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CONCACAF & CONMEBOL to Make Historic Copa America Centenario Announcement

American soccer enthusiast better get on their toes this next Thursday, as CONCACAF announced on Monday, that along with CONMEBOL, the federations will hold a press conference with the intentions of making a historic joint announcement concerning the 100th anniversary of Copa America, in Miami, Florida, the heart of CONCACAF

If you´ve been paying attention, you have surely heard by now, about the rumor that beIN Sports released earlier this month, regarding a Copa America Centenario taking place in U.S soil, where all 10 CONMEBOL teams, plus 6 CONCACAF teams including the U.S.A and Mexico will participate.

This rumor that has been circulating for over 2 years now and has been gaining momentum as of late. With the 100th anniversary looming over us, and with beIN claiming that its revealment is "imminent", there is a good reason to get excited.

According to CONCACAF´s announcement, president Jeffrey Webb, along with CONMEBOL president Eugenio Figueredo and other renowned players from both regions, will be present next Thursday in Miami´s press conference to talk plans on the continent´s oldest and most prestigious tournament, which Uruguay currently holds the title of and has won it the most times with 15 crowns under their name.

Copa EuroAmericana Promises Delight for Colombian Fans

The City of Miami now has five matches in its calendar this summer as it was announced today that AS Monaco and Colombian champs Atletico Nacional will be facing off on July 23. The stadium has not been made official but it will most likely be at Sun Life Stadium as it would be the only venue in the area that could hold the match.

Monaco made the announcement on their official site as they will also play Colombian side Junior in the city on Barranquilla on July 20th. Monaco would make history in this aspect as they would become the first French team to ever play in South America.

For Colombian fans it will be a tremendous pleasure to be able to see two of the biggest stars on the national team play two of the biggest clubs from that country. Both fans in Barranquilla and and Miami will have a chance to see both Radamel Falcao García as well as James Rodríguez after the World Cup and enjoy the action that will be on display in the second edition of the Copa Euroamericana.

"It´s going to be a great experience for players like James (Rodríguez) and myself to go play back in our country," said Radamel Falcao Garcia in a video confirming the Rouge Et Blanc summer tour. "It will be tough as the fans there like to express their passion."

Right now there are six teams confirmed (Atlético will play San Jose Earthquakes in San Francisco and Club América in Mexico City) for this tournament. There is also a possibility of playing a match in Lima between Fiorentina and Universitario, but the details have not been finalized as of yet. That would leave Chile, Brazil and Canada with dates and opponents pending for those venues as of the posting of this article.

Godoy Cruz, the big winners as River and Estudiantes fail to close the gap and Boca batter Arsenal

Three games to play and it is advantage Gimnasia in the title race, albeit a very slight advantage, as Estudiantes and River Plate both dropped points. Estudiantes welcomed title chasing/relegation threatened Godoy Cruz to La Plata and despite having not lost for 11 matches, their serious lack of goals cost them dearly as Facundo Castillón stole all 3 points for the visitors late in the game. The result leaves Godoy Cruz just two points off the top but more importantly puts further distance between themselves and the drop zone while Estudiantes are now four off the pace.

River Plate were held to a 1-1 draw in Bahía Blanca by Olimpo but remain well in the title race. Carlos Carbonero put River in front to the joy of a suspiciously large “neutral” section of fans but Pablo Lugüercio equalised before half time.

Boca Juniors welcomed a very familiar face back to La Bombonera as Martin Palermo arrived as Arsenal boss but it wasn’t the best of days for the returning legend as Boca produced one of their best performances to record a deserved 4-2 win. Still unsure of his future with his contract expiring, Juan Román Riquelme gave a reminder of his importance, creating the opener for Cristian Erbes in the first minute and scoring from the spot. Nicolás Colazo and Emanuel Gigliotti added second half goals to render strikes from Mariano Echeverría and Julio Furch worthless.


Finally, Lanús, despite their Libertadores commitments, remain the dark horses for the title with another home win. Santiago Silva’s header was enough to see off All Boys, who could now join Argentinos in the Nacional B next weekend. Lanús have a game in hand at home to Tigre on Wednesday which could see them just two points behind leaders, Gimnasia before they meet on Sunday.


Estudiantes 0 – 1 Godoy Cruz

https://www.youtube.com/…S-C_Ipx4h98

Lanús 1 – 0 All Boys

https://www.youtube.com/…3XOEZ9BA_tc

Boca Juniors 4 – 2 Arsenal de Sarandí

https://www.youtube.com/…xdv5vu6LnKM

Olimpo 1 – 1 River Plate

https://www.youtube.com/…IJ0IL-fOeK8

@TR

Jeg troede hovmod var en synd?;-)

Jeg troede hovmod var en synd?;-)

Jeg havde glædet mig at give Deportivo FAS igen, efter at han i starten var temmelig sikker på at Botafogo ville gå videre i stedet for San Lorenzo. Men lækkert at argentinerne har overtaget på brasilianerne i den her sammenhæng:-)

Jeg havde glædet mig at give Deportivo FAS igen, efter at han i starten var temmelig sikker på at Botafogo ville gå videre i stedet for San Lorenzo. Men lækkert at argentinerne har overtaget på brasilianerne i den her sammenhæng:-)

Tjo.. Jeg var også selv overrasket over resultatet for at være helt ærlig. Men skidt pyt. Hehehe.. Deportivo FAS er passioneret carioca (undtaget Flu-fags) og det ser ikke helt godt ud for holdene iøjeblikket.

Jeg glæder mig til at se San Lorenzo i Rio Grande do Sul. Grêmio har de mest fantatiske og sindsyge fans i Brasilien og tro mig, stadionet vil koge over, når vores "venner" fra syd kommer på besøg;-)

Internacional set to welcome back Alex for Cuiaba cup tie

Internacional are set to welcome back former Brazil player Alex when they take on Cuiaba in the Copa do Brasil this week, after it was announced that the ex-Spartak Moscow and Corinthians midfielder has returned to full training following a thigh complaint.

The match on Thursday will take place at the Arena Pantanal, one of the venues for the upcoming World Cup, and presents an opportunity for Inter to maintain a solid start to the 2014 season which has seen them lift the Gaucho 1 state championship and pick up four points from their opening two Brasileirao matches against Vitoria and Botafogo respectively.

Also returning to the fold is young defender Gilberto, on loan to the club from the aforementioned Botafogo.

Report: Internazionale agreed to pay €5.5 million release clause for Cruzeiro midfielder Nilton

Internazionale will pay €5.5 million to trigger a release clause in Cruzeiro midfielder Nilton’s contract, according to reports.

Tuttosport claims that the Brazilian is set to move to the San Siro over the summer, as Inter owner Erick Thohir continues to rebuild his squad to push for the Champions League.

Nilton has featured in both of Cruzeiro’s open two 2014 Brasileirão matches and was instrumental as they won the title last term.

The 27 year-old has previously stated that he intends to remain with A Raposa, but a move to Italy now seems increasingly likely.

Interessant vinkel fra Tim Vickery. Kommer Corinthians fansskare til at ændre sig med det nye stadion?

Tim Vickery Column: How Corinthians´ stadium change may challenge their identity clash with São Paulo

It was fitting that the final league game to take place at Pacaembu before the formal hand over was against Flamengo - Action Images
A football club is not primarily defined by the titles it has won, or even the great players who have worn its colours.
More important than that is the question of identity – the people (and the ideas) that are being represented. This happens in a very territorial context – the congregation of the faithful in a determined space. So when a team moves stadium, the consequence must inevitably include a slight change of identity.

A clear example is that of Arsenal in London. The club of Arsene Wenger is emphatically not the one I recall from 20 years ago, when I still lived in the city. Then, Arsenal stood for dull solidity and gritty reliability. The fans went to the stadium singing the names of the full backs and celebrating 1-0 wins.

Where once they seemed quite provincial, now the club are a glamorous cosmopolitan outfit with aspirations of style, a representative of the world city that surrounds them. As ticket prices have risen, so the fan base has become more upmarket. And much of this change of identity has been given an extra push by the move to a new stadium; the impressive, historical but somewhat pokey Highbury giving way to the airier, more open and modern setting of the Emirates. In geographical terms, though, they have hardly moved far – just a short hop from Highbury to Ashburton Grove.

What, then, might be the consequences of the move of Sao Paulo giants Corinthians from Pacaembu to their new arena in Itaquera? The move from the centre to the east of the city will surely have some effect on the identity of the club. Some fans might not follow the team across town. Others, from the area surrounding the new stadium, will surely be attracted.

Perhaps it was fitting that the final league game to take place at Pacaembu before the formal hand over was against Flamengo, the mass team of Rio visiting its Sao Paulo counterpart – although the difference is that Corinthians, founded by factory workers, were born with the popular touch, whereas Flamengo cunningly bolted it on to their identity in the 1930s.

But both indicate the comparatively small part that city geography plays in Brazilian club identities – certainly when compared with London. Arsenal and Tottenham are, above all, North London teams – hence the controversy when Arsenal crossed the river and ‘invaded’ Tottenham’s territory just over a century ago. West Ham are defiantly East London. Crystal Palace are South, and so on.

In Brazil big club identities have usually been based more on class lines, or on those of immigrant backgrounds (Palmeiras of the Italian community, Portuguesa of the Portuguese). This is even stronger in Rio than in Sao Paulo, because in the former capital the big clubs have all used the Maracana stadium – though Vasco da Gama have retained some of their North Zone identity by having their own Sao Januario stadium.

In Sao Paulo the big municipal stadium is Pacaembu. Other clubs have used it – Santos play there with some frequency when they want to bring a game into the state capital. But the stadium is most identified with Corinthians. For decades the ‘big team’ had dreams of building their own ground. Projects were unveiled and quickly forgotten. It hardly seemed to matter. Pacaembu was an appropriate home – close to the centre of the city, easily accessible, it re-enforced the idea of Corinthians as being the foremost representative of the city, with a following from all social classes and immigrant groups that make up the sprawling metropolis of Sao Paulo.

Might this change with the move out east? The dynamic of history has already brought about something of a change on the identity of one of Corinthians’ big local rivals, Sao Paulo FC. They have always been associated with the city’s elite, the movers and shakers in a busy, practical, business capital. Typical of the club’s cool rationality and long term planning was the decision to construct their own stadium, in the Morumbi district, inaugurated in 1960 and completed a decade later.

In keeping with the club’s historical identity, Morumbi is one of the plushest neighbourhoods in the city. But over recent years, especially with the success of the wonderful early 90s side, the profile of Sao Paulo fans has changed. Along with the old elite, they also have a huge following in the poor neighbourhoods on the periphery of the city. And with Morumbi situated to the west of the city, and Corinthians’ new home way out east in Itaquera, might that mean that the future fault line and identity clash of these two giant clubs will have much more to do with geography than anything else? One thing is certain; there will be changes.

Brazil Head Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari admits there is just two places left in his World Cup squad

Brazil Head Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has admitted 21 members of his 23 man World Cup squad have already been chosen.

The tactician, who last week reportedly confirmed which players would be his captain’s at the tournament, still has to decide on two more players to complete his selection.

"We have selected 23 players, I still have to determine two players," Scolari told TV Globo.

"We are scouring, watching. This one is younger, that one has more international experience, that other one will feel the pressure a bit more."