Their fanaticism a little dampened, Brazilians will nevertheless still duck out of work, close businesses and bring the country to a virtual halt during soccer's World Cup.
In Brazil, where everything from the national Congress to the currency market stops in its tracks for Brazil games, it is safest to assume that nothing will be working as normal during the month-long tournament it has won a record five times.
On the days Brazil's yellow-and-green shirted players take to the pitch in South Africa, banks have permission from the central bank to close early, the currency market will operate on shortened hours, and most government agencies will shut down.
Many companies will allow staff to go home early on those days, the first of which comes tomorrow when Brazil's team, known simply here as the "sele231227o", faces North Korea.
Others install big screens at the office.
Investors breathed a sigh of relief this week when Brazil's Senate passed the key points of an overhaul of the country's oil laws seen as a vital reform step ahead of national elections in October.
Analysts had been warning for months that a delay in the approval past the start of the World Cup could have dashed hopes for getting the bill passed for months. Congress will shut down on Brazil game days and many legislators treat the tournament as an unofficial recess period.
As banks and companies close, the slack in economic activity is taken up by fans flocking to buy big televisions and, on game days, beer and food in restaurants where the best tables have been booked long in advance.
Sales of televisions at the Eletroshopping retail chain in northeast Brazil were up about 30 percent in the past month, its vice-president Fernando Freitas said.
"The Cup-related consumption is really big, especially of the latest generation digital televisions because this World Cup is seen as the most hi-tech so far," he said.
The boost is a timely one for retailers, coming shortly after the government withdrew tax breaks on home appliances that have helped fuel a frothing recovery in Latin America's biggest economy.
The party spirit could quickly be doused by a poor Brazilian showing, however. Expectations of a sixth World Cup triumph are high, but they are mixed with misgivings over a team coached by 1994 World Cup winner Dunga that is seen by many as betraying the beautiful, samba style that long defined Brazilian football.
Brazilians took longer to warm up for this year's tournament than in the past, when expectations of victory and flamboyant football were higher, said 45-year-old factory worker Antenor Assis.
Original Story:
Monday, June 14, 2010
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Ranking all 32 World Cup squads
Good times are ahead for Kaka and Brazil.
Every nation in the World Cup has now made its way to South Africa, with final preparations in full flow.
All the conjecture and all the speculation is coming to a close; all the squad lists have been submitted; and the time is fast approaching when the planet can stop talking about this tournament and get on with the job of watching it unfold.
The merits of every squad have been pored over and analyzed for months, leaving us with assumptions of respective strength which – if history is anything to go by – will soon be blown out of the water.
The World Cup wouldn't be the World Cup without a healthy dose of surprises, with underdog teams and unheralded players grasping their moment in the South African sun. That's why ranking the finalists from 1 to 32 could be best described as a fool's errand that is certain to prompt its fair share of sneering I-told-you-so's before the group stage has even ended.
That said, here's our rundown of the teams which clinched their place in soccer's greatest showcase.
1. Brazil – Dunga's squad is packed with quality but, thanks to a tough draw, faces a rocky road to the final.
Read complete story and the rest of the rankings
Every nation in the World Cup has now made its way to South Africa, with final preparations in full flow.
All the conjecture and all the speculation is coming to a close; all the squad lists have been submitted; and the time is fast approaching when the planet can stop talking about this tournament and get on with the job of watching it unfold.
The merits of every squad have been pored over and analyzed for months, leaving us with assumptions of respective strength which – if history is anything to go by – will soon be blown out of the water.
The World Cup wouldn't be the World Cup without a healthy dose of surprises, with underdog teams and unheralded players grasping their moment in the South African sun. That's why ranking the finalists from 1 to 32 could be best described as a fool's errand that is certain to prompt its fair share of sneering I-told-you-so's before the group stage has even ended.
That said, here's our rundown of the teams which clinched their place in soccer's greatest showcase.
1. Brazil – Dunga's squad is packed with quality but, thanks to a tough draw, faces a rocky road to the final.
Read complete story and the rest of the rankings
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Goals Champions in the World Cup Soccer History
It might surprise you to find out that almost every culture and civilization in the world has always been connected to football.soccer in one way or another. Ancient Greeks, Persians, Vikings, The Chinese, Japanese alike had a sport very similar to today’s soccer. For instance, the Chinese played “footballer”, about 3000 years before we made soccer a world championship.
With an English birth certificate, soccer rapidly spread and became popular; today is considered the king of all sports and has millions of fans all over the world.
FIFA World Cup Soccer has been from the very beginning the most appropriate chance for soccer players to become real stars because of their prolific activity in the soccer field, measured in the number of goals they have scored so far. Thus, world soccer records holders appeared, for instance the player who has scored the most goals in world cup soccer history.
The first position of this ranking is occupied by the Brazilian professional footballer Ronaldo Nazario de Lima (known all over the world simply as Ronaldo), the player that has scored the moest goals in the history of the world soccer championship. He was born in September 18, 1976 and in 1993, he began his professional soccer/footballer career with the Cruzeiro soccer team.
During his Cruzeiro year he score 12 goals in 14 soccer games played; thus, having the lead of his team, he won the Copa do Brasil championship (for the team he was playing this was the first time to win such an important title). In 1994, Ronaldo became a PSV player in Holland and in 1996, just as he had done with his previous team in 1993, he had lead the PSV to winning the Dutch Cup.
As an established national footballer for Brazil, Ronaldo has played in 97 international games, scoring a total number of 62 goals. When Brazil won the 1994 and 2002 World Cups, he was playing for the Brazilian team. With his participation at the 2006 World Cup, where he scored his fifteenth goal, Ronaldo became officially the highest goal scorer in the history of the World Cup.
‘O Fenômeno’ (meaning “The Phenomenon” in English), how the entire world calls him, became synonym with Ronaldo, with the number 9 on the T-shirt and the center forward soccer position in the playing field. His European career brought him to the top of the world’s best ’strikers’ list after being granted the Ballon d’Or as the European Footballer of the Year in 1997, and again in 2002.
Ronaldo also won the FIFA Player of the Year award three times (only two players in the world have a similar performance, one of them being him), and in 2007 the France Football placed him among the best starting eleven of all-time and named him to the FIFA 100 (this is a list with the greatest football players of all times, which is lead by the Brazilian Pelé).
Ronaldo played a very important part in increasing the marketing interest in soccer throughout the world due to his relationship with Nike, a company that concentrated their resources exclusively on basketball before.
Read Original:
With an English birth certificate, soccer rapidly spread and became popular; today is considered the king of all sports and has millions of fans all over the world.
FIFA World Cup Soccer has been from the very beginning the most appropriate chance for soccer players to become real stars because of their prolific activity in the soccer field, measured in the number of goals they have scored so far. Thus, world soccer records holders appeared, for instance the player who has scored the most goals in world cup soccer history.
The first position of this ranking is occupied by the Brazilian professional footballer Ronaldo Nazario de Lima (known all over the world simply as Ronaldo), the player that has scored the moest goals in the history of the world soccer championship. He was born in September 18, 1976 and in 1993, he began his professional soccer/footballer career with the Cruzeiro soccer team.
During his Cruzeiro year he score 12 goals in 14 soccer games played; thus, having the lead of his team, he won the Copa do Brasil championship (for the team he was playing this was the first time to win such an important title). In 1994, Ronaldo became a PSV player in Holland and in 1996, just as he had done with his previous team in 1993, he had lead the PSV to winning the Dutch Cup.
As an established national footballer for Brazil, Ronaldo has played in 97 international games, scoring a total number of 62 goals. When Brazil won the 1994 and 2002 World Cups, he was playing for the Brazilian team. With his participation at the 2006 World Cup, where he scored his fifteenth goal, Ronaldo became officially the highest goal scorer in the history of the World Cup.
‘O Fenômeno’ (meaning “The Phenomenon” in English), how the entire world calls him, became synonym with Ronaldo, with the number 9 on the T-shirt and the center forward soccer position in the playing field. His European career brought him to the top of the world’s best ’strikers’ list after being granted the Ballon d’Or as the European Footballer of the Year in 1997, and again in 2002.
Ronaldo also won the FIFA Player of the Year award three times (only two players in the world have a similar performance, one of them being him), and in 2007 the France Football placed him among the best starting eleven of all-time and named him to the FIFA 100 (this is a list with the greatest football players of all times, which is lead by the Brazilian Pelé).
Ronaldo played a very important part in increasing the marketing interest in soccer throughout the world due to his relationship with Nike, a company that concentrated their resources exclusively on basketball before.
Read Original:
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Picking World Cup Squads in the Dark
The World Cup in South Africa is one month away, but the 32 national team coaches are obliged to name at least provisional squads right now.
Some will need the judgment of Solomon to know which players are ready to peak. Some are already clinging to medical opinions about the recovery of long-injured stars. And, with Europe’s club season not yet finished, some are having to pencil in players who might yet break a leg before they even reach training camp.
It is ever thus in the global picture of overlapping calendars. But as public expectations rise, from Australia to Brazil, from Honduras to Japan, some national coaches are placing almost spiritual trust in players whose fitness or form have long been suspect.
Brazil, of course, is most people’s choice to push it to the limits because Brazil, the first country to hire whole phalanxes of mind and body specialists around its national team, has the experience of winning five World Cups.
Brazil’s coach, Dunga, has 190 million countrymen telling him whom to pick and whom to discard. He dares to tell Brazilians that flair alone will no longer beat the world. His methods are more pragmatic, more based on physical fitness than many would like.
Dunga has what may prove to be his only opportunity to win the World Cup as a coach, as he did in 1994 as a player. He decided to name his definitive 23 players this week, rather than allow the national debate to continue to June.
On Tuesday, Dunga did what those who know him expected him to do — he stuck to his principles. He resisted the clamor to recall Ronaldinho and Adriano. He ignored the popular appeal to promote Neymar and Paulo Henrique Ganso, the exciting rising stars of Pelé’s old club. He stuck solidly to players he has tried and trusted over the past two years.
Complete article here:
Some will need the judgment of Solomon to know which players are ready to peak. Some are already clinging to medical opinions about the recovery of long-injured stars. And, with Europe’s club season not yet finished, some are having to pencil in players who might yet break a leg before they even reach training camp.
It is ever thus in the global picture of overlapping calendars. But as public expectations rise, from Australia to Brazil, from Honduras to Japan, some national coaches are placing almost spiritual trust in players whose fitness or form have long been suspect.
Brazil, of course, is most people’s choice to push it to the limits because Brazil, the first country to hire whole phalanxes of mind and body specialists around its national team, has the experience of winning five World Cups.
Brazil’s coach, Dunga, has 190 million countrymen telling him whom to pick and whom to discard. He dares to tell Brazilians that flair alone will no longer beat the world. His methods are more pragmatic, more based on physical fitness than many would like.
Dunga has what may prove to be his only opportunity to win the World Cup as a coach, as he did in 1994 as a player. He decided to name his definitive 23 players this week, rather than allow the national debate to continue to June.
On Tuesday, Dunga did what those who know him expected him to do — he stuck to his principles. He resisted the clamor to recall Ronaldinho and Adriano. He ignored the popular appeal to promote Neymar and Paulo Henrique Ganso, the exciting rising stars of Pelé’s old club. He stuck solidly to players he has tried and trusted over the past two years.
Complete article here:
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Brazil to play friendly against Tanzania on June 7
The Brazilian Confederation of Soccer (CBF) announced on Tuesday that the country's national team will face Tanzania on June 7 in a friendly.
It will be the team's last warmup before the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
The friendly will be held in Tanzania's capital city Dar Es Sallam.
With the friendly confirmed, the CBF is attempting to finalize one more friendly to take place on June 2 or June 3, possibly against Zimbabwe.
However, timing and negotiations have dragged, preventing an agreement to be finalized.
The CBF has avoided the possibility of facing any of the other 31 national soccer teams that will play in the 2010 World Cup. The entity denied an invitation from the host nation, South Africa for this reason.
Brazil will debut in the 2010 World Cup against DPR Korea on June 15 at the Ellis Park stadium in Johannesburg.
Read it here:
It will be the team's last warmup before the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
The friendly will be held in Tanzania's capital city Dar Es Sallam.
With the friendly confirmed, the CBF is attempting to finalize one more friendly to take place on June 2 or June 3, possibly against Zimbabwe.
However, timing and negotiations have dragged, preventing an agreement to be finalized.
The CBF has avoided the possibility of facing any of the other 31 national soccer teams that will play in the 2010 World Cup. The entity denied an invitation from the host nation, South Africa for this reason.
Brazil will debut in the 2010 World Cup against DPR Korea on June 15 at the Ellis Park stadium in Johannesburg.
Read it here:
Sunday, May 23, 2010
World Cup 2010: Brazil must deal with favorites label
Having been a part of three World Cup teams himself, Brazil manager Dunga knows all too well the expectations that come with being a member of Brazil's national team.
They are expected to win every time they take the field, and when it comes to the World Cup for the five-time champions, anything less than winning the tournament is viewed as a failure.
"We have to learn to live with the favorites' tag," Brazil midfielder Kaka told FIFA.com. "We must not let it turn into something negative, as it has done in previous years."
In fact, Brazil nearly lived up to its own lofty expectations over the past four World Cups, reaching the final three times and winning the competition twice.
They were beaten by France in the 1998 final on French soil, but they will be out to redeem themselves after a poor showing in 2006 saw them eliminated at the quarterfinal stage, again by France.
Dunga came under some pressure for an inconsistent showing in the CONMEBOL region of World Cup qualifying that saw his team win just nine of its 18 matches.
However, they still managed to finish on top of the group, with Chile and Paraguay close behind, and they are now focused on getting back to where they belong, the final of the World Cup.
Like any other year, Brazil is one of the favorites on paper with a talent- laden roster that includes world-class goalkeeper Julio Cesar, as well as talented fullbacks Daniel Alves and Maicon.
Ronaldinho was a surprise omission from Dunga's roster, which will leave the role of creative midfield playmaker to Kaka, while gritty veteran Gilberto Silva brings a physical presence to the midfield.
Luis Fabiano has established himself as the team's top scoring threat up top, and he will get help from the talented but seemingly inconsistent Robinho.
Brazil will feel it's the better team against anyone it lines up against, and rightfully so. But the big question that always must be answered is how well they handle their own expectations.
After all, anything less than a sixth title is unacceptable.
Read more:
They are expected to win every time they take the field, and when it comes to the World Cup for the five-time champions, anything less than winning the tournament is viewed as a failure.
"We have to learn to live with the favorites' tag," Brazil midfielder Kaka told FIFA.com. "We must not let it turn into something negative, as it has done in previous years."
In fact, Brazil nearly lived up to its own lofty expectations over the past four World Cups, reaching the final three times and winning the competition twice.
They were beaten by France in the 1998 final on French soil, but they will be out to redeem themselves after a poor showing in 2006 saw them eliminated at the quarterfinal stage, again by France.
Dunga came under some pressure for an inconsistent showing in the CONMEBOL region of World Cup qualifying that saw his team win just nine of its 18 matches.
However, they still managed to finish on top of the group, with Chile and Paraguay close behind, and they are now focused on getting back to where they belong, the final of the World Cup.
Like any other year, Brazil is one of the favorites on paper with a talent- laden roster that includes world-class goalkeeper Julio Cesar, as well as talented fullbacks Daniel Alves and Maicon.
Ronaldinho was a surprise omission from Dunga's roster, which will leave the role of creative midfield playmaker to Kaka, while gritty veteran Gilberto Silva brings a physical presence to the midfield.
Luis Fabiano has established himself as the team's top scoring threat up top, and he will get help from the talented but seemingly inconsistent Robinho.
Brazil will feel it's the better team against anyone it lines up against, and rightfully so. But the big question that always must be answered is how well they handle their own expectations.
After all, anything less than a sixth title is unacceptable.
Read more:
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Chelsea Lining Up a Massive Summer Bid for AC Milan "Wonderkid" Pato
It has been in news recently that striker Alexander Pato may make a summer move from AC Milan. A spate of injuries this season have given him little action for the team.
Moreover, the inconsistent form of Milan has sparked speculation that Pato might consider lucrative offers in the summer.
Chelsea, who had made a failed bid for the highly-rated Pato the previous summer, is making plans to launch an ambitious bid of over £45million this summer to secure the signing of the Brazilian "Wonderkid."
Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti, who had previously coached the 20-year-old striker while in charge at AC Milan, is a long term admirer of Pato.
Alex the "Duck", as Pato is lovingly called, is known for his quick pace, skillful dribbling, and powerful shot. He is regarded as one of the most promising young prospects of world football along the same lines of Messi or Bojan.
Read more:
Moreover, the inconsistent form of Milan has sparked speculation that Pato might consider lucrative offers in the summer.
Chelsea, who had made a failed bid for the highly-rated Pato the previous summer, is making plans to launch an ambitious bid of over £45million this summer to secure the signing of the Brazilian "Wonderkid."
Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti, who had previously coached the 20-year-old striker while in charge at AC Milan, is a long term admirer of Pato.
Alex the "Duck", as Pato is lovingly called, is known for his quick pace, skillful dribbling, and powerful shot. He is regarded as one of the most promising young prospects of world football along the same lines of Messi or Bojan.
Read more:
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