Can Felipe stop Flamengo? (Alexandre Brum / FOTOCOM.NET)
With the long winded State Championships finally coming to an end, there were no major surprises in this weekend’s fixtures (sorry about this report being a few days late). In São Paulo, with the league format finished, the top eight teams played each other for a place in the semi-finals. Continue reading
Shameful scenes in Argentina (Getty Images)
All five Brazilian clubs have classified for the second round of this year’s Copa Libertadores. Santos and Fluminense both squeezed through after wins on the last match day.
In the night’s most emotional game Fluminense beat Argentinos Juniors 4-2 away from home and snuck through on goals scored (eliminating Nacional from Uruguay in the process). Continue reading
Hasn't fully lived up to expectations yet (Ricardo Ramos/VIPCOMM)
Ronaldinho missed a penalty in the last kick of the game against Macaé in their Rio Cup match. A win would have put Flamengo (who beat Botafogo in a crunch match last weekend thanks to two goals from Thiago Neves) top of their group and meant a semi-final at home to Olaria. With the draw, however, they finished second in their group behind Vasco (who drew 2-2 with Olaria and will face them in the semi) and now play away to Fluminense in the semi-final. Fluminense have recovered well in the competition and topped their group. Continue reading
Santos beat Colo Colo 3-2 at home in their must win game last night. There chances of qualifying for the next phase are far from certain though. Last night they had Neymar, Elano and Ze Eduardo sent off and they will all miss the next game away to Cerro Porteí±o.
Fluminense are all but out of the competition after losing to Nacional from Uruguay 2-0.
Internacional lost 1-0 against Jaguares in Mexico but still lead their group with one game to go.
In the Brazilian Cup, São Paulo beat Santa Cruz 2-0 to go through to the next round. Atlético Mineiro were the only big club to surprisingly lose.
Will write more soon.
Can Muricy bring some organization to Santos? (Getty Images)
After quitting Fluminense last month due to inadequate training facilities and broken promises from the clubs directors, Muricy Ramalho has been confirmed as the new coach of Santos. Continue reading
Could be going to Corinthians (Getty Images)
Corinthians are stealing the show in the transfer market rumours space at the moment. Their ambitious (and annoying) president Andres Sanchez is up for re-election later this year and a few big name signings would do his hopes no harm at all. Continue reading
Bureaucratic football? (Getty Images)
I have come across a new term: bureaucratic football. My concerns about this new term started growing after a beer with some friends recently. Since then I have been shocked to find its widespread use. It seems like everywhere I go, every time I listen to a football discussion or watch a football roundtable, people are talking about bureaucratic football or players being played in bureaucratic function. Continue reading
Ronaldinho and Flamengo have it all to do against Botafogo (Ricardo Ramos/VIPCOMM)
In the Sao Paulo State Championship Palmeiras deservedly beat Santos 1-0 with some good defending and counter attacking football (okay it was somewhat bureaucratic). Kleber scored their goal in the second half. Continue reading
Luis Fabiano is back (Wander Roberto/VIPCOMM)
Luis Fabiano has resigned for São Paulo – the club where he made his name and won his first cap for Brazil. He was presented to 45,000 screaming fans last night at the Morumbi stadium. Continue reading