Bleacher Report - Articles by S B

Nothing Like Talking to Someone Who Was There: The Truth About 1962

S B — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 19:25:33 -0400

In the second group stage match for Brazil in the 1962 World Cup, Pele is hurt.

The king is out of it. The greatest player the world had seen till then, and arguably since then, will not go on.

Journalist Luis Carlos Barreto was in the Brazilian dressing room on that faithful day.

According to Barreto the news that Pele was out of the World Cup only served to hype Garrincha up even more.

Garrincha looked at his teammates and declared, "Now we're sure to win this cup!"

When confronted with the obvious sea of quizzical faces staring at him Garrincha went on, "Pele had been getting in my way—solta a bola Mane!....solta a bola Mane! (let the ball flow Garrincha) he would keep screaming in my ear, now that he's out of the way I can start playing, I'd only been giving about 40% of my ability so far."

And so said so done.

Garrincha went on to dominate the 1962 World Cup like no other, save Diego Maradona's one-man show in 1986.

Barreto also went on to comment on the horrific state of the pitches in this particular World Cup.

Apart from the national stadium in Santiago all the others were in a horrific state which oddly enough favoured Garrincha once more.

"It was as if he was playing a pelada (fun match usually involving alcohol). There were so many holes in the pitch it was as if he (Garrincha) was back in Pau Grande dribbling all comers".

So there you have it folks. Not only did Garrincha run the show on the field for the world to see but, according to selecao reporter Luis Barreto, Garrincha also ran the show backstage.

He rallied the troops through the toughest of situations, namely the loss of Pele.

Brazil will host the World Cup in 2014. The main stadium in the country's capital is aptly named the "Mane Garrincha".

This stadium is set to be demolished, reconstructed, and modernized in time for 2014.

The name "Mane Garrincha" will reportedly be changed. Should Brazil disregard and disrespect her heroes in this way?

Will the football gods punish the football nation?...only time will tell.

Lampard Is Obviously Hitting The Bottle Again

S B — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 07:41:12 -0400

Frank Lampard believes that Brazil would love to get their hands on some of Fabio Capello's stars.

His comical comments come as England only need two more points to qualify for next summer's World Cup, after a flawless qualifying campaign versus unsung weak opponents, and having failed to make it to the last EuroCup.

Hope that 2010 could finally be the year that England win a major tournament, is all that's left.

However Lampard has no doubts that even Brazil would be reaching for their chequebook to try and buy England players if international rules allowed.

It is worth mentioning that international rules do allow this, as several Brazilians already do play for European national squads, including European Champions Spain.

But back to the boozer's comments ahead of England's friendly in Amsterdam on Wednesday—he declared: "I think they would."

"I'm certain they would look at some of the players because we've got top, top players who perform in Champions League and are some of the best in the world."

"You're talking about Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, John Terry, and Rio Ferdinand. Those guys could be compared to any player in the world and I'm sure teams like Brazil would want them in their teams."

"It's certainly a relief not to have to worry about that," admitted Lampard, who was speaking at an event organised by England team sponsors Nationwide Building Society.

"We should believe in ourselves because individual-wise our players have got the talent to match anyone."

When we bear in mind that England have never beaten Brazil in a competitive match ever in the history of football, Brazil are fresh off yet another record breaking Confederations Cup title and England couldn't even qualify for their local continental cup...

We can only assume that old Lampard's been hitting the bottle again.

Lucky for him that no assault charges should arise from this one as uttering senseless drivel is still legal in the U.K.

Manchester United's Fletcher: World Cup Is As Good As It Gets

S B — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 21:07:18 -0400

Darren Fletcher—"The World Cup is a pinnacle of any player's career."

The Scotland captain believes an appearance at the World Cup finals in South Africa next year will surpass anything he has achieved at club level with Manchester United.

Fletcher's last appearance in the finals of a major competition was in the 1998 World Cup in France.

Victory for George Burley's side in tomorrow's Group 9 qualifier against Norway in the Ullevaal Stadium in Oslo will take them one step closer to a play-off place.

He is looking for some long-overdue international success to sit alongside the trophies and medals he has won at United.

"There is still lots that I want to achieve at Manchester United," he said. "I've not done too bad but what is in the past is in the past, I look to the future. I would love to represent my country at a major finals, I think every player would.

"The World Cup is a pinnacle of any player's career and most of our squad haven't experienced that and the country hasn't achieved that for a long time.

"So we are desperate to do it. We hope we can finish second and get in the play-offs and if we did then we would fancy our chances against most teams."

The Red Devils' midfielder shares a dressing room at Old Trafford with world superstars who regularly reach the big stage with their respective countries.

Fletcher believes a trip to South Africa will put Scotland back on the map with players that have grown fed-up of teasing him about Scotland's lack of success.

"It's all good fun," Fletcher said. "But it has stopped now because they have got used to Scotland not qualifying and they just leave me alone—so I'm desperate for that to change.

We are all desperate to play on a World stage, nothing else matters and they can give us as much stick as they want."

"The squad has evolved," he said. "We have a lot of players in the wider areas, like Kris Commons and Ross McCormack, who like to attack.

"That was not always the case in previous when we had a lot of central midfielders and similar players. We have exciting players and it has given us more options."

Fletcher's position, of course, is guaranteed, but the Manchester United play-maker insists the captaincy will have no effect on his game.

"There is no extra responsibility on me," he said. "I am not going to change just because I am the captain. I won't shout more, I will do my usual thing. I talk before the game but there are a lot of voices in the squad."

Nilmar Comes Up Short and Is Shipped Off To Europe

S B — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 09:29:38 -0400

Villarreal president Fernando Roig is confident Nilmar will be a bit hit at El Madrigal after the Primera Division club pulled out all the stops to sign the Internacional striker.

Nilmar will soon be presented after agreeing a five-year contract with Villarreal, who have been looking for attacking reinforcements following the departures of Nihat Kahveci and Guille Franco this summer.

According to reports in Spain, Villarreal have agreed to a fee in the region of 11million euros with Brazil's Internacional for Nilmar, smashing the Yellow Submarine's transfer record, and Roig admits they made a huge push to bring in the 25-year-old.

Brazilian striker Nilmar had also been tracked by Manchester United and the English tabloids had rumoured an even greater offer of 23million euros in a bid to bring him to Old Trafford and the EPL.

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson badly needing to strengthen his attacking options after losing both Cristiano Ronaldo, Carlos Tevez and having no real home grown talent to call upon.

And so the exciting Nilmar was an option as Manchester looked to revamp their squad.

However La Liga's Villarreal managed to close a deal first and Roig had this to say:

"We have high hopes and for this, we've made the biggest effort in the history of the club, because we are convinced he will be a great player for Villarreal for the next five seasons."

Meanwhile, Nilmar said this of his switch to Spain: "I have the opportunity to play in one of the best leagues. I hope to shine in Europe as I shined in Brazil.

"Internacional will always be my second home and I will keep great memories."

The same cannot be said of Internacional management sentiment towards Nilmar as he came up terribly short this season failing to win any major silverware.

Apart from winning the local state championship for a second year running Inter were unable to pull of victories in both the Recopa Sudamericana and the Cup of Brazil.

They also currently struggling to hold on to a slender two point lead keeping them in the Libertadores classification zone of the Brazilian Championship.

Inter had opted to pay higher wages and hold back on player sales in this their centenary year but this 2009 strategy ended up not yielding the desired results and Nilmar's sale is a sure indication of a shift in club policy.

At his hight after winning the 2008 Copa Sudamericana Nilmar was retained for another season—the centenary year.

His current form is questionable apart from one sensational solo effort at the start of the Brazilian Championship.

A Confederations Cup calling from Dunga must have weighed in his eventual signing to Villarreal even though he barely played in that competition and looked quite ordinary for the few minutes he was on.

Nilmar still remains a top player and has shown moments of pure magic this year so at the end of the day it must be said that Villarreal have managed to buy themselves yet another top class Brazilian superstar.

Poll Names Ronaldo As Brazil's Most Popular Footballer Worldwide

S B — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:38:40 -0400

This just out:

SporTV has aired the results of a nationwide Brazilian poll carried out on player popularity and the results were surprising.

Six months ago the very same pole had named Kaka as the most popular footballer in Brazil with a 25.8% popularity rating and Ronaldo could only manage 6.68% of the vote.

However in a startling turn of events, and even after Kaka's Confederation Cup triumphs, Ronaldo now occupies the number one spot with 22.6% of the votes with Kaka coming in second racking up 21.2%.

It is very unusual for a non-Selecao player to be so loved in Brazil but then again Ronaldo is just no ordinary mortal.

Having won both the Sao Paulo Championship and the Cup of Brazil, Ronaldo's popularity is soaring. Add to that scintillating goals unmatched for quality anywhere in the world and it's not hard to see why so many Brazilian hearts have been conquered.

The poll was carried out in several states and people could vote on any player in the world irrespective of nationality or playing location.

So much so that another surprise was that miraculously even the likes of relative unknowns in Brazil like Cristiano Ronaldo received votes.

The other Ronaldo who currently plays in Spain came in with a surprising 3.2% of the vote.

Arch rivals and much despised Argentina got one player voted for—Lionel Messi. He finished with 1.9% of the football fanatic population of Brazil asked naming him as their favourite player.

The directors at Corinthians must be happy as kit sales with the famous Ronaldo 9 should hit tens of millions easily, and that's just in Brazil.

Ronaldo Hat-Trick As Corinthians Cruises to Victory Over Fluminense

S B — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 06:31:10 -0400

"The Phenomenon" fired in a superb hat-trick to continue his impressive form this year.

Ronaldo scored three times as Corinthians beat Fluminense 4-2 in a Brazilian Championship game at the Pacaembu last night.

It was Corinthians' first match since conquering the Brazilian Cup last week. Ronaldo starred for the Timao, scoring twice in the first half and once in the second.

The Brazilian superstar opened the scoring in the 24th minute, when he met a superb ball from Douglas with a clinical finish.

In the 35th minute Ronaldo added his second in spectacular style as he dribbled and faked both Cassio and Edcarlos before tucking the ball past Ricardo Berna.

Six minutes before full-time Ronaldo completed his hat-trick, with another impressive first-time finish past a motionless Berna once more.

They were Ronaldo's first goals of the Brazilian League Championship this season, however the double World Cup winner scored several goals in the Paulista State Championship and the Brazilian Cup, both championships won by Corinthians.

The other goals were scored by Dentinho, for Corinthians, and by Argentine playmaker Dario Conca and an own goal from Diego, for Fluminense.

Former Lyon striker Fred was sent off for Fluminense late in the second half for dissent.

It was Corinthians' fourth win in nine matches and places them in fifth. They now challenge for the leadership, fully focused on just one tournament.

Having won the Brazilian Cup, Corinthians will now play the Libertadores in 2010. Next year is also the 100th anniversary of the club.

There have been rumors of Carlos Tevez returning to his former club and also the hiring of Riquelme for the 2010 Libertadores and Club World Cup supremacy, but nothing has been confirmed.

If Ronaldo continues to find the back of the net at such a rate, there's no doubt he could appear for Brazil in South Africa next year in a bid to win his third World Cup title.

For those who missed it, Ronaldo's goals can be seen here.

Have Some Respect Cristiano: There Is Only One Ronaldo

S B — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 21:12:14 -0400

Real Madrid's latest signing, Cristiano Ronaldo, shows little class as he insists on using the jersey "Ronaldo 9".

Kaka had been offered the number five which he promptly turned down intentionally and intelligently avoiding comparisons to Zinedine Zidane.

Cristiano Ronaldo has however opted to wear the immortal number 9 which should weigh heavily on him in the months to come as he is painfully inadequate when compared to the real thing.

You see, dear reader, there is only one Ronaldo who scored three times against Manchester United at their very own Old Trafford.

There is only one Ronaldo who has scored more goals than any player in history of the world's biggest sporting event—the World Cup.

And the real Ronaldo has won not one but two of those illusive World Cup titles, joining a very elite club of immortal players.

To dare to wear the exact same kit as such a legend is putting ones self in line for endless comparison and criticism.

Especially for a player who can barely manage a few keep ups without looking silly and letting the ball fall three times in front of all those disillusioned Real Madrid fans.

Word of advise to Mr. Imitation would be that La Liga is not EPL. Real Madrid is not Manchester United. Prepare for ridicule.

The next few months should be extremely entertaining as this comical saga unfolds.

The real Ronaldo plays for Corinthians. Corinthians won the first ever Club World Cup with both Raul's Real Madrid and Beckham's Manchester taking part and is currently one of the world's strongest clubs.

The real Ronaldo has won both the Sao Paulo Championship and the Brazil Cup this year alone.

He has scored fantastic goals some of which showed repeatedly on Spanish television.

Even a penalty he scored passed more than 40 times on Spanish TV.

La Liga fans and the Spanish as a whole are very tuned in to real football in a very global way unlike most English fans who's world is pretty much limited mainly to the tiny isles.

The next few months promise barrels of laughs. This should be one of the shortest honeymoons in history.

Brazil's Confederations Cup: They Came, They Saw and They Kicked Passes

S B — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 18:40:19 -0400

The Confederations cup came to a scintillating end today with an exciting 3-2 victory by Brazil over an impressive team U.S.A.

A fitting final to a tournament of the highest level involving most of the world's best teams, champions of their respective continents.

They said Spain were the favourites but as it often turns out "they" got it all wrong.

Spain, also known as the Kiwi-killers in some parts of the world, were clearly benefited by an easy draw and crumbled when they came up against a team U.S.A which had just been through a crash course in football versus non other than the mighty Brazil.

U.S.A. 2 Spain 0. That's right Torres, this isn't EPL.

Egypt were impressive and represented the African continent with honor.

However the Pharaohs put everything into their first match versus Brazil, which ended 4-3 in favor of the latter, and their bench just could not maintain the same standard.

A football team nowadays can be made up of as many as 23 players.

Brazilian coach Dunga illustrated this well playing every single player taken to South Africa save the two reserve goalkeepers.

Italy were brushed aside in the group stage after getting away with some controversial decisions versus the United States and the slimmest of victories versus a weakened Egypt, they were easily beaten by Brazil.

This was the second victory in a row by Brazil over Italy in recent times, with a tally which now totals five goals in two matches this year.

So much for Italy's long run without losing—when it rains it pours.

Bafana Bafana, South Africa to the rest of us, started off slow but grew in the competition managing to get past the group stage and placing fourth.

The Kiwi-killers, Spain, narrowly edged out South Africa in a well contested match which went all the way to extra time ending 3-2 in favour of the European Champions.

New Zealand were there for the experience and, well, they experience quite a lot absorbing seven goals without once scoring.

The Kiwis did manage to scrape up a point versus Iraq who were also sent home early but having only conceding one goal in three matches.

The stars of the show without a doubt were the mighty Brazilians.

An astounding 14 goals in five matches, conceding five goals on the road to becoming champions for an unprecedented third time. Yet another world football tournament is dominated by Brazil.

Before the tournament Luis Fabiano was asked how many goals he thought would be a good showing and he said five—one in every match.

Well it did not go one in every match but strangely he did end up scoring five and taking the golden boot award.

Kaka was voted the best player and U.S.A keeper Tim Howard the best goalie. Howard had earlier absorbed hell on earth as Brazil bombarded the American goal relentlessly having fallen 2-0 down in the first half.

Dunga's boys showed that they are indeed the greatest in the second half versus the U.S.A. Not many teams on earth would have the confidence and character to chase such a comeback against such compact and well organised opposition.

In the end the fans benefited, for such an entertaining final in a world class international tournament, is very rare indeed.

Italy Pantsed By The Pharaohs

S B — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 18:01:47 -0400

Egypt got a well-earned victory over Italy in a match where the Pharaohs attacked beautifully and defended sensibly.

A flatfooted and at times barebottomed Italy, created very little and got two or three chances at most on the Egyptian goal.

The African champions easily neutralized Italy's revamped forward line and surprised the World Cup holders in the 40th minute when Homos out jumped Daniele De Rossi and beat the frozen Gianluigi Buffon with a header off the inside of the post.

Iaquinta was unlucky in the 86th minute when his floating shot beat the goalkeeper but bounced back into play off the bar.

The pro-Egypt crowd of 52,150 at Ellis Park roared with delight as victory came closer.

As Italy kept on pushing forward, Egypt was smart enough not to entrench itself and remained dangerous on the counter until the end.

It turned into a battle of wills and Egypt prevailed, often outrunning and out-hustling their gloried opponents. And even in five minutes of extra time, Egypt kept its composure to safeguard its first-ever victory over Italy.

Brazil Beat Paraguay and Get Ready To Grace South Africa 2010

S B — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 09:09:53 -0400

No World Cup would be complete without the presence of the Samba boys and their wonderful entourage of beautiful fans.

Brazil's presence at 2010 was never in any doubt but the Canarinhos took one step further to mathematically qualify with a slender 2-1 victory over Paraguay last night.

It was the type of match to be expected against the Paraguayans. It was a little ugly, very physical, with the occasional flash of brilliance.

Paraguay’s strategy was clear from the outset: Shut down Kaka. Nearly every time he touched the ball he was swarmed and fouled immediately.

The first half saw Paraguay go ahead off a Paraguay free kick deflected by Elano catching out Julio Cesar. Robinho put things back on level terms off yet another brilliant Dani Alves cross.

In the second half Team Brazil asserted itself as the half went on, and the ball was in the Paraguayan side of the pitch for most of the second 45 minutes.

Brazil’s second goal was scored by Nilmar. He scored on a perfect lob from Felipe Melo. After first trying to chest pass the ball to Robinho, Nilmar calmly slotted in the rebound off the Paraguayan defender.

Hopefully news of the coming of the mighty Brazilians should go a long way to get a surge in ticket sales going in South Africa as seen in the Confederations Cup.

Brazil Silences The Centenario with an Unprecedented 4-0

S B — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 07:09:19 -0400

Uruguay had not suffered a home defeat at the hands of the Selecao for 33 years.

The Centenario in Uruguay's capital city Montevideo had, up till yesterday, been a safe house, to stave off the onslaughts of the mighty Brazil.

All of this came to a crashing end as a 52,000 strong, mostly Uruguayan crowd, were silenced by a convincing 4-0 Brazil goleada.

Perhaps for the first time ever the cry "Brazil Brazil" gently echoed throughout the Uruguayan capital as Dunga's men made history tearing through Uruguay's defence in methodical fashion while giving up nothing in return.

The zesty Daniel Alves was given a starting chance due to Maicon's injury and he did not waste it. Apart from defending tooth and nail, Dani opened the scoring in the 11th minute with a long range shot which took a strange bounce and slipped by the unfortunate Uruguayan goalkeeper Viera.

The pitch at the Centenario was in a horrendous state for the match. This was probably an attempt by Uruguayan officials to slow down Brazil's free-flowing game but in an ironic twist may have contributed to Brazil's first goal.

Juan managed to then score from a corner rifling in a header which actually came on the second attempt as the Uruguayan keeper saved the first attempt only to see Elano cross the ball in again and Juan make no mistake the second time.

Uruguay playing at home continued to pressure in a bid to salvage at least a draw but several efforts were thwarted by none other than the world's finest goalkeeper—Julio Cesar.

Throughout the match Julio Cesar made spectacular saves living up to his reputation as the world's best.

The second half showed no letting up by the Selecao as the talent of Robinho and Kaka showed class time and time again controlling the midfield and coordinating counter attacks against a desperate Uruguay.

These efforts finally paid off with a third goal, after a well worked play involving many players, Luis Fabiano rifled in a powerful shot and became top scorer not only for Brazil but the entire tournament.

Kaka sealed the deal with a penalty, for a foul he himself suffered, neatly tucked away, as top class players are expected to do.

The win put Brazil on top as leaders of the South American World Cup qualifiers.

So has Dunga found the formula? Only time can answer this question as Brazil will next meet Paraguay at home and then go on to play in the Confederations Cup coming up against some of the world's better squads.

Against Paraguay, home based Internacional's Nilmar will probably start as Luis Fabiano is suspended for a red card he picked up due to a second yellow. In a divided ball with the Uruguayan goalie Luis tried to get out of the way but the referee saw it as an attempt to invent a penalty and showed him his marching orders.

Apart from this incident the referee Saul Laverni did a wonderful job in what was his first match at this level.

Uruguayan Max Pereira was also sent off close to the end for a frustrated act of violence on Cruzeiro's Ramires who had come on to replace Manchester City's Elano.

Pato was not even on the bench for this match and also noticeably absent was Anderson.

Without the clumsy Anderson midfield did seem to flow better.

Dunga's gradual adjustments seem to be paying off as the Selecao have now scored 16 goals in five matches versus Portugal, Italy, Ecuador, Peru, and Uruguay—conceding only three.

Brazilian Championship Gets Going In Grand Style

S B — Sun, 10 May 2009 22:31:36 -0400

The Brazilian championship got started today in grand style with Internacional's Nilmar scoring a fantastic goal versus Ronaldo's Corinthians.

This championship promises to be one of the hottest in recent years as a host of strikers lock horns for the No. 9 jersey up for grabs on Brazilian coach Dunga's yellow machine.

Big names the likes of Adriano, Ronaldo, Nilmar, and Fred go up against each other as well as newcomers such as Dentinho, Keirrison, Kleber, Neymar, and the Argentinian D'Alessandro.

And what better way to get things going than a spectacular goal "A la Maradona" in the very first match.

It is worth mentioning that Ronaldo did not play for Corinthians as well as several other players due to their focus on the Cup of Brazil.

However, this does not take away from the Internacional victory or Nilmar's splendid run at goal versus the undefeated Paulista champions.

Corinthians had gone 26 matches at the Pacaembu without tasting defeat before this match.

Nilmar's wonder goal can be seen here:

http://tr.youtube.com/watch?v=Ranfj-pLbdQ

This goal should set the tone for the following rounds of splendid Brazilian football- simply as good as it gets folks.

The Ronaldo Effect: They All Want To Be Like Him

S B — Wed, 06 May 2009 16:44:57 -0400

Brought together to meet Equador and Peru for the World Cup qualifiers, Brazilian players huddle and chat about how wonderful it is for Ronaldo to be playing in Brazil. A debate gets going as to whether or not it's worth coming back to Brazil from Europe before getting to 30 years of age.

Is it worth it to earn a bit less but to enjoy life with childhood friends and family?

The final whistle of the qualifying matches goes and immediately Adriano announces that he will not be returning to Inter Milan and Europe. Could this be the "Ronaldo effect" in action?

Word is that Ronaldinho and Robinho are also thinking along similar lines. Ronaldo spreads the word that life is good.

"The Sao Paulo night life is great and I'm only 40 minutes by plane from Rio de Janeiro," he tells his friends by phone.

People close to Adriano have affirmed that Ronaldo's example played a part in his decision to trade Inter Milan for Flamengo and also trade the European leagues for the Brazilian championship.

Members of staff connected with Ronaldinho and Robinho have said, "Both dream of returning to Brazil with the same intensity with which once dreamt of leaving."

However the stumbling block for these two are the monumental contract fines which bind them. Wagner Ribeiro, who once worked for Robinho until his move to Manchester City describes the Ronaldo effect like this:

"Ronaldo showed the gang that you can return early and enjoy life back home".

Julio Mariz, the president of Traffic, talks of positive numbers back home: "I think the players really think about coming home early. Nowadays you can easily earn $75K a month playing in Brazil, there are some who earn $150K."

Ronaldo earns $200K tax free playing in Brazil. This figure can hit as high as almost $900K a month from shares in Corinthian's sponsorship funds.

Robinho, who has another three years to serve out his contract with Manchester City, earns about $700K a month. Robinho managed to triple what he earned at Real Madrid but is as unhappy with Manchester City as the club is with him no doubt.

Evandro Souza, a member of Robinho's staff, says Robinho's wish is to return to Santos but right now it is impossible. As far as Ronaldinho goes, well comments by his manager sums it all up.

"Brother, we're just fine ... there are 30 million Euros in play here!" said Ronaldinho's brother/manager Assis.

Ronaldino, just like Robinho and Adriano, also dreams of coming home but money, contracts and his brother seem to get in the way. One way or the other it seems the scene is set for some changes in world football as the Ronaldo effect grabs hold of Brazilians all over the world.

Barcelona-Chelsea: Am I the Only One Who Noticed?

S B — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 19:25:22 -0400

Barcelona and Chelsea both slashed in a Champions League Semifinal match.

First of all, let's dedicate a few lines to what little football there was.

Bojan Krkic and Didier Drogba both missed easy chances, and Samuel Eto'o had the only beautiful play of the match, as he won the better of Alex only to be stopped by another one of the few who looked like a real footballer on the night—Petr Cech. Nil-nil it ended.

I would like any reader who saw the match to please tell me if I'm the only one who saw Thierry Henry yanked down in the box by his jersey.

Am I also the only one who saw Michael Ballack slap a Barcelona player about to enter the box, not receive his second yellow, and subsequently not be sent off?

These were the more obvious ones that even my grandmother could spot, but the truth is there was a subtle standing order in effect to cheat Barcelona on every occasion—or maybe that's just my eyes playing tricks on me.

Did anyone else out there see this?

Yes folks, on more occasions than not, there were bodies lying on the turf, sometimes two or three at a time. It looked more like a war zone as Chelsea upped their game in this semifinal brawl at the Camp Nou and succeeded in containing Barcelona.

Chelsea were the main violent aggressors, but Barcelona were not to be outdone and brought on Hulk Puyol, who applied an elegant body slam which surely was the move of the match.

The other elbows, slaps, head butts, and slashes from behind paled in comparison to Puyol's finely executed body slam, almost breaking a Chelsea player in half.

The return match in England promises to be a thrilling affair.

A Little Chat With my favourite footballer - Cristiano Ronaldo

S B — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 10:29:41 -0400

In an exclusive interview with the Brazilian magazine Placar, Cristiano Ronaldo reveals his desire to rack up more titles and prizes and also his dream of scoring a goal dribbling past several adversaries.

You've won the Champions League, the Club World Cup, Golden Boot and been voted the world's best. So what now, relax a bit?

I don't like to relax (giggle). I'm young, I have along road ahead and I want to be embedded in football history. I think I'm already in football history but I want to write more pages and for this reason I need to go after more titles. Thank god I'm at a club which can give me guarantees that we can win everything we go after.

The fight with Messi for the world's number one must be tough. Do you watch his games?

Yes, not just because of him, but because of Barcelona, which is a big club. Without a doubt he is a big player, fantastic, but I don't like comparisons.

You scored 42 goals last season, many beautiful ones. Which goal would you like to score before ending your career?

From one goal to the other. Cross the whole field dribbling the other 10 adversaries.

I've also scored some beautiful goals while training that I'd like to repeat in matches, dribbling four players and scoring for example.

You have many admirers but also many people who root against you, not so?

I like it (laughs). I like when they boo me. Not that it gives me strength, but it does not bother me, not even a bit. When I enter the field all I center on is the match and I forget all that's around me.

But I know that many love me and hope that i always play well. It's like coach Carlos Queiroz says, we don't play only for ourselves but our family, our friends and all who like us.

Do you feel more pressured playing for the national squad than for Manchester United? Is it different?

It is different. I spend all year with the same players at the club, we are used to each other, meanwhile at the national team it's more difficult.

But before, even with little time to train, the Portuguese squad got better results. What's gone wrong?

There was a very radical change in the national team, the coach changed, some players, and we are going through a rough patch. Due to these circumstances we find ourselves unable to repeat the good results of the last few years.

But success doesn't come in straight lines and Portugal will change it's course. It does not even enter my mind the possibility of missing the 2010 World Cup.

If we get it together and create a good environment, we will classify.

Do you stay in touch with Felipao? Why do you think he did badly at Chelsea?

Mister Felipao is, in the first place, a friend of mine, a trainer who helped me a lot and who I'd like to train with again because I improved with him in all aspects.

When he came here people liked him a lot, but a trainer's life is complicated. If the results don't go well he pays.

The world of football is like this, but he doesn't lose any value cause of this. He's a world champion, this says it all.

Rafael and Fabio da Silva, your colleagues at Manchester, say that you love to boast that it was because of you that they are at the club. Is this true?

That's just a joke. They are both incredible lads, very well mannered and have great talent.

I did make the call to them as requested by Sir Alex Ferguson, because of the language and to explain to them what exactly Manchester United represented.

It wasn't to convince them...well, actually it was for this reason as well.

Were you surprised by their first season?

Yes, I think they've already left their mark. It's not easy, at such a young age, to arrive at a club like Manchester United and play the way they play—very well.

I arrived here very young as well and I know how complicated it is.

But I can't forget Rodrigo Possebon and Anderson, of course.

All the Brazilians here are spectacular people.

Beauty of a Goal...Did Someone Say Beauty of a Goal?

S B — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 18:10:12 -0400

Ronaldo...all hail Ronaldo.

There is only one Ronaldo and there is hope for football yet.

This became more than apparent in Sunday's classic encounter between Santos and Corinthians at the Vila Belmiro.

Corinthians rolled over Santos in front of their home crowd and it was he who made the difference.

With seemless calm and skill that overfloweth, Ronaldo scored a double in this first leg of the Paulista Championship final.

The scoreline read 3-1 in favor of Corinthians at the end, but make no mistake this was a match where the home team Santos pressured from start to finish and might have come away victorious were it not for...him.

His first goal was a beauty coming off a long ball which he calmly brought down with one foot and slotted in with the other, making it Corinthians 2-0 at a time when Santos pressured for an equalizer.

The second came completely against the run of play. Once more with the score at 2-1 and Santos threatening to equalize, he made it 3-1 and ended all hopes of a comeback.

Ronaldo's second goal in this match is one which I won't even venture to describe. If you haven't seen it, then look it up on any of the video sites out there or world sports news.

This writer won't venture to describe the subtle control, shift of direction and football art which deceived eveyone possibly even some cameramen.

Watch it yourself and come to your own conclusions.

I'm only here to write about the genius of the man who is Ronaldo.

Dribbling his way past the doctors, reporters, scandals, and the odd footballer as well, right into my living room.

Football art which gives us all hope that football is as alive as ever.

After the match Ronaldo showed his off-field skills as well while answering reporters questions.

He credited the victory to the team and downplayed his own spectacular performance.

When pressured specifically about his two golden contributions he had this to say:

"This is the place where the king (Pele) scored many goals...and to be king in the king's house, if only for a day, is very good indeed."

Fred Chats About Fluminense, the Brazilian Squad, and More

S B — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 16:27:17 -0400

Former Lyon striker Fred talks about his return to Brazil with Fluminense.

Why did you decide to come back to Brazil?

First of all for personal reasons, to be with my family, especially my daughter. Secondly because the World Cup is around the corner. Third, because I wanted to regain the pleasure of playing football, which I had lost a bit there at Lyon.

You had previously said that you would only come back to play in the Libertadores. Why did you change your mind?

Actually, when I spoke of Brazil I only thought of Cruzeiro, because of my great relationship with the fans. I longed for this sort of support. This sort of love. I called Cruzeiro and asked to come home but they never presented any sort of project, proposal, or anything.

Then there was Palmeiras,Gremio, more talk...but after Christmas Alexandre Faria, a friend, told me of Fluminense.

I got excited and thought "I'm going to Flu". Got on the internet and saw pictures of the fans and imagined myself with that kit in the Maracana with the fans screaming my name, winning titles...mushy huh? (laughs)

I put this in my head and it worked out.

Why do you think the national squad became so distant to you?

Injuries. Did five or six matches then I got hurt and went without playing for three months.

Did some intensive treatment went to Copa America but then I got hurt again and three more months away.

Then it was over because I was practically a season away. This was my lost chance to become a permanent fixture on the national squad.

Players who come back to Brazil like Ronaldo or Adriano seem to have trouble with the night life. Does this worry you?

I like to party. I am no saint.

It is possible to be an athlete, enjoy your family, and also party, grab some girlfriends, all in a calm fashion.

You can't just work without an outlet. You can't let yourself turn gay either...just can't happen. Keep your balance.

Do you think there is a great disparity between Brazilian and European football?

I think that as far as national championships go only the Spanish league is a little better. It's like an improved Brazilian league.

How about the EPL?

No, the English league is ugly. There's no quality, it's a brawl, ball in the air, long sprints...

Would you ever return to Lyon?

No. What I did at Lyon is good enough. Done.

What do you plan for the rest of your carrier?

Just think about Fluminense. Of course I won't deny that one day I may leave, but for now it's where I want to be, make history, become an idol, I feel at home here.

My objective is to be champion, next year play the Libertadores and end things with a World Cup.

What if you are not called [to the national squad]?

Normal. What can I do? Sad, yeah? It's the objective I set since my return–to play for the selecao. If it happens well great. If it doesn't I can't do anything.

Long Live Emperor Adriano

S B — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 07:59:10 -0400

Pressured and unsatisfied, the Emperor Adriano stated this Thursday that he has no intentions of returning to Inter Milan.

"I have lost the joy in playing football, I'm taking a break," said Adriano to reporters.

He went on to say, "I was not happy at Inter, correction, I was not happy in Milan."

Adriano highlighted the fact that he needs to be with his family in the marvellous city—Rio the Janeiro—even if this hinders his career in some way.

"I've been pressured since I was 18. I need a break”, continued the Emperor. "I've decided to opt for my happiness and to be near my family."

In response to drug use allegations the Brazilian forward had this to say:

"If this were true I could not play football, anti-doping tests are frequent for professional players in all competitions."

Allegations of him visiting a Rio slum recently were met with, “I was brought up in a Rio slum and I'm proud of this."

Gilmar Rinaldi, Adriano's manager, was quoted as saying the player had ”personal problems" and he had visited the German complex slum in Rio.

Adriano has guaranteed he does not use drugs.

The former Copa America champ and current Confederations Champ did play in the Paulista League and Libertadores last year and has not ruled out playing for a Brazilian club once more.

Adriano announced, "It would have to be Flamengo or else my grandmother will kill me."

Flamengo was indeed the club who brought Adriano to the professional level.

When he spoke of Flamengo, a smile finally broke out on the player's face.

A smile visibly absent throughout the interview.

So hats off to Adriano.

He is not the first as many Brazilian players have opted for happiness over the mighty buck. He is however the most high profile in recent times and by far the most outspoken.

Blatter once spoke of the modern football "slave trade", and even though these are very well paid "slaves" some elements of truth do linger within Blatter's comment.

For a little over a decade there has been a flood of Brazilian players into Europe. The figure stands at just over 1000 a year.

Players are put to "work" in Europe and as Adriano rightly stated "The joy is lost".

In the midst of this billion dollar trade we must all stop sometime to remember—it's still just a game.

The transfer fees have gone silly, the clubs are in debt, shady mafia oil "businessmen”, Asian dictators and all sorts of "funny money" is floating around and perhaps it is time to stop and think.

Worth mentioning that it is not all doom and gloom as a precious few on both sides of the Atlantic do benefit.

The players do earn extremely big compensation packages as well.

Most can't seem to get away from the easy cash and the likes of Maldini and Beckham seem to wish to milk this cow well into their 50's if given the chance.

Adriano by this action shows that he is satisfied with all the easy millions he's made, tired of the McFootball job, wants to play for a club he truly loves, can't stay away from his loving family and wants to live at home in the marvelous Rio de Janeiro.

What's there not to like about this guy.

However dear reader you can all rest assured that in the coming weeks and months the men with the tall hats will lash out.

Adriano's statements put the "trade" in jeopardy.

We can expect him to be slandered, branded a drug and alcohol junkie, mentally disturbed and a host of other labels.

The phones are ringing as I write this to ensure he's dropped from the national team and blocked from Brazilian clubs.

It will be left to see if Dunga and the Flamengo directors have the balls that the Emperor has shown as he rightly lived up to his name.

Bolivia Slam Argentina 6-1—April Fool's Day?

S B — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 19:53:16 -0400

Yes, Argentina did lose to Bolívia 6-1 this Wednesday.

No,this isn't some April Fool's Day prank.

Played in the Bolivian capital, La Paz, for the 12th. round of the South American elimination rounds for the 2010 World Cup, this was Diego Maradona's first defeat at the helm.

Argentina had previously won matches versus Scotland, France and Venezuela with Maradona in charge.

However these matches proved to be little preparation for, what many consider the toughest tournament on earth—the South American Qualifiers.

Bolívia got things going at the 11 minute mark with an, ex-Cruzeiro striker Marcelo Moreno strike, and Argentina managed to level proceedings on 24 with a Lucho González shot from outside, a bit favored by the altitude.

Five minutes later Botero scored a penalty for Bolivian goal number two and still in the first half Da Rosa made it three.

Counting on the 3,650 meters of altitude, Bolívia kept the rhythm going in the second half.

Just eight minutes into the second half Botero made it four and on 20 minutes he completed his hat-trick and an unbelievable 5-1 the scoreboard read.

Botero is the top scorer so far in this competition ahead of names like Kaka, Messi, Riquelme, Robinho, Ronaldinho, and the other host of superstars.

On 41 minutes in the second half, with a physically and mentally exhausted Argentina praying for the end, Bolívia stuck in number six. A weak shot from outside, low, with a curious bounce, beat Argentine goalie Carrizo.

With the loss, Argentina stay on 19 points and could plunge to fourth place depending on other results tonight.

Bolivia with 12 points remain second to last a shade better than Peru, who meet Brazil in Brazil tonight and are not really fancied to pull off any miracles.

Ronaldinho Gaucho and "The Life of Brian"

S B — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 17:55:21 -0400

"Dear Ronaldinho,

I've always been a fan of yours even way back in the beginning when you played for Gremio.

You are the best. No matter what they say you'll always be the world`s best for me.

Let that joy with which you play shine.

Follow my example and never let life's obstacles keep you down."

—Excerpt from a letter written by a 14-year-old boy confined to a wheelchair and with multiple physical deficiencies, called "Brain."

The letter was presented to the Brazilian superstar Ronaldinho Gaucho, at a Canarinho training session at Inter's home ground.

For the benefit of those readers who do not know, it must be mentioned that Internacional and Ronaldinho's Gremio are archrivals, so he was training in unfriendly territory, so to speak.

Fans, totalling as many as 30,000, packed into the Beira-Rio just to watch Brazil train in a light pre-match session.

We can only hope that the lads came away with a sense that there is much more to football than big contracts and TV ads—especially football legend Ronaldinho Gaucho.

Brazilian Talent Factory Churns Out One More: Neymar

S B — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 18:41:50 -0400

Neymar da Silva, or just Neymar, is the one turning all the heads in this year's Sao Paulo Championship.

The Brazilian is hailed as the new Robinho. Just like his predecessor, he is also a product of the Santos youth program.

He has only played a handful of games for the first side and yet offers from Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Real Madrid, and Barcelona have already been showered upon him and Santos.

Real Madrid have reportedly paid a pre-contract sum in a bid to secure the him until he turns 18.

It is also rumored that an English based side has paid 40 percent of his pass and is awaiting his 18th birthday as well.

Brazilian players can only be sold after turning 18.

However, officially he is "owned" by Santos FC who have control until 2015 and will not part with him for anything short of $42 million.

Sunday will herald a big clash of the old versus the new, as Santos take on Corinthians in the Paulista Championship.

Neymar will go head-to-head with his opposite—Ronaldo. The man with all the records versus the lad who is sure to set many.

Having scored twice in his last match for the Brazilian Cup, all Neymar can think of is the Paulista Classic versus arch-rivals Corinthians.

This match promises to be a stage for lots of "Football Art."

Many English betting sites have the odds swaying towards Corinthians.

They must not know about Neymar.

Perhaps they should tune in to B/R for good tips more often. Right now any Corinthian fan in Brazil will tell you that they haven't slept for days cause of this lad called Neymar.

The name is worth remembering folks. He's got the touch. This one is the real deal.

There Is Only One Ronaldo—The Rest Are Just Cristianos

S B — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 20:37:34 -0400

Just 26 minutes is all it took.

Coming on in the second half versus rivals Palmeiras, the Corinthian and world superstar, shone brightly.

The stage was set. A Paulista classic in the super Paulista league which has seen the likes of everyone from the legendary Pele, to others like Roberto Carlos, Cafu, Rivaldo, and more recently Robinho and Kaka.

It was Ronaldo's first go at this stage and his short run reminded us of exactly why they call this World Cup record holder—the Phenomenon.

A deft dribble to get things going, subtle, not exactly a Robinho a la Zambrotta, but effective.

Follow this up with a piercing run. He's brought down from behind but the ref isn't having any of it. No ref wants to be called out for helping out the superstar.

Then another short run with a fiery shot. Off the crossbar it goes.

Then a great cross which almost leads to an assistance but the keeper is up to the task.

His second try on goal is a header coming off a corner—and it's in!

He runs to the crowd taking half the team with him and the fans end up braking the fence down such is the mayhem.

Ronaldo also picks up his first booking for that effort.

Later in a Globo talk show the talk comes up that there is only one Ronaldo the rest are only Cristianos.

Ronaldo doesn't comment on this statement but does slip in some words regarding Cristiano: " He chooses to call himself Ronaldo...I think one player does not write off another...every player has their place in the world scene."

So he's back folks. The real Ronaldo has now scored twice in as many matches.

Brazil 2 Italy 0: Londoners Treated to Top Football

S B — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 20:32:07 -0500

Brazil ended 2008 with a powerful 6-2 spanking of Portugal and have started 2009 putting on yet another scintillating display with an impressive 2-0 victory over current world champions Italy.

Playing at their so-called home away from home, the Emirates Stadium, Brazil put on quite a show, with light touches and surgical finishing.

The first 30 minutes of the match saw Italy struggle to find themselves as they were clearly outplayed.

Against the run of play, Italy did find the net first, only to see their effort adjudged offside.

Brazil finally struck through a well worked play which started and ended with Elano.

The lead then became 2-0, when on 26 minutes Robinho stole the ball from a bewildered looking Pirlo.

Robinho stole the ball near the area and proceeded to put three Italians to do a little dance before slotting it past a beaten Buffon.

After this moment of Zen, there were other chances for Brazil but 2-0 the first half ended.

Brazil consolidated and ran the clock down in the second half with Italy looking a lot better, especially Luca Toni, who came on and posed a constant threat up front, making Julio Caesar work hard.

Luca Toni did find the net, but coming off a NFL catch, which he then proceeded to poke in.

The English referee was keen on letting the goal stand, but the linesman quickly put things in order pointing out that in this kind of football, catching the ball with the hands is very much frowned upon.

The clock ran down and Brazil could celebrate a historic victory, which puts them ahead statistically against Italy in a long history of encounters which had stood dead even before the match.

Worth mentioning that Brazil was without regular striker Luis Fabiano and another player called Kaka.

Young stars like Douglas Costa, Walter and so many others back in Brazil must also be hungry for a spot on the squad with Dunga insisting on players like Juan, Gilberto Silva and Josue.

Dunga insists on having experience on the squad. Others might argue that these players are like suitcases that Brazil carries around every match.

The veteran Ronaldinho did manage to keep up for the entire 90 minutes and showed moments of deft skill.

The talented Daniel Alves was pushed into a midfield position and the young Pato given a brief run.

So Dunga’s experienced and sometimes defensive mixed age squad will go on for now. As long as he keeps winning he surely will not be replaced.

However, Portugal and Italy victories are a far cry from the tough South American qualifiers which await Brazil back home. He is more likely to be judged based on those upcoming challenges.

FIFA U-20 Shocker: World Champions Argentina Will Not Defend Their Title

S B — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 22:01:21 -0500

The current and six times Under 20 world champions, Argentina, are out.

The FIFA Under 20 World Cup is a tournament traditionally dominated by South America.

Just Argentina and Brazil alone have won on 10 occasions, with the rest of the world together pulling off six titles.

Argentina had won the last two editions and were considered frank favourites not just to qualify from South American but to go on to possibly win their third straight title in Egypt.

Unable to count on many European based players except for Liverpool midfielder Emiliano Insua, coach Sergio Batista could argue that key players were missing for the South American part of the tournament.

However, the only team in the competition without any foreign based players, Brazil, ended up winning for the second time in a row, with a round to spare.

Coach Batista will have to find some other excuse for the press back home as European based players seemed to have little or no influence whatsoever on the outcome of the tournament.

Other qualifiers for Egypt are Uruguay, who surprised with some wonderful attacking football, and Paraguay, who beat Brazil 1-0 in their final match to secure a place.

Paraguayan football has greatly improved over the years.

It must be noted that apart from finishing second in the Under-20 qualifiers they also lead the qualifiers for 2010 South Africa ahead of Messi's Argentina and Kaka's Brazil.

The big tournament surprise were hosts Venezuela who managed a shocking 3-1 victory against an also already qualified Uruguay, in their final match.

The Venezuelans celebrated the classification as if they had won a World Cup with an invasion of the pitch by cheering fans.

FIFA frowns on this kind of behavior nowadays but somehow it was fabulously nostalgic to watch and completely violence free.

FIFA U-20 World Cup Qualifiers: Don't Cry For Me Argentina...La La...La Laa

S B — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 18:30:05 -0500

Brazil were today able to secure their second consecutive final round victory. This practically guarantees classification for the Under-20 World Cup.

Sweeter than classification for a World Cup would have to be that the latest victim was none other than favourite adversary Argentina.

Under heavy conditions in Maturin, Venezuela, Brazil were able to put the initial stamp on yet another generation of Argentinians, 2-0.

Argentina did have a goal legitimately annulled with 23 mins. on the clock. Neira scored a header off a free kick but there was a player involved in the play who was offside.

The Columbian linesman did a great job to call the infringement with the rain pouring down at the Monumental Stadium.

With 17 mins into the second half Benitez handled the ball in the area and Brazil was awarded a penalty. Kardec struck the spot-kick badly but luckily the Argentine keeper Rodriguez was unable to hold on and so 1-0 Brazil the scorecard read.

Argentina tried hard to equalise but in a Brazilian counterattack Douglas Costa squared for Giuliano to volley home for 2-0.

Brazil vs Argentina would not be the super derby it is without some kind of a skirmish.

Near the end of the match a bit of a clash broke out with one player from each side being sent off as a frustrated and vanquished Argentina had to be separated from the overjoyed Brazilians.

Brazil is now considered favourite to win the tournament.

At the start of the tournament there were questions about stars like Pato not being called to the squad. All the other countries are sporting players from Milan, Liverpool, and other European clubs.

Brazil opted to play a 100 percent Brazilian club based side and so far it's been nothing but pure samba and joy.

FIFA U-20 World Cup Qualifiers: Brazilian Home-Based Stars Samba in Venezuela

S B — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 06:36:05 -0500

How sweet it was to watch Brazil last night as they opened their final round of matches with a fine 3-2 victory over tournament sensation Uruguay.

It must also be noted that it was equally sensational to see a rejuvenated and competitive Uruguay back to top international standard.

However, a mixture of nostalgia and excitement grabbed hold of the country as Brazil fielded its first all local based player squad for many moons.

How sweet it has been over these past days to see a new generation of Brazilian players who all play for Brazilian clubs run riot on the rest of South America with their foreign based players.

Even the lowly Peru, who have already been eliminated from the tournament without even managing a point, had European based players in their squad.

With Europe's need to import talent has come an era where players are sold at younger and younger ages in a bid to maximize time on investment.

As a result, even at this young age group, the national squads at this South American FIFA World Cup qualifier tournament, all featured players from foreign clubs such as PSV, Liverpool, and Milan.

However, thanks to the popularity of the sport in Brazil, diversity in footballing disciplines and excellent training facilities, Brazil has always been up to the challenge and their new generation of players is the proof:

Douglas Costa (Grêmio) – 18 years old

Considered by many one of the biggest stars on the squad. The left-sided attacking midfielder is considered a phenomenon in Brazil, even during his early years in the Grêmio youth team.

As is a pre-requisite for all Brazilian wingers, Costa is an expert dribbler and a free-kick specialist, but he also has exceptional technique for such a young player.

Realising they have yet another jewel in their ranks, Grêmio offered him an improved contract in September, one that would tie him down to the Porto Alegre club until 2013 with an estimated $33 million (€25 million) buy-out clause attached.

Costa is expected to be one of the shining stars in this tournament but for his employers, they know all to well that if he blitzes his competition, the likes of European behemoths, Arsenal, Barcelona, Manchester United and Real Madrid will come knocking even louder.

Welinton Souza (Flamengo) – 19 years old

The defender was one of the key players in Flamengo’s youth team’s triumph in the Belo Horizonte Cup and the Champions Youth Cup in Malaysia, both in 2007.

In 2008, despite missing out on the São Paulo Cup due to injury, Welinton still made the Brazil Sub-20 team to compete in the International Mediterranean Championships and the L’Aldúcia Tournament in Spain.

Maylson (Grêmio) – 19 years old

The versatile midfielder was one of the stand-out players for Grêmio’s youth side in the U-20 Brazilian Championship in 2006.

He is already considered one of the rising stars at the club after he was promoted to the senior squad in 2007. He was given his first team opportunity in November against São Paulo after numerous key players fell injured and although he played only three games in total, he has had a significant impact on the team.

German company, Rogon Sportmanagement, offered Grêmio €3.3 million to purchase the player’s rights but saw their bid rejected.

Dentinho (Corinthians) – 19 years old

A very pacey, opportunistic target striker with great technique, Dentinho was one of the revelations in Brazil’s Serie B in 2008 with Corinthians. He has already attracted the interest of Real Madrid and he will be one of the more experienced players for the Seleção in this tournament.

Along with Douglas Costa, they are expected to be the two most closely watched stars of the competition.

Tales (Internacional) - 19 years old

From the same generation as Alexandre Pato, Tales was one of the more pivotal figures in Internacional’s youth team. Usually a live-wire in the middle of the park, he is everything a midfielder should be with great vision, excellent passing of the ball and a skillful, killer right foot.

Marquinhos (Palmeiras) - 19 years old

His big two weapons are his speed and his audacious dribbling skills. He was one of the revelations of last year’s Brazilian Championship, making 31 appearances for his former club, Victória despite being only 18 years of age at the time.

His impressive performances earned him a transfer to Palmeiras and his ability to play either as a winger or a second striker has earned him the nickname, ‘The New Denilson’.

Walter (Internacional) - 19 years old

A natural born goalscorer, Walter is a typical 'No. 9’ who is very powerful and very effective. Like all target strikers, he may not be the most skillful or agile but he has that killer instinct inside the area and he is comfortable playing with both feet.

His two goals versus Uruguay had a pinch of "a la Romario" to them. Let's see how this lad develops.

Full Squad

Goalkeepers: Renan (Atlético Mineiro), Rafael (Cruzeiro)

Defenders: Dalton (Fluminense), Welinton Souza (Flamengo), Rafael Toloi (Goiás), Leandro (Coritiba), Douglas (Goiás), Patric (Criciúma), Everton (São Caetano), Diogo (São Paulo).

Midfielders: Sandro (Internacional), Zé Eduardo (Cruzeiro), Maylson (Grêmio), Giuliano (Paraná), Douglas Costa (Grêmio), Tales (Internacional)

Forwards: Renan Oliveira (Atlético Mineiro), Walter (Internacional), Marquinhos (Palmeiras), Dentinho (Corinthians)

Source - Goal.com

Hopefully Brazilian national coach Dunga also has his eyes open and sees that he does not have to always depend on the sometimes lazy millionaire players based in Europe. There is lots of hungry, eager talent just waiting for a chance to run riot on the international stage.

Sao Paulo Youth Training : The Envy Of The World

S B — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 05:30:21 -0500

Joseph Blatter paid a recent visit to Brazil to discuss the 2014 World Cup.

In a meeting with Brazil's President Lula, Blatter spoke of the World Cup, but inevitably the conversation switched to player transfers.

Blatter is one of those who is very concerned about the number of Brazilians playing in European clubs and national squads.

His concern is that one day we could have a World Cup where teams from every country in the world had Brazilians. This may sound outrageous, but in 2006 Brazil had two full squads at the World Cup with the second one distributed amongst countries of the world.

In the last edition of the Euro Cup there were also several Brazilians with, arguably the best player on the winning Spanish team, being Brazilian Marcos Senna.

Sao Paulo coach Muricy Ramalho was quoted as saying recently that this season Sao Paulo will have two alternate players because of an excess of talent.

Apparently the economic woes in Europe has led to a slow down in player purchases and a consequent backlog at Sao Paulo.

Indeed this month a youth tournament was held in Sao Paulo with clubs from all over Brazil taking part while the national under 20 squad was simultaneously playing in the FIFA under 20 tournament in Venezuela.

Yes, Brazil has enough youth talent to field a national youth squad, without many top youth players who are back home playing in a club youth tournament, and without calling on any players who are abroad in the many European clubs.

The 2008 figures on official player transfers have been released with the number listed at over 1200. This figure is slightly above the 1000 average number of players sold annually.

The Sao Paulo youth program has produced hundreds of top players over the years, the likes of world's most valuable player, Kaka.

Adriano would also be amongst the list of big successes as he recently came to the club from Europe in bad shape.

At Sao Paulo, he was trained and disciplined with attention given to his off field behaviour as well. After a relatively good stint at the Libertadores, he was soon back in Europe helping Inter to top their league.

Facilities are also not only limited to Brazilians as clubs and national squads from all over the world are welcome to the State of Sao Paulo in a bid to improve their game.

This month featured visitors like the Angolan club CRD Libolo and the national under 20 Trinidad and Tobago squad.

Trinidad and Tobago head coach, Serbian, Zoran Vranes had this to say, "We had the chance to work at excellent facilities and get some strong competition from the teams we played against here."

He went on to describe the experience at Sao Paulo as, "A valuable training exercise."

Is Jalena Jankovic The Cristiano Ronaldo Of Tennis?

S B — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 06:13:47 -0500

Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli easily brushed past the so called world number one Jelena Jankovic on day seven of the Australian Open, 6-1 6-4 in the fourth round.

Jelena is ranked number one in the world.

Jenena's illustrious career can be summed up in one line - she has never won a grand slam tournament. Never the less she is ranked number one.

If we switch to the world of golf briefly we see the superstar Michelle Wie.

In 2006, Wie was named as one of the 100 people who shape our world by Time magazine.

Well, this writer does not understand which world they are talking about exactly, as all I see is a pretty tall girl who has never won a tournament in all her professional career.

In a professional career which started in 2005, to date Wie is yet to win a title. When she finally does win you can be sure that we will all definitely hear about it over and over again.

She might just be the world's best paid loser but unfortunately those stats are hard to come by as nowadays losers seem to be handsomely paid.

Next in line would be my favorite of all the paper champions, The Portuguese and Manchester United star, Cristiano Ronaldo.

Cristiano has never won a world cup.

The world cup is considered by football fans in every corner of the globe as the major stage for world football.

Indeed Cristiano has never even won a European Cup with Portugal.

Cristiano does play for the richest football club in the world, Manchester United and thanks to a slip from the equally talented John Terry of Chelsea, did win himself a European club Champions League title and went on to play a weaken LDU to become world club champion.

So unlike the previous two he does have a legitimate claim to glory.

However Cristiano was already touted as the world's best long before Terry slipped and also long before he had any sort of international silverware.

Where is sport heading?

There have been reports of golf tournament where a proposal was introduced to include only players who could speak English. It appears the interview has become more important than the player’s skill.

In a recent CNN interview, a top rugby official said that Rugby would become much more popular if the FIFA model was adopted.

The official said that if Japan were to make a final it would do wonders for the sport.

Was he insinuating that FIFA intentionally allowed certain teams to make finals in order to promote football? Was this a slip of the tongue hint at match fixing?

We will never know for sure. You the reader can decide.

Article 100: A Tribute to English Football

S B — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 15:42:12 -0500

To begin my article 100 it should be stated that I am a fan of English football. One cannot help but be a fan of the inventors of the beautiful game.

Hailing from Brazil, a country many credit with having put the beautiful in beautiful game, I cannot help but admire the inventors, especially since it was a Scotsman, educated in England, who introduced the sport to Brazil.

Having said that, one has to admit that English football has been in decadence for many years and there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel.

The reason I say that there is no light is that in order to fix it, the first step would be to admit it.

The title of this article could so easily have been “a country in denial” for in general the English fans and the English press seem to think that all is hunky dory and it is others who come to England who must adapt to their high standards.

Before we go on perhaps a brief look at football hierarchy is called for. Brazil and Italy are the two best football nations in the world. Between them they have as many world titles as every other nation on earth put together.

Now that we’ve quickly cleared that up let’s get down to dregs of football royalty which would be England and France who both managed to scrape out titles at home both with a certain degree of controversy.

So these two nations are the light weights amongst the big boys. The quasi-football entities, the diet coke of real football nations so to speak.

French fans, media, and football administration seem to understand their lot in life, generally low profile, working hard on youth programs and hoping for better days and perhaps another Zidane.

However the same cannot be said of my English football friends. A visit to any predominantly English based football chat site will reveal a culture of “we are number one.”

The English press relentlessly bothers to publish critical articles about other nations instead of focusing on just how bad English football has been in the last several decades.

An article recently said the following in reference to Italian football, “Now zoom ahead, or flash back, to the Italian national team. It is the world champion, but time catches up with everyone. The latest version of the Italian team is pedantic and dull. No. 1 striker Luca Toni is a throwback. He's a big, lumbering target guy who can't play with the ball at his feet. “

“ Time catches up with everyone” , “pedantic and dull” and “lumbering target guy who can’t play with the ball at his feet,” all strike me as apt descriptions of English football and English players.

However such a thing would be considered blasphemy in the English press, unless of course it’s about some other country, like say, the current and four times world champions, Italy.

English football fans and media have become so adept at the “we are the best” mentality that there is a bandage for every sore.

If a tournament can’t be won—then perhaps that tournament is no good.

If a tournament which can’t be called “no good” can’t be won—then at least we placed well.

If we didn’t qualify for a tourney and so can’t even “place well” well then sack the coach or maybe it was the organizers or maybe the bad pitch...anything but the blasphemous “our footie is lame.”

Truth is that English football is way behind in terms of training systems as well. Futsal is not even played in the country. Every modern Brazilian star started with futsal before going on to a youth program.

In Spain futsal is also prevalent and perhaps it is no coincidence that Spain is the current European champs..

Instead of improving and modernizing the solution seems to be to buy the Spaniards and Brazilian, along with any other nationality, to glorify the English leagues. This has yielded one world club title and has had no effect at a national level.

Main reason for the limited effect of foreigners on the English league is again the mindset that those who come must learn and adapt to the English way.

Some leave, some refuse to come, and some young foreign talent get turned into clumsy grass-cutters, sliding here and there and lobbing the ball up-field all in the name of the mighty buck.

Meanwhile the English beat their chest like Mini-Me and go on calling the giant Italians lame, the mighty Brazilians and Argentineans weak, and criticize everything but their own outdated, unimpressive brand.

Yes, I am a fan of English football. Only a true fan would go out of their way to be so frank about something so serious.

I say aim for more. Instead of made up heroes married to Spice Girls, dream of an English captain kissing and lifting the most prized of all football trophies. Dream of true football glory but let the first step be acceptance of where you are right now.

Kaka Agrees To Join Manchester City—If His Conditions Are Met

S B — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 19:46:14 -0500

Kaká will only trade champion club Milan for emerging Manchester City if the project presented by the English side is a serious one.

The Brazilian is not only thinking about the money. The salary is tempting, but Kaka wants more.

He is demanding that other top-class players be purchased by Manchester City.

He fears falling to the second division, and wishes for City to start next year as a favourite for all competitions in which it will take part.

Manchester must embark on a serious project, and not just some short-term scheme. Kaka says he has professional objectives. and a first-class club is where he must be.

If there are to be further negotiation, then some sort of project or plan must be presented by City in addition to talk of money.

Under these conditions, the transfer may go through in this January window, Diogo Kotscho, Kaka's communications liaison, said in an interview given to GLOBOESPORTE.

Diogo confirmed also that Kaká would only discuss the issue if Milan first accepted the offer.

Sheik Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Manchester City owner, sent a delegation to Milan on Tuesday. One of the members was Kia Joorabchian, businessman responsible for buying and selling players.

The first offer was for $150 million. Unconfirmed reports have the figure even higher. It would seem that Kaka is currently worth more than Sheik Mansour actually paid for the entire Manchester City club.

Kaka's main concern seems to be City's current standing in the EPL table, the threat of relegation, and what other players will be joining him in this project to turn Manchester City into a world class club—explained Kotscho.