Virtual World Cup's Brazil/ Brasil Page

BRAZIL

Hopefully Brazil will have recovered from their disappointing performance in the 1998 final in time to wow us with their fantastic silky sexy skills in Japan/ Korea 2002!

We do not hear too much in Britain about the progress of the Brazilian Team, unfortunately, or maybe that's because we don't get Channel 5 in Cornwall yet! Old faces like Romario, Edmundo and Dunga are unlikely to feature in 2002, but we expect to see lots of talented youngsters arriving on the international scene.

Anyway here's some recent news from Brazil about unrest in the camp and their natural optimism about the World Cup. Looks as tho' Romario could be playing after all, how old is he now!

Personally I am looking forward to seeing young players such as Inter's Adriano, currently on loan at Fiorentina, and Barcelona's Roschenback(?) play, alongside Edu of Arsenal who seems to be in good form although short of first team practice...Hopefully these players will make the squad for the 2002 World Cup, but it may be too soon, and the more experienced players seem to be favoured at present... here's some news of the Brazilian team in their latest friendly...

Ronaldo impresses in Portugal Portugal 1-1 Brazil
Ronaldo returned to form as Portugal and Brazil played out a full-blooded draw in Lisbon.
The injury-ravaged striker was Brazil's star during his 45 minutes on the pitch, and was twice denied by great saves from Portugal's excellent goalkeeper Ricardo Pereira.
This friendly was no tame dress rehearsal and both sides set out to attack from the start.
Brazil were impressive in the first half, less so afterwards when Ronaldo and Rivaldo made way, and Sergio Conceicao gave Portugal the lead on the hour.
But a Ronaldinho penalty 13 minutes later levelled matters and a draw was probably a fair result between two teams who produced enough quality to suggest they will not just be making up the numbers in the Far East.
Portugal looked lively early on - but by the end of the half, they were grateful to Pereira for several fine saves.
The first came from Ronaldinho whose rasping low drive was well held.
Brazil's Marcos athletically tipped over a header from Fernando Couto following Luis Figo's accurate cross.
Rivaldo and Ronaldo combined well on 23 minutes before Ronaldo's low shot was saved by the legs of Pereira.
Both sides were eager to play to their natural attacking strengths, but the Brazilians began to dominate.
A Roberto Carlos free-kick fizzed past Pereira's left hand post, before Ronaldo was thwarted by a last-ditch tackle by Liverpool's Abel Xavier.
Pereira also produced a fine low save to deny the irrepressible Rivaldo a fine solo goal.
He then produced a carbon copy stop in first half injury-time as Ronaldo thrashed a shot towards the bottom corner.
Neither side made wholesale changes at half-time, although Ronaldo, as expected, made way for Franca.
The loss of their best attacker seemed to unsettle Brazil, and Portugal gained the upper hand.
It was no surprise when they took the lead on the hour mark.
Conceicao, was the scorer, slipping the ball calmly past Marcos after an incisive pass split the Brazilian defence.
But the home side were to pay for failing to kill the game, and 13 minutes later Brazil were level.
Substitute Edilson was flattened by Rui Jorge after storming into the box, and Ronaldinho emphatically blasted the resulting penalty past Pereira.
Conceicao was guilty of dwelling on the ball during a rare Portuguese break, much to the disgust of Figo who was waiting in the box.
But the later stages of the game became rather ill-tempered and referee Esquinas Torres produced a flurry of yellow cards.

Teams:
Portugal: Pereira, Costa, Costa, Xavier, Couto, Bento, Figo, Pinto, Pauleta, Petit, Conceicao.
Brazil: Marcos, Lucio, Roque, Junior, Polga, Carlos, Emerson, Silva, Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Gaucho.
Referee: Esquinas Torres (Spain)

Thursday, March 28, 2002 Ronaldo Returns to International Football

FORTALEZA, Brazil, March 27 (Reuters) - Ronaldo, playing his first game for Brazil after two-and-a-half years of injury and frustration, made a lively international comeback as the four-time world champions beat Yugoslavia 1-0 on Wednesday.

The Inter Milan striker, who looked confident and refused to be put off by rough Yugoslav marking and a wet and bumpy pitch, played the first 45 minutes and provided the high point in another flawed Brazilian performance.

Gremio striker Luizao, who replaced Ronaldo at half time, headed the only goal in the 72nd minute after an uninspired Brazil team struggled to break down a stubborn Yugoslav defence in their last warm-up game at home before the World Cup.

The goal came as the 57,000 crowd were getting restless and chanting the name of Romario -- the veteran striker who has been controversially snubbed by coach Luiz Felipe Scolari.

The fans booed the Brazilian players and cried 'Ole' when Yugoslavia had possession.

The home team again lacked creativity as Scolari opted to field three central defenders, two full-backs and two tackling specialists in midfield.

Brazil's best spell came in the opening half hour, with Ronaldo eager to run at defenders and Ronaldinho Gaucho appearing to enjoy a new role behind the two attackers in the absence of the injured Rivaldo.

Yugoslavia were not taking any chances on Ronaldo's fitness and three or four defenders were quickly onto him whenever he got the ball.

But the Inter Milan player refused to be intimidated and still managed to escape the Yugoslavs's rough tackling on enough occasions to provide Brazil's best moments in the first half.

In the 14th minute, he created their first real opening when he slipped a first-time pass to Ronaldinho Gaucho who shot straight at goalkeeper Dragoslav Jevric.

Ronaldo set up another excellent chance when he threaded a pass through three defenders to Roberto Carlos, who unleashed a swerving shot which flew narrowly over the crossbar.

Ronaldo also tried his luck outside the penalty area. One shot was deflected off a defender and looped over a startled Jevric and another was comfortably held by the Yugoslav goalkeeper.

His best chance came when he broke down the left but his shot was again saved by Jevric.

But as Brazil ran out of ideas, the crowd grew restless. The first cries for Romario were heard in the 37th minute and one minute later the dreaded chant of 'burro, burro' (idiot, idiot) -- traditionally aimed at coaches by dissatisfied crowds in Brazil -- echoed around the stadium. Brazil had a good spell early in the second half with Roberto Carlos having two rasping shots well saved by Jevric. The goalkeeper also made a good stop to turn away a shot on the turn by Ronaldinho Gaucho.

At the other end, a weak shot by Mateja Kezman on the edge of the area was saved by Marcos.

Brazil's goal finally arrived when Cafu crossed from the right at the second attempt and Luizao -- in whom Scolari has publicly deposited full confidence -- leapt to head the winner.

Luizao's inclusion was controversial as he had not played for seven weeks because of a legal wrangle with his former club Corinthians.

But his goal was not enough to lift the crowd and Brazil left the field to another resounding chorus of jeers.

Thursday, March 28, 2002

Ronaldo pledges more goals after return

FORTALEZA, Brazil, March 28 (Reuters) - Brazil's Ronaldo, who emerged unscathed from his first international for 2-1/2 years, has apologised for missing chances but warned he was saving his goals for the World Cup. The injury-plagued striker played the first half of Brazil's 1-0 win over Yugoslavia on Wednesday before being substituted and rested.

It was his first game of any sort this year after recovering from a series of muscular injuries, which have hampered his recovery from two knee operations in as many years.

'Today was a very happy day for me,' said Ronaldo. 'I was confident beforehand, everything went well as I expected.

'I've trained a lot for this, I'm happy with my display, my movement and the chances I created.

'The group has been marvellous, they have welcomed me with open arms, everybody helped me on the pitch, knowing that my physical condition is not the best.

'I know I missed some goals but I will save them up for the World Cup.'

Twice former FIFA World Player of the Year, Ronaldo said his ultimate ambition was to regain his reputation as the most feared striker in the game.

'I want to start slowly but I remain very ambitious,' he said.

'In my career I have always conquered everything I wanted. My objective is to be the best again, I know it might take time but I will do it.'

The first step, he said, was to win back his place in the team at his Italian club Inter Milan.

'I thank Felipao (Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari) for the chance he gave me, now I have to go back to Inter, fight for a place in the team and get some match practice,' he said.

Many have wondered whether Ronaldo will ever get back to his best after his traumatic sequence of injuries.

Wednesday's match provided as stiff a test as he could have asked for, on a wet and bumpy pitch and against an unwelcoming Yugoslav defence.

But, despite being surrounded by three or four defenders every time he got the ball, Ronaldo made a surprisingly lively comeback.

He refused to be intimidated and made several runs at the heart of the Yugoslav defence as the tackles flew in.

His first contribution came in the second minute, when he broke clear of the defence but shot against goalkeeper Dragoslav Jervic as the assistant referee's flag went up for offside.

After a couple of unsuccessful dribbles and a clever flicked pass which was just too long for Roberto Carlos, Ronaldo set up a clear chance in the 14th minute.

Receiving the ball from Ronaldinho Gaucho on the edge of the penalty area, he played a first-time return to slice the defence open for Ronaldinho, whose shot was smothered by Jervic.

Ronaldo's first attempt on goal arrived in the 25th minute, when he turned 30 metres from goal and unleashed a left-foot drive which deflected off a defender's leg and looped over a startled Jervic and the crossbar.

Two minutes later, he tried his luck again with a low right-foot shot which was well saved by Jervic.

One of Ronaldo's best moments came a minute later when he picked up a Ronaldinho Gaucho pass in midfield, ran at the defence and threaded a pass into the path of Carlos, who fired a swerving shot over the crossbar.

The first of Ronaldo's two clearcut scoring chances came in the 31st minute when the ball rebounded to him in the penalty area but he could not turn and get his shot in quick enough.

A minute later he was again denied by Jervic before he was withdrawn -- as planned -- at halftime.

Wednesday, March 27, 2002 Brazil confirm Malaysia friendly

FORTALEZA, Brazil (Reuters) - Four-times world champions Brazil will face Malaysia in their final international match before the World Cup, the Brazilian Football Confederation has said. The match, which fills in the last gap in Brazil's warm-up programme, will take place in Kuala Lumpur on May 25.

Brazil's other remaining games are at home to Yugoslavia on Wednesday, away to Portugal on April 17 and away to a Catalan combination in Barcelona on May 18.

The CBF also announced that Brazil will name their squad for the World Cup on May 2, nineteen days before the FIFA deadline.

Tuesday, March 26, 2002 Roberto Carlos: Crisis? What crisis? By Brian Homewood

FORTALEZA (Reuters) - Brazil's Roberto Carlos has denied that the four-time world champions were submerged in a crisis and said they would reach this year's World Cup final. The full-back with the booming left-foot shot, in what may seem a brash prediction following his team's recent troubles, claimed that Brazil had been in similar predicaments in the past but always produced their best when it mattered.

'Every year, people talk about how Brazil are having a difficult time, but at the end of the day we are going to get to the final,' he said.

'I don't know if we are going to win, but certainly we will get to the final.'

'We are going to represent a country with 170 million people with the same sentiment as those 170 million - to be champions.'

Brazil struggled through the South American qualifiers, using four coaches and 60 players in their 18 games, and only made sure of their place with a controversial win over Venezuela in their very last match.

In the last two years, Brazil have suffered a series of humiliating defeats against opponents such as Ecuador, Australia, Honduras and Bolivia.

Critics say that coach Luiz Felipe Scolari is still struggling to settle on his team, with doubts about the fitness of injury-plagued striker Ronaldo and midfielder Rivaldo and controversy raging over whether he should include veteran striker Romario.

'Brazil qualified because it was our duty and when the World Cup comes around, we will be fighting alongside Argentina and France,' he said.

Roberto Carlos was non-committal on whether Romario, who is still in fine fettle for his club at the age of 36 but has failed to impress coach Scolari, should be taken to the World Cup.

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The two players were involved in a public slanging match four years ago when Romario, who missed France '98 through injury and instead worked as a television commentator, criticised the Real Madrid player's performances.

'We have to talk about the players who are here,' he said.

'I'm not the coach and it's not my job to pick anyone - if the coach thinks Romario has to be picked, we will applaud that decision, if not then we will understand the coach's opinion.

'If Romario is not here at the moment, then it's because the coach thinks it's not the right time for him.

'I've got nothing to say about Romario at the moment, we have got an important and difficult game to play on Wednesday. We have got a good base but there are a lot of good players who have been left out.'

He added: 'More than Ronaldo, Romario and Rivaldo, there is a symbol on our chest which deserves much more respect than any one of us.'

He also denied that success had gone to his head.

'I'm still the same person with the same family, playing for Real Madrid and above all doing what I like most which is to play football.'

Brasilian Links

Official Brasilian Futebol Site - both Portuguese & English available...currently under reconstruction...

Federacao Paulista de Futebol - Site for internal Brasilian Leagues complete with Cheerleaders/ Downloads Pages...In portuguese therefore need to use translation site or learn portuguese...who said football wasn't educational!

Excellent Brasilian Soccer Links