Carlos Tevez

Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni has assured that Lionel Messi will take part for the national team during the summer’s Copa America in Brazil. The 31-year-old recently witnessed a disappointing return to competitive action with Argentina as they suffered an embarrassing 3-1 defeat at the hands of Venezuela.

The Barcelona attacker has since been ruled out of the Morocco game with a groin problem but the injury won’t keep him sidelined for more than a few days. Speaking to reporters, Scaloni has now confirmed that Messi will most certainly feature in the squad for the Copa America in the summer, given he has the drive to perform for the national side, he said: "Leo will be in Copa America. It is evident he will be. He showed maximum will here and we see he is very driven. When the match against Venezuela finished, we talked about the match, not about what is to come. We will work to get a better team."

Inter Milan manager Luciano Spalletti has acknowledged that it was a tough decision to strip Mauro Icardi from the captain’s armband. The Argentine has been the skipper of the San Siro side for the past three-and-half seasons but he has been ousted from the duties amid his poor run of form and contract dispute with the club.

Speaking to reporters, Spalletti said that it was not easy to strip Icardi from the captaincy but the club had to do so with his current situation at the club, he said: “It was a difficult and painful decision, we all know his worth. We made it together with all of the components of the club and it was done exclusively for the good of Inter and of the team. There are some things concerning the player that had to be worked out. He was disappointed, he was upset. It was difficult to tell him... These things embarrass the team, of which he was captain, and the club.”

Mauro Icardi’s agent and wife Wanda Nara has offered her support towards the Argentine striker amid his recent scoring crisis. The Argentina international started the campaign with a consistent scoring run and this included a couple of late winners including one in the San Siro derby against arch-rivals AC Milan.

However, his scoring touch has deserted him over the past six matches and this has recently generated criticism from the faithful, who are expectant of the Argentine to deliver on a consistent basis. Amidst this, Nara has come in the defence of his husband by indicating that the Argentine has remained committed to the team’s cause during the good and bad times.
“There are captains who pose proud when they win, there are captains who abandon the boat before it sinks but there are few captains who remain in hard times, even when many believe that they are about to sink. You are one of those captains who struggles on until they resurface,” she posted on her official Twitter account.

Borussia Dortmund has successfully completed the signing of young Argentine defender Leonardo Balerdi from Boca Juniors. The teenager was initially expected to join the club at the end of the season but they decided to fast-track the move after the recent injury to Manuel Akanji, who has been crucial at the heart of the club’s defence.

“The transfer of Leonardo Balerdi is one with potential which was initially planned for the summer,” Zorcwas quoted as saying by the club’s official website. “Leonardo is an intelligent, strong and powerful central defender who is also powerful in the air. We are happy that he opted for us and that his talent will help us in the future.”

Argentine superstar Carlos Tevez has stressed that he has no plans of retiring from the beautiful game despite him on the wrong side of the recent Copa Liberatores final. The veteran was only called off the bench in added extra game of Boca Juniors’ clash against River Plate but he could not make amends as the latter celebrated a comfortable 3-1 triumph.

Speaking after the game, Tevez acknowledged that the team are devastated after suffering a defeat at the hands of their fierce rivals despite giving their everything on the playing field. He added that he does not want to call quits at the current moment of time and would prefer to stick with the team and reach another final.

West Ham United’s summer signing Fabian Balbuena has revealed his aim of making a strong impression among the club’s faithful just like ex-player Carlos Tevez. The former Argentina international was a relatively unknown across the footballing world until his short stint at West Ham United between 2007 and 2008 where he scored a crucial final day winner at Manchester United to help them beat the drop.

Speaking to reporters, Balbuena highlighted that the likes of Tevez and compatriot Javier Mascherano have had a huge impact of young and upcoming players in South America and he hopes to follow the same path to success, he said: “Argentina’s players are of course an example for a lot of South American players. We know the quality of Mascherano and Tevez when they arrived here. They played very well and had a good season and then they went on to play in big teams.

Guillermo Barros Schelotto has dropped hints that Carlos Tevez might be included in the starting XI of Boca juniors for the return leg of Copa Libertadores title round versus River Plate. The match is going to take place tomorrow at Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti.

The first leg of the title round had taken place at Boca Juniors home ground La Bombonera and it had resulted in a draw with both teams finding the back of the net on two occasions each.

Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has praised the form of Erik Lamela this campaign and believes the Argentine is finally leaving up to the investment made for his services. The attacker has been plagued by injuries and fitness concerns, which have hampered his Spurs career, but he has largely impressed since the current season started.

Lamela recently scored his sixth goal of the campaign during the recent 3-2 away win over Wolverhampton Wanderers and speaking after the game, Pochettino highlighted that the Argentine has become more mature in terms of his performances on the field, he said: “Yes he’s more mature now. Of course, always you expect when you make this type of investment that the player starts to perform in the way you expect. Of course it was tough for him from the day he arrived here. This is his sixth season and it was tough for him from the beginning, but now I think after 12 games he’s scored eight goals.”

Boca Juniors have decided to bring in Carlos Lampe, who is a Bolivian international, if they get past the quarter-finals of the Copa Libertadores. The Argentine club’s vice-president confirmed the decision in a recent interview. The decision has been taken in order to provide a replacement for the club’s number one goalkeeper Esteban Andrada, who has been ruled out for almost a year due to a fractured jaw. Boca Juniors have been in the negotiations to sign a short-term loan deal to bring inLampe and it was dependent on the passage of the club into the semifinals of the Copa Libertadores.

Boca Juniors were able to beat Cruzeiro on aggregate on Thursday to reach the semifinals. The first league game between the two clubs finished as a 2-0 victory for Boca Juniors at Belo Horizonte. Vice President Rodolfo Ferrari said that everything has been agreed and that the transfer will complete this phone. However, because of the rules and regulations, the player will not be available for theSuperliga Argentina matches. As a result of the signing, Boca Juniors have been able to provide substantial reinforcement of the backline which has suffered a lot in the recent few weeks.Carlos Lampe is an experienced campaigner who has featured in 24 games for the Bolivian national team. He is currently part of theHuachipato set up in the Chilean top-flight.

Former Argentina star Javier Saviola believes compatriot Lionel Messi should be given more time to consider a return to the national team. The Barcelona star was the subject of criticism from the fans after Argentina failed to progress beyond the round of 16 of the World Cup and he has since made himself unavailable for national team duty.

Despite this, caretaker boss Lionel Scaloni has recently refused to rule out Messi’s return and Saviola feels the country should remain patient for the attacker’s comeback, he said: “The best thing is to give him time and for him to come back when he has the proper strength to face other objectives. They have to form a team for him to be able to integrate into.”