LATIN AMERICA SOCCER- Futbol updates and commentaries

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

CRUZEIRO OR ESTUDIANTES, A GOLDEN CHAMPION WILL BE CROWNED

This Wednesday will be the finals of the 50th version of Copa Libertadores, a half of century of Copa tournament play, a golden mark.

Stadium Mineirao, is located in the Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte, with a capacity for 75,783 fans and inaugurated in 1965, will be the witness for Copa libertadores finals.

Wednesday night, Cruzeiro from Brazil or Estudiantes from Argentina will be crowned champion number 50 of the tournament, where the the first winner of the Cup was Peñarol of Uruguay after defeating Olimpia also from Uruguay.

After last week's tie in the first phase game in La Plata city (Estudiantes home), the title still is up for grabs, although the game is favoring Cruzeiro as they are playing at home, and the Brazilians fans have already made Cruzeiro the champions, the euphoria is in the streets, the matter of the truth is that Alejandro Sabella's team have not lost the battle, but they will have to play a much calculate game and will have to control the ball, concentrate, and take advantage of situations that arise of scoring a goal.

On the other side, Cruzeiro does a good job of controlling the ball, as they are speedy on the lateral sides, with forwards that have speed, as Wellington and Kleber and wingers like Wagner and Ramires.

All in all the game will be a hard fought battle for both sides, as both team demand from each other to play to an ultimate level of soccer, that is the reason they have reached the finals.

The table is set. The party is superb in a city of more that two million people with a tropical climate, who feel a little warmer when the drums are beating. The ambiance is that of a carnival and the fans are ready for this Copa Libertadores final.

Copa Libertadores history

In the 50 years of Copa libertadores history the Argentinean teams have taken the Copa trophy 21 times and the Brazilians 13 times.

Another statistic, the team that has won the most Copa is Independiente of Argentina, with seven trophies in seven finals. This team is the only team with four consecutive cups (72, 73, 74, and 75) . But the most participation by a team is Peñarol with 37, winning 5 Copa Libertadores.

The most goals by a player is Ecuadorian, Alberto Spencer, who played with Peñarol and Barcelona of Ecuador.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

COLOMBIAN FALCAO GARCIA HEADED TO OPORTO, PORTUGAL

According to the Portugal press, Falcao Garcia could have been transfer as early as last Friday for 7.5 million dollars to Oporto (Portugal), however River Plate has not confirmed officially that a transfer has been made.

The Portugal press indicated that Falcao has played the last game for River Plate in this past Clausura tournament against Estudiantes de La Plata this past July 4, and that the player had agreed at least four months ago to the transfer with his Argentinean club.

Small minor details are still to be finalized, where also has been rumored the tagging of Ecuadorian Joffre Guerrón to River Plate, from Spain's Getafe (La Liga), and could be confirmed this week even though Nestor Gorosito (River Plate Coach)has not confirmed the tag.

Oporto, in the last few days has transferred, Luis "Lucho" Gonzalez to the France Olympique Marsella and Lisandro Lopez to Olympique Lyon.

Falcao Garcia, 23 yrs old, is River Plate's actual top goal scorer, who made his debut for Millonario in 2001 and a brief sting with Fair Play de Chia second division in his country.

His River Plate debut was in 2005, they were champion of the Clausura tournament in 2008 and has scored 45 goals with River.

With the Colombian national teams, he was champions with the Sudamericano sub'20 in 2005 and is also part of the national team that is trying to qualify for the 2010 World Cup.

Friday, July 10, 2009

ITS ALL LIGA DE QUITO, RECOPA CHAMPIONS

There was no doubt in what Liga accomplished, their mission was to win the Recopa tournament and that's what they got by beating International 3-0 in the Recopa Sudamericana, they were the better team, regardless of the altitude of Quito, they were motivated and it showed in how they played.

With goals by Claudio Bieler, Paraguayan Carlos Espinola and Enrique Vera, Liga de Quito made history for Ecuador and their 40,000 fans.

The Ecuadorian team, Copa libertadores champs and runner up in Mundial de clubes in Japan 2008, added another title after they beat the Brazilian team in "Casa Blanca" Stadium.

The game was all of what it was billed to be, both teams came out playing offensive soccer as they each had opportunities to score at the beginning of the match. Inter would come out put pressure on the Copa Libertadores champs, but Liga would settle down and play good defense and counter attack rather exceptionally well.

The visitors were intense in putting pressure on Alexander Dominguez (Liga's goalkeeper) specially by Andres D'Alessandro, Taison and Nilmar and they were dangerous for most of the game, as a shot by Nilmar came close to scoring by hitting the goalpost at the 37th minute of the game.

The home team was efficient, as their passing and controlling of the ball was precised and solid, their maneuvering thru International defense was swift and impressive making their attack to Inter's zone approachable at ease.

After Vera's goal (53m) International came down crumbling as they saw their chances of winning the match go down the drain, the Ecuadorian fans would begin the celebration of a feat that has never been attained in Ecuadorian soccer history, and the shout of "Liga Campeon" was ignited in the entire "Casa Blanca" stadium as fans were worshipping the moment of joy.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

HERE WE GO, COPA LIBERTADORES FINALS

Estudiantes (Argentina)and Cruzeiro (Brazil)will meet this Wednesday for the first phase of the finals in Copa Libertadores, in an ambiance that is mark as a though match and the swine flu epidemic that is hitting Argentina at this moment.

Argentina has reported 80 cases of the swine flu. Until the last moment Cruzeiro tried to postponed the game as they were concerned with the epidemic and the well being of their players. The South America Confederation of Futbol assure that Estudiantes guarantee the health and security of the Brazilian team.

Cruzeiro and Estudiantes were in the same group 5 at the start of the tournament (Cruzeiro won 3-0 at home, and Estudiantes won 4-0 also at home).

Estudiantes is looking for its fourth title, in almost four decades, which includes a memorable three times champions from 1968 to 1970, while Cruzeiro wants to reach Copa for a third time, after their victories in 1976 and 1997.

Estudiantes will count with all of their starters including Juan Sebastian Veron, who due to an injury was not able to play against Nacional of Uruguay, and defender Christian Cellay, also has recuperated from an injury.

In Cruzeiro it is still no clear who will be along side Kleber, due to Thiago Ribeiro being injured and has not completely heal, but his replacement, Wellington Paulista scored two goals in the semifinals against Gremio in Porto Alegre.

Monday, July 6, 2009

INTER IS BRINGING THE ENTIRE CALVARY

International (Brazil) who took the lead in the Brazilian championship standings, has decided that for now they will forget about their league play and will arrive tomorrow with all of their starters in Quito to play Liga de Quito on Thursday for the second phase of the "Recopa Sudamericana".

Inter, the red team of Porto Alegre, two weeks ago lost (0-1) at home in phase one of the Recopa, will need now to beat Liga de Quito as a visitor in "Casa Blanca" stadium by a margin of more than one goal to be able to win the tournament title, who is represented by Copa Libertadores champion 2008 (Liga de Quito) and Copa Sudamericana champion 2008 (International).

Among the confirmed players for Thursday's game will be Nilmar, the most effective scorer for Inter, who was absent in the first meeting against Liga due to being in South Africa for the Confederation Cup with the Brazil's national team.

Also Ecuadorian winger Luis Bolaños could play in this game, Bolaños is an ex Liga de Quito player.

Nilmar who precisely was the author of two goals with the Porto Alegre team in yesterday's Brazilian league play against Nautico, the score, you guess it 2-0, resulting in the red team jump to the leader board.

Inter, Copa Sudamericana 2008 champions, will be traveling with ease as they will forget for a few days about the Brazilian league, although next Sunday will be visiting a difficult team in Atletico Paraneanse, to defend their top of the lead standings.

One of the doubts of Tite. Inter's coach, for Thursday's game will be if he can count on Sandro, who is healing from a muscular injury, as it will be determined by the Doctors if he can play.

This game should be a good game to watch, as both champions square off.

GOLD CUP IN SHORT

With the spanking of Grenada and playing with substitutes, United States played game 14 with out loosing, it adds up to 12 wins and 2 ties where their last lost was in July 23, 2003 against Brazil (1-2) in Miami. The perfection exists.

Also, thanks to an easy victory against Grenada's debut, Bob Bradley maintains as a coach an ideal record in Gold Cup play, thanks to his great work in 2007 edition and a good start in this 2009 Gold Cup, it counts for seven victories in the same amount of games coached, with an spectacular goal difference of 17 in favor to 3 against.

El Salvador debuted with a valuable victory 2-1 over Costa Rica, cutting a long loosing streak of 12 games against the "Ticos". Its most recent win against Costa Rica was back in May 4, 1997, when El Salvador beat them also 2-1.

With the win the Salvadoreans got their fifth win in 15 games of Gold Cup play, thanks to the 2-1 over Costa Rica, they will be looking for a second victory as they have upcoming games with Canada and Jamaica, a second win is something they have not accomplished in Gold Cup edition, and they have never reached the quarterfinals.

Canada repeated the same dose 18 years later, Canadians and Jamaicans had not met in Gold Cup play since the first edition back in 1991 Gold Cup. In that tournament the Canadians won 3-2, in this edition it was 1-0 win, thanks to a goal by Ali Gerba, a soccer player that has been productive for Canada, as he showed that in the 2007 edition by scoring four goals.

Honduras won a tough battle against Haiti (1-0), with a goal by Carlos Costly. They earned three points in their first game, something they have not made a habit of in past Gold Cup tournament. Honduras had not started with a win since 2000, when they beat Jamaica 2-0.

Guadeloupe wants to repeat, with a victory over Panama 2-1 , the island of Guadeloupe, after they made a good showing in the 2007 edition, where they reached the semifinals, was it a coincidence? at the moment, Guadeloupe has three victories in six games played in Gold Cup, registering a tie and two defeats, both by the minimal margin of 1-0 against Costa Rica and Mexico.

Friday, July 3, 2009

GOLD CUP 2009

The Gold Cup is underway, July 3-26, a Concafac run tournament that will be represented by North America, Central America and Caribbean countries

Can Team USA defend its 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup title over the next three weeks in the United States?
Maybe. But it will be a very hard road to glory. And don't worry, there will be plenty of controversy along the way.

Group A
This group is easily the Group of Death.

Costa Rica (7+ points) — The only guarantee in this group is that CONCACAF World Cup qualifying leader Costa Rica will come out the winner with at least seven points.

Jamaica (4+ points) — Jamaica will play with something to prove this Gold Cup after an unsuccessful World Cup qualifying campaign. With prolific, underrated Stoke striker Ricardo Fuller (who was rarely used for the Reggae Boyz in qualifying), the team will turn some heads and finish second.

El Salvador (4+ points) — The surprise of CONCACAF qualifying will probably come out on the losing end of the dead heat for second. They have handily defeated both Jamaica (without Fuller) and Canada in qualifying, and they will give Costa Rica a run for its money.

Canada (1+ points) — Unlucky draw for the Canucks, who would probably get out of the group in any other edition of this tournament.

Group B

The microcosm of CONCACAF. Two continental powers against two lowly, no-hope minnows.

United States (7+ points) — Expect every formation of no-names possible in routs of Grenada and Haiti. All eyes will be on Freddy Adu against Honduras, an opponent the USA will surely not underestimate this time around.

Honduras (6+ points) — They will look for a similar spark against the United States while overestimating the other two minnows. That doesn't mean they lose to them.

Grenada (1+ points) — Shalrie Joseph and the Caribbean Championship runners-up could make Honduras sweat, but most likely in a losing effort.

Haiti (0+ points) — A cast of lovable no-names in a shark tank. Nothing to lose, and could definitely shock Honduras or Grenada.

Group C

A similarly predictable group with a slight twist.

Mexico (9 points) — How is it Mexico gets the host's easy-pass group? Expect Carlos Vela and Omar Bravo to compete for the Golden Boot through this group alone. Easy domination for Mexico.

Guadeloupe (4+ points) — Here's a bold prediction. Tiny Guadeloupe finish ahead of Panama in second place. The tiny Caribbean island claims birth or parental lineage rights to Lilian Thuram, Thierry Henry, and Sylvain Distin, and have players all over Ligue 1, Ligue 2, and the rest of Europe.

They had a nice run through the Caribbean Championship, dominating most opponents and placing third in a thriller against Cuba. This team has the potential and pedigree to continue upholding their rising form.

Panama (4+ points) — In contrast, this is a team with older players, broken potential, and declining talent from 2007. Jaime Penedo, who played for Osasuna in 2007 and was Panama's only La Liga player, now plays his club ball in Guatemala.

Blas Perez, the dangerous striker tapped for Real Betis in 2007, plays for Pachuca. Add to these two an undisciplined, chaotic supporting class and no supporting midfielders, and you'll see this team's fall from grace to Guadeloupe soon enough.

Nicaragua (0+ Points) — But that doesn't mean Panama or the rest of the group won't beat up on these first-timers. Like Haiti, Nicaragua will be on damage control and has nothing to lose except all its games in the group stage.

Foxsporst soccer

Thursday, July 2, 2009

COPA LIBERTADORES, MATCH OF THE TOURNAMENT

Cruzeiro can put Gremio away tonight with a win, tie or looses by one goal margin and advanced to Copa Libertadores finals. As if wasn't tough for Gremio, now Cruzeiro gets Ramires back after a sting with the Brazil national team in South Africa, so we can safely say that Gremio will have to play the match of their life time if they want to continue in Copa Libertadores tournament......

Cruzeiro won the first semifinal encounter with Gremio 3-1. Tonight's match will be at Olimpico stadium and it's schedule to start at 9:50 pm local time.

Ramires missed the match in Belo Horizonte because he was at the Confederation Cup, helping Brazil beat the United States 3-2 in Sunday's final to win its third title.

After starting in four of the five matches the team played in South Africa, Ramires arrived in Brazil on Monday and traveled with Cruzeiro for the decisive Copa Libertadores match against Gremio in Porto Alegre.

The only disadvantage for Cruzeiro will have is playing in Gremio's backyard and in front of 45.000 spectators, that by the way they are Gremio fans, and will be riled up after last week's incident, after winger Elicarlos of Cruzeiro accused forward Maxi Lopez of racism, a Gremio idol.

So let's hold on to our hats, because tonight's match, not only will it bring the other finalist to the Copa, but also the rivalry has been taken to another level and both clubs will be up for this game, as excitement has just build up even more.

Hopefully security will be on their toes and we will have a exciting well played match, so tune in for this one, it will be a dandy and memorable game to watch.