Wayne Rooney fires Manchester United to Club World Cup

Glory Glory Man United!!

Wayne Rooney scored the only goal of the game as Manchester United won the final of the Club World Cup against Liga de Quito after Nemanja Vidic had been sent off.
United were always the dominant force and Rooney ensured his side got the reward they deserved when he curled home the winner 16 minutes from time after Cristiano Ronaldo had supplied the final pass.
It is the first time an English club have won the tournament in its expanded form and the second time United have been crowned the world's best following their victory over Palmeiras in 1999.
Rooney said he was "delighted and proud" after scoring the winning goal in Yokohama.
"It's fantastic. It's a great achievement by us. We are really delighted and proud that we are the world champions," he said. "To score the winning goal is a great feeling for myself."
United captain Rio Ferdinand added: "Now we can say we are the best team in the world. We knew they could create problems but I think today we kept them down to a minimum of chances."
Quito's defence was by no means watertight but, not for the first time this season, United failed to make their superiority tell. Rooney powered two thunderous efforts towards goal that Jose Cevallos managed to deal with, the first time convincingly, the second far less so.
From then on, Rooney was the link man as chances began to pile up. Park Ji-sung was one culprit, driving an angled shot straight at Cevallos before lifting a close-range shot over the bar after Rafael had picked him out with a superb crossfield pass.
Carlos Tevez was denied a number of times while Ronaldo was a muted force in attack. As Ferguson delivered his interval team-talk, he must have warned his team of the danger that lurked if chances continued to be spurned. If so, his words had even more resonance four minutes after the restart as Vidic was sent off.
The flashpoint came as Vidic and Beiler wrestled on the floor as they tried to get to their feet with TV replays showing Vidic had used an elbow.
However, the ten men of United kept pushing and 16 minutes from time duly received their reward. Carrick supplied a superb pass for Ronaldo, who instead of going for goal himself, fed Rooney to his left and his shot was precise and out of the reach of Cevallos.
Van der Sar needed to make a flying save to deny Alejandro Manso in the final minutes and even Tevez was off the bench as the celebrations began.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/manchester_united/article5378448.ece

Oman to Increase Number of Researchers in Country

MUSCAT - The Research Council, a high-status agency set up by a royal decree in 2005 to foster innovation in Oman, is aiming at increasing the number of researchers in the country to nearly 4,000 in the next 11 years, according to its top official.
“The vision of the Research Council is to increase the number of researchers to around 3,800 by 2020 and to raise the investment in research and development to about two per cent of the GDP,” Secretary-General Dr Hilal Al Hinai said. Currently, Oman has some 335 researchers per million habitants and its research spending is 0.17 per cent of the GDP. There is only one PhD programme in the country at present. “We want Oman to become a leader in research at the regional level,” Hinai said during a visit to the German University of Technology in Oman (GUtech) at its campus in Azaiba with the aim of promoting research cooperation between the council and the university.
He said the council’s goal was to become the “hub of innovation with deep-set research capacity” in the region, as well as foster research excellence in selected areas and become receptive to local, social and economic needs.
“Our main role is to link the academic, public and private sectors. Therefore, through the Industrial Innovation Programme launched by the council, we are hiring innovative consultants to visit the industry, find out about their needs and help them develop research proposals that will be funded by the council and executed by researchers at local universities,” he added.
Hinai said enhanced oil recovery had been identified as the main research focus in which Oman could be the world leader “and can serve as a vehicle for developing excellence in related fields such as water treatment, renewable energies, bio, nano and advanced information and communication technologies.”
He revealed that the council was proposing a host of programmes that would include open and strategic research grants, research chairs at universities, a research directory that would involve researchers in Oman, researcher training, conferences, and the development of science and technology parks.
In September this year GUtech signed its first joint research contract with Petroleum Development Oman (PDO). Professor Dr. Janos L. Urai, dean of the faculty of Sciences and head of the Geosciences department at GUtech leads the research project.
In the past ten years, RWTH Aachen University has been involved in several research projects in Dhofar and Dhakhliya regions, especially in Al Jebel Al Akhdar.

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?col=&section=middleeast&xfile=data/middleeast/2008/December/middleeast_December400.xml

ESPN: Le Roy hails new dawn after Oman victory

French coach Claude Le Roy believes Saturday's maiden Gulf Cup triumph will kick-start a prosperous period for Oman.


The hosts beat three-time champions Saudi Arabia 6-5 on penalties following a goalless 120 minutes in Muscat to earn a deserved victory following two successive runners-up finishes to Qatar in 2004 and United Arab Emirates two years ago.
Oman struck the woodwork twice as Ismail Al Ajmi fired against the crossbar in first-half stoppage time before Imad Al Hosni rattled the bar with just six minutes remaining.
But in the shootout after the first 10 penalties were successful, Saudi Arabia's Taisir Al Jassim fired wide and Oman's Mohamad Rabih then stepped up to ensure the last three Gulf Cup's have been won my the host nation.
"I was confident that we would win the title after the motivation, desire and excitement I saw in the players before and during the tournament in addition to the good performances we had," said Le Roy, who led Cameroon to the 1988 African Cup of Nations.
"The tournament was not easy for any team as the Asian champions Iraq and the defending champions UAE were knocked out in the first round. The level we saw in these matches shows how good the teams in the Gulf region are.
"There are a lot of players in the Oman national team who deserve to play in Europe because they have a lot of skills which would allow them to play with different teams around Europe.
"I hope we can continue with the same motivation and desire to win more titles in the next period especially because we have a lot of talent. I'm really proud of this team and these players."
Oman start their 2011 Asian Cup qualification campaign against Indonesia in Muscat on Monday.They failed to qualify for the final round of World Cup qualifiers for South Africa 2010.

Bolton offer keeper Ali Al Habsi a four-year deal as Hull City wait in wings

Gary Megson has reportedly offered goalkeeper Ali Al-Habsi a new four-year deal to keep him at Bolton amid interest from Hull City.
The Trotters chief is busily trying to ensure that long-serving custodian and Finnish international Jussi Jaaskelainen resists the temptation of a Bosman free transfer departure from the Reebok Stadium and signs a new three-year contract at the club this summer.However Megson is also keen to keep Omani international Al-Habsi on board following some excellent displays at the back end of last season as Bolton won their battle to avoid relegation from the Premier League.Newly-promoted Premier League side Hull City, managed by former boss Sam Allardyce's assistant Phil Brown, are believed to be keen on taking Al-Habsi to the KC Stadium, so this new deal offer appears to be Megson attempting to ward off their interest.

The only problem for Bolton is that if Jaaskelainen, who is recovering from a back injury which curtailed his season in March, does agree to stay put then Al-Habsi might request a move to pastures new as he will no doubt want regular first-team football having more than proved himself as a Premier League custodian.

Cristiano Ronaldo named player of the year

Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo has been named as the Professional Footballers' Association player of the year.
The 23-year-old wins the award for the second successive season after another outstanding campaign that has seen him score 38 goals in all competitions.
"I feel very happy. It is a great moment, it is an honour, a pleasure," said the Portuguese star.
Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas picked up the young player of the year award.
Ronaldo beat off competition from Liverpool duo Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard, 20-year-old Fabregas and Gunners team-mate Emmanuel Adebayor and Portsmouth goalkeeper David James.
The Portugal international was also in the running to scoop the young player of the year award, a feat he achieved last year, but was pipped to the prize by Spain star Fabregas.
Torres, Micah Richards, Gabriel Agbonlahor and Ashley Young were the other nominees.
I feel very good but it is not just my award, my team-mates have helped me a lot this season
Cristiano Ronaldo
Ronaldo did not attend the event, as he is busy preparing for Man Utd's Champions League semi-final second leg clash with Barcelona on Tuesday night, but was presented with the award by United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
"When you work all season to play good, to do something for the team, and then at the end of the season the PFA give you this award, it is a great motivation to carry on like that, to work more and get better," said Ronaldo.
"I feel very good but it is not just my award, my team-mates have helped me a lot this season.
"They give me good passes to score goals - and I score - but it is a good moment for me."
Ronaldo revealed he voted for Arsenal striker Adebayor, but believes the right man walked away with the award.
"I voted for Adebayor because I think he has had a great season as well," he said.
"But you have many players who have had a good season - Torres, Fabregas, many players. But I think I deserve to win!"
Of his award, Fabregas said: "I'm very proud. It's a very prestigious trophy.
"Football is a collective game and you prefer to win trophies with team-mates but it's always nice to have this type of award.
"I dedicate it to my team-mates because without them I would not have won."
BBC broadcaster and former England and Blackpool full-back Jimmy Armfield received the merit award for his services to the game.
PFA Premier League Team of the Year: David James (Portsmouth), Bacary Sagna (Arsenal), Rio Ferdinand (Man Utd), Nemanja Vidic (Man Utd), Gael Clichy (Arsenal), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal), Cristiano Ronaldo (Man Utd), Ashley Young (Aston Villa), Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal), Fernando Torres (Liverpool).

Doctoral programmes at two more colleges of SQU

Khaleej Times - MUSCAT — In a major announcement coinciding with today’s ‘University Day’ celebrations in Oman, the Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), the country’s highest seat of learning, has revealed plans by two more of its colleges to introduce doctoral degree programmes in several disciplines from the next academic year.
The university will today also name research projects selected to receive cash assistance from ‘His Majesty’s Strategic Research Fund’.
University Day is marked every year on May 2, the anniversary of a historic visit by His Majesty Sultan Qaboos visit to SQU on that day in 2000. Yesterday being a holiday, the festivities are being held today.
The College of Agricultural and Marine Sciences became the first SQU college to launch Ph.D. courses a few weeks ago. Joining it now are the College of Science and College of Engineering.
“For the College of Science, the main motivation for introducing the doctoral degree is to keep pace with the expanding frontiers of scientific knowledge as an essential basis for sustainable development and also to provide research and development training relevant to the economic and social needs of the Sultanate,” spokesman said, adding: “It is expected that the new programmes will enhance SQU’s collaboration with international academic institutions and attract research and development projects from organisations in the public and private sectors from Oman and from abroad as well.”
The college will offer doctoral programmes through the biology, chemistry, computer science, earth science, mathematics and statistics and physics departments. Each department will identify the doctoral study areas based on the specialisations and expertise of the faculty. The period for research will be at least three years for a full-time student.
The College of Science has been running Master’s programmes since 1995 and so far, 74 students have graduated and 65 are currently registered. The College of Engineering will offer doctoral programmes in six disciplines — civil engineering, electrical and computer engineering, industrial engineering, mechanical engineering, petroleum engineering and chemical and process engineering.
“The prime objective is to produce research scholars and academicians of high calibre who are capable of delivering quality research to support the initiatives of the Research Council of Oman to leap forward in technological innovation,” the spokesman said, adding: “It is also expected that the implementation of Ph.D. programnes would enhance teaching quality at tertiary institutions and deliver the Omani and Gulf industries with top quality engineers.”
The existing M.Sc. engineering programmes in all departments of the college will provide the foundation to launch doctoral programmes. The College of Engineering has a total of 84 faculty members who have extensive experience in research and graduate student supervision. Currently over 206 masters’ students are being supervised by the faculty. Some of the faculty members have been engaged in supervising national and international Ph.D. students in collaboration with other institutions.
During today’s University Day, the authorities will announce strategic research projects that will be taken up during the coming years at SQU with support from His Majesty’s Strategic Research Fund. SQU has been giving top attention to research right from the beginning; in fact, one of its founding goals is to uphold scientific research.
Prof. Anton Mclachlan, Dean, Postgraduate Studies, SQU, speaking about the university’s postgraduate and research programmes, stressed that all steps were being taken to “ensure highest international standards to all our programmes including Masters’ degrees.” He said the College of Medicine and Health Sciences would launch doctoral programmes once the University Academic Council approves the proposal, “hopefully during its next sitting. Hence all the four science based colleges in the university would start doctoral programmes within a few months time.
The humanity colleges will start doctoral programmes later, may be in a year or two.”
Prof Mclachlan noted that since 2002, His Majesty’s Strategic Research Grant had come “as a blessing for the research professionals in SQU to pursue research projects catering to the nation’s needs.
“The most significant thing now is the Scientific Research Council of Oman coming up with substantial funds to support research projects. Both His Majesty’s Research Grant and funds from Research Council will help SQU in becoming much stronger in research activities.”He said nearly 20 projects had been supported by His Majesty’s funds so far, adding: “Quite a lot of projects are associated with the College of Marine Sciences. It is the most successful college in terms of research projects undertaken and completed.”

Oman unemployment drops 75% on economic boom

Omani unemployment has fallen to as little as 5% compared with almost 20% in 2003, the Times of Oman reported, citing the Ministry of Manpower.Unemployment now is at between 5% and 6%, said Younis bin Khalfan Al-Akhzami, director-general of planning and development, according to the newspaper.Like other states in the world's top oil-exporting region, Oman's economy is surging on a near six-fold rise in oil prices in the last six years. Oman's economy expanded 7.2% in real terms in 2006, its second-fastest pace this decade.
Its gross domestic product (GDP) probably grew to 15.51 billion rials ($40.29 billion) at current prices in 2007, helped by higher oil prices, state-run Oman News Agency (ONA) reported last month, citing the economy minister. (Reuters)

Al Busaidy wins Oman Football Association poll

Muscat: Sayyid Khalid Bin Hamad Bin Hamoud Al Busaidy on Thursday won the three-way contest for the Chairman's post in an historical first election to vote Oman Football Association board to office for a four-term.
The election for Chairman and Vice Chairman was so closely-fought that two observers - Fifa's Eisa al Hosni and Asian Football Confederation's (AFC) Charmaine Pereira had to order three rounds of voting to determine the winners.
Under football's governing body's regulations, a winner could be declared only after polling over 51 per cent of votes.

Saleem Bin Qasim Al Zawawi bowed out of the contest after polling only five votes in the first round. Finally Sayyid Khalid, who was nominated by Seeb Club, polled 29 votes against 14 polled by Sayyid Suleiman Bin Hamoud Al Busaidy, who held the vice-chairman's post in the outgoing board.

Earlier, the general assembly of 43 members also elected Salem Bin Said Al Wahaibi, first vice-chairman and Shaikh Saif Bin Hilal Al Hosani as second vice-chairman.
The newly-elected nine board members of the OFA are Talal Al Amer, Ebrahim Al Qasmi, Hasan Al Ajami, Sa'ad Al Shamis, Naser Al Balushi, Nayef Al Marhoon, Seif Al Jabri, Ahmad Al Habsi and Talal Al Amri. The new association will meet today to assign the roles to each member and discuss the future plan of the OFA.
"It's milestone in the history of Oman football. Probably this is the first time in the Middle East a football association is elected after a democratic voting process," said Sayyid Khalid, who as the President of Fanja Club brought the country's first team trophy in 1989.

Poker an education tool: Harvard academic

Poker should be seen as an educational tool that can build strategic thinking skills, a Harvard law professor said yesterday, announcing a plan to offer poker workshops to schools and universities worldwide.
"It teaches life skills, it teaches numeracy, risk assessment, resource management, and it teaches a lot about psychology," Harvard Law School's Prof Charles Nesson said on the sidelines of an internet conference in Singapore.
Poker "teaches you to rely on yourself, assess the situation yourself and make the play," Nesson said.
He said he was forming a "global poker strategic thinking society" that would offer poker workshops to schools and community centres, sponsor team poker matches between professional schools, and hold seminars and conferences that explored poker as a means to teach strategic thinking.
For example, Nesson said, poker taught the importance of not making the first bet in a game a lesson he said could be extrapolated to the advantages of not making the first offer in business negotiations.
Nesson said the society would be started at Harvard, but that chapters could be set up at colleges such as Yale University and Brown University as well as the National University of Singapore.
Plans were under way to promote poker in developing countries such as Jamaica as a form of nation-building, Nesson said.
"The teaching of poker strategic thinking is a way of thinking suited to national development," he said. "If you have a populace that comes to believe in their own skills, they become much more empowered individually and collectively." Interest in poker has exploded in the United States in the past few years with the advent of televised tournaments like the World Poker Tour.

Sayyid Khalid’s Ambitious Vision for the Future of Omani Football

sayyid khalid’s ambitious vision for the future of omani football catapults the upcoming 2007-2011 cycle to a whole new level
In a sportive gathering of current and former club Presidents, members of the Omani Olympic Committee, sports personalities and members of the press, Sayyid Khalid bin Hamad Al-Busaidi unveiled his vision and campaign platform ‘Comprehensive Vision – Bright Future’ to transform Omani football into a flourishing industry for the upcoming Oman Football Association elections 2007-2011 cycle.
With the upcoming Oman Football Association board elections approaching on August 30th 2007, Sayyid Khalid bin Hamad Al Busaidi and Sheikh Salim bin Saeed Al Wahaibi have already publicly announced their candidacy for Chairman and Vice-Chairman after being nominated by the Seeb Club and Muscat Club respectively, as part of their national duty to pave the road for Oman’s football success.
They believe that current efforts exerted by various parties need to be focused, well managed and benchmarked to international standards. “This needs to be translated into a long-term sustainable strategy of which I intend to spearhead along with Sheikh Salim Al Wahaibi to reform the sport in the Sultanate keeping the needs and best interest of all stakeholders such as the Clubs, Government, football players and the community at heart to nurture empowerment,” said Sayyid Khalid.
Sayyid Khalid and his team aim to take Omani football to a whole new level by raising awareness on the game itself in regards to technical expertise, management and marketing which will enable the creation of a true profession which instills cultural, commercial and social value in local communities and the society as a whole. This entails the implementation of various sophisticated training programs available to all football clubs and providing the best possible professional instructors and trainers to educating the media on the efforts exerted by the Association and marketing the Sultanate’s highly qualified football players and future athletes.