Brazil keeper Diego Alves punches David Luiz's face instead of the ball during Brazil's 6-0 friendly win over Iraq, in which Luiz's Chelsea team-mate Oscar grabbed two goals.
The title should actually read what fails Brazilian soccer? Clearly, with all its unsurpassed
talent, Brazilian soccer should have no ailment. Jonathan Wilson's article in the Guardian exposes
Brazil's fatal flaws when competing against teams which individual talent may find tough to
overcome.
Brazil hasn't been this nigh to the amber medal in men's soccer since Romario was a bright immature
adept in the belated 1980s. It's up to Neymar, the future of Brazilian soccer, to extremity tenners
of defeat.
The 2014 World Cup in Brazil is little more than two years away, but the action surrounding the
event has reached a fever pitch as a war of words between FIFA and the Brazilian government has
cast an ominous tone around World Cup preparations.
Last Friday, FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke was quoted as saying Brazilian preparations
for the 2014 World Cup are moving too slowly and that the nation needed to pick things up.
* Saturday night in Rio sees the draw for the 2014 World Cup qualifiers for all except
South America (CONMEBOL).
All eyes will be on the European draw where 1998 World Cup winners France have been downgraded to
the second pot, meaning they will play one of the top seeds England, Spain, Holland,
Germany, Portugal, Italy, Croatia, Norway or Greece.
Banned Ex.Co. member Mohamed Bin Hammam has slammed Sepp Blatter and Chuck Blazer following his
expulsion from football last week.
He compared Blatter to a tyrant wiping out his rivals and called for Blazer to go before the FIFA
Ethics Committee for receiving suspicious payments.
Bemoaning his life ban from football, the former Asian Football Confederation chief told Sky News,
"This is the act of the dictators and we have witnessed this through history.
A match in the stadium where Holland will face Brazil next month was held up for 20 minutes when a
beehive was discovered on one of the crossbars and ended in a free-for-all among players and rival
fans.
Police say a supporter has been shot dead following a Brazilian soccer game that was interrupted by
a swarm of bees and ended with a brawl between players on the field.
While the absence of Rangers FC may be hard to fathom, the Scottish Premier League nevertheless
got underway on Saturday as all twelve teams were in action on the first weekend of the SPL
season.
Celtic, now heavy favorites in Scotland with their rivals banished to the fourth division,
opened their 2012-13 campaign with a win as a 79th minute goal from Kris Commons was enough for a
1-0 victory over Aberdeen.
Geoff Cameron has not hid his desire of playing in Europe, and Stoke City is still in the
process of trying to make that dream become a reality.
Stoke are still in negotiations with MLS over possibly acquiring Cameron from the Houston Dynamo
during the current transfer window, but recent reports have claimed the two sides were far apart on
a transfer fee.
Once the team of players such as Alex, Dida, Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ramires, Cruzeiro Esporte Clube
is a Brazilian soccer club from the city of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais founded...
Associação Portuguesa de Desportos, usually called Portuguesa or Lusa, is a Brazilian soccer from
São Paulo in São Paulo state. The club will return to the top tier of Brazilian...
Mirassol Futebol Clube, usually known simply as Mirassol is a Brazilian soccer club from Mirassol,
São Paulo state. The youth club of Japanese international Marcus Túlio Tanaka, Mirassol is
currently...
Pop superstar Rihanna is currently on the Brazilian leg of her 2011 Loud world tour. While in the
country, the Bajan singer has followed in the steps of Miley Cyrus, The Rock and Vin Diesel in
being seen with a Brazilian soccer jersey. Unlike the other stars mentioned however, Rihanna was
not photographed with a [.
Pop superstar Rihanna is currently on the Brazilian leg of her 2011 Loud world tour. While in the
country, the Bajan singer has followed in the steps of Miley Cyrus, The Rock and Vin Diesel in
being seen with a Brazilian soccer jersey. Unlike the other stars mentioned however, Rihanna was
not photographed with a [.
Cantona, Pele and Cobi Celebrating 15% Savings After Switching to GeicoDisclaimer: The
opinions expressed within The Smacks Forehead Report do not necessarily represent the views
of The Viper's Nest... unless it's about DC or Philly scum, in which case we wholeheartedly approve
this message.
Brazilian soccer was recently pronounced dead by British magazine FourFourTwo, and, frankly, the
senior team did very little to dispel that notion at the Copa America, but Ney Franco's Under-20
side salvaged the summer by capturing Brazil's fifth World Youth Championship.
If you are a fan of all things Brazilian soccer, then today is your day.
Brazil's women's and men's national teams are both in action today, while the men's Under-17
national team is also playing, meaning you'll have three chances to see some Samba soccer on
display.
The Brazil men kick off their Copa America campaign, while the women look to keep rolling in the
World Cup.
Last night featured the final match of MLS First Kick weekend when Portland dismantled
Philadelphia to the tune of 3-1. Unfortunately, news on the New England Revolution front was pretty
slow, as was relevant news around the world, so today's Musket Rounds will be a bit truncated.
In other housekeeping news, The Bent Musket has a new contributor!
Socrates, the great Brazilian soccer maverick, has died at age 57. Those who saw him play were
moved by his style. He glided over the grass, his intelligence working the angles, carving space,
inspirational and beautiful. He was unlike the other midfield maestro of his era Maradona. The
Argentine was a short squat explosive; Socrates embodied elegance and poise, something special, the
man with the golden heel.
Ronaldinho confirmed his good form by scoring a goal and helping set up another, but Flamengo was
held to a 2-2 draw by Internacional on Sunday thanks to the brilliance of Leandro Damiao. The
Internacional hitman is one of the rising stars of Brazilian soccer and was recently called up to
the national team along with Ronaldinho for the upcoming friendly against Ghana in London.
Neymar's a big deal right now. Really big deal. Not only is he eliciting comparisons to Pele and
sporting a really suspect 'hawk, he's also got much of Europe the portion with big wallets all hot
and flustered in inappropriate ways. (Bit of a baby, though.)
Apparently hackers are so convinced people want to see Neymar hot and flustered, they're using
him to target prey with promises of a sex tape.
