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Wednesday Ticker: Pachuca falls to Liga de Quito, Madrid lands Diarra, Blackburn appoints Allardyce

QuitoPachuca (Reuters) 

by GIANFRANCO PANIZO

Pachuca ran out of miracles in Japan.

Just days after pulling off a memorable comeback victory against African club champions Al Ahly, the Mexican powerhouse could not muster any more magic against South American champion Liga de Quito, which topped  Pachuca, 2-0 in rainy conditions in Tokyo to advance to the Club World Cup Final.

Goals by Claudio Bieler and Luis Bolanos punched Liga de Quito's ticket to the final on December 21. Los Albos will play the winner of Thursday's semifinal between Manchester United and Gamba Osaka.

U.S. national team midfielder Jose Francisco Torres played 66 minutes for Pachuca, which will play in the Club World Cup third-place match against the loser of the Gamba Osaka-Manchester United match.

Here are some other stories from this morning and Tuesday.

Real Madrid adds another Diarra

Ravaged by injuries and desperate to salvage a season threatening to slip out of control, Real Madrid has signed a player it is hoping can fill at least one of the voids on the squad.

Real Madrid has agreed to terms with Portsmouth for midfielder Lassana Diarra. Though no official terms have been released, Spanish media is reporting that Madrid is going to pay $13.7 million for Diarra's services.

Blackburn hires Allardyce

Hours after firing former England international Paul Ince on Tuesday, Blackburn interviewed Sam Allardyce. Today, the Rovers announced that Allardyce had signed a three-year contract.

Allardyce, who's had coaching stints with Newcastle and Bolton, takes over a side that's riddled with problems and is currently sitting in 19th place in the Premiership. The 54-year-old will have three games to start turning things around before the winter break.

It'll be interesting to see if Allardyce also makes his debut on "I'm on Setanta Sports" this week.

What do you think about these stories? Is Lassana Diarra a good fit for Madrid? Think Allardyce can prevent Blackburn from getting relegated? Surprised by the Quito/Pachuca outcome?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. I thought Torres lookes strong for Pachuca. He commaded the ball well. You could sense that his teamates really trust him at such age. This is great news for our national team. Keep on developing kid!!!

    Reply
  2. what about a soccer ball of the day?

    this isn’t withleather and ives isn’t the sports guy people…

    he’s more of a soccer guy with some weird kind of jersey flair… where should I get seats for the colombus USA game (coming from DC)

    Reply
  3. SBI girl of the day? puhlease. This is a purely soccer website. If you want that, head over to the original winger.

    Which, I feel the need to say, is what I do.

    Reply
  4. Girl of the day on SBI? please. This is a soccer blog.

    however, i am very partial to the original winger, another one of the designated players, for this very reason… but it’s something I don’t think SBI needs.

    Reply
  5. im all for an sbi girl of the day. and diarra stinks. if they wanted a good young defensive mid they should have gone for fellaini or kompany. diarra is overrated and arrogant i never understood the hype over him. every club he goes to dumps him in less than a year. heck go for makelele again.

    Reply
  6. Pachuca seemed to be the better team but luck was not on their side on that first goal, a bounce back (off a defended)toward net on a ball that had been cleared out of the box.

    Its a shame to see them go down after the effort they put in.

    Reply
  7. 20 million pounds for Lassana Diarra… haha.

    Good player, great upside, but there’s a reason he was transferred from both Chelsea and Arsenal. His ego surpasses his talent, and he’ll make a fuss if he’s not a starter. Stupid move, in my opinion.

    Reply
  8. Report on SI.com says that Gooch will be staying with Standard through the end of his contract…there sporting director was quoted to say,

    “We offered him a new contract. If he doesn’t accept that, he will leave after this season. We prefer to keep him for another six months and let him go for free than to sell him in January for just a small fee.”

    Reply
  9. All those Diarras out there are very solid mids. I’m kind of partial to Lassana and Alou rather than Mahmadou because I’m a big France fan. I think they purchased the better (and younger Diarra) this time.

    Reply
  10. Sky Sports (who broke the story) is reporting that the transfer fee for Diarra to Real Madrid is 20 million pounds, not $13.7 million

    Reply
  11. Ives you should have a girl of the day post, just to mix it up. also subotic is going to napoli… thats what another website says, could be all rumor though and guzan starts for villa god to see torres play.

    Reply

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