Filed under: Uncategorized
Bernardo Pires Domingues
It has become a recurring story in the past years:
– Brazilian footballer not deemed good enough for the big clubs in Italy, Spain or England ends up playing in Portugal.
– Brazilian footballer makes an impression at his Portuguese club but not enough to be called up by whoever is managing Brazil’s national side.
– Brazilian footballer is offered Portuguese citizenship so that he can join the national team, sparking a debate over the validity of the procedure.
– Eventually the Portuguese realise they are better off with the naturalised players and move on to the next target.
After Chelsea’s midfielder Deco, Real Madrid’s defender Pepe and more recently Sporting Lisbon’s striker Liedson had all made that move, it seemed fair to pose the “Would you do the same?” question to another Brazilian forward.
Porto’s Hulk ticks the first two boxes of the story above, but he is still into the second of a six-year contract after which he would be able to apply for Portuguese nationality. At the moment, though, that is far from his plans.
"Not that I don't like orange, but I wanted to be in yellow"
“My dream is to play for the Brazilian national team. That’s what I’m working for and I hope someday I’ll make that dream come true”, said the 23-year-old striker after Porto’s 1-0 defeat to Chelsea in London, their first Champions League group stage match this season.
If he keeps his last season form that earned him praise from Sir Alex Ferguson after a shining performance for Porto in a 2-2 draw at Manchester United for the first leg of the teams’ Champions League quarter-finals tie, Hulk may not even complete the six-year long Portugal residency he would need to obtain a passport.
There were talks of him being a potential target of English clubs during the past summer transfer window, but nothing materialised. And the Brazilian himself did not want to confirm those talks:
“There is always speculation, but I try not to listen to them that much. I’ve always tried and given the maximum effort for Porto. Now I have a contract with them, I have to work for Porto. So my thoughts are only about Porto.”
Another Brazilian and Porto player could have been thinking about wearing the Portuguese national side jersey had he not been selected for Brazil in the past.
Goalkeeper Helton has been in Portugal for seven years, four of them at Porto and has consolidated himself as the team’s first choice for the position with some solid performances as the one this Tuesday’s night at Stamford Bridge.
"Helton is ready. Helton is at his country's disposal. I'm Helton"
He pulled off some great saves even in Chelsea’s goal, when Anelka should have scored in his first attempt and was brilliantly denied by Helton only for the ball to rebound off the goalie straight on to the striker’s foot again.
Although the Porto player was a reserve during Brazil’s successful Copa América 2007 campaign, he has not been picked by manager Dunga lately. He does not know exactly why, but he does know that apart from Inter Milan’s Julio Cesar’s, goalkeeping spots in the Brazilian national squad for next year’s World Cup are still up for grabs.
He says the possibility does not give him sleepless nights. On the other hand, it offers him something to dream about while he sleeps.
“Getting to the national side is a consequence of what you do in your club. I wish the best for the national team, especially for the colleagues in my position who have been selected lately. In particular for Julio Cesar, because he’s my friend; Gomes; Doni, whom I had the opportunity to get to know a little bit. If there’s an opportunity, if they need Helton’s work, Helton will be at their disposal”, concludes the Brazilian, in a typical but heartfelt footballer’s third person remark.
Filed under: FA Cup | Tags: Fabio da Silva, Manchester United, Rafael da Silva
"What about some tips after the game, Phil?"
Bernardo Pires Domingues
Instead of a notable win, Manchester United fans at Wembley this Sunday witnessed what can be yet another milestone for a new long-lasting family tale at the Red Devils.
Sir Alex Ferguson decision to leave Gary Neville on the bench rather than giving him the captain armband prevented the FA Cup semi-final against Everton from being remembered as the game in which the right-back and his brother and former United’s team mate Phil faced each other captaining their respective sides.
On the other hand, the manager’s team selection put together for the first time in the senior squad’s starting 11 both of the club’s new acquisitions from the same family: the Brazilian 18-year-old full-back twins Rafael and Fabio da Silva.
In the right side Rafael, who has had more starts than his brother this season and has even a goal against Arsenal at the Emirates to his name, struggled to cope with Pienaar’s offensives. Attacking-wise, though, one of his crosses was fired goalwards by Danny Wellbeck and almost ended up in the back of the net after a deflection off Joleon Lescott.
Fabio had an easier time at both ends of the pitch, but came off in the second half suffering from cramps.
“The youngsters did pretty well, in the first half especially. In the second, maybe because we’re all young, we lowered our level a little bit. My performance was regular, neither very good nor very bad. I think this was the game in which I got more nervous than any other, because my brother was playing”, Rafael revealed to me after the match.
“He did very well. Maybe because he hasn’t played for a long time – he’s played very few games here at Manchester –, he left with cramps. But I didn’t imagine he would play so well like this”, praised the right-back, who acknowledged the importance of the occasion – starting alongside his brother for Manchester United in an FA Cup semi-final before a packed Wembley Stadium.
“I will keep this feeling for life. We let everybody know when we learned we were both going to start, all our relatives in Brazil. I don’t know how my father and my mother are right now, back home in Manchester; their hearts must be coming out through their mouths”.
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Filed under: English Premier League, UEFA Champions League | Tags: Arsenal, Denílson
Denílson warms up on the sideline, an unusual scene this season
Bernardo Pires Domingues
Arsenal’s victory over Villarreal last night also marked the first time Brazilian midfielder Denílson has not started a game in this UEFA Champions League campaign.
Denílson is the player with the most starts for Arsenal this season and the Premier League top passer, with a precision rate of nearly 90%. He is also the fifth best midfielder according to the league’s official statistics.
He is yet to win the approval of part of the supporters and some English football analysts argue that the jury is still out on him. Nevertheless, his versatility and effectiveness have been of great service to the side, and recognised by the Arsenal manager, Arsène Wenger.
It is also still unclear whether the Brazilian will maintain his status as an untouchable component in the manager’s system now that the majority of the squad is injury-free. But he has already demonstrated his capacity to adapt.
He started off the season as a holding midfielder, but when Theo Walcott dislocated his shoulder, Denílson was played wide right, while Alex Song took over the more defensive role.
Even with the returns of injured Cèsc Fabregas and Walcott, and the signing of Andrei Arshavin, he was kept on the starting 11 – up until yesterday, when fit again Robin Van Persie was positioned behind the striker and Fabregas was brought back alongside Song.
“The manager told me I was not going to start because of a tactical choice he was making and I respect his opinion. Obviously, everyone wants to play ninety minutes, but it doesn’t happen every time. But I’m OK with this decision he’s taken”, explained Denílson after the game.
Dunga has only selected Denílson for Brazil once, for a friendly against Switzerland in 2006, and the player finished the game as an unused substitute. But the Brazilian coach has been persistently calling up Josué, from German club Wolfsburg, whom he had no problems replacing in the starting side against Italy with a central midfielder that was earning his first cap: Fiorentina’s Felipe Melo.
After all Denílson has done this season, it would seem unfair from Dunga not to consider the midfielder for a call up now in case he loses his regular starter condition.
When I interviewed him for Brazilian Placar magazine in October, he revealed how he almost asked to be loaned to a Brazilian team after the past season, out of frustration for not having the opportunities he expected at the London club. But a holiday period in Brazil and some counselling from his father made him set out two goals for this season – to definitely make it to Arsenal’s first team and to the national squad.
The first one was more than successfully accomplished. With regard to the second the midfielder is in no hurry: “I really want to play for the Seleção, and I’m sure that it will happen someday. I don’t care if it takes long, if it’s close to happening or not. But I will get to the national team”, assures a determined Denílson.
Considering that he is only 21 and has been the captain of the country’s youth team since the under-15 level, he might know what he is talking about.
Filed under: UEFA Champions League | Tags: Alex, Chelsea, Fábio Aurélio, Liverpool, Lucas
Alex runs to score the equaliser
Bernardo Pires Domingues
You know you are before a historic game of football when, besides the main story, you can identify a number of subplots within it. That was precisely the case of last night’s dramatic 4-4 draw between Chelsea and Liverpool. After the game, at the mixed zone, the subplot of my interest was the part played by the Brazilians, who were accountable for nearly half of the eight goals.
Footballers from Brazil playing leading roles in European matches is not something that come as a surprise but it is curious that Fábio Aurélio, Alex and Lucas, who all got on the score sheet on this magic Tuesday, have been overlooked by Brazil and its national team lately.
Fábio Aurélio, the Liverpool left-back, has never won a single cap for the senior squad. Alex used to be frequently called up by Dunga, but has lost some ground for not being a regular starter at Chelsea. Curiously, he may be better off now that Guus Hiddink took over after Brazilian Luiz Felipe Scolari’s dismissal by the London club as the defender won three consecutive league titles under Hiddink at Holland’s PSV Eindhoven.
And his goal yesterday may shed some light over him again.
“Every time we get free kicks from a longer distance the lads ask me to take them, Lampard told me to take this one. I managed to hit the ball well and it made a curve away from the goalkeeper. It was one of the most beautiful goals in my career, yes”, said Alex.
Lucas (left) leaves the pitch at half time
Lucas has been going through a similar situation. Once a regular feature in Dunga’s squad, he has been dropped by the Brazilian coach after some poor performances and a lack of opportunities in Liverpool’s starting 11. But he played both legs against Chelsea, coming on for Javier Mascherano last week and Steven Gerrard yesterday, and contributed with an assist for Liverpool’s fourth goal against Blackburn on Saturday as a second half substitute.
His performance at Stamford Bridge earned him compliments from boss Rafael Benítez: “Credit to all the players, especially Lucas in the middle in Gerrard’s position”.
The Brazilian admits the national team is still a short-term goal: “I have a huge desire to come back to the Seleção. But there’s no point in me talking a lot about it. I have to fight for my space at the club. You can see the competition is very hard here; there are so many great players.
“This night I played a new role, with more freedom, could play further forward; get close to the box every time. Gerrard has been playing further forward so that he can have the energy to get close to the box. It’s not that simple. Brazilian football is not like English football. I hear some times some people saying I’ve been timid, I’ve forgotten the way I play, but I’ve been gaining my space at Liverpool, this is already my second season and tonight was my tenth Champions League appearance”.
It was also his second goal for the club.
HISTORIC GAMES
Lucas and Alex were asked whether they had been involved in such an epic, thrilling game before. Lucas acknowledged the famous Battle of the Afflicted played in 2005 at the Aflitos (Afflicted in Portuguese) Stadium, in Recife, in the Northeast region of Brazil, as one of them.
Also from his time at Brazilian club Grêmio, he recalled the second leg of the 2007 Rio Grande do Sul State League semi-final, when they beat Caxias 4-0 at home after losing 3-0 away in the first leg.
As for Alex, the defender was keen to point out the Brazilian Serie A final in 2002. Having beaten Corinthians 2-0 in the first leg, his and Robinho’s Santos found themselves 2-1 down six minutes from time in the second leg and at risk of losing the title if they conceded again (Corinthians had a better campaign in the league’s first stage and would be champions if the tie ended up levelled in goal difference).
But then Santos scored twice in the final moments of the game, with Elano and Léo, securing the trophy.
Filed under: English Premier League, UEFA Cup | Tags: Manchester City, Robinho
Bernardo Pires Domingues
For a neutral observer, it would be interesting to see the team Mark Hughes would pick for next Thursday’s second leg of the UEFA Cup tie against Hamburg had Manchester City beaten Fulham at home this Sunday.
But with the 3-1 defeat, it is highly unlikely the manager will leave Robinho out again and he can always say that the Brazilian did not start against the London team because he was being rested for the important game midweek, when City will have to score twice without conceding in order to qualify for the semi-finals.
Nonetheless, the possibility of dropping Robinho to the bench has been a rumour in Manchester for quite some time now, due to his current poor form, especially away, and the absence of goals so far in 2009. The previous game, against Arsenal at the Emirates, looked like a good opportunity to do so as a possible lack of fitness caused by the international week would be the perfect excuse.
It did not happen then but it did this Sunday and it should not be seen as a coincidence that this was the same day when Martin Petrov came back after six months out of action with a knee injury. The Bulgaria international will become a shadow for Robinho on the left side of the attack from now on.
The setback at the City of Manchester Stadium cannot be considered as evidence that the side has been bad with Robinho but worse without him, since injuries prevented other important players from facing Fulham either, like Shaun Wright-Phillips and Craig Bellamy.
So I risk saying that even if City is knocked out of the UEFA Cup this week Hughes still will play his strongest side without Robinho in some of the final games of the Premier League, just to test the water and decide whether he can do without the Brazilian for the next season.
Yet, despite reports that the manager has full support from the Abu Dhabi owners, I sincerely believe he should be worried about being tested too.
FC Brazil 