AIK won't enjoy any sort of peace and quiet at the top of Allsvenskan. Their pole position will immediately be threatened by a very tough opponent as the reigning champions Kalmar FF comes to RÃ¥sunda on Saturday. It's a tricky match-up that AIK hasn't won since 2006. But this game could very well mark a negative turning point for Kalmar, a team that has been an unlikely success story for the past few years. Click to continue reading...

via AP

• Ibracadabra and Messi will play against Manchester City tonight in the Joan Gamper trophy... and tonight marks Ibra's debut after recovering from a hand fracture. The Dona doesn't need to worry either, because his beloved Messi has shaken off his muscle injury and will be available for selection.

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Former Inter striker Wason Rentería has been linked with a return to the Brasileirão despite being unable able to agree terms with Cruzeiro.
The Colombian who played in Portugal last season with Sporting Braga is said to be keen to return to Brazil and is eyeing up a move to one of the current top four clubs. Click to continue reading...

In part two of this series looking at the best Brazilian players of all time, I will be taking a look at the finest Brazilian talents of the 1970s and 80s.

From the remarkable team of 1970 through to the abundantly gifted yet ultimately unsuccessful squads of the 1982 and 1986 World Cups, there are some truly extraordinary footballers to choose from.

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In this series I will be looking at some of the greatest Brazilian players to have graced the game of football over the last sixty years, using the 1950s, the decade in which Brazil marched to their first World Cup triumph, as a starting point.

In part one, I take a look at the finest footballers to have pulled on the yellow and green jersey of the Selecao during the 1950s and 60s.

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It's not often in football that you see blind loyalty, but here's one such story reported by Reuters yesterday.
Shakhtar Donetsk and Ukraine defender Dmytro Chygrynsky has turned down all-conquering Barcelona's offer to join the Spanish club, preferring to stay with this year's UEFA Cup winners. Click to continue reading...

Tired of hearing about Michael Jackson? We will bring some more. The King Pop was not known for his connections to football despite cheesy goal celebrations by Brazilian players.

But look at the picture below. It is Michael Jackson wearing the jersey of French side Nice. Anyone knows why?

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via Reuters

Finally, the Milanistas are doing something! At Milan's first training session yesterday, fans gathered outside Milanello to protest the Kaka sale and lack of reinforcements from Uncle Fester's office. Leonardo got a bit confused by the commotion and gave them all a thumbs up.

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Don't tell the Brazilian players that the Confederations Cup doesn't matter. It's a football tournament, and that means it matters to them. And after being down 2-0 to the Americans at halftime, it really mattered to Brazil that they could overcome the deficit, and win this final, and they made the US look like they were playing at least a man down in the 2nd half, scoring 4, and having 3 of them officially recognized. Click to continue reading...

It seems everyone is paying tribute to the late Michael Jackson (sounds funny, this, hun?). Brazilian players decided to honor the king of pop with embarrassing goal celebrations. The worst? The celebrations brought no luck.

Diego Tardelli, the striker from Atletico, tied the match against Barueri.

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After an extremely surprising Confederations Cup in South Africa, it's come down to this - David vs. Goliath, Round 2, aka USA vs. Brazil. The USA's shocking turn-around and even more unexpected upset victory over Spain in the Semi-finals has everyone wondering if this up-and-coming team has one more shock result in them. Click to continue reading...

It wasn't going to be easy. The home team always grows in FIFA competitions. And difficulty increased as the locals have a coach who knows so well the Brazilian players. The only option for Brazil was to take advantage of the nerves of their rivals. So Brazil started the match marking South Africa in its defensive field as a way to force a mistake.

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According to the media in Brazil, he is one of the players that might replace Cristiano Ronaldo in the future, the new rising star. His agent claims that Sir Alex Ferguson has already started negotiations about signing 18-year old Brazilian, after the rumours have spread that the Portuguese might move to Real.

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We have come to expect more of Brazil than a gritty, workman 2-1 home victory over Paraguay. Sadly, only the player ratings show any hint of artistry, as we compare the Brazilian players' performance to the corresponding pieces by Pablo Picasso. Click to continue reading...

10CC Wall Street Shuffle
With two losses in three days and seven goals scored against its no surprise to find message boards full angry American fans. As they passionately call for Bob Bradley's sacking and kicking Beasley off the team (I can go for that one) we see the true passion and reactions that football causes. Click to continue reading...

The problem with the Confederations Cup, aside from those bloody, bloody, bloody vuvuzela air horns, is that it brings about more mismatches (in terms of quality) than even the World Cup. However, you'd not necessarily have pegged this game as being one. If the orthodox Anglocentric viewpoint is to be accepted - that 'we' invent sports so brilliant everyone in the world adopts them and then get good enough to beat us hollow - this match represents a battle between the great old new-world football power and the coming colossus.

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• Your favorite uncle, King Pele, has criticised the selecao in light of their recent performance against Egypt. This came after Dunga praised him as an example to his team for 'having patience' and winning the 1958 World Cup as a 17-year-old.
  
• Juninho has signed for Qatar club, Al Gharafa.

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The sensation of the first part of Bundesliga this season were certainly the debutants, Hoffenheim, led by three excellent Brazilian players, as well as equally important Bosnians, Vedad Ibisevic and Sejad Salihovic. The best striker in the first part of the season was Ibisevic with 18 goals scored and there would probably have been even more if he didn't earn a serious injury that saw him out for the season.

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Got this video from my Brazilian friend, Mr Renato Andreão.
It's about the Brazilian players earning their living in the S.League, namely Peres De Oliveira of Home United, Ednardo Moura and Ithamar Rangel of Balestier Khalsa.
In Portuguese though, wish I can understand what they were talking about but thanks to the graphics more or less can guess what was all about. Click to continue reading...

An uninspired Werder Bremen lost the UEFA Cup to Shakhtar Donetsk last night, after a 2-1 loss in extra time. All three goals were courtesy of Brazilian players. Everyone wants Dopey Dunga to sit up and take notice!

Luiz Adriano opened the scoring in the 25th minute for the Ukrainian side.

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Lucescu's Shakhtar Donetsk wins the last UEFA Cup in Istanbul Turkey.
He won two championship in Turkey with
Galatasaray and Besiktas and The UEFA Super Cup with Galatasaray , still he was rejected by team officials and Turkish media in Turkey.
This should be the most proud moment for Romanian coach to lift the last UEFA Cup in Sukru Saracoglu Stadium. Click to continue reading...

Man City's new paymasters live here

In the match that shall be known as the filthy rich clubs with the GDP of a small country derby, Chelsea schooled Man City. But there were some moments of beauty like Robinho's free kick and some great interlinking play that was evocative of a Brazilian heritage which might lead Mark Hughes to don a tie and a thong and make a beeline for the carnaval.

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IF the Premier League was ordered according to artistic merit, Liverpool's current lack of invention and creativity would see them languishing at the wrong end of the table instead of the top. Impotent in attack and all but sterile on the flanks, they are presently about as expressive as a teenager when asked about their day at school.

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Real Madrid's love affair with Brazilian footballers seems to be slowly coming to an end. At its height, back in Florentino Pérez's last season as club president, the squad boasted five Brazilians in its ranks: Roberto Carlos, Cicinho, Baptista, Robinho and Ronaldo. As of today, with the sale of Julio Baptista to Roma for €12 million, this number now stands at two: Robinho and Marcelo. Click to continue reading...

In a remarkable backtrack, Bundesliga sides Werder Bremen and Schalke 04 have released their respective Brazilian players to join up with their olympic team, after it was revealed they had won their case before the Court of Arbitration for Sport...
Barcelona are set to allow Lionel Messi to remain in Beijing for the Olympic Games, according to reports in the Spanish press. Click to continue reading...

Liverpool have turned their attention to a feud emerging between the Bundesliga and Fifa regarding their guidelines on releasing well known players for next month's Olympic Games.
The Bundesliga yesterday made it clear that they were prepared to test Fifa's resolve on the topic after a dispute over German side, Werder Bremen's midfielder Diego broke out, threatening to damage the 'goodwill' pact which would give famous players the opportunity to play in Beijing. Click to continue reading...

So finally after months of speculation, Big Phil Scolari has been appointed as Avram Grant's successor at Chelsea. For those of you not in the know, Scolari was a World Cup winner with his native Brazil in 2002, and in his five years as Portugal head coach, has led them to the final of Euro 2004, and the semi-final of World Cup 2006. Click to continue reading...

Last Wednesday, it was confirmed the transfer of São Paulo midfielder Josué to the German team Wolfsburg, in a 2 million USD deal. The player has stated before his wishes to play in the European football, and São Paulo managers did not impose difficulties in the deal, as Josué has done great things for the [...] Click to continue reading...