Brazilian football legend Pele holds the FIFA World Cup trophy during the FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour outside the Hotel de Ville in Paris, yesterday. The FIFA World Cup trophy arrived with its ambassador Pele in Paris yesterday and will be exhibited on the Hotel de Ville plaza until tomorrow. This event kicks off the festivities of the FIFA World Cup 2014, that will be held in Brazil from June 12 to July 13, 2014. Pele won three FIFA World Cups; 1958, 1962 and 1970, the only player ever to do so.
BERLIN: Borussia Dortmund consolidated second place in the Bundesliga yesterday with a 1-0 win at relegation-threatened Freiburg with veteran captain Sebastian Kehl netting the winner.
Dortmund came to Freiburg without top-scoring Poland striker Robert Lewandowski, who has a knee strain, but still enjoyed their third straight win.
Jurgen Klopp’s side grabbed the winner on 58 minutes when 34-year-old skipper Kehl curled home a 25-metre shot which gave Freiburg goalkeeper Oliver Baumann little chance.
The result leaves Freiburg second from bottom while Dortmund are four-points clear in second, but remain 20 points behind run-away leaders Bayern Munich.
On Saturday, Pep Guardiola’s Bayern warmed up for Tuesday’s Champions League last 16, second-leg clash at home to Arsenal with a 6-1 thrashing of Wolfsburg with five goals in 17 second-half minutes.
Bayern racked up a record 16th consecutive Bundesliga win, breaking their own league best set in 2005, and have now gone 49 league matches without defeat.
With just 10 games left in the campaign, the European champions are virtually assured of defending their title after a sixth successive win over the 2009 champions. Victory was the perfect tonic ahead of Tuesday’s clash with Bayern holding a 2-0 first leg lead.
Naldo gave Wolfsburg a shock 17th-minute lead before Bayern, heading for a 24th national title, turned on the style.
Having dropped just four points after 24 matches, Guardiola’s side have scored a record 72 times since the start of the season with just 11 conceded.
“We weren’t as dominant as in recent matches,” said Guardiola. “Wolfsburg were very well organised and very aggressive. They caused us a lot of problems in the first half and at the start of the second.
“But at the end of the day it was us who scored the goals we needed.” AFP
