A few weeks ago, Arsene Wenger opined that South America was the world’s citadel for top class strikers. With the likes of Luis Suarez, Sergio Aguero, Alexis Sanchez, Diego Costa, Radamel Falcao, Edinson Cavani and, if you want to stretch the definition of ‘striker’ a little, Lionel Messi setting a benchmark for forward play in recent years, Europe’s cupboard looks comparatively bare. Wenger elaborated: “Maybe it’s because in Europe street football has gone. In street […]
For a decade now, around this time of the year, the Footecon event has taken place in Rio. Its tag line – ‘the main forum of the football industry in the Americas.’ It began life more than anything as a conference of coaches, and at heart that is what it remains, though over the years it has tagged on elements of business. Time to declare an interest; I have attended every edition of Footecon. I […]
In Beijing this weekend, Brazil’s ‘new’ era under Dunga received its stiffest examination, as they defeated World Cup finalists Argentina in the opulent ‘Bird’s Nest’ stadium. For Seleção fans, cleansing the stain of The Copa is going to be an incremental and rather raw process. No matter how incisively stitches are extracted, the scar lingers and the skin takes on an unweathered appearance forever more. Such was the brutality of the 7-1 mauling by Germany […]
When asked the question – “which is the greatest footballing nation ever?” – the majority would answer Brazil, or the first name that would come to one’s mind will be Brazil. Despite this, The Seleção are going through one of their roughest periods at the moment, with critics claiming that it’s the worst Brazilian national team in recent history. Some have gone as far as to say that they’re being carried by the one and only star man in the […]
A first hand account of Brazil’s nightmare semi-final versus Germany, by Samindra Kunti at the Estádio Mineirão in Belo Horizonte. ‘Campeao voltou,” they sang. Brazil’s fans turned the Mineirao, a bowl-like stadium, into a sea of yellow. They had sung the same song at the same stadium against Chile. Then, the bar and Julio Cesar saved them, but this time around there was no saving a feeble Brazil. Germany smothered any of Brazil’s hopes, and July 8 […]
Where do you start? You could discuss everything from Scolari’s selection decisions, Neymar’s absence, Thiago Silva’s absence, or Fred’s absence. You could unfairly comment on Júlio César, who was once third choice at QPR and isn’t even the best goalkeeper in Major League Soccer where he now plays his club football. David Luiz’s irresponsibility as captain, wandering, carelessness, and non-existent defensive awareness. You could use this picture of the Brazil players’ average positions to back […]
Neymar’s absence from the rest of the World Cup has turned into a national crisis. Even Brazil’s president Dilma Rousseff chimed in with this message for the main man, in what a cynic might see as a political move to get fans onside ahead of October’s elections… The worrying thing is that no one seems to have a confident answer when asked about the team without Neymar. Even more worrying is the prospect of playing […]
There’s a catchy song doing the rounds on Brazilian TV which has a chorus – “Mostra tua força Brasil” – which translates as “show your strength, Brazil”. During last night’s game, they might have taken this show of strength too far for their own good. The Seleção’s quarter-final against Colombia will be remembered as the match which saw Neymar’s World Cup come to an end. The much talked about “poster-boy” of Brazil suffered a knee […]
Brazil secured the top spot in group A after duly disposing of a Cameroon side who exited the tournament without a single point. The Seleção weren’t entirely convincing as they advanced to the knock-out stages, but progression is the only aim at this stage and the host nation are an intriguing, entertaining prospect heading towards the business end. The starting eleven which was widely predicted before the start of the tournament has been Luiz Felipe Scolari’s mainstay, […]
Brazil’s youth side claimed the Toulon Tournament title for the second year in a row, after a string of impressive displays culminated in a 5-2 win against France in the final. The French side brought the best out of this promising generation of Brazilians, who boast an array of talent all the way from goalkeeper to centre forward. We already know Marquinhos is destined for great things, and Dória of Botafogo has been written about […]