Category: Brazilian National Team

Beware: Another Soccer Post Coming

We may have layed an egg at Copa with our inexperienced crew, but our U-20s are making some noise north of the border at the more junior World Cup.

Here’s some video of our 6-1 trouncing of Poland, including Adu’s neat hat trick.

Next up: USA v. Brazil. Adu v. Pato–should be a good one.

UPDATE 7/7: USA 2 Brazil 1! The U-20 Stars and Stripes book passage to the Round of 16, and Brazil, well, they’ll just have to wait and see if they advance. The lethal combination of Adu to Altidore did the damage up top, and US keeper Chris Seitz had a magnificent match, deflecting and/or smothering a barrage of dangerous opportunities.… Read the rest

Allez, les Vieux!

For most international soccer players, age 30 usually marks the beginning of the twilight years. Harbingers of things-not-so-pleasant-to-come are everywhere–the lost step, the extra breaths to full recovery, the stiffness in the lower back upon rising, sweat which forms thick like morning dew on foreheads marked by nascent, faint furrows.

Yet World Cup 2006 has seen its share of such long-in-the-tooth “oldsters” who have created space and opportunity around the hard challenges of men 10 years their junior: Zidane, Figo, Del Piero, Reyna, McBride, Barthez and Keller, to name just a few. They’ve all seen better years, but they still have the heart and courage to lay what’s left on the line for squad and country and have shown that if thirty is not the beginning, it surely is not the end either.… Read the rest

What’s an American Guy to Do?

fan.jpgAlthough my Plan B (anybody but Brazil) is technically intact, please pardon me if I screw up my face in disgust while I try to choose a side to pull for in the remainder of World Cup 2006. What else is there for an American guy to do when his favorite team is eliminated in group play, all his other alternatives have bitten the dust, and the only remaining choices are Germany, Italy, Portugal and France?

Fortunately, two are relatively easy to eliminate. Italy’s roster is chock full of whiney, flopping phonies who fret more over their pomade and Prada shoes than they do corner kicks and PKs.… Read the rest

Sublime Soccer

sublime ( ) adj. Characterized by nobility; majestic. Of high spiritual, moral, or intellectual worth.

We are now in Day 2 of the 48 hour hiatus between second round matches and the quarterfinals of the 2006 World Cup, and I’m having serious withdrawal symptoms. Seems like a good time to review a couple of the more beautiful goals so far in this tournament.

I believe Argentina is a serious contender with a good chance of advancing to the final. Mexico, however, pushed them to the limit, and as many have commented, if you’re going to go down in the World Cup, you might as well die from a golden goal like that of Argentina’s Maxi Rodriguez.… Read the rest

The Brazilian Way

brazil 2006.jpgIt’s one thing to pull against the Brazilian National Team in this year’s World Cup (they are the New York Yankees of international soccer after all). It’s quite another to disrespect their style–something that no self-respecting and knowledgeable soccer fan would ever do.

With 5 World Cup titles to their credit and a roster full of stars, including the “world’s best player” in Ronaldinho, who play for top clubs throughout the world, The Little Canaries back up their braggadocio with perhaps the most fluid and creative style of play ever to grace “The Beautiful Game.”

Many Americans naturally assume that these positive results must flow from a well-organized system that, like any successfull American enterprise, spits out world-class football players like an well-oiled assembly line spits out widgets.… Read the rest