Foreign ventures paying tropical dividends

The failure of South Americans to adjust to the climate – weather – and culture – the Premier League – has frequently put managers off purchasing players who have great talent but little stomach for a life in England. Yet the increased expenditure has somewhat reversed this belief and vindication was delivered in the opening [...]

Time is right for hot property Lucho to make the big step up

Lucho González is set to leave FC Porto after just two years with the Portuguese champions after attracting interest from across the continent.
Everton’s £11m bid is under consideration, but throughout the summer Porto have remained firm in their 20m euros (£13.5m) valuation of the dexterous Argentine midfielder, and there is continuing monitoring from Lyons, Juventus [...]

Who On Earth Is… Lucas Pezzini?

You may have missed it but Liverpool have pulled off one of the shrewdest signings of the summer. Not Fernando Torres or Ryan Babel, but Lucas Pezzini, a midfielder from Grêmio and the captain of Brazil’s Under-20 side.
Lucas comes with a big reputation in his home country. In 2006 he became the youngest ever player [...]

Will Argentina’s cup runneth over? Copa América 2007

¡Hola! Alan here, making my debut on Footballing World, with a quick 15 minutes off the bench to ease me into things. As I currently find myself on the fine continent of South America, where the Copa America is about to reach its climax, I thought I’d run my inexpert eye over the combatants as [...]

Majestic Riquelme secures Copa Libertadores glory for Boca Juniors

Bryan Sanchez on Boca Juniors’ triumph in the Copa Libertadores and Juan Roman Riquelme’s leading role.

The story of Arsenal de Sarandí, Boca & Argentina’s fervent passion for the game

Fecha: Domingo 13 de Mayo 2007
El Partido: Club Atlético Boca Juniors 1y1 Arsenal de Sarandí
Torneo: Clausura
Cancha: de Boca (La Bombonera), Buenos Aires, Argentina
Publico: 50,000

Inspired by Arsenal back home in 1957, Arsenal de Sarandí are the smallest of three clubs sharing the location of Avellenda, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires.
Having spent many years in the [...]

Old rivals, yet a clear winner

Footballing World at the Emirates Stadium
With both Argentina and Brazil, the two powers of South American football, hiring new coaches post disappointing World Cup campaigns, and the friendly between the two taking place in London not Buenos Aires, the sometimes brutal enmity one nation shows to the other was forced into concealment as Brazil’s largely [...]

Africa’s Bright Future, CONCACAF’s Shaky Present

World Cup offers hope for Africa but North/Latin America have uncertain future, says Emmett Williams.
The knockout rounds of the World Cup are featuring just one team from Africa and one team from the CONCACAF region, which is basically North and Latin America.
While this is not totally unexpected, it holds completely different meanings for each [...]