In the early days of the sport, clubs from South America would often go on tour. It was a great way to get exposure and get more matches. Not often would you see it the other way around and see clubs go on tour to South America. That changed in 1951 when Europe came to Rio De Janeiro. A Brazilian newspaper called O Globo Sportivo ran an article about the FIFA President at the time […]
Brazil kick off their Olympic campaign on Thursday, against South Africa in Brasília. Under the stewardship of Rogerio Michale, this U-23 side (with Renato Augusto, Fernando Prass and Neymar thrown in for good measure) offers the first clean break from the turgid Dunga era. Rogerio’s squad is top heavy in terms of talent, with Grêmio’s Luan, Santos’ Gabriel Barbosa, Palmeiras’ Gabriel Jesús and Neymar all set to feature heavily. Rogerio has all but confirmed that […]
After three months of largely uninteresting state league football mixed in with some Copa Libertadores fun, Brazil’s national league, the Brasileirão, makes its much anticipated return this weekend. Things are much different now than they were last December when the 2015 campaign concluded. Then, Corinthians were the deserved champions and looking like the best side in the recent history of South American football. Now, Timão has seen so many of the players that made that […]
With the slog that is the Brazilian state leagues finally behind us, the eyes of the country turn to the Brasileirão. The are story-lines aplenty, with Flamengo looking to return to relevance on the pitch, a heavily weakened Corinthians seeking to win back to back titles, and plenty of teams looking likely to make a run at the title. With those in mind, let’s take a look at the best and worst case scenarios of […]
An absorbing Copa Libertadores group phase has rattled by in a flash of power cuts, on field brawls, red cards, centre halves in goal, and matches played at severe altitude or in the middle of the Andean desert. Occasionally some football broke out too. Four of the five Brazilian clubs have progressed to the knockout rounds, with Copa do Brasil winners Palmeiras narrowly missing out. How did the Brazilian clubs fare? Who awaits them in […]
Part of the fun of following Brazilian football is watching stars develop before your eyes. Before Neymar joined Barcelona, he tore it up for Santos, much to the delight of those who followed Brazilian football. With Neymar, and perhaps Douglas Costa, as the sole exceptions, Brazil has struggled to produce world-class talent in the recent years. That’s about to change. Gabriel Barbosa, also known as Gabigol, a 19-year old attacking star, has already played over […]
Corinthians may have wrapped up the 2015 Brasileirão title with three matches to spare, but that doesn’t mean the conclusion to the Brazilian football season will lack excitement. The relegation scrap is poised to be thoroughly entertaining, with 5 teams fighting for just 2 spots to avoid the dreaded drop to Série B. However, if not so great footballing sides fighting to avoid relegation mainly by parking the bus and hoping to poach a goal […]
This preview of the 2015 Brazilian season was written by Anthony Wood (@FRfutebolAnt) and Luke Butler (@FRfutebolLuke), who are Brazilian football experts for the football data and analysis company, Football Radar. After a few long and arduous months of state championship football, the 2015 edition of Brazil’s premier league competition, the Brasileirão, kicks off this weekend. The league has seen eleven different teams crowned champions over the past two decades and this season looks set to be as competitive and unpredictable […]
Last week, in the same bar and restaurant district of Belo Horizonte where visiting fans from Colombia, Chile, England and other countries gathered during the World Cup, Reinaldo, former Brazil international and the Atlético Mineiro’s all-time leading scorer, held a promotional event. During the party a big TV screen outside the bar showed some of the greatest moments from the glorious, though injury scarred career of O Rei (“the King”) during the 1970s and 80s. Many […]
The 2014 Brasileirão season will be broken into two parts, thanks to the mid-season break for the World Cup. The season starts on April 19th, breaking from June 2nd to July 14th, and will come to a close on December 6th. Here’s a look at all the participants, including their aims and players to look out for. We begin, perhaps unfashionably, with a look at the clubs in the north east of Brazil, written by The […]