The Stars of the 2015 South American Youth Championship

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Feb 112015
 
The Stars of the 2015 South American Youth Championship

The South American Youth Championship concluded in Uruguay last weekend, Argentina won the title after beating Uruguay, while Colombia finished in third place after beating Brazil. Colombia and Uruguay had impressive performances in the competition, outclassing a disappointing Brazil that looked tactically lost and without ideas. Argentina won the tournament largely due to the chemistry of Ángel Correa and Diego Simeone’s son Giovanni. The top four teams – Argentina, Colombia, Uruguay and Brazil – qualified […]

Brazil’s Decline Reflected in South American U20 Championships

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Feb 082015
 
Brazil's Decline Reflected in South American U20 Championships

Brazil’s first competitive games after the World Cup shambles came in the South American Under-20 Championships, which have just come to a conclusion in Uruguay. With a young, articulate coach in Alexandre Gallo, who had time to prepare for the competition, this was an excellent opportunity to put last year’s disappointments in the past and show that Brazilian football has licked its wounds, learned its lessons and moved on. That opportunity was emphatically not taken. […]

Galo Child (Slight Return): Bernard Out In The Cold At Shakhtar

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Jan 302015
 
Galo Child (Slight Return): Bernard Out In The Cold At Shakhtar

During the last fortnight, Shakhtar Donetsk have been touring Brazil, playing winter break friendlies with Serie A sides Flamengo, Atlético Mineiro, Internacional, Cruzeiro and recently relegated Bahia. With 14 Brazilians currently listed in their first team squad, this was a literal homecoming for a significant portion of the Shakhtar squad. For no player was this slight return more spiritually nourishing than for Bernard Duarte. His move to the Ukraine has been difficult from the very […]

Vitor Flora – Liverpool’s Unknown Boy From Brazil

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Jan 272015
 
Vitor Flora - Liverpool’s Unknown Boy From Brazil

There is something undeniably romantic in a story of a young player plucked from anonymity by a big club.  This is partly because such stories happen so rarely but mostly it is because it is easy for the rest of us to identify with such a player; to want him to succeed and prove that perhaps there is latent talent in all of us if only someone bothered to look close enough. It is why […]

Brazil Squad for 2015 South American Youth Football Championship

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Jan 062015
 
Brazil Squad for 2015 South American Youth Football Championship

The 2015 South American Under 20 Championships will be held in Uruguay between the 15th of January and Febuary 7th, with the next generation of Brazilian stars hoping to show their class on this continental stage. Brazil last won the tournament in 2011, when young striker Neymar, then at Santos, made his name and finished as the competition’s top scorer with nine goals. This squad also included the likes of Lucas Moura, Oscar, Danilo, and […]

Brazil Suffers Striker Shortage Despite South American Boom

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Dec 302014
 
Brazil Suffers Striker Shortage Despite South American Boom

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 […]

Are Attempts at Modernization Breaking Brazilian Club Football?

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Dec 292014
 
Are Attempts at Modernization Breaking Brazilian Club Football?

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 […]

Brasileirão 2014 Review by @Zizouology

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Dec 162014
 
Brasileirão 2014 Review by @Zizouology

Another season of one of the most competitive leagues in world football has come to an end. Although they weren’t as convincing this campaign, last year’s champions Cruzeiro have successfully retained their crown, which speaks volumes about the difference in quality between the Belo Horizonte club and the other teams in the league.  Even if Cruzeiro don’t rise to their normal standards they don’t have much to worry as the other so-called title contenders (São […]

From The Ritz to The Rubble – Brazilian Football’s Inglorious Isolation

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Dec 042014
 
From The Ritz to The Rubble - Brazilian Football's Inglorious Isolation

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 […]

Prêmio Craque: Brasileirão 2014 Best Player Candidates

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Nov 222014
 
Prêmio Craque: Brasileirão 2014 Best Player Candidates

We’re entering the dying throes of another Brasileirão season which, though somewhat elongated due to the World Cup, still seems to have gone by in a flash. The Campeonato Brasileirão looks like it will stay with Cruzeiro this year. The Copa will join the trophy in residency in Belo Horizonte, with Atlético Mineiro and Cruzeiro battling out the final. We are also approaching the time of individual appraisal, when awards and trinkets are handed out […]

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