“I won a prize! Some days ago Brazilian journalists voted me as foreign correspondent of the year. I had also won in 2011 but that time I was in London at the time of the ceremony. This time I turned up and was somewhat taken aback by how prestigious and sophisticated the whole thing was. I improvised a little acceptance speech, threw in the odd quip – which seemed to go down very well. In the shameless tradition of the British scoundrel (one local compared me to 007). I used the occasion to heap praise on a stunningly gorgeous journalist who had also just won a prize. She loved it, and sought me out to tell me afterwards. Her husband took it well, and didn’t glower at me too badly. I decided I deserved some wine and it turned out to be that good stuff that doesn’t give you a hangover. I had a wonderful time.” The World Game – Tim Vickery (Video)

“The torn thigh muscle he sustained in training last week is, amazingly enough, the most serious injury Ronaldinho has had in his long career — and its timing is most unfortunate. There were occasions over the past five years when it would hardly have mattered, times when a once-great player seemed barely interested in his extraordinary gift for the game. But however naturally talented, it is almost unthinkable that someone can become as good at anything as Ronaldinho was at his height without being truly in love with the activity. Skills take countless hours of honing.” ESPN – Tim Vickery

“In a couple of weeks, when Australia travels to meet Brazil, Mile Jedinak may well be locked in midfield battle with Paulinho – just as the two were last Sunday at Selhurst Park. I was in the crowd for the opening weekend of the season clash between newly promoted Crystal Palace and a Tottenham team rebuilt in a bid to make into next year’s Champions League. On his competitive debut Paulinho had a solid enough game as Tottenham won by the only goal. But in an outgunned side, Jedinak was a candidate for man of the match. The Socceroos’ central midfielder had an excellent game shielding the Palace centre backs. He was so quick to spot any danger to his side, allowing him to snuff out any number of Tottenham attacks. In possession he did his best to knit the side together with safe, crisp distribution.” The World Game – Tim Vickery

Clarence Seedorf
“When Clarence Seedorf went to play in Brazil last year I was sceptical. So were wiser heads than mine. Oswaldo de Oliveira, his coach at Botafogo, was unsure how he could fit the veteran Dutchman into the wide-open spaces of the Brazilian midfield. Twelve months on our fears look ludicrous. The move has been a triumph. Going into the weekend’s 13th round of the Brazilian Championship, Botafogo is only denied top spot on goal difference, and Seedorf is proving the undoubted star turn.” The World – Tim Vickery (Video)

“In last week’s second leg of the final of the Copa Libertadores, Atletico Mineiro of Brazil did not only win the trophy – they took the extraordinary sum of nearly $7 million at the box office. A quick, back of the envelope calculation reveals that the average ticket price was over $100. This was a case of exceptional circumstances – the most important match in the history of a big club. But the trend is already out there in Brazilian football.” ESPN -Tim Vickery

“In professional football, money is, always has been, and always will be a key factor. However, not necessarily a decisive one. If it was then Brazil would have at least three representatives in the semi-finals of the Copa Libertadores – South America’s Champions League. Instead, Brazil was only a penalty miss away from losing all interest in the competition at the quarter-final stage. The country’s last standing survivor, free-scoring Atletico Mineiro, was 12 yards and 30 seconds from elimination. All Tijuana striker Duvier Riascos had to do was score the stoppage-time penalty and his club, Tijuana of Mexico, would be through to the last four.” The World Game – Tim Vickery

“‘One of the biggest blasts of hot air, which I’ve been hearing ever since I was an adolescent, is the idea that top level sport is a good place to learn and develop ethical and moral values. It never was. Ambition, the desire to be a hero and to make lots of money are usually much stronger.’ So wrote 1970 Brazil great Tostao in Sunday’s version of his always interesting column, a twice weekly space where football is analysed by someone of great knowledge and intelligence who loves the game but is even more fascinated by the subtleties and contradictions of the human being.” BBC – Tim Vickery

“All’s fair in love, war and relegation battles – or Palmeiras seem to think so. The Sao Paulo giants, the team of the city’s Italian community, are in trouble. Back in July they won the Brazilian Cup, guaranteeing a place in next year’s Copa Libertadores, South America’s Champions League. However, results have since suffered in the domestic league and they now need to make up a seven-point gap with just four rounds of the season left. Their hopes could perhaps rest on the outcome of a hearing to be held in the next couple of days. The focus of their appeal is a disallowed goal from Argentine centre-forward Hernan Barcos against Internacional on October 27.” BBC – Tim Vickery

“‘I was too busy scoring goals to learn how to play football,’ says Dario, a legendary figure in Brazilian football from the 1960s and 70s. A charismatic character, Dario invents phrases as easily as he used to put the ball in the net. ‘There’s no such thing as an ugly goal,’ he once said. ‘Ugly is not scoring goals.’ If both remarks sound a little defensive, it is easy enough to explain. Brazilian football has been gifted with so many artists – players capable of snapping their marker in two with a sway of the hips, wrong-footing the keeper and then sliding home – that a little prejudice sometimes persists about the centre forward. The target man number nine whose game is restricted to getting the ball over the line can be seen, at best, as the exponent of a minor art.” BBC – Tim Vickery

“During the 2006 World Cup in Germany, the only time Kaka was not seen filming everything around him was when he was on the pitch playing for Brazil. He had expected to record some treasured memories — forming the much-hyped “magic quartet” with Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Adriano. After the tournament, however, those images could not have made for easy viewing. Kaka produced a man-of-the-match performance in the opening game, scoring the only goal against Croatia. Thereafter, it was downhill all the way. In truth, the team was top heavy.” ESPN – Tim Vickery