Fútbolita

What a great day for Neymar! It was his debut for the selecao, and he delivered as promised to the people of Brasil! Hedgehog hairdo scored in a fitting 2-0 victory against the United States. E claro, the other goal was courtesy of Pato whom many of you have missed watching for Brasil. E hora de comemora because it’s a new squad, and we definitely like the style that was on display last night. Fast, free, flowing football that was demonstrated by three attackers – Ganso, Robinho and Neymar – who are Santos’ bros!

In addition, it was also a great start for Manoooo, whom we all know will be facing pressure in the lead up to 2014. He’s already declared that his priority is to make Brasil a more offensive team, which means we won’t be seeing much of Dopey’s ultra-defensive techniques and more exciting stuff from all these caras. And as for Neymar, he knows he’s got it… just take a look at his pose below. Work it!

“The performance was the result of the technical quality of the players. It was facilitated by the (fielding) of three players who work together at Santos. What we did in the two training sessions, mainly on Sunday, was to give a tactical organization, in terms of positioning, which enabled the technical quality to excel,” said Mano after the game.

Parabéns meninos!

via Terra, Gettyimages

Welcome to day 2 of Mano’s Seleção Bootcamp in New Jersey! The image above exudes so much ego that you can even smell Jersey Shore’s resident douche The Situation from ten miles away. Andre (right far end) is dying to know about Pato’s divorce pension but tipo ain’t saying anything for now. Seriously guys, quit the gossip…. concentrar-se na formação!

Anyway, the schedule remained the same yesterday, with some running drills, ball exercises and press calls. No word yet on who’s bunking with who, but you can be assured that Neymar, Ganso and Andre are living the Bro Life and watch episodes of Glee while feasting on popcorn. And since they’re in Jersey Shore, the bell boy probably kept his eyes open for some Snookin’.

As for Curly Fries da Silva, he miraculously recovered from food poisoning and took a later flight to join the squad! Look, he even offered autographs at the hotel lobby. Rafael had better have taken his Futbolita shirt along with him in his luggage. Cos’ that’s the way we roll, OK?

The friendly against the United States will be tomorrow, and our amigas in Brazil tell us that they will not be telecasting the game. Gasp! That’s despicable. This sounds like a job for the CQC crew!

via Terra Brasil, R.Ribeiro

BEM-VINDO to the Selecao Bootcamp, and as we always say, it’s a “tradition of Futbolita’s!” The guys have arrived in Jersey Shore (fist pump!) to train for the friendly against the United States scheduled for tomorrow. Mano Menezes wasted no time and made sure everyone HEARD what he had to say, which obviously meant no late nights and focus, focus, focus!

As always, manos divided themselves into two groups and got to work immediately. This time, there was no gym conditioning (oh damn) and everybody took to the field. Victor, Daniel Alves, Thiago Silva, David Luiz, André Santos, Lucas, Ramires, Ganso and Robinho were in the grey shirts while Henrique, Rever, Marcelo, Ederson,  Neymar, André and Tardelli played with orange vests. And for those of you who were wondering about Rafael Fetus Da Silva, he’s now recovering from food poisoning, so he was unable to answer the call-up.  Que pena!

Anyway, here’s David Luiz getting all brotherly with the trio of Neymar, André and Ganso. They’re all the faces of 2014, so he’d better pick his side soon before it gets too late!

Fotos de R.Ribeiro

Robinho may have been on holiday in South Africa, but he’d better be worried because Neymar is ready to rock the house! Santos emerged winners of the Copa do Brasil last night, despite losing 2-1 to Victoria, simply because they already won the first leg of the match. Muito legal, indeed and Neymar decided to celebrate by wearing a shirt with a message dedicated to his family (“pai, mãe, irmã e amigos após a partida”) and climbed over barricades to celebrate with the fans which was splendid.

Edu Dracena opening the scoring for Santos, but even though Vitoria turned the heat up with goals from Wallace and Júnior, they managed to contain their opponents and duly celebrated in estilo Brasileiro.

Oh, look what we have here! It’s IkerBonero getting it on again in Los Angeles. Wait, isn’t he supposed to be IN preseason training doing drills or something, with the goalkeeping coach?!! That’s right, this is a pretty “old” photo, but it was still worth posting anyway. All you lucky folks from LA probably already witnessed the Pied Piper of Higuain’s double against Club America last night.

Oh dude, es temprano, pero que está listo! (it’s early, but you’re ready). Keep it coming, yeah?

Last season, all eyes were on Antonio Valencia (who quite frankly, hasn’t lived up to his billing). This season, the United aficionados will be screaming Chicharito’s name like he’s the new Jalapeño mixed drink! So of course, tipo will be feeling a tad bit of pressure when the BPL kicks off and your nine million neighbours start unveiling their AON plastered jerseys with their names personalised.

Whatever the case, Chicharito will not tolerate any hatin’ this season because he’s in the fetus clique with the likes of the Da Silva brothers and they all can throw a mean punch when Berbatov walks past. DO NOT MESS!

And as for his teammate, Anderson, we feel truly sorry for him after learning about the car crash, but this is certainly not going to help his career.

via Reuters, AFP, Terra, Hola

Everybody’s backing this kid to do well for Brasil, so tempo para ser sério, Neymar! Nenhuma das festas, sem noites .. it’s time to be serious and not become another overrated menino. The key is not to get carried away, and focus, focus focus! Menezes better keep him in check and everything will be fine at the next World Cup.

That’s if Ronaldinho doesn’t come knocking looking for party mates. Ganso, do your job!

Ok, forgive us for the lack of a creative title, but like Neymar, we’re kind of surprised at Manoooo Menezes’ 24-man squad for the USA friendly on August 10th. With so many new faces for Seleção Bootcamp, everyone needs to attend Orientation Camp ASAP!  Meninos like Rafael Curly Fries da Silva, Ganso, Pato and (drumroll) Hernanes, also finally received their call-ups after waiting on it forever. This is not to say that all of them deserved it (Lucas??), but it’s a nice technique to soothe the Brazilian public who can’t shut the image of defeat from their minds.

Rafaelito knows it, and he will be throwing a bitchface – like the one below – if you do not agree that he deserved the call-up. Seriously, enough of PS3 and barbecuing in Manchester… it’s time for the real deal. Hopefully, Fabio isn’t jealous because sibling rivalry is hilarious!

FULL SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Victor (Gremio), Renan (Avai), Jefferson (Botafogo)

Defenders: Daniel Alves (Barcelona), Rafael (Manchester United), Andre Santos (Fenerbahce), Marcelo (Real Madrid), David Luiz (Benfica), Henrique (Racing), Rever (Atletico-MG), Thiago Silva (Milan)

Midfielders: Sandro (Internacional), Ramires (Benfica), Lucas (Liverpool), Jucilei (Corinthians), Ganso (Santos), Ederson (Lyon), Hernanes (Sao Paulo), Carlos Eduardo (Hoffenheim)

Forwards: Robinho (Santos), Diego Tardelli (Atletico-MG), Alexandre Pato (Milan), Andre (Santos), Neymar (Santos)

Photos via Gettyimages/Reuters

Well, the title speaks for itself! Here’s Neymar, Robinho and Ganso (aka the Santos trio) doing it Beyonce style for Seara, a Brazilian company who are also the official meat suppliers for the selecao. They could have worked more on the choreography.. but at least Neymar looks like he’s having loads of fun!

(muito obrigada Raio Gomes!)

Haven’t we all seen this from Robinho before? The jersey kissing and outraged facial expressions? Only this time it’d better be for a good cause because Dopey probably still considers him a favourite for SELECAO BOOTCAMP : South Africa!

“He fulfilled what he promised and I was happy with his performance. Robinho decided the game. I think (by Robinho being on the field) it just gets better for the Saints. With the three of us playing together  (Neymar, Robinho and Paulo Henrique), we hope to give joy to supporters,” declared Neymar aka Santos’s Fetus Extraordinaire after their 2-1 win over Sao Paulo in the Paulista Championship over the weekend. Sim, estamos tristes….

What a safe statement, Neymar. Everyone knows that upon his arrival, Robinho was treated like Sultan and fed a bowl of Premium Turkish delights. King Pele personally saw that all this was taken care of… that’s how it really works!

via UOL Brasil

via Globo

• Sao Paulo are in the top four of the Brazilian championship after beating Goias 3-1 on Sunday. They’ve won their last five matches and have been unbeaten for the last eight games. Way to go, Tricolor! They started out slow in the early stages of the season and the Libertadores Cup. It’s all smooth now, eh? “The Sao Paulo supporters recognised their team, recognised the football we are delivering and each time I see the Morumbi filling up more,” coach Ricardo said. “It’s been 12 matches in 48 days, in Europe that’s madness.”
• BBQ King Adriano scored his 10th goal of the season to give Flamengo a 1-0 home win over Corinthians in the Maracana. “I missed so many (chances)…I will concentrate more to get it right more,” he said after the game. [See video below]
• Santos drew 2-2 with Avaí. They threw away their early lead, and despite fielding Neymar in the later part of the game, they were unable to get all 3 points. Somewhere, you know Pele is rolling his eyes. Elsewhere, Vitória also managed a 2-2 draw against Fluminense
• Coritiba has sacked their coach Rene Simoes after their 3-1 home defeat in the hands of Cruzeiro. They now lie in 18th place and Rene is the 24th coach to lose his job in the championship this season.

Why so serious, Neymar? Well, it must be the fact that Santos only managed a 3-3 draw against Goiás at home in the Brazilian championship yesterday. Pele was present in the stands and they probably placed the microphones near him so he could out talk the commentator. Immense pressure all around!

In another game, Internacional handed victory on a plate to Palmeiras, thanks to goals from Danny Morais and Argentinean midfielder Andres D’Alessandro. The substitute scored the second goal thanks to his left-footed shot near the penalty box to make it 2-0. Watch the goals below!

Defending champions Sao Paulo came back from their opening defeat with a 2-2 draw against Atletico Paranaense at the Morumbi stadium. Elswhere, Botafogo held an exasperated Ronaldo to a goaless draw against his team, Corinthians.

Ah, so it appears the U-17 meninos in Chile now are coping well without Neymar. Well, at least that’s what their coach, Lucho Nizza (in the photo with Mr Braces himself above) said.

“Many great players are missing but we have to live with the reality. We’re playing in this tournament without Neymar. We are playing with a group of players who’re very good. It’s important and we must have patience. We hoped to get Neymar for a long time, but he was not released,” said Nizza.

On Brazil’s current performance at the Sub17, he said : “I’ll try to keep the balance in the team and avoid getting too relaxed. The boys who’re between 15 and 17 years old will feel some self-confidence after the victories.”

EARTHQUAKES

Of course it hasn’t been a smooth ride for the boys. Last Thursday, they were woken up in the middle of the night by an “earthquake” and the ground shaking beneath them.

Said Nizza : “I was in my room and felt the ground shaking. I asked myself, ‘Gee, do I have labyrinthitis or something?” I left the hall and everyone was scared that the building was shaking. There wasn’t a reason to be scared – after all you should keep calm when you’re on the 19th floor!”

Here’s a video of wonderkid, Neymar, trying his new Nike boots. Tipo is being courted by the likes of AC Milan, Real Madrid, Arsenal, Barcelona, Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United. Scouts from everywhere have also been sent to keep an eye on this kid dubbed the new Pele (move over Robinho!) Everyone wants his signature, but we think Chelsea and City should forget about it!

We’re still trying to find out why Neymar didn’t join the other meninos in Chile for the U-17 Championships (which kicks off tomorrow by the way) It would’ve been a perfect opportunity for him to prove himself at national level… unless of course, he isn’t expecting a first team call up? Now now.

Unfortunately, Santos’ wonderkid Neymar has not been included in the squad that will play in the U17 Championships. According to our amigos, Neymar was not summoned despite previous reports that he was called up. He was not officially released by Santos either and is still with the club.

The official squad is below the cut and the meninos are mostly from Internacional, Santos, Vasco and Sao Paulo. The tournament starts this weekend.
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What could these three amigos be talking about? Man City’s epic failure to land Kaka, of course! Robinho and Elano are probably doing some investigative reporting for the douchebag Sheikh Mansour. The photo looks like they were caught in an uncomfortable moment.

Anyway, the Brazilian caras have returned home to train for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers. It’s like being back in school again! The players were at the gym doing muscular exercises yesterday afternoon (check out Dani Alves, Luis Fabiano and Robinho - are those manos hard at work or what?!) This was followed by a training session that was unfortunately, marred by the rain. Depending on your preferences, Futbolitas, it might also be a sight to enjoy.

Both Dunga and Pato have expressed their excitement about Neymar, the latest Brazilian whiz kid. “Neymar is a player we are tracking. I am happy for him. Currently, the most important thing is that he has the support of his family and true friends. This will help him,” said Pato.

Photos by R.Ribeiro

Neymar reminds us of our amiga’s brother who also looks a lot like Roma’s Brazilian defender Juan Silveira. His braces are still intact – so you can always keep those Chupa Chups lollies for him when you visit the Urbano Caldeira one day. Anyway, the promising 17-year-old striker has been in the limelight as of late for his showstopping performances. Idol Ronaldo Lima also warned that efforts must be taken to ensure Neymar’s protection.

“It’s better to be careful when it comes to Neyma. He plays well but he’s very young. He must be prepared to (absorb) all the fame and media exposure that comes with playing on the field. When he’s not playing well, (the media) will say that he’s very young and not ready. So great care must be taken.”

“It is important that Santos protects him and they must plan long and hard.”

We say : When it comes to advise from Ronaldo, there’s only one thing to do. Take it!

You’re looking at a legend and the future of Brazil – Ronaldo Lima and the Santos teenage sensation, Neymar.

Fortunately for Corinthians, Dentinho (mano is on a roll!) scored in the 15th minute, heading home a well-placed pass from midfielder Douglas.

It was a tight game with many scoring opportunities. Both sides launched dangerous counterattacks and succeeded in keeping each other at bay with a tight defense.

The crowd of about 30,000 that packed Sao Paulo’s Pacaembu stadium cheered each time Ronaldo outwitted his opponents to capitialise on his chances. But as you can see from the photos below, there were also some crowd troubles.