For Mexican clubs San Luis and Chivas de Guadalajara, reaching the knockout rounds of Copa Libertadores should have been reason to celebrate. It has instead become a cause for controversy.
The Swine Flu epidemic has led CONMEBOL to force both San Luis and Chivas to consider alternative options for holding its home legs of the Copa Libertadores outside of Mexico. Both teams were believed to have found a solution in Colombia, but nowthe South American nation has balked at playing host, citing public health concerns.
So what now? San Luis, which faces Uruguayan side Nacional, and Chivas, which is set to meet Brazilian club Sao Paolo, could be forced to play both legs in their opponents country, or both two-game series could be switched to one-game series.
Here are some other stories to get your Friday going.
Tevez ready to leave Man Utd
Argentine striker Carlos Tevez has become a bit of a fan favorite at Old Trafford because of is relentless approach to the game and skill, but his lack of consistent playing time has him ready to leave Manchester United.
"With respect to the fans and the history of Manchester United, I don't want to leave the club. But, from a personal aspect, my exit will be the best solution," Tevez said in a recent radio interview.
With United linked to summer bids for the likes of Kaka and Karim Benzema, Tevez's departure is looking more and more likely, with Spain the most likely of destinations.
Hamburg wins, Shakhtar draws in UEFA semifinals
Piotr Trochowski's header proved to be the difference in Hamburg's 1-0 UEFA Cup semifinal victory over Werder Bremen in the first leg of their series. The All-German semifinal series will be decided on Thursday when the second leg is played.
The picture is less clear in the other semifinal series, where Shakhtar Donetsk used an equalizer from Fernandinho to salvage a road draw, 1-1, in its All-Ukraine semifinal vs. Dynamo Kiev.
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That's all for now. What do you think of the Mexican clubs having trouble finding a place to play their Libertadores match? Hoping San Luis' Michael Orozco will ge this chance to shine? Where do you see Carlos Tevez playing next year? Think we'll see a Hamburg-Shakhtar Donetsk UEFA Cup final?
Share your thoughts below.
beat up on man city, and they sure arent eastern europe
Tevez is free to leave but he is still owned by a third party. Man Utd want to keep him but don’t want to pay 20m pounds on top the 10m they have already paid. Tevez is good but he is just not worth 30m that they want. If Real or Inter want to pay 30m for him, go ahead. As for Benzema, I don’t think he is anything like Berbatov. Berbatov is the most lazy, worthless player for 85 out of the 90 minutes he starts. I wish he was the one to leave, not Tevez.
DC United sure could use Tevez…
Tevez is amazing and should go wherever he wants. I love Man U but think they are stupid to lose him. He certainly deserves time over Berbatov who plays less defense than my 16 year old daughter who’s a stiker.
Tevez’ work rate is absolutely amazing. I was at the Man U v Villa game last month and he tracked back everytime and after the game he was still messing around and the most active guy in the room.
Ironic that Colombia is reacting the way they are, mostly because they cried foul back in 2001 when Argentina and Canada refused to play the Copa America in Colombia because they were afraid of the narco-terrorism that was rampant there.
Barry – you had me until you threw in global warming. C’mon dude….
Chicago seems like a great option for the Mexican teams. it’s far enough from the border to discourage massive amounts of fans from mexico to come but has enough of a Mexican population to give them a home field advantage. Miami has very few Mexicans compared to South Americans – especially Brazilians. Miami wouldn’t give the Mexican teams a homefield advantage – especially Chivas, which would be pretty much an away game. (It would be fun to see all the Paolista’s though).
EUFA Cup = Eastern Europe’s Champions League.
Stop me if I’m lying.
San Luis and Chivas home match should be played in…
LOS ANGELES!
The Swine Flu is a little overblown if you ask me, and if Club America can pass medical tests and play in Chicago, then why not Chivas in LA? It’s the Copa Libertadores, more than just Chivas fans would show up. Most all fans in LA, no matter your race, would want to see that match, IMHO. Bring those matches north of the border and they’ll get good crowds and support!
From what I’ve heard, the kill ratio for the swine flu is actually lower than that of the regular flu. I guess the major fear is that it can adapt quickly, and they’re worried about it getting worse.
Kpugs: while I agree that it really sucks that Tevez wants to leave, I understand why he would want to do it. To say that he should be happy with the playing time he gets assumes that he’s not worth more than he’s getting. I would hate to see him leave Man Utd, but he should be playing–that’s what he does, he’s a player. Also, to see Berbatov getting more time than him is probably frustrating as hell…I know it is for me. So, I understand why he wants to leave. It’s not just about being on a winning side. In my ideal situation, Berbatov would decide to leave for Spain, and Tevez would be a regular starter.
I like rednow’s comment. Club America did just play in front of 17,000+. It lloked great on TV.
The Fire should step up and host the game. FC Dallas, SLC or Colorado should try to do the same.
A real Copa Libertadores match in on eof our SSS would be a blast and should draw both American soccer fans and those who follow CL.
Hell, I’d schedule a double header, MLS style baby! Certainly MLS and SUM could make it work and cash in.
Tevez is free to go – the kaka rumor was started on redcafe as a joke- its pretty funny how the regular papers took a bogus story and ran with it –
This swine flu scare is completely overblown. More people died from car accidents in the US than have died around the world from the swine flu.
We read some nations are culling pigs, even though pigs aren’t spreading the virus to humans. Other nations banning travel, VP Lying Biden tells us not to travel, etc.
When crud like the flu, sars, global warming, etc. get constantly repeated in the news or worse, governments “take” action, people revert to our pagan history of doing whatever nonsense to satisfy the Sun God and take pity on us for our sins.
Play the games in Mexico, it’s a stupid flu which has only killed 10 people according to the W.H.O.
http://mobile.reuters.com/mobile/m/FullArticle/CTOP/ntopNews_uUSTRE54023M20090501?src=RSS-TOP
is tevez free to leave after this year or would a team have to pay transfer fees?
i can think of about a dozen “super clubs” out there that he would start for.
“I would say they could just ban Mexicans from the matches, but that’s probably not possible. They ALWAYS find a way to get into the games.”
#1: This flu is not limited to people of any nationality and public health authorities have stated that targeting any one group is NOT an effective response. Banning Mexicans, in other words, simply would not work. You need to keep people with flu out of the public and that could be anyone at this point.
#2: “They always find a way to get into the games?” What is THIS supposed to mean?
It sounds like you’re not as interested in preventing the spread of a disease as you are in discriminating against a particular group of people.
America just played at Toyota Park against the Fire and there have been no reports of any one getting sick that was at the game…
They also had over 15k, so people certainly still showed.
According to ESPN Deportes Radio, US Soccer has offered to hos the Mexican teams home games in Miami or Texas, but not in California.
The flu situation is changing on a daily or even hourly basis but Colombia’s reaction seems wrong.
I think they fear public reaction to the decision (and maybe not being part of Conmebol’s decision process) more than they are being guided by advice from the World Health Organization.
The fans at the games would not be from Mexico. If that’s what Colombia fears they should institute a travel ban – a step which I don’t believe any health official (except maybe our Vice President, Loquacious Joe) has recommended.
Luis, your concerns about swine flu are way overblown. Sure people have died but so many more people get sick die of so many other things every day and we don’t stop matches. Moving the games to LA would be a good call as it would not only have a good following but would also bring the Copa Libertadores to the states for the first time every. Hopefully that would start the process towards MLS getting into the tournament in a few years.
good point Luis. I would say they could just ban Mexicans from the matches, but that’s probably not possible. They ALWAYS find a way to get into the games. At this point its a safety issue, and that has to be respected.
Michael Orozco is included in this marathon highlight video of Americans with their various clubs in many different countries: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mF6wANWmxnw
Sucks for United but what are you gonna do. Some players simply simply demand to play every minute of every game if they’re healthy, and unfortunately Tevez is good enough to make that demand.
It’s too bad he puts himself before his team winning though. While I can completely understand him wanting to play more, he plays a lot, makes a ton of cash, plays regularly for his country, and his team wins trophies. I mean come on, that’s pretty sweet.
I really can’t blame him especially since Berbatov isn’t fit to smell Tevez’s boots. BUT, plenty of other players on this team would kill to see as many minutes as Tevez does.
Horrible idea, I think mexican teams should be eliminated from the tournament. Not becasue i feel that there team has the flu, but because anywhere you play around here (us) or mexico will see a crowd of at least 15k, many who will travel from potential swine infected areas. This would be bad for everyone involved. Besides I am sure many of thee fans don’t want the team to play near them, as much as they might want to see there team, they know that is will be a hard decesion on whether or not to go to the game and face the danger of the swine flu.
Berbatov is glacial in his movement; Benzema at least has a bit of pace. But other than that I agree it’s an apt comparison. Still, the grass is always greener and I think they’ve soured on Dimitar.
Mexican clubs should play home leg in Los Angelos. Huge following there.
Tevez and Ronaldo to Real Madrid.
United have to sell if they want to buy or they will accumulate more debt than our nation’s government. If they sell Ronaldo to Madrid, they can buy whoever they please. Kaka with Carrick behind him is very pleasing to the ears, but I don’t see Kaka leaving Milan. And I don’t know why they are looking at Benzema when they have his carbon-copy: Berbatov.
If they lose Ronaldo, they should go for Ribery. He has the dynamic attack and speed to get behind defenders like Ronaldo, but he lacks the ability to play up top. Either way he would be an upgrade after losing Ronaldo.