Paraguayan team should call Ireland for lessons in gracious losing…
Last night’s shenanigans in Paris (don’t visit the Stade de France’s Wikipedia page if you’re swear sensitive) seems to have cast football’s previous talking point - unrestrained violence on the pitch - into the dark recesses of everyone’s mind. The Spoiler is here to right the balance, with news of last night’s Copa Sudamerica brawl between Fluminense and Cerro Porteno.
After conceding twice in injury time to fall to a 3-1 aggregate defeat, Cerro Porteno sparked a vicious ‘22 players plus coaching staff and stadium employees’ brawl, which was only broken up when Brazilian military police rocked up.
As far as we can make out, it all kicked off with the most inflammatory dance in football history (0:37), before petering out after a comical double KO at 1:37.
O Fenômeno’s weight-related epiphany is three years overdue…
Since returning to Brazil after pies and feeble knee cartilage called time on a 14-year European career, Original Ronaldo has been enjoying his football. He’s racked up 19 goals in 25 games for Corinthians so far, bagging a league title and Brazil Cup in the process.
All this success has made him hungry (not an unfamiliar feeling) for glory on the world stage … if he could just get rid of his gut.
In an interview with Brazilian TV channel Globo, the tubby genius relayed plans for world domination next summer:
“Right now, today, I would not even call myself up [for the national team] … I am going to make a huge effort, maybe the biggest effort of my entire career. I am going to do everything I can to be there [in South Africa for WC2010] … I think it will largely depend on the first semester of 2010.
It is Corinthians’ centenary year and we are going to take part in the Brazilian championship and the Libertadores Cup… I am going to admit it, I am fat. Television adds 3 kilos. Here I have five cameras pointing at me. So that’s 3 kilos per camera!”
We’ll assume the ‘huge effort’ will be however much exertion is required to pick up a phone and book a liposuction appointment.
For those who don’t keep abreast of the Brazilian second division
Vasco de Gama dominated Brazilian football in the late 90s, when led by Romario, they laid claim to being the best side in the world. Hard times have befallen them since, but this overhead volley from young midifelder Nilton, put them up to second in Serie B, just two points off the top.
If you like your footballers young, tonight is your lucky night
The U20 World Cup may have come and almost gone without leaving any sizeable indent into the nation’s consciousness, but its semi-final time today dontcha know. Arsene Wenger will no doubt be tuning in to British Eurosport from 3:30, as Ghana battle Hungary, followed by Brazil taking on Costa Rica at 7pm.
And for those with relatives playing in the fixture, Ireland U21 vs Switzerland U21 is on Sky Sports 1 from 7:30
Troubled Corinthians striker has something in common with Sol Campbell besides excess weight
(Fat) Ronaldo’s return to Brazil has been blighted by injury, lipsocution surgery and his coronation as ‘King of the Transvestites‘, and the tubby striker’s fortunes appear to have taken yet another unfortunate turn.
Reports from Rio say that the Corinthians star has been ordered by a court to take a DNA paternity test, after a Brazilian living in Singapore claimed he is the father of her four-year-old child.
Michele Umrazu, 27, had been under the impression that her American ex-fiance was the daddy, but
Since his mid-nineties peak as one of the greatest footballers in the world, Romario has made more ’shocking’ returns from retirement than we care to remember. In August, the 43-year-old Brazilian revealed his intention to dust off his boots later this month for América Football Club, in order to fulfill his father’s wish to see him turn out in their red jersey.
Despite his imminent return to the game and his recent legal troubles with child support payments and illegal betting networks, the former PSV and Barcelona star yesterday announced his affiliation with the Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB). While the party refrained from formally announcing Romario’s candidacy for the 2010 national elections, the Spanish press seem to believe that they will attempt to capitalise on the striker’s popularity in Brazil.
Samba star admits his dissatisfaction to friends and journalists
Barcelona-based newspaperSporttoday reveal Robinho’s unhappiness at Manchester City.
During his recent trip to Brazil, it is claimed that the player admitted to friends and journalists in confidence that he is deeply dissatisfied with the time he is currently having with the Premier League and the Brazil squad. (Presumably, he now realises that football journalists aren’t the best people to privately confide in.)
Apparently, Robinho has not found a favourable environment in which his skills and dribbling talent can thrive. Aditionally, he is said to be concerned by the competition from Carlos Tevez and Emmanuel Adebayor at City, and his fight to win a place in the national squad is being hampered by strong criticisms from certain sectors fo the Brazilian press.
Naturally, Sport bring up the possibility of a January transfer window departure: