Fútbolita

Sometimes, we wonder what it must be like to have Ronaldo O Fenomeno as your dad. Apart from waking up everyday to see your father’s public antics with a woman who isn’t your mother being splashed all over the gossip rags, it must be cool. And maybe a little weird! What does that make Bia Antony, then? Ronald’s aunt?

Anyway, here’s Ronald (yes, that’s his name!) enjoying some quality father-son bonding session at Deco’s friendly match held in Indaiatuba, a city north of of Sao Paulo.

Photos via AFP (Mauricio Lima)

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

So Sao Paulo’s resident funnyman Hernanes, is looking at three proposals from top clubs in Europe and is finally, finally, ready to leave Brazil for European shores. After that Barca hoo-ha last year, he says : “I’m 24 to 25 years, and I think that now is time. I’m trying to stay calm. If not now, I am still happy here in Sao Paulo. I cannot get anxious.” Who is he kidding? AC, Inter, Barcelona and even CSKA Moscow are closely monitoring him.

We say… ir a AC, Hernanes!. They need you more than ever although Uncle Fester may try to be funny on your first day on the job and you will get random MMS messages from Botox Berlusconi. Fa tutto parte di un esperimento, as they say.

Speaking of AC, they didn’t too well against Udinese last night, losing 0-1 and getting themselves eliminated from the Coppa Italia. Why on Earth is Pippo attempting to do a bicycle-kick when he knows that it’s not one of his strengths?

Anyway, the game marked the return of Abbiati after a ten-month layoff (Senhor Leonardo and his faith in people!) which meant that Dida could only sit at Milanello by himself playing Monopoly : Edição do Brasil.

“My family has been close to me during this tough period, as well as all my friends. I have a good rapport with (Leonardo) and he knows that I am at the club’s disposal, because they have given me so much,” declared Abbiati.

Oh, talk about former employees! Here’s Kaka and Carol enjoying a nice snog at the Alicia Keys concert last week. AS IF we could write anything else to justify this picture! (Thanks, Verdi) And you know their son, Baby Luca, rolls his eyes whenever this happens in the family kitchen.

Meet Monica Lozzi, one of the crazy hosts of CQC whom we love because totally in-your-face! Check her out in this video with fellow reporter Danilo Gentili as they attended last weekend’s Brasileirao games (Goias/Sao Paulo and Corinthians/Flamengo). Besides the crazy fans, look out for the part where Monica hugs the Sao Paulo players (especially Hernanes) to comfort them for their loss! Fantástico!

This Flamengo victory reminds me of our amiga, Ana, who is now back in Brazil for the holidays. “Why do you support Sao Paulo? Only geeks support Sao Paulo. Like the fat, white men who wear ties. I love Flamengo… Flamengo is my team!” she once declared. Yes, but we don’t have Churrasco Kings like Adriano and neither do we need to hit every samba school in the nation!

Anyway, the most supported club in Brazil are now one match away from their first Brasileirao title since 1992. After goals from Zé Roberto and Léo Moura in yesterday’s own clasico against Corinthians, they only need to beat Gremio next weekend to secure the trophy. Ah, President Lula must be crying but este é o futebol. Check out the fans below who were all excited about welcoming home their heroes at the airport!

Photos via UOL/Globo

• There was a time… when Farmer Fred was an incredibly promising striker for the selecao. Now, all we’re left with are memories!!! Isto e triste, but at least Hulk’s around these days. Anyway, speaking of Fred, he helped his home side Fluminense to a nice 3-0 victory over Sport last night. Poor Sport, their beauty queen won the title ‘Musa Brasileirao’ this year but their performances on the field have been dismal.
• Sao Paulo was handed a 3-2 defeat in the hands of Botafogo despite goals from Washington and Jorge Wagner. What’s happening tricolor?! They’re supposed to be formidable… or maybe not. Botafogo were the ones who needed it more to prevent themselves from being relegated. “Next week, we will have a tough match. However, enthusiasm will carry on and will help us to keep from the risk of being lowered into the second division,” said their coach Estevam Soares.
• So Adriano had too much barbecued chicken and wasn’t able to help Flamengo in their goaless draw at the Maracana. They wasted their chance to go top of the table (desculpe, the Lords of KFC were at work). Anyway, Kleberson thinks they still have a good chance. “We haven’t lost anything yet, we had to win our last three matches, we didn’t manage that, but we still managed to get one point closer to Sao Paulo,” he declared. In other words, he means “your drumsticks will not work against Adriano”

via Reuters, Globo

That chica on the extreme right has such a classic facial expression! “UGH” is all she can manage… after all, why is it always so difficult to find hardcore mujers at the front (unless it’s the World Cup). Let’s start a trend, shall we?!

Anyway, the much-awaited Paulista derby between Corinthians and Sao Paulo ended up in a 1-1 draw and Fattynaldo opened the scoring in the 20th minute. He’s arguably the Timao’s lucky charm because he has never lost a game for Corinthians in five classic encounters. The tricolor fought back in the second half with Dagoberto, Hernanes and Borges exchanging passes to squeeze in an equalizer. At the same time, Corinthians created more space for counter-attacks but they couldn’t stop Washington from scoring in the 24th minute of the second half.

Ya’ll over there… hiding by the corner of the room… don’t be shy! Let’s all help O Fenômeno celebrate his 33rd birthday with his wife Bia Anthony in tow. Unfortunately, Hello Kitty wasn’t invited to the Club Royal in São Paulo, though and neither were his Corinthians teammates. How rude! Instead, Brazilian A-Listers like Luciano Huck, Angélica and Wanessa Camargo joined in the celebrations. Boring… they should’ve headed to the amusement park instead.

Anyway, Bia is four months pregnant with Ronaldo’s third son. Desculpe, but no one is as adoravel as his first son, Ronald. They actually named him after Ronald McDonald.

via Ego

via Gettyimages

Oh… you can always count on the Corinthians fans to go all out every week! By that, we mean carrying black balloons and body slamming amidst the sticky crowd. Wouldn’t you like to be there, futbolitas?

Anyway, the Timão fought to a 3-3 draw against Botafogo yesterday and it seemed like the referee left his brains at home.  There was an apparent hand ball in a Botafogo goal and Corinthians had a dodgy penalty ruled in favour of them. Dentinho scored a double for Corinthians while Andre Lima’s handball was allowed.

In another match, Palmeiras defeated Internacional 2-1 thanks to the brilliant Diego Souza. Unfortunately, it’s a sad day because Sao Paulo lost their second spot place to Goais after their loss to Atletico Paranaense. This ends our seven-match winning streak. Damn!!!

• Unfortunately Brasileirao’s reigning top scorer, Adriano hasn’t been living up to his name. Instead, the king of churrascarias wasted his chances during Gremio’s 4-1 drubbing of Flamengo yesterday. Goals from Perea, Réver and a double from Jonas chalked up three points for the Gaúchos, who’re now in a better position to secure a spot in the Libertadores. Sorry, Ana…now you can’t make those tricolor jokes at me!
  
• Speaking of Sao Paulo, they’ve extended their winning streak to six games after a 2-1 win over Sport thanks to goals from Washington and Hugggoooooo.
  
• Palmeiras battled to a 1-1 draw against Botafogo who were the first to score in the 23rd minute. Lucio Flavio fed the ball to Andre Lima who blasted it beautifully into the net. [Watch the video below!]
  
• Corinthians, who’re still without the injured Ronaldo, defeated Atletico Mineiro 2-0 at the Pacaembu stadium to end their five-match winless streak. The four-time national champions have not won a game since their 2-1 result against Vitoria on July 23.

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.

Photo via LatinContent Editorial/ Adhil Rangel

Ah, how typical of Hernanes to break out into a dance halfway during Sao Paulo’s training session! It could just be one of Ricardo Gomes’ ‘tactics’ to loosen things up in the team. You can always count on Hernanes to make everyone feel like they’re in the middle of a circus.

Unlike previous coach Mauricy Ramalho, Gomes actually makes the effort to make the subs feel at home! Why didn’t they export him to Real Moneda in place of Grey Eyes Pellegrini? Over there, their subs there get a lifetime’s supply of DVD rentals and popcorn.

Defender Andre Dias has already observed a positive change within the group. “Ricardo’s using a tactic that’s never been done before. He talks a lot, and we get to know each other better. That is cool, different. I’ve never worked with anyone like that before. It is important to see that the substitutes are just as important as the starting eleven,” Dias told Globo.

The Tricolor are scheduled to play Coritiba this weekend. And as a bonus, here’s Hernanes with his wife and son!

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.

Your eyes are not playing tricks on you – it’s really Ronaldo Lima heading the ball to President Lula in the state’s Office of Presidency. The striker visited the World’s Coolest President to pass him a Corinthians shirt and a ball autographed by all the players.

Lula also told Ronaldo, “When you enter the field, know that I am watching.” If that isn’t pressure to perform, we don’t know what is!

The club’s president, Andres Sanchez was also present to meet Lula, who claimed during the meeting that Ronaldo is not fat but merely a ‘baby’. Yeah, we don’t get that either.

Check out the video below – Lula’s header is amusingly epic!

How could we have missed this?! Hugh Jackman met Ronaldo in Sao Paulo when he was in the country to promote his new movie a few days ago. He presented the actor with a Corinthians shirt which had the name ‘Wolverine’ at the back.

Awkward but Ronaldo seemed more interested in rummaging through the bag than talking to Wolverine himself. What happened to his people skills?!

It’s always great to be working and celebrating – that’s what the photographers in yellow bibs above must’ve been thinking to themselves!

Corinthians clinched the Campeonato Paulista title yesterday after drawing 1-1 with Santos in the second leg. “I have to thank a million people for this,” Ronaldo said. “This is an incredible moment in my life. I’m the happiest man right now.”

His wife, Bia Anthony, was also in the mood for celebration after the game.

“Today, we drink a little – and have a light beer. I am very happy. We performed completely (well). We are here to celebrate even if it is quick. We know you guys (journalists) would like to be with us, but it will be just between us, players and family members,” she said.

In Rio, Flamengo clinched their state title after the game went into extra time and had to be settled by penalties.

Thiago Silva wants fellow Brazilian defender Miranda to join AC Milan. There’s a lot of speculation about the Sao Paulo player coming to Milan next season. Silva told La Gazetta Dello Sport that Miranda and him are BFFS and if he doesn’t arrive in Italy next season, he’ll scream out loud in exasperation (like what he’s doing in the photo above). Ok, not really.

“He is a great friend and we were together when the selecao last convened. I would be very happy if he joined the team. We could really make a great team,” Silva said.

Yes, Miranda needs to inject new blood into the ageing defense. After all, it’s arrivederci to Maldini this season!

We all love São Paulo here at the Futbolita camp so it’s always sad to see them lose. But despite a hard fought game, they couldn’t pull off a victory over Corinthians in the semifinals of the Paulista Championship yesterday. Instead, the home side came away with a 2-1 victory thanks to goals from Elias and Cristian. Miranda netted in the only goal for the visitors.

At least The Ronaldo admitted that the win didn’t come easy.

“It is difficult to reach perfection in football but today Sao Paulo was almost perfect,” he said after the final whistle.

His linda wife, Bia Anthony was also present at the VIP box of the stadium. She told the media later that “Corinthians deserved to win.”

We all know how much of a joker Hernanes can be. For much of the season, he’s been approached by offers from Europe – only to dismiss them as rumors. This time, word is out that Barcelona are interested in prising the talented midfielder away from Sao Paulo and his response?

“We’re having the same conversation again right? This smoke is difficult to erase. Every time she appears, I can smell it but the fire has not left. We expect the fire to burn,” he said, laughing.

O quê?

“The opening of the (transfer) market is approaching and you will hear these things. For now, this is just speculation. Let’s wait and see.”

Meet Pedrinho. He’s only one year and nine months of age but wants you to know that his favorite team is neither Corinthians nor Sao Paulo (despite both parents’ efforts to sway him in their direction!) Instead, bebê is a fan of Santos and chants “Goool do Santos!” throughout the vid.

Pedrinho has even been invited to the Santos training ground tomorrow to meet the players and receive gifts!