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Campbell to join Olympiakos on loan

Arsenal have confirmed striker Joel Campbell will join Olympiakos on loan for the 2013/14 season.

Campbell has failed to make a first team appearance under Arsene Wenger since joining the club in August 2011, having been sent out on loan for the last two seasons.

The Costa Rica international has spent time with Real Betis and FC Lorient, with the Spanish side requesting to have their loan deal for Campbell extended beyond last season.

But the 21-year-old will move to Greece as he looks to gain some experience and compete for a starting berth in Wenger´s side next year.

Campbell has impressed at international level, scoring seven goals in 25 appearances for Costa Rica.

ny landstræner....

Víctor Genes, nuevo DT de Paraguay

ASUNCION -- Víctor Genes fue presentado el sábado como nuevo técnico de la selección paraguaya de fútbol para completar los cuatro partidos restantes este año por las Eliminatorias para el Mundial del 2014.

Aunque por matemática todavía tendría una remota posibilidad de clasificarse al Mundial de Brasil, Paraguay en realidad ya está eliminado antes de sus cuatro desafíos finales contra Bolivia, Argentina, Colombia y Venezuela.

El exdelantero de Luqueño y Cerro Porteño dirigió a Paraguay en reciente Mundial Sub20 disputado en Turquía, y ocupa la vacancia dejada por el uruguayo Gerardo Pelusso.

Tras participar en forma consecutiva en los mundiales de 1998, 2002, 2006 y 2010, Paraguay ocupa la última casilla de la eliminatoria sudamericana con ocho puntos. El líder Argentina tiene 26.

"Estar al frente de la selección de mi país es lo máximo, es un gran orgullo y esperamos hacer un gran trabajo. Es el sueño de todo entrenador, estoy muy contento y agradecido por la confianza de los dirigentes", dijo Genes en el acto de presentación presidido por Alejandro Domínguez, vicepresidente de la Asociación Paraguaya de Fútbol.

Genes anticipó que su primer examen como técnico lo tendrá el 14 de agosto cuando Paraguay enfrente en partido amistoso a Alemania en Kaiserslautern.

"Nosotros tenemos que presentar el mejor equipo en cada partido porque así se merece la selección paraguaya de fútbol y la afición deportiva: tenemos que tratar de ganar todos los partidos que quedan", apuntó Genes sobre las eliminatorias. "Tenemos futbolistas capaces para ello y después los números dirán si estamos para el repechaje o no, pero tenemos que hacer lo mejor y en un ambiente que tiene que ser de optimismo porque esto es la selección paraguaya de fútbol y representamos al país".

Chelsea prepare Luiz Gustavo bid - report

Chelsea are reportedly preparing a £15 million bid for Bayern Munich midfielder Luiz Gustavo.

Manager Jose Mourinho has outlined the need to bring a holding midfield player to Stamford Bridge this summer.

He wants to bring in Gustavo to fill this role as the returning boss doubts the ability of John Obi Mikel in that position.

This comes after German club Wolfsburg as well as Chelsea’s Premier League rivals Arsenal expressed an interest in the player, with Wolfsburg believed to be in talks over a move for the Brazilian.

Bayern’s signing of Thiago Alcântara from Barcelona is likely to limit Gustavo’s first-team opportunities this season and the club are willing to listen to offers for the 26-year-old, reports The Mirror.

And the player wants regular first-team football to ensure he is part of the Brazil team for next summer’s World Cup.

Gustavo joined Bayern in 2011 and has gone on to make 64 appearances for the German Champions but his time at the club seems to be nearing an end with a summer move looking inevitable.

Panama aims to go the distance, give its fans more reason to be proud

CHICAGO -- At about 4 p.m. ET on Sunday, all of Panama is expected to come to a standstill as 3.6 million people will hold their collective breaths for at least two hours.

Their heroes will try to make some history in an attempt to win the CONCACAF Gold Cup for the first time as they tussle with the United States at Soldier Field.

Only three countries have paraded the coveted trophy through the tournament’s first 11 editions years -- Mexico (six times), the U.S. (four times) and Canada (once).

No Central American team has accomplished that feat, although Honduras (1991), Costa Rica (2002) and Panama (2005) have reached the championship game. Besides, Panama head coach Julio Dely Valdes subscribes to the theory that there is a first time for everything.

"Lifting the trophy would the perfect game, independent on how we play," Valdes said at a press conference on Saturday afternoon. "That´s the maximum goal, the objective here. Even if we play very, very bad, but we lift it, but that would be the perfect game."

And give the country great joy.

"The country is happy," 20-year-old midfielder Jairo Jimenez said about the team´s unbeaten 4-1-0 record entering Sunday´s match. "The victories are also for them because they deserve it. Now we want to give them even greater happiness by winning the cup."

Panama has relied on a solid defense in front of goalkeeper Jaime Penedo, a veteran of five Gold Cup tournaments. The Canaleros have surrendered only three goals in five matches, which includes a pair of 2-1 wins over Mexico.

“It will be tough, but we’re here to win it,” Jimenez added. “We’ve had to face every single match like it’s a final.”

Dely Valdes said that he doesn´t plan on changing his defensive tactics for the Americans, who have outscored their foes, 19-4, en route to a perfect 5-0-0 mark.

"We´re going to try not to change many things," he said. "You can´t really change anything drastically at this point. We have to continue to be the same since that has gotten us this far. But we also know the U.S., the team that we´re facing tomorrow also is unlike previous games that we played against them."

But some of those previous Gold Cup confrontations have been close affairs. In the 2005 final, the United State prevailed on penalty kicks, 3-1, after the two sides played to a scoreless draw in regulation and extratime.

Valdes directed the 2005 team, while his twin brother, played on it. He feels that this year’s squad is a better side.

“I think we have more strength as a team,” he said. “Two national teams were and are very strong. But within the team there´s lot of unity. We´re all heading in the same direction. I would say that was the minor difference between the two.”

Valdes would like to see one other difference – a major one. Instead of watching the Americans earn winners’ medals, he would love to see his players hoist the cup, make some history and give his countrymen back home something really, really big to celebrate.

U.S. prepares for Panama, aims for Gold Cup title

CHICAGO – United States head coach Jurgen Klinsmann is not changing the way he prepares his team despite being suspended from Sunday’s CONCACAF Gold Cup final against Panama. The details, after all, are addressed with the players in advance of the bus pulling into the stadium parking lot on gameday.

“Most of the work will be done once we arrive here at the stadium,” said the former Germany player and manager prior to Saturday’s training session at Soldier Field.” So we will do our pre-game talk in the hotel. We will talk through certain elements of the game this afternoon on the training field tonight in a meeting about Panama. All the work to prepare these guys the best way possible will be done once the team arrives here at the stadium."

At the pre-match press conference, Klinsmann stated that in his place assistant coaches Andreas Herzog and Martin Vasquez will run the show from the technical area.

“They´re both ambitious enough to become a head coach someday,” said Klinsmann, who was dismissed from the U.S.´s 3-1 semifinal win over Honduras on Wednesday. “I’m sure that we’re going to get this job done.”

The Americans (5-0-0) will face a difficult Panamanian side, one that has demonstrated it can beat CONCACAF’s best, especially after a pair of 2-1 wins over Mexico in an 18-day span.

“I´m not too surprised they´re there,” said U.S. star Landon Donovan, who shares the tournament scoring lead with team mate Chris Wondolowski and Panama’s Gabriel Torres at five goals each. “They´re a very talented team. Physically, they´re very gifted. And they´ve had what a lot of teams in this tournament haven´t had, they´ve had a lot of guys who have played together for a while and know each other very well. There´s a reason why they´ve gotten to this point.”

Klinsmann, who has been a member of a World Cup championship team (1990) and earned a bronze medal at the 1988 Olympics, wants his players to earn winners’ medals.

“We want to win this thing badly,” he said. “I´ve said that from the beginning on. We want to keep growing. This is a group that went through a lot of pain through the last four weeks. They have hard and dedicated work. You want them to be rewarded.”

The United States, which has four Gold Cup titles to its credit, is looking to the lift the trophy for the first time since 2007, when it defeated Mexico, 2-1, also in Chicago.

startopstillinger på Soldier Field

US 5-3-2

1 N. Rimando

7 D. Beasley
21 C. Goodson
15 M. Parkhurst
25 M. Besler
14 K. Beckerman

11 S. Holden
20 A. Bedoya
6 J. Corona

10 L. Donovan
26 E. Johnson


Panama 4-4-2

1 J. Penedo

5 R. Torres
4 C. Rodríguez
2 L. Parris
23 R. Chen

6 G. Gómez
19 A. Quintero
8 M. Sánchez
20 A. Godoy

7 B. Pérez
9 G. Torres

små 10 min spillet ...0-0

et par behjertet forsøg fra begge hold....

stor chance til Donovan...0-0

0-0 i O Clássico Majestoso, 1-0 til Gremio over Flu, Paraguyanske Cristian Riveros med scorin også scoring Jackson Martinez for Porto...

gringo udskiftning stuart holden ud - diskerud ind...

jeg håber på en lille sejr til Panama.