Fútbolita

NILMAR HONORATO DA SILVA

Yes, it’s the day of the Brazil-Holland “do or die” match and we’ve promptly lined-up our exclusive interview with Brazilian striking ‘fofo‘ NILMAR. Many of you will be excited to note that he has joined David Villa in the ‘Futbolita lovin’ bandwagon, and yes, he really is one of the nicest ‘manos’ out there, in case you were wondering. The Villarreal striker is also expecting a son next month and spoke about his aspirations for Nilmar Junior. Awww, what is there not to like about Nilmar again?

NILMAR ON FUTBOLITAS

“It is great that there are Futbolitas who play football and support the game! This sport is very healthy and the women give much color to football. Of course, I am in support of this and seeing women playing futebol in the fields gives joy to all.”

NILMAR ON THE SELECAO

“It is a great joy to be called up because it is the dream of any player to play in a World Cup and more so with Brazil, the best selection of all time. In addition, it is more worthwhile to go as a striker, especially since the large number of attackers are Brazilian. It is a dream come true and I am very anxious to to play.”

“The the truth is that I feel enormous pride whenever I wear the Brazil shirt, and without a doubt the most special moment with the selection is now, during the World Cup.”

NILMAR ON HIS WIFE AND SON

“I wanted Laura (his wife) to accompany me to South Africa, although it will be difficult because of my unborn son. As for my son, the truth is that I would prefer if he likes football like me, but more importantly, he grows up to be what he want to be!”

NILMAR ON THE SELECAO’S FUN-LOVING NATURE

“I have a good relationship with most of the players on the selecao like Luis Fabiano, Kaka and Julio Cesar. I get along great with everyone and that is very important. A good relationship among the players will go a long way in our World Cup campaign.”

NILMAR ON BRAZIL BECOMING A GLOBAL POWER..

“We have the highest expectations of becoming a great global power. It is true that there are very good teams that play at a high level, such as Spain, Italy or Argentina. But Brazil is always a candidate in the world cup and there is no exception this year . We are confident that we will do well because we have a great squad.”

Enjoy Nilmar’s hat-trick against Chile in last year’s WCQ!

Presenting to you Greaseaño in all his Waxiness! Si, it sounds absurd, but this is a brilliant shot of his hair doing what it does best at most matches : literally standing by him. Now THIS is dedication…Ricky Martin would be proud! Anyway, CR’s Cabelo had nothing to do with his penalty for Los Blancos in their 2-0 win over Racing last night. However, we’re thrilled to add that the Pied Piper of Higuain netted this week again. Yes, the Beatles fan is definitely dancing his way into the Argentinean World Cup squad!

Elsewhere, papa Nilmar delivered for Villarreal again during their encounter with Valladolid last night. It’s truly unfortunate that the photographers almost NEVER get shots of him celebrating his domestic goals. Lo injusto! He is the equivalent of the Candy Floss striker, so everyone should sit up and take notice of Sr. Nilmar NOW!

via Gettyimages

Ok, Albelda looks like he’s enjoying a rave right in that photo – so be quiet until the moment passes! Tres, dos, uno… ok, here we go. Los Che pulled off a nice 4-1 victory over Villarreal last night (poor, poor Nilmar) and damn, the goals were coming at you like there was no tomorrow! From the two Davids to former Boca kid, Éver Banega, everyone wanted the win desperately. Sure, their young defender Kiko (it isn’t just Macheda’s nickname, you know) was slapped with a red card but the boys sailed on con orgullo!

“I think against an opponent who have played some good matches so far, we’ve been very focused and very compact in defence and attack. Furthermore, after the sending off and 2-0 in our favour, we were able to stay on top,” declared Senor Unai Emery.

As a bonus, here’s Albelda with his mujer, Vicen!

via Reuters, AP

Don’t you hate it when everything ends in a stalemate? Maçante! Where’s the spirit, Madrid? Tipos ought to rewrite their new-year resolutions as soon as possible, and remove the part about getting new car windshields. Pellegrini, victories are the ones that count so stop spending Perez’s credit on nail polish, vale?!

Anyway, in case you think we’re talking in circles, Madrid drew 0-0 with Osasuna last night. Barca themselves gave them a chance to take the lead after their 1-1 draw against Villarreal on Saturday. Apparently, the club’s CEO is pissed that Nilmar wasn’t awarded a penalty after being fouled by Goldilocks Puyol. Shit, he’s right! For Nilmar, the referee should’ve brought out the candy floss machine. How dare they mistreat Nilmaaaar!

In other news, Ibracadabra’s love, Helena Seger made her presence known at Barca’s game. Don’t you think she can be Sylvie van der Vaart’s twin? You can totally imagine their conversations…. Helena : “Oh älskling, did you see the new Vuitton? Splendid, yes?” Sylvie : “Um, ja? Rafael is totally on the VIP-lijst. We get de zakken from Marc Jacobs himself!”

via AFP, AP

Ei chicas, you have to admit that front page image with David Villaaaaa in his Kung-Fu pose is muito legal!!! He looks ferosha… come on, his daughter already thinks it’s cool and has started to draw on it with her red Crayola. Anyway, Villaaaa opened the scoring against Osasuna in the sixth minute thanks to his outstretched boot (talk about being at the right place, at the right time) last night. David Albelda and Carlos Marchena scored the other two goals.

“This is a tough place to come and we played really well to win the game,” said Albelda. “We are growing as a team and just have to keep going the way we are and see what happens.”

Also, David Silva’s hair is calling out to be in a Sunsilk ad…. seriously, darle una oportunidad!

Nilmar’s Brace Sinks Valladolid!

So tipo over here was the hero for Villarreal yesterday, following a bad start to their season. Nilmar didn’t even have to change the colour of his jersey… all he needed was two goals bebes! Thanks to him, it looks like El Submarino Amarillo are slowly starting to find their pace again, scoring 14 goals in their last four games.

“Despite the result it wasn’t easy,” said Villarreal coach Ernesto Valverde. “I liked what I saw of my team and think we were better so we are happy with how we played as well as the result.”

Photos via AP, Villarreal

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

via Reuters

We only wished for Nilmar to start against Chile…. and mano went on to score a hat trick against them last night! Daaaamn, tipo over here is keeping track, ya’ll. On hindsight, 4-2 isn’t the perfect score but what else can we say to Nilmar except muito obrigada?! After all, Chile actually equalised 2-2 after Baptista’s 40th minute goal and thought they could get away with a victory. Desculpe, but this is Brasil…

On a sadder note, Felipe Melo had a bad night when he was sent off in the 49th minute for going in with his foot raised on Sanchez. He was also penalized for a foul which led to Humberto Suazo’s penalty for Chile. Speaking of the Melooo, we’ll be speaking to him soon – more details on that to come!

Our Brazilian amiga was in a visibly samba-like mood today so please help yourself to that unopened can of Guaraná and join her as we await the next Bootcamp!

(via Reuters, AP)

Foto de Globo

Nilmar is walking away from Internacional!!! Yes, the striker will officially be presented as a Villarreal player later tonight at El Madrigal. The striker will also be parading the team’s new kit. No eagle is slated to make an appearance, though, so everyone please sit down.

Well, we’ve been waiting for cara to make his move to Europe since forever. Everyone from Palermo, Wolfsburg and Milan had been knocking on his door but it looks like Villarreal found the magic solution. They paid 15 million euros for him and we’re sure the money will be worth it.

“I have the opportunity to play in one of the strongest leagues in the world. I (want to) develop and succeed in Europe as well as did in Brazil,” said Nilmar.

Via Javier Soriano for AFP

Manuel Pellegrini commenced pre-season training with Los Blancos on Thursday and based on that photo above, he knows his job pretty well. Be nice to Raul, smile at Raul and look fondly in Raul’s direction…. or you’re out next season! Ironically, el capitano was the first to report for the 8.30am training. Hard to tell but is that a sarcastic smile?

Anyway, the grey-eyed Chilean treinador probably doesn’t know what he’s in for with Galacticos 2.0. He still goes home and eats his wife’s cooking. The only thing that changes is the fact that his sobrinos and their friends get to choose box seats for el clasico next season. Exciting!

In the words of Vicente Del Bosque : “For Madrid to succeed Pellegrini must be allowed to exercise his own ideas and follow his vision. He (Pellegrini) has been the most brilliant overseas coach over the last few years and all he needs is the kind of support that he had at Villarreal.”

Unfortunately for Goldilocks and The Barça Bears, they’ll have to wait at least another week to clinch the Spanish League Title. Proverbial La Liga underdogs, Villarreal, miraculously scored the equaliser in injury time last night after Eric Abidal got himself sent off – AGAIN! The home side wasted their neat 3-1 lead in the first half thanks to goals from Keita, Eto’o and Dani Alves, allowing Llorente to score Villarreal’s second.

Speaking of which, Abidal needs to pack his bags and go to the Maldives ASAP (surely Sthef and Baldie can both attest to that). The man wants a holiday and at the rate he’s going (he’ll be missing the CL and King’s Cup Finals), there’ll be plenty of tiempo for scuba-diving etc.

Anyway, the bad news is that Iniesta has suffered an injury on his right thigh after yesterday’s game. Pep said there’s a possibility he might not be able to play for the rest of the season. AAAH!

“I don’t have a good feeling,” Guardiola said. “We will do tests tomorrow, but there is no way he will play this week.”

In the end, friendship is all that matters in football – especially if it involves your fellow countryman. Santi Cazorla and Fabregas obviously knew that following last night’s 1-1 draw between Villarreal and Arsenal.

But let’s not forget Marcos Senna’s beeeeeautiful strike in the 9th minute, from nearly 30 meters out. We nearly choked on our tomatoes at the sight! Credit must go to the Gunners for fighting back in the second half although they made some fouls which were clearly uncalled for. There were also plenty of fast balls and Adebayor’s bicycle kick in the 65th minute was surprising – but highly deserved.

“We tried everything to win the game but it’s true that our level dropped a little after the first half,” Senna said after the game. “Right now, Arsenal have the advantage because they scored an away goal but if we can win there, we will be in the semi-finals. And I believe we can do it.”

We’re not the sort to boycott a major football tournament like the Champions League although it’s been absolute merda for us this season. Well, at least the formidable Barça and dark horses Villarreal are still riding high. UEFA’s interview with Manuel Pellegrini and Robert Pires really made them out to be this season’s underdogs.

Titipo Henry has already praised fellow countryman Franck Ribery (“Even within tight spaces, Franck can create different things. With his quality, he can represent danger to Barça, Real Madrid, Manchester United or any team. Bayern have many players who make a difference to the team such as Klose, Luca Toni and Schweinsteiger.”)

Also, Porto aren’t looking so good this season so it’ll be easy for Foreignchester United. We also see – surprise surprise -the Gunners nicking a hard-fought victory against Villarreal. A Carlos Vela Goal show would be highly unlikely, but it’d be fantastic.

Oh – you don’t have to ask! You know we don’t really care about Quarter-Final Three.

It’s always nice to find out what the 02′ generation of Brazilian players are up to. In this case, Edmilson (who could ever forget him?) will be leaving Villarreal to play for Brazilian side Palmeiras.

“I am extremely happy. After ten years in Europe, I’m back to play in Brazil (and it’s) a serious and long-term project that Palmeiras has in mind. That made the difference (for me to) choose to return. Moreover, it will be a pleasure working with Vanderlei Luxembourg, whom I have deep respect (for)and is a successful coach,” said Edmilson.

Of course, Edmilson acknowledges the fact that he is no longer a young boy, but has set goals for himself next season.

“Of course I am no longer a boy of 20 years. But (I’m) not afraid to face this challenge. My goal is to win a Brazilian championship, a Libertadores, which I have not achieved yet and return to the Brazilian team. My plans are ambitious, as well as those of Palmeiras,” he admitted.

Returning to the Brazilian team? Hmmm.. we’re not so sure about that, Edmilson.