Falcao named in Colombia squad

Falcao named in Colombia squad

Falcao named in Colombia squad - Jose Pekerman has named Radamel Falcao in his Colombia squad for the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

The Monaco star has been a doubt for the tournament since suffering cruciate knee ligament damage during a Coupe de France tie in January. 

However, the former Atletico Madrid man said last month he was "satisfied" with his recovery and Pekerman has opted to name the talismanic striker in his initial 29-man squad. 

Falcao scored nine goals in 13 appearances during qualifying and forms part of an impressive line up that also includes Porto's Jackson Martinez and Borussia Dortmund-bound Adrian Ramos.

There is also a place for highly rated River Plate defender Eder Alvarez Balanta, with Fiorentina winger Juan Cuadrado, Inter's Fredy Guarin and James Rodriguez among the options in midfield.

Colombia begins its World Cup campaign against Greece in Group C on June 14.

Squad in full:

Goalkeepers: Faryd Mondragon (Deportivo Cali), David Ospina (Nice), Camilo Vargas (Independiente Santa Fe)

Defenders: Santiago Arias (PSV), Pablo Armero (Napoli), Eder Alvarez Balanta (River Plate), Aquivaldo Mosquera (America), Luis Perea (Cruz Azul), Carlos Valdes (San Lorenzo), Mario Yepes (Atalanta), Cristian Zapata (Milan), Camilo Zuniga (Napoli)

Midfielders: Abel Aguilar (Toulouse), Juan Cuadrado (Fiorentina), Fredy Guarin (Inter), Victor Ibarbo (Cagliari), Alex Mejia (Atletico Nacional), Juan Fernando Quintero (Porto), Aldo Ramirez (Morelia), James Rodriguez (Monaco), Carlos Sanchez Moreno (Elche), Elkin Soto (Mainz), Macnelly Torres (Al Shabab), Edwin Valencia (Fluminense)

Forwards: Carlos Bacca (Sevilla), Radamel Falcao (Monaco), Teofilo Gutierrez (River Plate), Jackson Martinez (Porto), Luis Muriel (Udinese), Adrian Ramos (Hertha Berlin) // ( goal.com )

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Rossi, Immobile and Cassano included in Italy provisional squad

Rossi, Immobile and Cassano included in Italy provisional squad - Italy coach Cesare Prandelli has announced his 30 man provisional squad for the World Cup, including Giuseppe Rossi, Antonio Cassano and Ciro Immobile in the list of players.

The Azzurri have been drawn in Group D alongside Uruguay, England and Costa Rica and kick the tournament off with a game against Roy Hodgson's men on June 14.

Rossi, Immobile and Cassano included in Italy provisional squad

Prandelli has included Fiorentina frontman Rossi, despite the former Villarreal star playing in only two Serie A matches since early January having just recovered from a cruciate ligament injury.

Cassano also makes the cut after some excellent performances for Parma this term, while Torino star and Serie A top goalscorer Immobile has also been included alongside Mattia Destro, Lorenzo Insigne and Marco Verratti. Hellas' Brazilian-born midfielder Romulo is also on the list.

Usual suspects Daniele De Rossi, Andrea Pirlo, Mario Balotelli, Gianluigi Buffon, Claudio Marchisio, Thiago Motta and Giorgio Chiellini are present in the squad, but there is no place for AC Milan's Stephan El Shaarawy, who only returned to action last week after months on the sidelines through injury.

Squad in full:

Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Mattia Perin (Genoa), Salvatore Sirigu (Paris Saint-Germain), Antonio Mirante (Parma)

Defenders: Ignazio Abate (AC Milan), Andrea Barzagli (Juventus), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Matteo Darmian (Torino), Mattia De Sciglio (AC Milan), Christian Maggio (Napoli), Gabriel Paletta (Parma), Manuel Pasqual (Fiorentina), Andrea Ranocchia (Inter)

Midfielders: Alberto Aquilani (Fiorentina), Antonio Candreva (Lazio), Daniele De Rossi (Roma), Claudio Marchisio (Juventus), Riccardo Montolivo (AC Milan), Thiago Motta (Paris Saint-Germain), Marco Parolo (Parma), Andrea Pirlo (Juventus), Romulo (Verona), Marco Verratti (Paris Saint-Germain)

Forwards: Mario Balotelli (AC Milan), Antonio Cassano (Parma), Alessio Cerci (Torino), Mattia Destro (Roma), Ciro Immobile (Torino), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), Giuseppe Rossi (Fiorentina). // goal.com

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5 things to know before Europa League matches

5 things to know before Europa League matches — The second leg of fixtures in the last 32 of the Europa League take place Thursday with the potential for some big names to be knocked out of the competition.

Lazio lost 1-0 at home to Bulgarian side Ludogorets, Tottenham was beaten by the same score away to Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk and Ajax was trounced 3-0 at home by Salzburg.

The ties involving Napoli and Sevilla also delicately balanced.

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Sevilla's Vicente Iborra, left, and teammate Federico Fazio celebrate their goal during the Europa League round of 32, first leg soccer match against Maribor in Maribor, Slovenia, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2014. (AP Photo/Filip Horvat)

Jonatan Soriano, left and Alan of FC Salzburg celebrate the first goal by way of a penalty, during the Europa League round of 32 first leg soccer match between Ajax and FC Salzburg at the ArenA stadium in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2014. (AP Photo/Patrick Post)

ENGLISH TEAMS NEED GOALS

Swansea did well to hold Napoli to a 0-0 draw at home but will need to work even harder to find a way past the Italians' defense at the Sao Paolo.

Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba, of France, celebrates after scoring with teammates Andrea Pirlo, right, and Carlos Tevez, center, during the Europa League, round of 16th, soccer match between Juventus and Trabzonspor at the Juventus stadium, in Turin, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2014. (AP Photo/Massimo Pinca)

"In Italy it will be very difficult and I'm sure it will be an intimidating atmosphere," defender Angel Rangel said. "We have to believe in ourselves because what we achieved last week in the first leg was a big achievement."

Despite losing 4-3 to Liverpool on Sunday, scoring three times at Anfield in another impressive display should help to build Swansea's confidence. Tottenham, which lost 1-0 to Norwich, will rely on home advantage to help it overturn the 1-0 deficit against Dnipro.

The winner of that tie could play Benfica, last year's runner-up.

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FOUR ITALIAN TEAMS IN ACTION

Eintracht Frankfurt's Carlos Zambrano, left, challenges FC Porto's Hector Herrera, right, during their Europa League round of 32, first leg soccer match at the Dragao stadium, in Porto, Portugal, Thursday Feb. 20, 2014. The match ended in a 2-2 draw.(AP Photo/Paulo Duarte)

Aside from Napoli, Italy also has Serie A leader Juventus, Lazio and Fiorentina in action on Thursday. Lazio trails Ludogorets by an away goal but Fiorentina and Juventus look more assured.

Fiorentina hit three first-half goals against Esbjerg in Denmark to win 3-1 and take control of that tie. In Turin, Juventus beat Trabzonspor 2-0 but coach Antonio Conte is aware of how tough the away trip to Turkey for the return leg could be.

"We'll need to score as soon as possible because we'll be playing in a heated atmosphere and qualification isn't yet in the bag," Conte said.

Should Juventus and Fiorentina come out of their games victorious, they will meet in the last 16.

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AJAX READY TO RESPOND?

The 3-0 home loss to Salzburg was the shock result of last week's matches, but Ajax responded by thrashing fellow Europa League side AZ Alkmaar 4-0 in the Dutch league at the weekend, with coach Frank de Boer saying "We redeemed ourselves."

The four-time European champion conceded all three goals before halftime in the first leg.

Alkmaar takes on Slovan Liberec, where it has a 1-0 lead and an away goal, thanks to a winner in the 89th minute from Nick Viergever.

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PORTO IN DANGER, BENFICA IN COMMAND

Surrendering a winning position at home is not normally associated with Porto, but it was stunned in the home leg of its tie with Eintracht Frankfurt last week. It led 2-0, but conceded twice in five minutes as Eintracht pulled level. The Portuguese side then lost 1-0 at home to Estoril in the league, its first domestic defeat at the Dragao stadium in five years.

Portuguese league leader Benfica has a 1-0 lead ahead of its home game with PAOK.

"Benfica is an experienced team in these competitions," coach Jorge Jesus said. "We won the first half of this round; now we have to think about the second."

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SPANISH TRIO HAVE TOUGH TIES

Valencia recorded an impressive 2-0 away win against Dynamo Kyiv 2-0 with two goals in the last 11 minutes. It followed that result by beating Granada 2-1 at the Mestalla, and will be favorite to make the last 16, where it will play either Lazio or Ludogorets.

Sevilla drew 2-2 at Slovenian club Maribor but will be hoping that home advantage, along with two away goals, can help it progress.

Real Betis, bottom of La Liga and 10 points from safety, travels to Russia to face Rubin Kazan after a 1-1 draw in the first leg. Should Betis and Sevilla both progress, they will meet in an all-Spanish tie in the last 16. ( Associated Press )

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5 things to know about the Italian league

5 things to know about the Italian league - Serie A leader Juventus will look to get over last week's disappointing draw at Hellas Verona when it takes on Chievo Verona on Sunday. Roma — Juventus' only realistic challenger to the title — will also be hoping to recover from a poor week when it welcomes Sampdoria.

Third-placed Napoli visits lowly Sassuolo, needing to win to maintain a healthy advantage over Fiorentina and Inter Milan, which play each other on Saturday.

Here are five things to know about the Italian league this weekend:

ROMA REELING

It has been somewhat of a miserable week for Rudi Garcia and his Roma team.

Roma was dumped out of the Italian Cup on Wednesday after a humiliating 3-0 defeat at Napoli in the second leg of its semifinal.

AS Roma's Francesco Totti leaves at the end of an Italian Cup semifinal return match, between AS Roma and Napoli, at the San Paolo stadium in Naples, Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2014. Napoli won 3 - 0 to advance to the final. (AP Photo/Salvatore Laporta)

It was the club's second defeat in all competitions this season and came days after a 0-0 draw at Lazio in the capital derby, which would have seen Roma slip 11 points behind Juventus had the Serie A leader not drawn 2-2 at Hellas Verona.

This weekend sees Roma host Sampdoria, which is clambering its way away from danger after two successive victories.

"We need to be more clinical in attack and also in defense," Garcia said. "The start of the second half was awful; we need to improve. We will do everything to win on Sunday against Sampdoria."

Roma does have a game in hand on Juventus after its match against Parma was called off due to a waterlogged pitch.

AS Roma coach Rudi Garcia leaves at the end of an Italian Cup, semifinal return match, between AS Roma and Napoli, at the San Paolo stadium in Naples, Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2014. Napoli won 3 - 0 to advance to the final. (AP Photo/Salvatore Laporta)

DISAPPOINTED TEVEZ

After slipping up against Hellas Verona last weekend, Juventus will be hoping not to fall foul of another Verona team on Sunday.

Juventus squandered a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 at promoted Verona and missed the chance to extend its Serie A lead to 11 points.

Carlos Tevez scored twice to take his tally to 13 for the season and he will be looking to fire his team to victory against Chievo Verona.

"I'm not happy because I like winning," Tevez said. "I haven't been thinking about my two goals against Verona, just the fact that we weren't able to come away with the three points."

Napoli's Gonzalo Higuain celebrates after scoring during an Italian Cup, semifinal return match, between AS Roma and Napoli, at the San Paolo stadium in Naples, Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2014. (AP Photo/Salvatore Laporta)

Juventus has won all 11 of its home league matches this season.

NO LIMITS FOR MAZZARRI

Inter Milan will be hoping it has its season back on track after beating lowly Sassuolo for its first win of 2014.

It faces a much trickier test when it visits Fiorentina on Saturday hoping to reignite its faint Champions League hopes.

Juventus' forward Carlos Tevez, of Argentina scores during a Serie A soccer match against Hellas Verona at the Bentegodi stadium in Verona, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2014. (AP Photo/Felice Calabro')

Inter is fifth, just one place behind Fiorentina, but eight points separate the two teams. Third-placed Napoli is 11 points ahead of Inter.

"This Fiorentina is a very dangerous side, especially at its own ground," Inter coach Walter Mazzarri said. "But we are confident we can give a certain continuity to our results.

"There are 45 points at stake; I would like to get most of them. I can't put limits on myself and I would be happy if the team goes into each game with my spirit."

MILAN FOCUSED ON BOLOGNA

Juventus' forward Carlos Tevez, right, of Argentina, is hugged by his teammate Paul Pogba, of France, after he scored during a Serie A soccer match against Hellas Verona at the Bentegodi stadium in Verona, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2014. (AP Photo/Felice Calabro')

AC Milan coach Clarence Seedorf claims his team isn't thinking about the upcoming Champions League match ahead of its league game against Bologna.

After losing 3-1 at Napoli last weekend, Milan will be hoping to celebrate Saint Valentine's day with a win on Friday against relegation-threatened Bologna.

Spanish leader Atletico Madrid visits Milan for the first leg of its last-16 clash on Wednesday.

"We're clearly only focused on Bologna," Seedorf said. "We haven't given the slightest thought to the Champions League yet.

"Every match helps us improve and the Bologna one could put us in a good state going into the Champions League match."

Inter Milan coach Walter Mazzarri gestures during the Serie A soccer match between Inter Milan and Sassuolo at the San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2014. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Milan is the only Italian team left in the Champions League after both Napoli and Juventus were knocked out of Europe's elite club competition.

GOMEZ RETURN

Fiorentina forward Mario Gomez could return to action on Saturday after nearly five months out with a left knee injury.

The Germany start was an unused substitute in Tuesday's Italian Cup semifinal victory over Udinese but is likely to make a long-awaited reappearance against Inter Milan.

Gomez was Fiorentina's marquee signing when he joined in the summer from Bayern Munich for a reported 20 million euros ($26 million).

He scored twice in his second league match for Fiorentina but was injured on his next Serie A appearance, against Cagliari on Sept. 15.

Gomez, who scored 112 goals in 172 games for Bayern, was initially expected to be sidelined for around six weeks with damaged knee ligaments but complications extended his recovery time.

Fiorentina's other star striker, Giuseppe Rossi, is still out with a long-term knee injury. ( ap.org )

READ MORE - 5 things to know about the Italian league

Balotelli caught smoking on train to Fiorentina match

Balotelli caught smoking on train to Fiorentina match - AC Milan is set to fine Mario Balotelli after the striker was caught smoking in a train toilet on Saturday en route to Florence for the club's clash with Fiorentina on Sunday morning.

The striker has been hitting the headlines for all the right reasons since moving from Manchester City at the end of January and has scored seven goals in as many Serie A games; however, several reports in Italy said the club was ready to crack down on the 22-year-old after a conductor caught him red-handed smoking on the train this weekend, which is prohibited by Italian law.

Balotelli caught smoking on train to Fiorentina match

Milan vice president Adriano Galliani was also on the train and had initially been having fun during the journey, trying on a hat belonging to one of the guards and joking with members of the squad. That was until he was told of Balotelli's indiscretion by the train's most senior guard, who, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport, said, "Maybe you have to pull Balotelli's ears, because he was smoking in the toilet."

As a result, Galliani informed the teenage winger M'Baye Niang, who was in the group of players he was with, to tell to his teammate that he would be fined. He then rang the player's agent Mino Raiola to report his client.

The Rossoneri squad was taking the Frecciarossa service ahead of its clash with the fourth-placed Viola with the chance to extend the gap between the top three to nine points with a win or see it crumble to three points with a loss.

Despite the incident, Balotelli was selected to lead the line from the start for Massimiliano Allegri's men.

Balotelli was regularly snapped by photographers with a cigarette in hand during his two-and-a-half year spell with Roberto Mancini's men - a pastime that is frowned upon by many coaches for obvious health reasons.

Balotelli was in the headlines more often for his mischief and disobedience than his goalscoring during his time in England, which played a part in the Premier League champions selling the striker on deadline day in January.
 

Goal.com

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Balotelli is the cherry on top

Abate: Balotelli is the cherry on top - Ignazio Abate has hailed teammate Mario Balotelli as the "cherry on top" of the AC Milan squad.

The former Inter starlet has been in scintillating form since returning to Italy in January, netting seven times in as many games, a run of form which has propelled the Italian giant to third in Serie A and made the club a favorite to achieve Champions League qualification.

Abate, speaking to the club's official website, says the Rossoneri are benefiting from boasting a spine through the team which understands the core values of Milan and that is fronted by the prolific new striker.

Abate: Balotelli is the cherry on top

"The president gave us Balotelli in January. He's the cherry on top our cake, he makes the team dangerous," he said.

"Now the spine of [a lasting] team is being built and it’s an Italian one that understands what it means to wear these colors."

The 26-year-old then turned his attention to Fiorentina ahead of next week's trip to Florence.

Milan is currently in pole position to secure the third and final Champions League spot ahead of the Viola, who trail Massimiliano Allegri's men by six points.

Abate says the team is well prepared for the clash due to the significance of the fixture.

"This is a team that plays with a knife between its teeth and we can make life difficult for any team," he added. "[The match against Fiorentina is a] big game for Champions League qualification, but right now we're in good shape both physically and mentally."

By Shane Callaghan | Goal.com – Sun, Mar 31, 2013 3:54 PM EDT

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