After losing 2-0 at home to leaders Sao Paulo, Botafogo travels to Santa Catarina trying to close the gap at the top of the standings in the Brazilian Serie A soccr league. Sao Paulo, which defeated Atletico Paranaense 2-0 at home on Saturday, opened an eight-point lead over Botafogo, which has two games in hand. In other matches on Saturday, Flamengo finally won, defeating Nautico 2-1 at the Maracana Stadium to reach 15 points.

The 19th round of the Brazilian Serie A soccer league starts on Saturday with three games. Leaders Sao Paulo can finish up the first stage of the tournament with the symbolic title of 'winter champions'. Flamengo returns to Maracana Stadium after a long absence, hoping the mytical stadium will lend some of its aura to the team, which continues to struggle in the relegation zone.

No home team lost in the final four games of the 18th round in the Brazilian Serie A soccer league on Thursday. With three wins and one draw, the home teams closed the round with an impressive record of seven wins, two draws and one loss. The only team to win on the road in this round was Sao Paulo, which beat Botafogo 2-0 in Rio de Janeiro to open a five-point lead atop the standings.

Botafogo spent 16 round without a loss at home in this year's Brazilian Serie A soccer league. Now the team has lost two in a row at the Maracana Stadium. After last week's 2-0 loss to Sao Paulo, the team lost this Wednesday to Corinthians by 3-2. The game against Corinthians had been postponed due to preparation for the Pan-American Games, which took place in Rio last month.

Three matches on Saturday and seven on Sunday make up the 17th round of the 2007 Brazilian Serie A football league. The most important match will likely be the last, with Gremio hosting Sao Paulo needing to win to close the gap between itself (currently with 25 points) and its opponent (31 points), which is tied with Botafogo for the league's lead. Botafogo will also have a tough time, going to Curitiba to face Parana.

Botafogo faces Corinthians tonight at the Maracana Stadium, in a game postponed from the 7th round of the Brazilian Serie A soccer league. A win takes the team to 36 points, four less than current leaders Sao Paulo. The visitors are trying to build up on the comeback win over Gremio, 2-1, which took them out of the relegation zone. They will have a tough time against a team determined to show it's still in the chase for the league title.

Sorry about the disappearance over the last couple of months. Lots of changes in my offline life, and not as much time as I'd have liked to keep the blog updated. I might have to change the style of the blog over the next while, with shorter entries and not that much info in regards to upcoming games, but at least I'll try to show up more regularly.

And so the 2007 Brazilian Serie A championship came to an end on Sunday, with Sao Paulo repeating as champions and winning its fifth ever National title. The team coached by Muricy Ramalho had been crowned four games before the end of the season, and tied once and lost twice in its three last games - including a 2-1 away defeat to Atletico Paranaense on Sunday.

Internacional fans surely missed Alexandre Pato. The young star, who was away with the Brazilian Under-20 team for most of the past month, returned to Inter's starting eleven in top form this Wednesday, at the Beira-Rio Stadium, in Porto Alegre. With two goals and one assist, Pato helped dismantle Corinthians in the second half of a game Inter won 3-0.

Flamengo starts making up for the lost ground caused by the series of home games it had postponed due to the Rio de Janeiro Pan-American Games. The team just hopes the extra games will allow extra points, at least enough to guarantee the team a spot in next year's Serie A. Still in the relegation zone, Flamengo faces Fluminense on Thursday at the Maracana Stadium, desperately needing the points to leave the uncomfortable 19th position it currently occupies in the standings.

Sao Paulo starts the second half of the Brazilian Serie A soccer league on the road against Goias, trying to maintain the seven point advantage built over second place Botafogo in the standings. This and six other matches complete the 20th round of the league this Sunday.
Here's a preview of Sunday's matches.
SAO PAULO x GOIAS
Nobody really expected the defending champions to be so far ahead atop the Brazilian league at the end of the first half, but a series of positive results in the last few rounds meant the team kept adding points, while its closest opponents continued to lose.

Flamengo beat Cruzeiro 3-1 on Wednesday at the Maracana Stadium, in a match that had been postponed from the 16th round of the Brazilian Serie A soccer league. The result not only helped Flamengo move a little bit further away from the relegation zone, but also prevented Cruzeiro from closing the gap to league leaders Sao Paulo. With the loss, the team from Belo Horizonte remains with 45 points, nine less than Sao Paulo, with 54.

The game was obviously not as good as many had anticipated. But to the fans of Sao Paulo, it didn't really matter in the end, after the team managed to beat Botafogo on the road, 2-0, to reach 37 points, five more than Botafogo itself, which continues in second place.
Close to 50,000 people showed up at the Maracana Stadium to watch the game between the two best teams in the league.

Four matches will be played on Thursday to complete the 18th round of the Brazilian Serie A soccer league:
GREMIO x AMERICA NATAL
Gremio can't afford anything but a win at home against last place America Natal if it hopes to remain in the race for this season's title. With Goias win over Atletico Mineiro on Wednesday, not even the win will bring Gremio back to the top four in the standings after this game.

Sao Paulo had the perfect weekend on the Brazilian Serie A soccer league. First, the team did its part in beating Atletico Paranaense at home 2-0 on Saturday. Then, of its closest opponents on the league standings, only one won. As a result, the team finished the 19th round seven points clear at the top of the table, reaching the halfway point of the league in great fashion.

The second half of the 2007 Brazilian Serie A soccer league begins on Saturday, with three games.
ATLETICO PARANAENSE x FIGUEIRENSE
The two teams from Brazil's South are dangerously close to the bottom of the table. Atletico is in 16th place, and Figueirense in 15th, the two spots just above the relegation zone. Atletico has won only one of its last eight games.

Flamengo and Juventude play this Wednesday at the Maracana Stadium, desperately needing a win to increase their chances of remaining in the Brazilian Serie A. With 18 points in 17 games, Flamengo hopes to get its third straight win at home, while Juventude - with 18 points in 19 games - hasn't really performed well away from Caxias do Sul.
Four regular starters return to Flamengo, coming back from suspension: Leo Moura, Juan, Roger and Souza.

Cruzeiro travels to Sao Paulo to face Corinthians on Saturday, trying to consolidate its position in the Brazilian Serie A soccer league. Two other games are also scheduled for Saturday, in the 21st round of the Serie A.
CORINTHIANS x CRUZEIRO
Unbeaten in three, Corinthians is breathing a lot easier now than two weeks ago. Out of the relegation zone, the team still believes it can finish in the top four to gain a spot in next year's Libertadores Cup.

Seven matches complete the 21st round of the Brazilian Serie A on Sunday:
ATLETICO MINEIRO x BOTAFOGO
Botafogo tries to keep close to the leaders when it travels to Belo Horizonte to face Atletico Mineiro, still trying to approach the top of the standings but safe enough from the bottom of the table. Defender Marcos and midfielder Rafael Miranda return to Atletico.

Sao Paulo beat Palmeiras 1-0 on Wednesday to reach 47 points and open an eight-point lead atop the standings in the Brazilian Serie A soccer league. The defending champions benefitted from second place Cruzeiro's 2-2 away draw with Parana. Third place Botafogo also tied, 1-1 against Flamengo. Palmeiras is still in fourth, but Vasco could jump to a tie for third with Botafogo with 38 points if it beats Nautico on Thursday.

Three games on Saturday and seven on Sunday make up the 23rd round of the Brazilian Serie A. On Saturday, leaders Sao Paulo host Parana trying to keep the comfortable eight point lead atop the standings. America Natal and Juventude make a relegation zone matchup in Natal. And Flamengo tries to remain outside of the bottom four when it hosts Sport at the Maracana.

Three matches complete the 14th round of the Brazilian Serie A football league on Thursday.
SAO PAULO-SPORT
Trailing the league leaders by three points, Sao Paulo will try to regain second place in the standings when it hosts Sport tonight at the Morumbi Stadium. The defending champions have been quite inconsistent lately, but hope that Sunday's 2-1 away win against Cruzeiro is the start to a more stable period that can push the team in its quest towards a fifth National title.

Gremio likes playing at the Aflitos Stadium in Recife. Two years ago, the stadium was the venue for one of the most fantastic matches ever played by the team, which heroically battled on with just eight players to guarantee a win over Nautico that granted the team the promotion to the following year's Serie A. Yesterday, after Nautico had to wait an extra year to join Gremio in the Brazilian football elite, both teams faced each other again for the first time in the same venue of that historical night.

Seven games open the 14th round of the Brazilian Serie A on Wednesday, with three games left for Thursday.
Here's a preview of tonight's games:
ATLETICO PARANAENSE-CRUZEIRO
Cruzeiro travels to Curitiba trying to overcome last Sunday's 2-1 home defeat to Sao Paulo. Atletico, on the other hand, hopes that home field advantage will give the team the energy it lacked in a road loss to America Natal on Saturday, the first points gained by America at home this season.

Three games open the 13th round of the Brazilian Serie A football
league on Saturday, with seven other matches played on Sunday.
Here's a preview of the games this weekend:
VASCO x ATLETICO MINEIRO
Since its match with Botafogo for the 12th round had already been played last month, Vasco did not play during the week. The team hopes the full week of rest will allow the players to be at their best against Atletico Mineiro, which is coming off a good 4-1 win at home over America Natal.

The 12th round of the 2007 Brazilian Serie A football league will be closed tonight, with three games:
GOIAS x GREMIO
Gremio tries to focus on the match after nearly being killed in a plane accident on Tuesday. Goias can get within two points of leaders Botafogo with a win, while Gremio can gain second place from Goias and move within four of the leaders.

Six games on Wednesday and three on Thursday complete the 12th round of the 2007 Brazilian Serie A football league. The first match of this round was played more than a month ago, when Botafogo beat Vasco 4-0 in an anticipated match rescheduled because of the ongoing Pan-American games in Rio de Janeiro.
Here's a preview for Wednesday's matches:
INTER x CORINTHIANS
Inter goes back home after defeating Nautico on the weekend in Recife.

Botafogo increased its lead atop the standings of the Brazilian National League back to five points on Saturday, after beating Atletico Paranaense 2-0. Sao Paulo lost second place due to its inability to score a goal in a 0-0 draw with Flamengo at home. Goias is not complaining, having come back from a 2-0 deficit against Sport Recife at home to win 3-2, moving past the team from Morumbi.

Seven matches open the 16th round of the Brazilian Serie A football league. Two more games will be played on Thursday, while the last one, between Flamengo and Cruzeiro, was postponed until September 12. Thus, new Flamengo coach Joel Santana will make his debut only on Sunday, against Santos.
Here is a brief preview of the games to be played this midweek:
GOIAS x PARANA
Two teams that until recently were among the top four in the table face each other in Goiania trying to once again prove themselves worthy of respect.

Not that many people went to the Morumbi Stadium on this cool Thursday night to watch Sao Paulo host Juventude. But those who went suffered a scare early on, when Luciano scored for Juventude after just two minutes. The visitors, who were already thinking about defending before the game, just sat back and decided to rely on counterattacks to hold on to the win.

The duel between the two top teams in the league is the highlight of the 18th round of the Brazilian Serie A soccer league. Second place Botafogo hosts Sao Paulo at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, with five other matches also scheduled for tonight. Four games complete the 18th round on Thursday.
Here is a preview of tonight's games:
BOTAFOGO x SAO PAULO
After leading for most of the season, Botafogo finally saw Sao Paulo take over first place over the weekend.

Two teams in the top four face each other this Wednesday on the Brazilian Serie A soccer league, with leaders Sao Paulo playing Palmeiras in a local Sao Paulo State derby. Second place Cruzeiro will travel to Curitiba to play Parana, and third place Botafogo has the local Rio de Janeiro derby against Flamengo. Five other games will be played on Wednesday, with two matches being scheduled for Thursday, when Santos will host Atletico Paranaense and Nautico will play Vasco in Rio.

In Brazil, team rivalries are stronger within particular cities. Thus, someone who cheers for Flamengo will basically prefer any team to win but Vasco, Fluminense or Botafogo, the other big teams in Rio de Janeiro. In Sao Paulo, the rivalry is set for Corinthians, Palmeiras, Sao Paulo and, to a lesser extent, Santos. In Porto Alegre, it's Inter and Gremio.

Defending champions Sao Paulo increased the lead atop the Brazilian Serie A soccer league after a scoreless draw with Atletico Mineiro on the road on Wednesday. The leaders are now nine points clear of second place Cruzeiro, which lost 1-0 to Juventude on the road. Sao Paulo reached 51 points in 24 games, while Cruzeiro has 42 in 23 matches.
In a game with few goal chances created by both sides, the visitors were happy to leave with a point, after goalkeeper Rogerio Ceni defended a penalty kick taken by Coelho in the 90th minute.

After this weekend's games, only one Libertadores spot remains open for Brazilian teams in 2008. This year's Brazilian Serie A champions, Sao Paulo, had already qualified alongside Fluminense, Brazilian Cup champions. Flamengo also guaranteed its place in the continental competition with a 2-0 win over Atletico Paranaense at the Maracana Stadium in Rio.

Defending champions Sao Paulo defeated America Natal 1-0 on the road this Sunday, and joined Botafogo in the lead of the 2007 Brazilian Serie A football league. The new co-leaders benefitted from Botafogo's loss to Cruzeiro (2-3) at the Mineirao Stadium in Belo Horizonte. With these results, both teams are tied at 28 points, with Botafogo having one game in hand.

Palmeiras gained a point in a 2-2 tie with Santos on Thursday, scoring the tying goal in the last minute of play to keep alive a five-game unbeaten streak. Santos opened the score with Kleber - returning from a stunt with the Brazilian National Team - in the 11th minute. Nen tied the game for Palmeiras eight minutes later, but Pedrinho put Santos back on the lead with a goal in injury time of the first half.

Vasco reached third place in the standings with an impressive 2-0 road win over Internacional on Wednesday. It was only the second road win of the season for the team from Rio de Janeiro, which had also lost five times and tied once away from home. Inter lost for the second time in seven matches, and fell eight points back from leaders Botafogo. The locals created a few chances and could have opened the score in the first half, but it was Vasco that took advantage of the opportunities that appeared near the end of the opening 45 minutes.

Sao Paulo defeated Gremio 2-0 on the road on Sunday and took the lead on the 2007 Brazilian Serie A football league. The defending champions were lucky to score in the third minute with Borges, holding on the pressure from the locals for most of the game to reach 34 points in the standings. Diego Tardelli, who had just replaced Borges, scored the second goal in the 87th minute on a counterattack, after a very balanced match in which Sao Paulo's defense worked well enough to give the attack the chance to score on the chances it created.