Snak

Vélez viaja sin Mauro Zárate

BUENOS AIRES -- Vélez Sarsfield se quedó sin su goleador, Mauro Zárate, para el partido del miércoles próximo ante Atlético Paranaense, por una molestia muscular en una pierna.

Zárate se quedará en Buenos Aires descansando para recuperarse de un malestar en un isquiotibial, confirmó el entrenador José Flores, quien no quiere arriesgar al futbolista.

El Turu admitió que "alguna rotación" habrá para el partido de Curitiba, por la Copa Libertadores, habida cuenta de la doble competencia.

"Tenemos planificado desde el primer día que vamos a cuidar a todos y que ante la mínima molestia o cansancio le vamos a dar descanso para que se recuperen bien. Y Mauro apareció con una molestia en el isquiotibial, nada grave, y le vamos a dar descanso", sostuvo Flores tras el entrenamiento.

El técnico dijo estar "muy conforme" con el nivel de los futbolista al tiempo que admitió que le "gusta jugar cada tres o cuatro días porque me gusta verlos jugar".

Asimismo, adelantó que con la apretada agenda del torneo Final mas la Libertadores "no viene parando nunca y esta semana que se viene vamos a tener que hacer alguna rotación".

Hahahahahahahahaha..

Det passer jo egentlig meget godt med Brasilien, nu hvor alle mulige organisationer i verdenen har peget fingre af Brasilien og deres "manhã-kultur".. Tror du det er lavet som en bittersød hævnaktion? ;-)

Bem feito!

Jejejeje....

Det også det jeg tænkte, men de har trukket reklamen-spottet tilbage eftersom det "latterliggøre" turisterne - Neymar ha også fået lidt kritik for hans medvirken....folk er sgu da en smule nærtagne efterhånden...

Alegre: "Hay que apretar los dientes"

BUENOS AIRES -- El DT de Tigre, Fabián Alegre, quien fue confirmado en su cargo tras la derrota del viernes pasado ante Colón en Santa Fe, expresó este lunes que deben apretar "los dientes" y continuar trabajando para mantenerse en la máxima categoría del fútbol argentino.

"Para revertir la situación, hay que aprentar los dientes y seguir trabajando, pero al equipo lo vi bien y confío que lo podemos sacar adelante", manifestó Alegre luego de la práctica matutina en el Hindú Club de Don Torcuato.

Alegre agradeció "el respaldo" de los dirigentes del club, y en especial de los jugadores: "Tienen un corazón grande y por eso confío que lo vamos a sacar".

A su vez, el entrenador indicó que mediante un análisis del presente de su equipo y a partir de la respuesta de los directivos y el plantel, decidió continuar en su cargo: "Cuando las cosas no salen del todo bien uno siempre tiene que preguntar".

El exdefensor de Ferro Carril Oeste y Banfield señaló que su equipo debe encontrar "soluciones" en el trabajo colectivo para recobrar "la solidez y contundencia" que supo tener a finales del año pasado.

Tigre reúne nueve puntos en el certamen, como resultado de una victoria, seis empates y dos derrotas, con dos goles a favor y tres en contra; y está décimoquinto en la tabla de promedios (1.260).

Maxi Rodríguez quedó descartado para el partido contra Nacional (U)

ROSARIO -- El delantero Maximiliano Rodríguez quedó descartado hoy para el partido que Newell´s Old Boys de Rosario sostendrá el próximo miércoles ante Nacional de Montevideo por la Copa Libertadores, a raíz de una sobrecarga muscular en los dos isquiotibiales.

Rodríguez será sometido mañana a una serie de estudios por imágines para descartar cualquier otro tipo de lesión. El lugar de Rodríguez en el equipo con el que Newell´s iniciará el encuentro ante Nacional sería ocupado por Eugenio Isnaldo, quien lo reemplazó hace una semana ante Racing por el torneo local.

El último sábado ante Argentinos Juniors Rodríguez dejó el campo de juego a los 26 minutos del segundo tiempo y fue reemplazado por Leandro Figueroa.

El probable equipo para enfrentar a Nacional estaría integrado por Nahuel Guzmán; Marcos Cáceres, Gabriel Heinze, Víctor López, Milton Casco; Ever Banega, Hernán Villalba, Lucas Bernardi; Víctor Figueroa, Ezequiel Ponce e Isnaldo.

El plantel de Newell´s viajará mañana por la tarde hacia Montevideo, luego del entrenamiento matutino en el predio de Bella Vista.

Cerro se entrenó con normalidad y está a disposición de Merlo

BUENOS AIRES -- El mediocampista de Racing Club Francisco Cerro se entrenó con normalidad tras superar un desgarro en el isquiotibial derecho y quedó a disposición del entrenador, Reinaldo Merlo, para el partido del sábado como visitante ante Atlético de Rafaela, por la décima fecha del torneo Final.

En el primer entrenamiento tras la victoria del sábado por 2-0 ante Belgrano, con la que se cortó una racha de siete partidos sin triunfos, Mostaza Merlo se encontró con una gran noticia, ya que podrá contar con el ex futbolista de Vélez, refuerzo para este campeonato, quien se lesionó en la derrota contra Boca del pasado 9 de marzo.

Cerro integró el grupo que no jugó ante Belgrano y realizó ejercicios físicos sin mayores exigencias y luego fútbol en espacios reducidos, por lo que su retorno, desde el inicio o el banco de suplentes, terminará de definirse en el transcurso de la semana.

En tanto, los que fueron titulares el sábado en el Cilindro de Avellaneda efectuaron ejercicios regenerativos durante una hora y media en la cancha auxiliar.

Por su parte, el defensor Fernando Ortiz, con una osteocondritis en su rodilla izquierda que le impide jugar desde el empate ante All Boys de la fecha 5, trabajó en forma diferenciada y su evolución es seguida de cerca por el entrenador.

De todas maneras, para el próximo encuentro podrá volver Pablo Alvarado, tras cumplir una sanción de una fecha, por lo que seguramente Yonatan Cabral dejará el equipo si es que Mostaza decide el regreso del ex zaguero de San Lorenzo.

El plantel volverá a entrenarse mañana a partir de las 9 con la intención de seguir preparando la visita a Rafaela del sábado a las 20.30.

Vidangossy offers glimpse of the past (and future?)

There are few more scenic places to watch football than in the Monumental Stadium in Santiago, home of Colo Colo, Chile’s most popular club.

Glistening in an almost impossibly blue sky, the Andes mountains supply a dazzling backdrop as a 40,000-plus crowd gathers for a game where victory will put its team seven points clear at the top of the league table.

Before the game between Colo Colo and defending champion O’Higgins, the fans could enjoy the Real Madrid vs. Barcelona clasico, which is shown on the stadium’s big screen. It is followed intently, appreciatively and passionately -- all the more so when, in the final minutes, local hero Alexis Sanchez is introduced.

Sanchez is one of their own, a player who had a successful spell with Colo Colo earlier in his career. For the national team, he is much more than an impact substitute; he is a senior striker, the most dangerous weapon in their exciting forward line.

The coming World Cup should catch Sanchez somewhere around his footballing prime, along with a highly talented generation that came up the youth ranks with him and first showed its promise in the 2007 South American Under-20 Championship.

Along with Sanchez were Arturo Vidal, Gary Medel, Mauricio Isla and Carlos Carmona, all of whom have developed into stalwarts of the senior Chile side.

There was also Mathias Vidangossy, who has not.

It was not for a lack of talent. A midfield playmaker of outrageous skill, Vidangossy looked so promising that I included him in a list of best players in the tournament. I was not the only one impressed. Villareal of Spain swooped in to buy him, and greatness surely beckoned.

For the next few years, however, Vidangossy provided a number of clubs with two moments of happiness: one when they signed him and the other when they managed to get rid of him.

He produced nothing, missed training sessions, put on weight and generally gave the sad spectacle of a human being throwing away his talent.

For the past couple of years he has been at Colo Colo but had played little part in their quest to win a 30th first-division title, which would be their first in five years.

But on Sunday that changed. The news came toward the end of the week that Vidangossy had been added to the squad to face O’Higgins. Presumably youthful coach Hector Tapia had seen something he liked in training, and when Argentine playmaker Emiliano Vecchio was injured with some 20 minutes to go, on went the errant number seven.

The game hung in the balance. Colo Colo had scored from their first attack, but as the second half wore on, O’Higgins were looking good value for an equaliser.

But that chance -- and with it O’Higgins’ dreams of retaining their title -- vanished some five minutes after Vidangossy was introduced. Playing down the left wing, he produced a remarkable piece of skill to skip around his marker before wriggling through a space so small as to be unobservable from the naked eye and squared across the face for Claudio Baeza to tap in.

Even at 2-0, there was plenty of work to be done. Soon afterward, Colo Colo had a man sent off, and O’Higgins poured forward to take advantage. It was time for Vidangossy to give a master class, coming up with a range of clever touches to jink into space or lay off a pass to a teammate.

Every time he was brought into the game, he gained time, allowing his team to breathe as he orchestrated an interesting attacking move. He also set up the play that ended with a penalty, completing a 3-0 win for his team.

It was a pressure occasion -- Sunday may prove to be the day when the title was decided -- but Vidangossy approached it with the carefree joy of a man in total control of his craft.

All of this leads to a few questions: Why has he not been doing this every week? How can he have been betraying his immense talent so much and for so long? Did all the changes come too quickly in his life? Did he lose sight of the simple pleasure of expressing himself with a ball?

Perhaps only Vidangossy has the answers, and maybe not even he will be able to rationalise everything. It could be that seeing Sanchez up on that big screen turned a key in his mind, recalling a day when they both shared the same dressing room and the same dreams.

And this leads to another, no less fascinating question: Will Vidangossy be willing and able to turn on the style again next week? He is not yet 27. Barcelona will probably never come knocking, but there is still plenty of time for Vidangossy to treat us to some more of that special ability.

Liga MX Roundup: Cruz Azul held at Leon

It´s a sign of how far the "Clasico Tapatio" has fallen that when Atlas and Chivas met this past weekend, top of the league or even playoff positions weren´t at stake. Instead, both clubs were at risk for relegation. Neither team covered itself in glory with a 1-1 draw, but in the end, Guadalajara won the derby of shame when Chivas fans in the stands attacked policemen who entered their section of the stands to try to prevent people from throwing lit flares. Several of the security forces were injured in the melee, some quite seriously.

Atlante´s 2-1 victory over Toluca on Sunday proves the Iron Colts are doing their best to buck off the threat of sinking down to a lower division. However, Puebla isn´t having as much success shaking off the burden of that possibility. The team´s 3-1 loss to Xolos of Tijuana moved the club closer to dropping down. Even Jaguares of Chiapas, who suffered a 2-0 loss to Pachuca, has a decent mathematical chance of being the team to suffer the fate of relegation at the end of the season. So does Veracruz. Every win, loss or draw for the squads in the danger zone will be vital.

At the top of the table, far from such worries, Cruz Azul clashed with a determined Leon squad fighting to make the playoffs. Los Cementeros were stymied in their efforts to collect the full three points, but the 0-0 draw didn´t help Leon advance much in the table, either. Since Toluca, the team closest to Cruz Azul in the table, lost on the weekend, Cruz Azul remains the Liga MX leader with 29 points. The squad also advanced in the CONCACAF Champions League with an earlier 5-1 victory over Major League Soccer´s Sporting Kansas City. Overall, it has to be considered a very good week for Cruz Azul.

Xolos of Tijuana also defeated their MLS opponent, the Los Angeles Galaxy, in the same tournament, yet had enough in the tank to also take down Puebla. The three goals were scored by Dario Benedetto, Fidel Martinez and Fernando Arce. Arce´s return to the starting lineup could signal a strong comeback from the attacking player. It´s perfect timing for Xolos, who move closer to a coveted spot in the top eight of the table.

Toluca, the final Liga MX team in the CCL, struggled to get past the San Jose Earthquakes. Extra time and the stress of a penalty shootout may have affected players, who looked a bit listless in the loss to Atlante. Juan Manuel Salgueiro didn´t even get Toluca on the board until the 91st minute. Even with the defeat, Toluca remains solidly in second place in Liga MX with 25 points.

Pachuca has moved up, though, with goals by Walter Ayovi and Enner Valencia securing the triumph over Chiapas and a 20-point total.

Santos Laguna and Morelia kicked off the weekend of matches with one of the most lively contests in recent memory. The 2-2 draw had both teams losing and winning at different points in the game. Juan Pablo Rodriguez scored both goals and was the standout player for the Laguneros.

This weekend, Veracruz was supposed to be a tasty little appetizer for Club America to gobble up on the way to fry bigger fish in the upcoming rivalry matchups versus Chivas and Cruz Azul. But despite coach Antonio Mohamed´s recent bluster about how the club´s fans should forget about how well Miguel Herrera had the team performing last season, it´s hard for them to move on when the contrast is so negative. Las Aguilas simply did not look sharp. The drab 0-0 draw keeps the squad in playoff position, but only just barely. If wins do not follow against the team´s most hated opponents, Mohamed will find himself under a rain of criticism.

Tigres´ recent charge up the Liga MX table hit a speed bump as Queretaro stopped the team´s progress with a 2-0 victory. Playing consistently well at home is a puzzle Tigres hasn´t seemed to solve. William Silva and Christian Bermudez took their chances well, while the Queretaro defense was stout against the efforts Tigres made to score. The result leaves Tigres in 13th place, with Queretaro a couple of spots below.

On Sunday, Dario Veron felt both the ecstasy and the agony that results from scoring goals. The Pumas player was the hero for his squad when he scored the equalizer versus Monterrey in the 48th minute. However, in the 72nd minute, Veron sent a disastrous back-pass skipping past his own goalkeeper, Jonathan Orozco, gifting Monterrey a goal and the 2-1 victory.

At present, Pumas is still fourth in the table with 18 points. Yet five clubs are within a single point of overtaking Pumas and pushing the team out of the top eight entirely. The last match days of the Clausura 2014 are counting down. The time of the season has arrived where every single result is precious and mistakes are costly.

Det også det jeg tænkte, men de har trukket reklamen-spottet tilbage eftersom det "latterliggøre" turisterne - Neymar ha også fået lidt kritik for hans medvirken....folk er sgu da en smule nærtagne efterhånden...

det kan ikke passe at de har trukket den tilbage. Alle kan da se at det er for sjov.

Violent scenes mar Clasico Tapatio

GUADALAJARA -- Chivas drew 1-1 on Saturday with Guadalajara rivals Atlas in the Clasico Tapatio, but it was what happened off the field that will live in the memory and likely have severe repercussions.

Late in the second half, from this reporter´s view in the stadium, Chivas fans in the upper tier of the south stand set off flares, with many thrown onto fellow Chivas supporters in the tier below.

Subsequently in response, a small group of police officers -- dressed in riot gear -- waded into the area and were quickly out-numbered and encircled. Chivas fans then proceeded to punch, kick and stamp police in the bleachers, with according to some reports up to eight injured and five taken to the hospital overnight. Widespread reports in the local Guadalajara press on Sunday suggested one was undergoing surgery.

Videos showed a police officer almost unconscious, with blood coming out of his head and fans continuing to attack like a pack of wild animals.

These were truly ugly scenes, bad for Chivas and Mexican football in general.

It was only through luck that there were no deaths and serious action should be taken by Mexico´s soccer authorities and by the two clubs to ensure it doesn´t happen again.

The problems had started way before the game. Threats on social networks between supporter groups are common, but the ones ahead of this Clasico Tapatio were particularly sinister and provoked a response from authorities.

The Guadalajara city government decided to set up a security barrier around the stadium, with only four points at which fans could enter, after being searched.

Emotions spilled over and tempers flared as fans were forced to wait to get past the police boundary, but the real question is how the Chivas fans were permitted to pass one of them without the flares -- and the one firework set off during the game -- being noticed and then confiscated.

In the stadium, the decision to send just a few police officers -- some reports suggest 20 -- into a large crowd of highly animated and possibly intoxicated Chivas fans also needs questioning.

In summary, the policing of the event has raised serious questions, without taking away any of the responsibility from the disgraceful behavior of a small group of fans.

To the side of where I was sitting were three young Atlas fans around 16 years old. All night they didn´t stop chanting, jumping up and down and screaming. In front was a family of around 10 Chivas fans spanning three generations and including young children. When the family stood up to leave five minutes from the end of the game, the Atlas fans lent them a hand -- one by one -- to hop over a row of seats to get out.

It was a nice scene, but one that won´t make any headlines.

The loser on Saturday was Guadalajara and the Clasico Tapatio, for which the majority inside the stadium enjoyed with the usual emotion, passion, banter and respect between two fierce rivals and neighbors.

On Sunday, Chivas responded strongly in a press statement on Sunday, repudiating the violence and saying the club will seek to ban those responsible not just from the Estadio Omnilife, but also from all Mexican soccer stadiums.

Notes from the game itself:

-- Aldo de Nigris was the man of the match for Chivas with a fine turn and finish to hand the team the lead in the ninth minute. He was a constant threat to Atlas.

-- Edgar "Tepa" Solis is looking the part on the left wing and, as a natural wide player with a good left foot, brings better balance than when Omar Bravo is there.

-- After a decent first half for Chivas, when they were both well organized and threatening on the counterattack, Chivas went missing in the second half as Atlas chased the victory and went hard after Guadalajara. It was a worry for coach Jose Luis Real and Chivas that were hanging on for the point at the end.

-- Young Chivas goalkeeper Antonio Rodriguez was exceptional on Saturday. Just 21 years old, Rodriguez made some good saves, looked comfortable and solid when called upon in his first Clasico Tapatio. It all bodes well for him for the Clasico Nacional next week against America, when the eyes of Mexico will be upon him.

-- Midfielder Jorge "Chaton" Enriquez had a frustrating night before being brought off in the 79th minute. Enriquez was generally decent at stopping Atlas´ Arturo Gonzalez from playing, but was off the pace compared to last week and slow in clearing when Gonzalez nicked the ball off him to set up the Rojinegros´ goal in the 72nd.




Passion.

http://www.youtube.com/w…ePPP537VmjI

http://www.youtube.com/w…XZZBW0DAAYc