Snak

Hvad skulle Italien dog gøre uden Argentina....

Dyabla on Italy radar

Italy boss Cesare Prandelli has reportedly contacted Palermo’s Paulo Dybala about a possible international future with the Azzurri.

The 19-year-old was born in Argentina, but he was given Italian citizenship in August thanks to his Italian grandmother.

The attacker is viewed as a potential star of the future and although an international call is not imminent, stories in his homeland suggest that Prandelli has already spoken to the youngster.

Dybala, likened to Sergio Aguero, moved to Sicily in the summer after a spell at Instituto de Cordoba.

The youngster, two goals in nine games so far this season, has been called up to the Argentina Under-17 and Under-20 sides, but without playing.

Prandelli has not hesitated in given non-Italian born players caps after selecting the likes of Cristian Ledesma, Amauri, Pablo Daniel Osvaldo and Ezequiel Schelotto.

Paraguay talent: Five Paraguayan transfer targets

As we come to the end of the Clausura season the talk in Paraguay begins to revolve around which players will move on and who will be returning to Paraguay. Today we look at five players currently playing in Paraguay who are most likely to be in the eyes of clubs in Argentina, Mexico, Brazil and even Europe.

Fidencio Oviedo

Club: Cerro Porteño

D.o.B: 30 May 1987

Place of Birth: Ciudad del Este, Paraguay

Position: Midfield

The defensive midfielder struggled at first following a big money move from Independiente, unable to protect the defence or adjust to the rhythm of Cerro’s passing game. However he was excellent towards the end of the Apertura and in this Clausura, breaking up play but also able to distribute the ball quickly to offensive players to start attacks. His form saw him finally make his debut for the national side in Paraguay’s win over Peru in the world cup qualifiers. With Cerro Porteño in debt and publicly announcing the need to sell their most valuable assets, Fidencio Oviedo is being priced up at almost $5 million and there have been rumours of interest from Italy.

Marcos Riveros

Club: Nacional

D.o.B: 04 September 1988

Place of Birth: Asunción, Paraguay

Position: Midfield

Another defensive midfielder, Marcos Riveros is arguably more athletic than Oviedo and is stronger in the air – he was key in Nacional’s title win in 2011 and has once again been instrumental in their title challenge this year. He struggled during his time in Argentina with Newell’s Old Boys but maybe in a better side and now with more experience he can settle into a big club possibly in Mexico where Nacional have sold players to before and where the Paraguayan stock has risen even higher this season thanks to the performances of Pablo Aguilar and Edgar Benítez.

Richard Ortiz

Club: Olimpia

D.o.B: 22 May 1990

Place of Birth: Villa Ygatimí, Paraguay

Position: Midfield/Full Back

If it wasn’t for Antonio Valencia the left-back currently playing in the middle would already be in Europe, he was hotly tipped to move abroad having shone against Uruguay only for the Manchester United winger to break his leg in a reckless challenge towards the end of a World Cup Qualifier in November 2011. Now he is fully fit and has been one of the best player’s in a disappointing Olimpia side, he is a ferocious tackler and has also proved to be something of a goalscorer with his clever late runs and ability to latch onto crosses with his intelligent movement. Another player who might be sought after in Italy, Olimpia like Cerro are in debt so will be willing to sell.

José Ariel Nuñez

Club: Libertad

D.o.B: 12 September 1988

Place of Birth: Luque, Paraguay

Position: Striker

Something of a breakthrough year for this whippet of a striker who has always shown something of a Nelson Haedo in his style, the way he happily runs all game and will close down the opposition from the front. What he does possess is an excellent ability to finish off chances once he is in behind the defence something which he often does thanks to his movement and pace. Like Oviedo he has broken into the national team under Gerardo Pelusso making three starts under the Uruguayan coach. Libertad are notoriously reluctant to sell so he might find it tough getting away from the Guma but if he does Mexico looks a likely option.

Nicolas Martinez

Club: Tacuary

D.o.B: 15 February 1989

Place of Birth: Ñemby, Paraguay

Position: Attacking midfielder

The former Olimpia player drifted off the footballing map for a while but has emerged at Tacuary this season and starting scoring goals at a phenomenal rate from attacking midfield. At the time of writing he is joint topscorer in the league with defences finding him unplayable, he is very short (5 ft 8 in) and with excellent technical ability making it hard to shake him off the ball once he gets a yard of space. He formed part of the Paraguay U20s squad that went to the World Cup in 2009 with several former teammates now enjoying life in Europe (Luis Caballero, Krylya – Ivan Piris, Roma – Hernan Perez, Villarreal – Lorenzo Melagerjo, Benfica – Celso Ortiz, AZ). His purple patch has earned him a place in the Paraguay training squad.

Tror de fleste kan huske den her....

Alianza Lima and the 1987 Air Disaster

Alianza Lima, formed 1901 by horse stud workers of Italian heritage are Peru’s oldest professional football club. Since their first championship in 1918, Alianza have won titles in every decade apart from one, the 1980’s, a decade marred by one of the saddest tragedies in South American football.

During the first round of the 1978 World Cup in Argentina, the Argentine sports magazine El Gráfico named the Peruvian midfield made up of Alianza Lima players (César Cueto, Teófilo Cubillas, José Velásquez) as the best in the world. Peru, then South American champions, in their iconic white strip with red diagonal slash, had swept aside Scotland and Iran and got a very creditable draw against eventual finalists Holland in the 1st round. The 2nd phase however, they fell to 3 straight defeats including the infamous 6-0 defeat against the hosts.

That same year, Alianza Lima won the Peruvian national championship after 18 long years of suffering. Unfortunately, despite the talent in their ranks, this victory did not kick-start a new glory period in the club’s history. In 1987, after eight years of disappointment, the club found itself leading the Peruvian championship with a few games left to play. The team was galvanized with a generation of young stars affectionately known as “los portillos” roughly translated as ‘the ponies’. They came from lower divisions and young players spotted in the street and they constituted a new hope not just for Alianza but for the Peruvian national side that had been in decline following a disappointing performance in the 1982 World Cup.

On December 7th 1987, the title contenders travelled to Deportivo Pucallpa, a club based in the jungle in the east of Peru, and maintained their championship credentials with a 1-0 win that sent them top of the league. The Alianza players were keen to return to the capital as soon as possible after their victory to celebrate with family and friends. The club chartered a Peruvian Navy Fokker F27-400M plane to take them back to Lima but had to wait until the next day.

The plane took off early evening on the 8th December from Pucallpa airport at 18:30, as the plane neared its destination, the captain Peruvian Navy Lieutenant Edilberto Villar and his co-pilot could not confirm if the landing gear of the plane was locked down. The aircraft then completed a successful fly-by to confirm the wheels were indeed in place and turned around to attempt another landing. The plane carrying 44 people including; players, coaches, fans and crewmembers plummeted into the Pacific Ocean at 20:05 in the evening as the pilots flew the plane too close to the water and the impact was fatal.

After a few days of searching for bodies it was confirmed that everybody on board the plane had died, apart from one man: the pilot, Edilberto Villar. Sixteen players of Alianza Lima were dead and many of the bodies were never recovered from the ocean. The star of the team was Luis Escobar, who had made his debut at just fourteen years old and at the time of the accident was still only eighteen and was having a fantastic campaign. Francisco Bustamante (21 years) and José Casanova (24 years) were popular players for the national team also fell victim. Others included top goalscorer Alfredo Tomasini, who survived for many days as he was one of the few who could swim but drowned just before the rescue of the pilot.

Coach Marcos Calderón, arguably the greatest Peruvian coach of all time was a great loss for Peruvian football going forward, this man revolutionised the national side in the 70’s and was at the helm for the Copa America triumph in 1975 and the world cup campaign in 1978. During the season there was always talk that this team could form the base of a decent Peruvian national side again, perhaps with Calderón guiding them once more. He certainly still had a lot to teach and give.

National mourning and grief followed the deaths. Naturally the stars of Alianza Lima were the ones adorning pictures, t-shirts and newspaper headlines but this tragedy including fans, coaching stuff, referees and cabin crew. Mass crowds gathered on the beaches, in the street, in the bars and in the stadiums all united together in grief. The President of the Republic Alan Garcia and Ministers of State attended as many funerals as they could. Officially there were three days of mourning in honor of those who perished and it took three weeks until the national championship resumed.

As the news broke across the world, in England, Bobby Charlton made public his sadness at the news of the tragedy, remembering the crash suffered by the club Manchester United, February 6, 1958, which caused the death of eight players, the coach, a fan and eight journalists. Uruguayan and South American champions Peñarol played the final of the Intercontinental Cup in Tokyo, with black ribbons on their shirts as a sign of solidarity with their Peruvian counterparts.

Controversy followed the incident and many theories are still about today not helped by the fact the Navy and government kept the information and reports on the accident hidden from the public. It’s claimed they actually fired shots into the air when bereaved family members went to try and speak to them about the accident. Many a conspiracy theory was created, two popular ones in particular.

The first controversial theory is that the plane was part of a drug trafficking operation and whilst flying back to Lima, the players caught wind of this and it started an argument on board which ended with a couple of the players being shot, this theory is supported by various reporters who claim two things. One is that there were two other planes that came from Pucallpa in the days leading up to the accident carrying large quantities of Coca. The other is that they made sure the bodies of some of the players were never recovered because the clothes which had been recovered allegedly had evidence of bullet holes. All this commotion on board the plane led the pilots to crash the plane, perhaps on purpose to create a story and then flee the country. It is true that Villar did in fact flee to Australia as soon as possible and has never returned to Peru since the accident, a major fact supporting this theory.

The second theory is another one of heroic team action. All on board became aware of a mechanical problem with the plane and were told there was a risk that the plane might end up hitting a slum near the airport. All the passengers decided that it is best the plane is crashed into the sea to avoid a greater catastrophe on land.

The more likely explanation is that the plane was in substandard condition but also the pilots had very little experience and were struggling with the controls as neither could read or speak English so therefore they couldn’t understand the manuals. Lieutenant Villar had failed a special training course which could have prevented the accident. It was dark by the time the plane hit the water and the pilots records show very little flying time at night.

Whatever the truth is, the more controversial theories came about due to social class tensions in Peru. The players very much represented the poor communities they grew up in and the public found it hard to accept this was just an accident and believed that the players knew something, the government didn’t want people to know as it was in the midst of defending itself in a guerrilla war that was gripping the country involving the maoist organization Sendero Luminoso (The Shining Path) and had lost further legitimacy with the public by nationalising the banking system in the same year as the accident.

As for Alianza Lima after the crash, unfortunately they lost out on the title, having borrowed players from Chilean club Colo Colo and also got some old favourites out of retirement; the club struggled to recover initially from the disaster and nearly suffered relegation the following year. It took the club 9 years to fully recover and regain the Peruvian championship ending another 18 season wait. Nowadays they are searching for their first title since 2006, they finished third in the 2010 campaign. In a recent poll they were found to Peru’s most popular football club and the legacy of the ‘portrillos’ is said to be one reason for that.

Campeonato de Clausura 2012: Final Preview

The 2012 Clausura season finally comes to its conclusion in the next few days with Huachipato and Unión Española playing off in a two-legged final to determine who will be crowned champion. In honour of this we take an in-depth preview for the matches to be played on Wednesday and Sunday Chilean time.

For the first time in four seasons it won’t be first versus second in the final two games of the season as Huachipato, who finished the regular season in sixth position, taking on an Unión Española side that finished in seventh position. This is the first time that Huachipato have made the final since the playoff system was introduced in 2002 whilst their opponents’ last appearance was in 2009 when they went lost to Universidad de Chile in the Apertura final.

Huachipato, who saw off Palestino and Rangers de Talca on their way to the final, will be looking to be add to their only title which they won way back in 1974. In recent times the team that is based in Talcahuano and are nicknamed the “el campeón del sur” have failed to repeat their performances of the early 2000s when they made the semi-finals in the Apertura seasons of 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006. Whilst the team doesn’t have the experience of taking part in the final games of the season they can take heart from the fact that their manager Jorge Pellicer has done it all before in 2005 when he took Universidad Católica took the Clausura title.

Unión Española, who at one stage of the season looked like they wouldn’t even make the playoffs, are on an impressive run of form that has seen has seen them win six of their last seven matches. In the playoffs this run has been even more impressive as they have comfortably seen off Colo Colo and Universidad de Chile, who finished the regular season in first and second places respectively. Even though they finished the below Huachipato they go into the final as slight favourites following these results. La furia roja, who last won a title in the 2005 Apertura season, will be looking for their seventh title under club legend José Luis Sierra who at one stage looked like he would be lucky to finish the season.

Last three meetings

Round 7, 2012 Clausura Season

Huachipato 2-0 U. Española (J. Contreras (HU) 18′, C. Cortés (HU) 27′)

Round 7, 2012 Apetura Season

U. Española 1-3 Huachipato (E. Herrera (UE) 7′, M. Villalobos (HU) 23′, G. Sandoval (HU) 50′, B. Rodriguez (HU) 84′)

Round 12, 2011 Clausura Season

Huachipato 2-1 U. Española (L. Monje (UE) 25′, C. Cortés (HU) 57′, J. Vera (HU) 61′)

Finals history

This is the first time that these two teams have met in the playoffs.

Players to Watch

Emiliano Vecchio – Unión Española

One of the key components in Unión’s recent run has been their Argentinean attacking midfielder Emiliano Vecchio who has been in stellar form of late. The former Defensor de Belgrano player had an indifferent Apertura season where off-field issues got the better of him but in the latter stages of the Clausura he has been a revelation. Vecchio has formed an irresistible combination in midfield with Emilio Hernández and Mauro Diaz, a combination that has been key to Unión’s wins over Universidad de Chile and Colo Colo. Huachipato will not only have to quell Vecchio but also Hernández and Diaz if they are going to triumph.

Cesár Cortés – Huachipato

A key part of Huachipato’s run to the final two games of the season has been the form of Cesár Cortés, who scored eight goals so far during their Clausura campaign after only scoring once in the Apertura season. Along with fellow striker Braian Rodriguez they have contributed more than two thirds of Huachipato’s goals this season. The Iquique native has also scored in two of their last three matches against Unión Española, which coincidentally have all been wins, so the defence of la furia roja will need to keep Cortés quiet if they want to win the title.

Our prediction

Whilst recent history would indicate that Huachipato have the wood over Unión Española the form of the latter in the past month has been irresistible and it is hard to go past them. What gives la furia roja the edge is their attacking threat in the form of Mauro Diaz, Emiliano Vecchio and Emilio Hernández in midfield which ably supports strikers Sebastián Jaime and Patricio Rubio. This will be a tightly fought affair but Unión is on such a roll and full confidence they should prevail over the two legs.

Lagrimas i Grêmio. Vitória nappede pladsen i pokalfinalen for U/20-hold for næsen af gauchoerne. Grêmio vandt gårsdagen returkamp hjemme i Porto Algre med 2-1, men det var ikke nok, da Vitória havde 1-0 med i bagagen efter det første møde i Salvador. Udebanemålet slog Grêmio af banen. Bittert med tanke på at Grêmio førte med 2-0 indtil kampen gik ind i sit sidste spilleminut...
Vitória møder Atlético Mineiro i finalen, der også afvikles over 2 kampe. Vinderen får en plads i næste års Copa Libertadores Sub-20.

Tror de fleste kan huske den her....

Jeg kan huske jeg har hørt historien siden, men var dog for ung til at kunne huske da det skete. Der havde vi jo heller ikke det der internet, så nyhederne kunne komme frem til os lige med det samme.

@ dibben...

Jaeh mener faktisk jeg læste om det i Tipsbladet også back in the days, det var ham Poul Høyer Hansen som havde forffattet artiklen - husker de fik Cubillas, Cueto mfl. at trække i trøjen igen - for en kort bemærkning....tragedien adskiller sig fra MAnchester United og Torino, da konspirationsteorier florerede og stadigvæk gør.

Santos star Felipe Anderson advises Victor Andrade to listen to coach Muricy Ramalho

It was not too long ago that Santos midfielder Felipe Anderson felt the wrath of coach Muricy Ramalho on a regular basis, but after a fine second half of the season it appears the honour has now been passed to young striker Victor Andrade.

Andrade, 17, who has been dubbed the ‘new Neymar’, has been criticised by Ramalho for his attitude and lack of humility, suggesting, that despite his obvious talent, he has a long way to go before fulfilling his potential.

However, Anderson told Lancenet! that if the player is serious about improving then he must listen to the coach.

He said: “You need to listen more to Muricy. He is experienced, knows football, he was champion in several places and knows what he’s talking about.

“He is not doing this to be evil, he knows that Victor (Andrade) has a lot to give and has quality. Just get in training, work correctly and listen.

The pressure on the player has gone as far as to affect his family, but Anderson believes that the player is starting to show progress.

“He´s too young, but we all know about his quality, he is very different. He felt a little lift in the pros, but he´s already starting to play well and to assimilate what is this responsibility.

“I´m sure in time he will break with the shirt of Santos.”

Andrade has been with Santos since he was 11-years-old and has a release clause in his contract, which runs until 2014, for €50 million.

Seneste nyt angående "Sideshow Bob version 2.0"...;-)

Newcastle United target Marcos Rocha to stay with Atlético Mineiro until after the Copa Libertadores

Atlético Mineiro full-back Marcos Rocha, who was linked with Newcastle United on Wednesday, has revealed that, after a talk with president Alexandre Kalil, he will not leave the club before the end of the Copa Libertadores.

Rocha, 23, who was voted the Brasileirão’s best full-back this season, was both surprised and delighted to hear of the Geordies interest.

“I heard through my publicist and then my manager called me,” the right-back told Globo Esporte.

“An interest from English football, which everyone knows is one of the best, very difficult, it is not for anyone, and I just have to thank them.”

Rocha is not the only Atlético-MG player to be linked with a move away after European champions Chelsea expressed an interest in Bernard. But Rocha revealed that Kalil wants to keep the squad together for a real go at the Libertadores.

“He reassured everyone and told me that they will not sell me or Bernard until the end of our participation in the Libertadores.

“He said that if I have to leave, then just after the Libertadores.”

“This gives us tranquility and confidence to enter the year with our heads in the Libertadores. A tournament that has a lot of visibility and the whole world will watch. Undoubtedly, it was a wise decision by the president, because the maintenance of the team is a weapon that we have.”

Boca: R. Schiavi entrenó y jugará

BUENOS AIRES -- Rolando Schiavi volvió hoy a entrenar de cara a su último partido en Boca el sábado próximo ante Godoy Cruz, que dirige su amigo Martín Palermo.

De esta forma, el entrenador Julio Falcioni, que está cada vez más cerca de renovar contrato, presentará la misma alineación que jugó y perdió ante Arsenal en Sarandí (0-1).

Boca jugará con Agustín Orión; Franco Sosa, Rolando Schiavi, Matías Caruzzo, Clemente Rodríguez; Guillermo Fernández, Cristian Erbes, Walter Erviti, Leandro Paredes; Lautaro Acosta y Santiago Silva.

Boca, de 30 puntos, recibirá este sábado en La Bombonera a Godoy Cruz de Mendoza (20), en partido correspondiente a la decimonovena fecha del Torneo Inicial 2012.

Rolando Schiavi, quien cumplirá 40 años en enero de 2013, se despedirá del club disputando su último encuentro con esa camiseta.