Up until last week, the Brasileirao seemed the tournament no one wanted to win. The favorites kept losing points with pale football. But the 30th round shows signs of change by two sides. Flamengo and Atletico-MG want to take the title home after a long time.

While Palmeiras, Sao Paulo, Inter and Goias gave another display of loss of steam, the two sides pocketed the three points in very important matches.

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• Ok, she's not playing in the Brasileirao ... but Marta still led Santos to the first Female Copa Libertadores victory after a convincing 9-0 win over Universidad de Assunción yesterday. Need we say more?
• Flamengo stunned leaders Palmeiras with a neat 2-0 victory thanks to a double (again) from Dejan Petkovic.

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The 28th round of Brasileirao was big obstacle for the leaders of the tournament. Palmeiras, Sao Paulo, Goias and Atletico-MG failed to win. The only side rubbing its hand and smiling is Inter, as it pocketed 3 points.

On Thursday, Palmeiras received Avai at home knowing that on the day before Sao Paulo had failed to win.

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On the 27th round of Brasileirao, Palmeiras gave an important step towards the title by keeping the 5 point lead over Sao Paulo, the second team in the table. And it wasn't a simple victory. It was a clear display of the discipline, power and luck (why not?) against Santos at Vila Belmiro.

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The irony? Those two clubs are in the relegation zone of Campeonato Brasileiro. This shows how much Brazilian clubs care about this competition and how low its level is. Botafogo and Fluminense are the ones trying not only to save the season, but also to save Brazil's reputation in the tournament.

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In the opening leg of the round of 16, Brazilian clubs showed how much this tournament is of interest. Out of the 5 clubs, just one, Botafogo, won. Playing as visitors, Vitoria and Goias had defeats which are not likely to be reversed in Brazil. Fluminense visited the second the last side of the Peruvian league, and just tied (well, just look where Flu is in the Brasileirao too.

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After the 0-0 in the first-leg, Botafogo received Atletico-PR at home. After 10 matches, Bota won for the first time. Uesley scored forst for Atletico-PR, and in the final moments of first-half, Lucio Flavio tied from the spot. In the second-half, Gabriel scored the second for the home team.

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It is ironic, but the new sensation of Campeonato Brasileiro is Sao Paulo, the club that lifted the trophy in the last three years. After a very bad start, the firing of Muricy Ramalho, the questions about Ricardo Gomes and the players and seating on the 15th spot, Sao Paulo reached the second spot.

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Despite the fact that 3 postponed matches still have to be played, the first-half of Campeonato Brasileiro is over. With 3 other clubs on the rise, the lead by Palmeiras has been overshadowed.

Sao Paulo, Avai and Goias showed massive will for the victory, and fought until the last minute to squeeze the 3 points that cemented their top positions in the table.

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Copa Sulamericana (or Sudamericana if you're not Brazilian) gets started today for Brazil with the Rio de Janeiro derby Flamengo Fluminense. It is the first time the Fla-Flu takes place at the international stage, but the disregard which is given to this tournament by Brazilian clubs will force two reserves sides into the pitch tonight.

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On the 14th round, Palmeiras reached the top of Campeonato Brasileiro (losing on the goal difference for Atletico-MG) by thrashing its main rival Corinthians with a 3-0. Those who expected to see Ronaldo saw Obina. Obina, yes the one who Flamengo fans used to celebrate as "better than Eto'o", pulled off a hat-trick.

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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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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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Ronaldo? Fred? Adriano? No.

Kleber Pereira, Keirrisson? No.

Marcos, Fabio Costa, Felipe? No.

The main character of Campeonato Brasileiro's 6th round was the post. It prevented many balls from reaching the back of the net, and had a huge influence in the final scores in 5 out of the 10 matches of the weekend.

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The 2009 Brazilian Serie A had its first round this weekend, with ten matches. Sao Paulo, which won the last three national titles, lost 1-0 in its debut, an away game at the Maracana Stadium, in Rio de Janeiro, against Fluminense. Mauricio scored a nice goal a few minutes into the game to give the locals the win. Click to continue reading...

This Sunday had 10 champions from different states in Brazil. Out of the 10 champions, 6 are in the first division of Campeonato Brasileiro. Add to this list Sport and Inter, and the 8 state champions will be in the league that starts next week. Check it out:

Flamengo 2 (4) x (2) 2 Botafogo: Rio de Janeiro, for the third time in a row, belongs to Flamengo.

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A few months ago I was in Porto Alegre to see Gremio take on Goias at the Olimpico Monumental stadium, home of the then league leaders Gremio. At the time, the Tricolor gaucho team from the south of Brazil were clear at the top of the table, unbeaten at home and looking a very likely candidate to win the 2008 Campeonato Brasileiro. Click to continue reading...

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. Click to continue reading...