So Werder Bremen thrashed Freiburg 6-0 last night in the Bundesliga (See, they don’t even need Diego aka Survivor Contestant No. 91255 these days). As for Hugo Almeida, we’ve not heard from him for a while so it was finally nice to see the Portuguese striker helping himself to a double.
Also, did you know that Almeida is lovely family man who he doesn’t travel anywhere without a photo of his two daughters, Marianna and Matilde? His wife, Andreia added that he doesn’t go anywhere without his “mobile phone, computer and PSP” either. Ah, isso é muito típico ... She added that the ‘most difficult time’ for the family was when Hugo had to go play at the Euro 2008.
“Once, he forgot his phone in Viseu and I had to go all the way there to collect it for him,” Andreia recalled. Now now, isn’t that what a mulher is for? We’re off to find a broom now….
Oh Diego, ever so boyish at the age of … er, 24! We had no idea he was in the Greaseano age range. We always thought he was in the Kaka range. Y’know, the Barbecue Dad years. Oh, it doesn’t matter. Age ain’t nothing but a number.
Anyway, the new Juventus player will be “publicly presented” to all fans tomorrow, following his transfer from Bremen but unfortunately, his jersey number is still unknown. You see, Diego doesn’t really care what number he wears. He’s happy to be playing in a “strong” league like Serie A. In our opinion, the Bundesliga has been better than the Italian league in recent years, so Diego move came as a surprise.
“(Playing for Juve) is the realization of a boyhood dream. I am happy to arrive here (in Italy) but (I’m) also aware of the challenge to expect. I come here ready to play my best, to win the matches and meet everyone’s expectations of me,” he declared.
By the way, why is every player starting to “realize” their “childhood dreams” all of a sudden?
PHOTO : AFP
We’re a little sleepy today, but news of Diego signing a five-year contract with Juventus has jolted us back to reality. Yes, it looks like you’ll be reading more of La Vecchia Signora next season, with Diego and Amauri in the same squad. Ranieri would’ve made it perfect but too bad he’s left.
“I am very happy and excited. I (already) spoke of my admiration for the Italian Championship and (being) part of this competition. Juventus is a great team, a team of tradition and many titles. I hope to help them to win more titles,” he said.
“I have received numerous expressions of support and affection from the Italian fans and I know that my adjustment here will be peaceful. I am happy and want to return that affection by presenting a proper football. I know that I play with joy here in Italy.”
Yes, we get it. Mano can’t hide his excitement about going ballroom dancing with Del Piero but at least he acknowledged his three memorable years at Werder Bremen.
“The good times (at Werder Bremen) will be remembered and I will miss leaving, but I am a professional footballer and I leave in search of new challenges.”
An uninspired Werder Bremen lost the UEFA Cup to Shakhtar Donetsk last night, after a 2-1 loss in extra time. All three goals were courtesy of Brazilian players. Everyone wants Dopey Dunga to sit up and take notice!
Luiz Adriano opened the scoring in the 25th minute for the Ukrainian side. Werder’s Naldo equalised ten minutes later. Unfortunately for Diego and co’, Brazilian midfielder Jadson’s 15-yard shot slipped through the grasp of the Bremen’s goalkeeper Tim Wiese in extra time.
Diego – who didn’t play due to suspension – looked dejected next to his teammates on the Istanbul pitch. Yeah, tell us about Istanbul. We don’t like it either – but revenge in 2007 was sweet!
Anyway, Nery Castillo and his eyebrows were all-out celebrating as well. We spotted Ilsinho aka Ben Affleck’s twin looking muito feliz as he embraced Diego. And poor Werder fans – the cameras captured so many of them crying last night.
No…. you can’t pull Diego away from Werder Bremen!
Anyway, the potential Survivor Tocantins contestant has confirmed that he has ‘agreed personal terms’ with Juventus which paves the way for a move to the Serie A next season. Why Juventus, though?! They’re pretty big D-BAGS to work with, in our opinion. Still, in terms of reviving the squad, we can see where all this is going.
“There’s still nothing official, but there’s really little (that’s) missing (in the deal). It is a matter of detail,” Diego told La Stampa yesterday.
He added : “The Italian Championship has long fascinated me and it is one of the most difficult, with exceptional players. It will be a great challenge.”
Anyway, Diego will look pretty good standing next to Amauri. Survivor Claudio Raneri, anyone?
Diego and the rest of his Survivor Cayman Island friends are through to the finals of the UEFA Cup! Sadly, like his Brazilian compatriot Dani Alves, he will not be able to play the finals after getting himself a yellow card for shouting at Alex Silva. Instead, Diego will provide churrasco at the sidelines in Istanbul.
At least he scored a vital away goal, along with Pizzaro, to ensure a safe passageway for Bremen against Shakhtar Donetsk.
“Right now, I am just concentrating on Werder Bremen, it is an important moment for me and the club,” said the Brazilian after the game, when asked about Juventus. “I am 200 percent for Bremen at the moment and any decision on my future will be taken at the end of the season.”
It’s a no-brainer. We all know he loves the German girls.
Diego has confirmed that Juventus have indeed made attempts to sign him. But sorry direttores, he’s not interested. Instead, you can watch him and his ferosh beard on Survivor : The Cayman Islands next season.
“The truth is that there is a proposal from Juventus and the other teams in Europe. A change of clubs would be a step forward in my career, no doubt. But I am very happy here in Werder, where I am living well both professionally and personally,” he said.
“I don’t get involved in these matters of negotiation. I trust in the leaders of the club who will decide at the end of the season. Like any player, I admire Juventus. It is one of the biggest clubs in the world like Inter Milan, Milan, Real Madrid and Barcelona among others.”
In recent call-ups for the Brazilian team, Dunga also left the midfielder out of his squad. However, Diego thinks there will always be a chance for him to play if he works hard.
“I’ve been playing in the selection for a long time. But I do not get upset (about not being called-up) as this (has) always been the biggest goal of my career and I will continue looking for my space,” he said.
A restaurant in Bremen found a pretty good way to get rid of their old plates. Instead of throwing them away, they invited a few of the Werder players to sign it for a charitable cause.
The money raised went to Kinderhospiz Löwenherz, an institution for children who are in the terminal stage of illness. About 200 fans attended. Naldo, Mesut Özil, Sebastian Boenisch, Claudio Pizzarro and Hugo Almeida were among the players who signed the plates.
“I am very happy when I can help those who need. A few dedicated hours can make a difference for these children,” Diego said.
Diego’s double (check out his second goal… sheer brilliance!) and Almeida’s neat strike was enough to earn Werder Bremen a 3-1 victory over Udinese in the UEFA Cup last night. Yes… it was supposed to be Milan’s tournament this season, but you know how things don’t turn out sometimes.
Bremen have to be careful in the return leg, however, as the away goal rule can be very tricky.
When was the last time you went for a beard trim, Diego? This ain’t ‘Survivor Schleswig-Holstein’!
At least the Brazilian steered his side to a comfortable 4-0 win over Stuttgart. He opened the scoring in the 34th minute and set up two others. Markus Rosenberg’s two goals also sealed the game.
Bremen haven’t been doing very well as of late – only managing three goals in their last six matches. Jens Lehmann looked very disappointed after the final whistle. Can’t blame him. It’s just amateur football for the mann.
Former Juventude player, Naldo scored the winning goal in Bremen’s 1-0 victory over St Etienne last night, thanks to a back-heeled pass from Diego Ribas. Oh, the Brazilian connection!
Anyway, their trainer, Thomas Schaaf is unhappy that his players allowed St-Etienne backed into the game at various intervals.
“We didn’t show in the game what we are capable of. We sat back too much and kept letting St-Etienne into the game and that wasn’t necessary,” he said after the game.
Well, at least they didn’t throw the game away like Milan did a couple of weeks back. Now, that was a nightmare!
We are on the verge of choking now as we type this. After putting in two goals past Bremen in the first half last night, you would think that Milan were well on their way to the next round of the UEFA Cup.
We can deal with bad football from some of the top sides in the past two days, but not this. The way Milan was kicked out was on the verge of humiliating. Pirlo and Pato’s goals weren’t enough to match Pizaro’s double.
“To suffer a comeback like that really hurts, and that has proven to be one of our major problems this season,” Zambrotta said after the game. “Unfortunately we have not been making the best choices to avoid goals in the latter stages of matches, as was the case tonight once again. We will try to improve in this area, as we continue to fight for the Scudetto.”
All that talk about sacking Ancelotti is irrelevant – Bremen and the likes of Diego fought till the end while Milan didn’t even seem bothered. It’s ridiculous!
Awwww, these photos of Diego and the children are incredibly heartwarming (we’ll let all the anger from last night’s Champs League games out the window for now…)
The Brazilian midfielder has been announced as an ambassador for the SOS-Children’s Village in the city of Worpswede. The organization “focuses on family-based, long-term care of children who can no longer grow up with their biological families.”
More than 72,000 children and teenagers live in the 473 Children’s Villages around the world. The first SOS Children’s Village was founded in 1949 with branches in over 132 countries. The organization works with children without parental care and children of families in difficult circumstances. To make an online donation, click here! We will, for sure.
Marketing! Sponsorship! Boots! Just what we brought Becks in for eh? Even Kaka admitted it.
Going back to the futbol – which is the UEFA Cup tonight – Andrea Pirlo says he is hopeful that both Kaka and Pato will regain fitness for the meeting against Werder Bremen.
“Werder are a physical team, but they’re a bit slow at the back and players like Kaka and Pato could really help us,” he said.
Globo reported that neither Ronaldinho nor Kaka are confirmed in the must-win game but whatever it is, something needs to be done in our midfield. If it collapses again or decides to take a walk, we’ll go absolutely loco.
In the end, Pippo scored but so did Diego. Beckham decided to give his shirt to a supporter and there are numerous topless photographs of him in the cold, as a result. What a sacrificial act on his part!
Pato did not start the game so Inzaghi played all 90 minutes. Of course, the Offside King was caught doing what he does best on a number of occasions but finished well in the 36th minute thanks to Flamini’s pass. Bremen dominated the attack from the first minute and looked dangerous but Diego saved the day by chesting down the ball into the bottom right corner of Dida’s net.
“We played very well,” said Diego after the game. “I’m glad to have scored the goal to help my team. But we wanted to go (all) out with a victory. Now we (will) try to (win) in Milan, because we want to go far in this competition.”
“Stop flexing them muscles Diego… it’s only January!”
You may resume staring at the midfielder’s thighs in a moment. For now, let’s dissect his statements about ‘possibly’ playing in the Serie A. Well, at least that’s what Italian TV network ‘Sky’ would like viewers to believe in an interview with the Bremen player.
“At the moment I do not know if I will ever play in Italy. There are teams that I like in the Italian championship but I do not know yet. Football has so many opportunities and I look only at the present. I’m doing very well in Germany. They are a team that gives me everything that I need, so what happens tomorrow, I do not know. I can say however that the Italian championship and Italy are for me and that I would have no difficulty in playing (in it),” he said.
“Juventus is a great team and any player would want to play for it but presently, I must focus on the game Werder will play against them. I have nothing to add (about) my future at Juventus or elsewhere because I have a contract here and I’m good. But without a doubt, Juventus is a team of global importance and I admire (them).”
Diego’s probably regretting those last few words because the papparazi will be splashing out their pages of a bikini-clad Sarah Conner before you can say prego!
Diego is well loved by the German press. After all, they made up that story about him and tranny singer Sarah Conner, the German ’singer’. And now, the poor midfielder had to stand up for himself again after newspaper ‘Bild’ published a story about him drunk driving. They even claimed Diego had ‘0.8 milligrams of alcohol in his blood’ when police stopped him. We wonder who’s the drunk one…
Anyway, Diego explained that it did not commit any wrongdoing and that the police was ‘only doing a routine check’. Crisis control!!
“What was a routine check ended up causing an inconvenience in traffic. Going to the police station (afterwards) was really for everyone’s safety,” said Diego, sounding like an officer himself.
“I drunk a glass of wine, strictly within the German law. I got my driver’s license at the same time and went home.”
Werder Bremen’s Diego has been the subject of gossip in Portuguese, Spanish and Italian newspapers lately for his alleged relationship with German singer Sarah Connor (top). Yes, her apparent masculinity is quite frightening…and we’re not going to lie. She claims they are ‘just friends’, but the German media were able to get hold of some photos of the couple ‘kissing passionately’ … and proceeding to a hotel after. LOL.
It is believed that the two met last June in a discotheque in Hamburg named Deka-Dance and have been seen frequently in Delmenhorst.
Diego has a Brazilian girlfriend in Brazil named Bruna Letizia. Come on, Diego…. COME ON!
Diego Ribas is excited about returning to Bremen for the start of training after the holidays. Finally! A player who doesn’t blame late returns on the ‘club’s failure to book a ticket home’ (Adriano) and ‘airport runway problems’ (Messi). Entusiasmo, people!
“I feel very well returning because I did not neglect physical training during the year-end holidays, when I held races and participated in recreational games,” he said.
Again, bonus points for Diego’s professionalism as an athlete.
Brazilian midfielder Diego Ribas recently went on a vacation to Florianopolis.. and of course, the ever-omnipresent Globo were able to acquire some interesting photos.
He even found the time to play some footie with Internacional’s striker, Nilmar and enjoyed the sights of the beaches of Santa Catarina…
But seriously though, all alone?!
Diego is expected to return to training with Werder Bremen on January 3.
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