This is the best gossip I got from inside the olympic Village (actually the second best, but the first one I will have to take to my grave). It is not new at all that players like Rafa Nadal, Ronaldinho, Kobe Bryant, and many others are like idols for the others misters and misses nobody from the Olympics.

"I was sorry for Nadal. He can't have lunch, he needs to take pictures with athletes every two minutes", told me a table tennis guy. "I saw Yao Ming being rude to a guy that asked for a pic", told me another.

These two guys and two others confirmed to me that Messi can walk alone the whole day that nobody wants to take a picture with him. "Nobody knows him", told me a girl from Brazilian volleyball.

Anyway, if nobody wants to talk to Lionel, Kobe Bryant himsel said he was dying to get to know the Argentinean. Kobe was at Brazil x Argentina game and also at the football final.

BEIJING (CHINA) - Ambruse Vanzekin probably crossed Isinbayeva at the Olympic Village in his way to the Bird's Nest to play against Argentina the final.

This is the only reasonable excuse for the Nigerian keeper to go out of his small area to try to stop Argentina. This move was really unfortunate. Di Maria had no chance to score if the keeper stayed 'at home'.

Anyway, maybe this is hust my Brazilian part trying to believe Nigeria could win. But Argentina was the best and now they got this second gold medal and we don't have any (in football, in the overall standings at the Olympics Brazil comes first, of course).

My chat with the girl in the picture next to the Bird’s Nest was something like this...

- Hi, do you like Brazil?
- I love Beijing. I live here.
- Bra zil! BA GI (Brazil in Chinese). Brazil, not Beijing!
- Not so much
- What?
- Not so much. No.
- Really?
- Yes.
- Why are you wearing this t shirt anyway?
- I like the color

It is like Confucius always said: “Be honest and people will post about you at their blogs”

BEIJING (CHINA) - Communication is by far the biggest enigma from Summer Olympic Games in Beijing. It doesn’t matter if you know the name of your destination in Chinese. When you speak, they just don’t understand. The accent is so different that I already gave up.

For the worst moments, a telephone number with a friend who speaks the local language is the only option.

But, even the telephone can fail. So here is my sad history:

My accreditation is not valid for tennis. I am a huge fan of Roger Federer and I made a lot of effort to get a pass for one of his games. But, I had to do table tennis before as part of my work here. I had enough time. One hour left between the end of my article in the table tennis venue and the Olympic Green, where the tennis courts are.

So I asked a volunteer to help me to find a cab and tell him where he should go. They spoke 3 minutes in Chinese, looked at me and gave me lots of OK OK OK OK. After 50 minutes in the cab (wow) I was at the venue. 10 minutes to the game. Nice! I passed through security and finally I was there... in the BADMINTON VENUE!

I lost the game. Federer lost the game to James Blake. I definitely have to improve my Chinese beyond Ni Hao.  

BEIJING (CHINA) - Boys from Brazilian National Team: Here is a lesson. Watch the videotape from Gold Medal game between Brazil x United States in women’s football in Summer Olympics. Brazilians girls showed everything you didn’t show. Balls, to start with.

I confess I am not really into women’s football. Exception for a few players (like Marta, Hamm, Prings and that amazing German goalkeeper that I forgot the name) I don’t think they know how to play. Most of the plays seem to me a game of 4 year-old kids that go wherever the ball is and kick no matter which direction. It looks like football, but it is not. They should have a different name like Baseball and Softball.

But this small detail doesn’t stop me to know what a gold medal means (the game was the most important feature in the Chinese newspaper China Daily yesterday - pic). Especially to Brazil, just one gold so far in the competition (in Athens, we had 5). I couldn’t watch the game live cause I were covering Track ‘n Field. I watched later a good part of the game.

Brazilian girls, unlike our sleep men, fought the whole time. It is not easy to play against the United States. We had in mind we could repeat the semifinal result at the World Cup last year, but what we saw actually was a real good and consistent game from the North-Americans, especially at defense.

The silver for our girls is not exactly what we all expected. But I am sure Brazil is proud of their girls, just the opposite of our feeling about the boys.

And congrats to the Americans players. In case of woman, these girls have the right to say: ‘football is coming home’.

BEIJING (CHINA) - It was the night of the nights in Beijing. A full Worker’s Stadium watched a master class from Argentina against useless Ronaldinho’s Brazil. Kun Aguero (2) and Riquelme penalty kick put the defending gold medal champions into the Beijing Summer Olympics final.

A personal nightmare for me since I bet with this Argentinean journalist that each goal would of the final would turn into a scorpion-in-a-stick. Thanks a lot Ronaldinho! I had three and my stomach woke up very happy this morning.

Anyway, about the crowed and the experience: very nice. Chinese people were really (I mean reaaaally) divided into the two teams.

They probably wanted to see a good game only and maybe some Ronaldinho-Riquelme-Messi action. It is funny to see them watching the game. A throw in is already something to be cheered.

There were a few Brazilians and Argentineans among the 50 thousand fans in the game. You don’t’ need more than a hundred of them to make a lot of noise. During the first half the Chinese decided they had to watch the fans and not the game.

They were absolutely right as the game was zero entertainment. In the crowd, however, every PUTA or CARALHO or BOLUDO were celebrated by them. The Chinese definitely like Spanish and Portuguese dirty words. That was all new for them, like a movie or a joke. 

They also were introduced to people that doesn’t know how to loose. Brazilian’s anger with their own team is probably new for them team. Chinese have been so supportive with all their athletes, even the losers that they will never forget this moment. “How come your are offending Ronaldinho?” It takes a Brazilian to answer this question!

But, since I got here, let’s say, this is the first time I see a HOLA (Mexican wave) done without the big screen asking for it. Like a NBA show, here in Beijing, at Basketball, track n’ field, table tennis, beach volleyball, tennis and all others events I watched, the crowed had to be asked to do something. Nothing is spontaneous. Not very football, right? A football fan doesn’t need a D-FENCE sign to know when it is time to shout or not. But this time was different. The HOLA was started alone and the Chinese just forgot the game after that for at least round 10 laps.

In the second half, the game finally began. I mean Argentinean’s game, of course. Aguero twice (one out of play) and two shots by Brazil at the bar (Brazilian’s single two shots) made the boring game transform into real action. Brazil tried to do something but Ronaldinho and his young friends couldn’t show some offensive game.

The third goal, penalty kick from Riquelme, came out and Brazil completely lost its nerves. Lucas and Thiago Neves got red cards for violent plays and Brazil is now going for bronze against Belgium while Argentina and Nigeria will repeat 1996 Atlanta final when the African’s with inspired Kanu got the gold medal. Party that I had to watch the players doing at the bus.

After the game, I went to the press conference and mixed zone. Carlos Dunga, Brazilian Coach, said he will keep working with the team, but serious rumors put him out of his position after the bronze medal game or maybe against Chile, in Santiago, for the 2010 World Cup Qualifying.

I asked Lucas from Liverpool why he lost it after 3-0 and he was quite upset about it. He looked into my eyes and said it was completely unfair his red card (!!??). I don’t know what kind of football he had been playing in Liverpool but it seemed to me a red card call indeed.

Anderson from Man United said the score could not mirror what the game had been so far. Pato was sad cause he thought he had to play more minutes (Dunga put him on the bench after two terrible first games in the competition). 

Lots of excuses, but where Ronaldinho was? He didn’t show up. He was at the doping room, pissing, while Brazil’s 180 million people are quite pissed about him!

BEIJING (CHINA) - Brazil vs Argentina in a World Cup would be Premium football tickets. In Beijing, the semifinal in the Summer Olympics Games football competition is not so hard to get a ticket as they could be.

Popular, but not so much in China, football is also not a really winning medal sport to the hosts, which keep beating hard the Americans in the overall gold medal standings.

I have my own media pass to the game but I decided, in the name of this blog, walk around and talk to some of the guys selling tickets on major venues. Suprisingly, I could find many people selling them. No so cheap, of course, but I saw at least 30 tickets in less than 15 minutes.

The guys selling, with one or two exceptions, are Chinese guys and they definately don't look like professional resellers. They probably bought those tickets long time ago to make some money. I say that cause you could see one ticket only from each kind in thier hands, mostly of athletics and table tennis and badminton, very popular sports in China.

The football ticket official price category C costs 200 yuan. This is about U$ 33. The first guy that I met with a ticket told me he would sell it for 3,000 yuan. 1400% overprice (about U$ 500). I tried to negotiate but he said no.

I moved on and a couple of blocks away I found a pair of tickets. This time the guy said he would make 5,000 yuan for both. A better offer indeed. This guy could speak English a little so I tried, not to negotiate, but ask why those tickets were so ‘expensive’.

He probably knew about football as much as I know about badminton. Anyway, he was smart enough to buy those too a month ago e even smarter to study about the game he was seelling. He told me: “This game is better than the final.”

As we can see, the Chinese don’t necessarily need to know anything about what they are selling to make good business.       

BEIJING (CHINA) - Forget about Usain Bolt, Michael Phelps and 'ping pong'. Get ready for some real action here in the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics. Bring on your masks, cause the smog pollution we are obliged to breathe here every day will be heavier on Tuesday 19 when Brazil and Argentina comes to town and enter the field for the first time ever in an Olympic football competition. OleOle is here and we will be there!

This game should be the gold medal one on Saturday at the amazing Olympic Stadium, the Bird's Nest (pic from the field), but becomes even more tragic as one of the two lifetime rivals won’t have the opportunity to run for gold. Argentina is the defending champion. They qualified January 2007 in a dramatic match against Uruguay, decided in extra time.

For Brazil, gold medal is an obsession. Every player wants to give the first gold medal to the country. This title, the only major one Brazil never won it, would transform the 18 players and the permanent under pressure coach into heroes.

Romario (silver in 1988), Ronaldo (bronze in 1996) and Ronaldinho (quaterfinals 2000) are often called chokers cause they lost the Games in their times. Even Dunga, the Brazilian National Coach, got ‘just’ a silver medal in 1984 as a player.

Because this is huge in Brazil, every player wants to play. Ronaldinho and Kaká said no to Copa America last year in Venezuela, but they fought hard to be in Beijing. Kaká lost his personal battle with AC Milan but Ronaldinho had a master play by negotiating his absence from the same Italian team before he signed his new contract. Robinho, the best player in Copa America, was stopped from Real Madrid to join BNT in China. “He is very upset, he dreamt of being in the Olympics”, told me here Diego, his closest friend since they played together.

Diego himself, old enough to play for the under 23 team yet, had to escape from Werder Bremen to be part of the team, the same that Rafinha, from Schalke 04, had to do. “Win this medal is like a World Cup for us and besides, this place is so cool. If I have some time I want to watch the Dream Team playing basketball”, he completed.

Ronaldinho is the single star from Brazilian team. Argentina, one more time, seems stronger with Messi, Riquelme and Aguero. But let’s remember Brazil have won mostly of the most important games with a not so Joga Bonito team, including last Copa America.

BlogdeBola ao vivo do Riiiii de Janeiro. Cidade fervendo nos termômetros e também ligada no jogo desta noite no Maracanã (diz que vem chuva por aí).

- Cheguei na terça-feira e fui direto ao hotel da seleção, na avenida Oscar Niemeyer, com uma vista deslumbrante. Hotel da Seleção em qualquer lugar já é cheio de penetra. No Rio, vira quase que virada do ano em Copacabana.

- Tanto que eu cheguei a temer pelos... pés dos jogadores. Cinco jogadores desceram para falar com a imprensa. Entrava qualquer um na sala destinada para tal. Ronaldinho, Robinho, Juan, Gilberto e Mineiro desceram de chinelo. E logo multidões de aglomeraram.

- Um cara da imprensa do Equador chegou a subir numa mesa para tentar falar com Ronaldinho e derrubou um vaso, que caiu no chão. Fico imaginando o vaso se espatifando nos pés do 10 da Seleção e ele perde o jogo. O jornalista equatoriano vira o melhor em campo na partida sem nem entrar.

- Aliás, uma vez numa conversa que o Juca Kfouri teve com o pessoal da redação do iG, quando eu lá trabalhava, lembro dele falando da sua matéria na Placar sobre os pés dos jogadores e o quanto ele, a princípio, foi ridicularizado pelos colegas por propor e fazer a pauta e, depois, festejado, ao ganhar um prêmio de reportagem com a mesma. Pois lembrei dele falando isso ontem. Reparei nos pés e realmente são detonados. Tinha gente dizendo até que o Ronaldinho era feio, literalmente, dos pés a cabeça (que maldade!). O importante é que o cara tem uma master paciência de Jó para (tentar) falar com todo mundo, tomar 630 pisões no pé, ouvir 467 seu próprio nome gritado por todos nós e 133 microfones no queixo. (foto: Rodrigo Favero)

- Mas nem tudo é feio por aqui. E eu já explico.

- No período da tarde, fui no Maracanã. Fazia bons anos que não ia ao Mário Filho, estádio que já me arrepia quando vejo na TV, imagine ao vivo. Depois da reforma, não tinha estado lá. Hoje, com 80 e poucos mil e amanhã, no clássico, materei a saudade.

- E Dunga colocou o pé na calçada da fama. Merecido, diga-se, afinal trata-se do capitão do tetra. O tetra, para minha geração, é o fim da fila. O tetra na Copa é uma espécie de título de 77 para o corintiano.

- Depois, treino da Seleção e eu perdi resolvendo problemas burocráticos e administrativos. Mas quem se importa. Como eu disse dois tópicos atrás, nem tudo é feio por aqui.

- Na quarta, acordei cedo. Para uma caminhada no calçadão. Copacabana ao Leblon. Pacote completo. Preparando para um dia que será longo.

- E eis que entre os postos 8 e 9, vejo um treino melhor do que eu perdi no Maracanã na véspera. Leila e Ana Paula treinando. Como não acompanho o esporte, eu nem sabia que elas eram (ou ainda são) uma dupla. Tive que parar para uma pausa no cooper, beber uma água de côco e conhecer melhor a modalidade.

- Com todo o respeito ao pessoal da Espn e Sportv, que fazem ótima cobertura da Seleção, tem treino melhor para mostrar de manhã na TV brasileira. O carioca é um cara de sorte mesmo.

- E aí você pergunta. Pô. Tem foto do Ronaldinho e não tem do treino de vôlei. Onde já se viu sair para caminhar com câmera?

(Puerto La Cruz) - O jogo deste sábado à noite teve um Chile no Mesozóico e um Brasil no Cenozóico. Várias 'Eras' separam estas duas equipes. Chile vai para casa com o resultado total de 9 x 1 para o Brasil. Os chilenos, sua zaga-mãe e aqueeeela vontade de ir para casa ajudaram, é claro, mas o Brasil não tem nada com isso. Jogou bem. Não deu espaço. Avançou os laterais. Mineiro e Josué avançaram a marcação como nos velhos tempos tricolores. Fora isso, seis gols em quartas de Copa América é um feito. Eis algumas notas da noite. Vamos ao jogo...

- Esta noite o público não foi aquela coisa de sempre. Talvez a chuva, talvez a eliminação da seleção da casa antes. Não que o estádio estivesse vazio. Mas cheio também não estava. Talvez 80% da ocupação.

- Mas o que incomdou mesmo foi o silêncio. Dava para ouvir o Dunga gritando. Manja aquele São Caetano x Caxias numa quarta a noite com chuva no Anacleto Campanela? Pois é... o silêncio lembrou bem.

- E o povo gastou neurônio à toa. Maicon jogou e jogou bem. Ombro que nada. Olha ele aí na foto saudando o pessoal do OleOle (não é photoshop. É sério!).

- E o Vagner Love começou com tudo. Não é possível que hoje não sairia o gol. Numa linda jogada no primeiro tempo pelo esquerda dentro da área, cortou o zagueiro para o meio e chutou de direita raspando.

- Depois veio o gol, fácil, jogadinha manjada e a força aérea nacional, sem greve na controladoria de vôos, fez tabelinha de cabeça para Juan abrir o placar.

- Vagner de novo. Passou bola com açucar para Julio Baptista encher o pé de canhota.

- Uma hora sai o gol do Love.

- Robinho faz o terceiro, chute certeiro, limpando a zaga-mãe chilena. Mais uma vez, como nos tempos de Santos. Chora, Madrid.

- Acabou o primeiro tempo e eu quase desci no vestiário para falar com o Nelson Acosta que o pessoal do OleOle está montando um time para enfrentar o Chile onde e quando ele quiser. E depois a gente vai para a festa todos juntos.

- Primeiro tempo já poderia ter sido cinco. Fácil.

- Vem o segundo e no intervalo um repórter chileno me pergunta o que eu acho do Chile, ao vivo numa rádio. Quem me conhece sabe que costumo ser polido, agregador, bacana, batuta. Mas não tinha outra coisa a dizer senão: 'pior Chile que já vi na minha vida'. Sem mais perguntas, meritíssimo.

- O segundo tempo começou e logo vem o quarto com Robinho. O brasileiro, aliás, é o único que ainda tem chances de fazer barba cabelo e bigode na competição. O jogador pode ser o artilheiro, o melhor jogador do torneio e o jogador jovem mais valioso. São os três prêmios individuais distribuídos por aqui. Se juntar a isso o título, entonces, aí eu quero ver Messi bater palminha.

- Ai Caramba. Madre de Dios. Uma briga de torcida finalmente por aqui. Dois gordinhos se pegaram. O exército finalmente trabalhou por aqui e levou os dois para conversar na salinha.

- Calma, pessoal. All you need is Love!

- Antes do Love, ninguém merecia mais um gol que Josué (J em espanhol, por favor - Rrrota). Correu demais, armou e impressionou toda a imprensa internacional que por aqui estava. O São Paulo que se cuide.

- Falar em imprensa internacional. Tem dias que você dá azar com seu companheiro de 'apertamento' na tribuna de imprensa (como no jogo passado, que peguei um narrador de rádio venezuelana de um lado e um de rádio equatoriana do outro. Duas horas de gritos no ouvido e uma dor de cabeça no caminho de casa). Hoje fui à forra. Fiquei ao lado de Luca Calamai, simpático correspondente da italiana Gazzetta dello Sport na Copa América.

- Ele me falou no intervalo que o Chile podia fazer a gentileza de não voltar ao jogo, já que não veio mesmo. Falamos de Doni (sim, também acham ele fraco na Itália), de Maicon ("tanque importantíssimo para a Inter"), de Alexandre Pato ("belíssimo jogador, mas o Chelsea deve levar e não o Milan. De qualquer forma, seria bom para ele não começar direto na Inglaterra ou na Itália, mas sim na Espanha, França ou Holanda") e finalmente Vagner Love ("se até ele marcou, está na hora de ir embora. Este jogador não teria vaga em nenhum time da Itáli"a). Exageros à parte, me diverti com o ragazzo o jogo inteiro.

- Mas finalmente veio o gol 'sai-uruca'. Não concordo com Luca sobre Love. Acho que ele tem jogado bem. Não que o problema da camisa 9 do Brasil tenha sido solucionado para sempre, longe disso. Mas ele não está mal mesmo e merecia o gol.

- E brasileiro é tão mal humorado com a Seleção que ganha de 6 nas quartas da Copa América e nego ainda acha ruim, chato, culpa do adversário... Também não é assim, né?

- Para o fim guardei a historinha dO jogador da partida. Jorge Vargas, número 13 do Chile. Reserva, passou o segundo tempo inteiro aquecendo. Nada contra. Acontece que a última substituição chilena foi aos 20 minutos do segundo tempo. E o chico seguiu correndo até o fim. Até os 46, ele ainda dava piques no gramado sintético atrás do banco. Este está em forma. Pan 2007 nele, Chile!