James Nalton

Editor and owner of The Botafogo Star. Author of Brazilian football column Sambafoot Sunday, and freelance football writer for various publications. Follow on Twitter

Jun 082013
 
Otavio Goal Fred Assist - Internacional (v Cruzeiro)

Internacional’s young Brazilian prospects Fred and Otavio (or Otavinho as he’s being referred to by some) linked up to great effect for the first goal in Inter’s 2-2 draw away to Cruzeiro. Right back Gabriel gave the ball to Otavio who had dropped away from the Cruzeiro defence to give himself some space. On receiving the ball he sent it straight in towards Fred on the edge of the area, who then flicked the ball […]

Jun 072013
 
Alex Sends Coritiba Top - Brasileirao Round 4

Alex scored his first goal of the season proper to send Coritiba top of the table as they beat Fluminense 2-1. Sao Paulo, Botafogo, Corinthians, Santos, Flamengo, and Atletico Mineiro all tasted defeat! In a round of games which also saw Flamengo sack their manager Jorginho, plenty of teams hovering around the middle to bottom half of the table gave themselves a bit of a boost, with Bahia beating Botafogo and Goias winning away at […]

Jun 042013
 
Brasileirao Round 3 Round-Up

Round three of the 2013 Brazilian championship was overshadowed somewhat by the game between Brazil and England at the Maracana, but there were a few games in the league which were well worth watching, and a welcome respite from the much hyped international match. The early games of the round saw Botafogo seize the initiative, as they beat Cruzeiro 2-1 at home with Lodeiro scoring twice. Flamengo drew away to Atletico Paranense with both teams […]

Jun 012013
 
Brazilian League Round 2 Summary

The games are coming thick and fast, as Brazilian teams trek around the country playing two games per week in order to fit all their fixtures in around the forthcoming Confederations Cup. Botafogo secured their first win of the season with a victory against Neymar-less  Santos, which was to be Muricy Ramalho’s last game in charge of the Paulista club. Elsewhere, Sao Paulo battered Vasco da Gama 5-1 with Luis Fabiano netting two goals, and […]

May 312013
 
Bernard - Brazilian Stars of the Future

Bernard is an attacking midfielder who has come through the youth ranks at Belo Horizonte based club Atlético Mineiro. Jump to Scout Report He came through as a senior player in 2010, and was loaned out to Democrata of Sete Lagoas, where he scored an impressive 14 goals in 16 appearances. On his return to Atlético Mineiro he made sporadic appearances for the first team, but was then returned to their youth side where he […]

May 262013
 
The 2013 Brasileirao Kicks Off

On a night where the eyes of football fans around the world were on Arjen Robben, Jupp Heynckes, and Bayern Munich’s European Cup triumph over Borussia Dortmund, the 2013 Brazilian league kicked off with a few intriguing opening games. In the first of two earlier kick offs, Vasco da Gama defeated Portuguesa one goal to nil, as experienced Ecuadorian campaigner Carlos Tenorio made a nuisance of himself in the Vasco area and was rewarded with a […]

May 232013
 
The Botafogo Star Interviews @BrazilStats

The Botafogo Star had the pleasure of interviewing @BrazilStats and its accompanying blog http://brazilstats.wordpress.com. Read on to see what he had to say about the current state of the Brazil national team ahead of the World Cup next year, and his view on Neymar’s development amongst other things. Who do you think Brazil’s star players will be at the 2014 World Cup, and are there any players who are currently relatively unknown who could stand out? […]

May 152013
 
What's Happening in Brazil? - Interview With Paulo Freitas

The Botafogo Star was lucky enough to get the thoughts of Paulo Freitas on a few issues relating to Brazilian football. Paulo is Brazil’s Head Researcher for Football Manager, a Sky Sports correspondent, and a writer for The Elastico, Just Football and Sambafoot. He also runs the Brazilian football community on Google Plus. Q) The Brazilian national team has a worldwide following and attracts spectators whereever they play. Do you think the Brazilian domestic league could ever […]

May 142013
 
Brazil Confederations Cup Squad Announced

The Brazil manager, Luiz Felipe Scolari, has announced his squad for the forthcoming Confederations Cup, and the preceding friendly matches against England and France. Striker Leandro Damiao has been recalled to the national set up as Scolari looks eager to try out different options in the forward line. Another one of these options will be Atletico Mineiro’s young attacker Bernard, who gets the nod over his team mate Ronaldinho, who misses out. Bernard will be in demand […]

May 062013
 
Botafogo Triumph in Carioca State Championship

Botafogo confirmed their domination of this seasons’ Campeonato Carioca with a 1-0 win over Fluminense in the Taca Rio final. As winners of both the Taca Guanabara earlier in the year, and now the Taca Rio, Botafogo are crowned overall winners of the Carioca Championship without the need for a final play-off. Rafael Marques scored the all important goal to give O Glorioso the win, after a long shot from Lucas struck Doria in the Fluminense […]