Nilmar again and an own goal.

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Brazil and England was going to be a reserve festival, as injuries took away many players from the match. So if in theory this is a match with no favorites, in reality, Brazil got that title as it had less players in the ER. Brazil had the responsibility to play better and add another match to the unbeaten streak against England that is 19 years-old.

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Nice commercial by Brahma made for the friendly tomorrow against England. I even cried a little

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Another surprise of Dunga, and not a good one this time. Ramires, injured, will be replaced by Palermo's Fabio Simplicio in the matches against England and Oman. This just doesn't make sense.

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Sorin played yesterday his last match as a professional footballer. And the stage for the farewell party could be no other place than the Mineirao, in Belo Horizonte. And the teams on the field could be no different than Argentinos Juniors, club where the left-back started his career, and Cruzeiro, club for whom he professes all his love.

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Dunga announced today the players who will play the last 2 matches of the year (against England and Oman). And he had a few surprises. Given that he decided not to call players from Brazilian clubs (and therefore was unable to call Adriano and Diego Tardelli), he called forward Hulk. But he wasn't the only surprise.

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CBF announced today that Brazil will play a friendly match against England on November 14th. Where? Doha, Qatar. Why? The organization sold the right of all friendlies of the national team. And the people who bought it can organize the matches wherever they please.

In the meantime, While CBF pockets money and Brazilian fans do not get to see their national squad, Brazilian clubs struggle financially.

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In the match Brazil-Chile, a local fan shows the status of Maradona ahead of the national team.

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I just watched a friendly match between my country of origin, Denmark, and my country of birth, Chile. They played in Brøndby stadium, but the Chilean spectators, many of whom had come from Chile, outnumbered the Danes to give a largely Chilean atmosphere at the match. It is a pity that the Danish Football Association, DBU (of course, this is the same association that has never before made a Click to continue reading...

While Brazilian clubs struggle to pocket any money, CBF made US$ 2 million to take the Brazilian squad to Estonia, as a "celebration for the 100th anniversary of the first football match in the country". And if That was to be a celebration, it felt more boring than Monday morning work meeting.

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As expected, the call reveals a few things: Dunga no longer believes in Ronaldinho Gaucho. Unless he delivers a phenomenal season with Milan, he is out of the cup. Kleber really lost credibility as left-back, and after many chances he will not be in the cup. Pato keeps losing his chances, but I believe he still has chances.

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Here's a list of the friendlies that the national teams in the Hexagonal will play before the final round starts next month. Costa Rica, Honduras, and El Salvador are playing in the UNCAF Nations Cup (Gold Cup qualifier) from 22 January - 1 February.USA 24 Jan - Sweden (Los Angeles)Mexico 28 Jan - Sweden (Oakland)Honduras 14 Jan - El Salvador (Los Angeles) 18 Jan - Chile (Fort Lauderdale)Costa Rica NoneEl Salvador 14 Jan - El Salvador (Los Angeles)Trinidad & Tobago None Click to continue reading...

River Plate have been declared the first Argentine Bi-Champions of 2008. Wait, wait, wait.. don't get too excited: the team only won two friendly tournaments (Torneo de Verano and the Copa Revancha 2008), but at least it shows that the team is heading in the right direction.

The second friendly trophy of the season was won after "los millonarios" defeated Boca Juniors by 3-2.

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After today's 1-0 victory over San Lorenzo, River were crowned champions of the Torneo de Verano 2008. Not like it has any significance, but this was the second year in a row in which "los millonarios" won the tournament, having won the previous edition in 2007.

This time around, Simeone presented us with a 4-2-2-2 -like formation.

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Boca Juniors defeated River Plate by 2-0 in the annual Torneo de Verano Superclasico friendly match.

In the first half, River left the impression of being the better team, with a fast attack and an offensive mentality. Despite that, the blue-and-yellow side were the ones to find the partial advantage in the first half thanks to midfielder Sebastian Battaglia.

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River Plate tied 1-1 with Independiente in their first game of the Torneo de Verano 2008.

In his debut as the club's coach, Diego Simeone decided to set-up a team that consisted of reserve players and youngsters. The following eleven started today:
Juan Marcelo Ojeda;Danilo Gerlo-Mateo Musacchio-Cristian Nasuti-Cristian Villagra;Damian Lizio-Nicolas Domingo-Matias Abelairas-Diego Buonanotte;Sebastian Sciorilli-Marco Ruben;

The overall display wasn't anything spectacular, but one must realize that it was a completely secondary team.

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Despite the 3-1 loss to Lyon, the airs at the Monumental seem to have calmed down. The defeat left River out of the tournament (sharing the first place spot, but with a worse goal difference) and without a great opportunity to make an extra $1.5 million dollars. Either way, many seemed to have been satisfied with the team's display at the Korean tournament. Click to continue reading...

It was too good to be true: River was winning every friendly match played till now and in a fantastic manner (at least according the Argentine press). Not only that, but no key players -other than Ernesto Farias- had been sold. Well, all our joy and happiness is now over: Juan Pablo Carrizo has been transfered to Lazio for $10,000,000 dollars. Click to continue reading...

River will be facing Shimizu S-Pulse of Japan tomorrow, in what will be our second game in the 2007 Peace Cup. In their first match, the Japanese side lost 2-0 to Olympique Lyon of France, while we defeated Reading FC of England by 1-0.

Shimizu S-Pulse is a club with history and is currently one of the most powerful teams in Asia. In their 16 year history, they have won the Asian Cup Winners Cup once, as well as each of the three Japanese Cups.

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River Plate will be making their official debut in the 2007 Peace Cup tomorrow vs. Reading FC, an English side. Despite being in existence for 135 years, the team was barely able to play in the FA Premier League for one year: in 2006, Reading achieved a succesful season and was promoted to the top British division. They completed the season surprising many and finished in the 8th position. Click to continue reading...

The teams and groups for the 2007 Peace Cup have been confirmed. They ended up including 4 European teams, 2 Asian Teams, and 2 American teams. River will be in Group B and will have to face Shizmu S-Pulse of Japan, Olympique Lyon of France, and Reading FC of England. The two groups will look as follows:
Group A
Bolton Wanderers(England)
Chivas Guadalajara (Mexico)
Racing Santander (Spain)
Seongnam (Korea)
Group B
Olympique Lyon (France)
Reading FC (England)
River Plate (Argentina)
Shimizu S-Pulse (Japan)
Our toughest rival will be Olympique Lyon. Click to continue reading...

River Plate will play the Peace Cup in South Korea this summer (July 2007). The tournament will consist of eight teams: 4 Europeans, 1 South American (River), 1 North American, 1 African, and 1 Asian side. Reading FC of England and Seongnam Ilhwa of South Korea are the only other known participants for now. It should be an interesting tournament, not only because of the diverse teams, but also financially: $400,000 dollars will be given to each participant, while the runner-up would keep $500,000 dollars and the winner $2,000,000. Click to continue reading...