Take a good look at Hotel Fairway in Johannesburg… because this is where the selecao will be based at during the World Cup! Que magníficoooo.
“It’s the place that comes closest to what the Brazilian team is accustomed to having. We need a place that gives us comfort and privacy,” said Dopey.
Even Tiger Woods would want to make his return to sport after looking at that view of the golf course! But there’s really no need to because these days, he can take his golf club and hop onto the Burro Buggy with Assley Cole.
How many different ways can you wear lace? Is Denilson sneakily telling Dunga that he wants a World Cup spot by dribbling about in that jersey? What kind of music does LacePod give you exactly, Cannavaro? And as for Arshavin…breakfast anyone? You’d best watch the ad for yourself… and try not to snort at Materazzi’s take on the role of a Boxer. Che ironia!
So these days, The Dinho’s form is picking up and everyone – your hamster included – believes there’s good chance he’ll be called up to the selecao. The dude’s still got it in him, of course, but what’s worrying is his fluctuating stamina. Sometimes, he runs like a florist on the way to pick up a basket of Daisies.
“He still likes to party into the night as he celebrated victory over Juventus in a nightclub,” said one Italian journalist, Mattia Fontana. “They said in December that he would be barred from the game against Fiorentina because of one of these escapades. But the game didn’t take place because of bad weather in Italy at that time. In other words, his behavior has not changed, but he found a coach who helped him a lot.”
All The Dinho needs now is consistency and looking at that photo above, probably a shampoo and conditioner from The Body Shop for El Pato’s dry hair. Futbolitas, time to go old school again…
via AP, Globo
If you saw Dopey enjoying a little suntan at the beach, would you stop him? Of course you would! It’s the right thing to do – especially if you get fotos clássico like this one! Anyway, who cares about the World Cup, right Dunga? He hasn’t even decided his squad list yet and neither has he made the pilgrimage to check on his players all over Europe to see if they’re the right fit.
Instead, it’s time to enjoy the sun and the sea in Garopaba, Brazil while the rest of Europe endures freezing temperatures and Earl Greys next to a warm fireplace. They might as well play “Boy from Ipanema” now as Dunga starts eliminating names from his diário (“Ronaldinho, não. Hulk, talvez. Nilmar, sim ou Futbolita vai me matar ……”)
via Ignacio Mendez and Ole
Oh, meu Deus. Por favor nos ajude! Franz Beckenbauer may have been a football legend etc, but he’s evoking criticism in Brasil for all the wrong reasons. He has accused Dunga and Jorginho aka our cool treinadores of removing the “attacking flair” from the team and said Brasil have transformed into a defensive team instead. Oi Onkel, everyone knows that the selecao’s weakness is its defense, so obviously if the entire backline is thinking of caipirinhas, everyone else has to react. And certainly, you would know Beckenbauer… you were once the world’s best sweeper! Hell, you were the inventor of that position.
“The selection has scored more than 100 goals and conceded 30. I wanted to understand how we are defensive,” said Jorginho. “They made the same criticism in 1994 and Brazil was champion with a team that was strong on defense, but attacking with two sides at the same time. Parreira, who is here, can tell you about it. The same thing is happening this time although some people think the opposite.”
And for old time’s sake… Franz Sinatra is that you?
Poor Amauri… at the rate things are going for RobinHood’s long lost cousin, he’ll never find a national team to call his own! Before you blame it on Little John, it’s all because Dopey and Lippi can’t make up their minds. Also, Amauri is way past his prime age and eating prunes now, so now we’re left with nobody to blame (don’t you dare say Ranieri Doubtfire).
Anyway, it looks like Pazzini, the striker from Sampdoria, has taken a stab at tipo over here over his Brazilian-Italian citizenship.
“At this point, I do not feel I’m (up against) Amauri, because I’m Italian and he is Brazilian. What I feel is that if a person is half Italian and half Brazilian, he is not really Italian. I must confess that this situation bothers me a bit,” Pazzini said.
Ei chico, go back to high school where you belong! Even the Italian Football federation disagrees with you. “Today, the parameter is citizenship. A player, whether it is an Italian citizen, has every right to be called. We do not want to lose our identity, but also do not want to discriminate against any citizen,” said its president, Giancarlo Abete.
We love this tipo, and we’re sure you do too! Yes, CQC’s resident louco reporter, Felipe Andreoli recently went on one of his missions during the legendary Selecao Bootcamp week and he got pretty far asking Lucas, Luis Fabiano, Dunga, Julio Cesar and Kaka absurd questions. And yes, he even passed them toys! There’s also a cameo appearance by a clone of The Dinho and an intermission featuring Felipe himself at Oktoberfest. E muito engraçado a explicar. Enjoy!
Bom dia and welcome to Day 2 of the Brazilian Bootcamp! Both our coach and goalkeeper are enjoying a Soul Sista moment in the photo above (Dunga : “Gurrrl, you got strength!” The Cesar : “Adriano ain’t got nuthin’ on me, lady. Uh-uh.” ) And that’s because Juliolita had a field day during yesterday’s training - saving almost everyone’s shots at goal and getting teased in the process.
Barbecue King, Adriano was really pumped up and put many goals past Julio, but when his former Flamengo mano saved it, there were plenty of jokes. “Are you kicking with all your strength? What do you want? You (Adriano) are always like popcorn to me!” yelled The Cesar. Later, Dunga made the tipos shoot from a further distance, and this time, many of them missed the target. “For those who do not know, the goal of this sport is to score!” joked Julio again.
Meanwhile, Kaka looks like he just saw an ice-cream truck pulling up into the driveway. Unfortunately, Miranda knows that the best person to ask for Cadbury hot chocolate is still Adriano. Damn, tipo brought the whole kitchen! And since it rained, everyone had to warm down quickly and throw on their windbreakers. They had to do their interviews in the rain… and damn, we hate it when that happens! Still, we spotted our worried looking friend, Rodrigo, wearing a hoodie and windbreaker in the clips below. Você olhar engraçado, tio!
So it’s Day 2 of the Soldados Bootcamp and they’re already bullying Robinho! Anyway, the manos did field work yesterday while Daniel Alves, Luisão, Ramires and Elano were immediately sent to the gym upon arrival. Muito grave, indeed!
For training, Dopey divided the squad into two teams- Julio Cesar, Maicon, Lúcio, Miranda, André Santos; Gilberto Silva, Felipe Melo, Julio Baptista, Kaká; Robinho and Luís Fabiano formed one side while Victor, Cristian, Gérson, Juan and Filipe; Sandro, Lucas, João Pedro and Wellington; Nilmar and Adriano made up the other. Crowds formed outside Granja Comary to watch the selecao in action and the U-17 squad also trained with them in preparation for the Copa Sendai in Japan.
These bombshells will board a flight to Rosario at 8pm later tonight and arrive at the Rosario International Airport around midnight. They’d better distribute packets of oreo and milk or else…..
Fotos de AP, Reuters & R.Ribeiro
Ah, an exciting week of international futbol is finally upon us as our hombres prepare to face The Dona’s Argentina on Saturday! Yesterday, the Brazilian Bombshells eagerly assembled at the Tom Jobin International Airport (in Rio) before proceeding to Granja Comary. On arrival, everyone received a welcome snack before heading to bed. Yes, it’s beginning to sound a lot like pre-school…
As you can probably tell, manos were excited to meet each another again (Julio Baptista and Lucas both look thrilled). Barbecue King, Adriano, was also delighted to be back with the selecao but admitted that he "only personally knows Nilmar and Victor" from Dopey’s current squad. Uh, no problem. He’ll make friends just as long as he doesn’t locate an All-You-Can-Eat buffet spread in Rosario.
The players also attended a commercial event for Gillette last night and Julio Cesar, Felipe Melo, Adriano, Juan and Lucio were on hand to test their new series of razors. "Drawing with Argentina will be good enough. If we win, it will have to be with a beard, hair and moustache," joked Julio Cesar as he tried to shave( seriously???). But the worst line had to come from Adriano who was asked by former model, Monique Evans, if any of his girlfriends had ever shaved him. "Not yet, but if you want to…" he replied, laughing. Have you seen Monique Evans?
So Dunga has finalized his tropa that will face Argentina next month… and Adriano aside, we’re excited to see that our friend Lucas has also been summoned! Grandeeeeee mano!
The Dinho and Pato were both left out of the squad again (Milan’s dismal form has been obviously detrimental to their chances ). Kleberson, who is nursing a shoulder injury, was left out of the squad and his place went to Lucas. Andre Santos has also been called up to replace Marcelo while Deportivo la Coruna’s Luis Filipe earned himself a spot after his performance against Estonia earlier this month.
As for churrascaria chubs, Adriano, his call-up doesn’t come as a surprise given his current status in the Brasileirao. He may have a pot belly, but cara is also the league’s top scorer….so he’d better not be lazy!
Here’s the full squad list for Brazil’s qualifying games against Argentina and Chile (to take place in October).
SQUAD LIST :
GOALKEEPERS : Julio César – Inter, Victor – Grêmio
DEFENDERS : Daniel Alves – Barcelona, André Santos – Fenerbahçe, Maicon – Inter, Filipe Luís – La Coruña, Lúcio – Inter, Juan – Roma, Luisão – Benfica, Miranda – São Paulo
MIDFIELDERS : Felipe Melo – Juventus, Elano – Galatasaray, Gilberto Silva – Panathinaikos, Josué – Wolfsburg, Julio Baptista – Roma, Kaká – Real Madrid, Lucas – Liverpool, Ramires – Benfica
ATTACKERS : Robinho – Manchester City, Adriano – Flamengo, Luis Fabiano – Sevilla, Nilmar – Villarreal
Summer tales...... / Foto de R.Ribeiro
The Brazilian bombshells have arrived in Tallin for their friendly against Estonia tomorrow. OK, Gomes doesn’t know anything about the Estonian national team but still, it’s always nice to see the seleção. It cures our homesickness!
Anyway, homies are staying at the Radisson Hotel and except for Inter’s trio of Maicon, Julio Cesar and Lucio who arrive today, a crowd of screaming boys and girls waited to welcome the squad. Doesn’t Felipe Meloooo look like a high school stud trying to round up his gang of friends? Luisao is not amused!
Caras also gathered to have dinner together last night. And ya’ll know that Kaka told the best story at the table followed by Dani Alves‘ fishmonger tale (“Na verdade, eu não comer peixe!!” he cried). Nilmar looked excited to share his story about the crying children at his official presentation (“Eu queria chorar também..”) Well, they didn’t exactly say any of those things but imagination is key, amigas!
According to our friends, the view of the city from the Radisson hotel is “beautiful” and the sunset happens at exactly 9:30pm every night. Awww, how romantic. Robinho and co’ can certainly toast to that! Training will take place in the afternoon later today. Enjoy the photos…
The seleção defeated Paraguay 2-1 at the Arruda Stadium yesterday and Nilmar scored!!!!! Ok, excuse our outburst but we had been waiting to see this mano do well at international level and he finally did yesterday. Dopey decided to start him alongside Robinho and the look on his face after scoring was pure delirium.
Even Luis Fabiano – who didn’t play – was impressed with the results. “Nilmar came and finished the job,” he said after the game.
There was a little bit of pressure in the first half as Paraguay opened the scoring via a Salvador Cabanas strike. Fortunately for us, Robinho equalized in the 41st minute and Nilmar made it 2-1 in the second half, thanks to a Felipe Melo cross. Pato wasted a great opportunity in the 74th min but was too busy thinking about his wedding dinner and missed instead.
“I want to dedicate this victory to the followers in the (stadium) for the love and support they showed in the more difficult moments of the match,” said Kaka, after the game.
Anyway, Lucio was excited to arrive back at the hotel after the game. “At the entrance of the hotel, the people (there) applauded for the Brazilian national team without stopping. It was so spontaneous,” he said.
Photos : AFP, R.Ribeiro
Dunga has revealed why he chose to exclude The Dinho from the selection that will compete in South Africa.
“He has a player with quality. I trust him – he’s a different athlete. He is going through a bad time but I hope he can overcome that. Seeing a player like Ronaldinho on the bench is not good. We want to see the Ronaldinho that we all know. But he will have to show something (at Milan) if he wants to be named.”
That’s true, Ronaldinho or not, we all know no one has a permanent place in the national team. Be prepared to work very hard or don’t bother….The Dinho chose the latter and is paying the price.
In addition, Nilmar, Kleber, Colorado, and Andre Santos will not be released for their Copa Brasil games against Coritiba and Vasco on June 3. The selecao will officially meet on June 1 2009.
Bom dia, futbolitas! After much excitement, Dunga has announced his 23-man squad that will face Uruguay (on the 6th of June) and Paraguay for the World Cup qualifiers in early June. The same squad will go on to train and compete in the Confederations Cup in South Africa.
A significant addition to the squad is Internacional’s Nilmar (yes!!!) , whom Dunga selected as a replacement for Adriano. We would’ve liked to see young Keirrison as well, but he has been under performing for Palmeiras. Otherwise, there’s not much to complain about the choice of strikers… Pato hasn’t scored off the webcam as of late, but Dunga still has faith in him.
The other new names include Andre Santos (Corinthians), and Ramires (Cruzeiro). Doni’s injury also sees Gremio’s Victor seizing the spot. As expected, Ronaldo Lima was not called up.
Also, it’s fantastic to see the hardworking Felipe Melo back. Dani Alves is injured for the rest of the season, so Marcelo could be a possible replacement. We’re a little apprehensive about the midfielders, though. Why wasn’t Diego summoned? He’s been indispensable to Werder. And while it’s pretty clear The Dinho sucks, Gilberto Silva hasn’t been impressive as of late either!
Feel free to complain…or celebrate. We’d love to hear your thoughts.
OFFICIAL SQUAD LIST
Goalkeepers : Julio Cesar - Internazionale / Gomes - Tottenham / Victor - Grêmio
Defenders : Maicon - Internazionale / Daniel Alves - Barcelona / Alex - Chelsea / Juan - Roma / Lúcio - Bayern de Munique Luisão - Benfica / Kleber - Internacional / André Santos - Corinthians
Midfielders : Anderson - Manchester United / Gilberto Silva - Panathinaikos / Josué - Wolfsburg / Ramires - Cruzeiro / Elano - Manchester City / Felipe Melo - Fiorentina
Attackers : Júlio Baptista - Roma / Kaká - Milan / Alexandre Pato - Milan / Luís Fabiano - Sevilla / Nilmar - Internacional / Robinho - Manchester City
An uninspired Werder Bremen lost the UEFA Cup to Shakhtar Donetsk last night, after a 2-1 loss in extra time. All three goals were courtesy of Brazilian players. Everyone wants Dopey Dunga to sit up and take notice!
Luiz Adriano opened the scoring in the 25th minute for the Ukrainian side. Werder’s Naldo equalised ten minutes later. Unfortunately for Diego and co’, Brazilian midfielder Jadson’s 15-yard shot slipped through the grasp of the Bremen’s goalkeeper Tim Wiese in extra time.
Diego – who didn’t play due to suspension – looked dejected next to his teammates on the Istanbul pitch. Yeah, tell us about Istanbul. We don’t like it either – but revenge in 2007 was sweet!
Anyway, Nery Castillo and his eyebrows were all-out celebrating as well. We spotted Ilsinho aka Ben Affleck’s twin looking muito feliz as he embraced Diego. And poor Werder fans – the cameras captured so many of them crying last night.
Dopey Dunga thinks Nilmar’s weekend screamer against Corinthians was impressive – but insists that it’s still not enough to earn him a call-up to the national team.
“It was a beautiful goal and it was fast, which showed Nilmar’s best quality. But 20 days ago, no one spoke about Nilmar (being) in the selection, (everyone) wanted Ronaldo. Now, they want Nilmar and no longer want Ronaldo. It is normal to want a player (who is lauded in the) media, but the coach has to be focused on what really is best for the Brazilian team,” he said.
He does have a point. At this moment, it’s safe to assume Ronaldo’s chances for Brazil are pretty slim but Nilmar is a good replacement for Adriano, the world’s current joke.
Even Romário was full of praise for the striker. He said : “Nilmar is one of the few players who has the ability to score a goal like that. It will certainly be one of the most beautiful goals in the Brazilian Championship.”
Dunga (pictured here with your favourite tio, Pele and the mayor of Sao Paulo) has sensationally claimed that Ronaldo Lima will not be called up to play for the selecao in the near future. Errr.. no surprises there!
According to Estado de S. Paulo, coach does not intend to include Ronaldo in the squad’s future campaigns – including the remaining World Cup qualifying fixtures and next month’s Confederations Cup. Dunga thinks that “Ronaldo needs to play a long series of matches in order to be fully recovered and fit. For now, he won’t have a chance to wear the shirt.”
Dopey also added that the “World Cup qualifiers are more challenging than the games in the Paulista championships, where Ronaldo has (clearly) performed well and scored goals.”
The official squad list for the Confederations Cup will be announced on May 21. For now, feel free to draw up your own!
Nothing screams “old school” better than this photo of Dunga and Maradona together at a Fox Sports event. Well, except that this was in 2006 – and Parreira and his sunnies were on a holiday with the seleção in Germany.
Fast forward to 2009 and we all know they both hate one another’s guts. Anyway, Dunga thinks Kun Aguero’s suegro needs to “stop thinking like a player”. In other words, he needs to stop hugging Lionel Messi’s #10 jersey in the dressing room when no one is looking.
“He can function (Maradona, as a coach), but he has to be careful – it is necessary for him to stop thinking like a player, it is a process that has taken some time for me,” Dunga said.
On the issue of Adriano, the coach thinks that “he needs to find the joy of playing again. As for the Confederations Cup, it’s difficult to see him [playing] for Brazil.”
Ah, we’re lovin’ this father-daughter pair! What I’d give for my dad to be coach of the Brazilian national team! Or maybe not… there would be perpetual mood swings and Adriano’s uncalled for siestas in the backyard. Everyone else would be welcome.
Anyway, Dunga is now in Italy to catch up with the Brazilians there. He plans to attend the Juve-Inter game on Saturday afternoon and will travel to Milan on Sunday to watch the Rossoneri play Torino. O treinador will also meet with Ancelotti and Mourinho. He’ll also travel to Rome to speak to Juan and Inter’s Maicon, who is presently receiving treatment for his injury.
Well, Dunga had better stay away from Milan’s medical department because they’re not exactly on cloud nine about his controversial statements earlier this month. Ya’ll know that Gattuso will be waiting outside with a sword.
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