Snak

Bianchi haría cuatro cambios en Boca

BUENOS AIRES -- El entrenador de Boca Juniors Carlos Bianchi realizará cuatro variantes el miércoles para el clásico frente a San Lorenzo de Almagro, con la inclusión del emblema Juan Román Riquelme entre los titulares.
Además, reaparecerán entre los titulares Daniel Cata Díaz, Pablo Ledesma y Nicolás Colazo, en relación al equipo que igualó sin goles ante Colón el pasado fin de semana.

De esta manera, y de cara al encuentro de la decimocuarta fecha del torneo Final que iniciará a las 20.10, dejarán su lugar en el equipo Fernando Gago, cuya lesión en la rodilla lo dejó fuera del torneo y con el enigma sobre si podrá estar en el Mundial, Claudio Pérez, suspendido, Juan Sánchez Miño y Cristian Erbes, estos dos por cuestiones tácticas.

Así, el once inicial que pondrá en cancha Bianchi será el siguiente: Agustín Orion; Hernán Grana, Díaz, Juan Forlín, Emanuel Insúa; Ledesma, Federico Bravo, Colazo; Riquelme; Juan Manuel Martínez y Emmanuel Gigliotti. Sin dudas que el cambio más saliente es el de Riquelme, que fue preservado y ni siquiera viajó a Santa Fe la fecha pasada, por Gago, mientras que también se destaca el ingreso de Díaz, que se recupera de una fractura en el tabique nasal, por Pérez.

El plantel se movió en la tarde del martes de manera liviana y a puertas cerradas en el complejo Pedro Pompilio. En un primer momento los jugadores hicieron ejercicios con balón, para pasar luego a un partido de fútbol informal con arqueros improvisados.

Quienes no participaron del ensayo y estuvieron en un costado de la cancha dialogando con Bianchi fueron los delanteros Martínez y Gigliotti.

En tanto, el defensor Leandro Marín se resintió del desgarro en su isquiotibial derecho sufrido el 16 de marzo ante Argentinos Juniors y estará inactivo al menos por dos semanas.

Por otro lado, se conoció un principio de acuerdo entre Boca y Liverpool de Inglaterra para jugar la Copa Intercontinental de 1978, aunque ambas dirigencias deben seguir dialogando para fijar la fecha de disputa.

Go TEAM USA !!! Let´s Nuke some Eurotrash !

Vice President of the United States Joe Biden to attend World Cup match

Vice President of the United States Joe Biden is set to attend at match at this summer’s World Cup in Brazil.

The 71 year-old took in United States 1-1 draw with England at the 2010 World Cup and believes the tournament is an unmissable spectacle.

“It was an honour to be at the last World Cup, watching Spain win,” he said, as reported by mlssoccer.com. “It was a thrill to actually stand here with the cup, it´s the real deal.

“You have to attend a World Cup, if you ever wonder what it means to people. It’s the most unusual sporting event I’ve ever attended, and I’ve attended thousands, probably, in my career. It’s a feel, and you can feel it even before you get anywhere near the stadium, you can feel it even before you land.

“It’s in the air, it’s a palpable sense of energy that I’ve never quite experienced before. It’s the most consequential sporting event in the world. It’s amazing how deeply, deeply, deeply passionate every country is about the World Cup."

Argentina - Primera División - Torneo Final

Olimpo x Argentinos Juniors 3-0
Velez Sarsfield x Quilmes 1-3

Costa Rica - Primera División - Torneo de Verano

Alajuelenese x Carmelita 1-0

Guatemala - Liga Nacional - Clasura

Universidad SC x Xelaju 2-1

Peru - Copa Inca

Universitario de Desportes x Los Caimanes 0-0

CONCACAF Champions League: Cruz Azul 0 Toluca 0

Cruz Azul were denied a goal for offside, while Toluca hit the post as a thrilling first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League final finished 0-0.

Toluca will head home for the second leg next week with a slight advantage after avoiding defeat in Mexico City on Tuesday, but both the visitors and Cruz Azul would have ended the match rueing missed opportunities and wondering how they failed to score.

The home side´s Marco Fabian hit the back of the net in the first half only to have his goal ruled out correctly for offside and Toluca midfielder Antonio Rios struck the base of the post from long range with three minutes remaining in the biggest chances of the match.

The all-Mexican final started slowly but, in the 35th minute, Cruz thought they had hit the front when Toluca goalkeeper Alfredo Talavera could only parry a long shot to Fabian and the 24-year-old winger finished calmly, only for the linesman to correctly raise his flag.

Soon after, the home crowd again leapt out of their seats when Fabian unleashed from the edge of the box, but the ball went the wrong side of the post, getting tangled in the side netting to briefly confuse some of the spectators.

Cruz goalkeeper Guillermo Allison was busy just before half-time.

Allison blocked Rios´ 25-yard effort and then smothered a follow-up shot from Wilson Mathias, while the goalkeeper had to be wary of Isaac Brizuela´s long-range shot, which flashed over the bar in first-half stoppage time.

The hosts responded after half-time with Fabian wasting an opportunity at the back post but it was Toluca who controlled most of the half.

Paraguayan striker Pablo Velazquez did not get enough on his close-range header just after the hour-mark and Allison palmed the ball away and, in the 87th minute, Rios hit the post from 25 yards with a swerving shot.

Cruz had a huge opportunity to snatch victory in second-half stoppage time but Talavera pulled off a brilliant double save, getting down to stop Christian Gimenez´s toe-poke from Achille Emana´s chipped pass, and then Toluca´s goalkeeper recovered immediately to parry Fabian´s follow-up volley.

Toluca will host the second leg of the CONCACAF Champions League final on April 23 looking to win their third title in the competition, while Cruz are aiming to become the first club to reach six titles.

Unfinished Sao Paulo stadium handed to Corinthians

The stadium set to host the opening match of this year´s World Cup in Brazil has been handed over to owners Corinthians unfinished.

The Arena de Sao Paulo was the scene of a horrific crane collapse in November, which killed two construction workers, and the 68,000 capacity stadium was officially given to Sao Paulo-based club Corinthians on Tuesday.

Despite the stadium and its surrounding area remaining unfinished less than two months before it is set to host Brazil against Croatia to open the World Cup finals, project manager and former Corinthians president Andres Sanchez attempted to allay fears surrounding completion.

"We are delivering the stadium today but there is some work left to do, not only cleaning and security, but other preparation as well," Sanchez said.

"But this is nothing big and we will conclude everything in the next 15 days.

"Then the stadium will be ready for the World Cup. After that we will start our works again thinking on Corinthians needs for the stadium and this will last until December next year. But there is not much left as you can see."

Sanchez also reserved a special comment for the media, which he believes have been overly negative about construction safety at the Arena de Sao Paulo.

"You can rest easy as nothing is going to fall on anyone´s head," he said.

The first official match is set for May 17 when the home club will host Figueirense in the Brazil Serie A.

Caruso Lombardi: "Los jugadores son los que nos van a mantener"

BUENOS AIRES -- El entrenador de Quilmes, Ricardo Caruso Lombardi, aseguró el martes que son sus futbolistas los que lo ratificarán en el cargo que dejó tras la derrota del sábado pasado ante Estudiantes de La Plata y que volvió a tomar un día después por pedido de los jugadores.

"Por suerte lo ganamos, los jugadores son los que nos van a mantener a nosotros. Ojalá que salgamos. Vamos a luchar hasta el último partido", sostuvo el técnico en rueda de prensa tras la importantísima victoria por 3-1 frente a Vélez, en Liniers.

Al mismo tiempo, Caruso Lombardi celebró la respuesta que tuvo de parte de sus dirigidos en un partido clave para sus aspiraciones de mantener la categoría. "El equipo respondió a lo que yo pensaba, se jugó y se metió", señaló el entrenador.

Por último, se refirió a su fallida partida de la conducción técnica tras la caída ante Estudiantes: "Los jugadores me pidieron que me quede, fue un momento de tristeza, de locura, lo sufrimos mucho". "Pase lo que pase me voy a quedar con ellos", subrayó Caruso Lombardi con tres puntos de oro en su bolsillo.

Un fuerte cruce se produjo entre el vicepresidente de Vélez Sarsfield, Julio Baldomar, y la esposa del entrenador de Quilmes, Ricardo Caruso Lombardi, al término del encuentro entre ambos equipos en el estadio José Amalfitani.

Lorena, la mujer del entrenador "Cervecero", acusó inicialmente a Baldomar de agredirla físicamente: "Vino a agredirme y cuando le dijeron que era la mujer de Caruso dijo ´ah, con razón´. Este hombre (Baldomar) me rasguñó la cara y me empujó, y al terminar el partido no me dejaban bajar la escalera".

Minutos más tarde, Baldomar hizo su descargo en Radio América, donde dijo estar "sorprendido" por las declaraciones de la mujer de Caruso Lombardi, aunque aceptó que existió una discusión.

"Yo discutí con Lorena, pero discutimos, nada más. Le dije que me parecía una maleducada. Nadie empujó a nadie, hay 10.000 testigos. Ella había empezado a insultar a mi mujer", comentó el vicepresidente de la entidad de Liniers.

Por su parte, Caruso Lombardi, al dialogar con la prensa momentos después de hablar con su esposa en la puerta del vestuario, se desentendió de la situación: "Una señora estuvo gritando, después apareció el marido a agredir, pero no sé mucho. Cuando pueda hablar me enteraré".

Massive results at the bottom of the table for Olimpo and Quilmes but disaster for Argentinos

Another midweek round of Primera action and more huge matches in the relegation battle. Sadly for Claudio Borghi’s, Argentinos Juniors this could be the nail in the coffin as they were soundly beaten in Bahía Blanca by Olimpo, who themselves are in the relegation mix. First half goals from Damian Musto and a brace from Adolfo Valencia swept Argentinos away and leaves them looking very isolated at the foot of the table.

Later in Liniers, Quilmes shocked a well below par, Vélez Sarsfield side and earned an invaluable 3-1 win. Vélez obviously have the distraction of the Copa Libertadores but a third straight defeat sees their Torneo Final challenge dwindling and the manner of defeat against relegation strugglers, Quilmes will worry some quarters. In spite of the disruption caused by Caruso Lombardi’s on/off resignation, Quilmes started brightly and raced into a two-goal lead thanks to Gonzalo Ríos and Joaquín Boghossian. Lucas Pratto pulled one back before the break but an injury time Cristian Lema penalty wrapped up the points. Not enough drama? Never fear, Caruso Lombardi’s wife got in on the action, normally reserved for her husband by having some kind of physical altercation with Vélez Vice-President, Julio Baldomar.

Olimpo 3 – 0 Argentinos Juniors

https://www.youtube.com/…fs_msQpsloI

Vélez Sarsfield 1 – 3 Quilmes

https://www.youtube.com/…MA2VfXd_J8A

Boca legend, Martin Palermo set to take over at Arsenal

Julio Grondona made the somewhat surprising announcement earlier that Arsenal boss, Gustavo Alfaro has left the club after what has been a dreadful run of form in the Primera División. Three wins in the league this season is perhaps justified grounds for sacking but it has been abundantly clear that Arsenal have prioritized their Copa Libertadores commitments, and qualifying for the knockout stages for the first time in the club’s history should be seen as a sign of progression. Regardless, the axe has been swung and the name that has now moved rapidly to the fore is Boca legend, and former Godoy Cruz Coach, Martin Palermo. Grondona has been quoted as saying the deal of Palermo is “almost closed and the idea is to assume the position on Friday.”

Gustavo Alfaro will feel a little hard done-by and point to injuries and the strain put on his small squad when playing Copa Libertadores and an even more packed Torneo Final but perhaps even with those excuses the domestic form has been inexcusable.

In this case maybe the bigger shock is why Martin Palermo is so high on the list of Grondona’s replacements.

In recent weeks, Palermo had been linked with replacing Mostaza Merlo at Racing but with the Avellaneda club enjoying an upturn in fortune in recent weeks, it appears Grondona has moved fast to ensure Arsenal get their first choice replacement for Alfaro.

For Palermo, it would be an excellent step up as financial restrictions made the Godoy Cruz job a difficult one and since his departure the Mendoza club have not seen much of an improvement. From battling relegation to the latter stages of the Copa Libertadores and managing the most successful Argentine side in recent years, Palermo can be very happy with the trajectory of this coaching career.

With the backing of Grondona, Arsenal have some financial clout and important political contacts and certainly the challenge for honours in Argentina will make Palermo a more prominent figure, particularly when the “dream” job may come available back in La Bombonera.

Ja det var ikke tilfredsstillende at Alajuelsense ikke kunne slå Toluca i CONCACAF-CHL semifinalen. Men efter nederlaget på hjemmebane, så vidste man jo godt hvor det bar hen af.

Nu tegner anden finale til at blive rigtig interessant mellem Cruz Azul og Toluca efter 0-0 i den første.

Mon ikke den ligger til Toluca, Cruz Azul er jo større choke artists end Arsenal (de falske) og Holland lagt sammen....