Snak

Walter in good physical shape according to Fluminense’s fitness coach but Fred not fully fit yet

Fluminense fitness coach Alexandre Mendes has talked about two of Flu’s star assets and discussed their physical conditions to the Brazilian press.

Newspaper Lance reported quotes from Mendes about national team striker Fred and Walter, who is on loan from Porto.

Firstly talking about Walter, who has had his physical shape questioned numerous times, Mendes said: “With regard to him (Walter).

“He is an extremely professional player. He has fulfilled all the goals proposed by the technical committee to him. He has pleased us very much (with regard to his medical tests).

“Visually, his mobility and the intensity with which he has worked with has pleased us.”

Fred has suffered from injury and fitness problems in the early parts of 2014, which is a concern with the World Cup just six months away.

Fluminense’s fitness coach however expects the national team striker to be fully fit in two or three week’s time.

He said: “He is expected to be better than he was.

“He has not done a different job compared to the other players, but logical each case is unique.

“The developments we have seen are very good and I hope that in two or three weeks he is physically much better than it is now.”

HA! Fiks idé, jeg tror bare næppe at nogen af klubberne vil være interesseret i at bruge dem. Ellers tror jeg gerne hardcore fans begynder at flippe helt ud, ud med landsholdet ind med klubholdet!


Faktisk er Palmeiras´ ganske pæn....

http://www.football-shir…ition_23268

Botafogos "Garrincha" jubilæums trøje holder hele vejen.

A - http://www.subsidesports…3-2014.html

B - http://www.subsidesports…inting.html

Ja fogo er begyndt at få nogle fede trøjer....

Vasco´s special edition er nu også ganske pæn...

http://www.football-shir…o-third.jpg

Alajuelense dreams of Club World Cup

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica -- The objective for Alajuelense in 2014 is clear: qualify for the 2014 FIFA Club World Cup.

It may seem like a difficult mission for the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinalist, especially when the quality of the other seven teams is taken into consideration. The Manudos realize, though, that this type of opportunity does not present itself often. They have decided to focus all their efforts on the winning the confederation’s title for the third time and first since 2004.

An all-Central American pairing against Panama’s Arabe Unido in March awaits.

“The last time La Liga won CONCACAF, we did not have the option of going to the Club World Cup and that always left us without a taste,” said Raul Pinto, the club’s president. “Now, in this semester, we are fighting and the priority is to get to that World Club."

That desire explains why head coach Oscar Ramirez has changed his starting lineups and decided to experiment in the domestic league. Five games into the 2014 Costa Rican Verano, Alajuelense has already used 25 of 30 registered players.

As its three win, two loss record indicates, the results have been mixed.

"It´s hard to be among the first eight CONCACAF regardless of what has passed, indicating that they will all be tough games ," commented Ramirez.

Defeating Club America at the Azteca

Alajuelense realizes, more than most, how arduous it is to compete against the top squads from Mexico and the United States, facing off against some of their best in recent years.

"To get to the Club World Cup, we will have to overcome rivals such as Toluca and Cruz Azul, two teams that are on top of Mexican soccer,” noted Pinto. “But we got the players to believe in the Estadio Azteca.”

Pinto is referring to the fact that Alajuelense defeated Club America twice in Group 4 play last year, both times by identical 1-0 scores. The win in Mexico City on October 22 secured passage into quarterfinals and left everyone around the club believing that even greater successes were possible.

First to Panama

First things first, though. The Rojinegros must get past Arabe Unido, a task that is filled with challenges.

Ramirez has been analyzing the Panamanians closely and took a scouting trip to watch them in person this past weekend, while his side was idle.

"It (Arabe Unido) is a very similar to a team we faced (in the group stage), (Sporting) San Miguelito,” explained Ramirez on his return. “Maybe it´s a little more defensive. It forms a weapons block close to its area that is hard to pass and it counterattacks quickly.”

Arabe won the 2012 Panamanian Apertura and advanced to the CCL’s quarterfinals thanks to a 1-0 win over the Houston Dynamo on the last day of group play. The Expreso Azul has experienced some changes in player personnel, but Ramirez is taking nothing for granted.

"It has not changed much, it has the same manners,” said the 49-year-old, a five-time champion as head coach. “It is trying to assemble a midfield, but the people at the top are the same and back is a playing constant."

Alajuelense open the quarterfinals at home on March 10, before shifting to Panama for the second leg 10 days later.

Vasco´s special edition er nu også ganske pæn...

http://www.football-shir…o-third.jpg

den er faktisk ret flot - måske fordi det bare ligner en almindelig polo.

RoRo scorede i øvrigt 2 mål i nat - han er skarp for tiden. Mangler Manchester United ikke nogle gode spillere?

Kayokay - ja det var vis midtugerunde i Colombia, Honduras og Panama - RoRo skal nok n¨VM-truppen, iøvrigt tillykke med Fogo.

Copa Libertadores Wrap: Wallyson stars, Atletico PR stage fightback

Wallyson has scored a hat-trick to send Botafogo into the Copa Libertadores group stages after they defeated Deportivo Quito 4-1 on aggregate.

Botafogo won Wednesday´s second leg in Rio de Janeiro 4-0 to overturn their 1-0 defeat in Ecuador last week, with Wallyson scoring the first three goals for the home side.

http://www.youtube.com/w…NB4SaAxzqrc


The visitors entered the Maracana with a slight advantage thanks to Victor Estupinan´s goal in Quito but with a strong crowd cheering on the hosts, Botafogo were the favourites to progress.

The Brazilian side dominated possession throughout the match but had to wait until the 37th minute to notch their first goal, with Wallyson volleying home from Jorge Wagner´s flicked header.

Nicolas Lodeiro teed up Botafogo´s second goal with the Uruguayan midfielder releasing Wallyson into the left channel in the 67th minute and the 25-year-old Brazilian striker burst forward before cutting inside a defender to score.

Wallyson completed his hat-trick with 10 minutes remaining, again getting in behind Quito´s defence on a fast break and picking up Elias´ pass before finishing past visiting goalkeeper Rolando Ramirez.

Henrique wrapped up Botafogo´s win with a scrappy goal in second-half injury time.

It was a good day for Brazilian clubs with Atletico Paranaense pulling off a late comeback to overcome Sporting Cristal on penalties in a match that involved four red cards.


http://www.youtube.com/w…BOpB3yXHePw

In the 19th minute, both sides lost a player after Zezinho of Atletico PR and Cristal´s Adan Balbin clashed.

Cristal had arrived in Brazil with a 2-1 lead after victory in the first leg and, while the hosts levelled the tie just after the hour-mark through Manoel, Irven Avila´s goal just a minute later put the Peruvian visitors back in front.

Alexis Cossio was the next Cristal player sent off when he received his second yellow card in the 66th minute but heading into second-half stoppage time, the away team looked like they would hold on.

But in the 96th minute, Marco Ortiz conceded a penalty and was sent off and Atletico PR´s Ederson converted from the spot to force a shootout.

Cristal slotted their first three penalties to lead 3-2 and when Nathan missed Atletico PR´s fourth spot-kick, the home side again looked in an untenable situation.

But Cristal missed their next two attempts, while Natanael Pimienta kept Atletico PR alive, and the Brazilians eventually triumphed when Pedro Aquino missed from the spot for the visitors.

Liga MX Preview: Cruz Azul set to continue unbeaten run

League leaders Cruz Azul will be expected to maintain their unbeaten start to Liga MX when they host Atlante on Sunday.

Cruz Azul have won four and drawn one of their opening five games in the Liga MX´s Clausura season and will be the favourites for victory when they travel to 15th-placed Atlante.

Argentinean pair Mauro Formica and Mariano Pavone are likely to be central to Cruz Azul´s chances.

Both Argentines have two goals in the Clausura with Formica having scored the opener in his side´s 2-0 victory away to Guadalajara last week.

Cruz Azul lead Liga MX by a point from America, while Toluca are third on 10.

America could move top of the table for 24 hours when they host fifth-placed Pachuca on Saturday, while Toluca will look to keep pressure on the top two when they welcome Chiapas to the Estadio Nemesio Diez on Sunday.

Bottom club Tigres UANL are the only side in Liga MX yet to win in the Clausura campaign and will look to end that run when they host ninth-placed Santos Laguna.

In other fixtures in round six, Tijuana will host Monterrey on Friday, Pumas UNAM will visit Leon, Atlas are set to face Morelia, while Puebla will clash with Guadalajara and Queretaro must take on Veracruz.

River: Ramón espera por Carbonero y Kranevitter

SAN LUIS/BUENOS AIRES -- El entrenador de River Plate, Ramón Díaz, aseguró el miércoles tras la victoria de su equipo ante el seleccionado local por 3-1 que tiene confianza que tanto Carlos Carbonero como Matías Kranevitter puedan ser tenidos en cuenta para jugar ante Gimnasia LP el domingo en el inicio de Torneo Final.

El entrenador del equipo Millonario aseguró en conferencia de prensa: "Espero que puedan jugar el domingo, ya veremos cuando regresemos a Buenos Aires cómo están y allí vamos a decidir, son jugadores importantes y ojalá podamos contar con ellos".

Asimismo, los volantes de River, Kranevitter y Carbonero, se entrenaron de manera diferenciada en el predio de Ezeiza y están a la espera del cuerpo médico y técnico para evaluar los pasos a seguir con sus respectivas lesiones.

El colombiano Carbonero padece sinovitis en la rodilla izquierda y realizó tareas kinésicas, en tanto que Kranevitter, que fue dado de alta ayer por una gastroenterocolitis, trabajó en el gimnasio con una rutina de fortalecimiento muscular.

Los dos jugadores que iban a ser titulares el domingo van a ser revisados el jueves por el médico del plantel, Rafael Giulietti, al regreso del resto del plantel de San Luis y junto con el entrenador, Ramón Díaz, decidirán si son tenidos en cuenta o los reservan para la segunda fecha.

De no llegar Carbonero, el reemplazante sería Juan Menseguez, en tanto que por Kranevitter podría jugar Crístian Ledesma que jugó sólo 45 minutos en el amistoso ante la selección de San Luis en el cual los suplentes ganaron por 3-1.

Los jugadores titulares que se quedaron trabajando en Buenos Aires, se entrenaron en el predio de Ezeiza por la tarde con una rutina de ejercicios técnicos-tácticos y el jueves por la tarde en el Monumental se realizará la práctica de fútbol.

De este modo los posibles 11 para enfrentar al Lobo platense en el Monumental el domingo a las 21.30 horas serían: Marcelo Barovero; Gabriel Mercado, Jonatan Maidana y Eder Balanta; Carbonero o Menseguez, Leonardo Ponzio, Kranevitter o Ledesma y Leonel Vangioni; Manuel Lanzini; Teo Gutiérrez y Fernando Cavenaghi.