If nature abhors a vacuum, then the transfer window abhors a lack of batshit insane rumours to sell papers and drive hits with. And with many of Liverpool's supposed targets cooling down after the more dubious corners of the intertubes had pushed them for weeks only for it to amount to nothing, a new round of insanity was called for.

ARQUEROSJulio César (Inter de Milán-ITA)Víctor (Gremio)Jefferson (Botafogo)
DEFENSORESLúcio (Inter de Milán-ITA)Thiago Silva (AC Milan-ITA)Luisao (Benfica-POR)David Luiz (Chelsea-ING)Daniel Alves (Barcelona-ESP)Maicon (Inter de Milán-ITA)André Santos (Fenerbahçe-TUR)Adriano (Barcelona-ESP)
VOLANTES Lucas Leiva (Liverpool-ING)Sandro (Tottenham- ING)Ramires (Chelsea-ING)Elías (Atlético de Madrid-ESP)Elano (Santos)Jadson (Shakthar Donetsk-UKR)Lucas Moura (Sao Paulo) Paulo Henrique Ganso (Santos)
DELANTEROS Robinho (AC Milan-ITA)Alexandre Pato (AC Milan- ITA)Fred (Fluminense) Neymar (Santos).

Brazil coach Mano Menezes has finalized the 22 players that will be heading to Argentina for the Copa America. The announcement came directly after Brazil's 1-0 win over Romania in a friendly international at the Pacaembu on Tuesday night. From the 28 man squad that were included for the games against Holland and Romania out go Fábio and Jefferson (keepers), Henrique, Anderson and Thiago Neves (midfielders) and Leandro Damião and Nilmar (forwards).

One of the great soccer tournaments in the world kicks off Friday as Brazil will attempt to win its third straight Copa America title. The world's oldest continental tournament, the Copa was first staged in Argentina in 1916 and has been graced by some of the greatest players in the game

The 2011 might be the most formidable Copa ever played due to the strength in depth of the South American national teams.

AC Milan striker Alexandre Pato caught receiving a kiss on camera from Barbara Berlusconi, daughter of Milan president, Silvio Berlusconi. According to Italian weekly, Today, love is in the air. Mixing business and pleasure? think she is smarter then that we shall see if the tabloids gets it right.
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AC Milan striker Alexandre Pato caught receiving a kiss on camera from Barbara Berlusconi, daughter of Milan president, Silvio Berlusconi. According to Italian weekly, Today, love is in the air. Mixing business and pleasure? think she is smarter then that we shall see if the tabloids gets it right.
[[ This is a content summary only.

Neymar, Pato, Ganso and Robinho in confident mood

For all the news on Brazil, follow me on Twitter

Brazil get their Copa America campaign underway on Sunday versus Venezuela in La Plata, Argentina. The two have met 20 times with Brazil well on top as Venezuela have managed just one win and a draw.

Neymar, Pato, Ganso and Robinho in confident mood

For all the news on Brazil, follow me on Twitter

Brazil get their Copa America campaign underway on Sunday versus Venezuela in La Plata, Argentina. The two have met 20 times with Brazil well on top as Venezuela have managed just one win and a draw.

Mano Menezes

Mano Manezes has called up 23 players for the game versus France in the Stade de France.
Keeper Julio César returns but there's still no place for Maicon, Juan, Lúcio and Kaká. The younger players, such as Neymar, who are currently appearing for Brazil's U-20s in Peru, have also not been called up.

AC Milan vs Inter Milan 2011 2nd April 2011- Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Milan Final score:- AC Milan v Inter Milan 3-0 ( Alexandre Pato*2, Antonio Cassano) Alexandre Pato's brace helps AC Milan down city rivals and defending champions Inter Milan 3-0 in Serie A. Sequence of goals AC Milan vs Inter Milan 1-0 ( A.

Dejected Neymar, next stop Serie A maybe??? Nothing to do for Julio Cesar Lucio up a good fight as captain but after 120 minutes plus penalties Brazil comes up short losing 3-nil on penalties Poacher Pato "NO GOL, psych!" nice finish Paraguay and nice cans forget about ultimate Paraguay fan Larissa Riquelme, blow that Vuvuzela Mr Brazil troll .

Neymar (front) Ralf (background) getting ready for Brazil

Brazil take on Germany in an international friendly in Stuttgart later today. The match will mark a year in charge for Brazil coach Mano Menezes. The coach is under growing pressure after Brazil failed miserably in the recent Copa America in Argentina.

Serie A: 9 Young players to watch in 2011 is a post from: Just Football

by Marco Maioli

In a league often accused of not giving enough chances to the new promises of football, some of the most interesting players are, actually, quite young.

The 23 year old Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani, playing for Napoli, is the current topscorer of Serie A; Udinese's Alexis Sanchez (born in 1988) and Palermo's Javier Pastore (1989) are now world-famous footballers likely to sign soon for top European teams very soon and AC Milan's Alexandre Pato doesn't need any introduction.

By Gareth McKnight, writing from Australia

The 2011 Copa America in Argentina kicks off in early July, with the hosts the favourites amongst most bookmakers. Despite this, eight time tournament winners and current holders Brazil, as always, have a star studded squad capable of beating anyone on their day.

Brazil's Lucas Moura, Elano, Neymar and Fred

For all the latest news on Brazil, follow me on Twitter here

Brazil's second outing in the Copa America sees them go up against Paraguay in the city of Cordoba. Despite drawing their opening fixture, Mano Menezes has ignored the pressure for change and has stuck with the side that drew 0-0 with Venezuela.

Is Mano Menezes waving goodbye to Brazil's chances of success in the Copa?

For the very latest news on Brazil, follow me on Twitter here

Brazil go into their final Group game in the Copa America in Argentina with just two points after drawing with Venezuela and Paraguay.

Brazil were fortunate to draw with Paraguay in the Group stage

Brazil take on Paraguay in the quarter-finals of the Copa America this afternoon in La Plata. With hosts Argentina out of the competition, Brazil are now the firm favourites but Paraguay will be a tricky opponent. In the Group stage, the pair drew 2-2; Fred coming off the bench to secure a late equalizer for Brazil.

Menezes and Brazil hoping for great things from Ronaldinho

For the very latest news on Brazil, follow me on Twitter here

Brazil have called up 24 players for the international friendlies versus Ghana on September 5that Fulham's Craven Cottage. Under pressure coach, Mano Menezes, has recalled Ronaldinho Gaúcho after an absence of nine months from the national team.

The Time Is Napoli! Italy's two premier sides went head to head in the peninsula's showcase match of Week 2. Both the Partenepoi and Rossoneri earned respectable draws against hotly fancied opposition in Manchester City and Barcelona respectively midweek, were coming into the Sao Paolo clash with injury concerns.

The South American Youth Championship takes place in Peru from Sunday with ten teams hopeful of grabbing the title along with one of the four available places up for grabs in the FIFA Under-20 World Cup which takes place later in the year. The tournament which brought the likes of Lionel Messi, Javier Mascherano and Alexandre Pato to worldwide acclaim welcomes in a new generation of potential superstars and Stoppage Time International Football Blog looks back at the history of the event and previews this year's tournament.

Robinho has a word or two to say to the press

Brazil's first outing of the 2011 sees them lock horns with France in an international friendly later this evening. Coach Mano Menezes hands Bayer Leverkusen midfielder, Renato Augusto, his first cap. Inter Milan keeper, Julio César, makes his first appearance since Brazil went out of the South Africa World Cup to the Netherlands.

Following Roma's humiliation at the hands of Shakhtar, AC Milan have been knocked out of the Champions' League by Tottenham.

In all fairness to Milan, they probably did not deserve to go out. They dominated away at the Spurs and just could not get a goal. More worryingly, Zlatan Ibrahimovic did almost nothing to shake off his reputation as a big game choker, and there are worrying signs that Alexandre Pato may be following suit.

ROME — Brazil forward Alexandre Pato will miss the Copa America after injuring his right shoulder in AC Milan's final match of the Serie A season. Pato was carried off on a stretcher in the 71st minute of Sunday's 0-0 draw with Udinese. Milan physician Maurizio Gevi told Italy's Sky TV that Pato will be [.

Italy striker Antonio Cassano has emerged as a top priority target for Liverpool as Kenny Dalglish looks to further improve his squad ahead of the new season, talkSPORT have claimed.
The Kop boss has already sealed a £20m deal for Sunderland midfielder Jordan Henderson and he appears set to continue investing in the team.

'Um Ano com Mano': The Rebirth of Brazil Continues... is a post from: Just Football

Mano Menezes assumed the role of Brazil's manager after the last World Cup, promising a completely different approach with more emphasis on attacking and without Dunga's bias towards European-based players.

'Um Ano com Mano': The Rebirth of Brazil Continues... is a post from: Just Football

Mano Menezes assumed the role of Brazil's manager after the last World Cup, promising a completely different approach with more emphasis on attacking and without Dunga's bias towards European-based players.

'Um Ano com Mano': The Rebirth of Brazil Continues... is a post from: Just Football

Mano Menezes assumed the role of Brazil's manager after the last World Cup, promising a completely different approach with more emphasis on attacking and without Dunga's bias towards European-based players.

'Um Ano com Mano': The Rebirth of Brazil Continues... is a post from: Just Football

Mano Menezes assumed the role of Brazil's manager after the last World Cup, promising a completely different approach with more emphasis on attacking and without Dunga's bias towards European-based players.

10.07.2011 - Con goles de Jadson (B´38), Santa Cruz (P´54), Haedo Valdez (P´66) y Fred (B´89), Brasil y Paraguay empataron (2-2) en el Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes (Córdoba) por el Grupo B de la Copa América 2011.
Brasil: Julio César; Daniel Alves, Lucio, Thiago Silva, André Santos; Ramires (69′ Lucas), Lucas Leiva, Ganso; Jadson (46′ Elano); Alexandre Pato, Neymar (81′ Fred).

13.07.2011 - Con goles de Alexandre Pato (´28 y ´61) y Neymar, Brasil venció (4-2) a Ecuador (Caicedo ´36 y ´58) en el Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes (Córdoba) y clasifica a cuartos de final como ganador de grupo (B) eliminando a los ecuatorianos.
Sensaciones encontradas deja y transita este (joven) Brasil de transición que con más tensión de lo habitual franquea partidos y etapas con límites insospechadamente cercanos.

Brazil got their first win of Copa America 2011 as Alexandre Pato and Neymar scored two goals apiece in the Seleção's 4-2 win over Ecuador in Cordoba, Argentina on Wednesday night. The result sees Brazil finish at the top of Group C and sets up a quarter final meeting with Paraguay on July 17th. The [.

The Bird Nest stadium in Beijing, China, is not a lucky ground for Inter Milan. A couple of seasons ago Inter lost to Lazio here and on Saturday they lost 2-1 to bitter rivals AC Milan in the Italian Super Cup final

Starting the game in a pretty new modified 3-5-1-1 system, the Nerazzurri, lead by Gianpiero Gasperini managed to play much better in the first half as their extra midfield players simply crowded out Milan's who only played three man in the vital area.

Cliché's are, well, clichéd, and even that might be a cliché. They stand as the writing equivalent of using training wheels, working well enough to "fall back on" and "get the job done" but preventing any sort of creativity from shining through along the way. Football is full of such terms, and the 24th Supercoppa Italiana helped to reinforce some of the most popular ones.

AVB was quick during pre season to have his say on Fernando Torres and what he believed at the time was a media obsession with the Spaniard. It seems that after just five games into the season the obsession with Torres has started again and yesterday Fernando Torres was linked with a move to AC Milan as part of a swap deal.

Diego Souza, Borges, Elkeson

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Mano Menezes has announced the squad to face Argentina in the second leg of the ‘Superclássico das Américas' in the estádio Mangueirão in Belém. The sides drew 0-0 in the first game in Cordoba earlier this month.

Click here to view the embedded video.

NSYNC they ain't, but K-PB's got some chords on him, no? via dirtytackle.

You lot have been so moody this week! First, your response to Christine Bleakley's new fitness DVD can only be described as 'mixed', then you disturbed us by referring to Andre Villas Boas as a 'ginger stallion', before taking serious exception to Revista Cuore's assertion that The Ramos™ is ugly.

Image Credit: Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images Europe.

Italian designer, Giorgio Armani, held a launch party for the opening of his Armani Hotel Milano last Thursday, and wouldn't ya know it, Alexandre Pato and Barbara Berlusconi showed up and stole the show.

Pato's suit is nice, just not with that unruly hair.

Antonio Cassano made his debut for AC Milan in a friendly against Al Ahli which they won, 2-1. No goalscoring spectaculars but some useful work down the wings for the former Sampdoria player.

Cassano had a very public falling out with Riccardo Garrone, Sampodoria's president of Sampdoria and his situation became untenable with the case going to arbitration.

James Richardson kept us up to date with all the Serie A news

Back in the 1990s, it was fair to say we on the west of Europe had something of a love affair with Il Calico. Serie A was the most glamorous league in the world. Our appetite for Italian football was satisfied by Network Two's highlights show of a Tuesday evening, supplemented by Channel Four's live match coverage Sunday afternoon.

Photo by Miranda Christlock/UCSB Media Relations

BY ADAM SERRANO

The MLS combine is a high-pressure situation that is sometimes the most pressure-packed setting some players have ever faced.

Not so for UCSB defender Michael Boxall, who has played in his fair share of high-profile matches.