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Estudiantes: Verón no jugará frente River

BUENOS AIRES -- El plantel de Estudiantes de La Plata viajará en las próximas horas a Mar del Plata para afrontar, el sábado por la noche, su primer partido amistoso del año, frente a River, en el estadio José María Minella.

Cabe destacar que Mauricio Pellegrino, con el consenso del jugador, decidió no convocar a Juan Sebastián Verón para que forme parte de la delegación ya que se prefiere priorizar el trabajo de acondicionamiento físico que está realizando el volante para llegar en óptimas condiciones al Torneo Final 2014.

Además, tampoco forman parte de la delegación Matías Aguirregaray, quien se recupera en City Bell de una rotura de ligamentos en la rodilla derecha, y Santiago Vergini, quien tiene todo arreglado para pasar al Sunderland de Inglaterra.

De esta manera, la lista de 26 convocados que integran la delegación que se traslada a Mar del Plata, está compuesta por:

Arqueros: Gerónimo Rulli, Nahuel Losada, Agustín Silva
Defensores: Leandro Desábato, Ernesto Goñi, Mauricio Rosales, Jonatan Schunke, Jonathan Silva, Germán Re, Matías Presentado, Lucas Diarte
Volantes: Israel Damonte, Gastón Gil Romero, Mariano González, Jorge Luna, Román Martínez, Joaquín Correa, Leonardo Jara, José Leudo, Patricio Rodríguez, Franco Piergiácomi
Delanteros: Guido Carrillo, Franco Jara, Alvaro Klusener, Carlos Auzqui, Diego Mendoza

Estudiantes disputará cuatro partidos amistosos durante el verano y todos serán en el estadio Mundialista de Mar del Plata. Los rivales programados son: River (11 de enero), Boca (15 de enero) y Gimnasia (26 de enero y 2 de febrero).

Catania incorporó a Fabián Rinaudo

CATANIA -- Catania, el club italiano que ya tenía en su plantel a diez argentinos, incorporó a préstamo al mediocampista Fabián Andrés Rinaudo, cedido por los próximos seis meses por el Sporting Lisboa de Portugal.

El club siciliano, que lucha por escaparle al descenso a la segunda categoría del Calcio, hizo oficial la incorporación de Rinaudo.

El Catania también fichó en las últimas horas a préstamo a Adrián Ricardo Centurión (ex Racing) cedido a préstamo por Genoa.

En el equipo del sur italiano juegan además los argentinos Pablo Alvarez, Nicolás Spolli, Gino Peruzzi, Mariano Izco, Pablo Barrientos, Lucas Castro, Gonzalo Bergessio, Sebastián Leto y Mariano Andújar.

Rinaudo, de 26 años y nacido en la provincia de Santa Fe, se inició en las divisiones inferiores de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata, donde debutó en 2008.

River tendría dos bajas ante Estudiantes

BUENOS AIRES -- Durante la quinta mañana de la pretemporada que River está realizando en Tandil, Ramón Díaz definió dividir el plantel en dos grupos, con el objetivo de realizar ejercicios netamente diferentes, ya pensando en el partido de la noche del sábado ante Estudiantes.

Por un lado, aquellos que formarán parte de la delegación que se presentará ante el "Pincha" hicieron ejercicios tácticos en el predio de Ferrocarril Sud. Este grupo estuvo compuesto por: Chichizola, Cabrera, Mammana, Funes Mori, Ferreyra, Solari, Aguirre, Rojas, Villalva, Andrada, Kranevitter, Rodríguez, Simeone, Kaprof, Zuñiga, Martínez, Vega y Driussi. Además, Ramón y Emiliano Díaz se unieron a los ensayos para completar los equipos.

Mientras tanto, el otro grupo, compuesto por la mayoría de los que serán titulares, realizaron ejercicios con pelota en el club "Los 50". Estos futbolistas jugarían en la mañana del sábado un partido amistoso ante Ferrocarril Sud de Tandil (desde las 9 hs).

Quienes no formaron parte de las prácticas para ninguna de las dos delegaciones fueron Jonathan Fabbro y Germán Pezzella. El mediocampista padece una líneas de fiebre, mientras que el zaguero central arrastra una sobrecarga en el recto de la pierna derecha. En caso de no llegar, sus lugares ante Estudiantes serían ocupados por Daniel Villalba y Emanuel Mammana.

En definitiva, los once probables titulares serían: Leandro Chichizola; Víctor Cabrera, Pezzella o Mammana, Ramiro Funes Mori; Augusto Solari, Martín Aguirre, Ariel Rojas, Osmar Ferreyra; Fabbro o Villalva; Giovanni Simeone y Federico Andrada.

River Plate, decimoséptimo en el Torneo Inicial, confirmó en las últimas horas un nuevo partido amistoso para este receso. Será ante San Lorenzo, el 28 de enero, en la provincia de Salta.

Vinícius Araújo aiming to establish himself in Cruzeiro first team amid Valencia talk

Highly rated Cruzeiro forward Vinícius Araújo has been linked with a move to Europe but his agent Daniel Pereira has squashed exit talk.

Spanish newspapers had speculated that Valencia were interesting in signing the youngster but Pereira told Lance that he hasn’t received any bids for his player.

“I received calls from Valencia and the board of Cruzeiro but no offer has been forthcoming. My role is to inform each team when there is an official proposal.

“Vinícius is also not interested in leaving Cruzeiro. The desire of the player is to remain at the club and gain more playing time to consolidate himself as a regular starter.”

The 20-year-old burst onto the season in 2013 and was quickly labeled one of the best prospects from Raposa.

He helped Cruzeiro win the Brasileirão for only the third time in their history last season with some impressive performances.

He only played 16 matches but managed to score seven goals and contribute two assists in his first season to add to his growing reputation.

In Feburary he played in the 2013 Toulon tournament and finished top goalscorer with three goals, including the winner in the final.

It seems his immediate future is with the Belo Horizonte club and if given the opportunity to perform in the Copa Libertadores he could announce himself on the big stage. It is set to be a big year for Vinícius Araújo.

Palmeiras sign forward Leandro, who reveals his delight at signing in their centenary year

Palmeiras have announced the permanent signing of Leandro, the 20-year-old who spent last season on loan at the São Paulo based club.

The forward moves from Grêmio, who he had been with since 2010, on a four-year deal although the transfer fee remained undisclosed.

Leandro told the Palmeiras official website how pleased he was to have signed, especially ahead of such an important season in the clubs history.

“Anyone would want to join the Palmeiras team, especially in their centenary year, and I am so happy to say that now I am a Palmeiras player.

“I wanted to negotiate a deal and I thank God that I will be able to help the club during such an important season.”

The young forward has already demonstrated his talent during his time at the club as he scored 9 goals to help them earn promotion back to the Brasileirão from Série B last season.

Alviverde aim to celebrate their 100 year anniversary with success in 2014 and Leandro will be at the forefront of that.

The forward scored on his Seleção debut against Bolivia in a friendly match just for Brazil based players in April and is targeting a place in the national team again.

“Being called up to the Brazilian national team was the realisation of my dreams as a boy.

“I want to do my job for Palmeiras this season but with God’s will I hope to be called up to defend my country again.”

Botafogo youngster Gabriel could be on his way to Porto

One of Botafogo´s starlets has been heavily linked with a move to Europe during this month´s transfer window. According to lancenet.com, Gabriel has been targeted by FC Porto of Portugal.

21 year-old defensive midfielder Gabriel enjoyed a productive first full season for the Rio de Janeiro club and outlined his ambitions to move continents by completing his registration for a European citizenship passport in December last year.

With the aid of the legendary Dutch midfielder Clarence Seedorf, Botafogo have managed to bring through a small crop of exciting youngsters and Gabriel is joined as one of the most promising by 19 year-old centre-half Doria, who has over 50 appearances for the club and has already claimed his first cap for the Brazilian national team.

Should Gabriel make the move to Porto, he will follow in the footsteps of so many of his countrymen, many of whom have enjoyed domestic and continental success with the Dragao side.

Cruzeiro complete loan signing of Grêmio forward Marcelo Martins Moreno

Cruzeiro have completed the loan signing of Grêmio forward Marcelo Martins Moreno.

The 26 year-old, who spent both the 2007 and 2008 seasons with A Raposa before joining Shakhtar Donetsk, was on loan at Flamengo last term, where he scored two goals in 16 appearances.

Having seemingly been unwanted by Grêmio Head Coach Enderson Moreira, Moreno is delighted to return to Cruzeiro and is looking forward to getting started.

"It´s with great pleasure that I officially announce my return to Cruzeiro," he said on his official Facebook page. "I am very happy to come back and wear this shirt.”

Argentinos: Borghi piensa jugar con líbero y línea de tres

BUENOS AIRES -- El entrenador de Argentinos Juniors, Claudio Borghi, afirmó el viernes que su intención es jugar con "un líbero y línea de tres" en defensa, como parte de su estrategia para formar el equipo, con vistas al Torneo Final 2014.

"Mi idea es jugar con un líbero y con línea de tres. A ese líbero lo estoy viendo físicamente como está, si aguanta, y si lo resolvemos, buscaremos como refuerzo otro delantero, sumado a (Leonardo) Pisculichi", manifestó Borghi a un canal deportivo.

El DT de Argentinos Juniors, que regresó al club tras su paso en 2009-2010, indicó que encontró un plantel "importante" para concretar el objetivo de salir de la zona de descenso: "Me queda ver cómo está el resto de los equipos para saber dónde estamos parados".

Argentinos está último en la tabla de promedios, con 1.168 (junto a Godoy Cruz de Mendoza), producto de 111 puntos sobre 95 partidos jugados.

"Necesitamos 30 puntos, porque si lográs eso, no estás lejos de pelear el campeonato. En mi primer paso, necesitábamos algo así y si uno tiene un solo objetivo, que es salvarse, entrás en nerviosismo", manifestó Borghi.

Argentinos Juniors realiza los trabajos de pretemporada en el predio de la UTA, con vistas al Torneo Final 2014, donde enfrentará en la primera fecha a Godoy Cruz de Mendoza, en el estadio Diego Armando Maradona.

Tim Vickery Column: The answer and the change occuring in Brazil ahead of the World Cup

This website might be called Sertanejo-foot. It would be an awkward name, but not inappropriate.

Sertanejo – the local country music – is certainly more popular in Brazil than samba. Surveys reveal that it is the type of music most played on Brazilian radio stations. But there is no space for this in the international perception of Brazil. Some of the contestants in the local version of ‘Big Brother’ – a ratings sensation in Brazil for almost a decade and a half – have played it up for all it is worth, donning cowboy hats in their attempt to project a down to earth, rustic and folksy image. One of them even rode that horse all the way to the millionaire first prize.

All of this would come as a huge shock to the millions abroad who might imagine that Brazil in its entirety, from the luscious sands of Leblon to the giant favela of Rocinha, can be found in the South Zone of Rio de Janeiro.

There is much more to the story, both good and bad – and this year, as never before, the world will have the chance to discover this giant country – either as tourists and fans coming over to football’s big party, or viewers of the many TV shows on Brazil that will fill up time and whet the appetite before the tournament gets underway.

One of the things that might become apparent is the extent to which the country has been mythologised, both internally and externally. For many foreigners – the French seem to have a specific weakness for this line of approach – Brazil represents the exotic, the wild, the exuberant. Samba fits nicely into this perception. The banality of country music does not.

But Brazil has also been relentlessly mythologised from the inside, for obvious reasons. First, this is a young country – not just in the sense of being ‘discovered’ by the Europeans little more than 500 years ago, but also in the fact that, as DNA research is making increasingly clear, its population was transformed by large scale late immigration from Europe and the Middle East in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

This, then, was a country in need of a national identity. Indeed, perhaps the principal explanation for the importance of football in Brazilian life is that through the World Cup their nation is making its mark on the planet, so often as winners.

But also this national identity had to be forged in a society of massive inequality. Therein lies the importance of samba to the national image. The relatively benign tropical fascism of the Getulio Vargas regime in the 1930s and 40s transformed samba into a national soundtrack – after first censoring its content.

As samba developed in Rio, then the capital, in the early decades of the twentieth century, the musicians were often persecuted. The Vargas regime put a stop to that. They became national icons (it is sadly interesting that the two moments when black Brazilians have been most central to the national identity have coincided with dictatorial regimes – the samba musicians with Vargas, and Pele with the military dictatorship in the late 60s). But, to get played on the powerful, glamorous and important new medium of radio, their songs started extolling the virtues of an orderly life. The government began subsidising the parade of the samba schools in Rio’s Carnaval – after first ensuring that the theme had to be a celebration of Brazil. The idea of Brazil as a land of happiness was a conscious creation of- and clearly interesting to - an authoritarian regime.

One of the most fascinating aspects of the protest movement that flared up last June and July was the discontent that many of those involved expressed for the myths of their nationhood. Members of Brazil’s new middle class had been able to travel abroad for the first time. Some of them had been irritated by the instant identification of Brazil with football and carnival. Indeed, this feeling would seem to explain some of the ferocity demonstrated against public spending on football tournaments. In part, perhaps, it was a psychological desire on the part of the protestors to distance themselves from myths that have been spun around them. We would seem to be dealing with a generation which is anxious to create its own identity.

Of course the protest movement contained some excesses, and also worrying fascistic trends whereby political parties per se were seen as the enemy. How can there be a democracy without the organisation of competing ideas? ‘My party is Brazil’ – a slogan that cropped up during the protests – is not an answer.

But on balance, the process was not only healthy, it was inspirational. By taking to the streets such numbers Brazilians confounded a myth they had held about themselves – that they are a passive people, easily duped into tolerating arrogant and inept government.

To be in Brazil during the Confederations Cup was to watch a country changing in front of our own eyes. The Brazil of May 2013 is not coming back. Exactly where we are heading is not yet clear. What happens with the protest movement this June and July will help forge a new Brazil – which means that fans coming over for the World Cup are in for an unforgettable experience.

We all hope it will be a wonderful tournament – football needs a great World Cup. And off the pitch there should be an international party, plus an internal dynamic of progress that is hard to predict. Visitors to Brazil will be witnesses to history – and may even go home with a few sertanejo CDs.

Spanish prosecutor asks court to pursue a complaint of fraud against Barcelona´s purchase of Neymar

The Spanish National Court prosecutor, José Perals, has asked Judge Pablo Ruz to support a case of embezzlement against Barcelona president Sandro Rosell for the purchase of Neymar on the basis that payments were ‘simulated’.

"The player’s contracts that were signed between the parties on various occasions do not match those indicated to us, suggesting that in some cases the contracts were simulated and that others were fraudulently altered," says the prosecutor.

The initial complaint came from a club member who claims not to know how much Barcelona actually spent on the striker and that this information should not have been withheld from them.

While Perals believes that it’s neither ‘urgent nor necessary‘ to call Rosell to testify , the prosecutor has asked the judge to order some inquiries, including asking FIFA to provide documentation of the purchase.