Snak

Riquelme: "Voy a seguir jugando al fútbol hasta los 40"

BUENOS AIRES -- Juan Román Riquelme aseguró hoy que continuará jugando al fútbol profesional "cuatro años más, hasta los cuarenta", aunque no precisó si será en Boca Juniors o en otra institución.

"Veré qué pasa, pero voy a seguir jugando al fútbol hasta los cuarenta. Tengo una apuesta con mi hermano, es difícil, pero lo voy a intentar. Veremos si es acá o en otro lado", sostuvo Riquelme luego de la victoria 3-1 ante Lanús.

Riquelme fue ovacionado antes, durante y después del encuentro ante los Granates por un público que marcó su posición ante la posibilidad de renovar su vínculo con la institución.

"La gente me quiere mucho y yo nunca voy a poder devolverle todo lo que me da. Estoy contento porque las cosas nos salieron bien y jugamos un buen partido", comentó el número diez boquense.

Y agregó: "Nos falta un partido y vamos a ir a la cancha de Gimnasia a enfrentar a un equipo difícil que está peleando arriba. Intentaremos ganar y terminar el torneo de la mejor manera posible".

Sobre el buen presente de Boca, que acumula cuatro victorias consecutivas en el Torneo Final, Riquelme, destacó: "El equipo está jugando bien y viene marcando muchos goles. Estamos contentos y la gente también".

Ramón Díaz tras vencer a Argentinos: "Falta un partido importante"

BUENOS AIRES -- El entrenador de River Plate, Ramón Díaz, intentó ser cauto al analizar las posibilidades de su equipo de ser campeón del Torneo Final, pero avisó que ante Quilmes serán anfitriones y en el Monumental, según dijo, "siempre" juegan bien y ganan.

"Era fundamental para seguir arriba. Falta una fecha pero jugamos de local, donde siempre jugamos bien y ganamos", evaluó Ramón Díaz apenas terminó el partido en el que River le ganó 2-0 a Argentinos Juniors en el Estadio Diego Armando Maradona, por lo que quedó a un paso de la coronación.

Y luego, sobre el presente del equipo, el riojano, precisó: "El equipo está bien y hay que darle tranquilidad a los jugadores".

Ya en en conferencia de prensa, Ramón volvió a referirse al preánbulo de la última fecha, a la que arriban solos en la cúspide de las posiciones, con dos puntos de ventaja sobre Estudiantes de La Plata y tres por encima de Gimnasia, lo únicos dos competidores que se mantienen con chances matemáticas de luchar por el campeonato.

"Mantenemos la tranquilidad para una instancia que todavía falta", insistió el director técnico de los Millonarios, quien a toda costa quiere evitar triunfalismos y hace un llamado a la serenidad y el equilibrio.

"Veo que los jugadores están entusiasmados, pero hay que darles tranquilidad", repitió el conductor y subrayó que "el último (partido) también lo tenés que ganar", siempre con la intención de dejar en claro que todavía queda un obstáculo más que superar para alcanzar el objetivo, que consiste en dar la vuelta olímpica en la máxima categoría de la AFA, tras el traumático pasó por el fútbol de ascenso en la temporada 2011-2012.

Entre los elogios personalizados, el adiestrador destacó la intervención de Marcelo Barovero, quien respondió de un modo espléndido ante un remate desde fuera del área de Leonardo Pisculichi.

"Hizo una atajada increíble", subrayó Díaz e inmediatamente invitó a recordar que "hace un mes lo pedíamos todos para la seleción (argentina)".

El tema de Barovero surgió porque Ramón decidió devolverle ante Argentinos la titularidad al mendocino debido a que en su momento dejó el puesto por una lesión muscular y no por bajo rendimiento.

El entrenador confió en Barovero y lo hizo inclusive a pesar de que Leandro Chichizola había sido vital para la reciente victoria ante el Racing Club al atajarle un penal a Sebastián Saja ya en tiempo de descuento. En cuanto al crucial encuentro ante Quilmes, el curtido y exitoso Ramón, sintetizó: "Nosotros ganando podemos cumplir el sueño que tienen todos los de River, pero tranquilo".

Ramón no quiere saber nada de apuros ni de excesos de confianza, pero es plenamente consciente de la nueva cita que tienen con la gloria.

Mexico´s roster: Take it or leave it

There are no parts missing, no spares. This is what we´ve got.

As it stands, there is no room for controversy, especially if it is regarding Carlos Salcido and the fact that he has not exactly had a good run of late. Come to think of it, I wonder how many of the chosen players are coming off the back of a winning streak, coupled with having played a crucial role in their team´s success.

The promise or what later became more of a chant during the days of crisis -- "Just call on those who are actively playing for their teams and most importantly playing well" -- is a thing of the past. It was a "cry of despair" in a moment of desperation, and that´s all. In much the same way, we could argue over the inclusion of Francisco Javier "Maza" Rodriguez, who is currently the focus of much attention and criticism.

Miguel Herrera called up whom he had to. He chose from what was available. He chose those he felt he could mold into a sufficiently competitive World Cup team, come Friday the 13th of June.

He has a combination of young players and experienced veterans. Sixteen of the 23-man squad have never played in a World Cup game. Four of the five forwards selected are under 25. These newbies will play alongside players experienced in many World Cups, such as Guillermo Ochoa, Rafael Marquez, Carlos Salcido, Andres Guardado and Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez.

Name by name, position by position, line by line, there´s no room for controversy. Marco Fabian de la Mora? Well, perhaps there is a little room. To say that the Cruz Azul player, regardless of his past disciplinary problems, has no football talent is, in my opinion, an outright lie. He is a player with a future.

What about Moises Munoz, the goalkeeper for America? In some respects, he proved to be a great asset during the qualifying game against New Zealand, yet for the national team´s coach, the likes of Jesus Corona, Ochoa and Alfredo Talavera rank above Munoz. Likewise, Jonathan Orozco might have felt he was in with a chance of being called up.

Who else is there? Who else indeed? The young Isaac Brizuela looks promising for future tournaments, as does Jose Juan "El Gallito" Vazquez. Many doubted the calling up of Giovani dos Santos. Come off it! Dos Santos has had one of his best seasons ever. Herrera has his head firmly screwed on, and despite the controversy, "Piojo" understands and accepts the position that the Villarreal player wishes to play in.

I´m not sure if I like this motley crew of 23. However, during these bleak times of little talent and having survived the tremendous ordeal that was the qualifying process, what I can be certain of is that the players who have made the cut are the ones who will give the best performance. At the end of the day, it was never important to find 23 individuals. The important thing was to find a team. For this task, very little time remains.

Supporters union fans cleared for travel

The lawyer for the Argentine United Supporters Union (Hinchadas Unidas Argentinas), Debora Hambo, confirmed on Wednesday that 650 members of this group will travel to the World Cup.

Hambo, the lawyer for Independiente supporter´s group leader Pablo "Bebote" Alvarez, said his group plans to "enjoy the World Cup," and will travel by bus to Brazil and stay in the area around Inter in Porto Alegre.

"The supporter´s union is not a business, and each fan saved up funds over four years. What they have said is that they do not have any political backing," Hambo told reporters earlier this week.

The fans are benefiting from a preliminary court injunction that temporarily blocks the exchange of personal data between Argentina and Brazil during the World Cup. The injunction means that Argentina cannot send Brazil a list of fans banned from stadiums for hooliganism or fans waiting on judicial action for hooligan acts inside Argentina stadiums.

MoBay knocks out champs Harbour View and in final

A 23rd minute strike from Dino Williams gave Montego Bay United a 1-0 win over Harbour View in their second leg semi-final match and won the tie 3-2 on aggregate and a spot in the Red Stripe Premier League (RSPL) final.

Montego Bay United, formerly Seba United, came from two goals down in Kingston to draw 2-2 with Harbour View at the Compound and it was clearly that the momentum was with the St James outfit for the second leg and they duly obliged at the Wespow Park.

The Dr Dean Weatherly-coached team remained unbeaten against the dethroned champions Harbour View in the league winning three of their five meetings.

They continued that dominance into todayÂ’s encounter and Williams who netted the equalising goal on Wednesday was on hand this time to find the winner in the 23rd minute.

It was a beautiful goal which started with Keniel Kirlew who released the speedy Allan Ottey down the left flank before Williams latched on and slotted home.

Both teams wasted opportunities but home team Montego Bay United held their nerves and the lead and booked a spot into the final.

It has been a while that a team from Western Jamaica were crown premier league champion and Montego Bay United, the brainchild of businessman Orville Powell are heading in the right direction and might just break the corporate area dominance of the league.

Meanwhile Waterhouse and Arnett Gardens will resume their battle to join Montego Bay United in the May 19 final when they clash at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex on Monday starting at 8:30 pm.

Arnett Gardens will have the upper hand following their exciting 3-3 draw at Drewsland on Thursday and now playing at home, should seized the opportunity just like what Montego Bay United did.

But it wonÂ’t be easy and fans are expected to see another exciting encounter between the two most attacking teams in the league. Extra time and penalties will be need if both teams are locked after normal and extra time.

Vel som forventet....

World Cup 2014: Antonio Valencia named in Ecuador squad

Manchester United midfielder Antonio Valencia has been named in Ecuador´s 24-man pre-World Cup squad.

The squad was named for the Netherlands friendly on 17 May, but with the deadline for provisional World Cup squads on Tuesday, it is likely to act as both.

Valencia, 28, has played 44 times for the Red Devils in a disappointing season that saw them finish seventh.

Uncapped Stuttgart midfielder Carlos Gruezo, 19, is also in the squad.
Head coach Reinaldo Rueda has until 2 June to name a 23-man squad for the World Cup. They are in Group E with Switzerland, France and Honduras.

Goalkeepers: Maximo Banguera (Barcelona, Ecuador), Adrian Bone (El Nacional), Alexander Dominguez (Liga de Quito).

Defenders: Gabriel Achilier (Emelec), Walter Ayovi (Pachuca), Oscar Bagui (Emelec), Frickson Erazo (Flamengo), Jorge Guagua (Emelec), Juan Carlos Paredes (Barcelona, Ecuador), Cristian Ramirez (Fortuna Duesseldorf).

Midfielders: Segundo Castillo (Al Hilal), Carlos Gruezo (Stuttgart), Renato Ibarra (Vitesse Arnhem), Fidel Martinez (Tijuana), Cristian Noboa (Dynamo Moscow), Pedro Quinonez (Emelec), Luis Saritama (Barcelona, Ecuador), Antonio Valencia (Manchester United).

Forwards: Jaime Ayovi (Tijuana), Felipe Caicedo (Al-Jazira), Jefferson Montero (Morelia), Joao Rojas (Cruz Azul), Enner Valencia (Pachuca), Armando Wila (Universidad Catolica).

Serie A:

Palmeiras x Goias 2-0
Internacional x Atletíco-PR 2-1
Botafogo x Criciuma 6-0
São Paulo x Corinthians 1-1
Fluminense x Flamengo 2-0
Chapecoense-SC x Grêmio 1-2
Atletíco-MG x Cruzeiro 2-1
Figueirense x Santos 0-2
Coritiba x Sport Recife 0-1
Bahia x Vitoría 1-1

1. Internacional 10 point
2. Fluminense 9 point
3. Corinthians 8 point
4. Bahia 7 point
..
17. Criciuma 3 point
18. Coritiba 3 point
19. Chapecoense 1 point
20. Figueirense 0 point

_____________________________

Serie B:

Boa x Portuguesa 2-1
Vila Nova x Icasa-SE 0-1
Vasco da Gama x Oeste 2-0
Santa Cruz x Luverdense 0-0
Ponte Preta x ABC 2-1
Joinville x Nautico 1-0
America-RN x Atletico-GO 3-3
Ceara x Parana 2-1
Bragantino x America Mineiro 0-2

1. Joinville 12 point
2. America Mineiro 10 point
3. Vasco da Gama 7 point
4. ABC 7 point
..
17. Avaí 3 point
18. Atletíco-GO 3 point
19. Portuguesa 2 point
20. Vila Nova 1 point

Transfer opdate:

Marquinhos Pedroso (Figueirense) til Grêmio (venstre-back)
Lucas Crispim (Santos) til Vasco da Gama (midtbane)
Bernando (Vasco) til Palmeiras (midtbane)

Romagnoli no será titular ante Cruzeiro

BUENOS AIRES -- Ya cumplió las cuatro fechas de suspensión. Sin embargo, una molestia en el tobillo derecho imposibilitará a Leandro Romagnoli jugar desde el inicio en el partido de Copa Libertadores ante Cruzeiro.

El experimentado mediocampista está habilitado para jugar al igual que Fabricio Fontanini, luego de la extensa sanción que les aplicó la CONMEBOL por los incidentes ocurridos ante Independiente del Valle de Ecuador.

Pero la idea de Edgardo Bauza es no arriesgarlo, debido al esguince que tiene el "Pipi" en el tobilo. Por eso, saldrán a la cancha los mismos once que fueron titulares en el partido de ida.

Ellos son: Sebastián Torrico; Julio Buffarini, Carlos Valdés, Gentiletti, Emanuel Más; Héctor Villalba, Juan Mercier, Néstor Ortigoza, Ignacio Piatti; Ángel Corera, Mauro Matos.

San Lorenzo visitará Cruzeiro buscando sacar ventaja del 1-0 conseguido en el Nuevo Gasómetro. El "Ciclón" buscará volver a las semifinales de una Copa Libertadores tras 26 años, siendo la edición de 1988 su última presencia entre los cuatro mejores.

Chile´s Jorge Sampaoli, the Most Hyperactive Manager in the World Cup

Nothing stops Chile´s World Cup coach Jorge Sampaoli getting his hyper-active point across -- even if he has to sit in a tree to shout at his players over a stadium wall.

The 54-year-old Argentine is a bundle of energy at matches, charging along the touchline in a trademark baseball cap, urging the likes of Alexis Sanchez and Arturo Vidal to attack.

Though discreet with journalists, Sampaoli rarely holds back in firing verbal assaults against refereeing decisions that go against his players.

Sampaoli´s arrival as coach in December 2012 transformed a side that had lost three World Cup qualifying matches in a row and seemed something of a disorganized rabble.

Five wins and a draw from their last six matches in the marathon South American qualifying campaign saw them through, but they were handed a tough draw in Brazil, alongside Spain, the Netherlands and Australia in Group B.

Nevertheless, they are considered among the teams capable of causing an upset as they look to reach the quarter-finals for the first time since hosting the World Cup in 1962.

Sampaoli seemed a natural choice to take charge of Chile after his compatriot Claudio Borghi was sacked, having guided Universidad de Chile to three national titles and the Copa Sudamericana, as well as the semi-finals of the Copa Libertadores, South America´s leading club competition.

A double fracture of the leg ended Sampaoli´s playing career at Newell´s Old Boys at the age of just 19, but he went into coaching and his tigerish character quickly became apparent.

In the year that he took Belgrano de Arequito to a local Argentine championship in 1996, Sampaoli was ordered out of a stadium because of a verbal assault on a referee.

The Rosario newspaper La Capital published a picture of Sampaoli sat in a tree shouting instructions at his players.

Newell´s president Eduardo Jose Lopez saw the image and put him in charge of one of the club´s reserve teams.

Sampaoli had a journeyman career with teams in Peru, Chile and Ecuador before taking over at Universidad de Chile in 2011 and demanding the unrelenting attacking football that he learned from his mentor Marcelo Bielsa, another Argentine who coached Chile at the 2010 World Cup.

Sampaoli orders a high energy charge into the opposition half with a playmaker behind two forwards who press wide, a style that can be spectacular but is difficult to maintain.

The Chilean squad now know each other well, and in friendlies ahead of the World Cup they have beaten England 2-0 at Wembley, drawn with Spain and only narrowly been beaten by Brazil.

In typical aggressive style, Sampaoli insists that Chile can win the World Cup. "It´s safe to say that Chile are contenders," he said.

"History says that in World Cups people always list the same favorites and names, but we will be as competitive as possible.

"We will not change how we play. We will not allow ourselves to be modified by our opponents. We have to want it more than opponents, to surpass them in spirit.

"We will go man to man against anyone. Our idea is to surprise opponents who are used to having opponents play against them in a certain way."

There will not be a dull moment in any World Cup game where Sampaoli is involved.