WEDNESDAY,NOVEMBER6,2019 | THEGLOBEANDMAILO REPORTONBUSINESS | B15
On a night of big comebacks in
the Champions League, Borussia
Dortmund came from two goals
down to beat Inter Milan 3-2
Tuesday while Chelsea erased a
three-goal deficit to draw 4-4
against nine-man Ajax.
Napoli fluffed a chance to
qualify for the knockout stage af-
ter drawing 1-1 at home with
Salzburg, while defending cham-
pion Liverpool held on for a 2-1
win against Belgian side Genk at
Anfield.
Five-time champion Barcelo-
na couldn’t score at all, with star
striker Lionel Messi hitting the
crossbar and having a late shot
saved by standout goalkeeper
Ondrej Kolar in 0-0 draw with
visiting Slavia Prague.
Barcelona remains top of
Group F with eight points and
Dortmund is only one behind.
But Inter has only four and is fac-
ing elimination.
While Messi failed to add to
his whopping total of 113 goals in
Europe’s top club competition,
Salzburg’s 19-year-old rising star,
Erling Haaland, made it seven in
four games with an early penalty
only for Hirving Lozano to equal-
ize for Napoli just before half-
time.
Memphis Depay continued his
scoring form as Lyon beat Benfi-
ca 3-1 to stay in touch with group
rival Leipzig, which tops Group G
by two points after winning 2-0
at Zenit St. Petersburg.
Group H is up in the air, with
Valencia beating Lille 4-1 to join
Ajax and Chelsea on seven
points with two rounds remain-
ing.
NOT A BRIDGE TOO FAR
Chelsea fell behind after two
minutes, then trailed 4-1 after 55,
yet almost won on a wild night at
Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea’s comeback charge
was helped by Ajax playing the
final 20 minutes with nine men
after defender Daley Blind and
Joel Veltman were sent off in
quick succession. Substitute
Reece James made it 4-4 with a
74th-minute equalizer for coach
Frank Lampard’s side.
Chelsea striker Tammy Abra-
ham’s own goal gave Ajax a sec-
ond-minute lead before Jorginho
equalized with his first of two pe-
nalties.
Quincy Promes put Ajax in
front with a header while anoth-
er Chelsea own goal – this time
by goalkeeper Kepa – and mid-
fielder Donny van de Beek’s
strike gave Ajax a three-goal
cushion.
Defender Cesar Azpilicueta
pulled a goal back in the 63rd
and Jorginho notched his second
penalty in the 71st to set up a
rousing finish.
Chelsea even thought it had
scored a late winner through Az-
pilicueta, but the goal was ruled
out for a handball by Abraham
after a video review.
Valencia won with four goals
in the last 25 minutes after trail-
ing to Lille striker Victor Osim-
hen’s 25th-minute strike.
Valencia equalized with a
66th-minute penalty converted
by Dani Parejo – Panenka style –
and hosts went ahead with an
own goal by defender Adama
Soumaoro.
Midfielder Geoffrey Kondog-
bia and substitute Ferran Torres
added late goals.KEEPER KOLAR
Kolar kept Barcelona at bay with
a string of fine saves, denying
Messi in the 79th having earlier
saved from the forward and fromGerard Pique and Sergi Roberto.
Although Barca extended its
record unbeaten streak in Eu-
rope’s top club competition to 34
consecutive home matches, the
Czech side looked sharp on the
counterattack.
A day after turning 21, defend-
er Achraf Hakimi – who is on
loan from Real Madrid – scored
twice and grabbed Dortmund’s
winner in the 77th minute after
Inter led 2-0 at halftime thanks
to goals from Lautaro Martinez
and Matias Vecino.
Hakimi kick-started Dort-
mund’s comeback in the 51st
minute and Julian Brandt equal-
ized in the 64th.OXLADE-CHAMBERLAIN AGAIN
After scoring twice in a 4-1 win
away to Genk two weeks ago,
midfielder Alex Oxlade-Cham-
berlain scored the winner for
group leader Liverpool.
Fellow midfielder Georginio
Wijnaldum grabbed Liverpool’s
first goal in the 14th and, after
Ally Mbwana Samatta levelled
with a header shortly before half-
time, Oxlade-Chamberlain
struck in the 53rd.
In Italy, Haaland’s 23rd goal in
17 competitive matches this sea-
son silenced the Napoli crowd.
But Lozano then scored his first
home goal for Napoli.LEIPZIG LEADS
Leipzig moved to the verge of
qualifying from the group stage
for the first time, even with star
forward Timo Werner only used
as a substitute on a freezing
night in St. Petersburg.
Leipzig’s breakthrough came
on the stroke of halftime when
midfielder Diego Demme ham-
mered in a rebound after Marcel
Sabitzer’s free kick hit the wall.
Sabitzer made it 2-0 midway
through the second half.
Depay went off at halftime
with a thigh strain, even though
coach Rudi Garcia said he want-
ed to stay on.
The Netherlands forward vol-
leyed home in the 33rd minute
from midfielder Houssem
Aouar’s cross from the left to
make it 2-0 after imposing centre
half Joachim Andersen netted an
early header.
Benfica striker Haris Seferovic
pulled a goal back in the 76th,
but Lyon substitute Bertrand
Traoré made sure of the win in
the 89th.THE ASSOCIATED PRESSBorussiaDortmund’sAchrafHakimiscoreshisside’sfirstgoalduringtheirmatchupwithInterMilanon
Tuesday.Dortmundwon3-2afterbeingdown2-0atthehalf.LEON KUEGELER/REUTERS
Dortmund,Chelsea
stagebigcomebacks
JEROMEPUGMIREPARIS
The Toronto Wolfpack, rugby’s only transatlantic team, will
soon begin its first season in the British-based Super League.
Created from whole cloth three years ago, the Wolfpack has a
negligible fanbase, little infrastructure and zero history. The
ownership is a murky affair fronted by an Australian mining
investor, but someone in that group clearly has money to
burn.
Because this franchise isn’t a business yet. It isn’t even a
charity. From the accounting perspective, it’s more like an
incinerator.
In its first season, the Wolfpack assembled a group of ad-
venturous, money-motivated pros to play in a third-division
league populated largely by part-timers. It routinely annihi-
lated the competition.
After promotion, the club required two runs at the second
division before getting it right. Now in the top tier, it had talk-
ed about doing something splashier. Not just a top signing,
but a rock-star signing.
“Our club would want to have a name that’s absolutely in-
ternational,” Wolfpack coach Brian McDermott said a few
weeks ago. “Very much [what] David Beckham did for Major
League Soccer.”
In order to get their rock star, they are willing to wildly
overpay.
The Super League’s (plainly malleable) salary cap is a little
more than $3-million. According to reports, Toronto is offer-
ing Williams a two-year deal in the neighbourhood of $9-mil-
lion total. Should he accept, Williams would become the
highest-earning rugby player on the planet.
This isn’t franchise building. It isn’t about creating some-
thing sustainable. The goal is making as much noise as pos-
sible and hoping for a years-long echo.
Williams’s role in this is hitman-for-hire. Since he holds all
the power in this negotiation, he has to decide if that suits
him.
It’s not exactly a stretch. He’s
bounced around for the entirety
of his career, often burning
bridges in the process. He’s ex-
celled at both versions of the
sport – rugby union and rugby
league – but has not played the 13-
a-side version in several years.
Williams is 34 – old by rugby
standards. He’s been a heavy-
weight boxer. He has a reputation
as an immense talent who likes to
pick his spots. He has always
showed up for New Zealand, but
somewhat less so for his pro
clubs. Injuries have been a perni-
cious problem. Now he’s consid-
ering a bit of lucrative slumming
before he wraps things up.
The Beckham analogy fits al-
most perfectly here. Beckham
was not quite over the hill when
he arrived in America, but was
definitely cresting it.
Beckham spent most of the
first year in the trainer’s room.
Once returned to full fitness, he
began working part-time in Italy. Though his team eventually
became a winner, he was not the engine of that success. He
never really amounted to much in L.A. as a player.
Looking back on it, Beckham accomplished one impor-
tant thing in North America – he arrived.
His MLS legacy rests entirely on his decision to bless a
backwater with his presence. From MLS’s perspective, it was
money well spent.
It isn’t the league it thought it might become when Beck-
ham showed up more than a decade ago. But had he not done
so, there might not be a league at all.
Should a deal be agreed, that’s what Williams can do in
Toronto. He gives rugby a face and a chance to leapfrog the
wretched Argos of the CFL as the city’s No. 5 team.
Williams doesn’t have to be any good. The Wolfpack
doesn’t have to win. That’s not how this works for an outsider
team playing a sport few locals know anything about, never
mind follow.
Williams will be paid millions to create buzz. If you aren’t a
rugby fan and have gotten this far in the column, he’s already
doing his job.
Will it work? That depends on Williams’s personality. He is
unlike Beckham in that his brand would not arrive in North
America fully articulated. All people know about him now is
that he is famous and that he probably shouldn’t be ending
up here.
But they will respond to the superlatives – two-time world
champion, All Black, highest paid. The punters love a big box-
office number.
That earns him a few shots at turning curiosity into in-
terest. It’s more important that Williams shine in front of a
microphone than on a field.
He seems to have that part down. In interviews, he comes
off as a charming knucklehead who speaks the international
language of uplift. “I try to be where my feet are,” and su-
chlike. He is an enormous man with a gentle physical pres-
ence. Even his name sticks in your head.
That’s why the Toronto Wolfpack is willing to pay him so
much for the simple act of arrival.
If he decides to come, Sonny Bill Williams wouldn’t just be
the best rugby player in North American pro history. He’d be
the very first who mattered.Kelly:Inordertoget
itsrockstar,Torontois
willingtowildlyoverpay
FROMB13Williams is 34 – old
by rugby standards.
He’s been a
heavyweight boxer.
He has a reputation
as an immense
talent who likes to
pick his spots. He
has always showed
up for New Zealand,
but somewhat less
so for his pro clubs.
Injuries have been a
pernicious problem.
Now he’s
considering a bit of
lucrative slumming
before he wraps
things up.The Toronto Wolfpack will make
its Super League debut Feb. 2
against the Castleford Tigers.
The transatlantic rugby league
team will play its first home game
in Round 11, on April 18 against
Hull FC at Lamport Stadium.
Toronto will play three early
home matches on the road be-
cause of the Canadian winter –
against Castleford (Round 1), de-
fending champion St. Helens
(Round 5) and Wakefield Trinity
(Round 8).
Those games will be held in
Leeds, London’s Allianz Park and
York, respectively
It will be a tough introduction
to the top tier of Northern Hemi-
sphere rugby league. Toronto’s
first five opponents all finished in
the top five of the table last sea-
son.
News of the schedule was ac-
companied by further reports
that the Wolfpack is closer to an-
nouncing All Blacks star Sonny
Bill Williams is coming to Toron-
to. The club said it had nothing to
confirm.
In all, nine of Toronto’s first 10
games will be played in England,
with the other in France.
“There is clearly a lot of excite-
ment with Toronto Wolfpack
coming into Super League and
we’ve had to work through a num-
ber of logistical challenges regard-
ing their fixtures,” Rhodri Jones,
Super League’s chief commercial
officer, said in a statement.
The Wolfpack will play 11 of its
last 19 games at home, with the
season wrapping up Sept. 11 with
all 12 teams in action.Toronto’s season opener in
February is part of a doublehead-
er at Emerald Headingley Stadi-
um in Leeds, England, with Leeds
Rhinos playing Hull FC in the sec-
ond game. The 2020 Super League
season opens Jan. 30 when the Wi-
gan Warriors play host to the War-
rington Wolves, winners of the
2019 Challenge Cup.
Toronto started play in the
third tier of English rugby league
in 2017, winning promotion to the
second-tier Betfred Champion-
ship after topping League 1 in its
debut season.
The Wolfpack fell one win short
of promotion to the top-tier Super
League in 2018, but went all the
way in October with a 24-6 victory
over Featherstone in the Million
Pound Game.THE CANADIAN PRESSTorontoWolfpacktoplayfirsthomegameinSuperLeagueonApril18
NEILDAVIDSONTORONTO
TherearefurtherreportsthattheTorontoWolfpackisclosertosigning
AllBlacksstarSonnyBillWilliams,left.Torontosaysithasnothing
toconfirm.DAN MULLAN/GETTY IMAGESGUIMARES, PORTUGALArsenal
coach Unai Emery has stripped
Granit Xhaka of the club cap-
taincy after his recent outburst
against supporters.
Emery said at a news confer-
ence Tuesday that Xhaka will no
longer wear the armband that
was handed to him this summer
after Laurent Koscielny forced a
move back to France.
Speaking ahead of Wednes-
day’s Europa League game at
Portuguese side Vitoria, Emery
said “I was speaking with him
this morning and also I decided
he is not one of the captains in
our group. ... He accepted my
decision.”
Xhaka swore and gesticulated
at fans as he was jeered after his
substitution in a recent 2-2 draw
against Crystal Palace.
The 27-year-old midfielder has
since issued a statement saying
that continuing social-media
abuse aimed at his family played
a large part in his furious reac-
tion.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESSXHAKASTRIPPEDOF
ARSENALCAPTAINCY
AFTEROUTBURST