PERU FA BOSS ARRESTED

Peruvian Football Federation president Edwin Oviedo has been arrested over his alleged role in a criminal network that paid for several judges to attend last summer’s World Cup, Peru’s first appearance in the finals for 36 years.

Prosecutors said Oviedo would be held initially for 15 days after he was taken into custody at his home in a wealthy section of Lima. Police are also seeking access to the soccer federation’s offices.
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Botafogo’s 2018 campaign has been very unstable

During Botafogo’s 2017 Brazilian Serie A campaign, they managed to secure the 10^th spot of that competition.

 

In the current season of 2018, Botafogo has collected 35 points from the 31 opening league matches and with only a few more matches left to be played, they are well on pace of finishing as their previous season.
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Thomas Tuchel will let EdinsonCavani and Neymar settle penalties themselves

Paris Saint-Germain manager Thomas Tuchel has indicated that he would allow EdinsonCavani and Neymar to sort out the spot kick decisions between themselves. The pair were involved in a number of on-field disputes regarding penalty kicks during the previous campaign but Tuchel has highlighted that as a positive with both players having the hunger to score.

Speaking ahead of the Guingamp game, he said: “I have not had any troubles with my teams before doing this but I noticed from outside that there was an issue in the last season. Even if it might sound naive, I still believe we find solutions with the players. It’s not my way to write a name down half an hour before kick-off because that will create a lot of trouble.The goal is to find solutions with the guys. I am happy to have players who are hungry to score.”
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CAN FABINHO REPLACE EMRE CAN?

Champions League finalist Liverpool have confirmed the signature of Fabinho as replacement for the set to leave Emre Can. The German has refused to agree fresh terms at Anfield with increasing links to Juventus after both sides agreed a pre-contract in January.

The Brazilian midfielder cost the Reds £40 million to lure from Monaco. The 24-year old featured impressively in the past few seasons for the Ligue 1 side as they competed fiercely with Paris St Germain. He is expected to join other Brazilian stars that have gone on to become a success in the Reds jersey.
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COPA LIBERTADORES: SAN LORENZO, BOTAFOGO AND SANTOS REACH LAST 8

This year, an all Argentina-Brazil quarter final at the Copa Libertadores would not happen as two Brazilian sides lost to Bolivian side Jorge Wilstermann and Ecuador club Barcelona.

Barcelona rivals from Guayaquil, Emelec could have been the third side but they failed to get past San Lorenzo.

Lorenzo won Emelec last month in the opening leg by the slimmest of margins but the Ecuadorian side returned the favour in Buenos Aires by the same margin. San Lorenzo had to dig deep to win 5-4. The result means three Argentinean teams would feature in the last eight. The domestic calendar did not favour the team as they struggled against Emelec.

Emelec played the last thirty minutes with ten men and they were still threatening. When the quarter finals would be played in mid September, the Argentinean league should have resumes and the team with the required fire power. Read more »

RICARDO KAKA ADVISES NEYMAR

The former Brazil international, Ricardo Kaka sarcastically advised his ex-teammate, Neymar on what to do in order to be a more successful footballer and also for him to be the world best footballer as the previous Brazilians.

The Barcelona star, Neymar has been performing wonderfully fine for his team, Barcelona since he moved to Spain from Brazil, with last season being one of his best seasons ever.

He had an invaluable impact in the club’s amazing 6-1 come-back over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League round of 16.

The 25-year old Neymar found the net twice to help Barcelona reach the quarter-finals before they were being knocked out by the Italian giants, Juventus.

Kaka thinks Neymar is currently on his path to being the world’s best player and he dropped a little joke sayingthat Neymar should try changing his name to Reymar as the previous most successful Brazilians’ name stars with “R”.

Meanwhile, the former Real Madrid forward could have a point as the likes of Ronaldo, Revellino, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho are all Brazilian stars of then.

“Taking a peep at everything he has done and achieved at Barcelona, Neymar could well be next in line to be awarded the best player in the world,” Kaka said. Read more »

Ventura wants more from Botafogo

Botafogo manager Jair Ventura wants his players to fight more on the pitch.

He believes that he has a good squad and that the players need to learn how to fight for the ball. He said that they have managed to do it on some occasions, but he wants to see the same mentality in all the matches.

Indeed Jair Ventura was excited when his club managed to win a game against Sports Club despite the fact that the opposition team was leading. Botafogo managed to equalize and win the game despite playing with 10 players.

Ventura said that this was a great performance from his team and that he wants to see a repeat of this in each and every game they play. He believes that the team has great potential but that all the players will have to give their best on the pitch.

Ventura said that he wants all his players to be fighters and to not surrender until the final whistle of a game. He believes that Botafogo can improve a lot if all the players decide to give their best on the pitch and follow his instructions. Read more »

ANDERSON – THE GOLDEN BOY WHO LOST HIS SHINE

At the young age of 20, former Manchester United midfielder, Luiz de Abreu Oliveira had the whole soccer world at his feet after being awarded the Golden Boy award, with all indication that the Brazilian prodigy would end up becoming a big star in world football

After his debut as a teenager with Gremio in home country, Anderson signed for Portuguese side FC Porto after club President stated the club was interested in the youngster. There he gained first team status during his two trophy-laden seasons at the Portuguese side.

English Champions, Manchester United announced the signing of the promising player at a fee of £30 million and in his first season, won the Premier league and Champions League crown playing a good number of games despite not been a regular starter. He would later go on to make 38 appearances though without a goal unable to consolidate his role at the Red Devils as expected. Read more »

Enrique has no issues with Neymar

Barcelona coach Luis Enrique has stated that he has no problem with Neymar’s current lack of goals as he believes that the player is performing well on the pitch.

The last game against Espanyol has seen Neymar failing to score for the ninth game in a row.

His last goal came in the Champions League win over Manchester City at the end of October, and the Brazilian forward has failed to find the back of the net ever since.

However, the player has increased his number of assists during this period and has created 13 goals for his Barcelona team mates in this period. Luis Enrique said that football is a team sport and it is equally important for a player to create occasions. He said that Neymar has become a creative player and that as long as he is helping the team score goals, he is happy with him. Read more »