Normal 0 21 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Tabla normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} The latest instalment of Buenos Aires’ Superclasico did little to give fans of River Plate or Boca Juniors hope of an quick upturn in fortunes for either ofArgentina’s traditional footballing superpowers.

Fans of a bit of blue will be happy with the news that Argentina has now finally booked their place at South Africa 2010. It’s not just on their famous striped shirts however that the blue will be found but also coming from the mouth of Diego Maradona if his latest press conference is anything to go by. El Diego rounded on his critics from Argentina’s press pack after his side’s hard fought 1-0 victory over Uruguay in Montevideo. Anybody not wishing to see the result should look away now. After joyful scenes on the pitch at the final whistle Maradona cut a very different figure when he emerged for his press conference in the bowels of the Estadio Centenario.

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Tabla normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} Be it a clash in the World Cup finals or a domestic under-17 game, Argentina versus Brazil always gets the pulse racing. The two nations line up this weekend in the north of Argentina for a match which holds the key for the hosts making it to South Africa for next year’s World Cup.

Brazil have been crowned South American under-20 champions in Venezuela without kicking a ball. The 2-2 draw between Uruguay and Paraguay meant that Brazil could not be caught at the top of the final group stage. The result delivered Brazil their tenth under-20 Sudamericano and means the squad now travel to the World Cup in Egypt as hot favourites. Uruguay tried keeping the pressure on Brazil and they took the lead against Paraguay through Jonathan Urretaviscaya in the 13th minute in their final game. The winger who plays his club football in Portugal with Benfica slotted home a cool finish to give Uruguay a dream start. The joy was short lived for the Uruguayans as Paraguay levelled two minutes later when poor defending allowed Aldo Paniagua in to equalise. This goal saw Paraguay take hold of the game as they sought revenge for their first round 4-2 defeat to Uruguay. Paraguay took the lead on the half hour mark as Paniagua once again popped up in the right place at the right time. Uruguay came out galvanised after the break and looked to get back into the game. A bombardment of the Paraguayan goal followed with substitutes Abel Hernandez and Santiago Garcia impressing for Uruguay. An equaliser eventually came 15 minutes from time when Hernandez struck from range and Uruguay continued to press and look to breach the Paraguay defence for a third time. A winning goal did not come and Uruguay had to settle for a place at the World Cup rather than claim the South American title. Four wins on the spin had propelled Brazil to the top of the final hexagonal stage of the competition. Wins over Uruguay, Argentina, Venezuela and Colombia put the Canarinha into such an unassailable lead they were able to lose their final game against Paraguay with the trophy already in their grasp. After their point against Uruguay it was Paraguay who found themselves with something to play for against incumbent champions Brazil in the last game of the tournament. A win would guarantee Paraguay a place at the under-20 World Cup and keep football in the country riding on the crest of a wave following the recent good results of the senior team. However Brazil seemed determined to go out in style and peppered the Paraguay goal from the get go. Good efforts from Giuliano and Alan Kardec were saved in style by Joel Silva in the Paraguayan goal and star striker Walter fluffed a gilt edged chance for Brazil. Joel Silva was eventually beaten in the second half by a wicked free-kick from midfield wizard Douglas Costa, this time it was the woodwork that came to Paraguay’s rescue. Then the Brazilian goalkeeper, Rafael, was called upon to make a routine save after being a virtual spectator all game and he committed a howler. This gaff allowed Hernan Perez to fire home and put Paraguay into an expected lead very much against the run of play. Brazil continued to mount wave after wave of attacks but Joel Silva was not to be beaten and his man of the match performance brought home three points, the runners-up spot and a place at the World Cup in Egypt for Paraguay. Brazil had previously failed to convince in the first round group stage with a defeat against Uruguay and a draw against Paraguay. Question marks were appearing above much hyped players such as Douglas Costa and Walter. Their division for the first round stage certainly lived up to its billing as The Group of Death with qualifiers Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay claiming the top three places in the final hexagonal group. These three teams will now travel to the under-20 World Cup in Egypt later this year along with hosts Venezuela who finished up fourth. One team that won’t be travelling to North Africa is current under-20 word champions Argentina and participants in the World Cup for the past 16 years. Argentina’s campaign eventually came to an end with a one-nil defeat to Colombia, the other team to miss out on a World Cup berth from the final hexagonal tournament. Argentina's exemplary record at this level has seen then win five of the last seven under-20 World Cups but they will not be there to defend their title this time around. The Argentines only managed to record one victory at the tournament. This two-one win against a Peru team who lost every game was backed up with five draws and three defeats. Tim Sturtridge Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags Soccer News soccer football J-League K-League Betting

Far from the tinderbox of the Gaza strip there’s a pocket of South America where you can see the Palestine flag flying high and football fans decked out in keffiyeh headdresses. These fans are the loyal followers of Club Deportivo Palestino, a team that narrowly missed out on Chile’s Primera División last season. They lost to Colo Colo in the championship play-off decider and were denied the third league title of their history. Chile has the largest population of displaced Palestinians outside the Middle East region and in 1920 a group of them decided to start a football team in Santiago. While in its infancy Palestino competed in the colonial championships of Osorno. These days home games are played at Cisterna Municipality Stadium and a capacity crowd produces a 12,000 strong sea of red, green and black. When a national league was established by the Federación de Fútbol de Chile in 1952 Palestino joined the second division and won an instant promotion to the top-flight. Three years later they won the national championship under the guidance of former Argentine captain Guillermo Coll. Their only other title came in 1978 with a league and cup double, this time with legendary Chilean captain Elías Figueroa at the helm. Another familiar face to have passed through the ranks at Palestino is former Chilean international midfield Clarence Acuña who had a spell at Newcastle United as well as appearing at 1998 World Cup for Chile. Despite Palestine remaining unrecognised as a country by everybody from the United Nations to Myspace, FIFA has allowed a Palestinian national team compete in World Cup qualifiers for the last 10 years. Faced with the problems of assembling a team able to compete within World Cup qualifiers the then Palestine national coach Nicola Shahwan hatched a scheme to tap into Chilean talent with Palestine heritage. Players from Club Deportivo Palestino and others started to make themselves available for the Palestine national team. Players such as Roberto Kettlun, Pablo Abdulla and Roberto Bishara were able to take advantage of FIFA’s grandparents rule and became eligible to play for Palestine. These player’s grandparents were not refugees from the 1948 war with Israel but instead Palestine Christians who were forced out by the Ottoman Empire in the 1920s. The naturalisation of footballers to another country is not a new phenomenon, Alfredo Di Stefano switched his allegiances across the Atlantic many moons ago. Presently, Uruguayan born striker Sebastian Sona’s goals are helping Qatar towards a place at South Africa 2010. Palestine’s Chilean contingent do however have a genuine historical connection with the area and their link courses through their veins. Nicola Shahwan and the Palestine FA were finally in a position to field these Chilean-born players in the national team in time for the 2003 Pan Arab Cup in Kuwait. The West Asian-South American axis of the side managed draws with Jordan, hosts Kuwait and Sudan. Defeat and elimination came after a 3-1 reverse against a strong Moroccan side. Despite the exit Palestine won plaudits for combining flair and a physical approach which is now the blueprint for the country’s style of play. Pablo Abdulla’s blond frizzy hair-do, reminiscent of Carlos Valderrama in his pomp, may have looked slightly out of place in Kuwait but the South American posse’s commitment to cause was there for all to see. Nicola Shahwan had pulled off a masterstroke to get the Chileans involved and Palestine were able to fast forward the development of their national team. There are seven Chilean-born players currently involved in the Palestine national set-up. They are Club Deportivo Palestino’s captain Roberto Bishara, Roberto Kettlun Pesce, Bruno Pesce, Luis Musrri, Francisco Alam, Edgardo Abdala, Leonardo Zamora. Some of these names were able to line-up when Palestine played their first ‘home’ game in a newly built stadium in the West Bank last October. The match, attended by FIFA president Sepp Blatter, marked the team’s return from exile. All of Palestine’s previous home games had been played in neighbouring Jordan and Qatar. Since establishing the Chile connection the Palestine FA has made further efforts to recruit players eligible through ancestry. An advert in the German football magazine Kicker was taken out with the hope more players would step forward. But nothing is straight-forward when it comes to Palestine. Two Croatian brothers, one playing in his National League and the other playing for Al Wahada in the Emirates say they received Death threats over the phone, and have refused to play. With such singular stories it’s little wonder the Palestine football team has attracted filmmakers from all over the world to capture their unique struggle. One such film was a fly-on-the-wall style documentary by Chilean filmmaker Marcelo Pina Pina grew up in a Chile under the control of General Pinochet and is also well aware of his homeland’s connection with Palestine. The filmmaker was able to use this knowledge and experience to empathise with the Palestinian people as he followed the team’s failed attempt to qualify for the 2006 World Cup. “It’s not easy when you’re an occupied country. You can talk about how success in football can lift a nation, which is true, but it’s not that simple. “There’s also the fact that Chile is home to a large population of people whose ancestors had emigrated to South America from Palestine. We now have the chance to highlight their problems. It goes beyond football. We want to show the world the difficulties faced by these people.” Said the Chicago based Pina. Pina realised soon into his venture that the trials of the football team were rife with material which highlighting the problems ordinary Palestinians faced daily. There were good times in the campaign such as two wins against Taiwan which included an 8-0 thumping but these moments were tempered by the tragedies which are an unavoidable part of life in Palestine. Pina watched on as the Palestine captain, Saeb Jundiya, was pushed against a wall and searched by Israeli soldiers just two blocks from his home in Gaza. “That was the second time in a couple of months it happened to him,” Pina remarked. Another story involving Jundiya that Pina recalls is when the Palestine players had to think on their feet to reach their goal. “After the Uzbekistan match, it took us 40 hours to cross the Egyptian border into Rafah. It was only 100 metres from the Egyptian side to the Palestine side. It was jammed with traffic that was not moving. So the players, with their luggage, had to travel that distance on donkey.” Pina said. Frontman Ziad Al Kourd returned from this game to find his house in the Gaza Strip town of Dier al-Balah had been flattened by soldiers looking for arms-smuggling tunnels. Al Kourd has since been banned from travelling outside Gaza as he is deemed a security threat. There is certainly more to Palestine football than the joke popular with English fans about being buried in the kit of a supremely talented Geordie. A people are trying their heart out to express themselves through football and this has brought them closer to their not so distant cousins in South American. Tim Sturtridge Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags Soccer News soccer football J-League K-League Betting

When Argentina’s Primera División commences next month referees will be armed with a vanishing spray to keep defensive walls ten-yards back at free-kicks. The aim is that refs will pace out the yards at dead-ball situations and spray a line on the ground to stop the defenders from encroaching on the set-piece taker. The line on the pitch will then disappear within a minute without leaving a lasting trace on the pitch. The scheme was successfully trialed in the second division last season and now the Argentina Football Association (AFA) has approved its use in the top flight. The spray is contained in a 115 gram light weight aerosol can which means referees can carry it on them at all times. It is hoped that the scheme will speed play up by preventing the common disputes which crop up at dead-ball situations. The AFA hopes the measure will put an end to the days of retaken free-kicks and needless bookings for walls creeping too close to the ball. The invention is the brainchild of sports journalists Pablo Silva who first had the idea eight years ago when playing in an amateur league. Silva’s team were 1-0 down when they got a free-kick on the edge of the box in the dying minutes of the match. When the kick was taken it crashed into the wall who had advanced to within three yards of the set-piece taker. When the referee took no action despite a wave of protest the seedling of the idea had been planted in Silva’s head. “We lost the game and, driving home later with a mixture of anger and bitterness, I thought that we must invent something to stop this.” Pablo Silva said Silva also wondered if the problem was confined to football in Argentina or if the same thing happens all over the globe. He decided to undertake a study of behaviour at free-kicks in the professional game worldwide. “We have observed more than 1,500 matches all over the world and we have studied how long it takes to take the free kick and how far the defensive wall moves forward. “We have proved this is not just an Argentine problem, it happens everywhere.” Silva conceded. He hopes that the spray he developed with chemical engineers will catch on all over the world and benefit football as a spectacle. “Hopefully this can contribute to enforcing the current rules and improve the time that the ball is in play.” Silva said wishfully. A similar spray has been used in some cup competitions in Brazil for several years now but proved unsuccessful when it was introduced to their league seven years ago. Pablo Silva claims his spray will be much more effective and has been developed separately from its Brazilian counterpart. “The Brazilian one appeared in 2002 and the substances are completely different. One has nothing to do with the other.” Silva said adamantly. Watch out for the new invention in Argentina’s Primera División A Torneo Clausura 2009 which commences on 8th February. Keep your eyes peeled though, blink and you’ll miss it. © Tim Sturtridge & Soccerphile.com Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags Soccer News soccer football J-League K-League Betting

World soccer news: For week of December 20th Soccer Crusaders: Crosses on shirts upset Moslems Soccer is known for knocking down many barriers, except for those fortified in religious fanatism. One Baris Kaska, a Turkish lawyer from Izmir, filed a complaint against UEFA with the local court asking for the annullment of Inter Milan's 3-0 Champions League win over Fenerbahce on account that the "Italians wore a red cross on a white surface." For Kaska, a clear symbol of the Crusades. "The cross reminded me of the bloody days of the past. In my opinion, the design of the shirt openly suggests the superiority of one religion," claims Kaska. Naturally, the complaint has no chances of prospering since UEFA approved the design of Inter's reserve kit, inaugurated on the occasion of the Milan club's forthcoming centenary. Indeed, Inter had the sensitivity to ask Fenerbahce whether they would object to their using the crossed shirt at San Siro, and the Turks said no problem. Barcelona, who sell tons of shirts in Islamic countries, have forestalled a possible customers' boycott by redisigning their coat of arms in the batches intended for Moslem markets. Instead of the city's patron saint St George's cross in the upper left corner, Barça's coat of arms on sale in Islamic states cointains an ordinary vertical red line on the white surface. "They don't tolerate crosses, be it Barça's or another club's," said a Spaniard living in Saudi Arabia to the La Vanguardia daily. "Barcelona's merchandise sells well, but it would not be the same if there was a red cross drawn within a white square." John Terry six weeks out of action Chelsea's captain and England international John Terry will spent at least six weeks on the sidelines after sustaining an injury during the London derby against Arsenal. The team doctors confirmed Terry broke three bones in his left foot. The international defender tried to continue playing even after Eboué's rough tackle, but the pain was too strong, forcing him to abandon the pitch. Eboué apologized to Terry for the tackle before getting injured himself. This has been yet another blow to the Blues, already without Ricardo Carvalho since the early stages of the season. The brave skipper could return to action against Birmingham in late January and should certainly be ready for Fabio Capello's England debut against Switzerland at Wembley on February 6th. Kaká's double triumph The journalists who determine the winner of the Golden Ball in France Football's poll have a similar taste to that of the coaches and skippers of national teams taking part in FIFA's contest for the world's best player. As a consequence, the same player has won the Golden Ball and the FIFA's award in the same season for the tenth time in 17 years. This year's double winner is Milan's Kaká, the fifth Brazilian to have unified the two most prestigious individual prizes in soccer. That was not the end to Kaká's astonishing run of trophies: by winning FIFA's World Club Cup, the 25-year-old attacking midfielder has become only the second player to have won the set of soccer's most distinguished trophies. Just like Marco van Basten in 1989, Kaká has collected the Champions' League, the Supercup, the World Clup Cup and the Golden Ball. Van Basten could not win FIFA's player of the year award simply because it was not given before 1991. Here are the ten double-winners since 1991, when FIFA started to award the prize for the top player of the year. Golden Ball plus FIFA award 1992. Marco van Basten (Netherlands) 1993. Roberto Baggio (Italy) 1995. George Weah (Liberia) 1997. Ronaldo (Brazil) 1998. Zinedine Zidane (France) 1999. Rivaldo (Brazil) 2002. Ronaldo (Brazil) 2005. Ronaldinho (Brazil) 2006. Fabio Cannavaro (Italy) 2007. Kaka (Brazil) Inzaghi like Cruyff and Rijkaard! Filippo Pippo Inzaghi has become the third European player to have scored a goal in all three finals of club cup competitions in the same cycle. Before Pippo, only two Dutchmen achieved that distinction. The first was Ajax' Johan Cruyff, who scored twice against Inter in the Champions' Cup, twice against Rangers in the Supercup and once against Independiente in the Intercontinental Cup in 1972 and early 1973. Eighteen years later, Milan's Frank Rijkaard repeated the feat in the games against Benfica, Sampdoria and Olimpia of Asunción. Milan's third hat-trick AC Milan has joined for the third time the select group of the elite European clubs who won the three most important international trophies in one competitive cycle. Before winning the World Club Cup by beating Boca Juniors 4-2, Milan collected the Champions' League at the expense of Liverpool (2-1) and the European Supercup against Sevilla (3-1). The world's most successful club picked up their first two hat-tricks in 1989 and 1990 under the guidance of Arrigo Sacchi. This elite group includes Ajax (twice), Porto, Juventus and Real Madrid. Hat-trick of titles 1972. Ajax 1987. Porto 1989. Milan 1990. Milan 1995. Ajax 1996. Juventus 2002. Real Madrid 2007. Milan Wanchope says goodbye in January Paulo Wanchope, Costa Rica's top soccer export, will bid a final farewell on January 13th against Sweden in San José. The gigantic striker, who announced his retirement last month, will play his final game at the national Ricardo Saprissa stadium, where he debuted for the national team back in 1996. The former Derby County, West Ham and Manchester City player scored 45 goals in 73 appearances for Costa Rica and was the country's top scorer until Rolando Fonseca recently overtook him. European leagues' top scorers Kruno Lovrek, the leading scorer in the Croatian 1st Division, is the highest scoring player in all of Europe with 14 hits, a goal above a group of six players with 13 goals each. This group includes Celtic's Scott McDonald and Ajax' Jan-Klas Huntelaar alongside two other players from the Croatian League – Nikola Kalinic and Radomir Djalovic. Only two strikers from the top leagues are present among the European top scorers: the French boy wonder Karim Benzema of Lyon and Juventus' David Trezeguet, both with 12 goals. The Spanish number one is Sevilla's Brazilian Luis Fabiano with 10 goals, while both in the Premier League and Bundesliga the leading scorers are still within single digits. Bayern's Klose and Toni, Hamburg's Van der Vaart and Werder's Diego have finished the first part of the season with nine goals on their account, like Arsenal's Adebayor, Manchester United's Ronaldo and Everton's Aiyegbeni. 1. Kruno Lovrek (Zagreb) – 14 goals 2.-7. Nikola Kalinić (Hajduk) – 13 Radomir Đalović (Rijeka) - 13 Jan-Klas Huntelaar (Ajax) - 13 Gheorghe Bucur (Politechnica T.) – 13 Scott McDonald (Celtic) - 13 Hakan Yakin (Young Boys) - 13 8-17. Karim Benzema (Lyon) - 12 David Trezeguet (Juventus) - 12 Oleksandr Hladki (Šahtar) – 12 Peter Graulund (Arhus) – 12 Juraj Halenar (Artmedia) – 12 Sanel Jahić (Željezničar) - 12 David Bunderla (Primorje) – 12 Dario Zahora (Domžale) – 12 Marek Zienczuk (Wisla) - 12 Pawel Brozek (Wisla) - 12 Argentina bought 1978 World Cup, says a mafioso The former Columbian mafioso Fernando Rodríguez Mondragón has revealed new details of the scandal that allegedly took place at the 1978 World Cup in Argentina and that cost the Brazilians the title. According to the ex-narco dealer, it was the then Argentinian vice-admiral, Carlos A. Lacoste, who masterminded the bribing of the Peruvian FA so that Argentina would beat Peru by at least four goals and qualify for the finals ahead of Brazil. "My uncle and dad were called by the players' agent Carlos Quieto asking them to mediate between the Argentinian and the Peruvian FA's, since he was the Peruvian FA's president's friend," said Mondragón to terra.es digital newspaper. "Two days before the key game, at the meeting in Lima, the Argentinian bought the favours of four players for 50,000 USD each, and their government gave Peru some grain free of charge," continued the infamous Guillermo Rodríguez Mondragón's son, promising to reveal all the names, amounts and other details of the scandal in his forthcoming book. Lacoste was the chairman of the World Cup organizing committee, short lived president of Argentina and long-time FIFA vice-president. Argentina won that World Cup by beating Peru 6-0 in the crucial semifinal group game and the Netherlands 3-1 in the finals. All players involved have always rejected claims of foul play. 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FIFA President Sepp Blatter has signalled that the policy of World Cup rotation is about to be ditched. Speaking to the BBC, Blatter admitted he would welcome England bidding for 2018, a tournament which under the present model, should be held in North or Central America. "I am advocating we open the market," said Blatter. Back in May, he described rotation as "a milestone", speaking to FIFA delegates in Zurich, while only a month ago, announced that a final decision on rotation with regard to 2018 would come at the end of October. With 2010 going to (South) Africa and 2014 to South America (Brazil), Europe's next turn would not have been in 2018 (CONCACAF) but in 2022, a ridiculously long wait for that continent's front runner, England.

With Dutchman Dick Advocaat seemingly rubberstamped as the next boss of the Australian national team, caretaker coach Graham Arnold has departed by biting back at critics who accuse him of steering the Socceroos ship off course since the highs of last year's World Cup. It's been a tumultuous journey for Arnold, Guus Hiddink's former assistant, since accepting the national team senior position when Hiddink elected not to renew his short-term contract 15 months ago. It doesn't take much reading between the lines to recognise Arnold feels somewhat unappreciated in his efforts in transitioning an aging Socceroos line-up into one which can consistently compete with the rigours of Asian tournament football.