I was reading a blog the other day and the subject was more or less the title of this article.  The blogger was referring to South American footballers who seem to arrive at European teams younger and younger every year.

It made very interesting reading. The article touched upon several examples of players dubbed as future stars, who, if they didn’t fail completely, at least fell well short of their early hype.  The list included such names as Denilson, Robinho, Aimar and D’alessandro.

Both the piece itself and the comments left by readers were, on the whole, intelligent , even if there was a sense of tunnel vision.  There were the usual observations that “Robinho is rubbish”, “Ronaldinho has lost his ambition” and “Aimar never lived up to his next Maradona tag.”  Those comments are obviously subject to the individual reader’s concept of the skill set for the ideal footballer.  Such, of course, was not the point of the blog, in the first place.

On the other hand, there were some other, more germane stereotypes voiced:

• “South American leagues are weak, and the players get to Europe and find they are not as good as they thought they were.”
• “Players find it difficult to adapt to the jump in quality and the expectations big money moves create.”
• “Players don’t develop as quickly under the high standards of European training; they don’t like it.”

These are closer to the subject matter, even though I find them to be inaccurate and patronising.  Yet perhaps not as much as the suggestion that the standard of management is so much higher in Europe that there was no excuse for South American players not to succeed.

It is, I think, a human problem, rather than a sporting one.  Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs sums the situation up well.  Psychologist Abraham Maslow first introduced his concept of a hierarchy of needs in the 1943 paper “A Theory of Human Motivation” and again in his subsequent book, Motivation and Personality.

Maslow  theorised that people are motivated to fulfill basic needs before moving on to others.  Maslow visualised his hierarchy as a pyramid, with the lowest level composed of the most basic human needs; food, water, sleep and warmth.  Once a person obtains those, the concentrate on the next level; safety and security.

As people progress up the pyramid, needs become increasingly psychological and social. Soon, the need for love, friendship and intimacy become important. Further up the pyramid, the need for personal esteem and feelings of accomplishment take priority.

If you apply the pyramid to young South American footballers moving to a new continent, society and set of customs, you can see where they might encounter some difficulty.  Money is not an issue, as they normally are well paid, with the club making sure that, at least until they have settled in their new environment, they have adequate accommodations and nutrition.

Thus, the initial success many experience can be attributed to a level of comfort as much as it is to the normally presumed enthusiasm at arriving at a new club.  Clubs know that the first six or seven weeks can be crucial in a player’s development.  Normally the players who integrate into their new communities beyond the initial stage are the ones who continue to perform at the highest level and enjoy their football.

Despite popular opinion, footballers are concerned with more than kicking a ball around and having plenty of money to spend.  In a new environment, there can be a great deal of free time and no one to spend it with.  If the club leaves the player to his own devices too soon, he may become bored, alienated and depressed, with his performance suffering as a result.

We all know that Robinho, Ronaldinho and Aimar can play; that has never been questioned.  The same goes for Juan Roman Riquelme and the new poster boy of the debate, Carlos Tevez.  What has come under scrutiny is their dedication.  Yet rather than dedication, might it not be a question of being unhappy with their surroundings?

For those of you who believe the answer lies in differing standards of footballing or coaching, ask yourself what would happen if the financial shoe were on the other foot?  What if South America was where the money was?  Would emigrating European footballers succeed in the Brasilian or Argentine leagues?

The level of training and development in the region is amazing.  South American players are known for their technique, and no matter how many emigrate to all parts of the world, there are always more to take their place.  Brazil and Argentina have long been the world’s two greatest exporters of footballing talent.  There are so many good South American players, in fact, that one wonders if there would be room for Europeans in a lucrative Campeonato or Apertura & Clausura.

No, it is not a matter of technical merit.  The struggle for young South Americans is rooted in the human condition.  And while the inexperience of youth makes it difficult to adapt to new cultures, young players at teams like Arsenal and Ajax have managed to assimilate with the support of their club.  Therefore, if you ask me, European sides aren’t buying players too young; they just aren’t realising that their investment requires more than just money to come good. 

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I can’t speak for other footy fans who were born in North America, but one of the reasons that I have embraced the game and now virtually ignore sports on which I was raised (hockey, baseball and grid-iron football), is that all the leagues in America have gone corporate.

Don’t misunderstand.  You won’t find me sitting on a commune, growing my own wheat-grass, curdling my own tofu, and taking time off to attend sit-ins against the UN or the World Bank.  I’ve nothing against money.  Hell, I’ve crewed on yachts for a healthy portion of my life.

If a baseball player has the opportunity to sign a ten year, $250 million contract, more power to him.  If NFL owners can cajole multibillion dollar television contracts out of American networks, let them sit back and light up a cigar.  No, what irks me is that American sport has become so image-conscious in chasing the almighty dollar that they’ve censored into extinction the characters who made their world so captivating.

You’ll never see another Casey Stengel or Yogi Berra, or have the opportunity to hear but not understand exactly what either is trying to say.  In hockey, Don Cherry, his garishly coloured suits and homespun conservatism are the last of a dying breed.  In the NFL, Rex Ryan may have carried on from his father Buddy and the immortal John Madden, but the five digit fines that the NFL is handing out to anyone who utters anything other than the company line have silenced him, as well.

If you’re an American athlete, coach or team executive, and want to keep your weekly wage packet, you’ll check your personality at the door and utter banal clichés whenever a microphone is thrust in your face.  Corporate speak has won.

If you reside outside the ‘greatest democracy in the world’, however, free speech is still an option.  That is why Giovanni Trappatoni can talk about cats being in sacks, Harry Redknapp can threaten to give the media the cold shoulder if he’s fined for calling a bad call a bad call, and Jose Mourinho, bless his heart, can call Arsene Wenger a voyeur.   And don’t get me started on that Frenchman’s penchant for speaking his mind.

The American sports fan loves to make an ass of himself, braying endlessly about how boring soccer is, but the fact is, even if that were the case (I said if, you plonker) the goings on off the pitch make the beautiful game more entertaining than anything Uncle Sam can dish out, at least on the order of ten!

And while il Trap’s comparison of Estonia to a bedraggled tabby almost bagged and ready to be dropped in the river was worth a chuckle for those of us not indoctrinated into PETA, it wasn’t the most eye-popping statement made this week.  Nor, given Ireland’s massive four-goal advantage, is Estonia likely to leap out of their sack and give him cause for regret.

On the other hand, Santos president Luis Alvaro Ribeiro may find that his latest outburst may come back to bite him where it hurts most.  Ribeiro has fought a running battle in the press with European clubs eager to obtain the services of his sensational teenaged striker Neymar.  For the most part his defiance has been admirable, as he has warred against the disrespect some European outfits exhibit towards South American clubs, by dealing directly with the player’s agent rather than the club.

Most recently, it was rumoured that Real Madrid had negotiated a mega-deal to sign Neymar in the January window.  Instead, Santos penned the youngster to an extension which ties him to the Paulista squad until the 2014 World Cup.   Unfortunately, Ribeiro then pulled a Derek Llambias, insulting the Meringue negotiators and boasting about his hold on his starlet.

“The behaviour of Real Madrid’s board of directors was lamentable and arrogant. Their attitude resembled a colonial mentality. I convinced Neymar to stay by telling him that Jose Mourinho would have forced him to cut his hair. He can do with his hair whatever he likes here.”

Political rhetoric and historical grudges aside, the last time I checked, Jose Mourinho wasn’t acting like a drill sergeant.  Ribeiro’s jibe was obviously in reference to Emmanuel Adebayor, who had his locks shorn voluntarily, as he was desperate to get his career back on track with a top side.  To suggest otherwise fails to take into account Didier Drogba, who kept his dreads upon his Stamford Bridge arrival, and continued to grow them throughout the Special One’s tenure.

What’s more, if the Castilians are willing to invest €40-50 million on the Brazilian wunderkind, would they allow the deal to fall through because Neymar has a phobia regarding barbers?   If you’re going to heap praise upon yourself, that’s fine, but the braggadocio has to maintain at least a shred of credibility.  The worst aspect of Ribeiro’s rant, however, is the potential effect it could have on the player at the center of the matter.

There is no question that the boy has both a healthy ego and prickly temper.  He has argued with his coach in the midst of a match, seen that coach sacked, and accused the entire Scottish citizenry of racism because of one errant banana peel (thrown as a prank, it turns out, by a German student on holiday).  Further, he has topped his reed-thin frame with a mohawk of such bushy proportions that if he stood on his head in a closet, the team janitor might mistakenly begin sweeping the clubhouse floor with him.  When it comes to Neymar’s coif, ostentatious is understatement.

Yet for all that, he has mirrored one of his heroes, Pele, by putting off his publicly proclaimed desire to play abroad (preferably with Real Madrid), in the interests of promoting the Brazilian game ahead of that country’s upcoming turn at hosting the World Cup.  That could, in turn, attract other Brazilian stars, such as Robinho, to return home.  Given the improvements in the Brazilian economy, standard of living and with the upcoming tournament, quality of stadia, one might eventually see a few European players heading over to the land of Carnaval.  And I’m not just talking about unwanted Manchester City stars, either.  Yet, those dreams hinge precariously on Neymar’s willingness to stay.

If such was your decision to make, how would you feel if your team president informed the world that you were so foolish as to believe him when he told you that possibly the world’s greatest coach at possibly the world’s greatest team would not sign you, possibly the world’s next great player, if you refused to cut your hair?  As lamentable, arrogant and colonial as Real’s attitude might have been in pursuing their target, Ribeiro has easily trumped them, and his charge can’t be so stupid as to have missed the slight.

Given the dismissal of Dorival Junior, it’s fairly certain that Neymar already knows that he can do as he likes at Santos.  He can grow his mohawk.  He can colour it pink and green.  In fact, he can probably insist that the club change its colours to match whichever tint he has dyed it this week.  More importantly, he can stay as long as he likes, or, contract or no, leave at a moment’s notice.  And, if he chooses to exercise the latter option, he can name his price and any conditions he likes, wherever he goes.

So, as much as I love to hear footy personalities speak without forethought, this might have been one time that Luis Alvaro Ribeiro might have been better advised to shut it.

Another game and more disappointment for the Argentinean national team.

Not everyone played badly, and Alejandro Sabella needs more time to establish his programme, but game after game the Albiceleste seem to be moving backwards when they should be advancing.

Let’s go through the formation, provisionally a 4-3-3.

Defensively, Pablo Zabaleta and Clemente Rodriguez play outside and Martin Demichelis and Nicolas Burdisso are the centre halves.  I am happy with the Manchester City and Boca players being there. They are not spectacular, but the best available; able to go forward, but also defend tidily.

Burdisso, has passion, commitment and, again, is the best of a nondescript bunch.  Demichelis, on the other hand, has been consistently out of form since before the World cup, when he was let go by Bayern Munich.  He should not be playing for the national side, but, then again, he didn’t select himself, did he?

If the manager calls me, I go.  If he puts me in the starting eleven, I play. If I am not good enough — I hear you laughing — then I make mistakes and they cost the side dearly.  But should Demichelis say, “No, Sr Sabella, I do not wish to play?”

There is definitely need for at least one change at the back.  Fabricio Coloccini is having a great season with Newcastle in England.  Surely it’s not too late to bring him on board?

In the center of the pitch, the plan before Sergio Aguero’s injury, was to pencil in Fernando Gago, Javier Mascherano and Ricky Alvarez.  This surely would have meant a double five of Mascherano and Gago playing deep, with Ricky slightly ahead of them to collect the ball and link with the forwards, who would have been Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain and Kun.

In principle, I like this lineup. But if Alvarez played poorly,  Messi and Aguero would be required to drop back to collect the ball, breaking the shape intended by the manager and destroying the team’s balance.

Once Aguero became unavailable, the shape shifted to a 4-3-2-1. with Javier Pastore inserted for Kun, maintaining balance and creating more options in transition.  With Leo and Pastore five metres ahead and flanking Alvarez, one expects a more fluid side.

Gago and Mascherano play well together, with implicit trust and their skills each complementing the other. Gago, especially, has a good range of passing, able to connect with Pastore and Alvarez, bringing Leo more into play and distracting defences from Higuain’s presence.

From this formation, there should be endless ways to create chances and score.  It should be an excellent opportunity to play modern football. But what transpired was something else entirely.  Zabaleta and Clemente were moving forward down the flanks, and they ended up tripping over Ricky and Pastore who were far too forward.

Consequently, Gago was unable to find open teammates, and was holding the ball for longer than he would have liked.  Against Bolivia, Gago had a great game; he ran, he recovered and he carried the ball forward. But when the creativity of your team depends on Gago, you know you are not going to produce a masterpiece.

Unfortunately, on the day, he was the best player Argentina had.  Messi was finding his path blocked too often by his mates and Bolivia was finding it very easy to mark the Albiceleste attackers.

Once Ezequiel Lavezzi came on for Alvarez, there was an improvement, although due more to the commitment Pocho brought than any tactical changes.  His entrance would have been a good moment to move Pastore back a little, but it did not happen.  The PSG star kept trying and could have scored, but he needs to bring the ball from midfield, being less efficient up front.

While the defence is average at best, Argentina has the players in midfield and up front to succeed.  The problem is that Sabella has yet to sell his players on his system.  When that belief arrives, the confusion on the pitch should be replaced by hunger, passion, and, most importantly, results.

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For the past three or four years, most of the world has been suffering through what is being called either a depression, recession or economic downturn, depending upon who you ask.  However you phrase it, the main point is that nearly everyone is hurting for money.

In football, at the club level, there are one or two clubs, Arsenal and Manchester City come to mind, who are not feeling the pinch.  As for countries, Brazil is doing well and Germany just found an extra €55 million in their piggy bank.  Every little bit helps.

At the other end of the scale, the footballing nation most affected by the harsh economic climate is neither Italy nor Greece, despite their mutually high levels of debt and, in the case of the former, the fact that the situation has politicians coming to blows.  Nor is it Turkey, who are mired in a match-fixing scandal which threatened the 2011-12 Super Lig campaign, and indeed delayed its start for over a month.  Instead, it’s the home of the world’s greatest active player which has been confounded by winds of financial fortune.

The Primera Division de Argentina, a league in which Lionel Messi has never played, having been shipped off to Catalonia at a very tender age, is in a state of complete upheaval.  Sure, the familiar Azul y Oro of Boca Juniors is at the top of the table, but their closest rival is no longer thirty-three time champion River Plate.  Rather, the new contender for the Primera A Apertura is the club who won automatic promotion as a result of winning the Primera B title.  After twelve — or roughly two-thirds — of the nineteen round Apertura season completed, Atletico Rafaela is comfortably ensconced in second place, two points ahead of Racing Club and the club which relegated River in a two-legged playoff, Belgrano de Córdoba.

With that much of the campaign in the books, Rafaela’s success has to be considered more than an anomaly.   Even better, the upstarts have a golden opportunity to slash Boca’s six-point lead in half when they invade La Bombonera this evening.

It’s not just one side either.  In 2010-11, four out of four possible promotion candidates made it through to the highest level.  Joining Atletico and Belgrano in experiencing success in the Argentine top flight is Unión de Santa Fé, holding down the final place in the top half of the table.  Only San Martin de San Juan is struggling, the club’s meager point per match average anchoring them to the bottom place in the relegation table.

The flip side of the coin, of course, is that 2010-11 saw more than one top club go down.  Along with River, well known clubs Huracán and Gimnasia de la Plata suffered the drop.  The revolution looks likely to continue, as well, with Tigre, Olimpo and All Boys in the danger zone and San Lorenzo and Racing on the bubble.  Worse, the bottom four in the Apertura standings is an unlikely quartet including Argentinos Juniors, Newell’s Old Boys, Banfield and the defending Apertura champion, Estudiantes de Plata.

The chaos has surprised many, given that the relegation system, with established Primera Division teams demoted based upon their performance over the previous three years, is designed to protect the big clubs.  In hindsight, it makes sense, however.

Even moreso than Italy, where the chairman of the defending Serie A champion and the President of the country are one and the same, football is tied into Argentina’s national identity.  Clubs have long enjoyed the protection and patronage of those in power, leading to careless spending and huge debt which can no longer be ignored.  Thus, even the largest clubs have become eager sellers on the international transfer market.  In the spring of 2011, it was announced that Argentina had overtaken the far more populous Brazil as the world’s largest exporter of professional footballers.  Naturally, such an exodus of talent from the big boys levels the playing field; in Argentina’s case, to the point where the gap in talent between the first and second divisions is extremely marginal.

Boca has found the cash to keep Juan Roman Riquelme from returning to Europe or Brazil, and, with their icon healthy, are the exception to the new rule.  But, until the rest of the Argentine football establishment gets their house in order, the AFA landscape will continue to resemble something from a sci-fi B movie; a quagmire filled with pitfalls and traps where no club can gain a sure foothold.

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The 2011 edition of the Copa America ended on Sunday afternoon, with a clearly defined all-time champion that was neither Brazil nor Argentina.  The two large countries may laugh at the idea that Uruguay’s consistency has made them the foremost footballing nation in South America.  They may even ask, where is their Pele or Maradona?

The answer is simply that he is still in the pipeline.  If football survives long enough (and why not?), the odds suggest that Uruguay will one day produce the best player in the world.  The numbers are simple:  Brazil 190, Argentina 40 and Uruguay 3.5.  Those are the people, in the millions, which inhabit each nation.  With those numbers and football at the core of their collective consciousness, it’s no wonder that Brazil has, at one time or another, sent Pele, Garrincha, Socrates, Rivaldo, Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, Kaka, Ronaldhino and (possibly) Neymar, to the head of the world class, while Argentina has, over the same period, produced Alfredo di Stefano, Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi.  The frequency at which Uruguay will develop players of that calibre will obviously be far less.  Diego Forlan has briefly touched the mark but not held it.  Yet, all the ingredients are there for a ‘Last Ball Bender’ to one day be born to Uruguay.

What cannot be denied is that Uruguay have, on a far more consistent basis, made the most of their limited resources than have their vastly wealthier neighbours..  Their level of dedication is evident in the fact that they have one more continental championship than a nation which has almost twelve times their population and almost twice as many as one that dwarfs them more than fifty times over.

Brazil and Argentina may point to their World Cup records and claim that they have reached the highest level more often than Uruguay but, with their advantages, that is to be expected.  Yet, both have also, for one reason or another, quite often political, taken a holiday from their greatness.   Uruguay, involved in the same political and economic circles, have not.

Since the tournament began in 1916, Uruguay has had two dry spells of more than a decade. Their longest, 16 years, was aided by the absence of the Copa America between 1967 and 1975, and their victory on Sunday ended a fourteen-year spell without a trophy, whilst Brazil were claiming four of the five tournaments in between.

Conversely, it took Argentina five years to win its first Copa America, which they then dominated from 1925  until 1959, winning eleven of their fourteen during that span.  Between 1959 and the present, though, the Albiceleste have managed just the 1978 and 1986 World Cups and the 1991 and 1993 Copa Americas.

Brazil, of course, have been the least consistent of the trio.  Five of their Copa Americas and two World Cups have come since 1989 and the remaining six triumphs were spread over fifty-one years, between 1919 and 1970.

Despite the recent parade of stars from the other two nations, the numbers surprisingly suggest that Uruguay is indeed the foremost footballing nation in South America.

Commitment often raises the ordinary above the gifted and Uruguay have that in abundance.  Whatever you throw at them they just keep coming.  Just ask Messi, Sergio Kun Aguero, Gonzalo Higuain, Angel di Maria, Carlos Tevez, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Javier Pastore; they’ll remember this year’s semi-final and Fernando Muslera for some time to come.

Further, if you take the pitch with anything less than your best, Uruguay will simply run you over.  Gerrardo Martino and Gerardo Pautasso could see that from their seats in the stands, after being banned for their dissent in the semi-final against Venezuela.  Roque Santa Cruz and Aureliano Torres would have confirmed it from their place on the trainer’s table.  With those four key components missing, Paraguay simply amounted to target practice for the relentless Uruguayan squad.

From the outset, La Celeste smelled blood and struck quickly.  What looked like an early handball in the box kept a Diego Lugano header out but Uruguay kept coming.  With the ball pinballing just outside the box, along the right flank, it finally bounced to Forlan, whose intended volley into the box caromed off a defender and floated towards the end line.  Luis Suarez ran it down, brought it into the middle with one touch and drove it past Justo Villar with his left foot.  With barely ten minutes gone, the severely undermanned Guaranies were down a goal.

Forlan, who hadn’t bulged the twine for a dozen international matches, would soon turn the serendipitous into the superfluous.  Just before the half, Uruguay would pressure the left side of the Paraguayan defence again.  Egidio Arevalo would pick the pocket of a careless Guarani midfielder and feed Forlan, breaking in on the opposite flank.  The World Cup Ballon d’Or winner put another big match away with a left-footed blast that left Villar helpless.

In the second half, coach Oscar Tabares made sure that his troops did not allow Paraguay back into the match.  Uruguay controlled the remainder of the game and Forlan’s second goal came at the death, courtesy of Suarez and a returning Edinson Cavani.  Napoli owner Aurelio de Laurentiis will be breathing a sigh of relief that he won’t have to make good on his bizarre threats to the Uruguayan FA, should they decide to play his hobbled striker in the final.  They did but Serie A’s number two scorer managed to get through the match without further damage, finally shaking off the rust to lead a final counter attack.  Streaking down the left flank, Cavani sent a high cross to Suarez on the opposite side.  The Liverpool new boy lined it up and headed the ball into the path of Forlan, who calmly slotted past an onrushing Villar and just inside the far post.

It has to be said that whilst new Galatasaray number one Muslera was barely tested, after an excellent tournament, his opposite number was forced to continue his own stellar work.  Three made it past Villar on the day but had it been another man between the sticks, it could easily have been two or three times that.  Suarez’ four goals overall netted him the Player of the Tournament honours, ahead of third place Peru’s five-goal man, Paolo Guerrero, but it was the man in the net for Paraguay who offered the performance of the tournament, to my mind, even if it ended in defeat.

After the match, Forlan paid tribute to the consistency of this squad, which, under the firm guidance of Tabares, has come so far.

“This has been a lot of work, going back many years. It’s been a job of doing things well and it’s yielded results.”

The captain now returns to the uncertainty of the Vicente Calderon, where he endured a difficult 2010-11 season, eventually falling out of favour with Quique Sánchez Flores and riding the bench.  Flores is gone, however, as is David de Gea and, most likely, Sergio Kun Aguero.  New boss Gregorio Manzano will be looking for a leader as he rebuilds Los Colchoneros and this final has surely put Forlan in the mood to take on the task.

Suarez, of course, embarks on his first full season with the Reds and Muslera will be joining his now Fenerbahce rival Diego Lugano on the long flight to Turkey.  Whilst they all have new projects to challenge them, they’ll be smiling at the thought of reuniting as champions over the next few years, to forge their way to the next World Cup.

As mentioned, Peru took the third place match, with a 4-1 victory over Venezuela.  Out of the running for the championship and emotionally spent after the post-match set-to with Paraguay, the Vinotinto just weren’t up for this game and Peru’s Paolo Guerrero took advantage, netting a hat trick to garner the tournament’s golden boot.

Meanwhile, the axe appears to be poised above Argentina coach Sergio Batista’s head, with a meeting scheduled early this week, where he will be called onto the carpet by Julio Grondona and the AFA board.  Speculation is that the animated Paraguay coach, Gerardo Martino, who is Argentine born, has already been approached to succeed ‘the man who could not do any better than Diego Maradona’.  Should he accept the post, Paraguayans will be more upset with his departure than not seeing Larissa Riquelme strip on the pitch.  After all, she’s never been caught without a reason to undress in the past.

In the end, it’s all about consistency.

]]> http://worldfootballcolumns.com/2011/07/25/copious-notes-on-the-copa-america-the-fat-lady-sings-the-skinny-one-remains-clothed/feed/ 0 Uruguay Copa America Champions resulteditor Uruguay Copa America Champions copa america 2011 logo CONMEBOL Consistency CONMEBOL Ball Breakers.001 http://worldfootballcolumns.com/2011/07/22/copious-notes-on-the-copa-america-history-or-mediocrity/ http://worldfootballcolumns.com/2011/07/22/copious-notes-on-the-copa-america-history-or-mediocrity/#comments Fri, 22 Jul 2011 12:32:27 +0000 Martin Palazzotto http://worldfootballcolumns.com/?p=19471 Continue reading »]]> ______________________________________________________________________________

On Sunday, one South American nation looking to come full circle will have to overcome a no-win situation to do so.

The two Copa America semifinals were contested mid-week and Uruguay are on the verge of re-announcing themselves on the world stage.  After last year’s controversial but thrilling run in the World Cup, that tournament’s original winner now has the opportunity to become the most prolific South American champions in the history of the game by claiming their fifteenth title, separating themselves from the host nation.

Conversely, the twice-crowned Copa America champion Paraguayans have made it to this final without managing a full or even extra-time victory.  Three draws in the group stage have been succeeded by three penalty kick advancements and a match concluding altercation.  Like a team in recovery, they’ve made their way through the competition one point at a time, struggling against the worst in themselves every step of the way.

Meanwhile, both Peru and Venezuela dispelled the world’s notion of them as afterthoughts but were unable to take the final steps towards complete redemption.

Tuesday saw Uruguay and new Liverpool forward Luis Suarez recast themselves in a more positive light, in the first semifinal.  With Suarez’ blatant handball against the Great African Hope, Ghana, and the unapologetic attitude of the entire team afterwards, now a fading memory, La Celeste overcame the much improved but overmatched Peruvians’ smothering tactics with two goals early in the second half.  They were then aided in there subsequent efforts to protect the lead by the sending off of La Blanquirroja attacker Juan Manuel Vargas.

Both Liverpool and Atletico Madrid, which endured forgettable seasons in 2010, will be heartened by this match.  Not only did Suarez display his full powers, slotting in his first from a difficult angle and stepping around Peru keeper Raul Fernandez before calmly slow-rolling the second to tease chasing defender Walter Vilchez, but his first came on the rebound of a dipping Diego Forlan drive from just outside the box which a diving Fernandez managed to parry directly into Suarez’ path.  Maxi Perreira set up the second goal with a perfectly lobbed long pass and, as happened so often in South Africa, a jubilant Forlan was waiting to embrace his orthodontally advantaged teammate in the aftermath.

Unfortunately, the match did have its ugly side, when defender Sebastian Coates clattered into Vargas from behind.  The Fiorentina star reacted badly, sending an elbow up and behind, connecting with the Uruguayan’s cheek and deservedly drawing the full ire of the match official, making his side’s monumental task of erasing a two-goal advantage an impossibility.

Thus, Uruguay were able to settle into a defensive shell for the final twenty minutes.  Turkish side Galatasaray will also be patting themselves on the back, however, as their recent signing, Fernando Muslera, made several key saves to deny a game Peruvian squad, including an 85th minute second effort, recovering the ball just centimetres from the line, after it had squirted under him.

After the final whistle, the two sides came together and tempers flared.  Several players had to be pulled apart.  In his post-match remarks, Venezuelan coach Cesar Farias blamed this on the disrespectful chirping directed at his squad by contentious Paraguayan officials.

“We didn’t go out to provoke an incident. However, some of the players and officials from Paraguay came to the game ready to provoke us. And to see that kind of behaviour is frustrating. They were making fun of us. We will not accept any more to be disrespected the way we were yesterday.”

If Venezuela can continue to play as well or better than they did in this tournament, they won’t have to worry about anyone disrespecting them.

Whilst Tuesday’s match was marred by an unfortunate incident, Wednesday’s was riddled with them.  Paraguay played the entire match very aggressively off the ball and, as the match progressed, Venezuela began to take exception.  Eventually, the referee took their side, handing two late cautions to Jonathan Santana, putting Paraguay down for more than half of the extra time.  Paraguay coach Gerardo Martino was also sent off for dissent.

The match was far removed from the entertaining six-goal draw the sides served up in the group stage.  Paraguay’s tactics might best be rationalised by the injury to all-time scorer Roque Santa Cruz, whose nagging calf injury kept him on the bench and then sent him back to it seven minutes after entering the match as a substitute.

With the Guaranies on the back foot, Venezuela enjoyed some opportunities, including Alejandro Moreno’s first-half header, which caromed off the bar to teammate Salomon Rondon, who was then frustrated by keeper Justo Villar, and two further extra time assaults on the woodwork.  The Paraguay backstopper again matched his Uruguayan counterpart, as in the semi-finals, with several key saves.

Once more relegated to a penalty phase, Villar smothered the Vinotinto’s third effort, from Franklin Lucena, whilst his brothers-in-arms sent opposite number Renny Vicente Vega in the wrong direct every time.

With the two ‘Guayans meeting in the Sunday final, Peru and Venezuela will face off in the third-place match.  Sadly, the Estadio Mundialista Mendoza was only half-full on Wednesday night.  Given that it was a chilly winter night and Argentina had already been sent packing, that is somewhat understandable.  However, one hopes for a sunny day with mild temperatures on Saturday.  Peru were last in the 2010 World Cup qualification and Venezuela eighth of ten.  To have come this far in a year merits some love from the fans.

As for the title tilt, it’s tempting fate to pick obvious favourites Uruguay.  Despite the two stronger teams progressing in the semis, the entire tournament has been about the underdog.  Paraguay may not have beaten any team over ninety or a hundred and twenty minutes but let’s not forget that they have not been defeated, either.  Each side will almost surely be without a key player, as Uruguay’s Edinson Cavani suffered a knee injury in the group stage and Roque Santa Cruz, whilst game, is also lame.

For me, then, it comes down to the coaching.

Gerardo Martino is obviously very capable if possessed of a combustible nature.  So combustible, in fact, that one might say that he’s simply possessed.  His two match ban for Wednesday’s touch-line outburst can’t be a positive for Paraguay.

Conversely, Oscar Tabarez’s stoically quiet presence in the other dugout will be, as usual, an anchor for Uruguay.  His silent, authoritative and pragmatic approach cannot be underestimated when assessing Uruguay’s resurgence as a world power, and, at this point, that is what they are.  He runs a tight, defensively sound ship but somehow manages to give Forlan and Suarez the freedom to flourish.

Theirs is perhaps the most potent International partnership on the planet.  Nelson Valdez and the younger, less experienced, Lucas Barrios, have their moments but they cannot approach the Atletico and Liverpool duo.

Watch for that edge and the cooler head of Tabarez to prevail.  But, whatever you do, watch!

Close your eyes and pretend it’s mid-April. Now, can you imagine a La Liga where Barcelona and Real Madrid are stuck in the middle of the table, with no chance of catching the clubs at the top? Difficult, isn’t it? Almost laughable, in fact.

Okay, now open your eyes and look out the window onto a Buenos Aires or Rio de Janeiro street. You’ll find that it’s a cloudy grey Monday morning with host Argentina and erstwhile holders Brazil no longer in the Copa America. Both sides lost on penalty kicks over the weekend, Argentina to Uruguay and Brazil to Paraguay.

It was not a weekend to be a world power in football, as the US women surrendered not one but two leads and then missed their first three penalty kicks in losing the World Cup to Japan. Despite being behind twice, the Lady Samurai held onto their faith in each other and displayed remarkable determination to be crowned world champions. It’s well deserved and also heartwarming to see them accomplish such a feat after the ordeal that their entire nation has gone through this year.

If someone had told you last year that Japan would win a World Cup and Brazil and Argentina would both be knocked out of the Copa America in the quarterfinals, you might have laughed and said that it would signal the apocalypse. Yet the volcanoes, earthquakes, tsunamis and nuclear meltdowns all occurred first. This was the healing.

Of course, Japanese citizens don’t much care what happens in the Copa America but it’s about time that other South American sides received some recognition for being world-class. Uruguay went all the way to the semifinals in South Africa, yet short shrift was given to their chances in this tournament by most pundits. Paraguay also went deep into the World Cup, marshaled by the combustible Gerardo Martino, who continually draws excellent performances from the attacking triumvirate of Nelson Valdez, Roque Santa Cruz and Lucas Barrios and timely goalkeeping from Justo Villar. What really catches the eye, however, is their support, led by lingerie model Larissa Riquelme, whose loud exhortations from the stands and repeatedly offered incentive of posing nude publicly should the Guaranies triumph at either Copa, Mundial or America, make her something of a cross between Lady Godiva and Joan of Arc. They are both in the semifinals, along with Peru and Venezuela, two dogged sides which came into this competition with reputations as the continent’s whipping boys.

It should be noted that another strong side, Chile, was eliminated in the quarters, as well. That country has suffered its own devastating earthquake and, of course, the mining disaster which captivated the world’s attention but still managed an excellent tournament in South Africa. There has been upheaval within the club in the interim, with their brilliant tactician Marcelo Bielsa losing his power struggle against figures within the Chilean FA. Still, the side, now coached by Claudio Borghi, won their group easily in this competition but ultimately could not overcome the precocious Venezuelans.

So, the world has two choices:

1. Shrug your shoulders at Brazil and Argentina’s failure and cast your eye elsewhere for summer football. Man United, City and Real Madrid are headlining a troupe of European clubs touring America and Liverpool and Arsenal are doing their thing in Asia. Or…
2. Realise that it takes quality to put down the likes of Lionel Messi and Sergio Kun Aguero or Neymar and Ganso and tune in to see four evenly matched clubs going after an historic title rather than some club or other, on holiday, running up the score (assuming you’re not an Arsenal fan) against game but inferior local sides.

Think long and choose well, grasshopper.

If you’ve picked door number one, then the post ends here and have a nice day. If you’ve opted for door number two, though, here’s a look back at the quarters and a glance ahead to the semifinals.

On Saturday, Colombia and Peru kicked off the knockout rounds, with Los Cafeteros favoured to move on, especially in light of Porto demigod Falcao’s brace in their final group match against Bolivia. They were certainly the better team in the first ninety minutes but Peru held them off. Finally, just after the hour, Colombia had their best chance, when Falcao stepped up to the spot after Alberto Rodriguez interfered with Dayro Moreno inside the area. Colombian coach Hernan Dario Gomez summed it up well.

“It came down to scoring. We couldn’t capitalize. It came to details, because we have the scorers. Falcao never misses, he never misses.”

Falcao missed.

The game went to extra time and Peru capitalised on two errors from normally reliable Colombian keeper Luis Enrique Martinez. Martinez came out to fist away a free kick and, in colliding with a Peruvian player knocked it down to the ground rather than up and away. Carlos Lobaton rushed onto the ball and volleyed into the open net from distance. Ten minutes later, a lazy Martinez clearance was picked off and Juan Manuel Vargas made the netminder pay.

In the evening match, the hosts took on Uruguay. These are the two sides with the most victories in the competition, with fourteen apiece, but neither had enjoyed much success lately. Argentina came into the match overloaded with talent, Uruguay with resolve. The Albiceleste peppered the Uruguayan goal but Lazio keeper Fernando Muslera refused to let anything past, reaching double digits in saves on the night. Messi could not find a way through, tournament scoring leader Sergio Kun Aguero was frustrated and only Gonzalo Higuain, in the early going, managed find the target.

Higuain’s header, after running into the box to latch onto a Messi cross, on seventeen minutes, leveled terms after Diego Perez hit off the end of a Diego Forlan set-piece in the sixth minute. It was typical Forlan, the number ten nearer to the center line than the goal to take the set-piece, but he sent it floating into the box to be flicked back to the near post where Perez, who three minutes earlier had been cautioned, was waiting.

For the next hundred and three minutes, it was the Fernando Muslera show, with the Uruguayan stymying Argentina’s endless array of attackers at every turn, finally turning aside Carlos Tevez’ spot kick in the penalty phase to seal the victory.

Given the talent at his disposal, his inability to forge it into a cohesive unit, and his disdain for fan favourite Carlos Tevez, it’s fair to say that the death vigil is on for manager Sergio Batiste.

On Sunday evening, Chile took on Venezuela with the Estadio del Bicentenario already abuzz with the news that Brazil had joined Argentina on the tournament rubbish heap.  The Chileans, not heeding the trend in the competition, had to be confident that their superior skills would hold up against the workmanlike Venezuelan approach.  With Alexis Sánchez and Monterrey’s bullet-headed assassin, Humberto Suazo, up front and Arturo Vidal pulling the strings, the goals, which came consistently in the group stage, seemed assured.  Yet, Venezuela had found goals, as well, three of them against Paraguay in a wild shootout which ended in a draw, marring their previous clean sheets against Ecuador and Brazil.

Chile should have been prepared, then, when the Vinotinto rushed the goal on a thirty-fourth minute set piece and Oswaldo Vizcarrondo, you know him, he plays for Deportivo Anzoategui, headed inside the near post from ten yards.

It would take that much time again, plus a minute, for Chile to equalise.

Sánchez took a pass at the top right corner of the eighteen, skirted the box and sent a short cross into the penalty area for Suazo.  Taking advantage of a defender victimised by the frosty pitch, it is winter in the Southern Hemisphere, remember, the Mexican league star moved to his right and squeezed a shot between the post and keeper Renny Vicente Vega.

If La Roja thought they had siezed the momentum, they were dispelled of the notion ten minutes later, again from a set-piece.  The ball, delivered from near the touch-line bounced straight to Chilean goaltender Claudio André Bravo, who promptly spilled his treasure right into the path of Gabriel Cichero.  Venezuela held on for the final ten minutes and cashed in a date in the semifinal.

If Uruguay goalkeeper Fernando Muslera has an undiscovered twin brother, separated from him at birth, his name is probably Justo Villar.  The Paraguayan goalkeeper put in an almost identical performance to Muslera in the Guaranies quarterfinal match against Brazil.   Unlike their group encounter, when the Paraguayans almost stole a 2-1 victory from Brazil, before Neymar’s equaliser, the defending champions had no trouble with the ten men in the red and white stripes.  It was Villar, all in blue, who gave them fits.

Neymar had several good chances and Ganso was absolutely robbed by the Valladolid netminder.  In extra time, the best chance went to Paraguay’s Nelson Valdez, sending a first touch effort just wide of the mark.  When it was time for penalties, the wayward shooting continued for both sides, with Brazil missing three and having another turned aside by Villar.  Paraguay missed their first, before finally beating Julio Cesar twice.  That was enough to put them in the semifinal.

Afterwards, Brazil coach Mano Menezes bemoaned the fact that Paraguay had made it through, despite not winning any of their four matches.  That Brazil had only won the one and Paraguay had almost gotten the better of his side in their first encounter seemed to escape him.  He also delivered an indirect message to his demanding and impatient superiors at the CBF.

“It’s important to keep our calm after a loss and avoid thinking that it was all negative. We improved after the (goalless) start in the competition and we will continue working hard so we can reach the positive results in the future. It’s always disappointing when things don’t go our way. We lost to a team which hasn’t won a match yet and now has reached the semifinals. But that’s football and we have to learn how to live with that to avoid compromising the work that we’ve done so far. And at the same time we have to understand what we need to do to improve from now on.”

Menezes is correct in that his is a young squad and setbacks like this can be learning experiences on which to build in looking ahead to the 2014 World Cup.  CBF President Ricardo Texeira would be well advised to take the time to examine the pressure that was on the Argentines in this tournament.  Theirs was a veteran team and, although they didn’t score as frequently as the Brazilians, despite an arguably more potent attack, did play well in their final two matches.  Yet, there is no question that they did not respond to the moment and Texeira will be desperate to prevent the same from occurring to his squad in three years time.

With South American football’s reputation for attractive football, it’s somewhat ironic that the Copa America quarterfinals weren’t decided by goalscoring but, in Uruguay and Paraguay’s case, goaltending, and, in Colombia and Chile’s, the lack of it.   That irony has seen the grown-ups, Brazil and Argentina, sent packing, leaving the children to play for all the glory.

On Tuesday, Uruguay will face Peru, with la Celeste now sliding into the role of favourite.  In the other match, that mantle falls to Paraguay but Venezuela have made a compelling case for the rest of the continent to fear them even when they don’t have a bat in their hands.  Who knows?  If the eighth and tenth placed sides from CONMEBOL’s World Cup 2010 qualifying pull off two more upsets and meet in the Copa America final, maybe it is a sign of the apocalypse.

_________________________________________________________________________

Last week, Brazil and the United States played one of the most dramatic World Cup games in history, regardless of the competitors’ gender.  It was knotted at a goal apiece after ninety minutes and each side added a second strike in extra time, with Abby Wambach’s late, late header sending the game to penalty kicks and setting a record for the World Cup goal (again men or women) scored deepest into extra time.

It has been heralded as one of the greatest games in World Cup history and it may well be.  Yet, a significant part of its ultimate grading will be decided by whether the Americans can go on to win their third title on the back of that match.

That first entailed beating France, which was done with the US again finishing strong, with an eightieth minute goal from Wambach and a follow-up from Alex Morgan, breaking a 1-1 deadlock and sealing a place in the Final.  Next up is a surprising Japanese squad, who dispatched the two-time reigning champions and hosts, Germany, and then put paid to an engaging Swedish side by the same score and in similar fashion, with the Lady Samurai surge coming just after the hour.

So, by Sunday evening, we’ll know whether the Brazil/USA Women’s World Cup quarterfinal was a truly epic encounter which heralded a champion or just a thoroughly entertaining match between two very good but ultimately not great contenders.

As I mulled over the significance of that match, though, Daniel Doran posted his latest Scouser Report, examining how Liverpool, with their sabremetric-minded owner and sporting director, are applying the theories of Moneyball and Soccernomics at Anfield.  The article sparked a long debate about whether the club was in fact spending money in accordance with those theories or just throwing it away foolishly.

Soccernomics may be more familiar to you under its alternate title, Why England Lose, and if it is, you can see how Daniel’s article got me thinking about the Lady Selecao’s futility in major tournaments.  Although they have quickly developed into a similarly gifted side to their male counterparts, the Brazilian women have yet to win a major international tournament.  Just why is an interesting question.

Unfortunately, as a recovering control freak, I do my best to stay away from hard data.  Without belittling the legions of statistical ånalysts slogging through data for the sporting public, it’s been my experience that such information only reveals what would already have been evident had one simply removed their blinders.  Sabremetrics is suited for confirming that Stewart Downing is excellent at delivering service from the left flank and Nani and Antonio Valencia similarly from the right or that Glen Johnson is not a good defender.  It is not equipped to turn Glen Johnson into a better defender.  At best, it can fine tune your valuations on players.  If it is changing them, take those silly blinders off!

Whatever dozens of people may have said over the past year or so, I don’t believe there is too much wrong with my perspective, therefore, I’m going to stick with the naked eye.   Boiled down to its purest essence, then, the Brazilian women focus too strongly on technically aesthetic football.   The Americans won two World Cups because they are gritty and determined.  The Germans won two because they were clinical.  Brazil have come up short every time because they focus too much on trying to look pretty.

Now, before you accuse me of being sexist over that remark, I’ll remind you that Diego Maradona’s Argentina tried the same approach in South Africa and it ended ugly.  It was Germany, surprisingly, who came the closest to balancing attractive football with substantive defending at the men’s competition, last summer.

There is no question that Marta is an exceptional player, deserving of five FIFA Player of the Year Awards.  Rosana is also very gifted.  Her goal against Australia, reaching in to lift the ball off the defender’s foot then slipping behind to meet it on the other side and volley against the grain, was absolutely sublime.

The team is filled with players capable of like-mannered feats.  They are wonderful with the ball at their feet but lost at critical times without it.  Such squads are akin to a thoroughbred horse:  fleet, graceful and often powerful but brittle and not built for endurance.  Over difficult ground, it’s easy for a prize stallion to come up lame or, worse, break a leg.  If it’s a tough job that needs doing, you’re better off with a sturdy pony or, in the toughest environments, a stubborn mule.

But, you’ll argue, on the men’s side there is Spain.  No one could say that the reigning World Cup champions are not thoroughbreds, surely?

Well, they aren’t.

Their midfield is technically superior to any nation’s, admittedly, but their finishing is suspect, as evidenced by the fact that they managed to exceed one score only twice in seven matches, winning or losing by a goal in six of their games.  The narrow margins also highlight their reliance on a stout, physical defence.  Unlike a stakes winner, they didn’t run away with anything.

In the opening match, Switzerland put the Spaniards to the test, beating and, in Gerard Pique’s case, bloodying them.  Ultimately, Spain responded but in a disciplined, workmanlike fashion.  They ground it out against the surprising technical side in the tournament, Germany, drawing them out with short corner after short corner, until, their opponents looking in the wrong place, they sent one into the box.  Then they gave as good as they got against a very mulish Netherlands in the final.

Spain are not a thoroughbred.  A well-trained mustang, yes, but not pure bred Arabian.

The Brazilian men have the same misguided reputation, yet they have won World Cups with hard-nosed squads or technically gifted sides possessing an inherent mean streak.  The best Selecao sides have featured players like Lucio and Dunga in the back or Pele in attack, who as gifted as he was, could be a bull when the occasion required.   The women, for whatever reason, have yet to develop that toughness.

Some of that, I believe is down to the fact that they have arrived on the scene a bit later than the American and European sides.  Once the CBF began taking the ladies’ game seriously, however, they quickly made up ground.  All the ingredients to develop as a world power were there for them; Brazil has a large population base, an established football culture, a burgeoning economy and excellent coaching.  All that remained was for the federation to shed its sexual bias.

The problem is that the transformation has taken place when the men are in a phase emphasising technical skill.  Dunga’s brief attempt to instill a more disciplined nature in the squad was met with heavy resistance and, when the side crumbled against the Dutch, the handwriting was on the wall.

Now, Mano Manezes has returned to building a dazzling side, combining the talents of André Santos, Ganso, Neymar, Robinho and Pato.  Yet, once they found their legs in the Copa America, the Selecao focused on attack and exposed the back line, conceding two goals against both Paraguay and Ecuador, when the latter had yet to score previously in the tournament.   The balance just isn’t there and, because their coaches come mostly from the men’s ranks,  it is reflected in the women’s game, as well.

In the match against the US, Brazil had recovered from an early own goal, when Marta flopped after failing to win a fifty-fifty for a bouncing ball in the box.  Replays suggest that the American defender, Rachel Buehler

… Buehler? … Buehler? … Buehler?

got the ball but in the referee’s determination she ended up with a red card.  Marta’s penalty was then saved by US keeper Hope Solo, only for the official to decide that an American player had encroached, giving the Brazil number ten a second chance ultimately well taken.

Following that, Marta’s well-placed chip in extra time should have been the match winner but the Brazilians simply didn’t defend well or maintain possession.  The Americans kept coming and their relentlessness finally paid off when Wambach connected with Megan Rapinhoe’s cross, to level the match.

In the penalty phase, Solo proved why she is considered the best female keeper on the planet, turning aside Christiane’s effort brilliantly.  The US took a page from the host Germans, meanwhile, and clinically dispatched every one of their PKs.

Despite being down to ten women and down a goal with two minutes remaining of one hundred and twenty, the Americans converted their fifth victory against no defeats versus Brazil, with Solo between the sticks.  With the victory, they also extended their streak of at least a semifinal appearance in every World Cup.  Brazil has been that far only twice.

They have fared better at the Olympics, making the semifinals in the first two of four competitions and losing consecutive heartbreakers to the US, both in extra time, in the last two finals.  The Lady Selecao are trending towards a championship but, to take the last step, they will need to develop some grit and determination of their own.

Winning a tournament like the World Cup or the Olympics may seem like running a hundred yard dash but it, in fact, is a steep climb up a rocky slope; one slip and you’re finished.  Winning the Premier or Champions League, by comparison is like running a long distance over a flat, open space.  If you stumble, unless it’s at the last, there is the opportunity to pick yourself up and get back in the race.  This is why a club such as Barcelona, which is indeed a thoroughbred, has such success.  They can run and run and run.

The league structure in the women’s game is in the formative stages, however, and doesn’t offer the same opportunity for its stars to shine at club level.  The World Cup and Olympics are it and, repeatedly, the tougher, more determined sides have won out over flashier opponents.  To win, Brazil need to learn the lesson.

The first round of the Copa America was as uninspiring as a major international tournament can get, with the scoreless drudgery from Brazil, Paraguay, Venezuela and Ecuador in the opening Sunday’s Group B matches weighing down the tournament in much the same way that Ed Milliband’s prospects as Labour Leader are by having had to succeed Gordon Brown.  The second round showed a sign of life when Brazil and Paraguay battled each other to a thrilling 2-2 draw but the rest of the games failed to live up to the competition’s reputation.

With only the Women’s World Cup to compete with on the global stage, the Copa America was coming a distant second in entertainment value and the Latin machismo of its organisers was having some difficulty coming to grips with the issue.  CONMEBOL officials were facing an angry mob demanding exciting attacking football.   They needed to create a monster.

The overall ennui of what had come before, coupled with the desperate situation of many of the tournament favourites resultant from it, combined to transform the third round into exactly the type of football South American fans had been expecting since the outset.  Three matches, in particular, electrified the crowd, beginning with Argentina rising up after banished manager and legend Diego Maradona had placed himself between the maligned players, most notably Lionel Messi, and his usurper, their current boss and villainous-looking Sergio Batista and ending with the previously moribund Group B staging two shootouts which accounted for almost one-third of the goals in the eighteen matches to date.

After satisfying the cries of supporters to bring Carlos Tevez back into the fold, Batista sat the ineffective physical talents of the Man City captain and Napoli’s Ezequiel Lavezzi in favour of a more dynamic approach, utilising Sergio Kun Aguero, who had the Albiceleste’s lone goal in the opening matches, Gonzalo Higuain and Angel di Maria in attack, supported by Lionel Messi in a central role.  For Batista, the result was a big I-told-you-do.

It took some time to break down the determined Costa Ricans, with the early combination of Messi and Higuain providing opportunities but failing to finish.  Finally, as the half came to a close, Kun Aguero was in the right place to pounce on a Fernando Gago volley which Costa Rican netminder Leonel Moreira had failed to control.

Aguero would prove doubly fatal to the Tico’s hopes shortly after the break, when Messi sent him in alone with a perfect centre back splitter, the Atletico man sliding the ball under Moreira to make it 2-0.  Just after the hour, Messi made a near identical pass but this time di Maria was the recipient.  He chose to go high at the near post, the opposite of Aguero’s effort, although the outcome was the same.  With the triumph, the hosts assured their progression, even if Colombia’s 2-0 victory a day earlier, over Bolivia, won them the group and served notice that Falcao (with a brace) isn’t satisfied merely with Portuguese and Europa League glory.

I’m not a linguist, by any means, so I have no explanation why Group C comes before Group B in Copa America group stages but it does and we all must live with it.  Happily, it meant that the least compelling encounters of the final batch of group games went off in the middle of the round, with the best stuff saved for last.  It has to be noted, though, that Uruguay dispatched a disappointedly understaffed, ill-disciplined and cash-poor Mexican side 1-0 and Chile needed an added time own goal from Peru’s André Carrillo to claim the group with their own one-goal victory.

That left the final two matches, with any of the four sides capable of progressing – or crashing out – before play began.

Brazil and Ecuador began proceedings and while it took a short time for the sides to warm to their tasks, the action was soon hot and heavy.  Just before the half-hour, Andres Santos sent a deep cross into the heart of the box from the left flank and, as a pair of La Tri defenders sized up the delivery, Milan’s Pato streaked in to put his head to the missile, redirecting it into the corner of goal.

Brazil wouldn’t have it all their way, however, as eight minutes later Levante’s Felipe Caicedo, from the edge of the eighteen, drove a low ball which squirted under Julio Cesar to level the match.

After the break, Brazil was quickly back in the ascendance.  Chelsea’s Ramires led a rush which ended in a combination between the Selecao’s two Santos stars.  Ganso, back to goal, accepted the ball from Ramires, turned and fed it through to Neymar, who, in accordance with his new status as a sex symbol after his club’s Libertadores triumph, has dyed his mohawk blonde.  The through pass was slightly deflected but Neymar was quick enough to latch onto it and send his side back into the lead.

You have to hand it to Caicedo, though.  The burly Ecuadorian is stubborn.  And powerful.  As the hour approached, he turned and drove another low, hard cannon under Julio Cesar to equalise once more.  While the shots may have been powerful, the distance makes one wonder if it’s time for Inter to begin searching for the Brazilian’s replacement.  He had some horror moment’s in the Champions League, famously walking home from one defeat, and perhaps his reflexes are not what they once were.  Still,  when you’re Brazil, a less than perfect Julio Cesar is more than enough at this stage.

If Caicedo was going to claim a brace, neither Pato nor Neymar were willing to be outclassed.  Three minutes after the game had been knotted up, the pair combined to untie it.  Neymar drifted to his right and teed up a very credible imitation of Caicedo, which Marcelo Elizaga allowed to squirt out of his grasp.  Pato, the yellow and green flash, was there again, pouncing on the loose ball to put the Selecao ahead to stay.

Just to make certain, Neymar finished it off in the seventy-second minute.  Maicon’s run down the right flank, aided by a short give and go with Robinho, delivered him all the way to the edge of the six-yard box, where he slotted the ball into the onrushing Santos starlet’s path.  After a less than auspicious beginning, then, both Brazil and Argentina were through to the quarterfinals.

You’d have forgiven Paraguay and especially Venezuela for throwing up their hands when asked to follow Brazil’s display.  Yet theirs was an equally thrilling encounter with an equal amount of goals in the bargain.    Venezuela is the only CONMEBOL nation to never qualify for the World Cup, as the nation has long gravitated towards baseball.  Still, both they and Peru have put on unexpectedly solid performances to move through to the knockout stages in this competition.

In this match, the Vinotinto made their intent known early, with Salomon Rondon’s perfectly placed upper ninety blast beating Justo Villar.

Then, facing an early exit from the tournament despite their status as dark horse favourites, Paraguay equalised from a set piece on the half hour.  There was a good deal of confusion as Venezuelan keeper Renny Vicente Vega pushed out what appeared to be a goal but his teammates couldn’t clear.  Their efforts pinballed to Antolin Alcaraz, standing almost on the spot.  The Wigan defender smashed it home to cancel any debate.

In the second half, people almost began to believe that Larissa Riquelme would become South American football’s version of Lady Godiva, with her promise to pose nude on the pitch should her Guanaries win the championship.  From a corner, Nelson Valdez muscled off a defender at the near post and got away a shot that confounded the butterfingered Vega.  Lucas Barrios, of Bundesliga title holders Borussia Dortmund, was there to cash in.  Then, with five minutes remaining, Cristian Riveros made it 3-1.

For most sides, this is known as putting a match to bed, however, Riveros’ header only served to wake up the Vinotinto.  Miku quickly struck from the right and then, with Vega racing forward to assist on a corner in added time, Venezuela leveled through Grendy Perozzo.

Thus, as slowly as the tournament began, it now careens into the knockout stage at a breakneck pace.  The quarterfinal matches take place on the weekend.  Especially tasty is the clash between Argentina and Uruguay on Saturday.  As well, Brazil and Paraguay will replay their 2-2 draw, Venezuela will further test their resolve against a quiet but efficient Chile side and Colombia take on Peru.

Neither of the guest nations, Costa Rica and Mexico, made it past the group stage.  Mexico, with their young players’ irresponsible behaviour, have everyone and everything to apologise for but not the young Ticos.  The reserve side, spelling the first team which had just completed CONCACAF’s Gold Cup, gave it their all but were no match in the end for a massively talented Argentine side with desperation added to the mix.  Even so, Paraguay only held them off on the strength of goal difference.

So it is that, after a rather ugly start and with more excuses offered than football, fans of the Copa America were able to embrace their passion once again and break into joyous song.

See you on Monday with a quarterfinal wrap!

]]> http://worldfootballcolumns.com/2011/07/14/copious-notes-on-the-copa-america-birth-of-a-tournament/feed/ 0 pato joy resulteditor pato joy copa america 2011 logo Copa America Group A wrap Copa America Group B wrap Copa America Group C wrap http://worldfootballcolumns.com/2011/07/10/copious-notes-on-the-copa-america-topsy-turvy-tables/ http://worldfootballcolumns.com/2011/07/10/copious-notes-on-the-copa-america-topsy-turvy-tables/#comments Sun, 10 Jul 2011 16:26:09 +0000 Martin Palazzotto http://worldfootballcolumns.com/?p=19044 Continue reading »]]> ____________________________________________________________________

Two rounds of the 2011 Copa America group stage are in the books and only one of the favourites is not sweating under the pressure of under achievement.  If you guessed that was the holders Brazil or hosts Argentina, well, you guessed wrong.  Nor is it South Africa’s surprise semi-finalist Uruguay or Larissa Riquelme’s favourite side Paraguay.  All of those countries are threatened with the embarrassment of an early exit from the South American championship.

In fact, if group play had already concluded, Argentina would be eliminated.  As have Paraguay, Uruguay and Brazil, the Albiceleste have drawn both of their matches.  Yet, the other three have managed two goals, whilst the Argentines have conjured just the one, leaving them third in Group A, behind Colombia and Costa Rica, and ninth overall.  The reason?  Coach Sergio Batista is carrying six forwards but only Maradona’s son-in-law, Sergio Kun Aguero has pulled his weight, with a late equaliser in the first match against Bolivia.

El Pibe himself has come out in defense of Lionel Messi, as the FIFA Ballon d’Or holder is shouldering the weight of the criticism for the side’s impotency.  Comparing his own early struggles in the ’86 World Cup to Messi’s current malaise, the new man at Al-Wasi in the United Arab Emirates noted that the entire team, not just the Barcelona talisman, lacked attacking zeal against Colombia.  In his remarks to the Argentine press, he kept faith with his former charges whilst also clinging to a bitter grudge against his successor.

“I want to defend Messi. The national team didn’t attack at all and we blame [only] him. We are being very unfair to Messi when I hear all those idiots slamming him.  I spoke to him during the week and I told him to remain calm. Before the 1986 World Cup, I was a disaster and I was criticised by 80% of the journalists. Later, there wasn’t one who didn’t ask me for a story, so I can understand what’s going on.  I wish the best in the world to all of the boys who were with me at the World Cup and all of the players but not to the others.”

Does Maradona have a point?  With Porto golden boy Falcao in the Cafeteros side, the coach should provide some support for his goalkeeper.  Still, there is far too much firepower at Batista’s disposal to excuse just one goal in a hundred and eighty minutes against FIFA’s 54th and 93rd ranked sides.  Maradona, if in charge, may have left his keeper exposed but you can be sure that Sergio Romero’s opposite numbers in the first two matches, Nelson Ramos and Carlos Arias, would have been kept feverishly busy at the other end of the pitch.

All is not lost, however, with only four of the twelve entrants to be eliminated in the first portion of the competition.  A win in their final match against the Ticos on Monday will see Argentina leapfrog their opponents and book a place in the quarterfinals.  A draw would be flirting with disaster, as they would have to hope that none of the clubs on one or zero points pull out a victory and that one from Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay either lose or score two goals less than Argentina in drawing.  Defeat at Costa Rica’s hands would almost certainly end their tournament and Batista’s inconsistent tenure in charge.

In fact, if he cannot elicit an immediate and significant response from his disinterested attackers, progression will not be sufficient to keep the embattled coach in place.

In Group B, Venezuela surprised Ecuador through a Cesar Gonzalez goal on the hour mark and then held on to lay claim to the top spot.

Yet, the game of the group and the tournament thus far was between Paraguay and Brazil.  Jadson had given the Selecao the lead heading into the break, finishing off a left to right break, but second-half strikes from Man City prisoner Roque Santa Cruz, who came racing in to fire a cross past Julio Cesar, and World Cup hero Nelson Valdez, capitalising on a Dani Alves give-away in his own box, turned the match on its head.  In the end, Mano Manezes fingered Fluminense star Fred to come on and score an eighty-eighth minute equaliser, turning onto a through ball and half-volleying past a stunned Justo Villar.

The two regional powers are looking up at upstart Venezuela in the table but the Paraguayans will have the opportunity to do what the five-time World Cup winners could not by beating the Vinotinto.  With the explosion of goals in this contest, after lacklustre opening matches, both sides have an edge on Argentina. But the fact remains that victories are the only sure way to advance.

While no team in the tournament is safe as yet, if Chile and Peru can come to a ‘gentleman’s agreement’, the Group C joint leaders will book places in the quarterfinals with a draw in their match on Tuesday.  Both sides have dispatched Mexico and also survived to split points with dangerous Uruguay.  If Diego Forlan, Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani can combine to follow Chile and Peru’s example against the short-handed Central Americans, they too will move on.  If they cannot, it will become a case of wait and see.

Don’t count the Mexican’s out, though.  Despite having no less than thirteen players unavailable due to disciplinary bans, a good deal more resting after their Gold Cup triumph and failing to accumulate a single point in their first two matches, they actually have a chance to survive.  The magic number is four.  Currently four sides have four points in the group stage and either Argentina or Costa Rica are certain to join the group.  Mexico can only manage three.  For El Tri to continue into the knockout rounds, they will need to defeat Uruguay, preferably in convincing fashion, and then hope that only one between the quartet of Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Brazil win to reach or surpass the four-point plateau.

Okay, you’re already laughing at the impossibility of such a scenario and who can blame you?  After all, when a team made up of second choice players hires prostitutes to celebrate before a tournament and is then robbed by them, it’s not surprising that they’re essentially f**ked halfway through the competition.  Yet the games have to be played and stranger things have happened.

See you in five days with the group wrap up and quarterfinal preview!

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As the opening round of the Copa America wound down on Monday evening there was a cavalcade of celebrations including concerts galore, each with thunderous fireworks.  But that was only because I live in the US, where the Fourth of July is Independence Day.

In Argentina,  the only people who had anything to celebrate were the Chile National Team and their traveling support.  Virtually every other side in the competition had a less than auspicious beginning to their tournament and Chile’s opponents had seen enough celebrating before the tournament began to last them until the next World Cup.

La Roja wrapped up the first set of matches by claiming a 2-1 victory over a severely understaffed Mexico side.  El Tri were already without the five players suspended for testing positive for the banned substance clenbuterol and key players from their just completed Gold Cup victory, most notably Javier Hernandez.  Then they were left with a short bench when eight members of the Copa America squad were suspended for hosting several very friendly women in their hotel rooms after the final tune-up against Ecuador last week.  Their private slumber party became public knowledge when the players were robbed by accomplices of their female guests.  One of the players lost to the squad was Barcelona’s Giovanni dos Santos, the younger brother of erstwhile Tottenham forward Jonathan.

Despite the lack of resources, the Mexicans took the lead five minutes before half-time on a goal from Nestor Araujo of Cruz Azul.  The header was a bit of a shocker considering that it is the youngster’s initial first team goal for either club or country.  Although this was just his third international start, he has appeared seventeen times for Los Cementeros.

The Central Americans’ joy was short-lived, however.  Just past the hour, Esteban Paredes of Colo Colo, on for the ineffective Birmingham winger Jean Beausejour, equalised.  Six minutes later, Bayer Leverkusen’s Arturo Vidal put La Roja ahead to stay.

The three goals in the last of the six opening matches were almost half of the total in the round.  Only five of the other ten teams in the competition scored and each only once.

Luis Suarez made Liverpool fans happy by leveling terms for Uruguay against Peru at the stroke of half-time in the evening’s other match.  The Peruvians had gone ahead on twenty-three minutes through Hamburg SV’s Paolo Guerrero’s long breakaway goal.  Uruguay wasn’t able to finish off their overmatched opponents, though, as the second forty-five went scoreless.

On Friday, the tournament opened in nearly disastrous fashion for the hosts.  The Albiceleste, despite dominating possession and boasting a front line of Lionel Messi, Carlos Tevez and Ezequiel Lavezzi could not find goal.  After Edivaldo Rojas of Portugal second division club Naval staked upstart Bolivia to an early second stanza lead, it began to look like Argentina might begin their quest for glory in embarrassing fashion.  Finally, Atletico Madrid’s want-away star Sergio Kun Aguero came on and salvaged a point for coach Sergio Batista.

On Saturday, the other Group A match saw Colombia play ineffectively yet somehow claim a 1-0 victory over the tournament’s second guest country, Costa Rica.  Hertha Berlin’s Adrian Ramos scored just before the break and it proved to be enough.  Like Mexico, Costa Rica are without several players from their Gold Cup squad.  Especially missed is Real Salt Lake talisman Alvaro Saborio, who has returned to the MLS club, which is struggling to keep pace with the rampant LA Galaxy in the US league’s Western Conference.

Sunday was a forgettable day in the tournament, with both Brazil and Paraguay failing to get on the scoresheet.  The Selecao were all over lowly Venezuela but their northern neighbours survived through equal parts luck and stalwart defending.  Paraguay, with a wealth of dangerous forwards were unable to break through Ecuador.  On the other side, Manchester United winger was wishing that he could have Wayne Rooney or Javier Hernandez waiting to receive his service, rather than Mexican giant America’s inconsistent hitman Cristian Benitez.

Still, of the competition’s four favourites, only Chile should have concerns.  After all, if the past two World Cups are any indication, Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay are more likely to have success.  In South Africa, Spain struggled early and, in fact, only got their attack in gear against Honduras, throughout their entire championship drive.  Italy did much the same four years earlier.  Meanwhile, in the 2008 Euros, the Netherlands were scorching in the group stage, outscoring opponents 9-1, but their flame was doused emphatically by Russia in the quarter-final.  Strong play out of the gate is not necessarily a good omen.

On the business side, tournament organisers have yet to announce whether an alternative venue will be sought for the final.  The Monumental suffered severe damage in the rioting after River Plate were relegated to the second division in June.  Interestingly, that match was the only one scheduled for Buenos Aires.  The rest of the games are taking place in lesser known stadia in outlying cities.  It is good to see the AFA recognising that the rest of the country deserves some time in the spotlight, not to mention a lucrative boost in tourism.

See you in four days, with a further update!

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Would you invest €45 million in a skinny little kid, barely twenty years old, who, if he shaved off his ridiculously large mohawk would probably drop ten percent of his total body weight?   Would you want to sign someone already so spoilt and self-centered that he argued on the pitch at a critical juncture in a match, with a well-respected coach, because that coach had designated another player to take a penalty kick?  Would you happily fork out that much cash after this self-promoting teenager expressed no remorse that said coach was sacked soon after?

If that kid is Neymar, and you watched him completely dominate Scotland in an impressive exhibition of footballing skill at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium, you’d begin to think about it.  And after he has just led his side to the Copa Libertadores title, scoring the winning goal in the second half of the second leg, after Santos and Peñarol had played out one hundred and thirty-six minutes of scoreless football, you’d be thinking that you’d sell that private island in the Caribbean you use to get away from it all to bring the future of the game to Europe and make him so wealthy that Prince Harry would become his personal helicopter pilot.

Of course, now you’d have to get in line behind Chelsea, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester City and Anzi Makhachkala.  That’s right, no less than five clubs have agreed to meet Santos’ valuation of their prime asset, should they be the fortunate ones able to sweet-talk the young prodigy into coming to Europe ahead of the 2014 World Cup.  That won’t be an easy task.  Neymar’s agent, Wagner Ribeiro has let it be known it isn’t necessarily a given that his client will sign with any of the quintet of suitors.

“These clubs can come and make their offers, but if he wants to stay at Santos then he’ll say no and stay at Santos. It’s not a good time for him to leave.  The 2014 World Cup is coming and the eyes of the world will be on Brazil. If he stays, and wins the Club World Cup, the Olympics and maybe the World Cup, he will become an idol and can go to Europe having done it all.  Right now, he lives close to his family and friends in the city he loves and is at a club that is right for him. There’s no reason for him to go now. I think he’ll stay.”

For those of you who play poker, this is what is known as a tough call.   Every fibre of your being tells you that Ribeiro is bluffing.  Not only will all of the interested parties match and exceed any wage packet Santos could offer to keep him, they’ll eclipse it.   As well, Europe is where the action is.  All the best players are there.  The Premier League and La Liga are extensively covered in every corner of the globe.   Santos just can’t offer the attention, adoration and prestige that Chelsea, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Man City can.  Ribeiro’s client may be idolised in his homeland, respected and revered across all of South America, in fact, but his past actions suggest that the worship of an entire continent isn’t enough to assuage his massive ego; for Neymar, the world may not even be sufficient.  How could he refuse to sign for at least one of these sides?

Yet, he has already been persuaded once, only a year ago, by erstwhile Real and City star Robinho and the immortal Pele, to stay in Sao Paolo State and continue to develop his game.  Maybe the kid does have the patience to completely conquer his homeland, adding Olympic Gold and a World Cup victory replete with Golden Ball to his Libertadores crown, before challenging new frontiers.  That seed of doubt is what makes it a good bluff, because in order to see his hand, one of these clubs is going to have to throw a lot more than the €45 million ante into the pot.

Who will win?  It’s difficult to say but I think it’s a fair guess that two of the players will fold early.

The first will be Barcelona.  My gut tells me that they’re not really interested in the Brazilian.  Their financial woes are well publicised now and the price just to be in the hand matches their announced transfer budget for the year.  As well, they have already committed a healthy chunk of that budget to Udinese winger Alexis Sánchez.

Barça president Sandro Rosell has wavered between acknowledging a respect for the imminent UEFA Financial Fair Play rules and suggesting that a few player sales and a borrowing against next season’s budget might be possible.  With regard to the former, newly arrived David Villa has been shouting from the rooftops that he doesn’t wish to emulate Zlatan Ibrahimovic and reluctantly exit the Camp Nou after only one season.   Yet, that is the Barcelona method.  Outsiders are treated as family while at the club but in the end they are merely guests; with rare exception, it is only graduates of La Masia who know they will always have a home in Catalonia.

Neymar isn’t likely to be such an exception,  with past antics reminiscent of another Brazilian, Ronaldhino, who quickly wore out his welcome with the Blaugrana.   No, Barcelona’s interest is merely a feint to drive up the price for rivals Real Madrid.

Anzi Makhachkala will also throw in their cards quickly.  They are newcomers to the high stakes table and Neymar is simply out of their league.  Their billionaire owner, Suleiman Kerimov, may have the funds to make it happen but the club doesn’t have the infrastructure to recoup the investment.  It’s back to FFP again.  If they go into the red to sign the Selecáo wunderkind, they likely won’t be granted a UEFA license, keeping them out of the lucrative Champions League.

From Neymar’s perspective, Anzi would, at best, be a lateral move.  A frigidly cold lateral move, at that.  Just as Brazil hopes that their brightest star stays within their constellation until the 2014 World Cup, Russia is looking to heighten its profile ahead of the 2018 edition.  Much has been made of Roberto Carlos’ presence at Anzi, with some speculation that the club captain may influence the youngster into joining him.  Yet, considering that the legendary left back has already been the target of racial abuse on at least two occasions during his short stay in the Motherland, the second time causing him to abandon the pitch, he would have to possess very little self-respect to convince a rich and talented but still naïve young man to endure the same treatment.

So, in the late stages of the hand, it will come down to three players:  Real Madrid, Manchester City and Chelsea.  All three will be attractive to the youngster.

Madrid are a legendary club, especially in Latin America.  They are on the ascendance under one of the greatest coaches in the game, rising to challenge Barcelona.  The Meringue’s style may not be as open as Barcelona’s but if Neymar signs to play at the Santiago Bernabeu, he will be heralded as the final piece in the puzzle.  The challenge of restoring Europe’s greatest champions to their former glory would surely appeal to him, as would the accolades he would receive for bringing it to pass.  The other players in this game would have to go all in to distract the ambitious Brazilian from that temptation.

City haven’t been in the big game much longer than Anzi but it’s been long enough to accumulate a huge chip stack.  If it weren’t for the fact that Michel Platini is the pit boss at the UEFA Grand, money would be no object.  Still, thanks to Sheikh Mansour, Roberto Mancini has been able to stockpile so much talent that he can afford to lose a few hands in order to win the big one.  Players like Roque Santa Cruz and Emmanuel Adebayor, who would be leading the line at all but the most elite of clubs, are just throw-away chips at the Eastlands.  All in is a possibility for the Citizens but there are two pressing questions when the subject is Neymar donning sky blue:

1. Will the conservative Italian manager be willing to put up with what is essentially Mario Balotelli.v2 when v1 is still in-house and
2. Will the young Brazilian be concerned that all that star power in the City clubhouse will dim his own wattage?

Then there’s Chelsea.  They went in for the youngster last season, only for Pele and Robinho to outdraw them on the river.  As well, Santos club president Luis Alvaro de Oliveira Ribeiro, was unhappy that the Blues contacted Neymar’s representatives directly in their failed negotiation.  This time, however, they have respected the club and asked permission from the outset, somewhat mollifying the aggrieved chairman.

The Stamford Bridge outfit thus have the advantage of already knowing the player and his people.  As well, their current situation may be the most attractive to the youngster.  The club is looking to rebuild on the fly, with veterans like Frank Lampard and John Terry in the sunset of their careers and familiar faces such as David Luiz, Ramires and Alex waiting to welcome him.  Even better, new manager Andres Villas-Boas is already talking up a more open style for the club.  With rumours that Didier Drogba may be headed for a reunion with Jose Mourinho at the Santiago Bernabeu, Neymar may be a perfect fit for the next generation of Chelsea Blues.

When she came home, there was just one cookie left and I was hiding in my room.  Amazingly, she tracked me down in no time and demanded to know why I had eaten all the cookies.  Donning my best innocent expression, I told her that I hadn’t eaten one.  Her eyebrows arched dangerously as she asked me why, then, there was just one left.  That, I replied, was the one I didn’t eat.  As well as a week’s grounding, such cheek earned me a sharp slap to the side of the head.  Which brings me to the subject of Neymar.

Can you say Dorival Junior?

The young Brazilian puts my former arrogance to shame.  Over the past eighteen months, the Santos prodigy’s head has swollen to proportions which would make Stewie Griffin green with envy if he actually existed.  When Neymar was first courted by Chelsea, it took the combined efforts of fellow Santos legends Robinho and Pele to convince him to stay with the Paulista club.  To be fair, I’m not sure I could keep my feet on the ground either, if icons like those were begging a favour from me.  With his sense of power and self-worth predictably inflated, he then took on his coach, Dorival Junior, when the latter attempted to put him in his place.  Unsurprisingly in this day and age, Neymar remained at Santos and the manager was shown the door.

Then came last weekend’s friendly at the Emirates Stadium, against Scotland.  The mohawked youngster, who is reed thin and but enjoys a sufficient appetite to make a meal of any contact, found himself being roundly booed for going down too easily.  As he ran back down the pitch, he saw a banana on the pitch.  Never mind that it was in front of a section devoted to Brazil supporters, he took it as a sign that the crowd was attacking him for the colour of his skin and quickly rounded on the fans for their abuse.

As everyone now knows, it was not a Scottish fan who threw the offending fruit onto the pitch and an outraged SFA, through its chairman, Stewart Regan, has gone so far as to demand an apology from the Brazilian.  Thus , the young man, rumoured to still be keen on joining a Premier League club, was offered an opportunity to get the fans on his side ahead of his arrival.  A few words to the effect of, “In the heat of the moment, it didn’t occur to me to think that the banana had come from the Brazil section and with all the booing I just assumed the worst.  I’m very glad to find out that the Scottish supporters do not go in for such treatment and I apologise for misjudging them,” would have likely made him a very popular new face, should he actually sign with Chelsea or Man City over the summer.

Instead, Neymar has stated that he sees no reason to offer up a mea culpa of any kind.  Worse, his excuse is pathetic.

“At no time, not even at the end of the match … did I accuse any person, or group of fans, of any nationality of having committed this act. I did say I regretted this action and I condemn any discriminatory action – but I reiterate I did not point the finger at anyone. So I don’t understand why I should retract my commments.”

Stepping on this banana has proved slippery for Neymar.

Having gone back to look at his statement, it’s true that he didn’t blame anyone specifically, saying that “the whole stadium was jeering.”  So apparently, he considers everyone in the stands responsible for one banana.  Essentially, he’s painting his fellow countrymen as racists, along with the Tartan Army and one German fan, who, if the authorities have it right, is incredibly naïve.

When I was 8 or 9, getting cuffed by my mother for misbehaving typically left me feeling hard done by but I’ve since come to understand that I am not the centre of the universe and that my whims and desires do not come before the greater good.  Unfortunately, Neymar can’t come up with a more believable excuse for his actions, at 20, than I did at less than half that age.  His hubris has gone well beyond any acceptable boundaries and there doesn’t seem to be a way back.

It’s terrifying to think what a clubhouse with both he and Ashley Cole, at Stamford Bridge, or Mario Balotelli, at the Eastlands, would be like.  If you ask me, it’s well past time that, in the metaphorical sense, someone dealt the precocious star a resounding slap upside the head.

Brazil “hosted” Scotland in their semi-official European digs, Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium.  No matter what Neymar says, this matchup provided great atmosphere with both sides of the crowd in a celebratory mood and, for once, a sunny London day but not such great football. The Scots are not the greatest team in Europe but they have a good defense, and that is what they did, defend all day.

Without much work to do, the makeshift Brazilian defense with Lucio and goalie Julio Cesar back but no David Luis, cannot be addressed seriously. The midfielders, though, were much busier, creating some chances against a deadlock defense. Elano was not in his preferred position and couldn’t deliver.  Jadson was unimpressive as well, playing almost as a right winger. It is clear for me that this version of the Seleção lacks the star quality of Kaká and Paulo Henrique Ganso.  Were that pair in the line-up, it would change this team upside down.

Subsequently, the spotlight was on the front duo in London. Leandro Damião made an honest debut in yellow, with a strong aerial game to match the Scot’s solid defense and some interesting movement with the ball at his feet and outnumbered by burly defenders. Neymar made two goals, some unfortunate headlines and paved the way for a more permanent return to London in the future.  Admittedly, he goes to ground too often and easily, is overly sensitive to criticism and will have to learn a lot about European football after his move to - insert name of wealthy club here -.  That said the penalty was well given and the first goal was beautiful. Now believe it when I say it that this game was just a glimpse of what this kid can do; he is much better than that.

Since Kentaro, the company which brokers Brazil’s friendlies, couldn’t find another opponent, Mano Manezes’ side played just the one game. Argentina on the other hand had two matches, but they were not as interesting as they appeared.  In New Jersey against the USA, coach Sergio Batista confirmed the same team that had played in his previous matches with just a change in goal, with Mariano Andujar getting an opportunity to prove his worth. The Argentinians dominated the first half and scored their goal at the 41st minute.  After a brilliant Lionel Messi run, Esteban Cambiasso just touched down. Messi indeed was the bright spot , perhaps the only Albiceleste who truly sought to make forward moves and create any danger. The second half was a bit different with the Americans controlling the ball for more time and tying the match through Juan Agudelo.

Messi terrorised the US in the first half of their match and, a few days later, the Ticos players were far less disappointed than their fans that he was left out in San Jose.

Three days later the Argentinians played in San Jose, to help the Costa Ricans celebrate their shiny new stadium.   The Ticos actually played the Chinese in their debut match in the new ground, as a thank you to the Chinese company which designed and built the facility, if you can call a 2-0 victory gratitude. The follow-up was a less exciting affair.  Batista made several changes, most notably resting Leo Messi, and a dull goalless draw ensued.

Elsewhere, Chile, without the imaginative Marcel Bielsa at the helm, went through the motions in another lacklustre draw, against Portugal, who were idle in Euro qualification.  They did show some life in a victory over Colombia, played in the Netherlands, strangely enough. Paraguay surprised the  Americans in Nashville after losing badly to the Mexicans over the weekend and Uruguay had two games as well.  Their first was a defeat against Estonia on the snowy Tallinn pitch but it was followed by a win in Ireland highlighted by a good display from defender Lugano.

Given that most clubs used the friendlies to experiment, it’s difficult to offer any real analysis as to how they will fare when the Copa America rolls around.  From Argentina, one would expect something closer to the first half performance against the US than the drab exhibition put on in San Jose and hope for the type of football played in their second matches from both Chile and Uruguay.  As for Brazil, much will depend on the health and fitness of players like Kaka but even at less than full strength, the Seleção will be dangerous and eager to make a statement ahead of 2014.  Sepp Blatter may think Brazil is behind schedule with its infrastructure preparations but the players are chomping at the bit.

Mr. Kirschner, who died unexpectedly, of a heart attack, on 27 October, 2010, had served as President from 2003-07.  He came into power as part of the wave of leftist leaders throughout South America, including Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, Evo Morales of Bolivia and Lula da Silva of Brazil.  His politics were more centrist than some of that group.  For instance, he followed Lula’s example, cancelling the country’s huge debt to the IMF and settling up with one lump payment.  He also reformed what had been an allegedly corrupt Supreme Court and forcibly retired members of the military who had been associated with the Dirty War, a 7-year spell of state-sponsored political oppression, repealing amnesties which had been granted to them as protection from prosecution for torture and murder.  Despite his stance against the armed forces, he was famously criticised by pro-American interests for attending a military parade in Caracas, flanked by Hugo Chavez and Evo Morales.

The Presidential Marriage

Mr. Kirchner stepped down after one term, to create a new Argentine political party.  His wife, Cristina ran in his stead and, having won, now serves as President.  The Argentine press referred to their political relationship, largely seen as a diarchy, as the ‘Presidential Marriage’.

While Mr. Kirschner came into office with a squeaky clean reputation, his final year in office was a stormy one.  His Minister of the Economy was discovered to have a bag containing over $60,000 in her office bathroom and he was himself accused of using the Argentine intelligence agency to spy on opposition candidates, à la Richard Nixon, during the 2005 elections.  Nothing was ever proven, however, and Mr. Kirschner was expected to run again in 2011.

There is much for the competing clubs to do if the performances this season are to properly honour the recently deceased leader. River Plate need to have a strong tournament to avoid any chance of relegation.  Such a storied club’s demotion would hardly be a fitting epitaph for the beloved President.  River are not the only side looking to have a special campaign.  Some clubs have new and promising names and others hired old ones to improve their roster, so let’s break it down.

Boca Junior’s 2008 title was the last one from one of Argentina’s top 5.   However, in 2011, the country’s most popular club is again the favorite.  Walter Erviti, from Banfield, was their main acquisition in January and will pair with Juan Riquelme in the middle.

Racing Club and San Lorenzo are two for the title as well.  Racing has kept their embattled coach Miguel Ángel Russo, and hired two promising players in midfielder Franco Zuculini and forward Teófilo Gutiérrez.  The experienced Ramon Diaz is at the helm for San Lorenzo and he splurged on six players, the most important being Néstor Ortigoza, who was one of the key players in Argentinos Juniors Clausura title last year.

Estudiantes de la Plata and Velez Sarsfield, champions and runners-up respectively in the just completed Apertura, stood pat during the break and are also threats. However, their grueling Libertadores schedule may erode some of their effectiveness in the league.

Independiente, Godoy Cruz and Argentinos Juniors are all quality sides, facing the same ‘dilemma’ of continental play.  Still, Godoy’s coach, Jorge da Silva, has gone on record, claiming that the national tournament is more important than the South American one.

As it happens every year, the newly promoted clubs face an uphill battle to survive.  The average system, which calculates each club’s performance over the last three years, to determine relegation, but doesn’t grant newcomers a three-year stay, is designed to protect the River Plates and Bocas of the league from the drop.  So, Olimpo and Quilmesare aren’t expected to be around for too long. All Boys came in with them but made a remarkable run at the Apertura and are probably safe to play another year at the first level, especially with the addition of midfielder Ariel Ortega.

Gimnasia La Plata recruited the experienced but aging forward Guillermo Barros Schelotto, who will be 38 in May, from Major League Soccer’s Columbus Crew to avoid relegation.  Hurucán, Tigre and River Plate, the last despite the playing field being tipped in their favour, will battle Gimnasia to avoid the third relegation spot.

The tradition of a legendary club rests on the shoulders of an unproven coach with a young squad.

The Millionários, as River has long been known, have had to learn the new economics of Nestor Kirchner the hard way and, with the cupboard bare, and debtors at the door, can’t afford to purchase any big names.  Instead, they will rely on players from their youth squad and an untested coach to avoid a very real possibility of relegation after three bad years.  The man in charge, Juan José López, was last in charge at Libertad, in Paraguay, but has been the youth coach at River since last year.  Twice in that time he has served as interim boss for the club, his situation with the Buenos Aires giants similar to that of Chris Hughton’s, when he was at Newcastle.  López’ challenge, though, will not be to bring his side back to the top flight but to keep them there.

River get their relegation battle started on Sunday, with a trip to the Monumental de Victoria to face Tigre.  The weekend’s full spate of matches also features a Friday night clash between Independiente and Velez Sarsfield and another Sunday tilt wherein Boca host Godoy Cruz.  While it remains to be seen who will do Nestor Kirchner most proud, the Argentine Clausura promises 5 months of entertaining football.  Don’t miss it!

Both squads are currently under the direction of new coaches, Mano Manezes for Brazil and Laurent Blanc for France.  The two men are each charged with rebuilding their team from the ground up.  For Manezes, it’s down to a simple changing of the guard.  The Selecao of Kaka and Ronaldhino has simply not reached the heights of the ‘R’ generation – Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, Rivaldo and Romario. It is time for new blood.  France’s collapse under Raymond Domenech was far more drastic, and dramatic, but while many of its best players are at the height of their powers, early indications are that Blanc prefers to go in a new direction.

WFC correspondents Fab Presilli and Tapesh Patel are here to Break down the two sides and provide an insight into their goals for this match.

Tapesh Patel

France

Who’s In?

If you saw the England vs France friendly, most names here are likely familiar. However, there are also some call-ups worthy of additional note:

Laurent Koscielny: First call-up to the national team for the Arsenal defender, which Blanc has put down to recent form. Koscielny, however, is also eligible for the Polish national side, which surely played some part in the decision.

Abou Diaby: Horrible sending off last weekend shows the young midfielder still has plenty to learn to emulate his role model Patrick Vieira. Vieira, of course, was strong of will and of mind. Diaby needs to consistently reproduce his obvious talents to progress, and should have a chance to display them in this game, with Blanc naming so many defensive midfielders.

Jeremy Menez: Back in the squad, possibly due to injuries (read on for more info). Menez is the flair option, and he impressed on his debut against Norway when teamed up with a like-minded Hatem Ben Arfa. May prove the super-sub in this game.

Loic Remy: Out of form for Marseille, a once in-demand Remy goes into a match needing confidence, but it’s unlikely he will find much joy in this match. He’s admitted himself that a lack of consistency has followed him to OM, but he may make an appearance in this match with colleague Mathieu Valbuena sidelined.

Who’s Out?

For France, Patrice Evra hasn’t been selected, despite his training-incident-induced ban expiring. The country’s politicians have again been sticking their unwanted oars in, with sports minister Chantal Jouanno claiming the full-back shouldn’t play for Les Bleus again. Blanc has called this a footballing decision, picking Gael Clichy and Eric Abidal instead, but it will certainly be interesting to see whether he does get into the squad for future matches.

Similarly, Jeremy Toulalan has been omitted, although this decision can easily be attributed to form.

Much was made in France of the omissions of two of Ligue 1′s best Brazilians: Nene and Michel Bastos. Both normally operate on the left wing, however, which has always been a traditional forte of Brazil’s sides. This is slightly surprising as Mano Menezes only picked players from Europe. Only slightly, however – Nene’s frankly ridiculous form has tailed off recently, while Bastos hasn’t really shone on a big enough stage yet.

Who’s Sidelined?

The big misses are Samir Nasri – recently reckoned by Laureus Lifetime Acheivement winner Zinedine Zidane as the future of French football – and Mathieu Valbuena. Both are match-winners on their day, and will be sorely missed in a side with some individuals struggling for form.

Who Will Benefit?

Manager Laurent Blanc doesn’t seem to be using this match for anything more than a chance to keep putting out what he believes is his strongest side. To that end, players like Yoann Gourcuff, Loic Remy, Alou Diarra and Karim Benzema, struggling at club level, may well continue to get games.

Blanc has been slow to make knee-jerk changes to his side, which isn’t necessarily bad, as the side has quickly become fairly cohesive, as many will have seen all too well against England. Meanwhile, players like Yann M’Vila, Adil Rami and Mamadou Sakho will hope to continue the rises to prominence that have seen them linked with all of Europe’s biggest clubs.

Who’s Gonna Win?

It’s tough to underestimate France at the moment, with the work that Laurent Blanc has quietly done. He has turned players struggling at club level into good players for Les Bleus, while bringing through the promising youth that was needed post-Domenech.  That said, Brazil are apparently still quite good, and I like the potential of Hernanes and David Luiz. I’m going to plump for a 1-1 draw, with France to edge the match in terms of play.

♦   ◊   ♦

Fab Presilli

Brazil

Who’s in?

Coach Mano Menezes brought in some surprises in his first call-up of the year.   Goalkeeper Neto, Fiorentina’s new acquisition, is getting some experience in the national squad in preparation to don the number one shirt at the Olympics. Lazio’s Hernanes is having a great season and is worth a close look. But the biggest surprises for me are Renato Augusto and Jadson, two players who probably wouldn’t stand a chance if the coach had called players from Brazil as well.

Who’s out?

Left out are Maicon, who is regaining some momentum at Inter and Luis Fabiano, a personal favourite but admittedly not in his best phase in Sevilla. Ramires is with the team in Paris but probably won’t play due to injury.

Who’s Missing?

All players come from European clubs as the Brazilian clubs are just beginning the season. If Mano Menezes could call all the players he wished, I imagine Neymar would have a place.  Elano is impressing in his first few games at Santos and goalkeeper Jeferson from Botafogo is always remembered by Menezes.

Who will Benefit?

For the Brazilian squad this friendly is less about the competitive nature of the game, and any revenge that some of us may have in our hearts due to the 1998 and 2006 losses will not be addressed.  Menezes is more concerned with testing some new players and bringing back some veterans. The starting XI that trained on Monday reveals that.  The CBF’s eyes are on London 2012, with the team that is playing in Peru, to qualify, holds some key players above 23.  If the youngsters can play well at the Olympics, it will set the stage for the World Cup at home in 2014.

Who will win?

This is an experimental side for Menezes, whereas Laurent Blanc’s group have developed some chemistry.  That and the home field give France an edge but never count out the Selecao!

♦   ◊   ♦

Finally, here’s a flashback to that incredible Roberto Carlos free kick.  You didn’t think we’d make you google it yourself, did you?

Enjoy the match!

Due to the region’s geography, altitude and its incumbent cold weather play a more significant factor in the Libertadores than in the Champions League, where the former is almost a non-issue and the latter is quite common.

The cultural cross-section of clubs involved is less varied than in Europe; everyone, after all, is Latin American. Most of the players are homegrown, and if not, are almost exclusively from South or Central America.

Even though Mexico is not in CONMEBOL, their clubs have been welcomed to the tournament for some time.  No Mexican side has ever won the Libertadores but a few, including Chivas de Guadalajara, in 2010, have made the final.

With the steady rise of Major League Soccer, there has even been talk of inviting the Americans.  That isn’t likely to happen in the immediate future, however.

This year, the field is still a little more varied than it has been in some time.  Some major Argentinian and Brazilian clubs, such as Boca Juniors, River Plate, São Paulo and Corinthians are absent.  In their stead, the duo from Porto Alegre, Grêmio and Internacional (the 2010 winners), Brazilian champions Fluminense and Argentinians Vélez Sarsfield, Estudiantes de la Plata and Independiente have stepped into the spotlight.

The two football giants are not the only nations with clubs capable of winning the tournament, though.  Chilean champions Colo Colo always field interesting teams, while Once Caldas of Colombia and LDU Quito of Ecuador both play in grounds that are virtually impenetrable fortresses.  Caracas (Venezuela), Libertad (Paraguay), América (Mexico) and Nacional(Uruguay) are worth noting, too.

So lets get to the 8 defined groups and some of the favorites to advance to the round of 16:

Group 1

Libertad are the early favorites in this group.   The Paraguayan champions are a common threat lately in all the major South-American competitions. Once Caldas won the title in 2004, a major surprise, routing clubs from Brazil and Argentina. The Colombians count on midfielder Dayro Moreno. San Luis, from Mexican Potosí will take advantage of jet-lagged visitors not used to the Mexican heat but will be hard pressed on the road, where the small club’s lack of depth may be exposed.  Peruvian Champions Universidad San Martin, a new club that has dominated the national Championships for the past couple of years are still outsiders on the continental stage.

Group 2

So lucky was their draw that despite having to go through the preliminary round to qualify, Grêmio can still be considered the best club of this group. Peruvians León and Oriente, from Bolivia, are minnows that probably cannot stop Colombians Atlético Junior (also known as Junior from Barranquilla) from claiming the second spot.

Group 3

One of the most difficult groups to preview.  Having a team from each of the three top countries in the Libertadores (Brazil, Argentina and Mexico), levels things up a bit. Nacional has at least two very good players, defender Coates and midfielder Marcelo Gallardo, however they will probably be left out as the competition is so fierce. America is one of the biggest Mexican clubs, featuring a number of players from the national squad and some good foreigners. As well, they play in the fabled Estadio Azteca.  Argentinos Juniors are back at the Libertadores after their first win nationally in 25 years, those two clubs alongside a very talented Fluminense roster will fight for the two spots, I’ve got my money on America and Fluminense.

Group 4

Another interesting group that has Argentinian powerhouse Vélez at the top in a first analysis. The youngsters from Caracas can make an impression again if they can make it to the round of 16, as they often have in the last few years.  Baseball may still be number one but football is growing in Venezuela. However, the smart money says Católica and Vélez should qualify pretty easily to the next round.

Group 5

The rich get richer.  Not only does Santos have one of the most talented squads of the world, the Copa Libertadores draw was kind to them, permitting them to stay at sea level and avoid excessive long distance travel.  Colo Colo has some good players, especially Rodrigo Millar, and Cerro Porteño features some of the best defenders in the world, including goalie Diego Barreto and Joel Silva.  The pair should battle for the second place, behind Santos, with a slight edge to the Chileans.

Group 6

Ecuadorian runners-up Emelec and Bolivia’s Jorge Wilstermann are underdogs here, as holders Internacional have improved their team with the addition of forward Fernando Cavenaghi, on loan from Bordeaux. Mexican side Jaguares Chiapas are not one of the biggest clubs there but the signing of Argentinian Damian Manso may improve their chances, as the small forward has the experience of South American football.

Group 7

After a shocker win over Corinthians in the preliminary round, Colombians Tolima are grouped up in one of the most difficult Libertadores draws ever. Cruzeiro and Estudiantes decided the title in 2009 and are still very powerful sides.  Paraguayan Apertura champions Guaraní are a worthy team but still underdogs here.  Tolima have killed one giant here but are now faced with three at once.  If either they or Guaraní advance, it will be a huge surprise.

Group 8

This is a very even group.  Peñarol has a marvelous history but their current squad is not at their best.  The same can be said for the whole of Uruguayan club football, despite La Celeste’s performance at the World Cup. Godoy Cruz are unused to play at this level and Independiente and LDU Quito will try to take advantage of that. Champions in 2008, the Ecuadorians have a new squad but always a force to be watched at the Casa Blanca in Quito.

♦   ◊   ♦

Internacional, at the end of a long campaign crashed out of the Club World Cup to African champions TP Mazembe.  Don’t be fooled, however, South American football is not fading; the rest of the world is catching up.  The Copa Libertadores doesn’t have the bells and whistles of the richer UEFA Champions League. either, but the football on display is of the highest quality.  If your cable or satellite brings you the Libertadores, don’t miss it!

So, it was the antiquated Alfredo Schürig which saw yet another small piece of Brazilian football history on Sunday, 16 January, after the ageless Roberto Carlos, overlapping from his traditional left back position, charged down the left flank and sent a low, screaming cross into the box, upon which the Portuguesa de Desportos keeper and a Corinthians attacker converged and managed to deflect just outside the near post.  The referee credited the effort to the keeper, who naturally felt otherwise and left his line to protest.

Ball. Left foot. Roberto Carlos. Wherever he's been that is not a good combination for the other side to see.

However, the official was not in a talkative mood and waved play on.  Roberto Carlos, the Selecao legend who has struck stunning free kicks wherever he has been, with Brazil in the World Cup, Real Madrid in the Champions League and at stops on either side of those tenures, had just placed the ball in the corner radius and, looking up, realised his opportunity.  A quick shuffle to the left put him in position and he hurriedly drilled a curling waist-high missile towards the goal.  One of his forwards was in the line of fire but had the presence of mind to leap, legs akimbo, and permit the ball to continue on its narrow arc, finding twine just inside the far post.  The keeper, caught out, took two steps before pulling up, knowing that he would never make it in time to intervene.

It was an incredible strike from a grand master of the long distance set piece.  When you do the math, which is why I mentioned the Schürig’s dimensions, Roberto Carlos had only a second or two, while his opponents remained preoccupied, to launch a strike which needed to hook to the left to enter an 8 yard target, the near end of which was 37 yards distant.  Moreover, the ball had to be struck hard and with limited English, in order to travel the most direct, swiftest path, so that any alert defender would have little or no chance to prevent it from reaching its destination.  To hatch the plan, convert thought to action and execute, all in an instant, called upon twenty years of top flight experience, vision and confidence, for which Roberto Carlos was more than qualified.

Goals scored from corner kicks are rare indeed, but like every other kind, when the chance comes, it must be taken.  Even at 38 years of age, Roberto Carlos is the man you want in place in those moments.  That he is in place at Corinthians, rather than a big European club, not only shows the limited vision of some clubs, who ruled the Brazilian out because he was too old and slow, but also the foresight of Corinthians and the CBF.

While he may not possess the physical tools to hold down a place on the national team anymore, his presence in the Campeonato Brasileiro doesn’t just provide a measuring stick for greatness to young Corinthians players but to those on opposing sides, too.  He is not the only bright star who left the Samba constellation to shine even brighter in Europe and then returned home to make an impact on the domestic league.

Roberto Carlos is joined at Corinthians by Brazil’s greatest goal scorer, Ronaldo, who while battling gimpy knees and a sore back, manages to make a difference for the club, striking with regularity when he is in the line-up.  While Roberto Carlos quickly lost any illusions about making the 2010 World Cup squad, Ronaldo clung to hope until the death.

At Corinthians, it's time for the old men to have some fun with the youngsters.

Ronaldo, in his last year at Corinthians before he retires, had his issues in his younger years, famously getting into a fracas with a pair of transvestites on one partying binge.  Still, he has turned himself around markedly in his final years, displaying a love and respect for the game that has made him a popular figure once again, even more-so through his ability to laugh at himself when critics refer to him and his oft burgeoning midsection as ‘Fat’ Ronaldo.

As well as this pair of legends, there have been several other players who have come home in recent times, not only to vie for a ticket to South Africa but to resurrect flagging careers, find first team action or simply give back to the game which afforded them so much.

Of those other players, Robinho is probably the most notable name, not just for his talent but because his reasons for making what was only a temporary return covered three of the four factors listed.  It’s unfortunate that the one reason for visiting that he wasn’t able to check upon re-entering Brazil was to give something back but that is Robinho, at least at this young stage of his career.

Ironically, when he first wished to cross the Atlantic in an easterly direction to seek his fortune, his domestic club, Santos, was unwilling to release him and he was forced to play out his contract.  Upon securing his escape, he landed in Madrid where his play at first made more of an impression than his brash attitude.  However, during the Fabio Capello era, he quickly found himself in the doghouse for a lack of commitment to team defence and sat much of the 2006-7 season on the bench next to David Beckham.  The pair would eventually return to the starting XI and make significant contributions to Los Meringue’s last Championship run.

The second 'R' generation, following Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos and one other, hasn't found glory, not yet learning that no matter your skills, it doesn't just come to you.

Beckham, however, saw the writing on the wall and had already secured a mega-transfer to Los Angeles Galaxy.  Robinho took no heed and, despite supporting the attacking combination of Raul and Ruud van Nistlerooy in exemplary fashion, rivaling Guti for assists, found himself used as trade bait in a failed attempt to recruit Cristiano Ronaldo.  With his outspokenness and high wage demands, even Chelsea backed away when he sought an exit from the Spanish capital.  The only club willing to take him on was newly minted Manchester City.

To say that Robinho was unhappy at City is to say that Roy Hodgson had some trouble at Liverpool.  The Brazilian was not an ideal first recruit in Sheikh Mansour’s plans to build a Champions League side, even if it was the Abu Dhabi Royal’s first day in charge.  Intended to be a bright light to attract other major talents, he became more of a warning beacon which kept the very best away.

Having alienated two coaches at City, the second of whom, Roberto Mancini, was even more rooted in the catenaccio philosophy than Fabio Capello, Robinho found himself out of the first team, disinterested when called upon as a substitute and threatened by the likely loss of his place in the Brazil squad if matters held their course.  With no European club willing to reimburse City’s £32 million investment, the Brazilian suddenly developed a severe case of homesickness and secured a loan to his old club Santos.

At Santos, Robinho not only played well enough to keep his place in the national team, he was hailed as a positive influence on another precocious Santos teenager, Neymar.  While Robinho would find some success in the World Cup, his most memorable moment was the ridiculous, finger-wagging scolding he handed out to a dive-happy Arjen Robben in l’Oranje’s stunning fight back, which bounced the Selecao from the tournament.

Neymar. Has he been trying to fill the wrong shoes?

As for his teaching of Neymar, the talented youngster learned too well, mimicking his elder’s arrogance, which would lead to the dismissal of manager Dorival Junior, who had the temerity to attempt to discipline his star.  Neymar also echoed his mentor’s greed, welcoming the advances of Chelsea and, again like Robinho, trying to force his way out of the Santos clubhouse.  He was only kept in place (for the moment) when the club called on Robinho and Pele to talk ‘sense’ to the adolescent phenomenon.  Possessing an ego rivaling his hero’s, Neymar is certain to test the European market soon enough and, unless his attitude changes, is just as likely to return when he finds that the level of dedication that European clubs demand seriously cuts into his fun time.

The hero, meanwhile, has returned to Europe, a part of AC Milan’s resurgence.  Unfortunately, his form has not been the best, as he has struggled mightily to find the target.  Given past history and the recent exit of one of his connections to home, Ronaldhino, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Robinho return to Brazil again, ahead of the 2014 World Cup.

Ronaldhino, himself is now back in Brazil, of course, with Flamengo.  If anyone showed less commitment to the squad and more interest in his leisure time than Robinho, it was the club-hopping Dhino, who has of late begun to fancy himself more an artist with his hands, playing the congas, than with his feet.  Now in his thirties and having been unwilling to forego Silvio Berlusconi’s wages to return home in order to secure a place in the 2010 national side, he will have to truly change his ways under the watchful gaze of Mano Manezes, if he is to make it to the Nirvana of playing in the World Cup in the Maracana.  Plenty of bookies will take a serious hit if he can turn the trick.

Another player with ties to Flamengo and Serie A, Adriano, has been back to Brazil on more than one occasion but the imposing forward has not displayed the willpower to match his physical attributes.  No matter where he is, it seems he cannot stay away from the night life and falls back down almost as quickly as he picks himself up.  Unlike Ronaldhino and Robinho, however, his pathologies are sadly more a result of chemical dependency rather than just a lack of professionalism.

While Ronaldhino and Robinho haven’t achieved the glory of Roberto Carlos and Ronaldo, there was a third ‘R’ in the elder group, who often goes forgotten.  Rivaldo, the driving force in Brazil’s 2002 World Cup triumph in Japan and scorer of  34 goals in 74 appearances for the Selecao, seemed to have fallen off the planet after failing to impress at Milan after that tournament.

Rivaldo and Ronaldo celbrate winning Brazil's last World Cup, in 2002. Now both are home to prepare the next generation for 2014.

He played well in Greece for Olympiakos but struggled for AEK.  Then he inexplicably headed off to Uzbekistan, where he was far and away the best player in the league while featuring for Bunyodkor.  After fulfilling his two-year, €10 million contract, he decided to return home in search of a more challenging opportunity.  Having taken the Uzbeki’s money, he ran all the way home to his first club, Mogi Mirim, not just playing but taking over as club chairman.

In five matches in the lower league side, he notched 10 goals and, needing stronger competition but being a man who honours his contracts, forged a creative deal with top flight club Sao Paolo, who were lacking the marquee name that rivals Corinthians and Santos each enjoyed.  Effectively, Mogi Mirim’s president loaned the club’s best player, himself, to Sao Paolo in exchange for financial considerations, the loaning of the senior side’s fringe players to the small club and further marketing and promotional support.

In an era where lower league side’s everywhere are finding it ever more difficult to survive, it’s good to see a player come home and direct his energies to insuring the continued existence of the club that launched his career.  If Rivaldo can have an impact similar to Roberto Carlos and Ronaldo have at Corinthians, his season long loan to Sao Paolo may be extended for a further year, which can only help Mogi Mirim all the more.

Still, less than a decade ago, there would have been no place for these stars in the domestic league.  Like the rest of the country, Brazilian football was a shambles.  Clubs were in debt, corrupt chairman were the norm and stadiums were in disrepair.  Rare was the club like Santos, which attempted to hold onto a young talent when Europe came calling.  There was just too much money to be had by selling them on.

If a funny little guy with a beard can fix four digit inflation, put Brazilian football back on track and get away with having a pretty woman, who is not his wife, hanging on his arm in public, why are the rest of us busy electing telegenic mouthpieces?

Two things have changed that.  First, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s election as president in 2002, and second, FIFA’s awarding of the 2014 World Cup to Brazil.

Lula’s effectiveness and popularity is evident in the fact, that like a talented footballer, he is known by an affectionate familiar.  The former trade unionist has righted one of the world’s most ailing economies, while some of it’s most powerful have been gripped by a serious recession.

At the same time, the clubs have come together in an effort to clean up their act and meet the challenge of hosting the world’s biggest party, as only Brazil can.  Some of the worst chairman have been ousted and even prosecuted and major stadiums in every state, including the Maracana, are undergoing extensive renovations.

The boom in Brazil has paralleled a significant downturn in Argentina. As a result, the Argentines have assumed the Brazilians’ place as the planet’s number one exporter of footballers.  With a healthier economy, a public suddenly possessed of disposable income and a World Cup for which to prepare, there is suddenly more urgency to keep talented young players on the home front and a need for veterans with literally a world of experience to guide them . Not only are the hosts intent on putting on the grandest festival in the tournament’s history,  they will settle for nothing less than winning the competition, something they failed to do in 1950.  What better way to do so than to have the best and brightest easily to hand?

With that in mind, Santos have brought home another star, more professional in his outlook than Robinho, and hopefully a better influence on Neymar.  With former Shakhtar Donetsk, Man City and Galatasaray winger, Elano, to feed him in the box and whisper in his ear on the training ground, the club is hoping they can hold on to their young wunderkind until after the World Cup, when he will still only be 22.  Hopefully, in their eyes, a mature 22.

Will the least materialistic of the wayward Brazilians join the exodus home?

In the three and a half years before the tournament, Robinho is not the only, nor the biggest name likely to return home.  Kaka, long in recovering from his World Cup injury, has returned to Real Madrid, only to find that there may not be a place for him, with Mesut Özil shining in the middle and Cristiano Ronaldo and Angel Maria more than capably manning the flanks.  For the moment, due to a crisis at forward, he is seeing some action as a second striker, but it’s possible that he may be moved in the summer.  Given his devotions, both on and off the pitch, it wouldn’t be a great shock to see him return to his boyhood club, Sao Paolo.

Then there is Luis Fabiano at Sevilla, Lucio and Julio Cesar at Inter and Juan at AS Roma, all of them in their early thirties and likely intent on trodding the turf at the refurbished Maracana four summers hence.  If the trend of the last few years continue, look for an ever-increasing exodus of prodigal sons returning home to the land of Carnival, as the country prepares to reclaim its time-honoured place at the head of the football’s elite, under the lights of a refurbished Maracana.

In Belo Horizonte, we have two major players.

Cruzeiro is going to play the Libertadores at the first semester, and they made some improvements to the squad that finished second in last year’s Campeonato, bringing in seven new players. Midfielder Leandro Guerreiro and Paraguayan forward Ortigoza are the key newcomers and should make the starting XI. The main player here is the aging Gilberto.  The former left back is now playing in the midfield and very well, I may say. However, his contract expires in mid-season and has not been renewed yet, leaving the team with a major hole to fill if they do not re-sign their elder statesman. Forward Thiago Ribeiro and goalie Fabio are the other notables. Cruzeiro are favorites to win the Minas Gerais State Championship and have a tough group at the Libertadores, with Estudiantes and possibly Corinthians.

The state’s other big club, Atlético Mineiro, is rebuilding and has signed a lot of players over the past few years without much success. This season’s most promising new player is Richarlyson (the spelling of some names in Brazil….). After many years in São Paulo, the do-it-all midfielder will try to win the hearth of the fans in Belo Horizonte. Other major players there are midfielder Ricardinho and power forward Diego Tardelli. Coach Dorival Júnior will have to work hard to improve the squad sufficiently to compete against rivals Cruzeiro. Still, Atlético has enough to reach the latter stages of the Brazilian Cup and possibly the top 8 of the Campeonato.

Going down south we reach Porto Alegre, a city divided by red and blue.

Gremio couldn't get their heads straight and native son Ronaldhino went to Flamengo.

The blue side belongs to Grêmio. The most improving team in the last semester of 2010, Gremio managed to escape from relegation to climb all the way up to the top 4 at the end. I don’t believe they will repeat such success because of a lack of new players, having concentrated their efforts and lost the Ronaldinho Gaucho sweepstakes to Flamengo, and my complete lack of faith in the coaching abilities of Renato Portaluppi, aka Renato Gaúcho. The boss’ best eleven features goalkeeper Victor and midfielder Douglas. Left back Lúcio and forward Borges, if they choose to stay, are also worth mentioning. A good draw in the Libertadores could help Gremio’s chances but I don’t consider them favorites for any trophy this year.

The red of Porto Alegre is the home of Internacional.  After the shocking Club World Cup loss to African side Mazembe, in Abu Dhabi, some changes were made to the staff and the starting lineup of Inter. The team doesn’t need many new players but Bordeaux’s Fernando Cavenaghi is being shopped there and may turn this side into an even better one. Midfielders Andres d’Alessandro and Giuliano lead the way with Guiñazu, Alecsssandro and Rafael Sóbis a superb supporting cast. Inter will contend heavily for a new Libertadores title and are favorites for the State and National Championships.

São Paulo is the biggest city in the nation, but the 4 big teams that are based here didn’t made only small changes.

The  club which shares the city’s name, São Paulo, is in a bit of a hangover.  After so many titles over the past years, 2010 was a dry year and the first time in almost a decade that the team couldn’t qualify for the Libertadores. The lack of turnover in the team, albeit with the best defenders of the country, Alex Silva and Miranda, is a headline here. São Paulo will try to win the Brazilian Cup or the Sul-Americana to get back to the Libertadores in 2012. Keeper Rogério Ceni is close in his quest to reach 100 goals (scored, yes, you read that correctly) and may very well do so in the next months.

News maker Corinthians also didn’t made many changes to the lineup. Club and World Cup icon Ronaldo’s last year begins with a new quest to win the Libertadores, an obsession for the team. The side lost Elias to Atlético Madrid but still has one of the best squads in the country, with former Galactico Roberto Carlos an ageless force in the back. Ronaldo has the company of Dentinho at the front and midfielder Bruno César is the playmaker. Corinthians are favorites to the São Paulo State and Libertadores titles, and if they can keep their players, the National one also.

Conversely, Palmeiras has only one name attached, coach Luiz Felipe Scolari. The additions of last year, midfielder Valdivia and forward Kleber, might be crowds favorites but never made a big impact on the pitch. Cash poor and having lost bids they could afford due to a lack of perspective, this team seem lost, although a place in the 2012 Libertadores would be a reachable goal. The club will need to improve its recruiting with goalkeeper Marcos, having dealt with injuries for the last couple of years, deciding to abandon the game after 2011. His will be a tough loss because he is one of the best guys out there.

Santos' biggest challenge may come from within. Will they be able to keep teenaged talisman Neymar from heading off to Europe?

The main favorites here are Santos. With a stellar cast led by Neymar, the guys from Vila Belmiro can win it all, Libertadores, State Championship and National title. Midfielder Elano is back after many years of being underused in Europe and Paulo Henrique Ganso is coming back from a surgery. Santos also found, in goalie Rafael, another good addition from their youth squad. When Adilson Batista sends out his best eleven, the spectacle is a must see for all football lovers.

Finally, it was Rio de Janeiro where the biggest impact of the offseason was made.

Fluminense has to be dealt with because the National Champions haven’t changed much from 2010. A healthy Fred and the nice touches of Conca make the difference here. Coach Muricy Ramalho will have to overcome his Libertadores drought in the latter stages.

The most improving team of all has to be Flamengo. Not only Ronaldinho Gaúcho but Thiago Neves, as well, was hired to improve the midfield. Coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo has to fix a defense with a lot of holes. New goalkeeper Felipe will be hard pressed until he does. Anything less than a State and National title will be considered a failure, so Luxemburgo had better start winning good and fast. The addition of Ronaldinho may improve also the attendance at the  Engenhão in Rio, a stadium that is not easy to reach for most of the people who live there.  The club’s usual stomping ground, the Maracanã, is closed for renovations ahead of the 2014 World Cup.

Botafogo and Vasco de Gama are the underdogs here. Botafogo hired Uruguayan Arevalo Rios and Vasco’s top name still is Carlos Alberto. Both teams might make good runs in the Brazilian Cup but , unfortunately, not much more can be expected of them.

♦   ◊   ♦

Fab Presilli is WFC’s Brazilian correspondent.  His day job is as a television script writer but his passion is football.  he’ll keep you updated on the best matches from Brasil, all season long, in the Weekend Catch and will also pop up every now and again with a feature on big stories coming out of the land of Carnival.

Parra struck a crucial pair.

After a grueling 120-minute match and the tense rosary-fingering moments during the penalty kicks, Independiente, laying 17th in the Argentine Apertura, completed a storied fight back on Wednesday evening, from a 2-0 defeat in the opening leg of th

e tie, to defeat relegated Campeonato side Goiás. The Championship, roughly the equivalent of the Europa League in South America, offers up at least a meek protest to Thomas Clark’s dirge for the Big 5.

The verdict from above for Goiás, however: when you’re going down, you’re going down.

After Julian Velasquez started el Rojo on the road back, on 19 minutes, Rafael Moura, home on loan from Swiss side FC Locarno, restored Goiás’ 2-goal advantage within 3 minutes.

It could hardly be considered even a temporary respite, though, as Facunda Parra struck a brace on 27 and 34 minutes to level the match.

From that point, both sides became overly cautious and neither was able to find the twine again, sending the match to a mutually dreaded PK resolution, although after capitulating in the first 45, the visitors had the better of regular play.

I know I brought my Spanish/English with me...

Still, the Argentines rose up at the crucial moment, converting all five of their spot-kicks, with the Brazilian, Felipe, donning the collar, as he missed his side’s third attempt.

For Goiás, there will be no respite from the drudgery of the Brasileiro B, as it will be the Argentines claiming a place in the upcoming Copa Libertadores.

Nor is there any truth to the rumour that El Pibe, Diego Maradona, was at the match and afterwards said, as he has of every other club in the world, that he would be happy to manage Goiás in their fight to return to the Campeonato.

In fact, on the weekend, I noticed a short, rather rotund looking Latino, with a thick mane of black hair, pacing along the sidelines of a youth match at my local park, barking orders in Spanish, one hand firmly inserted in his trousers. The volunteer coaches seemed less sure of what to do than the six-year olds on the pitch.

More details as they develop but, meanwhile, enjoy the highlights!

Ever since the professionalisation of Argentine football in 1931 five clubs have dominated the league, winning the majority of silverware and accumulating the most fans. These clubs are all based in the Greater Buenos Aires urban conurbation. They are the giants of Argentine football Boca Juniors and River Plate, Almagro based San Lorenzo and the two Avellaneda giants Independiente and Racing Club.

1. River Plate

It is fairly easy to see why these teams have been dubbed the big five.  River Plate are by far the most successful team at the domestic level with 33 league championships. Boca Juniors have a record 18 major international titles and by most measures are the most popular team in Argentina. Independiente are the most successful team in the Copa Libertadores with seven wins and the 3rd most successful side in the Argentine Primera Division, from which they have never been relegated. San Lorenzo are the 4th most successful side in the league, with 10 championships and they are the only side to have completed two entire seasons without losing a game. Racing Club are the joint fifth most successful team in the professional era and, in the 1910′s, they were the club that wrested control of the game away from the British immigrants with six consecutive league titles.  They are also widely considered to have the best and most loyal fans.

There are grounds for claiming that Racing Club no longer deserve their place in the big five having only won one league title since 1966, with several other “lesser” teams having won more than one single championship since then (Vélez Sársfield 7, Estudiantes de La Plata 4, Newell’s Old Boys 4, Rosario Central 4, Argentinos Juniors 3 and even Ferro Carril Oeste with 2).

2. Boca Juniors

The strongest cases for the usurption of Racing Club’s place in the big five can be made by Vélez Sársfield and Estudiantes de La Plata, who coincidentally are the leaders of the Apertura 2010 tournament with only three games of the season remaining. Vélez have been the third most successful team in the last 20 years behind only River Plate and Boca Juniors, they also won a string of international championships in the 1990s including a famous 2-0 win against a star sdudded AC Milan side in the Intercontinental Cup in 1994. Estudiantes have a strong claim too, it being fairly absurd that the 4th most successful team in the history of the Copa Libertadores are not even considered one of the best five teams in Argentina.

The decline of the big five has been the most obvious in Avellaneda.  Racing Club have been starved of success since the 1960′s and have lurched from crisis to crisis. Independiente have not even come close to adding to their seven Copa Libertadores titles for decades and have only won two league titles since the 1980′s†, which is even worse than it first seems, when you realise that there are two league championships per year in Argentine football.

†(To be fair, Independiente are currently preparing for the second leg of Copa Sud America, down 2-0 to relegation bound Campeonato side Goias)

3. San Lorenzo

In recent years the decline of River Plate has become more apparent.  They finished 20th, bottom of the league table for the first time in their entire history, in 2008.  Recently, they sacked manager Angel Cappa without even giving him time to complete one short season (19 games) and are currently embroiled in a fight to avoid the unthinkable, relegation from the Primera División for the first time in their history.

Boca Juniors also recently parted company with their manager, Claudio Borghi, after only 14 games in charge.  Their plummet from the pinnacle has been the most dramatic. They won at least one major honour every year between 1998 and 2008, except 2002. Their honours during that decade of remarkable success included seven league championships, four Copa Libertadores and two Intercontinental Cups. To go from those dizzying heights to the lower half of the table and fail to even qualify for the Copa Libertadores, which they utterly dominated between 2000 and 2007, is a remarkable decline.

The case that San Lorenzo are in decline is the hardest to make but they are in the bottom half of the table this season and manager Ramón Diaz has told the directors he will quit the club if they do not allow him to bring in the players he needs in the January transfer window.

4. Independiente

There are many potential reasons for the loss of dominance experienced by the big five, one of the most apparent being the two-leagues-per-season format. Under the previous, year-long season system, conducted between 1931 and 1966, only the big five ever won the championship. The door was opened to other sides with the introduction of the Nacional and Metropolitano system in 1967, with Estudiantes, Vélez and Chacarita Juniors all winning a championship during the first three years of its implementation. After several reorganisations in the 1980′s, the Argentine Primera settled into the contemporary Apertura and Clausura system in 1990. The bigger teams, joined by Vélez Sársfield, continued to dominate until the middle of this decade.

Then the floodgates opened, in 2006, creating a wave of eight different champions over the last eight tournaments, including first time winners Lanús and Banfield and a first championship for Argentinos Juniors since 1985. River, Boca and San Lorenzo all claimed one of these eight championships but a single league championship in the last 4, 6 and 9 years for Boca, River and San Lorenzo, respectively, are not the levels of success or dominance expected at those clubs. It can be argued that it is much easier for smaller clubs to win the league over 19 games than it would be over 38 but it should not be so comprehensive.   The biggest and richest clubs have the resources required to win the short leagues too.

5. Racing Club

Perhaps a more significant factor in this recent shift in the balance of power is the hunger of the European clubs for new South American talent. Rather than go through the laborious process of training hundreds of kids, in order to select the best half-dozen, then risk their inexperience at the top level, many European clubs find it much more convenient to raid South American clubs for talented youngsters with a wealth of first team experience. This constant drain of the best players from the most successful clubs has a leveling effect. Any team that plays attractive winning football will lose several of their best players at the next transfer window, meaning that they will have to spend the next couple of seasons rebuilding while others fight for the championship.

There is every indication that the split seasons and European raids have caused this unprecedented run of parity, however it does not explain the serious decline of Boca Juniors and River Plate.  Both teams have sufficient financial muscle to retain several of their most important players, yet the clubs are both struggling desperately.

5-a. Velez Sarsfield

River Plate’s problems can be traced to 2008, when, after Diego Simeone had led them to their first championship in four years, he fell out with star player Ariel Ortega, exiling him to the Argentine 2nd division, with Independiente Rivadavia.  With Ortega gone, Simeone presided over a pathetic elimination from the Copa Libertadores at the hands of San Lorenzo, who scored two goals at El Monumental with only 9 players.  The manager then resigned in November, with the team at the bottom of the table, where they would stay until the end of the season. The club has been in turmoil ever since and face a prolonged battle against the threat of relegation.

Boca Juniors plight is even more incomprehensible, however six managerial changes since 2009 and the long-term injury of star player Juan Román Riquelme seem to be the most important contributors.

5-b. Estudiantes de Plata

Whatever the causes of their current dilemmas, fans of the big five clubs will have been delighted to hear the rumours that the AFA are going to reintroduce the year-long season, beginning from next year. The prospect of a return to the 1931-1966 era where nobody else had a look-in would appeal especially to the fans of Independiente and Racing Club.  However, there is no guarantee that they would again be amongst the five most likely title contenders. Estudiantes and Vélez Sársfield look like the best sides in the division and well run smaller clubs like Lanús, Banfield and even provincial minnows Godoy Cruz have been managing much better league positions, in the last few years, than most of the so-called big five.

Sergio Batista doesn't have a collection of leftist dictators to play with but he has heard of defence.

In Argentina, Sergio Batista has done enough to keep the job for good. A win over Spain in Buenos Aires and a loss away to Japan, while he was interim, is his record. He needs to blood a new team, though.  The old reliables, such as Juan Sebastian Veron (35), Javier Zanetti (37), Gaby Heinze (32) and Walter Samuel (32 and injured) are starting to show their wear and tear.  So, some fresh names are becoming usual, with the latest matches introducing the likes of Nicolas Casal and Ezequiel Lavezzi.

Carlos Tevez, Kun Aguero and Diego Milito are injured and will not be playing, although they will be in Qatar.  Esteban Cambiasso and Fernando Gago were not named by Batista, due to more severe knocks.   So, a change in the front is necessary. Javier Pastore and Angel Di Maria will probably be taking the pitch from the start.

Brazilian coach Mano Menezes has been consistent in leaving out some great players, who were in the World Cup, like goalie Julio Cesar and right back Maicon of Internazionale.  Instead, the coach is calling on fresh troops, with an eye to the Olympics of 2012. Players such as keepers Neto and Jefferson, two of the best in the Brazilian Championship.

Menezes is not embarrassed by his riches...

On the other hand, Ronaldinho has been recalled and veteran André Santos is receiving his first invitation.  It’s an interesting challenge to the older players, to prove their worth and provide some leadership to the young bloods.  With it being a friendly and far from home, there isn’t much to lose for the manager. Most of these players, young and old, already know Mano Menezes from his Grêmio and Corinthians tenures.

Players and coach all know that wins over Iran, the USA and the Ukraine mean next to nothing, with so many players who didn’t really stand a chance in the national team being given a courtesy cap; the most notorious case being Ederson, of Lyon.  They’ll all be eager for this test.

It will be the first of two matches between the powerhouses before the end of the year. The next one will feature only players from the domestic leagues, in a revival of the 1950′s and 60′s Copa Rocca, an early showdown between Brazil and Argentina, which was played as a two-legged tie.

...and so, the prodigal son returns.

This game will be in Doha, however, half way around the world from the loud and peassionate fans of the Selecao and Albiceleste.  It’s the perfect showcase for the ambitious national football committee of the Middle Eastern Emirate to show they are a true contender in the race to host the 2022 World Cup.

The television here in Brazil keeps showing beautiful venues and coaches and players who are making a lot of money in the oil rich nation.  All of them keep saying the lifestyle is improving daily and that the rulers would do anything for the right to host a World Cup.

Well, fair enough but I don’t see it. I only see big stadiums, built with piles of money and waiting to be filled.  It’s wonderful that when the World Cup is over they can be dismantled and shipped where needed but that is exactly the problem.  If they are not needed in Qatar, if there are no fans there, then the country doesn’t deserve to host the biggest event in football.  Show me the fans who are desperate for the tournament and I will say good luck to you.  But since they are not there, I must say no thank you.

The CBF obviously funds the team through these types of friendlies. It has been a while since we’ve had a great match like this in Brazil, though, as the Samba Select only play at home for qualifiers now. So, supporters are losing their connection with the team. Most people don’t care to stop work just to watch a friendly that is taking place a thousand miles away.  Maybe we sound like mothers who wish our children would come home more often but that is pretty much how it is.

♦   ◊   ♦

Starting XI’s:

Argentina: G-Sergio Romero (AS Roma), D-Javier Zanetti (Inter), Nico Burdisso (AS Roma), Martin Demichelis (Bayern), Gabriel Heinze (Marseilles), MF-Javier Mascherano (Barca), Ever Banega (Valencia), Javier Pastore (Palermo), Angel Di Maria (Real), F-Lionel Messi (Barca), Gonzalo Higuain (Real).

Brazil: G-Victor (Gremio), D-Daniel Alves (Barca), David Luiz (Benfica), Thiago Silva (AC Milan), André Santos (Fenerbahce), MF-Lucas Leiva (Liverpool), Ramires (Chelsea), Elias (Corinthians), Ronaldinho Gaúcho (AC Milan), and F-Neymar (Santos), Robinho (AC Milan).

Prediction:  Brazil are in a better position for this match.  Mano Menezes already has a full healthy lineup which, for the most part, are familiar with each other.  Argentina is still struggling with some issues with their defensive backs and midfielders.

WFC Editor Martin Palazzotto reviews the match here

Once upon a time, back at the end of May, I wrote an article entitled “How Ashton Kutcher Explains Football.”  It was a lead up to the then approaching World Cup in South Africa.  In it, I compared the plot-line of what was probably Kutcher’s most noteworthy film, “The Butterfly Effect” (in which going back in time to change just a single detail in one’s history alters the future in significant and unintended fashion) to the transformations of the Brazilian and Argentinian national football teams.  At the time, I noted how, under Dunga, the Selecao were becoming a more defensively responsible club, worried less about artistic expression than tangible results, while, with Diego Maradona at the con, it was all damn the torpedoes for the Albiceleste.

Yeah... well, no. Actually I can't explain it.

Of course, I didn’t lay responsibility for the squads’ topsy turvy personality adjustments at the feet of a male model-cum-actor-cum-producer-cum Demi Moore’s main squeeze.  No, that’s what Hollywood types refer to as a convenient plot device.  The philosophical changes, I thought, seemed to coincide with the rise in Brazil’s economic fortunes and the simultaneous recession in Argentina.  In that discussion, I made reference to a chapter from the  book, “How Soccer Explains The World” by Franklin Foerr, which outlines the history of the Cartolas, in English, the Top Hats:  a scurrilous bunch of corrupt entrepreneurs, who once completely controlled the fortunes of Brazilian football clubs.

The World Cup is over, now, and neither Dunga nor Maradona remain in charge of their respective sides.  The fortunes of both countries have continued along the same paths, one enjoying a prosperous upward trend and the other becoming more and more concerned as the downward spiral continues unabated,  the bottom seemingly nowhere in sight.

When things break down, of course, it’s very difficult to discern both the extent of the damage and the eventual ramifications.  As I’m neither an economist nor a political scientist, I’ll leave the critique and resolution of Argentina’s dilemma to my betters.  This article, although it naturally follows from the original Aston Kutcher narrative, is intended to focus more on the continuing signs of transition within Brazilian football.

On the other hand, Mano has taken the stance that he doesn't have to explain it.

As I mentioned, Dunga and his more disciplined philosophy of the game have been rejected by the fans and the CBF.  Mano Manezes is now the man in charge and, while he has, in the early doors, paid heed to the demand for more attractive football, there are indications that his methods are not that far removed from his predecessor’s.  The most telling clue has been his decision to leave the brash young starlet, Neymar, out of his current roster, in preparation for the October round of international friendlies.  While his remarks, covered in Fab Presilli’s WFC report, Neymar v Dorival Junior, seemed to support the deposed Santos coach, even though he didn’t come out and say so in no uncertain terms, they definitely let his players know that, under Manezes, they’d have to continue to toe the line.

Rash behaviour aside, Neymar’s situation, at Santos, may be another mile marker along the new road that Brazilian clubs are traveling.  During the reign of the Cartolas, whose rampant corruption coincided with and was aided by ineffective government and the resultant poor economy, Brazil was the leading exporter of professional footballers to the rest of the world.  The slick club presidents were happy to turn a fast profit on a young player and the athletes themselves were overjoyed to go to a league, anywhere, where they wouldn’t have to worry about their wages being mysteriously misdirected into the offshore accounts of their employer.

Brazil, mostly down to its sizable population, maintained that number one  ranking of players’ abroad until this year, despite improving economic conditions.  The new champ, according to the BBC, is their suddenly impoverished southern neighbour, Argentina.  The Beeb’s source only covers transfers to European and Arab leagues but, having had a peak at a good cross-section of North and Central American club rosters, during the writing of the WFC CCL Preview, I can promise you that Argentine inroads into that region are far more pervasive than their Brazilian counterparts.  It would seem that the difficult economy has made debt ridden clubs (and you’d be hard pressed to find a solvent Argentine side) more willing to sell their young talent.  In addition, the national recession has motivated increasing numbers of youthful Albiceleste to seek their fortune abroad.

Having set a bad example by acting like a spoiled child (which, to be fair, he is), has Neymar set a better one by keeping the home fires burning?

Nor do the Selecao look to be in any hurry to reclaim the top spot, if Neymar is, at least in the context of the future transfer policies of Brazilian clubs, a good example.  Offered £23M, by Chelsea, for a spectacularly talented but as yet unproven 18 year old, Santos took the opposite tack to what they and every other Brazilian club had done for decades.  They mounted a campaign to convince the young prospect to remain with them.  Two famous Santos alumni, Pele and Robinho, were brought in to manage the seduction and their influence paid off.  The teen signed a multi-year deal with the club and Santos president Luis Alvaro de Oliveira Ribeiro happily got on the telephone to Bruce Buck, at Stamford Bridge, to say, “Obrigado, mas não Obrigado!”

In the last few seasons, various Brazilian clubs, such as Corinthians, with Roberto Carlos and Ronaldo (the one and only!), Santos, with loanee Robinho, and Flamengo, with Adriano, have made concerted efforts to lure big name players back home.  Flamengo also made a serious attempt to bring Argentine playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme, a notorious homebody, to Rio.  Players of that ilk, even in their decline, command salaries which were once too prohibitive for such recruitments to be a viable option.  Now, however, those higher wages are looked at as an investment which will put more fans in the seats, sell more merchandise and lure more lucrative sponsorship.

The Brazilian economy has become healthy and robust under the stewardship of Luiz Inacio Lula de Silva, the outgoing president.  The simpatico Lula was not only charming but effective.  Faced with many of the same conditions, in 2002, which currently challenge the Obama administration, the Brazilian legislated sweeping policy changes which eliminated much of his country’s deficit, created jobs and vastly improved the standard of living.  His successor, to be decided in tomorrow’s national election, will be inheriting a well oiled machine from the former trade unionist.  During his tenure, the middle class has increased by almost 30 million people, in a country of just under 200 million.  There is money to burn and the clubs of the greatest footballing nation are ready to take advantage.

Lula's term as national leader is up but might he be looking for a new game?

With the precedent set by Santos, in retaining Neymar, it shouldn’t be surprising to see other sides not only welcome back former stars from Europe but also be more aggressive in retaining their best young players, throughout their prime years.  In 2014, Brazil hosts the World Cup and, in 2016, Rio de Janeiro will stage the Olympic Games.  Surely, CBF president (& former Cartola) Ricardo Texeira and Mano Manezes would like to see as many of their most gifted players, veteran and youth alike, remain close to home, where a watchful eye can be kept upon them.  As well, the infrastructure that is being renovated or newly built for those competitions, will only further aid the recovery and growth of the Brazilian leagues.

Of course, with the amount of players Brazil produces, there will still be plenty of talent looking for opportunities abroad.  It’s just that the cream of the crop will not be as readily available and, when they are on the market, will be far more expensive, in terms of both the purchase price to the parent club and wage packet to the player.  So, the impact of the repatriation of Brazilian football will effect the major European Leagues but not too greatly.   It might make the Club World Cup a much more intriguing proposition, however.

The important thing is that the winds of change, whether or not they began with the flexing of a butterfly’s wings, have swept away the debris from the Brazilian economy and its foundations have been reinforced.  Consequently, the clubs are now falling in line with the new order and the potential for theirs to become the strongest of leagues isn’t so remote a possibility.  If all trends continue, in 2014, a restored Maracana Stadium may well see the ushering in of a new Golden Age of Selecao.

Is Neymar the biggest star since Pele? Or.....

What happens when you snub a millionaire offer and keep a good (maybe great) player in your team?

Well, it depends on the player. Kaka is forever grateful for Milan as they attempted everything to keep him until, finally, they could  no longer resist. Not all players have the same background, education and values as Kaka, however.

Neymar is a shining star, the brightest in the galaxy known as the Santos youth squad, in some time.  In the spotlight since he was thirteen years old, he is well acquainted with being the center of the universe. Rumours of transfers to Europe have always revolved around him, most recently Chelsea made a £23 million bid to secure his skills.  Santos boldly denied the offer and gave him a new contract. Under its terms, the eighteen year old earns now more than half a million reals per month, or £185k. Whatever the currency, it’s a lot of money for a teenager!

... just a runny-nosed kid?

After making the most interesting move of any South American club, this year, Santos formed a plan which involved keeping their best players to contend for titles and attract more sponsors, media attention and supporters. It looked like a beauty, on paper.

But then their young star went super-nova. Santos faced a tough game, two weeks ago, at home against minnows Atletico Goianiense. Losing by two goals in the first half Santos managed to turn things around and win 3-2.   During the fightback, Neymar was pulled down in the box and a penalty was awarded.  The youngster, having earned the chance, wanted to take it. Having seen his youngster miss two or three such tries, manager Dorival Junior, decided otherwise.

His pride stung, the kid showed his age, losing his temper and cursing his coach, on the pitch, while TV cameras caught the act. Later, in the locker room, it’s believed that Neymar also threw something in the direction of Dorival’s assistant Ivan. After a debate, Santos management decided that the youngster should face a one game suspension and pay a fine for insubordination.

Conveniently, the next match was at Guarani, dubbed an easy win.  It wasn’t as easy as it looked and ended in a draw.  Dorival, however, wanted more.  Keeping the youngster out of a match where he shouldn’t have been needed wasn’t sufficient, in his opinion, to deliver the proper message.

The chasm between player and coach could not be bridged.

The coach announced he would keep Neymar out of the next game, against fierce rivals Corinthians. Santos’ President Luis Alvaro de Oliveira Ribeiro disagreed and, when Dorival refused to back down, he was fired for insubordination.  Neymar was reinstated in the squad in time to face Corinthians, where he scored once in a losing effort.  In the next match, though, he led the squad to a strong victory over Cruzeiro.

Meanwhile, Dorival was speculated to be on his way to Sao Paolo, having forced his firing to get away from the troublesome young star.  That didn’t happen.  Instead, he has taken over at Atletico Mineiro, who are almost a lock for relegation this season.

Brazilian National team coach Mano Menezes kept Neymar out of his latest squad, saying he needs to rethink the makeup of his squad.

“We’ve lived troubled moments in the past, and we want to keep problems out of the national team at this point. We believe it’s important to send this message out for everybody to have in mind the way we work. We want to leave clear the line we have chosen to manage this group.” – Brazilian national coach Mano Manezes, on his decision to omit Neymar from his latest list of call-ups

Neymar might be the next big thing.  Personally, I do not believe he is.  In any case, he needs to understand the words education, hierarchy and team work.  He may be getting paid but he still needs to pay his dues.

The new Chѐ?

Diego Maradona, self described as “completely drained of energy” after his side was roughly treated by a young German squad at the World Cup, has stated his uncertainty about continuing as manager of the Argentine national team.  Despite the ridicule that much of the rest of the world (those not named Rob Hughes of the NY Times, at any rate) have foisted on his efforts as the man in charge, he is very much appreciated and loved in his home country.  The president of the Argentine federation has been lavishing el Pibe with praise and bending over backwards to get him to commit to another four years at the helm.

The man himself?  Well, he has been on a busman’s holiday of sorts, apparently advising good friend Hugo Chavez, the president of Venezuela, during his ongoing relationships issues with neighbouring Colombia.  In case you’re unaware, the two countries have been involved in a dispute over whether Venezuela is harboring Colombian rebels on their side of the border.  The Colombians brought what they claim is satellite surveillance, revealing rebel forces hunkered down in Venezuelan territory, to an OAS summit.  The Venezuelans, thinking creatively under pressure, replied that the photos could have been taken anywhere.  Maradona, who is known to have a leftist political view and has famously enjoyed the hospitality of Cuba’s Fidel Castro, was at Chavez’ side today as the Venezuelan severed diplomatic ties with those cheeky coca farmers.

The BBC, that solid bastion of journalistic integrity and staunch opponent of tabloidism, pictured Maradona and Chavez together in a very suggestive manner but somehow failed altogether to mention the Argentine, in the report itself.  Surely though, his council was of the greatest import in aiding Chavez in making such an important political decision?

Maradona is well known for catching his opponents off guard with surprise tactics.  Just ask the 1986 English squad. With Colombia’s government in a state of transition, after the recent election of Juan Manuel Santos, who doesn’t assume power for another two weeks, this is the perfect time to go on the offensive.

The political scene has become so dull in the last few years.  It’s all he said, she said, with plenty of finger pointing and shouting but no real action.  Maradona’s antics and eminently quotable press conferences in South Africa certainly made the World Cup much more interesting.  Maybe he could do the same for Latin American politics. After all, it’s been what, three decades, since we’ve had a good South American war?

Could Diego Maradona have a future as a political consultant?  At least we know his strategy.  Attack, attack, attack!

The three amigos, Maradona, Chavez and Bolivia's Evo Morales

Luis Felipe Scolari

I did it once, I can do it again!

After a well paid exile in Uzbekistan, Felipão is back at the bench of his beloved Palmeiras.  He has the experience and the crowd stands by him. However, after two not so great gigs, in Chelsea and Bunyodkor, Big Phil’s return to his country was perhaps his only choice. Scolari is the person with more to lose if he accepts this job. He already has a World title and most people in Brazil put the 2002 team in an unreacheable pedestal. His image as a good tactical mind and a conciliator of great minds can quickly change after a couple of  bad results.

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Vanderlei Luxemburgo

Double or nothing!

Well known outside Brazil for his short time spent in Madrid, Luxemburgo has already worked in the biggest clubs of Brazil. His tactical knowledge is always praised in his home country, where he holds a record 5 national championships. Lately, his star hasn’t shone so brightly, with allegations of gambling addiction hovering over his head. Having had an unsuccessful experience in the national squad, his name continues to be brought up among those who remember the good ol’ days.

The rule is: the referee's call is always a bad one.

Mano Menezes

The Corinthians’ coach doesn’t have any international experience. However, his tenure in the popular São Paulo club has been victorious. Born and raised in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, the local Uruguayan and Argentinian influences are shown in his physical, defensive minded game. His shady connections may get him the job, but he is just not ready, yet.

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Wearing his heart on his sleeve, the media loves him. Especially after a loss.

Muricy Ramalho

After three titles in a row with São Paulo, Muricy’s star faded in Palmeiras. He is now trying to get back on his feet in Rio. His temper does not help his cause for he presents an unfitting attitude for a job this big. Tactically stubborn, he would have to change lots of things to make his beloved 3-5-2 work in the Seleção.

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The best choice with his current boss

Paulo Autuori

A former Peruvian national coach, he has experience in South America, Portugal, Japan and the Middle East. He is famous for replacing coaches fired mid-term in Brazil. His South American titles with Cruzeiro and São Paulo, plus good work with Botafogo, add to his resume. Currently, he is making a lot of money in Qatar. Calm and with great knowledge of the game, he is my favorite for the gig.

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Santana has his eye on the job

Joel Santana

The folkloric former South African coach is very popular in Rio. In Brazil, we say that he talks the same ‘language’ as the players, hence his popularity among them and the public. Apart from that, he is not the greatest of coaches. For Joel, his name being in the mix can be considered a prize for his work in some Brazilian big clubs.

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Always classy Leonardo

Leonardo

Still undecided if he wants to be a coach or a GM, Leonardo’s name is brought up more because of his finesse and less because of his coaching skills. He had a bitter-sweet experience in Milan, no one could do a lot better than he did. I wonder if he was really the coach of that team, or just a puppet from master Berlusconi.

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I wonder what he is so happy about....

Carlos Alberto Parreira

Well, when you talk of renewal, new faces or new man for the job, the last thing you want is an old coach back. Somehow, Parreira is always in the mix when it comes to the Seleção, and he should be confirmed soon as a General Manager for the National Team. He has the experience, but his name is still linked with the 2006 debacle, which is not a good memory for Brazilan fans.

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Maybe after 2014, his time will come.

Dorival Junior

Junior is probably the best coach for young players nowadays. After two good seasons (with Coritiba and Vasco), Santos hired him to lead a young and very talented squad. He won some titles and has the right temper. However, some tactical flaws still prevent him from taking this giant leap.

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Looking for a job!

Adilson Batista

The former Cruzeiro coach is one of the best new names. Currently unemployed, after a long tenure in Minas Gerais, Adilson has yet to accomplish something at the greater level in Sao Paolo or in Rio to be taken seriously for a job this big.

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Soon to be unemployed!

Ricardo Gomes

He has had some international experience, coaching clubs in France, between jobs in Brazil. However, his name is in the mix because someone at the CBF likes him. His contract with São Paulo expires soon and has not yet been renewed, which indicates he would be free to take the job.

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And who is the man that chooses the coach?  Well, that would be:

He better think this one through....

Ricardo Teixeira

João Havelange’s ex-son in law, he has been the head of Brazilian football since 1989. He is certainly the type of person people would rather have on their side, due to his power. Even Brazilian Presidents have found that out. Allegations of corruption never stick to him, and he is always quiet when confronted with the lack of stars and money in the Brazilian League. Making most of the decisions alone, he has already announced that the new coach will not split duties between any club and the National Team. He also guaranteed that the new man will have time to work and that he expects nothing less than a title in 2014. Sure, like that’s so easy.

If you’re the gambling type, there are plenty of choices.  So, take your pick.

Soon enough we will know who will sit in the hot seat.

The origins of the Grumpy Old Men

In 1965, The Odd Couple opened on Broadway.  The film version, starring Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon, came out in 1968 and the television series, with the less stellar duo of Tony Randall and Jack Klugman, debuted in 1970.  The script and screenplay were written by the prolific American playwright, Neil Simon, and were his seminal works.  The hilariously funny plot revolves around the conflict which arises when Felix, a neurotic control freak, is kicked out by his wife and moves in with his friend and fellow divorcee, Oscar, a fun loving slob.  The two are such fundamentally different characters that you have to wonder how their friendship developed, before it was ever tested by co-habitation.

A similar relationship seemingly exists between two rivals in Major League Soccer, the Los Angeles Galaxy and CD Chivas USA. The Galaxy are famous for their free spending ways, their payroll amounting to more than any other two MLS franchises combined and over three times the salary cap limit imposed by the league, not including the exception known as the Designated Player Rule.  Chivas, on the other hand, are not making use of the DPR and have easily the lowest wage bill of any MLS side, their players receiving almost twenty percent less in salary, on average, than the next lowest paid team in the league.  That’s quite a disparity when it comes to business models.  The difference is reflected in the standings, as well, with the Galaxy sitting comfortably atop the table, while the Goats find themselves tethered to one of the legs propping it up.

The clubs’ rivalry on the pitch is perhaps the one true derby in MLS.  As the duo share a stadium, it’s easiest to link their animosity for each other to the San Siro Derby, between AC Milan and Inter, but, as the Angelino version has been dubbed the Super-Clasico, there are also parallels to be drawn with the Real/Barca feud in La Liga.  No matter to whom you compare them, the fans on either side of the line, like any true supporters, revel in their hatred for the other and are each proud of the image of their team.

Becks and Donovan were happy to follow the yellow brick road..

The Galaxy followers identify with the cinematic glamour and star power espoused by their team’s chosen moniker, as well as the extravagant $250m signing of David Beckham, who brought with him his celebrity wife and personal army of paparazzi.  With the fallout from the former England captain’s misadventures on loan at Milan still leaving a bitter taste in their mouths, the Galactic Armada is very happy that Landon Donovan has been locked into a long term deal to stay at the club, paying him over $2.5m per annum and that league commissioner, Don Garber, has steadfastly refused overtures from Europe for their talismanic leader.  A payroll over $10m is not a concern; throwing more money at problems is how you deal with them in Hollywood.  There are even rumours that the club may be shelling out a further  €10m to AC Milan for their out of favour, high flying and high living Brazilian party animal, Ronaldhino.

...While the Ultras believe Beckham should have taken a more humble path.

Chivas fans, meanwhile, remain unimpressed by their wealthy neighbours.  The club has earned a reputation for exceeding low expectations.  They are proud of their working class Latino roots and believe that this season’s struggles are just a transition period after losing their very successful manager, Preki, to Toronto FC.

One has to wonder, though, whether these fans are aware that, just under the surface, there lays a thorny reef of connections between the ownership of the two franchises that suggests the ‘rivalry’ between them is only a charade manufactured in the interests of profit.

The Galaxy are owned by the Anschutz Entertainment Group, an entity that should be passingly familiar to concert goers in Manchester, London and Berlin.   AEG owns the MEN Arena in Manchester, and the O2 Arenas in London and Berlin.  The company is the second largest concert promoter in the world, purchasing professional sports teams to fill dates in the various venues it owns around the globe.  They were also purported to be the new sponsor for Manchester United in 2010-11, replacing AIG, before AON emerged as the new anagram to be emblazoned across the famous red and black strip.

Think of Anschutz as the Hollywood version of Roman Abramovich.

Anschutz’ company has been known for conducting its business in an ubiquitous and, sometimes, insensitive manner.  A portion of the Berlin Wall, serving as a WWII memorial and symbol of peace was removed to afford a better view of Anschutz’ new venue in that city.  When Michael Jackson passed away just before doing a series of shows at the London O2, AEG sent out letters to holders of prepurchased tickets, offering to sell them a ‘commemorative souvenir ticket’ in place of a refund for their£64-84 tickets.  Randy Phillips, the AEG Live CEO, responding to media inquiries as to the questionable taste of this marketing venture said that, “Since he (Jackson) loved his fans in life, it is incumbent upon us to treat them with the same reverence and respect after his death.”

In the US, Anschutz has used the influx of the MLS, a league with a mandate for use specific (soccer only) stadia, to further his fortune.  Most American sports leagues frown on one owner holding a major stake in multiple teams.  MLS, however, operates as a single entity, and is less concerned with the integrity of the financial competition between its member clubs than it is with that of the athletic variety.  That makes the partnership with MLS a perfect marriage for AEG, which is looking for tenants for its main business interest, stadia.  At 20-30,000 seats, the typical soccer venue in America is the perfect size to stage and sell out concerts.  In a country supposedly indifferent to the beautiful game, Phillip Anschutz’ investment in MLS (AEG owns the Galaxy outright and has a fifty percent interest in the Houston Dynamo) has helped make him a billionaire and the 123rd richest person in the world.

The Home Depot Center, an AEG concert venue and MLS' Los Angeles bachelor pad for the odd couple that is the Galaxy and Chivas USA.

Chivas USA are owned by Jorge Vergara Madrigal and Antonio Cue Sanchez-Navarro.  Madrigal is also the owner of parent club, Chivas de Guadalajara, the largest club in Mexico, and Deportivo Saprissa of Costa Rica, the biggest in that rapidly modernising Central American nation.  Sanchez-Navarro and Shawn Hunter, the president and CEO, handle the day to day operations for the American version of Chivas.

A former timeshare salesman, Madrigal also has some interestingly coincidental, if not solidly established ties to the Galaxy ownership.  Not only is he a tenant in the Home Depot Center, he made his fortune by smuggling a brand of health care products, sold through multi-level marketing, into Mexico with the help of an American partner.  When the product took off, Madrigal was instrumental in negotiating marketing rights for the line in Mexico, with the federal government.  In so doing, he positioned himself to become the president of the newly legalised company, OmniLife, thus sitting prettily at the top of the Mexican pyramid.

For those of you who haven't been south of the border, our intrepid 'goat' herder is not a chauvinist. The Guadalajaran Chivas, whose strip is proudly worn by Senora Madrigal, is sponsored by the Mexican equivalent of Wonder Bread.

The millions he made from this revenue stream enabled him to buy the original Chivas and expand the brand, establishing the MLS franchise as well as Chivas Hefei, in the Chinese first division.  Chivas Hefei, it should be noted, plays its matches in a brand new 60,000 seat, soccer specific stadium.

As Anschutz did with AEG, Madrigal has invested in the entertainment industry, producing such films as Y, Tu Mama Tambien.

Oh, I almost forgot.  That American health product marketer?  You know, the parent company to OmniLife, of which Chivas is a subsidiary?  It should be familiar to LA Galaxy followers, as it’s name is emblazoned across their strip.  Chivas USA’s owner, Madrigal, is the president of the Mexican arm of the Galaxy’s main sponsor, HerbaLife.

To be fair, Don Garber and the executive board of MLS have not allowed any possible financial friendships to develop into anything more than the appearance of a possible conflict of interest.  No significant or untoward player transactions have occurred between the two clubs.  Although, the formation of Chivas USA provided a new foil for the Galaxy, so that Anschutz’ other MLS holding, Houston Dynamo, who were doing very well, not coincidentally with a younger Landon Donovan on their roster, as the San Jose Earthquake, would not be deserting the Galaxy when they moved into their new AEG built digs in Texas.  Still, all in all, the business of football between the Home Depot Center roomies has stayed that of competitive rivals, whatever has gone on beyond that confined sphere.

MLS is growing, though.  The surge in American viewership for this year’s World Cup is an opportunity upon which the league can build, securing for itself a stronger foothold in the US sporting market.  It must remember, however, that Americans are, by nature, suspicious of soccer.  As more begin to pay attention to the game, so too will the media.  Even the appearance of a conflict of interest could do serious damage to the credibility of the fledgling league.

The General and his soldiers

As was pointed out in an earlier WFC column, Brazil and Argentina have plenty of differences, but both have somehow managed to keep one thing in common: the know-how to use their strengths.

Maradona and Dunga are not exactly coaches. One of them worked towards restructuring the Brazilian national squad’s core throughout his three and a half years on the bench, whereas the other one took over the Argentine job almost two years ago and has since spent his time testing far too many players. Some experts, here in South America, seem to consider that they have just continued their previous roles, Dunga as a captain, now off the field, almost like a general, Maradona as the “good friend” of the guys, and the one who still can make the nice moves (at least in practice ).

In the end, both left home some big names.

Dunga realised that, while he has some of the best central defenders and right backs in the world, in order to mantain this fortress he would have to give up on some of the “fantasy” players that were regularly seen in yellow. His main problem always seemed to be the left back, maybe Daniel Alves (who would be a first team regular virtually anywhere) can solve that issue, because Gilberto and Michel Bastos are not playing in the left, at least not for their clubs. Another problem for Brazil is the bench.  It’s not exactly Dunga’s fault but the reserve players are not of the same quality as the first team. It may seem as a natural thing, but the downfall is immense from Kaká to Julio Baptista and from Gilberto Silva to Josué, for example.

How does the beard story go?

Calling Maradona a head coach is merely a figure of speech.  I firmly believe that his only function as a coach is to sign the sheet, Veron seems to be the leader on the pitch. With a pack of good forwards, most of them on the top scoring tables in the main European leagues, and a lack of trustworthy defenders and goalies, the Argentines seem only to have a mind for attacking their opponents. Messi, Tevez and Higuain (with Aguero, Milito and Palermo in the bench) comprise one of the most talented groups of attacking midfielders/forwards in the world; how to best use them is the key to Argentina’s sucess.

There is a famous saying in the game of American Football:  “Offense wins games, defense wins championships.”  Which  will prevail in true football, we will find out during the World Cup.

No, you’re not being punk’d.

If you’ve ever seen The Butterfly Effect, starring Ashton Kutcher, or are familiar with the chaos theory concept for which the film is named, you might have an idea of how nearly half the populace of South America feels as the World Cup approaches.

Essentially, the theory posits that even the slightest change in detail at the beginning of an experiment can produce a hugely different outcome. Based on the work of mathematician and meteorologist, Edwin Lorenz, the idea is that a butterfly flapping its wings in one particular place, or not at all, might, through a series of consequent reactions affect the direction or severity of a hurricane an ocean away.

I remember , as a young whippersnapper, reading a science fiction story about a man who travels back in time to see dinosaurs and accidentally steps on a butterfly or caterpillar or some such.  When he returns home, his world is in ruin.  Of course, Ashton Kutcher only travelled back to his own childhood. No hurricanes. No dinosaurs. Still, each change he made, attempting to improve his present life, brought drastic and unintended consequences.

Now, as far as I know, no football fan in Brazil or Argentina has discovered time travel.  Still, there have been some radical changes in the makeup of the two national teams recently.  Like a work exchange program, Brazil is adopting a more staid Argentinish approach in preparing for South Africa, while Argentina is, a la Brazil, trying to add a little color and panache to their game.

If you play word association with a group of people, first mentioning Brazil, the reply will probably be either soccer or Carnival. The colors of the flag and the national team kit are a vivid gold, green and blue. Music, dance, laughter, creativity and  celebration are all words that describe the Brazilian people; they pursue happiness with their heart and souls.

Victory party

Holiday party

Conversely, the Argentines seek satisfaction. They are very political animals. Continuing the game of word association, next ask for the name of a famous Argentine and for every Diego Maradona mentioned, you are equally likely to get one answer of Che Guevara and  another voting for Evita Peron.  Pride , power and politics are cultural bywords in Buenos Aires.  Or they would be, if English was the language spoken.

So why are the Selecao eschewing individual talent for team cohesion and defensive discipline and why did the Albiceleste give the reins of the national team to a man famous for his excesses, who took charge with a rash promise to not only bring his country victory but to do it in style?

The simple answer would be that it is down to the two managers. Dunga is a former center back, Brazilian born but of conservative German stock, a heritage which has always shown in his game and management philosophy. Maradona, on the other hand, has lived and almost died, not for the glory of the game, but the drama.  This reversal of polarized philosophies is like George W. Bush hosting the Oscars while Ellen DeGeneres sits in the Oval Office. It’s like the BBC airing Debbie Does Dallas while the Daily Mail runs a five part series on global warming. It’s like Roy Hodgson out on the town with Cheryl Cole on one arm and Victoria Beckham on the other while Ashley, Becks and John Terry enjoy a nice quiet evening at home playing Scrabble.

I can just hear Golden Balls exclaiming, “Monogamy is too a word, you prat!”  (and don’t forget the 50 point bonus for using seven letters)

Communist Party

Socialist Party

For Brazil, the new methodology has borne positive fruit. The team is hardly boring, still showing frequent flashes of artistry but it has drastically reduced the foolish defensive lapses that have tripped them up in the past. While the media and fans may cry for the likes of Ronaldinho and Adriano to satisfy their appetite for theatrics, qualification went smoothly and, ever so slowly, outsiders are starting to buy into Dunga’s system.  The team is healthy, to boot, and have regained their number one FIFA World Ranking from the Spaniards.  Things are looking up.

For Argentina, not so much. The team struggled through the CONMEBOL qualifications with the raw, inexperienced Maradona showing no consistency in his roster selections, starting line-ups or tactics. After the side secured an invitation to the finals, in their very last match, the manager gave such a profanity laced hairdryer treatment to the media, which had delighted in pillorying him at every turn,that he earned a 60 day ban from FIFA and allegedly received a request for tutelage from the awestruck star of the Batman movies and fellow connoisseur of cuss, Christian Bale.

One plan coming together...

... Another falling to pieces?

Under past Argentine managers, petty differences were set aside for the greater glory and national pride.  The new regime, however, has permitted personality to become a major part of the selection process. One of the most sublime midfielders in the modern game, Juan Roman Riquelme refuses to play for Maradona, and the manager himself has largely ignored Inter midfielder Esteban Cambiasso since taking charge. Also absent from a final squad including 6 strikers is Inter fullback Javier Zanetti. The two Inter men, both well capped internationals, have played a huge part in their club side’s successful journey to Madrid for the Champions League Final. Only Diego Milito, taken as the 6th forward, was included from the trio of Argentines featuring for the two time Serie A champions. Perhaps the overabundance of strikers chosen reflects their manager’s opinion of his own historical importance.

To be fair, a hard fought one-nil away victory in a friendly over Germany has given some hope that such a talented team may be able to overcome the ineptitude of their little Napoleon.  It seems a slim hope at best, however.   Meanwhile, the outcome for either team, be it stunning success or epic failure, is subject matter for days yet to come.  More appealing–to me anyway– is the social subtext of the strange new world that is emerging in South American football.

Moreover , being satisfied with the simple answer of laying blame at the feet of Dunga and Maradona is too easy. It doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface.  After all, someone had to hire the managers.  It then follows that whoever does the hiring also signs the paychecks and tends to have deep pockets and powerful connections.  Therefore, economics and politics had to have a lot to do with this unexpected transformation. Interestingly, the political and economic landscape in both nations has also undergone significant change in the last decade.

Brazil, in the ’70’s and ’80’s, was a country in shambles. Inflation was rampant, crime high and the government was rife with scandal. The Cartolas (top hats) who ran the Brazilian clubs were as corrupt as the politicians they were in bed with. Then, in 1994, the Plano Real was enacted, curbing inflation and bringing the national deficit under control.  Brazil’s currency, the real, stabilized and foreign investors began to do business there. In 2002, leftist Luis Inacia Lula da Silva was elected President and the country has continued to prosper, leading to FIFA awarding Brazil the 2014 World Cup.

...while Cristina Kirchner attempts to hold off another economic landslide

Inacio rocks Brazil

As Brazil began to emerge as an economic power, Argentina’s government was rocked by corruption and scandal. In the new millennia, Buenos Aires seemingly rode an economic wave, as the gross national product rose, led by an automotive industry benefitting from the new consumerism just over the border in Brazil. The recovery was welcomed after decades of struggling under the expense of the ill advised and disastrous invasion of the Falkland Islands. By 2008, however, it became apparent that the government had been deliberately concealing the rate of inflation, publicly publishing a rate of 10% when it was, in fact, at least twice that.  All was not as rosy as it seemed.  Over the past two years, many Argentine government officials have been implicated in corruption schemes. The new administration, led by Cristina Kirchner,  has had to raise taxes across the board and once again look to the International Monetary Fund for assistance.

Soccer clubs have not been exempt from the crisis. The opening of the 2009 fall season was threatened as it was revealed that almost every club, including giants Boca Juniors and River Plate, were mired in massive debt. It is now Argentina that is home to emotional, reactionary policies and greed with Brazil cautiously looking forward to a prosperous future.

Valencia's Villa tests the wind before sailing for Barca...

...while ex partner Silva looks to flag a taxi to Madrid

While the situation in the two countries is one of the more stark and sudden changes in football’s landscape, it is far from the only one. Football is a major part of the global community, a place that is rapidly transforming .

The butterfly’s winds of change are blowing through stadiums all over the world.

Television has brought a wider audience and much more revenue to European leagues.  While some clubs are thriving, others have incurred huge debt.  Many small clubs, eager for a piece of the pie, have mortgaged their futures and, in the face of a sudden economic downturn, cannot honor their debts.  In England, Portsmouth are going through administration and have been relegated.  In Spain, Valencia have at last been forced to sell their best players, the Davids Silva and Villa, to pay their bills.  Those are just two of many top flight clubs in dire straits.

Outside of the game, changes in the global economy have also seen the creation and expansion of the European Union, the NAFTA Trade Agreement in North America, and Australia realigning itself in the Asian market.   These new political and commercial relationships, as well as the boom in internet and communications technologies, are quickly bringing the world  much closer together.

As a result, the lines between cultures are blurring.  Football is, of course, affected.  Despite the relative disinterest of their home markets, there is an ever increasing proliferation of American and Aussie players throughout Europe.  The roster of the current German national side, a country that, sadly, still lives in the shadow of the atrocities committed by the most fervent nationalist in history, features a virtual rainbow of German born players of Ghanian, Turkish, Tunisian, Spanish and Polish descent. Players like Mesut Ozil, with their very un-Germanic creativity, are even changing Fussball from probably the most efficient team oriented style of play into a more intricate and risky attacking game.

faces of the new Germany

and Jerome Boateng,

Mesut Ozil,

Cacau,

Sami Khedira,

FIFA itself, under the direction of Sepp Blatter has had a major part in this evolution, bringing the World Cup to Africa for the first time this year, it having recently made its debut in North America and Asia, as well. The next step may be integrating the Islamic nations into the World Cup village.  Qatar , with the encouragement of the FIFA chief has made a very innovative bid for either the 2018 or 2022 tournament.

The world is becoming more intimate and football is playing a role. As wonderful as that may be, one hopes that the changes in how the game is played in places like Brazil and Germany, caused by this globalization don’t ever evolve to the point where nations are indistinguishable from each other, all embracing similar  types of players and utilizing one bland style.  While that seems to work for the NFL, soccer’s charm is in its ability to bridge the gaps between and appeal to vastly different cultural and political environments.

Some of the greatest fights in boxing history, Ali/Frazier or Leonard/Duran, for example, were compelling due to the clash of opposite styles; power punchers trying to break down skilled boxers. That principal holds true in soccer when Italy meets Brazil, Argentina clashes with England or even when the Ivory Coast meets South Korea.

The diversity of the game is what makes it thrive. To lose that would be a grievous blow.

Author’s note:

I am far from the first to notice or remark on these changes in the game. As you can easily see if you check out my blog (insert shameless plug here) or just look at the title of this article, two of my favorite books on football are:   How Soccer Explains The World by Franklin Foerr and Soccernomics by Simon Kuper and Stefan Szymanski. I heartily recommend them. The authors know much more than I do about the butterfly effect now happening in the beautiful game.

Please read their work.