Football Dispatch

Summer Football
26 June 2007
All hell broke loose at Estadio Nueva Chicago, yesterday, as Club Atletico were relegated to the 2nd-tier of Argentinean football. Having lost the 1st-leg of their home-and-away matchup with Atletico Tigre at the Monumental, Nueva Chicago supporters invaded the pitch after Tigres were awarded a penalty in 2nd-half added-time. The hosts were already trailing 2-1 in the return fixture and 3-1 on aggregate; and a successful penalty-conversion would certainly have been the final nail in the coffin. Diego Castano opened the scoring for Tigres in the 35th-minute and Matias Galmarini doubled the lead just 8-minutes after the interval. Federico Higuain narrowed the scoreline with his 56th-minute strike; but Nuevo Chicago never appeared to have the two additional and necessary goals in them on the night. The match was abandoned as fisticuffs ensued throughout the stadium and spread to the streets outside the grounds. Traffic was ground to a half on General Paz Avenue and 41-people were reported injured as rival supporters clashed. A 41-year-old man died after being struck in the head by a large rock. A further 78-people were arrested by police.

Miroslav Klose has signed for Bayern Munich. The decision puts to an end the Germany international's lame-duck status at Werder Bremen. Klose had previously expressed the desire to join Bayern -- all the while having 1-year remaining on his contract at Bremen. The 29-year-old is the seventh significant addition to Bayern's squad. He will join Luca Toni, Franck Ribery, Ze Roberto, Jose Ernesto Sosa, Marcell Jansen, and Jan Schlaudraff at Allianz Arena next season. Bayern have spent approximately 70M-euros on their summer upgrades. Klose's arrival will also unite Germany's top, international striking combination. Lukas Podolski arrived in Bavaria via Cologne after last summer's World Cup.

Of all the clubs in queue for Carlos Tevez' signature, Inter Milan is the player's destination of choice. "There is a true possibility that I will wear the Nerazzurri colors next season," the Argentina forward announced, yesterday. He proceeded to remark that Inter's squad, with the likes of Hernan Crespo, Javier Zanetti, Julio Cruz, Nicolas Burdisso, Esteban Cambiasso, Santiago Solari, and Walter Samuel, is "like an Argentina colony." Still, varying reports have Arsenal interested in making Tevez the immediate successor to the departed Thierry Henry. While the 23-year-old enjoyed his time in London last season, a move to the Serie-A seems to be in the cards.

Arsenal, meanwhile, are scrambling to extend Arsene Wenger's contract in the wake of Thierry Henry's exit. The board of directors are worried that the captain's move to Barcelona could spell the end of Wenger's 11-year tenure at the club and lead to an all-out exodus from Emirates Stadium. The board have offered Wenger a 3-year pact worth a total of 11M-pounds -- a 50% increase on his current salary. He has also been promised a transfer kitty of 30M-pounds ahead of next season. Accounting for the sales of Henry and Jeremie Aliadiere and the impending transfer of Jose Antonio Reyes, only 5 or 6M-pounds of new money will be given to the 57-year-old manager.

Both Real Madrid and Barcelona are hoping to pick at the Arsenal carcass. The Catalans, in particular, are keen on luring Cesc Fabregas to the Nou Camp for a re-unification with Thierry Henry. But Madrid are also interested in the 20-year-old Spanish phenom; and a bidding-war looks set to build for his services.

Alexandre Pato will headline the Brazil squad in the upcoming Under-20 World Cup in Canada. Both Chelsea and AC Milan will be observing the 17-year-old Internacional forward with significant interest -- although Pato is ineligible to make a move abroad until January. His transfer will likely fetch upwards of 18M-pounds for the Brazilian club.