April 18, 2006 - Paraguay soccer manager to travel to Argentina to watch matches

Anibal Ruiz, the manager of Paraguay's national squad, will travel to Argentina this weekend, to watch games where key Paraguayan players are due to feature in the Argentina league, local media said on Monday.

On Saturday, he will watch Estudiantes de la Plata and Olimpo, to watch defenders Juan Daniel Caceres and Jorge Nunez. Also on Saturday Newell's Old Boys will play San Lorenzo, where one team might employ goal-keeper Justo Villar and mid-fielder Diego Gavilan, while the other could deploy forward Jose Saturnino Cardoso.

On Sunday he will go to the Monumental Stadium to watch River Plate versus Argentinos Junniors, where Julio Cesar Caceres, who plays for the Plate "millionaires" might play.

Ruiz has said that he will publish his shortlist of 23 footballers on May 15, the deadline day set by FIFA.

"We have a base, but there is no reason to hurry. We have to respect the timetable, and although we have everything set, we won't publish until the day," he said.

On Thursday, he will visit Montevideo, Uruguay, to receive the best South American manager award for 2005, sponsored by Uruguay's El Pais daily.

After this weekend's visit to Argentina, he hopes to visit Brazil to watch Carlos Gamarra, who plays for Palmeiras; Julio Manzur, for Santos; and Cesar Ramirez who plays for Flamengo.

Paraguay is part of Group B in the World Cup, which begins in Germany in June. Its rivals in the Group are Trinidad and Tobago, England and Sweden.

Paraguay's first game is on June 10 against England in Frankfurt. On June 15 it meets Sweden in Berlin and on June 20 it will meet Trinidad and Tobago in Kaiserlauten.