Barcelona are close to sealing a deal for Argentine international striker Rodrigo Palacio. The 25-year-old has been tracked for months and Barca have now agreed a fee with his club Boca Juniors for a reported €22million (£14.9million).
The player is one of the most highly-rated players in South America, although there is a stumbling block in the deal as Barca insist they will only deal with Boca Juniors - who own a majority 32.5 per cent stake in the player.
Boca must now negotiate with the other shareholders involved with Palacio - his former clubs Huracan and Banfield, and his agent Juan Paladino.
′We have reached to an agreement with Barcelona for transferring him in July,′ Boca vice-president Pedro Pompilio told Radio Mitre.
′But Barcelona has said to us that the condition for doing the transfer is that they want to negotiate only with us, so we have to get in touch with Huracan, Banfield and the agent Juan Paladino because they are the owners of the rest of the percentage of the player. We have been in negotiations with Huracan for many months but we haven′t reached a financial agreement because they want much more than the $2.5 million that we have offered to them. As they have been relegated to a lower division now they want more money than what we had agreed sometime ago. The same happens with Paladino. The only ones with whom we don′t have any problem is with Banfield because they have a little percentage and they are ok with what we do with the player.′
He added: ′I expect to have all these negotiations resolved as soon as possible because it′s a good financial offer for everyone and if we don′t reach to an agreement, Barcelona isn′t going to wait a long time, they will go out and buy another player. That′s what we are trying to make the other parts involved to understand.′
06 May 2007
Argentine championship leaders San Lorenzo slumped to a shock 2-1 defeat away to Velez Sarsfield on Saturday evening, only their second loss in second outings.
The Cyclone stayed top of the Clausura championship with 31 points, four ahead of Boca Juniors who are away to Argentinos Juniors on Sunday.
Velez, who have suffered from inconsistent form under Ricardo La Volpe and on Friday suspended goalkeeper Gaston Sessa for indiscipline, went ahead with a Gustavo Balvorin header in the 58th minute.
Mauro Zarate increased their lead nine minutes later when he scored direct from a free kick and Cristian Tula pulled one back for San Lorenzo with 18 minutes to play.
Racing Club, who have won only twice, continued to struggle as they were held 1-1 at home by Banfield.
Gustavo Cabral headed Racing in front from a free kick in the 18th minute but turned villain when he handled the ball and gave away a penalty in the 32nd minute.
Banfield goalkeeper Christian Lucchetti converted for his second goal of the competition.
05 May 2007
Racing Club will be coached by their former player and trainer Gustavo Costas from next week, the ailing Argentine side said.
"I′m thrilled to be back here, I knew I′d come back some day," Costas told reporters after his appointment on Friday night.
Costas resigned from Paraguayan club Cerro Porteno last week after they failed to reach the last 16 of the South American Libertadores Cup.
The former defender has won seven league titles as a coach, steering Alianza Lima to four in Peru and Cerro Porteno to three in Paraguay.
"My mission now is to help Racing get out of the situation in which they find themselves," he said.
Racing, one of Argentina′s traditional five big clubs, are 14th in the Clausura championship with 12 points from 12 games, having won only two. They were at home to Banfield on Saturday in their last game under caretaker coach Miguel Mico.
Champions Estudiantes de La Plata won 2-1 at Nueva Chicago on Friday night to climb to second on 28 points, three behind leaders San Lorenzo, who were away to Velez Sarsfield on Saturday.
30 April 2007
San Lorenzo increased their lead at the top of the Argentine Clausura championship on Sunday, surviving a second-half fightback to beat lowly Nueva Chicago 3-2.
Second-placed Boca Juniors were held 2-2 at home by Racing Club after Martin Palermo missed one penalty and converted another, and Banfield striker Dario Cvitanich scored a 17-minute hat-trick against Newell′s Old Boys.
San Lorenzo raced into a 3-0 halftime lead against Nueva Chicago but were forced to cling on after Chicago replied twice after the break. Ramon Diaz′s team have taken a 31 points from a possible 36 and are four clear of Boca.
Adrian Gonzalez put San Lorenzo ahead in the 27th minute direct from a free kick and repeated the dose 14 minutes later before Ezequiel Lavezzi made it 3-0 just before halftime.
Both teams finished the first half with 10 men after Chicago had Israel Damonte sent off for a tackle from behind on Gaston Fernandez, who was also dismissed for retaliation.
Chicago reduced the deficit from a 64th-minute penalty when Federico Higuain′s effort hit the post but struck San Lorenzo goalkeeper Agustin Orion on the back and flew into the goal.
Lucio Filomento pulled another back six minutes later but Chicago could not find an equaliser.
There were also dramatic twists in Boca′s game against Racing.
Gonzalo Bergessio put Racing ahead in the 25th minute before Boca striker Palermo - who famously missed three penalties in one game for Argentina against Colombia in 1999 - had the match′s first spot-kick saved by Gustavo Campognuolo.
However, Juan Roman Riquelme equalised 10 minutes after the break and hit the crossbar two minutes later before Boca won another penalty. Palermo stepped up again and this time sent his kick to Camagnuolo′s left.
Boca appeared to be in control but lost their grip when Riquelme was substituted and Racing equalised in the last minute with another penalty, converted by Facundo Sava.
Cvitanich produced the weekend′s best individual performance, scoring in the 10th, 25th and 27th minutes for Banfield against Newell′s. Ezequiel Andrizzi added the fourth with five minutes left.
Independiente won only their third game of the championship, beating Velez Sarsfield 1-0 with an 88th-minute goal by Daniel Montenegro.
19 April 2007
Libertadores Cup leading scorer Salvador Cabanas scored his ninth goal of the competition to help Mexico′s America beat El Nacional 2-1 on Wednesday and qualify for the last sixteen.
Paraguayan champions Libertad also went through from Group One by winning 1-0 away to Banfield in Argentina.
America, backed by a 70,000 crowd at the Azteca stadium in Mexico City, fell behind in the 17th minute when Walter Ayovi scored from a narrow angle for the Ecuadorean army club.
Cabanas equalised 14 minutes later after latching onto Cuauhtemoc Blanco′s long pass, and Santiago Fernandez fired the winner from the edge of the area in the 67th minute.
In Buenos Aires, Banfield needed a win to go through and were gifted a 35th-minute penalty for handball, though television replays appeared to show it happened outside the area.
But forward Josemir Lujambio spurned the opportunity, sending the kick tamely wide.
In the 54th minute, Vladimir Marin scored with a low 30-metre free kick, which went through the Banfield wall to give the Paraguayans victory.
Libertad, beaten semi-finalists last year, topped the group with 13 points from six games, one ahead of America.
Brazil′s Parana, making their debut in the competition, went through from Group Five, joining already-qualified Flamengo, with a 2-1 win at home to UA Maracaibo in Curitiba.
Parana raced to a 2-0 lead in less than 15 minutes with goals from Beto and Egidio. Julio Machado replied for the Venezuelans in the second half.
Parana′s compatriots Flamengo completed their campaign with a 1-0 win at home to Bolivia′s Real Potosi at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro, Souza scoring the goal in the 13th minute.
Despite finishing top with 16 points out of a possible 18, Flamengo were jeered off the field by supporters who had expected a high score.
Parana finished with nine points and Potosi six.
Brazilian champions Sao Paulo revived their hopes in Group Two with a 1-0 win away to Peru′s Alianza Lima after Borges headed the only goal in first-half injury time.
Sao Paulo went top with 10 points from five games, ahead of Chile′s Audax Italiano on goal difference, with Mexico′s Necaxa one point behind.
Sao Paulo host Audax in their final game while Necaxa are at home to Alianza, who have lost all five matches.
16 April 2007
Boca Juniors failed to capitalise on a first-minute goal and were held to a 1-1 draw at home by arch-rivals River Plate in the meeting of Argentina′s two biggest clubs on Sunday.
Boca, facing demoralised opponents who had not won in their last four games, made the perfect start when midfielder Pablo Ledesma put them ahead after 45 seconds at the Bombonera.
But after surviving a first-half onslaught, River levelled through Mauro Rosales four minutes after the break.
Boca, second in the Clausura championship, dropped two points behind leaders San Lorenzo, who beat Gimnasia-La Plata 1-0 on a weekend in which Jorge Burruchanga resigned as coach of Independiente.
Defending champion Estudiantes also lost ground on San Lorenzo when they were held 0-0 at home by Lanus.
River appeared there for the taking when they were caught napping at a quickly-taken free kick and Ledesma nipped in to score.
Only River goalkeeper Juan Carrizo stood between Boca and a sizeable halftime lead as he defied Martin Palermo, Juan Roman Riquelme and Rodrigo Palacio with outstanding saves.
Rosales made Boca pay in the 49th minute when he latched on to Fernando Belluschi′s pass and scored with an left-foot shot.
Palermo squandered two good chances for Boca in a five-minute spell and Carrizo saved River again as he managed to turn away Riquelme′s deflected free kick.
San Lorenzo, whose unbeaten run ended against Estudiantes last week, put their campaign back on the rails thanks to a headed goal by Gaston Fernandez in the 18th minute.
Ramon Diaz′s team lead with 25 points from 10 games, followed by Boca on 23 and Estudiantes on 19.
At the bottom of the table, Independiente′s unhappy run continued as they lost 2-0 at home to Godoy Cruz on Saturday, leaving them 17th with eight points.
The Mendoza team′s goals came in a three-minute spell, Mariano Torresi converting a 69th-minute penalty and Diego Villar scored two minutes later.
As around 200 fans protested outside the Independiente dressing-room after the game, Burruchaga, scorer of Argentina′s winning goal against West Germany in the 1986 World Cup final, announced his resignation.
The most dramatic match was Velez Sarsfield′s 3-2 win at Banfield featuring two sides involved in the South American Libertadores Cup.
Ricardo La Volpe′s team raced to a 3-0 lead in only 20 minutes as Damian Escudero scored in the third and fourth minutes and Gustavo Balvorin added a third.
Javier Sanguinetti and Dario Cvitanich pulled two back for Banfield who could not find an equaliser.
Former Argentina international Cristian Gonzalez scored twice in Rosario Central′s 3-0 victory over Nueva Chicago and Newell′s Old Boys won 2-0 at Belgrano.
12 April 2007
Libertadores Cup leading scorer Salvador Cabanas scored two more goals on Wednesday as America won 2-1 away to Libertad, ending the Paraguayan champions′ unbeaten run.
The Mexicans also avenged a humiliating 4-1 defeat against the same opponents at the Azteca stadium earlier in Group One.
Libertad, who stayed top of the group with 10 points from five games, looked set for another win when Uruguayan striker Rodrigo Lopez put them ahead with a seventh minute penalty in Asuncion.
But it began to go wrong for the hosts when key midfielder Pablo Guinazu was sent off for a second bookable offence two minutes before halftime.
America brought on Paraguayan pair Cabanas and Nelson Cuevas at halftime and immediately looked livelier.
Cabanas equalised from a free kick in the 63rd minute and headed the winner 13 minutes later to take his personal tally to seven goals.
America, who had Daniel Bilos sent off for a second bookable offence in the 83rd minute, went second with nine points, ahead of Argentina′s Banfield on goal difference.
America host El Nacional, already eliminated, in their last match while Libertad visit Banfield.
Colombian champions Cucuta threw Group Three wide open with a surprise 3-1 win at home to former champions Gremio of Brazil.
Ruben Dario Bustos put the hosts ahead with a looping free kick two minutes before halftime only for Gremio to level after the break when defender Walter Moreno headed into his own goal from a free kick.
Cucuta, who kept their heads in the face of intense provocation from their opponents, regained the lead when Panama striker Blas Perez beat Sebastian Saja with a stunning volley into the top corner from the penalty spot.
Alexander del Castillo hooked in the third, another spectacular effort, following a corner in the 88th minute.
With one match each to play, Gremio, Cerro Porteno and Deportes Tolima have seven points each and Cucuta six.
Modest Chilean side Audax Italiano, taking part in their first Libertadores, went top of Group Two with a 2-1 win over Mexico′s Necaxa.
Rodolfo Moya opened the scoring for Audax in the 23rd minute. Juan Manuel Salgueiro equalised in the 53rd minute but Miguel Angel Romero put Audax back in front nine minutes later.
Audax have 10 points from five games, one ahead of Necaxa, while Brazilian champions Sao Paulo have seven points and a game in hand.
08 April 2007
Estudiantes ended San Lorenzo′s unbeaten run in the Argentine championship, beating them 2-1 in a meeting between the champions and the leaders.
San Lorenzo, who went into Saturday night′s match with seven wins and one draw from eight games, stayed top with 22 points but could be caught by Boca Juniors, who are three points behind and play Velez Sarsfield on Sunday.
Estudiantes moved up to third with 18 points.
Seven yellow cards were shown in a full-blooded first half before Pablo Piatti volleyed in Marco Angeleri′s cross to put Estudiantes ahead in injury time.
Diego Simeone′s team increased their lead in the 75th minute with an individual goal from midfielder Jose Sosa, who broke from his own half and ran 60 metres before placing the ball beyond Agustin Orion.
Ezequiel Lavezzi volleyed San Lorenzo′s consolation in injury time.
Nueva Chicago′s match at home to Banfield was abandoned after three floodlight failures in the first half-hour.
Banfield goalkeeper Cristian Lucchetti converted a penalty to give his team an early lead and Horacio Cardozo equalised in the 19th minute for Chicago.
Play was held up by the first blackout for 10 minutes, then Omar Zarif put the hosts ahead 2-1 shortly after the re-start only for the lights to fail again.
The game re-started after another five-minute delay but the lights went out almost immediately and referee Carlos Maglio called off the match.
04 April 2007
Chilean champions Colo Colo went on a second-half scoring spree to beat Ecuador′s LDU 4-0 in the Libertadores Cup and boost their chances of reaching the last 16.
Nacional beat LDU′s compatriots Emelec 3-1 in Group Four, a result which leaves defending champions Internacional in danger of elimination, and Banfield completed an unhappy night for Ecuador with a 1-0 win away to army club El Nacional in Quito.
Gonzalo Fierro began the rout in the Santiago when he won and converted a 50th minute penalty to set Colo Colo on their way to a third straight win in Group Six, where they lost their opening two games.
Fierro was on target again in the 72nd minute while Humberto Suazo and Rodrigo Millar shared the other goals.
Colo Colo lead with nine points from five games, followed by Caracas FC of Venezuela on six. Argentina′s River Plate and LDU have five points each.
Caracas FC and River Plate have played a game less and meet on Thursday.
Nacional scored all their goals in the first half in Montevideo as they effectively ended Emelec′s hopes in Group Four.
Agustin Viana put the Uruguayans ahead in the 18th minute with a cross that took a deflection and flew over Marcelo Elizaga into the goal.
Javier Delgado′s 35-metre free kick made it 2-0 on the half hour and Carlos Juarez pounced on a poor back pass to round Elizaga and add the third on the stroke of halftime.
Jeronimo Morales pulled one back for the Electrics in injury time.
Nacional, second in the group with seven points from four games, went three ahead of Brazil′s Internacional with two games each to play. Argentina′s Velez Sarsfield lead the group with eight points and Emelec trail with three.
Midfielder Daniel Quinteros scored the winner 10 minutes from time as modest Argentine side Banfield won 1-0 against El Nacional in Group One.
El Nacional dominated the game in front of a sparse crowd at the Atahualpa stadium but twice hit the post and were denied by goalkeeper Christian Luchetti.
Banfield are second in Group One with nine points from five games, three ahead of Mexico′s America who have a game in hand. Paraguayan champions Libertad lead with 10 points and El Nacional prop up the table with one.
23 March 2007
Midfielder Juan Roman Riquelme scored his first goal since re-joining Boca Juniors on Thursday, helping his side to a 3-0 win over Toluca in the Libertadores Cup.
Ze Roberto′s stoppage-time winner gave Santos a 2-1 win at Gimnasia-La Plata, who had equalised one minute earlier, and sent the Brazilians into the last 16. Paraguayan champions Libertad beat El Nacional 1-0 to stay unbeaten.
Boca′s win in Buenos Aires took the five-times champions back to the top of Group Seven as they avenged last week′s 2-0 defeat by their Mexican opponents.
Boca have seven points from four games, one ahead of Toluca and three clear of Bolivar.
Antonio Naelson hit the crossbar for Toluca in the first minute before Boca took control.
Riquelme set up the first goal in the 16th minute when he floated over a free kick which was headed in at the near post by defender Jonatan Maidana.
Riquelme, who returned for a second stint at Boca on loan from Villarreal after falling out of favour at the Spanish club, tapped in the second eight minutes later after Martin Palermo pulled the ball back.
Toluca′s problems continued when Jose Manuel Cruzalta was sent off for a second bookable offence four minutes before halftime.
Cruzalta′s first booking was for an ugly foul on Palermo that led to the free kick from which Boca opened the scoring.
Riquelme was also involved in the third goal in the 83rd minute, playing a one-two with substitute Mauro Boselli who cleverly lobbed the ball over Hernan Cristante from the edge of the area.
Santos made it four wins out of four in Group Eight after beating their Argentine opponents with goals at the start and end of the game in La Plata.
Marcos Aurelio volleyed home in the third minute after the Gimnasia defence failed to cut out Rodrigo Tiui′s low cross.
Santos appeared to throw the game away as Cleber Santana missed a 34th minute penalty and Tiui headed wide with the goal at his mercy in the 88th minute.
Sergio Leal headed Gimnasia level one minute later but Santos had the last word when Kleber′s throw-in was flicked into the path of Ze Roberto and the former Bayern Munich player rifled the ball into the roof the net.
The win guaranteed Vanderlei Luxemburgo′s team a top-two finish with two matches to spare. Defensor Sporting have six points and Gimnasia three.
Paraguay international Carlos Bonet scored in the 10th minute as Libertad beat Ecuadorean army club El Nacional 1-0 in Asuncion. Libertad top Group One with 10 points from four games, four ahead of America and Banfield.
Despite having a strong side including several Ecuador internationals, El Nacional have just one point.
