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Marseille join race to sign Internacional´s Leandro Damião - reports

Marseille have reportedly joined the race against Tottenham Hotspur and Napoli to sign Internacional forward Leandro Damião.

The two clubs have been chasing the Brazil international for several months and any transfer to Europe is expected to be one of these teams.

However, both L’Equipe and Le10Sport have claimed that Ligue 1 side Marseille are now battling for Damião’s signature too.

The French publications suggest OM director Jean-Philippe Durand is currently in Brazil to continue negotiations.

Inter are believed to have set a £16 million price-tag on the 23-year-old and this week they criticised Napoli’s approach.

President Giovanni Luigi said: "If a club want a player, they must talk to the president of the club at which that particular player plays, not just deal with the agent, that is not correct behaviour.

"Recently we talked with Tottenham, Leandro is very likely to play games in England in the coming year. On the other hand we can exclude Napoli."

Fluminense´s Deco protests innocence after failed doping test

Fluminense star Deco has insisted that he has not used any ´forbidden´ substances after failing a doping test.

The former Chelsea and Barcelona midfielder tested positive for the banned diuretic furosemide following his side´s 2-0 win over Boavista in the Campeonato Carioca on March 30.

The drug is on FIFA´s prohibited list as it can be used to hide performance-enhancing substances, but Deco’s lawyers claim it was only in the player´s body as he had taken contaminated vitamins, which he bought from a pharmacy.

The 35-year-old told Lancenet: "I have spoken to my lawyer and I will wait for the results of the B sample.

"I have been playing professional football for 18 years, including 15 in Europe, without any problems.

"I´ll express my opinion only after the seeing the B results and I will stop at nothing to clarify the facts."

The former Portugal international has been left out of Flu´s squad for Thursday´s Copa Libertadores game against Emelec in the Ecuadorian city of Guayaquil.

Vi må bare få Sideshow Bob op på den brasilianske midtbane. En guuuudekasse i går mod Basel.
I Copa Libertadores kostede Lúcio dyrt for São Paulo, der førte 1-0 over Atlético Mineiro. Den hidsige krabat så gult for anden gang efter en halv times spil, og så kunne Ronaldinho og Diego Tardelli vende kampe for "Galo".
En anden rutinerede stopper Cris så rødt for Grêmio i onsdags. Spørgsmålet er om Lúcio og Cris er hentet hjem, så deres hold kan træne spil i undertal...
Fluminense fik et 2-1 nederlag hjem i bagagen fra besøget i Emelec. Det var tæt på remis, men en colombiansk dommer dømte et tvivlsomt straffespark til hjemmeholdet kort før tid. Wágner scorede et drømme mål for Fluminense, mens Leandro Euzébio (selvmål) og Gaibor (straffe) scorede for ecudaorianerne.

@sambafodbold

Jeg tror efterhånden, at Grêmio er vant til at spille med en 10 spillere;-). Jeg tror gerne på, at Cris nok spiller lidt hårdere i Brasilien end i Europa - men han har fået mig hån mod sig fra samtidlige Gremista´er.

@NPato
En lille korrektion: Grêmio må være vant til at spille med 10 mand og en træner på tribunen :)
Men det er sjovt, at Cris og Lúcio brænder over. De er et par rutinerede herrer, som burde være i stand til at transportere ilt til hjernen...

Fantastisk jævnbyrdighed i Copa Libertadores. Max etmålssejre i otte kampe og en fordeling, der hedder 5 hjemmesejre, 2 udesejre og så en remis. Atlético Mineiro må stå med de bedste kort efter 2-1 sejren i São Paulo.

Vi må hellere tage resultaterne af 1/8-finalerne i Libertadores;

São Paulo(BRA)-Atlético Mineiro(BRA) 1-2
Tijuana(MEX)-Palmeiras(BRA) 0-0

Boca Júniors (ARG)-Corinthians(BRA) 1-0
Newells Old Boys(ARG)-Vélez Sarsfield(ARG) 0-1

Grêmio(BRA) - Santa Fé(COL) 2-1
Real Garsilaso(PER)-Nacional(URU) 1-0

Tigre(ARG)-Olímpia (PAR) 2-1
Emelec (ECU)-Fluminense(BRA) 2-1

Returkampene spilles over de næste to uger.

@samba helt enig;-)

Du har helt ret! Jeg er bestemt også imponerende over Palmeiras. Men Atletico Mineiro ser da frygtindgydende ud, de har kun tabt én kamp og vundet samtidlige.

2013 Libertadores: Emelec wins in Guayaquil

http://www.youtube.com/w…j0Uh9nKmdvw

Emelec defeated Fluminense of Brazil 2-1 (1-1) in their first leg tie in the round of 16 at the Bridgestone Libertadores. The match was played in Guayaquil and featured an own goal and a penalty goal for the hosts.

Emelec got goals from Brazilian Leandro Euzébio (32 minutes, own-goal) and Fernando Gaibor (87, penalty). Wagner scored the lone goal for ´Flu´ in the 44th.

The return leg is scheduled for next Wednesday.

The winner of this tie will face the winner of the Tigre of Argentina and Olimpia of Paraguay series.

Tigre defeated visitors Olimpia on April 30 by a score of 2-1. The second leg will be held in Paraguay on May 16.

In the group stage Emelec finished second in Group 4 with 10 points from six games (behind Vélez Sarsfield of Argentina with 13), while Fluminense won Group 8 with 11 points (followed by fellow Brazilian club Gremio and Chilean club Huachipato, both with 8).

Copa Libertadores: Late penalty downs Fluminense

Ecuador outfit Emelec seized victory against Fluminense in the Copa Libertadores Round of 16 clash thanks to a late Fernando Gaibor penalty.

The hosts started the better team with several chances going to waste, including a Marcos Mondaini strike which rattled the crossbar.

But they got their breakthrough just after the half-hour mark with Fluminense´s Leandro Euzebio inadvertently turning the ball into his own net.

The Brazilians quickly levelled proceeding however, as Wagner fired home an equaliser just before the break.

The second-half was evenly contested but it took until the 85th minute for the decisive moment as Carlinhos brought down Mondaini in the box.

The referee signalled a penalty and Gaibor duly converted the spot-kick to give Emelec the advantage going into the second leg in Rio de Janeiro.


Fluminense coach Abel Braga blames the referee and the pitch for 2-1 defeat to Emelec

Fluminense coach Abel Braga believes the referee was wrong to award Emelec the late penalty which gave the Ecuadorians a 2-1 victory in the first leg of their round of 16 Copa Libertadores clash in Guayaquil on Thursday night.

The score was tied at 1-1 with just five minutes to go when the official pointed to the spot in favour of Emelec, allowing Fernando Gaibor to score to give the hosts a first leg victory.

Braga, speaking to reporters after the game, said: “The striker pulled Gum and made the foul. We leave here today without the tie and I am no longer satisfied. But the opponent had merits.”

Fluminense had gone behind in the game thanks to an own goal by Leandro Euzebio, but managed to level the game before half-time thanks to a strike from Wagner.

Braga was happy that they managed to get an important away goal on the night but was furious at the state of the pitch.

"In terms of results, it was bad. We lost 45 minutes while trying to adapt to the field. And the ball did not come to attack the first time.

“We changed our tactical way in the second half and dominated the game. The field was too bad, but we were closer to a second goal than them.

“We did not play a great game, but the game was well mastered. We still had several counterattacks that went wrong because of the last pass. We need patience in Rio.”

Copa Libertadores: Atlético stun 10-man São Paulo

http://www.youtube.com/w…FFtdcXSRGqM

Atlético Mineiro came from behind to stun ten-man São Paulo in the all-Brazilian Copa Libertadores Round of 16 tie at the Morumbi.

The hosts had gotten off to an excellent start as Jádson struck in the ninth minute after some good play from Aloisio and Ganso.

São Paulo then had several good chances to extend their lead but Ademilson was guilty of some poor finishing.

Things got worse for São Paulo as Lucio was sent off for a rash challenge on Atlético midfielder Bernard and the away side took advantage.

Ronaldinho headed home an equaliser just before half-time and Diego Tardelli completed the turnaround in the second-half from Marcos Rocha´s cross.

Atlético now hold an advantage going into the second leg of the tie which will be held in Belo Horizonte.


São Paulo 1-2 Atlético MG: Lúcio not to blame for São Paulo defeat, says Ney Franco


São Paulo were beaten 1-2 at home by Atlético Mineiro for the first leg of the Round of 16 of Copa Libertadores.

The Tricolor were winning 1-0 when Lúcio got sent off, and from that point the team´s luck changed as Ronaldinho equalized the game a few minutes later.

The team´s manager Ney Franco does not think Lúcio can be blamed for the defeat though, he said after the game: "Lúcio´s sending off was fair, the cards were fair too. Marcos Rocha deserved the yellow card too, but we can´t blame the referee."

Ney Franco added: "This is not the moment to accuse Lúcio and he is to blame for the defeat. A mistake was made but we have to move on, it´s pointless to moan now."

"During half-time Lúcio remained with the players, he was very sad, but a player has to recover from that, especially a guy like him."


São Paulo 1-2 Atlético MG: Nothing decided yet, says Ronaldinho

Ronaldinho Gaúcho believes nothing is decided yet, despite Atlético Mineiro´s 2-1 win against São Paulo at the Morumbi stadium.

The midfielder shone scoring one of the goals and creating chances for his teammates, but he thinks the tie is still open.

He said after the game: ""We haven´t won anything yet, it was an improtant game, but we have to keep respecting São Paulo and remain realistic. It was a good step, but there are 90 minutes left."

Despite that, he teased São Paulo after the game, he told reporters: "We took advantage of what our team do best tonight, our passion. It´s always like this, when it´s an important game, our motivation is different."

When a reporter asked him if he enjoyed the game, he said: "What do you think?"

The second leg will be played next week in Belo Horizonte, Atlético Mineiro will advance to the next round with a draw or a win, while São Paulo need a two-goal difference.

stort.....

Barcelona target £40m move for Chelsea star David Luiz - report

Barcelona have targeted Chelsea star David Luiz as the ideal man to sort out their defensive problems and are willing to offer £40m for the Brazilian international.

The Catalan giants are looking to revamp their defence this summer following their humiliating 7-0 aggregate defeat to Bayern Munich in the Uefa Champions League semi-final and see the former Benfica centre-back as the ideal fit for their playing style.

The Daily Mail are reporting that Barcelona have been watching the defender for the past year and were tempted to bid £35m for Luiz last year before moving onto other targets.

However, finding a top class partner for Gerard Pique has now become a top priority following the failed attempt at converting the likes of Javier Mascherano and Alex Song into centre-backs and the fact they can no longer rely on Carlos Puyol, who has suffered a number of injuries over the past two years.

The report also states that Barcelona, who are likely to be crowned La Liga champions this weekend, have been impressed with Luiz’s performances and maturity since Rafa Benitez took charge and are hoping to take advantage of the lack of managerial certainty at the club to steal the Brazilian from Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea would want an offer of around £40m before even contemplating a sale but Barcelona could fund the move by the expected sale of a number of fringe players this summer