The next Brazil Olympics football team - what do you think?

Here is a possible Brazilian football squad for the next Olympics
(under-23) - what do you think?


Goalkeepers
Cassio (Grêmio - Brazil)
Renan (Internacional - Brazil)

Defenders
Ilsinho (Sao Paulo - Brazil)
Rafinha (Schalke 04 - Germany)
Alex Silva (Sao Paulo - Brazil)
Gladstone (Cruzeiro - Brazil)
Edcarlos (Sao Paulo - Brazil)
Lima (Atletico-MG - Brazil)
Marcelo (Real Madrid - Spain)
Carlinhos (Santos - Brazil)

Midfielders
Denilson (Arsenal - England)
Diego Souza (Grêmio - Brazil)
Arouca (Fluminense - Brazil)
Elton (Corinthians - Brazil)
Lucas (Grêmio - Brazil)
Wagner (Al-ittihad - Saudi Arabia)
Diego (Werder Bremen - Germany)
Anderson (Porto - Portugal)

Forwards
Rafael Sobis (Real Betis - Spain)
Jo (CSKA Moscow - Russia)
Alexandre Pato (Internacional - Brazil)
Diego Tardelli (PSV Eindhoven - Holland)

Managers of Brazilian clubs = Stability?

Brazilian clubs tend to fire their managers/ coaches at the first sign of trouble. Instability seems to be their middle name - the proof? Just compare the longest serving managers in England x Brazil:

Brazil
1) Vagner Mancini @ Paulista - 2 years and 4 months
2) Mano Menezes @ Grêmio - 1 year and 10 months
3) Renato Gaucho @ Vasco - 1 year and 7 months

England
1) Dario Gradi @ Crewe - 23 years and a few months
2) Alex Ferguson @ Man United - 20 years and 3 months
3) Arsene Wenger @ Arsenal - 10 years and a few months

This difference probably also reflects the ability of the clubs to structure their plans - short-term x long-term!

Sunday Gossip from the UK

Portsmouth keeper David James is wanted by Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate to replace Mark Schwarzer. (People)
The former England international goalkeeper has played extremely well for Portsmouth this season and it is hardly surprising to hear about other clubs interested in him. Mark Shwarzer has been linked to clubs in the continent so it smells like this could really happen!

And Boro are also poised to make a new bid for West Brom winger Zoltan Gera. (News of the World)
Hungarian international Zoltan Gera is too good to be playing in the English First Division - unless West Bromwich Albion return to the Premiership this season, I'd expect Zoltan to leave the club.

Aston Villa are prepared to offer Tottenham £8m plus striker Juan Pablo Angel for Robbie Keane. (News of the World)
This deal looks great for Aston Villa but not so for Spurs. Robbie Keane may misfire from time to time but in terms of sheer skill, he's got it! As for Juan Pablo Angel, he ought to look for a move - in my opinion to the continent, which may suit his football style better - but Spurs would be mad to take him. Unlikely deal in my opinion...

Arsenal are considering moving for CSKA Moscow keeper Igor Akinfeev, 20. (News of the World)
Igor is a superb keeper with a huge amount of potential, if Arsenal is really considering to take him on he'd be a great acquisition for the Gunners. Jens Lehmann is due to leave the club, in the next year or so, so it is critical that Arsene Wenger finds a replacement and the Russian would fit the bill.

Tottenham are also lining up an £8m swoop for giant Serb Nikola Zigic, who plays for Racing Santander. (News of the World)
If there was a player suitable for English football, Zigic would be it - his height alone would allow Spurs to take advantage of dead ball situations to add it to their traditional passing game. The question is, for how much? Is Racing likely to sell the giant striker? I think so, but Spurs would have to pay a substantial amount for him....this one will depend on other Spurs targets this summer.

New Young Brazilian players to watch out - part II

Following on from suggestions directly from Brazil, here are some more young players to watch out for - they will make their mark in Europe soon:

• Fagner - defender - played for Corinthians of Sao Paulo in Brazil (mainly for the Under-17 side, only 7 games for the first team) until recently and only 17 years old. He played well for the Brazil Under-20 side which won the South American championship recently and was signed by PSV Eindhoven in Holland on a free transfer for 5 years (until 2012) moving overseas in the summer when he completes 18 years of age;
• Sergio Mota - midfielder - young midfielder who plays for Sao Paulo youth team, Sergio Mota was one of the best players coming ou of this year's 'Copa Sao Paulo de Juniors' which is the most prestigious annual youth tournament in Brazil;
• Soares - forward - signed from Figueirense this season after a tremendous performance for the Santa Catarina club last year. Soares has already started to perform well for Fluminense of Rio de Janeiro with a number of goals and a first team place assured. One to watch out!
• Cicero - midfielder - another Fluminense capture from Figueirense. Soares & Cicero are known as the 'Casal 20' due to their strong performances playing alongside one another.
  

• Alex Silva - defender - on loan at Sao Paulo from Iraty of Parana, the young 21 year old defender is the younger brother of Luisao who plays for Benfica and Brazil. He is expected to be signed permanently by Sao Paulo at the end of his contract in July 2007.
• Guillherme - forward - Cruzeiro player who plays for their youth team, Guillherme was another one of the best players to come out of this year's Copa Sao Paulo de Juniors.
  

Libertadores Cup - latest update

This week most of the second round matches of the group stage of the 2007 Copa Libertadores (the South American Champion's League equivalent) were completed - here is how the Brazilian clubs have performed:

27/02/07

Grêmio 0x0 Cucuta (Colombia) - Group 3
The Porto Alegre side disappointed against the Colombian team's defensive strategy in front of 39,710 fans. The team struggled to break down a stubborn Cucuta side, and Grêmio seem to have felt the loss of their center-forward Tuta upfront due to an injury recently, as they found difficult to create many opportunities. A poor result at home, however the team remains in top position in its group with 4 points and still to lose a match this season.

28/02/07

Sao Paulo 4x0 Alianza Lima (Peru) - Group 2
Sao Paulo stretched their unbeaten run to 25 matches after this game - the last time they lost was on 24th September 2006 (Palmeiras 3x1 Sao Paulo). The 19,694 fans who witnessed the match, saw Sao Paulo dominate the game against a weak Alianza side. Good result, expected to win and now second in the group (4pts x Necaxa-Mex 6 pts).

Internacional 3x0 Emelec (Ecuador) - Group 4
The defending champions were backed by 34,327 fans and there was only one name in their lips: Alexandre Pato. The Brazilian Under-21 star was the name of the game, scoring a superb goal and creating another - Pato's record for the first team now reads 5 games played, 5 wins for Internacional and 4 goals scored. Good result for Inter, now recovered from the loss in their 1st game away from home.

01/03/07

Santos 1x0 Defensor Sporting (Uruguay) - Group 8
Santos won yet another game to lead their group with 6 points. This was a difficult match, with few players playing to their potential, in the end Ze Roberto scored the winning goal. The public must have expected a poor game as only 9,409 fans showed up to witness it. Good result for Santos and keeps them in line to qualify to the next round.

Other results: Banfield-Arg 4x1 El Nacional-Ecu; America-Mex 1x4 Libertad-Par; Necaxa-Mex 2x0 Audax Italiano-Chi; Velez Sarsfield-Arg 1x1 Nacional-Uru; Toluca-Mex 1x2 Bolivar-Bol; Boca Jrs-Arg 1x0 Cienciano-Per

Brazilian League - the most competitive in the World?

The Brazilian League (or 'Brasileirão') can easily put forward the case to be the most competitive league in the World!

The Proof? Just look at the top 1 and 2 clubs for every one of the 35 years since it started.....there isn't two of the same!

35 seasons and never the same final 2 in Brazil. Try finding that in England...Spain..Italy or Argentina...

The first club on the left indicates the champion with the 2nd placed team on the right.
e.g. in 1971 Atletico-MG were the champions with Sao Paulo in 2nd place.

1971: Atletico MG x Sao Paulo
1972: Palmeiras x Botafogo
1973: Palmeiras x Sao Paulo
1974: Vasco x Cruzeiro
1975: Inter x Cruzeiro
1976: Inter x Corinthians
1977: Sao Paulo x Atletico-MG
1978: Guarani x Palmeiras
1979: Inter x Vasco
1980: Flamengo x Atletico-MG
1981: Gremio x Sao Paulo
1982: Flamengo x Gremio
1983: Flamengo x Santos
1984: Fluminense x Vasco
1985: Coritiba x Bangu
1986: Sao Paulo x Guarani
1987: Flamengo x Inter
1988: Bahia x Inter
1989: Vasco x Sao paulo
1990: Corinthians x Sao Paulo
1991: Sao Paulo x Bragantino
1992: Flamengo x Botafogo
1993: Palmeiras x Vitoria
1994: Palmeiras x Corinthians
1995: Botafogo x Santos
1996: Gremio x Portuguesa
1997: Vasco x Palmeiras
1998: Corinthians x Cruzeiro
1999: Corinthians x Atletico - MG
2000: Vasco x Sao Caetano
2001: Atletico PR x Sao caetano
2002: Santos x Corinthians
2003: Cruzeiro and Santos
2004: Santos and Atletico PR
2005: Inter and Corinthians
2006: Sao Paulo and Inter

Try finding that elsewhere!

In terms of who won the most titles, in order:

5 titles:
Flamengo
Note: the 1987 title is disputed by the Brazilian Federation and according to them, Sport Recife won it (the clubs broke away on that year). Therefore there is an argument for Flamengo having won 4 titles.

4 titles:
Palmeiras
Vasco da Gama
Internacional
Sao Paulo

3 titles:
Corinthians

2 titles:
Grêmio
Santos

1 title:
Atletico-MG
Guarani
Fluminense
Coritiba
Bahia
Botafogo
Atletico-PR
Cruzeiro

Sunday Gossip from the UK

AC Milan are on the verge of making a sensational swoop for Celtic keeper Artur Boruc. (Sunday Mail)
I believe that there is a real possibility in this piece of gossip. Firstly because AC Milan's Dida is out of contract at the end of the season (possible destination: Barcelona) and secondly because Boruc is likely to use Celtic as a stepping stone to a bigger club. In terms of replacements, Celtic would have a ready-made one if they managed to sign the Hearts of Midlothian keeper, Craig Gordon, who is a quality player and the #1 Scottish player in his position.

Sunderland boss Roy Keane is ready to offer big money for striker Craig Bellamy if he is unloaded by Liverpool. (Sunday Mirror)
If anyone is going to manage to 'tame' Craig Bellamy, it will be ex-Man Utd player now coach Roy Keane. Bellamy has already managed to cause controversy at Liverpool, after allegedly hitting team mates with a golf club whilst drunk in a bender in Portugal. However, his football does speak for itself and he would be a quality addition to Sunderland - unlikely to happen unless they were promoted to the Premiership though.

Manchester United could lure Celtic midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura to Old Trafford. (People)
The Japanese international has proved to be one of Gordon Strachan's best buys at Celtic, albeit he had his doubters before anyone had seen him play in Scotland. I doubt that he will be moving to Man Utd in the summer, although he may leave Celtic for another club but the continent would be a more likely destination in my opinion.

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho could hand Glen Johnson a second chance at Chelsea and bring him back from his loan spell at Portsmouth while shipping Paulo Ferreira out of Stamford Bridge at the end of the season. (People)
Portuguese player Paulo Ferreira never managed to live up to his massive price tag, and he came to Chelsea as one of Mourinho's loyal players from previous clubs. I think it would make sense to give Glen Johnson, an England (sporadic) international, the chance to progress through Chelsea. He is performing well for Portsmouth and just needs more experience at the top level with Chelsea. The question would be who would buy Paulo Ferreira and for how much? I doubt any club will pay the inflated fee that Chelsea paid for him a few years ago...

Atletico Madrid have opened the door for Manchester United to swoop for striker Fernando Torres. (News of the World)
This story has made the rounds for at least 1 or 2 years now - surely Torres will move out of Atletico Madrid if they continue to underperform in La Liga? There would be few better clubs for him than Man Utd and a potential partnership with Ronaldo, Rooney and co.

Top Team of ex-Grêmio players - do you agree?

Grêmio's best known former player around the world is without a doubt, Ronaldinho Gaucho. But of the current active ex-Grêmio players around the world (playing outside of Brazil) who would be in your top 11??

Here are just some of them:

Goalkeepers
Fernando (Uniao Leiria/ Portugal); Darnlei (Beira Mar/ Portugal - until recently)

Defenders
George Lucas (Celta Vigo/ Spain); Anderson Polga (Sporting Lisbon/ Portugal)
Gilberto (Hertha Berlin/ Germany); Michel Bastos (Lille/ France)
Matheus Vivian (Grenoble Foot 38/ France); Fabio Bilica (Istres/ France)
Bolivar (Monaco/ France); Maicon (Inter Milan/ Italy); Adriano (Atalanta/ Italy)
Hernani (Kielce/ Poland); Gabriel (Rubin Kazan/ Russia); Rodrigo Costa (Cerro Porteno/ Paraguay)

Midfielders
Felipe Melo (Racing Santander/ Spain); Zinho (Miami fusion/USA); Anderson (Porto/ Portugal)
Amaral (MKS Pogon/ Poland); Yan (Penafiel/ Portugal); Sandro (Belenenses/ Portugal)
Rodrigo Alvim (Belenenses/ Portugal); Beto (Sanfreece Hiroshima/ Japan)
Eduardo Costa (Espanyol/ Spain); Emerson (Real Madrid/ Spain)
Ronaldinho Gaucho (Barcelona/ Spain); Fernando (Bordeaux/ France)
Tinga (Borussia Dortmund/ Germany)

Forwards
Adriano Chuva (Daejon Citizen/South Korea); Eduardo Marques (Daegu FC/ South Korea)
Grafite (Le Mans/ France); Washington (Urawa Red Diamonds/ Japan)
Basilio (Tokyo Verdy/ Japan); Rodrigo Gral (Omiya Ardija/ Japan)
Marcelinho Paraiba (Wolfsburg/ Germany); Magrao (Gamba Osaka/ Japan)
Adriano (MyPa/ Finland); Manduca (AEK Athens/ Greece); Adriano Padilha (Saturn/ Russia)
Leandro Machado (Ulsan Hyundai/ South Korea)

My 11-a-side team of ex-Grêmio players (currently active & outside of Brazil) in a 4-5-1 formation would be:
Goalkeeper: Darnlei (Beira Mar)Defenders:
George Lucas (Celta Vigo) Maicon (Inter Milan)Anderson Polga (Sporting Lisbon) Gilberto (Hertha Berlin)

Midfielders:
Anderson (Porto) Ronaldinho Gaucho (Barcelona) Emerson (Real Madrid)


Eduardo Costa (Espanyol) Tinga (Borussia Dortmund)


Forwards:
Marcelinho Paraiba (Wolfsburg)

New Young Brazilian players to watch out!!

Brazil is always producing new young talent to replace the constant stream of players moving abroad....I just wanted to highlight a few of the players to watch out over the next few years. Some may be more obvious choices then others - if you have any suggestions, let me know:

• Lulinha - midfielder - plays for Corinthians of Sao Paulo in Brazil (mainly for the Under-17 side) and only 16 years old. His contract is valid until 2009 and has already represented Brazil at the lower levels. Barcelona is apparently keeping an eye on him;
• Alexandre Pato - forward - plays for the Internacional of Porto Alegre's first team and at the age of 17 marked his debut in the Brazilian league last year with a tremendous performance against Palmeiras (4x1 win - he had 3 assists and 1 goal). He has played for Brazil youth teams, recently winning the South American Youth Championship in 2007 where he was the team's top scorer with 5 goals. Pato has a contract until 2009 with a 18 million euros buy-out clause.
• Carlinhos - full-back - 20 year old who plays for Santos' first team in Brazil. He has already been called up to the main Brazilian National team.
• Diego Cavalieri - goalkeeper - 24 year old who plays for Palmeiras of Sao Paulo and took over the #1 position due to an injury to legendary veteran goalkeeper Marcos. Diego made the position his own with a number of outstanding performances and took 2nd place in PLACAR magazine's 'Bola de Prata' for the best goalkeeper of the Brazilian league in 2006 - losing out to Rogerio Ceni of champions Sao Paulo. His contract runs until 2008.

• Marcelo - full-back - Real Madrid signed the 18 year old Brazilian for 6 million Euros from Fluminense of Rio de Janeiro. Marcelo scored on his debut for Brazil against Wales in 2006 and is seen as the sucessor to Roberto Carlos in the national team.
• Ilsinho - full-back - 21 year old player from Sao Paulo of Brazil who was signed from rivals Palmeiras in 2006 and won PLACAR magazine's 'Bola de Prata' for the best right full-back of the Brazilian League in 2006. Ilsinho has already attracted the interest of AC Milan and follows on the famous footsteps of Cafu and Cicinho at Sao Paulo.
• Lucas - midfielder - Gremio of Porto Alegre's star player, 20 year old Lucas made his debut in 2005 and helped the club to win the serie B to win promotion back to the Brazilian elite. In 2006, Lucas surpassed himself by winning PLACAR magazine's 'Bola de Ouro' for the best player of the Brazilian League in 2006 - the youngest ever winner! He also managed to captain the Brazilian Under-20 youth team to victory at the South American Youth Championship recently, scoring 4 goals in the process. Lucas is the nephew of the famous Brazilian former player, Leivinha.
• Denilson - midfielder - 18 year old who moved from Sao Paulo's reserve team to Arsenal in 2006 for £3.4 million pounds. He has already made his full debut for the Arsenal first team and has been called up to the Brazil main side, although still waiting for his first full cap.
  
• Romulo - forward - despite interest from Deportivo La Coruna in Spain, the 24 year old forward signed this season for Cruzeiro in Brazil from Gremio of Porto Alegre. He had a great season for Gremio last season and scored 2 goals in his debut for Cruzeiro.
  
• Renan - goalkeeper - 21 year old who plays for Internacional of Porto Alegre and currently 2nd keeper for the 1st team. Renan has an incredible 62 Under-20 caps for Brazil and broke a club record in the 2006 Brazilian League when he went for 795 minutes without conceding a goal (the record was previously held by Taffarel).
• Carlos Eduardo - forward - silky 18 year old who plays for Gremio of Porto Alegre and has broken into the 1st team in 2007 with a series of outstanding performances for the club. His contract runs until 2009 and apparently Fiorentina and Roma have already had him watched.

So, can anyone suggest any other 'up-and-coming' Brazilian young players??

Libertadores Cup - latest update

This is the 2nd week of the group stage of the 2007 Copa Libertadores (the South American Champion's League equivalent) and the rest of the Brazilian clubs have now began their campaigns over the last few days.

Wednesday 21/02/07

Nacional (Uruguay) 3x1 Inter Porto Alegre - Group 4
The defending champions, Internacional, began their campaign to retain the Libertadores Cup with a defeat in Montevideo. Inter 7th participation in the event maintaned their taboo of never winning their first game - now they have 3 draws and 4 lost matches in total. Internacional paid for having made too many mistakes during the match and despite having scored first and Nacional's Rodriguez having been sent off in the 16th minute of the 2nd half, the Uruguayan side still managed to score 3 goals and beat Inter. Struggling to react to Nacional, Wellington Monteiro from Inter was also sent off in the 29th minute of the 2nd half. A difficult start and poor result, so far the only Brazilian side with no points in the competition.

Parana 2x0 Real Potosi (Bolivia) - Group 5
Parana continued their impressive 100% to their maiden participation in the Libertadores with yet another win. This match was dominated by the Curitiba club and they deserved the 3 points. Good result and great start in the cup.

Flamengo 3x1 Union Maracaibo (Venezuela) - Group 5
The Rio de Janeiro team recovered from their draw last week in the Bolivian heights to record their first win in the cup. They have already gained as many points in the competition (4 points) as they did in 2002 in 6 matches, when the club did not qualify past the group stage. Good result, expected from Flamengo given the opposition.

Deportivo Pasto (Colombia) 0x1 Santos - Group 8
The Chilean Maldonado scored the winning goal for Santos in their 1st Libertadores Cup match this season. Despite the height at which the match was played in, Santos coped with the difficulties and managed the match to their advantage. Excellent result away from home.

Other results: El Nacional-Ecu 1x2 America-Mex, Libertad-Par 1x0 Banfield-Arg, Alianza Lima-Per 1x2 Necaxa-Mex, Cienciano-Per 1x2 Toluca-Mex

Time Mania - the Brazilian clubs' Lottery

"Time Mania" is the new Brazilian lottery being created in order to save Brazilian clubs from their huge debts.

How do you play?



1) All you have to do is to select 6 out of a total of 60 clubs (from 1st, 2nd and some from 3rd division) instead of choosing 6 out of 60 numbers as per the other Brazilian lottery
2) This will be available in multiple selling points all over Brazil
3) The revenue sourced from the lottery will be used primarily to cover the huge tax bills owed by the clubs to the Inland Revenue. Once the tax debt is paid in full, clubs will then benefit from the lottery as another source of revenue. 22% of the total amount raised by each ticket will go towards the clubs' debts.
However, this may take longer for certain clubs more than others - for example, Flamengo owes R$100 million/ £24million so it may take a while....

4) The government was attempting to force clubs to become fully listed companies before sanctioning the law to create Time Mania, however they have now backed down after strong lobbying by the clubs.

Latest on the creation of Time Mania:

* it is unlikely that the new lottery will be approved and ready to be sold to customers in time for the start of the 2007 Brazilian National League on 12th May;
* According to the Sports Minister, Orlando Silva Júnior, there are still some changes being discussed to the original document proposed - which indicate delays....
* Not to mention that Carnival is currently on in Brazil.....so watch this space.....

Grêmio finds the "map to the goldmine"

Grêmio, according to Érika Romão (erikar@lancenet.com.br), has found the map to the goldmine recently.
Note that the following post is an extract from Érika's original article in Portuguese, provided to me by Fabio Almeida.

The Porto Alegre club has made R$5.5 million (exchange rate 1 British Pound = 1.95 US Dollars = 4.12 Brazilian Reais) or c. £1.3 million in british pounds in 2006 from players developed by the club's youth set-up.

Grêmio managed in 2006 what most Brazilians clubs would like to do: to increase their source of revenue through new revenue streams. The club found out that it could benefit financially from the transfers of 200 former players, out of the 600 players which have left the club in the last 10 years. This new action on Grêmio's part is based on two of Fifa's laws which defines that clubs which have developed players through their youth set-up have the right to receive a compensation on future transfers relating to those players.

The agency responsible for this project on Grêmio's behalf, Indago Football Intelligence, was created at the beginning of 2006 to operate in Brazil. In 1 year working with Grêmio, the agency identified that Grêmio should benefit from 34 transfers of former youth team players - a total of R$ 5.5 million/ £1.3 million.
However, clubs affected, according to FIFA's laws have only 18 months post-transfers to claim their compensation. Otherwise the compensation is deemed void. Grêmio identified a loss of R$11 million/ £2.7 million in potential earnings over the last few years due to lack of awareness of the transfers of former youth team players from the club.

According to the partner and director of marketing for the Indago agency, Rodrigo Levenzon, between 2002 and 2006, 4,006 players transferred abroad from Brazil. An average of 801 per year! If these players are involved in further transfers to other clubs, the Brazilian clubs which develop them have the right to claim compensation as part of FIFA's laws - albeit having to claim it within the 18 months period.
Apparently there are a number of clubs in Brazil, even in areas such as Rio de Janeiro & Sao Paulo, missing out on these potentially critical revenue stream from abroad due to lack of awareness of transfers involving former youth team players.

There are two FIFA laws invoking potential compensation to clubs:

Compensations - Solidarity

* a player which has played at the club from 12 to 23 years of age is considered as being developed by the club
* From 12 to 15 years of age the compensation is 0.25% per year. From 16 to 23 years of age the compensation is 0.5% per year.
* it is valid in international transfers until the end of the player's career.


Compensations - Formation of Player

* Valid for players at the club from 12 to 21 years of age which are then transferred abroad at the end of their contract. Up to 23 years of age, the club must be compensated by the club purchasing the player.
* FIFA defines the financial values to the confederations from where the clubs involved are from (both the buying and selling clubs). The value varies from R$43k to R$250k per year of development at the club (£10k to £61k per year).

In Grêmio's case, the transfer of Emerson from Juventus to Real Madrid in 2006 generated the largest compensation so far for the clubs' coffers - almost R$950k/ £231k. The club was entitled to 3.5% of the value of the transfer (R$32million/ £7.8 million) due to the development of the player at the club from 1992 to 1997.

Sunday Gossip from the UK

Newcastle are planning a £10m move for West Ham striker Dean Ashton should the Hammers drop down to the Championship. (Sunday Mirror)
Unfortunately for West Ham, Dean Ashton has been unavailable through injury for most of this season. He will not limit his opportunities with the England team by going into the second division if West Ham are relegated. I think this is a likely one, even if not to Newcastle.

Antoine Sibierski could be on his way out of Newcastle after a row over a new contract. The Frenchman is demanding a two-year deal, but chairman Freddy Shepherd is intent on offering just one year. (The People)
The Frenchman has performed well for Newcastle and would be a loss if he was allowed to move on - good squad player for next season. They should try to keep him.

Bayern Munich are lining up an end-of-season move for Middlesbrough keeper Mark Schwarzer to replace Oliver Khan. (The People)
I find difficult to believe in this one, but who knows? Stranger things have happened...

Aston Villa are set to make a £1.5m bid for on loan Manchester United right-back Phil Bardsley. (Various)
The Man Utd youngster has already been on loan to Glasgow Rangers in Scotland and is likely to move out in the summer.

Real Madrid have made Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas their number one transfer target with president Ramon Calderon already having made a move for the teenager in January. (News of the World)
Fabregas would be a great addition to Real Madrid, but at 19 and the potential to improve even further, Arsenal would not let him go unless Real Madrid were to offer a substantial amount of money for this player.

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is planning a summer clear-out, even if his team win the Premiership, because his squad has expanded to over 60 professionals. (The People)
It would be interesting to look at who would be potentially leaving the club - any guesses???

Brazilian League for Beginner's - Serie A Summary from 11th to 20th place

The Brazilian League Serie A in 2006 can be summarised via its clubs performance - as follows from 11th to 20th place:

11) FLAMENGO 52 pts. - qualify to Libertadores Cup Group Stage
average attendance: 14,921
official website: http://flamengo.globo.com/
Best Players: Renato (midfielder), Obina (forward), Bruno (goalkeeper)
Top Scorer: Obina 11 goals

• Flamengo won qualification to the Libertadores Cup by winning the Brazilian Cup in 2006
  
• Jonatas from Flamengo was sold to Espanyol after one cap for the Brazilian National team

12) BOTAFOGO 51 pts. - qualify to the South American Cup
average attendance: 7,970
official website: http://www.botafogonocoracao.com.br/
Best Players: Claiton (midfielder), Ze Roberto (midfielder), Dodo (forward)
Top Scorer: Reinaldo 11 goals

• Botafogo lost its top scorer Dodo (9 goals) in the 13th round to Al Ain in the UAE
• Dodo has now returned back to Brazil with Botafogo (again!)

13) ATLETICO PARANAENSE 48 pts. - qualify to the South American Cup
average attendance: 11,567
official website: http://www.atleticopr.com.br/
Best Players: Marcos Aurelio (forward), David Ferreira (midfielder), Denis Marques (forward)
Top Scorer: Marcos Aurelio 10 goals

• The Atletico-PR goalkeeper, Cleber, conceded the most goals in the whole competition - 56 goals in total

14) JUVENTUDE 47 pts.
average attendance: 4,635
official website: http://www.juventude.com.br/
Best Players: Christian (forward), Andre (goalkeeper)
Top Scorer: Christian 10 goals

• Juventude had one of the best home records in the competition (11 W, 6 D, 2 L)
• At the end of the season, Christian moved to Corinthians of Sao Paulo and after a strong start, he acted on a clause in his contract and moved once again, this time to Inter of Porto Alegre
  

15) FLUMINENSE 45 pts.
average attendance: 10,299
official website: http://www.fluminense.com.br/
Best Players: Tuta (forward), Marcelo (full-back)
Top Scorer: Tuta 13 goals

• Fluminense's full-back Marcelo was sold at the end of the season to Real Madrid
• Tuta moved to Gremio at the end of the season

16) PALMEIRAS 44 pts.
average attendance: 13,064
official website: http://www.palmeiras.com.br/
Best Players: Diego Cavalieri (goalkeeper), Edmundo (forward), Paulo Baier (full-back)
Top Scorer: Edmundo & Paulo Baier 10 goals each

• Edmundo has now scored 136 goals in the Brazilian league - the 3rd Top Scorer of all time

17) PONTE PRETA 39 pts. - RELEGATED
average attendance: 5,706
official website: http://www.pontepretaesportes.com.br/
Best Players: Tuto (striker)
Top Scorer: Tuto 11 goals

• After 9 years in serie A, Ponte Preta from the city of Campinas was relegated. Coincidentally, Guarani (also from Campinas) were relegated from serie B to serie C in 2006. No one will be celebrating 2006 in Campinas!

18) FORTALEZA 38 pts. - RELEGATED
average attendance: 11,786
official website: http://www.fortalezaec.net/
Best Players: Lucio (midfielder), Rinaldo (forward)
Top Scorer: Rinaldo 11 goals

• Rinaldo is now the best ever top scorer for Fortaleza in the Brazilian league with 27 goals in total

19) SAO CAETANO 36 pts. - RELEGATED
average attendance: 1,905
official website: http://www.adsaocaetano.com.br/
Best Players: Anderson Lima (full-back)
Top Scorer: Anderson Lima 7 goals

• Sao Caetano managed to have a record 5(!) different managers during the competition
• Another record were the 9 consecutive games lost by the team in 2006
• Finally, Sao Caetano had the worst attendance at a league game - 363(!!) people watched Sao Caetano x Atletico-PR

20) SANTA CRUZ 28 pts. - RELEGATED
average attendance: 11,127
official website: http://www.coralnet.com.br/
Best Players: Osmar (full-back)
Top Scorer: Nene 9 goals

• Santa Cruz lost two key players in gaining promotion to serie A at the start of the season, forward Carlinhos Bala (to Cruzeiro) and midfielder Rosembrick (to Palmeiras)
  

Brazilian League for Beginner's - Serie A Summary from 1st to 10th place

The Brazilian League Serie A in 2006 can be summarised via its clubs performance - as follows from 1st to 10th place:

1) SAO PAULO 78 pts. CHAMPIONS - qualify to Libertadores Cup Group Stage
average attendance: 22,950
official website: http://www.saopaulofc.net/
Best Players: Aloisio (forward), Rogerio Ceni (keeper & captain), Mineiro (midfielder)
Top Scorer: Lenilson & Rogerio Ceni 8 goals each

• Sao Paulo won the Libertadores Cup and World Club Championship (vs. Liverpool) in 2005
• The team lost Ricardo Oliveira (to AC Milan) & Diego Lugano (to Fenerbahce) during the season and Mineiro left for Hertha Berlin recently
  
• This is the best run club in the country
• Won the Brazilian League for the 1st time in 15 years

2) INTERNACIONAL 69 pts. - qualify to Libertadores Cup Group Stage
average attendance: 22,412
official website: http://www.internacional.com.br/
Best Players: Wellington Monteiro (midfielder), Iarley (forward)
Top Scorer: Iarley 10 goals

• 2nd place for second season in a row, but Inter have won the Libertadores Cup and World Club Championship (vs. Barcelona) in 2006
  
• The team lost Rafael Sobis & Jorge Wagner (to Betis), Bolivar (to Monaco), Tinga (to Borussia Dortmund) and more recently Fabiano Eller (to Atletico Madrid)
  
• Their young goalkeeper Renan beat Taffarel's record and went for 795 minutes without conceding a goal
  

3) GREMIO 67 pts. - qualify to Libertadores Cup Group Stage
average attendance: 25,632 - the best attendance in the league in 2006
official website: http://www.gremio.net/
Best Players: Lucas (midfielder), Tcheco (midfielder), Hugo (midfielder), Romulo (forward)
Top Scorer: Romulo 11 goals

• Lucas won the 'Bola de Ouro' by PLACAR Magazine - given to the best player over the course of the season. Lucas is the youngest ever winner at 19 years of age
• Super sub German Herrera (now at Real Sociedad) scored 9 goals in total, including 6 of which were scored in the final 5 mins of games
• Gremio had the opportunity to surpass its historical rival Internacional on the final day of the season, after Inter had lost its game, but lost it also. However, 3rd place still meant a triumphant return to Serie A by Gremio

4) SANTOS 64 pts. - qualify to Libertadores Cup Qualifier Stage
average attendance: 9,056
official website: http://www.santosfc.com.br/
Best Players: Ze Roberto (midfielder), Kleber (full-back)
Top Scorer: Wellington Paulista 9 goals

• Vanderlei Luxemburgo returned back to Brazil from Real Madrid to manage Santos
• Santos had the best home performance in the league with 82.5% (15 w/ 2 D/ 2 L) and the 2nd best defence

5) PARANA 60 pts. - qualify to Libertadores Cup Qualifier Stage
average attendance: 10,919
official website: http://www.paranaclube.com.br/
Best Players: Leonardo (defender), Cristiano (forward)
Top Scorer: Cristiano 11 goals

• The manager Caio Junior has now moved to Palmeiras and taken with him a number of the Parana players with him - Zetti has taken over the reigns of the club
  
• This is the best ever position for Parana in the Brazilian league
• Parana lost one of their best players, full-back Angelo (to Arabian football) during the season

6) VASCO DA GAMA 59 pts. - qualify to the South American Cup
average attendance: 13,483
official website: http://www.crvascodagama.com/
Best Players: Morais (midfielder), Andrade (midfielder)
Top Scorer: Morais 8 goals

• Renato Gaucho is the longest serving manager in the league - having taken over the club in July 2005
  

7) FIGUEIRENSE 57 pts. - qualify to the South American Cup
average attendance: 10,692
official website: http://www.figueirense.com.br/
Best Players: Cicero (midfielder), Soares (forward), Schwenk (forward)
Top Scorer: Schwenk 14 goals

• This is the best ever position for Figueirense in the Brazilian league
• Figueirense lost their full-back Fininho (to Lokomotiv Moscow) during the season
• Cicero, Schwenk and Soares scored an outstanding 40 goals between them during the season - unsurprisingly all three have now moved on with both Cicero and Soares going to Fluminense
• Their midfielder, Carlos Alberto, was suspended for flasifying his age (he was 5 years older than documented) - he had been one of their best players and due a move to Sao Paulo

8) GOIAS 55 pts. - qualify to the South American Cup
average attendance: 10,305
official website: http://www.goiasesporteclube.com.br/
Best Players: Jadilson (full-back), Harlei (goalkeeper), Souza (forward), Welliton (forward)
Top Scorer: Souza 17 goals - Brazilian League Top Scorer

• The League's Top Scorer, Souza, has now moved on to Flamengo whilst Jadilson has been sold to Sao Paulo

9) CORINTHIANS 53 pts. - qualify to the South American Cup
average attendance: 15,703
official website: http://www.corinthiansfutebol.com.br/pt-br/
Best Players: Marinho (defender)
Top Scorer: Rafael Moura 7 goals

• After winning the Brazilian League last season (with Carlos Tevez & Javier Mascherano), Corinthians struggled from the very beginning this season even flirting with relegation until coach Leao came in - ending the season on a high after a 10-match undefeated run
  
• Corinthians had the most players sent off over the season (17!!)
• Corinthians lost 10 players during the season - either because of injuries or being sold by the club (Tevez, Mascherano, Ricardinho, Carlos Alberto, Nilmar, Marcelinho, Xavier, Wendel, Igor, Gustavo Nery)

10) CRUZEIRO 53 pts. - qualify to the South American Cup
average attendance: 15,213
official website: http://www.cruzeiro.com.br/
Best Players: Wagner (forward), Gladstone (defender)
Top Scorer: Wagner 11 goals

• Cruzeiro lost some key players during the season: defender Edu Dracena (to Fenerbahce), Moises & Alecssandro (to Sporting Lisbon) and Gil (to Gimnastic)
• Cruzeiro lost only one game at home - against Fluminense 2x3
  

Brazilian League for Beginner's - 2006 Table

For everyone who is interested in Brazilian football, or more specifically to Brazilian club football, find below the final table after 38 matches in the Serie A of the Brazilian League.

Champions (in yellow): Sao Paulo
Libertadores Cup (in green): Internacional, Gremio, Santos, Parana & Flamengo (Brazilian Cup winners)
Soth American Cup (in blue): Vasco, Figueirense, Goias, Corinthians, Cruzeiro, Botafogo, Atletico Paranaense
Relegated to Serie B (in red): Ponte Preta, Fortaleza, Sao Caetano, Santa Cruz
Promoted to Serie A: Atletico Mineiro, Sport Recife, Nautico, America-RN

PG = points won J= games played V= wins E= draws D= lost games GP= goals in favour GC= goals against SG = goal difference

Colocação	Time	PG	J	V	E	D	GP	GC	SG	%
1º	São Paulo	78	38	22	12	4	66	32	34	68%
2º	Internacional	69	38	20	9	9	52	36	16	61%
3º	Grêmio	67	38	20	7	11	64	45	19	59%
4º	Santos	64	38	18	10	10	58	36	22	56%
5º	Paraná	60	38	18	6	14	56	49	7	53%
6º	Vasco	59	38	15	14	9	57	50	7	52%
7º	Figueirense	57	38	15	12	11	52	44	8	50%
8º	Goiás	55	38	15	10	13	63	49	14	48%
9º	Corinthians	53	38	15	8	15	41	46	-5	46%
	Cruzeiro	53	38	14	11	13	52	45	7	46%
11º	Flamengo	52	38	15	7	16	44	48	-4	46%
12º	Botafogo	51	38	13	12	13	52	50	2	45%
13º	Atlético-PR	48	38	13	9	16	61	62	-1	42%
14º	Juventude	47	38	13	8	17	44	54	-10	41%
15º	Fluminense	45	38	11	12	15	48	58	-10	39%
16º	Palmeiras	44	38	12	8	18	58	70	-12	39%
17º	Ponte Preta	39	38	10	9	19	45	65	-20	34%
18º	Fortaleza	38	38	8	14	16	39	62	-23	33%
19º	São Caetano	36	38	9	9	20	37	53	-16	32%
20º	Santa Cruz	28	38	7	7	24	41	76	-35	25%

Libertadores Cup - how did the Brazilian clubs perform?

This is the 1st week of the group stage of the 2007 Copa Libertadores (the South American Champion's League equivalent) and some of the Brazilian clubs have began their campaigns over the last 2 days.

Brazil has 6 representatives in this year's edition of the Libertadores: Sao Paulo, Internacional, Gremio, Parana, Santos & Flamengo. Inter takes part as last year's winner. Sao Paulo, Gremio qualify straight to the group stage due to their performance in the Brazilian League in 2006 (1st and 3rd respectively, Inter was 2nd). Santos and Parana also qualify due to their league standing last year (4th & 5th respectively), but these clubs have already played this season in order to qualify for the group stage. Finally, Flamengo won their place due to winning last year's Brazilian Cup.

Wednesday 14/02/07
Real Potosi (Bolivia) 2x2 Flamengo - Group 5
Real Potosi play their home games at 4,000 metres above sea level and this is clearly used as an advantage by their team and so it proved against the Rio de Janeiro side. Real Potosi scored both their goals in the 1st half to lead 2x0, and despite the immense difficulty due to the high altitude (the Flamengo bench had canisters of oxygen on the side for the players!!) Flamengo used up all their strength to draw level at 2x2 and secure a draw away from home in difficult conditions. Good result for Flamengo.
Group 5 also includes Parana (Brazil) and Maracaibo (Venezuela).

Audax Italiano (Chile) 0x0 Sao Paulo - Group 2
The Chilean played for this result and achieved their goal in an uninspiring match. The plus side for Sao Paulo was the fact that they have now not lost in their last 22 games - some achievement! One of the best (?) players on the night was the chilean keeper Audax Peric, who even managed to save a couple of free-kicks by Sao Paulo's expert free-kick taker, the goalkeeper Rogerio Ceni. This result was OK for Sao Paulo, as it was away from home, but disappointing as not much is expected from the Chilean side.
Group 2 also includes Alianza Lima (Peru) and Necaxa (Mexico).

Other results: Bolivar 0x0 Boca Juniors and from previous evening: Emelec 0x1 Velez, Defensor Sporting 3x0 Gimnasia y Esgrima, Cucuta 0x0 Tolima.

Thursday 15/02/07
Maracaibo (Venezuela) 2x4 Parana - Group 5
Coach Zetti's last minute decision to change from the preferred 3-6-1 to a 4-4-2 formation had the desired effects with Parana obtaining a result no one had expected! A fantastic result away from home.

Cerro Porteno (Paraguay) 0x1 Gremio - Group 3
This was a typical Libertadores Cup match - there was plenty of hostility from the Paraguayan crowd with objects being thrown onto the pitch (a bottle hit Gremio's Lucas), heated arguments, bad fouls and the like. Unfortunately for Cerro Porteno, Gremio is an experienced Libertadores Cup side and managed to control the game to win 1x0 with the goal scored by Lucas. This was the 7th game this season that Gremio won without conceding a goal in a row (18 scored!). Gremio's goalkeeper, the Argentinian Sebastian Saja (ex-San Lorenzo) had an inspired night when needed, even saving a penalty on the 44th minute of the 2nd half. Great start for Gremio away from home.
Group 3 also includes Cucuta and Tolima (both from Colombia).

The first games for the two Brazilian clubs still to play in the group stage are:
Nacional (Uruguay) x Inter - Wednesday 21/02/07
Deportivo Pastos x Santos - Thursday 22/02/07

The 3 Amigos of Highbury vs Bolton

The 3 Amigos of Highbury played tonight versus Bolton in the English FA Cup 4th round...



...Gilberto Silva (as captain in Thierry Henry's absence), Denilson and Julio 'The Beast' Baptista.

It was interesting to watch the game as Arsenal examplifies the pass and move game beautifully designed by their manager Arsene Wenger from the 1st team to the youth teams at Arsenal. Bolton on the other hand, led by Sam Allardyce, is all about strength, speed and height - brute force being used to win games (but not in the wrong way, don't get me wrong!).

Gilberto Silva has been in English football the longest of the three and he played in central defence instead of his usual central midfield role. He led by example all game with a good 1st half
and was unfortunate to have missed a penalty in the 2nd half (and almost scoring an own goal in extra time). I'd give him a 7 out of 10 for his performance tonight (out of position).

Denilson looked good, and it is great that Arsene Wenger is giving the younger players a chance during the Cup runs this year. Denilson played well, especially in the 1st half. The teenager was a bit quieter in the 2nd half and looked a bit tired in extra time, which is maybe to be expected. Good game though. I'd give him 7.5 out of 10 for his performance (only 19!!).

Julio Baptista was in and out of the game, never really performing as well as he is clearly capable of doing - he still looks out of sync with the British game and although he gained a penalty (missed by Gilberto) in the 2nd half, he also missed a penalty in extra time. This was not a night for The Beast! I'd give him 5 out of 10 for his performance (I'm feeling generous).

All in all, it is great to see a club in England recruiting some Brazilians, especially at a young age such as Denilson. It'd be great to have some of the more high-profile players in future come to the Premiership in England and show what Brazilians are capable of - which unfortunately was not at full display tonight! At least, Arsenal's 3x1 win over Bolton means that Arsenal's younger players - including the 3 amigos - will get another chance to showcase their football...

Marketing & Merchandising by Brazilian clubs - an opportunity missed by some?

In today's global stage, some Brazilian clubs seem to miss an opportunity when it comes to marketing & merchandising their clubs.

I went and visited a small sample of the top clubs in Brazil via their official websites:
Sao Paulo, Gremio, Fluminense, Cruzeiro, Atletico Mineiro, Internacional, Vasco da Gama, Botafogo, Palmeiras, Atletico Paranaense, Coritiba, Santos & Flamengo.

I wanted to check:

1) Was the Main website clearly available in English (or another language)?

2) Did the Virtual shop website clearly allowed for orders to be taken from customers based abroad?

Out of the 13 clubs checked, only 2(!!) actually had their websites available in english: Inter of Porto Alegre (english & spanish - probably taking advantage of the fact that they have just won the World Club Championship) and Atletico Paranaense (english & german - due to the number of people in the region of Parana with German heritage). However, Cruzeiro did have some of its website information in english detailing an exchange ('intercambio') opportunity with the club.

The lack of websites available in english was a huge surprise to me - I contacted a few of these clubs to check whether there were any plans to update their websites - which in the majority were very interactive and great from the Brazilian fan's perspective. Gremio of Porto Alegre replied to state that they were planning to update their website and provide an english version.

Looking at the Virtual Shops, eight out of the 13 stores allowed for orders to be taken and sent abroad - a list of which have the links is attached below. However, none of them seemed to clearly offer the virtual shop webpage in English or any other language at present.

Sao Paulo http://www.saopaulomania.com.br/ allows orders abroad
Gremio of Porto Alegre http://www.gremio.net/shop/ no orders outside Brazil
Flamengo http://www2.ciashop.com.br/flaboutique allows orders abroad
Fluminense http://www.lojadoflu.com.br allows orders abroad
Cruzeiro http://www.lojacruzeiromania.com.br/ no orders outside Brazil
Atletico Mineiro http://www.lojadogalo.com.br/ no orders outside Brazil
Inter of Porto Alegre http://www.lojadointer.com.br/ allows orders abroad
Vasco da Gama http://www.ciashop.com.br/vascoboutique allows orders abroad
Botafogo http://www.fogaoshop.com.br allows orders abroad
Palmeiras http://www.pontoverde.com.br allows orders abroad
Atletico Paranaense http://arenastore.webstorm.com.br no orders outside Brazil
Coritiba http://www.gloriosoverdao.com.br allows orders abroad
Santos http://www.santosmania.com.br no orders outside Brazil

Obviously, there is an opportunity for Brazilian clubs to 'sell' themselves to a wider audience here and the 1st basic steps include the offering in english of their websites (including history of the club, virtual shop, etc) and the opportunity to maximise their financial return by taking advantage of any future national or international success on the field - such as it seems Inter of Porto Alegre is doing after their recent triumph.

Given the lack of money at clubs and the huge debts most of them are saddled with, how can they afford not to sell themselves to a wider audience??