Corinthians surprises Botafogo in Rio

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.

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

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

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.

Dodo's suspension lifted

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

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.

Botafogo loses first match

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.

Dodo suspended for doping

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

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.

Botafogo settles for tie with Goias

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.

Against all odds

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.