Two more ties for Brazilian teams in the Libertadores

Gremio Porto Alegre made its 2009 Libertadores debut on Wednesday, but could not get beyond a scoreless draw against Universidade de Chile at home. The locals dominated a game they could have easily won by 3 or 4 goals, losing several scoring opportunities and complaining about some poor refereeing (two penalties should have been awarded, as well as a goal which was badly waved off). Meanwhile, Cruzeiro went to Ecuador and tied Deportivo Quito 1-1. The Brazilians could also have won the match, but are still happy with one away point - as long as they are able to beat the same opponents when they play each other again in Brazil.

All in all, Brazilian teams have not yet been great in this year's tournament, but they haven't been completely terrible either. Some, like Sport, have managed great results playing solidly (though not marvellously). It's still early, and from what they have shown so far, all the five teams have a chance to advance to the second round.

The importance of music and football in South America

The BBC's Tim Vickery has a good view on the importance of music and football in South American's lives. During this time of the year, when Carnaval is celebrated in Brazil, this becomes especially the case for fans in the entire country, but particularly in Rio and Bahia, where the passion for both art forms is rampant.

Speaking of Carnaval and soccer, this Saturday traditional side Flamengo lost 3-1 to humble Resende at the Maracana Stadium, in the semifinal of the Rio de Janeiro's State Championship first round. As people in Brazil would say, the team 'has danced', that is to say, it has lost - being eliminated from the first round in the process.

In Sao Paulo, the state's most important teams - Palmeiras, Corinthians, Sao Paulo and Santos - now lead the table in that order, midway through the first stage of the tournament. The top four teams qualify for the semifinals, with the first placed team playing the fourth and the second playing the third. The winners of the semifinals play for the title, which will happen in April.

Brazilian teams debut in Libertadores

Brazilian teams had their first games in the 2009 Copa Libertadores this week.

Palmeiras, which is playing strongly at home in the Paulista championship, had trouble while visiting defending champions LDU Quito, losing 3-2. Walter Calderon had two goals for the locals, with Willians getting the other. Edmilson and Manso scored for the visitors, which lost for the first time in 2009.

Sport Recife had better luck away from home, beating Colo Colo from Chile 2-1. Ciro and Wilson scored for the Brazilians in the first half, with Lucas Barrios netting the lone Chilean goal that left the locals short of a comeback.

Three-time Libertadores winners and current Brazilian champions Sao Paulo dominated the action at home against Independiente Medellin, but almost left with a loss after falling behind 1-0 in the second half and losing several opportunities of its own. In the end, Borges scored a goal in injury time to give the locals a 1-1 tie.

Cruzeiro took some time to get things going, but after it did, Estudiantes La Plata could not stop them. Kleber scored twice and Fernandinho also had a goal as the team from Belo Horizonte scored an emphatic 3-0 home win over the Argentinians.