Fútbolita

What a magnificent ball! I’m afraid we’re going to need people to carry us in order to put the Brasil flag at the top of it so please step forward and don’t be shy. Anyway, in case you’re like tio Ferguson, scratching your head and wondering what all this fuss is about, the ball is actually perched on top of a giant countdown clock in “Jo’burg” (come on now, you can’t just play vuvuzelas… you’ve got to walk the TALK too) in South Africa. There’s a giant statue of Nelson Mandela too. Muito legal!

The WPS league kicks off again this weekend – and of course, some of our futbolitas who’ll be featuring in it include Cristiane, Marta, Fabiana and Rosana! Let’s not forget Kelly Smith, Abby Wambach and Heather Mitts who’re all making us muy orgulloso about women’s football. Anyway, our friends from the league sent us photos from their new ad campaign which is pretty cool, especially this one of Abby Wambach!

Also, we’re pretty sure there are many of you here from the USA (and love Clint Dempsey), so you’d better secure your season tickets AHORA because Cristiane is going to be up against Rosana in the opening game of the season. Queremos ir!

Poor Curly Fries got himself sent off last night – and despite our constant barrage of criticisms, we do think that menino has improved his game as of late. He delivers the ball well but gets fired up too easily and he has been collecting cards like Futbolita t-shirts. Which isn’t so bad, but that’s not the point!

“He decided he wasn’t going to give (the red card), then he was pressured into it. He’s [Rafael] young and he’ll learn from it. He’s got a great future ahead of him and he’s going to be a great player and a big asset for Manchester United. He’ll bounce back, he’s a strong character,” said tio Fergie.

via WPS, Gettyimages & Globo

Ok, we’re only posting this photo because the fabulous Cristianeeee is in it! But as always, the big news in women’s football today belongs to Marta “O Melhor” who has joined FC Gold Pride in the USA. She was formerly a player of Los Angeles Sol (where she did those awesome appearances with Kobe) but sadly, LA Sol’s potential new owners backed out at the last minute as a result, their players had to look for other teams. Unfortunately, no one resembling Roman AbramoRich stepped up to the plate. Anyway, ya’ll know Marta will continue to rock wherever she plays! Ela é incrível!

The Spanish tabloids caught up with Guti at some event where they asked him one of the Cheesiest Questions Alive aka “Do you feel like falling in love (again)?” Con toda seriedad, who asks that?! Even your toes are cringing… admit it. Anyway, equally cheesy Guti answered the journalist: “Who does not (like it)? Not you?” Oh damn, where’s CQC Brasil when you need them? You know they would’ve said something classic about falling in love with his eyebrows….

Anyway, the background to all this is that Guti and his wife, Arancha are divorced with two kids. Since then, he has been linked to a bevy of mujers including university student, Paula, Spanish actress Amaia Salamanca and someone he was photographed with in Miami. Apparently, the girl just wanted The Fame, like Gago Gaga. “I met her, we (were together) for a few days and she seemed like a good girl, but wanting to be rich or famous with a picture of me is ridiculous,” he said. Pim Pam Pim Pam!

via FC Gold Pride, Hola

• Ok, she’s not playing in the Brasileirao … but Marta still led Santos to the first Female Copa Libertadores victory after a convincing 9-0 win over Universidad de Assunción yesterday. Need we say more?
• Flamengo stunned leaders Palmeiras with a neat 2-0 victory thanks to a double (again) from Dejan Petkovic. Well, Vagner Love (remember him?!) missed a penalty for his new side but apart from that, was highly ineffective throughout the game. Someone also forgot to leave ice-cream cones in Adriano’s locker room. Nevertheless, Palmeiras still lead the table at 54 points followed by Flamengo, Goias and Cruzeiro.
• Elsewhere, Corinthians are continuing the disappoint and they fell to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Sport Recife yesterday. Ronaldo, ta me ouvindo??
• In another game, Fluminense and Internacional tied 2-2.

via Reuters

Ok, Marta throwing a baseball at a LA Dodgers game is pretty random. They should’ve included a bonus round with Mickey Mouse Beckham as he elegantly manhandles a Javelin. What a spectacle that would’ve been.

On a more serious note, Pele will officially announce Marta as a Santos player in the squad’s attempt to win the first ever female edition of the Libertadores Cup on October 4th. And guess who else will be playing alongside her? Our favorite chica de fútbol, Cristiane!!!

“Santos have a great project for women’s football and our intention is to leverage the sport in the country. Having the best in the world playing in Brazil will be important to create that identity and to get new partners,” said the club’s president, Marcelo Teixeira.

The tournament only runs for 3 weeks and we’re guessing Marta’s life at Los Angeles Sol will resume after that. And Pele probably thought of this when they sat him with Marta at last year’s FIFA Annual Gala dinner. They needed convo fillers for those in-between numbers….

All you Futbolitas in the USA who’re following the Women’s Pro Soccer League can now get your hands on one of these Marta premium bobblehead dolls for US$29.99!

The unique, limited-edition bobblehead will only be available to fans who purchase the Sol’s Marta Bobblehead Ticket Package (seriously, who is behind all this?) which includes one ticket to both the Sunday, June 7 home match and the Saturday, June 27 game versus the Chicago Red Stars.

“The Marta bobblehead is sure to quickly become a collectors’ item,” said Los Angeles Sol General Manager Charlie Naimo. “It is not only the first-ever bobblehead in WPS, but also is the first time Marta has been depicted in this fashion.”

Marta added : “I am honored to be chosen for the first bobblehead in WPS history.” Não, you know she was totally rolling her eyes when they asked her to comment!

At least Kobe Bryant will be getting his limited edition doll.

Oh yes, the Marta Maniacs. If you’re part of that chica club, notify us por favor!

The Brazilian steered her team Los Angeles Sol to a 2-0 victory over Washington Freedom in front of 14,832 spectators yesterday. Although she didn’t score, she created multiple opportunities for the home side. Incrível! We’re sure our mulher here have plenty of opportunities to shine in the Women’s Pro Soccer league!

These photos of Marta and Kobe Bryant hanging out her official presentation are muy adorable! Kobe has declared himself to be a fan of Marta’s after meeting her last year at the Beijing Olympics. For the record, Kobe is also a fan of Barcelona and Lionel Messi. He has been a football fan since his childhood days in Italy.

Marta has signed a three-year contract to play with Los Angeles Sol.

You know this picture kinda reminds me of a Family movie about 5 brothers with completely different personalities. Then they all come home for Christmas and create a ruckus within the family home. Steve Martin should team up to do one about footballers.

Stable boy, Torres tussled hair looks a little too casual for a Fifa Gala .. don’t you think? It doesn’t matter though, since all of them changed into their suits shortly after. We don’t need to tell you which one of them won, but Marta did it again shortly after announcing her move to the USA.

Sylvie van der Vaart had the honour of hosting the event with her whiney voice. Hair Grease did his entire speech in Portuguese which you can watch below. And Pele tried to remain relevant again but even Ronaldo’s mild ‘obrigado’ wasn’t enough to hide his dislike – perhaps – for the statements Pele made about his preference for Kaka’s attitude.

Corinthians’ striker, Cristiane has confirmed that she will be following Marta’s footsteps and moving to the USA to pursue a new club career with the Chicago Red Stars in the WPS. Speaking at the FIFA Gala, Cristiane reiterated a point she made last year – the fact that female players in Brazil are forced to leave the country to find work and earn good salaries.

Women’s football in Brazil has long faced a problem with a lack of interest and investment, with majority of sponsors focusing their efforts towards the traditionally male-dominated aspect of the game.

“We’ve always hoped (for something better in Brazilian women’s football) but it is something that has become increasingly distant. We have 14 players who are playing in the United States and now our country does not have to worry about holding (back) these athletes, to help in any way. We’re playing, working and I think we have nothing more to prove to anyone. I’ve carried this hope for years and nothing happened,” said Cristiane.

Marta agreed with her teammate, and said : “As much as we try to develop the game, there’s a lot more work to do. We worked a lot, but there was a lack interest and support. The fans like it and you can place 70,000 people in the Maracanã but there is a lack of interest in the people who can do something to improve the game here.”

The Best Female Player in the World, Marta (who is Brazilian of course… duh), has not renewed her contract with current club Umeå IK, in Sweden.

According to a release issued by the club, “The disinterest in discussing a new deal (with the club) where Marta has worked in the past five years has made Umeå IK decide to put an end to this novel.”

Instead, the midfielder is expected to be revealed as a Los Angeles Sol player during the FIFA Gala Dinner on Monday. The team plays in the Women’s Pro Soccer League.

Well, it’s about time Marta moved to the US anyway, with the female football talent that they have. The question is, when will Cristiane leave Corinthians?

Ronaldo Lima played 21 minutes of a beneficiary match yesterday in Morocco – a game which saw former greats like Zidane having a go as well. Ronaldo was promptly substituted by Marta.

Marta was recently awarded ‘Striker of the Year’ in the Swedish Female football league and it’s the second year in a row she’s received that honour.

I’m dying to say that Ronaldo got owned real badly but nevermind!

You’re looking at the Corinthians female football squad who came back at full force this year to dominate women’s football in Brazil. They have enjoyed a six-month winning streak, winning 2-1 in the semifinals of the Sao Paulo Championship on Saturday. My favourite female footballer, Cristiane, plays for Corinthians so I’m a little biased here.

Marta said last year that women’s football in Brazil received very little support from the government. It looks like things may be picking up after all. TV Stations all over the country opted to broadcast the Championship and female football has been voted as the country’s “second most preferred sport to watch”. Of course, the top spot belongs to their male counterparts. Dema, who coached the Brazilian women’s national team between 1993 to 1995 said, “We respect all adversaries but Corinthians is the champion this year.”

OK, so everyone is pointing the accusing finger at Dunga, which was unavoidable from the start. Absolutely no one wants to be in his position right now. TBH, there were already cracks showing on the eve of the Argentina match. WHO publicly criticizes their own player before such a crucial game?! A bad Pato is still better than a ‘lucky’ Rafael Sobis. Waiting 105 minutes for him to score an extra time goal against Cameroon should have knocked some sense into Dunga’s head, but apparently NOT and Sobis had to start against Argentina and eventually missed all his chances.

Well done. Do you know who we really needed? Robinho. CBF, PLEASE get a coach who actually encourages free flowing football instead of relying on defensive counter-attacks. And one who doesn’t blatantly tell the press that his OWN player is undeveloped. Way to go, Dunga! You said “it’s gold for Brazil or nothing.” Well, so much for that! As expected, Ronaldinho took a leisure stroll in mid-field and was sadly outclassed by Lionel Messi. Fielding Alex Silva in place of Thiago was probably the final straw. Thiago Silva’s the best defender I’ve seen in this Olympic squad but he didn’t get to play. And Ronaldinho’s intentions in this tournament from the start had been rather dodgy. It was almost as if he chose to ‘run away’ from his problems by coming to Beijing to compete. He was just another weak link.

Anyway whatevs, we still beat Argentina last year at the Copa America finals (and previously in the Confederations Cup) – by the same humiliating scoreline. So if they weren’t able to pull off a come back even against our U-23 football squad, it would’ve been really tragic. They are deserving winners, I must say but can someone please tell Maradona and his beloved son-in-law Aguero to shut the hell up with their irrelevant comments. Aguero, you impregnated a 17-year old who happens to be Maradona’s daughter. So that deserves a Lifetime Achievement Award already. Do you really need to harp on about your thumb-sucking display of affection for a foetus growing inside your teen bride’s womb? Also, no one gives a rat ass about Maradona’s comments either. Yes, you were ONCE great, Maradona, but you are pretty useless to Brazil at this point of time.

Globo went (unsurprisingly) insanely overboard with their post-match coverage. Apparently, the front cover of the newspaper had an image of a tombstone and outrageous headlines that read “Brazilian football, five-time world champions, informs of the death of Dunga’s team yesterday in Beijing, China.” Oh yes, they added this too : “Don’t bother to bring flowers”. LMAO. Here are all the other newspapers in the country and their epic headlines….

Moving on, let’s just concentrate on the WC Qualifiers next month. I’m sorry that Marta and Co’ didn’t win the gold for Brazil either because they really wanted it and that was the difference. It was really heart wrenching to see Cristiane cry because she had worked so hard throughout the tournament and in the end ‘luck’ decided blew it for the women’s team.

Yeah, I’m laying off my writing again for football. There’s a shoot for one of the shows I’m writing for this Saturday and a RF photoshoot on Sunday… which has ‘FUN’ written all over it.