Letter From Brazil

[RodgersThat]

it feels good finally being an active part of these boards, and I thank you guys for the warm reception
as for Cruzeiro and the Campeonato Brasileiro, I'm hopeful we can achieve a better league position this term (it saddens me just thinking we were very close to relegation last year), especially as we managed to maintain our best player, Walter Montillo. he's the guy that makes our midfield tick, without a doubt, and can also change the course of some matches on his own.
I'm also relishing seeing the likes of Neymar, Oscar and Lucas Moura acting in the big stage again. players of that calibre are what makes our national league so challenging and entertaining to watch, IMO!
Cruzeiro are favourites for their clash with Atlético - GO at the Parque do Sabiá tomorrow at 6:30PM (local time). I'll try to post my views on this game and on the first round of the league as soon as I got home tomorrow.
cheers!

Cheers Red ... just out of curiosity - are you located in Belo Horizonte or Minas Gerais State ?

I am out watching a Dalglish (PAUL) managed team tonight - the Austin AzTex and we're up 3-0 at halftime !!! DALGLISH
I recorded the Palmeiras-Portuguese and Sport-Flamengo games from earlier today and will comment when I get back home.

Mari ... its so despicable to use the Beautiful Game to cause violence towards one's fellow travelers in this journey of life. These people are NOT fans. Lets hope tomorrow brings no more sad news. :FC:

[redstain]

Cheers Red ... just out of curiosity - are you located in Belo Horizonte or Minas Gerais State ?

I am out watching a Dalglish (PAUL) managed team tonight - the Austin AzTex and we're up 3-0 at halftime !!! DALGLISH
I recorded the Palmeiras-Portuguese and Sport-Flamengo games from earlier today and will comment when I get back home.

Mari ... its so despicable to use the Beautiful Game to cause violence towards one's fellow travelers in this journey of life. These people are NOT fans. Lets hope tomorrow brings no more sad news. :FC:

sadly no, KingsMan... but I wish I was still living there, as it would be way easier to follow Cruzeiro's matches! since I'm living in Paraná State for the time being, it's very hard trying to follow my boyhood team, especially during the State Championships. so with the start of the Campeonato Brasileiro, I expect seeing more coverage of Raposa's games
I'll try to watch at least the highlights from today's games and post my opinions later, too. seems like my brother's team, Figueirense, was the only one snatching a win after all
as for the events in Uruguay, all I can do is pray for the family of the supporter that lost his life. I think rivalry and banter are part and parcel of our loved game, but violence should have no place whatsoever in football.

[Yowa]

1-0 Sao Paulo, Lucas Moura with the assist on Jadson's goal.

[Yowa]

Well Sao Paulo's defense was embarrassing and loss 4-2.

[Maripacha]

We won the derby again, after starting losing in the frist seconds of the match whit a goal of Rodrigo Mora, the judge, should not have validated thi goal for hand of zalayeta. 15 mintes later hand in Peñarol area, penalty for nacional, goal of Richard Porta, minutes later, goal of zalayeta peñarol 2 nacional 1, and missing 5 minutes to the end of the firt half, Facundo Piriz after a corner, put de 2 - 2, in the second time, entrey Alvaro "el chino" Recoba, and whit a grat free kick, put the 3 2, the party was in 3 colours as always


video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4SX5ZmpyiY&feature=plcp only whit nacional goals

[redstain]

sorry I couldn't post it yesterday, but here's the summary of the 1st round of the Campeonato Brasileiro:

Palmeiras 1 x 1 Portuguesa
Sport 1 x 1 Flamengo
Figueirense 2 x 1 Náutico
Botafogo 4 x 2 São Paulo (sorry, Yowa)
Corinthians 0 x 1 Fluminense
Internacional 2 x 0 Coritiba
Ponte Preta 0 x 1 Atlético - MG
Vasco 2 x 1 Grêmio
Cruzeiro 0 x 0 Atlético - GO
Bahia 0 x 0 Santos

in probably the best match of the weekend, Botafogo managed to get a result against São Paulo after being 0-1 down. half-time substitute Herrera scored a hat-trick for Botafogo. Lucas Moura played fairly well for São Paulo, and got himself an assist.
Cruzeiro's match was very poor, and the team only managed to test the opposition goalkeeper in the second half of the game. foward Anselmo Ramon earned himself a yellow card for a foul (deserved, IMO), then a red card after arguing with a linesman, leaving Cruzeiro with 10 players at the 75th minute. in the end, both teams never looked like winning the game, sadly for my Raposa
as for the other games, sorry but I couldn't watch them. still, from what I've seen from the highlights, most of them were poor. I certainly hope the level of the games improve in the next rounds, as I feel there's much more to come from teams like Fluminense, Santos, São Paulo and Cruzeiro.
thoughts, anyone?

[RodgersThat]

sorry I couldn't post it yesterday, but here's the summary of the 1st round of the Campeonato Brasileiro:

Palmeiras 1 x 1 Portuguesa
Sport 1 x 1 Flamengo
Figueirense 2 x 1 Náutico
Botafogo 4 x 2 São Paulo (sorry, Yowa)
Corinthians 0 x 1 Fluminense
Internacional 2 x 0 Coritiba
Ponte Preta 0 x 1 Atlético - MG
Vasco 2 x 1 Grêmio
Cruzeiro 0 x 0 Atlético - GO
Bahia 0 x 0 Santos

in probably the best match of the weekend, Botafogo managed to get a result against São Paulo after being 0-1 down. half-time substitute Herrera scored a hat-trick for Botafogo. Lucas Moura played fairly well for São Paulo, and got himself an assist.
Cruzeiro's match was very poor, and the team only managed to test the opposition goalkeeper in the second half of the game. foward Anselmo Ramon earned himself a yellow card for a foul (deserved, IMO), then a red card after arguing with a linesman, leaving Cruzeiro with 10 players at the 75th minute. in the end, both teams never looked like winning the game, sadly for my Raposa
as for the other games, sorry but I couldn't watch them. still, from what I've seen from the highlights, most of them were poor. I certainly hope the level of the games improve in the next rounds, as I feel there's much more to come from teams like Fluminense, Santos, São Paulo and Cruzeiro.
thoughts, anyone?

Hi RedStain ...Sorry I focused yesterday on watching the finale of the Mexican Primera League Clausura 2012 and was not disappointed - the two best strikers in Mexico today were playing and, in the end, Oribe Peralta's strike in each leg of the Final for Santos Laguna proved to be the difference over Aldo De Niigris and Monterrey. De Niigris, Javier Hernandez's backup in El Tri, seems ready for a move across the Atlantic and a move to Spain or Italy will be a very good move for him. Santos Laguna won on aggregate 3-2 to secure their first title in 4 years and 4th overall. This one was special for the 28 yr old Peralta - he had the best season of his career, scoring an eye catching 28 goals this season and has most certainly earned a call-up to the national team with his goal bonanza this year.
Highlights here : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BZRc0QJIxA

I watched almost 45 mins of highlights from Saturday's Sport Recife vs Flamengo game (in HD thanks to GolTV) and two things came to mind. If Sport play like this, they have a good chance of staying up. And Ronaldinho looked very slow against the speedy and aggressive Sport defense. In fact, Sport outhustled, outfought and ultimately outshot the big Boys from Rio all night and can feel legitimately let down with the 1-1 draw. MOTM was the 21 year old striker, Marquinhos; a great Serie A debut for the scorer of Sport's goal.

Watched about 20 mins of Palmeiras/Portuguese highlights and it was a disappointing performance from the home side. One player stood out on the day and it was the newly promoted side's RB, Luis Ricardo. Great attacking instinct and did particularly well against Luan.

I finally watched Bota v Sao Paulo game this afternoon from DVR and SPFC certainly had a defensive meltdown in the 2nd half after going into halftime with a lead and having managed to keep Botafogo goalless. Newly added LB Bruno Cortes had a bad start to his first Serie A campaign with SPFC and have to say Botas looked very lively with Vitor Junior at one point sprinting past the entire SP defense only to rake his shot wide. Maicousuel in the midfield was also very impressive but subbing out Abreu for German Herrera was a masterstroke for the Botafogo manager, Oswaldo Oliveira who was ejected later on in the game. Lucas Moura and Luis Fabiano did as well as they could given the SPFC midfield to establish control in the midfield and their obvious defensive woes.

They are re-broadcasting Inter's opener vs Coritiba later this week and I'll be watching for my two favorites - Leandro Damiao and Oscar.

Cheers Mari - I didn't catch the Uruguayan Primera/Clasico this weekend live but will watch the highlights on Gol Uruguay on TyC TV tonight. And Copa Lib action continues this week. Vamos Universidad !!!

[Maripacha]

missing 2 weeks for the end of uruguayan championship, defensor is the firts 4 points above Liverpool, and 6 above Nacional,
Defensor won against Bella Vista, whit 10 mens in the last second whit a great goal of Nicolas Olivera, Liverpool defeat Fenix in a great match 5 - 4 and Nacional beat in Uruguayan derby 3 2 to Peñarol, if Defensor wins the next match against El Tanque Sisley, will be the champion of the Torneo Clausura and secured a place in the definition of the championship whit the Torneo Apertura Champion Nacional, still there nothing confirmated on the Tabla Anual champion, Nacional is the favourite, is 2 points above Defensor, but whit 2 dificults games against Wanderes next weekend, and against Liverpool in the last match, Peñarol need a miracle to aspire to something, needs that Defensor and Nacional lost their games for at least, wining the tabla anual, but is almost imposible, for now, what remains is score points for the internacional cups, now, is in playoffs of Copa Libertadores.


Torneo Clausura

Defensor 35
Liverpool (U) 31
Nacional 29
Peñarol 26
Cerro Largo 23
Wanderers 21
Danubio 20
River Plate 19
Rampla 15
Bella Vista 14
ETS 13
Cerro 12
Racing (U) 11
Cerrito 11
Fénix 5
Rentistas 4


Tabla Anual

Nacional 61
Defensor 59
Peñarol 56
Danubio 51
Cerro Largo 50
Liverpool (U) 50
River Plate 47
Wanderers 38
Cerro 36
Rampla 31
ETS 31
Racing (U) 28
Bella Vista 24
Cerrito 24
Fénix 21
Rentistas 18

[pete752]

Just read on BBC live text that Sao Paulo have rejected a 40m euro offer for Lucas Moura from Chelsea!

Forget it guys, we are not going to see the lad in Liverpool red..I'll satisfy myself by buying him and playing him in fifa 12..at least, I don't depend on FSG for reshaping the team on fifa 12

[pete752]

Just read on BBC live text that Sao Paulo have rejected a 40m euro offer for Lucas Moura from Chelsea!

Forget it guys, we are not going to see the lad in Liverpool red..I'll satisfy myself by buying him and playing him in fifa 12..at least, I don't depend on FSG for reshaping the team on fifa 12

[RodgersThat]

Pete ... afraid you're absolutely right but thats insanity on SPFC's part. Unlike Neymar, Lucas is yet to prove himself on a more global stage like the Copa Lib or even with the Brazilian national team. 25-30m is probably the right value for him but 40m is outrageously high !

Perhaps we can look at creative midfielders like Gustavo Lorenzetti (UChile) who would be a lot more affordable at somewhere between 6-9m. By my estimations, James Rodriguez of Porto could probably be moved for 25m or so !

Reminder - Copa Lib QF games tonight and its Brazil night (3 of the 4 Brazilian teams play)!

Corinthians v Vasco da Gama [1st leg 0-0]
Fluminense v Boca Juniors [1st leg 0-1]

Live in the US on Fox Deportes and in South America on Fox Sports. Sorry - no live broadcast in the UK or France.

Corinthians under Tite have been very organized defensively but lack firepower up front and its affecting their current form (5 goals in their last 6). But in the end, Tite just finds ways to win the big games and even though Vasco has the flashier individual players (Juninho, Diego Souza, Fagner, Willian Barbio & Romulo), I think Coris will win this one on the backs of their defensive steel led by Leandro Castan and the steadfastness of their central midfield duo of Danilo and Ralf.

Fluminense came away from Buenos Aires relatively unscathed against a Boca team which is very steady if somewhat unspectacular. Fred hasn't really gotten on track this year in either the Paulista campaign nor the CL but Fluminense do have plenty of players capable of scoring from the midfield as well - especially their young star - Wellington Nem.

Should be a good night of football but am looking forward to tomorrow night's games even more. Santos, Velez, Libertad and, last but not least, UdeChile will be playing ... bliss !

[RodgersThat]

An absolutely stunning end to the game at the Engenhao in Rio. Fluminense and Boca were looking like they were headed for extra time but in the 2nd minute of stoppage time, Riquelme's nice weighted pass over the Fluminense defense, so compact and confident all night, opened up Rivero whose shot hit the crossbar and was then almost parried away by Cavalieri only to fall to Santiago "El Tanque" Silva's feet. 1-1 and Boca advance in dramatic fashion.

[Yowa]

Viva la Boca Juniors!

[RodgersThat]

Copa Libertadores Quarterfinals
As predicted, Corinthians win. After being deadlocked 0-0 for almost 178 minutes over 2 legs, Corinthians broke through with a lone goal from Paulinho to move on to the next round. As usual it was solid but unspectacular play so tonight's 4 teams offers more of the South American attacking flair component of the Final 4 intact.

Jorge Sampaoli and UdeChile has resisted the urge to play negative or overly defensive football no matter where they've played and while that tactic almost proved disastrous in the R16 vs Deportivo Quito when they went down 1-4, they managed to utterly destroy Depor in the return leg in Santiago. UdeChile hasn't lost a home game all year and conceded just 1 goal in its last 7 home games but I expect Libertad to score at least a goal tonight yet fall short 3-1 against the best team in the tournament.

Muricy Ramalho and Santos have been prolific in scoring at home and, for the most part been more steady away when compared to UC. However, Velez will pose a different problem than previous opponents this year because of their strong back 4 and their quick transitional/counter-attacking speed with midfield playmakers like Augusto Fernandez and Victor Zapata and the attacking pair of Mauro Obolo and Juan Manual Martinez. If Velez can absorb the early Santos pressure and nick a vital away goal, the burden will be on Santos to score 3. They've been unstoppable at home so far (16W, 1D,1L) so my guess is that they will go through with a 2-0 win tonight.

Copa Do Brasil Semis Updates
I caught just highlights because of the Copa Lib games but Palmeiras has made it to the SF for the first time in 13 years, Sao Paulo are through as well as last year's surprise Finalists, Coritiba. Gremio host Bahia tonight and should make it through with little challenge.

[RodgersThat]

A fantastic game going on in Santos tonight. Velez went down to 10 men in the 40th minute after their goalkeeper, Marcelo Barovero was sent off for blocking Neymar on his route to goal. Santos is piling on the pressure but has to be very wary of that counterattacking speed of the Sarsfield mid/attackers. Velez had to sacrifice Mauro Obolo to sub in reserve GK German Montoya who, so far, has been remarkably unharried.

Baro's red card seemed legitimate but all evening Neymar's been playing softer than ice cream on a Summer's Day. Shameful.

[SMF-Fede]

So, only one spot remaining for Semis, Santos beated Velez by 1-0 and qualified on PK's on 4-2.
Tight serie but Santos made a lil' bit more to get the ticket, so they will face Corinthians on Semis.

Now is starting U.Chile vs Libertad, first match was 1-1 on Paraguay, so Uchi is favorite but paraguayan players are hard to beat and strong on set pieces, so will be a nice clash of styles. The winner of this match will face Boca Juniors on Semis.

[RodgersThat]

So, only one spot remaining for Semis, Santos beated Velez by 1-0 and qualified on PK's on 4-2.
Tight serie but Santos made a lil' bit more to get the ticket, so they will face Corinthians on Semis.

Now is starting U.Chile vs Libertad, first match was 1-1 on Paraguay, so Uchi is favorite but paraguayan players are hard to beat and strong on set pieces, so will be a nice clash of styles. The winner of this match will face Boca Juniors on Semis.

SMF what a fantastic match going on in Santiago ! I hope UC make it to the Finals .. quality side ! Viva Universidad !

[RodgersThat]

A hard earned victory for UdeChile but their defensive frailties were laid bare last night by a swiftly counterattacking Libertad side. Sampaoli took a huge gamble with a very attacking lineup with just a back 3 against Libertad and it almost backfired spectacularly.

Boca Juniors looms next and as much as UC can go punch for punch with Boca in attacking the goal, Boca's defense is capable of parrying the UC strikers. So I think it will be a high scoring affair and the last team to score will likely win it.

UC's hopes of a Copa Double will weigh heavily on the shoulders of Albert Acevedo, Matias Rodriguez and Jose Rojas.

I did correctly predict 3/4 QF winners (didn't dare guess on the Fluminense-Boca game and for good reason!) although got neither of the two scores I predicted right. Neophyte prognosticator. Hah !

[SMF-Fede]

Just started Rosario Central vs River Plate, an anticipated final for the promotion to 1st division with just 4 matches remaining, the "canallas" are in the top of the league and receiving River, huge match on a tournament with great emotions left until the end.

Positions: (1st and 2nd promote directly to 1st division, 3rd and 4th will face playoffs against 18th and 17th on promotion table of 1st division)

Rosario 68 pts.
Instituto 67 pts. (+1 game)
River Plate 66 pts.
Quilmes 62 pts.

[RodgersThat]

Just started Rosario Central vs River Plate, an anticipated final for the promotion to 1st division with just 4 matches remaining, the "canallas" are in the top of the league and receiving River, huge match on a tournament with great emotions left until the end.

Positions: (1st and 2nd promote directly to 1st division, 3rd and 4th will face playoffs against 18th and 17th on promotion table of 1st division)

Rosario 68 pts.
Instituto 67 pts. (+1 game)
River Plate 66 pts.
Quilmes 62 pts.

Thanks Fede !

I'm forgoing watching that one and instead watching England - Norway because Stevie, Carroll and Downing are playing. #11 Lucas Ocampos is still FANTASTIC !

[SMF-Fede]

Awful match, both teams wanted not to lose and they got that, id should watched a porn or played fifa instead haha, anyway, with 3 matches remainings, the positions are:

1-Rosario 69pts.
2-River 67pts.
2-Instituto 67pts.
4-Quilmes 62pts. (-1 game)

[RodgersThat]

Well that was a waste of my time. England 1 Norway 0 but the best action of the game was in the first 30 minutes or so. Good stuff from Andy and Stevie remains England's creator in midfield. But Downing was unimpressive and Kelly and Henderson had little time to show much.

I watched the Brazil - Denmark game this morning while all their young guns played, Hulk and Oscar were far and away the most impressive. Was not a good game for Damiao - heavy touches and seemed fatigued. Lucas Moura looked good in spurts and he ran with pace and skill but wasn't his authoritative self. He is a natural for the right wing spot taken up by the Hulk and was not his attacking best out left. Romulo and Sandro did very well to neutralize the threat posed by the ultra-talented Christian Eriksen. And I felt bad for Dani ... was not a great game from him today but he's a stud player and will bounce back.

Hulk dominating the RW and the Oscar's continued evolution into a legitimate central midfield backup to Ganso bodes very well for Mano Menezes and the Selecao's Olympic Summer.

There are a few Serie A games this weekend but with so many of the younger stars in Germany, the quality will be a little diminished for sure. redstain - good luck tonight with the Nautico - Cruzeiro game.

[Maripacha]

well, practically all defined here, Defensor won against ETS and is the champion of the Clausura, Nacional won 2 0 against Wanderes, in a great match of defender Alexis Rolin that could go to Inter (milan).
Now the only thing left to define is the Tabla anualn, between Nacional and Defensor for know who will have the adventage in the finals, Nacional is 2 points above Defensor, and if we won against Liverpool in sunday we will win the Tabla anual.

[RodgersThat]

Welcome to the Euro 2012 edition of the Guessing Game! For any-one that doesn't know, the Guessing Game has been running for 6 years and continues to grow each year! It is run in Games and Chat and this is where the Euro 2012 competition will take place aswell. Below is general information about the game. If you are interested in playing, express your interest in this thread or the one in Games and Chat. The updated players list can be found in the G&C registration thread. But remember, all rounds will be posted in Games and Chat!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This summer we will be hosting our FIFTH summer tournament and as always...

ITS FREE TO PLAY!

THE GUESSING GAME EURO 2012

This is the ideal opportunity to get a taste of The Number ONE game on the LFC forums ahead of next season!

If your new to the GG, you can be guaranteed to go up against the most clued up, players across all of Games & Chat.

We have had upward of 70 players in past summer games and are expecting a similar amount this time so dont miss out of a rollercoaster 2 weeks of Guessing Game fun!

If you have any questions about the game dont hesitate to ask either in here or over in our Players Lounge!

HOW IT WORKS:

There will be FOUR rounds throughout the Group Stages in which you need to answer 5 questions about the upcoming matches.
-
An example of a past round can be found here.
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Every round will be posted around 2 or 3 days before the deadline so pop in here each day and you will be fine! Rounds are going to come thick and fast as we will be having 4 group stage rounds in the space of 12 days so you need to regularly check G&C!
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All players will be drawn into 4 groups. The number of players in each group depends on number of entries. The live draw will be in the Players Lounge a few days before the event starts.
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The top 2 of each group will advance to the knockout stages.
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All chat/banter must go in the Guessing Game Players Lounge.

THIS THREAD IS A REGISTRATION THREAD ONLY.

YOU WILL BE REQUIRED TO "CHECK IN" 48 HOURS BEFORE KICK OFF OTHERWISE YOU WILL NOT BE IN THE DRAW FOR THE GROUPS.

This is to ensure we have as active a tournament as possible.

REGISTRATION CLOSES ON 5TH JUNE @ 6PM WHICH WILL CORRESPOND WITH THE OPENING OF CHECK IN

TOURNAMENT KICKS OFF OF 8TH JUNE!

Enjoy! If any-one has any questions, don't hesitate to ask myself or Jelly, or even any-one in the Players Lounge.

[RodgersThat]

Awful match, both teams wanted not to lose and they got that, id should watched a porn or played fifa instead haha, anyway, with 3 matches remainings, the positions are:

1-Rosario 69pts.
2-River 67pts.
2-Instituto 67pts.
4-Quilmes 62pts. (-1 game)

[RodgersThat]

Firstly -- A hearty welcome to the 18th, and newest, member in the pantheon of Managers of our illustrious club. Brendan Rodgers, may you have all success in your endeavor. You'll Never Walk Alone !!!


League Leaders
Good starts so far from Botafogo which has beaten two strong opponents in its first 2 games to secure all 6 points to climb to the top of the league. Vasco has also won two out of the gates without defensive talisman Dede who is set to return on June 10th and its win this weekend over newly promoted Portuguesa was also secured without the services of DM Romulo, whose excellent midfield play in the Serie A, Carioca and Libertadores over the last 18 months has almost guaranteed a spot in Menezes' Brazil's U23 Olympic squad.

The only other team with a perfect record is, surprisingly, Atletico-Mineiro which has managed to beat newly promoted Ponte Preta and defending champs Corinthians with identical 1-0 scores.

The Rest
Way too early for alarm bells but the Corinthians have indeed started with two straight losses. But its possible that Tite is playing it safe early in the League season to preserve his team for the Copa Lib Semis (and beyond).

Unfortunately for redstain, the Nautico v Cruzeiro 0-0 draw was one of the uglier games of the weekend. I was looking for Cruzeiro's stars Montillo and Wallyson to control the game but like the other 3 new promotees, the Yacht seemed more determined to stay afloat in Serie A than the Crosses who have been off the boil for well over a year since their blistering Copa Libertadores form.

Also watched the rebroadcast of the Gremio v Palmeiras game and young Gremio DM Fernando continues to impress. He rarely put a wrong foot forward and showed great anticipation in intercepting passes and disrupting Palmeiras' veteran midfield. He also provided the pinpoint free kick that was nodded in by Andre Lima to secure Gremio's 1-0 victory. Scolari rested Valdivia for the first half of the game but even his introduction in the 2nd half changed little of Palmeiras' fortunes in this tightly contested preview of the upcoming Copa Do Brasil semifinal clashes between the two.

Flamengo & Ronaldinho Updates
Controversy is already plaguing Flamengo and Ronaldinho again. After escaping with a lucky 1-1 draw at Sporting Recife on opening day, they squandered a 3-1 lead at home to Internacional who were without both Oscar and Damiao. R10's performances this year have been less than adequate even for the more accommodating Brazilian game and he was subbed off on Saturday night to a chorus boos from the home fans at the Engenhao. Its no secret that Ronaldinho and his manager/brother Assis are unhappy with wages owed him by Flamengo but its now equally obvious after there's been no discernible improvements in Flamengo's fortunes since Vanderlei Luxemburgo's ouster in February (reportedly initiated by Ronaldinho) that the real issue with the team is the ageing roster and one former superstar in particular.

After featuring in Menezes' plans for the Olympics as late as last September, R10 is well out of contention and his current form in the Serie A would suggest he is on his way out of Brazil - likely to a Middle Eastern side that would be able to sell tickets and shirts banking on his past glories. If that indeed comes to pass, it will be a sad chapter in an illustrious career that could have burned even longer and brighter with more personal discipline and dedication to his craft. All at the relatively young age of 32 ....

Selecao vs USA
After a misleadingly easy win over Scotland's B team (5-1) , the US Men's team ran into the Brazilian U23 juggernaut that is now scoring goals for fun and was shellacked by the Canary Yellows by a margin of 4-1. The fact that US fans must take solace in the fact that we weren't outshot 20-7 like the last time we played Brazil back in 2010 and that we didn't fold like a pack of cards like we did in the 2nd half of the recent game against Italy tells you most of what you need to know about this game. Incidentally, that 2010 game marked the senior team debuts of Neymar and Ganso and the coronation of Lucas Leiva as Brazil's "Volante" (Steering Wheel) of the next decade.

The US team didn't really have any standout players last night but Michael Bradley remained a steadfast presence against the vastly talented Selecao midfielders and Herculez Gomez's shift up top put the Santos Laguna man firmly on Klinsmann's radar again. It was a night to forget for the American defenders but there's also genuine worry about missing depth and pace at Center-Back with Bocanegra, Clarence Goodson and Onweyu all on the other side of 30.

Several Brazilian players continue to shine in these friendlies -
- Thiago Silva is the next great center-back for Brazil and his unflappable presence in the back is remarkable. Also scored a goal last night.
- Marcelo had another brilliant game at LB but temperament and maturity concerns remain.
- Neymar was his marauding self and his pace was a constant threat to the shaky American D.
- The U23 midfield trio of Oscar, Romulo and Sandro continue to hum along very nicely. I know I've mentioned Romulo many a time but watch his play for the U23 team to appreciate their potential as a backup or partner for our own Lucas. Oscar is another one who would be worth a serious look. While many will point to his slight physique, I'd argue that it hasn't been an issue against most opponents he's played - Copa Lib, Brasileiro, U20 or U23. Work permit should not be an issue for either as they have been involved in multiple internationals over the last year + for Brazil U20/23. Hope someone from LFC's scouting team is taking an active look at these two....

Also, while I didn't watch the entire game - Mexico's "home" game against Wales at a sold out Metlife Stadium in New Jersey allowed Aldo De Niigris to prove my point that he is indeed one of the two best Mexican strikers not named Hernandez (the other is Oribe Peralta) when scored both of Mexico's goals in their 2-0 win.

Lastly - talk about an American Summer ! Between the LFC saga to Brazil playing the USA in front of 67000+ at a sold out Fedex Field in Maryland to LFC's sold out summer tour games in Boston and Baltimore to Brazil vs Mexico at the sold-out 80,000 seater indoor stadium in Dallas this upcoming Sunday - it feels like we're at the epicenter of World Football this summer ! Speaking of which - I am headed to Dallas this weekend for the aforementioned game ... not a bad seat in the hizzzouzeeee !


More internationals this weekend so no Serie A games until next week.

[SMF-Fede]

Last matchday for Torneo Clausura, Peñarol beated Cerrito 1-0, Nacional do the same over Liverpool 4-3 with 2 goals from Richard Porta, top striker of the tournament with 17 goals (even when he don't played most of the Apertura's matches), and Defensor lost against River Plate 2-1.

So, now let's go to the tricky part, finals will be between:
Nacional - champion of Torneo Apertura and Tabla Anual
Defensor Sporting - champion of Torneo Clausura

On the Tabla Anual (Apertura+Clausura), Nacional finished 1st with 67pts, 2nd Peñarol with 62 pts. (better goal average), and 3rd Defensor with 62 pts.
So, as Nacional won the Tabla Anual will have advantage on the finals for the uruguayan championship.

Will be played only 1 match between Nacional and Defensor.
If Nacional wins that match, Nacional will be Uruguayan champion.
If Defensor wins that match, 2 MORE MATCHES will be played between Nacional and Defensor, to decide championship.

Also, if Nacional is champion, Nacional and Peñarol will go to Copa Libertadores in groups stage, and Defensor will go to qualifying playoffs for that cup.
If Defensor is champion, Defensor and Nacional will go to Copa Libertadores in groups stage, and Peñarol will go to qualifying playoffs for that cup.

Yep, trick right? Well, was even more trickiest some years ago, so take a coffe and read it again
Tomorrow will be set the dates for the match/matches on the final/s.

[RodgersThat]

Cheers fellow LfB'rs ! Back at the hotel in Dallas after a memorable day albeit not the final result that I was hoping for.

We were some 85K strong watching the better kind of football at the Dallas Cowboy's home field. And the majority were in Green so this was pretty much a Mexican home game but a very friendly and congenial atmosphere nevertheless.

Brazil started off well enough. Mexico's generally good back 4 played well enough and Neymar was bottled up for most of the 1st half but his breakneck pace put the tremendous amount of pressure on the Mexican defenders. Some poor refereeing because from my angle in the stands Damiao's early disallowed goal seemed onside. Aside from that, Oscar had another very positive game and it was a pleasure seeing the young lad in person bossing the midfield. I'm not going OOT when I say I would absolutely LOVE to see him in our midfield next to Lucas. Romulo and Sandro had decent games - not that creative but not liabilities either. Brazil was really let down on the RB side by Danilo. He just couldn't keep up with Mexico's Guardado (could be a cheap but quality LW option?) and Dos Santos who scored a wonderful goal from a very tight angle.

Glad Menezes sorted out problems with Marcelo - mad skills and was excellent both going forward and defending. Pity he is a bit of a head case - there was this one unnecessarily rough tackle today on Hernandez that was met with a smattering of boos from the crowd - its a friendly after all Marcelo !

Also, for Mexico Chicharito, Barrera and De Nigris were all class. De Nigris didn't have too many touches in the game as he came on late but showed brilliant touch and awareness with a play that nearly sprung Hernandez for a third goal. If Mexico keeps playing like this I suspect domination in the CONCACAF won't be ours for a few more years.


Oh and by the way - what a stadium Jerry Jones has built ! Really not a bad seat in the house. And to be able to watch a game in the Texas June heat without being drenched in sweat .....

[RodgersThat]

Last matchday for Torneo Clausura, Peñarol beated Cerrito 1-0, Nacional do the same over Liverpool 4-3 with 2 goals from Richard Porta, top striker of the tournament with 17 goals (even when he don't played most of the Apertura's matches), and Defensor lost against River Plate 2-1.

Yep, trick right? Well, was even more trickiest some years ago, so take a coffe and read it again
Tomorrow will be set the dates for the match/matches on the final/s.

Cheers SMF-Fede !!! Good news for Nacional. Sorry about Penarol's slump but I know all will be well soon enough for Los Carboneros.

[SMF-Fede]

Cheers SMF-Fede !!! Good news for Nacional. Sorry about Penarol's slump but I know all will be well soon enough for Los Carboneros.

Hi mate! I guess next month for Peñarol will be about changes in terms of signing players, Da Silva is a good coach so this time he will build the team according to his playing style, the problem is that my team don't promoted enough quality youngsters, last one was Gastón Ramírez, key player for 2010 championship, and current player Alejandro González, good defender and maybe NT player in some years, but there's no more than that, compared with Nacional's or Defensor's youngsters, lot of them playing in 1st division and key players for their teams.
After almost 10 years confronted with Tenfield (tv, players and football owners in uruguayan football) that let Peñarol weak and with best youngsters going to other teams (imagine LFC confronting during 10 years the FA and signing 2nd hand players and no quality youngsters), Peñarol rebuild relations with them and started working on youngsters divisions, so best results could be seen on a couple of years or maybe more, until then will be an uneven fight against Nacional and Defensor, with the only option on signing players to try to reach Nacional and Defensor strong rosters.

Now, talking about the final/s, the first one will be played on saturday 16, if nacional wins that one will be the champion, if Defensor beats 'em, 2 more finals will be played on 19 and 23 of june. Chances are even, Defensor played best football so far, but Nacional beats 'em most of times, as we say here, they win only wearing the shirt, so let's see what happens on june16, see ya.