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Pereyra está en duda para el debut

CORDOBA -- El delantero César Pereyra se retiró lesionado de la práctica que realizó Belgrano de Córdoba este lunes y está en duda su presencia para el encuentro del próximo domingo ante Lanús.

El Picante se lastimó durante la práctica de fútbol en espacios reducidos y se retiró del entrenamiento. En las próximas horas le realizarán los estudios correspondientes para conocer la gravedad de la lesión, según confió La Voz del Interior.

En caso de que Pereyra no llegue al debut en el Torneo Inicial, su reemplazante natural sería Fernando Márquez, pero el delantero sufre una lesión en la zona intercostal y está en duda.

Gareca probó a Cerro de lateral

BUENOS AIRES -- El entrenador de Vélez, Ricardo Gareca, se inclinó por improvisar al mediocampista Francisco Cerro como lateral derecho en lugar del suspendido Fabián Cubero, en el equipo que jugará el próximo sábado ante Tigre, por la primera fecha del Torneo Inicial.

Cerro, cuya posición natural es la de volante central, jugará como lateral derecho en lugar de Cubero, quien debe purgar una fecha de suspensión, por lo que Iván Bella será el mediocampista derecho y Héctor Canteros el volante de contención.

La única incógnita que persiste por estas horas se encuentra en la delantera, aunque el entrenador tiene decidido que si Mauro Zárate recibe la habilitación de la FIFA acompañará a Lucas Pratto, y en caso contrario el otro atacante será Ezequiel Rescaldani.

En la práctica de fútbol llevada a cabo este lunes en la Villa Olímpica, Rescaldani jugó en el equipo titular y realizó una buena tarea, pero habrá que esperar al menos un par de días para saber si es confirmado.

El equipo que paró Gareca en el predio de Parque Leloir formó con Sebastián Sosa; Cerro, Juan Sabia, Sebastián Domínguez, Emiliano Papa; Iván Bella, Héctor Canteros, Ariel Cabral; Federico Insúa, Pratto y Rescaldani.

Por otra parte, se confirmó a última hora de la tarde la llegada del arquero Martín Perafán, quien dejó Unión de Santa Fe y desde mañana estará a disposición de Gareca.

El plantel volverá a entrenarse el martes en la Villa Olímpica, a partir de las 9.30.

Silva: "Vamos a salir campeón"

BUENOS AIRES -- El delantero uruguayo Santiago Silva se convirtió este lunes en refuerzo de Lanús, y tras firmar el contrato con el club granate vaticinó que van "a salir campeón".

Silva se desprendió hoy de Boca Juniors y por la noche se acercó a las oficinas del club del sur del conurbano bonaerense para firmar el contrato.

Tras firmar su vínculo, y mientras algunos hinchas lo fotografiaban junto al escudo del club, Silva soltó una frase llena de optimismo: "Vamos a salir campeón".

Boca se saca así un problema de encima, ya que Silva había sido marginado del plantel pero el club argentino tenía una deuda pendiente de 1,5 millones de dólares con Fiorentina.ð Ese dinero ingresará a Boca vía Lanús y seguirá su camino a Florencia para salar la deuda, pese a que Marón solamente dijo que había una "compensación económica" de su club hacia Boca sin entrar en detalles del asunto entre xeneizes y "violas".

El presidente de Lanús, Alejandro Marón, fue quien, tras reunirse por la mañana con su par de Boca, Daniel Angelici, contó que habían llegado a un acuerdo. Silva, según Marón, será presentado el miércoles junto al resto de los refuerzos y en el marco de la presentación de la nueva camiseta del club.

Silva se suma a Leandro Somoza y Lautaro Acosta, provenientes de Boca, el juvenil delantero Lucas Melano, cuyo 80 por ciento del pase fue adquirido a Belgrano de Córdoba, el zaguero Matías Martínez y el volante Jorge Ortiz.

Teo Gutiérrez llegó a Argentina

BUENOS AIRES -- El delantero colombiano Teófilo Gutiérrez llegó este lunes a la Argentina proveniente de Bogotá y el martes firmará el contrato que lo convertirá en refuerzo de River, algo que él definió como "un sueño desde niño".

Gutiérrez arribó al país a las 20.15, en el vuelo 1361 de Aerolíneas Argentinas, y minutos más tarde se retiró del aeropuerto internacional ubicado en Ezeiza en una camioneta, rumbo a un hotel de esta capital.

El ex Racing, con pasado reciente en el Cruz Azul de México, firmará el vínculo y luego se pondrá a disposición de Ramón Díaz, quien pidió reiteradas veces a los dirigentes que hagan el esfuerzo por destrabar su salida del club mexicano para que se sume al plantel.

"Es algo especial porque soy hincha de ese club y es de los más grandes de Sudamérica. Es importante para mí, para mi carrera, para mis compañeros de Colombia", dijo por la mañana Gutiérrez, antes de emprender el vuelo hacia Buenos Aires.

Teo tuvo su aura entre los hinchas de Racing pero con el tiempo se fue opacando y terminó con una relación resquebrajada en el plantel racinguista, la tarde en que Independiente ganó el clásico por goleada.

De cara al futuro, Gutiérrez agradeció el interés del entrenador de River para su contratación.

"Es un gran técnico, una gran persona, hace años me ha querido tener. Agradezco a él y a la directiva de River, que ha sido especial conmigo", sostuvo, y luego se mostró esperanzado en poder jugar un River-Boca.

"Dios me permita estar en uno de ellos y demostrar mis condiciones", se ilusionó.

Duván Zapata sigue en Estudiantes

LA PLATA -- El atacante colombiano Duván Zapata continuará jugando en Estudiantes de La Plata, puesto que la dirigencia del club bonaerense decidió hoy rechazar el ofrecimiento que realizó el Sassuolo de Italia para que el futbolista cafetero continúe al menos seis meses más en la institución.

Tras una extensa reunión de comisión directiva que se celebró esta noche en la sede del club, en el centro de la ciudad, los dirigentes del conjunto platense privilegiaron el aspecto deportivo y decidieron no aceptar la oferta.

Así, el entrenador Mauricio Pellegrino recibió la mejor noticia que podía esperar, ya que contará al menos por seis meses más con quien fue el mejor jugador del equipo en el último torneo.

Zapata fue el goleador de Estudiantes en el último torneo y es la carta ofensiva más importante para Pellegrino.

Fabbro habló de su debut en River

BUENOS AIRES -- El mediocampista Jonathan Fabbro, quien el domingo hizo su debut en River Plate, en el amistoso ante Racing en el Monumental, destacó el recibimiento que tuvo de la parcialidad "millonaria" y sostuvo que eso le da "mucha confianza" para lo que viene.

"La gente me recibió muy bien. Dentro de la cancha, aunque uno no quiera se escucha todo. Estoy muy contento por ese lado porque era una incertidumbre a ver qué iba a pasar. Esto me da mucha fuerza para pelear por lo que quiero", señaló el mediocampista, quien surgió de las inferiores de Boca Juniors y llegó en este receso procedente de Cerro Porteño.

En esa dirección, Fabbro agregó: "Seguramente en cada partido que pase me voy a sentir de la mejor manera y llegar al nivel que quiero".

"Lo que pide Ramón (Díaz, el entrenador) es que nosotros estemos bien fuera de la cancha. Habla mucho con todos y eso es importante para cualquier jugador. Esta semana trataremos de apuntar al domingo, arrancar de la mejor manera y tratar de llevar a River lo más arriba posible", completó en diálogo con La Red.

Sobre la función que cumplirá en el esquema que planea Ramón Díaz, afirmó: "Depende del rival y las circunstancias. Yo arranqué por izquierda y Manu por derecha después a él le tocó estar más adelantado que yo. Pero eso se va a ir viendo con tiempo y vamos a tener que llegar al ataque ayudando al delantero que toque".

"Es bueno que el técnico tenga alternativas y nosotros pelear por un puesto", completó, aludiendo también a la llegada de Teófilo Gutiérrez.

Olmedo se suma a Argentinos

BUENOS AIRES -- El mediocampista mendocino Nicolás Olmedo se convirtió este lunes en el 12° refuerzo de Argentinos Juniors con miras al Torneo Inicial.

Olmedo, de 30 años y exjugador de Godoy Cruz de Mendoza, llegó a préstamo por un año, procedente del Barcelona de Ecuador, donde jugó el primer semestre de 2013.

El volante mendocino se convirtió en el 12° refuerzo para el equipo que dirige Ricardo Caruso Lombardi, entre los que se encuentran Matías Ibañez, Matías Mirabaje y José Luis Palomino, todos ellos exSan Lorenzo.

En cuanto a otras posibles incorporaciones, las dirigencia del club de La Paternal mantiene el interés por sumar al mediocampista tucumano Emmanuel Perea y al arquero Pablo Migliore, que se desvinculó recientemente del Dínamo Zagreb de Croacia.

Olimpia goalkeeper Martín Silva linked to Brazilian teams

Olimpia´s Uruguayan goalkeeper Martín Silva could join a Brazilian club in the future, according to his agent.

Martín Silva shone in Copa Libertadores, helping the team reach the Copa Libertadores final, where they were beaten by Atlético Mineiro.

His agent Régis Marques talked with Uruguayan site Ovación Digital about his future, he said: "We are seeing the European market, there are many possibilities, but if that doesn´t happen, we will check Brazil."

Ovación Digital claims that Vasco, Santos and São Paulo are the Brazilian clubs interested in Martín Silva.

Vasco need a goalkeeper to replace Fernando Prass, who joined Palmeiras. São Paulo need a long term replacement for Rogério Ceni, while Santos recently sold their main goalkeeper Rafael to Napoli.

Soccer Roundup: top teams fall at first hurdle in Chile’s Apertura

Colo Colo gets a thumping, Universidad de Chile and Unión Española lose, while Universidad Católica trot to victory in the opening weekend of Chile’s top division.

Audax Italiano 4 - 0 Colo Colo

Colo Colo left La Florida in shellshock Sunday. “Los Albos” dominated the first half of this fixture away to Audax Italiano, and benefited from the home side going down to 10 men well before the break. At the final whistle, the visitors were left struggling to comprehend a 4-0 defeat and seven minutes of madness in which they conceded three goals and a red card.

Both sides got off to a positive start. Midfielders Emiliano Vecchio and Jason Silva did good work stretching the Italiano defense, creating space for two long-range efforts. Italiano then went close through defender Cristián Oviedo, who struck the upright after Colo Colo failed to clear a corner in the 16th minute.

Ten minutes later, the game took its first major turn when Italiano leftback Mauricio Arias received a straight red for a bad tackle on Vecchio. After having pressed well prior to the sending off, the homeside changed strategy, sitting back and letting Colo Colo come at them.

The visitors began probing, with Vecchio orchestrating some decent build up play, though striker Felipe Flores looked particularly dozy and rarely utilized the space created by his hard-working midfield colleagues. A 20-yard piledriver from Silva curled just wide, and with little penetration into the box, Colo Colo were reduced to further long rangers that became increasingly anemic.

After fending-off the visitors for 45 minutes, Italiano came into the second half with belief, forcing new keeper and Paraguay international Justo Villar into action with a smart save. Then the team stunned Colo Colo. A routine long ball from deep to catch the backline off-guard, and midfielder Bryan Carrasco charged onto the end of the cross, firing low across goal into the bottom left in the 49th minute.

Colo Colo responded with frantic energy, pouring men forward as Italiano defended their surprise lead. Such tactics led to the second. Stretched thin at the back, another long ball from midfield sailed into the box, and striker Felipe Mora was unmarked as he headed in to double his side’s lead in the 75th minute.

From a dominant position, Colo Colo were now looking to salvage a draw at best, though few expected what was to come. Two minutes after the restart, defender Lucas Dominguez handled the ball on the edge of the area. Whether it was both intentional and inside the box was fiercely debated, though the referee was convinced, granting a penalty and sending Dominguez off with a yellow to match an earlier infraction.

Midfielder Cristián Canuhé spanked in an unsaveable penalty, and Colo Colo fell to pieces. The visitors gave away possession directly after the restart, allowing defender Diego González to gallop into space and unleash Carrasco into the right side of the technical area. The midfielder lofted a sublime shot away from Villar into the top left and the drubbing was complete.

New manager Gustavo Benítez felt the need to apologize to Colo Colo fans after what he described as a bizarre match.

“This defeat hurts. It is very difficult to come up with an explanation for a match as weird as this,” he said, before reassuring fans that attacking stalwarts such as Mauro Olivi will be back next week.

Olivi was rested at Italiano ahead of Colo Colo’s Copa Sudamericana opener against Uruguayan team El Tanque Sisley on Wednesday.

Universidad Católica 3 - 0 Ñublense

A strutting Católica side showed class to breakdown a tough Ñublense outfit in the Apertura’s opening weekend Sunday. The visitors from Chillán may have been spared such an emphatic scoreline had it not been for their goalkeeper Lucas Giovini, who should have stopped at least two of the goals.

Católica lined up with an all-Chilean team, seven of whom had come through the team’s academy, and the sense of unity was evident from the first whistle. The players passed in tight triangles as they moved up the pitch, though always with an eye to hit widemen jetting up the flanks into space.

Striker José Muñoz opened the scoring in the 15th minute. Bearing down on the Ñublense defence, the forward feigned left before cutting inside to hit a speculative shot from outside the box straight at Giovini. Faced with a routine save, the keeper managed to cover himself in shame by parrying the the tame strike into his own net.

At the other end Ñublense showed more composure, and striker Sebatastián Varas called Católica’s keeper Cristopher Toselli into action with two smart saves.

The same could not be said of Giovini just before half time. The keeper rightly castigated his defense for letting midfielder Alfonso Parot waltz into the box almost unchallenged from the left wing, though only had himself to blame as Parot’s low drive went between his legs.

Católica went through the motions in the second half, and Ñublense could not find a way to punish the home team’s complacency. The rout was completed with a minute to go, and rightly the goal went to Michael Ríos, who had a hand in the buildup to the second goal and was easily the best player on the pitch.

Universidad de Chile 0-1 Rangers

Marco Antonio Figueroa’s first campaign as “La U” manager got off to a nightmare start as his team fell to a surprise defeat at the hands of Rangers on Saturday.

The home side had a handful of chances in the first half, though poor luck and even poorer finishing saw them come to nothing.

At the half hour mark, “La U’s” new midfield arrival Bryan Cortes sent a dangerous inswinger into the box that deflected of Ranger’s defender Adrian Rojas. The ball went fizzing goalward though the quick hands of Nicolas Peric prevented Rojas’ blushes.

For “La U,” midfielder Luciano Civelli was the brightest point in a tepid game. The Argentine came close twice before the break, firing just over the bar once and having his second effort smothered by Peric.

The next chance fell to Rangers through midfielder Jorge Valenzuela, who headed a cross wide of the net when it looked easier to score.

“La U” took control of the second half, though failed to convert a raft of chances, most notably when Charles Aranguiz was denied by the woodwork. It almost looked scripted for the team to be punished, and so it was with one minute to go.

Rangers midfielder Hugo Díaz collected an uncontested cross on the left of the box and sent a shuddering volley past keeper Johnny Herrera into the roof of the net to win the game.

Antofagasta 1-0 Unión Española

The weekend of surprises continued Saturday, as Unión Española fell at the sword of a spirited Antofagasta side. Where “La U” were wasteful in defeat, last season’s champions Española were guilty of underestimating a home team that came off the blocks in style.

The tone was set in the opening exchanges, when striker Cristián Canío unleashed a screamer from range that Española keeper Diego Sánchez acrobatically turned onto the bar.

Another Antofagasta effort from far out went over the bar, before the goal came in the 18th minute. Venezuelan midfielder Marlon Fernández produced a sublime pass that took three Española defenders out of the game, before reaching attacker Javier Elizondo who coolly chipped Sánchez to the delight of the home crowd.

Española launched an organized offensive in the second half, though the efforts of strikers Sebastián Jaime and Gustavo Canales were thwarted by a heroic Fernando Hurtado performance in goal. This is the first time in five seasons the defending champions have opened with a loss.

Cobreloa 2-0 Universidad de Concepción

After overachieving in the Copa Chile group stages, Universidad de Concepción was brought back down to earth Sunday by a solid Cobreloa side.

The home team looked a cut-above the newly promoted visitors, and scored in both halves. Midfielder Jonathan Chaves rose above the rest to nod home in the 23rd minute, and teammate Gastón Lezcano supplied a tap-in on the hour mark to seal the win.

Everton 0-2 Palestino

Palestino got its campaign off to a positive start Friday, defeating Everton with some silky football.

Midfielder Leonardo Valencia opened the scoring on 30 minutes with a low drive that went in off the post, and almost scored another minutes later with a glancing header. Palestino continued comfortably, and in the 80th minute doubled its lead when Sergio Lopez converted a penalty after he was brought down in the box.

Huachipato 0-1 Santiago Wanderers

Wanderers registered a win at Huachipato on Saturday, in a game that was finely balanced from the start.

The visitors from Valparaíso always looked threatening, especially through the movement of striker Boris Segrado. But it would be midfielder Franz Schultz who would find the net just before half time, and Wanderers weathered a late second half onslaught to nab the three points.

Iquique 0-1 O’Higgins

O’Higgins triumphed over Iquique in a rugged and entertaining match Sunday, that saw both teams strike woodwork and Iquique’s Claudio Meneses sent off.

Pablo Calandria scored the only goal of the match in the 75th minute, muddling the ball through two defenders before netting a low strike.

Unión La Calera 1-1 Cobresal

Cobresal hung on for a draw against Unión La Calera on Saturday, after the visitors went down to eight men in the second half due to expulsions in the 55th, 63rd and 68th minutes.

This was after Cobresal went ahead through Johan Fuentes in the 40th minute, a goal quickly cancelled out by Pablo Vergara’s gorgeous volley in the 48th.

Copa Sudamericana commences

The first phase of the Copa Sudamericana — one of two elite South American international club tournaments — kicks off this week. Universidad de Chile heads to Bolivia to take on Real Potosí at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday; Colo Colo travels to Uruguay to face El Tanque Sisley at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday; Católica hosts Paraguayan side Cerro Porteño at 9:50 p.m. Wednesday and Cobreloa entertains Uruguayan club Peñarol at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

Apertura upcoming fixtures

Aug. 2, 8 p.m: O´Higgins vs. Antofagasta
Aug. 3, 12:30 p.m.: Unión Española vs Universidad Católica
Aug. 3, 3 p.m.: Santiago Wanderers vs. Audax Italiano
Aug. 3, 5:30 p.m.: Palestino vs. Universidad de Chile
Aug. 3, 8 p.m.: Rangers vs. Huachipato
Aug. 4, 3:30 p.m.: Cobresal vs. Iquique
Aug. 4, 3:30 p.m.: Universidad de Concepción vs. Unión La Calera
Aug. 4, 3:30 p.m.: Ñublense vs. Cobreloa
Aug. 4, 6 p.m.: Colo Colo vs. Everton

The Copa Sudamericana begins with a marathon of games

With the match between Peru Inti Gas and Atletico Nacional of Colombia on Tuesday, the twelfth edition of the Copa Sudamericana starts the ball rolling in Ayachuco, giving way to 92 games until December 11th when the successor to Sao Paulo of Brazil will be crowned.

The Copa Sudamericana, the second South American Football Confederation club tournament, will have 47 clubs looking to emulate Atlético Mineiro of Brazil, champion of the fifty-fourth Copa Libertadores.

And as a bonus, the champion gets a spot in the Libertadores next year and will play in the 2014 Recopa Sudamericana against Mineiro.

The 2013 Copa Sudamericana starts with a first phase of 32 teams divided into two zones (North and South) who will fight for the 16 places up for grabs for the next stage. In the second stage clubs from Brazil and Argentina will start playing.

In summary, in the second phase their will be eight winners from the North Zone, eight from the South Zone, six clubs from Argentina and eight from Brazil.

For the round of 16 there will be the eight winners from the two zones, three Argentinian clubs and four Brazilian clubs in addition to Sao Paulo.

The first stage, which will run until August 8, beginsTuesday afternoon with the first-leg between Inti Gas and Atletico Nacional at the San Marcos stadium in Lima. The match starts at 1:30 pm local time (18H30 GMT).

Following is the list of matches in the South Zone:

Montevideo Wanderers (URU) vs. Libertad (PAR)
Cobreloa (CHI) vs. Peñarol (URU)
Real Potosí (BOL) vs U. de Chile (CHI)
Guaraní (PAR) vs. Oriente Petrolero (BOL)
El Tanque Sisley (URU) vs. Colo Colo (CHI)
Blooming (BOL) vs. River Plate (URU)
U. Católica (CHI) vs. Cerro Porteño (PAR)
Nacional (PAR) vs. The Strongest (BOL)

North Zone matches:

Inti Gas (PER) vs. Atlético Nacional (COL)
Mineros (VEN) vs. Barcelona (ECU)
Independiente del Valle (ECU) vs. Anzoátegui (VEN)
Itagüi FC (COL) vs. Juan Aurich (PER)
Sport Huanyaco (PER) vs. Emelec (ECU)
Dep. Pasto (COL) vs. FBC Melgar (PER)
Trujillano (VEN) vs. La Equidad (COL)
Liga de Loja (ECU) vs. Deportivo Lara (VEN)


Second stage Argentina Zone:

Belgrano vs. Vélez Sarsfied
Racing vs. Lanús
San Lorenzo vs. River Plate

Second stage Brazil Zone:

Sport Club do Recife vs. Náutico
Vitória vs. Coritiba
Criciúma Esporte vs. Ponte Preta
Portuguesa vs. Esporte Clube Bahía

The Copa Sudamericana replaced on the regional calendar the Copa Mercosur and Merconorte. The first was contested between teams from the south of the continent while second was for those from the north.

Boca Juniors of Argentina won the trophy on two occasions (2004 and 2005) and San Lorenzo, Independiente and Arsenal from Argentina won in 2002, 2007 and 2010 respectively.

Cienciano of Peru (2003), Mexico´s Pachuca (2006) Internacional of Brazil (2008), Liga de Quito (2009), Universidad de Chile (2011) and the current champion Sao Paulo (2012) are the other winners of the Sudamericana.