The last time Brazil played a major tournament on American soil, they were crowned World Champions for the fourth time. This time, the story could be vastly different. Ironically enough, the stadium that hosted Brazil’s coronation in 1994, The Rose Bowl in Pasadena just outside Los Angeles, will host their debut in this year’s Copa América Centenario, which will take place Saturday against Ecuador. Brazil enter Saturday’s match a team in crisis. Manager Dunga has […]
Overused (and, often, misunderstood) when it was first imported from baseball, it has since become unusual to hear of Moneyball in football. Clubs’ use of statistics in making decisions over players is no longer the novelty that it once was and so the desire to talk about it has greatly diminished. It is clear, however, that those clubs with ambitions of making it among the elite but do not have the financial wherewithal to buy […]
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 […]