Snak

PSG to sign young defender for €35 million – reports

Paris Saint-Germain are set to complete the signing of AS Roma centre-back Marquinhos in the coming days, with a fee of €35 million quoted in the Brazilian media.

Marquinhos, 19, joined AS Roma last summer on an initial loan deal from Copa Libertadores winners Corinthians, before making permanent his deal in January.

Having only made a handful of first-team appearances before joining Roma, the former Brazil Under-17 international has gone on to make himself a regular fixture at the Stadio Olimpico.

It is possible that, if the deal can be completed in time, he will be unveiled on Tuesday alongside Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani, who arrived in Paris for his medical examination this Monday.

Despite his lack of experience, there are already those tipping Marquinhos for a place in Luiz Felipe Scolari’s Brazil squad at the 2014 World Cup. Whether or not that will be the case, it is clear that he will have a future with the Brazilian national team.

It is thought that the teenage Brazilian is seen as the long-term partner to Thiago Silva in Paris, with the ageing Alex set to miss out.

Cavani, Marquinhos, Thiago Silva, Slatten, Psstore, Lucas Moura, Lavezzi, etc ...de bliver sgu da halv giftige i Champions League.

PSG poised to unveil record buy Cavani

Paris Saint-Germain are set to unveil Edinson Cavani as the latest addition to their French title-winning squad on Tuesday.

Cavani, 26, will join the club in a Ligue 1 record €64 million deal from Napoli, just over a week after PSG had said they were confident the switch would soon be completed.

Monaco paid a reported €60 million to sign Radamel Falcao from Atletico Madrid earlier this summer, having earlier established a new top-flight record fee by paying €45 million for James Rodriguez.

PSG, however, will trump their rivals with the signing of Cavani, who is set be presented to the media at a press conference at 4pm local time.

The Uruguay international forward arrived in Paris on Monday and was met at Charles De Gaulle airport by his agent, Pierpaolo Triulzi, and PSG deputy sporting director Olivier Letang.

He then met the club´s sporting director, Leonardo, before undergoing a three-hour medical at the Pitie-Salpetriere hospital.

With Leonardo having told the club that he will leave his post at the end of the summer transfer window on September 2, PSG president Nasser Al Khelaifi is expected to return from Doha on Tuesday morning to present Cavani to the press instead.

Nåh La Liga MX is about to begin.....så lidt previews til ære for for FF17 og evt andre mexicanistas....

Apertura 2013: A season of heightened expectations

MEXICO CITY -- The memory of the title won by America in the Clausura Tournament of the Liga MX is still fresh in the mind. There´s the heroic goal of Moises Munoz and the passionate celebration of Miguel Herrera. It was so spectacular that it would be hard to forget. Soon the ball will start rolling again in Mexico. The Apertura 2013 Tournament is just around the corner, starting on Friday, July 19.

It has been an extraordinary break. The teams that got relegated were not relegated; and those who got promoted were not promoted. Queretaro continues to play in the Primera Division and, what´s even better, it jumped to 12th place in the table. The worst thing that could ever happen to La Piedad was to win in the Ascenso Division, because it disappeared. There´s no justice in sport!

In this insane race, Veracruz has returned to the highest echelons without winning on the field. They spent quite a while in purgatory due to poor management, and it is still uncertain whether the club has learnt the lesson. San Luis no longer belongs to the Primera Division, which was a foreseeable exit.

Chivas made solid headlines (and payments) by purchasing Aldo de Nigris, whose debut will be delayed due to injury; Pumas holds base and continues to search for someone to score goals; León and Pachuca will try to recover lost magic; and the north division still commands respect with its solid teams.

Cruz Azul will try to recover from the crushing knockout that was the lost final against América. The pain continues: in Liga tournaments, 16 years have already gone by without a title.

Apertura 2013: Puebla face formidable odds in Liga MX

Before beginning its tour of the United States, Puebla had lost its four preseason games. It is known to be a preparation, but in any case it is a reflection that something is not working, a luxury they cannot extend through the start of Apertura 2013 when they will once again be threatened by relegation.

Puebla played Clausura 2013 better than the numbers indicate. The following fact is ominous: In five games they won or tied, they allowed a goal to be scored against them in the last five minutes. So went two victories and three tied games against Tigres, Pumas, Toluca, Pachuca, and Jaguares. Those points would have helped to have a closing that was not so tense.

It is ironic that this should have happened to one of Manuel Lapuente´s teams. His teams usually defend well and know how to lock up and win games. That was not the case here.

Manolo brought eleven players in the draft; two of them will try to demonstrate that they still have fuel: Leandro and Alfredo Moreno. Leandro’s performance has dropped in the recent past due to injuries, while 33-year-old “El Chango” Moreno guarantees a haul of at least 5 goals per tournament.

For the back line, Oscar "Kevin" Rojas (very reliable left back) and two goalkeepers will compete for starting position: Jorge Villalpando and Armando Navarrete. The defense has not exactly been a strength for Puebla for some time now. The last great goalkeeper they had was Jorge Campos ten years ago.

There are still several well-known faces in Puebla: Matías Alustiza, who inexplicably was barely a starter in 5 games despite no one else combining his offensive qualities; Alberto Medina after another season in which, so as not lose the habit, kept a starting position; DaMarcus Beasley, who Jurgen Klinsmann uses as a left wing in the national team but for Lapuente is an attack option; and Jonathan Lacerda, center back of marked contrasts.

Segundo Castillo leaves to play Saudi Arabian soccer. His solid presence in midfield will be missed, but if Lapuente has something, it is the means of defense. By the same token, he has the fifth foreign position available before the transfer window closes.

Puebla is invited to the dance. It is up to them to accept the drama of relegation once again, or not. They will start the tournament in 15th position, 6 points behind Chiapas and 5 behind Atlante. They have a roster and capacity on the bench to stop suffering and aspire to better things. 4

Apertura 2013: Atlante are in for mediocre season

In the last few years, the only thing that Atlante has been consistent with is the way it has plunged further in the relegation list. At the end of the 2010 Bicentenario, they were in the 11th place, now they are in the 16th; at the end of the 2012 Apertura Tournament they were 18 points ahead of the last team, now they are just one point ahead of FC Chiapas (17th). This is indeed a very serious problem for the Potros de Hierro.

Wilson Graniolatti is the new coach taking over from Daniel Guzman, whose record was pitiful with 9 defeats in 13 matches. It has been a long time since Graniolatti "hit a home run". He failed to help Toluca qualify in 2012 and failed to aid Tijuana to get their promotion in 2008-09; with Santos he won 3 out of 17 matches in 2006. His last successful season can be traced back to 2004-05 with the Veracruz of Kleber and Cuauhtemoc Blanco.

The Uruguayan coach will face the difficult task of working with a reduced team, whose only support comes from players who were only substitute players in their previous clubs: Yosgart Gutierrez (goalkeeper), Alejandro Vela (attacking midfielder), Hector Morales (central midfielder or defender), Angel Sepulveda (center forward) and Sergio "Cherokee" Perez (right midfielder).

The club that plays at Andres Quintana Stadium in Cancun, true to its ways, has once again weakened itself. This time, the only player who scored goals, Chilean Esteban Paredes (16 in the last two tournaments) left, as well as substitute player Jeronimo Amione (only 303 minutes in the 2013 Clausura Tournament and 0 goals).

Who will replace Paredes? None of the candidates are at his level. Sepulveda is a 22-year-old prospect that showed some interesting qualities with Tomás Boy in Morelia (6 goals in 17 matches), and in Neza in the Ascenso Division; Valdo played 12 matches (6 as captain) for Levante of the Spanish Primera Division and has returned having, apparently, recovered from his injuries.

Jorge Villalpando left for Puebla and Yosgart will take his place, he was not going to play for Cruz Azul with Jesus Corona in front. The goal area is not going to be a strong point for Atlante in the 2013 Apertura Tournament. Although he played some matches as captain before Corona’s arrival, Gutierrez continues to make concentration mistakes.

Atlante, known as the Potros de Hierro (Iron Horses), will, more than ever, need to see its foreign players prove their worth. Joaquin Larrivey remains due to unfinished business, he has been put forward for transfer but will continue to play after failing to find a place in another team; Joe Bizera is far from being a pillar for the defense; Christian Maidana has played consistently, but the team needs him to play a stronger role.

Atlante is in serious trouble. The flames of relegation have caught up with them, and once more investments have been meager. But their management doesn’t seem concerned about this. Poor Potros de Hierro, spiraling down in a true free-fall that Graniolatti will try to stop.

Apertura 2013: On paper, Tigres are the best

I reported this in January of 2013 and I repeat this in mid-July, Tigres has the best squad in Mexican soccer. Man for man, line for line, starting players and the bench. They aren´t missing anything. Even in this, though, their eternal rival, Rayados de Monterrey, competes with them. The teams are very even.

Now, because of this the team has much to prove. As a result, the first semester of 2013 was frustrating for Tigres, even if Ricardo Ferreti doesn´t like it. What were the reasons? They were eliminated from the Concacaf Champions League, which Rayados has won three times in a row; they were knocked out in the quarterfinals of the Clausura 2013 after being the overall leaders... and they were beaten by Monterrey.

Tigres fanatics, the most loyal of fans, will they be satisfied with what happened in the first semester of 2013? You tell me.

The squad is terrific, and if that wasn´t enough they improved it further. Guido Pizarro arrives from Argentina´s Lanus with high expectations due to his international valuation. He is a 6 foot 1 and 23-year-old versatile midfielder who plays three different positions on his team. According to a survey on the club´s official web page, Pizarro was the best player of the previous tournament with 38% of the votes, followed by Agustín Marchesin with 25%.

Pizarro arrives to join a loaded team, which knows how to play, and where he will have to link up with Carlos Salcido, Damian Alvarez, Danilinho and Emanuel Villa. Edgar Gerardo Lugo arrived, but where will he play? Plenty of options.

Speaking of Villa, "El Tito" had a spectacular start to the tournament in the Clausura 2013 with eight goals in the first eight games. After this, an injury hurt his rhythm, and stopped him from returning to the form he had at the start.

Tigres have so many options that if it isn´t Villa it will be Luis Garcia, and if it isn´t García it will be Alan Pulido. Who can afford to have such luxury?

The position which seems the weakest has also been strengthened: goalkeeper. Many had their doubts about Enrique Palos. Well now he has some competition. Sergio "Matute" García arrived at Tigres after a very good tournament with Queretaro in which he started every game. If Palos is to be the goalkeeper of the future for Tigres, now is when he has to prove it. He has competition within the team.

The defense will miss from the start the injured Hugo Ayala, but it has Juninho and Hugo Isaac Rodriguez. When he returns from the Gold Cup, Israel Jimenez should reconsider his objectives and identify what he is doing wrong; he has talent but he ended up on the bench at his club and in the B-team of the national team.

Ferreti lost his composure a few times in the pre-season. He ranted against the press, something he is prone to when he is not his usual self. A good coach, without a doubt. But he is no dummy and he knows well that playing time for academy players has been minimal, and that internationally they should be achieving much more, if for no other reason than because of the outstanding squad which he has available.

Apertura 2013: Leon will be looking to find its roar

Why such a stark contrast? Leon went from second place holder and semi-finalist in the Apertura 2012, to 15th place in the Clausura 2013. Same players, same coach, but different intensity, application and football. No Liga, no Libertadores, nothing. The forced landing of 2013 must be cause for a re-grouping.

From January to April, Leon won just 1 match out of 15. What happened? Poor defense, which didn´t improve with the arrival of Rafael Marquez; they lost their balance, Hernan Dario Burbano and Eisner Loboa were predictable; and the goals came in dribs and drabs, with just 14 of them scored.

Gustavo Matosas has enough credit to stay in charge of the team. He expects to end the goal drought with the arrival of Mario Boselli (Argentine forward, formerly with Estudiantes, Wigan, and Palermo), Elias Hernandez (attacking midfielder from Tigres) and Franco Arizala (Colombian forward and substitute for Gabriel Rey in Jaguares). Matosas will attempt to bring Hernandez back so he is once again worthy of playing for the national team; he is coming from a very poor tournament in Tigres with just 127´ and zero goals.

William Yarborough, at 23 years of age, was a pleasant surprise in goal, to the point where they discarded Edgar Hernandez, putting all their trust in Yarborough. His defense needs to get better. Marquez has room to play better and make a good match with Ignacio Gonzalez or Johnny Magallon. Another option is that he plays in defense, but he still hasn´t found his best form.

Carlos "Gullit" Peña and Luis Montes are a difficult duo to come by in Mexico. Peña has guts, strength and drive; Montes has style, clarity, and depth. Another couple of players who need to bring back their form.

Nelson Sebastian Maz did not obtain his naturalization certificate and will have find a team abroad, or wait six months to return to play in Mexico. 2013 is complicated for the Uruguayan forward, who missed out on a large part of the last tournament as a result of plantar fasciitis.

Nery Castillo proved to be a failed experiment in Leon. He was unable to perform in Pachuca with Hugo, or in Leon with Matosas. Things haven´t been the same for Castillo after leaving Olympiakos; he has been with 7 teams in 6 years (Shaktar, Manchester City, Dnipro, Chicago Fire, Aris, Pachuca and León), and the worst thing is that now he is wrapped up in a controversy with the coach. Embarrassing.

It can´t be possible that this group of players has forgotten how to play. I am convinced that the real Leon is more like the team that reached Liguilla last year, rather than the pitiful performer in 2013. What matters though is that they believe it themselves.

Mener jeg har smidt den her ind et sted før.....

Apertura 2013: Veracruz hopes to learn its lesson

Veracruz was the main one to benefit from the promotion of La Piedad. As the Michoacán city doesn´t have the capacity to accommodate a first division place, Fidel Kuri set the change. That´s why the Tiburones Rojos will begin at the bottom of the relegation list, because they have taken on the conditions that La Piedad would have had.

At this famous football venue -where the likes of the Comas, Palma, Rios, Cuauhtemoc, Kleber and co. have played- the management has been terrible during the last twenty years. Bad results meant they were relegated twice; to make a comeback, they had to buy a franchise. With difficulty in learning from past mistakes, the team has changed hands like nobody´s business.

Alejandro Bocardo will take charge as Vice President, in charge of the sporting side of things, with Juan Antonio Luna and Cristobal Ortega on the bench. This duo won La Piedad its promotion and is holding on to it.

Veracruz attempted to arm its central positions with a so-so base of foreign players. Colombian Leiton Jimenez (ex Jaguares) is on defense, with his compatriot Christian Marrugo (ex Pachuca) in midfield, and Panamanian Luis Carlos Tejada (ex Toluca) upfront. The three left much to be desired while playing for their original teams, it´s as simple as that.

Jimenez made too many mistakes, giving away goals to the Chiapas center, Marrugo stayed on the bench while playing against Tuzos, and Tejada lost steam against Diablos after a great start. The Panamanian clocked up 6 goals during his first 8 matches in Mexico, but then only 1 in the last 18!

As of this writing, Angel Reyna, whose quality is undeniable, remains an option for Veracruz due to his solid relationship with the coach. When Reyna is engaged and team-focused, he´s worthy of playing for Mexico´s national team; when he isn´t, he´s no good anywhere, and this is why he´s on the brink of being left without a team. "El Cabezon" Luna knows what he´s taken on.

There are no great wonders in the Mexican camp. Edgar Hernandez is set on being top goalkeeper, as he was 2 tournaments ago in Leon; Oscar Mascorro will be amongst the choice of centers; Adrian Cortes has left behind a disappointing tournament in Chivas; Israel "Jager" Martí­nez is a left wing/forward who delivers; and ex Puma, Jehu Chiapas, guarantees an acceptable performance in defense.

Veracruz returns to the First Division, but with the ghost of relegation still haunting it; if that wasn´t enough, they bear a Ascenso MX match without spectators. Not exactly the best welcome for a team that will have to swim against the tide in order to hold its position.

Apertura 2013: Queretaro buys a 1st division ticket

Those who got relegated, were not relegated. The city of Queretaro continues to play First Division football thanks to Amado Yanez´s decision to buy the Jaguares franchise from TV Azteca, from whom they inherited the relegation average. And so it is, as if by magic, they will start the championship in 12th position in the table. Another surprise of the "new" Liga MX.

Ignacio Ambriz turned out an outstanding replacement, fixing what Sergio Bueno had left in disarray by winning 5, drawing 3 and losing 3. His finish was so good that the team ended the season in eighth place overall, but without a right to play in the liguilla playoffs since it came last in the relegation table. Ambriz earned the right to continue.

His first major recruitment was Esteban Paredes, a Chilean striker from Atlante. At 33 (on August 1) he is a fully developed player and a starter with the national Chilean team when Humberto Suazo is absent. Paredes scored 16 goals for Atlante in two tournaments, and may well go on to form a successful offensive partnership with Colombian Wilberto Cosme.

After a disastrous year with Chivas, Luis Ernesto Perez has arrived at the Gallos Blancos. At 32, he will try to make a come back, following on from his ten successful years at Monterrey. At Chivas he played 1,123 minutes without scoring a single goal.

An important loss is that of goalkeeper Sergio "Matute" Garcia who moved to Tigres. It´s no exaggeration to say he had a great season. He played as a starter in all matches and, on several occasions, pulled the team through. Liborio Sánchez will get another opportunity with the Gallos; a year and a half ago, they reached the semi-finals with him in the starting line-up.

Ambriz will keep a couple of promising looking players at the Jaguares: George Corral (full back) and Luis Lorona (20-year old forward). Corral was a regular starter with José Guadalupe Cruz. At Gallos he will compete with the Brazilian Apodí for a place in the starting line-up. Lorona won’t be in the starting line-up with Paredes and Cosme starting ahead of him, but he will probably play more minutes as a substitute.

Queretaro need a little more stability; they now seem to be on the right track. Yanez promises solid results, Claudio Suarez will be the vice-president, and Ambriz earned his renewal. The team is even better than in the previous tournament where they finished in 8th place. That is what they are aiming for.

Apertura 2013: San Luis adopts Jaguares de Chiapas

Yes, it ends badly. One fine day they were in San Luis and decided to move over to Chiapas. Carlos Lopez Chargoy cited "lack of support from local business." On May 28, one week before the draft, Sergio Bueno made the comment: "Now we don´t have items such as the emblem or logo very clear." Days later, they would confirm that they continue to call themselves the Jaguares but inherit San Luis´ numbers on the relegation table.

Another of those tall tales that proliferate in the history of Mexican soccer and that continue to appear despite the launch of the "remodeled" MX League. The only thing they show is a lack of seriousness.

If someone is accustomed to these kinds of mutations, it is Sergio Bueno, who will be coaching his 12th different first-division team, at least officially, since in San Luis he did not sit on the bench even though it was known that he was the one coaching. Of all the teams he has coached only one has won more games than it has lost in the final tally: Santos in 2009 with 11 wins and 6 losses.

They made 18 changes in the draft! Nothing more. The great majority were on loan. Developments of note include: Miguel Martinez (Argentine midfielder, former Jaguares), David Toledo (defender from Queretaro), Paco Torres (midfielder who played for Santos), Sergio Santana (midfielder or forward, former Querétaro), Carlos Ochoa (substitute forward for Santos), and Luis "Macue" Robles (midfielder or defender from Atlas). There are no great frills.

Also arriving were a pair of promising players who hope to have more playing time here than in the teams they came from: Martín Zuniga from America and Cesar de la Pena from Monterrey.

The foreign contingent is as follows: Lucas Viatri would come on loan to Jaguares for a year. The 26-year-old Argentine, former Boca Juniors, Emelec from Ecuador and Maracaibo. David Mendieta, 26-year-old Paraguayan midfielder, comes over after playing for San Lorenzo. Javier Muñoz Mustafa is kept after a less than solid season with San Luis. The Colombian, Aviles Hurtado, was not an option for Pachuca, but was for Jaguares.

They actually have to form a team from nothing. In one way or another it is a change of position from fourth to twelfth and, as if that were not enough, they will start in 17th position in the relegation table. We’ll see how they complete the sentence: what starts off badly...