Picture of the Day
Before the days of MagicGrease and smashing car windows... he had Ronaldo Lima's hair / via AFP
Corinthians Win Copa Do Brasil 2009!
Andre Santos must be feeling like he’s on Cloud Nine after winning two trophies in the span of three days! Although we can’t say that he wasn’t all that spectacular for the selecao on Sunday, winning again within the same week must feel great.
Anyway, Corinthians are officially Copa do Brasil champions after a 2-2 draw against Internacional yesterday. Andre scored the second goal after his companheiro Jorge Henrique slotted in the opener in the 19th minute. Inter’s Alecsandro scored twice but was unable to change the 4-2 advantage the Timao had prior to the match.
Enjoy the video of the celebrations below!
Boca’s New Coach Says : “I Missed You”
Alfio Basile is Boca Junior’s reinstated man and while he reminds us of Ursula, he has vowed to restore the club to its former glory! Ursula walked into the club’s conference room yesterday and declared to the press : “I am delighted. I’ve missed you.”
How ironic for a man who has coached more than twenty teams throughout his managerial career. He has worked at almost every Argentinean club including San Lorenzo, America, Colón de Santa Fe and Huracán before a two-year stint at Boca in 2006. So obviously, experience is on his side.
“I have (collected) many jerseys from the all my years coaching. That’s something, right? I’ve spent all my life in the dressing room (and I have) black, white, yellow, jerseys … Obviously, each (team) is different,” he said.
“I’m obsessed about winning all the South American cups, the local tournaments and more cups to come. I learned a little more English and French when I was away from Boca.”
Cesc And Rankings
"Puji? Seen my fingers lately? Están sucios para mi.." / via FIFA
According to the Daily Star, Cescy could be heading to Barca for €40m…. but the Prince of doughnuts wants you to know that he’s fully committed to the Gunners. How could you accuse him of wanting to join the Spanish Treble Winners next season? That’s not right. He will not be a replacement for the man they didn’t get … Ribery!
In other news, Spain have been knocked off the top spot in FIFA’s world ranking… by none other than Brasil. Who decides those rankings and please explain why England lie in 7th place, one spot above Argentina? Oh yeah, we forgot that winning against the likes of Kazakhstan and Macedonia = The World Cup Trophy itself! Glorious.
Adriano Is Officially #9
Posted by Ash in Uncategorized on July 2nd, 2009
Photo via globo
Adriano aka the Favela and Barbecue King has been wearing jerseys with the numbers 29, 27, 92, 90 and 100 since his return to Flamengo in April. But from today, he’ll finally get to wear the all-important number 9 shirt after an Internet poll was conducted among the club’s fans. Well, he can wear #9 at Flamengo but the prospect of wearing the same shirt under Dunga… impossível!
In other news, Flamengo and Corinthians are slated to play a friendly match in Palestine in September as a peace initiative promoted by the Brazilian government. Well, you know Lula. All he needs to do is to send a Brazilian player to various countries and everything will be solved. Oh, if only it were that easy!
Karim, Kaka y Kristiano
Top of the morning to you too, Karim! All these ‘morning expressions’ are pretty hilarious – especially Rafael da Silva’s pillow face and Lionel Messi’s epic yawn.
Not like it’s much of a surprise but Lyon have accepted Real Moneda’s 35 million euros ($50m) bid for the 21-year-old striker. As you can see, history is quickly repeating itself and Karim would be perfect for the squad seeing how Real did the exact same thing when they bought Robinho in 2005.
Come to think of it, Karim would probably join the Raver Ramos-Greaseano-Gago-Casillas clique. These hombres will petition for Potter Perez to set up a nightclub within the training centre with vice girls on call 24/7. Madrid’s nightlife will be transformed immediately!
Picture of the Day
Ron darts low to find the missing piece.... / via gettyimages
Bienvenido a Madrid, Ricky! – Parte 2
Suddenly, we’re kind of panicking on Ricky’s behalf. Can you imagine how one man is expected to change Real Madrid’s policies overnight? Or if you count Greaseano - make it two. This scene is reminiscent of Zizou’s arrival eight years ago and the fact that he went on to great heights with Los Blancos is a comforting thought. But the photo above represents the crux of Real Madrid and their beliefs. Exorbitant money splashed on one player, a great welcome party, Alfredo de Stefano looking pissed again and a nice crafted speech by Potter Perez.
We’re sad to say that we enjoyed the likes of Redondo, Steve McManaman and even Solari ten years ago when Madrid were still about the football. But now, their delusion makes us sick as they fail to address the main problems in the squad again. Come back to Earth and stop feeding us with paper!
“I asked him if Perez could do everything that he said, and he has shown that he can. It’s a great privilege to form part of great teams. I’ve been fortunate to play with great players, and I’m now going to continue doing the same,” Kaka said yesterday.
The Villa Mystery
Ooh! Reports from Barcelona have declared that David Veeya will be a Barca player next season after his agent Jose Luis Tamargo and the club’s technical secretary and director, Raul Sanllehí Txiki Begiristain met in Asturias. Well, it could’ve easily been for a round of bingo but who knows?
Apparently, Veeya reiterated his desire to play in Barcelona and only provided this option. Yes, despite Raver Ramos’s attempts at smoldering him during the Confeds, he ain’t going to the Bernabeu! With Eto’o staying on at the club, he hasn’t been touted as a star replacement yet but it’s clear that his arrival will be a stellar addition to Barca’s squad.
Anyway, Valencia has also warned Veeya that they “will not tolerate any further delay” and David does not welcome the pressure to join any team in England. So he’ll have to make his decision fast. Snap, snap!
Keirrison Reunites With Old Friends
Keirrison may look like one of those “Clinic Extras” in the legendary Mr Bean series, but cara doesn’t care OK? Negotiations are apparently ongoing for a move to Barcelona and Luxemburgo refuses to rule out K9’s move to Spain.
Anyway, the player recently visited his friends Alex and Henrique at Coritiba. “In 2006, I lived in Couto Pereira and walked around here all day dreaming of playing with the stadium full and everyone screaming my name. Thank God within a year, that happened,” said Keirrison.
On a random note, did you know his father named him Keirrison because he was inspired by Jim Morrison of The Doors?
Picture of the Day
Till next year....! / via gettyimages
Bienvenido a Madrid, Ricky! – Parte 1
Anyway, the photo above screams “Awkward!!!” and many of us are grappling with the fact that Kaka is no longer a Milanista. His official shirt presentation will be this evening and hordes of jet-lag Confed Cup journalists are expected to attend the ceremony.
On the other hand, Jorge Valdano seemed unprepared about Kaka’s arrival but we’re sure he’ll have N-95 masks on hand for Greaseano’s arrival next week!
Photos via AFP
South Africa Still Unprepared For 2010?
Is South Africa ready to host futbol’s biggest tournament next year? According to reports in Brazilian newspapers, they have good stadiums, excited fans and roads in “reasonable conditions.” As such, South Africa is closing on a “friendlier note” to host the games, a sentiment that wasn’t the case last year.
However, there are still some serious areas that are lacking, particularly South Africa’s approach towards security, transportation and accommodation. All these factors posed problems to the players, tourists and journalists who came for the competition.
“In South Africa, it is rare to see people walking the streets at night. Even hotel staff recommends that tourists do not leave the hotel on foot at any time of the day. A group of Brazilian journalists found their car surrounded by five bandits who broke the glass of the vehicle and stole the driver’s mobile phone,” observed a reporter.
There are also insufficient hotels and accommodation for travelling fans. For example, more than 15,000 Englishmen travelled to South Africa to see the sport and they couldn’t find places to stay as the hotels had already been taken up by locals and the delegations.
Well, the country still has more than 300 days to improve their policies. We don’t want people killed next year and this looks inevitable!
Gil : Felipe Should Be A Gunner
These BFFS look like Bros on a mission! So don’t try to stop them… especially the walking Sexiness that is Felipe Melo. Ei Futbolitas, hasn’t he grown on you throughout the tournament? Come on, admit it… don’t get all shy on us!
Anyway, Gilberto Silva thinks Felipe should join Arsenal next season and we can’t help but agree. It’s probably the only English club that we genuinely prefer and the holding midfielder would be perfeito for them.
“We heard rumours and he asked me,” Gilberto said. “I said it’s a fantastic club and if he’s interested, he should go without thinking.
“He is exactly what they need – a powerful player with quality. If they got him it would be great because he is a player they need at the moment.
Xavi : Go Away Greaseano!
MLADEN ANTONOV / AFP
Xavi hates Greaseano and when he comes to Spain next week, these two won’t be sharing a pan of delish paella to celebrate his arrival. Duh!
“I do not want Cristiano Ronaldo to come to Barcelona. At the club, we do not want players who fill the pages of the pink media (glossy magazines, gossip papers etc). We are workers and sportsmen and (that’s) uncontrollable. In addition we want to continue winning,” Xavi said.
“Without doubt the best player in the world is Messi and there is no chance he’ll change his club.”
The chicas at ONTD Football say that this is a long-standing fued and by the looks of it, Xavi’s won this one. Furthermore, Greaseano’s people told us that he never reads the papers or ‘care about the gossip’ that’s been circulated about him. But who knows, really? It’d be funny if he had Hello! magazine clippings on his wall.
Picture of the Day
Franz Beckenbauer patiently waits for Sepp Blatter to finish ... which should've been three hours ago / Via gettyimages
No, we didn’t forget Spain
Ah, there’s so much going on in this photo. Ramos the Raver must learn to let go of Villa. After all, it’s been confirmed that they won’t be teammates at club level next season!
South Africa coach, Joel Santana, however, must quickly sign up for English lessons if he does not wish to incur the wrath of everyone who watches the post-match interviews. “Depois the jugadores tranquilo played very well” is the sentence of the year.
Aimar Welcomes Saviola To Benfica
Oh, how we miss the good old Pablo Aimar and Valencia days! At least cara is happily settled at Portuguese side Benfica - and he’s also ready to welcome his former River Plate teammate, Javier Saviola to the club. It’s so obvious Saviola wasn’t in Raul The Great One’s good books when he was at Real Moneda. He spent the entire last season complaining about a lack of starts.
Anyway, the Benfica squad is in Lisbon now to begin pre-season training. The Portuguese press arrived at Portela yesterday but players were not allowed to speak to any of them.
“Sorry, I can’t even speak. They told us (not) to say anything,” Aimar said repeatedly but when asked about Saviola, he added: “I am very happy that he’s coming to Benfica. Saviola is a great player.”
As for Saviola, he’s clearly excited about the upcoming season : “I want to feel useful and important again. I feel that I have the confidence of the staff and that is a good starting point. I have many desires to play and show my talent.”
Brazil VS Usa : De nuestro portátil!
If you didn’t catch yesterday’s Brazil-USA final, where on Earth were you? Even Ashton Kutcher watched the game despite Brazilians telling him to “chupa- lo” (suck it) after Luis Fabiano’s unbelievable two goal comeback! Anyway, here’s some of our observations…
- Parabens and cheers to the USA for a spirited and fantastic performance! They should be proud of themselves for that impressive show in the first half. They took advantage of our weaknesses and deserved to lead at the half-time.
- Ramires and Andre Santos made frequent mistakes and wrong passes to sustain the play. Thank God Dunga got our half-time text and took them out for Dani Alves and Elano. No one can run up and down to support the defenders like Dani can. As for Lucio, he redeemed himself after failing to round up the backline to prevent the opening two goals.
- Luis Fabulooooouso! What more can we say? Unable to shrug off his markers in the first half but he stepped it up in the second. Manos won because they were quick, snappy and capitalized on every chance they got.
- Felipe Melo and Elano clearly cemented their reputations as camera whores while Pato shouted the loudest after receiving the cup. Our amigo Rodrigo was in too much of celebratory mood to celebrate to help Brazilian journos organize post-match interviews!
Photo Special : A vitória da seleção!
“(The goal) meant everything to me as it was a difficult season. God only knows what I did. Our first half was sad. We believed in the second half. I can only thank the group for having fought to the end.” – Lucio
Photo Credits : R.Ribeiro, AFP and Gettyimages Sport
Scolari : Madrid’s Problem Is Raul
Now that the Confeds have been done and dusted, football’s focus is expected to shift to Real Moneda. And Felipão has already identified the squad’s main problem and warned both Greaseano and Kaka to watch their backs!
“The problem with Real Madrid is Raul. He is a veteran and continues to be like the owner of the squad,” Scolari warned. “He decides who he likes (or wants in the team) – including the coach.”
Indeed, everybody knows that if Raul The Great One dislikes you, Di Stéfano and a few other childish brats in the team will follow suit. So you’d best step out of the way and cry yourself to sleep!
Added Felipão: “Kaka is a rare player in every sense. This guy is a rare jewel. With all that fame and money he has already won, he continues to deliver on the field (like a young player). I’m sure that he and Cristiano are going to get along well with each other. Cristiano has nothing to do with that image that everyone has of him. I bet that both will be great friends.”
Seleção Bootcamp : Day Fourteen
Photos courtesy R.Ribeiro
It is with great sadness that we welcome you to Day Fourteen – the last of our Selecao Bootcamp specials! Here’s Robinho welcoming you with the “D” face. Determinação, we mean. He’s probably listening to “Beat It” on his ipod as the man behind mysteriously looks on.
Anyway, it looks like Dopey’s experimenting again as he sent Julio Cesar, André Santos, Lúcio, Luisão, Maicon, Felipe Melo, Julio Baptista, Robinho and Nilmar to the gym yesterday. The other players trained at the Orlando Stadium. Everyone’s excited and calm – even Brazilian football president Ricardo Teixeira dropped by to have lunch with the players. Another round of bingo, anyone?
Later, good old Gilberto Silva tried to explain what sets the manos apart from their counterparts. “Brazilian teams always smile and laugh; it’s important for our football. We’re all mates. We enjoy each other’s company. We try to take that atmosphere and camaraderie and transform it into good football, good attacking football.”
Picture of the Day
Feliz Aniversário, Felipe Melo! And no, Julio is not trying to kill you. / Photo courtesy R.Ribeiro
Lucio Hates Making Mistakes
Awww, isn’t Lucio just so nice … offering to sign an autograph for that little nina? As one of the few veterans from Uncle Cafu’s World Cup winning squad, he takes on that crucial Capitão role very seriously. Phew! Now, if that role had been given to The Dinho instead, there’d be dodgy girls in thongs waiting at the lift lobby of the hotel. Ok, maybe not after a game but after hours, nothing is impossible.
Anyway, Lucio has been reminiscing about the good old times and the mistakes he made the 2002 World Cup. He was blamed for that fluke Michael Owen goal in the second round of the tournament. No matter though – you and your non-existent gardeners know who won the game at the end of the day. But since you asked for it again, here ya go…
Lucio said : “I know that failure is inevitable. But when I make a mistake, I feel upset that I’ve disappointed my colleagues. That day, God helped me and granted Ronaldinho a goal that caused an upset and led to a goal.”
And with great power comes great responsibility. Lucio, we want to see you holding the cup tomorrow!
Keirrison To Go To Barca?
One of Brazil’s most promising strikers, Keirrison, may very well become a Barça player next season! Not surprising as he’s been on the radar of some of the top European clubs all season. In this case, the deal will only go through if his representative, Marcos Malaquias, reaches an agreement with Laporta’s Men In Black.
However, Palmeiras must agree to let Keri go – a prospect which may be easier than expected. After all, Palmeiras fans have been unhappy with the striker, pointing accusatory fingers at him for the club’s failures after eliminations from the Paulista Championship and Copa Libertadores. Oh, they even nicknamed him Pipokeirrison!
If Keirrison goes to Europe, there’s a better chance of obtaining a spot in the highly competitive selecao. You know Dopey prefers hardworking, “Champions League” types and Keirrison will fit in well the Catalan giants.
Torres Not Thinking Of Vacation… Yet
It sucks to play for third or fourth place… but at least you’ll get to enjoy the rest of your ‘trip’ knowing that nothing else can be done. Stable Boy Torres thinks there’s no such thing as ‘favourites’ in the Confederations Cup anymore. Yeah, because Spain were favourites and are now forced to play in the losers pool…
“I think the USA have a good chance of winning against Brazil,” he said. “In moments of great importance, there’s no such thing as favourites.”
Like his captain, Puyolita, Torres maintained that he isn’t thinking about the holidays. God, these Spaniards are too serious. Grab a Kinder Bueno already from Cescy’s backpack!
Torres added : “What matters to me is winning before leaving on vacation.”
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