Fútbolita

Welcome to Futbolita’s “La Liga Lunes!” (say it with a merry little voice). It’s one of our fresh new features for the new season, which means ya’ll better stop the hair waxing or whateverchu been doin’ and get back to the Spanish futbol business. So let’s ring the bell and dance to the new season!

DE TODOS MODOS, Matchday 1 consisted of a lot of mid-air fistpumps (David Maravilla style), Greaseano whining and sheer disappointment on MouMou’s face. Obviously, Barca weren’t feeling the pain of losing Ibracadabra to their friends in Italy and handed Racing a nice 3-0 gift courtesy of Maravilla, Iniesta and the Messiah. Sergio Canales cried all the way from his Madrid apartment, but after leaving Racing for better shores, that was inevitable!

As for Mourinho…. acorda, tio! You can do better than that goaless draw against Mallorca! Where was the mascot (Juande Ramos) when you needed him?

Said MouMou : “I’m disappointed that with the number of chances we created we didn’t score. When you aren’t at your best you have to do two things, defend so your opponents don’t score, and take your chances. We deserved to win.”

All photos via AP & Reuters

Hermanos and chicos, if your sole purpose in life is to be a member of the Jersey Shore and DouchaWalla Walla clan (ok, that was completely made up in five seconds), your duty now is to learn from Greaseano! That look he was giving his namorada – the gawwwjus Russian model Irina Shayk – is hilarious.  Ya’ll know that you can’t just go for a Real Madrid basketball date with Greaseano and talk about the weather. Come on now, Irina… be charmed by the power of the oil-slicked hair!

Anyway, Real defeated Hercules in a preseason friendly last night and the 3-1 win was courtesy of goals from Benzema Bon Bon and Di Maria. The Argentinean also decided that it was best to channel both Pato and Neymar in his goal celebrations. Awww.

via Reuters, AFP

A few weeks ago, we wrote about how Eva Langoria has been neglecting her old friend, Rafa Marquez in favour of the new Ferosh Kids, IkerBonero. Well, it appears that she has not forgotten him at all.. because they met at the Red Bulls-La Galaxy game over the weekend!

Marquez was with his namorada, Jaydy Mitchel, a Mexican singer and actress. Of course, her husband Tony Parker also attended the game purely for the debut of Titipo Henry. You gotta show your good friend some support, eh?

Here’s a photo of Arjen-We-Still-Don’t-Forgive-You-Robben with a message to his former colleague, Raul the Great One at Schalke! You all know how much Bundesliga loves the Real Madrid legend now, but Robben thinks that Bayern will be title champs again este ano!

He wrote: “Welcome Raúl, and good luck. But we will be champions. Greetings, Arjen!” And with that, he proceeded to dive over the pavement with the letter.

Here are two video featuring your highness Greaseano and the adoooorável Fabio Curly da Silva discussing ‘their game’.  Greaseano seems a little bit aggressive in his explanations, but that’s just cos’ he can’t wait to go on that lunch date with Irina. As for Fabio, queremos beliscar suas bochechas!

via Bild, Jundabean, Nike Futebol, HOLA!

Oh My Word, I don’t have words to describe how happy I am, how happy the team is, how happy Eusebio is, how happy the Portuguese fans are!!! We are in 7th Heaven yes,as the South African Futbolita pointed out to me!

This morning my 5 year old daughter said “Mommy today Portugal is going to win 6-0” I smiled at her and though “I wish!”

They have complained that this World Cup lacked goals, well there you have it 7 goals in a incredible match! Today Portugal showed the world that we too are capable of playing beautiful football! Clearly the boys took to heart when the Coach told them to fall in love with Jabulani,because that was their ball for the World Cup!

Yesterday our dear Capitao promised the fans goals, a lot of goals, he said he didn’t know who would score them, but the goals were coming! I thought,” Ronaldo, don’t make promises you can’t keep!”

It’s almost as if the boys knew today was going to be a good day for us! They looked so calm, as they entered the field, smiles on their faces, you wouldn’t have thought that the coaches message to them for this game was ” All or nothing! ” or that half the fans in Portugal had just about given up on them after the Ivory Coast game! Yes that’s what happens when you draw in your first World Cup Match! And just like that by wining one game, all their sins are forgiven!

Ronaldo once again is a darling after scoring his first goal in over 16 months! His face when he scored said what we all thought “Finally!” He even got a smile and a thumbs up from our Hero Eusebio!

Ronaldo’s long awaited goal! (photos AP)

For those of you who have been living under a rock, in 1966 Portugal played North Korea, and were down 3-0 when Eusebio scored 4 of the 5 goals,in the second half, ending the game with a 5-3 victory for Portugal! The Korean coach had said that they were playing for revenge, yaicks… I guess now they hate us even more!

So let me try to snap out of my high, and lets see what the team did today, that they didn’t against Ivory Coast!

There was unity today, they showed what happens when a team comes together! There were also four changes in the teams line up, Miguel,Tiago, Simao and Hugo Almeida! Take note Mr. Queiroz  three of these boys scored 4 of those goals!!!

Playing in a 4-3-3 formation, this is how it went down! In the first half, Raul Meireles put a smile on our faces,with goal at 29′. But the magic really happened just after the second half started, when in just 7 minutes they managed to score 3 goals, courtesy of Simao 53′, Hugo Almeida 56′ and Tiago 60′.

It could snow for all Meireles cared,that goal was going in! (Photos AP)

With half and hour to go, there was plenty of time still for more, and another three goals then came in a nine minute span, these by, Liedson at 81′ who had just come on as a sub, Cristiano Ronaldo at 87′ and just as we thought it was over Tiago netted at 89′ making it 7! It could have been more goals, if we have to be honest, but the team did a beautiful job, and we are all very proud of our boys!

The team became the first European team to be successful at the Green Point Stadium, they also hold the record of the highest goals scored in the 2010 World Cup, and in Portugal’s history of goals at a World Cup, all in all a good day for Portugal.

One of my friends and her family travelled about 1600 km by car to come watch this game, I have no doubt in my mind that a win like this, made all those hours worth it!” The atmosphere was amazing.The 12th player was truly the spectator! That stadium was all behind Portugal and mostly Ronaldo. Everyone wanted him to score and he didn’t disappoint! It was one of the most amazing games I have ever seen! Cape Town is the friendliest city on earth! ” Sonia Campos.

“I would like to express my great satisfaction to the Portuguese players for the wonderful way in which they played,their great attitude,reverence for the game,the beautiful football,the beautiful goals. It is important that players enjoy the game, and play the way they know to play football, and we can add the things to goals it is wonderful and really fantastic. North Korea played in a very dignified manner without fouling any other players and with their heads held high. It was a great day for Portugal and Portuguese Football! ” Carlos Queiroz.

Tonight the team can sleep peacefully knowing that they have silenced many critics, at least for the time being! Tomorrow will be a new day,with only their next game in mind, facing Brazil, their friends, in a game that some are labelling has a ‘friendly’ now!But more about that next time!

Until then…Signing off,

Your high on football Portuguese Futbolita

Monica

After the full time whistle, the result wasn’t what I or any other Portugal fan had hoped, we wanted to have that first win! This is a tough group, and there is no space for mistakes! I couldn’t help think that both sides were playing it safe, not taking too many chances! While I watched on I saw the same squad that has left me with alot of questions the last couple of months! In the morning I will probably feel differently,but now I have mixed reactions. Me and the Portugal fans…

Here are some of their comments:

” They could have scored at least one goal, was it really so hard? But I guess a draw is better then nothing.”

” Scolari please come back, we don’t deserve a 1st assistant coach, we want a coach worthy of our Seleccao, our team has forgotten how to play with pride.But we will believe till the end”

” We didn’t do badly, people talk as if we are already on our way back home,it was a draw against the African team favourite to win,we did well, Ronaldo was man of the match.”

” Next game will be different, they will win North Korea and then Brazil, not all the best teams in the world have won, many have drawn too!”

Of course there were also many,many fans that do not think our team did that badly at all,and still believe that this World Cup Title is ours! It’s no secret our squad isn’t perfect, but it wasn’t so bad,that people should be so negative already! I told you before,Portuguese people are harsh critics!

One of the highlights for me was at the 11th minute,when Cristiano Ronaldo’s shot, hit the post from 30 yards, damn that would have been a goal that would have been remembered for a long,long time! He wants it so bad,and I know from watching him play all his matches in the last season at Real Madrid,that if he can just score a first,the rest will come pouring in.

Defense wise, both teams were strong, and I think we kind of cancelled each other out in this match – unfortunately! To me the name Fabio Coentrao is a name that the world should get use to, he impresses me more and more with each game!I also have to admit, that Drogba brings that extra boost to Ivory Coast, when he came on, they suddenly played with more determination, BUT still couldn’t get past our defense!

I have to mention the incident between Ronaldo and Demel, the ref gave both players a yellow, other then the foul language he exchanged with Demel, I think it was harsh,and after all that,Ronaldo still didnt get a free kick! Fifa have to do something about these sort of things, they cannot continue to ignore modern technology to help better this beautiful game!

“Why aren’t you fearing me? I’m an Elephant you know!” (via Getty)

Talking about Fifa, reminds me of something I have been meaning to bring up, alot of matches were apparently *sold out* when friends of mine tried to get tickets, so why Fifa, WHY wasn’t the stadium full? I hope that in the next world cup, the ticketing system won’t be the headache it was in South Africa! Futbolita Portugal HATES empty stadiums!!!

The actual line up was, Eduardo, Alves, Ferreira, Ricardo Carvalho, Cristiano Ronaldo, Mendes, Liedson, Danny, Raul Meireles, Deco and Fabio Coentrao. Simao came on for Danny at 55′ , Tiago followed at 62′ for Deco. My cousin loves Deco so much,so she will kill me for saying this, but does he still have it?! What about Simao, shouldnt he have started? Ruben Amorim that was called up to take Nani’s place, made his first appearance for the Senior Portugal team, when he came in for the last 5 minutes.

So do we still have a chance? I will believe until the very last whistle blows on us! Queiroz said that although they had wanted the 3 points, that he was happy with a draw,he knew afterall that it wasn’t going to be easy!

I don’t like draws, but I would rather take a draw then loosing! Seeing as it was against one of the top African teams, it wasn’t too bad. I do however want to see Portugal play with more passion, I know it’s in there somewhere!

Until the next match

Signing Off

Your Portuguese Futbolita

Monica

Beijinhos

Once again Portugal had a wonderful reception as the team bus arrived at Bidvest Wanderers Stadium. You have got to love Portuguese TV, for broadcasting every little thing about this World Cup live,so that no matter where you are, you not missing a thing!

When Nani got off the bus, the Portuguese fans, chanted his name, he stopped to wave, looking rather sad! As you should know by now, Portugal had some sad news today, Nani is no longer playing in the World Cup, after a medical ruled that a colar bone injury that occured on Friday in Portugal, is in fact more serious then originally thought! sigh…

Portugal have called up Ruben Amorim of Benfica, and  he is on his way!

The Portuguese fans trully deserve to be mentioned, they have really stepped up,always behind their team! And everyone is talking about this World Cup having a “ Portuguese Flavour ” Nice!!! Fútbolita Portuguesa, is very proud! One of our players, described the fans here as the 12th player on the field, encouraging the team to keep going!

Someone else that is trully loved by the Portugal fans here, is none other then Cristiano Ronaldo, when he came on that field, for a second there you could actually hear the crowd, louder then the annoying vuvuzela! (sorry fans, I really do hate that thing!!!)  “When the team came on, they were loud,but when Ronaldo - who was last to come on the field, came on he brought down the house!” explained a tv presenter live from Wanderers!

The game was what it was, a practise run, Queiroz biggest prayer was for no one to get hurt. They didn’t overly impress, but of course the 3 goals were a welcome, Danny scored the first goal and Hugo Almeida added another 2! As a Real Madrid fan aswell, I was trully happy to see Pepe on the field after 6 months! The Mozambican fans, said that although they had wished their team had scored at least one goal,that they love Portugal,and will be cheering them on during the World Cup! This friendly was a special one for our very special pantera negra, Eusebio, who was born in Mozambique,aswell as Professore Queiroz!

Now the biggest competition is just days away for us,and we will have to see just how far our players and our no 12′s can take us!

With that I want to wish all my fellow Portuguese people a Happy Portugal Day for the 10th June! My husband may be South African, my kids may be multi nationals (or what ever you want to call it), I may even have lived longer in South Africa then in Portugal, mas este coração  é 100 % Portugues! (but this heart is 100 % Portuguese)

Come on, menina, you know your mama told you to avoid the GreasePits!

Anyway, the Portugal team arrived in South Africa yesterday but before that, they had to attend a sponsor event. The band ‘Taxi’ performed and Ricardo Carvalho was given the chance to ROCK the guitar while Carlos Queiroz enjoyed his own Santana moment! Tipos also played a friendly game against the youngsters and everybody cheered (and laughed) when a young boy successfully stole the ball from Greaseano’s feet. Come on, Grease is a really nice guy who loves his nephews so obviously he was going to let little Joao have his moment!

via Globoesporte

Oi Rubens Barrichello, is that you?! The Madridistas defeated Osasuna 3-2 yesterday thanks to goals from Clear Shampoo’s favourite anti-dandruff mascot, Greaseano and of course, Marcelo aka the man who is dying to be called up on May 12 (yes, we’re counting down… futbolitas!)

“We keep pushing and if Barca wins the league they will do it on their own merits and not because we lose it,” said the Pied Piper of Higuain after the game.

For the Sevillistas, Fabulouso week happens every Sunday but it was Alvaro Negredo’s turn to make a name for himself last night against Atletico Madrid. We’ve all established that Kun and friends are in a pretty bad state at the moment, but the season is ending… so losing 3-1 wasn’t exactly what were looking for.

“We want to win games. There are still three league games to go and I fear that we’re not going to make use of them. Our opponents have things to play for and Atletico must play and look to win,” said Senor Quique Flores after the game.

Franck Ribery may have received a RED CARD (mi dio, mi dio, you say) last night against Lyon – but the fans are all standing by him no matter what. And thanks to Arjen Robben aka Bayern’s very own Transporter, Bayern achieved a slim 1-0 victory. Said Agent Robben : “We had a few half-chances. The red card obviously made it more difficult, but then they had a man sent off, and it was a completely different game again. We were better after that, we were comfortably the better team, and the goal was well-made.

Still, that doesn’t mean everyone is going to forget what Zahia the prostitute has to say….

Zaria?! Zaria who? Let us explain.  While we’d love to believe that Franck Ribery is really a nice family man, esto no es cierto. But that image is SHATTERED! Recently, he has been linked to Zaria Dehar, a prostitute from France who was only 17 when she served them (practitioners in France need to be over 18).

Karim Benzema’s name has been added to the list of players who approached her and paid her £2,000 a night. Now both players are in hot water for trying to get messy with an underage girl and apparently face up to three years in jail (or a fine – which will probably be the case) Potter Perez is writing the cheque AHORA!

Anyway, if you’re wondering if Greaseano and Kim Kardashian are dating, please stand by the window immediately! She’s gawwjus and all, but let’s face it, they’ll be Hair Twins and then we’ll get really bored. There needs to be a balance and even though they were both in Madrid at the same time, it’s possible that Potty was seen with Nereida #101.

“According to the US media, I’m kissing a lot of people,” said Kardashian. “Every time if you are just in the same place as someone they always say you are dating them so at this point I’ve given up.”

VIA REUTERS, La Gazetta dello Sport, Showbiz Spy

As the title says, we promise not to disappoint anyone today. It’s pretty obvious that the Madridistas are writhing all over the floor from the name “Messiah” being chanted, whispered or screamed incessantly into their ears. You must remember, however, that Messiah is from planet Mercury (Pele was from Pluto, Maradona from Mars, Valdano from Venus and so on..) and every generation has its own set of indomitable players! You guys can still be Messiahdistas... there’s nothing wrong with that!

Our Madrid futbolita predicted the score correctly on Saturday (alas, it went the other way… 2-1 in favour of Los Cules). As for Greaseano, he declared that “We’re still missing seven games and we know that we can still win the Spanish league.” Someone please tell Kaka to wine and dine his Bromance partner AGORA!

Added Rrrrraul Albiolll : “We cannot fail any more. We will try to win every single game and reach the 98 point mark. We will not let go of the title before then.”

Last but not least, good ol’ Iniesta says everyone should chill the merda out! “The team knows what we have to do. We are aware that we have won a big game, but there are seven games remaining and we cannot stop working until the end of the season.”

As for Pedrito….O HAY thur, mi hombre!

via AFP, Reuters

The last we checked, Rickeano’s Bromance was still burning as hot as an iron coal. Just look at them… having these little precious moments to themselves during Madrid’s training! Misty eyed Pellegrini feels left out and Ramos the Raver can’t figure out what’s on planet Earth is going on! Anyway, Kaka’s son, Luca, was supposed to arrive at precisely that moment to stretch out his clenched fist so they could form a triangle of life, but they refused to let him on the pitch. Ridículo! Eles são os irmãos no trabalho!

The point of all this blabber is to inform you that Kaka is annoyed with 2006′s party-pooping seleção and would like things to be better this year.

“It sure is a great opportunity to erase the image that left in 2006. We reached three consecutive finals between 1994 and 2002, and what happened in Germany can be considered  normal. It was the end of a cycle, several players were exchanged, and the expectation now is that a new cycle victories starts. I hope this will happen by 2010!”

via Gettyimages

So the million dollar question for you Greaseañies today is – WOULD YOU TAP THAT? Well, mano looked pretty clean cut at at the launch of his “I’m wearing this for the World Cup” Nike boot launch yesterday. And the Portugal jacket looks ridiculously comfortable (almost like the blue/white selecao bootcamp ones!) Anyway, he also revealed that he speaks to Kaka a lot because they understand a common language and they both share hope for a Brazil/Portugal final on July 11. Você acredita? (do you believe?)

Here’s another brilliant Crackovia episode again – this time featuring two Barca presidential candidates on their way to watch Barca play Stuttgart. Nunez and Gaspart approach the counter to purchase a ticket at the airport – but Nunez is taken aback at the price. You’ll love his classic reaction!

We were surprised at Senhor Julio Cesar’s poor eye injury last night. It kinda reminded us of Rustu Recber, the intimidating Turkish goalkeeper who happens to be our amiga’s favourite goalie of all time – don’t ask. Anyway, it’s high time we applaud the Inter manos for their hard work – particularly Lucio, who has been hailed by the Brazilian press for his performance against Chelski last night. Also, what a stunner from Diegol…. and Cambiasso!!

via AFP, Reuters, tv3

One upon a time, before the grease, step overs and the Jersey Shore Makeover, Greaseaño was a shy young lad. “Este menino tem potencial,” said a deep voice in his head while he was filing his nails in Madeira. Alas, today that young boy has turned into an exquisite creature – one who quickly morphed into a tipo legal in our books after a nice 1am phone conversation. There’s no point being in denial, futbolitas. You will discover it someday too. Also, in our opinion,  Greaseano remains one of the most professional “jugadores” to date. So today, quickly pick up all the spray tan cans you can find and sing: “Feliz Cumpleañossssss!!!”

“Quien es mas guapo…. quien tiene mas sex appeal? Cristiano, tu Cristiano! Pim Pam Pim Pam…”