Snak

In the first game River Plate lose, Ramón Díaz complains about the refereeing.

In the first game Boca Juniors lose, Carlos Bianchi complains about the refereeing.

Media uses the term paso a paso as soon as Racing Club manage to win two games in a row.

Argentinos Juniors coach Claudio Borghi is filmed smoking away in the dugout, during press conferences, anywhere he can get a sneaky pucho (a cigarette.)

Sports newspaper Olé uses a questionable coffee pun when referring to a Colombian player.

Olé uses a questionable negro pun when referring to a black player.

Olé uses a questionable black coffee pun when referring to a black Colombian player.

At some point in the season, the Final will be dubbed ‘the worst season ever’.

A new-look Fútbol para Todos programme will make excessive use of new camera toys. An obvious offside? Let’s see that in super slo-mo from six angles, ooh yeeaaaaah.

After two games, at least two coaches will be rumoured for the sack.

After five games, at least three coaches have left.

Whenever Vélez or Lanús win, the words ‘Model club’ appear everywhere.

Martín Palermo will be linked to almost every vacancy, apart from those teams fighting relegation.

For the teams fighting against relegation, Ricardo Caruso Lombardi will be announced as their savior.

Ramón Díaz is suspended from the River bench, leaving gormless son Emiliano to look hilariously out of his depth ‘directing’ the team for a game.

Juan Román Riquelme plays one scintillating game, leading all to state that the Boca wizard is back.

In the next game, Román is injured and misses the rest of the season.

At least one of Carlos Bianchi and Ramón Díaz to be ‘en duda’ by the time the Superclásico comes round. If Boca and River are both playing like Barcelona and fighting neck-and-neck for the title, it’ll be whichever of them is just behind on goal difference.

The Superclásico itself is a massive disappointment like always, but that won’t stop newspapers talking about it for three months before and the same time afterwards.

One derby is accompanied by a club commentator who completely loses it, such as this Gimnasia fan reporter last year:

A young star shines for three matches, is immediately labeled the ‘Next Messi’.

A middling Primera journeyman performs above-average. The media and public demands he displaces one of those fancy-pants prima donnas playing overseas in the Argentina World Cup squad.

Any Primera footballer tells cameras, “it’s a long season”, when it really is not.

A promising young talent gets caught in a nightclub/ speeding/ posing with a gun, and it’s put down to ‘youthful high-jinks".

The barra brava of a struggling club decide to lend a helping hand by going down armed to training and scaring the bejeezus out of players.

Nobody has a clue when any teams are playing due to endless tinkering with the schedule.

A referee decides to make himself the centre of attention by preening like a peacock in the middle of the pitch. An ill-advised press conference will probably follow. Mr Lunati, we’re looking at you.

A close friend confides to you that they would rather their team lifted the 2014 Final than Argentina the World Cup.

You come to accept this thinking as both completely outrageous and perfectly normal.

A Botinera/WAG wannabe strips down to her smalls in the stand, in order to ‘support’ the team.

TV cameras immediately zoom to said wannabe, and indeed any other attractive young girl in a way that should have the operator put on a register.

Fútbol para Todos seamlessly replace their inappropriate political endorsements during commentary with inappropriate product endorsements during commentary.

Halfway through the season you wonder why you watch Argentine football rather than the Premier League, before remembering those games are shown at 10:30am on Saturday and you’ve only just got home.

You embrace this new nocturnal regime (of course you do, Dracula), and by the end of the season are screaming for your adopted club to take home the gold.

90% af dem går hjem.

Så er spørgsmålet vel blot hvilke af udsagnene går ikke hjem...tror turneringen bliver ligeså jævnbyrdig som sidst...

Júlio César leaves QPR for Toronto

Brazil’s number one will play for the MLS side.

On Friday Júlio César will finalise a loan move from current club QPR to Toronto, according to Globo Esporte. The 34-year-old has been out of favour at the West London club and will join the Canadian outfit on a loan, the length of which is yet to be decided.

In his last game for the QPR, Júlio César conceded four goals as the team was outclassed 4-0 by Everton in the FA Cup.

As well as the Brazilian, Toronto also boast Jermaine Defore, ex-Tottenham, and Michael Bradley, ex-Roma, on their books. The team are currently managed by ex-QPR star Ryan Nelsen.

On Tuesday, Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari will name his squad for the friendly against South Africa on March 5. This will be the last friendly before the World Cup squad is announced and Júlio César will be hopeful of playing a part.

This year’s CFU Club Championship set for March-April

This year’s edition of the finest club competition in the Caribbean is just a few months away. Here’s the build-up to it, including some background on the Championship, the recently announced groups and participating teams…

The CFU Club Championship is seen as a significant tournament by many clubs in the region, as it serves as the qualifying platform for the CONCACAF Champions League (CCL). Beginning March 21 and ending April 20, the top three finishers proceed to the CCL where they’ll meet the best of the best from United States, Canada and Central America.

Here’s how it functions: the Championship is only open to the champions and runners-up of each Caribbean association’s league and registration for all interested parties closed on the final day of December last year (so the respective league had to finish before the start of the new year in order to register). CONCACAF has tried to widen its entry criteria, rendering it perfectly legitimate for amateur as well as professional clubs to participate.

So in the 2014 edition, a total of 13 sides from nine associations in the Caribbean will test their mettle against each other, with hopes of concluding the Championship with qualification in the bag. Haitian team Valencia have been given a bye to the final round of qualifying as the top performers among the entrants in last year’s Championship and CCL.

CFU President Gordon Derrick said: “I consider them the lucky 13 and three of them will advance to face top flight competition in the CONCACAF Champions League. We in the CFU executive are encouraged by this response and bodes well for our agenda of developing football at every level in the Caribbean. I want to wish every team success in this competition and those who move forward , may they continue to make the CFU proud.”

Every group is played on a round-robin basis, hosted by one of the teams at a centralized venue. The winners of each group advance to the final round to join Valencia.

Group 1 (hosted by Bayamón in Puerto Rico)

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
Puerto Rico Bayamón 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Cayman Islands Bodden Town 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Curaçao Centro Dominguito 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Guadeloupe USR Sainte-Rose 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0


Featuring: Bayamón of Puerto Rico, Bodden Town of Cayman Islands, Centro Dominguito of Curacao and USR Sainte-Rose of Guadeloupe (*Note: USR Sainte-Rose applied to enter the competition after both CS Moulien and L’Etoile de Morne-à-l’Eau, the Guadeloupe league champion and runner-up respectively, declined to enter)

Team to watch out for: Bayamón will have the home and squad advantage in that they boast a slightly more technical and experienced side than the others. Sainte-Rose are somewhat of a wildcard as their route to the competition wasn’t the most conventional and little is known about them.

Group 2 (hosted by Mirebalais in Haiti)

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
Haiti Mirebalais 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Jamaica Waterhouse 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Suriname Inter Moengotapoe 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Trinidad and Tobago Caledonia AIA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0


Featuring: Mirebalais of Haiti, Waterhouse of Jamaica, Inter Moengotapoe of Suriname and Caledonia AIA of Trinidad & Tobago

Team to watch out for: Caledonia AIA are frequent qualifiers for the CCL, albeit they usually surrender to those Central American teams which have the upper edge on them. Waterhouse aren’t the same force without their talismanic striker Jermaine ‘Tuffy’ Anderson (who departed for a pro contract in El Salvador). I have an inkling Caledonia will claim top spot in this group.

Group 3 (hosted by Harbour View in Jamaica)

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
Jamaica Harbour View 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Guyana Alpha United 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Suriname Notch 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0



Featuring: Harbour View of Jamaica, Alpha United of Guyana, Defence Force of Trinidad & Tobago and Notch of Suriname

Team to watch out for: This is quite a balanced group. Defence Force ran rampant in the Trinidad top-flight last year and offensively pose a threat with the likes of goal machine Devorn Jorsling in their ranks. Alpha United are the first Guyanese side to feature in the CCL (did so in 2011) and will fancy their chances of giving Harbour View a run for their money. Notch are the underdogs of the group.

According to the CFU, the host for the finals will be announced at a later date.

Broadening appeal to wider variety of teams not always practical

Indeed, the CFU has made their intentions clear of inviting a wider variety of clubs around the Caribbean to the competition, by altering the registration process. However, it isn’t always that easy for many smaller islands which struggle to meet the event’s entry fee, as well as dealing with transport issues and rosters. This may help explain the reasons behind CS Moulien’s and L’Etoile de Morne-à-l’Eau’s withdrawal from entering. The notion of increasing and broadening the number of sides from differing nations is, in theory, a good one. But in reality, it doesn’t always work out and that is a shame because these smaller clubs will never be able to push on and make strides.

Still large gap between best in Caribbean and best in US, Canada, Central America

Usually, Caribbean teams come unstuck in the CCL against superior opponents from America, Canada and indeed Central America. There is still a significant gap in quality and stature between the regions. Only one CFU member has made it as far as the semifinals since 2008 – the Puerto Rico Islanders made a super run in the 2008-2009 edition, playing and beating teams like Santos Laguna of Mexico and Honduran side Marathón before narrowly losing to Liga MX heavyweights Cruz Azul in the semis.

And more recently, the Islanders have seen off and humiliated MLS clubs in the CCL, recording a resounding 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Galaxy and eliminating them from the 2010-11 Champions League preliminary round. Apart from that historic feat, there has been very little to shout about for Caribbean representatives in the Champions League. For instance, in the 2013-14 edition – all three teams from the Caribbean (Connection, Valencia, Caledonia) finished rock bottom of their respective groups.

General Facts

Since the Championship’s inception in 1997, only teams from Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Puerto Rico have claimed the title.

W Connection (Trinidad) leads the way with 3 titles, followed by Joe Public (Trinidad). Puerto Rico Islanders (North American Soccer League) have also won the tournament twice, bringing home the cup in 2010 and 2011.

Anguilla, French Guiana, Saint Maarten, the Bahamas and Dominican Republic have never entered the CFU Club Championship – another six member associations have only sent a team on one occasion.

In the tournament’s most recent edition, only nine out of 30 eligible member associations sent a team to the competition.

São Paulo coach Muricy Ramalho surprised and worried by Pato arrival

The São Paulo boss talks about the club’s knew signing and says that he didn’t expect Corinthians to let the striker join the Tricolor.

São Paulo’s 2-0 victory in the São Paulo state championship was only a sub-topic in Thursday’s post-match press conference at the Morumbi. The waiting media was more interested in talking about the arrival of troubled striker Alexandre Pato.

Muricy Ramalho, the coach, admits that he felt pressure from the fans even before the signing was made and, during Thursday’s victory, organised fan groups abused Pato.

“This is a problem that we are going to have to look at. The player needs to feel good and feel welcome. If not, it’s complicated. We have to think about it,” said Muricy.

“I think it would be better if everybody accepted it and understood that this is our squad from now on. He wasn’t in a good way when he came back from Milan, I don’t know what happened. He came from a rival, but he is just a football player,” he completed.

‘Little King’ Juninho leaves big gap following retirement

For all its faults, you could never accuse Brazilian football of ageism. Most obviously, it celebrates youth with unmatched fervour, catapulting players to national – and increasingly global – fame before puberty has yet loosened its fearful grip. The Campeonato Brasileiro at times resembles nothing if not an adventure playground, where teenage savants run rings around lumpen-heeled centre-backs in the hope of hitting it big on YouTube.

But this is also a country in which the game’s older heads can thrive. A huge number of veterans – both returning Brazilians and a few notable gringos – have impressed in recent seasons, showing the young upstarts that, when it comes to football at least, experience can still trump the vim of adolescence.

This has its advantages: storied stars attract international interest and put bums on seats. A 33-year-old Ronaldinho is still a big deal, while in Zé Roberto, Alex, Clarence Seedorf and others, Brazil can boast players who lit up the Champions League in the not-too-distance past. While Série A cannot yet compete with Europe for the attentions of the very best players in the prime of their careers, the bookends at least provide plenty of joy.

At the start of 2014, however, Brazilian football has begun to look like something of an elephants’ graveyard. For just weeks after Seedorf hung up his boots, supporters were forced into mourning again as another beloved idol slipped into the dark night of retirement on Monday.

The departed this time was Juninho Pernambucano – he of glory days at Olympique Lyonnais, intermittent magic for Brazil and utter mastery of the art of the free-kick. "The time has come," the 39-year-old told reporters. "You can´t put it off forever. I´m looking forward to a good break."

While Lyon fanatics will remember him fondly (this reporter lived in the city for a year during his pomp and he was revered like the unofficial king of the world), it is at Vasco da Gama that his absence will be most keenly felt. Supporters of the Rio de Janeiro club clasped Juninho to their collective breast no fewer than three times, going through thick and thin with the man they call O Reizinho (The Little King).

His first six-year stint at the club yielded two national titles and a Libertadores – a period of success Vasco have not come remotely close to repeating since. Juninho was instrumental for the Gigante da Colina during that spell, unlocking defences with his crisp passing and, of course, the bewitching dead balls that would become his trademark.

Seven Ligue 1 titles followed in France, before a brief money-spinning sojourn in Qatar. He announced his return to Vasco in 2011, agreeing to earn a basic wage of around £55 per week – only slightly above Brazil´s national minimum. "This isn´t a marketing ploy,” he insisted. “Vasco and I are partners, in joy and in sorrow.”

That gesture, so at odds with the stereotype of the modern footballer, cemented Juninho´s status as a deity in the minds of Vascaínos. The midfielder was not simply coming home, but doing so on terms that took the club´s shaky financial position into account – and in a manner that acknowledged his own emotional debt to the fans.

The years since have, in truth, been testing, with Vasco tormented by unpaid wages, poor form and in-fighting. Juninho was superb on the pitch but grew so frustrated with boardroom chicanery that he left again, to New York Red Bulls in 2013. He stayed but six months in the Big Apple, pitching up at São Januário for the third and final time in July.

In what would turn out to be his final game, against Santos in November, he lasted just 10 minutes before limping off. He missed the final weeks of the season, looking on helplessly as Vasco plunged towards Série B for the second time in a decade. Age, finally, had caught up with him.

"Playing until now was a privilege,” he said on Monday. “It was harder than I would have imagined, but the effort was worth it." Millions of fans in Brazil and France would heartily agree. His retirement – like that of Seedorf before him – leaves a void that will not easily be filled.

Copa Libertadores Group Stages Start Next Week

Six Brazilian clubs enter continental competition, including Rio´s Flamengo and Botafogo.

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The first round of the 2014 Copa Libertadores – the group stages – kick-off next week, and the greatest prize in South American club football potentially has two Carioca entrants. The Libertadores is made up of 32 clubs across South America and Mexico, who were invited to enter in 1998, with teams split into eight groups of four with the top two in each progressing to the knock-out phase.

Matches are subsequently played over two legs to determine the champion. Recent years have been dominated by the Brazilians, with the last four editions being won by Internacional, Santos, Corinthians and Atlético-MG.

This year Botafogo must pass a preliminary round to progress to the competition itself. Last week, they played the first round of their qualifier away to Deportivo Quito of Ecuador.

Yet with a second leg at the Maracanã Stadium tonight (Wednesday) hopes remain high that the Glorioso can reach the group stage. It would be their first appearance in the tournament for eighteen years.

The other Rio side, with their place already booked in the first round after their Copa do Brasil triumph last November, is Brazil’s biggest club, Flamengo. The Rubro-Negro have been drawn in Group 7 alongside Bolívar of Bolivia, Emelec of Ecuador and Mexico’s Club Léon. They kick-off their campaign next week in Mexico against Léon.

Coach Jayme de Ameida has used his first-choice players sparingly thus far in the state championship, the Campeonato Carioca, and there is indication his ploy is reaping rewards on the pitch for the club.

Flamengo comprehensively dispatched Macaé on Sunday in the Campeonato Carioca, 5-2. Number nine Hernane, scorer of 35 goals last year, bagged the first four in the match as he finds form before continental competition.

After a sailing start to the Carioca tournament, Flamengo are looking for their first Libertadores crown since 1981, when their team was led by former Seleção icon Zico. They could become the fifth successive Brazilian club to lift the trophy.

Since its launch in 1960, the tournament is not only the most prestigious in South America but one of the most respected titles in club football. The FIFA World Club Cup, held in December each year, is often eagerly anticipated as it gives one South American club an opportunity to pit its wits against one of Europe’s finest.

Despite recent achievements, Brazil are not the most successful nation in the history of the Libertadores. Argentine clubs have a total of twenty-two titles, whilst Brazilian outfits have seventeen. The most successful Brazilian clubs in the history of the competition are Paulista. São Paulo and Santos have both won the tournament on three occasions, the latter as recently as 2011.

Their triumph eventually led to the final of the World Club Cup and a meeting with Barcelona, considered at the time the greatest team on the planet. In a contest dubbed “Messi versus Neymar” the Catalans ran out easy winners 4-0.

In the same way that the superior financial muscle of the Europeans gives them a distinct advantage, the same applies to Brazil and the Copa Libertadores. The strengthening of the country’s economy, despite a slowing of pace over the last year, has given them a massive boost over their South American opponents.

Brazil have six entrants in this year’s tournament; Atlético-MG, Cruzeiro, Flamengo, Grêmio, Atlético-PR and Botafogo. Defending champions Atlético-MG and current Brasileirão title holders Cruzeiro must go in as favorites, and it would bewhilst Rio’s entrants try go one better than Fluminense, who reached the final in 2008 only to lose on penalties to Ecuadorian club LDU Quito.

Fluminense Beat Bangu 1×0 in Carioca: Daily

Fluminense go second in 2014 Campeonato Carioca table after three straight wins.

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Fluminense overcame intense heat and a terrible playing surface to beat Bangu 1-0 in the fifth round of the 2014 Campeonato Carioca. It was Flu’s third successive victory, the first time they have achieved such a feat since April last year, when they beat Caracas in the Libertadores, and Bangu and Volta Redonda in the Carioca.

Young striker Michael, banned last year after failing a drugs test, scored the game’s only goal in the first half. The three points took the Tricolor into second place with ten points from five matches, level with Flamengo who play today.

Striker Rafael Sóbis said Flu were finally finding rhythm this year. “It is difficult to score a goal on this pitch [Bangu´s Estádio Moça Bonita].

“We are finding a balance and this is important. We played well and didn’t take any risks,” he said at the final whistle.

Seleção striker Fred sat this game out and is only expected to return for Saturday’s Fla-Flu classíco. Even so, Fluminense controlled the first half and deservedly took the lead on 27 minutes.

Jean crossed deep from the right flank and Michael rose above his marker to head the ball past former Fluminense stopper Rafael. Once again the side’s most dangerous outlet was Argnetine Darío Conca, whose passing was a threat throughout the opening 45 minutes as Flu had several chances to extend their advantage.

Nense wilted slightly in the second half as the sun continued to punishingly beat down. Coach Renato Gaúcho brought on Biro Biro, recently called up to the Brazil U-21 squad, for Michael. But it was Bangu who went closest to scoring, Diego Cavalieri forced into a smart stop from Almir’s free-kick as the visitors absorbed pressure late in the game.

Yet Fluminense managed to hold tight for their second straight 1-0 win. This afternoon, Flamengo take on Macaé while in-form Vasco meet Botafogo in the first Carioca classíco of 2014.

Flamengo & Vasco Win in Campeonato Carioca: Daily

Flamengo top of league in 2014 Campeonato Carioca with four wins from five.

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Flamengo and Vasco picked up three points in the fifth round of the Campeonato Carioca yesterday to take the top two spots in the table. Flamengo thrashed Macaé in the afternoon before Vasco edged past a reserve Botafogo side in the first Carioca clássico of the year.

Striker Hernane scored four goals as Flamengo beat Macaé 5-2 in Volta Redonda. The rout put Flamengo back top of the state league with thirteen points from five matches.

For Hernane, the club’s leading scorer last year, this was the perfect preparation prior to Fla’s Copa Libertadores opener next week. Macaé had the chance to take the lead when Marquinho was felled by Léo Moura inside the penalty area.

Yet Marco Goiano saw his spot-kick saved by Felipe. Macaé were punished further by two goals from Hernane in ten minutes.

Marquinho then pulled one back but Hernane completed his hat-trick just before the interval to make it 3-1 to Flamengo. And he picked up where he left off after the break, netting his and Flamengo’s fourth seven minutes after the restart.

The game petered out after that but there was time for two more goals in the closing stage. Waldir jinked into the area and curled an effort past Felipe to score Macaé’s second, before Negueba’s drive from the edge of the area rounded off the goal fest.

A second half header from Thalles gave Vasco a 1-0 win over Botafogo at the Maracanã Stadium. The Cruz-Maltino were the better side but Botafogo only had a second string out in anticipation of their Copa Libertadores preliminary round second leg tie against Deportivo Quito this week.

The win puts Vasco in second, two points behind Flamengo. They have scored eleven goals without conceding in their last three outings.

Campeonato Carioca Round Five Results in Full:

Madureira 3-0 Audax
Volta Redonda 1-1 Friburguense
Bangu 0-1 Fluminense
Bonsucesso 0-2 Nova Iguaçu
Flamengo 5-2 Macaé
Resende 3-3 Boavista
Cabofriense 2-1 Duque de Caxias
Vasco 1-0 Botafogo


http://riotimesonline.co…024x512.png

Guillermo Barros Schelotto: "Nunca sentimos que podíamos perder"

BUENOS AIRES -- El director técnico de Lanús, Guillermo Barros Schelotto, reconoció el jueves que su equipo "no jugó como él quería", pero remarcó que "nunca sintió que podían perder" tras el triunfo sobre Caracas de Venezuela por 1-0 que le permitió avanzar a la fase de grupos de la Copa Libertadores 2014.

"Fue un partido parejo, trabado, con chances para los dos, pero no jugamos bien. Igual nunca sentimos que podíamos perder", afirmó Barros Schelotto.

"Ellos fueron inteligentes y no nos dejaron jugar. Pero nosotros teníamos la tranquilidad de haber ganado (2-0) en Venezuela", agregó.

Barros Schelotto, por último, se refirió a lo qué significa jugar la Libertadores.

"Es, sin dudas, el torneo más importante, pero no hay una fórmula para ganarlo. Si hay cosas para tener en cuenta, como el nivel de los rivales. Acá das una posibilidad y te anotan, en el torneo local no", comparó.

El plantel granate, que el jueves incorporó al lateral uruguayo Alejandro Silva (refuerzo procedente de Olimpia de Paraguay), volverá el viernes a los entrenamientos en el Polideportivo de la institución.

El equipo que dirige Guillermo Barros Schelotto integrará el grupo 3 junto a Cerro Porteño, de Paraguay; Deportivo Cali, de Colombia; y O´Higgins, de Chile y debutará en el torneo Final el próximo lunes frente a Belgrano, en Córdoba.