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Ayoví: "Faltan siete finales"

QUITO -- La selección de Ecuador, que descansó en la jornada del viernes de las Eliminatorias Sudamericanas al Mundial de Brasil 2014, sólo piensa en reaparecer el próximo martes con un triunfo ante Paraguay para así confirmarse entre los primeros de la clasificación.

"Faltan siete partidos que serán siete finales", afirmó el capitán de la selección ecuatoriana, Wálter Ayoví, en rueda de prensa.

Ayoví señaló que el equipo saldrá a la cancha del estadio Atahualpa de Quito con "confianza y alegría para conseguir los tres puntos".

"No pensamos en cuántos puntos necesitamos" para conseguir la clasificación al Mundial, sólo "pensamos en conseguir la mayor cantidad de puntos", agregó Ayoví, quien añadió que Ecuador no se considera una selección "favorita", sino que trabaja "día a día" para "ir consiguiendo" el objetivo final: "llegar al Mundial".

No obstante, reconoció que Paraguay es una selección "difícil" y "fuerte" en defensa, que seguramente intentará cerra las eventuales arremetidas de Ecuador.

"Paraguay es un equipo fuerte que trabaja mucho en todas las zonas, hacen muchos fouls (faltas), por lo que no debemos entrar en el ritmo de ellos y, más bien, pregonar nuestro fútbol y saber que el partido dura 90 minutos en los que debemos trabajar el gol", apuntó Ayoví.

De su lado, Cristian Suárez, delantero ecuatoriano, coincidió en que "la defensa de Paraguay es una de las mejores de Sudamérica", porque es "fuerte" y "difícil".

"Creo que para poder entrarle a una defensa así no hay que entrar en la desesperación, trabajar el partido durante los 90 minutos, no va a ser fácil pero tenemos jugadores desequilibrantes para poder romper esa línea defensiva", añadió Suárez.

Los ecuatorianos "tenemos que sacar los tres puntos para seguir aspirando a lo que todos queremos, llegar al Mundial", apostilló el ariete

Caicedo habló sobre lo que viene

GUAYAQUIL -- El delantero ecuatoriano Felipe Caicedo, del Lokomotiv ruso, aseguró que Paraguay es un equipo muy fuerte, pero Ecuador aprovechará la ventaja de ser local en el partido del próximo 26 de marzo por la duodécima jornada de las eliminatorias sudamericanas del Mundial Brasil 2014.

"Paraguay es un equipo muy fuerte que se merece todo nuestro respeto, pero vamos a aprovechar la ventaja que tenemos jugando de local", señaló Caicedo.

Con relación a su actualidad futbolística, el goleador aseveró que "no va a suponer ningún problema el hecho de haber jugado solamente dos partidos oficiales con el Lokomotiv".

"Estoy bien, el hecho que la Liga (Rusia) haya empezado más tarde me hace llegar más fresco. Ya lo demostré ante Portugal", añadió.

Mientras el defensa Walter Ayoví dijo estar concentrado en los entrenamientos para adaptarse a los 2.850 metros sobre el nivel del mar en que está situado Quito, sede del partido.

"La responsabilidad de nosotros siempre será la misma: ganar. Sabemos que estos partidos son cerrados, pero tenemos jugadores desequilibrantes", expresó Ayoví en una rueda prensa tras el primero de los dos entrenamientos de hoy.

El defensa del Monterrey mexicano agregó que "esta etapa de eliminatoria no es para relajarse, no hay que confiarse de lo hecho hasta ahora".

El equipo que dirige el seleccionador colombiano Reinaldo Rueda se completará hoy con la llegada de Juan Anangonó, del Argentinos Juniors, y la preparación desde mañana podrá desarrollarse con toda la plantilla convocada.

Ecuador es segundo en clasificación sudamericana con diecisiete puntos, producto de cinco victorias, dos empates y dos derrotas.

Bilardo: "Es difícil que el Argentina-Colombia se juegue en Rosario"

Buenos Aires, 23 marzo de 2013.- El director de selecciones de Argentina, Carlos Bilardo, dijo que "es difícil" que el partido entre la Albiceleste y Colombia, en junio próximo, se dispute en el estadio del Newell´s Old Boys.

"Ojalá, como homenaje a (Lionel) Messi, se juegue en Rosario, pero de que tanta gente haya ido al ´Monumental´, es difícil", dijo el exseleccionador a la radio Concepto, de Buenos Aires. "Creo que se va a jugar en el estadio de River Plate, aunque "Messi se merece" que se dispute un partido en Rosario, agregó.

Messi pidió a Julio Grondona, presidente de la Asociación del Fútbol Argentino (AFA), que uno de los partidos de las eliminatorias del Mundial 2014 se juegue en el estadio Marcelo Bielsa, del club en el que comenzó a jugar al fútbol.

Para el Argentina-Venezuela (3-0) del viernes pasado se agotaron las entradas casi con una semana de anticipación, como consecuencia del gran momento que atraviesan la selección argentina y Messi, quien ganó cuatro veces el Balón de Oro con el Barcelona.

La última vez que Argentina jugó en Rosario fue durante el ciclo de Diego Maradona como seleccionador, en septiembre de 2009, cuando cayó derrotada por Brasil (1-3) en el estadio ´Gigante de Arroyito´ del club Rosario Central

Ny UB-40 ?

DAVID ´JUNIOR´ HOILETT

David ´Junior´ Hoilett 22 Midfielder Queens Park Rangers

David Hoilett, best known to Premier League fans around the world as "Junior", is an international man of mystery. He was born in the Canadian province of Ontario and is eligible to play for Canada, Jamaica and the United States of America, but has indicated a preference for England, where he took a place in Blackburn Rovers´ youth system at the age of 13 and remained at the Lancashire club until their relegation from the top flight earlier this year.

He would be in with a chance, too. Roy Hodgson has deployed wide players in a variety of ways since taking over from Fabio Capello as England manager in May, and with Hoilett shining through the darkness of Rovers´ unedifying self-destruction of recent years - Hoilett was identified by FIFA as a player to watch at the beginning of this year - it would not be out of the question for the Canadian to make a surprise impact on the national team in his adopted home. There have certainly been calls for him to do so.

Unfortunately for Hoilett, his preferred international route is believed to be blocked for the time being. Even under a relatively recently relaxed agreement between the home nations, the Queens Park Rangers winger cannot currently play for England. The wording of the agreement was changed two years ago to widen the eligibility rules from five years of schooling in the local FA´s territory to five years of education up until the age of 18.

Hoilett, were it not for two years spent learning his trade on loan in Germany, would meet the revised requirement. His case arguably has the potential to force another revision.

One can understand why Hodgson might be intrigued. Hoilett is energetic and dynamic, translating his attacking verve into a disciplined and hard-working approach without the ball, characterised by his willingness to track back. On the ball, he dribbles well and can be a venomously tricky opponent for defenders, his abilities often evoking a bygone time when wingers were all the rage and full backs could be forgiven for developing a victim complex.

He can shoot from distance - not with any great consistency, admittedly - and can be deployed as an unorthodox striker or forward, as he has already this season for QPR. His best performance of the first couple of months of the Premier League season came in a loss against Tottenham Hotspur, a match in which he played just off target man Bobby Zamora and did a fine job in giving Spurs´ defence plenty to worry about.

That he landed at Loftus Road after extricating himself from the chaos of Blackburn is the biggest indicator of his shortcomings. Like so many, Hoilett at his best is a pleasure to watch and a genuinely exciting player, full of drive and fizz and capable of hurting the opposition, and yet despite murmurings of interest from loftier rivals it was QPR who put a contract in front of him.

The move had an intriguing effect on his Opta statistics for this year. Up until November 1st, Hoilett´s pass completion rate remained steady at 80-81% after his move, but other areas of his game have dropped. His chance conversion rate has more than halved to 10% at QPR, while his cross completion is down to just 6% from 25% at Blackburn. Perhaps there´s something to be said for playing for a team that´s fighting for its life - we could see him step up again next year on the same basis.

In some ways Hoilett is something of a highlights player, the kind of player who puts in a phenomenal performance every now and then but frequently looks the business on Match of the Day. He doesn´t make a mark in every game, and when he does it is rarely for the whole game. If his influence were more consistent, one has to imagine that more of the clubs said to be interested this time last year would have bitten the bullet come June.

Before having any shot at England, no matter how unlikely, Hoilett needs to make his mark at Loftus Road, and manager Mark Hughes isn´t making it easy for him. Perhaps the most difficult obstacle in Hoilett´s early season was bouncing back from the disappointment of being inexplicably excluded from the Rs´ game at home to West Ham United.

Despite defeats, Hoilett had won plaudits for fine performances against Tottenham and Reading in his two previous games - including a thumping goal to open the scoring in the League Cup loss to the Royals - but spent a Monday evening riding the pine as Shaun Wright-Phillips and Ji-Sung Park got the nod in a toothless Rangers performance. The calls for his reinstatement were as swift and fullsome as the confusion as to the reasons behind his omission.

It wasn´t his first of the season - in fact, Hoilett started only half of QPR´s first six Premier League games, a situation no doubt unfamiliar to a player who started 34 Premier League matches last term, and certainly unexpected. Hoilett´s star was on the rise and QPR seemed a reasonable move, but with playing time limited so far it is difficult to argue that Hoilett has taken anything other than a sideways step when compared to last season.

Ney Franco hits out at "exaggerated" Luis Fabiano ban

São Paulo manager Ney Franco has hit out at the "exaggerated" four-match ban handed to striker Luis Fabiano this week, after a confrontation with a referee in the Copa Libertadores.

The manager, who was without his striker for the return fixture with Arsenal di Sarandi, expects the ban to be overturned in time for the club´s next fixture with The Strongest on April 4.

"It´s exaggerated, on the disciplinary side," he complained to reporters. "I´m working with the possibility of him playing in the next Libertadores game."

Under the punishment imposed by CONMEBOL, Fabiano could only appear again in the Libertadores this season should São Paulo make the quarterfinals. The team are, though, currently struggling to make it through the group stage.

With that in mind, the manager also spoke of the increased role that his striker could play in the Paulista championship, which the club are attempting to win for the first time since 2005.

Brazil-Russia: Kaká, Marcelo, Thiago Silva set to start

Scolari has decided the lineup for the game against Russia as the national team trained today at Chelsea´s Stamford Bridge stadium.

The most expected change is that Thiago Silva will start instead of Dante. The PSG defender missed the game against England as he was not fully fit.

Marcelo is back to first team, replacing Filipe, while Kaká is back to the starting lineup as Hulk is dropped to the bench. Chelsea midfielder Ramires has been ruled out.

This will be the first time Scolari returns to his Chelsea´s stadium since he was sacked by the English club in 2009.

Scolari said the following about the changes: "I made some changes for tomorrow´s game taking into account the Confederations Cup as I´ll have only two games with Brazil-based players although I´m trying to get some players released for these games. I need a balanced team, I have to work with the two games".

This is Brazil´s probable lineup against Russia tomorrow: Júlio César, Daniel Alves, Thiago Silva, David Luiz, Marcelo; Fernando, Hernanes, Oscar, Kaká; Neymar and Fred

Azkargorta piensa en 6 cambios

BUENOS AIRES -- El entrenador del seleccionado boliviano de fútbol, el español Xabier Azkargorta, introduciría al menos seis cambios en el equipo que el próximo martes enfrentará a la Argentina por las eliminatorias del Mundial de Brasil 2014.

Los jugadores que ingresarían en el equipo titular son Sergio Galarza, Ronald Raldes, Diego Bejarano, José Luis Chávez, Ruddy Cardozo Y Jair Torrico.

Galarza volverá a defender el arco del equipo en lugar del lesionado Carlos Arias, en tanto que por ahora se desconoce a quiénes sustituirán los otros cuatro.

En Bolivia no descartan que Azkargorta vuelva a utilizar el sistema 3-5-2, como en empleado en la victoria de 4-1 sobre Uruguay.

Si finalmente se utiliza este sistema, Bolivia podría formar con Galarza; Raldes, Edward Zenteno, Luis Gutiérrez; Diego Bejarano, Chávez, Alejandro Chumacero, Cardozo, Torrico; Marcelo Martins y Carlos Saucedo.

"Afortunadamente el fútbol da revancha de forma inmediata. Si ganamos a Argentina seguiremos manteniendo opciones para jugar el repechaje ya que hay que aprovechar que en los resultados del viernes no salimos tan perjudicados porque ninguno de los que tiene 12 puntos (Venezuela y Chile), sumaron", dijo Azkargorta.

Cuando se le preguntó por Lionel Messi y la manera de neutralizarlo, el entrenador señaló que "estudiaremos el trabajo de Messi, y haremos un sistema defensivo para tratar de que entre lo menos posible en acción".

Asimismo, Azkargorta no quiso crear falsas expectativas con respecto a volver a repetir aquel 6-1 por las eliminatorias al Mundial de Sudáfrica 2010.

"No hay comparación entre uno y otro partido. Está bien que la gente tenga la ilusión de repetir ese resultado (el del 6-1), pero hay una serie de cosas en medio", dijo el técnico.

Paredes reemplazó a Alexis

SANTIAGO DE CHILE -- El técnico de la selección chilena, el argentino Jorge Sampaoli, convocó a Esteban Paredes, del club Atlante de México, a los entrenamientos de la Roja, que el martes recibirá a Uruguay en las clasificatorias al Mundial de Brasil 2014.

Paredes, que arribó en la mañana de este domingo a Santiago, reemplaza en la nómina del equipo nacional a Alexis Sánchez, que fue liberado por acumulación de tarjetas amarillas, según informó la Asociación Nacional de Fútbol Profesional (ANFP) en un comunicado.

Según medios locales, se espera que el jugador del Barcelona abandone mañana el país rumbo a Barcelona.

Tras perder el viernes por 1-0 contra Perú en Lima, el equipo chileno tuvo ayer la tarde libre y por la noche los seleccionados quedaron concentrados en el complejo deportivo Juan Pinto Durán, en la capital, para preparar el duelo ante Uruguay en el Estadio Nacional.

Hoy, tras el entrenamiento matutino, Marcelo Díaz, del Basilea suizo, concedió que haber perdido a Sánchez, que a su juicio es el "más desequilibrante" del equipo, "claro que resta". "Pero tenemos que recomponer las cosas para que el equipo no se vea afectado", añadió.

Díaz consideró además que la incorporación de Paredes "es una buena opción" y destacó que "es un goleador innato que lo está haciendo muy bien en México y que también le va a dar mucho peso a la ofensiva" de la selección chilena.

"El llamado de Esteban es sorpresivo para mí, pero creo que ya lo habían solicitado una vez que Humberto (Suazo, del Monterrey mexicano) se desafectó solo", aunque en esa ocasión su club no le dio autorización, explicó el centrocampista en conferencia de prensa.

Díaz también restó presión sobre el partido del martes ante Uruguay, al que Chile llega sexto con doce puntos, fuera de los puestos que dan acceso directo al Mundial, a falta de seis partidos por disputar.

"Yo no creo que sea un partido de vida o muerte, pero claramente va a marcar un antes y un después. Si ganamos quedamos metidos en la clasificación. Si empatamos seguimos con opciones, y si perdemos se nos quitan las opciones pero seguimos vivos", declaró.

El equipo uruguayo llegará alrededor de las 19 horas (22 horas GMT) de este domingo a Santiago y mañana entrenará en el estadio San Carlos de Apoquindo, propiedad de la Universidad Católica.

Cavani analiza a Chile

MONTEVIDEO -- Edinson Cavani, uno de los goleadores de la selección de Uruguay y entre los máximos "rompe redes" de la Liga italiana, destacó el juego dinámico de la selección de Chile, futuro rival de los celestes en las eliminatorias mundialistas, pero matizó que su equipo juega mejor a domicilio.

"Chile tiene un juego muy dinámico. No podrá contar con Alexis Sánchez (del Barcelona) que es una de sus principales figuras, pero igual es una selección muy buena y tiene mucha velocidad en el ataque", destacó el futbolista del Nápoles.

Sánchez recibió una segunda tarjeta amarilla en el partido que la selección chilena perdió el viernes 1-0 frente a Perú en Lima y debe cumplir un encuentro de sanción.

Uruguay tendrá las bajas por la misma razón del defensa Maximiliano Pereira y el centrocampista Diego Pérez.

La selección de Uruguay igualó el viernes 1-1 en Montevideo frente a Paraguay en la undécima jornada de las eliminatorias sudamericanas de la Copa del Mundo y solo logró dos de los últimos quince puntos que disputó.

"Estamos pasando por un momento bajo, que lamentablemente se ha extendido, y debemos trabajar mucho para salir adelante", agregó Cavani.

Recordó que en el pasado la plantilla celeste "ya atravesó otras etapas de malos resultados" y pudo recuperarse.

El delantero destacó que en los últimos tiempos la selección uruguaya "ha jugado mejor de visitante".

"Por nuestra forma de jugar nos viene mejor tener espacios, jugar de contragolpe y seguramente en Chile se dará un partido de esas características", agregó.

Cavani afirmó que la plantilla celeste "sabe que el partido será difícil y complicado, frente a un rival que también está necesitado de ganar".

Sin embargo, "vamos a Santiago con toda la ilusión de lograr un resultado positivo", aseguró.

Will the Mexican coaching dance surface again?
Posted on March 24, 2013 by Michael Lewis

Warning to Mexican national coaches: Losing to and even playing against the United States can be dangerous for your health and your tenure as coach.

It remains to be seen whether current coach Jose Manuel de la Torre will suffer a similar fate as with some of his successors. El Tri hosts the U.S. in a must-win World Cup qualifier for the home side on Tuesday.

Since the Mexicans enter the match with a surprising 0-0-2 record, playing Jamaica to a listless scoreless draw at home on Feb. 6 and losing a two-goal lead on the road in the second half to settle for a 2-2 draw with Honduras on Friday — you can see why they face a must-win situation at Azteca Stadium on Tuesday night.

A loss would leave Mexico at 0-1-2 at the bottom of the CONCACAF hexagonal.

The Mexican media traditionally comes down hard on the team and whichever poor soul has to endure the pressure of coaching a team that has lose to someone, sooner or later. It has been difficult for Mexicans — players and citizens — to come to grips with the fact that the U.S. and the rest of CONCACAF has caught up or is catching up to them.

While Jose Manuel de la Torre has done a superb job managing the Mexican side until this round, the Mexican Football Federation has a history of pulling a quick trigger, especially after a loss to the U.S.

Several of de la Torre predecessors met their demise after losing to the U.S.:

A quick history:

Manuel Lapuente (1991)

Only two days after losing to the U.S., 2-0, in the 1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup semifinals in Los Angeles, Lapuente was given his walking papers. Lapuente came back for more and guided the team from 1997-99.

Miguel Mejia Baron (1995)

After coaching Mexico to and in the 1994 World Cup, it all went to pieces a year later. Barons’ Mexican team was demolished by the U.S., 4-0, in a U.S. Cup encounter in Washington, D.C. in June and was eliminated by those pesky Americans in Copa America in Uruguay on July 17 via penalty kicks are a scoreless draw in Uruguay. Baron, incidentally, was a qualified dentist.

Bora Milutinovic (1997)

Baron’s replacement turned out to be the old international traveling man, Milutinovic (who directed the MetroStars in that disaster of a 1999 season). Bora guided the Mexicans into the World Cup, but was axed only three weeks after securing a berth at France ’98. Bora, who had been under fire for more than a year, got his walking papers on Nov. 25, 1997, only three weeks after unbeaten Mexico (4-0-6) qualified. But Milutinovic was caught up in a political battle between rival television networks — Televisa, which supported him, and upstart Azteca, which wanted him out. Azteca, and many fans thought that Mexico had underachieved in its final four qualifiers, tying each one. “We never had a problem with the coach,” said Mexican captain Marcellino Bernal, who added that Milutinovic was fired “because we didn’t get favorable results, especially in the five home games. We didn’t win . . . we didn’t play convincing soccer.” He was replaced by Lapuente. Lapuente coached that team at France ’98 and guided the Mexicans to the FIFA Confederations Cup title a year later.

Enrique Meza (2001)

Enrique Meza Enriquez wasn’t fired immediately after the U.S.’s stunning 2-0 qualifying victory, but it began a tail-spin that left the Mexicans’ World Cup aspirations in a shambles during the CONCACAF final round for Korea/Japan 2002. He was bounced in June, 2001 and replaced by former Los Angeles Aztec Javier Aguirre, who guided Mexico into the World Cup. Meza, incidentally, directed Pachuca to its first SuperLiga title in 2007, when it defeated the Los Angeles Galaxy.

Hugo Sanchez (2008)

2008 — Former Real Madrid and Mexican international scoring star Hugo Sanchez guided Eli for 16 months before he was axed on March 31, 2008. Less than two months prior, Sanchez’s side had tied the U.S. in an international friendly in Houston on Feb. 6, 2-2. It wasn’t the U.S. match that did Sanchez in. The full national side went on to tie Australia and Finland, not exactly world powers, and tied the Ecuador Under-23 National Team in Queretaro, Mexico. Under Sanchez’s stewardship, the U-23 teams failed to qualify for the Olympics, getting eliminated in the opening CONCACAF round. Add his controversial decision to change the color of the home kit of the National Team jersey from green to white, the Mexican First Division club owners voted 16-0 to oust Sanchez on March 31.

Sven-Goran Eriksson (2010)

Swedish native Sven-Goran Eriksson continued an unwanted tradition of Mexican national coaches getting fired after losing or playing against the U.S. National Team. The Swedish native got the axe on April 2, a day after losing to Honduras, 3-1, in a World Cup qualifier. Mexico dropped a 2-0 decision to the U.S. in a CONCACAF final-round match in Columbus, Ohio on Feb. 11. The fourth-place Mexicans, who had lost five consecutive away matches, were 1-2 in the hexagonal, in which the three top teams qualify for South Africa 2010 and a fourth will have an opportunity to play for a berth against the fifth-place team from South America. “We told Mr. Eriksson that his term with the national team has finished,” Mexican Football Federation president Justino Compean said. “We could not risk Mexico’s participation in the World Cup.” During Eriksson’s reign after he was hired in June 2008, Mexico won four of nine qualifying matches — all at home. Mexico’s overall record under Eriksson was 6-6-1.

FYI (Cesar Menotti)

While it could not be determined whether he was fired after a U.S. match, Mexico lost Menotti, who directed Argentina to the 1978 World Cup championship, not once, but twice. Menotti quit over political problems in the Mexican Federation. The second time was permanent. Menotti left the team, and Miguel Mejia Baron, a qualified dentist, took over.