Snak

Marcelo Barovero: "Estamos acostumbrados a jugar bajo presión"

BUENOS AIRES -- El arquero Marcelo Barovero expresó el martes su deseo de que River le gane el domingo a Quilmes para poder "darle una alegría a la gente" después de seis años sin títulos locales. Barovero dijo que el domingo tendrán toda "la responsabilidad", al tiempo que advirtió que quedan "noventa minutos" y sería desaconsejable subestimar al conjunto dirigido por Ricardo Caruso Lombardi.

"No debemos apurarnos, hay que respetarlos", comentó el arquero, quien remarcó que el hecho de que Quilmes logró su objetivo de escaparle al descenso el último fin de semana le "da cierta soltura a cualquier jugador".

Barovero, quien el domingo regresó ante Argentinos Juniors luego de cuatro fechas ausente por un desgarro, indicó que River está "en un momento muy lindo" al haber quedado a sólo un triunfo de ser campeón.

El arquero remarcó que River "tiene la responsabilidad" y que en un equipo grande están " acostumbrados a jugar siempre bajo presión".

Medido como siempre, sin lugar para frases altisonantes, comentó que al recuperar la titularidad en reemplazo de un Leandro Chichizola que respondió en un nivel muy alto "no estaba" en su cabeza "tener que demostrar".

"Cuando entrás a la cancha, puede pasar cualquier cosa y tenés que estar preparado para responder. Las cosas salieron como quería y el equipo ganó, que es lo más importante", expresó sobre el choque en La Paternal al hablar en conferencia de prensa tras la práctica en el predio de Ezeiza.

Barovero celebró que a Chichizola "le salieron las cosas como deseaba" en los cuatro partidos que jugó y confió que "la alegría es grande" para él, para el ahora arquero suplente y "especialmente para Tato", en alusión a Alberto Montes, el entrenador de arqueros de River.

Ante un comentario acerca de las dificultades que tuvo River para superar a Argentinos, respondió: "No sólo a nosotros nos cuesta tener la soltura que necesitamos. A todos los equipos del mundo les cuesta en estas circunstancias. Pasa en muchas ligas".

A su vez, contó que todavía les dura "la alegría del partido" ante Argentinos y que recién con "el transcurrir de los días" van a empezar a sentir "la ansiedad" por la inminencia del decisivo choque ante Quilmes, que se jugará el domingo a las 17.30 en un Monumental repleto pues todas las entradas están agotadas desde la semana pasada.

"Ojalá que podamos conseguir una victoria y darle una alegría a la gente", expresó, consciente de que el último título de River fue en 2008, hace ya seis años.

En liga i forfald.. Det er nok lige at at stramme den rent retorisk, selvom Serie A ikke er lige så god som for 10 år siden.
Jeg ved i hvert fald godt om jeg hellere ville sætte min lid til spillere fra toppen af Serie A, end en reserve fra et hold som West Bromwich Albion og spillere der er reserver uden spilletid i Porto og Atletico Madrid.

Når man udtager Arevalo-Rios, Gargano, Diego Pérez, Eguren, Álvaro González, Alejandro Silva, Álvaro Pereira, Cristian Rodríguez, Gastón Ramírez og Nicolás Lodeiro som midtbane, så er det vanskeligt at se at der skulle være mere kvalitet der end hos Italien, hvor flere af dem har store problemer med for alvor at markere sig, eller bare spille fast. Ramirez og Lodeiro har vel ikke andet end skuffet de seneste par år og Rodriguez hænger på et yderligt mandat i Atletico der flere gange har forsøgt at sælge ham.
Så er vi dybest set ude i at man bare ikke rigtigt kan lide Italien, for ikke en eneste af de spillere der, er gode nok til at de ville kunne komme i betragtning til Prandellis trup, ligeledes er det kun Godin fra bagkæden der ville være med i Prandellis overvejelser. Han ville også blive udtaget og formentlig også starte inde, resten ville aldrig være et tema i 2014.
For 6 år siden ville Lugano nok også have været med i billedet, men det er længe siden han har været på noget der minder om topniveau.

En liga i forfald.. Det er nok lige at at stramme den rent retorisk, selvom Serie A ikke er lige så god som for 10 år siden.

Eller er den ? når vi ser bort fra matchfixing :-)

Når man udtager Arevalo-Rios, Gargano, Diego Pérez, Eguren, Álvaro González, Alejandro Silva, Álvaro Pereira, Cristian Rodríguez, Gastón Ramírez og Nicolás Lodeiro som midtbane, så er det vanskeligt at se at der skulle være mere kvalitet der end hos Italien, hvor flere af dem har store problemer med for alvor at markere sig, eller bare spille fast. Ramirez og Lodeiro har vel ikke andet end skuffet de seneste par år og Rodriguez hænger på et yderligt mandat i Atletico der flere gange har forsøgt at sælge ham.

Årh jo men nu er landsholdsfodbold jo en anden sag end klubfodbold. Flere af de spillere du nævner var på banen sidst de 2 hold mødtes og stod distancen mod italienerne - så den baggrund er de ganske jævnbyrdige.

Så er vi dybest set ude i at man bare ikke rigtigt kan lide Italien, for ikke en eneste af de spillere der, er gode nok til at de ville kunne komme i betragtning til Prandellis trup, ligeledes er det kun Godin fra bagkæden der ville være med i Prandellis overvejelser. Han ville også blive udtaget og formentlig også starte inde, resten ville aldrig være et tema i 2014.


Nej vi er ikke ude i ikke kunne lide italienerne, men snarere et spørgsmål om jeg ikke købe du taler Italien op på et plan hvor de ikke hører hjemme.

Martino coaching Argentina is ´likely´ - Messi

Barcelona star Lionel Messi thinks it is "likely" that club coach Gerardo Martino will follow him to the Argentina national team.

The 51-year-old Martino made one appearance for Argentina as a player before embarking on a glittering coaching career.

A five-year stint with Paraguay whet his appetite for working at international level and a return could be on the cards, according to Messi.

Martino can still guide Barcelona to the Liga title in his first season in charge if they beat current leaders Atletico Madrid at Camp Nou on Saturday.

Asked about Martino´s future, Messi replied: "(It is) likely (that) we will see him in Argentina national team because he is a great manager.

"And I think he would like to manage the national team."

Argentina are currently coached by Alejandro Sabella and will enter this year´s FIFA World Cup in Brazil as one of the favourites, given their array of stars and the fact they are accustomed to playing in South America.

However, Messi does not believe the venue for the tournament puts any burden on his side.

"There is no pressure," he added.

"I think Argentina is always forced to fight for the championship. I think we are in a good moment now.

"We have a nice chance to make something big and we are going quiet and full of hope to get our main objective."

Argentina will face Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iran and Nigeria in Group F.

Colombias 30 mand...

Pékerman entregará los convocados de Colombia para el Mundial Brasil 2014

El técnico de la Selección Colombia, José Pékerman, entregará la lista de jugadores convocados para el Mundial Brasil 2014.

Antes de conocer el listado, Macnelly Torres confirmó a través de Twitter que no estará en el Mundial, "se va una ilusión pero la vida sigue", señaló el volante barranquillero.

Able Aguilar
Eder Balanta
Santiago Arias
Pablo Armero
Carlos Bacca
Juan Cuadrado
Radamel Falcao
Fredy Guarin
Teófilo Gutiérrez
Victor Ibarbo
Jackson Martinez
Alexander Mejía
Faryd Mondragón
Aquivaldo Mosquera
Luis Fernando Muriel
David Ospina
Aldo Leao Ramírez Perea
Juan Fernando Quintero
Adrian Ramos
James Rodriguez
Carlos Sánchez
Elkin Soto
Carlos Valdes
Edwin Valencia
Camilo Vargas
Cristian Zapata
Mario Yepes
Camilo Zúñiga

Oribe Peralta Signs for Club America Before World Cup

Mexican National Team striker Oribe Peralta - who looks to be set to be Mexico´s starting frontman at the World Cup - has signed for Mexico City Giants Club America before the National squad leaves for its World Cup participation.

In a joint press conference with Santos president Alejandro Irarragorri, Club America directors Yon de Luisa, and Jose Romano, as well as the player himself announced that Peralta would join the 11th time Mexican league champions.

"I have mixed feelings" said Oribe Peralta in a written statement "on one hand I feel sadness by my departure from Santos where the fans gave me all of their love and support. But on the other hand I am excited to be joining this club and I promise to give it my all like I have always done throughout my career."

It was rumored that Chivas of Guadalajara were also interested in signing the Mexican striker, but their bitter rivals America beat them to the bomb shell signing.

Riaño: "Ojalá que Riquelme siga"

BUENOS AIRES -- El delantero Claudio Riaño se sumó a las voces de respaldo al capitán de Boca, Juan Román Riquelme, al afirmar que el domingo "quedó demostrado en la cancha lo importante que es Román" para el equipo y "para la gente".

"Esperemos que no sea su último partido. Lo viví como algo muy importante, pero sobre todo fue lindo por haber convertido un gol y haber ganado. Ojalá que siga. Futbolísticamente es indiscutible y por el cariño que le tiene la gente, es el ídolo máximo", indicó Riaño, deseoso de que la dirigencia le renueve a Riquelme el contrato que vencerá en junio.

En rueda de prensa, Riaño, quien en el 3-1 ante Lanús marcó su segundo gol en Boca y el primero como local, comentó que "hacía tiempo que no convertía, gracias a Dios se dio en La Bombonera. Se hizo esperar un poco pero fue hermoso. Lo disfruté mucho, estaban mi familia y mi novia en la cancha".

"No estamos con chances de ser campeones, que era nuestro objetivo pero venimos mostrando muy buen fútbol, buenos resultados analizó-. Trataremos, en el último partido, de seguir con la misma tónica".

Según Riaño, "en las primera fechas fuimos muy irregulares. Después mejoramos mucho en la parte defensiva, estuvimos varios partidos sin que nos convirtieran goles. Cuando sumamos contundencia ante el arco rival, empezamos a sumar resultados. En todas las líneas hemos levantado".

Por último, sobre su futuro, Riaño, cuyo contrato vence el 30 de junio, adelantó: "Mi deseo es seguir en el club. Ahora la decisión la tienen los dirigentes. Yo estoy muy tranquilo por cómo he trabajado durante todo el año y en cada partido, esperemos que se pueda dar".

Facundo Castillón, de Godoy Cruz: "Nos queda una chance más"

MENDOZA -- El delantero de Godoy Cruz, Facundo Castillón, consideró el martes que el domingo frente a Racing Club, "nos queda una chance más" para mantener la categoría y agregó que la misma "hay que aprovecharla".

El atacante, ex-.Argentino y Tiro Federal, ambos de Rosario, además de Olimpo de Bahía Blanca, apuntó: "Nosotros estamos siempre agradecidos por el acompañamiento de la gente durante todo el campeonato. Estamos contentos con los hinchas y necesitamos de ellos para el partido ante Racing, porque para nosotros es muy importante".

Según el rubio delantero "todo depende de nosotros", independientemente de lo que suceda con Colón y Atlético de Rafaela: "Tenemos que ganar. Tenemos una chance más y hay que aprovecharla", remarcó.

En declaraciones a la prensa local, momentos antes de comenzar la práctica matutina en el estadio Feliciano Gambarte, el jugador manifestó que "el partido del domingo, en nuestra casa y con nuestra gente es muy importante".

Al respecto, Castillón sostuvo que "con lo poco que queda en la semana, sólo resta prepararnos de la mejor manera y encarar con todo el partido frente a Racing".

El plantel bodeguero realizó durante esta jornada una nueva práctica en su estadio, de cara al choque del domingo a las 15.00 ante la Academia, en el estadio Malvinas Argentinas de la capital mendocina.

El técnico Jorge Almirón tendrá dos bajas para enfrentar al conjunto de Avellaneda, ya que no podrán estar por acumulación de amarillas, el arquero Jorge Carranza y el lateral izquierdo Leandro Grimi.

El ensayo futbolístico del equipo mendocino está previsto para el jueves en horario matutino, en principio a puertas cerradas en el Malvinas Argentinas, donde seguramente Almirón confirmará a los titulares que estarán ante el conjunto dirigido interinamente por Fabio Radaelli.

Por ahora, la única variante confirmada será el ingreso del arquero Sebastián Moyano por el suspendido Carranza, en tanto que aún el entrenador no decidió el sustituto de Grimi.

Argentina’s 30-man squad set to be named – what is expected?

Alejandro Sabella is set to name his preliminary 30-man squad for the World Cup tomorrow ahead of narrowing the final 23 on June 2nd. Argentina appear to have one of the most settled squads going into the competition so what can we expect from Sabella’s announcement?

The nation waits to see who will be chosen to attempt to capture World Football’s greatest prize but there are few surprises expected from tomorrow’s 30. There are a couple of injury doubts over Éver Banega and Augusto Fernández but are we likely to see any shocking call ups by a Coach who has been strong enough in the past to ignore public clamour.

It would appear that 19 of the 23 man squad are completely assured of a place on the plane. They would be:

The goalkeepers – Sergio Romero, Mariano Andújar and Agustín Orion.
In defence – Ezequiel Garay, Federico Fernández, Pablo Zabaleta, Marcos Rojo, José Basanta and Hugo Campagnaro.
In midfield – Javier Mascherano, Fernando Gago (despite his current knee injury), Ángel Di María, Lucas Biglia and Maxi Rodríguez.
In attack – Lionel Messi, Sergio Agüero, Gonzalo Higuaín, Rodrigo Palacio and Ezequiel Lavezzi.

So who else makes up both the 23 and the 30-man squads?

Éver Banega is currently struggling with a lung infection while Celta Vigo midfielder, Augusto Fernández is nursing a knee injury. National Team Doctors are monitoring their situations but both are expected to be named tomorrow while they continue to treat the issues.

During the qualification period, Sabella was loyal to both his five strikers and his 3 goalkeepers and so it is unlikely that we will see a fourth keeper or a sixth striker. So a late call-up for Carlos Tevez or Mauro Icardi would be an incredible turn of events. It has been suggested that former Wigan striker, Franco Di Santo is more in-line for a place in the 30.

Even a fourth goalkeeper in the preliminary squad would not be absolutely unheard of. In 2006, José Peckerman called up Óscar Ustari to his 30-man squad in addition to Roberto Abbondanzieri, Leonardo Franco and Germán Lux, and when the time came it was Lux who was dropped from the final squad. If there was to be a fourth goalkeeper this time round, then perhaps Sabella will look to someone who may be the future of Argentina goalkeeping, Estudiantes’, Gerónimo Rulli.

With this in mind the extra spots are likely to come from midfield and the defence. In defence, the names who were included in the most recent squads will be in consideration which would mean call ups for Nicolás Otamendi, Lisandro López and Gino Peruzzi.

In midfield, provided that the 5 definites and 2 injured players get called up it would leave a little space for one or two of the players Sabella has previously called upon. Another of his Estudiantes links, José Sosa is an obvious candidate along with Ricky Álvarez, Benfica’s Nico Gaitan or even Tottenham’s, Erik Lamela.

However, there are two other names in the running picked from the Argentine Primera and they are River Plate youngster, Matías Kranevitter and Vélez youth product, Lucas Romero. Perhaps with an eye on the future it would be a good chance to provide some experience to two of Argentina’s most promising midfielders.

We will learn the 30 tomorrow and then just a few weeks to learn the final 23. With the World Cup coming soon and domestic football around the world wrapping up in the coming days, the excitement that comes round every 4 years is growing.

A LIFE WORTH LIVING: PERIVALDO

Lisbon on a sunny Saturday morning. As you stroll down the high sided magnificence of the Rua Arco Grande de Cima, with the light streaming into the Largo de Santa Clara in front of you, you are transported into a shimmering world of ephemera and bric-a-brac as far as the eye can see. Saturday mornings produce a heaving throng to this large square at the foot of the majestic Pantheon in Lisbon’s old town. There is a slanting view down over the crooked rooves of Alfama to the River Tejo, its moored tankers waiting patiently midstream for attention at the narrow docks at Santa Apolonia. The light shimmers on the water, offering a distant view across the lagoon of white houses in the fishing village of Alcochete and the cranes and pylons of industrial Seixal and Almada. The shattered tenements of Alfama slant away down the hill perched on impossibly steep cobbled streets. The thwack of the yellow trams as they thunder along their narrow course fills the tiny streets of Sao Vicente de Fora.

The square is a hive of activity, with stores and tables being set up. Everything from a square of carpet with besmirched plastic toys from the 40s to sea charts of the finest detail and Japanese dresses of every colour. It is amongst this cornucopia of handmade or stolen craft that locals and holidaymakers flock in their hundreds every week to sift through the junk in search of that one blinding find. It is truly a magical place in a superb setting.

The sounds and smells are of Portugal’s colonial past. There are Portuguese army jackets from the colonial wars in Guinea, ancient stamp collections from Mozambique and the heady cocktail of accents and wizened faces that tell you the whole of history has passed through this steaming place at one time or another. Voices and accents mingle as the lazy morning unfolds in swirls of dark coffee and the first wafts of baking pork and goat.

The Feira de Ladra, as it is known locally, plays host to many hundreds of stores and temporary kiosks. We have stopped in front of a raggle taggle piece of bent table draped with ordinary-looking jeans and sports tops that Tommy Hilfiger devotees would blanche at. The tall good looking man peddling the gear wears a brown beany hat, a maroon shirt and a long brown trenchcoat. Although it is December, the weather is warm and he looks impossibly over-dressed. His hair is long and emerges in tufts from beneath the hat, pulled down over his ears. The silver stubble on his chin and the watery eyes tell you a story of their own. He shouts out to a fellow stall holder and his Brazilian accent is immediately discernible. His mouth is crooked and framed by thin lips that mouth quiet eulogies. A gaggle of stumpy Brazilians and disinterested stall holders stand a few metres away, exchanging pleasantries with him, as he absent mindedly arranges jeans and t-shirts.

What one cannot see at this point is the man’s past.

Let us drift back to 1982. More precisely to Spain in 1982, a country awaiting arrivals to take part in the World Cup Finals. España 82 with its curiously beguiling Naranjito emblem, its heady mix of giant open stadiums soaking in the sun and cardboard skinned locals smoking charoots.

A pageant of unsophisticated colour and noise played out across Spain that summer, leaving us with a number of popular images frozen into our memories. Battiston flat on the turf after being knocked cold by dastardly Harald Schumacher; Bryan Robson hooking in for England after 27 seconds of the opening match with France; the Kuwaiti sheik attempting to remove his national side from the pitch in Valladollid; Algerian fans pushing peseta and dollar notes through the grilling as Austria and West Germany colluded their way to mutual qualification. It was a World Cup heavy on iconic imagery, from a young Maradona’s red card for walloping his studs into Passarella’s family jewels, to Marco Tardelli’s televisual adrenaline rush in the Madrid final against a lethragic German side.

Ask anyone to conjure one element from World Cup 82, however, and there is a good chance that it will involve the greatest Brazil side never to win the World Cup, a side brimming with flair and bravado, that did not know (or care to know) when to stop attacking. This was the eternal Brazil built by Tele Santana. The dancing samba Brazil of Zico and Socrates, Falcão and Eder, of Junior and Leandro. A side so heavily imbued with skill and artistry, it was utterly impossible to take your eyes off them.

Certainly inhabitants of the old Soviet Union, Scotland, New Zealand and Argentina will have reason to well remember this side. Brazil toyed with each one before foundering hopelessly in a flailing mess of attacking football against a counter-thrusting Italy side with Paolo Rossi in untouchable goal poaching form. Brazil, needing to draw, twice earned parity with a surprisingly feisty Italian team, but proved incapable of containing their attacking instincts, finally falling to a third sucker punch whilst trying to add to their own total of two.

Brazil filed off home, leaving us all with images to keep ourselves warm over the next forty years. Still Eder’s chip over Alan Rough, Zico’s acrobatic volley against New Zealand or the incredible goals by Socrates against the Soviets and then Italy are burned convincingly deep in our memory banks. It was a fabulously unbalanced side, with an underused goalkeeper, deeply unconvincing stoppers and a lumbering centre forward, who ran like the proverbial old lady falling off the bus. In between these two concrete ends of the team lay two rows of the most lavishly gifted footballers, dancing in and out of the tackles, weaving patterns that ordinary mortals could only try to imagine.

Alongside the illustrious names of Zico, Junior and Socrates, that of Perivaldo Lúcio Dantas does not stand out so much. That is because, sidelined by a meniscus injury just before the tournament began, Perivaldo never made it to Spain. Having played two of the warm up games, he had had high hopes of being part of the samba festival heading to Europe that summer. Rooming with the great captain Socrates, they dreamed together of what glory awaited them on Spain’s sun-drenched costas. But the bags remained unpacked and Perivaldo watched the events unfold from across the Atlantic Ocean.

Born in Itubano on 12th July 1953, the Baiano Perivaldo played for Itubano, Bahia and Botafogo. After the World Cup, he would play at Palmeiras, under Santana and later still for Bangu. Perivaldo led a life of fast cars and flashy women. Never concerned where the next treat might appear from, he and his team mates lived for the present. “It was at the time of a big sponsorship from Le Coq Sportif,” he explains. “With that, each of us earned more than our normal salary at our clubs, certainly more than I was getting at Botafogo.”

He was enticed to Portugal towards the end of his career with the promise of one last big pay-off, after a failed trip to South Korea revealed only the lying ways of those who were already trafficking in footballers in those days. Perivaldo’s Rolex watch would be the last valuable item to go. He drifted into the wrong company and lost everything he owned. The boy from one of Brazil’s golden generations was reduced to sleeping rough on the streets of Lisbon, far from his Brazilian homeland.

Perivaldo sings as he arranges things. It becomes apparent that even this small pile of poor quality clothing is not his to sell. It is not his stall. He sings as he arranges a box of well-known sports footwear that can only have fallen from the back of a truck, with a price so low. The words of Ivete Sangalo play from his mouth as he moves about his tiny space. Sometimes his feet move in a little shuffle-like dance when the minute spaces will allow it. It will be one of his last days supporting his friends at the flea market.

Minutes before our arrival he had nearly missed his spec on the hill because of a late arrival in situ, held back by a report crew from TV Globo, wanting to interview the lost footballer from Brazil. The Brazilian Footballers Union is soon involved and a movement to repatriate the singing ex-player is quickly underway. Within two weeks, he is revealed amongst flashing light bulbs and whirring microphones on the other side of the Atlantic, from borderline homeless to centre of attention once again. His first stop after a night flight from Lisbon is Fortaleza, but Rio awaits him, as does a job at the football union and a small house to dwell in.

“Football can make princes out of paupers but can also do the opposite,” recalls Alfredo Sampaio of the Brazilian Footballers Union. Indeed the figures for just how many lose their way is astonishingly high. Here, at the age of 60, is Perivaldo’s story and its happy ending at last.