Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Corinthians se afirma en el Brasileirao (3-2 vs Gremio).


31.08.2011 - Terminada la primera rueda del Brasileirao, Corinthians se estaciona en la cima de la tabla de posiciones (37 pts.) pese a haber caído (1-2) frente al Palmeiras de Scolari.

Flamengo quedó 2º (36 pts) después de desaprovechar la oportunidad empatando (0-0) con el Vasco da Gama (3º con 35 pts).

Sao Paulo comparte el 3º puesto (35 pts) después de un inicio arrollador que se fue desdibujando con el correr del torneo. Lucas (afectado al scracht para la Copa América) y Luis Fabiano (recuperándose de 2 operaciones) son esperados para volver a conjugarse con Dagoberto y Rivaldo y discutir el campeonato.

El Santos de Neymar, Ganso y Rafael (22 pts) sólo levanta cabeza para dirigir la mirada a Japón (posible cruce con Barcelona) y continua a 4 puntos de la zona de descenso.

El Flamengo (2º) se mantuvo invicto 17 fechas, hasta caer goleado (1-4) por Atlético Goianiense. Un Ronaldinho afilado (10 goles) comanda un “nuevo” candidato al título que no está bien defendido por Fluminense (25 pts) que extraña demasiado a Darío Conca y la regularidad de Deco mientras espera conjugar sus nuevas caras (Lanzini y Martinuccio).

Vasco da Gama (4º con 34 pts) soporta un declive (2 pts sobre los últimos 9) que no termina de bajarlo de la zona líder. Si bien el regreso de Juninho entona el equipo, el ACV sufrido por Ricardo Gomes (DT) en pleno partido vs Flamengo, altera los ánimos de un grupo que ya logró entrar a la Copa Libertadores 2012 (Copa Brasil 2011).

Lejos de las expectativas previas, Inter (con nuevo DT), Gremio y Cruzeiro navegan la mitad de la tabla sin más aspiraciones que las de lograr regularidad.

Iniciada la segunda rueda del Brasileirao, Corinthians revalida su condición de puntero venciendo (3-2) a Gremio en el Pacaembú con goles de Chicao, Paulinho y Ramón para sumar 40 puntos y bien festejar su 101º aniversario.


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About the TV deals in La Liga

The results of the first weekend of football in Spain opened the debate about the money of the TVs and the way to share it. At this point, everyone knows that this is going to be a bipolar league, a face to face challenge between Barcelona and Real Madrid and then the so called "Otra Liga" (the other Liga) for the remaining 18 clubs. The newspapers hold polls among their readers and the fans have their voice: something must change. The results are evident. In the newspaper ABC, the 91% of the voters believe that La Liga lose interest with the current situation. In El Mundo, the 93% of the voters are for a review of the way the money of football should be shared.

History

It is important the roots of the current situation. Back in the mid 90s, the clubs of the LFP still had important debts with the Tax Administration and the banks. Some of them still owed money for the renewals of the stadiums used in the World Cup 1982. Until 1996, the LFP negotiated the TV deals with unity, but the digital TV appeared in Spain and two different platforms appeared: Canal Satélite Digital (the current Digital+) and Vía Digital. These digital platforms were ready to introduce the Pay-per-view option in their platforms and football definitely was the candy they wanted. These two platforms started to offer important amounts of money to the clubs and the LFP (the club organization) decided to break the unity and negotiate the deals independently. Every club improved massively their previous situation. And who broke the unity? It was not an imposition of the big clubs, but the smaller clubs who could actually take advantage of the fight of the digital platforms.

But once the first contracts started to expire and the corporate operation that merged the two digital platforms changed the scenario. Digital+, born when Canal Satélite Digital "swallowed" Vía Digital, already had statistics of the PPV, so they really knew the value of each club at that moment. While Barcelona and Real Madrid were able to improve their contracts, most of the remaining clubs saw how the new offers were lower. And this is the situation that has remained stable through these years.



Differences with other European leagues

In the other leagues of Europe, there is more unity among the clubs. Obviously, the main reference is the Premier League. In England, the 50% of the TV money is shared among the 20 teams of the Premiership, a 25% depends on the position in the standings and the remaining 25% is negotiated individually by each club.

The situation is not different in other leagues. In France, the 50% of the revenues is shared by all clubs, a 30% depends on the standings and the rest are particular deals between clubs and TVs. In the Bundesliga and the Serie A, the situation is quite similar.

The following graphic shows a comparison between La Liga and the important leagues of Europe (source ABC):




Source: ABC
The results are evident. In La Liga, Barcelona and Real Madrid get more than 3 times the money received by their main rivals, Atlético and Valencia, and the gap opens to 12-1 compared with the clubs with lower TV deals. In England, where the overall amount of TV income is more important, the gap is not even 2-1 between the top earner and the lowest deal. Wolves, the club with the lowest TV income in England only makes 7.1 million euros less than Atlético and Valencia.

Arguments in favor of keeping the status quo

The ones who defend the current situation use several arguments to defend their position. First of all, this group defend that the system is pure market and the TV deals reflect the real value of the rights of each club. Another system would go against the free market, so the top clubs would actually give the money they generate to clubs who are unable to generate them by themselves.

This group also consider that the current crisis in the Spanish clubs have nothing to do with how the money is shared, but with the mismanagement of some of these clubs, who overspent in the last decade. They consider that the mismanaged club would solve the situation in the short term, but only to fall in the same problems some years later and a new rescue plan would need to be implemented.

Before 2014, the new TV deals must be negotiated. The LFP already decided to act as a unit, but they keep the current situation with small changes. At this point, this group is formed by the two giants, Atlético, Valencia and the smaller clubs. The proposal for the new TV deals which start in 2014 is the following:




Source: diariosdefutbol.com

The clubs believe they can receive an overall amount of 800M euros, almost 200M euros more than the current deals. With this proposal, Barcelona and Real Madrid assure the same amount they are receiving nowadays; the smaller clubs would improve their situation (from the 29-12M nowadays to a fix of 25.3M) and they assure assurance in case of relegation (6M in 3 years in case of relegation, 3M in the first year, 2M the second year and 1M the third); and Atlético and Valencia break the unit of the mid-class teams, accepting the deal since they improve their situation, from the current 42M to 49.5M. So the main victims of this proposal are the mid-class of La Liga, the clubs who reject this proposal are: Sevilla FC, Villarreal CF and Athletic Club, basically the clubs who do not have relegation in their horizon.

The alternative of the mid-class


The mid-class and, looking at the polls, most of the fans (even from the big clubs) consider that the pure free market is going to destroy the product: La Liga. In this sense, they consider that, domestically or internationally, this fight of 2 clubs is not interesting, with their point records and constant beatings. Del Nido (Sevilla's president) said that "people turn off the TV after 30 minutes, when Madrid was defeating Zaragoza 0-2" and the same applies to the Barcelona-Villarreal game.

In that sense, they believe it is not stupid to think that the overall product is damaged. This effect may be terrible in the mid-long term, not only for the smaller clubs, but also for Barcelona and Real Madrid, since the final product is not just them, but the whole Liga. If Barcelona and Madrid beat their rivals so easily, given the difference in quality, then what is the point of watching a game knowing the final result? The same Del Nido said that in the next 10 years, it will be impossible to see a champion that is not Madrid or Barcelona.


Villarreal, Sevilla and Athletic defend that La Liga should look at the European leagues to adopt a similar system. They propose a 50%-60% to be shared among the 20 clubs equally, a 20-30% based on variables (position in La Liga) and the rest based on pure audiences. If we make an estimation, using the system of the Premier League or the Ligue 1, this is how things would look like:




Own source

In recent times, other clubs showed interest in this new proposal. Clubs like Deportivo, Almería, Espanyol, Real Sociedad or Mallorca are willing to study the alternative idea. This group of clubs consider that the gap between the giants and the worst deal should be 2-1 or 3-1.

Conclussion


As it always happens in life, not everything is black or white. I am with most of the fans and, certainly, La Liga loses some interest with the current situation. Even though I understand the points of those who defend the status quo, La Liga is supposed to be a competition and, in order to compete, there should be some corrections on the pure market (based on audiences) in order to keep the interest. The product LFP are selling is La Liga, not Barcelona nor Real Madrid nor El Clásico.

Aside this, even though the current situation is lucrative for Barcelona and Real Madrid, if the international image of La Liga gets damaged, they will be the first to pay the consequences. Probably, these two clubs aim an European Superleague, but this is unlikely in the short term. In this sense, they must have perspective of their decisions and keep the interest of La Liga they are in.

But, as I said, things are not that simple. It is also important to highlight that the previous years are not just history. They define present and future. Barcelona and Real Madrid defend their interests and they are not irrelevant, after all they are the trademark of our football. These two clubs, in the last 15 years, increased their incomes massively, but the expenses went in the same line. If these two clubs had to accept the system used in other countries, they would lose nearly 100M euros per season. But these clubs still have contracts to pay and they have built a structure of expenses that can not be changed too fast. It would be necessary to have a transition period to adapt, which would not be easy anyway.

At the same time, Barcelona and Real Madrid are not corporations with owners. These two clubs live and compete from what they generate, unlike other European rivals, like Chelsea or Manchester City, clubs with multimillionaire owners who do not hesitate to spend over their own capacity. These are tools that are not in the hands of the old fashioned clubs, like Barcelona and Real Madrid, who are a kind of associations.

In conclusion, things are not so simple, the discussion is in the streets and the clubs must find a solution. I guess we will keep talking about this issue in the future.

Los jugadores más criticados en Argentina


31.08.2011 - Inspirados en la mexicana revista Récord que hace poco publicó un listado de los jugadores más odiados en el mundo, igual que ellos (sin base estadística alguna), construimos un top ten del fútbol argentino. 

Edson Arantes do Nascimento

Las permanentes y renovadas arremetidas contra Diego Maradona en su lucha incondicional por postularse como el mejor de todos los tiempos hacen de Pelé uno de los “blancos” más asiduos a las críticas (y no sólo críticas) del futbolero argentino. Si acompañamos el combo con ataques (indirectos) que llegan hasta Lionel Messi y su poca modestia a la hora de declarar, se convierte en predilecto a la hora de los golpes verbales. Como atenuante podemos agregar que el caudal de críticas se reduce (notablemente) en el público que lo vio jugar.
Cristian Fabbiani

Gordo y mediático de alto perfil, el Ogro es un especialista en ganarse enemigos y sumarlos a su cuenta como seguidores de red social. Su juego de tacos y caños empezó su fama (“yo juego así”). Su sobrepeso, directamente proporcional al declive de su nivel futbolístico y a la importancia de los clubes que se interesaron por su pase terminaron por erosionar cierta imagen que supo construir. Hinchas de Vélez y Newells lo rechazan por igual, siempre menos que los de Ríver, donde llegó como salvador y a cuya hinchada estigmatizó.
Juan Román Riquelme

Su increíble cantidad de conflictos, lesiones, protestas, peleas salariales y alergia a los entrenamientos en paralelo a su notorio declive futbolístico lo hacen vulnerable a la crítica. El primer rechazo riverplatense por ser ídolo xeneize trascendió las fronteras del superclásico cuando le tocó vestir la camiseta de la selección argentina. Desde entonces ninguna encuesta le da resultados positivos en la aceptación. También de poca modestia y con prerrogativas incomprensibles se ha ganado gran rechazo de sus propios pares.
Hugo Barrientos

Generados por su fútbol ríspido y de dudosa intención, el volante saltó a la cúspide del repudio cuando después de castigar a Giovanni Moreno el colombiano de Rácing se lesionó y se ausentó de las canchas argentinas por largos meses. No fue el único caso que lo encontró derrapando en las canchas, Ramírez ensangrentado (jugando para Bánfield) es otra imagen que se le atribuye y por la que también colecciona insultos de todo calibre.
Horacio Ameli

Superando por varios cuerpos a John Terry, el Coco fue condenado socialmente por tener sexo con la esposa de su compañero de equipo y par de defensa central (Tuzzio). Tal fue el encordio que Ameli desapareció de la faz del fútbol profesional.

Gastón Sessa

Bolsas de insultos supo recoger el Gato en cuanto estadio asomaba. Sus declaraciones, sus arranques violentos contra periodistas y propios compañeros se pasaron de la línea cuando atendió a Rodrigo Palacio (Boca) atajando para Vélez. El repudio generalizado hizo que migrara a Ecuador para luego volver con perfil y rendimiento más bajo. Hoy, después de descender con Gimnasia y Esgrima, ataja para Boca Unidos en el Nacional B.
Mariano Pavone

Le tocó llegar al peor Ríver de todos los tiempos para conjugarse a los raros esquemas propuestos por Juan José López (DT) que lo vestían de Llanero Solitario en las área rivales. También le tocó hacer el único gol que Ríver sumó en la promoción. Y también le tocó errar el penal que terminó de condenar a los millonarios al descenso por primera vez en su historia.
Guillermo Barros Schelotto

Ídolo en Gimnasia y Esgrima (donde se retiró) e ídolo en Boca, el mellizo no dejó de sumar enemigos por su alta colección de mañas en los campos de juego. Blanco preferido de hinchadas rivales en los partidos que jugó en el país, lejos de amedrentarse, Guillermo era de redoblar apuestas y enfrentar a quien fuera.

Oscar Ahumada

En los tiempos tumultosos de un Ríver desvastado, Oscar Ahumada trascendió su propio aporte futbolístico cuando comparó (públicamente) a la hinchada “alentadora” de Boca con el “silencio atroz” que hacía la de Ríver cuando el equipo iba en desventaja. Pocas tumbas verbales como esa lograron cavarse en el fútbol argentino.
Juan Sebastián Verón
Estigmatizado desde su pobre performance en el Mundial 2002 y tildado de traidor (por favorecer al inglés), la Bruja es amado en Estudiantes de La Plata, ciudadano ilustre de la ciudad y (para muchos) futuro presidente de la institución.
Si bien pudo atenuar rechazos a partir de la conovocatoria de Maradona al seleccionado, nunca pudo sacarse el cartel de encima que acompaña con prerrogativas y comportamientos ambiguos.

Freestyle en el Sacré Coeur de París.


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Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Presentan la camiseta de Ríver 110º aniversario.


31.08.2011 - Tal como anunciáramos el 29 de mayo, Adidas presenta en sociedad la camiseta de Ríver 110º aniversario. Por entonces Ríver, en manos de Juan Pablo Carrizo, comenzaba su definitivo declive hacia lo conocido y se planeaba estrenar la camiseta en un superclásico o evento singular. Pero el fútbol (y no el destino) quiso que se estrenase meses después, el 17.09.2011 frente a Deportivo Merlo (por la 6º fecha del Nacional B).

El comunicado de la marca cuenta que el diseño “está inspirado en las primeras camisetas del club; por eso la banda roja es más ancha y con una inclinación que va desde el hombro hasta el lateral. Su escudo fue desarrollado especialmente para el modelo, combinando las históricas iniciales del club (CARP) junto con los laureles que reflejan los títulos obtenidos, y debajo una leyenda que refiere al aniversario“.

El equipo se completa con shorts en gris oscuro, tal las equitaciones riverplatenses de antaño.


Banda roja más ancha y de inclinación más pronunciada (hombro a lateral) y botones (al cuello) estilo “La Máquina” y más atrás con la leyenda interna "Club Atlético River Plate, 1901–2011, 110º Aniversario".

Más allá de que la fecha de aniversario admita alguna discusión, la dirigencia sigue escribiendo su historia y, luego de aumentar (otra vez) la cuota social, de exportar jugadores como ningún otro club argentino y mantener el cánon por TV aún descendido, cumple los contratos de merchandesign para que, en estas horas históricas, el hincha se sienta más riverplatense que nunca por $ 397.
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La Liga: Week 2 Review

After the LFP (club association) and AFE (players' union) found a solution for the strike, everyone was waiting for the beginning of La Liga. The summer is leaving us, but it seems nothing really changed. Barcelona and Real Madrid show their superiority defeating their rivals easily, which is not unusual anymore, and the rest of clubs will have to fight for "the other Liga", since the superiority of the two giants is too evident.

There is a title race between two majestic teams and a different race to win "La Liga of the humans". In the race for the title, Real Madrid suffocated Zaragoza with an impressive and suffocating defensive pressure. Zaragoza were able to connect three passes in a row and the ball was always in the feet of the merengues. Once the always starving Ronaldo opened the scoreboard, a storm of goals and chances fell on Zaragoza, who never showed to be a serious opponent. Real Madrid gave a lesson of dinamic and direct football, driven by a sublime Özil and a perfect Ronaldo in the execution. The madridistas start the new season as they finished last year, crushing rivals and a hat-trick for the Portuguese.




Ronaldo and Marcelo scored vs Zaragoza


But Barcelona responded just one day later. The Catalans suffered the injuries of lots of players of their backline (Alves, Adriano, Piqué, Puyol and Maxwell) and Guardiola reinvented the system, honoring his teacher Johan Cruyff with a brave 3-4-3. The theorically risky plan worked with total perfection. Villarreal resisted for half an hour, only running behind a ball that was Barcelona's property. Once Thiago scored, Villarreal collapsed and they never seemed to be able to surprise the barcelonistas. The goals of Cesc, in the last moment of the first half, and Alexis Sánchez, when the game was retaken, ended up finishing with the shy hopes of the "Yellow Sumbarine". Messi also joined the party with two goals, which completed the score. Remarkable the Messi-Cesc partnership, flowing in attack in free roles, exchanging positions. Villarreal never found them and they paid the bill, showing the same worrying image of the Champions League games against Odense.

In "the other Liga", the eyes were on Sevilla and the new Málaga. It was a hot regional derby between eternal enemies. Sevilla had just been eliminated by Hannover from the Europa League and the visit of the new rich Málaga was a test for them. Marcelino's team responded and the first goal of Negredo, in the first minute of the game, calmed the fans, who were still disappointed by the continental failure. In the first half, Malaga was unable to stop the constant threat of Perotti and, especially, Negredo, who showed his best image. Probably, Negredo finally feels important and the confidence shown by the striker was remarkable. Málaga still tried it after the nice goal scored by Santi Cazorla, but they failed to impressed in their debut. For now, Málaga only seemed to be a collection of individualities, but never shown to be a team. They will need to improve in the collective work in order to be the alternative they are supposed to be.




Negredo makes the difference

In Mestalla, Valencia struggled to win the 3 points, but the support of the home crowd and the self-confidence of the team was enough to overcome a 1-3. The early goal scored by Soldado was soon balanced  by two goals of Racing. Valencia showed the same strengths and weaknesses of last season: attacking power and defensive errors. The Racing of Cúper, who returned to Mestalla, had the game in their hands, but the naive youth team of Santander failed to control the game. Valencia were able to lay siege on Racing's goal in the last half an hour of the game to achieve an epic victory. Soldado made his debut as captain, replacing Mata, and presented himself as volunteer to be the new idol of Valencia with an impressive and decisive hat-trick.

As it is usual in recent times, Atlético Madrid failed to win a game in their debut at home. The new hour (the game was played at 12 AM on Sunday) was unhealthy for the atléticos, who were unable to score a single goal in 90 minutes. Without Falcao and Turan, the signings for the new season, and with Forlán packing to join Inter, the home team was toothless in attack. Atlético did not play a bad game and had lots of chances, but the bad luck and Adrián Fernández, the young goalkeeper of Osasuna, avoided the home victory for a team who missed a reference in attack. Osasuna succeeded in taking a point from the Calderón.




Arrivederci Uruguayo

Another disappointing debut was the one of Bielsa's Athletic. A confused Athletic had lots of problems to create chances against a Rayo Vallecano, who left a good impression in their return to Primera. The goal scored by Iturraspe was supposed to give Athletic calm to win the game, but Rayo responded with a goal by the veteran Movilla, which allow the madrileños to scratch a point from La Catedral.

In Granada, the home team and Betis met in their return to Primera División. Granada seemed too nervous in their first Liga game after 35 years and Betis was the best team on the pitch during all the game. The ambition and bravness of the Betis' coach, Pepe Mel, was awarded by a late goal scored by Rubén Castro when the game was about to die. In Gijón, Sporting was surprised at home by the serious Real Sociedad of Montaniere. The Basques were led by Agirretxe and achieved an important away victory. Sporting failed to show a good image despite they played 20 minutes with one more player.




Betis celebrates the return to Primera with a victory

Mallorca made their fans happy with a victory against Espanyol in a game to forget. The goal scored by De Guzmán made the difference in a game where the mallorquinistas were slightly better. Espanyol, dismantled in the last 6 months, missed the reference of Osvaldo in attack and the pericos will have to improve much more, if they want to repeat the good image shown last year. In Getafe, Levante scratched a draw in the last minutes of a game of very low level. The defenses always defeated the attacking lines and the ball was always too far from the box.

La Liga started and we are back with the "bipolar" league. Del Nido and Roig, presidents of Sevilla and Villarreal respectively, made powerful complaints about the situation. They are probably right. At this point, only an accident make possible the defeat of any of the two giants, which clearly harms the competitiveness of the competition. The new TV deal discussion is on the table, but this debate requires a more deep analysis. We will do it soon.


Brasil 1950: India rechaza invitación por no poder jugar descalza.


30.08.2011 - Condenando el imperialismo occidental, Stalin (URSS) declina su participación en el Banco Mundial y el Fondo Monetario Internacional mientras Truman (EE.UU) presenta al Congreso su doctrina anticomunista (1947): comienza la Guerra Fría, el Plan Marshall y la escalada nuclear. Se dividen Corea (1948) y Alemania (1949), Rumania y Checoslovaquia se vuelven comunistas, nace el estado de Israel, la seguridad social en Gran Bretaña, la OTAN (1949), Indonesia, Birmania, Irlanda como estados independientes igual que Pakistán e India cuando era asesinado Mahatma Gandhi (1947-8).

Jawaharlal Nehru se dirige a su gobierno como Primer Ministro de la India diciendo que “Ha llegado un momento que rara vez llega en la historia. Pasamos de lo viejo a lo nuevo, finaliza una época, y el alma de una nación, reprimida durante mucho tiempo, se puede manifestar”.

El momento llega en la medianoche del 14 de agosto de 1947 cuando la colonia británica de la India se transforma en dos países independientes (India y Pakistán).
La partición de la India desencadena una oleada de violencia sin precedentes. Los musulmanes expulsan a los hindúes del Pakistán islámico y los hindúes expulsan a los musulmanes de la India. En el obligado intercambio de población, muere un millón de personas y unos diez millones emigran.



El mundo beligerante inicia la reconstrucción después de la Segunda Guerra (1939-1945) que había dejado trunca la celebración de la Copa Mundial de 1942, a la que se habían postulado como anfitriones la Alemania Nazi, Argentina y Brasil.

Un año después de la finalización de la Guerra, la FIFA se reune en Luxemburgo (1.07.1946), nombra al torneo “Copa Jules Rimet” y dictamina su reanudación para 1949 en Suiza (no dañada y de pujante economía). Pero Suiza, además de no contar con estadios suficientes, es rechazada como sede por los países sudamericanos después de dos eventos previos organizados en Europa (Italia 34 y Francia 38).

Así, la FIFA pospone la sede Suiza para el próximo torneo (1954) y abre el cupo de 1949 a un país sudamericano. Los presidentes de Brasil (Getulio Vargas) y Argentina (Juan Domingo Perón), acuerdan el apoyo a la candidatura brasileña mientras el siguiente evento en América fuese organizado por Argentina (1978).

Brasil presenta una candidatura similar a la de 1942 y, como único postulante, es elegido país anfitrión por unanimidad (25.07.1946).

A la dificultosa reanudación política del fútbol mundial se le suma una Europa en ruinas de países desvastados que no llegan a sumar suficientes selecciones participantes. La FIFA posterga el evento (1 año) y logra 37 inscripciones que, luego de deserciones, suman 29 selecciones participantes en el proceso eliminatorio.
Argentina (enemistada con Brasil), Austria, Bélgica, Birmania, Ecuador, Filipinas, Indonesia y Perú se retiran y Alemania es impedida de participar.

Por primera vez, los cuatro equipos del Reino Unido participan en el proceso previo de la Copa Mundial, después de su reincorporación a la FIFA. Escocia, Inglaterra, Irlanda del Norte y Gales utilizan la versión 1949-1950 de la Copa Británica de Naciones como grupo clasificatorio donde los dos primeros equipos pasarían a la fase final a disputar en Brasil. Sin embargo, el equipo escocés (clasificado al obtener el segundo lugar) decide renunciar al no obtener el primer puesto.

Encontrando que los invitados huyen de su fiesta, la FIFA decide darle el puesto (de Escocia) a la eliminada selección de Francia que tampoco acepta el convite. Luego, Turquía (ya clasificada) también renuncia y la FIFA decide invitar a India ya que Birmania, Indonesia y Filipinas (con quienes debía eliminarse en la serie asiática) ya habían renunciado a participar.

La selección india venía de una gira por Singapur, Sri Lanka, Malasia y Hong Kong con una buena performance. Había sido sensación de los JJOO de Londres 48’, casi empatándole a una Francia claramente superior en el mítico Wembley (erraron 2 penales y cayeron 1-2) jugando la mayoría de sus jugadores (según su costumbre) descalzos o con vendas en los tobillos.

Para espasmo de FIFA, India (ya con los pasajes a Brasil pagos) tampoco acepta la invitación basada en la negada petición hindú de poder jugar sin botines (como en Londres).

Ante la última de las renuncias (India), convertidas las invitaciones en limosnas y ya anunciada la clasificación de grupos, la FIFA decide no invitar a otro equipo y realiza el torneo con sólo 13 participantes, en reemplazo de los 16 pactados originalmente (lo que da dos grupos de 4 participantes, 1 grupo de 3 participantes y 1 grupo de 2 participantes, de donde salió el campeón: Uruguay).

La selección india (posando descalza) y Sailen Manná (condecorado capitán).

Hay otra versión, algo mas desangelada y fría, que cuenta sobre desinformaciones y una FIFA poco arraigada en ciertas latitudes. Esta otra campana cuenta que las razones oficiales dada por la Federación India de Fútbol para no asistir a Brasil fueron la falta de tiempo de prácticas y los desacuerdos sobre la selección del equipo, lo que contradice la gira “preparatoria” por Asia.

Incluso, los antirrománticos ponen en boca de Sailen Maná (reconocido capitán de aquel seleccionado) que "No teníamos idea de la Copa del Mundo. Si hubiéramos estado mejor informados, quizás hubiéramos tomado la iniciativa nosotros mismos. Para nosotros, los Juegos Olímpicos fue todo. No había más nada".

Elija usted, estimado lector.

RELACIONADO:
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Copa Argentina 2011-2012: Primera Fase.


30.08.2011 - Ya resuelta la Fase preliminar (repechaje) que arrojó los representativos de Tierra del Fuego y La Rioja, da inicio la 1º fase de la Copa Argentina 2011-12.

En esta fase los 18 equipos de la Primera D dirimen clasificación a partido único (+ penales). Los 9 equipos ganadores se eliminan con los clubes de la Primera C y la B Metro a partir del 7 de septiembre, conjuntamente con los equipos del Torneo Argentino A y B más los invitados de Tierra del Fuego (Real Madrid de Río Grande) y  La Rioja (fase preliminar).

Partidos, horarios y resultados de la Primera Fase
Miercoles 31 de agosto

15:00 hs Victoriano Arenas 0 Argentino de Quilmes 2 (Kevin Juan y Gonzalo Vivanco).
15:00 hs Atlas 0 (4) Claypole 0 (5) 
15:00 hs Ituzaingo 1 Argentino de Rosario 0 (Alan Domínguez)
15:00 hs Lugano 0 (4) San Martin de Burzaco 0 (5)
15:00 hs Deportivo Riestra 1 Deportivo Muñiz 0 (Ezequiel Toselli)
15:00 hs Cañuelas 0 (5)  Centro Español 0 (3)
15:00 hs Juventud Unida 1 Central Ballester 0 (Leonardo Espinoza)
15:00 hs Fenix 1 Sportivo Barracas Bolivar 0 (Leonel Bargas)
15:00 hs Yupanqui 2 Deportivo Paraguayo 0 (Ignacio Bilbao, 2)

De esta manera, la segunda ronda eliminatoria, a jugarse el 7 y 8 de septiembre, que involucra a los equipos de Primera D, C y B, quedó establecida de la siguiente manera:

Acasusso - Victoriano Arenas
Barracas Central – Claypole
Chicago – Ituzaingo
Defensores de Belgrano – San Martín (B)
Los Andes – Riestra
Morón – Cañuelas o Centro Español
Platense – Juventud Unida
Sarmiento (J) – Fénix
Temperley – Yupanqui
Almagro – Midland
Armenio – Dálmine
Brown (A) – Cambaceres
Colegiales – UAI Urquiza
Comunicaciones - Deportivo Español
Estudiantes (C) – Defensores Unidos de Zárate
Flandria – Sacachispas
Sportivo Italiano – Luján
Lamadrid – Docksud
San Telmo – San Miguel
Villa San Carlos – El Porvenir
Tristán Suárez – Leandro N. Alem
Argentino (M) – Liniers
Talleres (RE) – Central Córdoba
Excursionistas – JJ Urquiza
Laferrere – Berazategui

COPA ARGENTINA: FASE PRELIMINAR
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Lucas Lobos, el mejor jugador de México (Clausura 2011).


30.08.2011 - Luego de una votación en la que participaron los capitantes y entrenadores de los 18 equipos de la Primera División fueron entregados los premios correspondientes al (terminado) Clausura 2011 mexicano y Lucas Lobos (Argentina) se llevó el mayor: Balón de Oro, como mejor jugador del fútbol azteca.

"No me lo esperaba. Agradezco a la Federación Mexicana de Fútbol y al club Tigres por haberme traído a México y a mis compañeros."

Aquí las ternas y los premiados:

Mejor jugador:
Lucas Lobos (Tigres), Ángel Reyna (América), Darío Verón (Pumas).

Mejor portero:
Jonathan Orozco (Monterrey), Alejandro Palacios (Pumas), Federico Vilar (Morelia).

Mejor defensa central:
Darío Verón (Pumas), Hugo Ayala (Tigres), Hiram Mier (Monterrey).

Mejor defensa lateral:
Efraín Velarde (Pumas), Iván Estrada (Santos), Ricardo Osorio (Monterrey).

Mejor medio defensivo:
Israel Castro (Pumas), Gerardo Torrado (Cruz Azul), Aldo Leao Ramírez (Morelia).

Mejor medio ofensivo:
Ángel Reyna (América), Lucas Lobos (Tigres), Christian Bermúdez (Atlante).

Mejor delantero:
Rafael Márquez (Morelia), Humberto Suazo (Monterrey), Martín Bravo (Pumas).

Mejor novato (revelación):
Diego Reyes (América), Leonel Moreno (Estudiantes), Antonio Gallardo (Guadalajara).

Mejor entrenador:
Ricardo Ferretti (Tigres), compartió el premio con Guillermo Vázquez (Pumas).

Además se entregaron los siguientes Balones de Oro por méritos: Campeón de Goleo (Ángel Reyna), Campeón del Torneo (Pumas), Líder General (Tigres), Fair Play (Tigres)
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Monday, August 29, 2011

Copa Argentina 2011-2012: fase preliminar.


30.08.2011 - Como ya explicamos en este post, la Copa Argentina consta de una Ronda preliminar (Tierra del Fuego y La Rioja), Primera fase (con equipos afiliados y no afiliados a AFA), Segunda fase (con 64 equipos a partido único), Tercera fase (32 conjuntos), Cuarta fase (16 equipos), Quinta fase (a los 8 ganadores se le sumarán los 20 del Nacional B y los cuatro ascendidos: Belgrano, San Martín, Unión y Rafaela; quedando en 32), 16vos de final (16 ganadores más 16 de primera división) y Fase final (octavos, cuartos, semifinales y final). El encuentro final es a partido único en un estadio a designar.

Pues bien, ya se ha resuelto la Ronda preliminar, (las provincias de) Tierra del Fuego y La Rioja ya tienen sus representantes en el torneo federal.
Con goles de Gustavo Chávez (penal) y Horacio Bigurrarena, Real Madrid de Río Grande venció (2-0) a Cuervos del Fin del Mundo (Ushuaia) en la vuelta de la serie fueguina y logró la última plaza en juego luego de ganar (4-2) la definición por penales.

El tricampeón de Río Grande debió dar vuelta la derrota (0-1) en la ida (suspendida por nevada) para integrar la Copa Argentina y debutar el miércoles 7 de septiembre (2011) frente a Boca (de Río Gallegos), que ya lleva un par de temporadas en el Torneo Argentino B.



En tanto la otra serie de la Fase Preliminar definió un representante entre los apuntalados clubes de la Provincia de La Rioja: clasificó Club Riojano que venció (4-3) a Atlético Chilecito (también) en definición por penales luego de idénticos resultados (2-1) en la serie.


Las (2) provincias que no tienen representantes en la Copa Argentina son La Pampa y Neuquén. En estos casos, no hubo necesidad de partidos clasificatorios, designándose como representantes a General Belgrano (La Pampa) y Maronese (Neuquén).

RELACIONADO:
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The day Arsène Wenger's project collapsed

The 8-2 defeat of Arsène Wenger's Arsenal in Old Trafford is one of these historical results which have consequences and, probably, the most evident is the death of a football project.  Arsène Wenger has taken Arsenal to glorious moments during the past 16 years and the Gunners got prestige and admiration, but the decisions taken in the last years started to act like a slow death poison. Until August 28th 2011, a date that will not be easy to forget for the football fans. The day Old Trafford was The Theater of Nightmares for Arsenal, the day of no return.

When Arsène Wenger got Arsenal's head coach position back in September 1996, he was an unknown coach in England and Europe in general. He did not have an easy task in front of him, since he had to put some order in a club that was living in instability after the George Graham years and the interregnum of Bruce Rioch. After a very good debut season (1996-1997), taking Arsenal to the third position, only missing the UEFA Champions League spots for goal difference, Wenger added players like the French Nicolas Anelka and Emmanuel Petit, as well as the Dutch winger Marc Overmars, who joined the also young midfielder Patrick Vieira, who had signed the previous summer, and the "old guard" of Arsenal formed by players like Ian Wright, Adams, Dixon, Winterburn, Keown and Bould.



In this 2nd season (1997-1998), Arsenal overcame a 12 point gap to win the Premier League 2 weeks before the end. The Gunners also won the FA Cup this season defeating Newscastle in Wembley. In his second year, Wenger became the first foreign coach to win the English league and gave Arsenal their second double in history.

Despite the signings of Ljunberg in 1998, Thierry Henry in 1999 and Robert Pires and Wiltord a year later, Arsenal could not repeat these successful moments during a 3 year period, despite they were close several times. In the 1998-1999 season, Arsenal topped the league during certain moments of the season, but ended up losing it by a single point against Manchester United, who completed their historical Treble. The following 2 Premier League seasons only had an owner, Manchester United, but Arsenal still were their main rival in the competition. During this period, Arsenal's main failures happened in the UEFA Champions League, where the Gunners failed to perform. But these failures were balanced by an UEFA Cup final in the year 2000, lost against Galatasaray in the penalties, and a FA Cup final in 2001, lost against Liverpool. Arsenal failed to win titles, but the project was growing and the future looked brilliant.

The 2001-2002 season was historical. Arsène Wenger's project reached its peak. Despite the departure of important players like Anelka, Petit or Overmars, who had been essential in the Double of 1998, the squad found the solidness Wenger had been working on for years. Thierry Henry finally adapted to become a striker that was going to mark an era and players like Pires or Ljunberg reached their best moments of their careers. Sol Campbell also joined Arsenal in a very polemic signing, since he was a symbol of their eternal rivals, Tottenham Hotspurs. Arsenal broke a tight run for the title with a 13 game winning-streak to open a definitive 7 point gap on the runner-ups Liverpool. But it was not enough, Arsenal also won their 8th FA Cup, defeating  Chelsea to win another Double.



The following year (2002-2003), Arsenal seemed to be able to retain the Premiership crown, but the team ended up losing an 8 point gap to give Manchester United the title. Despite this disappointing defeat, the triumph in the FA Cup against Southampton, winning this title for 2nd time in a row, something that had not happened in 20 years.

The 2003-2004 season will always be recalled as the year of "The Invincibles". Arsenal won the Premier League without a single loss in the entire season, something that only Preston North End had achieved in the 1888-1889... in a very different era of football. In the summer of 2002, Arsène Wenger had announced that his team was able to do it. He just missed his prediction one year.

In the 2004-2005 season, Arsenal was unable to retain the title, which was won by a record-breaking Chelsea, managed by Jose Mourinho, but they could extend their unbeaten run up to 49 games, an all time English league record, which will be there to be beaten for decades. Consolation again happened in the FA Cup final, where Arsenal defeated Manchester United in the penalties. At this point, no one would have thought this title would be the last crown for Wenger in Arsenal.



Probably symbolic, but a turning point was the transfer of Patrick Vieira to Juventus in the summer 2005. Wenger had succeed at retaining the stars of the team until this point. Offers from big clubs of England and Europe were a constant every summer, attracted by the great talent of the Gunners. Wenger finally opened the door to Vieira, knowing that the promising Cesc was ready to fill the space left by the French icon. The domestic season was poor though, since Arsenal failed to challenge for any title, putting all the efforts in the UEFA Champions League. Definitely, Europe was an obsession for this team, since the Gunners had failed to show in Europe what they had done in England. Arsenal did a great campaign in the Champions League, but was defeated by Ronaldinho's Barcelona in Paris. With players like Henry, Pires or Ljunberg reaching their veteran years, the missed chance was painful for a team that had made history for Arsenal.

The 2006-2007 season was transitional, the first one at the Emirates. Very important players like Ashley Cole, Sol Campbell, Robert Pires, Lauren and Ljunberg left the club. Wenger was able to convince Thierry Henry to stay, but the injuries and the start of his decline did not allow the idol and captain to shine as he had done until then. Henry moved to Barcelona in 2007 and the season was poor.

Wenger had put all the faith in a new generation of players to return to the good old days. Wenger refused to compete in the market and focused all the efforts in bringing young talents and promote players from Arsenal's youth teams. The idea was to emulate the success of his arrival, when he was able to raise young talents to form a historical team. But Wenger failed to emulate the results. Why?



It is always difficult to find a particular reason. During the last years, Arsenal has been a brilliant team, with a very attacking minded and entertaining philosophy. The team always managed to start the season showing a good level of football, but failed to compete in the key moments of the season. These young squads collapsed in the last part of the season, when the titles are decided. During this period, the Gunners have been waiting for this young team to peak, but it has been impossible.

It was impossible because Arsenal has been unable to retain their talent. Players like Flamini, Hleb, Adebayor or Touré left the club when they were reaching the peak moment of their careers, the age of a player to become important. Wenger has been unable to replace these players properly. Unlike the first part of the last decade, when Wenger was able to keep the core of the team, the important players were leaving the club. Sometimes these players left the club looking for better contracts and faster success. In other cases, Arsenal agreed the transfers. Arsenal has not reinvested in established players, aside the cases of Arshavin or Rosicky, who had failed to meet with the expectations raised on them.

In one way or another, Arsenal fell in a vicious circle. The Gunners have been waiting for the team to grow up, but the transfers made it impossible. The team always was too young and unexperienced to compete for higher goals. The very few additions in the market were also very young talents, like Nasri, or players of a certain level, like the mentioned Arshavin or Rosicky, who still are too far to make people forget the glorious team of the early 2000s. This "eternal" young and promising team have been able to perform good seasons, but has never been considered mature enough to fight for big titles. Probably, these good seasons despite the departures have made the club fall in self-complacency, because the "near future" was always promising. The "next season" was always the goal to reach, but the seasons pass and Arsenal was where they were in the year 2007... only 4 years later.



This feeling ended up entering in the locker room. The stars of the team, the players who were supposed to lead Arsenal in the years to follow feel that they can not wait for the whole squad to grow, especially if the talent keeps leaving the club. This summer Cesc Fàbregas and Nasri could not wait anymore and did not listen to Wenger anymore, leaving Arsenal to join present projects like Barcelona's or Manchester City's. Cesc and Nasri just did what Touré, Adebayor, Flamini or Hleb had done before.

The 8-2 does not explain the difference between Manchester United and Arsenal. The young Arsenal is not such a bad team, but this result shows that it is a team that has totally lost their confidence in Wenger. At this point, no one in the team believes in his manager to build a team. The so-wished "near future" looks too far... or out of reach. When the players of Arsenal stepped on the grass of Old Trafford, they felt clearly inferior, since the very first moment. The few veterans did not have the personality to carry with the youth on their shoulders and the young players were terrified, feeling like toys in the hands of an adult team like Manchester United. The 8-2 can only be explained in one way: the players of Arsenal do not trust Wenger anymore.

At this point, I do not know if Wenger will be sacked soon or if he will finish the season. I do not even know if this project can go further. But, in my opinion, Arsenal is closed in a vicious circle of an eternal unreachable promise, where no one sees an escape. Wenger has probably been too stubborn in his methods, which were successful while he was able to mix his great eye for young talent with the required experience. But the current team seems a caricature of the initial idea of Wenger when he joined Arsenal. In his favor, his good taste for football, his will to entertain the fans beyond the pure results. But the project is dead and Arsenal needs a shake. Arsenal's history is big before Wenger and will be big after him, just as it was with him. Wenger is a zombie and his team are walking dead players. It may happen tomorrow or in one year, but the game is over for the French coach. August 28th 2011 is the day Arsène Wenger's project collapsed.

Bielsa en Bilbao (5): Athletic 1 Rayo Vallecano 1.


29.08.2011 - La huelga de jugadores que retrasó el inicio de la Liga evitó que el Athletic de Marcelo Bielsa debutara vs Real Madrid (fecha 1 transferida al 21.01.2012) y permitió que se presentara de local frente al (recién ascendido) Rayo Vallecano (por la fecha 2).

Con todo, el (forzado) atenuante no logró evitar la decepción de los vascos tras un empate (1-1), “sin juego ni nervio”, ni presión ni velocidad y graves fallas defensivas.

El fútbol generado de Athletic llegó cuando Munian se retrasó unos metros en el campo. No obstante las opciones más claras fueron visitantes, hasta que Iturraspe, hasta ahora la gran aportación de Bielsa, selló el 1-0 (´55) y San Mamés por fin respiraba tranquilo. Se trata del primer gol del jugador de Abadiño tras 44 partidos con la camiseta rojiblanca. En cambio Llorente, sigue buscando su ubicación en un sistema que le da menos oportunidades de mojar.


La alegría fue muy breve. Ocho minutos después (´63), Movilla le daba el empate al Rayo y casi la victoria un minuto después.

"Si hubiéramos cerrado el partido con más sensación de peligro hubiera moderado mi opinión, pero el final del partido rebaja la nota. El Athletic fue un equipo confundido, aunque sin ese segmento la calificación hubiera sido apenas suficiente – dijo Bielsa luego del partido - faltó "circulación de pelota" y "buen trato de balón" durante la primera media hora, aunque al final del primer tiempo y el comienzo del segundo el Athletic mejoró y tuvo "fogosidad, dinámica y llegada, aunque todo dentro de un marco donde erramos goles y tuvimos siete u ocho ocasiones".


"En algunos momentos respondimos al perfil que deseamos, con alguna llegada por los costados y profundidad, pero las sensaciones en el cierre del partido fueron de inestabilidad… El Rayo es un equipo que tiene estilo y que intentó jugar. Me pareció mas visible la influencia del entrenador del Rayo en su equipo que la mía en la expresión del Athletic".



Athletic Club: Iraizoz; Gurpegui (Iraola, min.46), San José, Amorebieta, De Marcos; Javi Martínez; Markel Susaeta (Gabilondo, min.57), Iturraspe, Herrera, Muniain (Toquero, min.72); y Llorente. DT: Marcelo Bielsa.

Rayo Vallecano: Dani Jiménez; Tito, Arribas, Figueras, Casado; Piti (Delibasic, min.79), Movilla, Javi Fuego, Botelho (Néstor Susaeta, min.85); Trashorras (Lass, min.59) y Michu.

Goles: 1-0, min.55: Iturraspe. 1-1, min.63: Movilla.
Árbitro: José Antonio Teixeira Vitienes. Estadio: San Mamés.

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Apertura 2011: Fecha 4.


LANUS 0 TIGRE 0
ARGENTINOS 0 INDEPENDIENTE 0

NACIONAL B
RIVER 3 DESAMPARADOS 1

PREMIER LEAGUE:
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Premier League: Manchester United 8 Arsenal 2.


29.08.2011 - Con goles de Wellbeck, Young (2), Rooney (3), Nani y Park, Manchester United le ganó (8-2) el clásico al Arsenal por la 3º fecha de la Premier League (2011-12).

Wallpapers, videos y particulares festejos se desprendieron de la goleada récord. El score más grande en este cruce había sido en 1957 con un 6-2 en favor del United en Old Trafford. Esta vez, Wayne Rooney aportó un hat trick para que el Arsenal sufra ocho goles en la liga por primera vez en 115 años.

Los de Arsene Wenger sienten la partida de Cesc Fábregas (Bracelona) y suman 1 punto sobre 9 jugados: "Uno se siente humillado cuando permite ocho goles".

Manchester United lidera la joven temporada (junto al City) con puntaje ideal.



Horas después del partido, la directiva del Arsenal decidió indemnizar a los hinchas que hicieron los 340 kilómetros que separan Londres de Manchester para asistir a la goleada.

Bajo el título "Arsenal agradece el fantástico apoyo de la afición", emite un comunicado en la web oficial por el que "Arsenal Football Club anuncia que le escribirá a los hinchas que viajaron a Old Trafford el domingo con una oferta para cubrir los costos del ticket que pagaron en con un partido que se juegue en la Premier League de visitante... Nuestros hinchas que viajaron estuvieron magníficos durante todo el partido y queremos reconocer su fantástico apoyo. Les escribiremos en breve con los detalles".
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