After the 35th round of Brasileirao, one thing is clear: the champion will be red and black. The only thing that remains unclear is if it will also carry the white of Sao Paulo, or it will have just the two colors of Flamengo.

The two sides took advantage of Palmeiras' tie against Sport and look ready for the title.

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What seemed to be a terrible year for Fluminense may end up as a good one, after all (obviously, staying in the first division is fundamental to that). In the first-leg of the semis, Flu played as it is supposed to: as a big and traditional club. It played the first-half better than Cerro Porteno, but did not score.

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Without even stepping into the pitch on the weekend, Sao Paulo did something that has been very common for the club lately: It reached the top of Campeonato Brasileiro. In the 34th round of the tournament, the club, who fights for its 4th Brazilian title in a row, benefited from the defeats of Palmeiras and Atletico-MG.

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We've covered the forwards, and we've covered the front office. Heck, our front office results actually have been 100% correct so far, with Tom Soehn leaving the team and Kasper and Payne set to return. We'll have to wait a while to find out if our forward results are correct, but in the meantime, let's see what everyone has to say about our attacking midfielders. Click to continue reading...

Copa Sudamericana reached the semifinals, two Brazilian clubs had the chance to be in the final 4. However, only Fluminense did so. Flu visited Universidad de Chile and one more time relied on Fred. The ex-Lyon seems to be playing for all the matches he did nothing since the beginning of the year.

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The 33rd round of Brasileirao put on the top Palmeiras and Sao Paulo, creator (Muricy Ramalho) versus creation (Sao Paulo). Palmeiras leads because of the goal difference, three more than Sao Paulo.

On the weekend, Palmeiras played the derby against Corinthians whereas Sao Paulo played Barueri.

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Until the 32nd started, things looked dull for Palmeiras. There was enormous pressure and the fear that the team had just lost the Brasileiro. But after the last mid-week round of Brasileirao, things changed again. Palmeiras won and all direct rivals, but one, lost precious points. With that, the hopes of Palmeiras fans have been renewed.

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Plenty of fans were saying last night that this match was like a microcosm of our season. I disagree. A microcosm of our season would have included DC United grabbing an early lead and taking it into halftime. It also would have included many chances to go even further ahead, but we would have had multiple goals disallowed and/or our opponent would have scored after some poor officiating. Click to continue reading...

The two Brazilian clubs still in the Copa Sudamericana did not start well the quarter-finals of Copa Sudamericana. Botafogo and Fluminense will have a lot of work if they plan to advance to the semis. Botafogo visited Cerro Porteno in Paraguay and lost 2-1. Reinaldo scored for Bota, but if the club from Rio wants to advance, it must win at Maracana.

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Finishing 1-1 against the leader of the Mexican Primera Division on the road is a better result than most of us expected, and probably a better result than we deserved. Still, thanks to some inspired play by a few individuals, and some poor shooting by Toluca, we emerged with a single point.
A win would have secured our spot in the Champions' League quarterfinals, but let's not count ourselves out yet. Click to continue reading...

After the 29th round of Brasileiro, it seems no one wants to take the title home. Like in the last round, when only one club on the top won, the leaders collectively failed again. Palmeiras, Sao Paulo and Atletico-MG lost. Inter and Goias tied at home. And, in this way, Flamengo, the 6th side on the table, was the first team on the top to win.

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By definition, the Donnety Award goes to the player who has been the biggest disappointment for DC United in 2009. The award's namesake Matias Donnet came to United in 2006 and was seen as a potential all star due to his pedigree after playing for Boca Juniors, as well as spending some time in Serie A. Click to continue reading...

DC United comes off its 2-1 loss to San Jose to win 5-1 against San Juan Jabloteh. And what do you know...the youth played a huge factor in this with the help of Christian Gomez and Fred. Scoring for UNited was Gomez (13′,68′), Fred (30′), Khumalo (43′, 92+'). They key in this match was how well the youth wokred together for this win.

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Last week I made a big mistake in reading too much into the results of a win against a weak opponent. Learning my lesson, let's just say that this match was a pleasure to watch. This is the second time this season United has scored five goals, and it looked like the boys were having fun out there.
Does that mean though that they will carry this momentum into the match Saturday against Chivas? Click to continue reading...

D.C. United defeated San Juan Jabloteh 5-1 last night to boost their chances of advancing out of group play to the knockout stages of the CONCACAF Champions League. Christian Gomez and Boyzzz Khumalo led the attack with two goals apiece. Click to continue reading...

As some have heard at this point, Josh Wicks is going to be out 4-6 weeks because of a dislocated shoulder and torn MCL. Milos Kocic is the next in line for goalkeeper. Bill Hamid is not available for league matches, only CONCACAF Champions League.

With Kocic in goal, how does DC work with this?

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• Botafogo's fans made a banner teasing Fluminense's injured striker, Fred in their 0-0 home draw yesterday. The striker has been suffering muscular problems in his thigh and hasn't played a single match since July 23rd. The banner read : "Hey Vilma, where's Fred?

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This is the best our team has looked in quite a while. DC United just worked harder in this match, which is great to see. We won most of the 50-50 balls tonight, which has been rare the past few months. The team's first win against an MLS opponent since 7/18 couldn't have come at a better time.
The only thing I didn't like about our performance was the number of fouls given in close range. Click to continue reading...

In the sprinkling rain at RFK, DC United attacked the Galaxy goal, strung together passes in the midfield, and played strong enough in the back to not concede. Unfortunately, United's finishing and final third passing let them down, and the 22k in attendance had to settle for a goalless draw.

This team has been nothing this season if not frustrating.

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DC United announced a few roster moves today. As reported before, Julius James is coming after a trade with Houston for a 3rd Round Draft Pick in 2012.

DC announced that they have signed defender David Habarugira. Habarugira has played for the Burundi national team and in the Anderlecht (Belgium) youth system.

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If you've been following me in the past week or so, or are a poster on BS or BTB, you might know that I was a tad infuriated with the team selection last Tuesday at RFK against Firpo. I thought that it was pure evidence that the team didn't take the tournament seriously, despite lip service to the contrary.

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Plenty of quality goals in week 20, especially considering we had a 4-3 game, a 4-0 game and a 6-0 game on our hands. Then in non-MLS play we did have a stellar goal from David Beckham (it is posted below the league goals).

Which one was the best? Too many good ones to go through if you ask me.

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Two main points learned from this match: 1) Houston is really good. 2) The DC defense isn't.
Can you imagine how great this team would be if Dwayne De Rosario was still on the roster? This is already an all-star midfield, with Stuart Holden, Brad Davis, and Ricardo Clark all playing the best of their careers. Click to continue reading...

This match exhibited nothing but a lowly underperforming team working harder than a much more talented team. DC came out to a quick 2-0 lead, and apparently they thought they didn't need to do anything else for the next 70 minutes. That wasn't true.
There was also some definite bad luck for San Jose. Click to continue reading...

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.

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Sorry folks. At this point it may be too late... Consider this an open thread for your comments on Saturday night's impressive win over Colorado.
1. The At A Glance stats have been updated on the sidebar. Gomez has provided three goals and two assists in the past 5 MLS matches.
2. Click to continue reading...

After a first half consisting of two major mistakes (Namoff's own goal and Khumalo's terrible chip shot miss), United was a bit unfortunate to be down a goal. The teams looked very evenly matched. But from the moment that the whistle blew to open up the second half, one team was clearly better than the other. Click to continue reading...

Random ideas and obersvations from the Rapids' 3-1 loss to D.C. United on Saturday at RFK Stadium:

PASSION AND DESIRE: Colorado coach Gary Smith often attributes his team's victories and losses to the level of passion and desire the Rapids bring to the field. Saturday's two-goal loss was a good example of this.

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Well, the whole two half things has never been more apt. I don't know what Tommy said to the team in the locker room, but it worked something special.

The first half was honestly the worst 45 minutes of soccer I've ever seen. I'm counting Screaming Eagles pickup games in that assertion.

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Just like I never left...

This season is past half over, and DC United is tied for second in the Eastern Conference. With a record of 5-3-9, this United team has not blown the doors off, and has shown the ever maddening "flashes of brilliance" followed by the defensive meltdowns reminiscent of 2008.

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A 1-1 tie would have been a pretty good prediction going in, and isn't a bad result for us. But it feels good to say that this team deserved better. DC United dominated in scoring opportunities, with 11 shots on goal to Columbus's 3. But they were a bit more effective at converting their few opportunities, as we let the Crew off the hook far too often with failed chances and weak shots straight at the keeper. Click to continue reading...

Is it too late for the report on the 7th round of Brasileirão? Well, better later than never was the motto of the weekend in the tournament. 5 out of 10 matches were decided in the final moments.

Newcomer Santo Andre kept the good campaign with a 2-1 victory over Sport. The winning goal was scored by defender Marcel with 3 minutes into the second-half's stoppage time.

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This was my first journey to RFK this season, and boy did I pick a good one. It sure did feel right for this to be a battle for first place, because United and the Fire did look like two of the best teams in MLS tonight. Great atmosphere in the stadium.
Just a shame for a really well-played competitive match between two good teams to be influenced so heavily by the officials. Click to continue reading...

The 5th round of Campeonato Brasileiro confirmed a few things either Brazilians already know or are getting used to.

1) Bad boys will always be bad boys:

Goalie Fabio Costa from Santos and forward Kleber from Cruzeiro did it again. In the Santo Andre 3- 3 Santos draw, Fabio Costa caused an injury in Gustavo Nery which will leave him out of action for 3 months at least.

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The 5th round of Campeonato Brasileiro confirmed a few things either Brazilians already know or are getting used to.

1) Bad boys will always be bad boys:

Goalie Fabio Costa from Santos and forward Kleber from Cruzeiro did it again. In the Santo Andre 3- 3 Santos draw, Fabio Costa caused an injury in Gustavo Nery which will leave him out of action for 3 months at least.

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