Snak

Players of the Colombian national selection pay honor to ´Chucho´ Benítez

The players of the Colombian national selection mourned the sudden death of Ecuadorian forward Christian ´Chucho´ Benítez, who passed away on Monday morning. The players listed him as a ´great´ in terms of his football ability, and expressed their solidarity with his family, according to messages posted to their Twitter accounts.

"Sad news, the death of football player Christian Benítez. Much strength to his family and to all Ecuador. We miss you, Chucho", wrote forward Radamel Facao García, of Mónaco.

For his part, James Rodríguez, teammate of Falcao in Monaco, stated that the death of the 27-year old forward is "a giant loss for football". "May God help Christian´s family and our Ecuadorian brothers with the pain", he published.

Midfielder Freddy Guarín, of Milán of Italy, sent his condolences to Benítez´s relatives and stated: "He´s with God in His glory now".

"I want to make known my solidarity with the Ecuadorian people, and in particular the family of Christian Benítez. He was one of the greats", noted Napoli of Italy´s midfielder Camilo Zúñiga.

Goalkeeper of the Colombian team, David Ospina (Nice, France), also lamented what had happened and referred to Benítez as a "great player", at the same time wishing "strength for his relatives and the Ecuadorians".

´Chucho´ scored the goal that allowed Ecuador to beat Colombia 1-0 in the sixth series of scheduled games in the elimination for World Cup Brazil 2014. He scored on June 10th, 2012, in Quito, on Ospina.

"Sad news for us, for South American football. RIP Chucho Benítez. Strength for the Benítez family", stated midfielder Juan Guillermo Cuadrado, of Firoentina of Italy.

The forward, individual high scorer in Mexico last season, died in Quatar this Monday as a result of cardiac arrest, according to sources.

Moved to Al-jaish SC of Quatar three weeks ago after his impressive time spent with América of Mexico, Benítez complained of strong abdominal pain, the probable result of peritonitis, and was hospitalized in Doha, where he suffered cardiac arrest, explained Luis Chiriboga, president of the Ecuadorian Football Federation.

Nogle af jer som ved, om Chile vil træne i Brøndby et par dage før? Jeg kunne nu godt finde at tage til deres træningsanlæg og få mig en Vargas autograf/foto.

NPATO

Han psasser vel meget godt ind i Flu...

hehehe.. http://placar.abril.com.…porrada.gif

mon ikke Flu har rammet plet med din træner signing.

Ja det sgu lidt foruroligende med ham....Luxumburgo mon ikke han er blevet smittet af ham Gravesen i sin tid i Real Madrid ? Passer helt perfekt til " Time de Guerreiros "....

Syntes da det er interessant iøjeblikket Sao Paulo og Flu flopper, Vasco præsterer stort iøjeblikket, Flamengo, Flu lidt lalala på den positive måde....internacional taber til Nautico, Atl. Mineiro taber til Cruzeiro stort....tror sidstnævnte sagtens kan blive sæsons overraskelse...


Apropos Chilenerne , så tror jeg de kommer et par dage før...holder lige øje med de chilenske medier, ...hvis du snupper Vargas må jeg vil snuppe marcos Gonzalez så....havde en kort snak med Samba for et stykke tid siden, tror den unge mand har planlagt at se kampen...iøvrigt fedt de har Valdivia med igen....:-)

Colombian Primera A Wrap: Santa Fe held in opener

Apertura runners-up Santa Fe have been held to a 2-2 draw by Alianza Petrolera in the first round of the Colombian Primera A´s Clausura season.

Santa Fe lost the final of the first-half of the Colombian league 2-0 on aggregate to Atletico Nacional earlier this month and failed to hit back from that disappointment at the Estadio Nemesio Camacho on Tuesday.

Petrolera pegged Santa Fe back twice with Michael Jhon Rangel scoring the second equaliser in the 85th minute.

Santa Fe took the lead in the 58th minute after a Petrolera defender handled the ball in the penalty area with Argentine striker Silvio Gonzalez converting from the spot.

Petrolera drew level in the 74th minute when Luis Carabali bundled the ball home following a save from Santa Fe goalkeeper Juan Manuel Leyton but the home side pulled ahead six minutes later thanks to Fernando Cardenas´ smart finish.

But the visitors claimed a point with five minutes remaining through Rangel´s tap-in after a long-range free-kick cannoned off the post and back into play towards the 22-year-old striker from Petrolera.

https://www.youtube.com/…o4LM8ehG1p0

Bernard´s father hits out at Atlético Mineiro over Shakhtar bid

The father of Bernard has hit out at Atlético Mineiro after he believes the club are using the player like a puppet.

He feels the club are forcing the 20-year-old into a move to Shakhtar Donetsk in order to make more money, reports Goal.com.

This is despite Delio Duarte declaring his son has his heart set on a move to Porto after being convinced by Seleção striker Hulk.

Atlético president Alexandre Kalil revealed on Tuesday that he has accepted a bid from Shakhtar and that the Ukrainian side are the only club to have offered their asking price.

Now Duarte is accusing Atlético of ignoring Bernard’s wishes.

"I think Atletico Mineiro should respect his wishes," he told Maisfutebol.

"I understand Atletico want more money but the player cannot be a puppet. He gave so much to the club, he wants to go to Porto, they should try to reach an agreement.

"He is very focused on the World Cup. I think that, if he goes to Ukraine, he will lose ground. He doesn´t even consider this possibility. Portugal is different.

"[Brazil coach Luiz Felipe] Scolari is very fond of Portuguese football and always watches. For him, playing in Portugal would be as or more important than staying here."

Liverpool close on Lorenzo Melgarejo

Liverpool have agreed a deal in principle to sign defender Lorenzo Melgarejo on a season-long loan from Benfica, subject to a work permit being secured.

Reds boss Brendan Rodgers is looking to give Jose Enrique competition for the left-back spot, prompting him to move for Melgarejo, sources said.

Liverpool would have the option to buy the 22-year-old for around £7 million next summer if the loan deal was successful.

Melgarejo, who played for Benfica against Chelsea in last season’s Europa League final, has been linked with Arsenal and Fenerbahce during the summer.

Liverpool need to apply for a work permit to complete the signing, though, as the defender has only one international cap for Paraguay.

UK laws rule that any footballer from a country outside the European Union must have played 75% of his national team’s senior competitive games over the past two years in order to qualify automatically for a work permit. In addition, that country must be in the top 70 of FIFA’s rankings when averaged over the past two years.

Atlético Mineiro claim Tottenham and Arsenal pulled out of Bernard deal

Atlético Mineiro president Alexandre Kalil has revealed that both Tottenham and Arsenal failed to follow up on their interest in highly-rated attacker Bernard.

Bernard has been the subject of intense speculation in recent weeks as the Brazilian was linked with moves to Shakhtar Donetsk and FC Porto as well as the Premier League.

In recent days, Kalil revealed that Shakhtar were the only club with a bid accepted although there are reports that Porto have moved to seal a deal.

But now the eccentric chief has quashed rumours of any deal being agreed with either Tottenham or Arsenal.

"Tottenham made an offer of €18 million for Bernard but they withdrew. Arsenal told us that they would bid but never did so. So what we have now is a €25m bid from Shakhtar," Kalil told Radio Itatiaia.

This now leaves Bernard with only one destination in mind, but his father went public recently with a desire to see his son at Porto.

Vagner Love in awe of welcome at Shandong Luneng

New Shandong Luneng signing Vagner Love has spoken of his awe at the welcome afforded the Brazilian upon his arrival in China.

Love was welcomed by a crowd of admirers upon touching down in the country and promised that he will give his all for his new club.

"My arrival in China has made ​​me feel a strong attachment to football with beautiful fans. I felt a great preparation for my arrival, which reflects the seriousness of this club. Hopefully I can adapt as soon as possible to help my team," he told reporters.

The Chinese Super League side announced the signing last week although they did not disclose the fee, but they revealed that negotiations were complicated, lasting three months to be finalized.

The Chinese club highlighted his successful career at Flamengo and CSKA Moscow, as well as at the Brazilian national team, having won the 2004 and 2007 Copa América titles.

Vagner Love had returned to CSKA Moscow in January, as Flamengo´s new board refused to pay the remaining installments to complete his transfer to the rubro-negro.

He had failed to perform well for the club in a consistent basis, despite having strong connections with the previous Flamengo board.

Metalist´s Diego Souza dreams of playing in the Champions League

Metalist Kharkiv midfielder Diego Souza revealed his dream to play in the Champions League after the Ukrainians won the first leg of the qualifier against PAOK.

The Brazilian helped his side to a comfortable 2-0 victory in the Champions League qualifying round.

"Since I joined Metalist, it is clear that my dream is to play in the Champions League and helping my team to beat PAOK especially away will give us confidence for the next game," he told reporters.

"Our team has performed very well and took advantage of the smaller spaces, now it is up to us to win at home."

Souza joined Metalist earlier this month after the club agreed a €4 million fee with former club Cruzeiro.

He started his career at Fluminense, and has also played for Benfica, Flamengo, Grêmio, Palmeiras, Atlético Mineiro, Vasco and Al-Ittihad before joining Cruzeiro.