Flamengo win Brazilian Serie A

December 7, 2009

Flamengo have won the 2009 Brazilian championship in dramatic fashion as the Rio de Janeiro needed to come back from behind to beat Gremio 2-1 and defend their top spot on the final day of the season.

Gremio initially appeared to ruin Flamengo’s party at Roberson put the away side in the lead on 21 minutes.

But David equalised eight minutes later and Ronaldo Angelim’s goal for 2-1 in the 69th minute was enough for Flamengo to clinch the trophy.

It is Flamengo’s fifth national title, and their first since last winning the championship in 1992.

Internacional and Sao Paulo, who both needed Flamengo to drop points, won their home games over Santo Andre and Sport Recife respectively. Internacional closed their season with a 4-1 win, while Sao Paulo did so with a 4-0 result.

Tags: brazilian championship, dramatic fashion, fifth national title, flamengo, gremio, home games, Recife, rio de janeiro, ronaldo, Ronaldo Angelim, santo andre, sao paulo, sport recife, trophy

Rogerio Ceni steals the spotlight as Sao Paulo beat Santos

October 26, 2009

Sao Paulo remain alive in the Brazilian championship, thanks to a hard-fought 3-4 victory at Santos on Sunday.

The Sao Paulo derby started well for Santos, who went ahead through Andre in the 5th minute. Hernanes leveled six minutes later, but Rodrigo Souto restored Santos’ lead in minute 25.

Washington (38th) and Jorge Wagner (59) then turned things around for Sao Paulo, but the hosts then set the score to 3-3 with an equaliser from Robson, six minutes after the hour.

The winning goal came from Sao Paulo goalkeeper Rogerio Ceni in the 68th minute. The keeper went from hero to villain when given a red card nine minutes later, but substitute goalie Denis made sure that Santos wouldn’t score another goal.

Palmeiras lead the Brazilian Serie A with nine games to go, and have one point more than Atletico Mineiro. Internacional and Sao Paulo follow at another point.

Jonathan Roorda

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Brazil: the land of the bullyboys

June 5, 2009

Sao Paulo have won the Brazilian championship for the last three years but their style of play is far removed from their country’s fine footballing traditions.

Defensive, physical, brutally efficient in attack and often destructive, Muricy Ramalho’s team have made few friends outside their own fan base.

Their 3-0 win over Cruzeiro on Sunday caused an outcry after they committed 14 fouls — against the same player.

The victim was striker Kleber, who said: “The fouls were not violent, they didn’t injure me. But how can anyone play football if they receive 14 fouls in a game.”

His club added in a statement: “Nobody has witnessed so much cowardice in a football match in the recent history of Brazilian football. We demand that the authorities take action to stop this persecution…”

Sao Paulo, who committed a total of 30 fouls on Sunday, are not the only culprits in this depressing scenario. Many other teams use similar tactics.

Brazilian domestic football bears almost no resemblance to the version played by the national side or by the big-name players in Europe. Sixty-foul games are common and the tactic of taking it in turns to foul the opposition’s best player is widely used.

This is what veteran Brazilian columnist, Fernando Calazans of O Globo, had to say on the matter.

“So this is where Brazilian football is heading? Not even Pele nor Garrincha could have played if they suffered 14 fouls. It’s the so-called rotation of fouls, prohibited under the rules but permitted by weak referees.

“It’s put into practice by the majority of Brazilian coaches, among them the widely-admired and widely-praised Professor Doctor Muricy Ramalho.

“If Sao Paulo can commit 30 fouls in a game and their opponents also commit 30 fouls, that makes 60 fouls. And what sort of spectacle do you get when a game is paralysed 60 times by fouls?

“The violence against those who want and know how to play football, and against those who go onto the pitch to do this, is increasing every year.

“The football pitch, today, is the land of the bullyboys.”

Dagoberto (R) of Brazil’s Sao Paulo battles for the ball with Royer Canas (C) of Colombia’s Independiente Medellin during their Copa Libertadores soccer match in Medellin April 15, 2009. REUTERS/Fredy Amariles

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