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Brindisi, presentado en Independiente

BUENOS AIRES -- El flamante entrenador de Independiente, Miguel Brindisi, advirtió el miércoles que deben "cuidar y proteger" a los jugadores porque en el difícil presente que atraviesa el club "todo es mental".

"Todo es más mental y eso influye en el estado de ánimo y la confianza, y en eso estaremos, en todo lo que necesiten los jugadores. Hay que protegerlos, cuidarlos, estar con ellos y saber lo que necesitan porque son los que nos van a representar", dijo Brindisi en su primera conferencia de prensa como técnico del Rojo.

"Encontramos un grupo con muchas ganas, sinceramente. Es un punto de partida más que interesante", dijo en el inicio de la conferencia.

Con respecto a la formación que pondría, aclaró: "A los chicos no podemos hacerlos responsables de un momento crítico".

"Tampoco es terminante que no van a estar los jóvenes, pero la mochila la tienen que llevar los grandes", sostuvo el técnico, quien en la conferencia estuvo acompañado por el presidente del club, Javier Cantero.

Brindisi adelantó que en las próximas horas intentará hablar con Gallego para que le cuente detalles sobre el plantel.

Y sobre la actitud de los hinchas, explicó que "la gente reacciona de lo que recibe del rectángulo. Esperemos darle una alegría".

"El hincha está con dolor y temor, y nosotros desde adentro de la cancha le podemos devolver la confianza".

El entrenador reiteró el pedido de unidad "entre todos" para sacar al equipo adelante, en la pelea por intentar escaparle al descenso.

"Si nos empezamos a abrazar entre todos, llegamos a Mar del Plata", dijo Brindisi, en alusión a que con la unidad puedan llegar lejos y lograr el objetivo de mantener al equipo en Primera División.

Consciente de que está ante un desafío muy complicado pero a su vez confiado, indicó que "hoy está abierta una ilusión, una esperanza", al tiempo que dijo esperar que "el equipo no defraude".

Brindisi confirmó que el delantero Ernesto Farías será titular el próximo domingo frente a Atlético de Rafaela, en Santa Fe.

El sucesor de Gallego no dio indicios sobre la formación, pero sorprendió al confirmar como titular a Farías, quien había sido marginado del equipo por Américo Gallego, su antecesor.

"Farías está muy contento. Creo en él. El Tecla va a jugar".

"Lo vi trabajar, lo veo, es un profesional a muerte y ya va a tener la posibilidad de mojar", dijo al ser presentado como técnico del equipo.

"Es muy probable que mi Independiente juegue con un enganche. Y a Farías lo noté muy bien. Creo en él y va a jugar contra Atlético de Rafaela", dijo Brindisi tras dirigir su primer entrenamiento y ser presentado como el nuevo técnico en lugar del despedido Américo Gallego, quien había marginado al Tecla.

Brindisi, quien al regresar a la dirección técnica de Independiente luego de 18 años afirmó que "esta abierta una nueva ilusión", dejó entrever que pondrá un equipo con mayoría de jugadores experimentados en Rafaela al señalar que "a los chicos no podemos hacerlos responsables de este momento crítico".

"Mañana (jueves) voy a hacer el primer entrenamiento de fútbol. En la cabeza tengo una idea pero tal vez mañana cambie", es lo único que comentó sobre su primera formación.

Brindisi reconoció que, entre otras cosas, analizará quién será el arquero el domingo. Se supone que el nombre del arquero saldrá de entre Diego Rodríguez (actual titular), Hilario Navarro y Fabián Assmann. Otras de las cuestiones futbolísticas que deberá develar será si jugará con un enganche y dos delanteros, o con dos enganches y un delantero.

Toluca gives a lesson to Boca Juniors

http://www.youtube.com/w…Bk_840A7cS4

Paraguayan Edgar Benítez (10th minute) and Flavio Santos (65 and 81) scored the goals for the Mexican team. Leandro Somoza (45+2) and Guillermo Fernández (77) scored for the Argentinians.

In the first goal Boca´s defensive line was playing up field and Edy Brambila took advantage to slot a pass between Leandro Marín and Lisandro Magallán to Benítez.

The "Bird" got behind the defense and headed to the front of the box where he deftly put the ball to the left of keeper Agustín Orión and in the net to make it 1-0.

Toluca was about to go into halftime with the lead if not for a blunder from their young goalie. Pérez came out of his goal-mouth to try to trap a corner. The ball passed him and fell to Somoza who nonchalantly headed the ball home to make it 1-1.

Toluca regained the lead in the 65th minute. From the left side Benítez sent a pass into the box that Santos latched onto to make it 2-1.

In the 77th minute Riquelme appeared to send in a long and accurate shot from midfield. Nicolás Blandi took the ball and placed it on the edge of the box where Fernández went top shelf to make it 2-2.

But the pleasure was short-lived as Santos made the final score 3-2 with a header from a corner kick executed from the right corner.

Toluca jumped to 8 points but will not go any further as they finish the tournament in third place. They really missed the points that they let slip through their fingers when they were the host team to Nacional of Uruguay, who finished first (10) and Barcelona of Ecuador, who ended up in the basement (6).

Barcelona beats Nacional 1-0 in closing of Group 1

http://www.youtube.com/w…BPLPbZr6sPQ

The home team took advantage of its homefield advantage and won 1-0 with a goal at 36 minutes by Argentinian forward Gonzalo Castillejas. He was almost on the wrong side of the line when he received a centering pass from the left hand side and was able to score without obstacles due to a misplay by the defense.

With the results, Nacional stays in first place with 10 points, escorted by Boca (9), Toluca (8), and Barcelona (6). The two last teams will be eliminated from the contest.

Seconds before the goal, Barcelona went all in after receiving a free kick for the penalty committed by Uruguayan defender Sebastián Gorga against Ecuadorian center forward Cristian Penilla.

Despite already having been eliminated from the competition, the squad from Barcelona played their hearts out to win against the Montevidean team, who did not need to win in this away game: their trip to the next round is already guaranteed.

Even so, Nacional played with intensity and put the pressure on Ecuadorian goalkeeper Damián Lanza, who had to face up to the efforts of Daniel Lembo, Renato César, Adrián Luna, and Alexander Medina.

In the game, refereed by Paraguayan Antonio Arias, Uruguayan midfielder Hugo Dorrego shined as he spent energy running up and down the pitch, and his efforts were even more notable when his team had various defensive failures.

In the second half, goalkeeper Lanza was ready to stop the offensive onslaught of the Uruguayan team, whose coach Rodolfo Arruabarrena made two changes in his lineup, adding Juan Albín (for Sebastián Gorga) and Vicente Sánchez (Luna), both at 63 minutes. He also substituted Juan Cruz Mascia (Renato César) at 80 minutes, to try to tie the game up again.

The Ecuadorian team will not reach the finals after losing to Boca Juniors (2-1 and 1-0) and tying with Toluca (1-1 and 0-0).

U-17 Sudamericano: Paraguay defeats Peru

http://www.youtube.com/w…b9Y58J7eK24

Paraguay defeated Peru 3-1 on Wednesday in the second round of the hexagonal final at the Sudamericano being played in Argentina. The tournament awards four places to the 2013 World Cup to be played in the United Arab Emirates.

Paraguay got goals from Antonio Sanabria (53 and 90 minutes) and Jesús Medina (64). Peru´s lone goal was a header scored by Renzo Garcés (71).

The match was played in the Juan Gilberto Funes stadium in the city of La Punta in the province of San Luis, some 800 kilometers to the west of Buenos Aires. All games in the final round will be played at this local until the tournament concludes on April 28.

After a first half in which neither team wanted to take control of the match, Paraguay finally got their offense together in the second period while the Peruvian eleven tried to hit back on the counterattack but couldn´t contain a clearly superior opponent.

With this result Paraguay gets their first 3 points and is provisional leader of the group by goal difference. Following Paraguay are Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela, also with 3 points, and Uruguay and Peru with zero.

U-17 Sudamericano: Brazil and Venezuela draw

http://www.youtube.com/w…8jOuZd1CtvM

Brazil and Venezuela drew 1-1 on Wednesday in the second round of the hexagonal final of the U-17 Sudamericano that is being played in Argentina. The host nation will now have a chance to take over soel leadership of the group when they face Uruguay.

With this result Brazil and Venezuela are on 4 points, Paraguay and Argentina 3, and Uruguay and Peru have zero. The tournament gives 4 spots to the 2013 World Cup to be played in the United Arab Emirates.

In the early game Paraguay had defeated Peru 3-1 in the Juan Gilberto Funes stadium in the city of La Punta, some 800 kilometers west of Buenos Aires.

Gabriel Boschilia (71 minutes) scored for Brazil, the current South American champions, while an Eduardo handball in the box gave Venezuela the opportunity to tie. Andrés Ponce (74) made no mistake slotting the penalty home.

Brazilian coach Alexandre Gallo tried to give his team more offensive firepower in the second half with the introduction of Leo Pereira for the lackluster Ewardo, but Venezuela closed spaces and leaned on their keeper Beycker Velázquez who contained several shots by Kenedy and Caio.

Next Sunday, in the third round, will see Brazil face Argentina and Venezuela against Uruguay.

South American Under-17: Argentina and Uruguay tie

http://www.youtube.com/w…mW-u4CpIm2A

Argentina pulled off a last minute 3-3 tie with Uruguay this Wednesday in a game marred by poor behavior on the part of the players. The game was part of the second series of scheduled game currently being played in the South American Under-17 tournament. Due to expulsions, the Argentinians ended up playing two men down.

With the result, Argentina has reached four points, tied with Brazil and Venezuela, followed by Paraguay (3), Uruguay (1), and Peru (0). The tournament, which will end on April 28th, is being played in the Argentinian province of San Luis and the top four teams will receive entry berths for the World CUp to be played later this year in United Arab Emirates.

In a game that was in a constant state of flux, Argentina began as the dominant team with two goals by Sebastián Driussi at 3 and 12 minutes.

In the first goal the junior player for River Plate slowed down a centering pass with his chest and then, with his back to the net, sent the ball booming. Goalkeeper Thiago Cardozo was helpless and could only watch as the ball entered the net. Driussi found the back of the net again when he powered the ball in from the edge of the field.

The Argentinians seemed to have the game in hand but at 37 minutes Matías Sánchez was send off for a dangerous play he made against Uruguayan Marcio Benítez. This infused the Uruguayan team with a little energy.

The Uruguayans put their first points on the board when Marcío Benítez (48) shot the ball from the left hand side toward the goal. Scraping the right post, the shot left Argentinian goalkeeper Augusto Batalla without a chance to react.

Franco Acosta (52), who came on in the second half, added the second Uruguayan goal and Alan Méndez (82) put in a third goal.

However, the Argentinas rained on the Uruguayan parade in the time added after 90 when Marcelo Storm (90+5) took advantage of a centering pass and bounced the ball in off the pole.

Two minutes before the Argentinian defender Germán Ferreyra had been sent off for his second yellow card.

At the end, the angry and aggressive players from both sides, Argentina and Uruguay, threw insults at eachother and made threatening gestures, the police needed to escort the teams from the playing field.

The game was briefly paused at 8 minutes because the power went out at Juan Gilberto Funes stadium in the city of La Punta, in San Luis province, 800 kilometers to the west of Buenos Aires.

Next Sunday, in the third series of scheduled games, Argentina will meet current South American champion Brazil, and Uruguay will face Paraguay.

Arsenal wins but is still eliminated

http://www.youtube.com/w…f8ObLJgt5kQ

Arsenal beat The Strongest 2-1, in a game in the sixth and last series of Group 3 Copa Libertadores competition. The game was played Wednesday in Arsenal´s home stadium, in Sarandí.

Martín Rolle (29) and Julio Furch (61) put the goals on the scoreboard for Arsenal, and Harold Reina (90+2) managed to make it less lopsided for the Bolivian squad.

With the result, both teams have been left on the margin of the competition, as Arsenal needed to win by a large amount to elevate their goal differential. They won by only one goal. The Strongest also failed - they needed to win to pass to the next round, and lost.

At the end of Group 3 competition, Brazilian team Atlético Mineiro advances in first place, with 15 points, followed by their countrymen Sao Paulo (7 and 0 goal differential). Next is Arsenal (7 and -5 in goal differential) and The Strongest (6).

Sao Paulo into the round of 16

http://www.youtube.com/w…bou4n9p--Ik

Club Sao Paulo on Wednesday defeated Atlético Mineiro, and got help through Arsenal´s win, thus qualifying for the round of 16 at the Copa Libertadores.

Veteran goalkeeper Rogerio Ceni scored the first goal in the 56th minute from the spot and Ademilson (81) sealed the victory.

"Sao Paulo made it ... I was calm when taking the penalty. I just asked God to help me", said Ceni, who is playing in his last Libertadores.

With this result Sao Paulo comes in second place in the group with 6 points behind Mineiro who wins the group with 15 points. Arsenal, with a ´tricolor´ loss would advance, came in third place with 7 points but a worse goal difference. Bolivia´s The Strongest finishes in last place with 6 points.

CONCACAF to honor Carlos Ruiz

MIAMI - CONCACAF announced Wednesday that Guatemalan forward Carlos Ruiz will be the recipient of the first-ever CONCACAF President´s Award.

Ruiz is being honored for his bravery in bringing attention to match manipulation in his native country. The presentation will take place during a ceremony on Thursday, April 18, at Palacio Bolivar in the Cancillería General de la República in Panama City, Panama.

"The success of football within our region is constantly being shaped by individual actions of players, coaches, administrators and executives," said CONCACAF President, Jeffrey Webb. "We want to recognize Carlos for his incredible courage to stand up for the integrity of our game and denounce match manipulation activities. His long legacy to football has now a deep footprint both on and off the pitch."

Mr. Ruiz´s courage and integrity led him to denounce match fixing within the Guatemalan national team. His actions led to a full-scale investigation, as well as unprecedented measures taken in the fight against match fixing in the region.

In line with CONACAF´s commitment to combatting match manipulation, the confederation takes pride in honoring Mr. Ruiz and his exceptional leadership.

Carlos Ruiz Biography

Nicknamed "El Pescadito" or "Little Fish," Carlos Ruiz represented Guatemala 104 times and scored a team-record 55 goals during a 15-year international career. He currently plays for D.C. United in the USA´s Major League Soccer.

Ruiz has appeared in four CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying campaigns, amassing a remarkable 30 goals in 37 games. He has also competed in five CONCACAF Gold Cups and is one of the tournament´s all-time leading scorers with six goals.

A product of local side Municipal, where he won two Guatemalan titles, Ruiz´s career has taken him to compete for clubs on three different continents in countries such as Greece, Mexico, Paraguay and the United States.

He retired from international football in October 2012, after scoring his final goal in a World Cup qualifier against the United States.

Mexico tops Honduras to reach U-17 final

http://www.youtube.com/w…RuTJEbKlS5o

PANAMA CITY, Panama - Marco Granados and Salomon Wbias scored one minute apart late in the first half and Victor Zuñiga struck six minutes from full time as Mexico defeated Honduras, 3-1, on Wednesday in the first semifinal of the CONCACAF U-17 Championship at Estadio Rommel Fernandez.

Mexico will play either Panama or Canada in the final Friday, while Honduras takes on the loser of the second semifinal in the third place match on the same day. All four teams had previously qualified for the FIFA U-17 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates in October.

As was the case in the group stage on April 11 when Ulises Jaimes and Pedro Teran struck for a pair of goals 95 seconds apart in the first half of a 2-0 win over Honduras, El Tri quickly scored twice just before the break Wednesday.

Granados broke the scoreless draw with a sensational bicycle kick in the 43rd minute after Christian Tovar headed the ball back into the area following Fernando Cabrera´s attempted clearance of a corner.

One minute later, Tovar again played provider, sending a long cross into the box where Wbias put a header from 12 meters off Cabrera to give Mexico a commanding 2-0 halftime lead.

Zuñiga added a third goal in the 84th minute, putting a first-time shot from 16 meters off the post and in for his first goal of the tournament.

After being the most dangerous attacking player all game, Honduran forward Alberth Elis set up Christopher Alegria for a cosmetic goal in the second minute of second-half stoppage time. It was his second tally of the tournament and just the third time Honduras scored on Mexico in the history of the U-17 competition.

Mexico, which defeated Guatemala, 2-0, in the quarterfinals, had the game´s first quality scoring chance as Jose Almanza played Zuñiga inside the 18-yard box, but the Cruz Azul forward fired wide of the net from 16 meters.

Zuñiga had space to run three minutes later and sent a dangerous cross in front of goal, which was cleared for the game´s first corner.

In his first tournament appearance, Cabrera dived to his right to get a piece of Erich Hernandez´s shot along the grass from 20 meters one minute later.

In the 26th minute, Cabrera dived to parry away an attempt by Granados from distance for Mexico´s fourth corner.

After absorbing early pressure from the Mexicans, Honduras, which defeated the United States in the quarterfinals, had a pair of chances just past the half hour mark.

Elis was played toward goal on a throw-in by Bryan Velasquez, but the forward poked the ball wide of the net from eight meters.

In the 33rd minute, Devron Garcia flicked a ball to Elias, who powered a header on target, but goalkeeper Raul Gudiño got a piece of the attempt as the ball rolled out for the first Honduras corner.

Despite conceding two rapid-fire goals late in the first half, Honduras came out of the locker room strong as Elis rolled a shot across the face of goal from eight meters in the 50th minute.

In the 68th minute, Kevin Alvarez put a free kick from 28 meters into the Mexican wall and Alegria´s rebound went off the outside netting.

Second-half substitute Deybi Flores headed Alvarez´s cross toward the goal, but it deflected off Ulises Rivas for the third Honduras corner in the 81st minute.

Any slim chance Honduras had at a second straight win over a North American side, though, was put to bed three minutes later when Erick Aguirre cut a ball back to a wide-open Zuñiga, who scuffed his attempt, but still managed to knock it into the net.

Alegria struck in stoppage time for hard-working Honduras, but it is Mexico which earned a spot into the final on Friday.