Daily Headlines: April 24, 2015

* El Salvador: Congress is considering declaring a “state of siege” for the first time since the civil war era while Salvadoran police proposed the return of “death squads” as an extreme measure to combat increased violence from street gangs.

* South America: Argentine team San Lorenzo was eliminated from the Copa Libertadores; thus, South America’s top soccer club tournament will not have a repeat champion for the thirteenth straight year.

* Bolivia: Lawmakers and farmers in Bolivia were unable to reach a compromise over the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

* Uruguay: Turbine manufacture Gamesa of Spain plans to supply fifty megawatts of equipment for a Uruguayan wind energy farm expected to start functioning in 2016.

YouTube Source – teleSUR English (Video published in January 2015.)
 
Online Sources – ESPN FC, The Latin Americanist, IPS, Bloomberg, teleSUR

Argentina's San Lorenzo Wins Copa Libertadores

This summer the Argentine men's national team fought their way to the World Cup championship match although they ultimately lost to a strong German side. Similarly, Argentine soccer club San Lorenzo battled their way to the final series of the Copa Libertadores. Unlike their more heralded compatriots, however, El Ciclón did not stumble at the final hurdle.

San Lorenzo captured the crown of South America's top soccer tournament following a 1-0 win at home in Buenos Aires on Wednesday night. The 2-1 aggregate win over Paraguayan minnows Nacional gave San Lorenzo it's first major title in the team's 106-year history.

Following last week's tie in Asuncion, both teams looked for the advantage to cap their surprising runs in the Libertadores.  The Paraguayan side was stronger in the first half hour and were unlucky when a shot by Derlis Orue rang off the goalpost. But the breakthrough came in the 36th minute against the run of play when Nacional defender Ramón Coronel handled the ball in the penalty box. Midfielder Néstor Ortigoza cooly converted the penalty kick past goalkeeper Ignacio Don.

Nacional subsequently pressed forward looking for the equalizer and nearly got it before halftime via a blast from Julián Benítez.  The second half saw San Lorenzo hold off wave after wave of attacks by the visiting side.  Substitute Brian Montenegro nearly leveled the score with a golden chance in the 77th minute. Yet bolstered by a boisterous and raucous crowd of 43,000 plus at El Nuevo Gasometro, San Lorenzo held on for a memorable victory.

"This is a historic triumph, we are immensely happy," San Lorenzo coach Edgardo Bauza said following the final whistle.

"The team was very nervous, we didn't play very well, especially in the first half...We had to win it and we did. We found a way," added the Argentine-born coach who previously guided Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito in 2008 to the only triumph of an Ecuadorian team at the Libertadores.

Paraguayan Minnows Head to Libertadores Finals

Numerous Latin American sides such as Colombia, Chile and Costa Rica shined at the recently World Cup in Brazil and performed beyond expectations.  Yet the Cinderella stories have also taken place in South America’s premier soccer club tournament: the Copa Libertadores.

Paraguayan team Nacional continued their fairy tale run by winning 2-1 in the semifinal aggregate score against Uruguay’s Defensor Sporting. 

The Asuncion-based side entered Tuesday’s semifinal second leg in Montevideo having won 2-0 in the first leg last week.  From the beginning of the match Defensor Sporting constantly pressured their rivals with the hope of at least tying up the aggregate score.  Nacional goalkeeper Ignacio Don came up big on several occasions especially in the first half when he denied a one-on-one chance by opposing forward Giorgian De Arrascaeta. Despite several good Defensor chances in the opening half Don’s teammates also stood tough yet De Arrascaeta got a measure of revenge when he assisted on Adrian Luna’s goal in the 55th minute. 

Following Luna’s tap-in, the Uruguayan team came very close to scoring the key second goal that would’ve tied the series and sent the semifinal to a penalty shootout.  Numerous Defensor attacks rang off the goalposts including a Felipe Gedoz blast that would’ve beaten Don but missed by inches and a Robert Herrera point-blank shot that hit the crossbar.  In the end, Nacional would hold on by slimmest of margins and the 110-year-old club booked their ticket to the Libertadores finals for the first time in team history.

“This is unique, unbelievable. I hope Paraguayan people can be altogether in the name of the country,” said Don following the final whistle.

“I've always dreamed of playing in professional football and then the Copa Libertadores. Now, I'm playing the finals because we've been warriors on the field,” he added about the unfashionable team that normally plays at a stadium with maximum seating for 4000 spectators.

Pope’s Favorite Soccer Team Renamed For Him

Argentine soccer team San Lorenzo de Almagro will be renamed in honor of its most famous fan: the current head of the Roman Catholic Church.

The fourteen-time Argentine first division champions will have the new moniker of Club Atlético Papa Francisco de Almagro effective immediately according to a statement issued this morning on the club’s website.

“On this date in 1908 our team was established in honor of Buenos Aires priest Father Lorenzo Massa.  On our one hundred fourteenth birthday is fitting that we honor another religious figure who has always looked out for the poor and young,” said part of the communiqué.

“We hope to win many championships with God’s help and the blessing from our ultimate fan,” added the statement.
Last month the then-San Lorenzo team played a league game with a special jersey featuring the Pope’s name and likeness.  The team’s badge will be modified to include the new initials of CAPFdA though the official jersey will still have its distinctive dark blue and red vertical stripes.

The former Archbishop of Buenos Aires has been praised for his humility via his actions such as on Holy Thursday when he washed the feet of twelve male and female juvenile prisoners.  Nevertheless, he has not shied from publicly demonstrating supporting for the team he has cheered for since he was a young lad.  After yesterday’s Easter Mass he proudly displayed a San Lorenzo jersey given to him by one of the thousands of Catholics at St. Peter’s Square.

As sports journalist Vito Garcia recently wrote, the Pontiff loves his team and he was particularly moved in the club’s centenary year in 2011:

Today’s Video: Bye bye birdie

Note: In order to make up for the lack of blogging on Thursday we’ll publish several posts over the weekend.

The highlight of Wednesday’s Argentine soccer playoff game between San Lorenzo and Tigre does not correspond to any of the goals or great saves. Rather, it has to do with a pigeon that was at the wrong place at the wrong time.

(Video not safe for animal lovers):

The player who inadvertently killed the bird- San Lorenzo defender Gaston Aguirre- was remorseful and confessed that he “will be remembered as the pigeon killer.” Perhaps that won’t be the case on Saturday.

(Hat tip: The Offside.)

Sources- The Latin Americanist, The Offside, Goal.com, Fox Sports, YouTube