Posts Tagged ‘FIFA World Club Championship’

Futebol is winding down for the season in Europe. In South America the real season begins. Let’s remember South America is the opposite of Europe and the good old USA. It’s wintertime in Brasil. The Serie A will kick off May 20^th. The Copa Libertadores is now in the knockout stage. A champion will be crowned and then they’ll join either Chelsea or Bayern Munich in he FIFA World Club title hunt that will happen in December.

Boca Juniors defeated Union Espanola 3-2 to advance on aggregate 5-3. Juan Riquelme led Los Xeneizes attack by scoring a goal and setting up two more. Corinthians shut out Emelec 3-0 to advance on aggregate 3-0. Lanus edged Vasco 2-1 to force a PK shootout. Both Gigante de Colina and Lanus were tied three all on aggregate. Vasco won in a PK shootout 5-4. Oh what a thrill it is.

The round of sixteen will commence on May 10^th.

My guys from Mengao stunk the joint out against Emelec in the Group stage and were thus sitting home in Rio weeping their eyes out. Flamenguista nation is pissed big time. We are not happy campers.

South America futebol doesn’t get much attention from the rest of the futebol world but many of the world’s top players come from Brasil, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile just to name a few. The greatest player of all time is Pele. He’s a Brasileiro. He played most of his career with Santos. Pele ended his career with the New York Cosmos. Santos is a city in the State of Sao Paulo.

Sure everyone knows of Man City, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and the rest but let’s look at their collective rosters and one will find their best players are from South America.

Gunner and Flamenguista for life.

www.palau.org

http://hillsongtv.com/

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Barcelona proved to the world why they are the best futebol club in the world.

The Catalans destroyed Santos 4-0.

This sucker wasn’t even close.

Lionel Messi hit the daily lotto.

Messi started off the hit parade with a strike in the 16^th minute.

The rout was on.

Xavi found pay dirt in the 23^rd minute.

This puppy was over.

Messi added his second goal in the 82^nd minute.

Former Gunner Cesc Fabregas scored in the 44^th minute.

Peixe won the Copa Libertadores but against Europe’s best Santos comes up way short.

Santos finished mid-table in the Brasileiros Serie A.

Peixe was tenth with 53 points.

Neymar said- “It’s impossible to stop Barcelona, but we are the second-best team in the world and for us that is a great reward.”

Santos headman Muricy Ramalho said- “Barcelona are the greatest team in the world,” he said. “No team can live with them. They’re unbeatable at the moment. Losing 4-0 to them is no disgrace.”

Pep Guardiola said about his side’s win- “My players were like artists,” Guardiola said. “Whatever they envisaged in their minds they were able to do on the pitch. It was an incredible performance.”

Here is the link- http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/998668/santos-forward-neymar-left-in-awe-of-barcelona?cc=5901

UOL wrote this about the slaying of Santos by Barcelona- Durante cinco meses, Muricy Ramalho vendeu a imagem de que o Santos iria atacar o Barcelona. O treinador passava horas analisando o clube catalão, consolidou um esquema tático para o esperado duelo, mas modificou tudo momentos antes de perder por 4 a 0 para o melhor time do mundo no Japão. Só que a escolha foi por uma opção jamais treinada.

Here is the link- http://esporte.uol.com.br/futebol/campeonatos/mundial-de-clubes/ultimas-noticias/2011/12/19/muricy-inventa-na-final-joga-com-um-time-novo-e-com-elano-no-banco-pela-1-vez.htm

Barcelona is good but these cats are in a dogfight in the Spanish League with hated foe Real Madrid.

In the La Liga Real Madrid is top dog with 40 points.

Barcelona is second with 37 points.

Gunner for life.

www.palau.org

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

http://www.bolaradio.com.br/

Messi and the guys cruised past Al Sadd 4-0.

This sucker was a whitewash from the outset.

The bad news is this David Villa suffered a broken leg.

Not good for the Catalans.

Adriano hit the daily Lotto twice.

Barca fired six shots on goal.

Four of them found its mark.

That’s 66% from the field

Deadeye shooting by Messi and the boys showed just how good these guys are.

Lionel Messi didn’t score but he was the drink that stirred the straw.

Santos is up next.

Peixe needs to be on top of their game.

Neymar and company are going to have to play air tight “D’ and shoot the lights out of the net.

Two of the best players in the world will be going at it.

Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Brasileiros Neymar will battle it out big time.

Messi has been on the world scene for about seven years. Neymar broke onto the world stage 2009.

Both Messi and Neymar are being considered for the FIFA Puskas Award for goal of the year.

The Telegraph from Britain wrote this about Messi and Neymar- Messi is the current world player of the year and leading light in a Barcelona side who are ranked as one of the greatest teams of all time.

Neymar, meanwhile, is one of the most sought after young talents on the planet and already a mainstay of the Brazilian national team.

Here is the link http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/la-liga/8958739/Lionel-Messi-v-Neymar-how-Barcelona-and-Santos-stars-compare-ahead-of-Fifa-Club-World-Cup-final.html

The Telegraph-It is the second time Messi has topped the World Soccer poll. He was the victor in 2009, but narrowly lost out to his Barca team-mate Xavi last year. Xavi finished third this time, behind Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid and Portugal.

Brazilian starlet Neymar is the only player in the top 10 based outside of Europe. The Santos youngster finished sixth in the World Player poll, but was the clear winner of the Young Player award, ahead of Borussia Dortmund midfielder Mario Gotze, Lille’s Belgian attacker Eden Hazard and Barcelona midfielder Thiago Alcantara.

http://www.worldsoccer.com/features/world-soccer-awards-2011-the-results-2

Neymar said about him being better than Pele- The Times of India -Star Brazilian striker Neymar said on Friday that he would never be better than Pele and insisted he was not interested in impressing his many European suitors at the Club World Cup.

“He’s the one and only, he’s the king of football,” said Neymar, sporting his trademark blond bouffant hairdo.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/football/interviews/Im-no-Pele-Neymar/articleshow/11043834.cms 

Neymar is good but so far on the world stage for the Brasileiros National Team he has struggle big time.

Messi for that matter has too.

Neither of these two guys are Pele.

Pele is the greatest futebol player who ever lived.

Pele did it in 1958 when he first stepped onto the world stage at the age of eighteen.

Two hat tricks baby.

Need I say more.

Flamenguista for life.

www.plau,org

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

http://www.bolaradio.com.br/

Here is the skinny on the Brasileiros Serie A. 

Corinthians is the champ.

Timao won their first title since 2005.

Corinthians was sent down to D-2 ball in 2007.

It took Timao two years to dig out of the hole.

Corinthians made it back in 2009 to Brasileiros Serie A.

Atletico—PR, Ceara, America-MG, and Avai were sent packing to Serie B or as I like to call it D-2 ball.

Portuguesa, Nautico, Ponte Preta, and Sport were promoted to the big boys league.

Sent packing from Serie B were Icasa, Vila Nova-GO, Salgueiro, and Duque de Caxias to the depths of whale dung Serie C.

If a club has dropped past Serie B it is a long hard process to dig ones way out of this huge hole.

All one has to do is ask Juventude.

Santos defeated Kashiwa 3-1 in the semifinals of the FIFA World Club Championships held in Japan.

Peixe won the Copa Libertadores title.

Neymar was the hero for Santos.

He scored in the 18^th minute.

His mates Borges and Danilo tickle the twines também.

Peixe will face the winner of the Barcelona- Al-Sadd played today.

Lionel Messi, Pedro, David Villa, and Xavi are part of the Catalans offensive firepower that Peixe will be staring down in the FIFA World Club Championship on Sunday December 18^th.

UOL wrote this about the Peixe win http://esporte.uol.com.br/

A vitória do Santos por 3 a 1 contra o Kashiwa Reysol na noite de quarta-feira, em Toyota, no Japão, não foi convincente para Muricy Ramalho. O treinador citou a vantagem do time japonês nas estatísticas e sabe que a situação será a mesma em um provável duelo diante do Barcelona na final do Mundial de Clubes.

Santos headman Muricy said- “Realmente vi a estatística e nossa posse de bola não foi boa, apesar de isso não definir resultado. Temos de melhorar, pois o Barcelona tem uma posse de bola maior do mundo”, destacou Muricy.

The guys know that Barca will be a hard match.

Santos will have to be on the top of their game or the Catalans firepower will kill them.

Flamenguista for life.

www.palau.org

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

http://www.bolaradio.com.br/

Sir Alex and the boys stunk the joint out big time. Man U crashed and burned against an inferior Swiss side Basel.

Basel won 2-1.

The Red Devils gave up two really stupid goals to Marco Streller in the 9^th minute and Alexander Frei in the 84^th minute.

The mighty boys from Old Trafford were not ready to play.

Man U made way too mistakes in the back line.

When the Red Devils had a chance to score or create scoring chances they turned the ball over or made really stupid passes.

This serves them right.

Man U has been playing on fumes all year.

The blow out at home against Man City exposed the Red Devils as pretenders.

This was Basel’s first trip to the Champions League knockout stage.

The Swiss side kicked Man U’s ass big time.

Congrates to Basel for their huge win.

Man U has won a title and been to the Champions League finals three out of the last four years.

Man City scored two goals to beat Bayern Munich 2-0.

The Citizens needed Villarreal to beat Napoli.

Not on this day.

Napoli defeated the Spanish side 2-0.

Bayern and Napoli advance out of Group A.

Real Madrid moved on as well as Inter Milan, Benfica, and Lyon.

The big question remains is this is Man U really that a bad?

Man U has scored only one goal in a  match since City clobbered them.

The Red Devils have heap big problems.

Yes, the guys lost a great keeper and their defense is very suspect.

So now Sir Alex and the boys need to step it up big time if they want to catch City in the EPL title chase.

Gunner and Flamenguista for life.

www.palau.org

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

http://www.bolaradio.com.br/

Once again Argentina has a ton of talent and they are coming up short time in and time out.

Argentina and Bolivia tied one all.

Bolivia is at the butt end of the table.

This is a very disturbing trend for Argentinos.

Bolivia scored in the 55^th minute.

Marcelo Moreno ripped the twines to give them a 1-0 lead.

Argentine answered the call in the 59^th minute.

Ezequiel Lavezzi found the back of the net to level this sucker at one all.

That’s where we stayed.

Messi had some really good chances but he couldn’t covert.

Uruguay routed Chile 4-0.

Paraguay beat Ecuador 2-1.

Colombia and Venezuela tied one all.

Uruguay sits atop the table with seven points.

Argentina, Colombia, Paraguay, and Venezuela each have three points.

Argentinos has a plus two so they have the second spot

Colombia is third with a plus one

But lets remember the Colombian squad has a game in hand.

Fourth place is Paraguay with a minus one.

Venezuela has fifth place with a minus one.

Bolivia is dead last with a point.

The next round will happen on Tuesday.

Colombia-Argentina.

Ecuador-Peru.

Chile-Paraguay.

Venezuela- Bolivia.

Flamenguista and Gunner for life.

www.palau.org

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

http://www.bolaradio.com.br/

Mengao fell behind early to Cruzeiro 1-0.

The Flamengo reeled off five straight goals to win going away 5-1.

Thiago Neves led the goal parade with the hat trick.

Mate Deivid hit the daily double in the win também.

Mengao stays in fifth place.

Both Corinthians and Vasco lost.

Timao lost to America-MG 2-1

Gigante de Colina was shut out by Santos 2-0.

Corinthians is still top dog with 58 points.

Vasco is second 58 também.

Timao is a plus 13 while Vasco is a plus 12.

Third place belongs to Fluminense with 56.

Fourth is Botafogo with 55 and Mengao is in fifth place with 55.

Mengao has a better goal difference but Fogao has 16 wins compared with Rubro-Negro’s 14 wins.

The ties are killing us.

Five points separate the top six clubs,

UOL wrote this about the blow out- marcados por Deivid (2) e Thiago Neves (3) pelos rubro-negros, enquanto Anselmo Ramon descontou para os visitantes. Com o resultado, os cariocas chegaram aos 55 pontos e subiram para a quarta posição. Já os mineiros, com 34, entraram na zona de rebaixamento com a 17ª colocação

O técnico Vanderlei Luxemburgo teve que resolver um problema de última hora. Felipe acusou minutos antes da partida começar que fez uso de um analgésico. Por ser um remédio que continha substâncias que seriam flagradas no antidoping, o goleiro não entrou em campo.

Globo Esporte wrote- Um Engenhão vermelho, preto e feliz. Feliz e confiante. O Flamengo teve uma tarde de domingo como há muito não se via. De bom futebol, de gols de sobra, de talento. Um domingo de Thiago Neves, autor de três gols, de Deivid, que fez dois, de Muralha, que, pouco a pouco, se consolida como uma grata revelação do Rubro-Negro. Um domingo de goleada empolgante, de volta ao G-5 e de sonho ainda muito vivo pelo título Brasileiro. Soberano, o time de Vanderlei Luxemburgo goleou o Cruzeiro por 5 a 1, de virada, pela 33ª rodada. O gol de Anselmo Ramon, no primeiro tempo, acabou sendo apenas um susto. Com o resultado, o time chega a 55 pontos e assume a quinta posição, três pontos atrás do líder Corinthians. Durante quase todo o segundo tempo, a torcida, 34.496 eufóricos pagantes, festejou aos gritos de “o campeão voltou”.

Flamenguista for life.

www.palau.org

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

http://www.bolaradio.com.br/

Mengao had a chance to move up the table with a win over Palmeiras. But no Flamengo and Verdao tied at one all.

Corinthians lost to Botafogo 2-0.

Sao Paulo and Internacional battled to a nil-nil draw.

Once again the guys scored first to take the early lead.

Thiago Neves ripped the twines in the 56^th minute.

The guys were cruising along until Palmeiras found the answer in the 64^th minute.

Verdao’s Maikon Leite hit pay dirt to level this puppy up at one all.

Game, set, and tie to Mengao.

Flamengo once again blows a lead and loses two points.

This is really getting old fast.

Flamengo relaxou após o gol, cedeu espaço e deu a arma do contra-ataque para o Palmeiras até que o rival chegou ao gol com Maikon Leite. Com a necessidade do resultado, os comandados de Vanderlei Luxemburgo partiram para cima na base da vontade e disposiçao, mas sem muita técnica e acabaram sem a vitória.

Way to screw up a perfectly good win Flamengo.

We had the win but you clowns had another one of those brain farts to cost us big time.

Rubro-Negro has 48 points

Palmeiras has 41 points.

UOL wrote this-Mas o Palmeiras se superou. Esqueceu os problemas, manteve o foco no campo e arrancou um empate por 1 a 1 com o time rubro-negro, na noite desta quarta-feira, no Engenhão.

A equipe freou o embalo dos cariocas que voltavam a sonhar com o título após uma sequência de cinco jogos de invencibilidade e três vitórias seguidas. Agora, o Flamengo ocupa a quinta colocação com 48 pontos ao lado do São Paulo que só empatou com o Internacional.

Globo Esporte wrote this- Depois de três vitórias seguidas, o Flamengo jogou mal nesta quarta-feira, no Engenhão, e empatou em 1 a 1 com o Palmeiras, que completou o quarto jogo sem vitória. Thiago Neves abriu o placar e Maikon Leite deixou tudo igual no duelo válido pela 29ª rodada do Campeonato Brasileiro. O time rubro-negro sentiu a ausência de Ronaldinho Gaúcho, que não chegou a tempo para a partida. Do lado do time paulista, os muitos capítulos da crise vivida pelo clube foram sentidos em campo. Sem Kleber, afastado pela diretoria, o time paulista jogou ainda marcado por tensão após o volante João Vitor ter sido agredido por torcedores. O empate no Rio, diante de tantos problemas, pelo menos serve como um alento para deixar o clima menos pesado.

Corinthians sits in the pole position with 51 points.

Vasco is in second place with 50 points.

Gigante de Colina can move a top the leader board with a win over Atletico-PR on Thursday.

Furacao is buried in 18^th place.

Botafogo is in third place with 49 points.

Fogao has a game in hand.

Sao Paulo is fourth place with 48 points.

Mengao is fifth with 48 points também.

Three points separate the top five clubs.

The race is one.

But Mengao we need wins not blown leads that turn into draws or loses.

This is killing Flamenguista nation.

www.palau.org

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

http://www.bolaradio.com.br/

This was another one of those nut cutting time matches for Brasil. Sure this sucker was only a friendly but a ton was riding on the outcome.

Brasil scored a 2-1 win over Mexico.

The Mexicans used their top guys while Brasil rested most of their premier players. Only Ronaldinho Gaucho and Neymar played.

Enter the second team that featured Hulk, Oliveira Jefferson in goal, Adriano, Luis Fernando.

An own goal in the 12^th minute by Luiz and a stupid red card given to chief idiot Dani Alves almost killed Brasileiros chances of winning.

These were two huge brain farts.

Mexico looked good.

The Mexicans shredded the Brasil defense however they could not put the ball into the back of the net against the second string.

This is not good.

Brasil showed heart.

The guys didn’t quit.

Goals by Ronaldinho Gaucho 79^th minute and Marcelo in the 83^rd minute sealed the deal for Brasil.

Menezes is not that good of a coach.

Brasil is missing their best playmaker in Kaka.

Kaka is regaining his form.

Yet, without his playmaking ability Brasileiros will struggle scoring.

The guys can’t finish.

This is a big problem.

Ronaldinho Gaucho is slowly regaining the form that made him one of the best players in the world.

This happened when he was sent back to Brasil in disgrace. Gaucho needed to learn how to stop being a star and learn how to be a teammate.

Flamengo and now Brasil are reaping these rewards.

Is Gaucho the answer?

In the short run yes not in the long run.

UOL wrote this- Ronaldinho Gaúcho e Marcelo salvaram a seleção brasileira em amistoso contra o México. Mesmo com um jogador a menos e em noite pouco inspirada, o meia e o lateral brilharam e garantiram a virada por 2 a 1. O resultado ofuscou as falhas do sistema defensivo montado por Mano Menezes. A equipe fez gol contra com David Luiz no início do confronto e teve Daniel Alves expulso ainda no primeiro tempo.

Principal aposta de Mano nesta fase da seleção, Ronaldinho encerrou tabu com a camisa da seleção brasileira. O meia tinha a marca de quatro anos sem marcar pela equipe. Seu último gol havia sido na vitória por 5 a 0 sobre o Equador, nas Eliminatórias da Copa-2010, em outubro de 2007. O desempenho de Marcelo também foi importante, já que o lateral deve ganhar mais espaço após passar período sem ter chances com o treinador

The big surprise of the day came when mighty Argentina came crashing back to earth.

Argentinos had their pride stomped on by Venezuela

Venezuela defeated Argentina 1-0.

Messi and company stunk the joint out.

Maybe Argentina is a team full of head cases.

This is the first time a Cesar Farias side defeated Albicelestes.

A goal by Fernando Amorebieta in the 61^st minute sealed the deal for Venezuela.

Paraguay and Uruguay tied at one all.

Diego Forlán scored for the Uruguayans.

Cristian Riveros scored for the Paraguayans. 

Chile doubled up Peru 4-2.

Columbia downed Bolivia 2-1.

After two matches Uruguay has four points and they sit a top the leader board.

Ecuador, Argentina, Columbia, Peru, Chile, and Venezuela all have three points.

Paraguay has one point and Bolivia is at the butt end of the table with nada.

Flamenguista for life.

www.palau.org

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

http://www.bolaradio.com.br/

World Cup qualifying begins for 2014. Jeez I can’t believe it is just around the corner. The 2014 World Cup will be held in Brasil so that means Brasil already is in.

The host nation is guaranteed a spot.

Argentina started off their quest with a convincing 4-1 win over Chile.

Argentinos was led by Lionel Messi.

Messi scored a goal but his mate Gonzalo Higuain hit the triple lotto.

He dialed up the hat trick.

Uruguay doubled up Bolivia 4-2.

Luis Suarez and Edison Cavani each scored a goal while Diego Lugano hit the daily double.

Peru beat Paraguay 2-0.

Ecuador shut out Venezuela 2-0.

The Peruvians win over Paraguay was a real shocker.

The other big news is that Carlos Tevez was not named to the Argentina National team.

Juan Riquelme from Boca Juniors was also left off the squad.

This was only the first match in the long qualifying process but is was good to see Peru beat Paraguay. Peru This Week wrote this about the win-” The Peruvian soccer team defeated Paraguay 2-0 on Friday night.

According to Andina, Peru played in front of more than 45,000 spectators, in what was Peru’s first qualifying match for the FIFA 2014 World Cup.

During the first half of the game, Peru’s attacks were constant but failed to outplay the strong Paraguayan defense.

20 minutes into the match Paraguay began to attack more frequently and created some dangerous situations for Peruvian goalie Raul Fernandez.

Peru scored it’s first goal 2 minutes into the second half, after a play started by Jefferson Farfan, who passed the ball to Guerrero, who managed to pass between two defenders and score.

The second goal came at the 27th minute of the second half, when a pass by Pizarro managed to find Guerrero in front of the goal.

With the win, Peru scored its first three points in South American qualifying round for the FIFA 2014 World Cup.

Peru is attempting to reach the World Cup after a 29-year absence.”

Flamenguista for life.

www.palau.org

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

http://www.bolaradio.com.br/