Talking Smart: Foreign Names

Lyn (Nor.)
In Norwegian language "y" sounds like French [u] or German [ü] (only if not at the beginning of a word).

Lyngby (Dan.)
In Danish "y" is read the same too: [lüngbü].

Marseille (Fr.)
In French language "-ill" is pronounced as "y" in English "boy". So, the name of a famous city the Frenchmen pronounce differently than many non-Frenchmen.

Morecambe (Eng.)
Virtually in all the cases the "b" in "mb" is mute: [mo(r)kam].

Northampton Town (Eng.)
The Englishmen themselves has not come to agreement whether the "h" should be pronounced in this name or not: [nort(h)empt(o)n].

Transfers: Wellington

Corinthians' left wing Wellington waved goodbye to a Brazilian club and moved to Europe, where he's about to sign with German Mainz. Corinthians may now count on this position only on Gustavo Nery and Carlão.

Transfers: Hugo Colace

Looks like Flamengo aprreciated the quality of Argentinean players, and now their coach Joel Santana wnats to sign midfielder Hugo Colace from Estudiantes. In Argentinean sub-20 Colace played along with Tevez and Mascherano.

Riquelme

Villareal and Atletico did not manage to come to an agreement as to the move of Juan Roman Riquelme, while the transfer window has closed today in Spain. So, now the main Argentinean playmaker has two options: to return to Boca Juniors or to stay without a club, nor football at least till the new year.

Talking Smart: Foreign Names

Győr (Hun.)
In Hungarian language "gy" stands for [d] palatalized. So, [dior] (one syllable).

Kashima Antlers (Jap.)
As it has been already mentioned, if in Japanese name the "sh" goes before "i" or "e", it's pronounced as [s]: [kasima].

Kashiwa Reysol (Jap.)
[kasiwa], See above, why.

Korona Kielce (Pol.)
In Polish language "ie" stands for mild "e" (known as Russian "e")". While "c" means [ts]: [keltse]

Leixões (Port.)
"X" is [sh], while the plural ending "-ões" in Portugal demands this club's name to be pronounced as [lei-sho-insh].

Argentina, Apertura 2007, 5th Week

On the 5th week the games were played on Tuesday and Wednesday. The overall Apertura's tendency shows that there are no clear outsiders as of now. Everybody knows playing and winning.

Newell´s Old Boys - Vélez Sarsfield 2:0
Da Silva, Seri
Velez lost again, having proved that his previous win didn't mean much. Newell's wins look very intriguing, because no one knows the players of the team.

Gimnasia La Plata - San Martín San Juan 2:0
Leguizamon, Salvatierra
San Martin took a break after beating River and lost to El Lobo. Gimnasia shows clear signs of recovering under Falcioni's guidance.

Banfield - Lanús 1:2
Lucchetti (pen.) - Sand (2)
Two very good teams produced some great football. Sand has been turning into one of Apertura's main scorers.

Colón de Santa Fe - Rosario Central 2:0
Gandin, Romero
Colon won again, Gandin scored again. Let's see what they will be capable of against the grandees. Central seems to have too young players for showing something serious in this Apertura.

Olimpo Bahía Blanca - Tigre 0:1
Lazaro
The first win of Tigre, especially valuable because it's an away win.

San Lorenzo - Racing Club 4:3
Silvera (2), Romeo (2) - Yacob, Avalos, Pellerano
Absolutely crazy match, in which San Lorenzo managed to score four goals after losing 0:3. Racing keeps on being the most unlucky team, while San Lorenzo gradually loses stability too.

Gimnasia de Jujuy - Arsenal de Sarandí 1:0
Miranda
Jujenos won too, having defeated Arsenal, which slowly turns into a loser.

River Plate - Estudiantes La Plata 4:2
Belluschi, Ruben, Sanchez, Falcao - Benitez, Salgueiro
Finally Millionarios managed to triumph, although against a weak Estudiantes. The key to win, as it was expected, turned out to be Alexis Sanchez. The win cost to River the second Belluschi's expulsion in three games.

Huracán - Argentinos Juniors 3:2
Mendoza, Nieto, Sanchez - Hauche, Cabrera
Huracan has remained the only unbeaten team of Apertura, having achieved a classy win over Argentinos.

Independiente - Boca Juniors 2:3
Denis, Matheu - Rodriguez (o.g.), Palermo, Gracian
A in a clash of the week Independiente lost its first points, but anyway showed great football. The win may mean much for Boca's stabilization.

Talking Smart: Foreign Names

FC Midtjylland (Dan.)
Jylland is pronounced in Denmark as [yullann], while "Midt-" means "middle" and is pronounced as [mitt]. So, [mitt-yullann].

FC Nordsjælland (Dan.)
An "rd" combination at the end of the word is read as [r], while "sj" is [sh], and "nd" is [nn]. So, [nor-shellann]

Beerschot (Dut./Belg.)
Since a big part of Belgium speaks Dutch, the name of the club should be pronounced in Dutch too - [bers-hot].

GKS Bełchatów (Pol.)
In Polish language "ó" sounds as [oo], while Polish "w" is a standard [v]: [bel-ha-toov]

Gueugnon (Fr.)
In French language "eu" sounds like German [ö], while in "gn" "g" is mute, while "n" is palatalized. So, [gion-yon], with [gion] being one syllable.

Transfers: Juan

Flamengo's left wing Juan has been wanted in Spanish Espanyol and Almeria. In light of this news in Flamengo they decided to sign a new contract with him.

Transfers: Marcelo

After young and talented left wing Marcelo had not been taken into account for this season by Real, the Brazilian started looking for a club where he could play as a titular. One of the options is to return to native Fluminense.

Antonio Puerta

Antonio Puerta, one of the most talented Spanish footbll players, one of few who played in genuine Latinoamerican sytle, has passed away in a hospital three days after his heart stopped during the match between his Sevilla and Getafe.

Talking Smart: Foreign Names

Dagenham & Redbridge (Eng.)
[dagnem]. Mute "h" in a well-known suffix.

De Graafschap (Dut.)
In Dutch language "sch" is read not as it is in German. The name is pronounced as [grafs-hap].

Deportes Quindío (Col.)
The stress in the name of this Colombian city and club falls onto "i" which goes after "d".

Diósgyőr (Hun.)
In Hungarian language "s" is pronounced as [sh], while "gy" - as a palatalized [d]. So, the name of the club would be [diosh-dior], with [dior] being one syllable.

Dnipro, Shakhtar, Chornomorets (Ukr./Rus.)
Since Russian language is very wide-spread in Ukraine, sometimes you can see the names of the local clubs spelled in Russian manner: Dnepr, Shakhtyor, Chernomorets

Transfers: Edcarlos

Fullback of Sao Paulo Edcarlos, who has been sounded by several European clubs, finally is leaving Brazil. His new club will be Benfica, which decided to get Latinoamericanized completely.

Transfers: Rodrigo Mendes

Right away after having sold forward Carlos Eduardo to German Hoffenheim, Gremio found a replacement for him. Rodrgio Mendes, who played for Gremio in 1996, 1998 and 2000, is returning to Porto Alegre from Qatar.

Argentinean National Team

Alfio Basile has names the players to take part in a friendly match in Australia.

Keepers: Roberto Abbondanzieri and Oscar Ustari (both Getafe), Sergio Romero (AZ Alkmaar)

Defensemen: Gabriel Heinze (Real Madrid), Daniel Díaz (Getafe), Gabriel Milito (Barcelona), Fabricio Coloccini (Deportivo), Javier Zanetti and Nicolás Burdisso (both Inter).

Midfielders: Fernando Gago (Real Madrid), Maximiliano Rodríguez (Atlético de Madrid), Jonás Gutiérrez (Mallorca), Javier Mascherano (Liverpool), Martín Demichelis (Bayern Munich), Cristian Ledesma (Olympiakos), Federico Insúa (América de México)

Forwards: Javier Saviola (Real Madrid), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Sergio Agüero (Atlético de Madrid), Hernán Crespo (Inter) and Carlos Tevez (Manchester United)

Pedro Troglio & Independiente

It's cool to witness wise decisions of clever coaches. Pedro Troglio decided not to break a marvelous tandem of Daniel Montenegro and Rodrigo Diaz, and opted to sacrifice young forward Ismael Sosa. Now Independiente is able to face Boca Juniors as strong as possible (and Sosa will still be able to perform his functions excellently as a substitute). Russo needs now to undertake similarly clever and cardinal measures, if he wants to oppose to El Rojo something serious.

Talking Smart: Foreign Names

Caen (Fr.)
An "ae" combination in French language is pronounced as [a]. So, [kan].

Crewe Alexandra (Eng.)
The first word in the name of this club from Liverpool suburbs should sound as [kru].

Crvena Zvezda (Serb.)
First, the letter "c" in such Slav languages as Polish, Czech or Croatian, if its clean of various additional signs above it, should be pronounced as [ts] (as German "z"). So, it's [tsrvena zvezda]. So many consonants one after another (very typical for Western Slavs) is a clear headache for the rest of the world. Actually, there is a vowel there. It's a kind of hidden: [ts(e)rvena]. It is not actually pronounced clearly, rather swallowed, but anyway it forms a syllable.

Deportivo Cúcuta (Col.)
In Colombia there are many toponyms of Indian origin with funny stresses. Thus, Cúcuta (quite a large city) has stress over its first syllable.

Cheltenham Town (Eng.)
Even many foreigners would pronounce it correctly intuitively, but anyway, here it is: [cheltnem].

Czech (Pol.)
Very funny thing to observe: few know that this word, denoting a nation and a language, came to English language not from Czech country, but from Poland! The Czechs themselves spell it this way: "Čech" (exactly like the surname of Chelsea's keeper).

Argentina: Apertura 2007, 4th Week

Vélez Sarsfield - Gimnasia de Jujuy 4:2
Uglessich, Sena, Balvorin, Sena - Uglessich (o.g.), Silva
Velez has been altenating good and bad games. This one looks like a good one, although against a very mediocre opponent. Could be that the reason for a win was in letting Fernandez Francou play all 90 minutes. After this win La Volpe was very quick to promise to fight for the title.

Tigre - Colón de Santa Fe 0:2
Gandin, Gonzalez
Colon can boast with the second consecutive win. Dario Gandin scored again and looks like the talented ex-xeneise is becoming a team's leader.

Racing Club - Newell´s Old Boys 2:0
Sava (pen.), Lopez
The Academicians let their hinchada take a breath by beating unpredictable Newell's. Both goals were scored by veterans. Racing still has a long and hard way ahead.

Rosario Central - Huracán 0:1
Mendoza
The first win of El Globo, which hasn't lost a single game as of now. Central has been sleeping.

Arsenal de Sarandí - Banfield 0:4
Herner, Lucchetti, Cvitanich (2)
...while Banfield has definitely been not! Great away win against dangerous Arsenal, Dario Cvitanich has opened an account of his own in Apertura.

Lanús - Olimpo Bahía Blanca 2:1
Sand (pen.), Villavicencio (o.g.) - Gonzalez
Very difficult win for Lanus. Olimpo struggled hard, but they have too many problems in all the lines.

Argentinos Juniors - Independiente 0:1
Denis
Very valuable victory for Independiente, which has won all four starting games. German Denis has gained an unprecedent level.

Estudiantes La Plata - San Lorenzo 1:1
Moreno y Fabianesi - Aguirre
A draw against a champion should be considered a great achievement by La Pincharrata, especially in light of Veron's injury. San Lorenzo has somewhat stalled, which may be caused by Ramon Diaz's thinking over the offer from Qatar Al-Sadd.

San Martín San Juan - River Plate 1:0
Brusco
A shameful disaster! No one in the world can explain why Passarella has still not been sacked. Already a year ago it was clear that he was about to ruin a marvelous team. Ovations for modest San Martin which honestly fought against all three grandees and finally has been awarded.

Boca Juniors - Gimnasia La Plata 2:1
Palacio, Ledesma (pen.) - Dominguez
An agonizing victory. No game, no class, no genuine Boca. Sending in neither Datolo as a titular, nor Gracian as a substitute did not help. This Boca will play only with Riquelme, or Tevez, or Chelo Delgado brought home. While Gimnasia shows signs of resurrection. Falcioni is knowledgeable enough to make his good squad shine.

Transfers: Carlos Eduardo

Another sensational Brazilian teenager leaves homeland. 19-year Gremio's forward Carlos Eduardo will be playing in the second Bundesliga for Hoffenheim. Where the tiny German club got 8 million euros from, is a complete mystery.

Talking Smart: Foreign Names

Aalborg (Dan.)
In Danish language double "a" at the beginning is pronounced as [o], while "g" at the end of the word is mute. So, [olbor].

Aalesund (Nor.)
In Norwegian language double "a" at the beginning is pronounced as [o] too, while "nd" sounds as [nn]. So, [olesunn].

Aarhus (Dan.)
[orhus]. See above why.

Altrincham (Eng.)
One the English words, pronunciation of which you would never guess: [oltringam].

Brighton & Hove Albion (Eng.)
Lengthy, but not really tricky: [braiton-an-houv-albien].

Transfers: Durval

Sport from Recife may soon lose its pillar. Central defenseman Durval has been approaches by Portuguese Belenenses.

Guille

Guillermo Barros Schelotto, who plays now for Columbus Crew from MLS, was very annoyed upon having received news that Godoy Cruz from Mendoza inscribed him to defend that club in League Nacional B of Argentina. "It's not serious, and now I understand why they descended", - such was Guille's reaction.

Transfers: Julio Baptista & Marcelo

Julio Baptista and Marcelo are no more parts of Real's plans and should change the club. Marcelo is about to move to Valladolid, while the future of Julio Baptista is unclear for now.

Chile: Clausura 2007

Ideal teams of the 4th and 5th weeks.

Week 4:
Prieto (Santiago Wanderers); Fuentes (Cobreloa); Martinez (Universidad Catolica); Carrasco (Colo Colo) - Pereira (O'Higgins); Meneses (Cobreloa); Guillauma (Cobresal); Riveros (Huachipato); Villanueva (Audax Italiano) - Villalobos (Ñublense); Laffatigue (Cobresal)

Week 5:
Fernandez (Melipilla) - Roco (Santiago Wanderers); Henriquez (Universidad de Concepcion); del Valle(Huachipato) - Medel (Universidad Catolica); Valenzuela (Universidad Catolica); Lorenzetti (Universidad de Concepcion); Morales (Universidad de Chile); Fuentes (Union Española) - Jimenez (Santiago Wanderers); Flores (Cobreloa)

Chile: Clausura 2007

Ideal teams of the first three weeks.

Week 1:
Elduayen (Universidad de Concepcion) - Maghalaes (Antofagasta); Gonzalez (O'Higgins); Bishera (Palestino); Oroz (Antofagasta) - Cancino (Santiago Wanderers); Fierro (Colo Colo); Hernandez (Colo Colo); Riveros (Huachipato) - di Santo (Audax Italiano); Salas (Universidad de Chile)

Week 2:
Muñoz (Colo Colo) - Reynero (Audax Italiano); Carrasco (Colo Colo); Moller (Puerto Montt); Oroz (Antofagasta) - Medel (Universidad Catolica); Morales (Universidad de Chile); Henriquez (Melipilla); Gonzalez (O'Higgins) - Lorca (Colo Colo); Maciel (Universidad de Concepcion)

Week 3
Loza (La Serena) - Maghalaes (Antofagasta); Valladares (Melipilla); Alzamora (La Serena); Oroz (Antofagasta) - Iturra (Universidad de Chile); Hernandez (Colo Colo); Villanueva (Audax Italiano); Riveros (Huachipato) - Villalobos (Ñublense); Fuertes (Universidad Catolica)

Argentina: Apertura 2007, Forecast

It's much more interesting watching Apertura when you know what to expect from the upcoming week-end...

Tigre - Colon
Both teams played well their previous matches, and will do their best to consolidate the successes. More weighty Colon has more chances for that.

Racing - Newell's Old Boys
Racing is drowning, and its chiefs will be trying to convince everybody that acquired Arrieta and Navia can compensate the sale of Morales (which is unlikely). In its turn, Newell's which started the Apertura very well despite all the expectations, will feel comfortably in terms of psychology against a nervous opponent and is quite likely to return home with three points more.

Arsenal - Banfield
Banfield has clearly been accelerating. And they have lots of unused trumps yet, like Nicolas Pavlovich, who was promised to be a titular in this match. Arsenal started a bit worse, but will fight definitely. Will be a good match.

Rosario Central - Huracan
Finally Central may count on its main hope, Colombian Martin Arzuaga, who completed the disqualification. Without him the team looked faded. Huracan after three draws in first three matches will be seeking desperately for three points in Rosario. Will be a battle.

Lanus - Olimpo
Lanus is upset with the loss from Colon, and will be trying to rehabilitate in front of their hinchada. Olimpo has been on the rise after the win in the previous match. Frankly speaking, Lanus is obliged to win, but Olimpo has a too fancy squad, so that everything can happen.

Argentinos Juniors - Independiente
Two best as of now teams of Apertura will be sorting their relationships. Independiente is, of course, way stronger, and is obliged to win, but Argentinos have the best for this moment Apertura's forward, Alejandro Delorte, who can win the game on his own. Pedro Troglio has a hard dilemma: to send in recovered Montenegro, or leave absolutely outstanding Rodrigo Diaz. Actually, they should both play.

Estudiantes - San Lorenzo
Estudiantes is out of tune completely. San Lorenzo should win easily.

San Martin - River Plate
If River does not bring three points from San Juan, Passarella should resign immediately. River's squad does not impress at all, especially when Belluschi is disqualified. The bench depresses especially, having no trumps on it. The last Passarella's hope is if the superacquisition Alexis Sanchez explodes. San Martin must collect all its forces, because they have a clear chance.

Boca Juniors - Gimnasia de La Plata
Boca, probably, will fortify the defense (Paletta), and midfield (Gracian). But it's quite likely that it won't reflect on greyish playing of Xeneise. Although, Gimnasia, which has just traded the coach, is not able to compete today with any Boca.

Velez Sarsfield - Gimnasia de Jujuy
Velez Sarsfield under the guidance of La Volpe has no reasons to hope for the better. The squad is inexpressive, no trumps. Maybe only Damian Escudero. Everything would depend upon his mood. In it's turn, modest Gimnasia, inspired by the draw against River, will be lead by very bright playmaker Cesar Carranza. Gimnasia can win this match.

Colombia: Copa Mustang II

The list of the players inscribed to the squads of Colombian teams before the start of Copa Mustang II:

Deportivo Tolima: Jefferson Gama (BRA), Lisandro Oscar Sacripanti (ARG) and Miller Piedrahita.
Deportivo Huila: Édgar Heriberto Cataño Castrillón and Edgar Felipe Pardo Castro.
Deportivo Quindío: Carlos Ortiz, Anselmo Romero, Fainer Torijano, Pánfilo Ramos Escobar Amarilla (PAR), Virgilio Ferreira (PAR), Carlos Alberto Santibáñez (ARG), Ricardo Caldeira (BRA), Carlos Sebastián Garrido (ARG) and Marcelo Oscar Leal (ARG).
América de Cali: Leandro González (ARG), Matías Yonatan Rissueño Luján (ESP), Jorge Banguero and Luis Tejada (PAN).
Bucaramanga: Héctor Angulo, Jorge Banguero and Sergio Andrés Novoa (ARG).
Deportivo Cali: Edixon Perea, Mauricio Ferradas (ARG), Rodrigo Daniel Astudillo (ARG), Fernando Adrián Pasquinelli (ARG). Dwite Pezzarossi (GUA), Rafael Maceratesi (ARG) and Sandro Sotil (BRA).
Deportivo Pasto: John López, Yober Estupiñán, Yosimar López, Víctor Carabalí and Édison Quiñónez.
Deportivo Cúcuta: Fernando Gastón Soler, Darwin Peña, Claudio Santos Asís (BRA), Víctor Manuel Uribe Valencia, Jorge Alberto Mogollón Pabón and Juan Manuel Lucero.
Independiente Medellín: Ricardo Calle, Heriberto Velandia, Andrés Orozco and Jorge Horacio Serna.
Pereira: Gustavo Cañete, Cristian Gabriel Fernández (ARG), Darío Fernando Hussaín (ARG), Eduardo Hurtado (ECU), Sebastián Penko (ARG), Cristian Valencia (ARG) and Cristian Alberto López Narváez.
Millonarios: Andrés Pérez Gutiérrez.
Once Caldas: Alejandro Arango, Álvaro Gallo, Santiago Ramos and Óscar Marulanda.

Transfers: Wilman Conde

Fullback of Colombian Millionarios, Wilman Conde moves to Chicago Fire. The transfer costed to MLS club $300k.

Colombia: Copa Mustang II

Ideal team of the second week of Colombian championship:

Marquez (Cartagena) - Fawcett (Junior); Aguilar (Independiente Medellin); Vanegas (Once Caldas); Zuñiga (Atletico Nacional) - Valencia (America de Cali); Sarmiento (Bucaramanga); Charria (Deportivo Tolima); Marrugo (Santa Fe) - Toloza (Quindio); Moreno (Once Caldas)

Colombia: Copa Mustang II

Ideal team of the first week of Colombian championship:

Ospina (Atletico Nacional) - Aguilar (Boyaca Chico); Conde (Millionarios); Passo (Atletico Nacional) - Cordoba (Independiente Medellin); Castrillon (Independiente Medellin); Motta (La Equidad); Charria (Deportivo Tolima) - Hidalgo (Deportivo Pasto); Preciado (Santa Fe); Valencia (Atletico Nacional)

Transfers: Matias Vidangossi

Member of Chilean sub-20 team, Matias Vidangossi, who belongs to Villareal, was loaned to Almeria.

Chilean National Team

New coach of Chilean National team, Arentinean Marcelo Bielsa called the following players to take part in a preparation to a series of friendly matches:

Christopher Toselli (Universidad Católica)
Gary Medel (Universidad Católica)
Miguel Riffo (Colo Colo)
Roberto Cereceda (Colo Colo)
Arturo Sanhueza (Colo Colo)
Gonzalo Fierro (Colo Colo)
Eduardo Rubio (Colo Colo)
Rodolfo Moya (Colo Colo)
Waldo Ponce (Universidad de Chile)
Manuel Iturra (Universidad de Chile)
Marcelo Salas (Universidad de Chile)
José Contreras (Huachipato)
Carlos Villanueva (Audax Italiano)

Mexico: Apertura 2007, 3rd Week

Atlante - UAG 2:1
Maldonado, González - Leaño (o.g.)

Monterrey - Chiapas 0:0

Cruz Azul - San Luis Potosi 1:3
Delgado - Moreno (3)

Toluca - Tigres de Nueva León 1:0
Gimenez

Pachuca - Atlas 1:0
Giménez

America - UNAM 1:1
Cabañas - Palencia

Puebla - Necaxa 1:2
Noriega - Giménez Silvera, Acosta

Veracruz - Santos Laguna 0:2
Vuoso, Benitez

Guadalajara - Morelia 0:1
Romero

Mexico: Apertura 2007, 2nd Week

Atlas - Veracruz 1:2
Olivera - Mancilla, Restrepo

Tigres de Nueva León - Cruz Azul 0:1
Rivas (og)

Puebla - Monterrey 0:2
Suazo, Ochoa

Necaxa - San Luis Potosi 2:3
Giménez Silvera, Rodallega - Moreno (2), Coudet

Tecos de UAG. - Guadalajara 0:0

Morelia - Pachuca 1:3
Romero - Cacho (2), Alvarez

UNAM - Atlante 0:1
Nkong

Santos Laguna - Toluca 3:2
Benitez, Rodríguez, Ludueña - Rosada, Esquivel

Chiapas - America 1:6
Rojas - Cabañas (2), López (2), Insua, Davino

Alfredo Moreno & Federico Insua

Argentinean Alfredo Moreno became the best foreign player of the 3rd week in Mexican Apertura, having scored three goals for his San Luis against Cruz Azul. Moreno was raised in Boca Juniors, but virtually hasn't played in Argentina. Between 2001 and 2006 he was considered a pillar of Mexican Necaxa. A week ago another Argentinean - Federico "Pocho" Insua - was voted too as the best foreign player of the 2nd week after he took part in five of six goals that his America scored against Jaguares Chiapas.

Menotti

One of the most stylish Argentinean coaches, Luis Cesar Menotti will be coaching Mexican Tecos from Universidad Autunoma de Guadalajara. Famous Argentinean was world champion with Argentina in 1978, then coached Boca Juniors, Rosario Central, Atletico Madrid and Mexican National Team among others.

Talking Smart: Foreign Names

Reading - (Eng.)
Unlike very popular word of English language, that's is spelled identically, the name of a city and a club is an exception and is pronounced differently - [reding].

Rozehnal (Czech.)
As we said many times, the Czech "h" is voiced and should be rendered better with a [g] sound - [rozegnal].

Málaga (Span.)
Many forget sometimes, that in the name of this city and club the first syllable is stressed.

Lanús (Arg.)
...while in the name of this Buenos Aires satellite as well as a club the last syllable is stressed.

Dátolo (Arg.)
In the name of this talented playmaker of Boca Juniors the first syllable is stressed.

Kanouté (Fr.)
There is an accent aigu over the final "e" in the name of this Sevilla's star, so it should be both pronounced and stressed.

Fleurquin (Ur.)
It's better to pronounce the French surnames of Uruguayan and Argentinean players in Spanish manner, unless the players themselves ask to do it in French. [fle-ur-kin].

Panamá (Span.)
Just in case, we remind that the name of this Latin country has a stress over the last syllable.

Transfers: Emerson

Brazilian Emerson (ex-Gremio, Roma, Juventus and Real) became the eighth Brazilian in Milan. His compatriots in his new team are Dida, Cafu, Serginho, Digão, Kaka, Ronaldo and Alexandre Pato.

Transfers: Dudu Cearense

Two English clubs - Portsmouth and Manchester City - have expressed their desire to sign Dudu Cearense. Portsmouth offered for the Brazilian eight million euros.

Valdivia

Palmeiras by no means wants to let his number 10, nicknamed "Mago", Chilean Jorge Valdivia, go at least before the end of the current championship. The idol of Brazilian torcida has been estimated in 25 million euros, although he had been bought ten times cheaper. But this fantastic price did not scare away at least two European clubs. That's why the chiefs of Verdao were so worried to hear the news that Valdivia changed his impressario, and that from now on his career will be under the guidance of experienced Juan Figger.

Transfers: Kleber

One of Santos's best player, left wing Kleber, who knows playing in the center of midfield as well, may pass to Monaco before the transfers window closes on August 31st. The Frenchmen offer for the Brazilian 4.5 million euros.

Transfers: Reinaldo Navia

Finally, Racing managed to sign Chilean forward Reinaldo Navia, who is well-known for his performance in Mexican League. The Chilean will play in Argentinean club at least for a year on loan.

Uruguay: Apertura 2007, 1st Week

Nacional did not manage to beat Fenix away; Nacho Gonzalez managed to score in a new season before his departure for Europe; Defensor Sporting and Danubio predictably won their games.

Defensor Sporting - Rampla Jrs. 2:1
Mauro Vila, Alvaro Navarro - Jorge Cazulo

Wanderers - Tacuarembó 1:1
Danilo Peinado - Nicolas Nikolay (pen.)

River Plate - Liverpool 3:2
Richard Porta (2), Fabricio Nunez - Juan Manuel Diaz (2)

Juventud - Danubio 0:1
Ignacio Gonzalez

Bella Vista - Cerro 0:3
Raul Molina, Jorge Delgado, Pablo Caballero

Miramar M. - Progreso 1:0
Marcelo Mansilla

Fénix - Nacional 1:1
Maximiliano Perez - Bruno Fontaroli

Peñarol - Central Español
to be played on 28/08/07

Talking Smart: Foreign Names

Bizcayzacú (Ur.)
A complicated surname of a Uruguayan forward has a stress over the last syllable.

Sevilla, Mallorca (Span.)
The way to pronounce those names in real Spanish is: [se-viy-ya] and [may-yor-ka].

Real (Span.)
No matter if you like it or not, the Spanish "l" is soft, as in French language.

Belodedici (Rom./Serb.)
Actually that's the only way in Romanian language to render a final [ch] - by adding an "i", which should not be pronounced.

Iarfhlaith (Irl.)
Irish names are written more trickily than they are pronounced. This one is [jarlot].

Igli Tare (Alb.)
Sometimes in Italy they pronounce it in Italian way - [il-yi]. That's not correct, because the "GL" rule should be applied only to Italian names.

Inzaghi (It.)
The letter "z" in Italian language is read as [dz] at the beginning of the words as well as in a voiced environment: [indzagi]

Boca Juniors (Arg.)
In Argentina itself they pronounce it almost in English (saying "J" in rather a French way). That's because the name itself is English, and besides the Buenos Aires dialect has many [sh]-like and [zh]-like sounds, so for them this name sounds quite natural.

Ñublense (Chil.)
In the name of this Chilean club they often omit the tilda and hence mispronounce it. Should be [nyublense], like in New York (traditional form).

Transfers: Belletti

Julian Belletti signed with Chelsea. The Brazilian who wasn't liked much by Rijkaard at Barcelona, costed 5.5 million euros to London club.

Transfers: Denilson

In Palmeiras, as it turned out, Denilson did not last long, and has only been training. Now he accepted an offer from FC Dallas, which will be his sixth club. Besides, pentacampeon played for San Paulo, Betis, Bordeaux, Flamengo and Al-Nasr.

Francisco Maturana

Great Colombian coach Francisco Maturana managed to govern Gimnasia de La Plata only for 12 matches, of which "El Lobo" lost seven. He has been replaced with another famous coach, Julio Cesar Falcioni.

Gabriel Heinze

Gabriel Heinze did not want to waste his time suing Manchester United and accepted an offer from Real Madrid. The transfer of the Argentinean will cost to Spanish club 12.5 million euros.

Talking Smart: Foreign Names

Tomás (Span.)
In Spanish language this name has a stress over the last syllable.

Guimarães (Guimarão) (Port.)
The correct pronunciation of this club is [gimaraynsh], which is a plural form of "Guimarão". In Brazil it's pronounced differently: [gimaraes].

Coritiba (Br.)
Before 1908 both Brazilian city and a club were namesakes and were called "Coritiba". In 1908 they decided to correct the name of the city a bit and made in "Curitiba". While the club's name remained untouched. Hence the discrepancy.

Xerez (Span.)
Once that was the spelling of the city, and they say, that it even was read as [sheres]. But when it comes to the name of a club, it's pronounced in a more ordinary way - [heres].

Necaxa (Mex.)
In Mexico the letter "x" may be read as [h] (Mexico, Oaxaca) or [sh] (as Mixoacan is sometimes spelled). In our case the pronunciation is the most predictabe - [nekaksa].

Maracaná (Br.)
Must be only children who still make a mistake in this word. The last syllable should be stressed.

Darío (Span.)
This name which is very popular among Argentinean and Uruguayan players, has a stress over "i", not on the first syllable, as many think.

Boyacá Chicó (Col.)
Both words in the name of this Colombian club have stress over their last syllables.

Robson Ponté (Br.)
The sesond name of this very talented Brazilian is often misstressed. The last syllable should be stressed.

Tacuarembó (Ur.)
The same story as to the name of this Uruguayan city and club. The last syllable is stressed.

Transfers: Edcarlos

European clubs clearly do not want to leave Sao Paulo in peace. After Racing Santander failed to buy Alex Silva, Portuguese Benfica started wanting another fullback - Edcarlos. After the activity of European scouts in Brazil Sao Paulo can count in its central midfield only on young Fernando and on Hernanes.

Transfers: Eduardo Ratinho

Corinthians lost its another midfield star. Eduardo Ratinho joined Russian CSKA, where he will play on loan at least till December.

Transfers: Paulo Henrique

The story of young revelation of Atletico Mineiro, Paulo Enrique has had a sad final for the local torcida. Having played only 13 games for his native club, and having scored three goals, the talented forward was sold to Dutch Heerenveen.

Transfers: Gabriel Heinze

The supreme juridical organ of Premier League did not satisfy Gabriel Hainze's claim to Manchester United to sell him to Liverpool. Heinze showed his contract where it's written that MU must let the Argentinean go if any other club offers not less than 13,4 million pounds. The court sided with representatives of a club from Manchester who declared than Heinze had been warned orally and in written form that he won't be sold to any club of Premier League. Manchester United has not been selling his players to Liverpool since 1962. The Argentinean may now appeal to independent committee of Premier League.

Transfers: Juan Manuel Ortiz

Penarol's alumnus Juan Manuel Ortiz, who played in five Uruguayan teams, signed for one year with Huracan. In 2003-2004 he already played in Argentina for Estudiantes.

Transfers: Richard Morales

Another Uruguayan jorneyman returned home. Emigmatic Richard "Chengue" Morales has even more strengthened a strong Nacional.

Transfers: Alejandro Lembo

Uruguayan defenseman of Betis Alejandro Lembo returned home. Minimum for one year he will be playing for Danubio.

Transfers: Leonardo Moreno

Penarol made a classy acquisition, having bought Colombian Leonardo Moreno. A couple of years ago the forward already played in La Plata regio - for San Lorenzo from Buenos Aires.

Transfers: Marcelo Zalayeta

Italian Napoli got even more Uruguayan. Walter Gargano and Mariano Bogliacino were joined in this club by their compatriot Marcelo Zalayeta, who arrived from Juventus. The contract is signed for four years.

Transfers: Gonzalo Vicente

Ex-left wing of Uruguayan Liverpool and Spanish Valladolid Gonzalo Vicente became a new player of Cadiz. In Spanish club the Uruguayan will join his compatriots Andres Fleurquin and "Cacique" Medina.

Full Namesakes: Cristians Ledesmas

There are two Argentinean players with these name and surname, both are central midfielders, and both play equally great, thus confusing everyone. Let's clarify it once and forever. The one that has been invited now by Alfio Basile, is Cristian Raul Ledesma, 29, raised in Argentinos Juniors. He also played for River Plate, Hamburg, again for Argentinos Juniors. Last year he contributed strongly to San Lorenzo's title winning. This Ledesma will start new season in Greek Olimpiakos.
Another guy, Cristian Daniel Ledesma, 25, alumnus of Boca Juniors, who since 2001 played exclusively in Italy (Lecce and Lazio) is as great. That was him who knocked Francesco Totti out and then chipped a supergolazo over Doni's head in a Roman derby.
Boca Juniors now enjoys the services of a Ledesma of its own. But this is Pablo, should not be confused, obviously. While Independiente brought this year a forward from Paraguay, whose surname is Ledesma, and first name... Cristian!

Argentina: Apertura 2007, 3rd Week

At last River managed to start, and gained valuable for him today one point against the champion, having paid for that with Belluschi's sending off.

Boca hardly managed to beat a newcomer who unexpectedly (or expectedly) fought hard against the grandee.

A powerful pace has been gained by Independiente and Argentinos Juniors. The heroes for the latter again have been Delorte and Battion.

Newell's and Estudiantes go on surprising, evoking opposite emotions though. The ex-champion has been simply drowning for now.

Colon suddenly defeated Lanus with two excellent free kicks. As well as Banfield as unexpectedly has beaten Velez, while Olimpo did the same to Arsenal Sarandi.

And finally desorineted Racing, who sold Morales and lost to everyone on a reinforcemnet market, lost in Jujuy.

Boca Juniors - San Martín San Juan 1:0
Ledesma

Gimnasia La Plata - Argentinos Juniors 0:2
Delorte, Battion

Independiente - Rosario Central 1:0
Denis

Huracán - Tigre 0:0

Colón de Santa Fe - Lanús 2:1
Gandin, Centurion - Sand

Olimpo Bahía Blanca - Arsenal de Sarandí 1:0
Torales

Banfield - Vélez Sarsfield 1:0
Devaca

Gimnasia de Jujuy - Racing Club 2:1
Carranza, Desvaux - Sava

San Lorenzo - River Plate 1:1
Silvera - Ortega (pen.)

Newell´s Old Boys - Estudiantes La Plata 2:1
Donnet, Steinert - Badell

Talking Smart: Foreign Names

Al Sadd (Arab.)
Quite often for some reason the name of the richest Quatar club is misspelled - "Al Saad". While there are two "d" in this name, not two "a".

Bartez (Fr.)
Contrary to the rules of French language, the final "z" is pronounced by the French in the name of the keeper. It sounds like [s] - [bartes].

Ajaccio (Fr.)
The name of this Corsican club and city is pronounced in France in French way: [a-zhaks-yo].

Grafite (Br.)
The final "e" in Portuguese language, unless stressed, is pronounced as [i]: Grafite - [grafiti], Jorge - [zhorzhi], Enrique - [enriki], Juventude - [zhuventudi], Guilherme - [guilyermi].

Hidetoshi (Jap.)
Japanese "sh" sounds as such only if not followed by "e" or "i". In these two cases it sounds like [s]: [hidetosi]

Johansson, Jonsson (Swed.)
"Jo" at the beginnning of a word in Swedish language is pronounced as [yu]: [yuhanson], [yunsson].

Mateuţ, Raţ (Rom.)
In Romanian language a [ts] sound is rendered with the help of a special letter, which by many is misinterpreted as "t". The guys should be called [mateuts] and [rats].

Almería (Span.)
The stress in Spanish club's name falls onto "i".

Nilmar

Brazilian forward Nilmar won a case against Corinthians on annulment of his contract with the club from Sao Paulo. Thus, Corinthians are able now to pay their 8-million debt (money received from selling Willian to Shakhtar) to Lyon for Nilmar's transfer, but are left without Nilmar himself. While the talented forward is wanted very much by Sao Paulo, Santos and Flamengo. And especially by his native Internacional, where they expect him to ideally replace Alexandre Pato.

Transfers: Marcelo Labarthe

Gremio has a new midfielder. After several years spent in Portuguese Sporting, Beira Mar and Vitoria Setubal, Marcelo Labarthe returned to native Porto Alegre. Before the European voyage the volante played for Gremio and Internacional.

Flamengo

After signing Messi's cousin, Maxi Biancucci, Flamengo surprised even more, having signed the brother of Biancucci - Bruno. The new flamenguista is only 10 years old, and is expected to reimburse the invested money in eight to ten years. In Argentina Bruno was raised in famous Renato Cesario school, connected to Newell's Old Boys.

Transfers: Rodrigo Archubi

Greek champion Olimpiakos was persistent and robbed in front of River Plate of ex-Lanus' Rodrigo Archubi. Argentinean will join at Olimpiakos three his other compatriots signed this summer - Lionel Nunez, Cristian Ledesma and Luciano Galletti.

Transfers: Riquelme

Tottenham Hottspurs offered 15 million euros for Juan Roman Riquelme. Argentinean playmaker is not wanted in Villareal, where he's been conflicting with the Chilean coach Pellegrini.

Transfers: Celsinho

Ex-player of Portuguesa and Lokomotiv Moscow Celsinho (18) rejected the proposal from Corinthians and decided in favour of Sporting. Skillful midfielder has already passed mecidal examinations in Portuguese club.

Talking Smart: Foreign Names, Letter "Z"

Zanetti (Arg./It.)
Italian surname of a famous Argentinean, as we already mentioned, may be read either in Spanish [sanetti] or in Italian [dzanetti]. The latter is more preferable.

Zа́rate (Span.)
This wide-spread Spanish surname has a stress over the first syllable.

Zubeldía (Span.)
Another surname with "-ia" suffix, which we already discussed. The stress should be put over "i".

Zuñiga (Span.)
In this surname they usually make two mistakes. First, Spanish "z" is always unvoiced and always sounds as [s]. And second, the tilda sign is often omitted. So, [sun-yi-ga].

Transfers: Edilson

Famous pentacampeon Edilson, who is 36 already and who played in many Brazilian big clubs, returned to Vitoria to help this club to return to Brasileirao. Besides Brazilian clubs Edilson also played for Benfica and Kashiwa Reysol.

Brazilian National Team

On the eve of a friendly match against Algeria Dunga lost two players from German clubs: Lucio from Bayern and Gilberto from Hertha. Lucio will be replaced by Miranda from Sao Paulo. As for the left wing, Dunga has not invited no one yet.

Talking Smart: Foreign Names, Letter "X"

Xabi Alonso (Eusk.)
This player has a Basque nationality. And in Basque language "x" is read as [sh].

Xavi (Cat.)
In Catalan language "x" is read as [sh] too, although Spanish commentators call him [chavi]. You may call a player [havi] only if he is Spanish and his name is spelled as "Javi".

Xeneíze (Arg.)
Famous nickname of Boca Juniors is derived from Italian "Genovese" and refers to Italian immigrants who had been club's first hinchas. The way to pronounce this scary, but classy word is [sheneise].

Transfers: Corinthians

Right after having sold Willian Corinthians are already thinking of two reinforcements, both in attack. Timao is about to buy Itamar, who has been playing in Corea, and 29-years old Ailton of Mexican Pumas. The latter is famous for eliminating Corinthians from Copa Sudamericana in 2005 when he played for Mexican San Luis.

Transfers: Willian

Willian waved goodbye to Corinthians and is about to fly to Ukraine, where he will join Shakhtar. The transfer costed 19 million dollars. Now Corinthians will be able to pay their 8-million debt to Olympic Lyon for buying Nilmar.

Ezequiel Lavezzi

"Pocho" Lavezzi started very impressively in Napoli. In the second round of Italian Cup his club defeated Pisa 3:1, and Lavezzi scored all three goals.

Talking Smart: Foreign Names, Letters "V" and "W"

Valdе́z (Span.)
Very often this popular Spanish surname is misstressed.

Viáfara (Span.)
Many commentators don't notice for some reasons an accent sign ofer the second syllable.

Villalba – (Span.)
All "Villa-" surnames are read as [viya-] in Spanish and [visha-] in Argentinean.
[viyalba]/[vishalba]

Villalta (Span.)
[viyalta]/[vishalta]. See above.

Villamarin (Span.)
[viyamarin]/[vishamarin]. See above.

Villar (Span.)
[viyar]/[vishar]. Plus a stress over the last syllable.

Villareal (Span.)
[viyareal]/[vishareal]. Don't forget that in Spanish "l" is mild as in French.

Vitо́r Baia (Port.)
In the first name the strees should be put over the last syllable. In the second name the stress should be puit over "i".

Vouters (Dut.)
The Dutch "ou" is pronounced as [au].

Wrexham (Eng.)
In "Wr" the first letter is mute. While in the famous already suffix the "h" is mute too. So, [reksem].

Transfers: Riquelme

Atletico Madrid finally made an official proposal to Juan Roman Riquelme to sign a contract for three years with an annual salary of 4 million euros. Player's agents Daniel Bolotnicoff and Marcos Franchi are carrying out now intense negotitions in Europe. While Boca Juniors has inscribed Riquelme for Argentinean championship and sold its two other playmakers - Guillermo Marino and Andres Franzoia.

Transfers: River Plate

Besiktas did not waste time after Kleberson's departure and immediatley bought in River Plate for 1.650.000 euros an elder brother of Gonzalo Higuain - Federico. In its turn, Olimpiakos has wanted very much River's newest acquisition - Rodrigo Archubi, but that proposal was rejected.

Transfers: Kleberson

Pentacampeon Kleberson, famous for his spell in Manchester United, will be presented on Tuesday as a new player of Santos. His last club has been Turkish Besiktas.

Transfers: Celsinho

Celsinho, who belongs to Lokomotiv Moscow, said that he is not going to stay in Russia anymore, and that he wants to return to Brazil, where he seems to be wanted by Corinthians. In Europe he has been sounded by Portugues Sporting as well.

Transfers: Cicinho

Looks like Sevilla has found a decent replacement for Dani Alves. It's Cicinho, who is eager to trade Real for Sevilla and is waiting for two grandees to come to agreement.

What’s So Special about South American Football?

If you don’t play yourself, you are not likely to get it. It’s about football esthetics. Have you ever wondered what you like football for?

Argentinean (Brazilian, Uruguayan) football stands out for: (1) having strong traditions; (2) being a part of a unique, highly spirited and personable cultural environment; (3) being an art-like form of expression. The most important technical difference can be described in few plain words: the Americans dedicate much more time to handling the ball.

Latin school is very impressive and very special. From a very early age boys play in the leagues that replicate main adult leagues, thus gaining experience that other nations don’t have. By their 16-17 they are perfect from technical and tactical points of view, as well as have courage for playing creative football which they have always been stimulated to by their coaches.

When I watch Argentinean (Brazilian, Uruguayan) leagues I’m afraid to blink, because at every playing moment all 22 players are doing everything right. Clever positioning, clever offering, clever passing, clever ball handling (two-touch play tendency over one-touch), clever crossing (always to the farther post), clever marking (standing on the feet). It’s not like they are doing it in a robot-like mechanical manner. Vice versa. At every moment they see a gorgeous variety of options to choose from, and are choosing the best (the most interesting). While Europeans see different (less interesting) options to choose from, and choose mainly those that make me fall asleep.

Want a simple example? Count the passes that have forward and backward vectors in South America and in Europe. And compare the results.

Talking Smart: Foreign Names, Letter "T"

Tadgh (Irl.)
This strange Irish name is read very simply - [tay].

Tanguay (Can.)
The surname is originally French, and should be read as [tange']. But in America it got americanized, and now the name of this NHL player is pronounced now as [tangway].

Tottenham (Eng.)
Another example of a "-ham" suffix, where "h" is mute. The word itself should be pronounced like [tottn em], with a little break before [-em].

Úbeda (Span.)
The second name of an Argentinean defenseman is stressed on the first syllable.

Argentina: Last Transfers

Among the last transfers of Argentinean clubs there are some interesting and some loud. The loudest is a transfer of Chilean potential megastar Alexis Sanchez to River, who has robbed Racing of a promising Chilean. Boca decided to inscribe Riquelme and wait what it will end with. Parallely Leandro Gracian is signed too to conduct Boca's game if Riquelme decides to leave. Quite funny was to see famous Uruguayan Bueno among the Boca's new signees. And let's hope that Boca's condition is not as bad as to demand recruiting children like 16-years old Quilmes' Quitana. As for Paletta, we already told about his transfer. There are reasons now to hope that Boca's third match will be way more fun. Arsenal has strengthened seriously by bringing home Biaggini - from Spain, "Chupa" Lopez - from Mexico, and Bardaro - from Uruguay. Colon signed a once best Argentina's striker Cardetti. Central brought home from Greece a good playmaker Mariano Messera. Besides Sanchez River signed another promising youngster - Archubi from Lanus. While Racing failed to compensate the departure of Morales, despite bringing home it's legend Maxi "Hormiga Brava" Estevez, champion of 2002. Finally Gimnasia's leading scorer Silva has made an unexpected jump to Velez after having already scored for El Lobo in this Apertura.

Argentinos Juniors: Rafael Viotti (Uruguay)
Arsenal: Leonardo Monje (Chile), Leonardo Biagini, Pablo Zeballos (Paraguay), Ariel López y Cristian Bardaro
Boca Juniors: Juan Román Riquelme, Leandro Gracián, Carlos Bueno (Francia), Gabriel Paletta y Matías Quintana
Colón de Santa Fe: Martín Cardetti
Estudiantes de La Plata: Jeremías Caggiano, Álvaro Navarro Bica (Uruguay)
Gimnasia y Esgrima de Jujuy: Diego Mateo Alustiza (Uruguay)
Huracán: Javier Dussan Prada (Colombia) y Sebastián Díaz (Uruguay)
Newell's Old Boys: Diego Barreto (Paraguay)
Olimpo: Sebastián Dubarbier
Racing Club: Darío Bottinelli, Sebastián Arrieta, Maximiliano Estévez
River Plate: Rodrigo Archubi, Alexis Sánchez (Chile), Marcelo Larrondo (Uruguay)
Rosario Central: Eduardo Martínez (Uruguay), Mariano Messera, Mauricio Ferradas
San Lorenzo: Juan Menseguez, Lautaro Fórmica, Jerónimo Morales Neumann
San Martín de San Juan: Pablo Cuba
Vélez Sársfield: Germán Montoya, Santiago Silva (Uruguay)

Argentinean National Team

Alfio Basile announced a list of players to take part in a friendly match against Norway in Oslo:

Oscar Ustari (Getafe, Spain)
Sergio Romero (AZ Alkmaar, Netherlands)
Gabriel Milito (Barcelona, Spain)
Fabricio Coloccini (Deportivo La Coruña, Spain)
Javier Zanetti (Internazionale, Italy)
Nicolás Burdisso (Internazionale, Italy)
Daniel Díaz (Getafe, Spain)
Ezequiel Garay (Racing Santander, Spain)
Luis González (Porto, Portugal)
Maximiliano Rodríguez (Atlético Madrid, Spain)
José Sosa (Bayern Munich, Germany)
Javier Mascherano (Liverpool, England)
Fernando Gago (Real Madrid, Spain)
Cristian Ledesma(Olympiakos, Greece)
Federico Insúa (América, México)
Diego Milito (Real Zaragoza, Spain)
Lionel Messi (Barcelona, Spain)
Ezequiel Lavezzi (Napoli, Italy)
Javier Saviola (Real Madrid, Spain)

There are three stars of Argentinean league, who have just moved to Europe: Ezequiel Lavezzi and Cristian Ledesma (champions of Clausura 2007) and Jose Sosa (champion of Apertura 2006). Besides, Basile invited his favorite "Pocho" Insua, who has been failing to find a team to his talent.

Hugo Sanchez Portugal

Hugo Sanchez Portugal, son of Mexican idol Hugo Sanchez, signed with Argentinean Huracan. After a year without football, midfielder decided to return to activity and was choosing between Huracan and a club from MLS.

Transfers: Pablo Daniel Osvaldo

Fiorentina signed a 21-year forward of Atalanta, Pablo Daniel Osvaldo, who spent the last season loaned to Lecce. In Argentina Osvaldo played for Huracan in the second Argentinean league. In Fiorentina he got a Batistuta's jersey number 9.

Talking Smart: Foreign Names, Letter "S"

Salisbury (Eng.)
Ex-capital of South Rodesia sometimes is a players' surname too. Is read not as it's written - [solzberi].

Simão (Port.)
The best way to render this Portugal name with this terrible suffix is [simon].

Siobhan (Irl.)
Quite popular Irish female name sounds as [shivon] or [shuvon].

Sjeng Schalken (Dut.)
This Dutch tennis player is not [sieng shalken], as everyone seems to get used to. He is quite vice versa - [sheng skhalken]. To make it even better replace [kh] with Spanish [j].

Sо́crates (Br.)
Many forget that authnetic stress in the name of a Brazilian superstar is over the first syllable.

Solskjaer (Nor.)
Let's have a look at this tricky Norwegian surname broken apart: Sol = [sol] (or [sul], with "l" soft as in French); skj - is a Norwegian [sh]; while "ае" is [e]. As a result: [solsher] or [sulsher].

Southampton (Eng.)
The letter "h" is almost unpronounced in this word.

Southwell (Eng.)
This English surname is read as [sa'tell]

Strachan (Scot.)
Very populat Scottish player and coach pronounces his second name as [stre'ken]

Salzburg - Shakhtar: latinos

Two pillars of Austrian team - powerful anchorman Ezequiel Carboni and central back Ibrahim Sekagya produced a wonderful game in preliminary phase of CL. Ex-player of Lanus controlled midfield fully, while ex-defenseman of Argentinos and Arsenal Sarandi, Uganda's captain Sekagya has not made a single mistake at his position. Actually, Sekagya seems to be the most latinized African of those who played in Latin America lately. He still plays the Argentinean style.

In Shakhtar Jadson finally takes the reigns of a game. He had been waiting for that for two years, so from time to time he outputs incredible football. The problem is that many of his non-Brazilian players don't understand him often. Fernandinho's progress is quite noticeable. While Luiz Adriano spends most of time on the bench, and gets very angry when replaced. Brandao has completely forgotten what Brazilian football is, and plays now as a mediocre Ukrainian forward. Club's new signing Ilsinho by inertion looks extremely hot for now.

Transfers: Gabriel Paletta

Finally it became clear who will be a replacement for Daniel Diaz. A new central defenseman of Boca Juniors is Banfield's alumnus Gabriel Paletta, who decided not to spent another season on Liverpool's bench. In 2005 Paletta won sub-20 Mundial with Argentina.

Transfers: Juan Carlos Menseguez

San Lorenzo unexpectedly encountered with problems while trying to get perission for Daniel Bilos, who has not been included into a squad to take part in Copa Sudamericana. So, Cyclon decided to insure itself and signed Juan Carlos Menseguez. This River's alumnus went to Wolfsburg jointly with d'Alessandro having not played a single game for River.

Transfers: Racing

After having sold Maxi Morales to Russia, the heads of Racing are deperately looking for a same-scale replacemenet. The transfer of Sebastian Arrieta has been freezed for economic reasons, that's why Racing decided now to go for super-Chilean Alexis Sanchez and his experienced compatriot, forward Reinaldo Navia.

Injuries: Lucas Castroman

America's triumph over Jaguares 6:1 costed to Mexican grandee more that they were thinking. Lucas Castroman injured the ligaments of the right knee and is out for about a month.

Facundo Sava

In Buenos Aires satellite Moron there took place a conference "Football And Its Social Dimension from the Various Angles". It was carried out by none other than Racing's forward Facundo Sava, who turned out to be a social psychologist. Another one to choose that profession for his post-football life is Jose "Pepe" Chatruk.

Brazilian National Team

Thiago Silva, Fluminense's back may debute in a friendly match against Algeria. Besides, the following players have been called:

Keepers: Júlio César (Internazionale) and Doni (Roma)

Wings: Maicon (Internazionale), Daniel Alves (Sevilla), Gilberto (Hertha Berlin) and Kléber (Santos)

Defensemen: Lúcio (Bayern), Thiago Silva (Fluminense), Alex Silva (São Paulo) and Naldo (Werder Bremen)

Midfielders: Josué (São Paulo), Mineiro (Hertha Berlin), Fernando (Bordeaux), Elano (Manchester City), Júlio Baptista (Real Madrid), Diego (Werder Bremen), Lucas (Liverpool) and Kaká (Milan)

Forwards: Robinho (Real Madrid), Vágner Love (CSKA), Rafael Sóbis (Bétis) and Ronaldinho Gaúcho (Barcelona)