Letter From Brazil

[RodgersThat]

forgot this was on, gonna stick on now

FH .. you just saw that Velez goal .. right ? Was that a handball ? Even on HDTV I couldn't tell if it was. In any case, the referee called the goal back and so it remains 1-0 to Penarol.
Penarol's defense has impressed me tonight because they have held Velez off to mostly distant speculative shots. This is definitely a far cry from their extremely tentative start to the tourney.
Also Velez's coach, Ricardo Gareca, looks remarkably like Roger Waters except for the gray

[robinredshanks]

[/B]

To be fair, i made the thread what it is, i want a cookie.

Chocolate chip? yummie

[pete752]

Vis, why are you not in the Copa America thread? We still have four teams to be claimed. Bolivia, Costa Rica, Ecuador,(I think) and Peru.

Agree with your post, absolutely.

Robin, I would love to join the banter with you guys on that thread but I don't have EST

That situation will soon be remedied (I hope) in the next couple of weeks as soon as I receive my official work contract now that I'm finally done with grad school

And RS, you better do a good job covering Colombia because one of my best mates here is Colombian and I would have taken up Colombia if I could post in EST

On the other hand, he hates football because he feels that the sport has been used to incite violence all too often in the past in his country. It's a kind of an odd one to figure out for me in any case. He hasn't had too much luck with football as he was out for 6 months after breaking his leg playing footie with some Argentinian friends

[robinredshanks]

Quick up-date on tonights semi final games for the Libertadores and Copa Do Brasil.

Copo Do Brasi Second leg.

Avai (1) V (1) Vasco.

Possibly the most interesting game, to see if Avai can recover from the 4-0 defeat to Flamengo last Saturday.

My money would be on Vasco.

Ceara (0) v (0) Coritiba
.
The other semi, second leg.

I think Coritiba should edge that, but it's a tough call.

Libertadores, Semi finals first leg. 2nd leg 1st of June.

Santos v C. Porteno (Par)

V. Sarsfield (Arg) v Penarol (Uru)

This is the first time that four teams, from different countries; have reached the semis. So there is a lot of national pride here, ahead of the Copa America.

I would go for a Santos, Penarol final. Probably, Santos to win.

All games start at 2150 hrs local time. That's 0150 hrs UK. Trouble is, which one do I watch? I think Avai/Vasco as it's a second leg, and they will show full length videos of the other games tomorrow.

Let's see how many of those predictions I get right.

Hee Hee, so far my predictions are proving correct, but with the Libertadores, there is always the second leg games, and only one goal advantage in each game.

[RodgersThat]

And RS, you better do a good job covering Colombia because one of my best mates here is Colombian and I would have taken up Colombia if I could post in EST

vis ... I will try to do your friend proud. For what its worth, I've been a big fan of Carlos Valderrama and the crazy Rene Higuita since the 1990 World Cup. While I remember his crazy save against Redknapp, I also remember his silly giveaway of a goal to Roger Milla in 1990 just as much

Also, in 1994 Colombia came to the US as one of the favorites to win it all given their very strong CONMEBOL qualifying campaign in which they beat a good Argentinian side both home and away with their 5-0 away win at Buenos Aires one of the highlights of the WC Qualifying campaign. They left a nearly shattered team and tragedy followed them back to Colombia when Andres Escobar, the defender who conceded an own goal vs the US was murdered in Medellin, reportedly as a consequence of his error.

For those who have never seen ESPN's 30 for 30 documentary, The Two Escobars, Escobar's tragic story is mired in the crossroads of Colombia's drug lords and their penchant and passion for patronizing Colombia's youth football. Can't recommend it enough.

[robinredshanks]

vis ... I will try to do your friend proud. For what its worth, I've been a big fan of Carlos Valderrama and the crazy Rene Higuita since the 1990 World Cup. While I remember his crazy save against Redknapp, I also remember his silly giveaway of a goal to Roger Milla in 1990 just as much

Also, in 1994 Colombia came to the US as one of the favorites to win it all given their very strong CONMEBOL qualifying campaign in which they beat a good Argentinian side both home and away with their 5-0 away win at Buenos Aires one of the highlights of the WC Qualifying campaign. They left a nearly shattered team and tragedy followed them back to Colombia when Andres Escobar, the defender who conceded an own goal vs the US was murdered in Medellin, reportedly as a consequence of his error.

For those who have never seen ESPN's 30 for 30 documentary, The Two Escobars, Escobar's tragic story is mired in the crossroads of Colombia's drug lords and their penchant and passion for patronizing Colombia's youth football. Can't recommend it enough.

Good post and link Rushstrike, you should put that in The Copa America thread. I remember the incident, but could not find the players name. Very sad business.

[-CADS-]

How much coverage does the Champions League final get in Brazil Robin? Is it going be a hugely watched game? Also is (I hope they are) Barcelona the more popular of the two teams there? Although I wouldn't be surprised if the popularity of the EPL means that United have just as much support over there as Barca.

[pete752]

vis ... I will try to do your friend proud. For what its worth, I've been a big fan of Carlos Valderrama and the crazy Rene Higuita since the 1990 World Cup. While I remember his crazy save against Redknapp, I also remember his silly giveaway of a goal to Roger Milla in 1990 just as much

Also, in 1994 Colombia came to the US as one of the favorites to win it all given their very strong CONMEBOL qualifying campaign in which they beat a good Argentinian side both home and away with their 5-0 away win at Buenos Aires one of the highlights of the WC Qualifying campaign. They left a nearly shattered team and tragedy followed them back to Colombia when Andres Escobar, the defender who conceded an own goal vs the US was murdered in Medellin, reportedly as a consequence of his error.

For those who have never seen ESPN's 30 for 30 documentary, The Two Escobars, Escobar's tragic story is mired in the crossroads of Colombia's drug lords and their penchant and passion for patronizing Colombia's youth football. Can't recommend it enough.

With an impeccable record, with six wins in as many matches and without conceding a single goal, Colombia clinched the Copa América for the very first time in 2001. After 85 years, the competition crowned its seventh champion – Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay were the previous winners.

Hosting the Copa América for the first time, the Colombians lived up to the expectations of their fanatical supporters, who packed the Armenia, Barranquilla, Bogotá, Cali, Manizales, Medellín and Pereira stadiums. The squad managed by Francisco Maturana, the same coach that led the country to the World Cup Finals, in 1990 and 1994, also boasted the top scorer of the competition, striker Víctor Aristizábal, with six goals, and received the Fair Play trophy. The only absentee from the tournament was Argentina, who preferred not to send their national team due to social turmoil in Colombia weeks before the start of the Cup. Brazil, already with coach Luiz Felipe Scolari at the helm, were a huge disappointment, being eliminated from the tournament by surprise-package Honduras, in the quarterfinals. On the other hand, Mexico proved to be a major force in the tournament once again, reaching the finals for the second time and having to settle for second place.

Colombia has a very very good record against Ecaudor and Venezuela in Copa America history. They are pretty much awful against Argentina and Brazil with a very poor record to boot.

Colombia was overwhelmed by two historic high scores against its team in Copa América - 9 x 0, against Brazil, in the 1957 edition, and 9 x 1, against Argentina, in the 1945 edition.

The Colombian player who scored the greatest number of goals in Copa América’s history was Arnoldo Iguarán, scoring 10 goals in the 1979, 1983, 1987, 1989, and 1991 editions.

My little bit of digging to show my support for the Colombian national team Hope you guys find it useful too!

PS: Everyone talks about the Falcao's and the Armero's but the guy to watch out for along with all these is their young GK, David Ospina. He plays for Nice and I have watched him a few times and he's a top keeper who's not had too much spotlight on him. He is the second youngest keeper to play for Colombia in history and is considered one of Colombia's brightest young prospects

[RodgersThat]

PS: Everyone talks about the Falcao's and the Armero's but the guy to watch out for along with all these is their young GK, David Ospina. He plays for Nice and I have watched him a few times and he's a top keeper who's not had too much spotlight on him. He is the second youngest keeper to play for Colombia in history and is considered one of Colombia's brightest young prospects

vis .. thanks for the additional info on Colombia - please also post it on the Copa Am thread. Have to admit I knew next to nothing about Ospina until yesterday and after reading up on him, I was shocked he has been so under the radar. Seems a top quality GK and I predict that he will make a name for himself in this tourney.

For what its worth, I'll be recording Santos - Botafogo to check out Thiago Neves as well as Nacional vs Defensor which is yet another chance to see Santiago Garcia who continues to lead the Uruguayan league in scoring for 2010-2011 (23 goals in 28 games). Oh, and I guess there's another big game on today ?

[robinredshanks]

How much coverage does the Champions League final get in Brazil Robin? Is it going be a hugely watched game? Also is (I hope they are) Barcelona the more popular of the two teams there? Although I wouldn't be surprised if the popularity of the EPL means that United have just as much support over there as Barca.

The CL gets lots of coverage, they show all the games, on three different channels, if games are being played at the same time, they show one live, then a full length video of the other game immediately after. without giving the score away.

As for the final, it's been heavily advertised all week. I'm watching the F1 Monaco qualifying, when they go to adverts, during the breaks in the session, they show an advert, featuring Buck Palace, Tower bridge and other attractions. Much of the emphasis is on the fact that the game is at Wembley, which they consider the best stadium in the world.

Most people here are rooting for Barcalona. They appreciate that man u are a good side, but they are seen as arrogant, mainly due to fergie and rooney, Whilst they accept rooney is a good player, they call him shrek and think he has a bad attitude.

There was a great cartoon in the national sports paper, the day after Barca qualified for the final. It showed Messi, with a big sign, 'Ticket to London' in his hand he is holding an inverted Crown, the tea bag tag is hanging over the side.

Now this is the killer for me. the T bag tag has a Liverpool crest, and on Messis' lapel is a badge with 'The Beatles' written on it.

Apparently, Messi made a off the cuff comment to a Brazilian sports reporter, saying they, Barca; had to protect another teams five wins.

Is he a closet Liverpool supporter? Future player or manager, after kenny of course.

I had a funny situation last night at the local bar. A local I know arrived and wanted to shake hands, (normal practice when you arrive at a bar), he was wearing an old 'sharp' man u shirt, and I told him I don't shake hands with man u supporters. I meant it as a joke, but he was quite puzzeled and asked the bar owner what he had done to upset me.

I then explained to him the rivalry between Liverpool and man u. He had no idea, and only had the man u shirt because a friend in the UK had sent it to him. It all ended in laughs, lots of hand shaking, and a (who pays for the beer tonight)' bet, on who will win the game today. 1600hrs KO here. He also now wants a Liverpool shirt.

The game will be on two free channels live, and also on ESPN and espn HD.

Edit, two page article in todays' 'Lance' national sports daily, about the game. Will give a full report later, now, it's time for the game.

[robinredshanks]

vis .. thanks for the additional info on Colombia - please also post it on the Copa Am thread. Have to admit I knew next to nothing about Ospina until yesterday and after reading up on him, I was shocked he has been so under the radar. Seems a top quality GK and I predict that he will make a name for himself in this tourney.

For what its worth, I'll be recording Santos - Botafogo to check out Thiago Neves as well as Nacional vs Defensor which is yet another chance to see Santiago Garcia who continues to lead the Uruguayan league in scoring for 2010-2011 (23 goals in 28 games). Oh, and I guess there's another big game on today ?

Totally agree RushStrike, great post from Vis, should also be in the Copa America thread. Rep for Vis.

The Botafoga Santos game is probably the biggest contest this weekend. Sao Paulo, Flamengo and Vasco should all win there games. But you never know with football.

[-CADS-]

AHAHAHAHAHA!! Th S** newspaper are reporting that Chelsea are "closing in on £23million Neymar". They may get him but it'll cost a hell of a lot more than £23million me thinks. Right Robin?

[robinredshanks]

AHAHAHAHAHA!! Th S** newspaper are reporting that Chelsea are "closing in on £23million Neymar". They may get him but it'll cost a hell of a lot more than £23million me thinks. Right Robin?

I'm not sure about the price. but I don't thimk Neymar, (at the moment); will make it in the EPL, the game will be too physical for him. He has a habit of going down under the slightest challenge, he has no respect for the coach, chases too much skirt, and has a pregnant ex girlfriend to think about.

If you see my previous posts on Neymar, both Mano and Pele have told him to concentrate on his game. not his bank account.

Mano bannend him from the Brazil squad, for two games; after he argued with the Santos trainer, which ended with the trainer getting sacked. (player bigger than club?). Pele said he needs to 'grow up'.

He's got talent, that cannot be denied; but he's a long way down the IQ scale when compared to rooney.IMHO. Would probably fit in well at the mancs.

[Midophile]

AHAHAHAHAHA!! Th S** newspaper are reporting that Chelsea are "closing in on £23million Neymar". They may get him but it'll cost a hell of a lot more than £23million me thinks. Right Robin?

And you're reading that why!!??

Anyway, seems Roman is going for a Brazilian flavour in his new wave.

[-CADS-]

And you're reading that why!!??

Anyway, seems Roman is going for a Brazilian flavour in his new wave.

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=pep+guardiola

It was at the top of the page when I googled Pep a couple of hours ago.

[Midophile]

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=pep+guardiola

It was at the top of the page when I googled Pep a couple of hours ago.

You searched for Pep Guardiola and Neymar and Chelsea come up wtf?

Anyway wrong thread but the wait for Copa America is killing me now.

[-CADS-]

You searched for Pep Guardiola and Neymar and Chelsea come up wtf?

Anyway wrong thread but the wait for Copa America is killing me now.

No sorry I searched http://lmgtfy.com/?q=roman+abramovich because Pep was being linked with Chelsea. Got that story.

[Midophile]

No I searched http://lmgtfy.com/?q=roman+abramovich because Pep was being linked with Chelsea. Got that story.

Ahh right makes sense now. Reported anywhere else or just the rag?

[-CADS-]

Ahh right makes sense now. Reported anywhere else or just the rag?

Nowhere reliable just football rumour sites. Chelsea are definitely interested and so is Neymar I think but the fee will never be as low as £23million.

[RodgersThat]

Uruguayan Primera 2011 Clausura (Summer)
Luis Suarez's former team won the 2011 Torneo Clausura by beating 3rd place Defensor Sporting 3-0 in a game much closer than the final score would suggest. With one more game remaining, Nacional are now on track to win their Uruguayan record 43rd league title if they can win the Championship playoff game which will be a rematch against Defensor.

Defensor started brightly and they should have been tied or ahead were it not for the brilliant goalkeeping of Nacional's Leandro Burian. But eventually Nacional established their superiority through their midfield play. I watched the game mainly to see how big man Santiago Garcia would fare but Defensor managed to mark and frustrate him all afternoon until coach Juan Carrasco substituted him early in the 2nd half. Garcia helped create the first goal but just didn't show enough movement and hustle to find space in the box. Not a stellar performance by the man I have touted as a replacement to David Ngog but he does remain the top scorer in the league.

The other stars of the game from Nacional were 21-year old midfielder Tabares Viudez who was everywhere, 20 yr old 6'5" CB Sebastian Coates who showed some great skill setting up their 2nd goal with a mazy run through the midfield and 17 yr old Nicolas Lopez who scored two goals - the first an opportunistic header towards an empty goal and the second a brilliant chippy over the Defensor GK.

Brasileiro Seria A (Saturday games)
Botafogo v Santos- No Santos regular starter played except Alan Patrick because of their upcoming crucial Copa Libertadores SF 2nd leg against Cerro Porteno next week. This meant the game was Botafogo's for the taking but aside from the excellent volleyed goal by CB Fabio Ferreira, their finishing was poor and they only went into HT with a 1-0 lead.

Santos played a better 2nd half after Rychely came in for Alan Patrick and Maikon Leite came in for Thiago Alves but couldn't find the breakthrough goal. On the other side, Cidinho missed a sitter but Botafogo hung on for a 1-0 victory.

RobinRS - one comment .. I thought Rio was a football crazy town. Why on earth would only 7-8K people show up to a Botafogo home game against a top team ? The small crowd was boisterous but seeing the huge sections of empty blue seats (stadium has capacity to seat 47K) was a little disappointing.

Remaining Seria A games :

• Sao Paulo 1 v Figueirense 0 -- Could have been 4-0 but it took a moment of Lucas Moura magic to break the deadlock. SPFC are now joint league leaders with Atletico Mineiro and 2 goals in 2 games puts Lucas firmly back into the hearts of fickle SPFC fans.

• Internacional 0 v Ceara 1 -- surprise defeat for one of the early favorites.

• Avai 1 v Atletico Mineiro 3 -- 6 pts off 2 games =CAM leading the league. Heavy defeat for Copa do Brasil semifinalists Avai.

Sunday's games :
Home Away
Atletico Paranaense v Gremio
Bahia v Flamengo
Corinthians v Coritiba
Cruzeiro v Palmeiras (On US GolTV at 5PM EDT)
Vasco da Gama v América (MG)
Goianiense v Fluminense

[pete752]

Top post once again RS..looks like Nacional could be a promising club to raid for those interested in absolute bargains for quality. Uruguay has always surprised me for such a small country to have such a great footballing pedigree.

Don't think Lucas Moura is going anywhere this summer and let's hope he still stays there until Stevie retires and we can bring in a ready-made replacement

For the regular posters in this thread, just wanted to let you all know that I changed my uninspiring nickname vis1984 to pete752 in honor of the amazing Pete Sampras

[robinredshanks]

Top post once again RS..looks like Nacional could be a promising club to raid for those interested in absolute bargains for quality. Uruguay has always surprised me for such a small country to have such a great footballing pedigree.

Don't think Lucas Moura is going anywhere this summer and let's hope he still stays there until Stevie retires and we can bring in a ready-made replacement

For the regular posters in this thread, just wanted to let you all know that I changed my uninspiring nickname vis1984 to pete752 in honor of the amazing Pete Sampras

Hi Pete, correct me if I'm wrong, is this your first post in the thread?. Welcome.

Yes, top post by RS as ever, i'm four hours behing UK time here, still asleep when he posted that, had a bit of an evening with some Barcelona fans, well not really fans, they just didn't want utd to win.RS saved me a job, Thanks RS.

Things might change in Serie A, by the end of today, have to wait and see.

[pete752]

Hi Pete, correct me if I'm wrong, is this your first post in the thread?. Welcome.

Yes, top post by RS as ever, i'm four hours behing UK time here, still asleep when he posted that, had a bit of an evening with some Barcelona fans, well not really fans, they just didn't want utd to win.RS saved me a job, Thanks RS.

Things might change in Serie A, by the end of today, have to wait and see.

For the regular posters in this thread, just wanted to let you all know that I changed my uninspiring nickname vis1984 to pete752 in honor of the amazing Pete Sampras

I guess you missed this little portion of my post Robin I assure you that I'm not a new visitor to your thread!

Well, I think it might have been a little daft to change it as it's going to confuse the hell out of a lot of people.

[RodgersThat]

For the regular posters in this thread, just wanted to let you all know that I changed my uninspiring nickname vis1984 to pete752 in honor of the amazing Pete Sampras

pete752, seems all the top SoAm clubs are brimming with young talent; most of whom could be bid for reasonably. RRS could fill up a page with analyses of just Brazilian and Argentinian talent. Admittedly, its incredible that a country with a population less than the West Midlands has produced so much top quality and has such a long footballing tradition.

Like the nickname ! Sampras is a player I was slow to warm up to. He seemed such a non-fun, precise and intense player like Ivan Lendl, another player who I didn't root for until the 1987 Wimbledon finals when he was attempting to win it for the first time having won everything else. Its interesting how Sampras, Lendl or Federer didn't become a crowd favorites until late in their careers when people began appreciating their consistency, quality and class over more mercurial players of their era.

[robinredshanks]

I guess you missed this little portion of my post Robin I assure you that I'm not a new visitor to your thread!

Well, I think it might have been a little daft to change it as it's going to confuse the hell out of a lot of people.

I saw it after I posted my thanks to RS. I wondered where you had got to, thought you'd been banned.

In recognition of Pete Sampras, I'd go along with that. I was trying to remember the name of the English tennis player who is an avid Liverpool supporter, took Sampas to five sets in a Wimbledon quarter.

The guy used to listen on a walkman to YNWA at the breaks, then he was banned from doing this.

I will be back later with full answers to RS about low attendance, CBF corruption, Neymar, Santos and Lucas. Got to get to the shops before they close, as it's a nice sunny day will stop off foe a beer or two on the walk back home.

[Midophile]

Uruguay vs Germany tonight. Suarez starts.

Honduras v El Savador too.

[Midophile]

May do a little match report after the game if anyone wants. Unless you're watching it.

[-CADS-]

May do a little match report after the game if anyone wants. Unless you're watching it.

On TV is it?

[robinredshanks]

Uruguay vs Germany tonight. Suarez starts.

Honduras v El Savador too.

May do a little match report after the game if anyone wants. Unless you're watching it.

That would be great Gary, and it would be nice to copy into the Copa thread.

[robinredshanks]

On TV is it?

Where are you? I might be able to give you a link. Not a full link you understand, just a nudge in the right direction to a stream.

Campeoneto Argentino.