Archive for June, 2009

A couple of quick thoughts about the USA near miss upset of Brasil on Sunday. In the first half, the USA disrupted the famed Brasilian passing game by forcing Brasil to become impatient. Instead of passing the ball around the perimeter, Brasil choose to fire the ball into the box and take long shots that didn’t have prayer.

Brasil’s impatience in the offensive end played into the USA defensive design.

The USA had a great counter attack that took Brasil off guard thus resulting in 2-0 USA lead.

What changed?

Brasil made two key adjustments. Instead of forcing the ball into the box, Brasil forced the USA defense to react to what they were doing offensively. What do I mean?  I will explain this to you in basketball terms. When a team has trouble hitting the outside shot they pass the ball into the pivot to force the defensive team to react to the flow of the ball. This will create mismatches for the offensive team. That means the offenses best player will be guarded by the defenses worst player. This will give the offense a better chance to score.   

Brasil began to rely on their superior passing and team speed. Instead forcing long range bombs and crazy passes into the box, Brasil worked the ball into position for a high percentage shot ala Fabiano’s top of the box turn around shot that tickled the twines in the 46^th minute.

By doing this, Brasil set the second half tempo.

Dunga made adjustments. Bob Bradley didn’t.

My team Flamengo and Fluminense tied zero-zero. Both teams had numerous scoring opportunities but neither could convert. Both teams are from Rio de Janeiro and the animosity runs high between these two clubs both on the pitch and in the stands.

Palmeiras and Santos kissed their sister at one all.

Internacional blasted Coritiba 3-0.

Victoria killed Santo Andre 4-1.

Sport beat Gremio 3-1.

Atletico is in first place with 17 points. Internacional is in second with 17 points. Atletico is in first place on superior goal difference. Victoria is third with 16 points.

Flamengo is in seventh place with 11 points. Sao Paulo is in 11^th place with 10 points.

Check these sites out.

www.palau.org

 http://www2.hillsong.com/tv/home.asp

The start of the match has proved to be promising. No early goals given up the USA as of yet. Brasil has had most of the possession but the USA scored first blood on redirect chip touch shot by Clint Dempsey that to give the USA 1-0 lead ten minutes into the match.

Spector fired a pass into the box and Dempsey slipped between Brasilian defenders Lucio and Gilberto to redirect the shot past a helpless keeper Cesar. Brasileiros defense fell asleep.

USA scored a fast break goal in the 26^th minute to make 2-0. Landon Donovan booted home the gift. A great give and go between Davies and Donovan.

A bad pass by Robinho in the Brasilian offensive zone led to the jailbreak goal.

Oh Baby this is so amazing and crazy.

Tim Howard so far has been brilliant in the net for the USA. He has made three great saves. Brasil should have at scored least three times but Howard and the guys stopped em dead in their tracks.

Brasil is frustrated in the offensive end of the pitch. They are forcing their offense with long shots and passes into the box.

Brasil just scored in the 46^th minute to make 2-1 USA. Fabiano reverse turnaround shot at the top box found the back of the net. Teammate Maicon made a great pass to set up the goal.

Brasilian pressure on the ball led to the goal. Good offensive flow for Brasil so far in this second half.

Twice in the second half, Tim Howard stopped two sure Brasilian goals.

Typical Brasil futebol led to the second goal by Fabiano to tie this baby up at two all.

A great run by Kaka into the box. Kaka ‘s great pass into the box led to a shot by Robinho. Howard blocked Robinho’s initial shot. This resulted in a scramble ball in front of the net. Fabiano’s rebound header flew past helpless keeper Tim Howard.

It is two all after the 73^rd minute.

Brasil took the lead off a perfectly placed corner kick by Elano.  Lucio headed home the winner in the 84^th minute to make 3-2 Brasil.

The clock is going tick, tick, tick.

It’s over the Brasil 3 and USA 2.

Good show put on by the USA.

Tim Howard had a great game in goal.

The ESPN announcers JP and John Harks are horrible.

John Harks needs to shut up. 

Great match. I am kinda happy and sad. I am happy the USA put up a good fight. I am sad the USA lost. I am happy Brasil won.

The Brasilian press was in total shock that the USA took an early two-zero lead. The Brasilian faithful never expected this. The Brasilian players knew but not the press.

This is what www.uol.com.br had to say:

O estádio Ellis Park testemunhou neste domingo a mais emocionante partida da edição 2009 da Copa das Confederações, em que o Brasil saiu de desvantagem de dois gols para fazer 3 a 2 nos Estados Unidos e assim conquistar o torneio da Fifa pela terceira vez na história. Os norte-americanos abriram vantagem antes do intervalo, mas Luís Fabiano, duas vezes, e Lúcio, anotaram os gols da virada da seleção, todos no segundo tempo.

A loose translation goes like this. This is a testimony to the way Brasil came back and defeated the USA after being down by two goals. The USA had the advantage at halftime but Luis Fabiano two-second half goals and Lucio’s game winner led Brasil to the comeback win.

When Brasil scored two goals to tie up the match this set up the fireworks for Lucio’s goal in the 38^th minute.

A dramática virada seria selada aos 38min, quando o capitão Lúcio escorou de cabeça um escanteio batido por Elano da direita, confirmando a cena da taça em suas mãos minutos mais tarde.

Check out these sites.

www.palau.org

http://www2.hillsong.com/tv/home.asp

Sao Paulo finally got off the schnid with a 2-0 victory Nautico. Sao Paulo has been in turmoil the past two weeks. Sao Paulo got blown out big  time in the quarterfinals of the Copa Libertadores. To make matters Corinthians skunked Sao Paulo 3-1. The day before popular manager, Muricy Ramalho was fired. He led Sao Paulo to three straight Campeonato Brasileiro.

Muricy wasn’t getting the job done so he got the heave hoe. Enter a carioca Ricardo Gomez and all hell breaks loose.

What happens? The team pulls it together and gets a huge win.

Hernandez led the way for Sao Paulo by scoring two second half goals. 

www.uol.com.br Hernandez had this to say about the victory:

“O peso das costas já tinha saído faz tempo. Depois do jogo contra o Avaí, eu já estava esperando uma oportunidade. Fico muito feliz em voltar a ser titular. O Ricardo Gomes acreditou o meu trabalho. Antes, a bola não queria entrar e, por isso, vivíamos uma fase complicada. Mas esse resultado representa o início de uma nova etapa”, destacou Hernanes ao Sportv após o final da partida.

Hernandez said  He was waiting for a long to prove that he could play. He has been waiting since the Avai game  for this opportunity.  Gomes believed in me and gave me the opportunity.

With the win, Sao Paulo moved out of the danger zone. Sao Paulo is in a safe position in the table. Com a vitória, o São Paulo subiu sete posições na tabela de classificação da competição e agora ocupa o nono posto, com 10 pontos. O Náutico, por sua vez, caiu um lugar e passou para a 13ª colocação, com oito pontos.

Sao Paulo’s new manager Gomes had this to say;”É difícil se manter no topo do futebol brasileiro por muito tempo. Todos conheciam uma maneira do São Paulo jogar. O mais importante não será mudança tática, mas na cabeça dos jogadores. Ele precisam resgatar a confiança, a frieza que demonstravam nas últimas temporadas”, destacou o treinador.

Gomes says the job is difficult. It is hard to stay at top of the league all the time. It is not important change tactics but to use your head when playing the game. He wants to instill confidence and demonstrate it all the time.

Atletico-PR defeated Corinthians 1-0. Paulo Baier perfectly placed free kick in the 35^th minute doomed defeat for Corinthians.

Goias cruised past Botafogo in Rio de Janeiro 4-1.

Cruzeiro edged Avai 1-0.

Gremio doubled up Atletico-MG 4-2.

Tomorrow is the Brasil-USA match. My wife and I can’t wait.

Go Brasil !

Check these sites out

www.palau.org

http://www2.hillsong.com/tv/home.asp

There is only one thing on my mind this fine day. No. Not, The EPL saga of Cristiano Ronaldo or Carlos Tevez telling Man U to go screw themselves but Brasil Futebol. That’s my third love. My first love is God and my second love is my wife.

Brasil and the USA will battle it out on Sunday for The Confederations Cup. Yes, I am a proud American but I want Brasil to win. It is crazy, sad, but true.

Brasil played like crap against South Africa. South Africa played way above their heads. They clogged the middle. They jammed up the passing lanes and took away what Brasil does best a free flowing passing and running game. Who was the architect of this stroke of genius?  South African coach Joel Santana. He is a former Brasilian coach.

Does the USA have a chance? After Wednesday performance against Spain, yes, but will they?  Only God knows and he’s not telling us much of anything.

I have this sense the USA-Brasil match will be a lot closer than the last one. A complete wipeout, no, but I think the final score will be Brasil 2 and the USA 1. It will be a nail bitter throughout. It will be a closely contested contest.

The only thing I am hoping for is that ESPN doesn’t have the same clowns that have been broadcasting the previous USA matches will do this one. These guys are ##$#@@. I can’t stand them. I wish they would shut up and not say word the entire match. 

Always remembers this, opinions are like rear ends. Everyone has one and this one is mine so fire me.

www.uol.com.br wrote this story leading up the USA-Brasil showdown on Sunday.

Único favorito que resistiu às “zebras” da Copa das Confederações, o Brasil resume em uma palavra a receita para evitar ao máximo surpresas desagradáveis: humildade. Usando como exemplo a Espanha (derrotada pelos Estados Unidos na semifinal), a seleção afirmou que projetou uma partida complicada contra a África do Sul na segunda semi e por isso não sofreu do mesmo mal que os europeus.

My take on what was said goes like this the called foul was a game changer and this call directly led to the Brasil win.  Brasil is humble heading into the match with the USA. Brasil is the example what happened to Spain in their match with the USA and Brasil doesn’t want the same thing to happen to them.

Brasilian player Felipe Melo has this to say about the upcoming match with the USA.

Questionado sobre a diferença de postura entre espanhóis e brasileiros, Felipe Melo cutucou os atuais campeões da Europa. “Entramos com humildade, sabendo que seria um jogo difícil. Sabemos que temos um time muito forte, mas temos que mostrar esforço para vencer.”

Melo knows this match with USA will be difficult. We are enter this match different than the way Spain did. We are humble for we know we have to play with a lot of force for us to win.

Brasil superstar added these comments on the match.

Para Kaká, a classificação dos norte-americanos foi justa. Derrotada pelo Brasil na primeira fase por 3 a 0, a equipe da América do Norte obteve sua vaga na semifinal ao vencer o Egito e se beneficiar pela vitória brasileira sobre a Itália, eliminada precocemente. Depois, protagonizou a maior surpresa da competição ao bater os espanhóis.

Kaka said Brasil’s to 3-0 win over Egypt was directly responsible for the USA being in the semifinal against Italy. This was a major surprise that USA defeated Italy. The USA does belong in the finals. 

So there, you have from the crazy zone.

My wife and I can’t wait until Sunday.

Check these sites out

www.palau.org

http://www2.hillsong.com/tv/home.asp

Daniel Alves perfectly place laser-curled free kick that was squeezed between the post and the keeper Khune’s fingertips in the 87^th minute saved Brasil’s bacon. Brasil edged South Africa 1-0 to advance to the Confederations cup on Sunday against the USA.

The way the wall was set up. Alves hit the shot in the only place that was open. That was the old ball game.

South Africa played tit for tat with Brasil all match long.

For me Brasil seemed to be playing on five cylinders instead of six. Brasil’s passing wasn’t crisp. They seemed just a step slower than the South Africa side. Brasileiros were out of rhythm all match long. Brasil’s passes were either a step in front or a smidgen behind. Brasileiros were out of synch.

South Africa had at least three good scoring opportunities.

Brasil escaped with a victory. The old saying I would rather be lucky that good. This is a perfect fit for today’s match.

Was it a foul on the play? Yes.

The built up to the attack was good. This built up directly led to the foul. The foul was the game clincher for Brasil.

Daniel Alves is a game changer.

My main man Dickie V would shout, “ That Alves kid has ice water in his veins. He’s a TPTER (A Prime Time Player).

We are a happy household. Both my wife and I wanted to see a Brasil-USA match. We have it.

I can’t wait until Sunday.

www.uol.com.br had this to say about the match: Foi sofrido. A segunda “zebra” das semifinais da Copa das Confederações rondou o estádio Ellis Park nesta quinta-feira, mas foi afastada por Daniel Alves. Autor do gol brasileiro na vitória por 1 a 0 sobre a África do Sul, o lateral-direito ajudou a equipe a carimbar sua passagem à decisão da competição pela quarta vez na história. A dificuldade, contudo, foi grande. O gol saiu somente aos 42min da etapa final.

South African coach Joel Santana stated that when Alves entered the match that was the key: Daniel Alves entrou no lugar de André Santos aos 36min do segundo tempo para ser o nome do jogo seis minutos mais tarde. Com cobrança de falta perfeita, sua especialidade, foi o herói da classificação brasileira e o carrasco do conterrâneo Joel Santana, treinador dos sul-africanos.

It was reported the cause of the poor play was that players were relying on too much their individual creativity and this caused problems for the team. It was reported this way.

A falta de criatividade no meio e o individualismo excessivo dos homens de frente complicaram a seleção brasileira. Se por um lado Júlio César foi pouco ameaçado (exceção feita a chute perigoso de Teko Modise), Kaká, Robinho e Luís Fabiano também pouco fizeram de efetivo, vencidos pela marcação.

Check out these sites.

www.palau.org

http://www2.hillsong.com/tv/home.asp

What can you say? The USA pulled off one of the biggest upset in soccer history. USA 2 Spain-Zippo-nada-bagel. Does this rank with the 1980 Miracle on Ice. No. But this match was sure fun to watch.

Altidore’s goal in the 27^th minute and Dempsey’s goal in 74^th minute sealed the deal for the lowly rated American futebol team.

Spain’s fifteen-match win streak and 35 unbeaten streak was stopped dead in its tracks in the cold of Bloemfontein, South Africa night.

Yes, sister Catherine lightening can strike in the same place twice. The place is Bloemfontein, South Africa.

The mighty Spaniards came rolling into the semifinals.  The world’s number one ranked Spain hadn’t conceded a goal in the tournament until Altidore found the back of the net. Clint Dempsey’s pass was deflected however Altidore’s one timed the shot that went “Buda Bing” off the Spanish keeper Casillas paws and found the back of the net. 1-0 USA.

Spain kept up the pressure all match long but Howard and the guys didn’t wilt under the pressure.

Did the USA catch a lucky break on the second goal? Donovan had a great run into the box. His pass bounded off of two Spanish defenders. The ping-pong ball was finally nestled into the waiting feet of Dempsey who knocked home the winner to make 2-0 USA.

The Michael Bradley red card in the 84^th minute was a crock. He went after the ball. The Chicken $$#@ American ESPN announcer knew the truth he didn’t have the cohunes to tell like it is, ala Howard Cossell.

So, it’s on the finals for the USA. This is the first time the USA has reached the finals of a FIFA event.

Will it be Brasil or South Africa?

Brasil.

Oh yeah, check out what the Brasilian press had to say about the USA upset of top ranked Spain: www.uol.com.br

Você ficou surpreso com a vitória dos EUA diante da Espanha? “Caiu o bicho-papão do futebol mundial. Campeã européia, líder do ranking da Fifa e dona do futebol mais vistoso do planeta, a Espanha foi eliminada na semifinal da Copa das Confederações ao perder por 2 a 0 diante do forte contra-ataque dos Estados Unidos, nesta quarta-feira, em Bloemfontein, na África do Sul.
Os Estados Unidos, que só se classificaram para a segunda fase da Copa das Confederações pelo saldo de gols, esperam pelo vencedor do confronto entre Brasil e África do Sul, nesta quinta, às 15h30 (de Brasília), em Johannesburgo, para decidir o torneio pela primeira vez, no domingo.”

A loose translation:  You are surprised by the USA victory over Spain. Spain was the top ranked team in the world but they were terrible today. The USA counter attack was key to the win. The USA had a good second phase of the tournament. USA is waiting for Brasil on Sunday.
Check out these sites

www.palau.org

http://www2.hillsong.com/tv/home.asp

The field of dreams that’s what the USA did on Sunday. Now it’s time for another one of those crazy miracles to happen again. Will it? My head tells me no but I have seen crazier things happen in sports.

These magic words keep floating in my head, “ Do you believe in miracles?” That’s what Al Michaels said after the United States beat the Russian pro Olympic hockey team in Lake Placid, New York in 1980.

I remember exactly where I was when the game was played. My folks came to visit me in Santa, Fe, New Mexico. We were watching the game on TV.

Can the USA catch lightening in a bottle for a second time when they take on Spain later today?

Let’s look at the facts. Spain hasn’t lost an international match since 2006. Spain has won 15 matches in a row and their unbeaten match streak stands at 36. Wow. That’s impressive.

In three previous outings against the United States Spain is undefeated.

Against world-class competition, the USA has habit of stinking the joint out. Against the Mexico’s, Egypt’s and Jamaica’s Donovan and his cohorts look like world-beaters.

Now the guys have a chance to prove all the naysayers wrong. Can Donovan, Beasley, and Dempsey play a match to remember or will they stink the joint out?

Let’s get real for a moment; Spain has Torres, Hernandez, Fabregas, and Villa who happen to be some of the footballers in the world.

Maybe Spain is looking past the USA to their expected match up with Brasil in the Confederations Cup Finals.

Ala when New England upset the St. Louis Rams in the Super Bowl Thirty-four 20-17.

Oh, I forgot the Pats had Tom Brady. Bradley, Brady that’s close enough for government work and jazz.

Will the USA win?

In my heart I would love to them shock the world.

So in answer to the question, no.

But there is always hope.

My wife and I will watch the match tomorrow at 11:30 am Pacific Time.

Check out these sites.

www.palau.org

http://www2.hillsong.com/tv/home.asp

My team Flamengo finally got off the schnid on Sunday. Flamenguistas had a convincing 4-0 whitewash of Internacional at Maracanã. Adriano had a hat trick to lead Flamengo to the win. Adriano’s  second goal in the 46^thminute was powerful strike off a free kick from thirty meters out. The ball flew just over the top of the wall and curved right into the top shelf of the goal. Internacional keeper Lauro Danilo never had a chance.

With the win Flamengo, leap frogged all the way from 11^thto sixth spot in the table. Now my Flamengo heart is happy. The bums finally played well.

www.uol.com.brsaid this about Flamengo’s blow out win: Pelo menos por enquanto, caso não aconteça alguma coisa nos bastidores, o Flamengo terá uma semana tranquila. Neste domingo, no Maracanã, em partida válida pela sétima rodada do Campeonato Brasileiro, a equipe rubro-negra bateu o Internacional por 4 a 0. Adriano, três vezes, e Emerson. A vitória ameniza a situação do técnico Cuca, ameaçado no cargo, e o clima depois da goleada por 5 a 0 sofrida para o Coritiba na rodada passada.

A loose translation goes like this: The victory  eased the situation for head coach Cuca and saved his job. This week will very calm.  Adriano had three goals and Emerson had one in the victory.

Flamengo’s  4-0 victory over Internacional saved Cuca’s job. If Flamengo didn’t win, Cuca would have probably been fired just like Sao Paulo’s coach Muricy was the day before.  www.uol.com.brstated: Com a vitória do Flamengo sobre o Internacional por 4 a 0, neste domingo, no Maracanã, pela sétima rodada do Campeonato Brasileiro, Cuca se safou de demissão. Aliviado por seguir no comando da equipe rubro-negra, o treinador resolveu dar um basta na história com Muricy Ramalho. No sábado, o ex-treinador do São Paulo insinuou que Cuca queria o seu lugar no Tricolor paulista.

Corinthians upset Sao Paulo on Sunday 3-1. Sao Paulo is struggling. The club is not playing well. Since Rogerio Ceni went down with a broken ankle Sao Paulo has been playing like crap.

The Sao Paulo brass fired Muricy Ramalho just before the match on Sunday with Corinthians. This came on the heels of Sao Paulo’s loss in the quarterfinals of the Copa Libertadores. Ricardo Gomes replaced  Muricy as the team’s new headman. Milton Cruz coached Sao Paulo for Sunday’s game.   Os poucos são-paulinos que compareceram ao estádio protestaram. Gritaram o nome de Muricy e criticaram a diretoria e a contratação de Ricardo Gomes.

Sao Paulo captain Andre Dias came out in support of Muricy.  “É nova vida, e a gente não pode lamentar as derrotas. Foram quatro anos maravilhosos, e uma hora isso acaba. Temos de correr para sair desta situação. Da mesma forma que entramos, temos de dar um jeito de sair”, decretou o capitão André Dias.

The fans of Sao Paulo were upset with firing of Muricy. Muricy led Sao Paulo to three straight Brasileiro Titles. Sao Paulo is the defending Brasileiro Campeonato.

Ricardo Gomes is a former AS Roma coach. He is also a Carioca.

This is akin to a former Dallas Cowboy coach or player coaching the Philadelphia Eagles. All hell would break loose.

Sao Paulo is one step above the have hoe zone. Sao Paulo has seven points. They are in 16^th place in the table.

Atletico is in first place with 17 points. Internacional is in second place with 14 points. Vitoria is third with 13 points. Palmeiras is fourth with 12 points. Corinthians is in fifth spot 11 points and Flamengo is sixth with 11 points.

Check out these sites.

www.palau.org

http://www2.hillsong.com/tv/home.asp

Sunday is the day my wife and I have been waiting for the Brasil-Italy match in The Confederations Cup. We are watching the match on ESPN.

Brasil-Italy started as a wild affair. Both teams have been racing up and down the pitch. Brasil has had more scoring chances but the Brasilians haven’t found the back of the net.

Italy has had their chances too but the Italians have misfired as well too.

Both teams have settled down a bit.

Brasil has spent most the first half in the attacking zone.
Brasil’s relentless attack resulted in a goal in the 37^th minute. Fabiano one timer off the miss by Maicon gave Brasil 1-0 lead.

This goal was the result of a great built up. What I mean by a build up is that Brasil made four or five passes in the attacking zone. With each pass, the attack moved closer to the goal. 

Brasil continued to press the attack. Fabiano found the back of the net to make 2-0 at the 43^rd minute.

A brilliant run by Robinho up the sideline started off another jailbreak goal for Brasil. Robinho passed to Kaka. Kaka’s skip to my Lou pass to Fabiano resulted in an easy marker for Fabiano.

A defensive blunder by Italy’s De Rossi led to a Brasil jailbreak into the attacking zone. Robinho broke free and fired a pass into the box. Italy’s Dossena stepped in front of the cross and knocked the ball into his own net 3-0.

Italy has stepped up the offensive pressure in the second half.  It looks like Brasil is taking the foot off the gas pedal.

The Italians had at least four good scoring chances. Nothing so far for the Italians as the clock motored on tick, tick, tick.

The Italians had their best chance of the match to score but De Rossi missed the wide-open shot in the 76^th minute.

Brasil totally took it easy in the second half.  Brasil won. Brasil is on to the semifinals with a 3-0 win over Italy.

www.uol.com.br wrote this about Brasil demolishing of Italy in The Confederations Cup:

Em sua melhor apresentação na Copa das Confederações até o momento, o Brasil derrotou a Itália por 3 a 0, com dois gols de Luís Fabiano e outro contra, e selou a classificação para as semifinais do torneio, em que terá a anfitriã África do Sul, do técnico brasileiro Joel Santana, como adversária. De quebra, o triunfo nacional deste domingo no estádio Loftus Versfeld, em Pretoria, tira da disputa os atuais campeões mundiais.

The translation goes like this: Brasil had its best game so far in The Confederations Cup. Luis Fabiano led the way with two goals to lead Brasil to the semifinals.

The article goes on to state that this was the largest margin of victory for Brasil and this margin of victory coupled with the USA margin of victory sent the USA into the semifinals. This victory was very improbable but the USA took advantage and advanced on a better  goal difference than Italy.

Derrotada por larga margem de gols, a Itália viu a segunda vaga da chave ficar com os EUA. Os norte-americanos derrotaram o Egito neste domingo por 3 a 0, no outro jogo do grupo B, e conseguiram uma classificação improvável, depois de duas derrotas seguidas nas rodadas iniciais. Os EUA acabaram com vantagem no desempate contra os italianos nos gols a favor (as duas equipes, além do Egito, fecharam a fase com 3 pontos somados; os egípcios ficaram em desvantagem no saldo).

 Now for the crazy part of this Sunday, USA has advanced to the semifinals with a 3-0 win over Egypt. The USA needed Brasil to win by three or more goals. That happened. The USA needed to beat Egypt by three or more goals. Guess what? That happened too.

Who says Lightening can’t strike twice in the same spot. It did.

This is totally unreal.

Was another one of those crazy sports miracles. Yes.

Check this sites out

www.palau.org

http://www2.hillsong.com/tv/home.asp

Saturday is one of those tweener days. Campeonato do Brasil is playing but my mind is elsewhere. I am looking forward to flipping back and forth between the Brasil-Italy and USA-Egypt match after my wife and I get back from church.

There were really wild and crazy matches played on Saturday in Brasil. My wife and I watched the Palmeiras battle with Atletico-PR on GOL-TV. Palmeiras fell behind 2-1 late in the match before getting the equalizer in 93^rd minute to pull out a two all draw. It was one of crazy corner kicks. Somehow, the ball turned into a pinball machine and all hell broke loose in front of the Atletico net. Keirrison booted home the equalizer through two Atletico defenders to give Palmeiras a miracle draw.

Atletico-PR thought they had the match won when Marcinho fired a laser free kick that found the back of the next in the 79^th minute to make 2-1. 

www.uol.com.br described the match-tying goal this way: Chances perdidas, gol mal anulado e problemas na defesa. Tudo indicava que o Palmeiras seria derrotado e teria sua crise ampliada com um novo resultado negativo, agora no Campeonato Brasileiro. Porém, um gol de Keirrison aos 48min do segundo tempo mudou a situação do time alviverde neste sábado e assegurou o empate por 2 a 2 com o Atlético-PR na Arena da Baixada.

A translation would go along these lines: Palmeiras had many chances to score but didn’t convert them. Palmeiras last goal saved them from a bad result. This could have had a bad effect for Palmeiras in the championship of Brasil. Palmeiras defense was bad and they gave bad goals to Atletico.

The folks at Atletico thought they were robbed of a victory in the final moments by the ref. Nossa diretoria tem que tomar uma providência. O Atlético é um time grande e não pode ser desrespeitado deste jeito. O árbitro havia dito que era o último escanteio, mas permitiu que eles batessem o segundo e saiu o empate”, lamentou o zagueiro Antônio Carlos, que também reclamou do juiz.

Gremio and Goias tied at two all. Santo Andre defeated Sport 2-1. Vitoria got by Botafogo 4-3. Coritiba defeated Nautico 1-0, and Avai scored a late goal to defeat Fluminense 3-2.

Avai jumped to an early 2-0 lead however Fluminense game roaring back to tie two all before Leo Gago scored in the 93^rd minute on a long rocket that beat the keeper Ricardo Berna  to rescue victory from the jaws of a tie.

That’s it for today. We’ll talk about the two big matches Brasil-Italy and USA-Egypt later today.

Check these sites out.

www.palau.org

http://www2.hillsong.com/tv/home.asp