Snak

Fluminense kom i weekenden endnu et skridt nærmere det brasilianske mesterskab. 1-1 ude mod São Paulo battede godt, da de nærmeste forfølgere Atlético Mineiro tabte med 1-0 til Coritiba. Rio-holdet skal bare bruge en sejr i de sidste 4 kampe for at blive mestre. Atlético Mineiro og Grêmio er næsten sikker på kvalifikation til Copa Libertadores, mens São Paulo nok nupper den sidste plads. De regerende brasilianske og sydamerikanske mestre fra Corinthians er allerede kvalificeret til Sydamerikas svar på Champions League ligesom pokalmestrene fra Palmeiras. Selv samme Palmeiras er på vej ned i Serie B. Storklubben har 7 points op til den rigtige side af nedrykningsstregen, og med fire kampe igen tyder det på en "Mission Impossible" for Hernán Barcos & Co. Atlético-GO fik "øksen" i går af Corinthians, Figueirense er også så godt som dømt ude, mens Palmeiras og Sport Recife skal håbe på en masse medvind til sidst i turneringen.

El vasco ser ud til at være favoritten til at tage over efter Astrada i Argentinos Juniors :-)

Arg. Juniors: Arruabarrena candidato

BUENOS AIRES -- Rodolfo Arruabarrena está cerca de convertirse en el nuevo entrenador de Argentinos Juniors, tras la renuncia a ese cargo de Leonardo Astrada por los malos resultados del equipo.

Los directivos de Argentinos se juntaron ayer con Arruabarrena, quien es el preferido de la mayoría de los autoridades del club, y este lunes se definirá si el ex entrenador de Tigre asume el cargo.

También tienen chances de asumir en Argentinos José Luis Calderón y Jorge Burruchaga, aunque este último quedó rezagado porque a los directivos no le gustó que su representante lo haya ofrecido a varios clubes de Argentina y del exterior.

En tanto, el presidente del club, Luis Segura, quiere convencer a Hugo Tocalli, actualmente en las inferiores de Argentinos, para que se haga cargo de la primera, situación muy difícil porque el ex entrenador de Quilmes y del seleccionado juvenil no está para nada convencido en dejar a los juveniles.

Después del empate del sábado ante San Martín de San Juan, Astrada se despidió el domingo del plantel, y el entrenamiento en el predio de UTA fue dirigido por Carlos Mayor, el entrenador de la reserva.

mjaeh det afhænger vel af om Racing vinder i aften...

"No es un mano a mano con Newell´s"

BUENOS AIRES -- El delantero de Vélez Sarsfield, Facundo Ferreyra, habló por ESPN Radio en Rivadavia.

"Desde que llegué a Vélez, Ricardo me transmitió confianza y trato de responderle con goles y sacrificio. Estoy muy contento por el triunfo de anoche y por cómo me salieron las cosas".

"Con Lucas nos entendemos cada vez mejor, está en un momento bárbaro. Es un gran jugador y un gran compañero".

"Estar en una institución modelo que está en todos los detalles ayuda mucho al rendimiento".

"Ante Arsenal fue un partido raro, llegamos un par de veces y convertimos. El resultado fue atípico, fuimos muy contundentes. Gareca, en el entretiempo, nos aclaró que no nos relajemos porque a pesar de estar 3 a 1 arriba, Arsenal se venía con todo. Cuando quedamos 5 a 1, ahí sí nos relajamos un poco".

"De visitante nos salen a jugar un poco más y dejan espacios. Cuando somos locales se nos cierran mucho atrás".

"Quedan muchos puntos en juego. No es un mano a mano con Newell´s solamente. Nos viene un partido complicado ante Godoy Cruz".

"Hace tres meses no sabía qué hacer de mi vida. Este presente es ideal y demuestra lo cambiante que es el fútbol".

Fluminense kom i weekenden endnu et skridt nærmere det brasilianske mesterskab. 1-1 ude mod São Paulo battede godt, da de nærmeste forfølgere Atlético Mineiro tabte med 1-0 til Coritiba. Rio-holdet skal bare bruge en sejr i de sidste 4 kampe for at blive mestre. Atlético Mineiro og Grêmio er næsten sikker på kvalifikation til Copa Libertadores, mens São Paulo nok nupper den sidste plads. De regerende brasilianske og sydamerikanske mestre fra Corinthians er allerede kvalificeret til Sydamerikas svar på Champions League ligesom pokalmestrene fra Palmeiras. Selv samme Palmeiras er på vej ned i Serie B. Storklubben har 7 points op til den rigtige side af nedrykningsstregen, og med fire kampe igen tyder det på en "Mission Impossible" for Hernán Barcos & Co. Atlético-GO fik "øksen" i går af Corinthians, Figueirense er også så godt som dømt ude, mens Palmeiras og Sport Recife skal håbe på en masse medvind til sidst i turneringen.

Tilgengæld ser det ud til at Flamengo overlever...igen :-)

og så en cadeau til Eder ikke at forveksle med Éder ;-)

http://www.bold.dk/snak/…&id=2942655

Lidt flere hooligan problemer i Argentina - 60 anholdte efter All boys - River Plate.

60 detenidos en All Boys vs. River

BUENOS AIRES -- Un total de 60 detenidos hubo por los incidentes producidos por un grupo de simpatizantes de River Plate que agredió a parciales de All Boys, a unas cuadras del estadio Islas Malvinas.

Uno de los incidentes se produjo en la intersección de las calles Segurola y San Blas, cuando a las 16.30 un grupo de simpatizantes de River descendió de un colectivo de la línea 114 y comenzó a agredir a parciales de All Boys que estaban en el lugar.

Ante los incidentes, tuvieron que intervenir los efectivos policiales de la sucursal 43, afectados a la cobertura del encuentro, quienes comenzaron a lanzar gases lacrimógenos para dispersar a los revoltosos de ambas parcialidades.

Los simpatizantes comenzaron a arrojar piedras y otros objetos, pero rápidamente fueron controlados por los efectivos policiales, quienes tuvieron un agente herido en una ceja.

Los otros focos de violencia, en todos los casos no "graves" como lo calificaron los efectivos policiales, se produjeron en las intersecciones de las calles San Nicolás y Camaranes, y en el cruce de San Blas y Gualeguaychú.

Por último, también se detectaron entradas falsas, alrededor de 200, las cuales fueron rechazadas y aquellos que las tenían fueron demorados por los efectivos policiales.

Tim Vickery, Palmeiras and the quest for justice....

Palmeiras appeal could decide club´s destiny

All´s fair in love, war and relegation battles - or Palmeiras seem to think so.

The Sao Paulo giants, the team of the city´s Italian community, are in trouble. Back in July they won the Brazilian Cup, guaranteeing a place in next year´s Copa Libertadores, South America´s Champions League.

However, results have since suffered in the domestic league and they now need to make up a seven-point gap with just four rounds of the season left.

Their hopes could perhaps rest on the outcome of a hearing to be held in the next couple of days. The focus of their appeal is a disallowed goal from Argentine centre-forward Hernan Barcos against Internacional on October 27.

Barcos diverted a corner into the back of the net with his hand. The goal was disallowed, and there is no doubt that it should have been, but there is a strong suspicion that in order to make the decision the wrong means were used.

At first neither the referee nor his assistants appeared to see anything wrong with the goal. Then came the change of mind - allegedly because the referee had been informed of the handball by somebody watching a television monitor. This, of course, is a resource that is not officially available to referees.

Palmeiras, who lost the game 2-1, made a formal complaint and they are hoping the match will be declared void and a replay ordered, giving them a chance to get three points closer to safety.

Launching a complaint because an illegal goal was ruled out would seem to contravene football´s unofficial rule 18 - the request that common sense be applied in the application of the 17 laws of the game. Some people, though, think Palmeiras have a case - and even if they do not, the seriousness of their situation justifies such desperate measures.

The issue here is the role of technology in the decisions taken by football referees and, perhaps an even bigger issue, the limitations of the use of technology in decisions taken by officials.

The laws are full of references to "in the opinion of the referee" and "in a manner considered by the referee...." Even off-side is a matter of interpretation.

This means that a utopia of footballing justice can never exist, however much technology is employed because there will always be different interpretations.

The easiest proof of this is to contrast the opinions of opposing players and coaches. It is one of the great truths of football that everyone always thinks the referee is favouring the other side.

Such a state of affairs is not hard to understand because football people live a life of constant insecurity. The easiest way to deny or avoid unwelcome truths is to blame the referee.

Diego Alonso stands out in this respect - one of the reasons for believing the 37-year-old Uruguayan is one of the most promising coaches in South American football.

A target man centre-forward in his playing days - good enough to have won senior international caps and to have had a fair career in Spain - Alonso knew from an early age that he wanted to be a coach.

After a short spell in charge of Bella Vista, the Montevideo club where he both started and ended his playing days, he took over Guarani of Paraguay this year, moulding an aggressive team who are closing in on a rare league title - only their second in almost 30 years.

"In training sessions," he told Uruguayan newspaper ´El Pais´ last week, "we practice situations where he have had a man sent off and are in numerical disadvantage. We also stage games with biased refereeing so the players can get used to it."

He is attempting to foster a mentality where his men take full responsibility for their own performances. "The message that I pass to the players is that there is not a referee in the world who can make them lose a game. I don´t deny that sometimes the referee has a bad day. But if you have real players, a referee is not going to tip the balance."

Alonso´s preparation was put to the test on Sunday, when Guarani had two men sent off in their visit to Sportivo Luqueno. In the circumstances, a 1-1 draw was perhaps not a bad result. But it is Guarani´s third game without a win and their lead at the top of the table has been cut to four points with seven games remaining.

As the pressure mounts, it will be fascinating to see if Alonso can maintain his line of conduct and if Guarani can keep doing the things that took them to the top of the table. As Alonso is aware, if they are overtaken they will have no one but themselves to blame.

Det var vel uundgåeligt ?

Marcelo Oliveira leaves role as Vasco coach following sixth straight defeat

Marcelo Oliveira has left his role as coach of Vasco da Gama by mutual
consent following six straight defeats in the Brasileirão.

The 57-year-old’s last game in charge of the seventh-placed club was during Vasco’s 3-0 home defeat to Sport Recife yesterday.

Oliveira met with club officials earlier this morning and decided to leave for a number of reasons, including unpaid wages.

An official statement read: "After the latest results, coach Marcelo Oliveira, in agreement with the board of Vasco, has decided to leave.

"The team will be led by assistant coach Gaucho for the four remaining games in the Brasileirão."

Oliveira started the year as coach of Coritib but took the reins at the Rio giants after former coach Christopher Borges resigned following a 4-0 defeat to Bahia.

Since then the club have recorded just two wins and two draws, leaving them adrift of Copa Libertadores qualification by nine points.

Cruzeiro have recently held talks with Marcelo Oliveira over taking the helm at the Mineiro side next season.

Neymar: I will only play alongside Lionel Messi if he joins Santos

Neymar has once again reiterated that a move to Europe is not an option for him at the moment by stating that he will only play alongside Lionel Messi if the Argentine moves to Santos.

The 20-year-old has been consistently linked with a move to Barcelona, with some reports suggesting a deal is already in place between the two clubs.

Neymar also recently said that it would be a dream to play alongside Messi, after he had complemented the Brazilian, which fuelled more speculation.

However, the Seleção star has now joked that the only way he will play with Messi in the near future is if he leaves Camp Nou for the Morumbi.

"For now, I will only play alongside Messi if he opts to join Santos," the tricky attacker was quoted as saying by El Mundo.

"It´s possible for Santos to sign him. All we have to do is sell half of the city!"

Neymar went on to stress that he has not been in touch with neither Barca nor Real Madrid and that his only focus is his current club.

"I don´t know anything about Barcelona. One day I´m linked with a move there, and another day I´m supposedly on my way to Madrid. I have a contract with Santos until 2014, though, and that´s all I know."

Adriano leaves Flamengo

The 30-year-old rejoined his boyhood club in September with the hope of recovering from surgery on a problematic left Achilles.

However, the striker struggled to regain his fitness and has faced disciplinary action for missing training on numerous occasions, with the most recent incident on Friday.

Adriano was expected to have contract talks with Flamengo on Tuesday, as he exceeded an agreement to miss no more than three training sessions, but has now taken it upon himself to leave the club.

The former Brazil international said: "I thought a lot, talked to my friends and family and came to the conclusion that the best thing to do is to return in 2013.

"I took this decision not only for me but also for Flamengo. I am almost recovered but will be missing for the final few rounds of the championship.

"The club has to concentrate on this final strait and I need to focus on getting back to 100% fitness and not to satisfy expectations."

Adriano also revealed that he will continue to train and regain fitness with hopes of returning to action next season, whether at Flamengo or somewhere else.

He added: "I will continue training with even more rigor. I do not know if it will be in Rio but I can say that in 2013 I will be ready to enter the pitch.

"Thanks a lot to those who always support me. Believe me, this decision was made considering all."

Twelfth-placed Flamengo are expected to announce Adriano’s departure on Tuesday.

Gode Gremio nyheder....

New Grêmio president Fábio Koff hoping to extend Luxemburgo´s contract this week

Fábio Koff, the new president of Grêmio, is looking to move this week to tie head coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo down to a new contract at the club.

Despite being elected in October, Koff, who will replace current president Paulo Odone, does not take control of the club until December. However, with Cruzeiro showing an interest and with fans getting restless at the thought of Luxemburgo leaving when his contract runs out at the end of the season, Koff has chosen to act early in renewing the staff for next season.

As well as Luxemburgo, Koff is also looking to secure the rest of the technical staff for next season with new contracts for fitness coaches Antonio Mello and Antonio Lopes Junior and also assistants Paulo Paixão, Roger Machado and Emerson da Rosa.

Luxembourgo has worked wonders in Porto Alegre this season in getting the team to 3rd in the table with just a handful of games remaining, however it is thought the coach wants come assurances over the plans for pre-season and reinforcements before he signs on.