One of the features of this winter is the shift in emphasis in the choice of venues for various competitions towards Italy. This is unsurprising, since it is in the north of this country, in Turin, that the next Olympic Games will be held next winter. The sports facilities of the 2006 Olympics capital require thorough testing under competitive conditions. This will make it possible to eliminate shortcomings before the start of the main competition of the four-year cycle. So if you want to taste the flavor of pre-Olympic starts, head to the Italian Alps. It will be hot there this winter.
AUSTRALIA
The Green Continent has its own laws. Here January is tennis month. The new season is just starting, and right at its beginning the winners of the Australian Open, one of the four tournaments of the so-called Grand Slam, are to be determined.
On January 2, the women's tennis tournament with a prize fund of $170,000 starts in Gold Coast (ends on the 8th). Last year's winner was Japanese player Ai Sugiyama.
From January 3 to 9, a men's tennis tournament with a prize fund of $380,000 will be held in Adelaide. Despite its modest prize fund, quite strong tennis players take part in it, for whom this tournament is the first in the new season. Among its winners are Mark Woodforde, Thomas Muster, Goran Ivanišević, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Jim Courier, Todd Woodbridge, Lleyton Hewitt, Thomas Enqvist, Thomas Haas, Tim Henman, and Dominik Hrbatý.
From January 9 to 15, female tennis players will compete in Sydney for $585,000 (last year the biggest share went to Belgian Justine Henin-Hardenne). On the same days, less prominent women's tennis tournaments will be held in Hobart and Canberra (each with a prize fund of $110,000).
On January 12, a men's tennis tournament starts in Sydney (ends January 18) with a prize fund of $380,000, with Adidas as the general sponsor. Despite its modest prize fund, this tournament is one of the most popular among elite tennis players.
On January 19, the main tennis tournament of January will begin in Melbourne – the Australian Open. Its prize fund in men's singles is 19 million Australian dollars (the winner will receive 1 million 200 thousand, while the loser in the first round will get 18 thousand). Last year, the Swiss Roger Federer succeeded Andre Agassi, a four-time winner of this tournament, as champion, and was ultimately recognized as the tennis king of 2004. The women's prize fund has not yet been disclosed. And the winner of last year's Australian Open was Belgian Justine Henin-Hardenne.
ENGLAND
For English football clubs, the New Year holidays are no holiday at all. Suffice it to say that on January 1 there is another round in the Premier League. In short, if you celebrated the New Year in England, you are lucky. On the first day of 2005, there is an opportunity to watch great football. At 12:45 local time, Liverpool will host Chelsea. Isn't that a New Year's gift?
In the same round, the match between Middlesbrough and Manchester United stands out. And on January 4, football fans are offered a choice: Chelsea vs Middlesbrough or Manchester United vs Tottenham.
The English also have something to boast about on January 15. On this day, the eponymous football club and Manchester United will meet in Liverpool. In addition, Tottenham will host Chelsea.
A week later, on January 22, Manchester United will play at home against Aston Villa, and on the 23rd Arsenal will host Newcastle.
GERMANY
The town of Oberhof is a traditional center for biathlon competitions. In the first half of January, the first biathlon competitions of 2005 will be held here – the next (fourth) stage of the World Cup. It will start on January 3 and end on the 9th.
But already the next day in another German town, Ruhpolding, biathletes will continue to contest the World Cup. The next stage will begin on January 10 and end on the 16th.
Only on January 22 will the German football Bundesliga championship resume. On the very first matchday of the second round, Schalke (Shakhtar's opponent in the UEFA Cup) will play Werder. Bayern will take on Hamburg, and Bayer, with our Andrei Voronin, will play away against Hannover.
On January 29-30, Schalke will travel to Kaiserslautern. Bayern will play in Berlin against Hertha, Bayer will host Bochum in Leverkusen, and Werder will face Hansa in Bremen.
HOLLAND
The European Speed Skating Championships will be held in one of the world-famous centers of this sport, the city of Heerenveen. The continental championship begins on January 7 and finishes on the 9th.
INDIA
From January 5 to 11, a men's tennis tournament will be held in Chennai (prize fund $380,000), last year's winner being Spaniard Carlos Moyá.
ITALY
The first round (actually the 17th) of the football championship, after a pause caused by the celebration of Catholic Christmas and the New Year, will take place on January 6. And immediately for lovers of something tasty – the Roman derby Lazio – Roma. Usually these meetings are marked by scandals. The Serie A leaders will play against the following teams: Milan at home against Lecce, Juventus away against Parma.
The next round will also not be rich in bright duels. With great stretch one could single out the matches Fiorentina – Lazio and Inter – Sampdoria. On this matchday (the round will stretch from January 8 to 9), Milan will travel to Sicily to visit Palermo, while Juventus will test Livorno at home.
On January 14-16, the European Short Track Speed Skating Championships will be held in Turin – a mini-variant of speed skating.
The situation in the Italian football championship will not change on January 15-16 either. The leaders will fight against outsiders, while the battles of trailing teams and local derbies are unlikely to attract tourists. Milan will play at home against Udinese, Juventus will go to Sardinia to meet Cagliari.
In Antholz, on January 17, one of the stages of the Biathlon World Cup starts. Biathletes will stay in this Italian town until January 23.
On January 22, the next stage of the Cross-Country Skiing World Cup begins in Pragelato, ending on the 23rd.
Then on the 24th, the European Figure Skating Championships start in Turin. The capital of the 2006 Winter Olympics will bid farewell to the skaters only on January 30.
Fans will likely have to follow the two favorites in the football championship race in the remaining two January rounds (22-23 and 29-30 January) in a calm atmosphere. Neither Milan nor Juventus will meet serious rivals. If they do drop points, that would be a sensation. Milan will first travel to Livorno, then host Bologna. The Turin club, conversely, will face Brescia at home and then play Atalanta from Bergamo away.
SPAIN
The Spanish football championship will also resume on the second weekend of January. In round 18 (January 8-9), the central match will take place in the capital. Madrid's Atletico will play Real Madrid. And Primera leader Barcelona will play away against Villarreal, a rival of Kyiv Dynamo in the UEFA Cup.
In the next round (January 15-16), spectators will be spared any refined spectacle. Barcelona will play Real Sociedad at home, Real Madrid will face Zaragoza in Madrid, and Villarreal will play away against Levante, the team coached by former Shakhtar Donetsk manager Bernd Schuster.
Another week later, the most interesting for Ukrainian fans could be the match between Villarreal and Valencia, who are the nearest and possibly future opponents of Kyiv Dynamo in the UEFA Cup. Barcelona will play Racing at home, and Real will face Mallorca. The final January round (29-30), however, will offer no pleasant surprises. Barcelona will play Sevilla away, and Real will play Numancia.
CANADA
The world championship in snowboarding, a rather exotic but already very popular sport, will take place in Whistler. The snowboarders will begin their competition on January 15 and finish only on the 23rd.
QATAR
In Doha, the 13th men's tennis tournament, the Qatar Open, starts on January 5 and ends on the 11th, with a prize fund of one million US dollars (the winner will receive $142,000).
NEW ZEALAND
The women's tennis tournament of the 4th category will take place in Auckland on January 3-8 (prize fund: $140,000). Last year's winner was Greek player Elena Danilidou.
The Heineken Open, another men's tennis tournament preceding the Australian Open, has a prize fund of $404,000 and will be held from January 10 to 16. Last year, Slovak Dominik Hrbaty took the title in Auckland.
RUSSIA
Perhaps the most prestigious country in figure skating will draw attention starting January 4 with its national championship. The Russian Championships will be held in St. Petersburg and run through January 8.
The revived European Champions Cup among Old World club teams will take place in St. Petersburg and is expected to draw great interest from hockey fans. The matches will begin on January 13 and end on the 16th.
In mid-January, the traditional football tournament featuring champions of the former Soviet republics will kick off at Moscow's indoor sports complexes. The Commonwealth Cup will draw minimal interest from Russian fans this year, as Dynamo Kyiv, though agreeing to participate, will send a reserve squad to Moscow. The tournament begins on January 15, with the final on the 23rd.
USA
The World Junior Ice Hockey Championships started in Minnesota on December 27. The winner will be decided on January 4.
THAILAND
After the Australian Open, the women will compete in Pattaya City. The tournament, sponsored by Volvo, starts on January 31 and ends on February 6. The prize fund is $170,000.
TUNISIA
The World Men's Handball Championship will be held in Tunis, the capital of the North African state. The tournament starts on January 24 and concludes on February 6.
FRANCE
Five rounds of the French football championship will be played in January. The break ends on January 12, and this round features the match between Lille and Marseille. The next round (January 15) has more interesting games: Bordeaux vs. Lille, Auxerre vs. Sochaux, Nantes vs. Rennes, and Paris Saint-Germain vs. Toulouse.
A week later, the match between Lille and Lyon can be considered the highlight. Monaco will face Lens, Sochaux will play Bordeaux, and Saint-Etienne will meet Paris Saint-Germain.
On January 26, the standout matches in the next round are Marseille vs. Sochaux, Nice vs. Lille, Nantes vs. Saint-Etienne, and Lyon vs. Rennes. On the final weekend of January, the Monaco vs. PSG clash deserves the title of 'match of the month'.
CZECH REPUBLIC
In Prague, on January 12, the world's top cross-country skiers will compete in the next World Cup stage. Three days later, another World Cup cross-country skiing stage will be held in Nove Mesto on January 15 and 16.
ESTONIA
The Baltic town of Otepää will host a stage of the Cross-Country Skiing World Cup. However, the stage is very short – from January 8 to 9.
JAPAN
The women's tennis tournament, aptly named the Pan Pacific Open, will begin almost immediately after the Australian Open concludes, on January 31. The competition for $1.3 million will only end on February 6. Last year, American Lindsay Davenport walked away with the prize.