Palmeiras-Corinthians will forever always remind us of that louco Brazilian film, Romeo and Juliet Get Married where the characters come from a family of opposing hardcore supporters. They would’ve loved result in yesterday’s 2-2 draw! Ronaldo Lima scored a double for the Timao while Danilo and Maurício did the favour for Palmeiras. All the goals came in the first half.
In the other game, Nilmar’s former team, Internacional, were unable to pull off a victory against Botafogo. They were down 0-1 in the second minute when Juninho struck for the visiting side. However, Inter still think they can win the Championship.
“It’s no use trying to make excuses. We do not play well. We conceded a goal early. We had a lot of pressure from the fans. We have to recognize that everyone fought to the end to try to break even and turn the game,” said coach Mário Sérgio. Well, at least their fans know how to turn the heat up…literally!
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Oh… you can always count on the Corinthians fans to go all out every week! By that, we mean carrying black balloons and body slamming amidst the sticky crowd. Wouldn’t you like to be there, futbolitas?
Anyway, the Timão fought to a 3-3 draw against Botafogo yesterday and it seemed like the referee left his brains at home. There was an apparent hand ball in a Botafogo goal and Corinthians had a dodgy penalty ruled in favour of them. Dentinho scored a double for Corinthians while Andre Lima’s handball was allowed.
In another match, Palmeiras defeated Internacional 2-1 thanks to the brilliant Diego Souza. Unfortunately, it’s a sad day because Sao Paulo lost their second spot place to Goais after their loss to Atletico Paranaense. This ends our seven-match winning streak. Damn!!!
Brazilian side Botafogo are experiencing problems that European teams rarely hear or know of. The club is having serious financial difficulties that have led to the delay in paying the wages of their players. Globo reported that at the end of 2007 Botafogo had total debts of $106.1 million (or R$209.7 million).
This year, Botafogo find themselves unmotivated and playing without purpose in the last round of the Campeonato Brasileiro. Existing problems do not make their match against Palmeiras on Sunday any easier. And you’d think that they’d be down in the dumps with no zero postivity. In reality, it’s quite the opposite with coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo citing the team’s determination to show that things can turn around for the club in 2009.
“We need wins to qualify for the Copa Libertadores,” explain Luxemburgo. “For us, the game of the year is this Sunday. Everyone is saying that players will come into the game with the mindset that they don’t have any responsibilities, which will make it more difficult. But that is not true.”
Ideally, the team had wanted to win the championship title at home. “We failed, but the chance to play in the Copa Libertadores is also very important. It is possible for us to return to the elite of South American football – part of our plans for next season,” added Luxemburgo.
We think that it is extremely sad to see a team like Botafogo struggling to stay afloat. After all, you’d be tempted to think that a rich history is enough to pull them through. For a squad that boasts former greats like Leonidas da Silva, Didi and Garrincha, surely they should be doing a lot better.
Andre Luiz of Brazil’s Botafogo takes the yellow card from the referee during their Copa Sudamericana match against Argentina’s Estudiantes. The game ended in a 2-2 draw with the Argentinian side advancing to the semifinals. Predictably, the yellow card turned to red a few minutes later and Luiz was given his marching orders. No surprise, there!
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