Liverpool completed the signing of Argentine forward Maxi Rodriguez from Atletico Madrid on a three-and-half-year contract, the Premier League club said on Wednesday.
Photos of the World Cup semi-final game between Argentina and Netherlands
Chelsea's faltering Premier League title challenge suffered another blow on Sunday when they lost 2-1 at home to Liverpool whose defender Glen Johnson struck the winner three minutes from time.
Liverpool signed AS Roma's Italy forward Fabio Borini while Argentina midfielder Maxi Rodriguez left Anfield for Newell's Old Boys as new manager Brendan Rodgers began reshaping his squad on Friday.
Napoli striker Ezequiel Lavezzi and defender Fabricio Coloccini missed out when Diego Maradona named his 23-man Argentina World Cup squad on Wednesday.
Manchester City edged past Arsenal and Liverpool beat Chelsea to reach the League Cup semi-finals Tuesday while Cardiff City also made the last four on an emotional night in south Wales.
Argentina beat the Netherlands 4-2 via penalties to enter the final of the World Cup on Wednesday. The teams were goalless at the end of 120 minutes, and extra-time in the second semi-final.
Liverpool ensured it was an unhappy return for former manager Gerard Houllier with a comfortable 3-0 Premier League win over Aston Villa at Anfield on Monday.
Maxi Rodriguez scored twice as Argentina routed Canada 5-0 on Monday in their final match on home soil before heading to the World Cup.
Maxi Rodriguez scored four minutes from time to earn Liverpool a 1-0 win at Bolton Wanderers which lifted them out of the Premier League relegation zone on Sunday.
Maxi Rodriguez scored four minutes from time to earn Liverpool a 1-0 win at Bolton Wanderers, which lifted them out of the Premier League relegation zone on Sunday.
Lionel Messi scored a stunning first-half goal to help Argentina to a 4-1 demolition of Mexico in an international friendly.
Barcelona and Real Madrid maintained their perfect La Liga starts on Saturday, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic setting the champions on their way to a 2-0 victory at Malaga and Real winning 3-0 at home to Tenerife.
FIFA said it is taking no action against any Germany player following the fracas after their quarter-final against Argentina.
Juan Roman Riquelme has the ability to lure opponents out of position and hit on the break.
Atletico Madrid secured a place in the Champions League qualifiers on Sunday after a goal from Diego Forlan earned them a 1-0 win over Deportivo Coruna and ensured they could finish no lower than fourth in the table. Atletico are now level on 64 points with Barca, but are in fourth because the Catalans have a better record in head-to-heads.
Germany entered the World Cup semi-finals, beating Argentina via a penalty shoot-out 4-2, after the first quarter-final ended 1-1
A brilliant goal by Maxi Rodriguez gave Argentina a 2-1 extra-time win over Mexico in the second round.
Villarreal are a point behind in second after overcoming Barcelona 3-1 at home, and were joined on 18 points by Valencia.
Argentina's Leandro Cufre and Maxi Rodriguez were also banned and fined for the brawl after the Germany game.
The Argentine said his grandfather insisted on kicking with both legs, a skill that saw him net the match-winning goal against Mexcio
Ronaldinho, who had a disappointing Club World Cup this month, has been elected South American footballer of the year in the annual poll conducted by the Uruguayan daily El Pais.
Chile beat Ecuador 2-1 in their closing South American qualifier in Santiago on Tuesday as both went through automatically to the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil.
Striker Sergio Aguero scored twice to give Argentina a 2-0 win over fellow World Cup finalists Bosnia in a friendly at the Busch baseball stadium in St Louis, Missouri on Monday.
The consequences of failure are nowhere more devastating than at a World Cup, where two previous finals and five semi-finals have been decided by the gut-wrenching lottery of penalties.
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