENIS DOYLE/GETTY IMAGES. ALEXANDER JOE/AFP/GETTY IMAGES. NEAL SIMPSON/PA PHOTOS

Atalanta to Napoli 1952

SYD PUDDEFOOT

Warehouse

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W W W. S P O R T - M A G A Z I N E . C O . U K †

All pay monthly prices are subject to subscription/recommitment and clearance/eligibility to selected networks and tariffs for a minimum term.

08

the knowledge

Football book special

ReAdIngthegAMe

Defend yourself from swine flu by hiding your head behind one of these new football books ARSÈNAL

MOTTY

PLAYFAIR FOOTBALL ANNUAL 2009-2010

WhY eNGLAND LOSe

The MANAGeR

CANTONA

Alex Fynn & kevin whitcher (VSP) £7.99 From boardroom squabbles to trainingground tactics, Arsènal gives a fascinating insight into the growth of a modern European club. Now available in a £7.99 paperback, so non Gooners can feel less guilty about buying this great read.

John Motson (Virgin Books) £18.99 Like Cheryl Cole and Lincolnshire sausages, John Motson is a national treasure to be cherished. From his verbal scraps with Brian Clough to the traumatic Hillsborough tragedy, his autobiography reveals the man behind the microphone.

glenda & Jack Rollin (headline) £6.99 From one football fan to another, here’s some advice – lock the doors this weekend, shut the curtains and sit in your Y-fronts digesting 383 pages of unadulterated football stats. It’s okay. There are still 364 days left to be a normal, sociable human.

Simon kuper & Stefan Szymanski (harperSport) £15.99 One for the thinkers, this book draws on geography, economics, psychology and stats to tackle the big questions in football – are penalties really unfair, are clubs safer than banks and why are England so crap?

Barney Ronay (time warner) £12.99 In case you hadn’t noticed, managers are much more interesting than players. This book traces the gaffer from glorified club secretary to suit-wearing tinkerman fluent in psycho babble. Read every page and you’ll still not understand Rafa, though.

Philippe Auclair (Macmillan) £17.99 A meaty 469-page biography which sheds light on the most mysterious footballer to ever grace England – Eric Cantona. The author, who spoke to over 200 key figures, comes as close to understanding the seagull-loving enigma as anyone ever will.

A BeAUTIFUL GAMe

TAkING Le TISS

tom watt (Abrams) £19.95 A beautiful book on our beautiful game, this full-colour coffee table tome contains intimate personal tales from the world’s best players including Lionel Messi, David Beckham and Franck Ribéry. A portion of the book’s sales will go to UNICEF.

Matt le tissier (harperSport) £18.99 The tale of the ex-Southampton player and one-club man, Matt Le Tissier, is a poignant one in view of the mercenary culture of modern football. Lazy or loyal? You decide. We’ve couriered a crate of his new book up to Eastlands, nonetheless. psc

 






I

wouldn’t say it’s the best football film I’ve ever seen.  But it’s in the top one. Robbie Collin, News of the World

  
 

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w w w. s p o r t - m a g a z i n e . c o . u k

®

10

THE KNOWLEDGE

Buy it

Pedal it

GO KARTING FERRARI STYLE In the eyes of The Knowledge, Ferrari represents everything that is cool about the beautiful automobile. So the sight of one of the Italian marquee’s cars qualifying dead last while in the hands of Luca Badoer at the European Grand Prix last weekend was a bitter pill to swallow. On reflection, though, Ferrari may have been better placed to roll out one of their other challengers – the Ferrari F1 Pedal Go-Kart. With only two rotating pedals for power, the lower G-forces mean the team could have even

GOOD LAD stuck Michael Schumacher and his dodgy neck on it to do a better job. Complete with front spoiler, nose and rear wings and a unique Ferrari F1 steering wheel, the pedal kart does everything you’d expect – go forwards, backwards, left and right. Oddly priced at just £248.58, you could get a couple for the kids and then after you’ve put them to bed, relive your youth and race the missus down the driveway.

Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff, probably soon to be Sir Freddie of Flintoffshire, is known as one of the most generous sportsmen around, and now he’s gone and designed this special limited edition bat for charity. The AF Foundation Puma bat will set you back a cool £350, but fret not: every last penny goes to the charity that Freddie and wife Rachael set up to raise funds to build, provide and develop child rehabilation and physiotherapy units throughout the UK.

Details at store.ferrari.com

www.pumacricket.com


 



 
   
 

 



























  

 

12

THE KNOWLEDGE

Editor-in-chief Simon Caney

Can England build on success? BEATING AUSTRALIA IS ALL WELL AND GOOD, BUT WE’RE STILL RANKED FIFTH IN THE WORLD ANDREW STRAUSS CAN’T BE BLAMED for suggesting that England’s target is to be the number-one side in the world, but beating a below-par Australian side doesn’t mean his men are yet the best on the planet. Far from it. Australia scored more runs and took more wickets than England. Ricky Ponting got it right when he said that both teams played great cricket in patches but that, when they were bad, they were very, very bad. England have serious problems that need addressing, though there is cause for cautious optimism – not least from the fact that Strauss managed to galvanise his troops when the chips were down twice in this series. Nobody could accuse this side of lacking fighting spirit. Now, the bad news. Anyone can have a bad series, but Alastair Cook has faced Australia in 10 games now and averages 26 against them, compared to 42 overall. If he is to go on and set the records we expect, he must do better. The middle order is the gravest area for concern. When Kevin Pietersen is fit, his spot in the team is locked down, but it should be at three. Jonathan Trott has obviously

guaranteed his spot on tour, and can go in at second wicket down. That leaves the number-five berth open, and for me Ravi Bopara is worth another chance. Expecting him to go in at three against Australia was too much, and he became something of a sacrificial lamb. He still inspires more confidence than either Ian Bell or Paul Collingwood – and, to be fair, who else is there? Matt Prior has been a huge plus this summer. His keeping has improved immeasurably and, batting at six, he has been second only to Strauss for England. He is a genuine all-rounder – as is Stuart Broad, who looks technically more proficient with the bat than Andrew Flintoff and may finally be growing up as a bowler. Graeme Swann has bowled well in patches this summer, often with little reward, and batted excellently. His place is assured. But the other bowlers are scrapping for their futures. Steve Harmison may not even want to tour, while Jimmy Anderson and Graham Onions still need to improve. It was a fabulous series win, but England have a long way to go. Let’s not get carried away.

BOPARA INSPIRES MORE CONFIDENCE THAN BELL OR COLLINGWOOD Texts cost 25p + std network charge. Sport magazine reserve the right to amend or edit messages where necessary. Full terms and conditions at www.sport-magazine.co.uk

AUGUST 28 2009

W W W. S P O R T - M A G A Z I N E . C O . U K

Slow but sure wins the race Mark Hughes must be utterly delighted. His Manchester City side have started the Premier League season just as he would have hoped – winning games in solid if unspectacular fashion. The opening fixture, away at Blackburn, was a tough one. After spending so much money, City were expected to win – but against a physical, well-organised Sam Allardyce outfit, that was no foregone conclusion. They did the job, just as they did last weekend against a plucky Wolves. With the forward options at City’s disposal, there are bound to be fireworks and, at some stage, a lot of goals – for now, though, Hughes will be thrilled at two league games, two wins and two clean sheets. Everyone questioned whether City would be as good defensively as in attack, and it’s a case of so far, so good. Early days, of course, but two fairly dull wins have silenced the doubters without attracting too much attention. But City look genuinely impressive: their neighbours may be nervous.

READER COMMENT OF THE WEEK Outrageous to say Dean Richards should be banned for life. His sentence is too tough as it is. Daniel, Finchley

TOM SHAW/GETTY IMAGES

AGREE OR DISAGREE? We want to know, and we’ll print the best comments next week. Text VIEW, your message and your name to 81707

CITY’S PERFECT START

14

15

frozen in time

give them all an mbe!

august 28 2009

w w w. s p o r t - m a g a z i n e . c o . u k

philip brown/action images/reuters

actually, on second thoughts, arise sir monty. and sir onions. and lord Jonathan trott of cape town has a nice ring to it as well. the aussies may have taken more wickets and scored more runs than us this summer, but that little urn is back where it belongs – at least for another 18 months, when we may well go to australia and lose 5-0 in a series we’ll immediately pretend never happened. For now though, let’s bask in our nation’s glory. ricky, you took one hell of a beating...

16

17

interview football

sir alex joked with me that with all the offensive players at madrid i’d end up as a defender

Cristiano ronaldo

WHAT PRESSURE?

a whopping price tag. a record number of fans greeting the new arrival. a tabloid-friendly lifestyle. No man can sustain the weight of that expectation, can he? Sport talks to Ronaldo ahead of the start of the La Liga season fAST FaCts cRiSTiAno RonAldo Born February 5 1985 Birthplace Madeira, Portugal Height 6ft 1in clubs real Madrid (0 appearances), Manchester United (196 appearances), sporting lisbon (25 appearances) international Portugal (58 caps)

w w w. s p o r t - m a g a z i n e . c o . u k

So, the move you wanted, Cristiano. You must be happy? [Smiling] “Yes. I feel like I have come home. Coming from Portugal means I have felt close to Spain all my life. I speak the language; I know the mentality, the culture and the playing style. So this is just as good as going back to Portugal to play, and Real Madrid is one of the greatest clubs in football history.” After telling the world you wanted to leave Manchester United for real Madrid at euro 2008, how hard was it to return to the Premier League last season? “It was a tough run. It was not easy coming back to England after Euro 2008, which is why I chose to keep a low profile this time and I didn’t want to say anything until the transfer was done. In some way I’m pleased that I’ve

alberto sereno/real madrid via getty images

august 28 2009

After at least 12 months of dogged pursuit, possibly closer to two years, Real Madrid finally got their man this summer when Sir Alex Ferguson sent them not a virus, but the world’s finest footballer, Cristiano Ronaldo. Having signed on a five-year deal for a world record fee of £80 million, with a reported £1 billion buy-out clause inserted into his contract to ensure he never leaves the Bernabeu, Ronaldo was then paraded before the world’s flashing bulbs and rolling news cameras in football’s most grandiose ever official unveiling. Now, the most high-profile of Real Madrid’s Galacticos Mark II will have to hit the ground running to justify the hype and hyperbole. If he has any nerves about the task at hand, as he sits opposite Sport in Madrid just days before the new La Liga season begins, well he’s clearly not showing them…

18

19

INTERVIEW FOOTBALL

Ronaldo plays at the Bernabeu against Al-Ittihad during the Peace Cup last month

made the move now and not last summer because I feel more prepared for it, although I know there’s a lot of pressure on me to deliver and show that I’m worth the money.” Does that worry you? You seem confident but do you feel the pressure of being the most expensive player on the planet? [Smiles] “I know it will not be easy to convince people that I’m worth all that money, but I have to forget about the price and fully concentrate on what I do best; playing football. I know what my qualities are and what I’m good at, I have to shut all the off-field talks out and play football. But you’re right. It gives me many challenges. I cannot play one bad game before the press and maybe fans will focus on the transfer but what can I do? I was not involved in the transfer negotiations and I just have to respect the price Real Madrid paid Manchester United.”

GOING, NOT GOING, GONE

WAS THIS THE MOST DRAWN-OUT TRANSFER IN FOOTBALL HISTORY? AUGUST 28 2009

MARCH 2007

Rumours begin to circulate of a Real Madrid bid of £54m for Cristiano Ronaldo. A month later, Real Madrid meet with Ronaldo’s agent in London, then in Madrid. Sources at the club confirm they would be willing to meet Manchester United’s valuation and match Ronaldo’s £4m-a-year salary.

W W W. S P O R T - M A G A Z I N E . C O . U K

After months of speculation, when did you realise that the move was finally going to happen? “I got a call from my agent who had spoken to one of the Manchester United directors. I was in America on vacation so I did not know how close the clubs were to a deal at that point. I appreciate that Manchester United accepted to let me go and I think that I ended [my time] at the club in the best possible way. I don’t think anyone can look at my recent years at United and say that I did not do my best. Even after I was close to Real Madrid last year and stayed at United, I was focused in giving everything I had in me and we won the championship for the third year in a row and reached the second Champions League final in two years. The only thing I am not happy about in my final year was that we could not win the Champions League final again, but I did all I could for Manchester United.”

APRIL 13 2007

After Ronaldo signs new five-year, £120,000-a-week deal at United, Ferguson aims a broadside. “I had no doubts Cristiano would sign, but I think everyone else outside Old Trafford had,” he says. “There’s no point reporting [Real Madrid] to Uefa. If you fined them, they would wipe their backsides with it.”

JUNE 1 2008

Does it hurt that you left United on a low note, losing that Champions League final in Rome? “That is football and it doesn’t always go as you would like, but it does still bother me that we lost that game. You have to respect Barcelona because they won three big titles last season and that says a lot about their strength, but I don’t think they were better than us. They were just more efficient when they got their chances.” What did Sir Alex Ferguson say to you the last time you saw him? “He said ‘congratulations’. I think he knew it was the right time for me to move on and I think he acknowledged that I needed to go. He joked with me and told me that with all the offensive players at Real Madrid, I’d end up playing as a central defender. That was just his way of saying ‘good luck, son’. I did not get a chance to say goodbye to the fans but I hope

As speculation surfaces again, Sir Alex Ferguson announces he’d rather stick Ronaldo in the stands than sell him to Real Madrid. Having spoken to the Glazer family about the offer, Fergie claims “their attitude is ‘to hell with them’. They’d sit a player in the stand, absolutely no doubt about it, just to prove a point”.

THAT AMAZED ME, 80,000 PEOPLE WHO CAME TO SEE ME. IT FELT LIKE I WAS A ROCK STAR AND I FELT HUMBLED BY IT they know that I enjoyed every moment playing at Old Trafford and would like to thank them for their support throughout the years. Even in the most difficult times I have always felt their support.” What do you remember now of your official unveiling at the Bernabeu. It was nice and low-key, wasn’t it? [Smiles] “It was really a crazy day, one I will never forget. I arrived in Madrid in a private jet from Portugal and was taken to a clinic where

JUNE 9 2008

United report Real Madrid to Fifa. “On May 27, United made clear its intention to report Real Madrid if it continued to involve itself in the future of Ronaldo. Unfortunately, Real Madrid has not kept its own counsel.” Real president Ramon Calderon responds: “They don’t have any evidence because nothing has happened. All there is, is what the papers say, and rumours the player seems to want to leave.”

I had my medical. Then I was taken to a hotel that Real Madrid uses before matches and for official business and I did a couple of interviews with some of the big Spanish papers. I was actually quite surprised about the huge interest in my arrival. There were already a lot of fans outside the hotel so I knew there would be a lot at the stadium too, but I didn’t expect the place to be full. That amazed me, 80,000 people who all came just to see me? Amazing. It felt like I was a rock star and I felt humbled by it. It was a day that me and my family will never forget.” Welcome to life as a Galactico, we guess. What do you make of Florentino Peréz’s new project? “I have great respect for the president. He has great ambitions for Real Madrid but it is not just talk in the wind. He usually gets the players he wants and that determination is

JUNE 5 2008

Ronaldo opens his heart to the newspaper Terra. “I want to play for Real Madrid, but only if it is true they are eager to pay me and Manchester United what they have been saying they will,” he says.

JUNE 16 2008

Fifa decide to take no action against Real Madrid. “From the documentation received, no breach of contract appears to have occurred yet,” said Fifa in a statement.

something we have to live up to on the field. We have such a strong team this season. The squad was already packed with world-class players and the president brought in more great names, but we all know it will be difficult for us – every time we take a wrong step or lose a match we know that the press will slaughter us and bring up how much we all cost. But we know we have the support from the club and the president and that they have the patience to build a winning team.” Where do you fit into this new team? Where will you be playing? “I don’t know for sure but I think it’s important to say that I don’t think I will have a more important role in the team than others. I don’t think the coach looks at who are the most expensive players, he only thinks about putting the best team together and hopefully I can be a part of that. I know I am not guaranteed a

OCTOBER 2008

Sir Alex Ferguson claims Real Madrid’s real reason for signing Gabriel Heinze from United in 2007 was to tempt Ronaldo, a close friend of the Argentinian’s. “I don’t believe they were interested in Heinze – good player though he is,” Ferguson said. “The end game was to get Ronaldo.”

DENIS DOYLE/GETTY IMAGES. MATTHEW PETERS/MANCHESTER UNITED VIA GETTY IMAGES. ALEJANDRO GONZALEZ/REAL MADRID VIA GETTY IMAGES. DANI POZO/AFP/GETTY IMAGES. LLUIS GENE/AFP/GETTY IMAGES. ELISA ESTRADA/REAL MADRID VIA GETTY IMAGES

Ronaldo is unveiled as a Real Madrid player in front of an astonishing 80,000 fans at the Bernabeu

20

INTERVIEW FOOTBALL

Ronaldo takes on Hamad Almontashari from Al-Ittihad in the Peace Cup

regular spot on the team and if I don’t play at my highest level, I will be on the bench. I know that in a club like Real Madrid there is not much time for finding your form or else there are a lot of class players waiting to take your spot on the team. That pressure can only help me give my very best in every game.”

THE MONEY DOES NOT CHANGE MY AMBITIONS, CHARACTER OR MENTALITY. I’M STILL THE SAME PERSON

What’s your priority this season, La Liga or the Champions League? “I want to win them both, win everything. Why choose one? I have won the Champions League with Manchester United and I still believe that it is the biggest tournament there is to win in all club competitions. But I have always admired the Spanish league and dream of winning it one day. When I retire I want to look back and say that I have won both English and Spanish titles and hopefully more international titles.”

AUGUST 7 2008

Ronaldo confirms that he will stay at Old Trafford for “at least one more year”. Talking to Portuguese paper Publico, he says: “Sir Alex Ferguson heard my arguments, I heard his and it was felt the best thing would be for me to stay.” Ferguson says he’s “pleased”. Real Madrid say “it’s a decision we have to accept”. AUGUST 28 2009

OCTOBER 26 2008

Ronaldo admits he made the right decision to reject Real Madrid and said he expects to stay at Manchester United beyond this season. “Now I understand I made the best decision,” he tells Spanish paper Marca. “I am with Manchester in body and soul.”

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Do you ever wonder what you’d be doing today if you were not a footballer? Did you have others dreams when you were young? “It’s funny. A lot of my childhood friends also dreamed about being a footballer, but they also had a lot of other dreams for their future.

DECEMBER 17 2008

Reacting to suggestions that United and Real Madrid have a gentleman’s agreement for Ronaldo to join in the summer, Ferguson says: “Do you think I would enter into a contract with that mob? No chance. I would not sell them a virus. That is a ‘no’ by the way.”

JUNE 11 2009

Has football become a job for you, though? Has any of the childhood magic waned? “No. I still love every minute on the pitch, so it is still a toy to me. I love learning and practising new tricks. You could say that I haven’t changed in that sense since school.” Finally, if we talk again a year from now, will you have won any titles with Real Madrid? “I cannot predict the future. But I can promise the fans that I will do whatever it takes to get a great first season with this team. We have so much potential. You never know how it will work until you have played a couple of months into the season, but I can only say that it all looks very bright.”

Real Madrid offer Manchester United a world-record £80m for Ronaldo. Manchester United say yes, adding that the decision came after Ronaldo “again expressed his desire to leave”. It was, say United, “purely a football decision”.

OSCAR RODRIGUEZ AND MICHAEL QURESHI/HAKKIE-TIKKIE MEDIA

JULY 6 2009

Ronaldo is officially unveiled at the Santiago Bernabeu, in front of a capacity 80,000 crowd – the number of fans even took Ronaldo by surprise.

MIGUEL RIOPA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES. DENIS DOYLE/GETTY IMAGES. DANI POZO/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Your life has changed a bit over the past 10 years. How do you cope with the fame and the money? “Luckily it has been a change for the good, for

the better.” [Smiles] “I am very privileged. I have a better house, nice cars and everything I need. But the most important is still the support from my family and the people closest to me. The money does not change my ambitions, character or mentality. I’m still the same person. I still have the passion for football no matter how much money I earn.”

They wanted to be firefighters, policemen, doctors… The only thing I ever wanted was to become was a footballer. I could not imagine any other way of living. That is why I never asked my parents for other gifts when I was a boy, only things for football.”

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interview tennis

I LOVE THE NEW YORK CROWD – AND, IF THEY LOVE YOU, IT’S THE BEST THING IN THE WORLD

roger federer

KING king OF of NEW new YORK york With the Us Open all set to start on Monday, we spoke to defending men’s singles champion Roger Federer – father of two and, after a chastening defeat in Australia in January, a tennis player reborn faST fActS roger federer Born August 8 1981 Birthplace Basel, Switzerland Height 6ft 1in Plays right-handed Turned pro 1998 world ranking 1 grand Slam titles 15 Career earnings $49,534,419

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major of the season at New York’s Flushing Meadows, Sport caught up with Federer – and found him confident that a sixth consecutive title was very much within his reach...

shot is a lob or a flat hit, but it’s still the most incredible atmosphere. the New York crowd is also special; they’re loud and rowdy, and if they love you it is the best thing in the world.”

it’s the final slam of the season then, roger – and this is the one you’ve owned since your first win there in 2004... “Yeah, I’m going for title number six there this year. I just love New York and the arthur ashe stadium is the biggest we play in; the people who sit at the top can hardly see. It’s like 2D for them watching us; they can’t even tell if the

You’ve already nailed a sixth wimbledon title of course, which was grand slam number 15 – did it feel different to your previous wins? “It was different to have so many legends sitting there – especially Pete sampras, who was one of my heroes. Playing under those circumstances [trying to break sampras’ grand slam record] added a different twist, but records are just one part of the game; it was never something I aimed for when I was young. I know tiger Woods always wanted to break Jack Nicklaus’s record as a little boy, but when I was five years old I didn’t really have that same kind of dream.”

federer on his way to a sixth wimbledon men’s title in July

Your first grand slam title, at wimbledon in 2003, must feel like a lifetime ago… “It’s so different because you’re such a rookie winning your first one. You come in there, you’re not shaven, you have long hair and you’re just thinking: ‘Let’s give this a go!’ and then you win and it’s just disbelief, complete disbelief. You become a star overnight. It’s the best feeling in the world, and it makes you so proud that your career could end right there.” You snatched back your number-one ranking after wimbledon this year, but what is more important – your ranking or grand slam wins? “I guess it depends on whether you have

US OPEN THE CONTENDERS

ANDY MURRAY (GB) Age Height Turned pro World ranking Grand Slam wins US Open best Career earnings

22 6ft 3ins 2005 2 0 Final 2008 $8,408,343

RAFAEL NADAL (ESP) Age Height Turned pro World ranking Grand Slam wins US Open best Career earnings

23 6ft 1in 2001 3 6 Semi final 2008 $25,069,245

JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO (ARG) Age Height Turned pro World ranking Grand Slam wins US Open best Career earnings

20 6ft 6ins 2005 6 0 Quarter final 2008 $3,658,310

ANDY RODDICK (USA) Age Height Turned pro World ranking Grand Slam wins US Open best Career earnings

26 6ft 2ins 2000 5 1 Winner 2003 $16,801,109

SIMON BRUTY /SPORTS ILLUSTRATED/GETTY IMAGES. MATTHEW STOCKMAN/GETTY IMAGES

august 28 2009

at the start of 2009, Roger Federer looked like a beaten man. “god, it’s killing me,” he cried after suffering a fifth consecutive loss to his spanish nemesis Rafael Nadal in the final of the australian Open. the teary-eyed swiss had ended 2008 without a single Masters series title to his name, haunted all the while by the presence of a rampaging Nadal bearing down on his number one world ranking – a pedestal he finally surrendered last august, after 237 weeks at the top. When the first grand slam of this year went Nadal’s way then, it seemed there was no way back for Federer. No one could have predicted what was to come. In the final of the Madrid Masters, on Nadal’s beloved clay, Federer brought the spaniard’s 33-match winning streak on the surface to an end, cruising to a 6-4 6-4 victory. Weeks later, the momentum swung still further as Nadal tasted defeat for the first time at the French Open, going down to the swede Robin soderling – and leaving Federer to savour the sweet taste of victory. It was to be the start of a happy summer for Federer. With injury rendering Nadal unable to defend his Wimbledon title, the swiss became king of Centre Court once more, defeating andy Roddick to claim a record 15th grand slam; and his subsequent return to number one in the rankings completed the latest twist in the tale of what has become a truly legendary rivalry. there is still plenty of time for an epilogue, though; so, as the players head into the final

INTERVIEW TENNIS

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been number one before. Maybe once you’ve already been there, being number one in the world is not the most important thing – it’s about winning titles, you know, and being successful. But then picture Nadal’s situation a few years ago; he’d won the French Open many times, then he won Wimbledon as well, and yet he was still only number two. I think this is when you want to become number one in the world really badly – and the first moment when you hit number one is magical.” Winning your first French Open title this year must have been a massive relief. Does it feel as though a weight has been lifted? “It feels good. I always tell people that I’m the one to blame because I won the other majors too quickly! So I’m the guy left with having to win Paris and… well, Rafa was there. It was hard, but I believed in it very strongly over the last few years, and always said I knew I could beat him and win the French Open because my game was good enough. I’m just so proud; winning all four majors and tying Pete Sampras’ record… well, it was fitting for everything to happen in Paris.” Having now surpassed Sampras’ record, completed the career slam and become a father to twins, how do you motivate yourself to keep training so hard? “Right now, having achieved almost everything a player can achieve, I definitely have to regroup and see how I want to approach my future. When you first become number one in the world, you arrive at a crossroads really. You think: ‘Have I achieved everything that I want to achieve?’ I had won a couple of majors and I was number one in the world, but I decided I wanted more so I practised harder, became more professional and began to have a lot of success. All of a sudden I thought: ‘Man, tennis is so much fun!’ I think that was the right approach for me – you know, just being inspired by my own results.”

The Swiss world number one is looking for a sixth straight US Open win

MY SLUMP WAS NOT A SLUMP – I WAS STILL NUMBER TWO IN THE WORLD AND MAKING THE FINALS AND SEMI FINALS AT THE GRAND SLAMS something I have learned to handle though, so I don’t get too down.”

What about when you do have to cope with defeat – how do the losses affect you? “Losses are good sometimes, because they make you reanalyse your game – and I always think there are ways to improve. But it is hard when you lose and have to go through a trophy ceremony, and wait for the winner and everything. When it’s on court it can be quite brutal, but it’s part of our job and sometimes emotions come out. I like to keep it in if I can, but I’ve always been very emotional. It’s

Finally, congratulations on becoming a father Roger. Twin girls should make your home life rather interesting… “Absolutely, it is very exciting, and it will be a break in my routine. For the past few years I have always been doing the same thing in terms of practising, but now I have to adjust to what is happening in the house – and start taking afternoon naps!” Roger Federer wears the iconic AW77 Loopwheeler from Nike’s NSW Collection available at Selfridges and Nike’s 1948 Store. See www.nikesportswear.com

US OPEN THE CONTENDERS

SERENA WILLIAMS (USA) Age Height Turned pro World ranking Grand Slam wins US Open best Career earnings

27 5ft 9ins 1995 2 11 Winner 1999, 2002, 2008 $25,911,873

DINARA SAFINA (RUS) Age Height Turned pro World ranking Grand Slam wins US Open best Career earnings

23 6ft 1in 2001 1 0 Semi final 2008 $8,877,828

SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA (RUS) Age Height Turned pro World ranking Grand Slam wins US Open best Career earnings

24 5ft 8½ins 2000 6 2 Winner 2004 $12,467,802

VENUS WILLIAMS (USA) Age Height Turned pro World ranking Grand Slam wins US Open best Career earnings

AUGUST 28 2009

29 6ft 1in 1994 3 7 Winner 2000, 2001 $23,860,663

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ROB TRINGALI/SPORTSCHROME/GETTY IMAGES. JULIAN FINNEY/GETTY IMAGES

There were murmurs that your career was on a downward slope earlier this year. How do you deal with that sort of negativity in the media? “In those moments I stay away from it and don’t read the press, but then I’m reminded of it at press conferences. People ask questions like ‘what is wrong with you?’ or ‘shouldn’t you change your team?’ It can be hard, but my slump was not a slump – I was still number two in the world and playing semis and finals of Grand Slams, so it was almost a compliment that they were writing me off. I had to analyse things as a player though, and ask why I was not having the results I was having before. The answer was that I had

mononucleosis at the end of last year, and a bad back too. It took me almost a year to get back in shape, and it’s only been in the past few months that I have started to feel normal again.”

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the top 20 sporTIng fIlms

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kingpin 1996

Former child bowling prodigy Woody Harrelson – now bald and sporting a fake rubber hand – teams up with amish simpleton Randy Quaid and heads for a £1m winner-takes-all competition. Throw in a Bill Murray cameo and Vanessa angel as the obligatory beauty, and you have a Farrelly Brothers winner on your hands.

THE HUSTLER 1961

20 escape to victory 1981

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Hidden behind the tale of ‘Fast Eddie’ Felson’s quest to become the best pool hustler in all the land (the American land, naturally) is a surprisingly profound and still relevant study of the psychology of victory and defeat in top-level sport. Paul Newman is typically sincere in the lead role, while Jackie Gleason’s turn as old pro Minnesota Fats is little short of wonderful.

The stirring story of a POW team featuring Pele, Rambo and John Wark taking on the Germans in a football match they would never be allowed to win. Rambo’s improbable last-minute penalty save preserves a heroic draw (pictured) but signs their death warrants, until they all escape when the crowd storms the field. Magnificent nonsense.

cool runnings 1993

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THE DAMNED UNITED 2009 If ever a manager was born to be on the big screen, it was Cloughie. While Michael Sheen’s portrayal of Old Big ’Ead lacks the dark menace of the character portrayed in David Peace’s classic book, the film retains enough of Clough’s eccentricities to be well worth an hour and a half of your time.

Four Jamaican chaps form their country’s first ever bobsled team in an attempt to win gold in the Winter Olympics. They have no idea how to bobsled and there is absolutely no snow. Cue hilarity, albeit of the gentle variety. It’s a surprisingly endearing affair, although you won’t be surprised to read that it left the Oscar ceremony empty-handed.

augusT 28 2009

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17 karate kid 1984 Scrawny runt Daniel LaRusso falls foul of local martial arts bullies and takes a fearful beating at their hands, until a mysterious pint-sized sensei teaches him karate – via the medium of painting his fence and polishing his car. Will a crane-kicking LaRusso have his revenge? You bet your arse he will.

Based on a true story, Seabiscuit tells the tale of a diminutive and unattractive racehorse that captures the hearts of a nation beaten down by the great Depression by being, well, nigh-on unbeatable. Heartwarming stuff, with top performances from Tobey Maguire as jockey Red Pollard and Chris Cooper as trainer-turnedhobo-turned-trainer Tom smith.

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15 ALI 2001 Be warned, there’s the inevitable social and political subplot filler in Ali, the story of the great man’s life from 1964 to 1974 – but sit tight and marvel at the boxing, which rates as some of the most realistic pugilism in celluloid history. No ‘Hollywood’ shots here, this was all for real – with stunning results.

TOUCHING THE VOID 2003

This raw documentary is based on climbers Joe Simpson and Simon Yates’ attempt to climb Siula Grande in Peru. Simpson shatters his knee joint and, despite trying to lower his companion to safety, Yates is forced to cut the rope, leaving Simpson to plummet into a crevasse. But Simpson survives by crawling five miles to safety. Stirring stuff.

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13 HAPPY GILMORE 1996 When violent ex-ice hockey player Happy Gilmore (Adam Sandler) enters the pro golf tour in an attempt to earn enough cash to save his granny’s home, all sorts of violent nonsense ensues. If only Phil Mickelson yelled “SUCK MY WHITE ARSE, BALL!” the real game would be much more entertaining.

FEVER PITCH 1997

The best film ever made. If you’re an Arsenal fan, that is. Based on Nick Hornby’s book about an Arsenal fan trying to hold down a teaching job and a relationship in the midst of his team’s dramatic 1988-89 championship-winning season, Fever Pitch resonates with any football fan who’s ever heard the words “cheer up love, it’s only a game”.

10 ALLSTARPL.COM

This week sees the DVD release of The Damned United, which some people have excitedly proclaimed to be the best sports film ever made. However, as the next four pages prove, those people are talking bunk. We’ve argued for an age over this, before finally whittling it down to our top 20. Irate correspondence on an email, please...

seabiscuit 2003

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THE TOP 20 SPORTING FILMS

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CINDERELLA MAN 2005

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RAGING BULL 1980

CADDYSHACK 1980 “Hey everybody, we’re all gonna get laid!” Perhaps the greatest last line of any film ever, flamboyantly delivered by the masterful Rodney Dangerfield, acts as a fitting finale to the golf farce that probably sailed a bit closer to the reality than much of middle America would care to admit. Centred on the shenanigans and general derring-do taking place at the mythical Bushwood

Country Club, Caddyshack features fine performances from Chevy Chase, Bill Murray (again) and the late Ted Knight – but the show is utterly and unequivocally stolen by the veteran stand-up comedian Dangerfield as crude property magnate Al Czervik. “I hear this place is restricted, Wang,” he tells his Asian companion in one scene. “So don’t tell ’em you’re Jewish.” Marvellous.

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MILLION DOLLAR BABY 2004 Following on from her 1999 Oscar-winning performance in the laugh-a-minute Boys Don’t Cry, Hilary Swank made it a double with another fun-filled role as Maggie Fitzgerald, an ageing amateur boxer determined to give turning pro one last shot. Her unlikely and briefly successful partnership with a ‘brilliant-but-down-and-out’ trainer played by director Clint Eastwood serves as the basis for a script that drifts from bleak to depressing before culminating in the tragic accident that leaves Fitzgerald paralysed from the neck down and desperate to be put out of her misery. Genuinely moving despite its relentless misery, the flick benefits greatly from the soothing tones of perennial narrator Morgan Freeman. And what film wouldn’t?

CHARIOTS OF FIRE 1981

AUGUST 28 2009

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It’s Rocky in reverse – a feel-bad film about one man’s painful descent. It’s either one of the greatest films ever made, or a thoroughly depressing insight into the violent life and paranoid mind of Robert De Niro’s Jake LaMotta, depending on your own personal take. We stick it fourth because, despite the fight scenes taking up only 10 minutes of the full 129 minutes, their sheer brutality leaves your jaw hanging. Director Martin Scorsese chose to film in black and white to soften the sight of so much blood, but it still leaves you reeling – as does the fact he shot it inside the ring, surrounded by flying fists. By the end, it felt like you’d been the full 15 rounds with the Raging Bull himself.

Starring Tom Cruise. Three words that should preclude any film from a list celebrating cinematic excellence, you’d think, but you’ll have to think again. Despite also starring Renee Zellweger and featuring such stomachchurning lines as “you had me at hello”, Jerry Maguire is still the finest film ever written about a sports agent who finds his conscience, writes a mission statement denouncing greed, gets sacked as a result and then watches his world implode. Okay, it’s also the only film of that specific genre we can think of, but let’s not split hairs here. Yes, it’s full of feel-good American schmaltz and an ending that couldn’t be more telegraphed if the film started at the end and worked backwards, but Jerry Maguire will make you feel happier with life than you did 139 minutes earlier. And what’s not to like about that?

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ROCKY 1976 Unknown Philadelphia boxer Rocky Balboa finds himself thrown in to a fight for the world heavyweight title against the sensationally named unbeaten champ Apollo Creed. Against the odds, the street fighter goes the distance – and, despite losing out in a split decision, the ‘Italian Stallion’ gains significant consolation by using the very moment of his defeat to win the hand of the woman he loves. That her name is Adrian, that lead man Sylvester Stallone (who, lest we forget, also wrote the film) is largely unintelligible for the movie’s entirety, and that the plot is absolutely preposterous matters little – Rocky, accompanied by one of the great soundtracks, is an all-time classic.

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DODGEBALL:

A TRUE UNDERDOG STORY 2004 THE WRESTLER 2008 Wrestling might be regarded as little more than a decent acting job for lycra-clad knuckleheads, but Mickey Rourke’s poignant portrayal of an ageing pro who can’t leave the ring behind reveals the sad reality lurking behind the sport’s glittery exterior. Randy ‘The Ram’ Robinson is a wrestler trying to cling on to the last remnants of celebrity status he enjoyed 20 years ago. Now he’s struggling to pay the rent on his old trailer, slicing ham behind a deli counter and wrestling at the weekends in front of a handful of drunks to prove he can still power slam with the best of them. When a promoter suggests one last shot at the big time The Ram jumps at it, but will his crumbling body survive?

From heroes and villains to underdogs and megalomaniacs, Dodgeball boasts all the drama we see in the Premier League each week, with some crucial improvements: Fergie’s teacup-hurling fits are outdone by a wheelchair-bound coach hurling wrenches in his players’ chops, and Didier Drogba’s histrionics pale in comparison to a power-mulleted Ben Stiller hissing through his handlebar moustache: “Are you ready for the – wooh! – hurricane?” This mirthfest follows the story of the proprietor of a financially troubled gym (Vince Vaughn), who enters a motley team into a dodgeball competition in order to win the $50,000 necessary to save his gym from being taken over by the macho-camp White Goodman (Stiller) and his corporate Globo-Gym. Only the FA Cup can compete with the sporting underdog romance.

ALLSTARPL.COM

A week after England stepped on to the Oval pitch with the words of Jerusalem ringing in their ears, this is a film which takes its title from that very song – and isn’t called, as was the initial plan, Running, which would have been rubbish. The true story of two British athletes, Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell, and their quest for gold at the 1924 Olympics, it’s a stirring tale with an equally stirring, Oscar-winning soundtrack. Both won gold, eventually, after various run-ins with the authorities, including God. But the best bit is Abrahams becoming the first man in 700 years to run round his Cambridge quadrangle in the time it takes the college clock to strike 12. Produced by Dodi Fayed, curiously.

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There was nothing great about America’s Great Depression, apart from the fact that it forced James J Braddock out of retirement and back into the ring to put food on his family’s table. It’s a true story, this, inspired by the real Braddock (played by Russell Crowe), whose struggle against the odds came to represent the great American public in their fight for survival, or something like that. Essentially, it’s Raging Bull with a more palatable story, which ends with Braddock facing the aptly named Max Baer to become the heavyweight champion of the world. The 18ft 7ins Baer is an invincible fighting machine. He’s killed opponents in the ring before. Can Braddock win? Can he even survive? Well, without giving too much away, what do you think?

JERRY MAGUIRE 1996

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interview athletics

jess ennis

as good as gold still proudly wearing her world championship gold medal, heptathlon champion Jess ennis tells Sport how it feels to have gone from the depths of despair to elation in the space of just 12 months usain Bolt’s giant shadow might have blotted out many of the finer details from the World athletics Championships in Berlin, but even he couldn’t stop Jess Ennis stealing her share of the limelight after a superb display to win her first gold medal. “I’m on the front of the papers,” she giggled when Sport spoke to her days after she became a world champion. “It’s very surreal; I even had an email from gordon Brown to congratulate me. It’s the first time I’ve won anything this big so it’s all very new to me, but I’m really enjoying it.” It’s all so different to one year ago, when a devastated Ennis was forced to watch the Beijing Olympics from her home in sheffield with her right leg encased in a large plastic boot. a pre-games medal favourite, Ennis’ dreams were left in tatters when scans revealed a triple stress fracture to her right ankle three months before Beijing; an injury so serious doctors said it could be career-threatening. “at that point I was in pieces,” she recalls. “Everyone was telling me it would make me stronger in the long run; at the time, I thought they were only saying to make me feel better, but it really has. I’m in the best shape of my life this year, and mentally much stronger. and to have come from such a low place to being a world champion has made it so much sweeter.” Ennis knew she was in good form after setting a new personal best of 6,587 points at her first meeting back from injury in May – but even she could not have predicted that the first day of competition would end with her 307 points ahead of Olympic champion Natalya Dobrinska.

mark dadswell/getty images

staying focused “People were telling me I was going to win it and the thought crept into my head too, but I had to keep pushing it out,” she says. “things can go wrong at any stage in the heptathlon, so you can’t let yourself get carried away. until the javelin finished it was really close, but when I was still in first place after that I knew I’d have to do something really stupid to throw away the gold medal in the 800m.” august 28 2009

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Out of the heptathlon’s seven events, it’s the final slog twice around the track that the athletes most dread. “It’s awful,” admits Ennis. “When you’re walking on to the track, it’s like being on death row – you just know it’s going to be so painful and that so much is resting on it.” It’s a race that tests tactical nous as much as physical ability, so presumably Ennis and her coach toni Minichiello hatched a plan to make sure the gold was secure? “Yeah, we discussed what sort of time I needed to run to get the necessary points, so I was going to take it out steady and wind it up,” she explains. “But I was so nervous that as soon as the gun went I zoomed off. Before I knew it I was out in front thinking: ‘Oh no, this wasn’t the plan!’” But the crowd loved it, cheering a gritty Ennis display that saw her cross the finish line first, elated but exhausted. and Minichiello’s reaction to her kamikaze run? Ennis laughs: “He was like: ‘What were you doing?’ I just said: ‘I don’t care, I’m world champion!’”

lap of honour

fasT fACts jessica ennis Born january 28 1986 Birthplace sheffield Height 5ft 4ins club City of sheffield Athletic Club Titles World heptathlon gold 2009, Commonwealth Games bronze 2006

i was so nervous THaT as soon as THe gun wenT i jusT zoomed off

It was quite a championships for Ennis then, but is she aware of the consequences that come with being a British gold-medal winner? the public adoration and ensuing pressure to go and do the whole thing again – particularly in three years, when Britain plays host to its own major championships at London 2012? “I know it’s going to be a bit crazy, and I don’t fully know what to expect,” she says. “But everyone has been telling me to enjoy it because these moments don’t happen that often. You don’t want to look back and not really have let your hair down and taken it all in.” so it’s party time then? “there is a party planned for my friends and family,” she admits. “and there’s talk of an open-top bus tour in sheffield, too – which will be... well, weird.” something tells us she’s going to have to get used to them.

Congratulations to Jess Ennis, new heptathlon World Champion.

sarah shephard

Jessica Ennis will officially start the adidas Women’s 5K Challenge in aid of Breakthrough Breast Cancer on Sunday September 6. adidas has produced a Pink Ribbon range of kit to support the race and charity. For stockists call 0870 240 4204. For more information visit www.womenschallenge.co.uk

Aviva is proud to have supported athletics from playground to podium for over a decade. aviva.co.uk/athletics

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seven days of sport August 28-september 3

the two have contested one of the great rivalries of the modern game Our pick of the action from the sporting week ahead

saturday

premier league having a good time chelsea v burnley saturday 12.45pm espn Burnley will arrive at Stamford Bridge on a huge high after home victories over Man Utd and Everton, but it’s worth noting that a win by two clear goals will send Chelsea temporarily top of the table. One suspects it won’t be their last visit to that particular pinnacle this season.

manchester united v arsenal satuRDaY 5.15PM sky sports 1 On November 16 1996, arsenal travelled to Old trafford for their first league meeting of the season with Manchester united. a dullish encounter brought about only one goal – an own goal by Nigel Winterburn, as it happens – as united built towards retaining the title their kids had famously won the season before. Look at the teamsheets that day and you’ll see some famous names: arsenal boasted the likes of tony adams, Patrick Vieira, Paul Merson, Dennis Bergkamp and Ian Wright, while Eric Cantona found himself surrounded by united youngsters including gary Neville, Ryan giggs and substitute Paul scholes. Yet the two most important names in action were stood on the sidelines – because this was the first managerial meeting in English football between alex Ferguson and arsene Wenger. In the 13 years since, the combustible scot and supposedly intellectual Frenchman have clashed numerous swords in what has become

having a bad time

one of the great rivalries in the modern game. Never the friendliest of foes – Ferguson has often alluded to the fact that Wenger never partakes in his favoured post-match glass of wine with the opposition manager – their offpitch coolness has regularly been mirrored by on-pitch fury between their two sets of players. so, when contest number 41 (and 27 in the Premier League) between the two managers takes place on saturday early evening, we can expect more fireworks between sides that began the weekend in third and fourth place in the Premier League. that tottenham and Chelsea are setting the early pace matters little – united against arsenal remains the definitive Premier League rivalry, and watching the two managers spit and rage their way through another hopefully heated encounter should be worth the trip to the pub alone. Make sure you’re sitting comfortably, because this one could get interesting.

ferguson

wenger on fergie

he’s a novice – he should keep his opinions to Japanese football” (Apr 1997)

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he doesn’t interest me – i will never answer to any provocation from him any more” (Jan 2005)

premier League wenger played 26 draws 8 Wins 9 goals 30 League titles since 1996 3

having contrasting times portsmouth v man city sunday 1.30pm sky sports 1 Two clubs who know more than most how fast things can change in football. Portsmouth, FA Cup winners the season before last, can’t buy a win at the minute; City, meanwhile can buy pretty much whatever they bloody well want.

A difficult one, this. As we investigated in Sport two weeks ago, Spain can lay strong claim to being the best league in the world – their teams score more goals per game than the Premier League and La Liga boasts more players on the current Fifa World Player of the Year list than any other. The Premier League has as many, granted, but La Liga dominates the sharp end of the list. And while historically, those Spaniards have had to endure the most stupifyingly predictable league in all of football, the footballing equivalent of the toss of a coin, with only Real Madrid (31) and Barcelona (19) in double figures for league titles, in the past 10 seasons a refreshing four teams have hoisted the league trophy – Real Madrid and Barcelona, naturally, plus Rafa Benitez’s Valencia twice and Deportivo La Coruna. So, statistically speaking, it’s a more open affair than in England, and yet when La Liga kicks off again this weekend, only a fool would predict anything other than another two-horse race. Can Barcelona retain the title they won at a snazzy canter last season, or will Real Madrid’s dastardly Galacticos Part II policy pay off again? We have no idea, but we can at least assess their relative merits...

kaka will be hoping to settle into the new and improved real madrid squad quickly

fc barcelona

real madrid

last season La Liga champions, champions League winners

last season La Liga runners-up

While Real Madrid have signed anything and everything that moves this summer, the champions have been quiet in the transfer market. Attacking left-back Maxwell has arrived from Inter, but their most significant business has seen the ‘mercurial’ Zlatan Ibrahimovic join from Inter for £40m. Ibrahimovic replaces Samuel Eto’o but will this change the Barcelona game plan? With the pacey Eto’o, Barca could cut through opponents at pace – but, with the more ponderous Ibrahimovic, they may have to employ a more patient build-up.

Having been humiliated at home and in Europe last season, Madrid have returned to the galacticos policy of signing the world’s best at whatever price. This time around, all eyes will be on Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka to deliver, with Karim Benzema expected to weigh in with the goals. In midfield, Xabi Alonso should keep things ticking over, while at the back Valencia’s Raul Albiol has been brought in to provide more stability. Whether things will click quickly enough to mount a title challenge is anyone’s guess, but we’re about to find out.

the key fixtures november 29 Barcelona v Real Madrid (last season 2-0) april 11 Real Madrid v Barcelona (last season 2-6)

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blackburn v west ham

stoke v sunderland

tottenham v birmingham

wolves v hull

everton v wigan

Saturday 3pm

Saturday 3pm

Saturday 3pm

Saturday 3pm

Sunday 3pm

Beyond the question of which club wasted most money on the wages of Lucas Neill, this one will see Rovers seeking their first points of the season against Gianfranco Zola’s likeable Hammers. Draw.

Stoke’s resilient defence should expect to be tested by the in-form Sunderland duo of Kenwyne Jones and Darren Bent. If Sunderland do find the net, will the Potters have enough to strike back? Away win.

Alex McLeish will be ecstatic with his side’s eighth place going into this fixture, but expect the scowl to have returned by full time. Spurs are on fire, and will win again – potentially handsomely.

It may still be August, but this could be the first six-pointer of the season. Hull won’t sit back, but Wolves performed creditably in defeat at Man City and a rowdy Molineux can play its part. Home win.

And Liverpool think they have problems. Bottom club Everton need a result and they need it fast, but Wigan were better than the 5-0 against Man Utd on Saturday and will do enough for a draw here.

august 28 2009

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aston villa v fulham Sunday 4pm sky sports 1

Can Villa build on their Anfield win at home to Roy Hodgson’s Fulham? Very possibly, although the Villa Park faithful will want to see John Carew sooner rather than later. Draw, probably.


 



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matthew peters/manchester united via getty images. jasper juinen/getty images

fergie on wenger

bolton v liverpool saturday 3pm It doesn’t bode well for Gary Megson that a home game with Sunderland and a trip to Hull have yielded neither points nor goals for his Bolton side. Cue a visit from Liverpool, who will be desperate to hit back after Monday night’s abject defeat at the hands of Aston Villa.

la liga

34

seven days of sport August 28-september 3

monday

athletiCs lisa dobriskey – silver medal at the World Championships

aviva british grand prix GateSHead internatiOnal Stadium bbC 2 2pm britain’s top athletes will barely have time to wash and iron their sweaty kit after returning from the World Championships in berlin before they’re called back into action for the british Grand Prix in Gateshead on bank Holiday monday. the event brings a close to the uK athletics major events season, and provides the likes of Phillips idowu and Jess ennis with an opportunity to lap up the adoration of an excitable home crowd after their goldmedal-winning performances in berlin. it was at this very event three years ago that a certain Jamaican sprinter ran 100m in a new world-record time of 9.77s. it wasn’t usain bolt, of course, but his countryman asafa Powell, who in 2006 was blissfully unaware of the capabilities of his 6ft 5ins nugget-eating friend. this year, tyson Gay will be on hand to provide the heavy artillery, fresh from running 9.71s – the fastest 100m time ever by an

saturday

american athlete – on his way to winning silver in berlin. Christine Ohuruogu arrived at Gateshead last year in fine form, having just added the Olympic 400m gold medal to her 2007 World Championship title. in heavy rain the crowds huddled under umbrellas to watch her perform and roared their approval as she cruised to victory. twelve months later, and the Olympic champion does not have quite so much to celebrate after finishing out of the medals in berlin. Still, at least she can commiserate with 800m flop Jemma Simpson, who finished only fifth in her semi final despite having been fancied to at least reach the final. Other british athletes lined up to compete include world 1,500m silver-medallist lisa dobriskey, 800m third Jenny meadows, fellow finalist marilyn Okoro and long jumper Chris tomlinson.

rugby league

underdogs do battle carnegie challenge cup final Wembley Stadium bbC 1 2.10pm

auGuSt 28 2009

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football Women’s Euro 2009: England v Russia Helsinki, Finland Eurosport 5.45pm

saturday rugby union Tri-Nations Game 6: Australia v South Africa Perth Sky Sports 2 10.30am cycling Vuelta a Espana Spain Eurosport 3pm football Serie A: AC Milan v Inter San Siro Stadium ESPN 7.45pm

sunday formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix Spa-Francorchamps BBC 1 12.10pm cricket Twenty20 International: England v Australia Old Trafford Sky Sports 2 2pm motogp Round 12: Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix Indianapolis, Indiana BBC 3 7.50pm

michael steele/getty images. warren little/getty images

This is one for the romantics as the Huddersfield Giants take on the Warrington Wolves in a battle of the underdogs for the 2009 Challenge Cup. In recent years, the likes of St Helens and Leeds Rhinos have dominated the closing stages of rugby league’s showpiece events – but, with the Giants and Wolves both pulling off surprising semi-final wins to reach Wembley, it will be the first final of the Super League era not to involve one of the game’s traditional ‘big four’ clubs. The biggest shock was Huddersfield’s 24-14 defeat of holders St Helens. The Giants pulled off a defensive masterclass at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, the result of which was a return to Wembley for the first time in 47 years. In the other semi, Warrington gained revenge over Wigan for their 1990 Challenge Cup defeat with a hard-fought 39-26 victory. All of which adds up to a repeat of the 1933 final, which – I’m sure we all remember – Huddersfield edged it 21-17.

friday athletics IAAF Golden League Zurich, Switzerland

BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM Software © 2009 Eidos Interactive Ltd. Developed by Rocksteady Studios Ltd. Published by Eidos Interactive Ltd. Rocksteady and the Rocksteady logo are trademarks of Rocksteady Studios Ltd. Eidos and the Eidos logo are trademarks of Eidos Interactive Ltd. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. All rights reserved BATMAN and all characters, their distinctive likenesses, and related elements are trademarks of DC Comics © 2009. All Rights Reserved. “ ” and “PLAYSTATION” are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Microsoft, Windows, the Windows Vista Start button, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, and the Xbox logos are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies, and 'Games for Windows' and the Windows Vista Start button logo are used under license from Microsoft.

™

BATMAN and all characters, their likenesses, and related elements are trademarks of DC Comics. © 2009. All Rights Reserved. WBIE LOGO, WB SHIELD: ™ & © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (s09)

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SPORT ACTIVE

ADVERTISING FEATURE HEALTH

FITNESS

NUTRITION

GADGETS

ADVENTURE

TRAVEL

TECHNIQUE

PROFESSIONAL TIP

“Always get some protein down you straight after training to recover fast. If you don’t, you have to eat a lot of food which is hard work. I always have a protein shake within 20 minutes of finishing a weights session.” Delon Armitage

England and London Irish full back

The weekly section dedicated to you and your sporting life

FITNESS

Get fit for rugby

Make the perfect tackle

Ahead of the forthcoming start of the Guinness Premiership, England and London Irish full back Delon Armitage shares his rugby training secrets with Sport

“Make sure you put your head in the right place otherwise it could be very painful. Always lead with your shoulder and keep your head well out of the way.”

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“Get as close as possible before you tackle so you’re not trying to dive into the tackle.”

“Thrust with your legs so you put all your weight into the tackle and get maximum impact.”

03

“Always wrap your arms around their legs and aim to hit them above the knees so if you do loosen a bit you can always slip down to the ankles and get a good grip.”

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SKILLS

CYCLING LIKE A PRO

If you are taking part in The Prostate Cancer Charity Tour Ride in Stoke-On-Trent on September 6, or are just getting into cycling, professional tour rider and 2009 British Road Race champion Kristian House has got some expert tips on how to prepare for a race

TRAINING

RIDING TECHNIQUE

ON THE BIKE “You can’t replicate cycling exercises in the gym, so spend plenty of time on your bike. Build up to the race distance you are going to do and don’t do it too quickly: you’ll get frustrated and quit. Break down the challenge and build up to the distance gradually over weeks.”

HOW TO… CORNER AT SPEED “Pick your line going into the corner and don’t deviate from it. It’s all about picking a good line. Don’t try to follow the line of the person in front of you as they might ride differently to you. Just decide on your own line, stay balanced and in control and stick to that line.”

OFF THE BIKE “Going to the gym won’t really help as riding your bike works all the muscles you need for a bike ride. The best thing to do is simple core stability for balance and control. Sit ups, push-ups and crunches will strengthen your stomach muscles and stop your back from aching on a long ride.”

HOW TO… CLIMB A HILL “Some people like to climb seated, others like to climb out of the saddle, but the key thing is to select the right gear and go at your own pace. Also, judge the hill. If a hill is really long, don’t attack it from the bottom or you’ll be tired. Find your own rhythm.”

NUTRITION AND HYDRATION

AUGUST 28 2009

2 BOOSTING YOUR EXPLOSIVE PACE “To work on my pace, I do a lot of cleans and also clean-and-jerks with a barbell in the gym. At the minute I can do about 100kg. That really helps with my explosive pace. I also do squats, lunges and box jumps in the gym. But whatever you’re doing, to build pace you have to change rhythm so you get that explosiveness. For example, if you’re doing squats, you need to go down slow, but then power up. I also go to the track and do 60m sprints and hurdles to improve my speed and agility.”

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3 BUILDING EXTRA STRENGTH “Muscle and size is important in rugby. A big chest exercise is the bench press. I’d work up to 130-140kg and do four sets of four reps. My top five upper body exercises are lateral pull-downs, bench pulls (lying on a bench with my arms hanging down and pulling a bar up), tricep dips, chin-ups and the jammer (a standing chest press). It is important to give the body a rest so on Monday do upper body, Tuesday lower body, have a day off on Wednesday and then repeat that cycle.”

4 EATING THE RIGHT STUFF “To fuel my training I have porridge with fruit – normally bananas – for energy and a protein shake to feed my muscles. It’s important to get as much down you as you can – especially before weight training or running. Nutrition is important as your body takes a battering. When people stop taking care of their diet, they pick up injuries. After training, I get as much protein as possible, so I often eat steak or chicken with potatoes or pasta and vegetables.”

5 WARMING UP AND WARMING DOWN

“To warm up, I run across the field a couple of times – about 50m there and back – then have a static stretch. It’s good to play a few games and throw the ball around for a few minutes before doing more dynamic stretching – like leg swings, lunges, jumping on your toes. Always do stretches at the end of your training for 15 minutes too.” Delon Armitage is supporting Gatorade’s sponsorship of the Guinness Premiership. For more info visit www.gatorade.co.uk.

Kicking for touch “Keep your chest up and don’t let it drop low. Make sure you put the ball out in front of you to make space for yourself, rather than holding it too close. As you kick, keep your head up and follow through in the direction of the ball.”

01

Perfect passing “I’m a right-hander so if I pass to the left I hold the ball at the back with my right hand and at the front with my left hand. The right gives the power and spin and the left hand directs it. Always keep your hands up for better control.”

02

Catching the ball under pressure “Concentrate on the ball, not the guys running at you. You have to get under the ball early, keep your eye on the ball and hold your hands close enough together so that it can’t fall through. Don’t stand there with your hands wide then try to close them. You should always have your hand up and your fingers pointing up. You should catch the ball with your fingertips, and not your palm because that gives you a quicker distribution and enables you to pass it straight away rather than catching it in your palms and having to move it to your fingers.”

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THE MORNING OF THE RACE “I will normally have a cup of coffee to really wake up, some

muesli and oatmeal or toast and scrambled eggs. I wouldn’t go for a full English as that will be a bit too heavy.” DURING THE RACE “You need plenty of water but also sports drinks too. Water is good but too much can leave you drained so you want something with carbs in as well. Also, stock up on muesli bars and energy gels.”

The Prostate Cancer Charity Tour Ride September 6 2009 in Stoke-on-Trent Cyclists of all abilities can enter the Prostate Cancer Charity Tour Ride, which lets you ride the same course as the Tour of Britain professionals – or part of it! – so you can ‘Unite By Cycling’ to raise awareness of prostate cancer. You can test your endurance and feel like a professional on the 145km Pro Tour Ride, challenge yourself and your friends over the 70km Challenge Tour Ride, or take the kids on the 20km Family Tour Ride. To register and to start fundraising, visit www.unitebycycling.org.uk.

DAVID ROGERS/GETTY IMAGES. HENRY BROWNE/ACTION IMAGES. MARK DADSWELL/GETTY IMAGES. IAN WALTON/GETTY IMAGES

1 HOW TO GET IN SHAPE FOR RUGBY “A good drill I recommend for rugby fitness is ‘down and ups’. Run to the five-metre line, go down into a press-up position, then run back to the touchline and touch your chest to the ground again. Then sprint to the 60m line and do the same. We normally do 18 runs – that is about seven minutes of running and is normally enough! Jut going out doing a 10k run is not really that gamerelevant because rugby is quite startand-stop so this drill is more gamespecific and will get you in better shape for the rugby season.”

THE NIGHT BEFORE “Stick to what you know. Pasta and chicken are always good. The night before the race it’s good to go to a nice Italian and really carb up on pasta. Also, make sure you are well hydrated with water and cordial the night before.”

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SPORT ACTIVE

SPORT PROMOTION

O SA P T 0 U 3 £1

TRAVEL

VE

THE UK’S BEST...

Adrenaline adventures! It is the final Bank Holiday weekend of 2009 so this could be your last chance for an action-packed weekend before the snow falls and we all hide in the pub. Sport rounds up the UK’s best weekend adventure trips

EXCLUSIVE READER OFFER

CLUB LA SANTA Microlight flying Kayaking

Zorbing

Explore inland waterways and tackle the elements with a kayaking session in the beautiful estuary of the New Forest. If you’ve already got some paddling experience, a two-day course will have you competing in sprint and slalom contests. If you’re a beginner, paddle hard and try not to cry. Exelement offers a three-hour kayaking taster course for £39.15 while the two-day course costs £156.59. The New Forest venue is about two and a half hours from central London. www.exelement.co.uk

Experience the simple joy of being a hamster in a giant PVC ball as you plummet 160m down a big, green hill. We recommend choosing the hydro-zorb option, which means your temporary ball-like home will be filled with 60 litres of water splashing around you as you tumble. Pod London in Surrey, just 35 minutes on the train from London Bridge or Victoria, has packages starting at £49.95 for two people. Open every weekend from April to October. www.zorbing.co.uk

If you harbour a desire to be a pilot, but lack the cashflow, microlighting could be the solution. Like big, flying tents, microlights are lightweight aircrafts which offer beginners a great introduction to flying. Start calling your instructor ‘Goose’ and screaming expletives about bogeys and you’re unlikely to be allowed back up there, mind. Visit the Microlight Aviation Club, in Micheldever, just an hour from London Waterloo where prices start from £50 for a 20 minute taster session to £125 for a full hour. www.microlightflyingschool.co.uk

Canyoning

Indoor skydiving

Mountainboarding

Here in the UK we may not be very good at things like whitesand beaches and tropical rainforests, but one thing we do well is cliffs. We’ve got loads of them, making the UK a great place to learn rock climbing. A qualified instructor will take you through everything from technique and etiquette to tying your safety knots – probably the most important bit. Exhilaration offers starter courses for £50 in Crowborough, East Sussex, just 35 miles south of London. www.exhilaration.co.uk

Perfect if you – slightly oddly – want to experience the buzz of skydiving but are scared of heights, Airkix features an indoor pod containing a giant propeller which blasts air upwards at almost 170mph, suspending you in the airflow so you can play at being Superman without ever being more than a few feet off the floor. Two one minute experiences cost £39.99 at Airkix in Milton Keynes, a 30 minute train journey from London Euston. www.airkix.com

Mountainboards are best described as a cross between skateboards and snowboards. The aim is to get down a grass- or dirt-covered slope, dodging and jumping all the obstacles in your way, while trying not to land on your arse. Sounds simple, eh? Extreme Element offer courses from £49 which includes half a day’s action plus tutelage from a qualified instructor. The centre is located in Redhill, 30 minutes from London Victoria. www.adventuresportsholidays.com

SAVE UP TO £130 PER APARTMENT. If you travel on the dates below and book before September 30 2009, you can bag a special offer! These special offers apply to the prices of seven nights in a one bedroom Yellow (AY) apartment, which can sleep three adults or two adults and two children up to the age of 14. DEPARTURES OCTOBER 1 2009 NOVEMBER 12 2009 DECEMBER 3 2009 JANUARY 7 2010

NORMAL PRICE PER APARTMENT £638 £619 £619 £619

Offers subject to availability, apply to new bookings only and are not to be used in conjunction with any other offer. Flights are extra and we can book these for you when you call to book your apartment at these very special prices. To book, please call 0161 790 9890 and quote “Sport Magazine offer” when you book. Hurry though, you must book before September 30 2009. Visit www.clublasanta.co.uk/about/sportmagazine-offer for more details. Bookings to Club La Santa in the UK are handled by Sports Tours International, members of ABTA and ATOL licenced, so you know your money is safe.

AUGUST 28 2009

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SPORT READER PRICE PER APARTMENT £547 £489 £489 £489

FOTOLIA. HARRISON SHULL/AURORA/GETTY IMAGES

Outdoor rock climbing

Canyoning is very mcuh like white-water rafting but without the raft. You can slide along wet slabs of rock, abseil through dripping ravines, scramble down cliffs and jump off waterfalls into deep pools. Don’t worry about getting safety though – you will be kitted out with enough flotation devices to help even Titus Bramble stay afloat. Adrenaline Antics offer the three-hour Big Canyon Adventure in Snowdonia National Park, which is six hours drive from London, from £45. www.adrenalinantics.com

With over 25 sports FREE, Club La Santa, Lanzarote, is the number one destination for all people who enjoy sport and an active life! You never know who you will bump into at Club La Santa, with Jenson Button and Mark Webber making frequent trips. You can find more info on our own website, www.clublasanta.co.uk.

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SPORT ACTIVE

Tankballing This is paintballing but with tanks rather than guns – genius. Tankballing puts you in control of a 17-tonne armoured tank with specially modified cannons capable of firing 40mm paint rounds. Each of your group will take turns to drive the tank around the course and have a go at

firing the breach at your opponents. Exhilaration offers experiences on a former bombing range in Husbands Bosworth, Leicestershire for £89 on selected Sundays and Wednesdays, April to October. www.exhilaration.co.uk

Bungee jumping

Rally driving

Ice climbing

Scuba diving

Drive a Subaru Impreza for two hours of hard acceleration, stomach-churning jumps and handbrake turns as you negotiate the course. A full works-prepared rally car, the Impreza boasts 270bhp and 4,500rpm and is capable of 0-60 in five seconds. An hour outside London in Enstone, Oxfordshire, Extreme Rally offers this two hour experience for £149. www.extreme-rally.co.uk

Ditch the mayonnaise-soaked sarnies and spend your lunch hour inside a -12°C giant freezer learning to conquer an eight-metre high wall of ice with a pair of ice axes. Much more fun than Facebook, don’t you think? Located in Ellis Brigham’s Covent Garden store, the wall is open six days a week and offers a ‘learn to ice climb’ course for £50. www.verticalchill.com

Diving in Osterley isn’t quite like diving in the Great Barrier Reef, but trying London Diving’s Discover Scuba Diving course in a three-metre deep indoor dive pool is a great way to learn the basics before you go somewhere tropical. Near Heathrow Airport, London Diving’s beginner course costs £25 on Saturday or Sunday mornings by appointment. www.londondiving.net

NORTH FACE TERRA 60 £109.99 Suitable for both cheery weekend hikers or hardcore backpackers, the Terra 60 boasts a split main compartment, tool loops and a rain cover – perfect for a UK summer. www.thenorthface.com

AUGUST 28 2009

CAT HARDING £79.99 Offering the comfort and durability you’d expect from a Cat boot, the Harding features a leather upper and an OrthoLite footbed to keep your cheesy feet cool and dry. www.catfootwear.com

BERGHAUS TRANGO JACKET £300 Part of Berghaus’s Heritage range available in September, this oldschool jacket will keep you warm when you hit the great outdoors. Call 0191 516 5600 for stockists. www.selfridges.com

Never overspend The new Cash Manager card

FOTOLIA. J MARSHALL/ALAMY

NEW KIT

If the prospect of jumping off a massive crane while attached to an oversized elastic band is your idea of fun, try the biggest and most extreme bungee jump in the UK where you’ll drop 300ft in just four seconds. It’s in Windsor, so you might even see Liz and Phil rock up for a jump too. Exelement organise the jump for £77.32. Windsor is an hour by train from London Waterloo. www.exelement.co.uk

We’re better, connected

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SPORT ACTIVE Coasteering Explore the frothing Welsh coastline with eco-friendly TYF in Pembrokeshire, who will kindly help you to jump into bubbling pools of water, swim through foaming swells and scale slippery coastal rocks on a lung-pumping coasteering course. A half-day session at TYF in Pembrokeshire costs £50. www.tyf.com

Paintballing

Monster truck driving

Evade exploding pellets, hunt down the enemy with tactical nous and crawl around a 40,000sq ft three-zone area at London’s largest indoor paintballing centre. And, of course, shoot people with brightly coloured paint. The complex is just a ten-minute walk from Canary Wharf tube and £35 will get you the bronze package – 200 rounds of paintballs plus all the gear. www.thepaintballcentre.com

In the words of the chocolate-loving Mr T, “get some nuts” and take to the wheel of American monster truck MUD-ZERELLA. You will turn into a testosterone-fuelled monster as you take to the wheel of this mechanical beast and proceed to crush cars – the perfect antidote to stressful city driving. Based near Bedford, the Monster Events Centre can be reached in under an hour from London. A 30-minute experience costs £110. www.monster-events.co.uk

Put money on Spend it

PATAGONIA ALPINE WIND JACKET £70 Available in red, green, or black, this lightweight windshirt can be used as an insulating layer or an outer shell, and is made of lightweight, breathable polyester ripstop fabric. www.patagonia.com

AUGUST 28 2009

The Cornwall Blokart Centre, which is based at Perranporth Airfield about 15 minutes from Newquay, offers a one-to-one two-hour session for £75 or a three hour group session for up to eight people costing £300. www.cornwallblokartcentre.co.uk

SONY ERICSSON W995 Price dep on contract Ideal for keeping you entertained on long journeys, the W995 Walkman phone offers you BBC iPlayer, YouTube, 60 movies to download throughout the year and an 8.1 megapixel camera. Lovely. www.sonyericsson.com

Feel the force of the rapids as you float down river in a giant dinghy, dodging rocks and ducking walls of water on this heartpumping, body drenching, white-water rafting experience. UK Rafting offer weekend sessions from 8.30am to 4.30pm which cost between £267 and £312 per raft. In a two-hour session, you’ll get four runs down river. www.ukrafting.co.uk

NORTH FACE MINIBUS 23 £350 This two-man tent will keep you safe and warm in really harsh climates, let alone the middle of a sheep farm in Wales. It is impressively spacious and weighs just 2.88 kg. www.thenorthface.com

Never overspend FOTOLIA. GLYN THOMAS/ALAMY. MARC HILL/ALAMY. SHOOSMITH JERSEY/ALAMY

NEW KIT

Rev up your weekend at the beach by driving a lightweight, three-wheeled wind-powered go-kart. Capable of reaching speeds of 60mph, the easy-to-manoeuvre blokarts will have you racing just a few inches above the ground and will leave kids crying as you mow down their sandcastles.

Get real time balance alerts

White-water rafting

Blokarting

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PROFILE ARIANNY CELESTE

I don’t like people who lie, steal, cheat or betray

You’d struggle to pick a ‘best of’ from the UFC Octagon Girls. Luckily it’s been done for you, and here’s the top lady – Ms Arianny Celeste

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getting anywhere with Ms Celeste. Her advice to men meeting her is “be yourself and no cheesy lines”. Which probably explains her affection for Burkman – who, in our eyes, is a bit of an ugly brute. And we’re not envious in any way, shape or form, obviously. When her days as an Octagon Girl are at an end, she’s fairly precise about what she wants to do next. “I want to own my own medical esthetician business,” she says matter of factly, as if we know what any of that means. We didn’t. It’s all about skin care, apparently. Or something like that. UFC fans will be hoping the esthetician business can wait a couple more years before its next recruit signs up, mind.

FAST FACTS ARIANNY CELESTE Born November 12 1985 Birthplace Las Vegas Occupation Model, UFC Octagon Girl

SIMON CANEY

UFC 105 takes place in Manchester on November 14. For more information, visit uk.ufc.com

KEVIN LYNCH

“I don’t like people who lie, cheat, steal, or betray. I’m big on trust and loyalty, so when someone crosses that line I will probably forgive them – but I will never forget.” So says Arianny Celeste and, as an army of men will testify, she speaks for womanhood everywhere. That lot never forget. The delightful Arianny is familiar to fans of UFC (or, to give its full name, Ultimate Fighting Championship) as one of its Octagon Girls, the pretty ladies who keep us entertained between rounds by walking around in not many clothes holding up bits of card with numbers on. Indeed, Arianny does this so well that she’s been named top Octagon Girl, and a quick internet trawl around some of her rivals tells you that this is indeed quite an honour. Sadly for Sport readers, she’s reportedly dating UFC scrapper Josh Burkman, so it would be wise not to pin your hopes on ever

46

THE TRIPLE JUMPER

PHILLIPS IDOWU

Newly-crowned triple-jump world champion and human pin cushion Phillips Idowu talks to Sport about long socks and being born to jump I used to be careless with my body I had five fractures in six of my lower vertebrae in my back a couple of years ago. It was a problem which had probably been coming for years and I had to work really hard after that to make sure my back was strong enough to support the weak bones. It made me a different athlete because I used to be a bit reckless with my body but now I make sure I have my physio and my massage and keep my strength and mobility work going.

I’m an eating machine Last year I was strict with my diet. I wanted to lose weight but maintain my strength and I managed to get down to 13st from 14st. I’m trying to put weight on now though because I don’t like this skinny feel so I’m eating anything.

Talking keeps me relaxed “When I’m competing I need to be relaxed and if that means speaking to other competitors or to people in the stands then that’s what I do. For me to jump well I have to be relaxed because once I get tense everything tightens up and my jumping is not as fluent.”

I’m the perfect physical specimen Technique is important in the triple jump but genetics, height and natural strength are essential. I’m 6ft 5ins with long legs, I’m really toned and muscular, and naturally strong. You could have the best technique in the world but if you’re not the physical specimen that I am you wont be able to achieve half the distance I jump.

Broccoli is off the menu “I’ll have lunch four hours before I jump and then nothing until I’m finished. I might have a protein bar with me during the competition but anything else will be caffeine gels, so that I don’t carry any excess weight. I can’t even have broccoli for lunch because the stalk takes too long to digest and would sit in my stomach. I want stuff that breaks down fast and gives me a large energy boost.”

I’VE ALWAYS BEEN ABLE TO DO WHAT I CAN DO NOW

I was born to do this “I’ve always been able to do what I do now. Plyometrics and bounding work can make you stronger and reduce risk of injury, but I’m a natural jumper. If I had 12 weeks off I could still get on the runway and be agile enough to put in a decent triple jump; that’s just the way I’m built. I was born to jump, it’s what I do.”

I’m a trend setter I was a basketball player before I got into athletics and found it hard to give up the sport so the long socks were me being rebellious and trying to keep that basketball image. But then it ended up being functional because I used to suffer from calf cramps and the long tight socks helps with circulation. Now I see everyone doing it but at the time I was the only one wearing them.

I’m not a team player “I came from a team sport background – I played football, basketball and American football but it killed me that I could have a really good game and the team could still lose. That’s why I love triple jump; when I’m on the runway it’s my time, it’s me doing what I do best. I enjoy knowing that I have 30 seconds to do what I do and show off.”

YOUR KIT BAG?

AUGUST 28 2009

“My iPod, mobile phone, sunglasses, a tennis ball and golf ball – to roll under my feet – and a little black rubber massager I use to get into tight spots. I’ll also have my deodorant, towels, a water bottle, my sports drink, jumping spikes, training schedule and my wallet.”

W W W. S P O R T - M A G A Z I N E . C O . U K

WHAT’S WITH THE HAIR COLOURS?

“I dye my hair whatever colour takes my fancy. Every Olympic year I’ve had it red, which is my favourite; I feel happy and vibrant in it, so I stick with it.”

RARE INTERVIEW WITH THE MOTOGP SUPERSTAR FOTOLIA.COM. GETTY IMAGES FOR AVIVA

WHAT IN

New world champion Phillips Idowu competes at the Aviva British Grand Prix this Bank Holiday Monday. Tune in to BBC2 from 2pm, or visit aviva.co.uk/athletics for more information

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