Brazil's soccer team to stay with other athletes at Olympic village this time

Contrary to past years, Brazil's soccer team will not be given special treatment and will stay with other athletes at the Olympic village in Beijing.

Ricardo Teixeira, president of the Brazilian soccer confederation, said the team will receive the same treatment as all other Brazilian athletes even if stars including Kaka and Robinho are summoned to play, according to an interview with the O Globo newspaper on Sunday.

"I've tried other ways and it didn't work," he said. "In Atlanta, we had the best team, stayed in the best hotels, spent US$5 million (€3.3 million) and didn't win."

The Olympic gold medal is the only major title missing from Brazilian soccer's trophy case, and in past Olympiads the confederation has sought to provide an edge at the Summer Games to end that omission.

"It's an Olympic team, so the players will stay at the Olympic village and where the Olympic committee assigns it to stay and will travel with a commercial airline," Teixeira said.

Brazil was runner-up in 1988 in Seoul and 1984 in Los Angeles, when Dunga was a player. Brazil earned bronze in 1996 in Atlanta.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/03/02/sports/LA-SPT-OLY-SOC-Brazil-Accommodations.php