It’s hard to talk about the third Brazilian title in a row of Sao Paulo without repeating all the cliches. I spent the day thinking a different way to put it, but the supremacy of the club over Brazilian football is obvious. The club is the youngest of the traditional clubs in Brazil – only 73 years-old. Nonetheless, it is the club with the greatest amount of Campeonato Brasileiros. In 38 editions of the tournament, Sao Paulo won almost 1/6 of them, and reached the finals and many others. This is not to mention that no other club in Brazil has also the same amount of Copa Libertadores and club world cup titles.

Sao Paulo has a serious project. It brings together a coach who is a workaholic, a captain who loves the club and has been there for 18 years, a structure that includes one of the biggest private stadiums in the world and training centers that develop young players and recover great stars. In the Brazilian titles of the last 3 years, Sao Paulo played 114 matches and lost only 16. That is a huge number. And that shows one thing: if Sao Paulo does not play beautiful football, it rarely loses. Usually, when the team plays a bad game, it gets a draw.

This year, the title had a little more drama. Last year, everyone got bored by the fact that Sao Paulo lift the trophy 4 matches before the final date. This year, the battle was intense in what probablyw as the best Campeonato Brasileiro in a long time. And the way that happened actually made the title a small detail. In August, Gremio (the runners-up) beat Sao Paulo, putting a 11 points difference. The press and the players thought they had no chance. But, what nobody knew is that that was the last defeat of Sao Paulo in the year. From there, 18 matches took place. Sao Paulo won 12 and tied 6. The 11 points behind turned into 3 points ahead. And the title, one more time went to Morumbi, turning Sao Paulo into the most victorious club of Brazilian football.

Yesterday, Sao Paulo, who played for a simple draw, had absolute control over the match against Goias. The team marked as very few ever had in Brazilian football. To make things easier, Borges, the striker who Sao Paulo fans prefer over Adriano, scored his 16th goal in the tournament. 1-0 was enough. Hernanes, Miranda, Andre Dias, Jean (who did not play), Dagoberto, Jorge Wagner, Hugo and obviously Rogerio Ceni are names to be remembered. But above all these names, Muricy Ramalho, the coach, is the face of this title. Winning 3 times in a row with the same club a title which has at least 11 favorites every year and 17 different champions in the history is not easy.

The question for next year, as it has been for the last 4 years, is obvious too. Who can beat Sao Paulo?

Watch the 66 goals from the campaign. A great opportunity to see Hernanes (number 15 and the best player of the team), Borges (number 17, top striker of the club who scored 16 goals) and even keeper and captain Rogerio Ceni in action.

Vasco is another victim. Not a victim of bad football. A bad moment is expected within every single club or national team. But for a club who is 4 times Brazilian Champion, a club that won Copa Libertadores, a club who has a history that includes Romario, Bebeto, Juninho Pernambucano and many others relegation is not normal. Relegation ins this case is a consequence. And Vasco has been a victim of a group of people who took over the club as a land who has no owner. A group that stole all the glory and has entered dark paths. A group that caused political convulsion. A group that fractured the club. A group who was smart enough to leave just before the ship sunk.

Vasco had to beat Vitoria. It did not. It lost 2-0 at home in the last match of Edmundo, maybe the last whisper of a great player to play for Vasco. But at the age of 37, Edmundo could not save the club his professes love. Not only that. The campaign has been so poor that even if Vasco had beaten Vitoria, the club’s final destiny would’ve the second division. Atletico-PR and Nautico did not lose. Even Figueirense, the other relegated club, won its match. Now, Vasco leaves the small group of clubs who never played second division (the others are: Flamengo, Cruzeiro, Sao Paulo, Santos and Inter). It will be a tough 2009 for Vasco. And the return will not be that easy. On other hand, second-division has proven to strength between club and fans.

Fluminense, Palmeiras, Corinthians, Botafogo, Atletico and Vasco. How many more traditional clubs will have to collapse through the hands of corrupt officials before Brazilian football adopts a professional model of administration?

Be Strong Vasco!

ps: Vitoria also is part of history. After sending Palmeiras to second division in 2002, Vitoria now sends Vasco.

She was the girl ignored by the Brazilians. “She’s weird. She’s not attractive. She’s boring”, thought all Brazilian clubs. But Inter decided to take this girl to dance when it noticed that its main rival Gremio could’ve started flirting with her. Still a bit embarrassed as the the two draws against U. Catolica suggest, Inter noticed this girl had something special. The involvement started there. But Inter went really crazy when it kissed it with the wild taste of kicking Boca Junior’s ass. Inter was in love with Copa Sulamericana (Sudamericana, if you prefer). By the matches against Chivas, Inter was showing her to everyone and being gentleman. Two massacres against Chivas. But the rivals insisted that Inter was taking home an ugly chick. With the the title against Estudiantes and all the love that Copa Sulamericana can give back, all the Brazilian clubs must be wondering how come they’ve never noticed that cute girl in the corner.

The match in Porto Alegre took place in the way a South American title has to be. With bravery, with heart, with drama. Estudiantes made everything very complicated. They scored. They had a goal disallowed in a mistake of the linesman. They took the game to the extra-time. The first-half had refined football from the first to the last minute, despite the few chances.

In the second-half, Inter was falling due to its excessive confidence that the title had been decided last week. The match was doomed to the extra-time. As usual, the extra-time was lazy. The players were tired, but Inter went for the last swat drops. D’Alessandro, who conducted the midfield once more, took the corner. Danny Morais headed the ball to the post. Gustavo Nery in the rebound shot it and the keeper saved again. But the final rebound ended with Nilmar, who pushed it to the back of the net. South America is red again.

Inter reaches the glory of being the second club (the first one is Boca) of having a Copa Libertadores, a Sulamericana, a Recopa and a Club World Cup. Even sweeter for the colorados is that Inter also passed Gremio in the number of titles: 46 to 45. And for a title that many in Brazil disregard, a campaign which included matches against Gremio (twice Libertadores champion and main rival), Universidad Catolica (Libertadores runner-up), Boca, Chivas (the Mexican club that has been doing well in South America) and Estudiantes (3 times Libertadores champion) must be respected.

Brazil now has a taste of Copa Sulamericana. A lesson to other clubs in two ways: any international cup is valuable and investing in good players and structure will always turn into titles. Congratulations Inter!

ps: congrats to my dad who is a Inter fanatic!

Amazing Video:

pics:

-Corinthians played their last match in the second division and lost 2-0 to America-RN;

-Again, the four clubs promoted to next year’s serie A are Corinthians, Avai, Santo Andre and Barueri;

-The four clubs relegated to third division are Marilia (club from Sao Paulo State), Crisciuma (traditional side from Santa Catarina where veteran striker Jardel is playing), Gama (traditional side from Brasilia) and CRB from Alagoas;

-The top striker was veteran striker Túlio Maravilha from Vila Nova with 24 goals;

-Traditional sides that did not make into first division: Bahia, Ponte Preta, Juventude and Parana;

-Two clubs that made to the finals of Campeonato Brasileiro in the past who will remain in serie B are Sao Caetano and Bragantino.

In the first-half, D’Alessandro and Nilmar made the lives of Estudiantes defenders hell. Especially Nimar. He was the one who was fouled in the penalty area when Inter already had 10 men. The ref also ignored to onside situations that could’ve given Inter a larger score.

In the second-half, Inter played with heart and bravery in the defense. Estudiantes suffocated Inter in the defense with many crosses. But no ball arrived to goalie Lauro. Alvaro and Indio were superb in the defense. In the attack, Inter tried to counter-attack and almost found a second goal.

With the lead, finally Brazil may be winning this tournament. This blog hopes that happens. It’s time for Brazilian clubs to value this cup.

They did it again. Or almost. São Paulo is very close to clinching its 6th Brazilian title, the third consecutive. Today, the club went to Rio to take on Vasco, a very difficult match given that the home team is desperately fighting relegation. And São Paulo, who started the round 2 points ahead of Grêmio, went home with 5 points ahead of Grêmio with just two rounds to go. This is so because São Paulo beat Vasco 2-1 (goals by Jorge Wagner and Hugo) and Grêmio was humiliated by Vitória 4-2. The marks for São Paulo are remarkable. It hasn’t lost a match in 3 months (the last one was against Grêmio in August). After that loss, São Paulo found itself seating 11 points behind Grêmio, the leader at the time. Now, São Paulo is 5 points ahead of Grêmio.

There are reasons why Muricy Ramalho was the favorite to become the coach o the national team before Dunga pulled off that great victory against Portugal. Muricy may become the first coach to win 3 Brazilian titles for the same club. In fact, São Paulo may become the first Brazilian club to win 3 national titles in a row. Since 2006, the first year which São Paulo lifted a Brazilian trophy with Muricy, the club lost only 16 matches in the league. Vasco lost 19 only in the 2008 campaign. São Paulo needs only 2 points in the next two matches to make history. On Sunday, São Paulo plays at home against Fluminense, ironically enough, the club that eliminated São Paulo from this year’s Copa Libertadores.

For Vasco, the situation is dramatic. With the loss, the club no longer depends only on itself to avoid the second division. It is another very traditional Brazilian club going down One of the 5 that never visited the second division. Their defense is terrible.

As for Grêmio, the club was introduced by the same curse that hit the other clubs fighting for the title: losing by a large margin in an important moment. Cruzeiro, Palmeiras and Flamengo had to get the ball many time sin the back of their nets in moments of decision. This time, Vitória came back to score 4 goals and hand the title to São Paulo. Vagner Mancini, the good coach from Vitória, had his sweet revenge. In the beginning of the year, Mancini was fired from Grêmio without having a single loss. No explanations provided. If even without a loss Mancini was fired, imagine what will happen to Celso Roth now that his club sees the club slip through his hands after being on the top for many rounds.

Libertadores

Given that São Paulo and Grêmio are in the Libertadores, the other two spots are being fought by Cruzeiro, Palmeiras and Flamengo. Cruzeiro and Flamengo played one of those matches with heavy importance at Mineirão. What a match! 51 thousand fans watching the contest between Ramirez and Ibson – two good midfielders and symbol of their clubs. Cruzeiro scored with Fernandinho. Flamengo tied with Ibson. Cruzeiro scored with Thiago Ribeiro. Flamengo tied with Obina. At the end of the match, Ramirez (it had to be him) scored the third for the home team. The 3-2 could’ve been different if Carlos Eugênio Simon, the decadent ref which will represent Brazil in the next World Cup, had given a penalty to Flamengo. But Simon made another mistake and Flamengo is out of the top 4. This man has connections.

Palmeiras took advantage of that to even playing a pale football beat Ipatinga 2-0. Now the club of Luxemburgo seats in 4th and Fla in 5th.

Relegation

It remains tough, but a few clubs see the light at the end of the tunnel. Fluminense beat the reserve side of Inter 2-0. Atlético-PR tied in 2 goals with Botafogo.

Other clubs are seeing the water level rise. Portuguesa just tied at home without goals with Goiás. Figueirense, despite beating Naútico 4-3 (great match, by the way). Naútico, despite the goals of the good forward Felipe.

Some clubs in the “I don’t care zone” added to the entertaining value of the weekend. Sport beat Atlético-MG 3-0 and Coritiba beat Santos 5-1 with 4 goals by Keirrisson. What a decadence for Santos.

Goals from the Round:

What to watch in the next round:

Botafogo – Figueirense (Nothing – Relegation)
Internacional – Cruzeiro (Nothing – Libertadores)
Vitória – Palmeiras (Nothing – Libertadores)
Portuguesa – Sport (Relegation – Nothing)
Coritiba – Vasco (Nothing – Relegation)
Náutico – Atlético-PR (Relegation – Relegation)
Flamengo – Goiás (Libertadores – Nothing)
Ipatinga – Grêmio (Relegation – Title)
Atlético-MG – Santos (Nothing – Relegation)
São Paulo – Fluminense (Title – Relegation)

Inter deserves this final. It has one of the best line-ups in Brazil. No other club has a midfield with the combination of force, with Magrao and Guinazu, and skills, D’Alessandro and Alex – even though the last one was with the national team tonight. The attack with Nilmar. The defense with Bolivar and Indio. It is a great line-up. It invested. Too bad, it took them too long to start playing collectively. otherwise, they’d be fighting for the Brazilian title as well.

With this line-up, Inter needs only one player to be inspired. Tonight, it had two. D’Alessandro and Nilmar scored 2 goals each and drove the fans crazy.

But, more than that, Inter is teaching Brazil how to like Copa Sulamericana. And the campaign so far – eliminating traditional sides such as Boca, the rival Gremio and Chivas – indicates that Inter may be bringing home another continental title.

highlights:

more info soon.

The second club who will join the main division of Brazilian football is Avai from Florianopolis. Avai is famous for being the club supported by ex-tennis player Gustavo Kuerten, aka Guga. Tonight, Avai beat Brasiliense 1-0 at home and reached 66 points. The goal was scored by Evando on the 36th minute of the second-half. Goalie Guto from Brasiliense made a mistake and put the club in the first division. After the match was over, Guga celebrated with the players on the pitch and looked very happy. The last time his club played the first division in 1979, Guga was only 3 years old. Check it out:

It is very true that those who play in Brazil against the host nation defend to the point which makes things very difficult even when players are inspired. Everybody knows that. But why does Brazil start every match at home with 3 defensive midfielders and two side-backs playing in the defensive line? Brazil went to the pitch with Josué, Gilberto Silva and Elano, when actually Elano could’ve been the second defensive midfielder with one of the other two guys. That would’ve opened a slot for either Alex or Mancini. The trio that started the match made things incredibly slow, something which against a team who is defensive and full of experience makes everything easier.

The two side-backs also lack creativity. In fact, they remind me of two robots. Kléber, it’s been said enough, has been having a very poor season with Santos, so his lack of participation is understood. The problem with Maicon is that he is a very physical player and that’s it. He is a pure European side-back. Even when he plays well, his participation in the attack is as harsh as trying to shit a load of Grand Canyon rocks. Brazil right now took on a European style which clearly does not work. The greatest side-backs of Brazilian football ( Nilton Santos, Carlos Alberto, Djalma Santos, Everaldo, Leandro, Junior, Cafu, Serginho, Roberto Carlos) had in common a creative twist, which is missing in the actual team.

Said all this, put together the poor performance of Robinho (always too concerned about everything around him, except the match), the tough marking on Kaká, and the lack of experience by Jô and the final score could not be other than 0-0.

Unlike the match against Bolivia, the team fought hard, but without a good plan the victory moves away. Mancini came on the second-half replacing Elano when actually it could’ve been Gilberto Silva. The Inter Milan player, however, was lost on the pitch and did not find the position of the fourth man of the midfield. The other two subs happened due to injuries. Pato replaced Robinho.

So on a tough match like this, we put all the weight on the shoulders of two kids (Jô and Pato) who just played the Olympics. It is true that Adriano was suspended. That Luis Fabiano is injured. That Vagner Love and Afonso are not national team material. That Fred is not in a good moment. That Ricardo Oliveira has been forgotten. That Ronaldo’s career is a question mark. That no one could predict Robinho’s injury. But the staff of the national team could’ve been a bit smarter and taken a player with more experience who plays in Brazil. People like Nilmar, Alex Mineiro, Kleber Pereira… People to be on the bench and used in an extreme situation like tonight’s. But today, in order to put the yellow jersey on, the player must have a stamped passport.

The third sub was another injury. Defender Thiago Silva replaced Juan. If Robinho’s injury could not be predicted, this one was obvious. Juan has been having a chronic injury. Last Sunday, he left the match during half-time. If the player has a history of injury in a particular place and that place was already a problem on the last match, his injury tonight wasn’t a surprise. In a match against a rival who was not going to attack, was it that necessary? With Juan’s injury, the possibility of having an offensive player, like Alex from Inter, went down the drain.

And again, we will hear that “Colombia was successful in marking Brazil.” I’d say CBF was successful in marking Brazil.

The national team has been disconnected from its fans and traditions. The people booing proved it once more. And the only reason there were not that many fans booing is that the fans decided to not show up. Only 46 thousand paid to watch this horrible match. CBF had to open Maracanã’s gates and allowed another 8 thousand in just so that the stadium didn’t look empty. As a comparison, last Saturday, Flamengo alone had 77 thousand fans in the stadium.

Did I mention our coach’s name? Tonight it won’t be necessary.

Ps: hey Argentina, you guys suck right now!

In the bottom, Vasco and Fluminense hold the last two positions. Vasco was visited by Figueirense and was humiliated again: 4-2. Fluminense just tied for Goiás 1-1. Ipatinga and Portuguesa are the other two clubs in the relegation zone. Portuguesa was beaten by Vitória 3-1.

Santos played really well and left the relegation struggle for the past. The club beat Atlético-PR 4-0. Paraguayan Cuevas scored a beautiful goal with just one minute into the match.

Inter also left a fight for the past. By losing 4-2 against Coritiba, the club seems to be putting a lot of effort into thrashing every possible chance for the title. Goalie Clemer again allowed goals that force fans to think that retirement is not a bad a idea.