Ecuador: Former Real Madrid Coach Floro Joins Ecuador's Barcelona

Ecuadorian side Barcelona Sporting Club have announced that former Real Madrid coach Benito Floro will take charge of the side in time for the 2009 Serie A Championship.

The Spaniard, who has signed a two year contract, becomes the latest coach charged with returning Barcelona to their previous glories after years of relative obscurity.

The joint most successful side in the history of the Ecuadorian league are without a title in over ten years, and parted company with coach Reinaldo Merlo after missing out on qualifying for the 2009 Copa Libertadores on the final day of the 2008 season.

Barcelona club president Eduardo Maruri believes that, in Floro, they have got the right man to initiate a change in fortunes for the dolo del Astillero.

"We're convinced that Professor Benito Floro and his team will do a good job," he stated on the club's official website.

Floro, 56, had a two year stint as coach of Real Madrid between 1992 and 1994, and has also coached Albacete, Sporting Gijon, Villarreal and Real Mallorca in Spain, alongside spells in Japan and Mexico with Vissel Kobe and Monterrey respectively.

World Club Cup: LDU's Bolanos Ready For Manchester United

LDU Quito attacking midfielder Luis Bolanos is confident that the Copa Libertadores winners have a chance of toppling European champions Manchester United ahead of Sunday's FIFA World Club Cup final.

Bolanos, 23, was one of the stars of LDU's successful Libertadores campaign and has continued that form into the World Club Cup, scoring a superb freekick in his side's semi-final victory over Pachuca of Mexico. He hopes to make a similar impact on Sunday.

"The goals I scored in the Copa Libertadores played a decisive part in us winning the trophy, and here in Japan I was lucky enough to hit the target against Pachuca in the semi-finals," he told FIFA.com

"And now I'm hoping to make another contribution by scoring again in the final."

LDU are used to providing upsets, having been cast as underdogs throughout their run to Libertadores glory. Although Bolanos recognises that Manchester United are a completely different proposition, he still believes his side have a chance of taking the trophy back to Ecuador.

"This match will be totally different to the Copa Libertadores," he affirmed.

"Both sides will be going all out for the win and to become the best side in the world. It is going to be something we have never experienced before, but we know what Manchester are all about. They are all great players, but we have to know how to stop them and play as a unit.

"It is sure to be a tough, challenging occasion for us."

Sunday's match will be Edgardo Bauza's last in charge of LDU and Bolanos, more than most, has a great debt to pay to the Argentine coach who brought the best out of him by moving him out wide from the central attacking midfield position he had previously occupied.

"If we win, it will be a great way for Bauza to leave, for everything he has done for the club. He put his trust in me and I want to repay him for that out on the pitch," he concluded.

World Club Cup: LDU Coach Bauza Determined To Go Out On A High

Departing LDU Quito head coach Edgardo Bauza believes that his side can win the 2008 FIFA World Club Cup, although he admits that it will be difficult task due to the quality of their opposition.

LDU will face Mexican side Pachuca in the semi-final of the competition on Wednesday, with the prize of a likely tie against European champions Manchester United in the final at stake for both teams.

Bauza feels that the same underdog spirit that took them to Copa Libertadores glory earlier in the year can serve his side well in Japan.

"We weren't among the favourites for the Libertadores, but we said that our opponents would have to kill us to get past us," he stated at a press conference ahead of the semi-final.

"It's no coincidence that I chose Norberto Araujo, Damian Manso and Claudio Bieler as the spine of the side.

"By putting some excellent Ecuadorian players around them we managed to convince ourselves that we could go anywhere we want and beat any team we chose. That kind of spirit is contagious."

Such a desire to succeed has clearly taken it's toll on Bauza, who will pass over his duties as coach to Jorge Fossati after the tournament.

"The fact is, though, that I'm very tired now and it might be counterproductive for me to stay on. We've come to the end of an era," he concluded.

Brazil, Ecuador and Uruguay Win In 2010 World Cup Qualifiers

Brazil were lucky to overcome an impressive Uruguay performance to win 2-1 in the Morumbi stadium.

Uruguay had the better of the first-half chances, taking the lead through Sebastian Abreu after eight minutes and continuing to push on for the rest of the half. Cristian Rodriguez twice saw decent efforts just miss the target, amongst a flurry of opportunities for the away side.

Despite being on the back-foot for the majority of the first half, Brazil sneaked an equaliser just before half time with former Sao Paulo favourite Luis Fabiano firing home from Maicon's thorugh ball.

The equalising goal was not enough to appease the Morumbi crowd, who made their feelings clear as the half-time whistle blew and then went on to boo Ronaldinho and Robinho when the two players were substituted in the second half.

Brazil did improve after the break and despite Uruguay having some more decent attacks, it was Fabiano who proved to be the difference between the sides, adding his second after sixty-four minutes to seal a somewhat fortuitous victory for Brazil.

In the first game of the day, Ecuador brushed aside Peru, recording their first win of the qualifying campaign with a 5-1 victory under the stewardship of their temporary manager Sixto Vizuete.

Double strikes from Walter Avoyi and Edison Mendez, along with a single strike from Ivan Kaviedes gave Ecuador a commanding 5-0 lead, with a late Andres Mendoza goal the only consolation for a Peru side who had held Brazil in their previous game.

Paraguay continued their excellent start to the qualifying campaign, defeating Chile 3-0 in a high tempo match in Santiago. Salvador Cabanas gave Paraguay the lead after twenty-six minutes, with Paulo da Silva adding a second in first half stoppage time. Da Silva got his second of the night, ten minutes into the second half and Paraguay comfortably held out for a well deserved victory.

The result means that Paraguay now lead the group on ten points from four games, with Argentina one point behind on nine, and Brazil and Colombia a further point behind on eight. Bolivia prop up the group with only one point and are one of two teams yet to record a victory, alongside Peru.

There is now a large break before the next round of qualifiers, which will take place in June 2008.

Argentina, Paraguay and Colombia Win in 2010 Qualifiers

Argentina continued their one hundred percent start to the World Cup 2010 Qualifiers, defeating Bolivia 3-0 at El Monumental, while Paraguay and Colombia also celebrated victories in round 3 of the Qualifying schedule.

Sergio Aguero marked his first competitive international start with his first goal for Argentina, heading in from a yard out after Martin Demichelis headed the ball back across goal from a Carlos Tevez cross. Argentina controlled the first half, with Lionel Messi is scintillating form, but were only able to get the one goal, going in 1-0 up at half time.

Bolivia were slightly more adventurous in the second half, but still rarely threatened the Argentina goal as the hosts started to turn on the style. Early in the half, Juan Riquelme saw a free-kick tipped over by Carlos Arias in the Bolivian goal, but returned moments later to send a dead-ball curling in off the inside of the post, leaving Arias with no chance.

Riquelme got his second and Argentina's third with quarter of an hour to go, after a brilliant run from the half way line by Lionel Messi, who put the ball on a plate for Riquelme to calmly curl home and secure the victory.

Paraguay turned on the style, defeating Ecuador 5-1 to continue their impressive start to the qualifying tournament. A double strike from Christian Riveros, along with single goals from Haedo Valdez, Roque Santa Cruz and Nestor Ayala gave them a comfortable victory, with Ivan Kaviedes getting Ecuador's scant consolation effort. Ecuador coach Luis Fernando Suarez resigned after the game.

In the final game of the day, Colombia left it late to defeat Venezuela in Bogota, with a Ruben Dario Bustas strike, ten minutes from time, enough to give them victory in a tightly-contested match.

Kaka Silences Boo Boys, Chile and Paraguay Win

Brazil put in another lacklustre performance for seventy minutes against Ecuador before coming to life in the last twenty, adding four goals to record a 5-0 victory.

Vagner Love gave Brazil the lead after eighteen minutes, tapping in after Maicon had burst into the box and layed the chance on a plate for the CSKA Moscow striker. Brazil struggled to break through the Ecuador defence for the rest of the first half and the majority of the second, looking slack in possession and lacking any sort of cutting edge up front.

The Maracana crowd were becoming increasingly frustrated, especially with the performance of Kaka, starting to boo the AC Milan player every time he received the ball. Kaka provided the perfect response by firing a long range effort which was deflected into the net by Ronaldinho. Minutes later Kaka got on the score-sheet himself, sending a curling effort into the top right hand corner past the despairing dive of Daniel Viteri in the Ecuador goal.

With the Ecuador defence starting to open up on every attack, Brazil added another two goals in the remaining ten minutes. Robinho showed some silky skills to beat Ulises De La Cruz on the byline and his cross deflected to the substitute Elano, who half-volleyed home from inside the area. Kaka then added his second with a weak shot from the edge of the area which Viteri somehow let slip through his grasp.

The final scoreline did flatter Brazil, who for large periods of the game looked a shell of their normal selves. However, no-one will complain at a 5-0 victory and they will be satisfied with four points from their opening two qualifiers.

Chile got their campaign back on track, defeating Peru 2-0 in Santiago. Goals from Humberto Suazo in the first half and Matias Fernandez in the second allowed Chile to cruise to a comfortable victory.

Paraguay beat Uruguay 1-0 thanks to a strike on fifteen minutes by Nelson Valdez, and Bolivia and Colombia drew 0-0 in the last game of the round.

The next two rounds of qualifying games will take place on the 17th and 20th of November.

Second round of 2010 qualifiers in South America, Argentina and Brazil live on Sky Sports

The next set of games in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers will be played over the next two days, with a couple of games being shown live by Sky Sports in the United Kingdom.

The fixtures are as follows:


16/10
Venezuela vs Argentina (live on Sky Sports 1 from 1:30am tonight/Wednesday morning)

17/10
Bolivia vs Colombia
Paraguay vs Uruguay
Chile vs Peru
Brazil vs Ecuador (live on Sky Sports 1 from 12:50am Wednesday night/Thursday morning)

FIFA.com will also provide live updates on the scores for the Brazil and Argentina games for those who are unable to get television coverage for their games.

High-five for Uruguay, Riquelme double for Argentina and more, as 2010 Qualifying kicks off

Despite having not played competitively since the summer's Copa America, Juan Riquelme was in fine form for Argentina, scoring two spectacular first half free kicks in their 2-0 win over Chile. The Argentine's were always in control of the match, but failed to add a third goal in the second half, despite the dismissal of Cristian Alvarez after 55 minutes for the Chileans.

Uruguay got their campaign off to a flier with a 5-0 thrashing of Bolivia in Montevideo. Amazingly, they had five different goalscorers, with first half strikes from Luis Suarez and Diego Forlan added to in the second half by goals from Sebastien Abreu, Vicente Sanchez and Carlos Bueno.

Venezuela provided the first surprise result of the group by winning 1-0 away from home against Ecuador. A well struck free kick from defender Juan Manual Rey in the 67th minute was enough to defeat a lacklustre Ecuador side, for whom Cristian Benitez should have done better with two first half efforts.

In the final game played yesterday, Peru and Paraguay played out a bore draw as they drew 0-0 in Lima.

Tonight, Colombia play Brazil in the final game of this round, with the Colombians looking to make amends for their disappointing Copa America campaign and Brazil hoping to continue their success from that competition into the qualifying tournament.

South Africa 2010 Qualifiers kick off in South America

The qualifying tournament for the 2010 World Cup starts today for the ten South American teams hoping to make their way to South Africa.

Each of the ten teams plays each other twice during the competition, with the top four teams automatically qualifying. The fifth placed team will face a two leg playoff against the fourth placed team in the North American region for a place in the finals.

The tie between Argentina and Chile is the highlight of the opening set of games, with former Argentine national manager Marcelo Bielsa taking his new charges into a competitive game for the first time since taking over this summer.

All of the teams will be looking to get their campaign's off to a good start, but with eighteen games to be played until the end of qualifying, their is still plenty of time to get back on track if the first game doesn't go as planned.

The full first round fixtures are as follows:

Uruguay vs Bolivia
Argentina vs Chile
Ecuador vs Venezuela
Peru vs Paraguay
Colombia vs Brazil (Sunday)

International Friendly Roundup

Various Latin American teams were involved in friendly matches over the weekend.

Marcelo Bielsa's reign as Chile boss endured a disappointing start as they lost 2-1 to Switzerland. A solitary strike from Alexis Sanchez not enough to get a result against the Euro 2008 co-hosts.

Brazil overcame a valiant effort from the USA to win 4-2. The Americans took the lead before an own goal from Onyewu and a Lucio strike gave them a 2-1 lead. The game wasn't over though, as the USA equalised with seventeen minutes remaining, before Ronaldinho and Elano finally settled the match in Brazil's favour with two goals in the last thirteen minutes.

Ecuador thrashed El Salvador 5-1, Venezuela beat Paraguay 3-2, Peru drew 2-2 with Colombia, and Costa Rica and Honduras played out a 0-0 draw in the remaining games.

Copa America Day 8

Brazil, Chile and Mexico booked their places in the knockout stages as Group B reached its climax last night.

Chile and Mexico played out a largely uneventful 0-0 draw in the nights opening match, with Brazil following that with a 1-0 victory over Ecuador, despite another highely unconvincing performance. Robinho was once again their saviour, winning and converting a second half penalty to put Brazil through to the quarter finals.

There they will meet Chile, who went through as one of the two best third placed sides. Mexico will face the runner up in Group C, which will be either Argentina or Paraguay.

Copa America Day 5 (and late Day 4)

It was the Robinho show last night in the Copa America as the Real Madrid forward scored a hat-trick in Brazil's 3-0 victory over Chile.

The Brazilians looked pedestrian throughout and the 3-0 scoreline did flatter them somewhat. Humberto Suazo again looked impressive for Chile, although he probably should have levelled the game in the second half, but took too long over his shot, allowing Brazil to get players back onto the line to block his eventual effort.

In the other game of the night, Mexico defeated Ecuador 2-1 to book their place in the quarter finals. A first half strike from in-form Nero Castillo and a second after the break from Omar Bravo gave Mexico the victory, despite Edison Mendez's late effort for the Ecuadorians.

Back to Day 4 and hosts Venezuela put themselves in pole position to progress to the knockout stages with a 2-0 victory over the ten men of Peru. Pedro Garcia was sent off within the first fifteen minutes, but it wasn't until the second half that Venezuela made their man advantage count. Goals from Alejandro Cichero and Daniel Arismendi gave them a comfortable victory.

Uruguay got their tournament back on track after scrapping out a 1-0 victory over Bolivia thanks to Vicente Sanchez's second half goal.

The results in both groups setup an intriguing last set of fixtures, with almost all the teams involved still holding hope of qualifying for the next round.

Copa America Day 2

Another upset, goals galore and referee decisions to confuse even the best of us (and of course the Sky commentary team) on day 2 of the Copa America.

Tournament second favourites Brazil endured a torrid night, going down 2-0 to Mexico thanks to first half goals from Nery Castillo and Ramon Morales. Despite a second half resurgence from the Brazilians they were unable to beat Guillermo Ochoa in the Mexican goal.

My tournament tip Chile got off to a winning start in a five goal thriller with Ecuador. The Ecuadorians twice held the lead through Antonio Valencia (who was on fine form in the first half) and Cristian Benitez, but a double strike from Humberto Suazo and a 87th minute goal from substitute Carlos Villaneuva sealed a 3-2 win for the Chileans.

Brazil must now bounce back with a victory in their second group game against Chile, or the holders could be facing an extremely embarassing first round exit.