Venezuela 2007!

Brazil vs Argentina: LIVE from Estadio Jose Pachencho Romero

Sun, 15 Jul 2007 15:26:23 -0500

Well, here's another live blog post from the stadium. Keep refreshing this page for updates.

16.35 - The prematch is great so far, an unbelievably loud atmosphere, and Brazil are busy running around and warming up. Argentina are nowhere to be seen; a bit of mindgames from them, or are they all busy talking in the dressing room?

Here's a little sample of the pre-match atmosphere from about an hour ago:

16.40 - There's no question about it, the crowd is all for Argentina. More Argentines have travelled than Brazilians (many, many more), and Argentina have their big stars like Messi, Riquelme and so on with them. Additionally, Argentina were based here during the group stages, so the Western part of the country has become fond of them. The players have been going around to hospitals and so on doing charity work, and really the crowd's reaction says it all. The biggest cheer for the Brazil lineups was for Robinho's name. The smallest cheer for the Argie lineup was louder than the cheer for Robinho's name.

16.47 - Madness! Apart from all the noise and fireworks, etc., three fighter jets have just flown low over the stadium, the noise is shattering.

17.05 (0) - The whistle blows, and the game is underway!

3' - Riquelme fouled a few times already, will he choke on the big occassion today?

5' - GOAL! JULIO BAPTISTA! Brazil are ahead! Wagner Love intercepted the ball in midfield, pass to Elano, who floated a creat curling ball into Julio Baptista's run on the left. The Beast controlled well on the left, cut in and thumped/curled a shot into the far corner with his favoured right foot. Why the f**k did he not do that at Arsenal!

10' - Oooooh! Messi bursts through on the left, and crosses to the far post. Veron heads it down to the onrushing Riquelme, who thumps a left-footed shot that absolutely thunders off the right post. Messi gets the ball again after a scrap, they pass it around, and it ends up with Veron who hits a shot high and wide from about 25 yards out. Doni is hurt somehow, but OK. It was a brilliant move by Argentina. They're unlucky, and it was so close to being 1-1.

12' - Argentina are keeping possession well, and Brazil are looking to launch quick counter-attacks.

15' - Messi attacking for Argentina, and messy defending from Brazil. The little man beats 4 or 5 challenges on the left in a great run, gets into the box but it comes to nothing.

16' - Maicon fires in a weak looking shot that Abbondanzieri almost manages to screw up, nearly palming it into the path of Robinho.

17' - What a game! Maicon gets to the right-touchline, squares one across the box and Zanetti clears it over the bar right in front of the goal. The two Inter right-backs excel - great attacking from Maicon, great defending from Zanetti.

30' - A lull in play so far, with no real clear chances for either team. Both are doing good things, but the defences are looking very tight. Argentina are playing with more invention and flair, but Brazil are no slouches - they are keeping things tight, and are showing a lot of composure in tight areas.

31' - Elano is injured, and Dani Alves is coming straight on for him. That's a big loss, because Elano was playing well.

- SORRY: BAD WI-FI- -

40' - GOALLLL! Own goal by AYALA! Brazil had been launching fantastic, incisive counter-attacks over the last few minutes. Once again a series of slick passes saw Robinho play Dani Alves clear on the right. The Sevilla man floats a great low cross in. It's a little bit ahead of Robinho, but the Argentina defender nips in to intercept, and sends it into his own goal. Brazil deserved that somewhat.

44' - After trying to tackle Dani Alves from behind, Mascherano finally gets a yellow card for a crude challenge on Julio Baptista. He then kicks Robinho a few minutes later, and is maybe lucky to stay on the pitch.

45' - Half-time. The Brazilian defence has been perfect, the Argentine defence... well, not so perfect.

Before the game we were talking about Riquelme being a choker, and whether he'd go missing in this game, and so far he has. Apart from his shot against the post, he's been completely absent. Brazil have been oustanding at the back, and every player has contributed going forward. Messi has been the star for Argentina, although he hasn't managed to produce anything, and there's quite a task at hand with the Brazilian defence looking so solid.

46' - Second half starts. Both teams back out without any changes.

49' - Brazil are playing with a 4-2-3-1 variation of a 4-5-1 when they don't have the ball. Wagner Love is upfront on his own closing everyone down. Robinho is providing width and cover on the left, with Dani Alves doing the same on the right, and Julio Baptista playing a bit deeper in the middle. Mineiro and Josue are sitting deep in front of the back four.

55' - Riquelme hasn't been able to do anything. He's been tightly marked, and fouled a few times, but is the second-worst player on the pitch after Robinho.

57' - Aimar on for Cambiasso. They'll be looking to Aimar to produce the magic that Riquelme has failed to. Quite an attacking change.

59' - So close on the counter. Brazil break free, with Wagner Love once again providing the incision. Baptista breaks free through the middle, into the box, but his first touch is poor and the defender clears.

61' - A moment of magic from Riquelme in the centre sends Argentina into a blistering attack. Tevez, Messi, Aimar and Riquelme all have moments in the box but the Brazilan defence blocks everything.

63' - A slip from Juan allows Tevez through, but Alex is there to cover. If you manage to get past one of these two excellent centrebacks, you still have to deal with the other.

66' - Lucho Gonzalez on for Veron. Lucho will offer a much more dynamic game than the thinking Veron. Mascherano is now anchoring the Argie midfield on his own, and that looks dangerous to me, because he's already on a yellow and has committed more than a few fouls since then.

67' - GOLGOLGOLGOLGOLGOLGOALLLLLL! DANI ALVES! After a clearance, Brazil break forward with just two men - Wagner Love and Dani Alves. Love runs with the ball, keeps running and tricking his way towards the box and drawing defenders, and then slips the perfect ball through for Dani Alves, who surges in from the right and zips his low shot into the far corner. Brilliant.

Wagner Love's intelligence and vision has shown all through this tournament, and if he hasn't assisted, then he's been one of the key passers in every move. Time and time again he somehow manages to get hold of the ball and confuse defences, and he's looked like Dennis Bergkamp out there today.

71' - Argentina look quite lost now. 3-0 down... that's dead and buried in my book.

76' - Let's hope for Argentina's sake that this is as bad as it gets. The Brazilian media here is already having a laugh and comparing them to Chile, and in fact saying that they're worse.

79' - The flag goes up for Tevez, but he keeps going and "rounds" Doni and puts the ball in the goal, but the flag has been up for ages, and the referee has whistled ages ago. Still the crowd goes mad and starts celebrating... maybe the linesman's flag needs to be 10 feet tall.

82' - Can Argentina salvage some pride? Doesn't look like it. We're already trying to figure out which angry Argentina player is going to try and pick a fight after the final whistle. My money is on Heinze or Ayala.

83' - Hehe. Gilberto Silva is all suited up in his Brazil kit and did a little aeroplane celebration around the Brazil bench. He's happy and having a great time.

88' - Double substitution. The excellent Wagner Love comes off to a standing ovation and is replaced by defensive midfielder Fernando. He moves into the center, and Dani Alves moves into a more attacking right-wing role. Diego comes on for Robinho and will float around behind the attack, with Julio Baptista moving up front.

90' - That's it! Brazil are champions! They were already celebrating on the touchline, but now that the final whistle has gone, they go wild. The stadium erupts with fireworks and celebrations.

Brazil vs Argentina: The Final Countdown (yuck)

Sat, 14 Jul 2007 20:11:38 -0500

And here is the mandatory preview of La Gran Finale. Argentina are of course the favourites, in terms of the way they have played, and the squad of players that they have - Riquelme, Messi, Mascherano, Tevez and Crespo have been exceptional.

And Brazil? Well, if there is such a thing as "lesser favourites", then that is what they are. They may have left their stars at home, but you can't discount the tradition and strength of the gold shirt, and the record they have over Argentina in recent years - they've beaten them 2-2 (penalties) in the last Copa America final, 4-1 in the Confederations Cup final, and 3-0 in a friendly at the Emirates Stadium last September.

The main issue of course is the midfield battle.

Argentina's Midfield
Argentina have Riquelme floating around and playing ahead of Veron, who is in front of a solid (and talented) base of Mascherano and Cambiasso. "Masch" is a midfield destroyer of the highest quality - a keen reader of the game, a sharp tackler, and a player who is quick and skilful enough to win the ball and then move it around well. Next to him Cambiasso is a constant, dogged workman, always running and tackling, and deceptively skillful. He loves to get upfield, and is able to combine very effectively to form intricate little passing moves with the attacking players.

Riquelme has been (arguably) the star of the tournament. Playing in front of a central three has allowed him to float around and get forward, and with the strikers drifting wide he has been able to make runs into the box, and duy picked up 4 goals. However, the biggest difference to this Argentine midfield has been the inclusion of Juan Sebastian Veron. Till now, they way to stop Argentina was to stop Riquelme - he was deeper in the midfield, and EVERYTHING went through him. It was brilliant a lot of the time, but when Riquelme went missing, so did Argentina. Veron changes all that.

Once a midfield playmaker of as much reknown as Riquelme (if not more), Veron went through some rough patches, and ended up in the infamous "International wilderness". Now back in Argentina, rejuvenated and playing with Estudiantes, Veron has made his country resurgent once more. Adopting a deeper role, he takes a lot of the playmaking pressure off JRR, and when the Boca man is being marked out of the game, the passes can flow through Veron as well. This works both ways, since with Veron as an auxilliary playmaker, and Messi floating around everywhere, teams can't afford to mark Riquelme too tightly and he gets a lot more space.

Brazil's Midfield
Brazil have been continually criticised by their own fans and media throughout this tournament, and their uninspiring midfield has taken the biggest rap. Coach Dunga has steadfastly refused to change his strategy, much to the frustration of an entire nation, but he has got results with it. In fact, this final maybe the game that he has been building upto all along. He angered fans by playing Gilberto Silva, Mineiro, Josue and Julio Baptista in the same midfield, especially against "lesser" teams, but having four hard-workers might just be the answer to stopping Argentina's "unstoppable" midfield. They must work their hardest, denying time and space to the likes of Riquelme and Veron, and trying to win the ball back as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, the plans have been thrown somewhat into disarray by the suspension of captain Gilberto Silva for the final. He has been an everpresent thus far, and the lack of direct replacements is a worry. The only other defensive midfielder in the squad is Fernando, a youngster who plays for Bordeaux, and is rated as one for the future, but has almost no international experience. Giving him his first competitive start in the final of the Copa America against Argentina would be a bit too much. Especially for a player whom most of the fans and media feel shouldn't even be in the squad.

So Brazil must rethink. They have a few options: 1. Retain the shape, and gave Fernando a go, 2. Slot Josue into Gilberto's role, and Baptista into Josue's with Diego playing in Baptista's attacking role (like against Mexico), or 3. Put Elano in as an alternative to Diego.

Having seen the training sessions of late, I feel it will be Elano who comes in. In fact, at the start of Dunga's reign, it was the Ukraine-based attacker who had provided a lot of the attacking threat, cutting in from the right. He is not a playmaker like Diego, but he is a fantastic finisher with both feet, with quick, clever movement off-the-ball. He is a hard-worker, and not afraid to tackle, and although he is not going to win the ball too often, he will be a more solid option. Diego is a player who likes to hold on to the ball and dictate the play. He can be magical on his day, but can also be a luxury player who doesn't like to put in the hard work.

Strikers
Both teams are evenly matched, although Argentina have the greatest talent in Messi. Robinho is not far behind, although his talent is more unrefined, but he has scored 6 goals. Tevez partners Messi upfront, although both tend to stay wide - Messi cutting in from the right, Tevez cutting in from the left, but both switching positions quite often. For Brazil, Wagner Love partners Robinho. He is not as brilliant as any of the other forwards mentioned, but his strength, intelligence and hold-up play are unique, and allow Robinho the freedom to roam around and wreak havoc.

Defences
Argentina have the stronger defence overall, with top-class (and vastly experienced) performers Zanetti, Ayala, Milito and Heinze forming the back four. However Brazil have the tournament's best centre-back in Juan, who forms a solid partnership with Alex. At fullback they have Maicon and Gilberto on either flank. Although they are much more inexperienced than Argentina, Maicon and Gilberto are excellent going forward, and offer much more attacking threat than Zanetti and Heinze.

Goalkeeper Abbondanzieri is the best that Argentina have, and Doni is probably the worst that Brazil could have sent, but there is not that much of a gulf between the two. Doni is a very weird 'keeper who makes mistakes, but also makes spectacular saves.

And that's it from me! Enjoy the final, I know i'm excited about it, and I will bring you updates from the game.

Crespo the secret weapon?

Sat, 14 Jul 2007 11:23:04 -0500

Hernan Crespo has apparently been passed fit for the Copa America final in what is going to provide Brazilian fans with a bit of a hiccup.

Crespo had been ruled out for the rest of the tournament, but has made a rapid recovery and will now boost the Argentine attack on Sunday.

While it is most likely that Crespo will start on the bench, just the fact that he is there will be a massive boost. There are very few strikers like him in the world, and while Tevez can be magical, no one in this tournament can match Crespo's sheer scoring power.

Argentina WILL create chances, and they more they squander, the more likely it is that we will see Crespo enter the game... assuming that he is not starting it.

My Copa America perfect eleven (so far...)

Fri, 13 Jul 2007 11:51:06 -0500

(Maracaibo) - I want to say my Copa America perfect eleven before the final. I have already changed it after the semis. So I want to be fair and say the squad before Sunday.

Here we go (4-3-3):

1 - Uchoa (Mexico)
2 - Maicon (Brasil)
3 - Lugano (Uruguay)
4 - Juan (Brasil)
6 - Heinze (Argentina)
5 - Josué (Brasil)
8 - Mascherano (Argentina)
10 - Riquelme (Argentina)
7 - Robinho (Brasil
9 - Castillo (Mexico)
11 - Messi (Argentina)

Coach: Oscar Tabarez (Uruguay)

Robinho, Suazo or Messi: watch again and vote for the best goal

Thu, 12 Jul 2007 08:10:45 -0500

79 goals in 24 maches so far in this Copa America. An astonishing avarage of 3.2 goals per game. But these three, from Robinho, Suazo and Messi were remarkable. Watch them again and vote for the best.

Robinho - 3rd. goal vs Chile - group stage

Suazo- consolation goal after 6 x 1 Brasilian victory in quarter

Messi - rd. goal vs Mexico in semi

Brazil Stick With Winning Formula, Uruguay Start With Recoba

Tue, 10 Jul 2007 19:10:32 -0500

Brazil warming up ahead of the semi-final against Uruguay

Brazil have stuck with the exact same lineup they used in their win against Chile.

The team is (4-3-1-2):

Doni, Maicon, Alex, Juan, Gilberto, Mineiro, Gilberto Silva, Josue, Julio Baptista, Vagner Love, Robinho

Uruguay have meanwhile decided to start with the mercurial, brilliant Alvaro Recoba. Inconsistent and injury-prone, he will be as much of a liability as he is an asset, but he is capable of winning games on his own when he's up for it. Carlos Diogo starts on the bench.

Their lineup is (4-4-2 I think):

Carini, Lugano, Scotti, Dario Rodriguez, Fucile, Perez, Pereira, Garcia, Rodriguez, Forlan, Recoba

Anyways, enjoy the game, and please keep posting your comments throughout the match.

22 goals in 4 games - Latin America makes football exciting again

Mon, 9 Jul 2007 11:08:32 -0500

Venezuela 1-4 Uruguay

Chile 1-6 Brazil

Paraguay 0-6 Mexico

Argentina 4-0 Peru

22 Goals in 4 Games! If there's one compliment that is always paid to Latin/South American football, it's that the players are always there to play exciting, attacking football.

It hasn't always always been the case throughout this tournament, but the quarter-finals have really been fantastic.

It's just to bad that the games were also so one-sided.

Still, it makes a nice change from France 1-0 Brazil, England 0-0 Portugal, Germany 1-1 Argentina, and so on.

Mexico vs Paraguay LIVE: Mexicans at full strength

Sun, 8 Jul 2007 15:10:02 -0500

(Keep refreshing this page for updates)

The stadium is unbelievably noisy... it's the best atmosphere of the Copa America so far, and there is a Mexican guy in a Chavez mask with donkey ears that is giving the crowd endless enjoyment. Half the stadium has turned around to look at him and are loving it.

Mexico are back at full strength with Nery Castillo, Arce, Torrado and Marquez all back in the starting lineup.

Game kicks off, and again the noise is unbelievable. Their fans are here en masse, and Mexico look completely up for it.

1' - The electric Castillo beats 4 players only to have the ball nipped off him in the box. If Mexico are going to win, he will be key.

2' - Castillo again... the ball breaks to him, he's clean in on goal, and the keeper brings him down. Penalty, and red card for Paraguay 'keeper Bobadilla. Was it a dive? I don't have the benefit of a replay. Not many protests though.

3' - CASTILLO! Goal! He calmly strikes the ball to the left of the keeper and Mexico are ahead.

9' - Castillo is hurt and is eventually stretchered off. He comes back on again though.

10' - Oscar Cardozo misses a good chance for Paraguay.

12' - Roque Santa Cruz strikes a great shot very close to goal. Paraguay are not out of this yet.

18' - Mexican waves are zipping around the stadium again. This time i'm nod distracted as Guardado plays a great little ball through for Nery Castillo, who zips past the keeper and squares it to Arce to score. Arce unfortunately is offside, and Castillo knew it the minute he passed the ball to him. They're holding their heads in frustration because Castillo could probably have shot himself. The Mexican fans haven't realised meanwhile, and they are cheering away with chants of "Mexico! Mexico!"

23' - Roque Santa Cruz manages to get an awkward header at the far post in, but it's into the side netting. He's showing his class today.

26' - TORRADO! Goal! Mexico get their second. Torrado breaks forward brilliantly from central midfield, feints to shoot brilliantly and plays Cacho in. Cacho then plays a perfect ball back into his path, Torrado takes a touch, and bangs a shot past the 'keeper... in off the underside of the bar. The Paraguay defence was ripped to pieces there.

31' - The Paraguayan defenders look weary, as if some of them have already decided the game is done for. Santa Cruz and Cardozo are talking with each other meanwhile, trying to figure out how to get their partnership going and bring Paraguay back into the game.

35' - Finally! A breeze in the stadium! The Mexicanshave a lot of movement up front, and Torrado is looking very, very good.

37' - CASTILLO! Goal! His second of the game, and what a brilliant goal it is. Ooh-la-la! Cacho again with the perfect pass. He picks up the ball on the right side of the box, runs with it, takes a few touches, looks up and plays a perfectly lobbed pass to Castillo, who is unmarked in the box. The livewire striker chests it down, takes his time and thumps a stunning volley past the poor Paraguay 'keeper.

41' - Unbelievable, just unbelievable. Castillo streaks clear on the left, draws the 'keeper, can shoot, but squares a perfect pass into the path of onrushing midfielder Jaime Correa who has an open goal in front of him but somehow squares it wide. What a miss, and what a game!

45' - Ref whistles for half-time.

51' - Oops! I'm late. Went looking for the loos, couldn't find them. We'll see what happens.

52' - Paraguay work the ball down the left and cut it back across goal, but everyone messes up, no one connects, and it's a wasted chance. Paraguay have made a sub, sadly I can't read the number on his back, but he has a ponytail and isn't Cabanas.

54' - Nery Castillo comes off for Bofo Bautista. He's done brilliantly today, and Mexico are saving him for the semi-final against Argentina now. What a player Olympiakos have.

62' - Cacho down injured. It's party-time for the Mexicans, who seem to have travelled in large numbers. That or the Venezuelans have decided to give Mexico some support today.

63' - Edgar Barreto breaks free down the left for Paraguay, gets into the box and fizzes a shot past the 'keeper. He put too much instep on it though, and it curls wide of the far post.

64' - Cacho comes off for Omar Bravo, i'm assuming the injury had something to do with it.

65' - Bofo Bautista just looks like he has run away from a hospital with his bleached blonde hairdo and fat white bandage-looking headband.

68' - Guardado... so close. In the penalty area on the left and he strikes a low shot wide of the far post with two teammates open in the box. Incidentally, Salvador Cabanas came on for the toiling, but unsuccessful Oscar Cardozo a few minutes earlier. Unless one of Cabanas or Santa Cruz manage to score 2-3 goals, Robinho will probably end up as the top scorer in this competition.

70' - I'm quite sure the ponytailedish substitute that I couldn't recognise is Number 20, Enrique Vera, and he does well to win a corner. He's been running up and down the fieldand charging into every possible tackle since his introduction. They could have down with someone like that from the start.

71' - A plane flies over the stadium, but doesn't manage to drown out the crowd at all.

73' - Vera beats several players driving forward from midfield, and gets the ball to Cabanas. He in turn beats 4 or 5 players in the box before not knowing what else to do and squaring a pass to Santa Cruz, and it's the kind of pass that Roque can't do anything with. The ball then breaks to Cabanas with the 'keeper in no-man's-land but he produces a weak shot that doesn't even reach the goal. I don't like him (nothing personal).

77' - Bautista leads a swift counter-attack with Guardado and Bravo in support, takes too long to pass and makes a bad pass into Bravo and everything breaks down.

79' - ARCE! ARCE! WHAT A GOAL! The winger-striker has the ball about 25 yards out, on the right-side and thumbs a dipping shot into the far corner of the goal. The 'keeper doesn't really look like he's trying anymore, but it's a sensational strike. Immediately after he finishes his celebration Arce comes off for the legendary Cuauhtemoc Blanco.

82' - Blanco does a trick to beat a defender but doesn't have the pace to catch-up with the ball. Story of his performances so far at this tournament, which seems like it is simply intended to be a swansong for the great man.

85' - Penalty! A bit soft, but Guardado completely tricked every Paraguayan defender on that right-touchline.

86' - BLANCO! GOAL! A cool, calm penalty low to the keeper's right. No chance, and 5-0 to Mexico. Blanco is overjoyed and runs over to the bench and does a little dance with Castillo.

90' - BRAVO! GOALLLL! Guardado puts in a brilliant cross, that falls to Bravo at the far post, and he slips a header past the 'keeper. Mexico have outdone Brazil now. What a performance, and the ref blows for full-time!

Apologies if that was too cheesy a report! A great game to watch, and pictures will follow later.

Brazil 6 - 1 Chile: Busy Josue and Intelligent Wagner Love set the stage for rout

Sat, 7 Jul 2007 21:54:02 -0500

Brazil were brazilliant tonight, and althought all the stars shone, it was two of the more unsung players who caught my eye - Sao Paulo defensive midfielder Josue, and CSKA Moscow forward Wagner Love. Both of them set the stage for Brazil's other players to shine, but i'll get to them later.

Brazil were excellent, but Chile unfortunately looked from the start as if they had shown up expecting to lose. They were quite lifeless, and unfortunately their two best players - "El Mago" Valdivia and Matias Fernandez were both on the bench. Mark Gonzalez might think he is the focus of the team, but his level of play is anything but good.

Maicon in front of the OleOle.com stadium ads (no photoshopping!)

Brazil stayed with the same line-up as the last game, with the exception of Maicon returning to the lineup in place of the suspended Dani Alves. Much had been made of Maicon's race to be fit for this game, and he was extremely influential and effective throughout it. He was one of the best players on show, but was an easy target for fouls because of his injured left shoulder, and one particularly nasty body-check left him screaming in pain and very, very angry. Dunga told him to calm down, and he told Dunga to mind his own business.

But to the goals now:

1-0 A corner kick and exceptional centre-back Juan scores in the 16th minute from Maicon's headed flick-on. Embarrasingly I was distracted by the umpteenth sequence of Mexican waves circling around me and missed this one.

2-0 Maicon intercepts at right-back and charges forward leaving the disinterested-looking Chilean midfield in his wake. He plays the ball into the feet of Wagner Love on the edge of the box and continues his runs. Love controls instantly, spins brilliantly and plays the ball perfectly into the patch of the onrushing Julio Baptista who cracks a low, hard shot in off the far post, first-time with his left foot. Why he couldn't do that for Arsenal I don't know, but it was a nice goal, and will silence his critics (just a little bit).

3-0 Robinho strokes a goal home from the edge of the box, and Chile are dead and buried.

4-0 Robinho again with his 5th goal of the tournament. Great teamwork from Brazil in midfield and down the left, and the ball goes across the face of goal. From somewhere, Robinho materialises to become the top scorer in this tournament.

5-0 Josue gets his just reward when after a scramble in the box and missed header from Afonso Alves, the ball falls to him. He takes a touch and slots it softly into the net, and gets his first goal for Brazil

5-1 Humberto Suazo scores the best goal of the match, and probably one of the best of the tournament. After some great work from Jorge Valdivia ("El Mago" or the magician), Suazo had the ball on the edge of the box and dummied the defender, took his time and sent one of the most sublime lobs you will ever see over the head of Brazil 'keeper Doni. At first it looked impossible that it would go in because of the height of the shot, but it dipped into the goal perfectly.

6-1 Done and dusted. Wagner Love went clear in the box and struck a perfect low shot across the 'keeper. Elano (on for Maicon) had made a great run upfield and combined well to put Wagner Love clear in tight-spaces. After having squandered two or three good chances earlier, the blue-haired one made no mistake this time.

So, excellent stuff all in all, and a great game to watch. As I said earlier, Maicon was excellent, but the two players that stood out for me (perhaps because of the lack of attention normally paid to them) were Josue and Wagner Love.

Josue will in all likelihood find himself a part of the Brazil squad for the future as well. Although not a powerhouse, he is an incredible, tidy little machine - always running, always tackling without excessive sliding or fouling, and an efficient short passer and mover. He's got good touch and good awareness, and although he won't be challenging Kaka or Ronalindho's playmaking abilities, he is a more-than-competent passer. I can't think of a team that he wouldn't be an asset to, although his style is best suited to a 3-man central midfield. At almost 28 years of age he is probably blooming a little late to make it big in Europe.

As for Wagner Love... well he impressed heavily in the Champions League already, but he is such a joy to watch. He might not be the most prolific of strikers, but his pace, movement and intelligence are first-class. He drags defenders all over the place, makes brilliant runs for his mdifielders, and he has the vision to play slightly deeper as well as with his back to goal. Whenever he gets the ball, his decision-making seems to be instant, and today he was constantly carving open the Chilean defence. To add to that, he has this tremendous ability to win high/long balls that someone of his size never should; he's surprisingly strong and his touch under pressure is excellent. Definitely someone who can and should take a step up in the world of football.

And that's it for me really! Off to Maturin tomorrow morning to get you the news from Mexico vs. Paraguay. Dunga can sleep peacefully tonight because the Brazilian media can have very few complaints for him.

Dunga Nervous and Irritated ahead of Brazil vs Chile

Fri, 6 Jul 2007 22:06:25 -0500

We attended Brazil's press conference yesterday, where Dunga was speaking ahead of the quarter-final against Chile.

Much of the focus was around the kind of football that Dunga is playing and promoting, and how it is not the "Brazilian way". He was asked point-blank by a journalist, "Why are you making Brazil play ugly football?", and his reply was - "That's your opinion, it doesn't mean it's correct, and we are playing to win. I don't want Brazil to go without a title again for 24 years". The last statement was in reference to the period between 1970-1994, when Brazil had arguably their most creative, beautiful football, without any titles to show.

"Why are you playing with 3 defensive midfielders? It's not how Brazilians play" was another question, to which Dunga responded that Argentina were also playing three defensive midfielders - Mascherano, Cambiasso and Veron, and the journalist responded that "Veron is NOT a defensive midfielder, how can you call him a defensive midfielder", and Dunga's response was that he thought Veron was a defensive midfielder, and then he wanted someone to change the subject.

Another question was asked about why all the other players bar Robinho seemed unhappy on the field, to which Dunga once again replied that it was a matter of opinion, and that all the players were happy even if it was not visible in their play.

Dunga grew progressively more irritated in his demeanour, and kept issuing shaky answer to questions. Clearly he is very nervous right now, although he's trying his best not to let it show. But both the fans and media have become fed up of Dunga's arrogance, and especially his handling of Kaka and Ronaldinho; it is widely accepted that Kaka could have been convinced to come to the Copa America if Dunga had baeen a little persuasive. But Dunga tries to make himself the main man, and take the view that all the players are equal and shouldn't be treated any differently, but honestly, Kaka and Ronaldinho are players that need to be treated a bit differently.

What do you think? What is your opinion on his policy of using the same rule for everybody? And what do you think of Dunga?