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Brazil 2-1 Uruguay: Neymar hits out at Lugano over ´diver´ comments

Seleção star Neymar has hit out at Uruguay captain Diego Lugano after his comments prior to their 2-1 victory claiming the Barcelona played ´liked to make fools of referees´.

Neymar came out on top in the mind games as Brazil ground out a 2-1 win on Wednesday thanks to a Paulinho winner.

"He who has a mouth speaks what he wants. This will not hurt me. What matters to me most is to help my team-mates and the team win," Neymar told reporters.

The 21-year-old then acknowledged just how close the contest was, with nerves appearing to get the better of Brazil in the early stages of the game in front of an expectant Belo Horizonte crowd.

"It was typical of a semi-final game. We managed to control the game. We knew it would be hard but we got the win and that was the most important thing," he added.

Brazil striker Fred was also in high spirits after his side’s victory and defended Neymar over accusations of simulation.

"The Uruguayans talked a lot before the game, some [Lugano] attacked Neymar. We beat them on the pitch, and that´s our answer," he told reporters after the match.

"Criticism? As I always say, I only respond on the pitch, but the crowd today was great with me. It was amazing.”

Chile wastes early lead against England U-20 World Cup (1-1)

http://www.youtube.com/w…STorFTfQcCg

Chile, who was ahead in the first half, could only draw 1-1 against England, on Wednesday in Antalya. They failed to qualify for the knockout stages of the U-20 World Cup and now will have to wait for the third round.

After their comeback victory against Egypt (2-1), the South Americans could not duplicate that feat against a team that started off slow put picked up steam and was defensively strong in the second half.

The Chilean goalscorer was Nicholás Castillo, from the spot in the 32nd minute, his second so far in the competition. The English got the draw through the boot of Harry Kane (64).

In the last moments of the match, Bryan Rabello sent the ball against the crossbar in the 88th and Englishman Alex Pritchard missed two clear opportunities (82, 90).

Chile is sitting on 4 points and they should be able to qualify to the next round while the English are on 2 points after this draw and their draw with Iraq (2-2) in the first round.

England, one of the great football nations, continues its losing streak at the U-20. They have failed to win in their last sixteen games in the tournament.

The British have also prolonged their curse against South American teams. Between 1981 and 2011 they had played seven times against teams from CONMEBOL in the U-20, without winning any of them. This time they couldn´t against Chile and will have to wait for the last round where they face Egypt.

El Tri´s reality is quite simple: Win or else

BELO HORIZONTE , Brazil -- First, his comments were all smoke and mirrors. "We have gained confidence by beating Japan."

Then he doused his own bonfire.

And finally, Andres Guardado faced reality: "If we don’t beat them (Honduras at Estadio Azteca), we´d practically kiss the World Cup goodbye."

Incredible to see such a drastic turn in just 24 hours. It is a reflection of how much Mexico needs a victory -- though it would still be inadequate given the outstanding goal difference.

Guardado acknowledges Mexico´s somber situation in the CONCACAF´s final Hexagonal round. And it´s healthy that he does.

It´s well known: Mexico is third in the standings. The team has upcoming visits to the United States and Costa Rica and will host Panama and Honduras. They have won eight points, with 12 yet to play for. Seven points would guarantee a playoff and eight would likely guarantee the third automatic qualifying spot.

So why is it healthy that Guardado appropriately explain the risks of missing the World Cup?

Because it means taking responsibility, even though the members of Mexico´s national team won´t lose any sleep.

Can Mexico surmount its rivals? In terms of soccer, yes. They have players with talent, competence and experience so as not to let the three points slip away against Honduras at Estadio Azteca and to defeat the United States in enemy territory.

But there are prerequisites to meet before then.

1. Everything indicates that Jose Manuel "Chepo" de la Torre will continue on as El Tri´s coach for the rest of the World Cup qualifying process. But he must conduct a self-evaluation and seek support from his coaching staff.

He would realize that players in whom he previously trusted would not respond: some can no longer do so, such as Gerardo Torrado; others don´t want to, like Francisco ´Maza´ Rodriguez; and others don´t know how, such as Aldo De Nigris.

2. He must identify this team´s broken link.

What happened in the 2011 and 2012 process, and to the 2013 national teams?

Arrogance, credibility crises, a broken-down locker room, lack of discipline, lack of spirit, tactical disobedience or expiry of its own discourse?

Moreover, El Tri´s predictable style of play tends to lead to its doom. It lacks variation, which is now difficult to develop.

3. The scenario of its own apocalypse. Do players and coach understand the consequences of missing a World Cup?

Soccer players lose value, stadiums empty out, coaches are vilified, fans feel cheated and generations of young soccer players come to a standstill... What´s most worrisome is the soccer industry´s destruction, because even the team´s endorsement deals and those of its star players would fall apart as advertisers reject linking their product to failures.

National team members need to heed the concern voiced by Guardado as a catalyst for resurrecting their fractured spirit.

Chivas´ broken "promise" rule

Club Deportivo Guadalajara, popularly known as Chivas, has long boasted of their success at the club level by simply pointing to the 11 titles the team has claimed, more than any other Liga MX organization -- until Club America won its 11th title an improbable final versus Cruz Azul in May. In a striking contrast with Las Aguilas, Chivas could not contend for the Clausura 2013 title because they didn’t make the playoffs.

With the added bad news that star signing Aldo de Nigris will be out for two months due to a knee injury at the Confederations Cup in Brazil, it has become clear that Chivas has enough problems to worry about in Liga MX. It doesn´t need to take on the role of worrying about the Mexican national team´s interests.

Yet that seems to be where the storied club is heading, saddling itself with an awkwardly unenforceable mandate that its players must, regardless of their eligibility for other countries, promise to play only for Mexico. In this regard, the team loses sight of the primary mission to find and develop players who will help the squad in the race to be the first to win a dozen titles.

Something both Guadalajara and El Tri share is obvious: Mexican players. Though founded by a Belgian and initially fielding players from a variety of countries, Guadalajara has fielded only Mexican players for more than 100 years. At one point, the standard was so strict that it was specifically required that players be born in Mexico.

This led to the transfer of Gerardo Mascareno in 1998. He was a forward with the club who was actually born in Maryland. However, the American birth of Eduardo Fernández de la Garza, a goalkeeper who helped Chivas win the 1997 championship, was successfully concealed for years. By the time controversy arose over American-born Jesus Padilla in 2008, owner Jorge Vergara had had enough.

Vergara declared that henceforth, Chivas players would use the Mexican constitution to determine eligibility to play for the club -- if a player was born outside of the country to a parent with Mexican citizenship, that would meet the standard, and the club could bring that player into the ranks. This allowed the club to sign not only Padilla, but Mexican-American Miguel Angel Ponce, who has become a key defender.

Ponce has since gone on to a single FIFA competitive call-up by Mexico, so he is now cap-tied to their national team.

Yet the obvious what-if remains. What if Mexico had no need or wish to use Ponce, and he had decided to play for the U.S., the other national team he was once eligible for? That wouldn´t in any way negate his contributions to Guadalajara.

Of course, El Tri has always used players who are not only eligible by birth to a Mexican, but also by naturalization. That’s how Brazilian-born Antonio Naelson, "Zinha", came to play and score for Mexico in the 2006 World Cup.

Basically, despite the branding appeal of being the sole Mexican-only club in Liga MX, there’s an inherent disadvantage in the approach, given every other club can look to sign the best player the organization can afford from anywhere in the world. Since naturalized players are an option, even the Mexican national team has a larger potential pool of players to choose from than Guadalajara.

Another element for Chivas to consider is there is a large number of players who are solid on the club level even though they will never be national team players.

Mexican-American midfielder Eric Avila may be one of these. Avila has shown flashes of potential in his career in the U.S. and while he was coming up in the American youth national team system. Avila could sign for Guadalajara soon and be part of the upcoming Apertura season.

Yet the club has apparently pressured Avila to publicly "resign" from the U.S. national team, though he has never been called in at the senior level. That is unlikely to change. Even more remote is the possibility of a call from El Tri, whose coaches have quite a few excellent midfielders to choose from.

Promising not to play for a national team one is eligible for is a strange and ultimately futile statement to force out of players who just want to perform in the game they love. Even though a public declaration is embarrassing should a player ever change his mind, it´s also not binding by any FIFA-mandated rule. Avila or any other Mexican-American Chivas player not cap-tied by El Tri could always leave Guadalajara and play for the U.S. later if the call came.

Ultimately, Chivas could be hurting themselves the most by this “national-team promise" policy it seems to have added to the original nationality requirement. Juan Pablo Ocegueda, a lively Mexican-American defender on loan to Guadalajara from Tigres since early this year, has not yet appeared for the club. He´s clearly not injured, since he´s a stalwart defender for the U.S. in the U-20 World Cup in Turkey. If his time in a U.S. uniform is the reason he’s not playing for Chivas, then the club is choosing to deprive itself of a player who could be useful in the chase for another title.

Organizations are most effective when following a clearly defined goal. For Club Deportivo Guadalajara, winning needs to be the main focus, not what players might do or not do with their international futures.

Mexico´s dreadful summer continues at U-20 World Cup

FORTALEZA, Brazil -- You can´t do it every summer, can you? El Tri had become accustomed to midyear success following the 2010 World Cup, as 12 months later they conquered both the CONCACAF Gold Cup and the U-17 World Cup. Weeks later, the U-20s capped it off with a third-place finish, the first time Mexico reached the podium at the tourney since 1977.

Last year, an under-the-radar U-23 team conquered Olympic gold and gave Mexico its only gold medal at the London Games. With youth team success particularly repeating itself, it was natural to expect big things out of the team traveling to Turkey to take on the U-20 World Cup in 2013.

Led by former Galatasaray and Cruz Azul player Sergio Almaguer, this year´s iteration of the Mini Tri was supposed to be packed with most of the young stars who catapulted the nation toward its second U-17 world title in 2011. A few months earlier, at the CONCACAF qualifying tournament, Mexico burst through the field with a perfect record, stamping its authority in the final with a 3-1 extra-time win over the United States.

That squad had most of the 2011 generation suiting up for it. Unexpectedly, when time came to announce the final list that would search for glory this summer in Eastern Europe, players like Julio Gomez and Carlos Fierro, vital to what had come before, were unceremoniously dumped. Players with a bit more Liga MX experience, such as the electrifying Jesus Corona of Monterrey and the dynamic Armando Zamorano of Morelia, were brought into mix in with the cavalcade of champions.

On paper, the experiment seemed more like a weighted gamble, a chance for Almaguer to stamp his authority and style on a team that approached the tournament with high expectations, albeit with little pressure. The teenagers flew off to Turkey with nary a bit of media coverage, as the nation´s eyes were affixed to the 2013 Confederations Cup in Brazil, where the senior side staggered to a sixth-place finish in an eight-team field.

Against the revamped Catenaccio of Greece, Mexico dominated play but gave up goals on two hefty defensive mistakes - a staple of their tournament so far -- negating a fantastic Jonathan Espericueta free-kick goal that gave them a temporary draw. A few days later, and against a solid Paraguay, Mexico dropped a 1-0 decision that felt lucky considering the run of play. El Tri could have easily given up three or even four if not for hapless Guarani finishing.

Thanks to the nature of the 24-team field, Mexico still harbors a real shot at making the knockout stage. A win over Mali would likely catapult them atop the third-place finishers due to their low goals scored/goals allowed differential. Even then, they´d be placed against one of the harder teams in the tournament in the round of 16, limiting their chances at a deep run within the tournament.

Perhaps what is most worrying is the attitude change that is very much perceivable amid the team´s ranks. Borussia Dortmund target Jesus Corona has avoided the media at all costs, gaining him severe criticism in the process. Manchester United target Jonathan Espericueta has been coy about his future at the club level, though it seems readily apparent that it´s affecting his performance on the pitch. After conceding against Paraguay, a collective "oh no" came over the team, and despite having over 30 minutes to mount a comeback, El Tri looked very much shell-shocked and desperate from the outset.

With just the senior "B" team remaining at the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup later this summer, it´s become quite clear that dark clouds will continue to form over El Tri´s landscape amid a crisis of results. A crisis that can very much be stunted or even completely thwarted if the U-20´s mount a win against Mali and make the knockout stage.

No pressure, kids.

Pizzi forbliver træner for San Lorenzo.

Pizzi renovó en San Lorenzo

BUENOS AIRES -- Juan Antonio Pizzi renovó por dos años su contrato como técnico de San Lorenzo.

El entrenador rubricó su vínculo en un hotel de Buenos Aires, junto al presidente Matías Lammens y al manager Bernardo Romeo.

"Yo prefiero estar dirigiendo este Club y no cualquier otro", apuntó el entrenador tras la firma. "Las perspectivas llevan a San Lorenzo a conseguir el Campeonato en el corto plazo y eso es lo que vamos a tratar de lograr. Hay mucha actividad, necesitaremos compensa muy bien el plantel, cuidarlo y encarar todos los torneos con la ambición que corresponde a la ambición de un Club así, que es la máxima. Si San Lorenzo juega un amistoso tiene que ganarlo, si juega una Copa Argentina lo mismo, si juega una Copa internacional también, y eso es lo que vamos a intentar alcanzar", agregó Pizzi, en declaraciones que recogió el sitio oficial del club (www.sanlorenzo.com.ar).

La campaña de Juan Antonio Pizzi al frente del plantel azulgrana es satisfactoria. Suma 13 victorias, 12 empates y 4 derrotas en 29 partidos oficiales conduciendo al primer equipo.

Bajo la dirección de Juan Antonio Pizzi y una vez que finalice el período de descanso, el plantel de San Lorenzo comenzará la pretemporada de invierno el 4 de julio a las 16 en la Ciudad Deportiva, partiendo el 7 de julio al Sofitel de Los Cardales.

Gareca: "Pongo a todos los titulares"

BUENOS AIRES -- Vélez Sarsfield jugará con todos sus titulares la Superfinal del sábado próximo en Mendoza ante Newell´s Old Boys, que otorga plazas para la próxima edición de las copas Libertadores y Sudamericana.

"Le damos la importancia que se merece un título como le damos importancia a todo lo que jugamos", sostuvo Gareca en una conferencia de prensa posterior al entrenamiento.

Sin lesiones entre los futbolistas, Gareca podrá contar con Facundo Ferreyra, repuesto de una lesión, e ingresará por Ezequiel Rescaldani, en tanto Iván Bella entrará a la zona de volantes y Gino Peruzzi se ubicará en su posición natural de lateral derecho en lugar de Fabián Cubero.

Gareca resaltó que enfrentará "a un gran equipo, bien catalogado ahora como el mejor equipo argentino".

No obstante, advirtió Gareca que "Vélez se está recuperando y tiene una gran posibilidad este fin de semana que intentaremos aprovechar".

El equipo que practicó formó con Sebastián Sosa; Gino Peruzzi, Fernando Tobio, Sebastián Domínguez, Emiliano Papa; Iván Bella, Franco Razzotti, Fernando Gago; Federico Insúa; Lucas Pratto y Facundo Ferreyra.

Lucas Bernardi: "Se vienen 3 finales"

ROSARIO -- El capitán de Newell´s, Lucas Bernardi, resaltó este miércoles que tiene en mente las "tres finales" que se vienen, en referencia al partido del sábado ante Vélez y los dos con Atlético Mineiro por la Copa Libertadores.

En tanto, por ahora no quiere dar por concluido su ciclo como futbolista. "Los ex jugadores nos dicen lo mismo, Jorgito Priotti nos dice que hay que jugar hasta que se te gasten las piernas, hasta que no des más", sostuvo en el programa "Los días contados", que se emite por Canal 5 de Rosario.

Bernardi habla de "tres finales" y concatena la secuencia de Vélez con el Mineiro de Ronaldinho, por las semis de la Libertadores. "Vimos los partidos. ¡De Ronaldinho qué voy a decir! Juega bien en serio, me parece que es un jugador que ahora necesita más del equipo, como nos pasa a todos con la edad", explicó.

El mediocampista fue de los que peor las pasó cuando el equipo merodeaba el descenso, al punto que atentaron contra el negocio de su padre.

Al hablar del técnico, Gerardo Martino, resaltó su capacidad para "manejar el grupo", aunque aclaró que "a lo largo del semestre nunca consultó nada: dice éste es el equipo y listo".

González Pirez no entiende exclusión

BUENOS AIRES -- El defensor Leandro González Pirez dijo el miércoles que fue un "golpe muy duro" haber quedado marginado de River tras 14 años en el club y admitió su malestar por la forma en que el entrenador Ramón Díaz por haberle que debía buscar otro destino "un día para el otro".
"Si (Ramón) me hubiese querido dejar de lado, hubiera tenido otra actitud en estos seis meses y no de la manera que se manejó. Me tuvo en cuenta durante los seis meses y de un día para el otro no me tiene que as en cuenta, eso es lo que me llamó la atención", se quejó González Pirez .

Contó que Ramón le dijo que no era lo que buscaba para la próxima temporada, y ante una consulta de radio La Red, admitió que no atinó a responderle.

"Me quedé sin palabras, no me salió nada para decirle pero ya había tomado su decisión", contó y también cuando llegó a su casa: "me quería morir, me puse muy mal pero hay que tratar de sumirlo...fue un golpe muy duro".

Maximiliano Mazzaro seguirá preso

BUENOS AIRES -- El barrabrava de Boca Juniors, Maximiliano Mazzaro, fue procesado este miércoles como supuesto partícipe necesario de homicidio en Liniers y continuará preso en el penal de Ezeiza.

Así lo determinó el juez de instrucción Manuel De Campos, en el marco de la causa por el crimen de Ernesto Cirino, ocurrido en agosto de 2011, por el que también está detenido el número uno de La 12, Mauro Martín.

Por esta causa sigue prófugo Daniel Wehbe, sospechado de ser el autor material del asesinato.

Tras varios meses prófugo, Mazzaro fue detenido en plena avenida 9 de Julio, a unas cuadras del Obelisco, el 7 de junio último, cuando circulaba en una camioneta 4x4 en compañía de una mujer, Mariana Reynoso, procesada también por encubrimiento.

Cirino fue asesinado el 29 de agosto de 2011 en el barrio de Liniers cuando discutió con su vecino Gustavo Petrinelli, cuñado de Martín, quien llegó al lugar junto con Mazzaro y supuestamente Wehbe.

Cirino fue atacado a golpes y Martín, Petrinelli y Mazzaro están detenidos y procesados.

El juez de la causa procesó, además, a Agustín Rey, quien le envió un mensaje de texto al barra de Boca "Cacho" Otazú, para avisarle que la Policía los iba a detener cuando volvieron del viaje a Ecuador tras el partido que jugó con Barcelona de ese país en marzo pasado.