20
May
Ronaldinho really likes to get the most out of his goal celebrations.
Ronaldinho really likes to get the most out of his goal celebrations.
Photo: Nelson Almeida/AFP/Getty Images
By Kyle McCarthy
1. The fairytale continues: Tijuana played its first match less than a decade ago. It reached the Mexican first division in 2011. It won its first title in 2012. And now it has advanced to the quarterfinals of the Copa Bridgestone Libertadores by registering the fourth Mexican victory on Brazilian soil.
In stark contrast to the two other Mexican clubs – Club América and C.D. Guadalajara – to win an away match in Brazil, Tijuana operates on a relatively modest budget and relies on a small squad of players to achieve laudable results. This triumph isn’t a fluke: it is the product of a cohesive unit of dedicated and savvy operators capable of winning against any opponent in North or South America on the right day. Antonio Mohamed has worked wonders to lift this club into a quarterfinal tie against Atlético Minero.
2. Credit Tijuana’s victory to a stout defensive shape: Tijuana prefers to play a counterattacking style well suited for continental play and Mohamed astutely adhered to it for this match. The game plan – retain the necessary structure and then wait for the opportune moment to break forward with pace – made perfect sense for this tie against a Palmeiras side that had scored just five goals in seven Libertadores matches coming into this match. Mohamed and his players dared Palmeiras to carve them open and win the tie. The Brazilians tried their best to do so (particularly in the second half), but they failed to come to terms with Tijuana’s resolute line (offside time and time again), lacked the quality to score from the run of play and suffered the consequences of their defensive lapses.
On May 1st, Richard Swanson set out on a 10,000 mile journey for charity from Seattle to Brazil for the 2014 World Cup.
Image via Breakaway Brazil
Swanson’s plan was to spend a year dribbling a soccer ball all the way to Sao Paulo, where the first match of the World Cup will be held. The ball was a One World Futbol, created by the One World Futbol Project, a charity that creates indestructible balls for youth in disadvantaged communities.
But on Tuesday morning, 42-year-old Swanson was struck and killed by a car in Lincoln City.
In honor of Swanson’s inspiring goal, here is a look back at some of the images and video posted during his journey that was tragically cut short.
Via @BreakawayBrazil
Images via Breakaway Brazil
His last video post to YouTube:
Well, you could see this coming a mile away…
Brazilian superstar Neymar, who with his array of showy jewelry and stylish haircuts is clearly much cooler than Lionel Messi, is reportedly rap mogul Jay-Z’s number one target to join Roc Nation’s brand-new sports agency. This according to Yahoo! Sports which translated this article by Spanish newspaper Sport:
“Roc Nation” is creating a segment focused on sports and the idea of its creators is to transform players into real stars with global impact and visibility, which is why Santos player Neymar is one of the priority sports to be “signed to” by the entertainment company.
Neymar would join Robinson Cano of the New York Yankees and Skylar Diggins of the WNBA in rap mogul Jay-Z’s rapidly-growing agency he started earlier this year.
In addition, the report states that Jay-Z also has his eye on fellow Brazilian soccer studs Lucas Moura and Leandro Damião, as well as Jon Jones, the current UFC light heavyweight champion.
Coincidentally, a potential stumbling block to the deal is the last great Brazilian soccer legend Ronaldo, whose own sports marketing firm 9ine signed Neymar to an image rights deal in 2011.
By Kyle McCarthy
Club Tijuana managed to keep its unblemished home record in the Copa Libertadores intact with a 0-0 draw against Palmeiras on Tuesday night, but the Xolos squandered its invitation to take control of this round of 16 tie.
The home side kept its nerve for the most part and threatened occasionally after an indifferent start to the match. It did not, however, possess the sharpness required to make the best use of its advantage at Estadio Caliente.
The lack of investment in this side prior to this Libertadores campaign and the suspect form over the past few weeks told once again in the final third. Fidel Martinez lashed wide from a promising position at the top of the penalty area after 25 minutes to signal Tijuana’s improvement after a tentative opening period. Fernando Arce subsequently forced Bruno to tip his free kick over the bar, while Alfredo Moreno and Duvier Riascos both wasted good opportunities to open the scoring before the interval.
Ronaldo rolled back the years at the re-opening of the Maracana Stadium, scoring after pulling a signature trick move like it’s 1998.
The game was an exhibition between “Friends of Ronaldo” and “Friends of Bebeto” and gave us a first glimpse of the newly renovated site of the 2014 World Cup final.
PS: Gotta love the awkward celebration with the stadium employee.
On Friday, reports came out that Brazilian player Bernardo was kidnapped and tortured by drug traffickers in a Rio de Janeiro slum.
Authorities say Bernardo, who plays for Vasco da Gama, was held by traffickers earlier this week after he was seen with the girlfriend of one of the drug leaders in the Mare shantytown in Rio’s north side.
The girlfriend, Dayana Rodrigues, who was abducted along with Bernardo, was shot in the leg by the traffickers. Her leg wounds were not serious, and Bernardo also was not gravely hurt.
The front page of Brazilian paper Hora’s on Saturday.
In an attempt assure fans that Bernardo is doing just fine, his friend posted this photo to Instagram with the comment, “I would like to thank the caring and concern of all … It’s alright with @ bsouza31”
On Friday, Vasco’s sporting director Rene Simoes told reporters:
“I spoke to Bernardo recently and our priority is to give full support to the player. Of course Vasco do not want his name involved in anything other than what he achieves on the sports field. Bernardo will receive support from the club while legal proceedings are being undertaken.”
This story is straight out of a movie, and we hope there are no more twists and turns left in this one.
Information from the AP was used in this report.
Images via 101GG
When all else fails, raffle off a live sheep.
That’s exactly what struggling small Brazilian side Santo Angelo did to help attract more fans to their matches. The lowly side, who plays in Series A-2 Campeonato Gaucho, was desperate to boost their attendance numbers. So they did what any club would do in times of great need — brought in live sheep to give away at halftime.
While this tactic wouldn’t exactly make fans sprint to the stadium in other parts of the world, in Santo Angelo, the local economy relies on agriculture. A chance a winning a sheep is one many fans couldn’t pass up, and attendance was up despite the team suffering a loss.
Whatever it takes to survive, right?
And you thought vuvuzelas were bad.
Demonstrating that Brazil’s World Cup organizers haven’t learned anything from 2010, a new noise-making toy for fans has been introduced to take over stadiums in 2014.
The oddly shaped plastic rattle are called caxirolas and are a lock to torture fans watching on TV just as much as vuvuzelas did (if not more).
Radamel Falcao, Robert Lewandowski and Edinson Cavani have been dominating the headlines lately, but one player that has been quiet on the transfer rumor front is back with a bang. The father and agent of Neymar has said Santos’ Brazil star will be joining a European team next year. But where is he going. Click here for this story and more of the best gossip from the UK press.
