“Pele’s Brazil against Gerd Müller’s West Germany in Mexico 1970, plus five other classic games that never took place” (Guardian)
The Joy of Six: matches that never were
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Tag Archives: Brazil
Messi leads list of top 10 South Americans in Champions League
“It’s no secret that without the top South American players, European soccer’s biggest club competition — the UEFA Champions League — wouldn’t be nearly as entertaining. With the amount of South American talent integrated into the competition in recent years, the quality of play has reached a level never imagined before. (SI)
Is the Copa Libertadores better than the Champions League
“There are people who argue that South America’s Copa Libertadores is better than the Uefa Champions League. It’s a perverse view, often motivated by bitterness – a bit like those who like to claim that The Beatles were over-rated. The Champions League congregates the best players from all over the world – it’s where they want to be, and where they need to shine these days in order to be considered truly great. But if Europe’s leading club competition is Lennon and McCartney, it doesn’t necessarily follow that the Libertadores is Herman’s Hermits, as last week made abundantly and gloriously clear.” (BBC – Tim Vickery)
TIm Vickery Interview: EPL Talk Podcast
“On this episode of the EPL Talk Podcast we welcome Tim Vickery, who picks up on some of the theses regarding player developed that we addressed with Andy Brassell two weeks ago. Then, Tim talks to us about some notable players in Brazil, talking about how their styles would fit into the Premier League. Then, we talk about Tim’s support of Spurs, the nature of being a club supporter, and how he found his way to Brazil.” (EPL Talk)
A Brazil legend’s lasting legacy
“Brazilian football lost one of its all-time greats last week when Orlando Peçanha died at the age of 74. If he had to go, then maybe the forces of destiny and the gods of soccer thought it appropriate to take him on the eve of Carnaval. Perhaps they were trying to make a point, juxtaposing his loss with the start of the country’s great party. Because as revelers fill the streets from Rio to Recife, there are many who like to see Brazilian soccer as one giant Carnaval, everyone more concerned with having fun than with the result, in a fabulous land full of skilled strikers and inept defenders.” (SI – Tim Vickery)
The Joy of Six: Long-range screamers
“Long-distance goals should intrinsically have a reduced element of surprise, but tell that to Ronaldinho. Just because you are outside the box doesn’t mean you can’t think outside the box in the way that you shoot for goal. Ronaldinho’s incomparable imagination manifested itself in under-the-wall free-kicks and strikes with scarcely any backlift.” (Guardian)
2010 Copa Libertadores preview
“If one game on Tuesday night is any indication, the 51st edition of the Copa Libertadores — South America’s Champions League — will continue to provide drama and excitement fitting of a premier continental tournament. In one of the most dramatic matchups in recent memory, Universidad Católica ensured its place in the group stage of the competition after a penalty-shootout victory over Colón de Santa Fe in Santiago, Chile.” (SI)
Video Of The Week: All The Goals Of The 1998 World Cup
“This week’s Video of The Week continues the World Cup theme of the last few weeks, with all the goals from the 1998 World Cup, which was, of course, held in France. The optimism that may have existed after England’s decent performance at the 1996 European Championships evaporated over the weeks of the tournament. Tabloid exclusives about the behaviour of the players, rioting in Marseille and a defeat at the hands of Romania were just the build up to a penalty shoot-out defeat at the hands of Argentina. Meanwhile, France and Brazil made the final of a tournament that was the first to feature thirty-two nations. Iran beat the United States of America in the first round but both teams went out,but Jamaica and Japan, who were both arguably beneficiaries of the expansion, brought colour to the tournament off the pitch but offered little resistance on it.” (twohundredpercent)
Transfer Rule Snares Footballers
“Football’s transfer system has always been a murky business. Unlike the National Football League or the National Basketball Association in America, where players enter the professional ranks amid the glitz and razzmatazz of the college draft, the movement of players in football is an altogether more furtive operation. Players are effectively the property of their employers, bought and sold by professional clubs without oversight or regulation from the sport’s authorities. Since every player has a price attached, recruitment is a cloak and dagger process.” (WSJ)
Mexico mounts multiple Copa challenge
“One of the less orthodox after effects of swine flu is the headache it gives the administrators of South America’s premier club competition. In last year’s version of the Copa Libertadores, two Mexican sides, Chivas Guadalajara and San Luis, made it out of the group phase. But how could they stage the home leg of their second round ties? It was at the height of the swine flu epidemic, with Mexico at its epicentre. The South American Federation unsuccessfully tried to find an alternate venue, gave up and announced that the fate of the Mexican clubs would be decided on a single match, the away leg.” (BBC – Tim Vickery)
The perils of judging a football club by its size
“Despite the disappointment for the player and Man City fans, loaning Robinho back to Santos seems a good fit for all the parties involved. The player has been given a chance to resurrect his season in time to make the Brazil World Cup squad, Santos have picked up one of the world’s most expensive players without paying a transfer fee and City have saved a reported £160,000 on their weekly wage bill. Robinho’s loan deal was also thought to be a way for City to secure the first refusal on two of Santos’ most promising players: Neymar and Paulo Henrique Ganso.” (WSC)
The return of Ronaldinho? Maybe
“In a month’s time comes the lone FIFA date for international fixtures before the end of the European season — the only time teams preparing for the World Cup have the opportunity to be at full strength, with all their players available.” (SI – Tim Vickery)
Big Drop in Transfer Market
“If soccer agents had powerful lobbyists working for them in the halls of government, you can be fairly confident they would be asking for a generous stimulus package right around now. Just as fears of an enduring economic slump can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy in the real world, as consumers “feel poor” and hunker down to save, slowing or even negating growth, so too can the perception of imminent doom affect soccer clubs’ spending. And, when teams stop spending, the first to be affected are the agents and middlemen who grease the wheels of the transfer market.”
(WSJ)
Adriano was greeted like a returning emperor and he delivered
“In his first game after rejoining Flamengo, Adriano’s mere presence put an extra 50,000 on the gate. “The emperor has returned,” they chanted – and the 27-year-old striker was looking imperious from day one. His 19 goals – which made him the competition’s joint-top scorer – and his all-round attacking play were vital to the Rio de Janeiro club ending a 17-year wait to win the Brazilian Championship.” (Worlk Soccer – Tim Vickery)
Argentina Apertura season reviewed
“In an unusual opening tournament, in which the smaller clubs stood out, Banfield from the Greater Buenos Aires suburb of the same name won the first title in their 114-year history.” (World Soccer)
South American sides gather African intelligence
“Tournaments are like time speeded up – teams can suddenly come together, or fall apart. Each tournament has its own dynamics, so it would be unwise to draw definitive conclusions for the World Cup from a competition taking place six months earlier. But if the Africa Cup of Nations is a good opportunity for five World Cup-bound teams to get some competitive match practice, it is also a great chance for their future opponents to do some reconnaissance. From a South American point of view, there’s the possibility of Uruguay meeting Nigeria in the second round, just as Paraguay might face Cameroon, and Chile could come up against Ivory Coast.” (BBC – Tim Vickery)
