Corinthians Orders Chinese, Neymar Best in the Americas and Copinha

Sup guys? I hope everyone has enjoyed the holidays (and has recovered from their hangovers).

Chen Zhi-Zhao to Corinthians
If it sounds strange, that’s because it is. Rarely do Brazilian clubs sign non-South Americans, so for one to hire a Chinese player of all people is beyond bizarre. China isn’t exactly known for its football, the country has only qualified for one World Cup, lost all its games and did not score a single goal. However the country has a massive market Corinthians wants to explore. By signing a Chinese player the club intends to make a name for itself in China and potentially make millions of course. It’s a smart move on the clubs part: a small investment with nothing to lose and a lot to gain. Although obviously a marketing move, the club has said that the decision was made only after watching several DVDs of several players and getting the green light from the coaching staff.

El País says Neymar is King
With 130 votes, 60 more than Universidad de Chile’s Eduardo Vargas, Neymar was crowned best in South America by the Uruguayan newspaper. The award basically confirms what we’ve all known for a while now. Nevertheless I was still surprised, the award givers tend to be very anti-Brazilian: last year Inter’s Argentine D’Alessandro was named best in South America, even though he was far from being the best in just Brazil!

Copinha Starts
Brazil’s most prestigious youth competition will start tomorrow. The U-18 competition gives us some action in the middle of the Brazilian football off-season. Brazilian teams have been producing some great players lately (don’t they always?) and so this Copa should be a good watch.

Category: CBF