Copa America Preview: Players to Watch

The Copa America is upon us and we’re all pretty excited to see some of the worlds best in action in the coming weeks. But hwo should you keep a eye out for? Here’s our picks for the most exciting and significant players to look out for in the tournament.

1.) Neymar, Brazil

The latest Brazilian wunderkid is coming off the success of his success with Santos in Copa Libertadores and while his dives and histrionics are ultimately a turn off for me, there is no denying his skill. I’d look for lots of incisive run along the wings followed by tricksy shots and some selfishness to color his play in that Brazil jersey throughout the tournament.

2.) Lionel Messi, Argentina

Probably the best player to grace the field since Pele, Messi is a dominant force for Barcelona and an integral part of Argentina’s squad. Messi is one of the few players who has come up in recent years who has the skill to play anywhere, and isn’t interested in being a professional cry-baby. His play unselfish and unrelenting play this past season ensured Barcelona mopped the floor with Real Madrid, Tottenham, and Manchester United. If they hope to take home the Copa they’ll need to use him to maximum effect up front.

3.) Carlos Tevez, Argentina

Manchester City’s favorite subterranean homesick alien should be lining out for Argentina during the tournament and makes a good partner for Messi upfront. Realistically, he’s the only player they have who can properly feed off Messi’s passes, but also generate his own runs and movement to score without aid. Look for a few cheeky goals from this guy, he loves to play for his country, and we all know he’ll relish a chance to go home for awhile.

4.) Giovanni Dos Santos, Mexico

Despite his brother being sent home under less than honorable circumstances this week, Gio Dos Santos is a quick and creative player who loves to go on the run and should have an impact El Tri. His career hasn’t come to anything at the club level, as he seems unable to break into the team anywhere he goes. But there’s no denying he’s a great player when he’s wearing the Mexico jersey, and his annihilation of goalies in the recent Gold Cup is already the stuff of legend.

5.) Chicharito, Mexico

Manchester United’s latest hero and the prolific goal scorer for El Tri, there’s no denying he will have an impact in the tournament, especially with so many Mexican players sent home in disgrace. His creativity and ability to truly play with both of his feet makes him a mobile threat anywhere on the pitch. I have him marked for top scorer on the Mexican team, and he rarely disappoints. The only issue for him may be fatigue, as I’m not sure how much more of this his body can take after the EPL and Gold Cup.

6.) Fernando Muslera, Uruguay

The Uruguayan keeper is a man mountain, and many a side has paid the price for underestimating his throw and ability to drop the ball into play 70 to 80 yards down the pitch from his line. He’s also not afraid to mix it up with forwards and, as some league forwards will attest, his bark matches his bite in this regard. Look for him to flatten a few players, and if it really kicks off, he’ll be in the thick of it.

7.) Alex Sanchez, Chile

One the best, most underutilized in the arsenal of Camp Nou, Sanchez will be looking to remind the world why he deserves to be at Barcelona. He spends most of his time there on the bench, but by all accounts he’s a zealous trainer and should be more than fit for the competition. His repressed striker instincts and appetites should cause him to run riot all over the opposing half as he scores from around 20 yards out.

8.) Arturo Vidal, Chile

The other half of the Chilean dou of doom has been making a name for himself terrorizing the midfield of the Bundesliga at Bayer Leverkusen and has attracted attention from both the EPL and Serie A. He’s going to keep things interesting for Chile as they can count on him to hold up play in the middle and play more men forward to support Sanchez giving them a flexibility and attacking formation to rival the Mexicans.

9.) Rademel Falcao, Columbia

Porto’s speedy attacker shoots on goal with amazing accuracy, and has the pace to get clear of defenders. A quick, nippy little player, he’s also good in close and seems to have taken the Brazilian style of samba soccer to heart as he weaves through defense men. The rumor is he’s going to Chelsea, so he’ll be eager to show off for his new employers and bring it home for Columbia. Hopefully he’s not hamstrung by the mediocrity of the rest of the Columbian side.

10.) Guardado, Mexico

Guardado is one the most undervalued players on the Mexican side, and should be playing an integral part in their game as he did in the recent Gold Cup. Guardado moves with the play, and seems to have an almost intuitive understanding of where things are happening, and where they are going. Always in the right place at the right time, I’d look for him to have some serious impact on any game he plays in. He’s also able to score goals, and when you seem him running towards to you flanked by Chicharito and Dos Santos, most defenders leave him free to deal with the greater threats. Overall a great player, and one to watch.

They’re plenty more exciting players going to be on the field during the tournament, but these are our picks for the best to watch.

Written by: Matthew Wall and soccerprose.com staff, editor, soccerprose.com

View the original article here

Some Very Good Reasons Why You Should Watch the Copa Libertadores

The coming weeks will see the competition really heat up. Any reservations you had about watching South American football should be put aside now. Forget what people say about it being a lower standard than the European Game. With only a couple of games left for most teams, some still with 3, only 2 teams through to the next round and only 2 out altogether, the upcoming matches are going to be much higher stakes.

The group stages have only produced three 0-0′s in 64 games. That means that 95.3% of games have included at least one goal. Just under half the group stage matches have also included 3 or more goals. Everyone wants to see goals and it is the attacking prowess of these teams that will deliver them to fans. Defending is by no means woeful, it suggests relentless attack. These games do not stand still and will, more often than not, keep you entertained.

Don’t be put off by not knowing the teams. Go in with an open mind. You may be wondering who Oriente Petrolero are, and asking who are Leon de Huanuco?

While they may not be two of the best teams in South America, they played out a decent match this week. Oriente, the 2010 Bolivian Champions, won 2-0 to an audience of roughly 15,000 inside the Estdaio Tahuichi Aguilera. You would not have guessed it from the sound. The Bolivian fans were phenomenal, really getting behind their team, chanting and dancing continually.

Fireworks were again let off from the stands which still amazes me. The passion was truly impressive. This can make what seems like, on paper, a match between two of the lesser teams in the competition so compelling. Leon, the Peruvian Championship runners up put in a good shift, but home advantage saw Oriente through.

You may not know the teams but that is just due to a lack of marketing in Europe. It doesn’t take long to learn where the teams are from and who their best players are. Not only will it help you on Football Manager but it can offer an alternative, or supplement, to the European game.

As I mentioned before in a previous piece, it is the atmosphere can often make these games seem so special. In Asuncion, Paraguay, as already qualified Libertad faced Once Caldas of Colombia, who needed a result, in what is one of the smallest stadiums in the Copa Libertadores, you could have predicted a rather stale affair. The outcome couldn’t have been much more different. Once burst out the blocks and grabbed the opening goal through Wason Renteria, much to the crowds displeasure. After veteran striker, Nicolas Pavlovich equalised, Once went straight back ahead through Renteria, grabbing his second of the game with a stunning placed curler into the top corner.

The crowd really got behind their team and provided a great atmosphere, giving tremendous eruptions at any Libertad chance. This crescendoed as Pavlovich equalised again in the 93rd minute. This could not be matched by the single Colombian fan running about the stands waving his flag that the cameras focused on. Even in the smaller stadia, the passion is unbelievable.

I know the time difference can be a bit of a pain. It means you have to wait until about half 10 in the UK for the first game to kick off, but you could still be tucked up in bed at just gone midnight. If you haven’t considered watching one or do not know when to watch them, Wednesday March 30th is the date for Deportes Tolima – the team who knocked Corinthians out in the Preliminaries – to face Estudiantes LP. This will kick off at 23:30 UK time and should be a good game. Tolima need a win if they are to have any hope of progressing, while Estudiantes need a win in order to keep the pressure on Cruzeiro. Don’t miss it!

The pace and style of the game is so easy on the eye and very appealing. Some great moves can be created with unconstrained individual flair. There are no Emile Heskey stepovers in the Copa. Execution is often much better, even if the end product is occasionally lacking. Rodolfo Gamarra had a great game for Libertad. Through his performances, he embodies what football in South America is about. Pace, flair, confidence and style.

Goal of the week is Michael Arroyo’s cracking volley against Universidad San Martin. He played a part in every goal, scoring two and assisting the opening goal. He has been performing at a consistently high level throughout the tournament. The Ecuadorian is certainly one to watch.

There are some cracking fixtures to look forward to including:
April 4, 01:00 GMT, Gremio (BRA) vs Junior (COL)
April 5, 22:45 GMT, Independiente (ARG) vs LDU Quito (ECU)
April 6, 03:50 GMT, Club America (MEX) vs Argentinos Jrs. (ARG)
April 13, 22:30 GMT, Cerro Porteno (PAR) vs Santos (BRA)
April 13, 01:15 GMT, Estudiantes LP (ARG) vs Cruzeiro (BRA)
April 20, 01:50 GMT, Argentinos Jrs (ARG) vs Fluminense (BRA)

Give the Copa a go and I’m sure you won’t be disappointed!

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Watch Ryan Giggs Make His Manchester United Debut (Video)

3 comments by Jack Atchinson on March 2nd, 2011

Living legend made his Old Trafford debut 20 years ago today.

Premier League Tickets Available from Tixdaq.com

Watch this Nike Ad and Win a Free Copy of FIFA 11

Comments Off by Mr Neutral on February 11th, 2011

Those lovely guys at EA SPORTS have given us a copy of FIFA 11 to give to one lucky winner and we thought we would make the competition a bit more fun. All you to do is press play on the Nike ad below starring Andres Iniesta and answer the following question. Watch the video closely and count how many times the Barcelona man touches the ball. That’s every time you can see him actually touch the ball, we are not counting the touches he may have made off camera.

Once you think you have the right answer email us at editor

Watch Rivaldo get past the defender...

By Anish on February 5, 2011 2:32 AM | Comments | TrackBacksShare|

Great skill as Rivaldo scores his debut goal for Sao Paulo against Linense.

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Watch out, Chelsea are back: Cole

Chelsea left-back Ashley Cole has sounded an ominous warning to the rest of the English Premier League, insisting his side are back to full strength.

Riding high on top of the league heading into November, Chelsea have endured a nightmare run in recent weeks with a string of injuries to key players and just one win from their past seven league games.

But Cole, 30, believes the worst is now behind them as they prepare for Monday’s match with fierce London rivals Arsenal at Emirates Stadium.

“We’ve been disappointing in our last six games and it’s a big contrast to how we started the season, but we have a lot of big players back to fitness and it’s going to give us a boost,” Cole said.

“Any team who has their top players out is going to be affected.”

“The players who have come in have done a good job but you’re always going to miss JT (John Terry), Lamps (Frank Lampard) and (Michael) Essien. We seem to play better when they are all in the team; hopefully we can start to push on.”

“They’re major players for us and we have missed their personalities, desire, will to win and leadership.”

“We have been unlucky in games, even though we haven’t been playing well. We have still had a lot of shots and chances.”

“It has not gone our way but, now the big guys are back, hopefully we can turn our season around because it is getting to the important part.”

“We’re fourth in the table – we have to get back on track and start winning again.”

Sat 25 December, 2010

Watch out, Chelsea are back: Cole

Chelsea left-back Ashley Cole has sounded an ominous warning to the rest of the English Premier League, insisting his side are back to full strength.

Riding high on top of the league heading into November, Chelsea have endured a nightmare run in recent weeks with a string of injuries to key players and just one win from their past seven league games.

But Cole, 30, believes the worst is now behind them as they prepare for Monday’s match with fierce London rivals Arsenal at Emirates Stadium.

“We’ve been disappointing in our last six games and it’s a big contrast to how we started the season, but we have a lot of big players back to fitness and it’s going to give us a boost,” Cole said.

“Any team who has their top players out is going to be affected.”

“The players who have come in have done a good job but you’re always going to miss JT (John Terry), Lamps (Frank Lampard) and (Michael) Essien. We seem to play better when they are all in the team; hopefully we can start to push on.”

“They’re major players for us and we have missed their personalities, desire, will to win and leadership.”

“We have been unlucky in games, even though we haven’t been playing well. We have still had a lot of shots and chances.”

“It has not gone our way but, now the big guys are back, hopefully we can turn our season around because it is getting to the important part.”

“We’re fourth in the table – we have to get back on track and start winning again.”

Sat 25 December, 2010

Watch Live Online Streaming of Manchester United v Rangers

no comments by sportingo on September 14th, 2010

Can’t find a pub or telly to watch the match? Never fear, for live streaming is here!