Snak

Cuca says "the rematch belongs to Ronaldinho"

This smile faded in Asuncion. Ronaldinho did not play well and now coach Cuca and every fan wants him back as his best for the rematch.
The buzz around Atletico Mineiro has to do with its biggest star, Ronaldinho Gaúcho, who was substituted in the match played in Asuncion.

The change led to much criticism, reactions, controversies and Mineiro´s fans, who know that their idol did not play well in the first game, expect once again that he will be back to their best player.

Cuca explained that Ronaldinho was marked and annulled by midfielder Aranda and that is why he was substituted. But the coach gave his full support to the player and noted that in the rematch, which is the biggest game in the history of Atletico Mineiro, Ronaldinho should be the star.

"Ronaldinho is a fantastic player, twice the best in the world. I do not know if he was more important for Atletico or Atletico for him but since he arrived things are wonderful. He´s the most technical player that I have coached, the player I trust the most. On Wednesday the rematch belongs to Ronaldinho."

Ronaldinho was quiet on his return to Belo Horizonte and Cuca re-emphasized the player´s humility: "it´s something that impresses me," he said.

He added that humility prevented a difficult situation after the player was replaced against Olimpia. Cuca said that "he left the field and sat down on the substitutes bench while other players who have not won anything get angry and go directly to the locker room. People said he came off the pitch mad but if he came off laughing he would be criticized for that."

Coach Markarián calls 35 local players for Peru´s national team

Peru´s national coach, Uruguayan Sergio Markarian, invited 35 local players for training that will be conducted between Monday and Wednesday, said the Peruvian Football Federation.

The latest news from the call-ups is the young striker Reimond Manco from club UTC in the city of Cajamarca, who returns to the team after his expulsion for indiscipline in 2010.

The training sessions are in preparation for the friendly match on Aug. 14 against South Korea in Seoul.

After the training and the friendly Markarian will consider which players he will use for the next qualifying matches for the 2014 World Cup.

Peru´s next qualifying matches are against Uruguay and Venezuela on September 6th and 10th respectively.

The call-ups are:

Goalkeepers: Ángelo Campos (Defensor San Alejandro), Eder Hermoza (César Vallejo), Pedro Gallese (San Martín).

Defensemen: Koichi Aparicio (Alianza Lima), Luis Trujillo (Alianza Lima), Josué Estrada (Juan Aurich), Iván Santillán (Real Garcilaso), Miguel Araujo (Sport Huancayo), Marcos Ortiz (Sporting Cristal), Pedro Requena (César Vallejo), Gianmarco Gambetta (San Martín), Anthony Molina (San Martín), Néstor Duarte (Universitario), Alexi Gómez (Universitario), Aurelio Saco Vértiz (Universitario), Werner Schüler (Universitario).

Midfielders: Wilder Cartagena (Alianza Lima), Sergio Peña (Alianza Lima), Diego Pizarro (Cienciano), Renato Tapia (Esther Grande), Edson Aubert (Melgar), Ángel Ojeda (Melgar), Tarek Carranza (Juan Aurich), Alonso Bazalar (Pacífico), Joaziñho Arroé (Sporting Cristal), Víctor Cedrón (César Vallejo), Christofer Gonzales (Universitario), Rafael Guarderas (Universitario).

Strikers: Jhonny Vidales (Alianza Lima), Irven Ávila (Sporting Cristal), Juan Diego Gutiérrez (San Martín), Andy Polo (San Martín), Diego Chávez (Universitario), Raúl Ruidíaz (Universitario), Reimond Manco (UTC)

Dely Valdes knows Panama has more hurdles to clear

ATLANTA – Through three Group Stage games and the first 45 minutes of a quarterfinal match, Gabriel Torres accounted for all five of Panama’s goals in the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

That changed in the second half Saturday as three different players struck during a four-goal explosion that resulted in the largest scoring output ever in the quarterfinals as Panama defeated Cuba, 6-1, at the Georgia Dome.

“It’s not easy to score six goals,” Panama coach Julio Dely Valdes said. “The team could have scored another one, but there are things that we must improve because in some moments of the game, we had too much overconfidence. We have to be serious and the team has to demonstrate they are superior. It was a good game and they showed it.”

Perhaps, most importantly for Panama, Blas Perez struck for a second-half brace. The veteran forward now has goals in three different Gold Cup quarterfinals, also scoring against the United States in 2007 and 2009.

“As a forward, you always want to be accompanied with goals,” Dely Valdes said. “He got two today, but Blas always shines because of the work he does on the field. We’ve seen that today. We saw today the Blas of always, working very well on the field.”

Dely Valdes also saw the continued output by Torres, who is now tied with American Chris Wondolowski atop the Gold Cup scoring list with five goals.

“Gabriel’s participation in the tournament has been good,” Dely Valdes said. “Not just today, but in general. He’s got to keep his level and for that he has to keep working. I think he’s doing it. We have to congratulate him because from the first moment he had to play for us in the Gold Cup, you could see he was working hard.”

Now, Panama advances to the semifinals for the third time and will meet a Mexican team it defeated, 2-1, in the opening game of the Group Stage. Dely Valdes, though, doesn’t think his team can take anything from that encounter.

“It’s not going to look like that game on July 7,” he said. “In that one we surprised them a lot. Now, it’s going to be different. Games tend to be different when you face a team a team twice in a short period of time. It’s going to be much more complicated than we faced them on July 7.”

A victory over El Tri would send Panama into its second-ever final and it’s possible the Panamanians will meet up with the United States, which takes on El Salvador in a quarterfinal Sunday in Baltimore.

The Americans have knocked Panama out of the last four Gold Cups, including a victory on penalty kicks in the 2005 final.

“We’ve faced the U.S. in previous Gold Cups. We’ve won and we’ve lost,” Dely Valdes said. “I was satisfied with the result. I even enjoyed the performance of the team when we lost. There’s no guarantees on what is going to happen.”

Jonathan Fabbro til River Plate. Er den noteret? Hermed en ekstra god grund til at se kamp på Estádio Monumental. Larissa Riquelme..., say-no-more, say-no-moooore

Ja mon ikke de sikre fuldt huse til River´s hjemmekampe...? egentligt sjovt han får "lov" at skifte med tanke på at Señor Fabbro også har spillet for Boca.

Larissa plejer at få dibben på banen igen....så http://www.youtube.com/w…TLxc7VKmNBE

Trezeguet joins Newell´s on loan

David Trezeguet has confirmed he will play for Argentine outfit Newell’s Old Boys after signing a one-year loan deal from River Plate.

Trezeguet, 35, was not selected as part of River’s squad for the upcoming season, fuelling speculation over his departure.

The striker has opted for a short move to the Copa Libertadores semi-finalists, and explained he is delighted to have sorted out his future.

"It’s a very special day for me, this signing brings me great joy," he told reporters.

"I want to thank all the clubs in Primera B Nacional and B Metropolitana who were interested in me, but I decided on Newell´s because it is a club that is doing well and is well respected in the world.

"I would like to leave something with the club and personally I would like to reach 300 goals in my career. Moreover, with Newell’s I will have the opportunity to play in the Copa Libertadores tournament.

"When River Plate decided I was not going to be part of their project it was a delicate moment of reflection and one difficult day for me."

Cavallaro fue presentado en CASLA

BUENOS AIRES -- El volante ofensivo Juan Ignacio Cavallaro firmó este lunes su vínculo con San Lorenzo por los próximos cuatro años y se convirtió en el sexto refuerzo del equipo dirigido por Juan Antonio Pizzi.

El futbolista de 19 años proveniente de Unión de Santa Fe selló hoy su vínculo en la sede de Avenida de Mayo, en la ciudad de Buenos Aires, junto al presidente de la entidad, Matías Lammens.

De esta manera, Cavallaro se sumó a la lista de incorporaciones que ya tenía anotados los nombres de Christian Alvarez, Fabricio Fontanini, Emmanuel Más, Fernando Elizari y Martín Cauteruccio.

San Lorenzo adquirió el 80 por ciento del pase de Cavallaro, quien también tuvo ofertas desde el exterior, en alrededor de cinco millones de pesos.

El futbolista se pondrá mañana a las órdenes de Pizzi y comenzará a pensar en la triple competencia que afrontará el elenco de Boedo con su participación en el Torneo Inicial, la Copa Argentina y la Copa Sudamericana.

Atlético Mineiro´s Bernard focused on Copa Libertadores final

Atlético Mineiro´s Bernard has insisted that his future is in the "hands of the board" and says he is focusing on the upcoming Copa Libertadores final second leg.

Bernard spoke out after speculation mounted over a possible move to Arsenal which emerged on Monday evening.

"In a week as important as this, I don’t want to talk about it. I do not want to be rude, but my focus is on the decision. My future at Atletico from Thursday is in the hands of the board," the player told reporters.

This comes after reports claimed that Arsenal are close to sealing a move for the 20-year-old Brazilian.

Local Belo Horizonte journalist Leopoldo Siquiera reportedly claimed that the Gunners have swooped for the Brazilian in a £22 million deal although there is confusion as to the validity of the quotes.

The report echoes L´Equipe´s earlier exclusive which claimed that Bernard would arrive in England for a medical after Atlético Mineiro´s Copa Libertadores clash against Olimpia on Wednesday.

Bernard was part of the Seleção´s Confederations Cup-winning squad last month and has also been linked with moves to Porto, Borussia Dortmund and Shakhtar Donetsk.

Atlético Mineiro´s Ronaldinho says Copa Libertadores final is ´not over yet´

Atlético Mineiro´s Ronaldinho believes they can overturn a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Olimpia in the first leg of the Copa Libertadores final.

The second leg is set to get underway on Wednesday with Atlético at a distinct disadvantage but the Brazilian has faith in his team.

"We still believe," Ronaldinho wrote on Twitter. "It´s not over yet. We have one game to go and we will give our blood to win this title.

"We believe in the strength of this group and in the strength of the fans. This title means more than anything else for us."

Atlético striker Jo concurred with his teammate and insists that the team has every faith in Ronaldinho to perform.

"The team improved significantly after Ronaldinho arrived and we all have a lot of trust in him in a decisive moment like this," Jo said.

Forward Diego Tardelli added: "We know he is the star of our team and everybody respects him a lot for that."

Chelsea´s Wallace set for Benfica loan - report

Chelsea´s highly-rated young Brazilian right-back Wallace is set for a loan to Portuguese giants Benfica according to reports.

Tuttomercato suggests that a loan deal will be agreed with Benfica as the Brazilian will not feature in Chelsea´s first-team this season.

With the likes of Branislav Ivanovic and Cesar Azpilicueta ahead of him in the right-back slot, Wallace will be farmed out to gain playing time.

"He´s a very good player," said Jose Mourinho last week. "I knew him before. He´s very mature for his age, comfortable with the ball. He has the quality of a Brazilian full-back, likes to attack and create.

"He´s a good player and he won´t be staying with us, because we have Ivanovic and Azpilicueta for the same position. He´s also non-EC so we´ll not get the visa, it´ll be too early, so he´ll go on loan for a season.

"We´ll get the best option for him, in Europe. We want him to adapt. We´ll see the best of him: he has talent and is one more investment for this club, a good investment, because the kid is a very good player."