Snak

Pedro Troglio prepara dos cambios en Gimnasia LP ante Boca

LA PLATA -- El DT de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata, Pedro Troglio, dispuso dos cambios en el equipo titular para visitar a Boca Juniors, el domingo próximo, por la 19na. y última fecha del torneo Inicial.

Respecto del equipo que llega de vencer a Quilmes en el Bosque (3-2), ingresarán el defensor Maximiliano Coronel y el delantero colombiano Erik Correa por Osvaldo Barsottini y Maximiliano Meza, respectivamente.

Entonces, el once inicial en La Bombonera serán con Fernando Monetti; Facundo Oreja, Coronel, Juan Carlos Blengio y Lucas Licht; Gastón Díaz, Omar Pouso, Franco Mussis y Matías García; Facundo Pereyra y Correa.

Pablo Bangardino, Oliver Benítez, Dardo Miloc, Ignacio Lachalde, Ignacio Jáuregui, Javier Mendoza, Iván Borghello y Leandro Corulo completarán el sábado el grupo de los concentrados para el último partido del año.

Al término de la práctica del viernes y, el entrenador adelantó que el presidente Daniel Onofri, consagrado en las elecciones del pasado sábado, estuvo "de acuerdo", al igual que el resto de los miembros de Comisión Directiva, en la necesidad de conservar el actual plantel para el próximo semestre.

"Todos estuvieron de acuerdo en mantener el equipo. Mi sensación es que necesito estos jugadores, al hasta el semestre que viene", dijo de cara al objetivo de garantizar la permanencia en Primera División.

Por otro lado, reconoció que el pedido de "un delantero y un volante ofensivo" para el próximo torneo Final.

"Con el presupuesto más bajo en el fútbol argentino, Gimnasia no puede ser certero en la contratación de jugadores. Ser certero es traer a (Santiago) Silva o El Burrito (Juan Manuel) Martínez. Nosotros tenemos que tener intución y después ver si sale bien", asumió.

El plantel de Gimnasia regresará el sábado a los entrenamientos y luego quedará concentrado para el partido del domingo ante Boca, que se jugará desde las 18.15 con arbitraje de Diego Abal.

Brazil´s draw adds to the Selecao´s confidence

COSTA DO SAUIPE, Brazil -- In the end, fears of a nightmare group for the Selecao were avoided, at least in theory. Brazil sidestepped the unseeded big guns and will play their 2014 World Cup group-stage games against teams that have not really set the football world alight the past few months.

While the whole "respect our opponents" discourse was omnipresent after Friday´s draw ceremony, the atmosphere in the country was defined by a heady mixture of confidence and relief.

Manager Luiz Felipe Scolari experienced that attitude up close, spending more time dismissing questions about a possible locking of horns with Spain or the Netherlands in the knockout stages than analyzing Croatia, Mexico and Cameroon.

"I really don´t think you guys should jump the gun. I am preparing my players to play three group-stage matches and only then should they worry about X or Y," he said after the ceremony.

Never a man to gloat, Scolari seems pretty aware that Brazil, in Group A, shouldn´t have much trouble advancing to the next round. However, he has often reminded fans and media that a World Cup is an overwhelming experience for players and technical staff, especially one at home. A bad game against Croatia on June 12, for example, could put some serious pressure on the Selecao ahead of their encounter with Mexico five days later. After losing to the Mexicans in six of their past 10 games, including the gold-medal match at the 2012 London Olympics, the Brazilians certainly would prefer to face them in a more comfortable state of mind.

"Our games against Mexico have become quite tough over the past decade. Croatia are a team that always played in a very similar style to Brazil. As for Cameroon, they are a established African nation who has already played a few tricks on top sides," said Scolari, with a half-smile that could only refer to the Cameroonians´ famous triumph over world champion Argentina in the opening game of the 1990 World Cup in Italy.

Cameroon also have played tricks on Brazil, sending home an Olympic team from Sydney 14 years ago -- then-team leader Ronaldinho´s future Barcelona teammate, Samuel Eto´o, was in the Indomitable Lions´ lineup that day. Most of the reaction took into account the need to follow the events on Group B, alongside some open envy surrounding Argentina´s perceived easy draw in Group F.

"I see Brazil cruising through their group and Argentina should also do it easily. The problem for the Selecao is what comes next," 2002 World Cup winner Gilberto Silva said.

Far from being pushovers -- despite eating Belgium´s dust in the qualifiers -- Croatia will play Brazil in Sao Paulo, a city that has a love-hate relationship with the Selecao. Niko Kovac is not expecting the local crowd to turn against the hosts, but certainly won´t complain in case they fail to roar like their northeastern counterparts.

"It is difficult enough to play Brazil in the opening round of a World Cup, let alone at home. At least we can try to give them a hard time, just like in 2006," said Kovac, who was on the pitch when Brazil narrowly beat the Croatians 1-0 in Germany.

The fact is that Brazilians are not usually worried about early exits. One has to go back to 1966 to find the previous World Cup where the Selecao drowned in the group stage, a tournament in which shambolic organization was just as much to blame as the quality of Hungarian, Portuguese and Bulgarian opposition.

In the entire history of the World Cup, 1930 and 1934 were the only other times when Brazil crashed early. Adding to the nation´s confidence: Brazil didn´t lose a single opening-round match in a World Cup between 1966 and 1998.

"Football has a hierarchy and it should prevail, as much as none of 32 teams playing the World Cup are to be underestimated, given they needed to clear a qualifying campaign. But a good start could get things going pretty fast," said Carlos Alberto Parreira, the 1994 World Cup-winning manager, who works these days as Scolari´s technical assistant.

So after fearing a cluster of world champions in their group, Brazilians now will feel much less anxious. At least until the opening kickoff.

El Tri´s path out of the group stage in Brazil

Mexico was drawn into a relatively kind group for the 2014 World Cup, with winnable games against Cameroon and Croatia coming on either side of a tough but glamorous fixture against hosts Brazil.

The FMF may wish to reconsider plans to set up a base camp in the southern city of Santos, as Mexico has been given a favorable itinerary with all of its group games to be played in the northeast of the country.

But if Mexico is to reach the second round at a sixth consecutive World Cup next year, then it will have to overcome opponents that are more difficult than those they struggled against in this year´s CONCACAF Hexagonal.

At its best, Miguel Herrera´s Mexico can pose problems against any side, but El Tri has not been at its best for some time now. With Brazil clear favorites to win the group, second place would be a realistic goal for El Tri.

Mexico vs. Cameroon (Natal, June 13)

This is a winnable opening game and one likely to define Mexico at Brazil 2014. An early 1 p.m. kickoff in the north-east of the country means the temperature is likely to be around 28 C, but both sides should be used to playing in such conditions. Mexico won 1-0 the only time it has ever played Cameroon, in a friendly in 1993, and El Tri´s last two games against African sides were among the more encouraging performances of a dire 2013: a 2-2 draw with Nigeria in June and a 4-1 win over Ivory Coast in August.

Cameroon has only made it out of the World Cup group stage once, reaching the quarterfinals in 1990, and will be reliant on the industry of Barcelona´s Alex Song in midfield and the prolific threat that Chelsea striker Samuel Eto´o poses up front. Mexico should not underestimate The Indomitable Lions, but if it can keep Eto´o quiet and recover the confidence and flair of those pre-2013 days, it should be able to make a positive start to the tournament.

What Mexico needs: Three points to kick-start the campaign.

Mexico vs. Brazil (Fortaleza, June 17)

Mexico could not have drawn tougher opponents than the hosts, but El Tri has a good record against Brazil in recent years and will draw on the confidence from that famous victory in the final of the London 2012 Olympic Games. Again, it is likely to be a hot and steamy affair, but at least Mexico will not have far to travel from Natal to Fortaleza for this fixture, whereas Brazil will have to fly over 1,400 miles from the opening fixture in Sao Paulo. Brazil will have the advantage of home support, but will also be under much greater pressure to perform. Mexico will have to be at its best defensively and must press tirelessly to nullify the threat carried by the likes of Neymar and Oscar, while whoever leads the line will have to be razor sharp in order seize any chances that come their way against a defense marshalled by Thiago Silva.

What Mexico needs: A draw would represent a very positive result.

Mexico vs. Croatia (Recife, June 23)

As against Brazil, Mexico should benefit from making another short journey to Recife while Croatia must travel over 1,700 miles from Manaus in the heart of the Amazon. It will be hot and humid, with June being the wettest month of the year in Recife, but this should favor the Mexican players more than their Croatian opponents, who will be less accustomed to playing in such a sticky climate. Mexico lost friendly games to Croatia in 1992 and 1999 but triumphed 1-0 in their last encounter at the 2002 World Cup. Quickly closing down Real Madrid playmaker Luka Modric and preventing him from controlling the tempo of the game will be crucial to Mexico´s chances of success.

What Mexico needs: If the other games go to plan, a tie could be enough.

Mexico will face a familiar foe, Brazil

The suspense of the FIFA World Cup draw seemed interminable, but finally, the groups -- and Mexico’s fate -- were decided. El Tri is in Group A, facing Brazil, Croatia and Cameroon.

It may not be the Group of Death, but it is a dangerous and tricky group nonetheless.

For the second World Cup in a row, Mexico is in a group with the host country, and if any host country is expected to advance, it is certainly Brazil.

Brazil is a familiar foe for Mexico, and the squad has taken measure of El Tri recently and found them wanting. Only this summer, in the Confederations Cup, the two squads faced off, with Mexico losing 2-0. It wasn’t a crushing defeat, and Mexico was quite stout defensively, but there wasn’t ever the sense that Mexico was threatening Neymar & Co.

The Confederations Cup as a whole heralded a renaissance for Brazil, whose confidence had been shaken by some subpar performances, including losing the Olympic gold medal to Mexico. Neymar seemed to come into his own, meshing well with other Brazilian stars to lead the Selecao to the title.

Yet, as they did in the Olympics, Mexico´s players have risen to the occasion before against Brazil. Though the hosts and five-time champions will be motivated to perform well in front of local fans, there should be the sense among El Tri players that they can get a positive result versus Brazil.

Mexico has met Cameroon only once before in international play, for a friendly played in 1993. El Tri won by a single goal, while holding the Lions scoreless.

While Mexico has at times struggled with the speed and athleticism of African teams, it´s an interesting coincidence that a team that looked dire much of the year appeared to find its best form versus Nigeria and the Ivory Coast this past year. Of course, those matches were friendlies, and thus cannot be considered a reliable indicator of how Mexico will really perform. Yet it should give Mexico´s players a boost to remember that two of their best performances in 2013 were against speedy and athletic players.

Croatia was, like Mexico, a late qualifier to the 2014 World Cup. Croatia had to qualify over Iceland, and that turned into a more complicated situation than Mexico´s romp over New Zealand. However, Croatia finally prevailed, and is the only European team in the group.

In 2002, Mexico managed well against Croatia in group play, defeating the team that had been the darlings of the 1998 tournament by a single goal. That loss contributed to Croatia´s group stage elimination and they have not advanced out of group play since then. They will not take Mexico lightly and their players combine skill and verve in an effective manner.

El Tri coach Miguel Herrera, however, has to be pretty happy with the final draw results, especially when considering what the draw brought the CONCACAF nations that finished first in the Hexagonal. The USA and Costa Rica have extremely difficult opponents, and Costa Rica has to travel to dreaded Manaus for its opening match.

There is no easy opponent or group in World Cup 2014, but there are various levels of difficulty. Mexico´s seems manageable, so if Herrera has his team well prepared, El Tri can look forward to making an impact. The team has tended to fare better in World Cups set in the Americas, so Mexico will aim to be a contender.

On second look, a familiar hard road for USMNT

The anguish was palpable from sea to shining sea when FIFA’s World Cup draw was over on Friday, after U.S. fans and the rest of planet futbol learned the national team’s daunting fate next summer: A spot in what many believe is the 2014 tournament’s group of death alongside Ghana, Germany and Portugal.

The response from Jurgen Klinsmann said it all afterward.

“I wanted actually to have Brazil, rather, in the opening game,” the Americans’ German coach -- who said he had a hunch the U.S. would end up in a group with his former team -- told ESPN’s Jeremy Schaap after the draw.

While Klinsmann could be forgiven for wanting to switch places with CONCACAF rival Mexico (here’s why he may have preferred the hosts), which ended up with the host nation plus Cameroon and Croatia, getting out of Group G isn’t impossible for the Americans.

Sure, they’ll need a little luck. But the truth is that this draw isn’t significantly more difficult than the ones they recieved in 2002 (Portugal, Poland and host South Korea) or ´06 (Ghana, Czech Republic and eventual champion Italy).

And compared to some of the other heavyweights the U.S. could have come up against, the Yanks actually match up fairly well against all three group foes.

“The fact that it´s tough does not mean that we can´t advance through the group,” veteran goalkeeper Tim Howard told U.S. Soccer. “We´ll have to play at our best, but I think we can."

They’ll certainly know what to expect.

The U.S. lost to Ghana at the last two tournaments, and they met both Germany and Portugal in 2002. While it’s true that they only won one of those, all four matches were decided by a goal.

Ghana boasts world-class players like Kevin-Prince Boateng (Schalke) and Sulley Muntari (Milan), but might be the most beatable of the Americans’ three opponents this time around. Opening against the Black Stars is a shiny silver lining for the Americans, who are no doubt aware of how much a victory would increase their odds of advancing.

“Starting a World Cup with three points is ideal,” Klinsmann said in an email to ESPNFC.com relayed by a team spokesman. “It not only helps in terms of confidence; having points early allows you a chance with the next game to secure a spot in the knockout stage. The first game is very, very crucial -- you definitely don’t want to lose.”

Part of the reason the U.S. was able to upset the Portuguese in Suwon, South Korea, almost 12 years ago was because they spent the six months preparing almost exclusively for that match. That’s not to say the hosts and Poland -- which beat the U.S. 3-1 in the first-round finale -- weren’t scouted heavily. But the coaching staff barely discussed tactics with the Americans in advance. If Rule 1 at the World Cup is to not lose your opener, Rule 2 is to never look past the next match.

After Ghana, the Americans’ next match is against Portugal. The Selecao the U.S. will face in the Amazonian city of Manaus isn’t as strong as the Figo-led version the Yanks memorably upset back in ´02, but it’s undoubtedly more dangerous.

That’s because the current squad has Cristiano Ronaldo, this year’s Ballon d’Or front-runner and one of the few true game-breakers in the sport. For a team particularly susceptible on the flanks, the prospect of shutting down the Real Madrid star is terrifying.

“Ronaldo is the best player in the world right now,” midfielder Michael Bradley said. “He has the ability to, in a way unlike any other player in the world, put his team on his shoulders and will them and carry them.” But if the U.S. can merely contain him, Ronaldo’s supporting cast is suspect.

Klinsmann’s team was always likely to get a superpower, of course. And while the coach, if taken at his word, would have preferred Brazil, Germany’s more direct, less-technical approach could be easier for the Yanks to deal with. Secretly, Klinsmann may relish the opportunity to beat former understudy (and close friend) Jogi Loew, who ended up taking much of the credit for Klinsmann-coached Germany’s run to the semis in 2006. So will players such as projected U.S. starters Fabian Johnson and Jermaine Jones, both of whom previously represented Germany at various levels before switching allegiance to Uncle Sam.

“As tough as Germany is,” Howard said, “we feel like we have an edge because we have Jurgen´s experience and his inside knowledge of that team."

The Americans had better hope Howard is right. For if the U.S. is to advance, chances are it will need a result heading into that final match against the group’s top team. For a country with aspirations of joining soccer’s elite nations, that scenario would provide the ultimate test.

“That last game,” Bradley said, “is going to really show if we´re ready to move on to the knockout stages."

Bemærkede I i øvrigt finkulturen ved VM-lodtrækningen eller gik den jeres næse forbi?. Fernanda Lima hedder hun og den 36-årige værtinde styrer også programmet ´Amor & Sexo´. Det kunne være man skulle tage sig en kigger :)

http://tvg.globo.com/pro…mor-e-sexo/

Køn pige ;-) ....nu er hun så fra Porto Alegre, sådet kan være NPATO har mere info på hende ;-)

Nogle Santos Laguna fans herinde? Det er vel snart på tide at supertalentet Lacayo skal i førsteholdstruppen permanent så han kan komme med til VM.

Jeg er nok mere Filip Baloy fan (landsholdsspiller fra Panama, der spiller i Santos Laguna). Han er en af stjernerne på mit latino-hold.

Det er som følger:
GK: G. Ochoa
RB: A.Valencia
CB: F.B Baloy
CB: T.Silva
LB: B. Oviedo
DM: A.Alvarez
AM: C.Costly
HW: S.Rondon
LW: J.Farfan
CF: R.Falcao
CF: L.Suárez

Sub:
GK: J. Jose Gomez
CB: L. Alberto Gutiérrez
LW: K. Jones
CM: A. Sanchez
CM: E.Banega
Det er en klassisk 4-4-2. Bruges til det fantastiske gamle spil Sensible World of Soccer, der i dag kan spilles online over nettet.

Jeg tror snart jeg trænger til udskiftning på holdet, så kom gerne med evt forslag. Der er dog kun et krav. Der må ikke være to spillere fra samme latinamerikanske land og så har jeg fravalgt de allerstørste stjerne (på nær fra Colombia og Uruguay). Dette hold er dog lavet for halvandet år siden sådan ca.

Du ved godt hvem der skal spille i stedet for Suarez Andib ;-)

kalder vi ham El Loco eller Abreu ?


Iøvrigt ganske frustrerende niveau - den geografiske indsigt er på, her på bold.dk...Bossemand skylder en forklaring som gammel studivejleder !