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Man må vel også formode Vargas har ambitioner mht VM deltagelse m.m.

Middlesbrough boss not expecting to land Grêmio loanee Eduardo Vargas


Middlesbrough manager Tony Mowbray has admitted he is interested in Grêmio loanee Eduardo Vargas but doubts the striker will arrive at the club.

Reports last week suggested the Championship outfit were looking to land the Napoli striker on loan, after the Chile international struggled to settle in Italy and moved to Brazil.

Grêmio´s director of football, Rui Costa, recently revealed that he was unsure whether Vargas would remain at the club, as Napoli can recall him at any point and are believed to be looking to sell the €11.5 million player.

However, Mowbray has suggested that Vargas may be staying in Porto Alegre as he is not confident of landing the striker or Pacos de Ferreira midfielder Vitor.

He told the Evening Gazette: "I think they are probably players that have been very much on the radar but have drifted a little bit.

"They are players that we have looked at in-depth, players that we´ve talked about and had certain discussions with.

"But there are still other players that we are looking at."

The 23-year-old joined Grêmio on a season-long loan for €1.9m in January and has proved a hit in Brazil, scoring four goals in 10 domestic appearances.

Vargas netted a brace against Botafogo two weekends ago but was shown a red card for kicking an opponent during his side´s 2-1 defeat to Criciúma on Saturday.

The Chile international, who has a one-in-three strike-rate at international level, was called up for a friendly against the Seleção in April and fired home a sensational long-range effort to steal a 2-2 draw at the Mineirão.

Internacional warn that Damiao will only be sold for right price

Internacional have warned potential suitors for striker Leandro Damião that they will only sell if the price is right.

Tottenham and Southampton have previously been linked with the Brazil international striker, but their interest appears to have cooled as Internacional aim to keep hold of one of their star men.

"He is focusing on Internacional. If anyone wants to sign him, it would be a great deal, but they will have to pay a lot. He is still an Internacional player," Internacional´s director of football Marcelo Medeiros told Zero Hora.

They are prepared to let him leave if an acceptable offer is submitted, but have previously told Napoli that a bid of €18 million would not be considered and stressed that his valuation is only likely to increase after next summer´s World Cup.

Zenit St Petersburg are reported to have joined Napoli in the chase for the 24-year-old´s signature, but it will be difficult for anyone to prise him away.

Atlético Mineiro´s Bernard admits offers from English clubs

Atlético Mineiro´s Bernard has admitted he already has offers on the table for a summer transfer after winning the Copa Libertadores last night.

The Galo emerged victorious after a penalty shootout, but are set to lose their most prized asset in Bernard with more than one English club reported to be interested.

"I´ll keep working until the board decides something about the transfer," the youngster told Sportv. "There are offers from English football, Shakhtar and Porto."

"I don´t have anything to say about the fans. If I could, I would stay here the rest of my life. I don´t know what can happen with me but, if I leave, I know I will have done my job.

"I have said a thousand times that I want to stay, but it doesn´t depend on me now. I made it clear that, if I stay or not, I wanted to leave here with an important title. It´s up to God to decide if I stay or not, up to God, [Atletico Mineiro´s] presidency and the board.

"I am very happy and I want to celebrate this title, which is one of the most important ones I will have in my life."

No new Espanyol offer for Samuel, says Fluminense director

Espanyol still have not made a new offer for young striker Samuel, according to Fluminense´s director of football Rodrigo Caetano.

The Spanish club were expected to make a new offer this week, as the first bid (2.5 million Euros) was turned down.

A new, 3.7 million Euros, offer would be considered enough to convince Fluminense to sell the young striker to the Spanish club.

Fluminense´s director of football Rodrigo Caetano talked with Lancenet about Sanuel´s situation, he said: "We still have not received the offer they promised to make, so there is nothing new. When this is done, we will express our position."

The club have, however, already signed Al-Sharjah´s striker Marcelinho as a replacement for Samuel.

Copa Libertadores: Olimpia coach disappointed by defeat

Olimpia´s manager Ever Almeida was unable to hide his disappointment following his team´s defeat to Atlético Mineiro in the Libertadores final.

The Paraguayan team won the first leg 2-0 in Asunción, but lost by the same score in Belo Horizonte, and were eventually beaten 4-3 on penalties.

Almeida talked with reporters about the match, he said: "I´m still proud of my players, of their effort.

"However, we missed a lot of goal chances and you cannot fail in the final. Our fans have to be proud of these players.

"I don´t think Atlético Mineiro did more than us in the two legs, but they are the champions and we failed."

Atlético Mineiro´s star Ronaldinho also praised Olimpia, despite their defeat, he said: "Congratulations to Olimpia because reaching the final is not easy at all. That team deserves everything."

Copa Libertadores: I have the best luck in the world, says Cuca

Atlético Mineiro coach Cuca believes he is extremely lucky after his side’s Copa Libertadores triumph on Wednesday.

The Brazilian outfit overturned a 2-0 deficit to beat Paraguay´s Olimpia on penalties in front of a 60,000 crowd at the Mineirão in Belo Horizonte.

It is the first time Atlético have won South America´s elite club competition and Cuca was overwhelmed after the game.

He told Fox Sports: "This club has more than eight million supporters and had never won an important title before. This is a huge triumph for this club."

"Today we´ve changed the history of the club. Atlético becomes a lucky team and today I was lucky," Cuca told reporters.

"I have the best luck in the world to have my family, the job of running a club like Atlético and to go down in history."

The victory marked a fourth successive Brazilian winner and also put Atlético into the Club World Cup in December.

Fluminense sign Al-Wahda striker Marcelinho

Fluminense have officially announced the signing of Al-Wahda´s experienced striker Marcelinho, contract until December.

The new striker impressed in the United Arab Emirates, scoring 15 goals in 23 games for Al-Wahda and 31 goals in 50 games for Al-Sharjah.

The transfer was finalized on Friday, when the Brazilian international transfer window was still open. Marcelinho is expected to be the replacement for Samuel, who is wanted by Espanyol and might leave the club soon.

The striker talked with Fluminense´s site about the transfer, he said: "It´s a privilege to join the ´Team of Warriors´.

"It´s very special to wear the colors of a huge club like Fluminense, I am proud to be here. Let´s work hard to help the team win titles."

Jamaican footballer fails drugs test

A Jamaican footballer tested positive for a prohibited substance while playing for his country in June, it has been confirmed.

The Jamaica Football Federation released a statement revealing that it had received the news from FIFA on Tuesday, with the player´s identity yet to be disclosed.

According to the JFF, the individual tested positive for a banned substance following a FIFA World Cup qualifier against Honduras.

The JFF announced that it had received the following statement from FIFA´s chief medical officer: "During the World Cup Qualifying match, Honduras vs Jamaica, on June 11, 2013 a member of the Jamaican squad returned an adverse analytical finding on his urine sample."

The chairman of the federation´s medical committee has begun an investigation into proceedings, with the organisation taking the revelation "very seriously".

R. Gareca: "O Zárate, o nadie más"

BUENOS AIRES -- El director técnico de Vélez Sarsfield, Ricardo Gareca, resaltó que si la FIFA le impide al atacante sumarse a la institución, su equipo no tendrá refuerzos con miras a la próxima campaña.

"Si FIFA dice que no a lo de (Mauro) Zárate, Vélez no incorporará a nadie", admitió el entrenador de la escuadra de Liniers.

El delantero, que ya se integró a los entrenamientos y, de hecho, ya jugó en partidos de la pretemporada, podría verse impedido legalmente de regresar a la entidad en la que se crío futbolísticamente, en virtud de que Lazio de Italia le ganó un juicio laboral al jugador.

"Me preocupa lo de Mauro porque no hay certezas. Somos el único equipo que se reforzó poco", dijo Gareca en Radio Vélez (AM 990).

El técnico no desconoce el nivel ni la calidad que posee el delantero, de 26 años, aunque reconoció que "hace un año que no juega y son circunstancias que tenemos que contemplar".

El `Flaco` Gareca expresó que sigue "vigente" la posibilidad de que el volante Héctor Canteros, quien concluyó un préstamo en Villarreal de España, se quede en el club.

"Está viendo si se va a Europa o no. Si se queda será importante", puntualizó.

De cara a lo que vendrá en el segundo semestre, el técnico apuntó: "Por la exigencia del club, por la gente, tenemos que pelear todo. Para eso es necesario que nos armemos".

Gareca no ocultó su decepción por la floja campaña que el equipo desarrolló en el último Final 2013, en donde se ubicó en la parte baja de la tabla.

El triunfo 1-0 sobre Newell´s y la conquista de la llamada Super Final en Mendoza "no puede tapar", a su juicio, "el mal semestre que tuvimos".

"No puede volver a ocurrir un flojo semestre. Es una realidad que tenemos en cuenta", sentenció Gareca.

Benfica completa el fichaje de Fariña

LISBOA -- El Benfica, subcampeón portugués, oficializó el miércoles la contratación del medio ofensivo argentino Luis Fariña, al que el club luso fichó del Racing de Avellaneda con un contrato por cinco años.
Fariña, de 22 años, está considerado uno de los futbolistas más prometedores de su país, donde se destacó por su calidad técnica y visión de juego.

El Benfica, que no divulgó el montante del traspaso, aunque la prensa lusa lo calcula en unos 3,5 millones de euros, refuerza así la posición de medio ofensivo, que perteneció en las últimas temporada al argentino Pablo Aimar.

En el coloso portugués, el nuevo refuerzo competirá por un puesto en el once titular con el serbio Filip Djuricic, también fichado este verano del Heerenveen holandés.

Fariña coincidirá en el plantel con sus compatriotas Ezequiel Garay, Enzo Pérez, Nico Gaitán, Toto Salvio y Lisandro López.