Snak

Trophy won, confidence restored -- more work to do

RIO DE JANEIRO -- As soon as Brazil closed out its 3-0 victory over Spain Sunday night, Selecao manager Luiz Felipe Scolari said, "Winning tonight [was] very important for making an atmosphere of confidence for working one more year."

But Brazil also won the Confederations Cup in 2005 and 2009 and were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the following World Cups.

So, does the victory really matter? This time, it appears so -- this title is different.

For one, this victory dispels the negativity that has surrounded Brazilian football since their 4-0 loss to Barcelona in the 2011 Club World Cup final. That day convinced many fans that Brazil was far behind European football.

Admittedly, there is a gap. But it is at the club level -- not between individual European and Brazilian players or between national teams.

That too, the club-level gap in 2011 appeared bigger than it actually was because Santos played very badly and Barcelona, the best team in the world at that time, played very well.

In the aftermath, many began to doubt the quality of Brazilian players, while ignoring the team´s youth. The problem was not the absence of talent, but the absence of experience.

And that is still true today, even after Sunday´s victory.

But defeating Spain, especially by three goals, will give the young players more confidence. In only 12 matches, Scolari turned good players into a good team. Now the job needs to go on.

Yet, the significance of Sunday´s victory was also obvious in the fans. For 40 years, Maracana Stadium had not been as alive for one night of football as it was Sunday, not even when the Selecao played there. On Sunday though, the crowd of 73,000 not only sung the Brazilian national anthem with passion, but also songs and chants that hadn´t been heard since the 1970s.

“Domingo, eu vou no Maracanã, vou torcer pro time que sou fã...” "On Sunday, I will go to Maracanã, I will support the team, I am a fan...”

Yes, it is true that the Confederations Cup champion has never won the following World Cup.

But in 1970, Brazil scored first against Italy in the World Cup final. Never before had the team that scored first in a World Cup final won the match.

Should Pelé have avoided scoring?

Of Big Phil and thrills

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Busy as he was during Sunday´s Confederations Cup final, gesticulating like a wild puppet in an attempt to make sure his players kept the pressure on their glorious Spanish opponents, Luiz Felipe Scolari had little time to pay attention to the Carnival atmosphere inside the Maracana. But you can bet he heard when the 70,000-plus crowd started the chants of "Ah, it´s Big Phil!" midway through the second half of Brazil´s 3-0 dissection of La Roja.

A typical chant of praise in Brazilian football and one drawn from the baile funk dance floors, it´s not sung for everyone. And it sounded even more impressive when one thinks that four weeks ago, the same stadium´s inhabitants had booed and branded the manager a "donkey" during the Selecao´s 2-2 friendly draw with England.

Though it´s true that those jeers were also directed at the players -- especially Hulk, whose battering-ram style contrasts with the dribbling wizardry Brazilians are so fond of -- it was still a strong statement directed at the man elevated to the category of national hero after overseeing the Selecao´s fifth world title in 2002. Yet it served only to make his night of vindication even sweeter. At 64, Scolari masterminded a famous victory that gave Brazilian fans some of the self-esteem that has been lacking since the generation that boasted Ronaldo crashed out in dramatic style at the 2006 World Cup.

"We played a very good Spanish team, which has undoubtedly been the best of the last few years. But tonight [Sunday] we have shown that Brazil do not have to fear any team in the world if we manage to play with discipline and balance. We are now one out of four or five teams that can come back to Brazil next year and fight for the title, but we have certainly improved," Scolari analyzed in his news conference after Sunday´s final.

For a few days, people will enjoy recalling the night that tiki-taka was smothered by a collective Brazil performance that should have garnered headlines for more than Neymar´s tormenting of the Spanish defence, his wonder strike included. They will tell tales of how a thunderous crowd spurred the players into a tactical commitment that commentators and analysts had previously singled out as the Selecao´s Achilles´ heel. People will even overlook the strategic fouling, so un-Brazilian in nature, that helped break Spain´s rhythm and spirits. More than winning a tournament, Scolari has accomplished one of the side missions in his mammoth quest to lead Brazil to a sixth World Cup crown in front of their own fans: He got the fans on his side.

Given the passion of the Selecao support, this was by no means easy. After a poor 2010 World Cup and 27 months of uncertainty under Mano Menezes, the Brazil job was a poisoned chalice that perhaps only Pep Guardiola could be tempted enough to reach for. Big Phil himself had turned the job down twice before being lured back into the picture. Not only was he 11 years older, but his career seemed done and dusted after an inglorious failure at Chelsea, one that was amplified by his contributions to proud Palmeiras´ relegation to the Brazilian second division this past year.

When he finally took the gig, bringing the 1994 World Cup-winning Carlos Alberto Parreira as an adviser, Scolari immediately learned that large sections of the public and media found him outdated. "Football has moved on a lot in the last few years and Big Phil is not the best Brazilian manager around at the moment. We have a guy who helped relegate a team at the top job now," moaned the legendary Carlos Alberto Torres.

Yet it turns out that Felipao wasn´t so out of touch after all. Though many people, this writer included, sneered at Big Phil´s prompt dismissal of Menezes´ system of rotating strikers (one so blatantly borrowed from Guardiola´s Barcelona), the manager was actually just taking pages from another big club´s book. Instead, it was Bayern Munich that seemed to bring a spark to the former no-nonsense defender´s eye. It was no coincidence that Luiz Gustavo, forgotten by Menezes after a couple of caps in 2011, promptly returned to the fold and ended up anchoring the Selecao´s midfield. While Javi Martinez watched the final from the Spanish bench Sunday, his understudy in Bavaria excelled in that "calf-biting role" for Brazil, leading the team with 15 "steals."

"You guys think Luiz Gustavo will feel the pressure of being a starter for Brazil? He is a Bayern Munich player, he knows what the weight of expectations is," Scolari said in the week of the final.

Big Phil showed himself to be a fan of the Bundesliga´s gegenpressen and we should all have paid a bit more attention when he "jokingly" said that only by naturalizing Xavi, Iniesta and Lionel Messi could Brazil emulate Barcelona and Spain´s tiki-taka.

Thus, he summoned Fred, whose time seemed up as well here, and devised a Selecao where not even Neymar hesitates before bringing somebody down. Jogo bonito it isn´t, but Brazil have managed in four weeks what they had not since 2009: wins against established footballing nations (France, Italy, Spain) and a trophy. Furthermore, his man-management skills have created a squad that is prouder than ever to wear that yellow shirt.

On a broader scale, the Selecao have also fallen back into the people´s adoration during a time when national symbols have been under severe attack. The complicated lyrics of the Brazilian national anthem were belted out like battle cries at the Confederations Cup stadiums and the amount of Selecao shirts on the Rio streets over the weekend seemed abnormal even for the occasion.

"The love people have been showing should not only be a matter of football. When we are happy, things can work better for this country," he argues. One can certainly point out Scolari dodged as many questions about the civil unrest on Brazilian streets as he could, and that his position caused clashes with Brazilian media. "Some of you are trying to put me against the Brazilian people when all I am saying is that my job here is to talk about footballing issues", he claimed after the 4-2 win against Italy in Salvador. Yet where Scolari kept quiet, no player was prevented from addressing the issue -- including Thiago Alves and David Luiz, Big Phil´s captain and vice-captain, who openly commented on the topic.

For all the joy that Sunday´s victory has restored to Brazilian soccer, Scolari still faces a tough task ahead. The fact that no team has won the Confed/World Cup double shows how dangerous it is to overestimate the outcome of the "warm-up" event. Also, history is against returning managers -- the last one to win the trophy twice was Italy´s Vittorio Pozzo, in 1938. "We cannot take one game and one tournament as more than what it is. We have opened a path that can lead us to great things but our work here is not anywhere near done," he says.

The way Big Phil was mobbed while negotiating passage to the trophy presentation, though, shows that he has certainly won a lot of room in which to work.

Brazil triumphed with shift to defense and counterattack

To date, the Confederations Cup title had not been a positive harbinger for the Brazilian team in its pursuit of the ultimate goal, the World Cup. And in his brief tenure, coach Luiz Felipe Scolari had been afflicted by reputation issues and a general lack of confidence, somehow missing out on the excitement running tangent to the hype that has already begun to build around next year´s event.

But today however, we must exalt Brazil´s spectacular performance in the historic 3-0 win at Maracanã stadium over current world champion and two-time UEFA Euro champion Spain, undefeated for 29 official games since losing to Switzerland in the opening round of the 2010 World Cup. From the national anthem firing up the local team and the cheering crowds, to the "olé" at the end, the mighty opponent was left dumbstruck, motionless and even reverent.

Between the two moments, Fred´s goal in the first minute of play by the way of Hulk coming from the right over Jordi Alba was what Felipão´s team needed to build the ideal game scenario. Spain went into a tailspin and the strong defensive covering by Paulinho on Xavi and by Luiz Gustavo on Iniesta took La Roja out of the game, until the counterattack in which Mata, a surprising choice in the place of Fabregas and Silva, served Pedro, only for David Luiz to keep it out of the net with a spectacular goal line save.

With the end of the suffocating pressure at kickoff, lines were tightened to deny space to the opposition and much use was made of counterattacks. Hulk stuck closely to Alba, Paulinho and Oscar helped Marcelo down the left and Neymar was free for his lethal dashes between Arbeloa and Piqué.

After exchanging passes with Oscar, the fantastic kick that left Casillas defenseless confirmed the soccer star as the highlight of the Confederations Cup. The first half would have ended up with an even higher score if Oscar and Fred had not wasted clear opportunities.

The goal by Fred early in the second half buried Spain´s comeback plans, where they had hoped to attack along the right with Azpilicueta in place of the clueless Arbeloa. Not only because of the 3 to 0 score, but because of the fantastic counter attack with Neymar letting it go by and the opportunistic Fred, aware and agile, entering the left to beat Casillas. Perfect.

Highlights toward the end included the foolish penalty foul by Marcelo on Navas -- the referee was strict, but there was the unnecessary touch -- which Sergio Ramos proceeded to waste without Julio Cesar even needing to repeat the defense against Forlan in the semifinal with Uruguay. Pique´s red card in yet another sprint by Neymar and the entrance of Jadson as a reminder of the manager’s righteous decision not to call Ronaldinho back to the team.

Not to mention the screaming coach in the last minutes requiring more defense and organization in the 4-4-1-1 formation, with Jadson and Oscar along the sides, Neymar in the center and Jo, who replaced Fred, out in front. A variation on the usual 4-2-3-1. With the game already won. It´s a spirit that must be preserved for 2014, because the remarkable triumph is an important part of the process, even a milestone. But it is by no means the final act.

Scolari´s methods and way of thinking football are still questionable. But there are several ways to command and conquer. From Rinus Michels to Carlos Bilardo. The 100% success so far in official competitions by the Brazil team is immune to criticism.

All of this will be discussed later. Today, it is impossible not to celebrate the Brazilian show and repeat the crowd’s chant: "The champion is back." May the champion stick around until next year.

Central volvió a los entrenamientos

ROSARIO -- El plantel de Rosario Central retornó este martes a la tarde a los entrenamientos en el predio de Arroyo Seco, pensando en el reestreno en la Primera División frente a Quilmes, luego de un paso de tres temporadas por la Primera B Nacional.

Tras dos semanas de vacaciones, los jugadores comenzaron la pretemporada bajo las órdenes del preparador físico Guillermo Cinquetti sin caras nuevas, porque todavía no se logró concretar ninguno de los refuerzos, uno por línea, que solicitó el director técnico, Miguel Angel Russo.

Tampoco estuvieron cinco futbolistas que fueron parte de la base del equipo que ascendió tras coronarse campeón de la B Nacional, porque aún no resolvieron su situación contractual: Mauricio Caranta, Franco Peppino, Hernán Encina, Diego Lagos y Javier Toledo.

En el caso de Encina, está todo dado para rubricar un nuevo préstamo por dos años en las próximas horas, mientras que lo mismo ocurrirá durante esta semana con Caranta y Peppino, aunque en su caso por una temporada.

En tanto, aunque la situación parece complicada, los dirigentes siguen negociando por Lagos y Toledo, en tanto la buena noticia fue que Nery Domínguez extendió su contrato hasta junio de 2016.

Por otro lado, Nahuel Valentini finalizó su vínculo el 30 de junio último y se quedó con el pase en su poder, en tanto Jesús Méndez, retornó a Boca Juniors, dueño de sus derechos económicos y federativos.

A 15 futbolistas desafectó Russo a mediados de junio y también dejarán el plantel Canalla otros diez, pero porque pasarán a jugar en Tiro Federal, tras el convenio efectuado con esa institución de la zona oeste de Rosario, que afrontara el próximo Torneo Argentino A.

De los 35 profesionales que se presentaron en el entrenamiento sólamente 19 trabajaron con el cuerpo técnico auriazul para la nueva temporada en la Primera División.

Russo advirtió que para reforzar al plantel habrá que cambiar de postura, dejar de lado el tema préstamos e invertir en la compra de porcentuales de jugadores. "Al club hay que capitalizarlo y deberá hacerse el esfuerzo necesario. En algunos casos habrá que comprar porcentajes de jugadores, no queda otra alternativa. Hay jugadores que pueden rendir en Central, aunque no lo hayan hecho en otros clubes. Pueden ser jóvenes o experimentados", fundamentó en conferencia de prensa.

Al mismo tiempo, se mostró positivo de cara al futuro, pese a los inconvenientes actuales del mercado: "Soy optimista ciento por ciento, sé cómo están trabajando los dirigentes dentro de las alternativas que tiene hoy el fútbol argentino en general".

"Estamos avanzando en ciertas cosas y sabemos que los jugadores y sus representantes buscan primero alternativas en el exterior. Pero el mercado se irá acomodando de a poco", avisó.

En esa dirección, agregó: "Hay que redoblar los esfuerzos porque todos los equipos buscamos a los mismos jugadores, esto es Central y hay que darse cuenta dónde estamos parados. Hoy en el fútbol hay que tener mucha paciencia porque las cosas no suceden de la noche a la mañana. Estamos en el camino correcto".

También dejó en claro que quiere contar con la base del equipo que ascendió: "Son los que tienen la idea y el concepto de juego del club, estoy convencido de que se debe mantener la columna del ascenso".

Por otra parte, consideró que le hizo daño a Central haber estado en la B Nacional: "Nosotros venimos de tres años sin reserva, es un precio muy alto que estamos pagando. Por eso hay chicos que todavía no podemos utilizarlos en Primera. Habrá que esperarlos, como mínimo, seis meses. Pera tener todo como uno quiere, nos va a acostar entre dos y tres años".

Por último, dejó entrever que quiere conformar un equipo competitivo al sostener que "la idea es armar un buen grupo. Sabemos que es importante y a nosotros nos ha dado muchos resultados. Porque queremos tener un equipo de nivel, eso lo priorizamos, para que se acomoden a la idea de juego que nosotros buscamos, como lo merece este club".

Betis eye Campbell loan return

Real Betis want Arsenal striker Joel Campbell to remain at the club on loan next season.

The Costa Rica international spent last season at the Estadio Benito Villamarin, making 33 appearances in all competitions and scoring twice.

Joaquim Batica, the player´s agent, had previously confirmed Betis´ desire to keep Campbell, something which the club´s sporting director has reaffirmed.

However, Vlada Stosic also pointed out that they are in the dark as to whether Arsenal will allow him to leave for another season.

"We want the player to continue for one more season with us, but we have heard no news from the Gunners," Stosic told Radio Sevilla.

While Campbell has not yet established himself at the Emirates Stadium, he is a regular fixture in the Costa Rica national side.

The 21-year-old has 25 caps for his country, in which he has scored seven goals.

U-20

Kroatien - Chile 0-0 ved pausen

PSG out to put club back on map with Cavani bid

Paris Saint-Germain want Napoli´s prolific Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani and, according to reports in the UK press, have lodged a bid of €50 million to get their man. Premier League giants Chelsea are also believed to have tabled an offer, but are refusing to meet the €63 million (£54 million) release clause. The 26-year-old´s high price is also believed to have put off the likes of Manchester City and has Real Madrid thinking twice.

Money is less of an object for PSG and having finally returned to training with new-coach Laurent Blanc in charge, the French club are able to get their transfer plans back on track.

Cavani´s agent apparently met the capital club´s sporting director Leonardo in Paris on Monday, but reports as early as April suggested that Leonardo had been in touch with Napoli to prepare the ground for a summer bid. That bid, and a number of others, had to be delayed because of the uncertainty surrounding PSG´s new coach.

As a result, newly-promoted Monaco have stole a march on PSG and earned the respect of the continent´s elite, financially at least, by splashing over €130 million on the likes of Radamel Falcao, James Rodriguez and Joao Moutinho. Even if a proposed change in legislation is implemented, forcing Les Monegasques to run their business out of France instead of the tax-exempt Principality, those three deals have already massively enhanced Monaco´s reputation.

It has also pushed PSG to the back of everyone´s minds in Ligue 1, despite the Parisiens sealing a first title in 19 years in May.

There is a feeling that, as Les Rouge-et-Bleu´s search for a new coach dragged on, they became the forgotten men in France as Monaco stole the limelight immediately after sealing their promotion from the second tier.

The two-way battle between the two affluent sides for talented Lille teenager Lucas Digne illustrates the challenge that Monaco are presenting PSG.

The left-back is currently on Under-20 World Cup duty with France, in Turkey, and is thought to be mulling offers from both sides. But the Ligue 1 champions would have been able to secure his signing ahead of time had there not been such uncertainty surrounding the Parc des Princes hot seat.

But Monaco coach Claudio Ranieri is realistic and realises that, despite the impressive trio of new arrivals, challenging PSG is still a long way off given the disparity between the two squads.

"I hope other players are going to come," Ranieri told the media at his squad´s pre-season training camp in Italy. "I hope we´ll have a great season.

"I know that a lot is expected of us, but it´s not possible to draw a comparison with PSG."

Ranieri singled out Colombian predator Falcao as his side´s key player, much like PSG´s star man is Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

"With Falcao, we´ll start our matches 1-0 up," declared the Italian confidently.

That may be the case, psychologically speaking, but after a season in which Ibrahimovic scored 30 league goals in just 34 matches, the PSG striker has set the benchmark high for Falcao follow. The addition of Cavani to the Parisien ranks would make competition for the honour of being Ligue 1´s top goalscorer even greater.

But the potential move for Cavani is not just designed to reassert PSG´s power on domestic competition. It would also take a swipe at European rivals Chelsea, Manchester City and particularly Real Madrid.

Carlo Ancelotti´s move to the Spanish capital was a huge coup for Los Blancos, and one that the French champions desperately wanted to avoid in order to underline their strong credentials on the continent. Cavani is believed to be a top target for Real after failing to lure Falcao from rivals Atletico, but the Uruguayan represents the perfect riposte for PSG to answer the Spanish giants´ poaching of Ancelotti with.

As the French side are more than capable of meeting Napoli´s massive release clause for Cavani, PSG are in the best position to sign the player.

In doing so, they would demonstrate to their domestic and European rivals that the club are still a force to be reckoned with, despite Ancelotti´s departure. On the pitch, the move would arguably remedy the solitary position in the team´s starting line-up that proved overly problematic last season: an attacking foil for Ibrahimovic.

Should Blanc elect to continue to use the 4-2-2-2 formation that Ancelotti eventually found success with last year, making only a few minor adjustments to suit his entertaining style, Cavani alongside the Swede would arguably make PSG genuine contenders for the Champions League title.

Of course, a deal is far from done at present.

But for now, PSG have temporarily been knocked off of top billing in France. Before the transfer window closes at the end of August, they will be keen on reasserting their position as France´s most talked about side and one of Europe´s up and coming powerhouses.

Chori Domínguez llegó al Olympiacos

MADRID -- El Olympiacos griego ha hecho oficial a través de su página web el fichaje del ex delantero del Rayo Vallecano Alejandro Chori Domínguez, que declaró sentirse "muy contento de pertenecer a la familia del Olympiacos".
"Voy a hacer todo lo posible para que el equipo consiga sus objetivos", dijo el futbolista argentino, que deja la entidad rayista después de que el pasado 30 junio terminara su contrato con el club.

Tras jugar en el conjunto vallecano una temporada, en la que disputó 33 partidos y marcó un total de cinco goles, Alejandro Domínguez firmó su nuevo contrato por el que queda vinculado al club griego para las próximas dos temporadas.

A pesar de tener una oferta de renovación con el Rayo Vallecano y otra para recalar en el Málaga, el jugador ha preferido fichar por el Olympiacos de Míchel, que disputará la Liga de Campeones la próxima temporada.

smuk scoring af Chiles - Nico Castillo 1-0 over Kroatien....

Chile foran 2-0 på selvmål af en balkanbonde...


Ghana har lavet en "Spanien" og vendt 1-2 til 3-2 over Portugal....