La seleccion boliviana se prepara para dos partidos de visita frente a Ecuador y Brasil. Brasil esta quinto en la tabla de posiciones con 9 puntos, mientras Ecuador suma 5 puntos - uno mas que Bolivia. Hay alguna espera de sumar puntos en Quito o Rio de Janeiro?

Click to continue reading...

This article says one year behind in the construction efforts.

Which is surprising because Brazil, of all countries, seems like it'd be able to get ready for a soccer fiesta.

I mean they got the Maracana!

Brazil hosted the Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro last year without major glitches.

Click to continue reading...

Nun ist es für Marcelinho endlich vollbracht. Er darf dem Training fernbleiben. Für immer. Heute wurde er offiziell verabschiedet und sitzt nun wohl schon wieder im Flieger Richtung Rio de Janeiro. Ich hatte eine wunderschöne Zeit, der VfL war wie eine Familie für mich. Ich habe mich in Deutschland sehr wohl gefühlt. Click to continue reading...

Here in London, England, it's another balmy sunny Sunday afternoon where just for once the sky is blue and the mercury in my thermometer is rising close to 29 degrees. If you close your eyes and block out the sound of passing ice cream vans and low flying aircraft, you could pretty much believe you're on a beautiful beach somewhere in the south of France, lounging around in the sun as the approaching waves gently kiss your toes. Click to continue reading...

Juan Roman Riquelme, who currently plays for Boca Juniors is being pursued by Flamengo of Rio De Janeiro. Flamengo is looking for a replacement for Renato Augusto who was transfered to German Bayer Leverkusen. "Fla" as the team is called... Click to continue reading...

In a two-game series that saw 10 goals scored you wouldn't expect a goalkeeper to be the hero, but Liga de Quito goalkeeper Jose Francisco Cevallos was just that for Liga. Cevallos made three penalty kick saves to help Liga de Quito beat Brazilian club Fluminense, 3-1, in penalty kicks to capture the Copa Libertadores title last night at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro.

Click to continue reading...

Ecuador's Liga de Quito pose with their newly acquired Libertadores Championship Cup after beating Brazil's Fluminense in the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - July 2, 2008. Image courtesy of Newscom. Technorati Tags: copa libertadores 2008,libertadores cup 2008,2008 libertadores cup,soccer,soccer news,soccer cup,south america cup,libertadores championship,liga de quito,fluminense Share This Click to continue reading...

...Ecuador's LDU Quito won the Copa Libertadores by virtue of a penalty kick shoot-out in Wednesday night's second leg of the finale. The Copa Libertadores, for the uninitiated, is almost certainly the second biggest club competition on the planet. Unfortunately, it doesn't get much coverage outside of South/Latin America. Click to continue reading...

Alright, we do, but still.  Kevin McCarra in the Guardian says: The competition, on the whole, was sterile territory for strikers. It now seems midfielders, in one guise or another, are expected to excel. Jonathan Wilson says something similar in this piece. Five years ago, at the coaching conference he hosts in Rio de Janeiro, Carlos Alberto Parreira [. Click to continue reading...

A really sad thing happened this week:
There has been a story on the local news about a murder at a hotel in Brooklyn Center (a suburb of Minneapolis). The victim it turns out was a guy I had met several years ago named Mohamed Jama.
He was a great guy that everyone knew around the Cedar Riverside neighborhood, and one of my biggest supporters when I helped start a soccer club there. Click to continue reading...

I have my Palmeiras tickets for Saturday 12 July. Palmeiras are from São Paulo. Their team for the Lang Park match is may include Juninho. Yep the Sydney FC Juninho. In the past their team has included: Denilson, Marcos, Rivaldo, Roberto Carlos and Cafu. It promises to be a very exciting game and well worth the $20 (father-son) general entry. Click to continue reading...

Another variant of new, non-affiliated with FIFA teams, this time of a Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro. Of course, everyone could easily select at least three great squads there:

Keepers:
Julio Cesar - Helton - Eduardo

Defensemen:
Gilberto - Leo - Gustavo Nery
Fabiano - Alex - Odvan
Luiz Alberto - Antonio Carlos - Edinho
Alessandro - Fabiano Eller - Leonardo Moura

Midfielders:
Magrao - Ricardo Bovio - Arouca
Marcelinho Carioca - Pedrinho - Ibson
Felipe - Renato Augusto - Carlos Alberto
Roger - Diego - Athirson

Forwards:
Vagner Love - Edmundo - Valdir
Romario - Deivid - Jean Click to continue reading...