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Germán Montoya: "El momento más crítico de mi carrera deportiva"

BUENOS AIRES -- El arquero de Colón de Santa Fe, Germán Montoya, afirmó el martes que vive el momento "más crítico" de su trayectoria como futbolista, a raíz de la crisis institucional, económica y deportiva que vive el club santafesino.

"La situación nos sacudió, significó un dolor muy grande y es el momento más crítico de mi carrera deportiva", señaló Montoya en diálogo radial.

Colón de Santa Fe, que está último en el torneo Inicial con 6 puntos y 17mo. en la tabla de promedios, afronta una deuda económica con sus jugadores, la cual provocó la renuncia del presidente Germán Lerche y la ausencia del plantel en las vísperas del cotejo ante Atlético de Rafaela, de local, por la 16ta. fecha.

"Hay mucho por decir y mucho por hacer, pensando principalmente en lo deportivo, porque queremos que todo esto tome una forma. Estamos haciendo lo mejor que se pueda desde el campo de juego, pero aún así no alcanza", indicó Montoya.

El exarquero de Vélez señaló que si bien existe "un reglamento", el cual debe cumplirse ante la actitud del plantel de Colón por no presentarse al partido ante Rafaela, también hay "una ley laboral" que debe aplicarse, en referencia a la falta de pago por parte del equipo sabalero.

Por último, Montoya entendió el reclamo y el enojo de los hinchas de Colón, pero realizó la siguiente observación: "La persona que te viene a cobrar el alquiler de la casa, no te puede esperar y tampoco el que te cobra la cuota del colegio de tus hijos".

Colón de Santa Fe, que viene de perder 1-0, de visitante, ante Estudiantes La Plata, se posiciona último en el torneo Inicial, con 6 unidades, y en la 17ma. ubicación en la tabla de promedios, a un paso de la zona del descenso que ocupan Argentinos Juniors, Godoy Cruz de Mendoza y Olimpo de Bahía Blanca.

Buffarini: "El rival es San Lorenzo mismo"

BUENOS AIRES -- Mientras San Lorenzo se prepara para afrontar las dos fechas finales del Torneo Inicial, el mediocampista Julio Buffarini habló en ESPN Radio en Rivadavia y dejó en claro que el plantel sabe que "está cerca de conseguir un objetivo" y que "tiene la diferencia sobre sus rivales" de que si gana los dos partidos es campeón.

"El máximo rival es el mismo San Lorenzo porque dependemos de nosotros mismos. Sabemos que Lanús, Arsenal y Newell´s están cerca y que tienen las mismas expectativas que nosotros", expresó el jugador que llegó desde Ferro, a principios de 2012.

Además, Buffarini destacó que "el plantel está fuerte". "Sabíamos que tras perder con Lanús no teníamos margen de error y el partido con Boca nos dio confianza. Lo demostramos en cancha de Newell´s y después con Belgrano y Rafaela", agregó.

"Destaco la dinámica que le metemos a los partidos. De mitad de cancha para adelante tenemos jugadores desequilibrantes. Hicimos buen juego tanto de local como de visitante", señaló el mediocampista que en el actual campeonato se transformó en el lateral derecho titular.

Justamente, sobre su cambio de posición, Buffarini confesó que "la adaptación fue bastante rápida". "Llevo jugados 10 partidos como lateral y sé que tengo que seguir mejorando. Pero me llevó bastante bien con la nueva posición", apuntó.

Finalmente, valoró que San Lorenzo es un "equipo" porque "hacen goles defensores, volantes y delanteros". Sin embargo afirmó que "son conscientes de que muchos puntos se ganaron porque se le encendió la lamparita a Piatti".

Julio Buffarini se crió futbolísticamente en Talleres de Córdoba. Luego pasó por Atlético Tucumán y Ferro hasta desembargar en San Lorenzo en marzo de 2012. Justamente, por su paso por el club, Buffarini se alegra porque "pasaron muchas cosas en poco tiempo". "Llegué, nos salvamos del descenso, jugamos una final y ahora quiero coronarlo con un título", concluyó.

Jet-lagged America manage a draw in quarters

MEXICO CITY –- Just three days before the team faced off against Tigres in the first leg of the Apertura 2013 quarterfinals, 10 of Club America´s players have barely left the other side of the world in order to make the date.

Wellington, Los Angeles, Mexico City and finally, Monterrey was the arduous travel schedule for 10 players, one manager and one training staff who bailed out an entire country over the course of three weeks. Brazil 2014 is finally on the horizon, and now the team that bailed out an entire country toward the world championship (helped quite a bit by Santos Laguna hitman Oribe Peralta), is 90 minutes away from a fourth consecutive semifinal berth.

Defenders Juan Carlos Valenzuela and Aquivaldo Mosquera notched two away goals for the club in a hard-fought game made all the more difficult, as temperatures in Monterrey dipped down into the high 30s over the course of Sunday night’s matchup.

Valenzuela, one of the aforementioned Tri loanees for the New Zealand series, crushed a short-range header off a corner kick routine that was executed to perfection by Francisco "Maza" Rodriguez, who ran to the near post and flicked on a header that allowed Valenzuela to break free and push it past Enrique Palos for the 1-0.

After Alan Pulido and Guido Pizarro turned the tables on what looked to be a weary, jetlagged Club America, the second half proved all the more fruitful, and Miguel Herrera´s team had Tigres to thank. With the 2-1 lead, Tigres manager Ricardo Ferretti controversially pulled his team´s focus into defense, allowing America to gain ground with possession and create a series of dangerous attacks.

With the match winding down, another set piece provided fireworks. An initial attempt to score off a corner kick was barely cleared by the Tigres defense, allowing winger Rubens Sambueza to pull down the rebound, redirect a long, looping cross in the box and find a diving Mosquera, who artfully lifted his shot over Palos´ head and make it 2-2 at the Estadio Universitario.

Despite the draw, the away goals and a home fixture awaiting next weekend, it was not all good news for America. Wing-back Miguel Layun left the match in tears with an undisclosed ankle injury and headed to the hospital, though the player tweeted after the game that it was "nothing serious." His status, though, remains unclear.

Lingering still is also the fact that America have not beaten Tigres in any capacity since 2009, something the 11-time champions would love to get off the record next weekend at the Estadio Azteca, though with the away goals, a 0-0 or 1-1 draw is more than enough to see them through to the semifinals, where they would potentially face Toluca, in a rematch of the Apertura 2012 semis that saw America eliminated.

Top goal scorer for Barcelona in 64/65 Cayetano Ré passes away

Cayetano Ré played for Barcelona in Spain. The Paraguayan striker was top scorer in the Spanish league.

Former footballer Cayetano Ré passed away on Tuesday in Elche at the age of 75 years old, victim of an illness he suffered through the past two years, announced Barcelona. The Paraguayan striker, nationalized Spaniard, had his professional career in Spain where he played for Elche, FC Barcelona, Espanyol and Terrassa.

Cayetano Ré, who was born on February 7, 1938 in Asunción (Paraguay), debuted in the first division of his country with Cerro Porteño at age 17. He was a member of Paraguay´s national team at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden.

Ré came to Elche in 1959, and three years later joined Barcelona for six and a half million Pesetas. He was the club´s top scorer in the league during the 1964/65 season with 25 goals in 30 games. In four seasons with Barca he played 167 games and scored 94 goals.

He was then transferred to RCD Espanyol in which he played for four seasons and was part of the "dolphins" front line with Amas, Rodilla, Marcial and José María. He coached clubs Cordoba, Betis and Elche, with who in the 83-84 season was promoted to the top flight, with Diego Quiles as president of the club. He also coached Deportivo Toluco (Chile) and Nexaca (Mexico).

Cayetano Ré also coached in his native Paraguay in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. Since his retirement he lived in Elche, where he died today, suffering from Alzheimer´s disease. The funeral will be held tomorrow at 11.30 am (10H30 GMT) at the Church of El Salvador.

Chile will face Costa Rica as part of their World Cup preparation

The Chilean team opens 2014 with a friendly against Costa Rica in January as they prepare for the World Cup in Brazil, announced on Tuesday the Local Football Federation (ANFP).

"A friendly has been confirmed between Chile and Costa Rica to be held on Wednesday, January 22 in our country," said the brief announcement from the ANFP.

"The time of the match and the stadium where it will be played will be made known shortly," added the ANFP.

Chile qualified for the World Cup in Brazil as the third place team in South American qualifying, while Costa Rica won second place in CONCACAF qualifying.

Besides the friendly with the Costa Ricans, the Chilean team plans to face Germany in Europe in March, and hopes to confirm a match with Portugal which will depend on the outcome of the draw for the groups of the World Cup to be held on December 6 in the Brazilian city Costa do Sauipe.

Scolari: the young ´Seleção´ is not afraid of the "Ghost of 1950"

Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari confirmed Monday that his young team will win at home the sixth world title, and shooing away the "ghost" that Uruguay left in the Maracana in 1950.

Uruguay last Wednesday got the last ticket for the World Cup in Brazil in a playoff and a TV commercial about the "Ghost of 1950" -with a man wearing blue rags and scaring the inhabitants of Rio de Janeiro- began to be aired.

"I saw the video they did for Uruguay´s victory and found it interesting. They were creative," Scolari said at a commercial event in Sao Paulo.

But "my players were born around 1985 and don´t even know the 1950 cup existed," he added.

In the first World Cup held in 1950, Brazil lost the final 2-1 against Uruguay in what became the legendary Maracanazo.

"Look on the bright side of 1950. We went to our first final in a World Cup. Those players deserve to be valued as victors, they reached a goal (...) and that´s what I´ll tell my players, it is something we should value," he stressed.

Last week, ex-star Pele said he would like a final between Brazil and Uruguay so that the hosts can get their "revenge".

Ponte Preta looks to get past Sao Paulo

With a party atmosphere and without wanting to miss this opportunity the fans of Ponte Preta are travelling to the city of Mogi Mirim for the second-leg match at the Copa Total Sudamericana against the mighty Sao Paulo. The match will take place on Wednesday, November 27.

Ponte Preta, the revelation of the tournament, defeated Sao Paulo in the first-leg 3-1. They come into this match knowing that São Paulo has to lay it all on the line if they wish to go on to the final.

The situation of Ponte Preta is curious because on one side they have the chance to make history by reaching the final of an international tournament and on the other they are a step away from being relegated in the Brazilian league.

The Romildo Pereira stadium in Mogi Mirim will host the rematch. The fans of Ponte Preta are traveling to the sight in more than 100 buses. "This cup cannot escape us," said the fans with emphasis on the goal difference achieved in the first leg. Meanwhile coach Jorginho insisted that his players concentrate on the cup and forget that they may be relegated.

Sao Paulo, meanwhile, is confident they can come back and qualify to the final. In order to do that however they will need to win by three or more goals.

Sao Paulo coach Muricy Ramalho said he will not make many changes to the team that took the field in the first-leg.

Probable starting lineups:

Ponte Preta: Roberto (or Edson Bastos); Artur, César, Ferrón, Uendel; Baraka, Fernando Bob, Fellipe Bastos, Magal; Rildo and Leonardo. Coach: Jorginho.

Sao Paulo: Rogerio Ceni; Paulo Miranda, Antonio Carlos, Rodrigo Caio, Reinaldo; Denilson, Maicon, Douglas, Paulo Henrique Ganso; Ademilson and Aloísio. Coach: Muricy Ramalho.

Referee: Ecuadorian Carlos Vera, being assisted on the lines by his compatriots Christian Lescano and Byron Romero.

Stadium: Romildo Ferreira in Mogi Mirim
Time: 9:50 pm local (23H50 GMT)

Playing Football As An Englishman In South America: A Ten-Step Guide

1.Travel to any South American country and accept the first invite you get to play in a match with some locals.

2.Believe your local contact when he says that no-one who plays is any good and arrive at the game confident of a comfortable and stress-free work-out.

3.Realise within three seconds of kick-off that not sharing a common language with eighty percent of your teammates could lead to problems later in the game.

4.Become acutely aware that your technique, considered passable in England, is significantly inferior to that of the worst South American player.

5.Make a concerted effort to adapt to the style and speed of the locals’ natural game and in the process reduce your level of ability to that of someone who has never played before.

6.Confuse your teammates by incorrectly second-guessing their movements and intentions, reducing the chances of them playing their natural game to zero.

7.Find yourself constantly out of position because the version of the game you play has never bothered with intellectual concepts like ‘positions’.

8.Struggle to understand your clearly agitated teammates’ tactical instructions but nonetheless recognise that you have to do something – anything.

9.Run around like a headless chicken.

10.Reassure yourself after the final whistle that your sub-par performance and the team’s defeat were due to the suffocating heat and scorching sun, despite the fact that the match began at ten o’clock at night.

Liverpool To Sign ‘New Suarez’? Check Out The Uruguayan Starlet Banging Them In

According to reports in the Mirror, Liverpool talisman Luis Suarez has urged boss Brendan Rodgers to pick up fellow countryman Kevin Méndez from Penerol.

With continental giants such as Barcelona, Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid also hot on the 17-year-old who starred for Uruguay in last summer’s u17 World Cup, racking up two goals and two assists in just five games. Not a bad showing, then.

A strong running centre-forward with great balance and an eye for goal, Méndez looks another on the Uruguayan production line – impressive for a country second-smallest only to minuscule Suriname in South America.

Liverpool fans: Should Rodgers stump up the reported £3million transfer fee required to secure Méndez’s services?

http://www.youtube.com/w…qPalnnEmV5M

Juan Manuel Martínez está listo para reaparecer en Boca ante Lanús

BUENOS AIRES -- El delantero Juan Manuel Martínez dejó atrás una lesión en el tobillo derecho y se sumó el miércoles a las prácticas de Boca Juniors, lo que aumenta sus chances de recuperar la titularidad el domingo próximo, en el partido ante Lanús, de visitante, por la 18va. fecha del Torneo Inicial.
El Burrito Martínez, quien había sufrido un esguince en el tobillo derecho el sábado pasado que lo marginó del encuentro ante All Boys (ni siquiera pudo concentrar), entrenó en forma normal en una práctica muy exigente, intensa en lo físico, bajo la atenta mirada del profesor Juan Manuel Alfano.

El regreso de Martínez, un delantero distinto a los demás que tiene el DT Carlos Bianchi en el plantel, ya que juega por afuera, es otra buena noticia para Boca, que esta semana recuperó a Juan Sánchez Miño (superó un desgarro) y tiene también a disposición a Fernando Gago, Daniel Cata Díaz y Emanuel Insúa.

Gago ya jugó algunos minutos el domingo en el segundo tiempo frente a All Boys, con el equipo abajo en el marcador 2-0, que fue el resultado final del partido, y recuperará la titularidad, mientras que Díaz cumplió una fecha de sanción e Insúa un problema lumbar, y volverá porque está suspendido Nahuel Zárate.

Insúa no juega desde el triunfo sobre Racing Club del 15 de septiembre pasado, por la séptima fecha del torneo de primera división, cuando el equipo se impuso por 2-0 y el defensor agravó la dolencia que lo perseguía, una espondilólisis lumbar y debió realizar un tratamiento que lo mantuvo inactivo más de dos meses.

En tanto, el capitán del equipo, Juan Román Riquelme, sólo realizó ejercicios de kinesiología debido al desgarro que sufrió el domingo y lo mantendrá inactivo hasta el año que viene.

En consecuencia, las bajas en Boca para enfrentar al Granate serán las de Riquelme y Zárate, mientras que los que regresarán serán Díaz, Insúa, Gago, Sánchez Miño y probablemente Martínez.

En cuanto a la formación, se comenzará a definir el jueves desde las 9 en la práctica habitual de fútbol de cada jueves, que Bianchi utiliza para elegir a los 11 que jugarán el domingo.

Un equipo tentativo para cortar la racha de dos derrotas consecutivas sería con Agustín Orión; Matías Caruzzo, Daniel Cata Díaz, Claudio Pérez y Emanuel Insúa; Cristian Erbes, Fernando Gago, Pablo Ledesma y Juan Sánchez Miño; Juan Manuel Martínez y Emanuel Gigliotti.

La práctica xeneize del jueves será a puertas cerradas y solo se podrá observar la última media hora, según anunció la oficina de prensa del club.

En otro orden, al final de la sesión, cerca del mediodía, se presentará en el Museo de Boca la historia del club en su versión digital.

La historia xeneize también saldrá a la venta en un libro que relata los sucesos del club desde su fundación en abril de 1905 y según se anticipó la primera edición tendrá más de 200 páginas.