Morning Ticker: Jo to Man City, Pachuca ties Saprissa, Vidic doubtful vs. Chelsea

Guten Morgen SBI readers. You might think Thursday is a day to take it easy in terms of soccer news, but there is action today that will keep it from being all that quiet. You have UEFA Cup semifinals, the ESPN MLS game (New England at FC Dallas) and the build-up to this weekend's EPL title clash between Chelsea and Manchester United.

Before we get to any of that, here are some news tidbits to tide you over this morning (I will be at Red Bulls practice this morning so stay tuned for Red Bulls news as well).

Manchester City wants Jo

Manchester City is expected to be a big player on the transfer market this summer and the first big buy for City may be Brazilian striker Jo (pictured above). You might remember him as the lanky striker on the Brazilian U-20 team that Jozy Altidore and Freddy Adu beat last summer, but Jo is also the goal scorer who has been tearing up the Russian League for CSKA Moscow (along with strike partner Vagner Love). Jo's combination of size and skill would flourish in the EPL so keep an eye on this one.

Pachuca ties Saprissa in CCC final first leg

Mexican club Pachuca salvaged a 1-1 tie with Costa Rican club Deportivo Saprissa in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup Final in Costa Rica. The return leg is set for April 30.

England stepping up 2018 bid

In the biggest piece of non-news in the soccer world, England is stepping up its World Cup bid by....well...um...announcing how it will structure its campaign. Unless you're English and very bored, this isn't that big a story (so why did I post it? Well, I wanted to save you the trouble of overreacting to the headline somewhere else.)

Vidic doubtful for Chelsea clash

Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic is doubtful for Man U's EPL title decider against Chelsea on Saturday with the same stomach flu that kept him out of Wednesday's Champions League semifinal against Barcelona.

FIFA tell Pizarro to stop suing

Soccer's governing body FIFA has told Chelsea and Peruvian national team forward Claudio Pizarro to drop his lawsuit against the Peruvian Football Federation for his 18-month suspension from the national team. Pizarro was suspended along with four Peru teammates for allegedly taking part in a raunchy party the night of Peru's World Cup qualifier vs. Brazil, and just days before another World Cup qualifier.

Comments

[Moneyball]

Dude almost makes Ronaldinho look like a young Brad Pitt. Almost.

[Christopher]

Jo is legit, I've been following him for a while since World Soccer magazine dubbed him as one of their next great Brazilians. I still can't wait for Vagner Love to get his shot somewhere big. The man would do work in the Bundesliga or similar.

[Dannyc58]

Jo was excellent in the U-20 World Cup. Not sure his skills are great for the Prem though.

Ives, do you purposely pick the worst pictures available of people? LOL.

[Tony in Quakeland]

You guys are harsh. There's nothing wrong with the guy's picture...although I'm sure you're all a bunch of George Clooneys and Hugh Grants yourself. :-)

[Dante]

This photo is better than the bug-eyed Dominic Cervi.

[Sandro]

Wow thanks Ives, didn't even know Pizzaro had been suspended for 18 months. Thanks for the news.

[MJ]

People, the guy can play.

And Ives, I'd suggest requiring posters to submit head-shots plus video of themselves tracking down through balls.

[dano]

When I watched that USvBrazil game, I kept wondering where that guy with the crazy hair played. He's good, so a move to a big 4 league is not surprising in the slightest.

[Vladimir]

The thing with Pizzaro is that he was the captain and he did nothing to stop the other three from going buck wild after Peru's WCQ qualifier draw against Brazil. Peru has got a really bad tabloid culture and caught the three players' bacchanal and got the public all lathered up about it. So Pizzaro was suspended for a sin of omission rather than comission, hence the lawsuit.

[Christian]

I think your post should read "Saprissa salvaged a draw against Pachuca" not the other way around. I saw the game, and Saprissa did almost NOTHING to warrant the tie. It does make you wonder how Houston lost to them, not that Houston are world beaters but I think they had enough to take out Saprissa. Although you could say the same for Atlante...now that I think about it, that turf @ Saprissa Stadium is a bit tricky.

[KingSnake]

I would rather look like Divine Brown than Hugh Grant ...

[Palermo Son]

Dude's picture is not half as bad as the really creepy one of Amado Guevara that Ives felt compelled to post 2324389 times.

[JMR]

Pachuca did not salvage a tie. It was Saprissa in the 93 minute on a scramble in the box after a corner. Other than that, not even close. Pachuca will take this one home in the altitude.

[Erik Abarca]

The the law suit is more because Pizzaro had in several occasions loan money out of his own pockets to the Peruvian soccer federation. He feels he is being screwed over, after all he did for the federation. Thats the word out of the news media over there.

[Dominghosa]

When I watch US U-17 player Stefan Jerome play, I think of Jo. Though the two aren't that much far apart age-wise, Jerome has the kind of size and skill Jo has.

[Joe]

I think that Man City play Football Manager because all the players they have been signing are all studs in the game. Elano, Corluka, Bojinov, and now Jo. Next they are gonna get Sherman Cardenas...