Central & South America

A video has been circulating in the Internet this week and we would like to show it to you now. This is the Rosario Derby.

France Football announced the 30 finalists for the 2016 Ballon d’Or award with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi the favorites to take home the award they’ve entirely dominated since Kaka won in 2007. Real Madrid have six nominees on the list, Barcelona have four and Leicester City’s dream season has resulted in nominations for Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy.

Mariga Eugenia Rocca, a female assistant referee whose experience includes multiple Olympic Games and Women’s World Cups, has reported being struck in the back of the neck by a player while officiating a men’s fourth division game in Argentina.

The Argentina Referee Association is backing Rocca’s claims and has submitted a report to the Argentina Football Association for their review.

Two years ago, Brazilian midfielder Anderson was at the end of his Manchester United career after being frozen out under manager Louis van Gaal. Oddly, Anderson had managed to stay on the Old Trafford books for over seven seasons without ever particularly impressing. He’s a four-time Premier League champion and winner of the 2007-08 UEFA Champions League with United, but he’s still widely regarded as a flop having arrived from Porto for €30 million in 2007.

Since 1987, Argentina side Club Social y Deportivo Liniers have been playing their home matches at “The Bulldozer”, just outside of Buenos Aires. For nearly 30 years they’ve been playing on a crooked, wonky pitch that features one half that’s much shorter than the other.

Google Maps images clearly revealed something not quite right about the pitch, and the Argentina Football Association (AFA) is now threatening the club with closure should they not rectify the field’s blemishes.

One of the major developments in the world of football over the past week has been the deployment of the “green card” in Italy’s Serie B to reward players for acts of virtue, including admitting to having taken a dive in order to win a penalty or free kick.

It’s hard to imagine that only a few months ago we were considering the possibility of Brazil missing a World Cup for the first time since the tournament began back in 1930. 

Well, the tables have turned for the Selecao as well as for everyone else in South America. 

The Chileans looked like the stronghold of the continent after claiming two consecutive Copa Americas. Now their mojo seems to be gone as they have lost two and tied one of their last four matches. 

I love Dinho. You love Dinho. We love Dinho. Everybody loves Dinho. Dinho is good and cool. Dinho is fun. I wish I was as happy about anything as Dinho seems to be about everything.

Dinho played in a charity match for Pope Francis and had lots of fun.

Dinho played keepy-uppy with Francesco Totti and Diego Maradona and had more fun than you or I could even fathom.

55-year-old Diego Maradona had to be restrained by security staff at Pope Francis’ “Match for Peace and Solidarity” after getting into a verbal altercation with Juan Sebastian Veron on Wednesday night.

Bolivia got off to an absolute flyer against Ecuador on Tuesday in La Paz. This shouldn’t surprise anyone as Bolivia’s home gournd, Estadio Hernando Siles at an altitude of 11,932 feet above sea level, is almost a literal deathtrap for CONMEBOL opposition.

La Verde took a fourth minute lead through Pablo Escobar, the 38-year-old attacking midfielder just thrashing a shot from almost 25 yards out. The shot was sensational, flying into the top corner. However, Rodrigo Ramallo also deserves credit for applying the assist from his a**.