Kaká, Dunga and Adriano ponder tonight's clash with Argentina
Brazil head to Argentina today knowing that a win could see them qualify for next year's World
Cup in South Africa. Dunga's men need the three points in the estádio Gigante in Rosario and
require Colombia to beat Ecuador in Medellin earlier in the day.
Luisão heads home for Brazil
A headed goal by Luisão and a brace from Luís Fabiano earned Brazil a deserved 3-1 against
Argentina in Rosario. Dátolo scored Argentina's consolation goal. This was Argentina's first home
defeat in 41 matches. The result ensured Dunga's team a place in the World Cup finals in South
Africa next year with three rounds to spare.
Brazil manager Dunga chooses his squad for Argentina and Chile... Goalkeepers: Júlio César
(Inter Milan) Victor (Grêmio) Defenders: Maicon (Inter Milan) Daniel Alves (Barcelona) Filipe (La
Coruña) André Santos (Fernerbahçe) Luisão (Benfica) Miranda (São Paulo) Lúcio (Inter Milan)
Juan (Roma) Midfielders: Josué (Wolfsburg) Gilberto Silva (Panathinaikos) Felipe Melo (Juventus)
Lucas (Liverpool) Elano (Galatasaray) Ramires (Benfica) Júlio Baptista (Roma) Kaká (Real Madrid)
Forwards: Nilmar (Villa Real) Robinho (Manchester City) Luís Fabiano (Seville) Adriano (Flamengo)
Posted in Natioanl Teams Tagged: Dunga, World [.
So it's Day 2 of the Soldados Bootcamp and they're already bullying Robinho! Anyway, the
manos did field work yesterday while Daniel Alves, Luisão, Ramires and
Elano were immediately sent to the gym upon arrival. Muito grave, indeed!
For training, Dopey divided the squad into two teams- Julio Cesar, Maicon,
Lúcio, Miranda, André Santos; Gilberto Silva, Felipe Melo, Julio Baptista, Kaká; Robinho and
Luís Fabiano formed one side while Victor, Cristian, Gérson, Juan and Filipe; Sandro, Lucas,
João Pedro and Wellington; Nilmar and Adriano made up the other.
Photos via R.RibeiroAh, an exciting week of international futbol is finally upon us as our
hombres prepare to face The Dona's Argentina on Saturday! Yesterday, the
Brazilian Bombshells eagerly assembled at the Tom Jobin International Airport (in Rio) before
proceeding to Granja Comary.
Seven stories from the last seven days on The Offside and WorldCupBlog... The World Cup might be
missing Cristiano Ronaldo... ...but not according to our predictions. We want a seniors league for
stellar retirees. A minnow becomes heroes for a day. Looking for the hardest working man in
football. Florentino lays down His VIII Commandments.
via Globo
Ah, flip flops... you can't get any more Brazilian than that! De qualquer
maneira, there's been some confusion over at the Flamengo training camp.
Apparently, their black slippers are so similiar that everyone ends up wearing the wrong pair after
training.
Week 24 is finally in the books after the all the matches were finally ended after Wednesday. São
Paulo moved to within 1 point of the top of the table with their 2-0 home win against Avaí. The
Tricolor Paulista have lost once in their last 13 matches not giving more than 2 goals in any
match.
Fernandão celebrates against Corinthians
On Saturday, just two points separated the top three sides in the Brasileiro. But even though
Palmeiras were not in action, they stayed top after Internacional lost away at Vitória and São
Paulo were held away at strugglers Santo André. Now just three points separate the top five.
My dad is a big follower of the blog. It's his birthday today.
Any ideas on a good present? Help me out in the comments.
To the links:
- Catching up with Clint Mathis. [SI]
- Quotes o' the week. [Sanford's Soccer Net]
- Some Luka Modric ad. [Off the Post]
- Barca's ESPN ratings.
With Brazil qualified to the World Cup, the match against Chile was going to be important for 2
reasons: 1)add another victory to the incredible sequence of 18 undefeated matches; 2) test new
players to join the group of 23 going to South Africa.
For that, Brazil came with the following formation: Júlio César; Maicon, Luisão, Miranda,
André Santos; Gilberto Silva, Felipe Melo, Daniel Alves, Júlio Baptista; Nilmar, Adriano.
The 24th round of Campeonato Brasileiro was all Sao Paulo's.
Sao Paulo received the surprisingly good side of Avai at Morumbi. In the first-half, Avai made
things difficult for Sao Paulo, as the home team offered loose defensive action in the midfield. In
the second-half, however, Sao Paulo decided to suffocate the visitors.
The 25th round of Brasileirao had all the elements to belong one more time to Sao Paulo. Inter
visited Vitoria always a tough match. Sao Paulo "visited" Santo Andre (piece of cake) and Palmeiras
will visit Cruzeiro on Wednesday. But the tricolor round ended up to be a green round.
Leo Leads...Does Your Star?
With Barcelona's convincing wins against Racing and Malaga added to Real Madrid getting two
quick and easy wins against Villareal and Tenerife the two undefeated teams left in the Premiere
Division have finally gotten away from a crowded pack.
The separation came easier when Bilbao dropped two straight games (against Sevilla and
Tenerife.
