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Brazil shows their power in 6-1 romp of Slovakia

http://www.youtube.com/w…T5iOO1gArAI

Favorites Brazil lived up to the hype in their FIFA U-17 World Cup opener, putting Slovakia to the sword 6-1 at the Mohammad Bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. The South Americans now roar to the top of Group A, and Mosquito, of club side Atletico Paranaense, climbs to the top of the scorer’s chart with a three-goal day.

Three-time champions Brazil got off to a flying start, grabbing a pair of early goals through the sensational Mosquito. The young man, who packs the kind of sting his name suggests, got on the board after only 17 minutes when he slotted a low cross from club team-mate Nathan between the legs of Slovakia goalkeeper Martin Junas. Then, after the Europeans nearly drew level through Jakub Hromada, Mosquito struck again to make it 2-0. He made no mistake from the spot after Nathan was taken down in the area by the Slovakian keeper.

Deep into first-half stoppage time, Mosquito turned provider as Brazil added a third. He sent in a cute through ball for Nathan, who had no troubles finishing. The Slovakians, stunned by the force of Brazil’s passing game and overall panache, must have been grateful when the whistle went for half-time.

The South Americans were in total control, and they wasted no time picking up where they left off in the second period, Mosquito hitting against the outside of the post after picking off a lazy pass in the Slovak defence. The Europeans weren’t so lucky in the 52nd minute, however, when Abner broke down the left and crossed low for Nathan, who tapped home his second of the day from close-range to make it 4-0. Caio made it 5-0 four minutes later with a stunning strike to the top corner.

Slovakia managed to pull a goal back in the 68th minute through Denis Vavro, but it only upset the Brazilians, who made it 6-1 with Mosquito grabbing his hat-trick 20 minutes from time. Brazil now sit comfortably at the summit of Group A after one game, while Slovakia will have a lot to think about with a rude awakening in their first U-17 World Cup match. Up next for the Brazilians is a meeting with hosts UAE on 20 October, the same day Slovakia take on Honduras.

Uruguay have a goal fest against New Zealand in their debut

http://www.youtube.com/w…43BD8Oru7c8


Uruguay had no trouble seeing off New Zealand in their FIFA U-17 World Cup opener in Ras Al-Khaimah. The 2011 runners-up scored early and often at the Emirates Stadium, laying the Oceania champions low to the tune of 7-0. With the result, the South Americans climb emphatically to the top of Group B.

Uruguay wasted no time becoming the first team to score at these U-17 finals, when after just three minutes, an Enrique Etcheverry throw-in was flicked on at the near post and volleyed home extravagantly by No10 Kevin Mendez. It was an ominous start for the Kiwis, who were well dominated by the stylish Uruguayans for the rest of the first-half. Mendez turned provider in the 37th minute, sending in a low cross for the outstanding Leandro Otormin to finish off with aplomb.

The Uruguayans finished the first period with 11 shots to New Zealand’s two in a telling statistic that didn’t bode well for the rest of the contest. After the break things hadn’t much changed and Franco Acosta struck a goal after the Kiwi keeper dropped a Mendez shot to make it 3-0. In the 57th minute a lightning-quick counter-attack was capped off by Acosta, who picked up his second of the contest.

The young men from Oceania were punch drunk by this point, and five minutes later they were picking the ball out of the net again when Otormin got his second on the night after an inch-perfect cross from Benitez.

The last quarter-hour saw Uruguay strike twice more to bring the score to a heavily lopsided 7-0. Facundo Ospitaleche headed home from a corner-kick and midfielder Franco Pizzichillo got in on the action with a delicate finish with his left foot in the final minute of the contest. Group B leaders Uruguay will next face Côte d´Ivoire on 20 October hoping for another similarly powerful performance, while New Zealand will be keen to turn things around against Italy that same day.

- See more at: http://www.conmebol.com/…DC7Dai.dpuf

Honduras bag historic win over hosts

http://www.youtube.com/w…af_cCTpKct4

Honduras picked up their first-ever win in their third-ever FIFA U-17 World Cup with a 2-1 result over hosts UAE at the Mohammad Bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. The home team were forced to play with ten men for the majority of the game, but they very nearly hung on for a point before Los Catrachos delivered the knockout blow.

UAE looked fresh in the early exchanges, but Honduras soon began to stamp themselves on the contest. The Central Americans did their hopes of an historic victory no harm after 20 minutes when Fredy Medina slammed home from the edge of the penalty area after a good bit of approach work from Alberth Elis and Reembradt Flores.

Things got worse for the hosts shortly after that. Al Shamsi Sultan’s tough challenge on Kevin Alvarez was judged to be worthy of a red card by the referee and, suddenly, UAE were forced to play with ten men. However, rather than demoralise the side, it seemed to act as a spur and Khaled Khalfan grabbed an equaliser in the 33rd minute. He collected a fine cross from Suhail Al Noobi, rounded the Honduras goalkeeper and slid the ball home into the open goal to make it 1-1 at the interval.

The second-half lacked much of a spark, but the home side had the momentum for the first 20 minutes. They were clearly not content to sit back and protect their point. Even with ten men, they went forward at every opportunity. The Hondurans tried to take advantage of their numerical superiority in the last 20 minutes, going close in the 78th minute through the lively Medina and forcing a series of dangerous corner-kicks.

The hosts were under heavy pressure during the final minutes and just when it looked like they would hang on for a crucial point, their dreams were dashed. In the 86th minute, Brayan Velasquez hammered home with his right foot from outside the box as the home team’s defenders struggled with understandable fatigue. The silence in the stadium no doubt reflected the disappointment of an entire nation, who were hoping for big things from their team.

Next up for the Emirates is what promises to be a tough clash with a Brazilian side that punished New Zealand 6-1 in their opener. Honduras will hope to keep up the form when they face the Kiwis, who will be desperate to erase the memory of their opening-day nightmare.

Tug-of-war for Diego Costa could sour relations between Brazil and Spain

In a week, Brazil manager Luiz Felipe Scolari will announce his squad for November´s double-bill friendlies in Miami and Toronto, possibly against Honduras and Russia. Unusual as it sounds, Spain manager Vicente del Bosque will look closely at the call-ups, because one name could actually trigger a cold war between the two football powerhouses.

The name is question is Atletico Madrid´s Diego Costa.

Although he recently announced his desire to represent Spain since obtaining dual citizenship, the Brazilian striker could be called up by Scolari for the North American tour. Big Phil has refused to give up on a striker he might have not used since early March and insists Costa has been on his radar.

"I am the Brazil manager, and as far as I´m concerned, I am entitled to call any player eligible to play for this country. Diego Costa is part of a list of over 40 players we follow closely in the buildup to the World Cup, and I have until May 7 to make up my mind about using them," Scolari said bullishly in a news conference in Beijing on Tuesday after Brazil´s friendly against Zambia.

Scolari also confirmed the Brazilian Federation had been formally approached by the Spanish counterparts to discuss the striker´s situation.

Before boarding a plane to Asia last week, Big Phil started a war of words by criticizing the ethical stance of the Spaniards. He said the move for Costa, whose bright start for Atletico Madrid this season raised eyebrows on both sides of the Atlantic, was just a bit uncalled for when the striker had actually amassed a few minutes for the Selecao -- 35, to be more precise -- in exhibition matches against Italy and Russia. Costa struggled to make an impression in those games and since then has not featured for Brazil.

The manager has quickly preempted accusations of double standards by arguing that his well-known push for Brazilian-born Deco and Pepe to join Portugal, in 2002 and 2007 respectively, while he was in charge was a different situation.

"They had never even been considered for the Selecao. I just find it strange that a player can actually represent two different national teams. Are we going back in time when Spain could field [Ferenc] Puskas and [Alfredo] di Stefano and that was OK?" Scolari said, referring to the usage of both the Hungarian and Argentine legends by La Furia in the ´60s.

It is hardly the same thing, although a recent change in the FIFA rules made Costa available for selection by Spain over the fact that he has not played an official match for Brazil. Brazilian sporting authorities, though, have hinted they could claim that the country is actually unfairly treated because their automatic qualification to the World Cup as hosts deprived them of competitive matches.

Del Bosque has hinted he will play hardball, too.

In recent interviews, the manager suggested the striker should have the final word. He might as well, but it won´t happen without some tough attrition. Direct interests are not the only reason Big Phil is digging his heels in this matter. Indeed, Brazil have had hardly any luck with strikers recently, and their Confederations Cup savior, Fred, has struggled lately and is hampered by niggling injuries.

Former Manchester City and Everton striker Jo has been deputizing, but the only other option has been a lackluster Alexandre Pato. Scolari can´t afford to let a in-form goal scorer disappear into the sunset. Especially when he might just waltz into one of Brazil´s main rivals for the World Cup trophy next year. Whoever has seen Fernando Torres play recently will agree Costa could easily take over the No. 9 role for Spain, just as another Brazilian, Marcos Senna, filled the midfield enforcer role and collected a Euro 2008 winner´s medal before missing the final cut for South Africa 2010.

Squad leaders such as Xavi Hernandez have been quoted singing the praises of Atletico´s No. 9, although it remains to be seen how he would handle such an abrupt exit from Diego Simeone´s comfort zone in Madrid.

Even the suspicion that Costa might turn the Selecao down will not stop Scolari from creating a fuss. By calling up the striker, he will send the ball into Costa´s court. The 25-year-old will be under the spotlight, and the possibility of becoming a rare case of a player refusing to represent the most famous international side in the world will certainly play in the back of his mind.

By shifting the pressure toward the striker, Scolari will also deal with criticism back home in case Costa is actually poached by La Furia. The Brazil manager, however, is far from a mere puppetmaster role. In Beijing, he had to admit he is short of strikers and options to help offload the scoring burden from Neymar. However, he will have to use his best paternal moves to lure Costa back.

That is if Big Phil really wants him instead of just stalling and unsettling the Spaniards. Part of the answer should come in a couple of days in Rio.

A World Cup handout for Mexico

MEXICO CITY – "Justino (Compean, FMF chief), it is the time to step down. Decio (de Maria, Liga MX president), it is the time to step down." These are the tweets I sent just seconds apart. The soccer scandal was just moments away. "Allow me to weep," I should have posted. It came from my heart. However, in the midst of this painful feeling, I had another very revealing one: "It is great we are not going to the World Cup. Mexico needs radical changes," I said to myself.

While Panama began its celebration based on their supposed qualification for the playoff, in Mexico hearts shrank... up to the time the United States mercifully scored its goal. A tie with the flavor of glory for the Mexicans. The third American goal gave El Tri a bit of breathing room in its quest to reach Brazil in 2014.

We are "alive," although we don´t deserve it. With an outstretched hand. We receive the alms of a playoff, while trying to hide the obvious. The structure of Mexican soccer is good for nothing, rotting, without direction in an organization that today gives off more shame than pride.

As we shout "goal," we are also advertising our own poverty. We worship chaos, anarchy, tolerance for bad performance, without caring, since we are allowed to continue enjoying this sport, which for years has been navigating in a sea of mediocrity with a few bright spots here and there.

If we qualify for the World Cup will we continue developing our soccer? I doubt it. It´s a proven fact underhandedness and corruption kept us out of the World Cup in Italy in 1990 (Mexico was banned). It left us with a dirty system and at moments the team was taken hostage by the true owners of soccer.

(Argentine coach Cesar Luis) Menotti came, and according to those who followed him, found important ways to make our football grow, which we still remember today. The 1990s found Mexico showing strong growth in soccer, supported for years afterwards by managers such as Miguel Mejia Baron, Manuel Lapuente, Javier ´El Vasco´ Aguirre and Ricardo La Volpe, who put Mexico on the World Cup map playing toe-to-toe against rivals such as the Argentinean powerhouse.

South Africa was the first stumbling block. Our first signs of regression. ´El Vasco´ left a bad taste in the mouth after World Cup 2010. There was nothing to rescue, much less remember, except for (defender Ricardo) Osorio, (goalkeeper Oscar Perez) ´Conejo´s´ insertion in the starting eleven, the inclusion of (forward) Guille (Franco) and the senseless (Adolfo) ´Bofo´ Bautista.

On Tuesday night, we were minutes away from mourning the greatest failure of Mexican soccer, which remains latent for a possible loss against New Zealand next month. It is a miracle we are still alive in the World Cup quest. It might be shameful, but at the same time we can enjoy watching the downfall of an administration that has only been interested in financial growth to the detriment of the team´s performance, even allowing the sponsors to grope the national team members.

Would it be worth it to be sitting at home? Should we be beggaring ourselves into a World Cup through its play-in games? Can we seriously envision ourselves playing the fifth game (reaching the World Cup quarterfinals) with Victor Manuel Vucetich. Do they think Mexico will be a major player? Anything is possible.

Whatever happens, if Mexico makes it to the World Cup, we will do so with the baggage we have been carrying for years on end.

Call me crazy. When Mexico was close to being eliminated there was a bittersweet flavor to it. Let´s be honest: I don´t know why I have the feeling that we should be eliminated and even personally happy about it. We need a catastrophe in the sport. Don´t get me wrong. I´m still Mexican, but I´m tired of the organization being cleaned up in bits and pieces, when the need is for a major overhaul, as was done 20 years ago.

South America´s telling progress

Four years is a long time in football, and so it is that as we reach the end of South America´s mammoth World Cup-qualifying programme, it´s instructive to look back. Tim Vickery has already written for ESPN FC on the final double-headers, as Uruguay settled for the playoff spot with Chile and Ecuador taking the remaining automatic berths behind Argentina and Colombia.

I wanted to take a look, though, at what´s changed for each of the continent´s sides since we were last here. Sure, Argentina have qualified automatically and Uruguay are in the playoff after a dramatic last match between the two in Montevideo, but that´s about the only similarity. Since we were at this point in 2009, Uruguay have been to a World Cup semifinal, been crowned champions of South America, gone through a huge slump in the middle of qualifying and come back through it.

Brazilians are sure to be a little more nervous at the prospect of Uruguay making it to a World Cup they looked, for a brief while, like they might miss out on. After all, South American football fans can be superstitious folk at times (such as the Argentine who told me in all seriousness prior to the last World Cup that they were bound to win because the year -- two thousand and TEN -- was the same as Maradona´s old shirt number), and no-one´s forgotten about 1950.

It shouldn´t only be Brazilians who are nervous. Uruguay might not be getting any younger but they have tremendous team spirit, and in dragging them through an incomprehensible slump, Oscar Washington Tabarez has proven yet again that he´s a fine manager.

The biggest changes, though, have come elsewhere. Both Peru and Venezuela surprised many during the Copa America in mid-2011, both reaching the semifinals as the more traditional powers (apart from Uruguay) struggled. For Peru, it proved to be something of a false dawn, though they´re still undeniably a better side than in the second half of the 2000s.

For Venezuela, the last World Cup cycle has been revelatory, even though it´s ended with failure to qualify for the main event. Before the current campaign began, Venezuela had won 18 World Cup qualifiers and drawn 14, from a total of 106 played. Today, those numbers read 23 wins and 19 draws. In other words, if we use three points for a win across all those games, just under a quarter (20 out of 88) of the points Venezuela have won in their history have been won in the past 16 qualifying matches -- and almost half in the past 36, if we add in the 22 points in 18 games from the 2010 qualifiers.

Their current FIFA world ranking of 36 is the highest they´ve ever held. Nearly two years ago, they hosted Argentina -- against whom their record until that day read played 18, lost 18 -- and beat them. After the Copa America, I wrote that they were no longer the continent´s whipping boys, and I´m delighted they´ve managed to continue their progress, even though the playoff spot proved beyond them in the end.

Chile have had the most turbulent time of the qualifiers. Claudio Borghi got off to a poor start and was replaced by fellow Argentine Jorge Sampaoli. Borghi, let´s not forget, was himself replacing an Argentine -- Marcelo Bielsa, whose standing in the country couldn´t be higher. In some ways, it was an impossible job, but the results certainly didn´t help. Sampaoli has brought the fun back to the Chilean national side, and having had an indifferent Copa America under Borghi, they qualified more comfortably than the last day mathematical confirmation of their place might suggest.

Uruguay´s win over Argentina meant much more than just another three points.
Ecuador have continued to tread a familiar path; strong at home in the altitude of Quito, they´re more capable than Bolivia (who continue to be dreadful away from La Paz), close to sea level, but still not great. In qualifying this time round, they´ve actually won one point fewer than they got in failing to qualify for 2010.

Making better progress in the past four years have been their close neighbours Colombia. Imported managerial talent has made a difference -- Ecuador are the only one of the four automatic qualifiers who don´t have an Argentine manager -- and Jose Pekerman´s introduction for Colombia has been revelatory. Having missed out on South Africa by a point, and followed it up with a quarterfinal capitulation to Peru in the 2011 Copa America, the Colombian federation brought in Pekerman and they´ve not looked back since.

Radamel Falcao Garcia, James Rodriguez and MacNelly Torres, who prior to his move to Al-Shabab this year was, in my opinion, one of Latin American football´s best-kept secrets for some years, suit Pekerman´s aggressive, attacking style down to the ground and should make Colombia, who are back at the World Cup for the first time since 1998, a force to be reckoned with on their home continent.

It´s possible, though, that although Argentina have gone from qualifying automatically four years ago to, erm, qualifying automatically this year, their transformation could prove the most important. Gone is the unplanned chaos of Maradona´s "management," and gone are the barely any better organised days of his replacement, Sergio Batista, who should never have got the job. Uruguay´s 3-2 win on Tuesday night was a match Argentina didn´t particularly care about, but prior to it they´d gone two years without defeat -- it was the longest current unbeaten run of any international side.

Alejandro Sabella is a proper manager and knows defence is still a major issue for his side, but he´s also aware that his attacking options will be the envy of every other national team manager in Brazil next year. There were times during the last campaign when Argentina looked imperious, and whilst the defence means they can´t be considered favourites, it´s going to be very interesting seeing who (if anyone) puts them out next year -- and how.

Maradona attacks Pele´s FIFA award

Diego Maradona has launched a scathing attack on old foe Pele, claiming the Brazilian was always second best.

Diego Maradona has reopened his long feud with great rival Pele by dismissing the Brazilian´s FIFA award as not “worth s---”.

And the 52-year-old continued his verbal attack by firing barbs at FIFA, which he claims is run by people too “old to drive a car.”

Maradona and Pele were acclaimed as the two greatest players of the past century in 2000 when Maradona topped an Internet-based Player of the Century poll while Pele was recognised by FIFA’s “Football Family” award.

But 13 years on, Maradona still believes his title guarantees his sole status as the game’s greatest player of the past century.

"In 2000 I won the Player of the Century award thanks to the people. Pele was second," he told reporters. "He also came second behind [Ayrton] Senna as Brazil´s greatest sportsman.

"The award that FIFA gave Pele isn´t worth s---."

And FIFA itself was caught in the World Cup winner’s crosshairs as he condemned football’s governing body for lacking young blood in its ranks.

He added: "The FIFA directors are all over 95 years old!

"The people there are so old that they cannot even drive a car, so how do they lead the world of football?"

Alfaro: "Campaña de desprestigio"

BUENOS AIRES -- El entrenador Gustavo Alfaro afirmó el jueves que "Arsenal fue presa de una campaña de desprestigio" por parte de los dirigentes de San Lorenzo, una vez consumada la goleada sobre el rival 3 a 0 y la consecuente conquista de la Copa Argentina.
"Arsenal fue presa de una campaña de desprestigio. Todos tienen derecho a opinar y a expresarse, pero involucrar a otros es feo", refirió acerca de las publicaciones que Marcelo Tinelli hizo en la red social Twitter durante la previa a la final que se jugó en Catamarca.

El vicepresidente puso en duda la honestidad del árbitro Luis Alvarez, quien expulsó a dos jugadores del Ciclón en el encuentro previo entre ambos equipos, por la undécima fecha del Torneo Inicial, en el que los del viaducto se impusieron 2-1 sobre la hora.

"No me gustó lo que hizo Marcelo. No tuvo la personalidad de decirlo personalmente, creo que no corresponde. San Lorenzo tiene suficientes armas para ganarnos cualquier partido. Puede criticar, cuestionar, como hincha o cualquier cosa, pero yo tengo responsabilidades como entrenador y no puedo decir ´me desubique porque me arrebato la pasión´", dijo Alfaro.

"El dirigente tendría que ser racional. Pueden ser pasionales lo jugadores. Los arrepentimientos son como la vida, siempre llegan tarde, cuando las cosas ya están hechas. Más vale pensarlas antes que arrepentirse después. Podés pegar un tiro y pedir disculpas, pero el tiro lo pegaste", agregó Alfaro.

Esto fue un condicionamiento para el desarrollo de la final de la Copa nacional, teniendo en cuenta el parentesco del presidente de Arsenal, Julio Ricardo Grondona, con el máximo dirigente del fútbol argentino, Julio Humberto Grondona.

El plantel de Arsenal llegó en la noche del jueves al Aeroparque Metropolitano desde Catamarca, luego de un nuevo título y la clasificación para la Copa Libertadores de América 2014.

"Lo que se buscaba, el operativo (de prensa), lo hicieron y nada, punto. Tocaban a los jugadores y yo cuando tocan a los jugadores es como que toquen un hijo mío, y los defiendo como los tengo que defender", sostuvo el entrenador sobre las declaraciones desde el lado de San Lorenzo.

"Tengo la sensación del deber cumplido. Cumplido y con una demostración tan categórica como cuando le ganamos a Boca en su cancha por la pelea del título", sostuvo.

Arsenal, lejos de conformarse, es escolta del líder Newell`s Old Boys a tres puntos, no perdió en el campeonato y lleva un invicto de quince partidos.

"En el torneo local hay `caballos` que son buenos. El mismo San Lorenzo, Boca, Newell`s. Estamos en el momento más crítico nuestro dentro del campeonato. Tenemos que demostrar que somos campeones, y el campeón no se relaja. Sacar adelante el partido de Tigre, Gimnasia y lo que viene para seguir con vida", concluyó.

Y concluyó: "Lo cierto es que Arsenal tiene que ser el campeón del mundo del amor propio".

He added: "The FIFA directors are all over 95 years old!

"The people there are so old that they cannot even drive a car, so how do they lead the world of football?"

hehe.

Russo: "Sabemos cómo jugarlo"

ROSARIO -- El DT de Rosario Central, Miguel Angel Russo, reveló el jueves que habló "mucho" con los jugadores de cara al clásico del domingo ante Newells Old Boys en el Gigante de Arroyito, por la 12ma. fecha del torneo Inicial de fútbol, y aseguró que el equipo "sabe cómo jugar este tipo de partidos".
"Estamos bien, es un clásico importante, sabemos cómo tenemos que jugar este tipo de partidos", le confensó Russo a radio La Red.

"Con los jugadores hablo mucho del juego, de cómo hay que encarar este tipo de partidos y cómo se viven. Todo el mundo quiere ganar el clásico, es lo único que pide la gente en la calle", agregó.

Russo en otro tramo de la charla admitió que será "difícil no salir a proponer desde el arranque porque habrá 45 mil personas alentando".

"Tenemos que asumir riesgos, estar atentos y no regalar nada. Eso será clave", puntualizó.