Argentine national coach Alfio Basile called up his 23 men to face Peru and Paraguay in September. There were two surprises on this list as Internacional´s Andrés D´Alessandro and Porto’s Ángel Di Maria were called up for duty. This left out Benfica midfielder Pablo Aimar and Inter striker Hernán Crespo. He also left out Boca Juniors midfielder Juan Román Riquelme. D’Alessandro qill be the only non-European based player for this team. He will also take the creation responsibilites alongside Estaban Cambiasso.
Basile called up seven members of the Albiceleste gold medal-winining side. Sergio Romero, Pablo Zabaleta, Javier Mascherano, Fernando Gago, Ángel Di Maria, Sergio Agüero, and Lionel Messi make up part of Basile’s list.
Argentina will host top of the table Paraguay at the Monumental in what promises to the marquee matchup of the first weekend in September. The Albiceleste will then fly to Lima to face a Peruvian side that is still feeling the effects of the crisis that erupted after the Brazil game last November.
Goalkeepers: Roberto Abbondanzieri (Getafe, ESP), Sergio Romero (AZ Alkmaar, NED), Juan Pablo Carrizo (Lazio, ITA)
Defenders: Javier Zanetti (inter, ITA), Nicolás Burdisso (Inter, ITA), Pablo Zabaleta (Espanyol, ESP), Gabriel Heinze (Real Madrid, ESP), Gonzalo Rodríguez (Villarreal, ESP), Fabricio Coloccini (Newcastle, ENG), Martín Demichelis (Bayern Munich, GER).
Medios: Javier Mascherano (Liverpool, ENG), Fernando Gago (Real Madrid, ESP), Esteban Cambiasso (Inter, ITA), Angel Di María (Benfica, POR), Andrés D’Alessandro (Inter, BRA).
Delanteros: Lionel Messi (Barcelona, ESP), Carlos Tevez (Manchester United, GBR), Sergio Agüero (Atlético Madrid, ESP), Lisandro López (Porto, POR).

Basile Makes Call-Up - World Soccer Talk

Basile Makes Call-Up

In the second episode of the Ronaldo Signing…
“Negotiations” are underway.&nbsp; Portuguese superagent Jorge Mendes is going to be a busy week.&nbsp; After helping Massimo Moratti get Jose Mourinho… he prepares for one crazy summer.
Malcolm Glazer rebutted Real Madrid’s offer by asking for three key players of Real Madrid’s in exchange for Cristiano Ronaldo. Mahmadou Diarra, Sergio Ramos, and Robinho as well as 50 million euros are the bargaining chips that Manchester wants Madrid to put on the table.&nbsp; Who would have ever thought that the Yank would have thrown such a curve ball (using an American sports term)?&nbsp; He knew that Madrid had the “liquidity” to handle a signing the magnitude of Ronaldo, but how far would they be willing to go.&nbsp; Would they compromise their long-term midfield and defensive lines in order to get the Portuguese star?
What next many Merengue fans must ask?&nbsp; A percentage of the club?&nbsp; Ownership of the Bernabéu?&nbsp;&nbsp; Alfredo Di Stefano to walk side-by-side with Sir Bobby every time the Red Devils win a trophy?
This is all part of negotiations. &nbsp; Calderón went after the Mancunians’&nbsp; debt, Glazer went after Madridistas’&nbsp; on the field stability.&nbsp;&nbsp; Glazer mentioned that the future of the Portuguese international will be resolved in the “<a href="http:\/\/www.libertaddigital.com/index.php?action=desanoti&amp;cpn=1276331173">next two to three weeks</a>“.
So if Portugal wins the European championship, they will not fade away into the sunset.&nbsp; They will remain on the radar for quite a while… or at least their biggest star will.
Stay tuned.

Manchester Strikes Back- Episode 2 - World Soccer Talk

Manchester Strikes Back- Episode 2

I can’t blame him. If I were in his position, I would do the exact same thing. While Sir Alex Ferguson and Real Madrid trade potshots- Ronaldo just sits back and basks in the glory of the moment. Hey I can sympathize with him. I remember the days when I had models and hot chicks fighting over me all the time. Hey, it’s tough to do… but after the first couple of times you get used to it.
But let’s be real. We’ve seen these types of whims by Real Madrid president Ramón Calderón. Seems like ages since Kaká was being Photoshopped with a Merengue jersey. To be completely honest, there are other “pressing” needs for Madrid right now. Calderón’s “mental masturbation” now has Pedja Mijatovic tapping his foot waiting for his boss. He had plans to look into getting a player like Didier Drogba in order to shore up the striker position. He also wanted to reinforce the backline as well as obtain a playmaking midfielder. The Ronaldo fever could cost Bernd Schuster a significant amount of reinforcements. Also this means that success is getting to Calderón’s head. If you remember a few years ago, after Florentino Pérez resigned, he was the man that ran on the “anti-Galáctico” platform. It won him the presidency and two titles shortly afterwards. But Cristiano Ronaldo’s effect as a marketing heavyweight would help the club earn once again Galático-type money. If there is one thing that is quite safe to say it’s that in Portugal there are more Ronaldo jerseys being sold than Pepe’s. In Argentina, there are more Messi jerseys being sold than Gonzalo Higuaín, Gabriel Heinze, and Javier Saviola (times 50). I haven’t seen very many Iker Casillas jerseys being sold. My point is that Madrid was built to win titles not merchandising wars. A few years ago that was not the case. Beckham (considered a dirty in Madrid now), Zidane, and their posse dominated that end of the sport.
For many, the arrival of a player like Ronaldo would bring back that era of divisiveness.&nbsp; For others, it would be a welcome change. &nbsp;Where would he fit in? Who would have to leave? What about a player like Raúl? Well let’s wait until he is actually taking the flight to Madrid before we star putting him in our fantasy team list wearing white instead of red.
As far as Manchester is concerned, they are willing to drag this out until later on this summer. &nbsp; Hey they said they weren’t going to renegotiate now.&nbsp; That doesn’t mean they won’t do it later.&nbsp; Stay tuned.

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Atletico Madrid

Basile Makes Call-Up

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Manchester Strikes Back- Episode 2

Leagues: La Liga

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