Japan held to goalless draw by Venezuela
February 2, 2010
Japan were held to a goalless draw by Venezuela in the first home game of the season for the Blue Samurai on Tuesday as they prepare for the World Cup in South Africa.
Japan were the first team to qualify for international football’s biggest prize while Venezuela failed to reach the finals after finishing eighth in the South American group.
Venezuela had the first chance of the match when 17-year-old debutant forward Fernando Aristiguieta missed a header from close range in the ninth minute following midfielder Giacomo Di Giorgi’s long-off effort.
But it appeared to be the best chance for either side in a game bereft of clear scoring opportunities.
Mitsuo Ogasawara, playing for Japan for the first time since the 2006 World Cup, fired a sizzling shot from outside the area, forcing goalkeeper Leonardo Morales to save in the 16th minute.
Ogasawara and Brazilian-born Marcus Tulio Tanaka missed a couple more shots, while Aristiguieta failed to catch up with Caracas defender Hose Manuel Rey’s free kick to end a goalless first half.
Venezuela piled on the pressure in the second half but managed just one shot on goal through defender Giovanny Romero.
Sota Hirayama, who scored a hat-trick in an Asian Cup qualifier against Yemen last month, was sent on with Sanfrecce Hiroshima striker Hisato Sato in a fruitless attempt to lend the Japanese some rhythm.
Overall, Japan hit a total of 12 shots on goal and Venezuela four.
“I was disappointed that we couldn’t win because Venezuela put wonderful pressure on us. But as an early game of the season, it was a nice game,” said Japan coach Takeshi Okada.
“Mitsuo struggled in the first half as the combination with the others was not so good but he did very well in the second half.
“We have three more games this month (in the East Asian championship). We are going to level up our team through the championship, looking forward to the World Cup,” Okada added.
Japan will play China, South Korea and Hong Kong in the championship starting in Tokyo on Saturday.
OITA, Japan (AFP)
Tags: africa japan, asian championship, asian cup, blue samurai, Caracas, China, close range, cup qualifier, East Asian, Fernando, first chance, free kick, fruitless attempt, Giacomo Di Giorgi, giorgi, hiroshima, home game, Hong Kong, international football, Japan, japan coach, Marcus Tulio, nice game, Oita, okada, sanfrecce hiroshima, shots on goal, sota hirayama, South Africa, South American, south american group, south korea, Takeshi Okada, tokyo, tulioRelated posts
Barca’s Keirrison completes loan move to Fiorentina
February 2, 2010
Barcelona’s Brazilian striker Keirrison will join Fiorentina on loan until June 2011.
The Serie A outfit have confirmed that an agreement has been reached with Barcelona to bring Keirrison to Florence.
A statement from Fiorentina read: “Fiorentina announce they have reached an agreement with Barcelona for the temporary acquisition of Keirrison for the next two seasons.
“The deal will be completed after the player passes a medical in the next few hours.’
The 21-year-old Keirrison joined Barcelona last summer on a €14 milllion transfer deal from Palmeiras, but he was loaned to Portuguese side Benfica earlier this season.
The South American is under contract with the Primera Division champions until June 2014.
Tags: acquisition, barca, Barcelona, benfica, division champions, Florence, Keirrison, palmeiras, portuguese, Primera Division, Serie, South American, two seasonsRelated posts
Libertadores Cup – domain of the Golden Oldies?
January 23, 2010
What more could Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos have in common with Juan Sebastian Veron later this year apart from being among the greatest players in South American football?
As Rex Gowar and Pedro Fonseca write, it is not new for South Americans to return home after brilliant careers in Europe and gain a new lease of life well into their 30s. Veron, though, touched new heights when he led Estudiantes to victory in the Libertadores Cup — South America’s Champions League — in 2009.
Corinthians, with Ronaldo and now Roberto Carlos on board, are celebrating their centenary this year and they have set themselves the target of winning South American football’s top club prize for the first time.
The other big clubs in the Sao Paulo region, Pele’s Santos in the 1960s, Sao Paulo and Palmeiras in the last two decades, have all won it. So have Cruzeiro from Belo Horizonte, Flamengo and Vasco da Gama from Rio de Janeiro and Gremio and Internacional from the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul.
It rankles with Corinthians that the Libertadores Cup has not embellished their trophy cabinet. They have not even reached the final, something a few lesser Brazilian sides like Sao Caetano and Atletico Paranaense have achieved.
Ronaldo, 33, has already had a year at Corinthians, having turned his back on Flamengo to join them after recovering from the knee injury that ended his European career at AC Milan.
He spearheaded them to victory in last year’s Paulista state championship and the Copa Brasil, the title that secured their place in this year’s Libertadores.
Corinthians, looking to the pair to emulate their great Real Madrid days together, signed Roberto Carlos from Turkey’s Fenerbahce this month to boost their chances.
However, fans of other Brazilian sides have a different view of Roberto Carlos. They see him as one of the men responsible for Brazil’s defeat by France in the 2006 World Cup quarter-finals in Germany.
When Thierry Henry scored the only goal, the Brazil left back was bending down pulling up his socks –- a scene repeated and commented on extensively on television after the elimination of the defending world champions.
Three and a half years later, and now 36, Roberto Carlos hopes to put that episode behind him at Corinthians alongside Ronaldo, also criticised for his 2006 performance.
The played together again this week for the first time since 2007 at Real Madrid, when they turned out for Corinthians in an unimpressive 2-1 win over Bragantino in the Paulista championship.
Expectation was enormous, though. Corinthians’ first home match of the year drew 32,000 fans, double the number who watched national champions Flamengo at the Maracana in their opener last weekend in the Carioca (Rio de Janeiro) state championship.
PHOTO: Ronaldo of Corinthians (R) talks to teammate Roberto Carlos before their Paulista soccer match against Bragantino in Sao Paulo January 20, 2010. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker
Tags: ac milan, belo horizonte, brazil, brilliant careers, Carlos, european career, flamengo, Germany, gremio, juan sebastian, juan sebastian veron, knee injury, libertadores cup, new lease, palmeiras, Paulo, Pedro Fonseca, rex gowar, Rio, rio de janeiro, rio grande, Roberto, roberto carlos, Santos, sao caetano, South America, South American, south american football, South Americans, target, thierry henry, trophy cabinet, Turkey, vasco da gamaRelated posts
Homesick Demichelis considers Bayern exit
January 12, 2010
Bayern München manager Louis van Gaal might lose Martin Demichelis. The Argentine defender is unhappy with life in München and misses his home country.
Demichelis admits he is pondering a return to South America.
The 29-year-old centre half has played 155 league matches for Bayern so far, since joining Der Rekordmeister from River Plate in 2003.
This season he has made eight Bundesliga appearances and there’s a possibility that he already played his last match for Bayern because Demichelis admitted he was feeling isolated in Bavaria, in both his personal and professional lives.
“Life in Germany is still hard for me,” he said. “I miss quite a few things from Argentina. I live here alone with my wife and son and I don’t have any South American friends in the squad anymore.”
“Certainly some might say that a man has got to be able to deal with that and I am not saying that life is better in South America, but that is where my roots are and that is my country, my family and my history.”
Tags: american friends, Argentina, Argentine, bavaria, Bayern, Germany, last match, louis van gaal, martin demichelis, river plate, roots, South America, South American, unhappy with lifeRelated posts
Donetsk sign Brazilian starlet
January 7, 2010
Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk have completed the transfer of highly-rated Brazilian youngster Douglas Costa from Gremio for a reported fee of €12 million.
Costa had been linked with a move to Europe for some time, with Manchester United and Milan showing interest in the talented 19-year-old.
“This transfer was in everybody’s interest. Douglas asked us to sell him and we needed the money to satisfy our creditors,” said Gremio president Duda Kroeff during a press conference.
Shakhtar have reportedly acquired 80% of the player’s transfer rights and Gremio will receive 15% of the transfer fee in the event of his transfer from Shakhtar in the future.
Costa was a part of the Brazil U-20 squad that won the South American Youth Championship in 2009.
Tags: brazil, creditors, donetsk, Douglas, Douglas Costa, Europe, gremio, Manchester, manchester united, Milan, money, South American, starlet, United, youngsterRelated posts
Veron wins South American player of the year award
January 1, 2010
Estudiantes de La Plata midfielder Juan Sebastian Veron has been voted the best South American footballer of 2009 by Uruguayan newspaper El Pais. It is the second time the Argentina international received this prestigious award as he also came out on top last year after leading Estudiantes to Copa Libertadores glory.
Veron won by a big margin ahead of Chilean striker Humberto Suazo and Ecuadorian midfielder Edison Mendez.
34-year-old Veron has enjoyed a prestigious career, spending the peak of his footballing life at Lazio with whom he captured the Scudetto in 2000.
Veron did not live up to his name and accomplishments when he moved to England with Manchester United and Chelsea. Having started at the Argentinian club in 1994, Veron went back to Estudiantes in 2006.
Chile boss Marcelo Bielsa won the gong for best South American tactician after guiding Chile to World Cup qualification.
Tags: Argentina, boss, CHELSEA, Chile, Edison, England, footballer, gong, Humberto Suazo, juan sebastian veron, La Plata, lazio, Manchester, manchester united, marcelo bielsa, prestigious award, prestigious career, scudetto, second time, South American, striker, suazo, tactician, world cup qualificationRelated posts
Barcelona´s Messi named World Player of the Year
December 22, 2009
Barcelona and Argentina striker Lionel Messi was crowned World Player of the Year by world football’s ruling body FIFA on Monday.
Messi, whose goals this year helped Barcelona win the Champions League final and World Club Cup final, thus succeeds Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo as the world’s top player, as voted by national team captains and coaches.
Messi has played a huge role in the recent success of Spanish giants Barcelona, who have won a total of six trophies in the past season including the Champions League title and the World Club Cup trophy last week.
The Argentine forward’s talents were given the ultimate thumbs-up earlier this month when he was voted the winner of the Ballon d’Or for the European Footballer of the Year.
On Monday Messi, 22, had been in contention with Barcelona teammates Andres Iniesta and Xavi, both from Spain, Brazilian striker Kaka of Real Madrid, the winner in 2007, and last year’s winner Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo also won both trophies last season.
While Ronaldo won the Ferenc Puskas award for goal of the season while playing with former club Manchester United, one of Messi’s goals was among the highlights.
Messi profile
Despite his diminutive stature Messi, who stands 1.69 metres or five feet seven inches tall, rose above United’s defence in the Champions League final in Rome to head the second of Barcelona’s goals in their 2-0 victory.
The Argentine is also known for his superb dribbling and fast, mazy runs that leave opposition defences in tatters, and on Monday he was just as quick to share out the plaudits.
“I want to thank my teammates, notably those who are present here tonight, without whom none of my achievements would have been possible,” said Messi.
“2009 has been a wonderful year for Barcelona and also for me.”
Messi’s goal against United in last season’s final was his ninth of the 2009 Champions League campaign and left him as the competition’s top scorer.
Last week Messi also proved decisive in the World Club Cup final. He scored Barcelona’s second goal in the 2-1 victory over South American champions Estudiantes of Argentina.
In 2009 Barcelona also won the league title, the King’s (Spanish) Cup, the Spanish Super Cup and the European Super Cup.
ZURICH, Switzerland (AFP)
Tags: Andres Iniesta, Argentina, Argentine, Barcelona, body fifa, champions league final, club manchester united, cristiano ronaldo, cup trophy, five feet seven, footballer of the year, league campaign, lionel messi, MADRID, plaudits, real madrid, ronaldo, South American, Spain, Switzerland, tatters, team captains, wonderful year, world football, world player of the year, ZURICH, zurich switzerlandRelated posts
FIFA Club World Cup: Estudiantes-Barcelona preview
December 19, 2009
FIFA Club World Cup 2009 will conclude on Saturday at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, when Catalonia giants Barcelona face Argentina’s Estudiantes.
The kings of Europe will play Copa Libertadores champions in the tournament finale, as has been the case in the last four years.
With Europe running out as winners in the previous meetings, Estudiantes will be looking to reverse the trend as they bid to become the fourth South American side and the first Argentinians to win the FIFA Club World Cup.
And no one knows better the size of task at hand for the El Pincha than Juan Sebastian Veron, who was a member of the Boca Juniors side that went down 4-2 to AC Milan at Japan 2007.
However, Veron is not the only one as Barcelona have also tasted defeat in the final of the competition, having played second fiddle to Internacional three years ago.
Even the presence of the likes Ronaldinho, Deco and Samuel Eto’o in their ranks could not help the Spanish giants to avoid a defeat.
The urge to claim the only trophy missing from the cabinet, is greater and the Blaugrana goal scoring machine will be ready to go all guns blazing
After an impressive display against Atlante in the semi-final the Catalans now have their eyes fixed firmly on an unprecedented sixth trophy.
Tags: ac milan, Argentina, argentinians, atlante, Barcelona, boca juniors, catalans, catalonia, club world cup, deco, Europe, fifa club world cup, finale, giants, guns, impressive display, Japan, juan sebastian veron, Milan, ronaldinho, samuel eto, samuel eto o, second fiddle, sheikh zayed stadium, South American, trophy, urge, zayed stadiumRelated posts
Spain sitting pretty after World Cup draw
December 5, 2009
European champions Spain, favourites for the World Cup, will have a firm eye on potential opponents in the last 16 after being drawn with Honduras, Chile and Switzerland in Group H.
The Spanish, whose best World Cup performance was a fourth-place finish in 1950, will be making their 12th tournament appearance and have never lost to any of their three group rivals.
And the trio will likely suffer should Spain’s exemplary qualifying prowess continue.
Spain, along with the Netherlands, were one of only two teams to qualify from the European zone unbeaten, notching up 10 wins, scoring 28 goals and conceding just five in the process.
The team’s success has been based on quality and balance throughout a side dripping class.
Captain Iker Casillas is one of the world’s finest goalkeepers, while Xavi is vital to Spain’s fluid one-touch style with his inch-perfect passing and vision. Up front, Europe boasts no finer finishers than David Villa and Fernando Torres.
Rafael Callejas, head of the Honduran football federation, said much preparation lay ahead for his team, ranked 38th in the FIFA standings and set for only their second World Cup participation after their 1982 appearance when they went out in the first round.
“We face very high level teams in Spain, Switzerland and Chile,” he said. “Honduras must prepare itself very well.”
Honduras reached the finals in dramatic fashion thanks to a last-second equaliser in the USA’s clash with Costa Rica, and will look to the professionalism of Colombian coach Reinaldo Rueda and evergreen striker Carlos Pavon to guide them through their pool campaign.
Fellow Hispanophones Chile, ranked 17th by FIFA and boasting the youngest average age of all the South American teams, make a return to the World Cup after a 12-year absence.
Coached by Argentinian veteran Marcelo Bielsa, Chile qualified behind Brazil in the South American zone with their steely resolve mirrored in an impressive away record.
Making up Group H are Switzerland, who reached the last 16 in 2006 before falling on penalties to Ukraine. They overcame a shocking 2-1 defeat to minnows Luxembourg to top their pool in European qualification.
The team, now coached by German Ottmar Hitzfeld, features a healthy blend of youth and experience, combining talented younger players such as Eren Derdiyok, Tranquillo Barnetta and keeper Diego Benaglio with seasoned campaigners like Alexander Frei and Blaise N’Kufo.
CAPE TOWN (AFP)
Tags: alexander frei, american zone, cape town, Carlos Pavon, Chile, class captain, Costa Rica, DAVID VILLA, diego benaglio, dramatic fashion, equaliser, Europe, european champions, european zone, Fernando Torres, fifa standings, football federation, goalkeepers, H. The, Honduras, iker casillas, luxembourg, ottmar hitzfeld, professionalism, prowess, rafael callejas, reinaldo rueda, rueda, South American, Spain, striker, Switzerland, the Netherlands, ukraine, USA, world cup performance, xaviRelated posts
Lippi wary of taking group too easily
December 5, 2009
Italy coach Marcello Lippi sounded a warning to celebrating Italians after the reigning world champions were on Friday given what looked an easy draw in the World Cup.
Italy were grouped alongside debutants Slovakia, outsiders New Zealand and South Americans Paraguay in Group F.
But while that looks to be one of the weakest pools in the whole draw, Lippi warned that it would be dangerous to start thinking along those lines.
“The more you think a group will be easy the more difficult it becomes,” he said.
“Paraguay were top of the South American qualifying group for a long time before being overtaken by Brazil at the end.
“Slovakia are improving, they have players we know well, also some who play in Italy and they beat some good teams to get here.
“I’m neither satisfied nor upset. We will start to assess our opponents and their characteristics.
“They are all difficult opponents but then we will also cast an eye on the (possible) second round and quarter-final (opponents).”
However, while Lippi urged caution, Italian pundits were less reserved in their reactions.
On Sky Sport’s live televised coverage of the draw their commentators openly laughed and celebrated as each of Italy’s opponents was read out.
And former Chelsea manager and now TV pundit Gianluca Vialli said this was a group from which Italy should expect to progress.
“It’s a very manageable group but these are teams who will be going to the World Cup expecting to play three matches whereas Italy are going there hoping to play seven games, so we have to be very careful,” he said.
Slovakia actually topped a qualifying group including Slovenia, Poland and Czech Republic while Paraguay were only pipped by Brazil in South American qualifying.
New Zealand’s Oceania campaign was simple but then they had to negotiate a tricky two-legged play-off against Bahrain.
Paraguay are expected to be Italy’s toughest opponents with Brazil coach Dunga, who lifted the World Cup as a player in 1994 in the United States when Italy were beaten on penalties in the final, told the reigning champions to watch out.
“Italy’s group is not easy, Paraguay are a very solid team. They did very well during qualification, Italy will have to be careful,” he told Rai TV.
Italy begin their campaign against Paraguay in Cape Town on June 14 and the South Americans’ Argentine coach Gerardo Martino admitted that would be his team’s toughest encounter.
“Playing the first match against the reigning champions will of course be difficult but we’re confident that we will be well prepared enough to put up a fight not only in this match the also the others,” he said.
Underdogs New Zealand gave Italy a fright in a pre-Confederations Cup friendly in Pretoria a year ago before going down 4-3 and assistant coach Brian Turner says that has given them belief.
“We took a lot of confidence out of that game. We took the game to Italy but at the end of the day Italy were still too good, they’re a football power,” he said.
“But we’re delighted with the group we’re in and we’re delighted to be with Italy.”
ROME (AFP)
Tags: Argentine, bahrain, brazil, Brian Turner, cape town, CHELSEA, coach marcello lippi, commentators, czech republic, debutants, dunga, F. But, Gerardo Martino, italians, italy coach, marcello lippi, New Zealand, opponents, outsiders, paraguay, play seven, play three, Poland, pretoria, pundits, qualifying group, ROME, seven games, Sky Sport, South American, South Americans, United States, vialli, world champions, World CupRelated posts
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