Monday, May 30, 2011

Brazilian Serie A Week 2

It continues.

The Brazilian Serie A kept up the intensity of the opening round with another intriguing set of results this past weekend.

Sao Paolo's eponymous club of the same name, kept up the pace at the top of table with another win.  This time a late Lucas goal gave them a 1-0 win over Figueirense at home in Morumbi.  The Santa Catarina club scrapped all the way but eventually succumbed to probably the deepest squad in Brazil this year.  I now pause to mention Stephanie, who reads my blog and is a massive fan of Sao Paolo.

The eagle eyed among you may point out that Marcelino in fact scored the goal - but 19 year old Rodrigues Moura da Silva used to be called Marcelino, and has reverted to using Lucas since last last season.  Soccernet needs to keep its game up.

Rivaldo came on again as a substitute and played most of the second half.  Casemiro, the other star from the Brazilian U-21 team and captain Rogerio Ceni played the entire game - the later kept his second clean sheet in a row.

Fellow Sao Paolo club Corinthians also followed up their opening day win with another triumph, this time edging promoted Coritiba 2-1.  Santos came crashing back down after their midweek win in the Copa Libertadores, losing at Botafogo 1-0.  Fellow Rio clubs Vasco da Gama and Fluminense both won as well, beating likely relegation candidates this round.  Vasco beat promoted America Miniero 3-0 at home, while defending champions Fluminense finally got on the board with a 1-0 win at Athletico Goianense.  Leading scorer Bernardo scored again for Vasco.


Ronaldinho's Flamengo fared a little bit worse this weekend, with a thrilling 3-3 draw at Bahia.  Flamengo looked to have the game in the bag when they took a 3-2 lead and then saw Bahia have a man sent off with 12 minutes to go.  However, striker Jobson scored his second goal of the game right at the death to draw the Fortaleza team even.  Ronaldinho scored the first goal of the game in the 30th minute.

Palmeiras mantained their unbeaten record with a 1-1 draw at Cruzeiro, who finally got on the board with their first point.  The Porto Allegre pair had contrasting results with Gremio beating Athletico Paranaense 1-0 away but Internacional succumbing to Ceara 1-0 at home.  It's a great result for the northern side who have the most daunting travel schedule for away games.  After Iarley scored in the 63rd minute they managed to defend in depth for the remaining half hour, even withstanding Washington's dismissal in injury time.


Finally, Athletico Miniero scored an impressive away win at Avai, recording a 3-0 win to stay perfect on 6 points.

Four teams are locked on 6 points each.  Vasco Da Gama and Athletico Miniero top the table with an identical goal difference of +5.

At the bottom Avai, Ath Paranaense and Coritiba are all yet to open their accounts.

Santos, interestingly, but as suspected, have their eye on the continental prize and have only 1 point from both games as they sit in 17th currently.

--

- All four of Corinthians, Sao Paolo, Vasco Da Gama and Athletico Miniero won for the second game in a row
- From the four promoted sides, Figueirense, Coritiba and America all lost while Bahia picked up a point.
- Rio saw three of its teams win with only Flamengo failing, somehow, to notch three points.
- Sao Paolo and Corinthians won while Santos lost.  Palmeiras rounded out the Sao Paolo clubs with a draw.

--

At least the top 12 sides will qualify for continental competition next spring while the bottom four teams will get relegated to the 2012 Serie B.

--

Ceara were the standout winners with a solid away win over one of the favourites.  Athletico Miniero also won big away from home but Avai are not quite as threatening as Internacional.

--

Next up are the second legs of the semi-finals of the Copa Libertadores, on Wednesday.

Santos plays Paraguay's Cerro Porteno while Argentina's Velez Sarsfield squares off with Uruguay's Penarol in the other tie.  Both are first leg matches.  Penarol and Santos carry 1-0 leads from the first legs.  Santos were predicted to win the first game and are still tipped by this hack to go through.




The Copa Do Brasil final is between Vasco Da Gama and Coritiba (once again as picked by yours truly).  And as previously tipped, Vasco to win the Cup.


Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Brazilian Serie A Opening Weekend

It's here !

The opening weekend started off with a bang as four teams recorded impressive away victories.  In all, six of last season's top seven lost their opening games.

Ominously for the rest of the league, Sao Paolo, beat defending champions Fluminense 2-0 at the Joao Havelange stadium in Rio De Janeiro.  With youngsters Casemiro and Lucas both impressing, the game was already wrapped up when returning Brazilian legend Rivaldo came on as a late substitute for the last few minutes.  Fluminense had a slight edge in both possession and shots on goal but Sao Paolo were more effective in their use of the ball.


  In another matchup between clubs from rival cities of Sao Paolo and Rio, Palmeiras again decided the tie in favour of the Paulista with a 1-0 defeat of Botafogo.  Elsewhere Corinthians, who finished third last season, came from behind to stun Gremio at their home in Porto Allegre, 2-1.  Portuguese striker Liedson and defender Chicao replied after Douglas had opened the scoring for the home side.  Santos, without rested national team starlets Neymar and Ganso, but featuring Manchester United's Rodrigo Possebon and Barcelona's Keirrison, tied Internacional 1-1, to ensure that all four of the teams from Sao Paolo state remained unbeaten.





Ronaldinho's Flamengo, one of the outside bets to regain the title they last won in 2009, started their campaign with an emphatic 4-0 win over visitors Avai, at Claudio Moacir de Azevedo in the capital Rio.  The other club from the city of Florianopolis, Figueirense, fared much better, recording a 1-0 home win over Cruzeiro, the 2010 runners-up.

The other two teams from Minas Gerais' capital Belo Horizonte, America MG and Athletico Miniero, both won, beating Bahia 2-1 and Athletico Paranaense 3-0 respectively.  America's win was crucial for the club as they edged fellow promoted side Bahia in an early game that both teams had obviously penciled in as a must win.  Athletico's win was arguably more impressive as they beat a team that had established itself in the top half of the table, for several seasons, as well as finishing seventh the year before.





Vasco Da Gama, the remaining Rio club, scored a healthy 3-1 away win over Ceara, in a daunting trip to the northern most club in the country.  Striker Bernardo scored a double to top the early scoring charts.  Finally, Athletico Goianiense, who just missed relegation, finishing 16th in 2010, topped promoted Coritiba 1-0 away.

At the moment Flamengo top the table, with a solid goal difference of +4 keeping them ahead of the pack.

--

- Of the 10 clubs that finished in the top half of the table in 2010, only Corinthians, Sao Paolo and Palmeiras won.
- From the four promoted sides, Figueirense and America both won while Bahia and Coritiba both lost.
- Rio saw two of its teams win and two lose while the four Sao Paolo sides notched three wins and a draw.

--

At least the top 12 sides will qualify for continental competition next spring while the bottom four teams will get relegated to the 2012 Serie B.

--

Sao Paolo and Corinthians were the best performers with away wins over tough opposition.

--

Next up are the semi-finals of both the Copa Do Brasil and the Copa Libertadores, on Wednesday.

Ceara hosts Coritiba while Vasco is away to Avai.  Both are second leg matches.

Tip:  Vasco to beat Avai and then edge Coritiba in the final.


 

Santos plays Paraguay's Cerro Porteno while Argentina's Velez Sarsfield squares off with Uruguay's Penarol in the other tie.  Both are first leg matches.

Tip:  Santos to edge Cerro Porteno on away goals in a repeat of their group stage matchup.  Velez and Penarol are too close to call, but Velez might just squeak through.



Friday, May 20, 2011

2011 Brazilian League Begins.

The Brazilian Serie A kicks off this weekend.

There are four games on tap for Saturday with another six on Sunday as all 20 teams kick things off for the 2011 season.

Midweek participation in the Copa Libertadores has not been kind to the Serie A teams.  Out of the six teams that qualified for  the tournament, five made it out of the group stages.  However four of them fell at the first knockout stage.

With the semifinals in the middle of the coming week, only Santos (who qualified as 2010 Copa do Brasil Champions) remain.

With a Copa Libertadores win of paramount importance and carrying massive prestige, expect Pele's old side to take a gentle approach to the opening weekend.  They open their 2011 league season at home to heavyweights Internacional, from Porto Allegre.

Moreover, Coritiba, Ceara, Avai and Vasco Da Gama still remain in the Copa Do Brasil.  While Coritiba and Ceara drew their semi-final first leg 0-0 on Wednesday, Avai escaped with a precious away goal in a draw at Vasco.  With the Brazilian Cup carrying extra weight as one of the slots for the Copa Libertadores, expect all four sides to keep an eye on those matches in the germinal stages of the league campaign.



Both semi-final second legs are on May 25 2011, the same day that sees Santos take on Paraguayan club Cerro Porteno in the Libertadores semi-final first leg.

The big games from the first week see defending champions Fluminense take on perennial contender Sao Paolo, the 6-3-3 squadron, on Sunday in the late game.  Earlier that day Gremio will host Corinthians as they seek to score an early win over last year's 3rd place team.




Ronaldinho's Flamengo kick things off on Saturday versus Gurtavo Kuerten's Avai.

Full Schedule:

Sat     21/05/11    
Flamengo         17:30     Avaí
Ceará         17:30     Vasco da Gama
Atlético Mineiro     17:30    Atlético PR    
Santos         20:00     Internacional        

Sun     22/05/11    
Palmeiras         15 : 00     Botafogo        
Grêmio         15 : 00     Corinthians        
Coritiba         15 : 00     Atlético GO        
Figueirense     15 : 00     Cruzeiro        
Fluminense     17 : 30     São Paulo        
América Mineiro     17 : 30     Bahia


Wednesday, May 4, 2011

How Football in Brazil Works

Ronaldinho celebrating the Carioca State Title with Flamengo

We take a look at the local Brazilian scene; one which has created and exported some of the most world's most popular and accomplished footballers.  We also have a look at the domestic structure and culture, all of which help create the unique Brazilian football flavour of Jogo Bonito.

Santos



Brazil has had a relatively short history of nation-wide football competitions. The modern Campeonato Brasileiro only started in 1971 and has been contested annually ever since.  It has four divisions with the Serie A being the top flight all the way down to Serie D.

Ronaldinho's new club Flamengo


In a large country like Brazil, communities and cultures sprung up all over the country often completely independently of each other.  With large distances separating various cities, travel between them, at the start of the 20th century, was impractical.  As a result, multiple, concurrent state championships sprung up that pitted local teams against each other, most of whom were from the same city and all located in the same state.  Although originally a marriage of convenience, the competitiveness and standard of these championships grew in time and created the crucible in which later Brazilian talent was forged and perfected.

Porto Allegre Giant Internacional
The state championships remain extremely popular to this day.  In fact, some state titles are accorded more importance and carry more prestige than the national championship itself.  Teams blood many youngsters as they use the competitions a valuable warm up for the domestic league season.

Sao Paolo Giant Corinthians

Interestingly, the state championships are contested in the same calendar year by the same clubs that then go on to contest the league championship.  In a game in which European clubs and managers often complain about exhaustion and fatigue, it is worth noting the dedication of Brazilian teams, who often play over 70 matches a year on a regular basis.

Historically, Brazil's Top Ranked Club, Vasco Da Gama


At the moment the structure is as follows:

The 26 State Championships are played simultaneously from January to May.
The National League with four divisions (Serie A - D) runs from May to December.
The Domestic Cup competition - The Copa do Brasil - commences from February to June.

Sao Paolo - The 6-3-3 Squadron


On the continent, the Copa Libertadores runs from January to June while the Copa Sudamericana is played from August to December.  These are South America’s equivalents of the Champions’ League and Europa League respectively.

The Copa Sudamericana has previously been known as the Copa Mercosur and CONMEBOL Cup.

Pele's hometown and only club, Santos


A unique feature of the Copa Do Brasil is that since the top teams from the previous league season are competing for the current year's Copa Libertadores during the same period, there is a scheduling overlap between the two competitions, as well as the State Championships.  As a result the Brazilian teams in the each year's Copa Libertadores campaign do not enter the Copa Do Brasil.  Instead they concentrate on their state titles.  Consequently, it is impossible for a team to repeat as Copa Do Brasil champions, since the winner of each year's Copa is entered into the following year's Copa Libertadores.

Defending Champions Fluminense
 
As I write this the various state championships are winding down with the final few rounds of matches.  Each state championship has its own unique format but generally they follow a round robin league stage followed by a semi-finals and a final.  Additionally, placing in each state championship counts towards participation in the following year’s Copa Do Brasil as well as qualification for the league pyramid in Serie D.

---

Amongst the state contests, there are five big state championships which comprises some of the most popular and successful clubs in the country.  15 of the current 20 team Serie A are involved in said five state tourneys:

Rio de Janeiro's Great Fire - Botafogo


The Rio De Janeiro State Championship - Campeonato Carioca - Botafogo, Vasco Da Gama, Fluminense and Flamengo

-   Flamengo won the Carioca this year on May 1 and won the 2009 Serie A. It has six Serie A titles along with one Copa Libertadores and Copa Mercosur apiece.
-   Fluminense is the defending Brazilian League Champion and has won the league three times overall.
-   Vasco Da Gama is the top ranked Brazilian club overall based on cumulative results since 1971 and has won the national title four times.
-   Botafogo has been National Champions twice and won the 1993 COMNEBOL Cup.
-   All four teams are from the capital Rio.
Palmeiras, dominant in the mid-90s

The Sao Paolo State Championship – Campeonato PaulistaSao Paolo, Corinthians, Palmeiras and Santos

-   The first three teams are from the city of Sao Paolo while Santos hails from the coastal city of the same name, to the South.
-   Sao Paolo won the league three times in a row between 2006-08 and has finished in the top three positions six times in the past 8 years. In addition it has won the Copa Libertadores three times.
-  Santos has won the league 8 times and has captured two Copa Libertadores titles.
- Palmeiras has also won 8 league crowns to go with its 1999 Copa Libertadores championship.
-   Corinthians with the second largest fanbase in the country has won the Serie A four times and the Copa Do Brasil thrice.


Belo Horizonte's Cruzeiro


The Minas Gerais State Championship - Campeonato MineiroAtletico Miniero, America Miniero and Cruzeiro

-   All three teams are from the city of Belo Horizonte.
-  Cruzeiro has won the Brazilian league twice along with two Copa Libertadores. They finished second in the Serie A last year.
-   Athletico Miniero has won the league once to go with its two CONMEBOL Cups.
-   America Miniero was one of the four clubs promoted to Serie A from Serie B last year. It has won the State title 15 times.

World Cup Penalty Expert Claudio Taffarel's Athletico Miniero


The Rio Grande Do Sul State Championship – Campeonato GauchoGremio and Internacional

-   Both clubs are from the city of Porto Alegre and have won the domestic cup five times between them.
-   Internacional has won the league three times and captured two Copa Libertadores and one Copa Sudamericana titles. All three continental crowns have come in the past five years.
-  Gremio has two Serie A league titles to its name along with two Copa Libertadores Championships.
-   The 2011 State title was won by Gremio on May 1 edging out, who else, Internacional in the final.

1995 Intercontinental Cup Runners Up Gremio


The Parana State Championship - Campeonato Paranaense - Coritiba and Atletico Paranaense
Coritiba
-   Both clubs are from the city of Curitiba and play in stadia that seat more than 37,000 fans.
-   Coritiba won the National league in 1985 and has won the state title 35 times.
-   Atletico took home the 2001 Serie A title and has won the state title 22 times. Coming off a strong fifth place Serie A finish in 2010, it also lost the 2005 Copa Libertadores final to Sao Paolo.

Atletico Paranaense, from Curitiba

---



Finally, rounding out the other clubs in the top flight, based on their state tournaments:



Tennis Star Gustavo Kuerten's Club, Avai



The Santa Catarina State Championship – Campeonato CatarinenseAvai and Figueirense

-   Both clubs have won the State championship 15 times each and hail from the city of Florianopolis.
-   This is Avai’s sixth season in the top flight with the 1998 Serie C being its only national league title.
-   Figueirense will tee off in Serie A for the seventh time this year and was runners-up in 1997 Copa Do Brasil. 

Figueirense

The Goias State Championship – Campeonato GoianoAtletico Goianiense

-   A lesser light from the city of Goiania, the club will make its return to the top flight after more than 20 years.
-   Its national legacy remains the two Serie C titles it won in 1990 and 2008.

Atletico Goianense

The Bahia State Championship – Campeonato BaianoBahia



-   A slumbering giant, Bahia is one of the most popular, hosting over 40,000 fans for a match in 2007 Serie C.
-    A glorious period in both the 1980s and 1950s brought it two national titles in 1959 and 1988.
-   Local domination has seen the club from the city of Salvador win the state title 43 times.
-    It returns to Serie A this year for the first time since its first ever relegation in 1996.
Erstwhile Giants Bahia

The Ceara State Championship – Campeonato CearenseCeara



-   The club from the Fortaleza, is one of the regional powers in the northeast of Brazil and is the northernmost and remotest club in the 2011 Serie A. The distance from Ceara to Bahia is as much as the distance from Bahia to the rest of the clubs in the southern states.
-   Despite 39 state titles, its best finish nationally has been its runners-up placing in the 1994 Copa Do Brasil.
-   Bahia and Ceara, due to relative regional proximity, are amongst the bigger guns in the Campeonato Nordeste (Northeast Championship), when it is held. Ceara has finished third once while Bahia has won it twice. 

Brazil's Northernmost club in Serie A, Cerea

--- 

The league starts on May 28.  A full preview will appear just before the start.

America MG, one of the 4 clubs promoted from Serie B