Copa Sudamericana Heading to Brazil
By: Bruno Romani |
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Today, Inter visited Estudiantes from Argentina for the first leg of the final of Copa Sulamericana/Sudamericana (choose your language). The club from Porto Alegre, one of the best of Brazil, won with a goal form the spot by Alex. Inter played since the 25th mark with 10 men because Guinazu was ejected.
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.
São Paulo: Another Brazilian Title Coming
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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)
Having Your Face in The Jersey of Your Club
By: Bruno Romani | 1 Comment
Have you noticed in the previous post that Corinthians was playing with a different kit?
Take a closer look:
Notice how the jersey has several pictures of people. This is part of a marketing campaign by the club, which was form to say thank you to the fans for supporting the club in the second division. Those pictures are of fans of Corinthians, who “bought” the space for about 500 dollars. The club made 4 thousand slots available, which made each jersey unique. The price, however, did not attract that many people. Only 750 fans bought the space. Even though the look is not that great (it looks like a list of people missing in the dictatorships of South America in the 60’s and 70’s), the idea is excellent to engage the fans and make some extra money. This kit was a one time event,and it won’t be used again.
Wanna see more? Go here.
Category: CBFBefore Saying Bye to Second Division, a Good and Old Fight
By: Bruno Romani | Add Comments
On Saturday, Corinthians and Avaí played their last match for the second division as both clubs are moving to serie A next year. So, what was the best way to say good-bye? A good fight which ended with 5 players being ejected (Marquinhos and Batista from Avaí and Morais, Elias and Chicão from Corinthians). Corinthians, the champion, beat Avai (the second team) 3-2.
Fight in Good Images:
Fight in a Different Angle + Goals + Corinthians Lifting the Trophy
Category: CBFOnly 7 Years-Old, Barueri Moves to First Division
By: Bruno Romani | 2 Comments
The last club to join the first division will be Barueri (Dear American reader, I’d love to hear you trying to pronounce this name!). The club, which represents the city with the same name in the metropolitan region of Sao Paulo, is only 7 years old. And it probably holds the world record of promotions, going in 2001 from the sixth division in Sao Paulo’s state championship to the first division in the Campeonato Brasileiro in 2008. Very impressive.
So, what’s their recipe for success? Public Money. A lot of it. The political scene in Barueri has put a lot of money into the club as a way to promote itself and perpetuate itself in power. They built an arena (very likely to be used in the 2014 World Cup for practice sessions, so get used to this name) and hired several players with appearances for big clubs in their resumes. Next year, Cafu, the legendary ex-Sao Paulo, Roma, Milan and Brazil right-back may play for the club. On Saturday, the club beat America-RN 3-0 and closed its participation in the second division with 60 points (16 wins, 9 draws e 11 losses) and getting the last ticket to serie A. Barueri played serie C, the third division, in 2006. In 07 and 08, serie B. And now serie A. Will they resist for more than 1 season in the first division? Ipatinga, last year’s prodigious club, is returning to second division…
Barueri 3 – 0 America-RN
Category: CBFInter: The First Brazilian Club to Reach the Finals of Sudamericana
By: Bruno Romani | Add Comments
Inter 4 – 0 Chivas.
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.
Brazil Closes Beautifully An Ugly Year
By: Bruno Romani | 7 Comments
Brazil 6 – 2 Portugal
Can I even argue against this score? It was one of those matches perfect for being used in TV commercials. If Brazil has been ugly for the entire year, tonight it was fabuloso. It played like never before in the Dunga era, and if throughout the year Brazil did not score a single goal at home, the debt was paid with the right interest. 6 times.
The fact that the match was just a friendly and that Brazil wasn’t playing in a city where fans are not that harsh, the players had no pressure and performed incredibly well.
Again, Luis Fabiano spared to his coach a few extra months of tranquility with a hat-trick. Not only that. In a match served to be a battle between Kaka and Ronaldo, the forward took all the glory home. Kaka and Robinho played a good first-half as well. And Adriano also had time to score with a header and show to a Portuguese who was not on the pitch that he should not dismissed like this.
The midfield with Elano and Anderson also worked. Elano is the type of player that when his not helping the attack, as he did today with a goal that reminded me of Nelinho in the 78 World Cup, he is very efficient in the defense. By helping the defenders, Elano allowed even Maicon to put a good performance. And his goal, after hypnotic exchange of passes, is Nike commercial material.
In the defense, Fluminense’s Thiago Silva put the supposed best player of the world in his pocket. the kid has future. The only player to be below standards is Kleber. Why not Marcelo?
Let’s just hope that this match is the announcement of a new tomorrow. An Dunga is a highlander. He never dies.
With all this said, Brazil made Portugal miss Brazil. Or a Brazilian, I should say. Without Felipao, Portugal is such a fragile side that I felt sorry. As a seasonal football nation, they seem to be heading to a down again.
goals in bad angles:
Little better:
Goal by Elano (great quality):
Compare with Nelinho:
Category: National Team3 Rounds, 2 Clubs, 1 Title
By: Bruno Romani | Add Comments
3 rounds left and the fight for the title has come down to 2 clubs. São Paulo seats 2 points ahead of Grêmio. Both clubs won at home on the weekend. The first beat Figueirense 3-1 ( Borges twice and Hugo). The second defeated Coritiba 2-1 (Tcheco and own goal). São Paulo has been delivering better performances and is growing in the right moment. On the other hand, Grêmio has been putting a lot of passion and returned to the fight after giving signals that the team was in downturn. The league is getting narrower each round and the drama and thrill just builds up. Last weekend, two clubs that also fought for the title died. 5-2 was the score in the matches that took Cruzeiro and Palmeiras the hopes of lifting the trophy. Cruzeiro visited Naútico, and the home team, faced with the threat of relegation, crushed the good but young side of Cruzeiro. The defense made just too many mistakes. Palmeiras, on the other hand, played one of the key matches of the league by facing Flamengo at Maracanã. A crowded stadium plus the low morale resulted from the last weekend’s defeat at home against Grêmio turned Palmeiras into a vulnerable prey. Luxemburgo showed in his body what Palmeiras fans think of this. On top of that, Flamengo’s midfielders Ibson and Kléberson (great duo. Too bad sometimes they look sleepy) were on fire. Ibson scored 3 goals, one with his heel. Palmeiras now is even out of the Libertadores zone, losing place for Flamengo.
In the bottom down, things are even more uncertain. Ipatinga gave signs it still alive by beating Sport 3-0.
Fluminense resurrected by beating Portuguesa 3-1 in inspired day of its young talents. Maicon was the name of the match. Portuguesa, on the other hand, is on the way down.
Atlético-PR and Santos got some room after beating respectively Vitória 2-1 and the reserve side of Inter 1-0. The last club to join the relegation zone is Vasco after visiting Atlético-MG and losing 4-1. Their defense is just too bad.
The only match where there was nothing at stakes was Goiás and Botafogo. The home team beat Bota 3-1 with a hat-trick by Paulo Baier, aka Mister Goiás (he only plays well for this club and his connection to the image of the club is huge). Botafogo continues to get the results of not paying the salaries of their players on time. And by the way, guess who got a red card again? André Luís!
What each match of the next round is for:
Vasco- São Paulo (Relegation-Title)
Vitória – Grêmio (Nothing-Title)
Figueirense – Naútico (Relegation-Relegation)
Botafogo – Atlético-PR (Nothing-Relegation)
Portuguesa – Goiás (Relegation – Nothing)
Coritiba – Santos (Nothing-Relegation)
Cruzeiro – Flamengo ( Libertadores – Title)
Internacional – Fluminense (Nothing – Relegation)
Sport – Atlético-MG (Only match with nothing at stake)
Palmeiras – Ipatinga (Libertadores – Relegation)
Category: CBFPalmeiras Fans Leave Coach Luxemburgo with a Broken Bone
By: Bruno Romani | 1 Comment
Before boarding to Rio on Friday for the match against Flamengo, Palmeiras fans attacked coach Vanderley Luxemburgo at the airport, leaving him with an injury in the right arm (some say it’s a broken bone). The fans are mad since the defeat at home against Gremio, which left the club very far from the title. The fans believe Luxemburgo holds the guilt for his choices of hired/fired players and his huge salary (the biggest in Brazil). Palmeiras is the club that invested the most in the season, under the close attention of Luxemburgo.
But violence never pays off. Palmeiras was humiliated again by losing 5-2 for Flamengo and gave final good-bye to the title. The police had to protect the coach and players before and after the flight back to Sao Paulo. Luxemburgo was driven home by the police.
Category: CBFSanto André is Another Club Moving to First Division
By: Bruno Romani | Add Comments
The third club promoted to the first division in 2009 is Santo André. On the Friday, the club visited and beat Ceará 3-2 (interesting how Ceará was also the host when Corinthians was promoted and at the same time the club is fighting to escape the third division). On Saturdar, Corinthians beat 3-1 Vila Nova, the fifth club in the table. Combined, the two results put the club of ex-Corinthians and veteran midfielder Marcelinho Carioca (goal recommended: 1:54) in the first division after 25 years.
For those unfamiliar with the club, Santo André is the club that silenced the Maracanã in 2004 in the final of Copa do Brasil by beating Flamengo 2-0. Also, Santo André is the main rival of São Caetano, “the” Brazilian club of the early 00’s who is now just a mid table team in the second division.
Santo André adopted a new and more professional form of managing the club to turn 2008 in an antithesis of 07. Last year, the club was fighting to escape the third division. This year, besides the promotion in Campeonato Brasileiro, the club achieved the main division of the São Paulo state league. Santo André has been engaging local businesses and getting them to invest in the club. The club created 80 “shares” which people can buy for about $1 thousand. The return of the investment happens when the club negotiates players, by paying 1% of the transaction per share. Given that the city of Santo André is an industrial one (very close to São Paulo), there are many possibilities for money. The extra income, plus sponsors, turned the club in one of the powers of the second division. And now the club just hopes to make things difficult for the big clubs in 2009.
Also, it is worth making a note about the return of Marcelinho Carioca. The midfielder had retired and became a TV commentator. Faced with the difficulties of a media worker, the guy restarted his career and now takes Santo André to first division. It is never too late for a new start.
Ceara 2 – 3 Santo Andre:
Category: CBF
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