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Falcioni dispuso 1ª práctica de fútbol

BUENOS AIRES -- El director técnico de All Boys, Julio César Falcioni, dirigió el sábado la primera práctica de fútbol de la pretemporada con vistas al torneo Inicial 2013 y utilizó un esquema táctico de 4-4-2 con la presencia de cuatro de las seis incorporaciones.

En el entrenamiento desarrollado en la mañana del sábado en el predio de Ciudad Evita, el ex entrenador de Boca Juniors alineó a Nicolás Cambiasso; Hernán Grana, Jonathan Ferrari, Carlos Casteglione y Marcelo Bustamante; Nicolás Cabrera, Fernando Sánchez, Exequiel Benavídez y Ezequiel Barabas; Agustín Torassa y Mauro Matos.

En este primer ensayo, Falcioni utilizó a Casteglione, Bustamante, Cabrera y Benavídez, cuatro de las siete incorporaciones que arribaron al conjunto de Floresta.

Durante la práctica ingresaron, además, Alejandro Gagliardi y Cristian Alvarez, los dos otros refuerzos.

Del otro lado, estuvieron Lucas Di Grazia; Leonel Di Plácido, Nehuén Paz, Diego Fuentes y Carlos Soto; Damián Morales, Juan Cruz Careaga, Julián Fernández y Javier Soñer; Lautaro Fernández y Enry Ruí (regresó luego de su experiencia en Chacarita).

Los probables titulares superaron al equipo alternativo por 2-0 con goles de Matos y Torassa, ambos que regresaron al club tras sus préstamos por San Luis de México y Tigre, respectivamente.

Boca ante Estudiantes, en La Plata

LA PLATA -- Estudiantes de La Plata y Boca pondrán en marcha el domingo el triangular "Copa de Invierno", que contará también con la participación de San Lorenzo de Almagro.

El partido, que arbrirá la temporada invernal, se disputará desde las 18.30 en el estadio Ciudad de La Plata y contará con el arbitraje de Diego Ceballos. Canal 7 lo televisará en directo.

El encuentro, que finalmente contará con la presencia de público visitante, servirá para tener un primer pantallazo de cómo están ambos conjuntos de cara al comienzo del torneo Inicial, con Juan Román Riquelme en cancha por el lado de Boca y sin Juan Sebastián Verón en Estudiantes, ya que se recupera de un estado gripal.

En Boca, la novedad saliente es que ninguno de los refuerzos (Emmanuel Gigliotti y Claudio Riaño) estarán desde el arranque en cancha, más allá de la presencia del repatriado Emanuel Insúa, quien regresó del préstamo en Godoy Cruz.

En ese sentido, Carlos Bianchi utilizará la base del equipo que terminó jugando el torneo Final, con Riquelme como enlace, y Juan Manuel Martínez y Nicolás Blandi como atacantes.

Riaño y Gigliotti posiblemente vayan al banco de suplentes, aunque el último tiene menos chances porque recién el viernes firmó su contrato con el club.

Por otro lado, la dirigencia aguarda finiquitar la contratación del marcador central Daniel Cata Díaz, que regresará al país el lunes próximo.

En la vereda de enfrente, el entrenador Mauricio Pellegrino prescindirá de Verón, en lo que iba a representar su segundo amistoso de pretemporada tras su regreso al fútbol, ya que la Brujita se recupera de un estado gripal.

Otro que en apariencia se perderá el cotejo ante el conjunto de La Ribera es el defensor Marcos Angeleri, que también presenta un cuadro similar al de Verón. Pellegrino deberá definir si pone en cancha al delantero colombiano Duván Zapata, quien se recupera de algunas molestias musculares, o incluye a Guido Carrillo como único punta.

Además, en el mediocampo Román Martínez haría dupla con Gastón Gil Romero en la recuperación, mientras que delante de ellos se pararían Mariano González, Alvaro Klusener y Jorge Luna, quien llegó de San Martín de San Juan.

El triangular "Copa de invierno" continuará el próximo jueves desde las 20.10, cuando San Lorenzo reciba en su cancha a Estudiantes, y se cerrará el domino 21, desde las 20.10, cuando se midan San Lorenzo y Boca en el Nuevo Gasómetro.

PROBABLES ALINEACIONES:

ESTUDIANTES: Gerónimo Rulli; Pablo Rosales, Germán Ré, Jonathan Schunke, Jonathan Silva; Gastón Gil Romero, Román Martínez; Mariano González, Alvaro Klusener, Jorge Luna; y Duván Zapata o Guido Carrillo. Entrenador: Mauricio Pellegrino.

BOCA: Agustín Orion; Leandro Marín, Matías Caruzzo, Guillermo Burdisso, Emanuel Insúa; Pablo Ledesma, Ribair Rodríguez, Juan Manuel Sánchez Miño; Juan Román Riquelme; Juan Manuel Martínez y Nicolás Blandi. Entrenador: Carlos Bianchi.

ÁRBITRO: Diego Ceballos.
CANCHA: estadio Ciudad de La Plata.
HORA: 18.30.
TV: Canal 7.

France is champion of the U-20 World Cup. Uruguay says goodbye with dignity and a bright future


http://www.youtube.com/w…tWSYhGbKqEg

Uruguay was again at the gates of glory at the Under-20 WC but ended up reliving what happened sixteen years ago in Malaysia where they lost the final against Argentina (2-1).

Uruguay was also the runner-up at the last U-17 World Cup, where they again finished second being beaten in the decisive match by the Mexican hosts (2-0) with seven of the players of the current U-20 squad.

Never before had France been in the final of the FIFA U-20 and now they have won their first. This is the seventh title for a European team in this competition and the first in fourteen years since Spain won in Nigeria in 1999. South America, with six titles for Argentina and five for Brazil, continues to have the record with eleven.

In the first half the battle between the two contenders was very even. The first twenty minutes was a feeling out period where both tried timidly from outside the area, Nico Lopez (5) and Sebastian Cristoforo (17) for Uruguay, and Pogba (9) for the French.

Lopez (19) had the best chance of the first 45 minutes when he stole a bad pass played by Mouhamadou Sarr and let go of a shot, but the goalkeeper Alphonse Areola managed to punch the ball away.

Florian Thauvin (26) meanwhile had a good scoring opportunity but his shot was blocked by Emiliano Velázquez. Gianni Rodriguez in the 39th minute also came up big has he blocked a dangerous shot by Yaya Sanogo.

Uruguay almost went into the break with the lead. First a shot that went high by Lopez (42), then with Leonardo Pais (44) who couldn´t get his shot away has he was marked well by Dimitri Fouquier and finally with Felipe Avenatti (45) who came close to scoring.

In the second half the tension continued to grip both teams, but it was Uruguay who came with more bite.

Lopez again was dangerous first with a shot blocked wide in the 57th and especially in the 66th in a counterattack where he was initially alone, but the French central defenders managed to regain their positions and the Roma striker ended up shooting wide.

Avenatti, the hero of the quarterfinals against Spain, had the goal at his boots at the 80 minute mark but the keeper stopped the one on one shot.

José Giménez was injured and had to be replaced by Guillermo Varela at the 84 minute mark. France got a couple glorious chances through Veretout Jordan (85) and Alexy Bosetti (87), but De Amores again came up big.

At the start of extra time, De Arrascaeta (96 and 104) had the will but didn´t have the aim. Uruguay suffered their second loss in defense when Gianni Rodriguez went down and was replaced by Lucas Olaza. France also had to change as Digne went off injured.

The score remained deadlocked at zero at the end of extra time and in the decisive shootout goalkeeper Areola , the third-stringer for Paris Saint-Germain, was the great hero by stopping Velázquez and De Arrascaeta, leaving in tears the Uruguayans.

Own-goal lifts Costa Rica over Belize and into quarterfinals


http://www.youtube.com/w…sOhr7Nlc8l0

SANDY, Utah – An own-goal by Dalton Eiley proved to be the difference as Costa Rica defeated Belize, 1-0, in both teams´ second Group C match in the CONCACAF Gold Cup at Rio Tinto Stadium on Saturday.

Costa Rica, which extended its unbeaten streak to seven matches, also booked a spot in the quarterfinals. It will face the United States in a critical top-of-the-table clash Tuesday at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut. That same evening, Gold Cup debutants Belize will meet Cuba, which lost to the United States, 4-1, earlier Saturday, in a game that could determine a quarterfinal berth.

The Ticos thought they grabbed a ninth minute lead when Jairo Arrieta connected with Kenny Cunningham, who bounced a downward header into the goal. The tally, though, was disallowed for offside.

Arrieta and Celso Borges combined for a dangerous chance in the 22nd minute, but Arrieta rolled his shot into Belizean goalkeeper Woodrow West.

Any good feelings the Jaguars had going into the locker room at halftime level went away only four minutes after the interval. Eiley deflected Cunningham’s cross into his own net from the edge of the six-meter box to give Costa Rica a 1-0 lead.

Belize would not back down, though, and pressed for the equalizer. Michael Salazar’s attempt in the 52nd minute bounced to goalkeeper Patrick Pemberton for an easy save.

Real Salt Lake forward Alvaro Saborio nearly scored in front of his home fans, but he shanked an attempt in the 55th minute.

One minute later, after a winning Saborio tackle, Borges spun around a Belize defender at the top of the box, only to shoot wide right.

Considered a pre-tournament favorite along with Mexico and the United States, Costa Rica was nearly gifted a second own goal in the 77th minute. West did well to get a hand on Osvaldo Rodriguez’s shot that deflected off Elroy Smith as the ball went out for a corner.

West came up big again with nine minutes remaining in regulation, jumping to save Ariel Rodriguez’s long-distance attempt.

In the 88th minute, West again robbed Costa Rica of an insurance goal, making a tremendous save to deny Castillo on a point-blank attempt.

Belize came inches away from pulling level in the final minute of second-half stoppage time. Trevor Lennen’s header following a corner kick looked bound for the open net, before it was but the ball was cleared off the line.

NOTES: Costa Rica also defeated Belize, 1-0, in the last meeting between them at the 2013 UNCAF Copa Centroamericana in San Jose, Costa Rica, on January 18….Costa Rica has not conceded a goal in 704 minutes…Costa Rica is unbeaten in 9 of its last 10 Gold Cup games.

U.S. comes from behind to beat Cuba

http://www.youtube.com/w…zNPn-gskXv8

SANDY, Utah -- Chris Wondolowski is making a case that he should be included in the United States roster when World Cup qualifying resumes in September.

Wondolowski -- with his jersey name spelled correctly this time -- scored two more goals to raise his total to five in two matches, and the Americans overcame a slow start to beat Cuba 4-1 Saturday and advance to the CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinals. He became the first American with five goals in one Gold Cup tournament.

The U.S. men´s national team proved it could take a punch and deliver one of its own in Saturday´s Gold Cup match against Cuba, writes Jeff Carlisle, who hands out his player grades. Blog »

Landon Donovan tied the score late in the first half when he converted his second penalty kick of the tournament for his 53rd international goal. Joe Corona got his first international goal early in the second, and Stuart Holden made his first start in nearly three years for the U.S. (2-0), which has reached the quarterfinals of all 12 Gold Cups.

The U.S. won its seventh straight game, tying a team record set in June 2007.

While Wondolowski has led or tied Major League Soccer in goals for three straight seasons, he hadn´t scored for the national team in 11 appearances before getting his first in an exhibition win over Guatemala on July 5.

"I´m very confident in my play," Wondolowski said. "Just even getting the goals is so huge. I´m feeling more confident in my passing and in my touch and things like that where it´s helping me raise my level."

Wondolowski scored a first-half hat trick in Tuesday´s 6-1 win over Belize, when his jersey was misspelled "Wondowlowski." He started this match on the bench, then replaced Herculez Gomez in the 58th and scored the final two goals in the 66th and 85th minutes. Superstitious, the 30-year-old San Jose forward had an extra "W" stitched on the inside of his jersey.

"Wondo is doing wonderful," U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann said. "It´s just a joy to see him every day, in training and now getting his goals that he was waiting for such a long time for -- and now they´re coming. He was a bit disappointed when I told him that he´s not coming off the start right away, but I told him ´We got to keep your goals for the second half,´ -- which he did."

Wondolowski, Donovan and Holden all are making a case to be included in the player pool for World Cup qualifiers at Costa Rica on Sept. 6 and at home against Mexico four days later.

"The benchmark for us now starts with Costa Rica," Klinsmann said. "We´re looking forward to that match. We need now games where we´re eye-to-eye with the opponent."

Donovan, a veteran of three World Cups hasn´t played for the national team in 11 months before the Guatemala match because of injuries and a four-month sabbatical from soccer that ended in late March.

Holden made his first start for the U.S. since an exhibition against Colombia on Oct. 12, 2010. A knee injury the following March sustained from a tackle by Manchester United´s Jonny Evans limited the Bolton midfielder to one club match in the next 22 months.

The Americans, who have not won the North and Central American and Caribbean championship since 2007, complete the first round Tuesday against Costa Rica in East Hartford, Conn., then play their quarterfinal at Baltimore on July 21.

Cuba, ranked 82nd by FIFA -- a full 60 spots behind the U.S. -- gave the Americans an unexpected test.

Before a crowd of 17,597 at Rio Tinto Stadium, Jose Ciprian Alfonso put Cuba (0-2) ahead in the 36th minute. He beat defender Oguchi Onyewu to a cutback pass from Ariel Martinez, who has rounded left back Edgar Castillo near the end line. Ciprian Alfonso then sent a right-footed shot past goalkeeper Nick Rimando.

Donovan tied the score in the second minute of stoppage time with a penalty kick, extending his U.S. scoring record.

Corona finally gave the Americans lead in the 57th when he latched onto a loose ball and let loose a curling a shot from the edge of the penalty area.

"We were trying to get a quick goal in the second half, so we could get that confidence back and try to play our game and try to get more goals," Corona said.

Wondolowski made it 3-1 with his a close-range flick off a cross from Kyle Beckerman. He finished off the scoring from the center of the penalty area.

"It´s such a huge honor, any time you put on that jersey, any time I see that jersey, it just gives me chills and I love being a part of it," Wondolowski said.

U.S. Notes: The Americans are 27-1-2 in the group phase of the Gold Cup, the only loss 2-1 to Panama two years ago. ... The U.S. improved to 8-1-1 against Cuba. .. Donovan has a Gold Cup-record 15 goals. ... Cuba is winless in 12 straight Gold Cup matches. ... Holden, Gomez, Castillo and Onyewu were among six changes. Tony Beltran took over at right back and Brek Shea started in midfield. Going to the bench along with Wondolowski were right back Michael Parkhurst, central defender Clarence Goodson, left back DaMarcus Beasley and midfielders Jose Torres and Mix Diskerud. Torres replaced Shea at the start of the second half and Diskerud took over for Holden in the 58th. ... A former youth player for Norway, Diskerud became tied to the U.S. team when he started against Belize. ... Onyewu was captain for the second time and first since the Colombia match three years ago.

Panama prepares for Canada, aims for perfect group stage

DENVER – At the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup, Panama -- after winning its opening two games -- was in a position to finish group play with an unblemished record, but it lost that opportunity by drawing 1-1 with Canada.

The Central Americans acknowledged not playing at the standard they set for themselves in triumphs over Guadeloupe and the United States.

“We don’t want that to happen again,” said Panama head coach Julio Dely Valdes, whose squad takes on Canada, once again, in its final Group A match at Sports Authority Field on Sunday. “We have tremendous respect for Canada and we can’t have a bad game again.”

Panama saved a point against the Maple Leafs two years ago, thanks to Luis Tejada’s injury-time equalizer. As a result, Canada fell short of advancing to the quarterfinals.

Despite not scoring a goal yet in this edition of the Gold Cup, the Canadians are still mathematically alive and can qualify as one of the two best third-place teams.

“We will play to win the three points,” Canada interim head coach Colin Miller said. “We will do all we can to get the three points. We are not out of it.”

Canada comes into the match with a depleted roster and will most likely use younger players.

“We came here to play,” Canada goalkeeper Milan Borjan said. “We have young guys, but we have to have the right attitude and keep our heads up.”

As for the Central American nation, Panama leads the group with six points after beating Mexico and Martinique in its first two games. Dely Valdes has found an offensive formula that translates into results. The inclusion and resulting productivity of Gabriel Torres and Alberto Quintero have been key to the Canaleros’ success thus far.

“It is a combination that can help us,” Valdes noted. “But there are other players that can help us, too. We want to have a problem. We want it to be difficult to choose players because they are all playing well.“

Panama hopes to maintain the quality of its play going forward, though, Valdes said that there is a chance he will make some changes to the lineup against Canada.

“The objective is to finish in first place,” Valdes added. “We will have some modifications compared to the other games. It shouldn’t affect us. We told all of our players to be ready if called upon.”

Good old Vickery....

Quintero at the head of the class

They can hand out as many medals and trophies as they like; the true balance sheet of the Under-20 World Cup in Turkey can be written only in a few years.

As in all youth football, winning the title should never be an end in itself. There is no point in a team doing well in an Under-20 World Cup if none of those players go on to play an important role at the senior level. Grooming players for the long term is -- or should be -- the objective. We will really know the fallout from Turkey 2013 when we study the senior World Cup squads in 2018 and ´22.

And in the odd case, as soon as 2014.

The South American nations attach a great deal of importance to performances in these U-20 competitions. This tends to apply less with the Europeans; when they are looking to select players for the senior international squad, the overriding concern is form at club level.

But in South America, things can be a bit more fluid. Players tend to get sold overseas at young ages. It can be difficult to follow their progress or compare the merit of performances across a number of leagues. So those who have done well for their country at U-20 level hold something of an advantage. They have shown they can cope with the pressure of putting on the national team shirt. It is common for those who shine at U-20 level to be fast tracked to the senior squad.

Juan Fernando Quintero could be bound for Porto, according to reports
In this year´s crop of South American U-20s, one player has stood head and shoulders above the rest -- Colombian playmaker Juan Fernando Quintero.

His talent was abundantly clear over a year ago in the Copa Libertadores. In game after game, he came off the substitutes´ bench for Atletico Nacional of Medellin and lit up proceedings with his midfield prompting. Pescara of Italy were quick to swoop. Indeed, they have "out-Porto-ed" Porto at the Portuguese champion´s favourite game -- picking up early on promising South Americans and selling them at a profit. Quintero is set to join Porto, who will clearly have to pay more for him than Pescara did a year ago.

That is because the player has used this year´s U-20 competitions to give a succession of midfield master classes. He was magnificent in January when Colombia won the South American title and no less impressive in Turkey, where he carried the side into the second round, where it lost on penalties to South Korea.

Uruguay, which can consider themselves unfortunate to have lost the final to France on penalties, have revealed an interesting generation. As have Chile, which fell to Ghana in a wonderfully thrilling quarterfinal. Paraguay, which were solid all the way to their second-round elimination, also have some promising players, as do the likes of Peru and Ecuador, which failed to qualify for Turkey.

But Quintero, a gloriously old-fashioned number ten, is the one player from this generation who would seem capable of making an impression at the senior level as soon as the World Cup in a year´s time. A factory of ideas, he has the technique, vision and intelligence to put them into mass production. He can organise from deep, playing his push-and-run short passes and using his ability on the turn to switch the point of attack. He can strike long-range balls, splitting the opposing defence with rapier thrusts along the ground or playing over the top of the back line with a precision reminiscent of Glenn Hoddle. He can create space in the tight areas around the penalty box with clever little chips or give-and-gos. And he can weigh in with important goals as well.

Jose Pekerman gave Juan Fernando Quintero his senior debut with Colombia.
He is a type of player who used to be found with greater frequency in Argentina. Indeed, Quintero´s feel for the game personifies the debt that Colombian football owes to its Argentine pioneers. The connection will not have been lost on Jose Pekerman, the Argentine in charge of the Colombian national team. In his previous spells in charge of the land of his birth, Pekerman was a huge defender of Juan Roman Riquelme, constructing teams around him at youth and senior levels. Unsurprisingly, Pekerman was swift to spot the potential of a budding midfield maestro, drafting Quintero onto the Colombia squad last year and giving him a senior debut against Cameroon in October.

Pekerman currently has the excellent Macnelly Torres performing playmaking duties for the senior side. Indeed, since Torres was recalled, Colombia have finally managed to get the best out of centre forward Radamel Falcao Garcia. But Quintero is a useful backup, and as he showed alongside Torres in last year´s Libertadores, he has the capacity to come off the bench and quickly get into the game. If it happens, and he lights up a World Cup match with a moment of inspiration, then the watching public will owe a debt to this year´s U-20 competitions.

Dangerous Martinique a challenge for Mexico

Perhaps not many would predict the tiny island of Martinique to offer more of a challenge to Mexico than Canada in Gold Cup competition, but that may well be the case.

After two group games, Mexico and Martinique are level with a game won each. Both teams defeated Canada and lost to Panama by a single goal. Mexico, however, has Martinique beat on goal differential, so the Tricolores squad needs only a draw to advance.

While Mexico brought a team of younger players to see who might be useful to the top squad in the future, Martinique is a squad playing with the motivation of a team that isn´t FIFA-registered for the World Cup. This regional tournament means everything to these players. They have performed accordingly, taking Panama to the wire in their last game before finally falling on a penalty-kick goal.

The two yellow cards issued to Martinique defender Jacky Berdix in that match mean he will not be eligible to play against Mexico. Smaller countries are often affected by forced lineup changes because equivalent options are limited, so El Tri may be able to take advantage of a slightly unsettled defense.

Though the squad wasn´t impressive against Canada, there is some chemistry building in the Mexico team. Raul Jimenez seems surer of how to work alongside Marco Fabian, and their partnership should continue to develop.

Across the board, Mexico has to improve drastically in order to defeat not only Martinique but also to survive the upcoming elimination matches, should the squad advance. It´s not hard to see that, in the other Gold Cup matches, other teams are more astute tactically, quicker on the ball and better with their combination play than El Tri.

Especially in the midfield, which was once such an area of strength for Mexico. Now all the players appear to be half a step slow and unable to spot each other´s runs in time. One exceptional ball distributor could make all the difference in this regard, because the ability of others to run off the ball still seems to exist, but the passes don´t arrive when they need to be there.

Strategy could also compensate for the lack of an in-game passing maestro, but coach Jose Manuel "Chepo" de la Torre doesn´t seem to have provided one. That could explain partly why the squad seems so tentative at the start of games, like the players really aren´t sure of what they are supposed to do. Instead, they seem to have been given a long list of what not to do, and this results in careful, defensive play instead of any creative daring or incisive moves. Most of all, it doesn´t lend itself to attacking play that culminates in a good finish.

Still, there was improvement on the wings versus Canada, though it was somewhat difficult to distinguish if it was due to the opponent´s poor performance or an actual bump in Mexico´s level of play. Miguel Layun, the favorite punching bag for El Tri fans, did decent work on the right wing.

Now is the time for those who want to prove to De la Torre that they are better than mere filler for the top squad to do so against a better challenge.

Martinique´s squad knows each other well. It features more players on European teams than this edition of El Tri, who are all from Liga MX. The indefatigable captain of Martinique, Kevin Parsemain, however, is from the local league. Another inspiration for the squad is the goal scorer in the Canada game, Fabrice Reuperne, who at 37 years of age can still contribute quality minutes as a sub.

On set plays and from outside, Martinique can threaten. They will be playing for their Gold Cup lives versus Mexico, as only a win can guarantee advancement for the island squad. El Tri cannot afford to be careless.

Zárate acordó su regreso a Vélez

BUENOS AIRES -- El delantero Mauro Zarate acordó este sábado su regreso a Vélez Sarsfield y quedó a una firma de convertirse en el primer refuerzo del plantel que conduce Ricardo Gareca para la próxima temporada.

El menor del clan Zárate, quien se fue en 2007 de la entidad de Liniers hacia Al Sadd de Qatar, sellará su vínculo con el club en el que debutó en Primera División por dos años, y será el delantero por el que esperaba el director técnico tras la partida de Facundo Ferreyra a Shakhtar Donetsk de Ucrania (el club también vendió a Gino Peruzzi a Sunderland).

"Este sábado se puede definir la vuelta de Mauro a Vélez", habí anticipado por la tarde Rolando Zárate, hermano y representante del atacante que quedó libre de Lazio de Italia, y quien luego, tras una nueva reunión, cerró los números del flamante contrato.

Luego de Al Sadd, Zárate, campeón del mundo sub 20 en Canada 2007, se desempeñó en Birmingham de Inglaterra, Lazio, Inter y nuevamente en el elenco de la capital italiana, donde no tuvo mucha continuidad en la temporada última.

Ese fue uno de los motivos que lo llevaron a Mauro a tomar la decisión de regresar al país y al club donde se formó, y donde seguramente, si no surge algún inconveniente, volverá a entrenarse en los próximos días.

Villarreal join Júlio César chase - reports

Villarreal have reportedly joined the race to sign Queens Park Rangers goalkeeper Júlio César this summer as competition for Juan Carlos Sanchez.

The Spanish side are known to be in the market to sign a second goalkeeper this summer as competition for Sanchez and the Brazilian is rumoured to be on their radar, reports Football Espana.

Today, Villarreal president Fernando Roid is reported to have enquired to QPR about the availability of the former Inter Milan ‘keeper César, who is widely expected to leave the his club this summer.

The Seleção international, who only moved to the London side last summer, is expected to leave this transfer window, with a return to Serie A suggested, although Arsenal are also considering a move for the stopper.

However, Villarreal are thought to have entered consideration now, with the ‘keeper valued at €3m.