Brazilian Squad Rejects Jabulani Ball used in 2010 World Cup

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All the players in Brazil´s national team dissaprove of the Jabulani ball, that will be used during the matches of the next World Cup. Julio Cesar, the goalkeeper, said that the ball makes unusual curves in the air and does not have a straight trajectory when kicked. Luis fabiano said that the Jabulani ball made by Adidas is similar to those cheap balls that are sold in supermarkets. Meanwhile the home team and England appointed their final lists of 23 players. Carlos Alberto Parreira rejected Benny MacCarthy, while Fabio Capello shocked the world by leaving out Theo Walcott, England´s most famous player. This is the official list published today:

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South Africa World Cup squad:
Goalkeepers: Itumeleng Khune, Moeneeb Josephs, Shu-aib Walters
Defenders: Aaron Mokoena (captain), Siboniso Gaxa, Bongani Khumalo, Anele Ngcongca, Tsepo Masilela, Lucas Twala, Mathew Booth, Lance Davids, Siyabonga Sangweni
Midfielders: Teko Modise, Siphiwe Tshabalala, Steven Pienaar, Thanduyise Khuboni, Kagiso Dikgacoi, Macbeth Sibaya, Reneilwe Letsholonyane, Surprise Moriri
Strikers: Bernard Parker, Katlego Mphela, Siyabonga Nomvete
Coach: Carlos Alberto Parreira

England's final 23-man squad for the World Cup in South Africa:
Goalkeepers: David James (Portsmouth), Robert Green (West Ham), Joe Hart (Man City)
Defenders: Jamie Carragher (Liverpool), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Rio Ferdinand (Man Utd), Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Ledley King (Tottenham), John Terry (Chelsea), Matthew Upson (West Ham), Stephen Warnock (Aston Villa)
Midfielders: Gareth Barry (Man City), Michael Carrick (Man Utd), Joe Cole (Chelsea), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Aaron Lennon (Tottenham), James Milner (Aston Villa), Shaun Wright-Phillips (Man City)
Forwards: Wayne Rooney (Man Utd), Emile Heskey (Aston Villa), Peter Crouch (Tottenham), Jermain Defoe (Tottenham)
Coach : Fabio Capello

BRAZIL FAVORITE TO WIN 2010 WORLD CUP

The World Cup, commences in June, so now might be the time to place a bet.
So, who are the favorites to win the 19th soccer World Cup?
Odds Of Brazil Winning The 2010 World Cup

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9/2 (+450)
The five time winners are joint favorites, with Spain, to win the 19th World Cup. Brazil are in great form, qualifying convincingly at the top of the South American group, and tasting victory in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup. They are one of the strongest teams and will be confident of claiming their sixth World Cup championship.
Odds Of Spain Winning The 2010 World Cup
9/2 (+450)
The European Cup holders are joint favorites, with Brazil, and have recently been hailed by Pele, to claim their first championship. Following a flawless qualifying campaign, winning ten out of ten, Spain are the current number one team in the rankings, and will be the team to beat in South Africa.
Odds Of England Winning The 2010 World Cup
6/1 (+600)
England finished top of a difficult qualifying group containing Ukraine and Croatia. Although, currently only ninth in the FIFA rankings, the odds reflect English optimism and hope that they can repeat their feat if 1966 and win a second World Cup.
Odds Of Argentina Winning The 2010 World Cup
8/1 (+800)
After trying their hardest not to qualify, Diego’s Maradona’s team, finally made it to the World Cup finals, and now they have sneaked in, they could be very dangerous. The team individually and collectively will have to improve massively to make an impact in South Africa.
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Odds Of Germany Winning The 2010 World Cup
12/1 (+1200)
Never rule Germany out. As they have shown, time and time again, Germany are a big-tournament-team, who always perform at the highest level on the world’s biggest stage. Undefeated in qualifying the Germans are on course to have another successful World Cup.
Odds Of Italy, Holland, France and Portugal Winning The 2010 World Cup
All - 14/1 (+1400)
Italy, Holland, France and Portugal are four European teams who shouldn’t be written off. Each team is capable of winning the World Cup if they can find their form at the right time. Italy and Holland topped their qualification groups.
Odds To Win The World Cup: Fractional (American) (All Odds Taken from Ladbrokes.com On The 11/24/09)
Spain - 9/2 (+450)
Brazil - 9/2 (+450)
England - 6/1 (+600)
Argentina - 8/1 (+8000)
Germany - 12/1 (+1200)
Italy - 14/1 (+1400)
Netherlands - 14/1 (+1400)
France - 14/1 (+1400)
Portugal - 14/1 (+1400)
Ivory Coast - 20/1 (+2000)
Chile - 40/1 (+4000)
Cameroon - 66/1 (+6600)
Paraguay - 66/1 (+6600)
Ghana - 66/1 (+6600)
Serbia - 66/1 (+6600)
Mexico - 80/1 (+8000)
USA - 80/1 (+8000)
Greece - 80/1 (+8000)
Uruguay - 100/1 (+10000)
Nigeria - 100/1 (+10000)
South Africa - 100/1 (+10000)
Australia - 100/1 (+10000)
Denmark - 100/1 (+10000)
Slovenia - 100/1 (+10000)
Switzerland - 150/1 (+15000)
Japan - 200/1 (+20000)
Slovakia - 250/1 (+25000)
South Korea - 250/1 (+25000)
Algeria - 250/1 (+25000)
New Zealand - 500/1 (+50000)
Honduras - 500/1 (+50000)
North Korea - 500/1 (+50000) All odds taken from Ladbrokes.com (11/24/2009)

Brazil expects succesful 2014 FIFA World Cup

Brazil is already anticipating the economic benefits of hosting the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The initial prediction from Brazil's Ministry of Sport is that around 600 thousand foreign football fans will visit Brazil during the 2014 finals, which will take place in twelve cities: Curitiba and Porto Alegre in the south; Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo in the south-east; Cuiabá and Brasília in central Brazil; Manaus in the north; and Fortaleza, Natal, Recife and Salvador in the north-east. It is estimated that the 2014 World Cup will have created more than 300 thousand jobs between 2009, when Brazil was chosen as host country, and the end of the tournament. Major investments in infrastructure, including airports and urban transport, are already taking place in preparation for 2014. The twelve stadiums where the matches will take place are either due to be upgraded or, in three cases, under construction. However, the Ministry of Sport announced this week that every venue will be ready in time for the 2013 Confederations Cup (a smaller-scale international tournament that takes place one year before the World Cup). The largest stadium, and one of the candidates for hosting the World Cup final on 13 July 2014, is Rio de Janeiro's famous Maracanã, which will have a capacity of around 90 thousand. The 2014 World Cup will be the first in South America since the 1978 tournament in Argentina. Brazil will become the fifth country (along with France, Germany, Italy and Mexico) to have hosted the tournament twice, having previously done so in 1950.

RIO DE JANEIRO WILL HOST 2016 OLYMPICS

Thousands of Cariocas celebrate victory at Copacabana beach
It was on October 2 at 1.50 pm local time that Rio de Janeiro (the happiest city on earth according to Forbes magazine)was chosen to host the 2016 Summer Olympics.Thousands of Cariocas (citizens of Rio)celebrated in ecstasy as Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Commitee announced that their city had beaten Madrid, Tokyo and Chicago in the election.
The fun had begun several hours before on the sandy beach in front of the Copacabana Palace, the city´s most famous hotel.Local singers such as Lulu Santos and Revelacao made the anxious crowd dance and sing in front of a giant screen and stage.

"Around the Rings" and "Games Bids", two well known websites that specialize in forecasting the winners of these events, got it wrong this time.Both had predicted that it would be a close finish between Rio and Chicago, but the Northamerican city was eliminated early on along with Tokyo.Not even the presence of Barack Obama and his wife Michelle in Copenhagen could help Chicago´s bid. However Obama was present at Copacabana in the form of a local lookalike ( see the photo).

Brazil´s delegation included President Lula da Silva,Pele,Joao Havelange(former head of FIFA),Paulo Coelho and Sergio Cabral, governor of the state of Rio de Janeiro.Cabral and his successors will have a tough job in order to improve the city´s public transport system and eliminate the drug trafficking gangs.It is normal for scores of people to be killed in shootouts between police and the traffickers each week.Not only will Rio host the Olympics, in 2014 several matches of that years FIFA Football World Cup will be played there, including the final match at the famous Maracana stadium, that will have to be modernized. The announcement of Rio´s victory had an instant effect on the economy.The price of shares in the local stockmarket went up, especially those of airlines and construction companies. The price of the US dollar against the Brazilian Real was greatly devaluated and is at present at 1.77 reals for every dollar.

After Crushing Argentina Brazil is ready for Chile

After the historic match played in Rosario,Argentina on September 5,when none of Diego Maradona´s tricks could avoid a humiliating 3-1 defeat on home ground,
the Brazilian national team is now ready to face Chile on Wednesday night in Salvador, the capital of the state of Bahia. The local press is concerned that after its brilliant performance and having qualified for South Africa 2010 the players will have relaxed and is demanding that coach Dunga´s team makes its best effort against Chile, the second placed team in the South American qualifying tournament. The visitors did not get a good result last Saturday since it could only draw 2-2 in Santiago against a weak Venezuelan team. However, not all omens are bleak for Chile since the Brazilian team will be without four of its top players: Kaka, Lucio, Ramires and Luis Fabiano (leading goalscorer in the tournament with nine goals). Luis Fabiano had become a nightmare for Chile since every time the striker had played he had scored, including twice in the first round match where Brazil beat Chile by 3-0. This match is also the twentieth anniversary of one of football´s most controversial episodes. In 1989, Brazil and Chile were competing for a place in Italy 1990, and the ticket had to be decided in a two way tie. The first match ended in a 1-1 draw in Santiago, and there had been plenty of violent prematch declarations by players and coaches of both teams.Even before the match began, a fight occured on the pitch between Chilean players and Romario, the star of the Brazilian team.Also in the first minutes of the match a Chilean defender made aviolent foul on Branco, one of Brazil´s best players, and nearly broke his leg.Instants later Romario tried to punch the Chilean player and ended up being sent off by the referee.



But worst was yet to come in the return match at Maracana Stadium on Sept 3, 1989.Brazil was winning 1-0 and seemed to be heading for a clear victory when a local fan threw a flare onto the pitch. The flare landed very near to Roberto Rojas,the Chilean goalkeeper, that immediately fell on the ground apparently in much pain.Rojas was bleeding from a wound over his eye, and the Chilean players took advantage of the situation and walked off the pitch.

In Santiago, angry fans threw stones at the Brazilian embassy in protest for what they considered an aggression. FIFA ordered a full investigation into the incident and finally discovered that Roberto Rojas had tried to deceive everybody by cutting himself with a shaving blade that was given to him by a member of the Chilean medical staff that went onto the pitch. The outcome of Roja´s behavior was that FIFA instantly gave the victory to Brazil and also banned Chile from the next World Cup that was to be played in USA in 1994.see video

Chile Gets Breathtaking Win Over Bolivia in La Paz

Results of S.American 2010 World Cup Qualifiers


On June 15, the Chilean national football team took a positive step forward in its attempt to qualify for the FIFA World Cup to be held in 2010 in South Africa. The preparation process designed by coach Marcelo Bielsa (that includes banning all press reporters from training sessions) paid off as Chile scored another three points with a 2-0 victory over Bolivia. Due to the altitude of La Paz, (the world’s highest capital city at 3600 meters), Bielsa traveled two-weeks ago with the team of young players with an average age of 23 to the city of Calama in Chile´s northern desert area. Calama is located at an altitude of 2.500 meters and helped the players get used to running with less oxygen and also to the longer distances covered by the ball due to the lighter atmosphere. The Chilean delegation took the flight to La Paz only four hours before the match in order to reduce the effects of “La Puna” (a local term used for the side effects of the altitude such as dizziness and difficulties in breathing). As the match began, the Chilean team surprised fans from both countries at the Hernando Siles Stadium by immediately taking the initiative and had its first clear chances of scoring in the 15th and 17th minutes by means of striker Alexis Sanchez (River Plate, Argentina).
Ten minutes later it would be a defender, Gary “Pitbull” Medel that would open up the scoreboard with a spectacular overhead kick after a shot by Pedro Morales hit the crossbar. By now many Chilean players were showing the effects of the altitude but were able to end the first half with the one goal lead. In the second half Bolivia reacted and took control of the match but was unable to equalize. Gary Medel became the hero of the evening since during a counterattack in the 75th minute the defender scored yet again with a close range low shot after connecting with the ball from a corner on the right wing.
After the match the Chilean players celebrated on the pitch and captain Claudio Bravo sent a televised message to some teammates that had not shown much interest in playing for the national team due to Bielsa´s harsh discipline. “Instead of going to discotheques or being at home with your family you guys should be here playing for your country,” said Bravo. Will Chile will be able to repeat this performance next Thursday in Puerto la Cruz against Venezuela?. The local team has improved tremendously and is not the pushover team it once used to be and also got a good result as it managed to draw 1-1 with Uruguay on June 14 at the Centenario Stadium in Montevideo. Apart from this result, Venezuela defeated Brazil for the first time in its history during a friendly match played two weeks ago in Boston, U.S.A, so the local players are in a confident mood and have promised to defeat Chile.


In the other matches played on June 15, Ecuador was only seconds from getting a historic result in Buenos Aires against two time world champions Argentina. With only three minutes remaining Ecuador was winning one nil when local coach Alfio Basile made a desperate move and put on striker Rodrigo Palacio that managed to equalize with only seconds of the match remaining. Meanwhile in Asuncion, Paraguay, the home team proved that its good form is no lucky streak as it defeated Brazil by 2-0. Paraguay is now the leader in the points table with 13, followed by Argentina with 10 points, Colombia 9, Brazil 8,Venezuela and Chile with 7, while Uruguay, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia are out of the race with 5, 4, 3 and 1 points respectively.

The next fixtures are as follows:

June 17-18, 2008

Brazil-Argentina

Bolivia-Paraguay

Ecuador-Colombia

Venezuela-Chile

Uruguay-Peru

S.America Gears Up for 2010 World Cup Qualifiers

Brazil will play Argentina and Chile coach nominates players

The excitement increases among the local fans as the Brazilian national team prepares to face its archrival, Argentina on June 18. The qualifying match for the 2010 World Cup will be played at the Mineirao Stadium in Belo Horizonte and there will surely be a full house of approximately 60,000 spectators. However Brazil, will first have to travel to Asuncion, Paraguay to play the local team on June 14. Paraguay has an unbeaten record in a difficult qualifying tournament, (where each team must play eighteen matches in a two year period) including a win against Chile by 3-0 in Santiago and will prove a hard rival for the Brazilians. Even so, some players of the “Green and Yellow” team (the nickname given by its fans to the Brazilian national team) have declared that they are more interested in beating Argentina. “Due to the rivalry between Brazil and Argentina, this match has a unique importance. We respect Argentina,but Brazil must also be respected,” said Diego, an attacking midfielder currently playing for Werder Bremen in the German Bundesliga.
With regards to the absence of two key players, Kaka (A.C.Milan) and Ronaldino Gaucho (Barcelona) , Diego stated that he was sure that those players replacing them would perform well.

The other fixtures are as follows :

June 14-15, 2008

Uruguay-Venezuela

Paraguay-Brazil

Bolivia-Chile

Argentina-Ecuador

Peru-Colombia

June 17-18, 2008

Brazil-Argentina

Bolivia-Paraguay

Ecuador-Colombia

Venezuela-Chile

Uruguay-Peru





Copa Libertadores (S. American Club Champions League)

On June 4, at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Fluminense qualified for the finals of the Libertadores Cup after defeating Boca Juniors of Argentina by 3-1. Boca Juniors (last year´s champions) started off well after Martin Palermo scored in the 57th minute but Fluminense struck back immediately with a spectacular free kick goal by Washington only five minutes later. Goals by Dario Conca (70th minute) and Dodo (92nd min.), secured Fluminense´s victory over Boca Juniors. The match ended on a sour note as yet again Argentine players were involved in a brawl with local police and rival players. Fluminense is one of Rio´s most popular clubs but had never qualified for the final of the Libertadores, the most prestigious club tournament in South America. Next week Fluminense will have to play a relatively unknown team,Liga Deportiva Universitaria of Quito,Ecuador in a two way final.

Chile National Team:
Marcelo Bielsa (S.America´s highest paid national team coach) recently published in the football federation webpage the list of players that will take part in the next two qualifying matches against Bolivia (June 15) and Venezuela (June 19). Until now Chile has only beaten Peru, lost to Argentina and Paraguay and drawn with Uruguay.
The match against Bolivia will be played in La Paz, the world’s highest capital city, at an altitude of 3,600 meters (11,811 feet) while Puerto La Cruz, in the intense heat of Venezuela’s amazon jungle area will host the second game against the local team. Bielsa´s list caused a controversy among the Chilean press and fans since many key players were left out for different reasons. Jorge Valdivia, recently voted best player of the Brazilian league was left out by Bielsa since the coach believes that “ it´s not the right moment for Valdivia to play”. Bielsa also showed that he privileges discipline over playing capacity by rejecting Arturo Vidal (Bayer Leverkusen, Germany), Claudio Maldonado (Fenehrbace, Turkey) and Luis Jimenez (Inter Milan, Italy). Vidal was not included in the squad after refusing to take part in a preparation tournament in France. Instead, Vidal declared that he needed a rest and traveled from Germany to Santiago where was seen on many occasions partying in exclusive discoteques. Maldonado angered Bielsa by stating in a Turkish newspaper that “to play in La Paz at such an altitude is dangerous for players.” The absence of Luis Jimenez was the most expected since the Inter Milan player just does not get along with Bielsa. The coach has left Jimenez as a replacement on several matches and since then the player has shown little interest in playing for Chile.
The full list of players published in the ANFP(Chile federation) webpage is as follows:



Christopher Toselli (GK) U. Católica (Chile)
Claudio Bravo (GK) Real Sociedad (Spain)
Miguel Pinto (GK) U. de Chile
Osvaldo Gonzalez U. de Concepción (Chile)
Waldo Ponce Velez Sarsfield (Argentina)
Rafael Caroca Colo Colo (Chile)
Gonzalo Jara Colo Colo
Cristian Álvarez Beitar Jerusalén (Israel)
Ismael Fuentes Jaguares de Chiapas
(Mexico)
Hugo Droguett Tecos (Mexico)
Roberto Cereceda Colo Colo
Gary Medel U. Católica (Chile)
José P. Fuenzalida Colo Colo
Manuel Iturra U. de Chile
Carlos Carmona O'Higgins (Chile)
Pedro Morales U. de Chile
Carlos Villanueva Real Sociedad (Spain)
Fabián Orellana Audax Italiano (Chile)
Alexis Sánchez River Plate (Argentina)
Mark González Betis (Spain)
Jean Beausejour O'Higgins
Daud Gazale D. Concepción
Humberto Suazo Monterrey (Mexico)

Manchester United Holds Barcelona to Goalless Draw at Nou Camp

English club near to playing final of UEFA Champions League

Barcelona and Manchester United played the second semifinal of the UEFA Champions league on April 23 at the Nou Camp Stadium in front of 98,700 spectators. The other was played the day before in Liverpool where the home team drew 1-1 with Chelsea. Manchester United had not played at this stadium since 1999 when it won that year’s edition of the UEFA Champions League after defeating Bayern Munich of Germany. This was the English club’s second time to win the European competition, the first being in 1968. Barcelona have also won this trophy twice (1992 and 2006) and the local fans are certainly eager to win it a third time. The match could have begun disastrously for Barcelona if Cristiano Ronaldo had scored the penalty that was awarded to him in the second minute of play. The Portuguese national team player and currently the player with the highest transfer fee in world football headed the ball towards the Barcelona goal but Gabriel Milito blocked it with his hands and referee Massimo Bussaca pointed to the penalty spot. Amazingly, Cristiano Ronaldo’s shot missed the goal completely and also squandered a great opportunity for his team to go ahead in the scoreboard. This missed chance lifted the spirits of the Barcelona players that headed by Argentine star Lionel Messi began to constantly attack the Man.Utd goal. However, Messi and his teammates were unable to finalize the many chances they created for themselves, while Man.Utd were satisfied to stay in its own half and prevent Barcelona from scoring. Apart from Messi, there were two other Argentineans on the field, Carlos Tevez (Man. Utd) and the before mentioned Milito. There were no goals scored in the first half and the only clear chance for Barcelona occurred in the 51st minute when Messi and Samuel Etoo made a good combination of passes that the Cameroon striker was unable to convert from close range. In the 61st minute the Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard realized that Messi had tried all his tricks against Man.Utd and so substituted him with Bojan Krcic. The final twenty minutes continued that usual trend as Manchester United´s disciplined defenders kept the locals at bay and obtained its objective of getting a goalless draw. After this result, Man.Utd has to beat Barcelona by a one-goal difference at Old Trafford in order to advance to the final. In theory that match will be played on May 21 in Moscow but the Russian Football Federation has declared that if two English teams qualify, it will renounce to staging the final of the 2008 UEFA Champions league.

Brazil Goes Easy on Ireland in Dublin

Five time World Champions beat locals by 1-0

Another FIFA match day was held on February 6 in different parts of the world that serve as preparation for forthcoming 2010 World Cup qualifiers. In Dublin, Ireland the home team played host to Brazil, one of the superpowers in the history of soccer. It was a typical cold and rainy evening at Rourke Park but even so nearly 50,000 fans showed up to see whether Ireland could change statistics and defeat the South Americans for the first time ever. Most of Ireland’s players are with teams of the English Premier League such as Robbie Keane (Tottenham Hotspur) and Damien Duff, while Brazil has Gilberto Silva (Arsenal), and Anderson (Manchester United) that came on in the second half.
There were not too many goalscoring chances in the first half, and Brazil was content to play at half pace and contain Ireland. The match became more interesting in the second half as Brazil came out to win the match as expected. The first chance for the South Americans occurred in the 61st minute as Luis Fabiano struck a hard shot from close range that was well blocked by Shay Given, the Ireland goalkeeper. Only Damian Duff could create any chances for Ireland in the opposing area, but the visitors finally wrapped up the match in the 66th minute. In a fast counterattack Diego made a good pass to Robinho on the left wing that ran into the area and scored with a low and well placed shot in to the corner of the net.

ROBINHO

Starting Line Ups:

Republic of Ireland: Shay Given(gk), S. Kelly, K.Kilbane, D.Duff, R.Keane. K. Doyle, R. Dunn, L.Miller. Coach: Donald Givens

Brazil: Julio Cesar (gk), Alex, Gilberto Silva, Richarlyson, Leo Moura, Luis Fabiano, Luisao, Josue,Diego, Julio Baptista, Robinho.

Other FIFA Match Day results:

Italy 3 - Portugal 1
England 2 _ Switzerland 1
Spain 1 - France 0

Chile Gets Morale Boosting Win over ROK

South Americans defeat locals by 1-0 in Seoul

The preparation match played on Jan. 30 at the Seoul National Stadium was a clash between similar forces in World football. On one side was the Republic of Korea, a country whose national team has improved tremendously and at present can stand its own ground against any other, while its opponent was Chile, whose team is always overshadowed by neighboring superpowers such as Brazil and Argentina. Both teams are preparing for its next 2010 World Cup qualifying matches, Korea will play Turkmenistan in a weeks time, while Chile has more time since its next rival will be Bolivia in July. Also both teams did not show its strongest lineup, as the Korean coach decided to sideline Park Ji Sung (Manchester United) and Lee Young Pyo (Tottenham Hotspur), while Marcelo Bielsa of Chile had the chance to try out many players that had not previously been in the national team.
The match was broadcasted by TV live at 8:00 a.m. in Chile, while in Seoul did not draw such a large crowd at the National Stadium, probably due to the low temperatures that were near to -8 degrees Celsius.
In the first half, ROK had many chances to score but all were blocked due to a fine performance by Chile´s reserve goalkeeper Miguel Pinto.
Gonzalo Fierro broke the deadlock in the scoreboard in the 55TH minute of the second half, and Chile was lucky to be able to end up with the victory, mainly due to the ineffective shooting shown by the Korean players and Pinto’s inspired play.
This was the eighth time that Chile had played Korea, the first being in the 1966 World Cup when the South Americans drew 1-1 with North Korea. In 1984 a Chilean U-21 team traveled to Seoul and lost by 3-1 against the locals, while two further matches were played in 1985 during the Independence Cup played in Indonesia. Chile won on both occasions by 4-0 and 1-0 and the next two results were a 0-0 draw in 1987 and a 1-0 victory by the ROK during the 2000 Sydney Olympic games.

Starting lineups:

Republic of Korea : Kim Byung-Ji (46' Jung Sung-Ryong); Cho Sung-Hwan, Cho Won-Hee, Cho Yong-Hyung, Kim Chi-Woo; Hwang Ji-Soo (70' Lee Jong Min), Lee Kwan Woo (46' Hwang Jae-Won), Yeom Ki-Hun, Kim Nam-Il; Kwak Tae-Hwi y Jung Jo-Gook (34' Cho Jin-Soo. 77' Park Chu-Young).

Chile : Miguel Pinto; Gary Medel, Gonzalo Jara, Hans Martínez; Roberto Cereceda, Manuel Iturra, Marco Estrada, Pedro Morales (90' Pedro Morales); Gonzalo Fierro, Eduardo Rubio (92' Osvaldo González), Jean Beausejour.

Chilean Football Gets Historic Result Against Uruguay

Nearly beats local team but ends with a valuable 2-2 draw in Montevideo

Another round of the South American qualifying tournament that will hopefully end with Chile going to play in the next World Cup to be held in 2010 was held between November 17 and November 18. On Saturday the first match ended with an expected 3-0 win by Argentina over Bolivia at the "Monumental" Stadium in Buenos Aires.
The second match began shortly after at the "El Campin" Stadium in Bogota, Colombia where the home team could only defeat up and coming Venezuela by 1-0 after Ruben Bustos scored from a free kick with only eight minutes of play remaining.
The last match was held in the evening at the "Defensores del Chaco" Stadium in Asuncion, capital of Paraguay, where the host team demolished Ecuador by 5-1. This result caused the resignation of the Ecuadorian coach Luis Fernando Suarez, that in the previous tournament managed to qualify Ecuador to the 2006 World Cup. In spite of the respect that Suarez has among the Ecuadorian fans, the coach just could not continue after his team has had 11 goals scored against it and has lost the first three matches.
On Nov. 18 at 4:00 p.m. local time, Chile faced Uruguay at the mythical "Centenario" Stadium in Montevideo, the same where the "Sky Blues" (as the Uruguayans are nicknamed) won the first World Cup in 1930.
After this first World Title, the Uruguayans have built up a reputation for being one of the toughest teams in S.America and its players are renowned for their fighting spirit. On the week prior to the match the main topic for conversation among Chilean fans and football reporters was whether the national team could finally change the course of history and manage to get a positive result at the "Centenario", since it has lost all four previous World Cup qualifying matches played there. Sebastian Abreu, a Uruguayan striker, also known as "El Loco" (the Madman) added further controversy as he accused the Chilean players of being scared to go onto the pitch at the Centenario and that the pressure would help his team win the match. After 40 minutes of play, most Chilean fans felt that history would repeat itself as Luis Suarez scored with a hard low shot for Uruguay. In the second half Chile's coach Marcelo Bielsa made a long awaited substitution as Eduardo Rubio gave his place to Carlos Villanueva, the leading goalscorer in his country's first division championship. Bielsa´s move paid off as in the 58th minute Villanueva made a great cross from the left wing to team captain Marcelo Salas that scored with a spectacular diving header. However the best was yet to come as ten minutes later Matias Fernandez (Villarreal,Spain) dribbled into the Uruguayan area and was brought down by Diego Lugano. With all the calm earned through years of experience in such famous clubs as River Plate(Argentina), Lazio and Juventus (Italy) Salas scored the penalty with a precise left footed shot. The three thousand Chilean fans that traveled to Montevideo (some for as long as 50 hours by bus) went into ecstasy since now it seemed that their team would end up with the three points for the first time in history. With twenty minutes of play left, it seems that finally the pressure of playing at the "Centenario" took its toll on the Chilean players as they began to make incredible mistakes, bad passes and avoidable fouls against he locals, that once again made use of their traditional fighting spirit and equalized in the 80th minute as Sebastian Abreu finished off a fast counterattack. The last ten minutes seemed like an eternity for the brave three thousand that were at the Centenerio as well as for millions that were watching the live television broadcast. Chilean goalkeeper became the hero of the afternoon as he thwarted Uruguay from scoring on several occasions, including a one on one situation with a Uruguayan striker that nearly scored after leaving the defenders behind.
Finally the magic moment came as the referee blew the final whistle to end the match, that left Chilean fans with the feeling that the national team could have ended up with the victory. A fan interviewed by a TV crew in a bar in Santiago described the match perfectly. "After all it was the Uruguayans that drew the match, we were winning, they were the lucky ones." Now Chile gets ready to face Paraguay on Nov 21 at the National Stadium in Santiago, and it seems that under the firm leadership of Marcelo Bielsa, many may be getting their baggage ready to travel to South Africa in 2010. The final match was played in Lima, Peru as the local team obtained a respectable 1-1 draw against five time World champions Brazil, and now the points table is as follows:

1) Argentina (9 points)
2) Paraguay (7 points)
3) Brazil (5 points)
4) Colombia (5 points)
5) Uruguay (4 points)
6) Chile (4 points)
7) Venezuela (3 points)
8) Peru (2 points)
9) Bolivia (1 point)
10) Ecuador (0 points)