Snak

Cristian Ledesma renovó con River

BUENOS AIRES -- River Plate tuvo el jueves su día más felíz de lo que va de este receso de temporada al conseguir la renovación de contrato del mediocampista Cristian Ledesma y por acordar el préstamo con Cerro Porteño del estratega Jonathan Fabbro.
Después de ser uno de los mejores actores de River en el último campeonato, Ledesma llegó a un acuerdo con los dirigentes para extender su vínculo por un año más.

Las negociaciones con el mediocampista se habían dilatado más de lo esperado, por diferencias económicas. Ramón Díaz quería especialmente retenerlo.

Por otra parte, Lucas Orban, surgido de las divisiones inferiores del club, dio su aprobación para volver de Tigre y espera que la dirigencia millonaria le envíe el nuevo contrato para sumarse al plantel.

"Me gusta porque lo podemos utilizar de lateral o de stopper. (Néstor) Gorosito le ha encontrado una posición importante. Tenemos dos torneos y nos va a servir", reconoció Díaz en diálogo con el programa "Rock & Closs".

En tanto, Iván Pillud llegará de Racing con el pase en su poder y firmará un contrato por tres años, con opción a renovar por uno más.

"A Pillud lo pedí. Es un jugador de ataque y eso es lo que pretendemos", reconoció el entrenador riojano.

Por el colombiano Carlos Carbonero, la dirigencia de River redujo la diferencia respecto de lo que pretendía el jugador para ligarse al club, por lo que la operación también quedó definitivamente encaminada.

En lo sucesivo, River apuntará a contratar delanteros. La dirigencia mantiene el optimismo para la llegada del colombiano Teófilo Gutiérrez y aguarda una resolución en torno al regreso de Juan Iturbe, que jugó a préstamo el campeonato pasado y volvió a Portugal.

Clubes colombianos, con pérdidas

BOGOTA -- Los equipos de las divisiones A y B del fútbol colombiano registraron máss perdidas que ganancias en la pasada temporada, según un informe de la Superintendencia de Sociedades y del Instituto Colombiano de la Juventud y el Deportes (Coldeportes).

Las pérdidas llegaron al equivalente a 19,4 millones de dólares, mientras que las utilidades de la mitad de los 18 equipos de la primera categoría fueron de 7,4 millones, precisaron las entidades al dar a conocer el informe el jueves.

Atlético Nacional de Medellín, finalista en el torneo Apertura, registró la utilidad más alta, 4,1 millones de dólares, y el Once Caldas de Manizales tuvo la perdida más elevada en la división A, con 4,4 millones, según las cifras oficiales.

Junto a Nacional presentaron utilidades Envigado, Millonarios, Deportivo Cali, Santa Fe, Chicó, Deportivo Pasto, Deportes Tolima y Patriotas.

El informe consignó que otros 17 equipos _nueve de la A y ocho de la B_ perdieron dinero.

Deportivo Pereira, de la división B perdió 4,5 millones de dólares y encara el riesgo de ser liquidado.

El superintendente Luis Guillermo Vélez destacó que a pesar del balance negativo va por buen camino el proceso de transformar los equipos en sociedades anónimas. La tarea se emprendió a mediados de 2012 para tratar de sanear el balompié local.

"Hemos logrado consolidar los objetivos en materia de democratización, transparencia, capitalización y solidez del fútbol profesional colombiano", destacó Vélez.

Det skal nok blive sjovt....

Investment group to take action over Neymar sale

A former third-party owner of Barcelona star Neymar believes that they did not get what they were entitled to after Santos´ sale.

DIS, a sports marketing company, believes they are entitled to a larger part of the €57 million deal struck for Neymar than they received.

Executive director Roberto Moreno has asked for further clarification after documents detailing the transfer were leaked to Radio Globo earlier this week.

"I’ve not been shown a single document, so I will go to Santos’ headquarters tomorrow,” Moreno told Bloomberg. "After that we will decide if we need to go to the courts. I’ve read lots of things in the media but seen no documentary evidence."

ESPN Brasil reported on Thursday that the company is ready to issue lawsuits against Barcelona and Neymar over the transfer.

DIS originally acquired their share of Neymar’s regisgtration in 2009 for €2.6m. Under the existing deal, it is due €6.8m for their 40 per cent of the €17.1m received by Santos for Neymar.

Flamengo make offer for Corinthians star Emerson Sheik - report

Flamengo have officially made an offer for Corinthians´ star Emerson Sheik, according to reports in Brazilian press.

Lancenet reports that Flamengo made an official offer this Thursday, offering a high salary (around 135,000 Euros/month).

The Brazilian sports newspaper claims that the negotiations between Flamengo and Emerson are already very advanced.

Emerson is expected to leave Corinthians by next week, after his current team face São Paulo for the South American Recopa.

The negotiations to extend his contract with Corinthians have failed as the current world champions do not want to offer him a long deal.

Flamengo are willing to offer Emerson Sheik a contract until December 2015. However, he can only move if he cancels his contract with Corinthians or if Flamengo accept to pay a fee to sign him.

Marquinhos will stay at Roma, claims agent

Roma are standing firm in the Marquinhos transfer saga and are not allowing the defender to talk to other clubs, according to the player’s agent.

The Brazilian’s representative says the Italian club are determined to keep the 19-year-old amid reported interest from Barcelona.

Marquinhos enjoyed an impressive first season in the Italian capital and has since been heavily linked with a move to Camp Nou.

However, the former Corinthians youngster´s representative, Roberto Calenda, has insisted that there have been no talks with any club, with the Giallorossi eager to keep the Brazilian.

Calenda told Sky Sport Italia: "The player has a contract for four season with Roma and he will surely stay.

"There are no negotiations ongoing. It´s normal that there are lots of teams interested in him because we´re talking about a very talented guy.

"But Roma have not allowed us to talk to anyone."

Calenda went on to slam the level of press intrusion into his player´s private life after he was pictured in a Rome restaurant.

He added: "Marquinhos was sent home this morning because he had a fever. I went to visit him and we went to the restaurant in front of his house because he had nothing to eat at home.

"Roma know everything, but unfortunately there are people who take pictures without knowing things and you cannot have a private life."



men så....


PSG target Marquinhos as Alex replacement - report

PSG are looking to replace wantaway Alex with Roma´s Marquinhos according to reports in France.

Le Parisien claims that Alex is looking for a return to Brazil this summer and say that any move for Roma´s Marquinhos would be as a replacement.

This comes after reports of a meeting between PSG and Roma officials in Paris on Thursday over a potential transfer.

One thing the publication is confident of is that Marquinhos would not be a replacement for captain Thiago Silva.

Silva is reported to have agreed personal terms with Barcelona although his agent later denied the reports.

Another kind of revolution: slowly, but surely, soccer is beginning to take hold in Cuba

HAVANA — The only shots fired in this 21st century revolution will be at the goal.

The country that still revels in its great revolution of some 54 years ago, finds itself undergoing yet another one on the sporting landscape, although it is a more of the silent variety and might take longer to come to fruition.

While it might not be apparent given the struggles of the national team during World Cup qualifying last year or because of the lack of a professional league, but soccer has started to make inroads in Cuba.

This Caribbean country is better known for producing professional baseball players and world-class boxers over the years. But the seeds have been planted.

You only have to venture down a street in Cuba’s capital city and stumble into youngsters either kicking the ball around or even a father having a kick-about his son or daughter. Or you can go to a square or an open space where there is a good chance you will see students playing a five-side weekday game after school.

“It is for the love of the game,” one participant said. “I just love soccer.”

Slowly, but surely, this soccer revolution has begun to take hold.

“At this moment, football is liked like baseball in Cuba,” Cuba Football Federation president Luis Hernandez said through a translator last year. “The children, young people like football very much. If the national team of Cuba gets good results in this tournament [World Cup qualifying], more people will like football.”

During several World Cup qualifiers at Estadio Pedro Marrero in Havana in 2012, Cuban supporters wore jerseys from Real Madrid and Barcelona, thanks to Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, and even from the San Jose Earthquakes and New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer.

So the tide is beginning to change, even if it is more generational, says former soccer player Hernan Garcia Gonzalez, a bartender at the Angel de Tejadillo, a soccer-oriented bar in Old Havana.

“For me, football is the most beautiful sport in the world, because you’re moving all the time,” he said. “I don’t like baseball because there is so much waiting around. When you walk around the streets, you see the kids playing much more soccer now. The old people still like baseball more, but the young people like soccer.”

Hernandez has seen the growth in organized soccer as well.

“We are very happy to see children playing in the streets,” he said. “And its not only in Havana. In the 16 Cuban provinces, there is a movement with around 600 children studying in sports schools and being trained by more than 1,000 physical training professionals. They are working to supply players. There is also a big movement in indoor football and women’s football. in Under-15, Under-17, Under-20, Under-23. There is a system of training, keeping these players in form for the international competitions.”

The increased interest in the game, however, has not jumped from the stands or the streets to the playing field, at least not yet. Although Cuba received a first-round bye in the 2011 World Cup qualifying round, the Caribbean country struggled mightly, finishing last and fourth in Group C in the semifinal round, scoring but one goal, but allowing 10 en route to a 0-5-1 mark.

“With this defeat we say goodbye to the qualifying for 2014 World Cup and we shall take the remaining matches as preparation for the forthcoming Caribbean Cup,” former Cuba coach Alexander Gonzalez said after back-to-back losses to Honduras in September.

But as one door closed on the Cubans, another one opened — in the Caribbean Cup, a tournament that qualifies four Caribbean teams for the CONCACAF Gold Cup, which is being held in the United States through July 28 (Cuba, which lost to Costa Rica, 3-0, on Tuesday night, plays the United States in Sandy, Utah on Saturday. Walter Benítez, who took over for Gonzalez, directed Cuba to its first Caribbean crown last December as it defeated Trinidad & Tobago, 1-0, in extratime.

Cuba’s participation and ultimate success in the Caribbean Cup could open up yet another can of worms that we will get to later.

But in the 21st century, Cuban soccer faces two major challenges in the ever changing world of international soccer — trying to develop players and there is no doubt talent is there — despite not having a professional level to spur the growth of the players — and keeping those players from defecting to the United States or even to other countries, if they so choose.

It is a dilemma that is not easy to solve, given the country’s Communist rule that forbids professional sports of any kind or allows its best players to play in Europe, South American or even in Central America or in other Caribbean coutries.

“I want the football to be grow, not in the economic aspect, but improving the conditions of the pitches, the stadiums,” Hernandez said. “That’s the way I would prefer to develop to become professional football.”

Players who perform in the National Championship receive a modest stipend of $12 a month. It isn’t a princely sum, but it has been enough to live on.

“When I played in Cuba, I was at my limit,” said former Cuban international Yordany Alvarez, who plays for Real Salt Lake in MSL. Money. It always comes down to money, doesn’t it? Without the proper funds, it is difficult to fund and build decent facilities in which to educate aspiring players about the the beautiful game.

“We do nothing if we have the raw material but we don’t know how to develop that raw material,” said journalist Alejandro Perez, who had defected from Cuba since this interview last year. “Yes can think we have a potential to make a good league or good players. but the conditions are the biggest handicap.

“You don’t develop high level players playing in the streets. A lot of players, a lot of young kids practice football, but not in what you can consider a professional way or what you can consider a good way. Maybe that’s the biggest development for the football in Cuba.”

The problem is when the players get to a certain level, they want out. It seems that every time the Cubans venture to the U.S. for the CONCACAF Gold Cup after doing well in the Caribbean Cup or in Olympic qualifying, they have players defect. It certainly would not be surprising if one or several players defect during the 2013 competition.

It has not been easy to find a way stop a major talent drain that has lasted a good decade. Eighteen international players — 16 men and two women — have left the National or Olympic teams while Cuba has played in tournaments in the United States and Canada since 2002.

The losses include forward Rey Angel Martinez, who became the first player to defect, Seattle Sounders midfielder Osvaldo Alonso, who has become a U.S. citizen and is trying to get permission to play for the National Team, Alvarez and former Montreal Impact forward Eduardo Sebrango, who is allowed to return to the Caribbean island after marrying a Canadian woman, but is still banned from playing for the Cuba national side.

“The players who have left by themselves, it was their decision,” Hernandez said in an interview a few years ago. “They left the team when they were supposed to defend their country.”

Asked how much of a drain there was of quality players, Hernandez responded, “What I can say, we have many talented players we have here ready to play for us in Cuba. We have great young players.”

But they keep leaving the country.

Alonso said he never second-guessed his decision, even though he realized he might not ever talk to family or friends again.

“It was extremely difficult because I did leave all my family in Cuba,” he said. “I saw my future as a professional soccer player. I wanted to play professionally. This was an opportunity that I had. My family understands.”

Former Cuban international Makyel Galindo, an ex-player with Chivas USA and FC Dallas in MLS who last performed for the Los Angeles Blues in USL PRO, disagreed with Hernandez.

“I think it has hurt the Cuban National Team to have many of the players that left the team,” he said in an email interview. “I am not just saying it because of myself but because of the young players from the U-23 who left the national team because they were talented and they were the better players.”

Galindo said that sometimes a chance to play professionally and raising one’s standard of living was more important that playing for one’s country. “I don’t feel guilty for leaving my team,” he said. “I didn’t talk to anyone about it beforehand, and I decided it on my own.” Like other Cubans who left, Galindo said his was a desire to play professionally.

“They leave Cuba because they want to make something out of their lives,” he said. “They are in search of the dream of playing soccer at a professional level and they know that Cuba will not offer them that. They do it because they feel that their family will be proud of them if they make it to the professional level and many of those players have realized that they can achieve that goal. Thankfully, in my case, doors were being opened to me.”

While many people see the Caribbean island as a baseball country, Cuba has enjoyed a soccer history going back a century. Two years ago the country celebrated the 100th anniversary of its first game — when Hautey, a team composed of Cubans and Spaniards, played Rovers, a British team, on Dec. 11, 1911.

Four Cubans — brothers Armando, Mario and Jose Giralt and Antonio Sanchez Neyra — performed on the first Real Madrid team in Spain in 1902. The Cubans participated in their first and only World Cup in 1938, reaching the quarterfinals in France, defeating Romania in a replay, 2-1, after playing to a 3-3 draw before it was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Sweden, 8-0. When there was a professional league, the 1930′s to the 1950′s are considered the glory days as many Spanish players came to play and live on the island.

In the opening match of the 1976 Olympics, Cuba played Poland to a scoreless draw. That Poland team, which included Kaz Deyna and Grzegorz Lato, won the 1972 Olympic gold medal and went on to win the 1976 silver and finished third in the 1974 World Cup. Hernandez started against the Poles. Cuba also has won five gold medals at the Central American Caribbean Games — in 1930, 1970, 1974, 1978 and 1986.

“It is the greatest honor for every Cuban athlete,” veteran goalkeeper Odelin Molina said. “It is the greatest thing to represent the Cuban flag.” But even that modest success has not translated to success out of the region.

The Cubans play their international matches at Estadio Pedro Marrero in Havana, a 28-000-seat capacity ground that was built in 1929, when it was called La Tropical Stadium. It is named after a man who died during the Cuban revolution during the fifties.

Estadio, also home to La Ciudad de la Habana, has seen better days. There is a large hole in the roof over part of the grandstand, where fans cannot sit when it rains. A day before the June 8 World Cup qualifier against Canada, workers were painted the cement entrance from the locker room area to the field red.

But controversy was brewing. Canada captain and center back Kevin McKenna complained about a 2 p.m. kickoff time as temperatures soared to close to 90 degrees with the barometer above 80 percent humidity.

“You come to these countries and that’s the way it is,” he said. “There is nobody here forcing any rules. For me its a joke. Even playing two o’clock in the afternoon, even CONCACAF or FIFA has to step in there. It’s the health of the players as well to play at two o’clock. It’s crazy.”

Later, Hernandez noted that when his team goes north, the Cubans could face a cold reception from the weather on Oct. 12 (as it turned out, it didn’t).

“This subject of time is also tactical,” he said. “We know that Canada has scheduled the match in Toronto in October at 9 p.m. So we can take some advantage of playing at [2 p.m.].”

Canada earned a 1-0 victory under the Caribbean sun that Friday afternoon.

But playing at 2 p.m. during the week make some some interesting gamesmanship and may be good for the short term to try to get a result, but won’t solve Cuba’s problems and challenges over the long haul.

It might need yet another revolution for the sport to really take hold on the island.

Until then, soccer-loving Cubans will just have to wait for their silent soccer revolution to gain some more ground and momentum.

Bernard to Miss First Leg of Copa Libertadores Final

After giving Atlético Mineiro a vital early goal in their semi-final second leg against Newell’s Old Boys last night, Bernard went on to pick up a yellow card which means he’ll miss the first leg of the final.

He gave his team the lead in the third minute of the game, with a first time left foot shot which zipped past Newell’s keeper Nahuel Guzmán. The Belo Horizonte born attacker used his blistering pace to latch onto a perfectly weighted through ball from Ronaldinho, before applying the finish.

He was substituted in the 82nd minute, with his replacement Guilherme going on to level the tie on aggregate just two minutes after arriving on the pitch. Galo ran out eventual winners on penalties, and will face Olimpia of Paraguay in the final.

Unlike its European equivalent, the Copa Libertadores final is played across two legs, so Bernard will at least be able to play in the final game of the competition and try to help his team lift the big trophy in South American club football.

Bernard has been linked with several European clubs over the past month or so, including Dortmund, Tottenham Hotspur, Porto, and Liverpool.

Nåh for fanden, nu er selv de engelske tumper begyndt at få øjnene op...

The Road to El Dorado and Rio 2014: How Colombia struck gold

June 26, 1998. David Beckham curls in what was already becoming a trademark free-kick, and England go on to defeat Colombia 2-0 in their final group stage match at France 1998.

England, of course, progressed from the group, albeit in second place behind Romania, and went on to have a match against Argentina in which very little happened. Owen’s goal? Beckham’s red card? Penalty shoot-out? Nope, no idea.

While that was to herald in a new era of disappointment for England in major tournaments, and was also a continuance of their inability to compete in the ‘lottery’ that is a penalty shoot-out, it was also the last time we would see Colombia at a World Cup.

Although this barren run is not quite as dismal as that from 1966-86, when they failed to make a single appearance on international football’s biggest stage, it was a poor return to those days after a spirited performance at Italia ’90, and consecutive group stage appearances in ’94 and ’98.

Gone were the likes of Carlos Valderrama, Freddy Rincon and Faustino Asprilla (and, of course, it would be remiss not mention Rene Higuita!), and with them went the ‘glory days’ (relatively speaking). They did win the Copa America in 2001, which looked like the beginning of a new era, but it proved little more than a false dawn as they failed to reach the 2002 World Cup, something they would replicate four and eight years later.

Now, though, not only are they set to qualify for Brazil 2014, they are well-placed to spring a surprise or two at the tournament next summer.

They currently sit second in the South American qualifying group, just three points behind leaders Argentina with a game in hand, and have recorded some impressive victories, including a 3-1 win over Chile and a 4-0 defeat of Uruguay.

The obvious answer to this turnaround in fortunes is a tiger, or rather El Tigre, better known to most as (Radamel) Falcao.

The Colombian striker is arguably the most feared conventional striker on the planet at the moment, having scored 70 goals in just two seasons with Atletico Madrid, coming from only 90 games, which followed a similarly ridiculous return of 72 from 87 games for Porto.

Indeed, given the plausibility that the goalscoring feats of Messrs Messi and Ronaldo cannot be attributed solely to forces on this world, he is perhaps the best entirely human footballer around at the moment. Linked with the likes of Chelsea and Real Madrid, he will instead by plying his trade for newly-promoted, megarich Monaco next season in a move that absolutely was not motivated by money, after they shelled out around €60 million for his services.

His record for Colombia is rather more modest by his standards, with 17 goals in 45 appearances, but he has started to perform consistently at international level with seven goals thus far in WC qualifying.

If Falcao is the leading man, then he is surrounded by an increasingly talented supporting cast. One of these will be joining him at Monaco next term, after they splashed a similarly stunning figure on him this summer: James Rodriguez.

Only 21 years of age, he is regarded as one of the best young players in European football at the moment, with a move to one of Europe’s top clubs long-mooted, while his speed, shooting and dribbling have seen him draw not unfair comparisons with Cristiano Ronaldo.

While Rodriguez has been compared to the ‘current’ Ronaldo, one of his countrymen – Luis Muriel – has been compared with the original/Brazilian(/best?) one. The striker has yet to establish himself fully at international level, but has done at Udinese this past year and could be one of the tournament’s breakout stars.

It isn’t all flash forwards for the Colombians though, as they also possess a fair bit of talent across the rest of the pitch too. In midfield, it is Inter’s talented Freddy Guarin who may be the biggest name, but arguably it’s Abel Aguilar who has the biggest impact, with his passing ability setting the tempo and seeing him become the fulcrum of the team. It’s also worth mentioning another promising youngster, Juan Fernando Quintero, who has impressed at the South American Youth Cup and the U20 World Cup.

At the back, there’s the captain Mario Ypes who, at the ripe old age of 38, continues to be a key figure for the side. Currently looking for a club after his contract with Milan expired, there has been talk of Ypes retiring once the qualifiers are over, but if he can spend the next year playing somewhat regularly, then there’s no reason he shouldn’t bow out after the World Cup he, more than anyone else in the side (he made his international debut in 1999), has missed out on.

Elsewhere, they have solid full backs in Napoli duo Juan Camilo Zuniga and Pablo Armero, while between the posts they have David Ospina who, just 24, has long been established as his country’s first choice.

There are undoubtedly others who deserve a mention – Porto’s Jackson Martinez, for one – but no cast amounts to anything without a good director, and it’s in this department Colombia appear to have struck gold.

Jose Pekermen is the man who has led Los Cafeteros out of the international wilderness, and has received a great deal of credit for the new era of Colombian football.

He is best known for managing Argentina at the 2006 World Cup and, despite losing to Germany on penalties in the quarter-finals, was someone the Argentinean hierarchy wanted to hang on to and fans fondly remember, not least for introducing the style of play that led to *that* Estaban Cambiasso goal.

There’s also the small matter of his success with the Argentine U20 side, whom he guided to not one, not two, but three U20 World Cup titles.

It is he who has overseen the turnaround in fortunes of the national side, and the introduction of youngsters such as Rodriguez, while getting the best out of Falcao.

It is he who will be in charge as they start the World Cup campaign next year, and it is he who may well find himself a far bigger name than he is currently after the tournament.

While the likes of Brazil and Argentina are rightly favourites, the fact that Colombia will be used to the South American climate that could affect the much-fancied sides such as Germany and Spain, while also being ‘underdogs’ could mean a deep run into the tournament, and they’d make very dangerous opponents for anyone who faces them.

They are, if you like, the ‘South American Belgium’, and while they may not win, there’s a lot to suggest they’ll be a far more recognised side in one year’s time.

That said, at the time of writing (or rather, a bit after, hence tagging it on at the end), they are now third in the FIFA rankings, a position recently held by England. Oh well…

Could Oscar become Chelsea’s Andrea Pirlo?

As Chelsea continue to construct a side built on a wealth of attacking talent, a player who could be key to the club’s future success is celebrating some of his own this week, having helped his country to victory in the Confederations Cup.

Oscar, signed from Internacional in his native Brazil almost a year ago, rounded off a long first year in England tasting success by getting his hands on the silverware of the Europa League domestically, and turning several heads in the process.

The 21-year-old was the recipient of several seductive glances from top European teams before he plucked for then-Champions League winners Chelsea, leaving Inter for a fee in the region of £25m. Big money for such a young and arguably unproven player, whose slight frame was called into question in the face of the Premier League’s physicality. The praises of his national teammates at the London 2012 Olympics soothed any Blues fans’ fears: “Put it this way, he wears the number 10 for Brazil, and we don’t give that shirt out to just anybody” claimed manager Mano Menezes. Oscar was given the number 11 shirt at Chelsea, and was thrusted into the rather large expectations left by its previous wearer – Didier Drogba.

Fast forward to the current day, and you’d be hard pushed to find a Chelsea fan who could be too critical of Oscar’s first season at SW6. While his assist tally of 9 paled in comparison to the 28 and 20 of Juan Mata and Eden Hazard respectively, it’s more the style of Oscar’s play which has propelled him into the hearts of the Stamford Bridge faithful. His once-questioned frame aids his exciting slaloming runs, while his audacious and sometimes outrageous tricks and touches bring a flair to the pitch which has been lacking since Joe Cole suffered the knee injury he would never quite recover fully from, in 2008.

And yet, with the arrival of Jose Mourinho, Oscar’s future has been momentarily left in doubt as fans and onlookers alike await to see what recruitment policy The Special One puts into drive on his return. The club have already secured Andre Schurrle from Bayer Leverkusen, and it’s a signing which could put Oscar’s future in the attacking lineup in jeopardy.

Schurrle is an undoubtedly talented signing. A six foot tall striker-cum-winger who likes cutting in from the left wing to unleash his trademark long-shot off a preferred right foot. It seems unlikely and foolhardy (though this is Abramovich), to sign such a prospect for the £20m being touted only to leave him on the bench. Add returning loanee Kevin de Bruyne into the mix, and you soon realise something’s got to give. Fellow German Marko Marin has departed to Sevilla for the season, clearing the way for his compatriot, and out of last season’s attacking midfield trio, Oscar suddenly looks like the ‘weak’ link, if you can call it that. It looks like fans should fully expect the first-choice three starting behind the striker to look like: Schurrle – Mata – Hazard, rotation and injury permitting. Today’s signing of Lampard-heir-apparent Marco van Ginkel further outlines a youthful policy, and depending on where you get your news, Chelsea are just getting started too, with any number of Cavani, Lewandowski, Hulk and Rooney on the verge of arriving at the Bridge.

Let’s make a case for Oscar dropping back into the centre of the midfield then. The most important thing is that time is on his side. Making his professional debut at 17 for Sao Paulo, he went on to make another ten appearances until a contractual dispute led to him joining Internacional in the summer of 2010, but also restricted him to just 36 matches in that time. However, with 11 goals from that attacking role, he began to make a name for himself around Porto Alegre. In the larger scale of Brazil however, he was relatively under the radar, eclipsed by Santos’s Neymar and Ganso, and his old Sao Paulo teammate Lucas Moura. Ironically, Oscar would go on to replace Ganso in the national team in the hole behind the striker, and their careers have taken particularly different directions since then. But at the age of just 21, with excellent experience, and under the guidance and coaching of arguably one of the greatest managers to grace the European game, there’s no doubt Oscar could adapt to a new role with Mourinho overseeing the change.

Andrea Pirlo, after all, made the same positional transition. During his time at Brescia in 2000, Pirlo was handed a new deeper playmaking role by manager Carlo Mazzone. Roberto Baggio had just arrived from Inter in the hope of boosting his World Cup hopes, and was himself moving further downfield, playing in the trequartista role instead of as the lone striker. Mazzone saw Pirlo as the perfect compliment to Baggio, and shifted him in the deeper midfield role while retaining his onus on Pirlo’s playmaking abilities. The result was a success, albeit as shortlived as Pirlo’s time at Brescia was. The Italian stallion has gone on to be widely regarded as one of the true geniuses in the sport, garnering the nickname The Metronome from his teammates.

It would be unjust and wrong to compare Oscar to Pirlo at this stage, but the foundations are certainly there. Oscar has shown his willingness to put his foot in and tackle, as well as track back to cover his defense. He spreads play from around the pitch, and loves a good forceful dribble. His frame and size will adapt with age and time, and with a defensive minded player next to him, a la Mikel, Romeu, or even van Ginkel, Oscar would have the creative licence to advance up the pitch. He’s born of the Brazilian bottle, with a pure footballing brain where the focus is very much on attack, but if he was to succeed in a deeper role he would have to hone his defensive skills, and be mature in finding the right times to break forward.

Of course, it goes without saying that this is all speculative. His abilities as an attacker have led to comparisons to Kaka and Ozil, and Mourinho may indeed be keen to harness those traits as they are. The 2013/14 season will signify a third year without a break for the youngster though, with the Olympics, Confederations Cup and next summer’s World Cup taking up his rest periods. Mourinho must be aware not to burn out the Brazilian, especially given Chelsea’s absurdly long domestic season last year.

It’s just one of several headaches Mourinho faces at Chelsea, but he’s the kind of guy to relish them. Chelsea are the blackboard for his plans, and Oscar is his chalk. Whether Mourinho can mould the Brazilian into the deep lying playmaker the Blues have sought over the last few years remains unknown, but not entirely unlikely.

Jeg besøger min søster i Norge den næste uges tid. Jeg har ikke fået læst de sidste 50 sider, så der er noget at gå i gang med. Jeg har dog også al den tid jeg skal bruge heroppe, så skal nok lige få skimtet dem igennem ved lejlighed. Det bevirker dog også at jeg overhovedet ikke får set gold cup :(

Fra søndag i næste uge drager jeg en tur til Paris. Mit første besøg i byernes by, så der bliver sikkert en del at læse op på igen efter Deportivo er vendt tilbage...