Snak

Boca: L. Paredes ya está recuperado

BUENOS AIRES -- Boca realizó la primera práctica de la semana, con la novedad de que el mediocampista Leandro Paredes se sumó al grupo tras recuperarse de un esguince en la rodilla derecha.

Blandi, el `9` titular que le ganó el puesto a Santiago Silva y Lucas Viatri, sufre una fatiga en el isquiotibial derecho, mientras que el tucumano Palacios presentó una entorsis en el tobillo derecho que se le produjo durante el primer tiempo del partido que el domingo igualó sin goles ante Lanús.

El regreso de Paredes, en tanto, lesionado en el empate ante Rafaela (1-1) por la quinta fecha del Torneo Final, el 10 de marzo pasado, es una buena noticia para el DT Carlos Bianchi, ya que cuenta con una opción más tanto para el certamen local como para la Copa Libertadores y la Copa Argentina.

En tanto, los futbolistas que no jugaron el domingo ante el `Granate` realizaron una práctica de fútbol en espacios reducidos durante 35 minutos.

Un equipo formó con Sebastián D`angelo, Juan Sánchez Miño, Christian Cellay, Juan Manuel Martínez y Lucas Viatri, mientras que el otro alistó a Manuel Vicentini, Lisandro Magallán, Leandro Paredes, Santiago Silva y Leandro Somoza.

En tanto, los que jugaron ante Lanús hicieron tareas regenerativas, mientras que los lesionados se sometieron a sesiones de kinesiología.

En ese orden, Franco Sosa, Claudio Pérez, Pablo Ledesma, Ribair Rodríguez y Nahuel Zárate (desgarrados), más Cristian Erbes (operacion de los meniscos) y Orlando Gaona Lugo (fractura por estrés en la tibia izquierda) fueron los jugadores que únicamente visitaron el departamento médico.

Boca volverá a practicar mañana a las 9 en el predio de Casa Amarilla con miras al partido del sábado próximo frente a San Martín de San Juan, como visitante, por la novena fecha del Torneo Final de Primera División.

Bad news for Migliore

Update: San Lorenzo’s goalkeeper, Pablo Migliore has been denied release and been charged with ‘aggrevated concealment’ regarding the whereabouts of Maxi Mazzaro, the Boca hooligan wanted by police in connection with the murder of Ernesto Cirino in 2011. The charge could mean up to 6 years in prison so for now Migliore is staying in the maximum security jail in Ezeiza. It would appear that the only thing that would help Migliore, at present, would be the arrest of Mazzaro but after successfully evading capture for this long that seems doubtful.

Dedé is one of the best defenders in the world says Vasco president

Vasco da Gama president Roberto Dinamite has hailed Dedé as one of the best defenders in the world and says in an ideal world, he would stay at the club.

But Dinamite admits that they need to sell the player in order to raise funds but warns potential buyers that Dedé will choose where he goes, not the club.

"The situation with Dedé is very clear. The financial aspects of the club are delicate, so yes, it could happen.

"I do not want to sell Dedé, if we had money he would stay, but Vasco only holds a part of Dedé. The decision rests with the player.

"If Dedé wants to stay, we´d love to have him stay, but I don´t think that´s going to be the case. We can´t meet Dedé´s commitments and leave the rest of the squad´s commitments.

"Dedé is a fantastic player, and if he can stay, we would have one of the best players on the world in his position.

"He knows and appreciates the situation we´re in and his contract runs out in 2014, it depends on not only Vasco, but the player as well."

Flamengo out of favor midfielder Ibson could join Internacional

Flamengo´s midfielder Ibson looks set to leave the club as he is not in Jorginho´s plans for the Brazilian League.

The former Spartak Moscow player has already attracted interest from Internacional, the Colorado intend to strengthen the squad for the national league but can only sign players based in Brazil as the international transfer window has already closed.

Ibson is under contract with Flamengo until 2015, and has one of the highest salaries at the club.

Flamengo tried to convince him to reduce his salary, but Ibson refused it, an attempt to loan him to Palmeiras in February also failed.

Ibson played the first turn of the Rio de Janeiro State Championship in the first team, but has since been dropped to bench.

His tactical awareness is deemed poor by both former manager Dorival Júnior and current manager Jorginho. His workrate has also been criticized.

Flamengo´s director Paulo Pelaipe has denied any problem with the player, he told sports TV channel Esporte Interativo: "Ibson will remain at the club, there are no problems with the player."

São Paulo enquire about Newell´s forward Ignacio Scocco - report

According to a report by Lancenet, São Paulo have made enquiries to sign Newell´s Old Boys striker Ignacio Scocco when his loan deal from Emirati side Al Ain expires in June.

However, it is reported that the player´s representatives have rejected initial contact over a possible move to the Brazilian giants.

Newell´s have a fixed fee agreement of €1.8 million in place with Al Ain at present, as part of the loan contract signed last July. However, the UAE-based side can accept another offer should a better proposal arrive.

With São Paulo still seeking to properly replace the departed Lucas Moura, Scocco´s dribbling abilities from the right-flank appeal to the club´s hierarchy.

The Paulista side have previously missed out on Chilean Eduardo Vargas and Santos´ Argentine midfielder Walter Montillo in their attempts to fill the void and it is Scocco who has now captured the club´s imagination.

Since returning to his homeland last summer, the former AEK Athens striker has netted 18 times in 24 fixtures to top the 2012-13 goalscoring charts for the Primera Division.

Corinthians move ahead of AC Milan in race to sign Dedé - report

Corinthians have moved ahead of AC Milan in the race to sign Vasco´s and Brazil´s national team defender Dedé, according to reports from Italy.

The Italian team had offered 12 million Euros for Dedé, but Italian press reports claim that the current Club World Cup champions Corinthians have offered 13 million Euros plus some bonuses.

Corinthians are thus the favorites to sign the Vasco defender. Dedé himself has expressed his intention to stay in Brazil at least until the 2014 World Cup, as he does not want to risk his position in Brazil´s national team.

The Brazilian club also have the support of DIS, the group of investors that own 45% of Dedé´s economic rights as they are willing to contribute with a percentage of the transfer fee.

Dedé and his agents have not ruled out a move to Corinthians, Vasco´s director René Simões also admits that the defender has the right to decide his future although the club claim to be in hurry to make a decision.

Nu hvor jeg er forhindret i at se kampen i nat. Så sender jeg lige en lille bøn til Barcos og co. for at få point i aften. Kom SÅ DRENGE!
Glæder mig til at se kandidaterne til Musa do Gauchão:
http://globoesporte.glob…o-2012.html
^Her er det fra 2012

THE TORMENTED SOUL OF MOACYR BARBOSA

In the final game of the 1950 World Cup, an honest mistake by a man called Moacyr Barbosa condemned him to spend the rest of his life being vilified by millions. Yet did his suffering have more to do with the Uruguayan national team forging their identity around ´garra charrua´?

Taken from their nickname, ´Los Charruas´, referring to a mysterious and long-lost indigenous Uruguayan people, the description also refers to a gritty, brave victory in the face of certain defeat. A heroic act for all eternity that the 1950 ‘Celeste’ (or Sky Blues) achieved. Appropriately, given their second-half performance in that ‘fateful final’, the term celeste also refers to a divine act. Mention 1950 to Brazilians and they reference that ‘fateful final’. (The word in Portuguese, fatidico, is indelibly associated with Brazil’s defeat).

Europe was rebuilding after WWII. The tournament was held in South America as no-one else wanted it. Only 13 countries turned up. Germany was still banned from playing internationals; the snobbish English FA decreed such scuffles beneath their dignity - whilst the ludicrous Scottish FA sulked at finishing second behind England in their qualifying group and refused to travel. But the Brazilians embraced it: the Maracana was built for Brazil to parade the Jules Rimet Trophy.

The tournament’s last game saw Brazil and Uruguay engaged for the right to call themselves World Champions. But many in the host country had already decided the matter. The evening before, the headline in São Paulo’s Gazeta Esportiva was: “Tomorrow we will beat Uruguay!” Rio’s O Mundo, printed a shot of the players, saying: “These are the world champions.”

Before the match began the selecao were given solid gold watches stating: ‘For the World Champions’. The carnival float that would transport the Brazilian winners around Rio was ready, as was the pre-planned victory parade. Millions of t-shirts proclaiming victory slogans had been printed. Even the Frenchman Jules Rimet - waiting to hand over his delicate golden namesake - had written his victory speech lauding Brazilian winners. Politicians predictably joined in, with Rio’s Mayor glorifying the Brazilian team: ‘in less than a few hours you will be hailed as champions…I already salute as victors’. But he neglected to mention fate, Moacyr Barbosa, and Celeste grit: crucially he underestimated ´garra charrua´. Their determination was epitomised by the captain, Obdulio Varela, a tough, uncompromising sort who evoked the spirit of ‘garra’.

Reading the same edition of O Mundo he was so livid he bought every copy he could find. Furious at being written-off and their character questioned, he carried the papers proclaiming Brazil’s premature victory to his room, placed them across his bathroom floor and pissed all over them. It may have been an extreme example of garra. But the unyielding Varelia was also saying to all underdogs, to those dismissed or written-off: never give in.

It was a warning Brazil failed to heed.

Only one player has achieved the dream of all Brazilians - scoring in a World Cup Final for the selecao in the Maracana. A minute into the second-half Friaca realised that fantasy. It was his only goal for Brazil. It was to be the only goal Brazil scored that fatidico day. The jet-heeled right winger, Ghiggia from Montevideo, surged down the line crossing the ball for Schiaffino to equalise past Barbosa. Thirteen minutes later, Ghiggia surged down the line again. This time he was to ruin Moacyr Barbosa’s life forever.

Footage exists of 4.33pm, 16th July 1950: the worst moment of all Barbosa’s days on earth. What is a second in a lifetime of existence? For Moacyr this instant would shape the rest of his 50 years.

The moment lingers on in a melancholic afterlife on YouTube. The grainy black and white footage is shot from behind the goal to the side. Ghiggia storms in from the left - a puff of chalk fires up as he runs over the white line of the 18-yard-box – and he quickly fires the ball at a blur. The blur is Barbosa. Anticipating a cross in a sudden cloudburst of misjudgement the ball bobbles up off him at speed and disappears out of shot; the action momentarily confusing the cameraman.

What is instructive is that you can follow the Brazilian camera operative’s thought process as clearly as if you were reading his mind. His first act is to assume the ball is with Barbosa. There is a fraction of a delay in which you can feel he is confused, before the truth guides him. Senses returning, he quickly switches the camera’s view to the net. In it, he and us find the ball, nestling sadly in the far corner.

You feel the man filming simply cannot believe what has happened. The picture remains on the ball channelling his disbelief. Slowly, unhappily, he returns to Barbosa. Moacyr is on one knee. His team mates have turned their back on him. No-one consoles him. Gradually and gently, he rises. The mesmerising recording I view is in slow motion, clearly detailing and heightening their anguish.

Distraught, Barbosa looks like a man who has cost Brazil the World Cup in a dumbstruck Maracana. Barbosa is a man who has cost Brazil the World Cup in a dumbstruck Maracana.

Did those sad eyes already realise he was about to spend the rest of his life vilified by millions?

Charismatic Brazilian radio commentator Luis Mendes described the action. ‘Goool do Uruguay’, he intoned mechanically before using the same words, this time in a question. ‘Gol du Uruguay?’ He continued in a litany of different, unhappy styles, nine times in a row, from astonishment - ‘Gol du Uruguay!’- to disbelief - ‘Gol du Uruguay, and finally to acceptance - ‘Gol du Uruguay…’

The official attendance was 173,850 - some say 200,000 – making it the largest football crowd ever. Yet they all fell quiet at Barbosa’s error. As Ghiggia said years after his goal that won Uruguay a World Cup: ‘Only three people have silenced the Maracana…Sinatra, Pope John-Paul II and me’. It was said without any fear of contradiction.

Uruguay and garra churra won the World Cup. Modest Obdulio said: ‘it was one of those things’. The Uruguayan FA presented themselves with gold medals. After a public outcry they struck silver medals for the celeste and disbursed a little money. Obdulio Varelia had just enough to buy a 1931 Ford. A week later it was stolen.

Post-match, a preposterous Jules Rimet looked for someone to give his trophy to. ‘I finally found Obdulio. I gave it to him…without letting anyone else see’. He didn’t mention his pre-written speech praising Brazil’s victory.

Brazilians – never opting for stoicism when flamboyant exhortations suffice, variously described the defeat as ‘our Hiroshima’, ‘the greatest tragedy in Brazilian history’; ‘a Waterloo of the tropics’.

For Moacyr Barbosa, 16th July 1950 wasn’t an exercise in extravagant self-flagellation: it started a living nightmare. He was never forgiven. Life treated him harshly. He never played for Brazil again. People spat at him or abused him. He was denied coaching jobs after he retired. Having black skin didn’t help in a racially-divided country.

Once he visited the selecao to wish them well. He was denied, fearing bad luck. He was even refused a commentator’s job.

Later, Barbosa invited the few friends who had stuck by him for a BBQ. They noticed the fire in the grill’s pit - crammed with strange white logs - was raging far more than usual. The air smelt of paint burning. The week before Moacyr Barbosa had been presented with the Maracana goalposts. He could think of nothing more satisfying than to destroy them.

‘The steak I cooked that day was the best steak I ever tasted’, he recollected with a rare smile.

Yet the expected catharsis failed to materialise. After his wife died a friend revealed "he even cried on my shoulder - until the end he used to always say: ´I´m not guilty. There were 11 of us.´"

An elderly Barbosa lamented, ‘In Brazil, the most you get for any crime is 30 years. For 50 years I’ve been paying for a crime I did not commit. Even a criminal when he has paid his debt is forgiven. But I have never been forgiven."

In 2000, penniless and close to death, he recalled his memory of 1970 – in the year when the greatest-ever Brazil team won the World Cup, a mother pointed him out to her child in a market saying: ‘Look at him. He was the man who made all of Brazil cry’.

Heart failure caused Moacyr Barbosa to die in 2000, aged 79. Some say it was a broken heart that killed him.

Nu hvor jeg er forhindret i at se kampen i nat. Så sender jeg lige en lille bøn til Barcos og co. for at få point i aften. Kom SÅ DRENGE!
Glæder mig til at se kandidaterne til Musa do Gauchão:
http://globoesporte.glob…o-2012.html
^Her er det fra 2012

kom så gremio :-)

OPTIMISM FOR THE BENNA BOYZ

As a previous visitor to the small group of islands known as Antigua & Barbuda I was pleasantly surprised to see the media coverage their national side received in the UK in the summer of 2012 and for the few months afterwards. This coverage came in light of the appointment of Englishman and former Chesterfield midfielder Tom Curtis. His first venture into management Curtis’ appointment certainly helped raised the profile of the national side within England and there was a good degree of optimism going into their World Cup Qualifying clashes with Guatemala.

Matches which they had done well even to get to in all honesty. With a population of just over 80,000 Antigua & Barbuda are hardly going to be the next global football force but their progress over recent years is encouraging. In the first group stage of qualifying they were drawn alongside Haiti, Curacao and the US Virgin Islands. Despite the former two posing potentially tricky problems Antigua & Barbuda managed to overcome the obstacles ahead of them and win their group. From there they were placed in a group alongside regional heavyweights the USA and Jamaica. The other side in the group was Guatemala. Unfortunately it was here they came unstuck. A spirited 3-1 away defeat to the US and a highly credible 0-0 draw with Jamaica had led to great causes of optimism before the double header with Guatemala but unfortunately two defeats meant that Antigua & Barbuda’s adventure would go no further. Nevertheless they confirmed their progress as a side when they faced up to the US at home and managed to hold them at 1-1 until a 90th minute Eddie Johnson winner snatched victory for the US.

Unfortunately following their sudden exit there were some calls from local fans for Curtis to leave his position as head coach. There was rumoured to be a general disappointment with his fairly negative tactics. On 23rd October Curtis handed in his resignation but cited personal reasons and explaining that the criticisms he had come under had nothing to do with his decision. Regardless of whether it was his choice or the Antiguan FA’s or whether the calls for his resignation had affected him he was gone with the Caribbean Championship being played in the country in a few weeks’ time. The FA responded by announcing that rather than bring in another foreign coach they would appoint a local coach for the upcoming championships. After interviewing numerous candidates from the island Rolston ‘Debu’ Williams was selected to lead the team as interim coach. It was the second time Williams had led the side having been head coach in 2004 briefly. With just two weeks to prepare qualifying for the semi-finals of the Caribbean Championship, and therefore qualifying for the following summer’s Gold Cup was going to be a tricky task. A task that ultimately proved to be one too far for Debu as his side crashed out finishing bottom of their group. Nevertheless the departing coach was keen to point out the highlights of the “Boyz” campaign which included a 2-1 victory over Caribbean big guns Trinidad and Tobago. He also insisted that despite only having a couple of weeks to prepare the team were already playing more attractive football under his stewardship.

The locals can say what they like about Curtis, and they have done, but his reign should be remembered for the introduction of Nottingham Forest’s Dexter Blackstock into the Antiguan set-up. Reading’s Mikele Leigertwood already accepted Antigua’s call in 2008 but Blackstock rejected Jamaica in order to join Curtis’ project and the two were highly impressive in the 3-1 away defeat to the US. Blackstock’s pace is a nightmare for defenders at that level whilst Leigertwood’s experience means he is the perfect deep-lying playmaker, able to step in, break up attacks and then get his team’s moves going. The other development under Curtis was Antigua Barracuda FC, the island’s professional side set up in 2008, joining the USL Professional Division (the US’ third division) as a new franchise. It was an important step for the national side as the club will look to develop the young talent from the island in a bid to aid the overall progression of Antiguan football.

The two grounds that the national team use are both far better known for cricket rather than football but that is largely the norm in the Caribbean. The principle ground, the Antiguan Recreation Ground can hold around 12,000 and is the scene of two of cricket’s most famous landmarks. It was here that Antiguan hero Sir Viv Richards scored the fastest test century off just 56 balls against England in 1986. In 1994 Brian Lara batted to a then world record 375 against England and then in 2003 he broke the record again against the same opponents scoring 400 in the process. As was to be expected FIFA rejected the possibility of Antigua using that ground for their World Cup qualifiers so matches were played at the Sir Viv Richards Stadium, famous for hosting the test between England and the West Indies that was abandoned after just ten balls, and that was built using a Chinese government grant. Plans are in place for some redesigning of the former in the hope they can bring it up to FIFA standard and having watched cricket there it can make for an extremely vibrant atmosphere when the crowd gets going.

Amongst all the optimism there is always the overhanging black cloud that seems to accompany this tiny nation, corruption. As a visitor to the island both before and after the Allen Stanford investigation in 2009 I can vouch for the devastating effect it had on the country. Stanford pumped millions into the country and funded the Stanford 20/20 series which brought great media attention to the island. He also brought the country the series against England where the winners would pocket $20 million. His bank was thought to be utilised by some of the world’s shadier people including Zimbabwean Robert Mugabe but there was no doubting the money flowing into the country was aiding the economy. Then, just like that the money stopped flowing, Stanford’s jail sentence saw all ties with Antigua severed and it was the locals who had to bear the brunt of his criminal activity. Corruption has recently touched football as FIFA continues its investigation into the Antigua & Barbuda Football Association (ABFA) amidst reports of corruption in the voting in of the new president. Last year Gordon “Banks” Derrick and Everton “Batow” Gonsalves were both fined and suspended for their part in the “cash for votes” scandal in Trinidad. Rumour has it that the recent elections were led virtually unopposed hence FIFA’s subsequent investigation. Also recently there have been suggestions that a loan dating back over 10 years supposedly used to pay for lighting at a stadium has been used elsewhere or misspent. Now other funds are being used to settle this loan causing more disruption amongst the committee members. These are just more problems for Antiguan football to focus on and it is frankly an extremely unwelcome distraction as the only focus should be on the pitch not on power struggles behind the scene.

It is not all doom and gloom though as recently Hull City announced the signing of Dulwich Hamlet striker Calaum Jahraldo-Martin on an 18 month deal. Steve Bruce said of the move “He´s been a breath of fresh air and who knows, we might just have unearthed a little gem”. The forward is an Antiguan U20 international and is said to have impressed the Hull coaching staff whilst on trial. Slow steps like these are what is needed in order to help the national side progress. They may have missed out on qualification but there are certainly reasons for Antiguan fans to not lose heart. FIFA have announced they are hopeful having the current political mess of the ABFA sorted out very shortly and hopefully that will allow for the development of the stadia and facilities as well as Antigua Barracuda FC. The new coach, who like Curtis will probably manage both the national side and Barracuda FC, must look to utilise Blackstock and Leigertwood as much as possible and draw strength from the development of players like Jahraldo-Martin and focus on players like the country’s all-time leading scorer Peter Byers.

Antigua & Barbuda are never going to get on the footballing map but given time and investment they have every chance of becoming a regular player at the top of the CONCAF region. With all that has gone on over the past few years in the country it would be nice for the people of this small island to have something to cheer.