Neymar and Ronaldo: just two of the big stars in this year's Brasileiro

The dust has barely settled on the major state championships, but already it's time to focus on Brazil's national league – the Campeonato Brasileiro.

The 2008 competition was one of the closest for years but this season could be even tighter.

In a surprising bit of news today, Brazil proved once again that they are crazy about soccer. Fans of the Fluminense club are a little upset with the fact that their team has gone winless during the last four games.

Their last game against Santos even ended in a disappointing 4-1 loss.

So far, the return of Fred, ex-Lyon, to Brazilian football has been a big flop. Despite the few goals here and there, his club, Fluminense, has been having a horrible year. Not able to qualify for the finals of Rio de Janeiro state championship, the club now seats in the relegation zone of Campeonato Brasileiro.

Well that's the Bafana Bafana's 16th new jersey in 11 years and let's hope it is the lucky strip that will take the team past the opening round of the 2010 World Cup.

New Bafana Bafana Jersey

According to Kickoff, "the New Bafana Bafana kit is not much different from the current one, other than it being a whole lot sleeker and bearing a small South African flag, it was the one chosen from 21 alternatives by the Bafana players and technical team.

When I wanted to write a preview of the Bafana Bafana vs Jamaica match in Bloemfontein this evening, I thought I would just go and see what the online experts say.

Kickoff.com Bafana's One problem is Two Shoes

Former Bafana Bafana midfielder John "Shoes" Moshoeu says that while South Africa has not been doing very well in their last few international games, all is not yet lost.

To be clear, this is just a rumour right now. Nothing more, and certainly nothing official. Plus Guus Hiddink is officially contracted to the Russian national team until July 2010. So let's not get carried away. But...

...There are whispers being whispered that the Argentine Football Association may approach Guus Hiddink and offer him a role coaching Argentina alongside Diego Maradona at World Cup 2010.

After the 10th round of Campeonato Brasileiro, Atletico-MG returned to the top after the 3-0 victory in the Belo Horizonte derby. Besides the pathetic red card by Cruzeiro's Ze Carlos, the men of the match were veteran Junior and forward Eder Luis - even though in his goal goalie Andrey gave a big help.

Carlos Alberto Parreira is the new coach for the South African National Soccer Team. After two weeks of rumours and denials, the South African Football Association (SAFA) made the announcement just after 7pm at OR Tambo airport in Johannesburg.

During this Bafana coach fiasco, it seemed all that the loyal and passionate supporters were agreed upon, is that they were happy that Joel Santana was out of the picture.

Richie Williams ... why can't the longtime Red Bulls assistant land a managerial post? Good question.

View full size photo »

Also file under: Who did Richie Williams piss off?

Fluminense Football Club is a Rio de Janeiro, Brazil based soccer team. They are currently coached by former Brazil manager Carlos Alberto Parreira and campaign in the top tier of Brazilian football the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A. Yesterday, Fluminense and global sportswear giant Adidas presented the club's home and away kits for the 2009/10 season.

Fluminense Football Club is a Rio de Janeiro, Brazil based soccer team. They are currently coached by former Brazil manager Carlos Alberto Parreira and campaign in the top tier of Brazilian football the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A. Earlier this month, Fluminense and global sportswear giant Adidas presented the club's third kit for the 2009/10 season.

According to the Safa website: On Monday 19 October 2009 it was unanimously agreed between the Management Committee representing the South African Football Association and the Senior National Coach Mr Joel Natalino Santana, that Mr. Santana would, with immediate effect vacate his current position as Bafana Bafana National Coach.

The South African Football Association have parted company with manager Joel Santana after a string of poor results. Santana, who took over from Carlos Alberto Parreira in April 2008 as Bafana coach, was fired after the national team lost eight of their last nine internationals. South Africa's 1-0 loss to Iceland was the last straw [.

Carlos Alberto Parreira

The recent re-appointment of Carlos Alberto Parreira as coach of South Africa, replacing fellow Brazilian Joel Santana who had been hired on Parreira's recommendation, ignited that perennial question: is a national team, particularly one on the periphery of world football, better served by a local or an outsider?

Benni McCarthy is Back in the Bafana Bafana Squad

When Carlos Alberto Parreira returned as head coach, the writing was on the wall, Benni Mc Carthy would be asked to come back. The door to the Bafana Bafana team would once again be opened to the man who has scored 31 goals in 76 caps for his country.

Fábio Aurélio

On Thursday, the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) announced that Liverpool's Fábio Aurélio has a problem with his left calf muscle and would not face England in Qatar on November 14th and Oman three days later. The last time the leftback was called up for Brazil was by Carlos Alberto Parreira for the Confederations Cup in 2003.

Grêmio trounce Corinthians

Mano Menezes' return to the estádio Olímpico ended in a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Grêmio. Corinthians were blown away in the first-half, conceding three goals and having Jean sent off for two yellow cards. Grêmio's tight marking and pacey attacks, meant there was no space or time for any of Corinthians creative players.

On the verge of appointing a new coach, suffering from a run of poor results and they suffered defeat last weekend in the Campeonato Brailseiro. You could easily be mistaken for thinking I'm talking about Inter and not tonight's visitors to the Beira-Rio – Fluminense for tonight's midweek 11th round (21:50 local time).

This time last year The Guardian writers predicted that after winning the Premiership and European Cup double, Manchester United would give up their title to Chelsea. The reasons were obvious, apparently, but I disagreed with every single one.

First they argued that if Chelsea came within a few points of us that season, with a World Cup winning manager in charge they were certain to improve.

He ain't no Moses. But it's official. Carlos Alberto Parreira is back as Bafana coach through the 2010 World Cup. And laughing all the way to the bank, again.
This time, however, he'll have to deal with resentment in South Africa over his reappointment, particularly among those who believed the time was right for a local coach to get the nod.

World Cup hosts South Africa appointed Brazilian Carlos Alberto Parreira coach on Friday, a South African Football Association spokesman said. Parreira returns to a post he relinquished in April last year when his wife became seriously ill in Rio de Janeiro, and he was succeeded by compatriot Joel Santana.

Jogaram emPort Elizabeth, no Nelson Mandella Stadium, as seleções da África do Sul (85º no ranking da FIFA) e a seleção do Japão (40º do ranking da FIFA).
Antes desse jogo, as 2 seleções jogaram:
14-09-2000 - África do Sul 1x2 Japão (Jogos Olímpicos)
Árbitro: Romvaldo Baltazar (Angola)
A torcida sul-africana compareceu em bom número ao estádio de Porto Elizabeth, inaugurado recentemente para a Copa do Mundo.

Well we know how the Final Draw turned out – terrible for South Africa but here are the groups for the 2010 World Cup, in case anyone doesn't know yet. And the Official Match Schedule.

France and Uruguay are two former World Cup winners and Mexico is known as a very strong team, but South Africa will have to rely on the wide experience of coach Carlos Alberto Parreira and the passion and skill of Bafana Bafana if we want to avoid the humiliation of becoming the first host team in World Cup history to get knocked out in the first round.

"Sometimes you've just got to go."
Former Arsenal keeper Jens Lehmann explains why he spent a penny during Stuttgart's game with Unirea Urziceni.

"Hope it all goes well - people will be surprised to know you have a heart!"
Sam Allardyce reveals the text sent to him by old mucker Kenny Dalglish before the Blackburn boss underwent minor heart surgery.

Zero Hora is reporting that Fluminense are set to step up their efforts to sign Inter's on loan midfielder Rosinei.
The midfielder's loan with Inter ends this month and it is thought that the club are keen to negotiate a new deal with Murcia to extend Rosinei's stay at the Beira-Rio.

Rosinei is expected to join Fluminense once his loan contract with Inter expires on the 20th June.
Décio Berman, Rosinei's agent, spoke to Rio based radio station ‘Rádio Brasil' and revealed that Rosinei "was honoured by Carlos Alberto Parreira's interest" and are in ongoing negotiations with Spanish club Real Murcia.

South Africa failed to qualify for the Confederations Cup finals after the narrow defeat to Brazil but Joel Santana's side matched the high-profile opponents for large periods of the game and they thus once again showed they had the potential to create a few surprises at the World Cup 2010, which they will host.

Let's be honest, we're all armchair managers. It all seems so clear when you're sitting in the stands or watching on TV just exactly what the manager needs to do to win a game. Why the managers themselves can't see what you can see is, of course, one of the enduring mysteries of football.That's why I particularly enjoyed this piece in the South Africa Times giving the South Africa national coach

Carlos Alberto Parreira
"Nem tive tempo para curtir o tetra"
"Parem as máquinas! Hoje é 17 de Julho. Dia da final do Mundial dos EUA. O Brasil de Parreira e a Itália de Sacchi defrontam-se no Rose Bowl, sob calor sufocante e sol a pique (12 horas em Los Angeles). Quem ganhar, é tetra.

It had to happen sooner than later. Joel Santana stepped down as SA coach. After the invigorating display by the Bafana Bafana at the Confederations Cup this summer amidst the vuvuzelas, the team went into a tailspin.

Santana's ultra cautious approach and reliance on two defensive midfielders stifled the team's attacking instincts leading to eight losses in nine friendlies, the latest one coming against Iceland five days ago.

Bafana's Brazilian coach, Joel Santana, is out of a job. Pallid performances and pitiful results sunk the former Flamengo coach. "In the bigger picture and the interest of the country," said Mandla Mazibuko, SAFA vice-president, "he [Santana] realized while he was doing his best, his best was not good enough.

Richie Williams

View full size photo »

Let's talk about some no-brainers in life.

Tired-ass, overly sauced Chinese food vs. Thai food. High-five the Thai, every time.

Carlos Alberto Parreira, Bafana Bafana Coach

Bafana Bafana coach Carlos Parreira is optimistic about his team's success against Japan. Bafana Bafana take on Japan in a friendly international match at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.

And a Port Elizabeth Sangoma, Puseletso "Nkomiyahlaba" Maropane', has predicted that Bafana Bafana will win by 2 –O.

Carlos Alberto Parreira began his second tenure as Bafana Bafana coach with a 0-0 draw against Japan in their international friendly encounter at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.

Bafana Bafana Didn't Lose

But Bafana Bafana didn't lose!

Could this man be back as Nigeria's coach?

A Diego Maradona comparison is too tantalizing. A team that has managed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup despite the incompetence of the coach. Nigeria needed help from Mozambique who beat Tunisia, 1-0. For their part Nigeria overcame Kenya, 3-2 with a brace from Obafemi Martins in a tense match.

According to the Lancashire Telegraph, South Africa coach Carlos Alberto Parreira admitted that he would like to see Blackburn striker Benni McCarthy leave the club in January. He said,

"I cannot speak on his behalf, but I heard him say that in the January transfer window, he will decide on a new direction in his career.

Last Saturday's 0-0 draw with Japan was Carlos Alberto Parreira's first game back in charge of South Africa. You would be forgiven if you thought that the tenure of Brazilian compatriot, Joel Santana, as Bafana coach had just been a dream. The promise of good things that emerged from their Confederations Cup campaign had since dissipated into the ether.

Um dos muitos campos de treino já visitados
Carlos Alberto Parreira, Danny Jordan e Carlos Queiroz
Novo dia, novas actividades, com o ritmo do país onde nos encontramos, ou seja, bastante cedo. Seis e trinta da manhã e já esta cidade fervilha. Para nós, reunião na SAFA (South Africa Fottball Association), moderno edifício, gente muito jovem em grande actividade, com o Presidente do Comité Organizador, Danny Jordan e ainda um encontro informal com um amigo de longa data, Carlos Alberto Parreira, Seleccionador da África do Sul.

Ei tio Parreira... you're wearing the right colours but you seem confused! Anyway, on the eve of the World Cup draw, the coach of South Africa spoke to Brazilian journalists about possibly playing his home country in later stages of the tournament.

O campeonato sul-africano de futebol corre contra o tempo para permitir que a seleção treinada por Carlos Alberto Parreira ganhe três meses de preparação para a Copa do Mundo do ano que vem.
Segundo os dirigentes da federação local, a intenção é fazer com que o campeonato local termine em 28 de fevereiro, mas a ideia de antecipar jogos irritou alguns técnicos de equipes do país, como Hristo Stoichkov.