Del Bosque leaves out Torres of Spain squad

The Spanish national coach Vicente del Bosque has dropped out of form Chelsea FC striker Fernando Torres from his squad for an international friendly next Wednesday, February 29 against Venezuela in Malaga. Torres so far has only scored four goals in 29 appearances for Chelsea FC.

With main striker David Villa still out injured and the omission of Fernando Torres it seems like del Bosque is looking to test other strikers who are doing well in the Spanish La Liga ahead of the 2012 European Championships in Poland and the Ukraine this summer.

Explaining his decision del Bosque said, "He is a lad we appreciate a lot and it pains me to leave him out but I wanted to be fair."

But del Bosque also added that this isn't his final squad and not only Torres and Villa, but also other players have the chance to make it for the Euro2012 squad.


SPAIN

Goalkeepers
Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), José Manuel Reina (FC Liverpool), Victor Valdes (FC Barcelona)

Defenders
Jordi Alba (FC Valencia), Alvaro Arbeloa (Real Madrid), Andoni Iraola (Athletic Bilbao), Gerard Piqué (FC Barcelona), Carles Puyol (FC Barcelona), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)

Midfielders
Thiago Alcantara (FC Barcelona), Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid), Sergi Busquets (FC Barcelona), Santi Cazorla (FC Malaga), Cesc Fabregas (FC Barcelona), Xavi Hernandez (FC Barcelona), Andres Iniesta (FC Barcelona), Juan Mata (FC Chelsea), Javi Martinez (Athletic Bilbao), Jesús Navas (FC Sevilla), David Silva (Manchester City)

Forwards
Fernando Llorente (Athletic Bilbao), Iker Muniain (Athletic Bilbao), Alvaro Negredo (FC Sevilla), Roberto Soldado (FC Valencia)

VIDEO: Argentina's goal last night against Venezuela

Here a clip from the local Bengali channel 'Channel 10' with the lead-up to the goal and the goal headed in by Otamendi off a Messi corner in the 67th minute.

Argentina scrape to lone goal win against Venezuela

Argentina won their international friendly 1-0 against South American rivals Venezuela in Kolkata. A lot had been expected from the Argentina vs Venezuela game at the Saltlake Stadium, but the match never rose to any great heights with Venezuela giving their more famed rivals a tough time.



Actually today wasn't about the game but mainly about 'World Player of the year' Lionel Messi and his visit to Kolkata to play infront of his legion of fans. Every touch, move of the little maestro was cheered by the crowds but the stadium was far from capacity which will come as a surprise if one looks at the media coverage the game has received in the last few days.



It was an even first session with numerous half chances on both sides as it was a slow paced match were Venezuela looked threatening on the counter while Argentina had some nice build-ups, but finishing wasn't up to the mark on both sides.



Things remained the same after the break with Argentina's attacks having more purpose, but the same can be said about Venezuela's counters which continued to worry Sergio Romero in the Argentina goal. The winner for Argentina came in the 67th minute when centre-back Nicolás Otamendi headed in a Messi corner. That was the best phase of the match for Argentina but they couldn't take advantage of the situation.



Towards the end of the game it was even again with Argentina having throughout more of the ball, while Venezuela looked for the direct approach towards goal especially over the flanks. It remained 1-0 for Argentina at the final whistle.



Messi played a solid game, but not really spectacular which his fans would have liked, but many can now at least say, we have seen Messi live in action and that in Kolkata.





MATCH STATS



Venezuela 0-1 Argentina - Goals: 0-1 Nicolás Otamendi (67')



Argentina

Sergio Romero; Pablo Zabaleta (79' Federico Fernandez), Martin Demichelis, Nicolás Otamendi, Marcos Rojo; Lucho Gonzalez (68' Jose Ernesto Sosa), Javier Mascherano, Ricky Alvarez (61' Javier Pastore); Lionel Messi [C], Gonzalo Higuain (74' Sergei Aguero), Ángel Di Maria



Venezuela

Rafael Romo, Fernando Amorebieta, Oswaldo Vizcarrondo, Angel Flores, Gabriel Cichero, Nicolas Fedor, Tomas Rincon [C], Frank Feltscher (68' Yohandry Orozco), Csar Gonzlez, Roberto Rosales, Jose Salomon Rondon



Referee

Dinesh Nair (Gujarat, India)



Yellow Cards

Fernando Amorebieta (Venezuela); Javier Mascherano (Argentina)

Kolkata awaits on-field Messi magic

The hype surrounding Barca maestro Lionel Messi will reach its climax today when Argentina take on Venezuela in a friendly at the Saltlake Stadium in Kolkata. Messi is considered the best football player of his generation and this is what his fans will want to see live in Kolkata tonight.



For many Indian fans it is about seeing Lionel Messi in action, but the match holds major importance for new Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella as it is his first match in charge. Sabella is sending out a team with five changes from the starting line-up in the 2011 Copa America quarterfinals against Uruguay. It is clear that Sabella wants to try out something against Venezuela ahead of the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers which start next month for the Albiceleste (The White and Sky blue).



But Venezuela are no longer the South American push overs. Sure they are the only South American side never to have played in a World Cup, but in the recently held Copa America in Argentina they finished fourth, ahead of their opponents and their best-ever finish in the tournament which highlights their progress.



This is something which coach César Farías is banking on, but their record against Argentina is terrible to say the least. The two sides have met 17 times over the years and all matches have been won by the Argentinians. If this 100% record will be broken tonight will have to be seen.



Kolkata is ready for a magical night of football and though ticket sales have been weak to the run-up of the game, one will hope for a sellout crowd as a fitting stage for Lionel Messi and his men. But it isn't just a game of football as more then simply pride are at stake when two South American sides face each other.





Argentina Starting XI



Sergio Romero; Pablo Zabaleta, Martin Demichelis, Nicolás Otamendi, Marcos Rojo; Lucho Gonzalez, Javier Mascherano, Ricky Alvarez; Lionel Messi [C], Gonzalo Higuain, Ángel Di Maria

Messi-Mania in Kolkata as the superstar arrives

The little Argentinian maestro Lionel Messi landed in Kolkata in the early hours of the day to end speculations if he would be coming for an international friendly to be played against Venezuela on Friday evening at the Saltlake Stadium.



And as one would expect there were a few thousand fans with the entire local and national media present to get a glimpse of Messi, but as one would expect he got his immigration and customs work done and was whisked away through a separate entrance.



"I can only say that Messi is in town," said Bhaswar Goswami, executive director of Celebrity Management Group.



The hype around Messi's visit to the City of Joy has been building for weeks and it was geared up towards the arrival of one of the world's best current footballers. Sometimes one feels that Lionel Messi could have come on his own, shown some of his tricks and that might have been enough rather then a full international friendly between Argentina and Venezuela.



However Messi and his Argentina team mates are now in Kolkata with a likely visit to Mothers Teresa's on the cards besides some pre-match training, but the media shy Messi might not give Kolkata what they would expect from such a superstar. So hopefully for the fans they will get to see on the field, live in their own backyard what Lionel Messi is all about - class football...

Indicast Podcast: Argentina Friendly, Lionel Messi in India!

The Sportsbench & Hand of Pod producers, Sam Kelly and Daniel Colasimone, got together ahead of the Argentina vs Venezuela international friendly to give you an idea of what can be expected from Argentines in the upcoming game on Sept 2 as well as over the medium term. Arunava Chaudhuri is conspicuous by his absence on this episode, as he is travelling with the Indian national team in the Caribbean.



We talk about Carlos Tevez & Fernando Gago - both of whom have failed to find a place on new coach Alejandro Sabella's squad. While it will be difficult to take eyes off Lionel Messi, Sam & Dan tell Indian football fans that Javier Pastore, Ricardo Alvarez & Eduardo Salvio are others that should be watched.



South American teams - especially Argentina & Brazil - have a massive massive fan base in India (& especially in Kolkata) having made inroads into the hearts of football fans long before the marketing blitzkrieg of certain European leagues. While Pele, Maradona, Diego Forlan have played/made an appearance in this City of Joy, a FIFA-ratified international friendly is a biggie.







Listen Online (64 kbps) : ~ 26 mins











Here the direct link to the Indicast Podcast page: Sportsbench Podcast

Messi's Argentina to play in Kolkata & Dhaka

In great news for fans of top class football the national teams of Argentina and Venezuela will face each other in a South American derby on September 2, 2011 at the Saltlake Stadium in Kolkata. This was officially announced yesterday at a press conference by the tour organisers Celebrity Management Group at the Oberoi Grand hotel in Kolkata.

Kolkata's CMG have signed a contract with Argentina to organise two international friendlies for the South Americans in the subcontinent. So besides the game on September 2 against Venezuela in Kolkata, the Argentinians would play at Dhaka's Bangabandhu National Stadium against Nigeria on September 6. Both the matches are taking place on international FIFA match dates.

"The Argentina Football Association has indeed signed a contract to bring in the full-strength squad including Messi and Carlos Tevez among others," said CMG's Bhaswar Goswami.

"The contract guarantees their participation," he added.

The Argentinians are set to arrive on August 30 on a four/five day visit before flying across to Dhaka. The team would not only play the match; but also have some obligations as per the contract while in Kolkata like attending a charity program, a gala dinner, a football clinic for children and an open public training session.

Though the game is on a FIFA match date, how Argentina can guarantee the participation of their stars will have to be seen as due to the Copa America next month the quota of international matches will be close to full.

For both Kolkata and Dhaka it would be the biggest international friendly in their history with a former World Cup winning side to play, though Kolkata has been Argentina, Uruguay and other nations in action in the Nehru Cup in the past.

A big stumbling block ahead of the game could be the venue, the Saltlake Stadium. But there new West Bengal Sports Minister Madan Mitra has guaranteed all possible help to bring the stadium up to a certain standard which is suitable for the football stars. Focus would be laid on the changing rooms, toilets and the media enclosure, while there are also plans for special VIP hospitality at the game. But the stadium needs to be cleared by FIFA and for own India matches the stadium does not fulfil the minimum criteria.