Brazilian Futebol

Brazilian First Division kicks off its 2010 season

2010-05-11T16:20:00.002-04:00

With ten games, the Brazilian First Division kicked off for a new season this Saturday. Rio de Janeiro State champions Botafogo hosted Sao Paulo State champions Santos in a very entertaining 3-3 tie. Also on saturday, Gremio went to Goiania and held Atletico GO to a scoreless draw, thanks in great part to goalkeeper Vitor. Meanwhile, Palmeiras played at home to Vitoria and won 1-0 on a goal by Lincoln.

On Sunday, defending champions Flamengo tied Sao Paulo, which had won the title three consecutive times prior to last year, in a slow 1-1 match at the Maracana Stadium. Newcomers Ceara beat Fluminense 1-0, the same score achieved by Guarani at home to Goias. Cruzeiro played in Porto Alegre and managed a 2-1 win over Internacional. Corinthians, fresh off being eliminated from the Libertadores Cup by Flamengo, came from behind to beat Atletico PR 2-1 at home. Atletico MG also won by a 2-1 margin, beating Vasco at home.

The best display of the first round was left for Santa Catarina, where Avai beat Prudente (formerly known as Barueri) by a 6-1 score. Emerson scored three times, with Caio adding a pair for the locals.

Check out the goals of round 1 below:

Internacional gets important win

2009-05-19T10:33:00.000-04:00

Not even the fact that the team played without most of its regulars seemed to matter for Internacional on Sunday. The team still played well and managed an important 2-0 win over Palmeiras at the Beira Rio Stadium in Porto Alegre to reach 6 points and the lead atop the standings in the 2009 Brazilian Serie A. Danny Morais and D’Alessandro scored for the locals in front of close to 30,000 fans, happy to see the second win in as many games. Inter decided to rest some of its regulars due to the second leg of its quarterfinal matchup against Flamengo, for the Brazilian Cup, scheduled for Wednesday.

Vitoria also has six points in two games, after beating Sport 1-0 at home, in front of just 4,500 people. Maybe fans will start believing in the team after these first wins to start the championship and show up in larger numbers in the next home game?

Speaking of few fans, only 2,500 hundred cared enough to see Barueri host Fluminense. In this case, however, it seems that the people who stayed home knew better, as both teams played out a boring scoreless draw.

It seems that the Brazilian Serie A will finally have a new champion this year, after three-time defending champion Sao Paulo remains winless after a couple of games. This time around, the team could only savage a point in a 2-2 home tie against Atletico Paranaense. Decimated by injuries to regular players and poor performances by other key members of the team, Sao Paulo just hopes to get things going again before having to face Cruzeiro next week in the Copa Libertadores quarterfinal.

Cruzeiro, by the way, went to Recife and lost 2-0 to Nautico. Santos built a 2-0 lead over Goias at home but ended up surrendering a 3-3 tie in a very entertaining game. Botafogo and Corinthians also created quite a few scoring chances, but had to settle to a 0-0 draw at the Engenhao in Rio de Janeiro.

Coritiba scored first but ended up losing 4-2 to Santo Andre at home, while Flamengo could not score and drew Avai at home, 0-0. Finally, Gremio went to Belo Horizonte and lost to Atletico Mineiro 2-1, in a personal revenge for coach Celso Roth against the team that had fired him earlier this year. Atletico's winning goal came in injury time of the second half, on a controversial penalty kick.

Defending champions lose in debut of 2009 Serie A

2009-05-11T11:08:00.001-04:00

The 2009 Brazilian Serie A had its first round this weekend, with ten matches. Sao Paulo, which won the last three national titles, lost 1-0 in its debut, an away game at the Maracana Stadium, in Rio de Janeiro, against Fluminense. Mauricio scored a nice goal a few minutes into the game to give the locals the win. The champions still created some chances to tie the game - which would have been a fair result -, but without success.

Meanwhile, defending Sao Paulo State champions Corinthians decided to side a team with many reserves in its home game against Internacional at the Pacaembu Stadium, and ended up paying the price with a 1-0 loss, in a marvellous goal by Nilmar. He rode past several defenders before putting the ball into the net, to the joy of the colorado fans.

Newcomers Santo Andre tied Botafogo 1-1 at home, in front of just under 2,000 people. One would think the first game in the Brazilian Serie A, against a traditional Brazilian team, would attract more fans than that. Goiania also had a pitiful attendance, with just 2,500 people witnessing the 3-3 draw between locals Goias and Nautico, which came back from a 3-1 deficit to tie the game.

Cruzeiro scored a good 2-0 win at home over Flamengo at the Mineirao Stadium in Belo Horizonte, while Vitoria scored the same 2-0 at home over Atletico Paranaense in Salvador.

Gremio attracted 40,000 fans in Porto Alegre, but could not go beyond a 1-1 draw with Santos. Palmeiras came from behind to defeat Coritiba 2-1 at home , while Barueri had a good first game in a 1-1 away draw with Sport, in Recife. Finally, Avai could not hold on to a 2-0 lead and ended up tying Atletico Mineiro 2-2 at home, thanks to two goals in just over five minutes by Atletico, in the final 20 minutes of the game.

Two more ties for Brazilian teams in the Libertadores

2009-02-26T20:11:00.000-05:00

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

2009-02-23T20:28:00.000-05:00

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

2009-02-20T20:46:00.001-05:00

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.

A closer look at the first round results

2008-05-13T20:59:00.000-04:00

Here's a closer look at the results from the first round of the 2008 Brazilian Serie A.

In a tough match, with Sao Paulo playing without some key players in order to rest for the midweek match against Fluminense for the Libertadores quarter-finals, Gremio scored a lone goal at the start of the second half to escape with a 1-0 away win and extend Celso Roth's command atop the squad from Porto Alegre. Sao Paulo still had some chances and deserved to tie the game, but in the end the result did not upset the locals too much, given that the team's main goal in the first semester is to win the Libertadores.

Cruzeiro had a great away win over a weak Vitoria side in Salvador. Marcelo Moreno scored the opening goal for the visitors in the first minute of the game, but was sent off in the second half when his team already lead by two goals, thanks to an own goal by a Vitoria player near the end of the first half. Playing with the man advantage, the locals still created a few chances, but the best chance they had was a ball that hit the crossbar.

Coming back to the first division of Brazilian soccer, Coritiba had a strong debut with a 2-0 win over Sao Paulo State champions Palmeiras. The visitors tried to dominate the action during the first few minutes of the game, but Coritiba was the better side for most of the game. After a scoreless first half, Michel made it 1-0 at the 53rd minute, after exchanging some passes with Hugo. With seven minutes left in the game, the two would exchange some passes again, but this time Hugo would be the one to get the ball past goalkeeper Marcos.

In Sao Paulo, Portuguesa and Figueirense scored no less than 10 goals, in an exciting 5-5 draw. The locals were winning by a 5-2 score at one point, after scoring three goals in four minutes. However, Figueirense would still score three times in the final 22 minutes to give the game its final numbers.

Flamengo defeated Santos 3-1 at the Maracana Stadium, with Juan scoring twice and Marcinho getting the other goal for the locals. The visitors, playing with its reserve side - most starters were already in Mexico getting ready for the midweek clash against America for the Libertadores quarter-finals -, still had a late goal, with Morais scoring on a penalty kick in injury time.

In other games, Geraldo scored two for Nautico in the 2-1 win against Goias. Inter scored in the first minute against Vasco with Sidnei, and held on to the win until the end. Atletico Paranaense also scored near the start of the game, with Leo Medeiros leaving his mark against Ipatinga after just three minutes, giving the visitors a good 1-0 away win over the team from Minas Gerais, which played its first ever game in the Serie A. Botafogo defeated Sport 2-0, with one goal in each half. Finally, resting some players for the Libertadores clash with Sao Paulo, Fluminense went to Belo Horizonte and tied Atletico Mineiro 0-0.

Defending champions lose in debut

2008-05-12T07:50:00.000-04:00

Here are this weekend's results, for the first round of the 2008 Brazilian Serie A. Two-time defending champions Sao Paulo played with a reserve squad and lost at home to Gremio, 1-0. Newcomers Ipatinga also lost by the minimum score at home, to Atletico Paranaense. Cruzeiro recovered from the midweek loss at home to Boca Juniors, going to Salvador to defeat Vitoria - coming back to the First Division - by a 2-0 score. Nautico had a good debut, defeating Goias at home, 2-1. Sao Paulo State Champions Palmeiras lost to Coritiba away from home, 2-0. Internacional had a 1-0 home win over Vasco, while Botafogo had a 2-0 win at home against Sport. Fluminense also fielded a reserve squad in order to rest for the important Libertadores quarter-final against Sao Paulo, and managed a scoreless draw against Atletico Mineiro. Flamengo had a good 3-1 win at home over Santos, and Portuguesa played to a wild 5-5 home draw against Figueirense.

More comments about the games when I manage to come back tomorrow.

First round games

2008-05-09T23:05:00.002-04:00

Here are the ten games that open the 2008 Brazilian Serie A. Three are on Saturday, the rest on Sunday:

SATURDAY
Sao Paulo-Gremio
Nautico-Goias
Vitoria-Cruzeiro

SUNDAY
Ipatinga-Atletico Paranaense
Coritiba-Palmeiras
Internacional-Vasco
Botafogo-Sport
Atletico Mineiro-Fluminense
Flamengo-Santos
Portuguesa-Figueirense

Serie A about to begin

2008-05-09T23:04:00.001-04:00

With most State Championships now over, it's time for soccer in Brazil to concentrate back to its most important tournament, the National Serie A.

Will two-time defending champion Sao Paulo manage a third consecutive championship? Will Palmeiras continue its strong play that rewarded the team with its first State championship this decade? Can Flamengo and Cruzeiro overcome the disappointment of being eliminated at home from Copa Libertadores contention this midweek, after falling to America (Mexico) and Boca Juniors respectively?

Without traditional Corinthians, relegated to the Serie B, the Serie A will definitely have a different flavor to the second largest group of fans in the country. The team can only hope to repeat the path taken previously by other powerhouses that reemerged from the Second Division in recent years: Palmeiras, Botafogo, Fluminense, Gremio and Atletico Mineiro.

It's all up for grabs with 38 matches to be played by each team, until the beginning of the still far December.

With the Serie A back in play, so is this blog, which was dormant for the first four months of the year.

Welcome back!

Second most popular team in the country is relegated

2007-12-03T07:46:00.000-05:00

And so the 2007 Brazilian Serie A championship came to an end on Sunday, with Sao Paulo repeating as champions and winning its fifth ever National title. The team coached by Muricy Ramalho had been crowned four games before the end of the season, and tied once and lost twice in its three last games - including a 2-1 away defeat to Atletico Paranaense on Sunday. The big story of the last round of play was the fight against relegation to the Serie B. Which two teams would join Juventude and America in the Brazilian Second Division in 2008?

Corinthians, the second most popular team in the country, entered the last Sunday of the season one point ahead of Goias, itself one point in front of Parana. But Parana quickly gave up all hope of remaining in the Serie A, losing 3-0 on the road to Vasco, a result that also placed the team from Rio de Janeiro in next year's Copa Sudamericana. So the last spot in the Serie A would belong to either Corinthians or Goias.

Both teams tried to gain an advantage by delaying the start of their games, only entering the field fifteen minutes after the games were scheduled to start. By starting their games later, they hoped to learn about the result in their opponent's match and play accordingly to avoid relegation. But these tactics were of little help, since both teams did the same and nearly cancelled all advantage the other team could have had. In the end, Corinthians started its game two minutes later than Goias. But by conceding a goal in the first minute of play, Corinthians quickly fell behind 1-0 to Gremio in Porto Alegre. Goias soon conceded a goal to Internacional at home in Goiania, keeping the team from Sao Paulo one point ahead in the standings. Before the first half was over, however, Goias would tie the game, only to have Corinthians do the same one minute later. After the end of the first half, everything was like when the day began for the two teams.

In the second half, however, Goias went ahead 2-1 after taking a penalty kick three times - in the first two tries, Inter's goalkeeper Clemer defended the shots by Goias' Paulo Baier, only to see the referee call the shots back claiming Clemer had taken a step forward before the ball was kicked. corinthians fans started to despair after learning of the goal, and the team pressed forward in the final minutes of play trying to get a goal that would keep the team in the Brazilian soccer elite. This goal would never come, however, and the game finished on a 1-1 tie. For the first time ever in its 97 year-old history, the four-time Brazilian National champion and most popular team in the State of Sao Paulo had been relegated to the Brazilian Second Division.

Coritiba, Ipatinga, Portuguesa and Vitoria were promoted from the Serie B.

One Libertadores, two relegation spots

2007-11-28T07:58:00.000-05:00

After this weekend's games, only one Libertadores spot remains open for Brazilian teams in 2008. This year's Brazilian Serie A champions, Sao Paulo, had already qualified alongside Fluminense, Brazilian Cup champions. Flamengo also guaranteed its place in the continental competition with a 2-0 win over Atletico Paranaense at the Maracana Stadium in Rio. And Santos came from behind in Curitiba to beat Parana 3-2 and also claim a spot. Now Cruzeiro, Palmeiras and Gremio will fight for the right to play in the prestigious South American competition. Cruzeiro has an easy assignment at home against last place America Natal and can reach 60 points. Gremio can only reach the same 60 points if it beats Corinthians, also at home, but it would still fall behind Cruzeiro in goal differential. Palmeiras is also home for its last game, against Atletico Mineiro, reaching 61 points and qualifying with a win.

At the other end of the table, Parana's loss almost relegated the team to the Serie B. Two points behind Corinthians, the team must win its last game against Vasco on the road and hope that both Corinthians and Goias lose twice. Corinthians plays Vasco at home on Wednesday and Gremio away on Sunday. Goias goes to Belo Horizonte on Wednesday to face Atletico Mineiro and then goes back home to play Internacional in its last game. Juventude - 3-2 losers to Fluminense on the weekend -, and America Natal have already been relegated to the Serie B in 2008.

Quick facts

2007-11-21T23:03:00.000-05:00

Sorry about the disappearance over the last couple of months. Lots of changes in my offline life, and not as much time as I'd have liked to keep the blog updated. I might have to change the style of the blog over the next while, with shorter entries and not that much info in regards to upcoming games, but at least I'll try to show up more regularly. Let's see if that works.

What have I missed these last few weeks? Well, for one Sao Paulo ran away with the Brazilian title, successfully defending its championship from a year ago. The battle in the remaining rounds is for the Libertadores spots and against relegation.

The Brazilian National team tied Colombia away in its debut at the qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup, and then went back home and trounced Ecuador at the Maracana Stadium. Another away game saw the team tie Peru in Lima last Sunday, and there's only hope the team can at least improve against Uruguay tonight, in Sao Paulo. The team should have no trouble qualifying for South Africa, but fans would definitely appreciate if the squad coached by Dunga could show more consistency, especially on the road.

---
Update: Brazil came back from an early 1-0 deficit to beat Uruguay 2-1, on two goals by forward Luis Fabiano.

Flamengo gives Sao Paulo a gift

2007-09-13T23:00:00.000-04:00

Flamengo beat Cruzeiro 3-1 on Wednesday at the Maracana Stadium, in a match that had been postponed from the 16th round of the Brazilian Serie A soccer league. The result not only helped Flamengo move a little bit further away from the relegation zone, but also prevented Cruzeiro from closing the gap to league leaders Sao Paulo. With the loss, the team from Belo Horizonte remains with 45 points, nine less than Sao Paulo, with 54.

Right-back Leonardo Moura opened the scoring in the 28th minute with a powerful shot from just outside the penalty box. Forward Souza made it 2-0 twenty minutes into the second half, Guilherme gave new hope to Cruzeiro with eight minutes to go, but Obina confirmed the win for the locals with a goal in the 88th minute.

Brazil finally solves Mexico

2007-09-13T22:59:00.000-04:00

After a couple of losses to Mexico, Brazil finally restablished the normal state of affairs with a 3-1 win in a friendly match between the two teams in Boston on Wednesday. The last loss to the Mexicans had happened in June, when Brazil opened its campaign at the Copa America with a 2-0 defeat. The team would come back to win the title. Mexico had also won the previous matchup between the two countries, in 2005, also by a 2-0 score. In recent years, Brazil also lost to Mexico in the Gold Cup (1996 and 2003) and Confederations Cup (1999).

Mexico looked like it would win another game when it opened the score in the dying moments of the first half, with Guardado. But Brazil was lucky to tie the game one minute later with Kleber, avoiding going to the dressing room trailing at halftime. Brazil slowly took control of the game in the second half, and went ahead at the 80th minute, when Kaka made it 2-1. Afonso scored the third at the 87th minute, when Brazil was down to ten men - Elano had been sent off.

The 3-1 win made it a perfect North American tour for coach Dunga. On Sunday Brazil had beaten the United States by a 4-2 score, in Chicago. The coach now feels his team is ready to open the 2010 World Cup qualifying games next month. The Brazilians will face Colombia in their debut, away from home, on October 14.

Sao Paulo increases lead

2007-09-06T19:48:00.000-04:00

Defending champions Sao Paulo increased the lead atop the Brazilian Serie A soccer league after a scoreless draw with Atletico Mineiro on the road on Wednesday. The leaders are now nine points clear of second place Cruzeiro, which lost 1-0 to Juventude on the road. Sao Paulo reached 51 points in 24 games, while Cruzeiro has 42 in 23 matches.

In a game with few goal chances created by both sides, the visitors were happy to leave with a point, after goalkeeper Rogerio Ceni defended a penalty kick taken by Coelho in the 90th minute. Before that, Sao Paulo had hit the post and crossbar during the game, but failed to create much else against a well-positioned Atletico.

Third place Vasco fell to Gremio 3-1 in Porto Alegre, being overtaken by Santos in the standings. Santos now has the same 39 points as Vasco, but with one more victory, after beating Internacional 2-1. In other games, Corinthians had a hard time beating America Natal at home, 1-0, while Goias was beaten at home by Atletico Paranaense, 3-2. Finally, Flamengo got out of the relegation zone thanks to a 4-1 victory over Figueirense at the Maracana Stadium.

Three matches complete the 24th round on Thursday. Botafogo hosts Palmeiras, Parana plays Nautico at home and Fluminense goes to Recife to face Sport.

Cruzeiro hopes rivals can win

2007-09-05T20:11:00.001-04:00

In Brazil, team rivalries are stronger within particular cities. Thus, someone who cheers for Flamengo will basically prefer any team to win but Vasco, Fluminense or Botafogo, the other big teams in Rio de Janeiro. In Sao Paulo, the rivalry is set for Corinthians, Palmeiras, Sao Paulo and, to a lesser extent, Santos. In Porto Alegre, it's Inter and Gremio. And in Belo Horizonte, it's Cruzeiro and Atletico Mineiro. rarely will you see someone from Atletico cheering for Cruzeiro, or vice-versa. This Wednesday might be one of these days, however.

Trailing sao Paulo by eight points, Cruzeiro travels to Caxias do Sul to play Juventude, hoping to get three points to close the gap to the leaders. Meanwhile, in Belo Horizonte, Cruzeiro's crosstown rivals Atletico face no one other than Sao Paulo. A win by both teams from Belo Horizonte would cut the lead to five points, with Cruzeiro still holding a game in hand. For Sao Paulo, a draw on the road will not be considered that bad.

The defending champion is worried about what may happen away from the pitch though, as the country's Sport Court signalled with the possibility of punishing the team for an incident during the game against Goias last month, in Goiania. Even though the game was not played at Sao Paulo's Morumbi Stadium, the court is saying that a Sao Paulo fan invaded the pitch and put the players and referees at risk. The team could be punished with the loss of up to ten home games, which would either be played at a neutral venue or with closed gates.

In other games in the 24th round of the Brazilian Serie A soccer league, Corinthians hosts America Natal with the moral obligation of getting the three points at home. Atletico Paranaense travels to Goiania to face Goias, while Flamengo is at home to Figueirense needing a win to get out of the bottom four. Santos will try to recover from the 2-0 loss to Corinthians when it plays Inter at home. Gremio tries to build on the 3-0 win over Botafogo playing another team from Rio in Porto Alegre: Vasco. Fluminense travels to Recife to face Sport, Parana is at home to Nautico and Botafogo hosts a shaken Palmeiras, which is still trying to understand how it lost to Cruzeiro 5-0.

Brazilian Serie A - 23rd round

2007-09-01T16:47:00.000-04:00

Three games on Saturday and seven on Sunday make up the 23rd round of the Brazilian Serie A. On Saturday, leaders Sao Paulo host Parana trying to keep the comfortable eight point lead atop the standings. America Natal and Juventude make a relegation zone matchup in Natal. And Flamengo tries to remain outside of the bottom four when it hosts Sport at the Maracana.

On Sunday, a desperate Corinthians hosts Santos, aware it can return to the bottom four soon if it keeps playing like in the last two games - 3-0 loss to Cruzeiro at home and 5-2 loss to Atletico Mineiro on the road. Speaking of Atletico Mineiro, the team travels to Curitiba to face the other Atletico, Paranaense. Second place Cruzeiro hosts Palmeiras, which fell to sixth with the loss to Sao Paulo in the last game. Gremio tries to overcome the impact of a 2-0 road loss to Sport when it faces fourth place Botafogo in Porto Alegre. Internacional travels to Recife to play Nautico, after falling 4-1 to Fluminense at home on Wednesday. Fluminense returns to Rio, where it will play third place Vasco in the local Rio derby. Finally, Goias hosts Figueirense in Goiania.
---
UPDATE: Several high-scoring matches, with leaders Sao Paulo beating Parana 6-0 and Cruzeiro crushing Palmeiras 5-0. Juventude had a good 3-0 road win over America, while Flamengo and Sport tied 1-1 at the Maracana. Atletico Paranaense momentarily left the relegation zone with a 1-0 win over Atletico Mineiro, and Gremio had a strong 3-0 home win over Botafogo. Corinthians surprised Santos 2-0, while Goias beat Figueirense 2-1. Inter had to settle for a 1-1 road draw with Inter, the same score of Vasco and Fluminense at the Maracana.

Sao Paulo opens eight points at the top

2007-08-30T19:57:00.000-04:00

Sao Paulo beat Palmeiras 1-0 on Wednesday to reach 47 points and open an eight-point lead atop the standings in the Brazilian Serie A soccer league. The defending champions benefitted from second place Cruzeiro's 2-2 away draw with Parana. Third place Botafogo also tied, 1-1 against Flamengo. Palmeiras is still in fourth, but Vasco could jump to a tie for third with Botafogo with 38 points if it beats Nautico on Thursday. Juventude beat Goias 2-0 at home, and Figueirense had a 3-1 win over America Natal. Corinthians lost 5-2 on the road to Atletico Mineiro, while Inter was surprised at home, losing 4-1 to Fluminense. Finally, Sport beat Gremio 2-0 in Recife.

On Thursday, in addition to Vasco and Nautico, Santos hosts Atletico Paranaense.

Sao Paulo plays Palmeiras trying to extend unbeaten streak

2007-08-28T22:24:00.001-04:00

Two teams in the top four face each other this Wednesday on the Brazilian Serie A soccer league, with leaders Sao Paulo playing Palmeiras in a local Sao Paulo State derby. Second place Cruzeiro will travel to Curitiba to play Parana, and third place Botafogo has the local Rio de Janeiro derby against Flamengo. Five other games will be played on Wednesday, with two matches being scheduled for Thursday, when Santos will host Atletico Paranaense and Nautico will play Vasco in Rio.

Here's a preview of this Wednesday's games:

PALMEIRAS x SAO PAULO
After a great 5-0 win at home over Nautico on Sunday, Sao Paulo managed to keep six points clear of second place Cruzeiro in the standings. After a scoreless first half, the defending champions benefitted from a player being sent off to score five times in the last 35 minutes of the game. Palmeiras didn't do too bad itself on Sunday, scoring a good 2-1 away win over Figueirense. Defender Alex Silva returns to Sao Paulo after being rested on Sunday. Aloisio may return to the starting lineup, but coach Muricy Ramalho hasn't confirmed his starting eleven. Palmeiras is also surrounded in mistery, with coach Caio Junior confirming only that midfielder Pierre returns from suspension. Defender Dininho may also return after a one-game suspension, but Palmeiras still has to decide if it field two or three central defenders. In the third round, both teams played to a scoreless draw at the Morumbi.

PARANA x CRUZEIRO
Cruzeiro had a great 3-0 away win over Corinthians, in a game that cost the job of Corinthians' coach Paulo Cesar Carpegiani. Thanks to a six-game winning streak, the team managed to maintain second place in the standings, with one game in hand over most of its direct opponents (a postponed match against Flamengo). Parana had a good 3-1 win at home over Juventude, jumping to 12th place in the standings with 27 points. The team will be happy with a draw here. Defender Nem is injured for the locals. Cruzeiro has confirmed the return of Wagner and Ramires, who were suspended. Forward Guilherme may return, but Marcelo Moreno played well in the last game and might be given another shot in the starting squad. Defender Thiago Heleno is out, as is coach Dorival Junior, who will be tried for having invaded the pitch in the game against Botafogo. Parana beat Cruzeiro 4-3 in Belo Horizonte in the third round.

JUVENTUDE x GOIAS
Juventude keeps losing matches, and with them the chance of continuing to play in the Brazilian Serie A in 2008. After a 4-0 loss to Flamengo and a 3-1 defeat to Parana, the team returns home to take on Goias, which lost to Flamengo on the road 3-1 after a 0-0 draw with Sao Paulo at home. Coach Beto Almeida makes his debut at home after the two road losses, and will be without suspended Wescley. Right-backs Jucemar and James were sent packing this week and will no longer play for the team. Five players are injured for Goias: defender Andre Leone, left-backs Diego and Luiz Henrique and forwards Fabricio Carvalho and Wendell. They had already missed the game against Flamengo. In the third round, Goias beat Juventude 3-1 in Goiania.

FIGUEIRENSE x AMERICA
Figueirense lost at home to Palmeiras on Sunday to reach its seventh game without a win. Fortunately, it now has the weakest team in the Serie A to try to recover. America seems to have given up on the season, continuing to lose game after game. On Sunday the loss came at home, 4-1 to Santos, to give the team an eight-game winless streak. For this game America will be without coach Marcelo Veiga, who resigned after the loss to Santos. Forward Arlon and Bea, and right-back Robson Lopes were fired this week. Midfielders Souza and Marquinhos are injured, alongside left-back Adriano Peixe. Forward Paulo Isidoro and midfielder Reinaldo are suspended. The locals will have the return of wings Ruy and Andre Santos, who were suspended. Midfielders Cleiton Xavier and Diogo remain out of shape, and won't play. In their other meeting this season, America lost to Figueirense 1-0 at home.

BOTAFOGO x FLAMENGO
Botafogo tries to show it is still in the title race, after a 2-1 away win over Atletico Mineiro put the team back into third place in the standings, with 37 points. Flamengo has improved significantly over the past few games, managing to climb out of the relegation zone, while still having two games in hand in comparison to most other teams in the tournament. Left-back Luciano Almeida is questionable for Botafogo, but Dodo, Leandro Guerreiro and Ze Roberto will likely play. Flamengo will be without midfielder Roger, suspended, and forward Maxi Biancucchi, injured. Midfielder Renato Augusto will likely return from injury, and Juan, who was suspended, may also join the red-and-blacks. The teams played to a 2-2 draw in the third round.

ATLETICO MINEIRO x CORINTHIANS
After losing at home to Botafogo, Atletico fans might be a bit concerned about the real potential of the team. It looks like the team will settle for a mid-table position, something which would actually be welcomed by unstable Corinthians, which lost coach Paulo Cesar Carpegiani after a 3-0 loss at home to Cruzeiro on Saturday. Defender Leandro Almeida is out suspended, while Bilu and Marcelinho are still injured for Atletico. Corinthians interim coach is Ze Augusto, who will have maybe two games to prove he deserves a longer tenure ahead of the team. Betao, Vampeta and Ricardinho are suspended. Atletico tied Corinthians 0-0 in their other matchup this season.

INTER x FLUMINENSE
Inter's last minute controversial goal against Atletico Paranaense saved the team from an embarrassing result on Saturday. Meanwhile, Fluminense was also complaining about the goal scored by Inter's cross-town rival, Gremio, in another match played at the same time against the team from Rio. Now Fluminense travels to the Beira-Rio trying to rescue what's left of its season. With 27 points, the team is just four points ahead of the last team that would be relegated if the season ended today. The Libertadores classification zone now seems like a distant objective, nine points away. Ceara, Guinazu and Iarley are injured, while Indio, Marcao and Alex are suspended for Inter. Right-backs Carlinhos and Rafael are out with injuries, while defender Luiz Alberto is suspended. Fluminense beat Inter 3-0 at home in the third round.

SPORT x GREMIO
Gremio benefitted from a controversial goal to tie Fluminense on the road on Saturday, but the team will have to play better against Sport in Recife if it doesn't want to distance itself too much from the league leaders. With 32 points, the team is four behind fourth-placed Palmeiras. Sport has 28 points, and was lucky to escape with a draw in the game against Vasco on Sunday, even though the locals lost a penalty kick in the second half. The team must take advantage of this game not to end its two-game homestand without a win. Midfielder Everton and defender Cesar are suspended for Sport. The visitors will have the return of Diego Souza, who was suspended, while Carlos Eduardo is out after being sold to Germany's Hoffenheim. In the third round, Gremio scored an important 1-0 home win over Sport.

Seven matches in the Brazilian Serie A on Sunday

2007-08-26T12:19:00.000-04:00

Seven matches complete the 21st round of the Brazilian Serie A on Sunday:

ATLETICO MINEIRO x BOTAFOGO
Botafogo tries to keep close to the leaders when it travels to Belo Horizonte to face Atletico Mineiro, still trying to approach the top of the standings but safe enough from the bottom of the table. Defender Marcos and midfielder Rafael Miranda return to Atletico. Midfielder Bilu is injured and will be out though. For the visitors, Diguinho, Dodo and Adriano Felicio are injured. Tulio is questionable, Leandro Guerreiro is suspended and Athirson still isn't fully fit. Botafogo beat Atletico 2-1 when they met in the second round.

PARANA x JUVENTUDE
Juventude's 4-0 away loss to Flamengo put the team into an even deeper hole, keeping the team on course to the Serie B. Parana will try to take advantage of that, to distance itself from the bottom four. Parana will have the debut of new coach Lori Sandri, after former coach Gilson Kleina and six players left the club. Defensive midfielder and captain Beto is out injured. Juventude may have Marcio Azevedo as the new right-back, with midfielder Manzini also joining the team. In the second round, Parana won at Caxias, 2-1.

SAO PAULO x NAUTICO
With Cruzeiro's win on Saturday, Sao Paulo knows it must win on Sunday to keep a more comfortable lead in the standings. Unbeaten in eight, the team should view this match against Nautico as a mandatory three-pointer. A loss or a draw could have terrible consequences to the morale of the team, especially with Cruzeiro closing the gap. Nautico hopes to give the locals a hard time, as it did in the second round, when it won the matchup at home, 1-0. Sao Paulo may have Borges in the attack, with Dagoberto moving to the bench. Nautico will take a defensive approach, and will be without injured forward Felipe and midfielder Juliano, and suspended forward Ferreira and midfielder Radames.

FIGUEIRENSE x PALMEIRAS
The locals must get points at home to keep themselves above the top four. The visitors have a great road record, and try to return to the top four. Dininho and Pierre are suspended for Palmeiras, while full-back Wendel joins the team replacing Paulo Sergio. Wings Ruy and Andre Santos are suspended for the locals. Palmeiras won the first matchup between the two this season, with a 2-1 home win in the second round.

FLAMENGO x GOIAS
Flamengo's win at home over Juventude put the team on its way to escape the relegation zone. This could happen as soon as this Sunday, with a win over Goias. The visitors can be a tough opponent though, and are still hopeful they can get a Libertadores spot this season. For Flamengo, Renato Augusto is still out, and Roger is questionable in midfield. In the attack, coach Joel Santana hasn't made up his mind in regards to who is going to play alongside Maxi Biancucchi: Obina or Souza. The visitors hope to take advantage of counter-attacks to surprise Flamengo. Goias was surprised at home by Flamengo in the second round, losing 3-1.

AMERICA NATAL x SANTOS
It looks like only a miracle can save America from the Serie B. Likewise, only a series of events will put Santos back on the title race. The locals have the return of midfielder Souza and full-backs Nei Santos and Adriano Peixe, but goalkeeper Rene was sold to Serie B's Gama. Santos will be without suspended midfielder Pedrinho. Left-back Kleber, who was with Brazil's National Team, will play. America had a rare successful outing on the road in the second round, beating Santos 3-2 at the Vila Belmiro.

SPORT x VASCO
Vasco tries to keep its difference to second place Cruzeiro limited to one point when it travels to Recife to face Sport this Sunday. The locals, on the other hand, will try to get at least a point here, knowing that the relegation zone can soon approach them if they start losing too may points. Forward Enilton is out injured for Vasco. Sport will be without forward Weldon, who was sold to Portugal's Belenenses. Midfielder Adriano Gabiru also returns to the team. Vasco gave Sport no chance in the second round, winning 3-1 at home.

Cruzeiro tries to consolidate second place

2007-08-24T21:58:00.001-04:00

Cruzeiro travels to Sao Paulo to face Corinthians on Saturday, trying to consolidate its position in the Brazilian Serie A soccer league. Two other games are also scheduled for Saturday, in the 21st round of the Serie A.

CORINTHIANS x CRUZEIRO
Unbeaten in three, Corinthians is breathing a lot easier now than two weeks ago. Out of the relegation zone, the team still believes it can finish in the top four to gain a spot in next year's Libertadores Cup. The team will have to play a lot better in the second half if it is to achieve this goal. This Saturday Corinthians will play Cruzeiro, currently in second place in the standings and winner of its last five games. For Cruzeiro, midfielder Wagner is suspended, while forward Nene may lose his place in attack to Marcelo Moreno. Corinthians will likely adopt a 3-4-3 formation, with an extra forward replacing defensive midfielder Rosinei. Defender Betao returns to the team after a failed transfer to France's Sochaux. He'll replace suspended defensive midfielder Bruno Octavio. In Belo Horizonte, Corinthians surprised Cruzeiro with a 3-0 away win in the second round.

FLUMINENSE x GREMIO
Fluminense has certainly seen better times. After a 3-0 win over Santos two weeks ago, the team has dropped two straight, losing to Flamengo and Cruzeiro to fall to 13th in the standings with 26 points. Fluminense returns to Maracana this Saturday to host Gremio, which is coming off a 2-0 home win over Parana that lifted the team to 31 points, good for 6th place in the standings. Fernando Henrique and Fabinho return from injury for Fluminense. Romeu is suspended, and defender Thiago returns after being called for the National team's friendly against Algeria on Wednesday. Gremio will be without suspended midfielders Tcheco and Diego Souza and forward Carlos Eduardo. In the second round, Gremio beat Fluminense 2-0 at the Olimpico Stadium in Porto Alegre.

INTERNACIONAL x ATLETICO PARANAENSE
Inter had a good 1-1 away draw with Botafogo last week, stretching its unbeaten streak to three games, with one win at home and two draws on the road. Going back to the Beira-Rio Stadium, the team hopes it can beat Atletico Paranaense, which won only one of its last eight games. Ney Franco makes his debut for Atletico, which will also miss defensive midfielder Valencia, injured. The new coach opted to shift midfielder Ferreira to the attack, where he'll play alongside Marcelo. Inter will be without injured right-back Ceara and midfielder Guinazu, also sidelined with an injury. Midfielder Pinga is suspended. In the second round, Atletico beat Inter 2-1 in Curitiba.

---

Update: Cruzeiro paid back the second round 3-0 loss at home with a 3-0 away win that cost Corinthians coach Paulo Cesar Carpegiani his job. Gremio and Fluminense tied 1-1 and Inter won thanks to a last minute goal, beating Atletico Paranaense 1-0.

Brazil beats Argelia 2-0

2007-08-22T19:00:00.000-04:00

Brazil beat Argelia 2-0 on Wednesday, on a friendly match played at Montpellier, France. The Brazilian National Team did not play well, but was competent enough to score two goals in the second half, when star players Ronaldinho Gaucho and Kaka joined the team from the bench. Ronaldinho took a free kick and Maicon headed the ball for the first goal. The second goal was scored by Ronaldinho himself, on a rebound from a shot by Diego. The match didn't mean much, and the display on the pitch probably won't help Dunga much in determining what the future holds for the team. But at least Kaka and Ronaldinho have shown they can't be seriously kept off the team when it matters.

Desperation enters the pitch

2007-08-22T18:59:00.000-04:00

Flamengo and Juventude play this Thursday at the Maracana Stadium, desperately needing a win to increase their chances of remaining in the Brazilian Serie A. With 18 points in 17 games, Flamengo hopes to get its third straight win at home, while Juventude - with 18 points in 19 games - hasn't really performed well away from Caxias do Sul.

Four regular starters return to Flamengo, coming back from suspension: Leo Moura, Juan, Roger and Souza. Jeventude will have a new coach, Beto Almeida. Right-back Jucemar is out injured. Midfielder Julio Cesar, who is coming back from suspension, will likely be left on the bench.

Sao Paulo tries to keep advantage atop the standings

2007-08-19T11:28:00.000-04:00

Sao Paulo starts the second half of the Brazilian Serie A soccer league on the road against Goias, trying to maintain the seven point advantage built over second place Botafogo in the standings. This and six other matches complete the 20th round of the league this Sunday.

Here's a preview of Sunday's matches.

SAO PAULO x GOIAS
Nobody really expected the defending champions to be so far ahead atop the Brazilian league at the end of the first half, but a series of positive results in the last few rounds meant the team kept adding points, while its closest opponents continued to lose. For the start of the second half the team travels to Goiania to face Goias, currently in 8th place and trying to return to the top four. Sao Paulo is coming off four straight road wins and seven wins overall. Goias hasn't played well on the road, but at home the team has won four straight. In the first round Sao Paulo defeated Goias at home, 2-0. Goias has all players available for the match. For the visitors, defender Andre Dias is hurt, while Richarlyson and Borges are suspended. Forward Aloisio may return, but his fitness level is still not optimal, so he may start from the bench.

PALMEIRAS x FLAMENGO
Flamengo won two in a row at the Maracana Stadium, but now the team returns to the road. There's nothing the team would want more than get a third straight win to keep its recovery effort in the standings on track. Curiously, Palmeiras has played decently on the road but not so much at home, where it has won only once in its last four games. In the first round, Palmeiras managed an important 4-2 road win at the Maracana. Three regular starters are out for Palmeiras, midfielders Valdivia, Makelele and Wendel are suspended. Luiz Henrique returns on attack after serving a one game suspension. For Flamengo, Roger, Juan and Leonardo Moura are suspended, alongside Souza. Renato Augusto is still recovering from a thigh injury and remains out. Forward Obina, who has been trying to recover his best conditioning, may return.

NAUTICO x ATLETICO MINEIRO
A win can move Nautico out of the relegation zone, but the team will have a tough time against a determined Atletico Mineiro team that is still trying to find some consistency under coach Emerson Leao. The locals have won two of their last three, but lost their last match to Flamengo, 2-1. Atletico has lost two in a row and three of the last four. In the first round, Atletico defeated Nautico 2-1 in Belo Horizonte. Defender Onildo and right-back Sidny return for the locals from injury. Defender Breno is also back, but Deleu is suspended. For Atletico, midfielder Marcinho is injured and will not play.

JUVENTUDE x CORINTHIANS
Corinthians has done well to escape the relegation zone, and Juventude will try to draw on that example to do just the same. Second last in the standings, the team from Caxias do Sul knows it must take advantage of the home crowd support to get crucial points at home if it is to stay in the Serie A. Corinthians would like to repeat the excellent effort that ended with a 3-2 away win over Botafogo on Wednesday, a result that left the team in 12th in the standings, with 26 points. In the first round, Corinthians beat Juventude 1-0 at home. Midfielder Willian has been sold to Ukraine's Shakhtar Donetsk and will no longer play for Corinthians. Zelao returns on defense from suspension, replacing Kadu, who was sent off against Botafogo. Juventude will be without coach Claudio Duarte, who resigned on Friday. Defender Leonardo Silva is out injured, while Julio Cesar is suspended and Wescley is questionable.

VASCO x AMERICA NATAL
Vasco has a good chance to get 3 points against a team that has played pretty poorly all season long and deserves to be in last place in the standings. The locals are unbeaten in five, while America is coming off six straight losses. In the first round in Natal, Vasco won 1-0. Right-back Wagner Diniz returns from injury for Vasco, but Dudar, Morais and Romario continue to be treated by the medical staff and remain out. America let go of four players during last week, and will also be without three suspended players.

CRUZEIRO x FLUMINENSE
Things don't look particularly good at the Laranjeiras, after Fluminense lost to Flamengo 1-0 on Thursday, just days after easily disposing of Santos 3-0. With just one win in its last seven matches, the team coached by Renato Gaucho must get at least a point to try to gain some consistency on the season. Unfortunately the road game against Cruzeiro will be quite a challenge at the Mineirao, with the local team having won its last four games in the Serie A. In the first round at the Maracana, both teams played to a 2-2 draw. Defender Thiago Heleno serves his second game suspension for the locals, after being sent off against Atletico Paranaense. Marcinho and Guilherme are out injured. Rodrigo Tiui returns from suspension for Fluminense, but both players traditionally used as right-backs remain out injured.

BOTAFOGO x INTERNACIONAL
Botafogo know the time for wasting points at home is over, after two straight home losses, to Sao Paulo and Corinthians. From a safe five-point lead early in the season, the team has seen Sao Paulo take over and open a seven-point lead atop the standings. With just one win in its last six games, Botafogo will try to get the three points against Inter, knowing its opponent is also going through a tough time, with one win in its last four games. In the first round at the Beira-Rio Stadium in Porto Alegre, Botafogo came away with a good 3-2 away win. Forward Dodo is out injured for Botafogo, while coach Cuca opted to use Max instead of Marcos Leandro in goal. Another tactical option will see Renato Silva replacing Alex on defense. For Inter, Marcao is suspended after failing a doping exam, and Edinho is out injured.

---
Update: Sao Paulo and Goias tied 0-0. Vasco beat America 2-0, and Atletico Mineiro defeated Nautico 1-0. Palmeiras got a 2-1 win over Flamengo, and Cruzeiro defeated Fluminense 4-2. Corinthians and Juventude tied 2-2, while Botafogo and Inter settled for a 1-1 score.

Five games complete Serie B's 19th round

2007-08-18T14:56:00.001-04:00

Five games complete the Brazilian Serie B 19th round on Saturday. Leader Criciuma host Portuguesa already guaranteed first place in the standings at the halfway point of the season. The visitors can take over fourth spot with a win and enter the promotion zone to the Serie A. Third place Coritiba take on Santa Cruz at home, knowing a win will create a five point buffer between them and current fourth place Vitoria. Santa wants to win to get out of the relegation zone. Speaking of the relegation spots, second last Remo will have a tough time on the road, facing 8th place Ponte Preta. Second place Marilia also plays on the road, at 14th place Fortaleza. And 10th place Gremio Barueri hosts 9th place CRB, with both teams tied at 27 points.

The second half begins

2007-08-18T14:50:00.001-04:00

The second half of the 2007 Brazilian Serie A soccer league begins on Saturday, with three games.

ATLETICO PARANAENSE x FIGUEIRENSE
The two teams from Brazil's South are dangerously close to the bottom of the table. Atletico is in 16th place, and Figueirense in 15th, the two spots just above the relegation zone. Atletico has won only one of its last eight games. Figueirense has lost only once in its last six games. But the team hasn't won much either, with only one victory and four draws to show for in the other games. In the first round, Atletico had a wild 6-3 away win to open the Serie A. Right-back Ruy and defender Vinicius are suspended for Figueirense, while midfielder Carlinhos returns from injury - probably starting from the bench. Atletico can have the return of midfielder Alan Bahia, who was out of the team for the past few weeks after being involved in a car accident that killed a friend of his.

GREMIO x PARANA
Gremio, with 28 points, is trying to return to the top four in the standings after its performance dropped in the final rounds of the first half. Parana is long gone from the top of the table, and is now dangerously approaching the bottom four. The locals lost three of the last four, while Parana is winless in six and hasn't scored a goal in four games. In the first round, Parana scored a good 3-0 win. Tcheco is suspended for Gremio, while Gavilan may return from suspension. Hidalgo will make his debut on the left-back position, while Marcelo Grohe takes up goalkeeper spot from suspended Saja. Parana has the return of top scorer Josiel, who was suspended. Left-back Leo Matos is suspended, and defender Daniel Marques is injured.

SANTOS x SPORT
A mid-table matchup, with both teams tied at 27 points and currently occupying the qualification zone for the Copa Sudamericana. After three straight wins, Santos lost to Fluminense 3-0 last weekend, and tries to rebound at home against Sport, which defeated Juventude at home 3-0 in its last game. In the first round of the Serie A, Sport beat Santos 4-1 in Recife. Midfielder Petkovic will likely make his first game as a starter for Santos, while defensive midfielder Maldonado returns after a thigh injury kept him sidelined for a month. Left-back Kleber returns from suspension. Sport's coach Geninho decided to replace three players, Gustavo, Adriano Gabiru and Da Silva.

---
Update: Gremio and Santos had 2-0 wins, while Atletico and Figueirense played to a 1-1 draw.

Serie B's 19th round continues on Friday

2007-08-17T18:54:00.001-04:00

Three games on Friday in the 19th round of the Brazilian Serie B.

BRASILIENSE x SAO CAETANO - Brasiliense will try to return to the top 4 in the standings when it hosts Sao Caetano. The team lost its fourth place position when Vitoria beat Gama 3-1 on Tuesday. But a win can even lift the team to a tie for third place with Coritiba, depending on that team's result. Sao Caetano, currently in 14th, should be worried about relegation soon, being just two points above 17th place Santa Cruz. Sao Caetano will be without coach Paulo Comelli, who resigned on Thursday. Forward Luizao may begin the game after starting from the bench on the last two games. For Brasiliense, forward Dimba is questionable, while midfielder Coquinho is suspended.

SANTO ANDRE x CEARA - Santo Andre must not waste this chance at home to get points that can help in its quest against relegation. With only 17 points in 18 games, the team is currently in second last. Ceara is not doing that well on the season either, but at least the team has 25 points, four more than the best team in the relegation zone.

ITUANO x AVAI - Last place Ituano must start winning more games at home if it is to stay in the Serie next year. Against a team that is just outside the bottom four, Ituano has a moral obligation to win. The team has won three and tied one in the four last games it played at home.

---
Update: Brasiliense and Sao Caetano drew 0-0. Santo Andre beat Ceara 5-2 and Ituano and Avai could only draw 1-1.

Flamengo and Fluminense battle at the Maracana

2007-08-16T12:49:00.001-04:00

Flamengo starts making up for the lost ground caused by the series of home games it had postponed due to the Rio de Janeiro Pan-American Games. The team just hopes the extra games will allow extra points, at least enough to guarantee the team a spot in next year's Serie A. Still in the relegation zone, Flamengo faces Fluminense on Thursday at the Maracana Stadium, desperately needing the points to leave the uncomfortable 19th position it currently occupies in the standings. For Fluminense, it's a chance to move closer to the top four in the standings, while at the same time making life miserable for its most traditional opponent.

During the week, coaches from both teams exchanged provocations, which just served to raise the interest on the match. Both Renato Gaucho and Joel Santana minimized the incidents, however, saying they're actually friends and just badly want to win the game. Renato will have the return of three players for the match. Defenders Thiago Siva and Roger, alongside midfielder Arouca, return suspension. Right-backs Carlinhos and Rafael are out injured, which will force Arouca to play in the position. Souza is out suspended for Flamengo's attack, while Obina is still not fully fit and will also sit out this game. Renato Augusto is also out. Argentine Maxi Biancucchi and Paulo Sergio will be the forwards in the derby.

---

UPDATE: Flamengo won the match 1-0, thanks to Argentine Maxi Biancucchi's goal. That's two in a row for Flamengo, which begins to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Corinthians surprises Botafogo in Rio

2007-08-16T10:09:00.000-04:00

Botafogo spent 16 round without a loss at home in this year's Brazilian Serie A soccer league. Now the team has lost two in a row at the Maracana Stadium. After last week's 2-0 loss to Sao Paulo, the team lost this Wednesday to Corinthians by 3-2. The game against Corinthians had been postponed due to preparation for the Pan-American Games, which took place in Rio last month.

With the result, Botafogo wasted a great chance to close the gap to the league leaders, since the team had a game in hand and could have finished the first half of the season trailing Sao Paulo by just four points. Now the difference remains at seven. For the visitors, the win leaves the team six points above the top team in the relegation zone, creating some needed insurance for the second half of the season.

Botafogo opened the score early in the game, when Nilton scored an own goal. Arce tied the game shortly after, in the 10th minute. The match was very balanced, with both teams wasting opportunities. But the next goal of the game would only come in the second half, in the 54th minute. Defender Nilton redeemed himself and scored again, this time for his own team, on a good shot from outside the penalty box. Three minutes later, Finazzi scored again for the visitors.

He'd almost score again in the 76th minute, but his shot would hit the crossbar. One minute later, Dodo scored on a penalty kick to give final numbers to the game. Corinthians sat back and resisted bravely for the final minutes, as the locals unsuccessfully pressed on for the tying goal that never arrived.

Botafogo tries to close gap at the top

2007-08-15T09:17:00.000-04:00

Botafogo faces Corinthians tonight at the Maracana Stadium, in a game postponed from the 7th round of the Brazilian Serie A soccer league. A win takes the team to 36 points, four less than current leaders Sao Paulo. The visitors are trying to build up on the comeback win over Gremio, 2-1, which took them out of the relegation zone. They will have a tough time against a team determined to show it's still in the chase for the league title.

Botafogo will have several players back to its lineup. Juninho, Luciano Almeida, Tulio and Lucio Flavio return after serving a one-game suspension on the 1-1 away draw with Figueirense. But Renato Silva and Andre Lima are out of the team, suspended. For Corinthians, Finazzi returns to the starting lineup after scoring one goal and giving an assist coming out of the bench against Gremio. Defender Zelao is suspended, while left-back Carlao is sidelined with an injury.

Vitoria tries to reach the top 4 in the Serie B

2007-08-14T09:21:00.001-04:00

Two games open the 19th round of the Brazilian Serie B soccer league on Tuesday. Vitoria hosts Gama needing a win to temporarily join the top four in the promotion zone, while Paulista travels to Ipatinga trying to move further away from the bottom of the table.

Here's a preview of tonight's games:

VITORIA x GAMA
Vitoria can temporarily join the promotion zone of the Serie B with a win over Gama at the Barradao Stadium on Tuesday. The team is coming off its second road win of the season, over Remo, and believes the support from its fans can make the difference on the game against the team from the Federal capital. At home the team has won seven and lost two, including its last home game, against Paulista. Gama could jump to sixth in the standings with a win, but the team hasn't won on the road yet in the Serie B. Right-back Apodi returns to Vitoria after settling an argument with coach Marco Aurelio. Jean will replace suspended Anderson Martins. Gama will probably field the same team that beat Gremio Barueri 5-3 in its last game.

IPATINGA x PAULISTA
After three straight wins took the team out of last place in the standings, Paulista will keep its comeback efforts on full alert this Tuesday, when they travel to Ipatinga to face the 11th placed team in the standings. The locals are also coming off a good result, beating Sao Caetano away on Saturday to get their first road win of the season. Ipating will try to take advantage of its strong play at home, where it has won six, tied one and lost only one game in the Serie B. Paulista has only one win on the road, with seven losses and one draw. Defensive midfielder Recife returns from suspension for Ipatinga, while another midfielder Luciano Sorriso, has been cleared to play by the medical staff. The same happens to goalkeeper Tiago Braga, who was also injured. Paulista will field the same team that beat Fortaleza.

---
UPDATE: Ipatinga defeated Paulista 2-0 and Vitoria beat Gama 3-1 to confirm the strength of the home teams in tonight's games.

Perfect weekend for Sao Paulo

2007-08-13T09:46:00.001-04:00

Sao Paulo had the perfect weekend on the Brazilian Serie A soccer league. First, the team did its part in beating Atletico Paranaense at home 2-0 on Saturday. Then, of its closest opponents on the league standings, only one won. As a result, the team finished the 19th round seven points clear at the top of the table, reaching the halfway point of the league in great fashion.

Botafogo can close that gap to four if it beats Corinthians on Wednesday, on a game postponed from the seventh round. On Sunday, the team from Rio went to Santa Catarina and jumped ahead of Figueirense at the start of the second half with Dodo, but in the end the locals tied the game in a goal that should have been called off for offside.

Meanwhile, Corinthians scored twice in the last ten minutes to come back from a 1-0 deficit and beat Gremio 2-1 at the Pacaembu Stadium, in Sao Paulo. It was the second win in the last three games for Corinthians, which jumped out of the relegation zone with the result. Gremio deserved to lose, and actually was lucky to finish the first half ahead on the scoreboard.

In other games, Cruzeiro beat America Natal 2-1 in the final minutes of the game to gain third place from Vasco in the standings. The team from Belo Horizonte now has 32 points, one less than Botafogo, while America keeps holding the last spot, unlikely to move from there till the end of the season, in another 19 rounds.

Vasco went to Curitiba and could not get past a scoreless draw with Parana, dropping to fourth in the standings with 31 points. Parana, which had also tied Botafogo 0-0 at home last week, sits in 13th with 24 points.

Palmeiras went to Belo Horizonte and came away with a very undeserved 2-1 win over Atletico Mineiro, which dominated for most of the match but was unable to get this advantage translated into more goals than the opposing team. Palmeiras reached fifth place with 30 points, while Atletico fell to 12th with 25.

Goias also dropped a few positions, to sixth, after going to Porto Alegre and losing to Internacional 1-0, on the first game back for local coach Abel Braga. Inter's win lifted the team to ninth place, with 27 points.

The surprise of the round happened at the Maracana Stadium, where a Fluminense team missing several regulars had no trouble handling Santos, in a 3-0 win that ended a five-game winless streak and a three-game scoreless streak for the locals. Santos, on the other hand, had won three games in a row, but was unable to stop Fluminense on Sunday. The win left Fluminense with 26 points, one behind Santos.

Flamengo defeated Nautico 2-1 on Saturday, getting only its third win in the league this season. And Sport Recife defeated Juventude 3-0 at home, also on Saturday, to reach 27 points.

Seven matches complete 19th round in the Brazilian Serie A

2007-08-12T09:17:00.001-04:00

After losing 2-0 at home to leaders Sao Paulo, Botafogo travels to Santa Catarina trying to close the gap at the top of the standings in the Brazilian Serie A soccr league. Sao Paulo, which defeated Atletico Paranaense 2-0 at home on Saturday, opened an eight-point lead over Botafogo, which has two games in hand. In other matches on Saturday, Flamengo finally won, defeating Nautico 2-1 at the Maracana Stadium to reach 15 points. Sport beat Juventude 3-0 in Recife, temporarily climbing to eighth place, before this Sunday's games.

Here's a preview of this Sunday's games.

FIGUEIRENSE x BOTAFOGO
From a comfortable lead to an uncomfortable second place position, eight points behind the leaders. In just a few weeks, Botafogo saw Sao Paulo zoom past to take command of the league. The team from Rio has two games in hand, however, and could close the gap to two points by the end of the week - the 7th round game against Corinthians will be made up on Wednesday. For Sunday the opponent is not easy, though, as Figueirense has shown time and again that it can play any team at its Orlando Scarpelli Stadium in Florianopolis. The visitors will also have to deal with the loss of several suspended players: Juninho, Luciano Almeida, Lucio Flavio and Tulio. Ze Roberto remains out on a disciplinary action by the club, and midfielder Leandro Guerreiro is still questionable. At least defender Alex returns from suspension. For the locals, left-back Andre Santos and defender Chicao are back from suspension, but Claiton Xavier is out injured.

INTERNACIONAL x GOIAS
Inter managed a good away draw at Palmeiras on Thursday, but the team must take action soon to define whether it still wants to battle for a Copa Libertadores position next year or just be happy with finishing at the middle of the standings. Goias has certainly shown it prefers the former option, jumping back into the race for fourth place with a 3-2 win over Atletico Mineiro on Wednesday. The team is now tied with Cruzeiro for fourth place, with 29 points. Inter has 24 points, good for the eleventh position. Inter has replaced coach Gallo with Abel, who had left the team just four months ago to pursue other opportunities, which didn't come to fruition. The team hopes the coach that lead it to the Libertadores title last year can ignite a fire that seems to have been lost in the last couple of weeks. Right-back and captain Paulo Baier and his immeadiate substitute Vitor are out suspended for Goias. Wellington Monteiro is the new face for Inter in Abel's first game back, starting the game on the right-wing of a 3-5-2 formation.

CORINTHIANS x GREMIO
After ending a ten-game winless streak, it was business as usual for Corinthians on the road to Vasco on Thursday, where it lost 2-0. After a busy week away from the pitch, with the team's president and vice-president being removed from their positions, the second most popular team in the country doesn't have an easier time this Sunday, facing tough Gremio in Sao Paulo. Corinthians can again take advantage of its home field advantage, but the visitors will battle to guarantee at least a point here. The locals will be without defender Fabio Ferreira, suspended. Gremio will likely repeat the team that defeated America 3-0 on Thursday.

ATLETICO MINEIRO x PALMEIRAS
Atletico could not manage to come back against Goias at the Serra Dourada, and dropped its second game under new coach Leao. The team will be happy to return home, where its fans can certainly provide a boost to face any opponent. Palmeiras, on the other hand, doesn't seem to mind to play on the road, after some dismal performances at home. It doesn't hurt that the team was also able to win its last road game, a 1-0 triumph over Fluminense. Palmeiras will be without suspended forward Luiz Henrique, while Edmundo may sit out the game to rest. Midfielder Pierre returns from suspension. Defenders Leandro Almeira and Vinicius return from serving a one-game suspension for Atletico, and criticized goalkeeper Edson continues in goal. Midfielder Marcinho was taken out of the team for missing Friday's training session, and forward Lucio is out suspended.

AMERICA NATAL x CRUZEIRO
How low can America get? With five straight losses, the team is deep into last place, five points behind Flamengo, the next team in the standings. Cruzeiro doesn't mind taking the trip to Natal, hoping to remain inside the top four that qualify for a Libertadores position in 2008. America will likely have the same team that lost to Gremio, but defender Edson Borges, who was recovering from an injury, may return. Forward Wesley may make his debut, but only in the second half. Midfielders Ramires and Leandro Domingues are suspended for Cruzeiro.

FLUMINENSE x SANTOS
Fluminense returns to the Maracana one week after losing there to Palmeiras 1-0. After a 0-0 away draw to Juventude, the team now hasn't scored in three games. Fortunately for the home team, the visitors are not know for worrying that much about their defense. Unfortunately, this team is Santos, who can really punish a team with its attack every now and then. Coming off three straight wins, Santos has been gaining some ground in the standings, and already sits in seventh place, with 27 points. Left-back Kleber is suspended for Santos, and coach Wanderley Luxemburgo will probably adopt a formation with three defenders to try to prevent Fluminense from creating too many chances. The locals will be without seven regular starters. Arouca, Roger, Carlinhos and Thiago Silva are suspended, and Alex Dias, Fernando Henrique and Fabinho are injured. Several youngsters should either start or be on the bench for Fluminense.

PARANA x VASCO
Third place Vasco goes to Curitiba to face 12th place Parana, who is dangerously slipping down the table and near the relegation zone. The team from Rio hopes it can repeat the performance it showed in its last road game, when it beat Internacional 2-0 in Porto Alegre. For Parana, winless in five overall, the performance will have to be better than last week's scoreless draw against Botafogo, or a 3-1 home loss to Atletico Mineiro before that. Rubens Junior returns from suspension for Vasco. Parana has three suspended players for this game, defender Daniel Marques, midfielder Adriano and forward Josiel.

Three games on Saturday in the Brazilian Serie A

2007-08-10T21:41:00.001-04:00

The 19th round of the Brazilian Serie A soccer league starts on Saturday with three games. Leaders Sao Paulo can finish up the first stage of the tournament with the symbolic title of 'winter champions'. Flamengo returns to Maracana Stadium after a long absence, hoping the mytical stadium will lend some of its aura to the team, which continues to struggle in the relegation zone. And Sport Recife tries to show it has enough quality to remain in the Serie A, in a home match against Juventude.

Here's a preview of the three games scheduled for Saturday:

SAO PAULO x ATLETICO PARANAENSE
Ever since they met in the 2005 Copa Libertadores final, the matchup between these two has never been the same, with a rivalry been created due to that historical matchup. Sao Paulo continued at the top of the Brazilian game, winning last year's league and once again leading this year. Atletico has seen better days, but hopes it can still surprise the leaders at the Morumbi Stadium. The locals have won six in a row, and are the favorites once again. Atletico recovered from a 3-2 away loss to Sport with a good 2-0 win at home over Flamengo on Wednesday. For the locals, Souza returns from suspension, while full-back Reasco is out after breaking his leg on the match against Botafogo. Forward Dagoberto plays for the first time against Atletico, his former team. Atletico will have the same team that beat Flamengo, including defender Danilo, who was questionable.

SPORT x JUVENTUDE
After two comeback wins, Sport couldn't repeat its good second half performance and ended up losing 2-0 to Cruzeiro in Belo Horizonte on Wednesday. The team still has a good chance to get full points in this game at home, helping consolidate its recovery in the league. At the beginning of the season the struggling red and blacks were in the relegation zone, but timely wins have lifted them to the middle of the pack. Juventude has not had as much luck, and continues to be tormented by the prospect of relegation. Their poor performances away from home are mostly to blame, and once again the players will have a tough time getting points on the road here. Defender Gustavo and midfielder Romerito were sent off against Cruzeiro and won't play for Sport. Forward Carlinhos Bala returns to the team after serving a one game suspension. For Juventude, Fabio Baiano is out injured, but Julio Cesar returns from suspension.

FLAMENGO x NAUTICO
The most popular team in the country still has a very decent chance of staying in the Serie A. Of the team's final 24 games, 16 will be played at the Maracana, which had been unavailable for the last couple of months due to the Pan American Games in Rio. Now back to the stadium, Flamengo hopes to get things going again to escape the troubling 19th place in the standings. The team still has four games in hand in comparison to most teams, and could use this difference in its advantage if it manages to start getting some wins here and there. Nautico is a much improved team in the past few rounds, having won three and tied one of its last four games, and won three and tied two on the road. This could mean more trouble for Flamengo, in a game certain to be interesting. Coach Joel Santana, who has lost the two games since taking over from Nei Franco, will promote the debut of defender Fabio Luciano and youngster Romulo, from the U-20 squad. Forwards Souza and Paulo Sergio are suspended, while Obina is not fit yet to play. Right-back Sidney is out with an injury. The team will likely move from its usual 3-5-2 formation to a 3-6-1, trying to prevent Flamengo from creating too many opportunities.

It's great to be home

2007-08-10T14:50:00.001-04:00

No home team lost in the final four games of the 18th round in the Brazilian Serie A soccer league on Thursday. With three wins and one draw, the home teams closed the round with an impressive record of seven wins, two draws and one loss. The only team to win on the road in this round was Sao Paulo, which beat Botafogo 2-0 in Rio de Janeiro to open a five-point lead atop the standings.

On Thursday, Vasco had no trouble beating a disorganized Corinthians side 2-0 at the Sao Januario Stadium, in Rio. The match began with both teams struggling, but Vasco opened the score with Wagner Diniz in the 24th minute. Vasco improved in the second half and scored once again, with Enilton in the 55th minute. The locals still missed a couple of other chances and could have even won by a larger margin. In the end, the result pleased Vasco nevertheless, since the team jumped back to 30 points, good for third in the standings.

Gremio played just enough to beat a very poor America Natal side 3-0 at home, with two goals by Tuta and one by Kelly. After scoring early in the game, the locals sat back and almost got scored in a couple of chances. The team managed to hold on till the second half, when it scored twice more to break a two-game losing streak and reach sixth place in the standings, with 28 points.

Santos jumped to seventh one point behind Gremio with a 2-0 win over Parana at the Vila Belmiro Stadium. The locals had a lot of trouble trying to break through the defensive formation taken by Parana, but in an isolated play reached the goal with Marcos Aurelio, in the 38th minute. From then until the end little was created and nothing changed until injury time of the second half, when Kleber Pereira scored to confirm Santos' third win in a row. Parana is now winless in five games.

Finally, Palmeiras hosted Internacional at the Parque Antarctica Stadium, in Sao Paulo, but was unable to go beyond a 1-1 draw. Valdivia scored early for the locals, in the second minute, but the team was once again unable to secure a win at home. The home team sat back on defense after the goal, and Inter started pushing forward. Palmeiras was able to hold on the pressure until the 85th minute, when Alex scored on a free kick for the visitors. The result left Palmeiras with 27 points, in eighth place. Inter has only 24 points, good for tenth place.

Four games complete 18th round of Brazilian Serie A

2007-08-09T13:14:00.001-04:00

Four matches will be played on Thursday to complete the 18th round of the Brazilian Serie A soccer league:

GREMIO x AMERICA NATAL
Gremio can't afford anything but a win at home against last place America Natal if it hopes to remain in the race for this season's title. With Goias win over Atletico Mineiro on Wednesday, not even the win will bring Gremio back to the top four in the standings after this game. But having lost its last home game 2-0 to Sao Paulo, and the previous one to Figueirense on the road, Gremio has no other option but get the three points here. America, on the other hand, seems destined to the Serie B in 2008. The team was simply embarrassed in its last game, a 5-1 loss to Nautico at home. Midfielder Eduardo Costa and forward Marcel may debut for Gremio, but both are still not in top physical shape and may start on the bench. Colombian Bustos will play on the right-back position, while Anderson Pico returns as left-back after a one-game suspension. Carlos Eduardo also returns to the team up front. America will try a more defensive approach after its last embarrassing loss, with only Paulo Isidoro as a forward. Defender Edson Borges is out, injured. Rogelio may lose his place to Robson, and Eduardo will be substituted by Reinaldo as right-back. Left-back Adriano will replace Marcio Goiano and even goalkeeper Rene lost his place, with Gleguer joining the team.

VASCO x CORINTHIANS
Vasco lost a great chance in its last home game, wasting two precious points in a 2-2 draw with Figueirense. Meanwhile, Corinthians ended a 10-game winless streak by beating Goias at home, 1-0. For this game, Vasco is still the clear favorite, but the team must pay extra attention if it doesn't want to be surprised at home again. Rubens Junior is suspended for Vasco, while captain Jorge Luiz returns from suspension on defense. Left-back Gustavo Nery may make his debut on his return to Corinthians. The team is also still under pressure outside the pitch, as president Alberto Dualib and his vice-president Nesi Curi were removed from their positions through a council vote earlier this week.

PALMEIRAS x INTERNACIONAL
Palmeiras is coming off a good 1-0 away win over Fluminense on the weekend, but the team is somewhat afraid of playing at home now, especially after losing 2-1 to Sport a week ago. To make matters worse, the team will now face the always dangerous Internacional side, itself trying to regain some ground after losing its last two games, to Vasco at home and Cruzeiro on the road. Midfielder Pierre is out for the locals, suspended. Coach Gallo will try several changes to take Inter back to its winning ways. From a 4-4-2 formation he will likely change to a 3-5-2. Mineiro joins the defense, while Jonas and Alex replace Magal and Rubens Cardoso on the wings. Pinga is probably not going to play due to an injury, but Edinho returns to midfield for this game. Adriano will join Iarley in the attack, while Christian will probably start from the bench.

SANTOS x PARANA
Santos is the favorite for this game at the Vila Belmiro, but Parana can always be a dangerous opponent. Santos has a one-point advantage over the visitors in the standings. The locals seem to have recovered from the 2-1 home loss to Nautico three games ago, having beaten Atletico Mineiro 2-1 on the road and Flamengo 3-0 at home since then. Parana is coming off a scoreless draw at home against former leaders Botafogo, after dropping two straight - to Atletico Mineiro at home and Goias on the road. Right-back Baiano and midfielder Petkovic are cleared to make their debut. Baiano will likely start replacing Alessandro, who is injured, while Petkovic may begin on the bench since he's not fully fit yet. Left-back Carlinhos and midfielder Rodrigo Souto return from suspension. Captain Beto returns to Parana, after being suspended for the game against Botafogo.

Sao Paulo opens five points at the top of the Brazilian league

2007-08-09T11:39:00.000-04:00

The game was obviously not as good as many had anticipated. But to the fans of Sao Paulo, it didn't really matter in the end, after the team managed to beat Botafogo on the road, 2-0, to reach 37 points, five more than Botafogo itself, which continues in second place.

Close to 50,000 people showed up at the Maracana Stadium to watch the game between the two best teams in the league. But the first half was a total disappointment, with almost no real scoring chance created, and with Sao Paulo's full-back Reasco having to leave the field after being kicked by a Botafogo player and breaking his leg - he's out for the remainder of the season.

In the second half, both teams seemed to open up a little bit more, pushing forward and not waiting so much for the opponent to take action. Rogerio Ceni had to make a few good saves to keep the scoreless draw. In the 64th minute, Sao Paulo surprised Botafogo on a corner kick, and Alex Silva headed the ball into the left side of the goal defended by Marcos Leandro. In the 71st minute, Botafogo's Tulio got upset with Sao Paulo's Leandro and kicked him on the face while he was laying down, after being fouled on by the Botafogo player. He was promptly sent off, and from there on Botafogo lost any hope of making a comeback. Leandro himself would score the second goal of the night for the defending champions, connecting a perfect shot from outside of the penalty box three minutes later.

It was the first loss at home for Botafogo in the season, and the end of a 25-game unbeaten streak at the Maracana Stadium. Sao Paulo got its sixth win in nine matches on the road in the Brazilian Serie A, its second straight 2-0 road win over teams that are directly fighting for the title this season - on Sunday the team had beaten Gremio in Porto Alegre. Botafogo still has one game in hand, but the 2-0 loss at home may have a significant psychological impact if the team fails to get a few wins in the upcoming rounds.

In other matches, Nautico got its second win of the season at home, beating Figueirense 4-2 in Recife. The team was winless at home in seven games. Acosta scored twice and had an assist for Nautico. The result took the team to 20 points, out of the relegation zone ahead of Corinthians, which faces Vasco on Thursday.

In Belo Horizonte, Cruzeiro beat Sport 2-0 in a game marred by three red cards - two for Sport. Not many chances were created in the first half, when both teams preferred to stop the play by consistently fouling an opposing player. The locals took advantage of the sending offs in the second half to score twice with Alecsandro and reach 29 points, third in the standings. Sport was held to 24 points, in tenth place.

Fluminense and Juventude played yet another poor match in Caxias do Sul, with defense taking preference over the attacks and very few chances created by both sides. The result left the locals still struggling to come out of the relegation zone, where they remain in 18th place with 16 points. Fluminense is a little better, in 14th place with 23 points.

Goias beat Atletico Mineiro in Goiania, 3-2, to stop the visitors' two-game winning streak on the road. The locals showed why their home record is so good this season, reaching their sixth win in nine matches at home in the Brazilian Serie A. The first goal was scored by Paulo Baier in the first minute of play, after a mistake by Atletico goalkeeper Edson. Baier scored the second at the start of the second half, on a penalty kick. Atletico scored next with Marcos, but Goias made it 3-1 with Cristiano. Atletico still had a second goal with Vanderlei on a penalty kick with eight minutes to go, but was unable to tie the game in the dying minutes of the game. Goias returned to the top four in the standings, now with 29 points.

Finally, Flamengo went to Curitiba and lost 2-0 to Atletico Paranaense. It was the second loss in a row for Flamengo under new coach Joel Santana, with the team conceding five goals and scoring none in those games. The locals scored early with Marcelo, in the third minute, and then again with Edno, in the 60th minute. It was the first win in five games for Atletico, which reached 22 points, good for 15th place in the standings. Flamengo is second last, with 12 points - but the team has played only 14 games.

Four games complete the 18th round of the Brazilian Serie A soccer league on Thursday: America Natal travels to Porto Alegre to face Gremio, Vasco hosts Corinthians, Palmeiras plays at home against Internacional and Parana has a road game at Santos.

Two best teams in Brazil face each other tonight

2007-08-08T12:47:00.001-04:00

The duel between the two top teams in the league is the highlight of the 18th round of the Brazilian Serie A soccer league. Second place Botafogo hosts Sao Paulo at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, with five other matches also scheduled for tonight. Four games complete the 18th round on Thursday.

Here is a preview of tonight's games:

BOTAFOGO x SAO PAULO
After leading for most of the season, Botafogo finally saw Sao Paulo take over first place over the weekend. Tonight, Botafogo can retake the lead even with a game in hand. In order to do so, however, it must manage to find a way to score on Sao Paulo's defense, the best of the league with only 7 goals allowed in 17 games. The locals have the second-best attack though, with 35 goals in 16 matches. The new leaders have won four straight, and definitely would hope to get at least a point from the game at the Maracana. Midfielder Ze Roberto was punished for being one-hour late to the training session on Tuesday, and will not play for Botafogo. Wing Joilson, who was suspended against Parana, returns to the team. Defender Alex, who is on a loan from Sao Paulo, cannot play for Botafogo either, due to a clause in his loan contract. Midfielder Hugo and Souza are out suspended for Sao Paulo, with defender Andre Dias and forward Aloisio also out, with injuries. Dagoberto returns to the team, but will start on the bench since he's just coming back from an injury.

JUVENTUDE x FLUMINENSE
Juventude lost to Atletico Mineiro on Sunday, and hopes it can regroup to avoid a devastating second straight home loss. The team from Caxias do Sul still sits in the relegation zone, in 18th place with 15 points. Fluminense continues to play erractically, losing 1-0 to Palmeiras at home in its latest match to extend its winless streak to four games. Forward Rodrigo Tiui may return to Fluminense after sitting out the game against Palmeiras. For Juventude, midfielder Marcao returns to the team, replacing Julio Cesar, who was sent off against Atletico. Coach Claudio Duarte is still searching for his first point ahead of the team, after losing to Sao Paulo and Atletico in his two first games.

CRUZEIRO x SPORT
Slowly but surely, Cruzeiro has been gaining important points at home over the last few rounds. On Sunday the team beat Internacional 3-2 at the Mineirao Stadium to reach 26 points, good enough for fourth place in the standings. Sport Recife has also improved a lot from the start of the season, and currently sits in tenth place, with 24 points. The team just hopes it can start its games on a better pace. In its last two matches, against Palmeiras and Atletico Paranaense, it fell behind on the scoreboard before having to rally for a couple of wins. But perhaps the team wouldn't mind doing the same again, if it resulted in another three points in the standings. Cruzeiro has the best attack in the league with 36 goals, but Sport is not far behind, with 30. Both teams have allowed 32 goals, second-worst in the league. Forward Guilherme returns from suspension, and midfielder Charles, who also missed last game, is available as well for the locals. The visitors may have five players back. Captain Everton was cleared by the medical staff and may start the game. Igor, Bilica and Dutra return from suspension, and Junior Maranhao may make his debut. But top scorer Carlinhos Bala is out suspended.

NAUTICO x FIGUEIRENSE
With a few good matches of late, including a superb 5-1 away win over America Natal over the weekend, Nautico is already seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. With a win over Figueirense, and a combination of other results, Nautico could end the 18th round already out of the bottom four. The visitors won't be easy opponents though, being excited about their recent 1-0 win over Gremio and a 2-2 away draw at Vasco, that extended the team's unbeaten streak to four. Midfielder Acosta returns from suspension for Nautico, while defender Toninho is out after accumulating three yellow cards. Ruy returns to Figueirense, but Andre Santos and Chicao are out suspended.

GOIAS x ATLETICO MINEIRO
Atletico has managed two wins in three matches under new coach Emerson Leao, including a great 2-1 victory over Juventude on the road on Sunday. Tonight the game won't be easy, with Goias holding a very respectable home record. The team from Goiania helped Corinthians end a 10-game losing streak with a 1-0 loss on Saturday, but knows things could be different at the Serra Dourada Stadium this Wednesday. The locals haven't lost to Atletico in six games. Forward Cristiano may make his first appearance for Goias, as well as left-back Chiquinho. Defender Amaral and full-back Vitor are suspended. Atletico will be without its two defenders, Vinicius and Leandro Almeida, suspended.

ATLETICO PARANAENSE x FLAMENGO
Is Flamengo really that bad? Will the team fall to the Serie B in 2008, or is it still sitting in the bottom four only due to the fact that it has played four less games than most of its opponents? Perhaps it's a mixture of both, but time is certainly running out for the most popular team in Brazil, which must start getting points to regain the confidence it needs to climb out of the relegation zone. Atletico Paranense still hasn't recovered from the long-term injury loss of Alex Mineiro and Evandro, injured a couple of weeks ago in the game against Gremio. The team is not completely safe from relegation either, sitting just two points ahead of Nautico, which would be the last team to be relegated if the season ended today. Flamengo is still trying to clear midfielder Cristian - who was transferred from Atletico - to play. If he's not able to dress up for the game, coach Joel Santana is likely going to use a 3-5-2 formation instead of the regular 4-4-2 adopted by the team. Forward Souza is still out after being suspended for four games following his sending off against Gremio on July 22. Midfielder Claiton is likely out for Atletico, together with Evandro, Alex Mineiro, Jancarlos, Nei and Michel, all injured. Left-back Alessandro is available for the match.

Marilia closes gap to leaders in Serie B

2007-08-08T09:08:00.001-04:00

Leaders Criciuma lost on the road to Paulista, 3-1, on Tuesday, and saw its advantage at the top of the standings shrink from seven to four points in the Brazilian Serie B soccer league. Roberto Santos scored all three goals for the locals, helping the team reach 19 points to climb out of the relegation zone, to 15th place.

Meanwhile, Marilia defeated Ipatinga at home, 2-1, thanks to a goal in the final minutes. The team from the state of Sao Paulo reached 32 points, four behind Criciuma's 36. Third place Coritiba went to Sao Paulo and lost to Portuguesa, 3-1. Fourth place Brasiliense also lost, on the road to Santa Cruz, 1-0.

In other results, Ponte Preta had a great 3-2 win on the road over Avai. Gremio Barueri went to Fortaleza and lost to Ceara, 2-1. The other team from the city, Fortaleza, went to Sao Caetano and lost 1-0. Gama hosted Santo Andre but could not go beyond a 1-1 draw. CRB had a very entertaining 4-3 win at home over Vitoria. Remo defeated Ituano at home, 2-0, to climb out of last place. Ituano is now in last.

Dunga calls players for friendly against Algeria

2007-08-08T08:58:00.000-04:00

Brazilian National coach Dunga announced the name of the 22 players for the friendly against Algeria, on August 22, in Montpellier, France. Kaka and Ronaldinho, who were not in last month's Copa America team, were included in the list. The coach had not been happy by both players' request to be left out of the team that played in the competition, ultimately won by Brazil. Here are the names of the players called up by Dunga:

GOALKEEPERS - Doni (Roma), Julio Cesar (Inter Milan)

DEFENDERS - Maicon (Inter Milan), Daniel Alves (Sevilla), Gilberto (Hertha Berlim), Kleber (Santos), Juan (Roma), Alex Silva (Sao Paulo), Lucio (Bayern Munich), Naldo (Werder Bremem)

MIDFIELDERS - Josue (Sao Paulo), Mineiro (Hertha Berlim), Fernando (Bordeaux), Lucas (Liverpool), Elano (Manchester City), Julio Baptista (Real Madrid), Diego (Werder Bremem), Kaka (Milan)

FORWARDS - Robinho (Real Madrid), Ronaldinho (Barcelona), Rafael Sobis (Betis), Vagner Love (CSKA Moscow)

Brazilian Serie B has full fixture list on Tuesday

2007-08-07T14:25:00.001-04:00

A full schedule on Tuesday marks the 17th round of the 2007 Brazilian Serie B football league. With ten games scheduled for tonight, the fight for one of the four spots in the Serie A next year continues.

Leaders Criciuma, already seven points clear of second place Marilia, travel to Jundiai to face 18th place Paulista, which would be dropping to the Serie C if the tournament ended today. With three wins and one draw in its last four games, the leaders hope to do better on the road today than they did the last couple of times they were in Sao Paulo State, losing 3-2 to Ponte Preta and tying Santo Andre 3-3. Paulista started the season on the wrong foot, but slowly the team has been getting better results, including its last match, a 1-0 road win over Vitoria.

Marilia lost six points due to the irregular use of players early in the season, but from a spot in the relegation zone the team has climbed the standings to reach second place prior to Tuesday's games. If not for these lost points, the team would trail Criciuma by a single point. Tonight it faces tenth place Ipatinga at home, defending a nine-game unbeaten streak. The visitors have yet to win away from home, and don't look like they could do it tonight, despite a good 3-0 home win over Gama in the last game. Midfielder Reginaldo may return from injury for the locals, while Ipatinga will likely field the same team as the one that beat Gama.

Third place Coritiba tries to improve its road record when it travels to Sao Paulo to face Portuguesa. The visitors have won two, drawn two and lost four of the eight games it played on the road in the Serie B, while Portuguesa - in eighth with 24 points - has five wins, one loss and two draws at home. Midfielder Preto and defender Bruno Rodrigo return to the locals after a game suspended. Coritiba will be without several regulars, including suspended goalkeeper Edson Bastos. Midfielder Marlos and forward Gustavo are injured.

In Recife, 19th place Santa Cruz hosts fourth place Brasiliense, trying to break an eight-game winless streak. The last win by Santa Cruz was on June 26, a 1-0 victory over Ituano. Brasiliense is coming off three wins, one loss and a draw in its last five games, and promises to try hard for the win against Santa to remain in the top four of the Serie B. Santa Cruz is coming off a 6-0 loss to Ponte Preta, and will likely see many changes on the pitch for Tuesday's game. Rodriguinho returns to Brasiliense after serving a one-game suspension, while right-back Rafael Toledo may start in place of injured Patrick.

In other matches, 15th place Avai hosts 7th place Ponte Preta, which will try to repeat on the road its success at home this season. The team from Campinas has won six of eight at home, tying two games, but has only one win, one draw and six losses away from home. Just two points above the last relegation spot, Avai is winless in three.

Sixth place Vitoria goes to Maceio to face 11th place CRB, and last place Remo hosts 16th place Ituano. Ceara, in 14th, plays at home against fifth place Gremio Barueri, and 17th Santo Andre goes to Brasilia to face 12th place Gama. Finally, it will be 13th place Sao Caetano at home to 9th place Fortaleza.

Sao Paulo takes the lead from Botafogo

2007-08-06T15:51:00.000-04:00

Sao Paulo defeated Gremio 2-0 on the road on Sunday and took the lead on the 2007 Brazilian Serie A football league. The defending champions were lucky to score in the third minute with Borges, holding on the pressure from the locals for most of the game to reach 34 points in the standings. Diego Tardelli, who had just replaced Borges, scored the second goal in the 87th minute on a counterattack, after a very balanced match in which Sao Paulo's defense worked well enough to give the attack the chance to score on the chances it created.

Meanwhile, Botafogo played better than Parana on the road, but still wasn't able to score in a 0-0 draw in Curitiba. Goalkeeper Flavio made two great saves for the locals, while newcomer Marcos Leandro had no trouble but in a header by Josiel. With the result, Botafogo is now two points behind Sao Paulo, with one game in hand. The teams face each other on Wednesday, at the Maracana in Rio.

In other results, Figueirense susprised Vasco in Rio and settled for a 2-2 draw, ending the locals perfect record at home. Fluminense played for in Rio for the first time in seven matches, in the reopening of the Maracana Stadium, and lost to Palmeiras, 1-0. Internacional went to Belo Horizonte without Alexandre Pato and left the Mineirao Stadium with a 3-2 loss to Cruzeiro. Flamengo was not able to get much going in the debut of new coach Joel Santana, going to Santos and losing to the locals by a 3-0 score. Atletico Mineiro, on the other hand, had a good road game, defeating Juventude 2-1 in Caxias do Sul to end that team's five-game unbeaten streak at home.

Speaking of streaks, Corinthians was able to end a 10-game winless streak with a win over Goias at home, 1-0, on Saturday. Sport Recife came from behind at home to beat Atletico Paranaense 3-2, while America Natal kept its losing ways by hosting Nautico and losing by a terrible 5-1 score.

Brazilian Serie A - 17th round

2007-08-03T15:38:00.000-04:00

Three matches on Saturday and seven on Sunday make up the 17th round of the 2007 Brazilian Serie A football league. The most important match will likely be the last, with Gremio hosting Sao Paulo needing to win to close the gap between itself (currently with 25 points) and its opponent (31 points), which is tied with Botafogo for the league's lead. Botafogo will also have a tough time, going to Curitiba to face Parana.

Here's a brief preview of this weekend's games (updates on player injuries and suspensions for Sunday's games coming later):

CORINTHIANS x GOIAS
With ten games and counting, Corinthians hopes to finally win a game after nearly two months without a victory. The win that escaped in the final minutes of the road game against Atletico Paranaense on Wednesday may not be reached in this game, since the opponent is persistent Goias, currently fourth in the standings. Goias lost its last road game 4-1 to Vasco, but the result was not really a reflection of the quality of both teams. The visitors have a good chance of getting at least a point here. Veteran midfielder Vampeta will start for Corinthians, right-back Edson is suspended and Marcelo Oliveira replaces Dinelson, out for several months with a knee injury. Defender Leonardo returns from suspension for Goias, and forward Fabricio Carvalho may be taken out of the team after not scoring a goal in more than one month. Midfielder Harison and forward Cristiano may make their debut for the visitors.

AMERICA NATAL x NAUTICO
The relegation zone matchup could be a preview of more games to come between these teams next year, only in the Serie B. America hopes it can get its second home win of the season against an inconsistent opponent, but Nautico has been improving of late, getting good results against traditional teams from the Brazilian Southeast. Desperation should be the tone of the match here, and any result is possible. Defender Cris and midfielder Marquinhos are out suspended for America, but defender Edson Borges comes back after sitting out the game against Botafogo with a suspension. Midfielder Acosta is suspended for Nautico. Midfielder Radames and forwards Felipe and Ferreira have served a one-game ban and will likely play. Left-back Hamilton is also out after accumulating three yellow cards.

SPORT x ATLETICO PARANAENSE
Sport heroically defeated Palmeiras on Wednesday in Sao Paulo, absorbing the shock of falling behind early in the game and having a player sent off to score twice and holding on to the win, despitehaving only nine men against eleven for the last 15 minutes of the game. Home fans should be happy to welcome the team back to Recife this Saturday, in a match against Atletico Paranaense, still feeling the effects of several missing players. Sport will be without full-back Dutra, defender Igor and midfielder Bilica, suspended, and injured Everton. Atletico is still missing four starters due to injury, but defender Gustavo, midfielder Claiton and left-back Edno return to the team.

VASCO x FIGUEIRENSE
After getting its second road win of the season in the impressive 2-0 victory over Internacional in Porto Alegre, Vasco returns home to host Figueirense on Sunday. Now in third place, the team hopes to get support from its home fans against a Figueirense team that will likely take a defensive approach to the match. The visitors had a good 1-0 home win over Gremio on Thursday, but will have a hard time getting away with a point here. Defender and captain Jorge Luis is out for Vasco, and Rubesn Junior may play improvised in his place. Guilherme will likely get another chance as left-back, while forward Enilton may make his debut. Roberto Lopes is out suspended. Figueirense will try to break Vasco's perfect record at home with the debut of right-back Cesar Prates, who played for Vasco in 2004. Ruy is out after being sent off against Gremio. Otacilio Neto returns in attack, while Carlinhos and Fernandes are still out with an injury.

FLUMINENSE x PALMEIRAS
The Maracana Stadium in Rio is finally available for the Brazilian Serie A again, after being closed for over a month in preparation and during the Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro in July. Fluminense welcomes the return home, having two draws and a loss in its last three games. Palmeiras believes getting away from Sao Paulo can help the team forget about the embarrassing 2-1 home loss to Sport on Wednesday, when the team scored early and failed to capitalize on the opponent's two sending-offs during the game. Right-back Carlinhos is probable, but his presence will have to be confirmed at game-time. Forward Edmundo returns to Palmeiras, with left-back Leandro and midfielder Makelele also joining the starting lineup. Defender Nen is suspended.

CRUZEIRO x INTERNACIONAL
Now officially without its star youngtser Alexandre Pato, Inter travels to Belo Horizonte trying to recover from the 2-0 home loss at the hands of Vasco on Wednesday. The team still has a decent 5-2 record over its last seven games, and can't be counted out on this one. Cruzeiro's game against Flamengo on Wednesday was postponed till next month, but the team hopes it can deliver another strong performance, similar to the one that resulted in a 3-2 home win against first place Botafogo on Sunday. Forward Araujo has left Cruzeiro for Catar, but Alecsandro will be available after coming back from Portugal. Thiago Heleno and Leo Silva return from suspension, while forward Guilherme is out after accumulating three yellow cards. This will be the first game for Inter after Alexandre Pato was sold to AC Milan. Magrao and Guinazu may make their debut for Inter, with defender Marcao also returning from suspension. Edinho and Alex are out suspended, while Pinga is questionable after getting injured in the 2-0 loss to Vasco.

SANTOS x FLAMENGO
Santos managed to halt a two-game losing streak with a 2-1 away win over Atletico Mineiro on Wednesday. The team is still far from the leaders, and time may be running out for a rally that would send the team to the top of the standings. If Santos hopes to climb the standings, it must take all three points in games like this, against a team in the relegation zone. Flamengo's stats are still a bit off, however, since the team has played four less games than most of its opponents due to last month's Pan American Games in Rio. Coach Joel Santana makes his debut for Flamengo. Ibson and Maxi Biancucchi - Lionel Messi's cousin - may make their debut. Roger will likely start in midfield, after coming in from the bench in the match against Corinthians. Santos will be without left-back Carlinhos and midfielder Rodrigo Souto, suspended. Pedrinho is still questionable in midfield.

JUVENTUDE x ATLETICO MINEIRO
Atletico tries to regroup after losing 2-1 at home to Santos, the first loss under new coach Emerson Leao. Meanwhile, Juventude returns home, where it's played decently this season, hoping to get three points to climb out of the relegation zone. The locals are unbeaten in five at home. Forwards Michel and Tadeu are still out with injuries, and midfielder Marcao is suspended. Eder Luis returns to Atletico, but midfielder Rafael Miranda is out with an injury.

GREMIO x SAO PAULO
After falling on the road to Figueirense on Thursday, Gremio knows it must win to continue chasing leaders Sao Paulo and Botafogo from close range. A loss doesn't mean the team will be out of the title race, of course, but things will be a lot tougher if the locals can't use this head-to-head matchup to gain some ground. Sao Paulo is coming off four straight wins, including Thursday's come-from-behind 3-1 triumph at home over Juventude. Andre Dias and Alex Silva are questionable in defense, but may play for Sao Paulo. Dagoberto and Aloisio are still out in the attack. Colombian right-back Bustos may make his debut for Gremio, which will have the return of midfielder Gavilan. Forward Tuta may also return, after recovering from an injury.

PARANA x BOTAFOGO
Botafogo survived two tying goals from America Natal on Wednesday to score a 4-2 win. But the biggest win for the leaders came one day later, when star forward Dodo had his 120-day suspension for doping lifted by the country's top Sports Court. Dodo may even return to the team on this game, depending on his conditioning. Parana lost three straight, including its last home game - a 3-1 loss to Atletico Mineiro. Joilson is out for Botafogo. Beto is suspended and Lima is out with an injury for the locals, who have won three, tied one and lost four of the eight matches it played at home in this year's Serie A.

Eight games close out Serie B round

2007-08-03T14:33:00.000-04:00

Two matches on Friday and six on Saturday complete the 16th round of the Brazilian Serie B. On Tuesday, second place Coritiba defeated Avai 1-0 at home, while Ituano continued its recovery with a 2-1 home win over Sao Caetano, its second win in a row.

Last place Paulista travels to Salvador to face Vitoria, which defeated Coritiba 3-1 on Saturday. The other game of the night features two teams tied at 24 points with Vitoria, with Portuguesa visiting Gremio Barueri.

On Saturday, 11th place Fortaleza host second last Remo, while 18th Santa Cruz goes to Campinas to play Ponte Preta, currently in eighth. Fourth place Brasiliense, still feeling the heat for the 3-0 loss to Ituano on the road, returns home to play Ceara. Leaders Criciuma are at home against ninth place CRB, and 14th placed Ipatinga host Gama, in 10th. Finally, third place Marilia hopes to continue its excellent season when it goes to Santo Andre, currently in 17th.

Sao Paulo survives early scare

2007-08-03T09:23:00.001-04:00

Not that many people went to the Morumbi Stadium on this cool Thursday night to watch Sao Paulo host Juventude. But those who went suffered a scare early on, when Luciano scored for Juventude after just two minutes. The visitors, who were already thinking about defending before the game, just sat back and decided to rely on counterattacks to hold on to the win.

Fortunately, though, Sao Paulo slowly started to take advantage of the Juventude positioning. Defender Miranda took advantage of a rebound from a free kick and tied the game in the 31st minute. In the second half, two more goals, by Borges and Hugo, sealed the 3-1 win. Sao Paulo reaches 31 points, tying Botafogo for the league's lead - though the team from Rio has one game in hand. Juventude missed a chance to leave the relegation zone, and now remains in 17th place, with 15 points.

The night was even better for Sao Paulo after receiving confirmation that Gremio had lost to Figueirense in Florianopolis. After a poor match played under heavy rain, the locals found a late game with just five minutes to play to seal the win, leaving Gremio in fifth place, with 25 points. Figueirense jumped to 11th, with 22.

The duck flies North

2007-08-03T09:07:00.000-04:00

And it finally happened, to nobody's surprise. The most recent young talent from Brazil is yet again sold to Europe. Alexandre 'The Duck' Pato, from Internacional, was sold to Italy's AC Milan for US$ 20 million, after the club paid his buyout clause. With the transfer, Pato will no longer play for Inter. Meanwhile, the rossoneri hope Pato can live up to the expectations created around him since the end of last year. Could he be a new Kaka for the Italians?

Dodo's suspension lifted

2007-08-03T09:06:00.000-04:00

League leaders Botafogo got a huge boost on Thursday, after the Sports Supreme Court agreed to the team's request to review the 120-day suspension for doping of star forward Dodo, which had been ruled on July 24. The court accepted the team's appeal, which was based on an analysis showing that the player had been given caffeine pills by the team's medical staff - which had been accidentally contaminated by an illegal substance. The authorities were not able to determine who was responsible for such contamination, but accepted the argument that neither the player nor the team were aware of the presence of an illegal substance in the pills. With this decision, the forward can return immediately to the team, and may even start next match, against Parana, on Sunday.

Vasco gets important road win

2007-08-02T10:06:00.000-04:00

Vasco reached third place in the standings with an impressive 2-0 road win over Internacional on Wednesday. It was only the second road win of the season for the team from Rio de Janeiro, which had also lost five times and tied once away from home. Inter lost for the second time in seven matches, and fell eight points back from leaders Botafogo. The locals created a few chances and could have opened the score in the first half, but it was Vasco that took advantage of the opportunities that appeared near the end of the opening 45 minutes. Alan Kardec and Amaral scored for the visitors, who only had to sit back and administer the two-goal advantage in the second half to reach 26 points.

Botafogo jumped to 31 points to remain at the top of the table with a 4-2 win over America Natal in Cariacica. The leaders had a scare twice when they scored and saw America come back to tie the game. In the end, however, Botafogo showed why the team is in first place and why America is in last, and controlled the final half to score twice and seal the 4-2 win. Ze Roberto was the name of the match, with two goals.

Santos went to Belo Horizonte and recovered from the two straight losses it had suffered in its last two games, beating Atletico Mineiro 2-1. Kleber set up Marcos Aurelio in the first half and Kleber Pereira in the second to score the goals for the visitors, while Danilinho had Atletico's lone goal. After two wins, Atletico loses the first since coach Zetti was fired, and fans anxiously wait to see how the team will react to the first loss under Emerson Leao.

Corinthians' winless streak reached 10 games, after a 2-2 draw on the road against Atletico Paranaense. The locals scored first in the final minute of the first half, but Corinthians was able to come back in the final 45 minutes with William, who scored twice to give the visitors a short-lived lead. Near the end of the game, Cadu scored an own goal to extend Corinthians personal purgatory.

Goias defeated Parana 2-0 at home, with Paulo Baier scoring once and setting up the other goal. Nautico went back home after defeating Santos on the road and, despite dominating some stretches of the game, was unable to get much going against Fluminense, in a game that ended scoreless.

Palmeiras scored first and looked like it wouldn't have too much problem beating Sport Recife in Sao Paulo. However, the team slowed down and allowed the visitors to score twice for a 2-1 road win. The visitors played with only nine men for the last 17 minutes (the first player had been sent off in the 12th minute, with a second sent of in the 73rd), but Palmeiras was still unable to tie the game. A nice rebound for Sport, which had lost at home to Inter on Sunday, 5-1.

Brazilian players got drunk during the World Cup

2007-08-02T09:32:00.001-04:00

According to an article on the Estado de Sao Paulo newspaper, the president of the Brazilian Footbal Confederation (CBF) admitted some of the players in the National squad were involved in heavy drinking during the 2006 World Cup, played in Germany. Mr. Ricardo Teixeira explained to the newspaper some of the reasons why he thought the team played so poorly during the competition. As the defending world champions and with top players like Ronaldinho Gaucho, Kaka and Robinho on the team, Brazil failed to live up to the high expectations placed on the team.

During an informal talk with the newspaper, Mr. Teixeira allegedly said that some players arrived between 4 and 6am on the team's hotel, completely drunk. He failed to give out any names, but also criticized the atmosphere created around the hotels where the team stayed, with several fans paying $100 just to watch the team train - and training sessions sometimes consisting of players only jogging around the pitch.

He admitted there was a lack of command and discipline, and confessed this was one of the reasons he may have chosen new coach Dunga to replace Carlos Alberto Parreira after the fiasco in Germany. Famous for his strong character on the pitch, the captain of the 1994 World Cup championship team had never coached a team prior to this assignment. Last month he helped Brazil win the Copa America, defeating Argentina 3-0 on the final match.

Brazilian Serie A: round 16 preview

2007-08-01T12:41:00.000-04:00

Seven matches open the 16th round of the Brazilian Serie A football league. Two more games will be played on Thursday, while the last one, between Flamengo and Cruzeiro, was postponed until September 12. Thus, new Flamengo coach Joel Santana will make his debut only on Sunday, against Santos.

Here is a brief preview of the games to be played this midweek:

GOIAS x PARANA
Two teams that until recently were among the top four in the table face each other in Goiania trying to once again prove themselves worthy of respect. Goias will try to rebound from a 4-1 away loss to Vasco on Saturday, and may take advantage of its home field. Parana, 3-1 losers at home to Atletico Mineiro on Sunday, will be happy with a point. The locals will be without its two starting defenders, Leonardo - suspended - and Paulo Henrique - injured. Forward Josiel, with 12 goals in the season, may be playing his last match for Parana, since he's been discussing a possible transfer to France. Defender Luis Henrique comes back from suspension, midfielder Adriano plays for the first time in 45 days and Vinicius Pacheco starts in attack alongside Josiel.

NAUTICO x FLUMINENSE
Not even the most optimist Nautico fan could have hoped for the result the team achieved on the weekend, when it went to the famed Vila Belmiro Stadium and defeated Santos 2-1, in a way vindicating the 2-0 home loss to Gremio in the previous match. The team returns to Recife on Wednesday to face Fluminense, which only tied Figueirense 1-1 on Sunday. Midfielder Fabinho and right-back Carlinhos are out injured for the visitors. Forward Ferreira and midfielder Radames are out suspended for Nautico.

PALMEIRAS x SPORT
After being embarrassed on a 5-1 home loss to Internacional on Sunday, Sport welcomes the trip to Sao Paulo to face Palmeiras. Unfortunately they face a good Palmeiras team that is tough to beat in Sao Paulo. Coach Caio Junior opted to rest forward Edmundo for this game, with Luis and Luiz Alberto starting in attack for Palmeiras. For Sport, a complete revamping was in order after the humiliating loss to Inter. Coach Geninho may change up to nine players - four due to supension - and the tactical formation in order to try to guarantee at least a point on the road.

BOTAFOGO x AMERICA NATAL
After falling 3-2 on the road to Cruzeiro and seeing Sao Paulo join it at the top of the standings, Botafogo has a golden chance to recover some of its pride on Wednesday, when it hosts last place America Natal. America is coming off a 1-0 loss to Sao Paulo at home, having won only once in its last five games. Botafogo goalkeeper Julio Cesar has lost the starting job to Max, with a new goalkeeper coach making his debut after former coach Acacio was fired following the 3-2 loss to Cruzeiro. Luciano Almeida and Jorge Henrique are out with injuries for the locals. America has the return of two players that did not face Sao Paulo in the 1-0 loss at home on Sunday. Ney Santos and Arlon return, while Adaozinho may make his debut in midfield. Defender Edson Borges is out suspended.

ATLETICO PARANAENSE x CORINTHIANS
Despite a great 1-1 away draw at Gremio on the weekend, Atletico had a significant loss in its last game, when forward Alex Mineiro had to leave the pitch with a broken nose. He was submitted to a surgical procedure following the game to fix the problem, and will remain sidelined for three months. Evandro also had to leave the match when he suffered an elbow hit to the mouth, losing a couple of teeth. To make matters worse, defensive midfielder Alan Bahia was involved in a traffic accident on Sunday, being sent to hospital with minor cuts and bruises. Former Atletico player Alex Miranda, who was without a contract, was killed on the accident. Midfielder Claiton and left-back Edno are also out, suspended, while right-back Jancarlos is out with an injury. Corinthians, on the other hand, keeps surviving, gaining just enough points to remain out of the relegation zone. Winless in nine games, the team must do better than that to stay in the Serie A next year though. Defensive midfielder Bruno Octavio is suspended. Forward Everton Santos returns from a shoulder injury and replaces Wilson.

ATLETICO MINEIRO x SANTOS
Atletico has won twice in two games since coach Zetti left the team. This Wednesday it faces Santos, which is still trying to understand how it could lose to Nautico at home on Saturday. Midfielder Pedrinho is out for the visitors, which may force coach Wanderley Luxemburgo to adopt a more defensive formation, with defender Marcelo replacing him. Defensive midfielder Adriano is also out, suspended. For Atletico, Coelho and Rafael Miranda return from suspension.

INTERNACIONAL x VASCO
Internacional had a strong game in a 5-1 away win over Sport Recife on Sunday, but Vasco has been showing lately that it will try as hard as it can to battle for the title. The team has been performing better at home than on the road, but it nevertheless should give Inter a very tough time in this that may be considered the best game of this round. Both teams have 23 points, and must win to keep pace with leaders Sao Paulo and Botafogo, five points ahead. The only change for Vasco is in midfield, where Roberto Lopes replaces suspended Amaral. With five wins in its last six matches, Inter will have the return of Alexandre Pato, who missed the last game. Marcao, suspended, is out.

FIGUEIRENSE x GREMIO
Figueirense slowly tries to move away from near the bottom of the table and closer to the top, but its inconsistency during the season has kept the team in a mid-table position for most of the year. In the last four games, the team has managed only two draws, with two losses. On Thursday it will host third place Gremio, which will try to recover from a blown opportunity to close in on the leaders, after a 1-1 home draw to Atletico Paranaense. The visitors are unbeaten in nine matches, but haven't defeated Figueirense in Florianopolis in the last 5 years. Gremio will be without defender Schiavi, sold to Argentina's Newell's Old Boys, suspended midfielder Gavilan and injured forward Tuta. Sandro Goiano may return to midfield after taking part in training sessions this week. Defender Felipe Santana and midfielder Diogo return from suspension, but forward Otacilio Neto is out after accumulating three yellow cards.

SAO PAULO x JUVENTUDE
By the time this game is played, on Thursday, Sao Paulo may no longer be tied at the top of the standings, since co-leaders Botafogo play at home one day earlier against last place America Natal. But this doesn't mean the defending champions don't have a moral obligation to win this game, against a team that is also in the relegation zone. Juventude has been playing a little bit better of late at home, but definitely not so on the road. Having won three straight games, Sao Paulo will be without injured defender Andre Dias, who will be replaced by Alex Silva. Forwards Dagoberto and Aloisio are still out with injuries, and Jorge Wagner is suspended. Juventude has a new coach for this match, Claudio Duarte. He has already told the press he'll make several changes in the way the team plays, trying to lift Juventude out of the relegation zone. For this match he'll likely adopt a defensive approach, trying to take advantage of mistakes by Sao Paulo to create chances in counterattacks. Left-back Marcio Azevedo returns to the team, but will play in midfield. Midfielder Maraba, who had been playing supporting the attack, will move back to his original position as a defensive midfielder. Midfielder William and forward Michel have been cleared my the medical staff and could return if the coach wishes to use them.

Sao Paulo joins Botafogo atop the standings

2007-07-30T11:26:00.001-04:00

Defending champions Sao Paulo defeated America Natal 1-0 on the road this Sunday, and joined Botafogo in the lead of the 2007 Brazilian Serie A football league. The new co-leaders benefitted from Botafogo's loss to Cruzeiro (2-3) at the Mineirao Stadium in Belo Horizonte. With these results, both teams are tied at 28 points, with Botafogo having one game in hand.

In Natal, Sao Paulo didn't play well, just well enough to defeat last place America. The locals, despite playing at home, took a very defensive stand and preferred to rely on counterattacks. With goalkeeper Rogerio Ceni saving his team when needed, Sao Paulo managed to score a goal off a corner kick in the first half, with Richarlysson. America pushed forward in the second half, but was still unable to create many opportunities to tie the game.

In Belo Horizonte, Cruzeiro and Botafogo scored five times in the second half, after a scoreless opening 45 minutes. Guilherme scored twice and Wagner scored for the locals, with Andre Lima and Renato Silva scoring for Botafogo. Despite the loss, the team from Rio still leads thanks to a better goal differential than Sao Paulo. The win lifted Cruzeiro to fifth place, with 23 points.

In other results, Santos was surprised at home by Nautico, losing 2-1. Third place Gremio missed a great chance to be within one point of the leaders, tying Atletico Paranaense 1-1 at home. Vasco did not waste its home field advantage though, and defeated Goias 4-1 to reach fourth place in the standings.

Internacional had one of its best games of the season, going to Recife and humiliating Sport, 5-1. The two most popular teams in the country, Corinthians and Flamengo, played to a 2-2 tie in Sao Paulo, a result that cost Flamengo's coach Ney Franco his job (the team is still in the relegation zone). Juventude and Palmeiras played a match that lacked many emotions in a cold afternoon in Caxias do Sul, and which ended 1-1. Parana's inconsistent play continued, with a 3-1 home loss to Atletico Mineiro, Atletico's second win in a row and first under new coach Emerson Leao. And Fluminense, still unable to play in Rio due to the Pan American Games, went to Brasilia to host Figueirense, in a game that ended tied 1-1.

Serie B reaches 15th round

2007-07-27T15:33:00.000-04:00

Three games open the 15th round of the Brazilian Serie B on Friday.

Sixth place Gama tries to return to the top four when it hosts Portuguesa in Brasilia. The team lost its two last matches, on the road, and hopes to recover now that it's returning home. Portuguesa will also try to surprise Gama here, since a win will also temporarily put the team from Sao Paulo into the top four. Both teams currently have 21 points.

Ponte Preta and Ipatinga, slightly below on the standings, will battle in Campinas to gain ground on the leaders. Ponte has 18 points, against Ipatinga's 19. The locals failed to get a point in two straight road games, while Ipatinga had a win and a draw in two matches at home.

Finally, leaders Criciuma go to Santo Andre to face Santo Andre, hoping to get at least a point to keep a safe margin ahead of second place Coritiba. The locals, on the other hand, try to continue its recovery to remain out of the relegation zone - currently the team has 15 points, just one more than 17th place Remo.

Remo will host fourth place Marilia on Saturday, hoping to win to breathe a little easier. Another team in the relegation zone, Santa Cruz, will have a tougher time when it travels to Santa Catarina to face Avai, currently in 14th. Santa Cruz, relegated last year from the Serie A, continues to struggle, having tied its last two games, at home. Paulista, in second last, also has a long way to travel, all the way to Fortaleza to play 15th place Ceara. And dead last Ituano hosts third place Brasiliense, which is coming off a great 6-0 win over Vitoria at home.

Vitoria's schedule doesn't get that much easier, as the team travels back home but has to face second place Coritiba, unbeaten in three games. A win can still put the team back in the top four, so not all hope is lost yet, despite the lopsided loss on Tuesday.

Gremio Barueri, with the same 21 points as Vitoria, hosts Fortaleza, with 20 points. Sao Caetano also has 20 points, and will travel to Maceio to face CRB, with 18 points. The locals return home after two road draws, while Sao Caetano had a win and a loss in a two-game homestand.

Three matches on Thursday

2007-07-26T12:43:00.000-04:00

Three matches complete the 14th round of the Brazilian Serie A football league on Thursday.

SAO PAULO-SPORT
Trailing the league leaders by three points, Sao Paulo will try to regain second place in the standings when it hosts Sport tonight at the Morumbi Stadium. The defending champions have been quite inconsistent lately, but hope that Sunday's 2-1 away win against Cruzeiro is the start to a more stable period that can push the team in its quest towards a fifth National title. Sport is not the team that started the season among the worst in the league though, having improved significantly over the last few weeks. The team has one draw - against leaders Botafogo at home - and two wins - including a 1-0 away win over Figueirense - in its last two games. Sport, which has lost all 10 games it has ever played against Sao Paulo at the Morumbi Stadium, hopes to have the debut of midfielder Adriano Gabiru. Gustavo replaces Du Lopes on defense, while Weldon joins the attack in place of Washington. With an injury to defender Alex Silva and his defense partner Breno being suspended, coach Muricy Ramalho will likely change Sao Paulo's formation. He may include three defensive midfielders: Hernanes, Richarlyson and Josue - returning from suspension. Reasco replaces Ilsinho - who is being sold to Ukraine's Shakhtar Donetsk - as right-back.

ATLETICO MINEIRO-FLUMINENSE
After an embarrassing 4-0 road loss to Vasco last Saturday, Atletico Mineiro fired coach Zetti and hired controversial Emerson Leao, who will still watch from the sidelines while Marcelo Oliveira, the coach from the team's U-20 squad, sits on the bench. The team hopes the change can have an immediate effect on the pitch, but it will have a difficult time against an emerging Fluminense side, coming off good victories over Sao Paulo and Goias. The team coached by Renato Gaucho hasn't lost on the road since May 20, when it lost to Gremio in the 2nd round of the season. Right-back Carlinhos will not play for the visitors, due to an injury. Goalkeeper Diego has been sold to Spain's Almeria and will be replaced by Edson. Lima is suspended, being replaced by Leandro Almeida on defense. Coelho returns to the left-back position.

BOTAFOGO-JUVENTUDE
After learning it will be without top forward Dodo for 120 days due to a suspension for doping, Botafogo faces Juventude in Rio de Janeiro with closed gates. The team was punished after a cup of water was thrown on the field during the derby against Fluminense, and thus the public will not be allowed in for tonight's game. Juventude recovered from a 4-0 loss to Atletico Paranaense by beating Internacional 2-0 at home last Saturday. The team must win to once again climb out of the relegation zone. The locals will be without midfielder Ze Roberto, punished for missing a training session on Tuesday and being spotted in another city while he was supposed to be home recovering from the flu. Maraba and Luciano played well coming from the bench against Inter and will start for Juventude, which will be without right-back Barao, suspended.

Gremio jumps to second place

2007-07-26T08:03:00.000-04:00

Gremio likes playing at the Aflitos Stadium in Recife. Two years ago, the stadium was the venue for one of the most fantastic matches ever played by the team, which heroically battled on with just eight players to guarantee a win over Nautico that granted the team the promotion to the following year's Serie A. Yesterday, after Nautico had to wait an extra year to join Gremio in the Brazilian football elite, both teams faced each other again for the first time in the same venue of that historical night. The end result was the same, a win by Gremio, even if not in as dramatic fashion. Playing a defensive style, the visitors took advantage of counter-attacks to get the 2-0 win, with Tuta scoring in the first half and Carlos Eduardo in the second. The result puts Gremio in second place, with 24 points. Nautico is tied for last with America with just 10 points in 14 games.

America Natal ended up losing to Flamengo on the road (1-3) to drop one spot to the bottom of the table. Flamengo now has 11 points in 11 maches, with the win over America being only the team's second of the season. At least Flamengo fans were able to celebrate the third goal, scored by Obina, who's still recovering his fitness after being out for a couple of months due to an injury.

Meanwhile, Santos went to Goiania and lost its four-game unbeaten streak, falling to Goias by 1-0 on a goal by Welliton. The locals climbed back to third in the standings, with 23 points, while Santos remains with 18 points, good for 12th in the standings. Atletico Paranaense tied Cruzeiro at home (2-2), with the visitors scoring in injury time of the second half.

This was the same result of the Figueirense against Corinthians game, in Florianopolis. The locals lost several chances to end the game early, always stopping on great saves by goalkeeper Felipe. Corinthians took advantage of the few chances it created and escaped with a very good away draw. Internacional once again took advantage of the play of Alexandre Pato, scoring a 1-0 win at home over Parana to reach 20 points, 9th in the standings.

But the most entertaining match of the evening was reserved to the Parque Antarctica Stadium in Sao Paulo, where visitors Vasco jumped to an early 2-0 lead in the first half, just to see Palmeiras come back to win 3-2. The locals scored twice in the final 10 minutes, despite the fact they had been playing one man short since the 65th minute. The result prevented Vasco from reaching fourth place in the standings, instead providing Palmeiras with the chance to get past Vasco and move into 6th in the standings.

Brazilian Serie A - 14th round

2007-07-25T15:26:00.000-04:00

Seven games open the 14th round of the Brazilian Serie A on Wednesday, with three games left for Thursday.

Here's a preview of tonight's games:

ATLETICO PARANAENSE-CRUZEIRO
Cruzeiro travels to Curitiba trying to overcome last Sunday's 2-1 home defeat to Sao Paulo. Atletico, on the other hand, hopes that home field advantage will give the team the energy it lacked in a road loss to America Natal on Saturday, the first points gained by America at home this season. Defender Danilo returns from a two-game suspension for Atletico, while midfielder Valencia has been ruled fit to play by the medical staff. Right-back Nei also returns, replacing injured Jancarlos. Three players are out for Cruzeiro. Midfielder Charles and forward Roni are suspended, and midfielder Leandro Domingues is injured.

GOIAS-SANTOS
After a long stay among the top four, Goias is slowly starting to fall from the leading block in the standings. After a draw at home and two road losses in its last three games (including a 3-0 loss to Fluminense on Sunday), the team has fallen from second to sixth in the table. Santos is moving in the opposite direction, having won three and tied one game in its last four matches. Right-back Alessandro and midfielder Maldonado are out with injuries for Santos. Goias will have the return of several important players from injury or suspension: Paulo Baier, Elson and Leonardo, as well as Fabricio Carvalho and Vitor.

NAUTICO-GREMIO
The locals are coming off an excellent 3-0 road win over Corinthians on Sunday, while Gremio managed to keep its efficient play intact in a 1-0 win at home over Flamengo to reach fourth in the standings. This is a re-enactment of the classic 2005 battle of the Aflitos Stadium, when Gremio heroically won a match against Nautico on the road in the last day of the season to earn promotion to the Serie A. The team from Recife would need to wait another year to leave the Serie B. Defender Onildo is out with an injury for the locals. For Gremio, defender Schiavi is suspended.

FLAMENGO-AMERICA NATAL
The match of the desperate features last place Flamengo against second last America Natal. Flamengo is coming off two straight losses, but still has three games in hand in comparison to most other teams. If the team doesn't start winning again soon, these three games won't matter much though. America finally won some points on home ground with a 2-1 win over Atletico Paranaense, but now returns to the road for a very difficult game against a determined team. The locals - who will play away from Rio one more time, due to the ongoing Pan American Games - have only one change in relation to the team that lost to Gremio on Sunday, with forward Obina, a fan favourite, replacing Souza, who was sent off in that game. America will be without suspended left-back Marcio Goiano, forward Nunes, who was sold to a foreign team, and injured defender Cris.

PALMEIRAS-VASCO
Both teams are just outside the Copa Libertadores qualification zone, and know that all remaining matches can play a crucial part in determining the final standings at the end of the year. Vasco defeated Atletico Mineiro 4-0 at home on the weekend, and hopes to carry some momentum into the road to face Palmeiras, which lost for the first time in six games when it travelled to Curitiba and was defeated by Parana (0-1) on Sunday. Defender Dininho was sent off against Parana and will not be able to play for Palmeiras. Max trades places with Luiz Henrique on attack, starting the match while his teamate goes to the bench. Vasco won only once on the road this season, remaining unbeaten at home. Defender Dudar is out injured for Vasco.

FIGUEIRENSE-CORINTHIANS
Corinthians coach Paulo Cesar Carpegiani knows that his days ahead of the team are numbered if he is to lose again. His team fell to the relegation zone after losing 3-0 at home to Nautico on the weekend. This Wednesday's opponent, Figueirense, is a lot tougher than Nautico, and also desperately needs to win again to regain lost ground after two straight losses. Carpegiani will likely change the attack, which has had trouble scoring recently, and forward Finazzi will be left out of the team. Left back Marcelo Oliveira is suspended, while midfielder Rosinei is injured. Figueirense will be without forward Victor Simoes, sold to a South Korean team, and defensive midfielder Henrique, suspended. Carlinhos and Fernandes are out injured, but defender Chicao can return after being nearly one month away from the team since pulling a muscle.

INTERNACIONAL-PARANA
Inter had its three-game winning streak snapped in the regional derby against Juventude last weekend, while Parana shows signs of recovery after two straight wins lifted the team back into the top four. For Inter, defender Sidnei leaves the team injured, being replaced by left back Hidalgo. Defender Marcao, who had been playing as the left back, moves back into his natural position. Forward Iarley returns from suspension and will likely replace Christian alongside young sensation Alexandre Pato in attack. Defender Neguette is suspended for Parana, while goalkeeper Flavio and defender Daniel Marques are still out injured.

Three games complete the round tomorrow, with leaders Botafogo hosting Juventude, red-hot Fluminense going to Belo Horizonte to face Atletico Mineiro (under new coach Emerson Leao, who replaced fired Zetti), and second place Sao Paulo trying to make the most of its home game against Sport.

Brazilian Serie A: round 13 preview

2007-07-21T13:58:00.000-04:00

Three games open the 13th round of the Brazilian Serie A football
league on Saturday, with seven other matches played on Sunday.

Here's a preview of the games this weekend:

VASCO x ATLETICO MINEIRO
Since its match with Botafogo for the 12th round had already been played last month, Vasco did not play during the week. The team hopes the full week of rest will allow the players to be at their best against Atletico Mineiro, which is coming off a good 4-1 win at home over America Natal. The visitors have struggled on the road, winning only one game away from Belo Horizonte all season long. Vasco will be without suspended left-back Guilherme. Atletico will have the return of midfielders Danilinho, Bilu and Eder Luis. Rafael Miranda is still questionable.

AMERICA NATAL x ATLETICO PARANAENSE
America keeps trying to get its first point at home in the season. This Saturday, it plays a determined Atletico team which beat Juventude 4-0 at home on Wednesday, ending a two-game goaless streak. Four regulars are missing for the locals. Midfielders Marcos Alexandre, Leandro Sena, Celio and forward Frontini are suspended. For the visitors, defender Danilo is out suspended. New arrival Claiton, who was with Flamengo, may make his debut.

JUVENTUDE x INTERNACIONAL
Juventude is surely happy to be back home, after being trounced by Atletico Paranaense in Curitiba 4-0. But things don't look very bright for the team from Rio Grande do Sul, which will face a Internacional team coming off three straight wins. Coach Flavio Campos may lose his job if Juventude loses, and this will certainly put some extra pressure on the locals. Iarley is out suspended for Inter, but midfielder Alex may return from injury. Fabio Baiano may make his debut for Juventude, which will also have the return of defender Leonardo Silva and Eber, who were suspended.

GREMIO x FLAMENGO
After playing its traditional cautious away game on Thursday against Goias, Gremio returns to Porto Alegre trying to regain momentum and keep moving up in the standings. It will face a Flamengo team that is starting to feel a little desperate, after losing to Parana 2-1 and not managing to escape the relegation zone. The team still has three games in hand in comparison to its closest competitors though. Defensive midfielder Diego Souza is out suspended for Gremio, but forward Tuta may return from injury after being out for more than a month. Gavilan returns from suspension, while Ramon and Amoroso are also available. Flamengo will try to recover from a 13-hour trip from Uberlandia to Porto Alegre on Friday, and will likely field the same team that started against Parana.

FLUMINENSE x GOIAS
The team coached by Renato Gaucho did extremely well on Wednesday, going to the Morumbi Stadium and beating third place Sao Paulo 1-0. Unable to play in Rio, the team hosts second place Goias in neutral Cariacica on Sunday, trying to do just as well to gain more positions in the standings. Gaucho has not informed if his team will use a 3-6-1 or 4-4-2 formation. Forward Fabricio Carvalho is out suspended for Goias.

CORINTHIANS x NAUTICO
Still worried about its crisis off the field, Corinthians hosts last place Nautico in Sao Paulo on Sunday. The locals haven't won in six games, but the visitors are even worse, managing just four draws and six losses in their last ten. Maybe a tie would extend the misery for both sides? Forward Everton Santos is out injured for Corinthians, while defensive midfielder Ricardinho will make his debut, replacing Bruno Octavio. Right-back Pedro returns after serving a one-game suspension. Forward Kuki, disappointed with the criticism he's been receiving from fans, asked for and was granted a leave by Nautico, and won't play. Marcelinho is out injured, while goalkeeper Eduardo and midfielder Daniel Sobralense, despite still feeling some pain from persisting injuries, will likely play.

CRUZEIRO x SAO PAULO
Cruzeiro has been playing well since the team lost to Santos on the road three games ago. It has beaten Goias 2-1 at home and Nautico 4-1 on the road. It now faces the defending champions Sao Paulo, a shadow of the team it was for the past two seasons. With just 9 goals scored in 12 matches, Sao Paulo must turn its attack on soon or risk losing valuable ground in the title race. Despite its problems, the team is still in fourth place, tied with Cruzeiro, currently in third. The visitors will be without forwards Aloisio and Dagoberto, injured, while their substitute Marcel has been sold to Gremio. Borges or Leandro may play alongside Diego Tardelli in the attack. Josue is out suspended, but Jorge Wagner and Alex Silva may return from injuries. After playing the same starting lineup for two consecutive games, coach Dorival Junior will have to make at least one change in the Cruzeiro team, after Wagner was sent off against Nautico and is suspended for this game. Defender Luizao, who was with the Brazilian Under-20 team that played the U-20 World Cup in Canada, has been sold to a Swiss team and is also out.

SPORT x BOTAFOGO
Sport surprised Figueirense on the road on Wednesday, scoring a 1-0 win - its fourth victory in its past five games. Going back to Recife on Sunday, it hosts leaders Botafogo, which is still trying to determine whether last week's defeat at the hands of Santos was an accident or the start of a decline from the league lead. Defender Juninho, midfielder Tulio and forward Dodo are suspended, while midfielder Ze Roberto is out with the flu. The locals will be without midfielders Everton and Bia. Defender Igor, midfielder Adriano and wing Diogo are questionable. Midfielder Romerito returns from suspension.

SANTOS x FIGUEIRENSE
Santos lost its bid for a third straight win in injury time of the derby against Palmeiras on Thursday, but coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo was happy with what he saw. Going back to the Vila Belmiro this weekend, he knows the team must beat Figueirense to keep its title hopes alive. After a poor start to the season, the team is still nine points back of Botafogo. Midfielder Vitor Junior is out suspended, while Maldonado is still out injured for Santos. Midfielder Dionisio returns and forward Kleber Pereira may appear in the starting lineup, though. Figueirense will likely keep the same team that lost to Sport 1-0.

PARANA x PALMEIRAS
Parana got a good 2-1 away win over Flamengo to recover from recent defeats to lower-placed teams at home. Going back to Curitiba, it hopes it can continue its recovery against Palmeiras, which barely managed to tie the derby against Santos on Thursday to get to 19 points - good for 6th place but the same number of points as fifth place Parana, Sao Paulo and Cruzeiro. Midfielder Vinicius Pacheco is out suspended, with defender Daniel Marques and midfielder Adriano injured. Edmundo, who returned to the team against Santos but started from the bench, may begin this match.

Vitoria tries to close gap against Criciuma

2007-07-20T15:13:00.001-04:00

After two matches on Tuesday to open the 13th round, the Brazilian Serie B football league continues with two games this Friday and six on Saturday. The most anticipated game of this round is the one that pits leaders Criciuma against second place Vitoria, in Santa Catarina. The visitors try to close a five-point gap to the leaders, while staying among the top four on the table. Criciuma is happy to be back home after a 3-2 away loss to Ponte Preta in its last game. Vitoria just hopes it can perform as well on the road as it did the last time it played at home, when it beat Fortaleza 6-0.

On Friday, seventh place Brasiliense take on ninth place Ponte Preta, trying to temporarily move into second position with a win. The locals have 19 points, two less than second place Vitoria and third place Gama. The other game on Friday puts Sao Caetano against Avai, in a game featuring two mid-table teams.

On Saturday, in addition to Criciuma and Vitoria, fourth place Coritiba hosts Gremio Barueri. Both teams are tied at 20 points, but the locals have one more win and thus are awarded the better position in the standings. Santa Cruz tries to turn its season around to avoid relegation, as it hosts Remo in a battle of two desperate teams currently in the bottom four. Second last Ituano also has a matchup against another desperate team, Fortaleza, which is just out of the relegation zone, with 14 points - good for 16th place.

Marilia, which lost six points due to irregularly fielded players, continues playing well nevertheless, and can move into the top four with a win over Ceara at home. Finally, last place Paulista hopes to take advantage of playing at home to beat third place Gama.

Last minute goal saves Palmeiras

2007-07-19T22:57:00.000-04:00

Palmeiras gained a point in a 2-2 tie with Santos on Thursday, scoring the tying goal in the last minute of play to keep alive a five-game unbeaten streak. Santos opened the score with Kleber - returning from a stunt with the Brazilian National Team - in the 11th minute. Nen tied the game for Palmeiras eight minutes later, but Pedrinho put Santos back on the lead with a goal in injury time of the first half. Palmeiras pushed forward in the second half, allowing for dangerous counterattacks by Santos. In the last play of the game, the ball was shot to the penalty box, where Martinez deflected it with a header and hit Rodrigo Souto, who ended up scoring an own goal.

In Uberlandia, Parana won for the first time in five games, beating Flamengo 2-1. Josiel scored twice in two minutes (in the 28th and 30th minutes) to put Parana up ahead, while Leo Medeiros gave Flamengo some hope with a goal in the 36th minute. In the end, however, Parana managed to hold on to the lead to leave Flamengo with eight points in nine matches, still in the relegation zone. Parana reached fifth place in the standings, with 19 points.

Finally, second place Goias played to a scoreless tie against Gremio in Goiania, in a poor match with very few chances created by both sides. Goias now trails Botafogo by four points, but the leaders have one game in hand.

Three games tonight

2007-07-19T13:52:00.001-04:00

The 12th round of the 2007 Brazilian Serie A football league will be closed tonight, with three games:

GOIAS x GREMIO
Gremio tries to focus on the match after nearly being killed in a plane accident on Tuesday. Goias can get within two points of leaders Botafogo with a win, while Gremio can gain second place from Goias and move within four of the leaders. Goias' coach Bonamigo - a former Gremio player - will be without midfielder Cleber Gaucho (suspended), while Paulo Baier (pink eye) is likely going to play. Left-back Lucio was sold to Hertha Berlin and will not play for Gremio, while defensive midfielder Gavilan is also out for the visitors, suspended. 18-year-old left-back Anderson Pico could play in midfield alongside captain Tcheco, who returns after being out since the Copa Libertadores final. And forward Carlos Eduardo, who was with the Brazilian Under-20 team, will start the match.

FLAMENGO x PARANA
Due to the Pan-American Games currently underway in Rio de Janeiro, Flamengo has played only eight games against most team's eleven. Due to this discrepancy, the traditional team finds itself in the relegation zone, with just eight points. The Games will also force this match to be played away from Rio, in neutral Uberlandia. Right-back Leonardo Moura and left-back Juan return to the team, alongside midfielder Renato Augusto and goalkeeper Bruno. But defenders Ronaldo Angelim and Irineu are suspended, and Thiago and Rodrigo Arroz will play instead, the first time they play together. Forward Obina, who hasn't played in several months, will start on the bench, and may be an option for the second half. Parana will make three changes in relation to the team that lost to Figueirense (1-2) on the weekend. Defender Nem will replace injured Daniel Marques, with Luiz Henrique joining the defense in place of Joao Paulo and Alex returning to the right-back position, instead of Parral.

PALMEIRAS x SANTOS
After two impressive wins (4-1 over Cruzeiro and 3-0 over Botafogo), Santos travels to Sao Paulo trying to surprise arch-rivals Palmeiras, in a Sao Paulo State derby to be played at the Parque Antarctica Stadium. Palmeiras is unbeaten in four games, but hasn't defeated Santos in its last five tries. A win tonight can take the team to second place in the standings, depending on the result of the Goias and Gremio game. Forward Kleber Pereira makes his debut for Santos, which will also have Kleber back from the Brazilian National Team that won the Copa America. Defender Adailton leaves the starting lineup, while Domingos continues to impress coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo. Midfielders Maldonado (injured) and Dionisio (suspended) are out. Defensive midfielder Valdivia also returns to Palmeiras after playing for Chile in the continental competition. Martinez also returns from suspension, while Deyvid is out with muscle pain. Forward Edmundo, who has missed the last four games with an injury, will likely start from the bench. Coach Caio Junior has yet to decide if the team will start the game with two or three central defenders.

The Pato show

2007-07-19T09:56:00.000-04:00

Internacional fans surely missed Alexandre Pato. The young star, who was away with the Brazilian Under-20 team for most of the past month, returned to Inter's starting eleven in top form this Wednesday, at the Beira-Rio Stadium, in Porto Alegre. With two goals and one assist, Pato helped dismantle Corinthians in the second half of a game Inter won 3-0. The locals won their third straight game to jump to eighth place in the standings, with 17 points. It wasn't that long ago that the team had been dangerously close to the relegation zone, raising concerns among the faithful red. These concerns must now surely rest with the fans of Corinthians, winless in six matches and down to the 16th place in the standings with 14 points, just one position out of the relegation zone.

Before the start of the game, fans paid one minute of silence in respect to the victims of the accident with an airplane that was going from Porto Alegre to Sao Paulo on Tuesday. Nearly 200 people, many from Porto Alegre - and including one former Internacional president -, died on the crash at the Congonhas Airport in Sao Paulo. Despite the mourning, both teams quickly pushed forward after kickoff. The game started on a frantic pace, with teams alternating scoring chances. At the end of 45 minutes, however, the game was still scoreless. The first goal was scored only in the 61st minute, when Pato took a penalty kick suffered by Iarley. He would also score the second goal for the locals, in the 80th minute, with a strong shot from just inside the penalty box. Adriano scored in the last minute after another play by Alexandre Pato, to give Inter the final 3-0 score.

Meanwhile, Sao Paulo keeps wasting opportunities to close on the league leaders, Botafogo. Playing against Fluminense at the Morumbi Stadium, the team once again failed to score, having only nine goals in 12 matches this season. Even worse, it lost the game 1-0 and thus ended a 23-year unbeaten streak against the rival at the Morumbi Stadium. Fluminense seems to have learned from Brazil's success at the Copa America, as coach Renato Gaucho simply positioned his team to not allow any spaces to be taken advantage of by the locals. The strong marking system worked, and Sao Paulo failed to create many chances during the game. The visitors also took advantage of one of the few chances they had themselves, and scored on a penalty kick awarded in the 53rd minute.

And Sao Paulo's life will not get any easier. On the weekend they travel to Belo Horizonte to face a reinvigorated Cruzeiro team, coming off two good wins. After beating second place Goias last Saturday (2-1), the team coached by Dorival Junior came from behind to soundly beat Nautico on Wednesday, 4-1. Nautico opened the score in the second minute, but Cruzeiro tied the game ten minutes later, coming back in the second half to score three more times. It was a good psychological win for the team as well, after losing its two previous road games (to Figueirense and Santos). The win lifted Cruzeiro to third place in the standings, past Sao Paulo, with 19 points. Meanwhile, Nautico continues in last place with seven points, having lost six games and tied four in its last ten matches.

Another team from the Brazilian Northeast is also in trouble deep in the standings, joining Nautico at the bottom of the table. America Natal went to Belo Horizonte and also lost by a 4-1 score, to Cruzeiro's archrivals Atletico Mineiro. Atletico scored the two first goals in 20 minutes, and after America scored one shortly thereafter, the local team was still able to answer with the third goal before the first half was over. Not many chances were created in the second half, and the fourth Atletico goal only came five minutes from the end of regulation. The win was important for the locals, who now have 16 points and are five points clear of Juventude, the last team in the relegation zone.

Juventude didn't do itself any favours on Wednesday, going to Curitiba and losing 4-0 to Atletico Paranaense. Atletico, which had been held scoreless in its last two games, welcomed the return of its top scorer, Alex Mineiro, who had missed these two games. And he was quick to make himself noticed, scoring on a penalty kick in the 7th minute to open the score. The other goals would come only in the second half.

Finally, Sport surprised everyone with a road win over Figueirense in Santa Catarina. In a poor game with few scoring chances and low technical quality, the visitors were lucky to score a goal in the 88th minute, with Carlinhos Bala. Figueirense lost a chance to climb to second in the standings, while Sport reached sixth place.

Three games close out the 12th round on Thursday. Goias hosts Gremio at the Serra Dourada Stadium in Goiania. Santos travels to Sao Paulo to face Palmeiras, while Flamengo and Parana play on neutral grounds in Uberlandia, since Flamengo is unable to host its games in Rio during the ongoing Pan-American Games.

Brazilian Serie A - 12th round preview

2007-07-18T13:09:00.000-04:00

Six games on Wednesday and three on Thursday complete the 12th round of the 2007 Brazilian Serie A football league. The first match of this round was played more than a month ago, when Botafogo beat Vasco 4-0 in an anticipated match rescheduled because of the ongoing Pan-American games in Rio de Janeiro.

Here's a preview for Wednesday's matches:

INTER x CORINTHIANS
Inter goes back home after defeating Nautico on the weekend in Recife. Mourning the death of former president Paulo Amoretty in the TAM airplane crashed that killed 200 people on Tuesday, the locals have a chance to get closer to the top of the standings, against a Corinthians team that hasn't won in five games, but which is also coming a decent performance in a 1-1 tie with Sao Paulo on the weekend. Defensive midfielder Bruno Otavio is questionable for the visitors. Alexandre Pato returns to Inter's starting lineup after taking part on the U-20 Fifa World Cup in Canada. Defender Indio, who was suspended for the last game, also returns.

SAO PAULO x FLUMINENSE
Sao Paulo will try to move closer to Botafogo, facing a tough team in Brazilian Cup champions Fluminense at the Morumbi Stadium. Without conceding too many goals, the team must find a way to score more if it wants to remain among the top teams in the standings. In its past three matches, the team has scored only two goals, managing a win and two ties. So a 1-0 win for the locals would not be too surprising, especially given the fact they haven't lost to Fluminense at home in the last 23 years. Defender Alex Silva, who returned to the team after the Copa America, is out with a shoulder injury, together with forward Aloisio and Jorge Wagner. Josue is also back from the Brazilian National team, while midfielder Hugo returns from a three-game suspension. Coach Renato Gaucho, on the other hand, hasn't confirmed which team will start against Sao Paulo, but it's possible he'll adopt a 3-6-1 formation during the game.

NAUTICO x CRUZEIRO
Last place Nautico gets another chance at home to start climbing out of the bottom of the standings. It faces an unpredictable Cruzeiro team, which is coming off a good win over second place Goias at home, but which has not been playing well on the road recently. The locals have lost the two last games they played in front of their fans, though. Nautico will be without defender Alysson, who was recently transferred, injured goalkeeper Fabiano and defensive midfielders Vagner Rosa, Daniel Sobralense and Luciano. Daniel Paulista is also out for Nautico, suspended. Cruzeiro will have the same team that beat Goias 2-1 on Saturday, the first time in 43 games that the team fields the same starting lineup in two consecutive matches.

ATLETICO MINEIRO x AMERICA NATAL
Atletico Mineiro has a must win match at home against a team in the relegation zone, America Natal. The locals should be careful not to give appropriate credit to their opponents though, since America has played decently as visitor in the past few games - not at home though, losing all six games it played in Natal. Atletico will change the team in relation to the one that started in the 2-0 loss to Sport on Saturday. Forward Eder Luis and midfielders Bilu and Danilinho are out suspended, while right-back Coelho was removed from the starting eleven in favour of Claudio. For America, right-back Eduardo returns to the team after being sidelined due to a pink eye, while forward Paulo Isidoro, who did not play on the weekend because he was getting married, also returns.

ATLETICO PARANAENSE x JUVENTUDE
Inconsistent Atletico Paranaense hosts a defensive-minded Juventude team that usually provides a tough test to any team facing it. Which Atletico team will show up, the one that beat Palmeiras 2-0 on the road or the one that tied Nautico 1-1 at home? After two away losses in which coach Antonio Lopes had to make some changes due to injury or suspensions, most regulars will be back for this match. Only defensive midfielder Valencia has not been cleared to return yet from injury. The team is confident that the return of its top players, including top scorer Alex Mineiro, will improve the attack, which hasn't scored in its past two games. Juventude will be without forward Michel, injured, and suspended defender Leonardo Silva and forward Eber. Alex Alves is also out with a longer suspension, after failing a doping exam.

FIGUEIRENSE x SPORT
Sport has not been playing well away from home this season, but the team must show the same effort it's shown at home if it is to stay in the Serie A next year. With three wins in its past four games, Sport has climbed out of the relegation zone, where it plans to stay. Tonight it will have a tough time getting three points against a determined Figueirense team, but a point is not out of the question. Figueirense is currently in sixth, one point out of a Libertadores spot among the top four in the standings. Midfielders Carlinhos and Fernandes are out injured for Figueirense, alongside defender Edson and captain Chicao. Right-back Ruy returns to the team after one month. Midfielder Rosembrick is injured and will not play for Sport, the same happening to another midfielder on the team, Adriano. Finally, Romerito, who made his debut for the team on Saturday, is out suspended - he had collected two yellow cards while on Goias earlier this season, and the third on his debut with Sport.

Three games close out the 12th round on Thursday, with Goias hosting Gremio, Flamengo playing in Uberlandia against Parana and Santos going to Sao Paulo to face Palmeiras.

Gremio escapes accident with plane in Sao Paulo

2007-07-17T22:45:00.000-04:00

The Gremio football team was supposed to be aboard the plane that crashed Tuesday evening as it landed in the Congonhas Airport in Sao Paulo. According to team directors, the team changed plans at the last minute, opting to take a different plane en route to Goiania, where it faces Goias on Thursday. TAM flight 3054, an Airbus A320, crashed on a cargo hangar building besides the runway after it failed to stop and slid off the tarmac. It's believed close to 200 people may have died on the accident, including passengers and people who were in the building hit by the plane.

Brazilian Serie B update

2007-07-17T09:29:00.000-04:00

The Brazilian Serie B Football League has had 12 of its 38 rounds played so far, with Criciuma holding the top spot in the standings with 26 points, five more than second place Vitoria and third place Gama. Coritiba comes next with 20 points to round out the top four which would be promoted if the tournament ended today. There's still a long way to go, however, and anything can still happen. Good news for the bottom feeders, particularly Paulista, currently in last with just 9 points. Ituano is second last, with ten, while Santa Cruz keeps falling, being currently in 18th place in its first year back in Serie B, after being relegated from the Brazilian Serie A last season. Remo, with 13 points, is in 17th, the last spot for relegation to the dreaded Serie C.

Two matches will be played this Tuesday in the Serie B. Ipatinga from Minas Gerais hosts Santo Andre, as both teams try to move closer to the leaders. Currently with 15 points, they are presently tied for 12th place, with the visitors holding the advantage on goal differential.

Slightly better, ninth place Portuguesa (17 points) hosts 11th place CRB (16 points), trying to jump four spots to temporarily take 5th place in the standings. Both teams are coming from 1-0 defeats last Friday, with Portuguesa losing an away game to Remo and CRB being upset at home by Marilia.

Two other games are scheduled for Friday and six for Saturday, as the race for a berth in next year's Brazilian football elite continues to heat up.

When winning is all that matters

2007-07-16T10:04:00.001-04:00

For the duration of this year's Copa America, Brazil has been criticized at home and abroad for not playing up to par with what has generally been perceived as the traditional Brazilian way of playing football. The 'jogo bonito', or beautiful game, style of play made Brazilians famous, with a controlled pace given to the game so as to entertain fans, dominate the opposing team and ultimately - if it came to it - win titles.

It worked superbly in a different era, when Brazil had the talent to play like this and almost always emerge victorious in the end. The team would surrender quite a few goals for deciding to play an open game filled with flair. But it would inevitably score more, and the team would generally come away with the win. When the quality of Brazilian players would decline, so would the rate of success of this type of strategy. Other teams learned to adapt and neutralize this kind of football too, and soon it was evident that Brazil would need to adapt if it was willing to keep on winning.

What followed was a total departure from that old game, and the beautiful game gave way to the game of results. It didn't matter how the game was won, all it mattered was the win. This is how Brazil barely managed to win its fourth World Cup title, in 1994. Captained by Dunga, the team was more concerned about defending first, and only then attacking. With sub-standard opponents in what was considered a weak World Cup, Brazil beat Italy in the final on a penalty shootout. Italy would have to wait another 12 years before it finally won its fourth World Cup title - curiously enough, in another poor World Cup, decided on penalty kicks.

Following Italy's win in 2006, Brazil's old captain, Dunga, was brought in to get Brazil back on track with a results-oriented philosophy. Giving too much attention to flair and players who worried too much about the 'jogo bonito', it seemed, had cost the country the chance to win the last world Cup. Instead of worrying about the team, each player seemed more concerned about his own future and personal contracts.

Concentrating on the end result would bring championships back to Brazil, and prima-donnas would no longer be tolerated. Instead, a hard-working team would give the country its best shot at winning. The first months of the new Dunga era saw alternating good and bad results, as the new coach tried several new faces. Slowly, the team started being shaped in the way Dunga wanted the game to be played. The way he played. Defending first and worrying about the attack later.

This is an approach which is as dangerous as the flamboyant style adopted earlier by Brazil. By taking this stance, Dunga ultimately levels down the field, and the Brazilians start playing similarly to other less-talented teams, which would not have a different option other than taking a defensive approach.

The Copa America showed how poorly Brazil can play when adopting this new style of play. But the effort of all players and the collective posture of the team as a unit first, and not a group of individuals, also showed how strong this mindset can be. A 2-0 loss to Mexico, a weak win over Ecuador, two good wins over Chile and a lucky one over Uruguay had put Brazil in the final of the competition against the heavily favoured Argentines.

A mixture of strength, commitment, some luck, and lots of effort gave Brazil its most remarkable performance of the Cup, when it mattered the most. By defending first, and cancelling Argentina's main plays - even if to do that the team had to commit a series of fouls to stop the opponents - the team was allowed to explore counterattacks and patiently build a 3-0 win.

To the Brazilians, this is the new 'jogo bonito'. If they can mix that kind of commitment and effort with the talent and flow of their flamboyant game, it will become even more beautiful.

Brazil beats Argentina 3-0

2007-07-16T10:02:00.002-04:00

It didn't take long to see that this was a different Brazilian team than the one that had played a mostly lacklustre competition. Brazil started the final against the powerful Argentines taking some chances in attack, and patiently controlling the ball in midfield. Before the game was five minutes old, Julio Baptista received the ball inside the penalty box on the left wing, quickly cutting it towards the centre of the pitch past an opponent, and then perfectly placing it to the left of goalkeeper Abbondazieri.

Argentina couldn't create much, with the Brazilians crowding the midfield and stopping creative Riquelme with fouls whenever he tried to take more than a few steps with the ball. But the white-and-blues slowly tried to move forward, and almost tied the game in the 10th minute, when Riquelme took a great shot from 15 metres to hit the right post of the goal guarded by Doni. The Argentines seemed to patiently wait for their chances, which would definitely arise later in the game.

Or so they thought. Brazil still managed to create a few scoring opportunities of its own, and in one of those chances, defender Ayala deflected a cross from the right wing into his own net, in the 41st minute, to make it 2-0 for the defending champions. Argentina lost its patience, and came back to the second half desperately trying to tie the game.

With Argentina going forward and leaving more spaces back on defence, Brazil waited for the right opportunities to create a few chances in counterattacks. A two-goal lead was not enough to guarantee any kind of relief though, since everyone on the team knew how dangerously a 2-0 lead could turn around late in a game. In the 69th minute, Robinho found Vagner Love, who quickly moved up the field and passed to Daniel Alves on the right side of the penalty box. Alves shot the ball across the box into the lower right corner of Abbodanzieri's goal, and the game was all but over.

As Brazilians celebrated during the last few minutes of the game, Argentina was left to wonder how it lost yet again in a competition final, after dominating most of the tournament with clearly the best football of all competitors. For Brazil, it didn't matter, as a mostly discredited team rose to the occasion and beat their arch-rivals with an unquestionable 3-0 win.

Botafogo loses first match

2007-07-16T10:02:00.001-04:00

Still trying to deal with the suspension of goalscorer Dodo due to a doping charge, Botafogo travelled to Santos trying to maintain its lead atop the standings in the Brazilian League. It managed to do that, but not before losing its first game of the season, 3-0 to Santos.

The team started the game playing quite well, and dominated the first half. But without translating that dominance into a lead, Botafogo had to deal with a determined local side coming back to the second half. Marcos Aurelio took advantage of a lapse of attention by the Botafogo defense in the 60th minute, and scored the game's first goal. Four minutes later, Rodrigo Tabata scored on a free kick. Moraes made it 3-0 in the last minute of regulation, a result that did not quite reflect the reality of a very disputed game, but which undoubtedly ended the last unbeaten record in the league.

Luckily for Botafogo, its lead at the top remains of five points, after Goias lost to Cruzeiro 2-1 in Belo Horizonte and Sao Paulo tied Corinthians 1-1 in the Morumbi.

In other results, Internacional managed a heroic comeback to defeat America Natal 2-1, with two goals in the second half. Atletico Mineiro went to Recife and lost to Sport, 2-0. And Palmeiras tied Gremio 1-1 in Porto Alegre.

Match preview: Brazilian League

2007-07-13T10:45:00.001-04:00

Six matches on the eleventh round of the Brazilian Serie A League will be played on Saturday. Three games were played on Thursday (Vasco 1-0 Atletico Paranaense, Parana 1-2 Figueirense and Juventude 1–1 Nautico), while the derby between Flamengo and Fluminense has been postponed till August 16th due to the PanAmerican Games, in Rio de Janeiro.

Here's a preview of Saturday's games:

SPORT-ATLETICO MINEIRO
Sport Recife needs a win to distance itself from the bottom four in the standings. In order to do so, the team must defeat Atletico Mineiro, which also played on Serie B in 2006, alongside Sport. With 11 points, the locals can get past Atletico (13) and move to the middle of the standings with a positive result. Defensive midfielder Ticao will not play for the next 30 days, after breaking his wrist on a training session this week. Defender Gabriel is also out, after being sold to a foreign team. Midfielder Romerito, acquired from Goias, will probably make his debut, but another midfielder, Adriano, is questionable. Coach Zetti will have the return of midfielder Rafael Miranda to Atletico, after he missed the loss against Gremio with an injury. Defender Vinicius, right-back Coelho, midfielder Marcinho and forward Galvao should also join the team. After a good start to the season, the team has faltered of late, having lost twice and tied twice in its last four games.

SANTOS-BOTAFOGO
The league leaders travel to Santos to face the recovering side coached by Wanderley Luxemburgo. After a 4-1 win over Cruzeiro last weekend, Santos tries to build momentum to climb out of the relegation zone. Currently with 11 points, the team is tied with three other teams ahead of it in the standings, losing in goal differential to fall to 17th place. Left-back Kleber is still with the Brazilian team that is playing in the Copa America. Defender Adailton and midfielder Adriano are suspended. The team still awaits word from league officials to see if newly signed forward Kleber Pereira can make his debut. Botafogo did not have a good week, learning that top forward Dodo will be suspended for at least 30 days after failing a doping exam. Defender Alex returns from suspension, with midfielder Diguinho going back to the bench.

GREMIO-PALMEIRAS
Two teams on the rise face each other in Porto Alegre. Coach Mano Menezes still doesn't know if he'll use youngster Carlos Eduardo, who was with the Brazilian Under-20 team, in attack. Ramon and Everton have not played that well up front, and will likely have to battle for a position to determine who will play alongside Carlos Eduardo. Tcheco is still out for the Libertadores runners-up, as the team tries to continue its recovery after a poor start to the tournament. Palmeiras will try to surprise as visitors, but will have to do so without captain Martinez, suspended. Pierre returns to the team, while Edmundo, Alex Afonso, William and Francis remain out recovering from injuries.

CRUZEIRO-GOIAS
Cruzeiro frustrated its fans last week, as it went to Santos and was embarrassed by a 4-1 loss. Coach Dorival Junior, desperate to shake things that have gone wrong recently for his squad, will make four changes. Goalkeeper Fabio returns to the team after a knee injury. Emerson replaces Erick on defense, alongside Thiago Heleno, who takes Mariano's spot. Jonathan is the new right-back, while Leo Silva and Guilherme join the team in midfield. Will these changes work? Only time will tell, but it seems unlikely the team can get any worse. Even if the team doesn't win, Dorival Junior is looking for more stability in defense, after surrendering 22 goals in 10 matches. Second-place Goias will try to take advantage of Cruzeiro's problems. Coach Bonamigo will have a full squad with the return of left-back Diego from injury, and suspended defender Paulo Henrique, defensive midfielder Amaral and forward Welliton. It's not easy to predict how the changes may affect Cruzeiro, but it seems the locals will have a tough time getting past a good Goias side.

AMERICA NATAL-INTERNACIONAL
After surprising Parana last week in Curitiba, America Natal wants to keep its winning ways to start getting out of the bottom of the table. This week the team faces Internacional, which is also struggling and remains dangerously close to the relegation zone. The locals will be without three regulars. Defender Odirley and midfielder Marquinhos are suspended, while fellow midfielder Paulo Isidoro took a leave of absence for his marriage. Inter's situation is even worse, forcing coach Gallo to field a team without nine regular players, among starters and immediate substitutes. Youngster Diego, for instance, will play as right-back after starter Ceara, and substitutes Elder Granja and Jonas had injury problems. Defender Indio is suspended, while his partner Alex is out with muscle pains. The midfield will be without suspended Wellington Monteiro and injured Fernandao. Alexandre Pato, who was with the Brazilian Under-20 team that was eliminated in the second round of the U-20 World Cup this week, will not play either.

CORINTHIANS-SAO PAULO
The traditional derby features the two last Brazilian League champions, whose recent performances are not quite what their fans had seen when they won their titles in 2005 and 2006. Corinthians is amidst a long crisis due to its failed partnership with investment fund MSI and investigation by the authorities. On the field the team has also been struggling, as new coach Carpegiani tries to give the team some consistency. In its last four games, the team has lost twice and tied another two times. Sao Paulo seems to have never really managed to get things going this year, despite still holding on to third place in the standings. They are still the favourites due to the crisis on their opponent's side and their ongoing streak against Corinthians, having not lost in 12 games, since 2003. The team has been having trouble scoring (only 8 goals in 10 matches) but also has been solid on defence, having allowed just 2 goals in 10 games. Will this be another low scoring game? Josue and Alex Dias are still with the Brazilian National team, while Jorge Wagner is questionable for the game.

Corinthians managers accused by Public Attorney's office

2007-07-13T10:40:00.000-04:00

Several top managers from popular Brazilian club Corinthians were accused by the Brazilian Public Attorney's office this past week, due to the involvement with international investment fund MSI. They were accused of illegal financial operations, including money laundering. According to the Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper, the investigation also mentions possible plans by the team and MSI to use financial means to prevent the team from being relegated, if it ever were in risk of doing so. The federal authorities recorded some conversations between the team and the fund managers, but did not give out many details as the investigation is still ongoing. The recordings also show team and MSI officials discussing details about buying and selling players abroad, with illegal transfer of money for these transactions, tax evasion and bribing.

In another note, the team has lost its legal battle in international courts against French side Lyon, and must now pay 8 million euros that had not been paid in the transfer of forward Nilmar.

Parana loses again at home

2007-07-13T09:03:00.000-04:00

Three matches opened the 11th round of the 2007 Brazilian League on Thursday. Parana lost its second straight match at home, this time 2-1 to Figueirense, wasting a golden chance to climb back to the top four in the standings. Last week, the team had already lost at home (0-1) to last place America Natal. With the win, the team from Santa Catarina jumped to sixth place with 17 points, seven behind leaders Botafogo.

Vasco also gained some valuable positions on the table, jumping to the same 17 points as Figueirense and Palmeiras, but having a better goal differential to temporarily claim fourth spot. On Thursday the team hosted Atletico Parananense and suffered to win by the minimum 1-0 score. Atletico played without many regulars, but still managed to get a one-goal lead, which was waved off for an offside that did not occur. Leandro Amaral scored the only valid goal of the game for Vasco.

The third match featured Juventude and Nautico in Caxias do Sul. The last placed team from Pernambuco surprised the locals, who were also trying to escape the relegation zone. The 1-1 final result still leaves Nautico in last place - tied with America Natal with 7 points - but Juventude temporarily leaves the bottom four, if only by virtue of a better goal differential. The team is now in 15th place with 11 points, the same number as 17th placed Santos and 16th Internacional.

Six matches will be played on Saturday, but the 11th round will only be completed in mid-August, with the derby between Flamengo and Fluminense, postponed from this weekend due to the PanAmerican Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Not strong enough

2007-07-12T09:26:00.000-04:00

The Brazilian Under-20 team is finally out of the Fifa U-20 World Cup which is being played in Canada. The Brazilians, who barely qualified out of the first round with one win and two losses, lost to Spain 4-2 in extra time on Wednesday, in a second round game played in Burnaby, British Columbia.

It looked like the Brazilians would advance late in the first half, after Leandro and Alexandre Pato scored one minute apart, in the 39th and 40th minutes. Four minutes later, however, Pique netted an extremely important goal for the Europeans, which meant Spain trailed by only one goal at halftime instead of two - which would have been a much more difficult mental task to overcome going into the second half.

Despite the exciting finish to the first 45 minutes, however, the second half started on a slow pace, with very few scoring chances developing for both sides. When it looked like Brazil was headed to the quarterfinals, Javi Garcia tied the game on a free kick, with five minutes left in regulation.

The tired Brazilians proved they weren't strong enough in extra time, suffering one goal in the 103rd minute and another after the 120th minute, in injury time. Bueno and Adrian Lopez scored the two goals for Spain, which will now face the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals.

An end to a terrible competition by the Brazilians. When they arrived in Canada they were hailed as one of the tournament's favourites, coming off a second place finish in the last World Cup and traditionally fielding a good team at this level. It didn't take long for everyone to realize those expectations were misconceived. Just like the main Brazilian team one year ago at the World Cup in Germany, the boys never seemed to find their top form, and exit the tournament sooner than most fans would have thought or hoped for. One can only hope this will help the youngsters learn some valuable lessons about effort and consistency, which in turn can benefit them later in their careers.

Shootout gives Brazil a ticket to the final

2007-07-11T11:39:00.001-04:00

Uruguay captain Diego Lugano is used to being in the middle of a celebration by Brazilians on a football pitch. After all, he became famous in Brazil after being part of a good Sao Paulo team that won important titles like the 2005 Libertadores and Intercontinental Cups. On Tuesday, he was once again in the middle of a Brazilian football celebration. Only this time it was for all the wrong reasons.

With Brazil leading 5-4 on a penalty shootout to decide the qualification to the 2007 Copa America final, Lugano could not put the ball into the net to give his team another chance of winning the game. Instead, he shot the ball right into the hands of Brazilian keeper Doni, who incidentally had taken three or four steps in the direction of the Uruguayan player before the ball was even touched. Colombian referee Oscar Ruiz validated the save nevertheless, and Brazil defeated Uruguay on a penalty shootout of a Copa America semifinal for the second straight time.

It wasn't supposed to have taken this long for the Brazilians to consolidate the win. Early in the game, the team coached by Dunga managed to create a few good chances and seemed in complete control after Maicon scored an early goal in the 13th minute. Three minutes later, however, all the lights in one of the illumination towers of the Maracaibo Stadium went out, and the match had to be interrupted for nearly 15 minutes. When the game resumed - without all the lights having being turned back on - the intensity of play had definitely cooled off.

It wasn't until the end of the first half, when Uruguay created a few good chances, that the level of play improved. Finally, after a series of frustrating corner kicks taken by veteran Alvaro Recoba, goalkeeper Doni failed to clear a cross and accidentally gave the ball away to forward Forlan, who quickly put the ball into the net to tie the game. Brazil managed to come back and finish the second half ahead though, when Julio Baptista took advantage of a free kick from the right wing to deflect the ball into the net, past goalkeeper Carini.

In the second half, both teams were cautious and did not give up many spaces back on defence. In one of the few chances created by Uruguay, however, Forlan crossed the ball to 'El Loco' Abreu from the left wing, and the forward hit it past Doni to tie the game. Brazil still tried to adopt a more offensive approach inserting Diego and Fernando in place of Julio Baptista and Josue, but to no avail. Afonso replaced Vagner Love and couldn't do much - except missing a penalty kick during the shootout.

With the 2-2 draw after 90 minutes of regulation, both teams took the pitch to decide the game on the shootout. Brazil had the early lead when Forlan missed the first kick for Uruguay, but as Fernando and Afonso hit the post in Brazil's third and fifth tries, Uruguay could have advanced if only Pablo Garcia had managed to score on the fifth attempt. He didn't, and as Gilberto scored Brazil's fifth goal in the sixth try, Lugano could only hope he'd also score to send the shootout to a seventh round. Instead, he kicked the ball right in the middle of the goal, where Doni was waiting for it.

The Uruguayans still tried to argue that the penalty should be re-taken, since the Brazilian keeper had taken so many steps towards the shooter before the actual kick. A melee almost ensued, but in the end there was nothing to do but watch the Brazilians celebrate. This time, Lugano didn't feel like taking part in the celebrations. All the veteran defender could do was to slowly walk back to the dressing room, looking incredulous as the happy Brazilians sang and danced.

Maracaibazo?

2007-07-10T09:05:00.002-04:00

Brazil and Uruguay play tonight for the Copa America semifinal, in Maracaibo, Venezuela. The Brazilians are favourites, but not by a large margin - due mostly to the poor efforts the team has shown recently than any brilliance of the opponents in the last few matches.

True, both teams are coming from good victories in the quarterfinals (6-1 for Brazil against Chile and 4-1 for Uruguay over the hosts Venezuela). However, the oldest international tournament at the continental level has failed to create too much of a buzz yet again this year. After all, if the tournament was taken seriously, how could one explain the fact that two of the top players in the world, Ronaldinho Gaucho and Kaka, simply asked to be left out of the Brazilian squad? It's unimaginable to have something similar happen to a top European player asking to be left out of the finals of an European Championship.

Still, Uruguay is planning to surprise the favourites once again, just like they did 57 years ago, in the memorable 'Maracanazo' episode. In the 1950 World Cup final match, the Brazilians were as heavy a favourite as there can be in the match against their southern neighbours. Playing at home, the team was coming off excellent performances in which it simply toyed away with the opposition, defeating Spain 6-1 and Sweden 7-1. Uruguay, on the other hand, had barely beaten the Swedes 3-2 and tied the Spaniards 2-2. Brazil needed a simple tie in the final game, and fans had been celebrating the title even before the match had begun. When Brazil opened the score in the first minute of the second half, nobody would think the team could still lose the title. But that's just what happened, after Uruguay scored twice - at the 66th and 80th minutes - to win the game and the title. Nearly 200,000 fans left the stadium stunned and in silence, while the Uruguayans celebrated their greatest football achievement of all time.

So, will we have a new 'Maracanazo' in Maracaibo? A 'Maracaibazo'? Even if the Uruguayans win 3-0, it will hardly be as surprising as that win 57 years ago was. Brazil is still the favourite tonight, but not by that large a margin.

Dodo suspended for doping

2007-07-10T09:05:00.001-04:00

The second exam confirmed what the first had already showed, and Botafogo forward Dodo was preventively suspended on Monday for doping. His initial suspension is for 30 days. An urine sample collected after the match against Vasco showed the presence of an illegal substance commonly found in certain drugs used for dieting and quick loss of weight. Dodo scored two goals in that match, won 4-0 by Botafogo. The player, who has been playing quite well for the league leaders and has scored seven goals in ten matches so far in the Brazilian Serie A, will now be tried by the Brazilian Supreme Sports Justice Court. He can be suspended by as much as one year, following the trial.

Botafogo keeps on track

2007-07-09T12:31:00.001-04:00

Botafogo increased its lead atop the standings of the Brazilian National League back to five points on Saturday, after beating Atletico Paranaense 2-0. Sao Paulo lost second place due to its inability to score a goal in a 0-0 draw with Flamengo at home. Goias is not complaining, having come back from a 2-0 deficit against Sport Recife at home to win 3-2, moving past the team from Morumbi.

Parana hosted last place America Natal and managed to lose 1-0, leaving the door open to Palmeiras to jump into fourth place - thanks to a 1-0 last minute win away at Nautico, now dead last in the standings with 6 points. Inter defeated Figueirense 2-1 to keep one point ahead of Juventude, which beat Vasco 2-0 but is still in 17th place with 10 points. Gremio completed a perfect outing for the teams from Rio Grande do Sul, getting a good 1-0 away win over Atletico Mineiro to get into 5th place.

The other team from Belo Horizonte also lost, with Cruzeiro going to Santos and losing 4-1, taking the hosts to 11 points and still out of the relegation zone, if only by just a point. Finally, Corinthians and Fluminense tied 1-1 in Sao Paulo.

Atypical win takes Brazil to Copa America semis

2007-07-09T12:30:00.000-04:00

If the U-20 team just managed to scrape by to the second round in their World Cup, the main squad had an easier time moving to the semifinals. After a controversial midweek when several players were accused of celebrating the qualification to the second round through excessive partying, Chile faced Brazil missing a few key players. Unluckily for the Chileans, the Brazilian team also chose to play its best game of the tournament so far. The combination of the hung-over crisis plus a more inspired team lead to a 6-1 trouncing in which the only positive note for the losing side was the goal scored in the second half, a terrific play by Suazo. Now Brazil will play Uruguay in one of the semifinals, after the two-time World champions defeated hosts Venezuela 4-1. The other semifinal promises to be a beauty, with Mexico coming over a 6-0 win over Paraguay and Argentina a 4-0 defeat of Peru.

Amazingly, they still can win it

2007-07-09T12:29:00.000-04:00

The Brazilian Under-20 team has not been playing well at the Fifa U-20 World Cup in Canada this month. Still, it has managed to advance to the second round with a 1-2 record, after losses to Poland (0-1) and the US (1-2) and a tight win over the South Koreans (3-2). After avoiding an embarrassing early elimination, the team can still recover and win the entire thing, if it manages to play better in the elimination rounds. After all, Brazil was the worst of the 16 teams that still stand after three matches were played. It's going to be a tough task if the round robin stage is any indication, but the youngsters will give their best. Their next opponent will be Spain, on Wednesday.

Vasco humbles Santos

2007-07-05T09:10:00.000-04:00

Santos confirmed its erractic play of late, going to Rio de Janeiro and losing embarrassingly to Vasco in Sao Januario, by a 4-0 score. The result left the Sao Paulo State champions dangerously close to the relegation zone, while Vasco sits just outside the Libertadores qualifying zone.

Meanwhile, Sport survived a tying goal and late pressure by Corinthians in Recife, scoring a second time to win the game 2-1. Flamengo and Atletico Mineiro, on the other hand, had a poor match that ended in unusual fashion, with Atletico going ahead 1-0 in the 88th minute only to have the visitors score to tie the game four minutes later.

At the end of the ninth round, the top of the table still features Botafogo, Sao Paulo, Goias and Parana. Nautico, America Natal, Flamengo and Juventude are at the bottom of the standings.

Just enough

2007-07-05T09:08:00.000-04:00

Brazil defeated Ecuador 1-0 on Wednesday, guaranteeing a spot in the 2007 Copa America quarterfinals. In an extremely poor match, with few scoring chances and just a handful of good plays, the Brazilians did just enough to prevent going home early. The lone goal was scored by Robinho, on a penalty kick, early in the second half. It was his fourth goal in three games in the tournament. The Real Madrid forward has scored all goals for the Brazilians in this year's Copa America.

After a 2-0 loss in its first match, against Mexico, Brazil recovered with two straight wins, 3-0 over Chile and 1-0 over Ecuador. Even then, however, the team still failed to display the high quality football that made it famous worldwide. Coach Dunga seems to be confirming the fans' worst fears that all he cares about is the end result, no matter how it's attained. In a way, he's a new Carlos Alberto Parreira. And a poor man's Parreira at that.

In a weird development thanks to the brilliance of the South American Confederation, Brazil - which finished in second on Group B - will get the chance to play a third-placed team, Chile, in the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, first-placed Mexico will face a second-placed team, either Paraguay or Argentina.

Curiously enough, Chile and Brazil have already played in the first round. After a 3-0 win in that match, Brazil is the clear favourite in this game. However, onemust remember that if not for Robinho, the final result of that game could have been a lot different. Once again, it seems the team will depend on his inspiration to advance.

Botafogo settles for tie with Goias

2007-07-04T09:43:00.000-04:00

In a game between the two top teams in the Brazilian Serie A socer league, Botafogo and Goias settled for a 1-1 draw this Tuesday in Goiania. The result maintained the five-point lead the team from Rio has over Goias - now in third place after Sao Paulo moved within four of Botafogo with a win over Internacional.

The locals managed to get an early lead with Paulo Henrique heading the ball into the net after a corner kick. Shortly thereafter, however, the team had a player sent off and was no longer able to dominate the play the same way it had during the first 20 minutes of the game. Botafogo then started spending more time on attack, but without any luck in the scoring department. Things didn't change even after a player from the visitors was sent off late in the game. Botafogo kept controlling the ball and pushing forward, but Goias was still dangerous in counterattacks. In the second half, things didn't change much, but Botafogo seemed unable to penetrate the strong defensive wall built up by Goias coach Bonamigo. Fortunately for the visitors, a free kick near the penalty box in the 74th minute was all it would take Juninho to tie the game. Botafogo still tried to get the go ahead goal in the final minutes of play, but one point would be all both teams would be taking from this game.

Meanwhile, Sao Paulo and Inter played a very entertaining match at the Morumbi Stadium in Sao Paulo. The locals had quite a few chances in the first half, but were not able to open the score. At the start of the second half, however, goalkeeper Rogerio Ceni scored on a penalty kick to give final numbers to the game. Not that the goal meant the end of entertaining play, as Inter took advantage of Sao Paulo trying to protect the lead and almost scored a goal of its own in later opportunities. Bravely - albeit a bit luckily -, Sao Paulo held on to the 1-0 advantage to earn three points and move into second place in the standings, now trailing leaders Botafogo by four points.

In other matches, Palmeiras had no trouble building an early 2-0 lead over America Natal at home and holding on to this score in the second half, while Fluminense and Parana were held scoreless in Rio de Janeiro. Gremio had an important 3-1 win over Juventude, in a Rio Grande do Sul matchup in Porto Alegre. Figueirense held on to a 2-1 win at home over Cruzeiro, and Atletico Paranaense failed to defeat Nautico at home, tying 1-1.

Three matches close out the ninth round on Wednesday, with Sport hosting Corinthians, Atletico Mineiro playing Flamengo at home and Santos going to Rio to face Vasco.

Thrill seekers

2007-07-04T09:42:00.001-04:00

It seems some people just love to live dangerously. After opening up with a 1-0 loss to Poland, the Brazilian Under-20 National Team barely managed to hold on to a 3-2 win over South Korea this Tuesday in Montreal, in its second match of the Under-20 World Cup being played in Canada.

Why would anyone want to cruise and finish a game easily after opening a 3-0 lead, when you can have a lot more fun protecting a one-goal game in an exciting finish by virtue of giving two goals in the final minutes of play? The Brazilians seem to be bored in the tournament, and keep finding ways of making easy games turn into true rollercoasters. In their debut, they had already managed to lose to a Polish side playing with ten men for most of the match. Poland, by the way, was soundly beaten by the US on Tuesday, 6-1.

With one game to go in the round robin, Brazil must now defeat the Americans in their final game to guarantee a place in the second round. No matter who wins the match, it promises to be another emotional ride for the Brazilian fans.

Against all odds

2007-07-03T15:21:00.000-04:00

After eight matches for most teams, the Brazilian Serie A has another round scheduled for this Tuesday, July 3. Not that Tuesdays are a popular weekday for league matches in Brazil, but thanks to the continuing chaos that seems to control the sport in the country, most matches have been moved to Tuesdays and Saturdays this month, in order to keep interest in the collection of players currently representing the country at Venezuela's Copa America. Add to that the fact that many teams are also missing regulars which have been called up to the under-20 National team currently playing in the U20 World Cup in Canada, and what you have is a sub-standard version of the league being presented to the fans. At least, that's what one would expect.

Surprisingly, the last few rounds have been quite entertaining, and fan interest and attendance have been on the rise - more than 18,000 people on average watched the games last weekend. It remains to be seen for how long this trend can continue, but for the time being most teams are just trying to keep pace with the middle of the pack, hoping not to be completely out of the race for the title or continental qualification by the time the second half of the league arrives in September.

Seven games will be played on Tuesday, with the most anticipated one featuring league leaders Botafogo visiting second-place Goias, trying to increase their five-point lead at the top of the standings. The two most successful Brazilian teams in the last couple of years, Sao Paulo and Internacional, meanwhile, repeat the 2006 Libertadores final in a meeting at the Morumbi Stadium. Defending champions Sao Paulo are doing well, if not spectacularly in this year's tournament, managing to hang on to fourth place in the standings, while Inter is just outside of the relegation zone.

Other matches include Palmeiras and America Natal, Figueirense and Cruzeiro, Atletico Paranaense and Nautico and Gremio against Juventude. Brazilian Cup champions Fluminense host third-place Parana to close out Tuesday's games.

Three matches are scheduled for 4pm on Wednesday, a regular business day in Brazil - so that there's no competition for TV viewership when Brazil plays Ecuador at the Copa America in the evening. Sport plays Corinthians, Vasco faces Santos and Atletico meets Flamengo.

Will the attendance numbers keep rising. Highly unlikely, but this doesn't seem like an issue that bothers the Brazilian Confederation too much.

Two wins in two matches

2007-03-27T16:04:00.001-04:00

Brazil beat Chile 4-0 and Ghana 1-0 in two friendlies played this week in Sweden. After a good display on Saturday against their fellow South Americans, the Brazilians played quite poorly against the Africans on Tuesday, settling for a tight victory against an opponent that pressed forward at times and gave too many spaces in defence - precisely like what had happened last year during the game between the two sides in the World Cup.

In the end, at least coach Dunga can celebrate two more victories for his resume, and fans can at least hope that the coach keeps Kaka, Ronaldinho and Robinho together in the team for future games. They obviously showed a better display against Chile, but were still decent during the game on Tuesday.

With the Copa America and 2010 World Cup Qualifying games later this year, Dunga must now concentrate on trying to consolidate his base squad for the two competitions. He may still try out a few players that excel at the club level, but most spots in the team must be defined for these two tournaments.

Dunga calls up players for friendlies

2007-03-08T14:18:00.000-05:00

Brazilian National coach Dunga named his team for the upcoming friendlies against Chile and Ghana, to be played in Sweden at the end of March. Five new players from the squad that lost 2-0 to Portugal last month were included in the list. Three of these players are from Brazilian teams: Ilsinho and Josue (Sao Paulo) and Kleber (Santos). Mineiro (who joined Hertha Berlin from Sao Paulo at the end of the January transfer window) and Vagner Love (from CSKA) are the other new faces.

Here's the full list of players called up by Dunga:

Goalkeepers - Helton (Porto) and Julio Cesar (Inter Milan)

Defenders - Daniel Alves (Sevilla), Gilberto (Hertha Berlim), Ilsinho (Sao Paulo), Kleber (Santos), Alex (PSV Eindhoven), Juan (Bayer Leverkusen), Lucio (Bayern Munich) and Luisao (Benfica)

Midfielders - Diego (Werder Bremen), Dudu Cearense (CSKA Moscow), Elano (Shakhtar Donetsk), Gilberto Silva (Arsenal), Kaka (AC Milan), Josue (Sao Paulo), Mineiro (Hertha Berlim) and Ronaldinho (Barcelona)

Forwards - Fred (Lyon), Rafael Sobis (Betis), Robinho (Real Madrid) and Vagner Love (CSKA Moscow)

Gremio and Parana win in the Libertadores

2007-02-16T13:45:00.000-05:00

Gremio and Parana managed to get important away wins this Thursday, in their debut at the group stage of the 2007 Copa Libertadores.

Gremio went to Asuncion and left with a great 1-0 win over local Cerro Porteno, thanks to a goal scored by Lucas in the 52nd minute. Argentine goalkeeper Saja, playing for the Brazilian side, made several difficult saves during the game, including a penalty kick in the last minute of regulation, to guarantee the visitors the three points. The sad note about the game was left to the local fans, who threw stones and bottles at the bus that took Gremio to the stadium, and later even started throwing objects at the players themselves on the field. After the missed penalty kick, the referee had to end the match due to an increase in the number of dangerous objects thrown on the field.

Parana had a less troubled debut in Venezuela, where it beat local side Maracaibo 4-2. The first half ended on a 1-1 draw, with Parana opening the score with Josiel in the 39th minute and Arismendi tying the game six minutes later. The Brazilians came back stronger in the second half and scored twice in a two-minute span - in the 55th and 56th minutes - with Dinelson and Henrique. Casseres still scored for Maracaibo in the 67th minute, but Gerson made sure the local comeback would not take place with a goal two minutes later.

Favourites win in Brazilian Cup debut

2007-02-15T14:01:00.000-05:00

The first games of the 2007 Brazilian Cup were played on Wednesday without too many major surprises. Most teams from the Brazilian First Division in general had no trouble beating their opponents from lower ranks.

The exception to the rule was Botafogo, from Rio de Janeiro, which went to Maceio and was held to a 1-1 draw with CSA. The other big clubs from Rio in the tournament, Vasco and Fluminense went to Manaus and Rio Branco in the North of the country to face Fast and ADESG, respectively, and got away with 2-1 wins.

Atletico Mineiro and Nautico, recently promoted from the Second Division, had away wins as well. Atletico beat Colo Colo 3-1, While Nautico got past Paranahyba 2-1. Palmeiras from Sao Paulo had no trouble at all with Operario in Cuiaba, posting a 5-0 win to avoid having to play the second leg at home (in the Brazilian Cup, away wins by more than one goal in the first stages of the tournament automatically qualify a team to the next stage).

In other results, Portuguesa beat SERC 2-0 away, while Noroeste gave ADAP a 4-1 pounding. Guarani lost 2-1 to Atletico Goianiense in Goiania, while Coritiba went to Caxias do Sul and lost to Caxias by the same score. Vitoria Espirito Santo beat Ipatinga 1-0, and Gama eliminated Araguaina with a 3-1 away win. America-RJ tied Coruripe 1-1 away from home, the same result achieved by Vitoria Bahia against Baraunas. Fortaleza also advanced with a 3-1 away win over Sampaio Correa, while Ulbra defeated Santa Cruz 2-0 at home and Bare had a 1-0 home win over America-RN.

As is traditionally the case, the teams that represent the country in the continental Copa Libertadores do not take part in the Brazilian Cup. Thus, this year the tournament does not have the participation of Internacional, Sao Paulo, Santos, Gremio, Flamengo (the 2006 Brazilian Cup winners) and Parana. The winner of the Brazilian Cup automatically qualifies to next year's Libertadores.

Flamengo vows not to play in high altitudes again

2007-02-15T13:45:00.000-05:00

After a heroic 2-2 tie against Real Potosi in Bolivia on Wednesday, Flamengo vowed never to play another game in high altitudes again. Playing at an altitude of 4,000 meters above sea level, Flamengo had trouble keeping up with the locals during its debut at the 2007 Copa Libertadores. However, despite falling behind 2-0, the team was able to come back and tie the game 2-2 in the second half.

On Thursday, the team released an official statement where it highlighted the heroics of the match, but at the same time criticized the tournament officials for allowing a game to be played in such a high altitude. "We will officially let the Brazilian Soccer Confederation, as well as the South American Confederation and FIFA, that we will no longer show up for matches scheduled to be played in altitudes above those recommended by sports medical professionals," says the note. According to the club, "playing sports in conditions that are not approved by sports medicine turns physical effort into a barbarian act, which degrades human condition and puts the athletes life in risk. Allowing matches to be played in these conditions is the same as letting doping to be used in the sport." The team will play again for the Libertadores next week, at home against Maracaibo from Venezuela.

The other Brazilian team to play yesterday in the Libertadores Cup was current runner-up and 2005 winner Sao Paulo, which went to Santiago in Chile and was held to a scoreless draw by Audax Italiano. On Thursday, Parana travels to Venezuela to play Maracaibo, while Gremio Porto Alegre faces Cerro Porteno in Asuncion, Paraguay. Internacional and Santos, the other Brazilian teams in the Libertadores, play their first game of the group stage next week.

Brazil falls to second in FIFA rankings

2007-02-14T12:39:00.000-05:00

After 55 months, Brazil finally left the top spot in the FIFA World rankings this Wednesday, as the top football authority in the world released the updated version of its monthly list. The new leaders are world champions Italy, who did not play this past month but benefitted from Brazil's 2-0 loss to eighth-ranked Portugal last week, in London. Italy now has 1562 points, 22 more than Brazil, with Argentina in third with 1535 and France in fourth with 1496. The Czech Republic climbed one position to ninth, while Spain jumped two to return to the top 10. Germany (5th), England (6th), the Netherlands (7th) and Portugal (8th) round up the top of the rankings.

Dunga's unbeaten streak ends

2007-02-07T15:20:00.000-05:00

Brazilian National coach Dunga finally suffered his first defeat at the helm of the squad this week, falling 2-0 to Portugal in a friendly match played in London. In his six previous matches, the coach had five wins and one tie.

Without Robinho, Ronaldinho and Alex, which were on his initial list of players selected for the match but had to be scratched to injuries, Dunga decided to play Rafael Sobis and Fred in attack, with Kaka and Elano in the midfield in front of Gilberto Silva and Edmilson. Brazil was able to create some chances in the first half, but missed all its scoring opportunities. In the second half Dunga decided to test new players, and the team's production fell. Portugal also made some changes, but still managed to create some dangerous scoring opportunities. Simao opened the score in the 83rd minute, being left alone inside the box to complete a pass from the right wing. Seven minutes later, another cross from the right found Ricardo Carvalho, who gave goalkeeper Helton no chance in his shot.

Portugal's coach, Brazilian Luis Felipe Scolari, won his second friendly in a row against Brazil (in their previous matchup, Scolari's Portugal defeated the Brazilians 2-1, in 2003). Meanwhile, Dunga had to deal with jokes and comments about his poor choice for a shirt, which featured black and white flowers. Prior to the game, the Brazilian media had revealed that some players had started referring to the coach - away from him, obviously - as the 'paint-display' coach, due to his dubious choice of colourful and stylish shirts for the matches.

Brazil now continues to focus on getting ready for the Copa America and 2010 World Cup qualifying, scheduled for later this year. Portugal, meanwhile, will try to build on the win to try to improve in the qualifying for Euro 2008. The team is currently in fourth in its group, behing Finland, Serbia and Poland.

Brazil wins South American under-20 championship

2007-01-29T14:55:00.000-05:00

Brazil won its ninth South American under-20 championship on Sunday, after defeating Colombia 2-0 in Paraguay. The team finished the last stage in first place, ahead of runners-up Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Paraguay and Colombia. With these results, Brazil and Argentina also guaranteed a spot in next year's Olympic Games, in Beijing, and a place in the Fifa Under-20 World Cup, which will be played later this year in Canada. Uruguay and Chile will also be travelling to Canada.

Parana gets last Libertadores spot

2006-12-04T10:25:00.000-05:00

Parana only managed a scoreless draw at home against Sao Paulo's reserve team on Sunday, but that was enough to guarantee the team from Curitiba the last Brazilian spot in the 2007 Libertadores Cup. Despite not playing well against a team that clearly showed a general lack of match practice (all starters, with the exception of Souza, where out for Sao Paulo), Parana still controlled most of the action in the match. That did not translate into goal scoring opportunities though, not even after midfielder Rodrigo Fabri was sent off for the visitors at the start of the second half. After the final whistle, the locals still had to wait for the match between Figueirense and Vasco to finish to know for sure that the team had grabbed the last Libertadores spot.

In Florianopolis, Vasco missed many goals - including a ball hitting the crossbar in injury time of the second half - to lose its chance of playing in the Libertadores next year. Thanks to Parana's scoreless draw at home, Vasco only needed a win away at Figueirense to claim fifth place in the standings. Instead, the team coached by Renato Gaucho could not finish its own task and was left with a position at the second-tier continental competition Copa Sudamericana.

Sao Paulo closed the tournament with 78 points in first place, nine more than second place Internacional, which lost at home to Goias on Saturday, 4-1. The team was obviously more concerned about the upcoming World Club Championship, which takes place in Japan starting next week. Inter's rivals Gremio failed to take the second place in the standings after travelling to Fortaleza and losing 1-0 to the already relegated Fortaleza side.

Santos, on the other hand, had a more positive display at home against last place Santa Cruz, scoring a 3-1 win to confirm its fourth place finish. In other results, Flamengo beat Sao Caetano 4-1 at home, and Cruzeiro defeated Botafogo 3-1. Disappointing Palmeiras went to Rio and tied also disappointing Fluminense 1-1, leaving the two popular clubs in 16th and 15th place respectively, or the last spots before the relegation zone. Ponte Preta, relegated last week, looked pale in front of less than 1,000 local fans that showed up for a 1-1 draw with Atletico Paranaense. Finally, Corinthians had another win to close the year on a positive side, 5-3 over Juventude at home.

The Serie A season is now over for 2006. Teams return to action in January, with the State Championships starting. Internacional still has something to play for in 2006 though, getting ready to face the champions of the other continents in the Fifa World Club Championship in Japan. This year's Libertadores champions know they will only get full respect if they are able to win the title, joining crosstown rivals Gremio, as well as Flamengo, Santos and Sao Paulo, as Brazilian teams with a World Club Championship in their trophy halls.

Relegation to Serie B defined

2006-11-27T10:44:00.000-05:00

The second-last round of the Brazilian Serie A played on Sunday defined which teams were relegated and will play in the Serie B next year. Santa Cruz and Fortaleza were already doomed to the Second Division before this round, which saw Sao Caetano and Ponte Preta complete their fall from the Brazilian Football elite. Traditional teams Fluminense and Palmeiras breathed a giant sigh of relief, as their presence in next year's Serie A was confirmed following the weekend results.

Palmeiras was humiliated at home by Internacional, suffering a 4-1 loss with a great display by newcomer Alexandre Pato, 17, who scored once and was considered the name of the match for Internacional. The result left the locals with 43 points, which meant the team could still be surpassed by Ponte Preta if the team from Campinas managed to win its last two games.

However, Ponte went to Goias and left with another lopsided loss, a 3-0 defeat. This result guaranteed that Palmeiras could no longer be relegated. However, Fluminense was losing to Santa Cruz in Recife and remained only three points ahead of Ponte. That meant the team from Rio could be caught in the last round, next week, if it lost and Ponte won.

All changed when Fluminense came back from its first half partial loss and scored twice in the second half, sealing the 2-1 win and getting more than enough points to save its season and remain in the Serie A.

Sao Caetano, which still had a slim chance of avoiding relegation, lost 2-0 at home to Parana and also said hello to the Second Division in 2007. The result was also important for the visitors, who reached 59 points and took the last Libertadores spot from Vasco, which only managed to tie 1-1 with Santos at home to fall one point behind Parana. In the last round Vasco will travel to Santa Catarina to play Figueirense, while Parana will host champions Sao Paulo - which will likely rest several starters, granting them an early start to their vacation following last year's shortened holidays due to the World Club Championship in December.

On Sunday, Sao Paulo played its last home game of the season at the Morumbi, in front of 45,000 fans who gathered to see the team officially celebrate the league title. The players did not disappoint and scored a 2-0 win over Cruzeiro, with a celebration ceremony following. Players and staff received medals for winning the title, and goalkeeper Rogerio Ceni lifted the Serie A trophy after having scored the 68th goal of his career during the game (the other goal was scored by defender Fabao, who's leaving the team for Japan).

In other matches, Botafogo and Corinthians played to a scoreless draw at the Maracana Stadium, while Gremio defeated Flamengo 3-0 in Porto Alegre. Juventude disappointed in a 2-2 home draw against Fortaleza. Still, that was better than the home collapse of Atletico Paranaense, 4-1 losers against
Figueirense, just three days after a 4-1 loss to Pachuca in Mexico ended the team's hopes of a Copa Sudamericana final berth.

Promotion

Meanwhile, Atletico Mineiro confirmed its Serie B title with a 2-2 home draw against America de Natal at the Mineirao Stadium in Belo Horizonte, in front of close to 75,000 people. It was the largest crowd of the year for a soccer match in Brazil, surpassing the 69,000 fans gathered last week at the Morumbi Stadium for the game that gave Sao Paulo the Serie A title. The result also qualified America for the Serie A next year, alongside Atletico, Sport and Nautico. The tying goal scored ten minutes from the end gave America a tie in points with Paulista, which beat Brasiliense 4-3, but the team from Natal had advantage in the tiebreakers.

Brazilian Serie A - round 37 preview

2006-11-24T13:52:00.000-05:00

With Sao Paulo winning the title last weekend, all that is left to play in the Brazilian Serie A is qualifying for continental competitions Libertadores and Sudamericana, as well as a final relegation battle.

Here are my views for this weekend's games:

BOTAFOGO x CORINTHIANS: Botafogo and Corinthians are still trying to confirm their Copa Sudamericana invitation, having improved in the latter part of the tournament to escape the risk of relegation. The locals seem to have a little bit of an edge here, but Corinthians has shown in the last couple of weeks that it should have done a better job in the tournament, were it not for the many troubles that hit the team at the administrative level this year. Botafogo is winless in three games overall, but won five of its last seven home games. Corinthians is unbeaten in seven games, three of them away from home.

GREMIO x FLAMENGO: Gremio stepped up in the last couple of weeks after falling of the title race, and is now guaranteed of a return to the Libertadores. Not bad for a team coming back from a trip to the Serie B in 2005. Its only motivation now seems to be to see if it can finish better than their crosstown rivals Internacional, currently two points ahead in the standings. Flamengo will also play in the Libertadores thanks to its Brazilian Cup win, and has nothing to play for here. The locals are favorites for this match. Gremio has a three-game winning streak going, while Flamengo has lost two in a row.

JUVENTUDE x FORTALEZA: With a place in the Serie A guaranteed for next year, Juventude now tries to make some ground and get into the Copa Sudamericana qualification zone. The team has a great chance to close the gap to Corinthian and Goias this week, hosting second-last Fortaleza. The team from Ceara State has been in the relegation zone for most of the season, and has been confirmed to be going to the Serie B for a couple of weeks now. With zero motivation from the visitors, this should be an easy one for Juventude, which usually plays well at home. The locals have won six of their last eight in Caxias do Sul. Fortaleza lost its last two games away from home.

SAO PAULO x CRUZEIRO: Crowned new Brazilian champions last week, Sao Paulo will have a tough time keeping its concentration and effort levels to a similar level than experienced when the team was still battling for the title. Cruzeiro does not have a chance of making the Libertadores zone anymore, but the team still has to get some points to confirm its spot in the Copa Sudamericana. With only four losses this season, Sao Paulo is currently unbeaten in eleven games. Cruzeiro is winless in three.

SAO CAETANO x PARANA: Sao Caetano still holds a very faint hope of remaining in the Brazilian Serie A if it can win its last two games and Fluminense and Ponte Preta lose twice. Despite this unlikely scenario, the team will try to at least do its part when it hosts Parana on Sunday. The task will not be an easy one though, as Parana trails Vasco by just one point for the last Libertadores spot, and will do its best to remain in contention for a place in the prestigious continental competition. Parana hasn't won a game in its last four tries away from home, but Sao Caetano hasn't shown much at home either, having just two wins in the last ten games at Anacleto Campanella.

ATLETICO PARANAENSE x FIGUEIRENSE: Figueirense still has an outside chance of making it to the Libertadores, but to do that the team must win its last two games and hope that Vasco and Parana fail in their own matches. This week, the team from Santa Catarina travels to Curitiba to face Atletico Paranaense, who had a good effort in the game that confirmed Sao Paulo's title last Sunday, only to be eliminated from the Copa Sudamericana with a humiliating 4-1 away loss to Pachuca in Mexico midweek. How Atletico reacts to that game will be essential in knowing how they will show up here. The locals are still fighting for a Copa Sudamericana berth though, so that could be motivating enough. The locals are winless in four, while Figueirense managed two away wins in its last three games outside Santa Catarina.

VASCO x SANTOS: Vasco is the favorite for the last Libertadores spot in the standings, but the team must not take anything for granted with a single-point advantage over Parana with two games left in the season. This week the team has a tough meeting at home against Santos, which itself is just one position above Vasco, three points up. Theoretically, Santos can still be surpassed by both Vasco and Parana and be left out of the Libertadores, so the team will not just give up the points here. Vasco has won four and tied one of its last five home games, while Santos hasn't won a match away from Sao Paulo State all season (its only away wins came against other teams from Sao Paulo State).

GOIAS x PONTE PRETA: Ponte Preta keeps losing great chances to escape the relegation zone, and now the team sees itself with no room to spare in the last couple of games. Trailing Fluminense by three points, Ponte has a tough matchup away to Goias. The team must not only win both its matches, but also hope that Fluminense doesn't get more than three points in these games. Something difficult to happen, considering Ponte has won only two of its last ten games. Depending on Fluminense's result, a draw here would not be too bad. Goias is still fighting for a Copa Sudamericana spot, but must do better than what it did in its last three home games, all losses.

SANTA CRUZ x FLUMINENSE: Santa Cruz has been sentenced to the Serie B for a few weeks now, and seems to be just waiting for its miserable season to end. To make matters worse for them, their crosstown rivals from Sport and Nautico confirmed promotion to the Serie A next year, just as Santa goes down. This week the team has a good chance of getting some last honour saved when it hosts Fluminense, which has been playing just as poorly but remains just outside of the relegation zone thanks to a better start to the season. The team from Rio could find itself among the bottom four if it loses, so it will likely give its best effort to avoid disaster. Fluminense has drawn four times and lost six in its last ten games away from home. Santa has won three of its last seven home games.

PALMEIRAS x INTERNACIONAL: Palmeiras is not completely safe from being relegated just yet, but for that to happen the team must lose both its games while Ponte wins twice, with Fluminense also getting at least a win. The team hosts Internacional, who can finish as runners-up for the second year in a row. With its title hopes over, the team from Porto Alegre is now exclusively worried about its participation in the World Club Championship next month in Japan. Palmeiras has won its last two home games, while Inter lost to Parana away from home last weekend to see its three-game away winning streak end.

Midfielder banned for a year for age fraud

2006-11-22T10:36:00.000-05:00

Figueirense midfielder Carlos Alberto was banned for 360 days on Tuesday, after the Brazilian High Sports Tribunal judged he had purposefully changed his birth certificate to hide his real age. Carlos Alberto confessed he changed his birth certificate to show him as being five years younger than his real age, so that he could get more chances to start his career as a youngster and escape poverty.

The player, who's now confirmed to be 28 and not 23 as previously believed, was believed to be in negotiations to join Brazilian champions Sao Paulo next year, but the ban has cancelled the deal. Sao Paulo officials have said they may further pursue the transfer if the ban is reduced to six months, something which depends on the success of an appeal to be filed by Figueirense on the case.

Sao Paulo wins its fourth National title

2006-11-21T11:27:00.000-05:00

Sao Paulo won its fourth ever Brazilian National title on Sunday, after a 1-1 home draw against Atletico Paranaense at the Morumbi Stadium. With Internacional's 1-0 defeat at Parana, the difference between the two teams jumped to eight points, with just two games left in the season. It is the first National title for Sao Paulo in 15 years, after winning the championship three previous times, in 1977, 1986 and 1991.

After building a 1-0 lead in the first half, Sao Paulo fell back trying to wait for time to pass, aware that Inter was losing in Curitiba - a result that would give Sao Paulo the title even with a loss. Atletico gradually took control of the game in the second half, tying the game with just over ten minutes to go and almost scoring a second goal shortly later. As the referee blew the final whistle, Sao Paulo players and fans nervously waited for the scoreboard to confirm that Inter's game had ended. After all, if the team from Porto Alegre had managed to score twice in the dying moments of its match, it could still mathematically overtake Sao Paulo in the standings. But with the confirmation of Inter's loss eight minutes later, the party could finally begin.

Players were overjoyed with the title, finally relieving the pressure that had been put on the team after three second-place finishes in the year (in the Sao Paulo State, Libertadores and South American Recopa championships). The win was also particularly pleasurable for coach Muricy Ramalho, who also finished as runners-up to Corinthians in last year's Brazilian Serie A, when he was in command of Internacional.

Sao Paulo will now have two games to play before the end of the season. Defender Fabao and midfielder Danilo are almost confirmed to be leaving the team for Japan, while defensive midfielder Mineiro, one of the best players in the squad, is still deciding whether to accept an offer from abroad or stay at the club. Internacional will concentrate on getting ready for the World Club Championship, which takes place next month in Japan.

As for the tournament, there are still midtable fights for a spot at the Libertadores or the Sudamericana next year, as well as one last spot in the fight against relegation between Ponte Preta and Fluminense.

**********

I have finally solved the technical issues that prevented the regular updating of the blog over the past month or so. Many apologies for all the trouble caused by this, and thanks for your understanding.

Still facing problems

2006-11-10T13:23:00.000-05:00

To those who wondered, the problems I am having are related to my current connection at home. Due to our great cable providers, some minor problem apparently got so out of hand that they haven't been able to fix it in nearly one month. In the meantime, I can't really do much in terms of research to write half-decent posts here. I am now at a public access computer and can't just write an appropriate post from here. I hope their latest promise of fixing it by next week comes through. Sorry again for the last month.

Technical problems

2006-10-23T15:52:00.000-04:00

Due to some unforeseen technical problems at my end, I've been unable to update the page regularly in the last couple of weeks. I hope to end this problem soon in order to return to the publishing of regular updates as soon as possible. Sorry for this inconvenience and thank you for your understanding.

Brazilian Serie A - round 29 preview

2006-10-13T13:14:00.000-04:00

With a seven-point lead over Santos, Sao Paulo hosts 10th place Juventude this weekend, knowing it must get the win to stay atop the table ahead of meetings against Gremio (next week) and Santos (November 5) away from home later in the tournament. Meanwhile, Santos travels to Rio to face Botafogo, and Gremio plays a relatively easier away match, against Sao Caetano. All leaders play on Saturday - as well as Cruzeiro and Fortaleza -, with six other matches on Sunday.

Here are my views for the matches this weekend:

CRUZEIRO x FORTALEZA: Cruzeiro is in its final push for a Libertadores spot, five points behind Parana in the standings. This week the team has a moral obligation to beat Fortaleza at home, even though the visitors' play of late seems to have been better than their results would indicate. An away draw against Sao Paulo and a win over Fluminense last month should serve as a reminder that the team has the ability to pull a surprise every now and then. Cruzeiro is unbeaten in five at home, while Fortaleza has lost only three times in its last ten away games.

BOTAFOGO x SANTOS: Good wins over Corinthians and Gremio have put Santos back in the fight for the league title. The team must still overcome a seven-point deficit against Sao Paulo in ten matches to reach the top of the table. Since it will face Sao Paulo next month, the team will be in good position if it manages to beat the rivals and win all home games, getting an occasional win or at least a draw away from home. This week has a tough but not impossible matchup with Botafogo in Rio de Janeiro. The locals are coming off a 1-0 away loss to Figueirense, and will want to win this one to keep safely out of harm's way in the battle against relegation. Botafogo has won four of its last five home games, with Santos winning one of its last six away matches (with three draws and two losses).

SAO PAULO x JUVENTUDE: Leader Sao Paulo will play Juventude at home. The visitors are in midtable form thanks to their great performances at home and not so great play away from Caxias do Sul. In order to keep a comfortable lead in the standings, Sao Paulo cannot afford to lose points here, but the team must keep its focus and play seriously to do so. Unbeaten in six at home, Sao Paulo will try to hand the visitors their fifth straight away loss.

SAO CAETANO x GREMIO: Sao Caetano seems condemned to play in the Serie B next year, and its total lack of fan support only adds to their problem. Dead last in attendance figures with just over 1,500 fans showing in average for each home game (and often less), the team cannot say it truly has home advantage here. That's good news for Gremio, coming off two away losses and desperately in need of a win to keep Sao Paulo within reach in the standings. Winless in eleven, Sao Caetano has lost its last six matches (two at home). Gremio has won only once in its last five away matches.

INTERNACIONAL x FLUMINENSE: Internacional still has a slim shot at the title, but in order to keep in the race for the top of the standings, the Libertadores champion must stop drawing at home. This week the match against Fluminense shouldn't normally present too much of a challenge, but the team from Rio is determined to recover from its current poor form that has it sitting dangerously close to the relegation zone, just two points ahead of Corinthians. Inter has won three of its last four at home, after a brief four-game winless streak at the Beira-Rio. Fluminense has lost three straight overall, and is winless in five away from home.

FIGUEIRENSE x PONTE PRETA: Ponte Preta managed to temporarily escape from the bottom four, but it will have a tough time this week away at Figueirense. Having just one more point than 17th place Corinthians, the team must try to get at least a point here, something which is not impossible. Figueirense, currently eighth in the standings, usually plays well at home and will do whatever it can to get the three points. Figueirense has lost only once at home in its last ten matches in Florianopolis, while Ponte is winless in nine away from Campinas, including three straight losses.

PARANA x GOIAS: Goias' remarkable comeback has seen the team put a seven-point cushion between itself and the relegation zone it found itself in not long ago. Parana will have a tough match at home this weekend, trying to keep pace with Inter in a fight for fourth place in the standings. The title seems a bit out of reach, but the team is focused on keeping a good run to secure a place in the Libertadores in 2007. The locals have won four of their last five games overall, including three straight at home. Goias is coming off three straight wins, including an away victory. Prior to that away triumph, however, the team had an eight-game winless stint away from home.

FLAMENGO x CORINTHIANS: Amidst a crisis that reached new levels this week with the team's elimination from the Copa Sudamericana, Corinthians travels to Rio de Janeiro to face Flamengo, in a match between the two most popular teams in the country. Corinthians is currently in 17th place with 32 points, but Flamengo is not that much better, in 14th place with four more points. Another loss could mean trouble for Corinthians' coach Emerson Leao. Corinthians is winless in four overall, having lost its last two games. Flamengo lost to Palmeiras last weekend, but has won four of its last six games.

SANTA CRUZ x VASCO: Time is running out for Santa Cruz, which still finds itself in dead last, two points behind Sao Caetano. Put simply, the team cannot afford to lose more points at home, and must beat Vasco this weekend to keep its dream of remaining in the Serie A alive. The team from Rio has not been playing well lately, falling five points behind Parana in the race for the last Libertadores spot in 2007. With just two wins and seven losses in its last nine games, Santa hopes to play like it has in wins over Juventude and Palmeiras late in September. Vasco finally won last weekend, beating Fortaleza 2-0 at home after a seven-game winless streak.

PALMEIRAS x ATLETICO PARANAENSE: Atletico confirmed its role as the lone Brazilian team left in the Copa Sudamericana after a draw with River Plate on Thursday. This Sunday, the team must travel to Sao Paulo to face another tough match, against Palmeiras, which is still trying to see if interim coach Marcelo Vilar has what it takes to be in charge in place of fired coach Tite. With three straight home wins, the team looks good to get the three points again. Atletico has only two draws and a win to show for in its last nine away games.

Three Brazilian teams out, one left

2006-10-12T10:54:00.000-04:00

Three of the four Brazilian teams which were still playing in the Copa Sudamericana have been eliminated in the round of 16 of the competition. Only one team, Atletico Paranaense, still has a chance to advance to the quarterfinals.

On Wednesday, Corinthians started the away game against Lanus well, with an early goal. By the end of the match, however, the team had lost by a 4-2 score. To make matters worse, midfielder Carlos Alberto and coach Emerson Leao exchanged insults on the pitch, making it clear that the atmosphere at the 2005 Brazilian champion dressing room is far from good. The team must now focus on trying to escape the relegation zone in the Brazilian Serie A, where it currently sits.

Fluminense also lost in Argentina, 2-0 to Gymnasia La Plata, and said farewell to the tournament. Finally, Santos was able to beat San Lorenzo 1-0 at the Vila Belmiro, but the result was not enough to revert a 3-0 beating in the first leg, two weeks ago in Argentina.

Atletico Paranaense, which beat River Plate 1-0 in Buenos Aires in the first leg, is home this Thursday for the second leg of the matchup. The Brazilian team only needs a draw to advance.

Brazil comes back from behind to beat Ecuador

2006-10-11T12:39:00.000-04:00

After an easy 4-0 win over Kuwait on Saturday, Brazil was back on the pitch this Tuesday, facing Ecuador in a friendly in Sweden. The good Ecuador team that had already played well in the World Cup did not disappoint, and started the game by controlling the action against a lost Brazilian side. After a general failure at the Brazilian defence, Borja opened the score in the 23rd minute. Things started to change when Valencia was sent off for an elbowing infraction, six minutes later. And Brazil was lucky to get the equaliser before halftime, with Fred taking advantage of a poor clearing attempt to make it 1-1 in the 44th minute. Ronaldinho Gaucho replaced Dudu Cearense in the second half, and the team coached by Dunga quickly improved its on-field display. Ronaldinho himself set up Kaka 28 minutes into the second half to make it 2-1, as the Brazilians had full control of the game against an Ecuador team unable to overcame its one-man inferiority. Ronaldinho would still hit the crossbar twice from free kicks, and the end result would be a 2-1 win for Brazil, still unbeaten after the World Cup under coach Dunga. The next match for the National side will be next month, against Switzerland, in Basel.