Fútbolita

And now it’s time for our hardest challenge in this World Cup. It’s time for Robinho, Luís Fabiano and Kaká to face Snejder, Van Persie and Robben. Everybody is getting nervous with the possibility of going home. In the streets, the talking today was “What is going to happen tomorrow?” Though everybody here has something like faith in our squad, I saw a different look in people’s faces. Like a challenge has finally come. A very beautiful match appears to be arriving, and very balanced too.

Today Mr. Johan Cruyff said to the journalists that would never pay to watch this Brazilian Squad play. A very hard pronouncement to what Dunga responded in a ver elegant way. “He might have won a free ticket from FIFA.” Finally a humorous answer from our coach. I liked it, didn’t you?

Felipe Melo seems to be ok, but is still a doubt (Photo: Zimbio)

Let’s talk about our players for tomorrow. Elano is out. Felipe Melo is still a doubt Josué might play in  Melo’s position if he doesn’t feel alright. Ramires (suspended), lost a great chance to show his game. A shame, but there’s nothing to do for him for tomorrow’s game. Our guys must be: Julio Cesar, Maicon, Lúcio, Juan, Michel Bastos, Gilberto Silva, Felipe Melo or Josué, Daniel Alves, Kaká, Robinho and o FABULOSO.

Lúcio, our captain, is doing a very good job in this Cup. He is making the team unite on the field. Although he is a defender we can see him every time in the most important moves during the matches. He is showing himself as a complete player. A very important piece in our squad.

I’m here with all my positive thoughts with 190 million brazilians expecting A SELEÇÃO to bring us the Hexa!!!!

Signing off,

Your anxious Brazil Futbolita

Howdy, girls! Brazil 3 x 1 Ivory Coast. Great hum? Luís Fabiano, O FABULOSO, did everything perfect! Now I see, I couldn’t have chosen a better player to be on my shirt!!! Of course we could discuss that handball that was clear, but the referee didn’t do anything about it, neither the Ivorian players.

In the first 45 seconds, Robinho made us feel how that match would be. He kicked (30 yards from the goalkeeper) and woke everybody up. His kick didn’t shake the net, but made our hearts beat faster. Then, on the 25th minute, an amazing ‘dance’ performed by Kaká, Robinho and Luís Fabiano ended perfectly.  That was his first goal after six matches for the Seleção.

Luis Fabiano scored twice! (Photo by Zimbio)

Apparently, so many non-scored matches made Fabuloso hungry and he was intending to “comer bola” (eat the ball) as we say in Brazil. And he did. On the second half, O Fabuloso turned the 1xo score into a 2xo. And this is when he controls the ball using his shoulder, clearly an illegal move. But yet, a goal.

The challenge became dramatic when Elano, with a great assistance from Kaká made Brazil’s third goal. The Ivorians got really nervous, and started to use their physical superiority to injure our boys. Tioté made the Ivory Coast’s first victim: Elano. With 30 minutes past since the restart, Elano was carried out from field barely walking. The next victim was Michel Bastos. Keita made a violent foul on him and the referee, Stéphane  Lannoy presented the Ivorian with a yellow card. A few minutes later, Didier Drogba scored for the Ivory Coast. A very beautiful head goal. I might register it here: I’m proud of him. He was THE Ivorian man.

Kaká won’t play against Portugal (Photo: Zimbio)

The referee, Mr. Lannoy, was also a star (by his absense) during the match. For several times, I questioned myself if there was any referee on field. Maybe he thought it was okay that a football match turned into a fight. During the first half, the match was beautiful, Kaká was finally in the game, Luís Fabiano was PERFECT and the Ivory Coast squad, with Mr, Drogba in excellent shape (despite of his injuried arm), was also a hard opponent. But everything changed on the second half. Kaká pushed Keita, Lannoy woke up and gave him a yellow, and then, a few minutes later he dismissed Kaká. I might say: It was the THIRD time in Kaká’s CAREER that he got DISMISSED.

Was I the only one, or did you also think that Dunga should have replaced Kaká immediatly when he got a yellow card? My God!!!

Brazilian people made a great celebration for the victory. Parties and concerts happened all over the country. Today, everybody felt a little closer to the Hexa!

Brazilians celebrating the Seleção’s victory (Photo: Gustavo Aguiar)

Now it’s time to get ready for friday. Waiting to see what is Dunga’s next move. Who will play in Kaká’s position?

Signing off,

Your happy Brazil Futbolita

Julio Cesar (Internazionale),Maicon (Internazionale),Lúcio (Internazionale),Juan (Roma),Felipe Melo (Juventus), Michel Bastos (Lyon),Elano (Galatasaray),Gilberto Silva (Panathinaikos),Luis Fabiano (Sevilla), Kaká (wearing the #10 shirt) and Robinho (Santos).

These, ladies and gentlemen are the 11 men who will win this World Cup.

If each and every Brazilian is sure about it now, it wasn’t always like this. Since Dunga’s list came up, a lot of talking was needed to make us believe again.

Dunga’s choice for Brazilian Squad divided opinions in Brazil. Most of common supporters, hated, at first, Dunga’s selection. Why? Since last year, players like Neymar and Ganso improved their game style and got fans attention. It was surprising that on May 11^th, their names weren’t in his list.

In order to represent a more complete “face” of Brazilian supporters, I spoke to three different people, with different levels of understanding about football and different cities. (It was a little hard, but awesome).

Brazil squad is full of players who doesn’t play in Brazil anymore, and that made people feel a little upset, because they didn’t know exactly what to expect from these players. In the other hand, fans who are into European Football, thought Dunga’s choice was nothing but great.

Braitner Moreira is an exception. He runs the quattrotratti.com, a blog wich is totally focused on Italian football, and found Dunga’s choice “lame”. With severe critics to almost all of our players, he is not optimistic.

Ana Beliza is a brazilian journalist who lives in Pernambuco and is a passionate supporter. She is very confident and happy about Brazil’s squad. “Our squad is totally able of bringing us the 6^th championship. I trust in our brazilian boys”, she says. And she is ready to cheer for Brazil!

Other absence in our squad is Adriano. His odd (not to say irreponsable) behaviour may be the reason why he is out. Bernardo Almeida is a student and commented that episode: “ I find it great that Adriano wasn’t on Dunga’s list. Calling him up would be a a revival of our loss in 2006. Now we are ready to win.”

Então, vamos lá!

Signing off,

Raio, Your Brazilian Futbolita.

He is one of the seleção Brasileira’s most skillful strikers and is highly revered in the world of football. So of course, Futbolita had to speak to one of her heroes, O Fabuloso himself, before he left for South Africa. A really relaxed dude, O Fabuloso shared everything from his pride for Brazil to his family and naturally, his thoughts on women in football!

HE may be Brazil’s reigning no. 9 but Luis Fabiano – better known as ‘O Fabuloso’ – is coping perfectly well with the pressure.

As one of the world’s most sought-after strikers today, the laidback ‘mano’ is only focused on one thing: bringing home the World Cup for the Selecao. The Sevilla striker steps into the coveted No. 9 jersey made famous by ‘El Phenomenon’ Ronaldo who led Brazil to the 2002 World Cup.

With Ronaldo and Romario (who wore No. 11 in 1994′s winning campaign) but distant memories, the South American nation’s hopes now rest firmly on Fabiano’s shoulders to fire them to a record sixth World Cup title. One would half expect the 29-year-old gunslinger to be feeling the heat but the 1.83m striker blessed with pace, a killer’s instinct and a deadly right foot, is anything but.

“I do not feel any pressure wearing the No. 9 shirt for Brazil,” he said.

“Yes, on one hand, I feel proud but on the other hand, I see it as a challenge to myself to live up to this important number,” said the hotshot, who’s fresh off a 21-goal season for Sevilla.

And like his fellow countrymen, last year’s Confederations Cup Golden Shoe winner can hardly wait to don the green and yellow of Brazil in South Africa.

“Representing the Brazilian people has always been the most important thing to me,” Fabiano said.

“What I like most about representing my country is to ‘feel the amarelhos’ (yellow in Portuguese) and green, which are always in my heart. It is an ‘orgulho’ (pride) for anyone to defend their country.”

With the World Cup in 2014 to be played on home soil in Rio de Janeiro, there is an added incentive to defend the title at home if they can win in South Africa.

“For sure, that is the goal, but it will be far from easy! We face competition from teams like Argentina and Spain but, for Brazil, it is always an obligation to try to win the World Cup. We are the country that has won the most number of titles,” Fabiano said.

He was also quick to defend Brazil coach Dunga, who’s been criticized by Brazilian media for dropping fan favourite Ronaldinho as well as Adriano (Flamengo) and Alexandre Pato (AC Milan) from his squad.

“Dunga is a very calm coach and he does not like controversy and bad behaviour. He always explains the reasons for his actions and, to me, he is very disciplined. He’s not too hard on us as people think,” he said.

“Brazil is already strong but Dunga always wants us to work together, and show this side of our character to keep winning more matches,” he added.

With Ronaldinho out of the picture and Kaka coming off a bad season with Real Madrid, Dunga may be set to unleash a new attacking force consisting of Nilmar (Villarreal), Robinho (Manchester City) and new addition, Grafite (Wolfsburg).

Fabiano said he is equally at ease with any strike partner.

“I always try to adapt to the other players, and I never choose who to play with. It will be better if my (attacking) partner has the same similar style. But for me, I can work with anyone whether (it’s) Nilmar, Kaka or Robinho because we have a common understanding. I also mix well with the rest of the team,” he said.

Behind every successful athlete lies a close-knit support group, and for the Sevilla marksman, it’s none other than his wife, Juliana Clemente and their two daughters.

“My family always follows me wherever I play. They are there in my country (hometown of Campinas) and they always follow the games on TV,” admitted Fabiano, who’s prone to the occasional hot-headed outburst.

“I try to stay at home and it’s hard for me to leave my family (to play away games) alone. My two daughters, Giovanna and Gabriela (2 and 5 years old) like to attend my games and sometimes, they come to the stadium to see me.”

Fabiano also touched on the growth of women’s football around the world.

“Football is universal, both in terms of countries and gender,” he said.

“It is important that we also grow this from the women’s side, in terms of professional players and the fans. In Spain, for example, there are more and more (female) football fans that I see every week.”

(Originally published in The Fever Pitch blog for Yahoo! SEA)
PHOTOS VIA : AP, Reuters, R.RIBEIRO

Welcome to the start of Seleção Bootcamp South Africa… a Fútbolita tradition!

Trust us, the Brazilians love their shopping (especially electronics) so much so that they had to close a part of the Mandela mall in Jo’burg to accommodate them. After walking around, they sat to enjoy some ice-cream (which explains the photo above). Manos like Kaka already own all the electronics in the world, so along with the 2 “Julios” (Cesar and Baptista), he played golf at Randpark, a complex near to where the selecao reside.

On Thursday, Dopey apparently declared that the players will be allowed to indulge in “sex, ice-cream and wine” unlike the ban The Dona imposed on the Argentineans. Also, he added that “not everyone likes sex”. Meu deus, he can’t be referring to Robinho, The 40-Condom man!

Here are some training/recreation shots from the last few days where Felipe Melo looks like he’s about to break into fits of excitement from playing FIFA 10!

Fotos de R.Ribeiro, Globoesporte

The seleção have checked into their temporary boot camp in Curitiba (poooor fin!) and have taken their medical tests (courtesy of the Atlético Paranaense team!) Poor Nilmar seems afraid of needles while Fabuloso and Elano struggled to be brave men. They boys are also doing muscular exercises daily under the watchful eyes of Senhor Paulo Paixão and Fábio Mahseredjian. Oh Mio dios, those two instructors are not to be messed with.

Unfortunately, Kaka and Fabulouso sat out training but they’ll be back soon. Read more to see a MEGA GALLERY.. and yes, Luisao’s pained expression below wants you to go check it out!

Photos for Futbolita via R.Ribeiro
Read the rest of this entry »

Meet Raio Gomes, Brasil’s Official Fútbolita! The journalism student from Brasilia, the capital of Brazil, works at a news agency for children’s rights and supports Flamengo passionately. She also hopes to work as a professional journalist in the area of Sports and Culture one day. So let’s all say “BEM-VINDO, menina!” to Raio as she joins Fútbolita on our World Cup journey!

“Well, Brasilia is the political mainpoint of Brazil. It’s a very young city that reaches the 50TH anniversary in April 21st. We don’t have any beaches here, and we are not in the touristic mainstream. A very curious aspect of Brasilia is that it was “built”. I like it here very much. Lúcio was born and his family still lives here.”

On how she fell in love with football…

“Originally I fell in love with volleyball and I played it for one year. Then I stopped playing do keep going with my studies. The interest for football started in my home ’cause my father is completely crazy ’bout Flamengo, but I was never a very talented player. When I was around 14 all most of my friends were boys, and it influenced me a lot in understanding and talking about it.”

On her favourite Brasileirao team…

“Flamengooooooo!!! Por que é o maioooor! The greatest!!! The team of Garrincha, and now, Adriano!”

On Brazil’s chances at this year’s World Cup

Now is the time for our sixth championship!!! I hope Dunga can work better than he shown so far. But I really trust our players, and I hope Dunga to put Ronaldinho in the team, cause he knows what to do when it comes to World Cup (note : sadly, he’s only a reserve)

On the passion of the Brazilians…

“Here in Brazil, the World Cup changes everything. Football is a very important part of the Brazilian people lives. When Brazil squad plays, student are allowed to stay home to watch the match, people leave their jobs, and things like that!”

On her favourite players from past and present…

“Luis Fabiano, Adriano, Garrincha and of course, Pelé. It sounds a little obvious to choose those guys, but I really like them. Luis Fabiano has improved his playing style a lot. But he is, like others, the face of Brazilian’s football failure, because all those excellent players do not remain here in most of cases.  Which is one of the reasons I admire Garrincha so much. Despite of nowadays, players used to love their teams as well.”

On representing Brazil as the official Futbolita…

“I’m very excited and happy for that. To me it’s a great honor and responsibility to do so, especially in a country where people breathe football. I hope to represent my country very well in this journey. I am a Futbolita because as much as my compatriots, I LIVE FOOTBALL”

Photos by Gustavo Aguiar © for Fútbolita.
Raio is wearing the Cultzeros Luis Fabiano Futbolita Tee
(COMING SOON : Read more interviews & features with and by the chicas & chicos who’ll be celebrating the Fútbolita World Cup with you!)

In news that is certain to make the Curly Fro Bros (aka Rafael and Fabio) weep for joy, Fabulousoooo has expressed his admiration for Nani United.

“If you are asking me what team I most admire it is Manchester United,” he said. “If you play under Sir Alex Ferguson then you are probably going to win a title or another major trophy.”

Forget it! Papa Perez will sign him before he can even say ‘brigado! And since we’re going on about him, here are highlights from Sevilla’s (unfortunate) loss to Getafe last night…

Bom dia gente… and Happy Friday! Nilmaaaar, você olha fofo hoje (you are looking cute today). Anyway, this is a new series of ads by Nike conceptualized to help you ease into the World Cup mood. It’s called the “Pelada“, which is the journey of the selecao caras as they experience the ‘maximum velocity’ training program. Greaseano did the same thing too, which you can watch here (ever so dramatic!)… but in the meantime, Robinho, Fabulouso & fofo Nilmar would like you to listen to them below, por favor!

Arsenal may have lost to Porto last night but Senor GuapoVela here needs to work harder if he wants to intimidate the linesman. Pippo Inzaghi gives part-time classes on that when no one is looking, so tipo Carlos better sign up pronto before all the slots get filled up! Luca Toni already graduated with honours two seasons ago but Pippo never mentioned a money back guarantee. A Sneaky man!

Anyway, the Gunners are now mulling over their 2-1 loss to Hulkamania Porto. Yeah, Fabianski probably needs to find a watering hole asap after yesterday’s performance. Gooners, if you see him walking in the streets of London today, do not hesitate to hand him a lawnmower and a Spandau Ballet CD. He will immediately do a back-pass with those things… you’ll see!

Our dear amis at SambaFoot finally presented Fabulousooooo with his “Best European Footballer in Europe” or Samba d’Or award at the Sevilla HQ on Monday. And thanks to many of your votes, he won it! My my, doesn’t it look muito legal? Je veux que le prix! Of course he didn’t juggle this ball…

It was pretty interesting to hear Fabulouso speaking about his family. “(My family) is not used to calling me before the games. Usually, they call me (after) to know how was the game. My mother never watches the games, she is too nervous,” he said. “She is afraid I will get hurt. One day, I left the field injured, having seizures during a game between Palmeiras and Ponte Preta. I had to leave in an ambulance. After that, it was very difficult for her to watch a game.” (Read the full interview)

The Dona has already decided on 50% of his World Cup list and says that he will tell the players after Argentina’s friendly with Germany next month.

The Messiah, Carlito Tevez, Pied Piper of Higuain and Kun were all called up for the game, leaving no space for Boca’s Martin Palermo. Futbolitas, it’d be a shame to leave him out of the WC squad seeing that he played a HUGE role in Argentina’s qualification in the first place. But as they say, competition is incredibly tough… Prepárense, muchachos!

via Ole, SambaFoot, Reuters

Our “chers amis” at SambaFoot want you to write a letter to Fabulousoooo! Thanks partly to your votes, he has won their one-of-a-kind Samba d’Or award which Kaka received last year. The best part is… if your letter wins, Fabulouso will read it, stroke the paper lovingly and send you an autographed Sevilla FC shirt. Trust us, these Brazilian futbolitos know how to APPRECIATE!

So what are you waiting for? You have until midnight on Friday the 12th to send your lovely messages HERE. Be creative i.e. don’t tell him Robinho needs to fry an egg… you can do better than that, pessoas! Also, for creativity’s sake, Fabulouso’s son demands that you find that book of Shakespeare poems now. How could you trade them for old Busted CDS?

Fabulouso is injured, but he’s not letting all that pessimism get to him! Cara over here is supposed to be prepping himself for the Copa del Mundo, but in true Brazilian style, he’s totally laid back and ready to sip your aunt’s piña coladas.

“I feel a little better about my injury. I’m undergoing treatment and it’s going well, because your ankle does not hurt much. I look forward to returning to training (for Sevilla) again, but I have to be tranquil (about it). I can’t give you a return date because I will not lie,” he declared.

Anyway, after all your Samba d’Or votes, our friends at Sambafoot tell us that Fabulouso has indeed won the title of the Best Brazilian Player in Europe of 2009. Bem merecido, Fabulouso! Now it’s time to get a new suitcase…

The Dona is missing! Don’t bother… he’s just hiding somewhere in Barcelona. He’s supposed to be serving a suspension until January 15, remember? And now that his C-team is playing a friendly against Catalonia two days before Christmas, the Argentinean press is reporting that he’s been seen everywhere but the pitch. Yeah, that means he’s holed up in his hotel room with nothing but WII.

Anyway, whatever he’s doing in Barcelona (seriously), he’s not allowed to eat with the players or come into contact with them – except through his aides. And still, The Dona is walking around wearing the official training kit. If you see him, don’t forget to ask him about Kun Aguero.

Meanwhile, Milan’s Uncle Fester Galliani has declared Marco van Basten as AC Milan’s “Best Signing Ever”. Well, they asked him about Sheva, Pato and Kaka but he doesn’t seem all that impressed with them.

“When you make assessments of this kind you need to consider value for money. For we paid 7 million euros, but there is another signing that I feel is unbeatable and I speak of a certain Dutchman. If Pato wins ten golden balls, then it would be different, but until then Van Basten will remain our best buy,” he said.

It’s the Luis Fabiano Rap by a cara named Professor Pablo. Well, of course he deserves his own song… they should play this during the team birthdays!

Kaka and Dani Alves welcome you to Day 4 of the Brazilian Bootcamp! And you really need to clap your hands at that photo. What on Earth were those two thinking?! They’re putting all of us in the spirit of el clasico next week. Vamos a preparar!

Anyway, manos had another one of their fun Orange Bibs VS Blue Shirts duels yesterday. This time, the laughs went to Julio Baptista and Lucas who were elected Captains of the Orange and Blue sides respectively. Sadly, the men wearing the blue shirts did a lot better and thrashed their compatriots 6-1. Dani Alves was already yelling :” Let’s do more, they are lost! They’re not looking at the ball!” when they were up 4-0. Kaka tried to score a “goal of honour” for his side, but changed his position to that of a “recreational defender” much to everyone’s amusement.

Julio Baptista left the field looking for the worst player in his team. “My vote goes to Kaka!” he yelled.

Anyway, the guys are very happy to be in Oman now to play a friendly in honour of the Sultan’s birthday (he’s turning 69 tomorrow). It will also be the last time the selecao will gather together this year and Fabulouso said : “In particular, it was a very happy year for me. I scored many important goals. I’ll end this year with one more victory.” Added Kaka : “I‘ve been in Qatar (transit), but never actually explored it. It’s a pretty cool experience.”

via R.Ribeiro, Globo & UOL

Diego Perotti didn’t know what he was in for when he decided to join Kanoute and Fabulousooo in their celebratory group hug! Anyway, Los palanganas fought hard in their 3-2 victory over Villarreal last night and Manolo Jimenez thinks it’s all down to the fans. Gotta give credit where it’s due, senor!

“The most important player today has been the fans, because the team lacked rhythm and there was also an accumulation of fatigue. Today we won thanks to the support of the fans,” he said.

Fabulousooo netted in twice and Kanoute added in the third goal to cancel out goals from Robert Pires and David Fuster. This is why he keeps getting called up to Bootcamp, bebês!

Photo via Reuters

It was like watching The Notebook all over again at the Bootcamp da Selecao yesterday… romântico, huh?

While doing their ball-control exercises, manos held one another’s hands to prevent themselves from slipping on the wet grass. Check out the Dani Alves/Fabulouso love and Andre Santos’ facial expression. They’re all ready to go to Hollywood… damn the Teresópolis weather! It’s bringing out so much emotion. On a sidenote, we like it when it rains during football. Ok, or maybe not. We once had to throw away our shoes after an interview in the middle of a waterlogged pitch. Then again, it was pretty fun as well!

Via AP and R.Ribeiro

Tudo bem, people?! Welcome to Day 1 of the Selecao bootcamp…. a staple here at Futbolita. And in true spirit, we just did a thorough assessment of the selecao’s arrival at Granja Comary with our Brazilian amiga here, Ana. Gata wants to marry Zagallo but he’s old enough to be her grandfather, so she has now shifted all thoughts to Julio Cesar. On the other hand, Fabulouso is looking sleek in white… he needs to pose for a furniture catalogue agora!

So manos were sent for gym conditioning (to “maintain muscles and detoxification”) ,with Senor Pablo Paixão. This was accompanied by light field training and running exercises. Nilmar is deep in concentration… (while el amigo Lucas is presumably talking about English tea) so do not disturb!

Of course, playing at a high altitude is another issue for selecao. As such, the team’s doctor Jose Luis Runco has confiscated the potato chips from Adriano’s room. “I recommend a light diet for the team – with fruit and carbohydrates. Our position in relation to games at altitude does not change and I hope that FIFA changes it,” he said. “It is advisable to practice the sport at (a suitable) altitude because we run a risk of compromising the life of a human being.”

Added the excited André Santos. : “The secret is to adapt as quickly as possible to play a great game.”

Fotos de R.Ribeiro

Well, it looks like Greaseano was badly missed in Madrid’s first 2-1 defeat of the season to Sevilla. We like it that they’re finally losing because Potter Perez needs to know that he cannot assemble a perfect squad with his moneda. Still, you know he’s at the golf course with Jorge Valdano now, enjoying a club sandwich on a lovely summer day!

Anyway, Jesus Navas and Renato both scored for Sevilla and Fabulousoooo is muito feliz. “We played really well and are on a roll at the moment,” he enthused. “If we continue playing like that we can compete with Real and Barca at the top.” Meanwhile, Madrid committed mistakes in their set pieces and were paid to pay for it in the 66th minute. Kaka acknowledged the loss and said, “We knew we would lose at some stage. We were beaten by a good team and we need to improve some things.”

Well, ya’ll know that Sevilla should not be messed with and it’ll be nice to see them emerge as La Liga’s surprise package this season. They’ve been underperforming in the last few seasons and perhaps, all this could change... correcta?

They made him a gold-hopping grasshopper at one point – and now, the creatives at Nike have decided to market Luis Fabulouso as a bad ass “employer” whom you must pay attention to. Yes, it’s called O Emprego Mais Difícil do Mundo and it depicts the “life” of Fabulouso in a very interesting way. The whole avant-garde treatment is pretty cool but everything else is a big Question Mark. How does it make you feel? Você gosta?

Foto de R.Ribeiro

What a way to celebrate Independence Day in Brazil today (seriously, it’s a mark of a true footballing nation) : by trouncing the Argies 3-1 and qualifying for South Africa! Vamos então!!

Although the midfield still needs a little bit more effort (Ei Andre Santos, o que está fazendo, cara?!), tipos were lucky that Veron was the only pirate doing all the work (and he still couldn’t keep up). Mascherano was too busy marking Kaka – who kept rolling all over the pitch – and Carlos Tevez was nowhere near his best. Fabulouso’s goals also deserve to be inducted into the Wall of Fame. Tipo is the Man of the Moment and his finishing was pure class!

In the end, Argentina’s backline had only themselves to blame for allowing resident joker Luisão’s header in. It was a move that was practised countless of times in Granja Comary under the watchful eye of Dunga – a free kick taken by Elano, received by the tall defender and aptly slotted in. Gabriel Heinze Ketchup could’ve asked for fries with that.

Ironically, September 5 has proven to be an unlucky date for the Albicelestes. They opened their 1994 WC Campaign on the same day by losing to Colombia in a painful 5-0 defeat. Now the same date will be remembered for awarding their biggest rivals entry to the World Cup. Did you see that look on The Dona’s face as he bit his nails anxiously? He’s yet to bring out the best of the Messiah, but for now, that’s probably the least of his worries….