Fútbolita

Fútbolita had the honor of recently interviewing one of football’s greatest forwards to date, Romario! We’re happy to report that contrary to popular belief, he is one of the most down-to-earth players we’ve met …. but one who also lives up to his reputation!

Romario also received the exclusive Cultzeros-Futbolita tee, (“e muito legal, eu gosto”) and told us about his career, that toe-poke technique of his, Brazil’s World Cup, his relationship with Bebeto and even his son. Don’t worry, we told him that Romarinho ‘e muito fofo’ on behalf of all of you. And despite our Portuguese, he got the message but was quick to add that Romarinho will ‘never’ be the next him.

ASH: Firstly, Romario, please tell us how you mastered that brilliant toe-poke goal technique of yours!

Romario (smiling): It’s a technique that is very special to me. It took many years of training and perfection for me to finally become comfortable and start scoring goals with it! But it’s something that cannot be ‘taught’ – you can either score a goal by the toe poke or not. There is no ‘right way’ to do it and I’m glad to be able to win many matches thanks to it.

ASH: Everybody in Brazil said Felipe Melo was the villain in the game against the Netherlands. Do you agree?

ROMARIO: It is difficult to say. He is clearly one of the best players in the world and a great professional, because to be selected to play for the Brazil team is not easy. But on that day of the quarterfinals, he simply did not perform well for the selecao and was very unlucky with the cards and fouls. There was a lot of pressure but unfortunately, he was blamed for causing our elimination but I will not call him a ‘vilao’ (villain).

ASH: What were the problems in this Brazilian team? How can Mano Menezes improve on this?

ROMARIO: They need to bring back the Brazilian football style to what it was before. Dunga played a defensive style of football, that is not unique to us and many people disliked it. His methods failed at the World Cup because our players were not used to it. The new coach, Mano (Menezes) needs to encourage the players to attack, keep passing, moving fast, and instill a sense of ‘hunger’ in the new players so that they will want to win the World Cup again. He needs to ‘renovate’ the team, experiment and bring new boys in. And the new coach must also remember that always playing beautiful football is essential to the Brazilians.

ASH: You scored many beautiful goals in your career. Which one is your favourite? We know it’s hard to choose from 1,000 of them!

ROMARIO: Of course, it’s hard to pick just one (laughs). I scored many, many goals and I don’t remember all of them. But if I had to choose, it would be when I scored the two goals against Uruguay (1994 World Cup qualification) to send Brazil to the finals of tournament, which we later won. It was even more special to me because I scored the goals in the Maracana stadium, Brazil’s most historical stadium.
For me, the most beautiful goals I have scored in my career would definitely be for the selecao, and I can’t say it any other way. The feelings are different than playing for a club because you are wearing the green and yellow of your country, and there is always a sense of pride that comes with it.

ASH: What are your plans for Romarinho? (Son) He is now playing for the youth team of Vasco de Gama and has shown a lot of promise. Do you believe he will become the ‘next Romario?’

Romario: For him to become the next Romario will be quite complicated because there is only one Romario and that is me (laughing)! But on the other hand, I want him to have a successful career, play with a lot of heart, develop his style and become his own person and footballer at Vasco, where I started my career. I want Romarinho to score many goals, and I think more importantly, I want him to be able to prove any and all (of his) critics wrong in the future.

ASH: You also play beach football and footvolley. Is this how many footballers – both female and male – in Brazil start their careers in football?

Romario: Ah, definitely. Both games are similar to football and many Brazilians like to spend their time at the beach playing with the ball and it doesn’t matter what game it is, whether football or footvolley. It helps you develop your style of playing, and for me, I started my career mostly playing at the beach. So I’m always happy to play.

ASH : And your son, Romarinho, was seen a lot at the Rio beach with Ronaldinho. Are they good friends?

Romario : Yes, we all are good friends. Romarinho is very close to the nephew of Ronaldinho, Diego, who is in Milan now. And whenever we (or Romarinho) visits Milan, they will visit each other and they will play against each other. Who wins? No one does – it’s a draw!

ASH: What is your relationship with Bebeto (seen above, centre) like now? Do you speak with him? (both players were former adversaries)

Romario : Yes, of course. I speak to him a lot and Bebeto is a great friend of mine. In the past, we had a few problems with each other but it was only because we both wanted to do well for the (national) team. Later, he joined me at America, where he coached for a few games but he still remains a good friend of mine even though I made the decision to sack him (after eight games). Our friendship is still great, and it was a professional decision.

ASH: What about Pele? In the past, he said many things about your attitude that you did not like.

Romario: I respect Pele a lot because he has done a lot for Brazilian football. To me, he is still the best in the game. I regret some of the things I said, but at that time, I was very passionate about playing for Brazil and I was going through a bad time when he said those things. But I will always have respect for him.

ASH : There are many youngsters here in Singapore who want to be as successful as you were in football. What advise do you, Romario, have for them?

Romario: I want to say to them that in order to become the best in football, you must know the basic techniques and if you don’t, be prepared to work hard to ‘perfect’ it. You must always be happy with what you do to. Never play football or do something if you do not feel passionate about it. You must also be disciplined, and be prepared to make a lot of sacrifices. It is not an easy journey.

ASH: As a former World Cup champion, do you believe Spain deserved to win the World Cup?
Romario: As I said before, Netherlands and Spain are two teams close to my heart (he played for both PSV and Barcelona). But Spain deserved to win for the first time because they played beautiful football and were “os melhores” (the best) in the tournament.

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Photos 2 & 4 © Futbolita
Photos 1 & 3 via SportingHeroes

Ooh la la, Bobojan is giving you the eye in this picture. Quick everyone, do something! Tipo was said to be dating Sara Carbonero’s sister, Cristina, but he has denied this claim and is still with Blanca, his current namorada.

Anyway, many of you may be wondering how Bojan feels about his best friend, Pedrito and his World Cup win. After all, they both had equal chances to make the final squad… until Del Bosque maxed out his number of attackers for the final list and you know you can’t have everything. Well, he’s not bitter but admitted that he felt “healthily envious” when La Furia won.

“I am as delighted as all the players (as) we would have liked to be there. My goal is to return to the selection. I’ll work for it.”

Bobojan still has Euro 2012 to work towards, and we’re sure that he’ll be called to the squad then! In the meantime, here’s a bonus of Spain’s new favourite lovebirds, IkerBonero (move aside, Raul and Mamen!)

Photos via Gettyimages/Bellazon

Felicitaciones to Espana’s Christina Santos who won the battle of the Fervent Futbolitas! Ella es oficialmente la Futbolita del Copa de Mundo and oh boy, did she go all out to party with the rest of her Madrilenos following Spain’s historic World Cup victory yesterday!

We would like to take the opportunity to thank all of you who have closely followed the Futbolita World Cup and to our enthusiastic and fantastic futbolitas for a job well done! Let’s give a huge round of applause to the awesome Hanneke, Julia, Raio, Temryss, N’Bellia, Nabilah, Claire, Lucas, Lola, Monica and Verdy!

Here are photos of Cristina at the victory parade with fellow Spaniards as they drown themselves in a sea of yellow and red!

Also, a special mention also goes out to the lovely Larissa (below) for her fantastic photo and message to us (muchas gracias tia) direct from South Africa!

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All photos © Christina Santos and Larissa da Villa

Apparently, a fraction of uptight Arsenal fans are furious at the fact that Pepe “Party” Reina and Pique the Pout slipped on a Barca jersey on Cesc last night. Ahora… que es una broma! There’s no need to get all offended, especially since he owes a lot to Barcelona for making him the player he is today. What’s wrong with a little joke? They just won the World Cup, so that’s a license in itself to have a little banter!

Anyway, since we’ve got a lot of futbolitas in the house who’re simply in love with La Furia Roja, here’s a bonus video of the FIESTA!

PARABENS to Spain (that means, the whole of Catalonia, Madrid, the Basque Country, etc)…as they are the new World Cup winners! As usual, Pepe Reina was drunk off his face in the plane ride home despite not playing a single minute of the tournament. Can’t blame him though – he’s the resident La Furia Party King (seriously) and one of the friendliest dudes around (right Liverpool fans?!) so yeah, you’d want to take him to Jersey Shore next time… no te olvides de la cerveza! Folks like Mr. Carbonero (Iker) waited nearly eight years to win this which explains the tears and emotions. Haters can hate, but this is football and you win some and lose some.

Let’s admit it, after all their chances and total domination of the game last night, Spain were deserving winners. And as for The Netherlands, they should have come prepared to play football instead of kung-fu. Iniesta singlehandedly outclassed them yesterday – not just with his winning goal – but with his fantastic reading of the game. And you can kick, trip, shove all you want - but at the end of the day, these don’t win you matches at all. Their outright intimidation may have worked against Brasil but it surely didn’t against the Spaniards!

Photos via AP, AFP, Pablo Garcia

Hello futbolitas! Johannesburg is Ready to host the Final of the 2010 World Cup Finals between Holland and Spain!

(Photo Courtesy of National Geographic – Soccer City at Night with Johannesburg City in the background)

Johannesburg & Soccer City are ready to host the 2010 World Cup Final. Soccer legends, coaches, players & heroes will be at Soccer Sity for the Grand Final, also joint by world known superstars, presidents and heads of states from all over the World. Shakira will be singing “WAKA WAKA” at the closing cermony. Classical singer Andrea Bocelli has also arrived for the World Cup closing concert!

(This is the inside of Soccer City. Took this pic on a tour of the Stadium)

South Africans are hoping that Nelson Mandela will be present at the game, and even hand over the trophy to the winners, like he did in the 1995 Rugby World Cup when South Africa won. South African President, Jacob Zuma will be there to join him no doubt. Brazilian President Lula Da Silva arrived in SA today. Paris Hilton, her sister Nicky, and a few of her cousins are already in SA and update their Twitter pages every hour bragging about the South Africa, its beauty and the Soccer World Cup. Leanardo Di Caprio is also around. South African Oscar Hollywood winner, Charlize Theron is also in her home country for the World Cup and spotted at the Semi Finals. Tennis Sensation, Rafeal Nadal is on his way to South Africa for the final to watch his home team Spain. The Dutch Royal family were also at their semi and intend staying till the end. Jose Mourinho is on his way to SA.

The list can go on and on and on and on . . . . .  Going to be unforgettable experience for us South Africans to top off what has been an amazing month.

Signing off,

South African Futbolita

Yes, the Official 2014 Copa do Mundo logo has been unveiled and we’re so thrilled!!! If you watched yesterday’s ceremony featuring everyone from Lula to Cafu, Bebeto, Romario and Parreira, you would have seen how they’re billing for this to become the “Biggest Party in the World in 2014″. Caro DEUS, we can’t wait to be there trailing o manos hopefully next to Brasil’s looney press pack!

On the emblem which is titled ‘Inspiration’, the graphic features “three intertwined hands forming the iconic shape of the most coveted trophy in the football world.” Ironically, the creative agency which came up with this is based in Sao Paulo and is called “Africa”.

VIA REUTERS

Mmmh…the “Wintermärchen” (= Winter fairy tale) of South Africa is over for Germany!

On Wednesday Germany was again eliminated in a World Cup semi- final, we again lost against Spain and we were again beaten with a 0:1 final score! But what has actually happened to our German Team? The one that was hyped being the best performing team within this year’s World Cup!
From the very start, the Spaniards knew how to interrupt the German formation and their defense stood like a wall and therefore made it almost impossible to burst through it!

Then again the Germans performed without any confidence nor self- esteem. Their respect for the Spanish Team was exploited by the Spaniards, who happened to just play their best game throughout the World Cup against Germany! And they ended up with Carles Puyol heading the ball into the goal after a corner kick.
However whole Germany agrees that Spain deserved last night´s victory, because they were just better and kept our team from making chances. The only real chance had Toni Kroos, but was defeated by Iker Casillas.

Even though the disappointment of the german loss was very big within our National Team and all over Germany, we have no need to be sad at all!

Bear up,guys! Germany is proud of you anyway!! (Photo Zimbio)

Our National Team exceeded all expactations in this year´s World Cup. They brought lot´s of joy not only to us, but to all football- lovers all over the world. Jogi Löw and his team have managed to shape a team full of youngsters to a high class and high performing entity.
Thanks Jogi Löw and thank you German National Team for a memorable performance and for the sureness that Germany´s football future is saved!!

Photo Zimbio

Congrats Spain, for making it to the final and for having already made Spanish football history.

By the way, Paul the Octupus will not be cooked or baked or killed in any other way, even though many Germany are mad at him!! But….it was not his fault, that our National Team has not performed better! So, he is safe!!!

Signing off,

Your German Futbolita

Hard to say this about Puyolita, but we told you so! Amid all the talk about Pulpa Paul and his potential as a matchmaker, a brand new hero has emerged from the land of Catalonia! Finally, Puyol’s day is here and for all his hard work, the whole of Spain is declaring today “el dia de Puyi”, and rightly so because they’ve made history and are in the World Cup finals for the first time ever. Hey, es un logro. Así que si le molestan, siéntate!

“The truth is that victory cost us a lot because Germany were very good defensively, but we have persevered and finally (received) our award,” said Xavi Downey Junior, who is beginning to look a lot like Señor Iron Man.

We were surprised that Germany didn’t look as sharp as they have in recent games, and their midfield was practically non-existent. Seriously, where was Ozil? And did Klose even look like he was on the verge of equalizing Ronaldo O Fenomeno’s record? That’s right – it wasn’t going to happen.

Photos via AP, Gettyimages

“Football is a simple game; 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win” – Sorry Gary Lineker, not this time around!

We’ve already beaten Germany once when it counted, we can do it again. Obviously this is not the same team that faced Germany in Vienna in 2008. As I’ve said before,  we will miss the mastery of Marcos Senna—he is the only member of the starting XI from the Euro 2008 final against Germany that didn’t come to South Africa. With Torres failing to make much of an impact this World Cup, we can forget about El Niño Torres scoring the lone winning goal against the Germans, and instead look to David Villa—who now has 5 goals in as many games—and his omnipresent ability to score when we need it. The question remains, should Torres still be a starter? ¡Tengo ganas de empezar Cesc Fabregas, ya! (I want to see Cesc Fabregas  just start already!)

Whilst we’re missing the Senna, the Germans are mullered without Thomas Mueller—Germany’s suspended scoring superstar.

I’m not gonna lie—Spain’s history in the World Cup is dreadful. But seeing as how we have already beaten the Quarter-Final curse, who’s to say we can’t “Write the future” and win the World Cup?

With a dash of paprika, Pulpo Paul may have drowned the German schnitzel, but it doesn’t take an octopus to know that Spain will be victorious against Germany mañana. ¡A por ellos!

Signing off,

Your Spanish Futbolita

We know how many of you love to gloss over the gawjuz boys from La Seleccion but Puyolita is NO BUZZKILL. He is as important as Robert Downey Xavi and Mano Maravilla to Spain so ya’ll better appreciate him!

Anyway, the point of this is to inform you that the Spaniards aren’t distracted by Muller’s absence in tonight’s game. At least they know Ozil is the man they should be looking out for because he is just brilliant and should be playing for Brazil instead! So it’ll be a battle between Puyol and Ozil and probably Klose and Pique.

“We can be happy with the absence of Müller, as he is in great shape. Klose is a born goalscorer and he’s very fast. But the big surprise is Özil,” Xavi told German newspapers earlier this week.

Their teams may be out, but the Fervent Futbolita are still rockin’! Here, our Futbolitas predict the score for tonight’s SEMI-FINAL showdown between Uruguay and Netherlands.

LOLA CALDERON (MEXICO): “It will be tough Uruguay to win it but anything can happen. Robben and Schneider have been tops and for that, I think Holland will win. It will not be pretty, but that’s the ticket, no more “Total Football” for the Netherlands – they just want to win it.”

NABILAH BHAM (SOUTH AFRICA): “I see Holland taking on the Spanish in the finals. My prediction would be a high-scoring game against Uruguay.”

MONICA KNOESEN (Portugal): “My prediction is that Netherlands will beat Uruguay, 2-0. Uruguay has surprised many, but I think out of the two, Netherlands has been the better team!”

N’BELLIA (FRANCE): “I haven’t been very convinced by Uruguay throughout this competition but I think Holland will continue on this great path, so I predict 3-1 for Holland.”

JULIA RICHTER (GERMANY): “I guess Holland will win. They will not play gloriously but they will still be successful. Sneijder and Robben will bring Holland a tight victory, like 2:1 with Diego Forlan getting one back.”

CHRISTINA SANTOS (SPAIN): I say Holland will convincingly beat Uruguay because I want a Spain and Holland final!

TEMRYSS LANE (USA): “Holland will win 2-0!”

via AFP

Tchau BRASIL! Looks like my previous friendly banter with The Dutch Futbolita may become reality…

Is it just me or has this World Cup been full of the most WTF moments in recent memory, or what?! Reigning champs Italia finishing last in their group, Germany losing to Serbia, USA classifying first… not to mention the most painful of all: Spain losing their first match…

But we’ve done it-we’ve finally made it to the quarterfinals. Things were looking scary (read: embarrassing!) with our loss to Switzerland, but menos mal, we’re in!

In Spain’s third edition of the Battle of the Hispanophones, we take on Paraguay in the Quarterfinals as we vie once step closer to the final match on July 11th.

Paraguay, or the Italia Sudamericana as the Spanish press is calling them, has shown to be very corrosive against teams they are not comfortable playing against. In their first match against the reigning champs, the Paraguayans were able to force a draw by matching Italy for possession of the ball.

If pressed, Paraguay will try to extend the field of play with long crosses and take advantage of free kicks to get past Casillas. Furthermore, Spain should watch for the Paraguayan counter-attack.  Roque Santa Cruz is without a doubt the best on the team, but for what it’s worth, I think Cardozo and Benitez are pretty good too. However given that Benitez plays for Pachuca, he lacks the experience of playing European style football-aprovéchalo España!

El Guaje has proven again and again that he is the star of the La Roja offensive this World Cup. He will no doubt continue to be, but his teammates will certainly add shine to his star power. Let’s not forget-praise Iker!-Spain has only conceded two goals so far this tournament. Let’s hope Casillas can continue to hold the hope of a nation in his capable hands. Torres also has to continue working to creating holes for Villa, as the Madrileño has the speed-on a good day mind you-to blow past defenders. You just know he is dying to get a goal of his own though this tournament. Like Samson, I blame his goalless streak on his new haircut. Note to El Niño: Sergio Ramos is having and will continue to have a great World Cup effort AND he still has all his luscious long locks, vale?

I still think using Fabregas to shake things up late in the match is working great, but El Gran Bigote del Bosque shouldn’t be wait to drop a Cesc-bomb until the 80th minute. Perhaps as soon as the 55th minute? Same goes for Silva and Llorente. Hell, why not really blow the Paraguayan defense away and put Torres in at the 70th minute?

IF we go to penalties (boring!), I think the kickers for Spain should be:

Villa (you shall be forgiven for your miss against Chile, te lo prometo)
Torres
Xavi
Xabi Alonso
Iniesta

Let’s hope it doesn’t come to this.

Following some crazy, crazy times at the Bernabeu (cops taking away my beer in Spain? RUDE!) and difficulty finding a bar with authentic ambiance, I really have no clue where I’ll be watching this match. In my porra with my friends, I had bet we’ll win 3:1… vamos a ver, ¡Vamos España!

And now it’s time for our hardest challenge in this World Cup. It’s time for Robinho, Luís Fabiano and Kaká to face Snejder, Van Persie and Robben. Everybody is getting nervous with the possibility of going home. In the streets, the talking today was “What is going to happen tomorrow?” Though everybody here has something like faith in our squad, I saw a different look in people’s faces. Like a challenge has finally come. A very beautiful match appears to be arriving, and very balanced too.

Today Mr. Johan Cruyff said to the journalists that would never pay to watch this Brazilian Squad play. A very hard pronouncement to what Dunga responded in a ver elegant way. “He might have won a free ticket from FIFA.” Finally a humorous answer from our coach. I liked it, didn’t you?

Felipe Melo seems to be ok, but is still a doubt (Photo: Zimbio)

Let’s talk about our players for tomorrow. Elano is out. Felipe Melo is still a doubt Josué might play in  Melo’s position if he doesn’t feel alright. Ramires (suspended), lost a great chance to show his game. A shame, but there’s nothing to do for him for tomorrow’s game. Our guys must be: Julio Cesar, Maicon, Lúcio, Juan, Michel Bastos, Gilberto Silva, Felipe Melo or Josué, Daniel Alves, Kaká, Robinho and o FABULOSO.

Lúcio, our captain, is doing a very good job in this Cup. He is making the team unite on the field. Although he is a defender we can see him every time in the most important moves during the matches. He is showing himself as a complete player. A very important piece in our squad.

I’m here with all my positive thoughts with 190 million brazilians expecting A SELEÇÃO to bring us the Hexa!!!!

Signing off,

Your anxious Brazil Futbolita

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!

Chile played with so much passion and pride, and they really scared us in the first ten minutes last night. Gracas a Deus, Fabuloso, Juan and Robinho delivered as promised, the midfield wasn’t sleeping and Dani Alves didn’t lose any many balls (no pun intended) as he did against Portugal. The key is NOT to waste any balls, especially since the Jabulani is akin to a beach ball!

In short, manos always need some time to seduce the ball, which they did after fifteen minutes. Holland’s up next, which means that Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder need to be STOPPED! As for Julio Cesar’s basketball shorts…..é bom! lol

(Video via Swoosh, muito obrigada!)

Two days later we reflect. A heavy sadness of defeat has set in. And like that, it’s over.

Memories of 2006 jolted through our bones as reality sets in. It was a 2-1 defeat-repeat. Ghana eliminated the USA again.  Here’s a ’06 refresher:

I painfully watched the Saturday, June 26th USA vs. Ghana match with over 800 USA supporters. It took only 5 minutes for the energetic optimism to quickly shift to desperate hope. Ricardo Clark’s turnover cost our side an early goal. Kevin Prince Boateng was the Black Star who capitalized on this turnover with his dangerous speed beating Clark, Jay DeMerit and keeper, Tim Howard. The tempo was set and for the majority of the first half, Ghana controlled the match.

We responded. Clint Dempsey’s hard work paid off as he drew a foul in the penalty box for Landon Donovan to put away, setting the tally to 1-1.  We continued to control possession setting up opportunities for Jozy Altidore who would miss the best chance of the second half.  The penalty was enough to put us into overtime. But we were tired. Emotionally and physically. Ghana capitalized, scoring a quick overtime goal when Asamoah Gyan chased down a long ball beating DeMerit and Carlos Bocanegra for a left footed strike past Howard. (Photo by Ian Walton/Getty Images Europe)

It was defeating and we as fans knew it this time. It was a sad moment in America. We’d been ecstatic with belief that anything was possible for our boys and like that it was done. The Stars and Stripes were once again, sent home by the Black Stars. Good news for the African continent as Ghana remains the sole African country in the last eight.

But what does this mean for soccer in America? We now face the aftermath.

(Photo: Getty Images)

The highs and lows of victory and defeat created a general feeling of disappointment but we have so much to be proud of. Not just talking about the team, but as supporters of the world’s favorite sport. I challenge you America to continue to support the World Cup, to support your local professional MLS (major league soccer) team or WPS (women’s professional soccer) team. You will see, identify, and experience the same kind of passion, determination, and pride as you felt for our boys in the red, white, and blue.

If you want the USA to make it farther in World Cup 2014 Brazil, then do your job as a supporter of soccer. That’s my challenge to you.

Signing Off,

Your USA FUTBOLITA

 

In the end, after all that struggling, o manos were unable to convert (ei Nilmar!!!) and beat Portugal. Sure, Robinho would’ve been the better finisher but there was nothing at stake yesterday (except for top spot) so whatever ya’ll say, we’re behind NILMAR. Also, those yellow cards were completely unnecessary and Pepe has proven once again, that he deserves to be oil wrestling and not football. You may be reluctant to admit that Greaseano also stood out yesterday for his speed and anticipation of the ball. Despite some lapses, caras were able to contain him.

On the stands, Kaka was spending his time texting his wife next to Elano. Meu Deus, everybody wanted him to come onto the pitch to do something although he was serving a ban. He should’ve WALTZ into the field, teria sido perfeita!