Latin American Roundup

Palmeiras moves off the bottom in Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) -- Palmeiras, one of Brazil's most popular teams, moved off the bottom of the Brazilian championship on Thursday by beating Guarani 4-2 in a match which saw both coaches sent off.

Palmeiras interrupted their run of miserable performances as they raced into a 4-0 halftime lead with goals by Juninho, Francisco Arce, Itamar and defender Cesar.

Paraguayan international Arce, whose goal came from a controversial penalty, also provided the crosses from which Juninho and Cesar scored.

The home team survived a second half score when Sergio Alves and Adriano pulled two goals back within ten minutes of the re-start.

Palmeiras coach Levir Culpi was sent off for dissent in the second half and was followed almost immediately by his opposite number Jair Picerni.

Guarani midfielder Otacilio was also dismissed after committing two bookable offences in a two-minute spell, both against the same player, and nine others were booked.

Palmeiras, South American champions only three years ago, moved into 25th place, one off the bottom, but are still in the relegation zone. Guarani stayed sixth.

Vitoria moved into the top eight -- who qualify for the quarter-finals at the end of the first stage -- by thrashing Botafogo 4-1 away with two goals each from strikers Allan Delon and Victor Aristizabal.

Lucio replied for Botafogo who were jeered off after their first defeat in six games under Ivo Wortmann, their third coach of the competition. Botafogo are 17th and still have chances of qualifying for the knockout stages or of being relegated.

America wins first match since coach Lapuente return

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -- America secured their first victory since the return of coach Manuel Lapuente from medical leave when they beat Queretaro 3-1 in the Mexican championship on Thursday.

Christian Patino gave America a first-minute lead and Uruguayan Marcelo Lipatin added two more in a five-minute spell to give Mexico's richest club a comfortable win and keep them second in group one behind Toluca.

Brazilian Almir de Souza replied for the White Roosters, who are bottom of group three after playing their first game under new coach Demetrio Madero.

America enjoyed a 10-match unbeaten run under interim coach Mario Carillo, then lost their first two matches after the return of Lapuente, who was Mexico's coach at the 1998 World Cup.

Santos Laguna went top of group three with a 3-2 win at home to Necaxa, helped by two second-half goals from Mexican international Jared Borgetti after Joaquin Reyes had given them a 13th-minute lead.

Luis Perez and veteran Brazilian-born striker Zague replied for Necaxa, who are fourth in group four.

Uruguayan footballers threaten to strike

MONTEVIDEO (Reuters) -- Uruguayan footballers are threatening to follow the example of their colleagues in Chile and Argentina and go on strike in protest at unpaid wages.

The players' union say their members owed the equivalent of around $190,000 and will make their decision after studying an offer from the Uruguayan Football Association (AUF) and the Tenfield marketing company, which owns local television rights.

"If the players don't accept the proposal, we might not compete until wages are up to date," warned players' union president Fernando Silva.

Players are Uruguayan champions Nacional are continuing with their own "go slow" because they say they have not been paid for five months.

The players are refusing to take part in more than one training session a day -- twice daily practice is common in Uruguay -- and are boycotting the so-called "concentration" in which players spend the 24 hours before a match holed up in a hotel or training camp.

A deep financial crisis has hit football in nearly all of South America, where many clubs face a daily grind to make ends meet.

Chilean footballers went on strike for three weeks in September while Argentina's players held two strikes last year in protest at unpaid wages and bonuses.

Several Bolivian clubs have also been hit by lightning stoppages, forcing them to postpone matches in the national championship.

 

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