Brasileiro: Sao Paulo Looses the Rope; Ronaldo Protagonist Again

Four regional derbies took place for the 12th round of Campeonato Brasileiro.

In the derby of desperation, Sao Paulo and Santos battled to see who had the less horrifying side. And Sao Paulo won 2-1, with two goals by striker Washington.

In the Curitiba derby, Atletico-PR and Coritiba also fought to see who has the worst team. With both sides showing obvious weaknesses, the final result could be no different than the nil draw.

The derby in Rio also had one side suffocated by the shadows of relegation. Botafogo took on Flamengo to do something different, but the truth is that things looked the same. Defender Juninho got another powerful free-kick, which Alessandro used the rebound to score. Adriano and Emerson, a man who keeps scoring despite not being trusted, scored for Fla. Renato gave finals numbers. The 2-2 changed very little the situation of the two clubs in the table.

The Grenal of the centenary, the match of the Porto Alegre derby that celebrated 100 years of this rivalry, brought more confusing thoughts for Inter. Inter lost 2-1, after Nilmar scored first. Gremio came through midfielder Souza (beautiful free-kick) and forward Maxi Lopes. For 6 matches Gremio did not win in the derby. And now it won not only in the celebratory derby, but also beats Inter after it lost Copa do Brasil and Recopa. Coach Tite is on the edge.

The main clubs with the most surprising campaigns, however, fought outside the regional derbies.

1) Palmeiras and Santo Andre, two sides with surprisingly good campaigns, played in Sao Paulo. And interim coach Jorginho took Palmeiras to the second spot in the table with a simple 1-0, goal by Diego Souza. The midfielder is having his best sequence ever at Palmeiras.

2)Vitoria and Atletico-MG, sides with even more surprising campaigns, tied in zero goals in Bahia. It was the first 2 points dropped by Vitoria at home in the league. Atletico-MG remains as the leader.

3)Finally, the other great surprise of the league is Barueri. This time the victim was Nautico, who lost 4-0. The man of the night was one more time Val Baiano. He scored 4 goals and has a total of 8, which puts him as the top scorer so far.

4)Now, time for clubs that are surprises in a bad way. Sport, the side who lifted 2008 Copa do Brasil and dreamed of Copa Libertadores, is fighting relegation. This time, the team managed to lose 3-1 at home for Avai, one of the weakest in the tournament. After being fired from Atletico-MG, coach Emerson Leao brought things down at Sport. Has Leao reached the end of his career?

5)Finally, Fluminense, another side many expected much, was humiliated at home 4-1 by Goias. Goias came back with nice shots from outside the box. Felipe and Iarley scored again.

Ronaldo Again…

was the protagonist of a Corinthians match. For those who expected to see a battle between the number 9 and Cruzeiro’s Kleber, it was frustrating. All because Ronaldo took all the attention in the match against the club that introduced him to national and international soccer. He gave an assist to Jorge Henrique, missed a penalty and scored a goal in the 2-1 victory over Cruzeiro. Corinthians is in 5th now.

Related posts:

1. Brasileiro: Palmeiras and Sao Paulo Share the Top
2. Campeonato Brasileiro: Surviving a Hang Over
3. Brasileiro: Palmeiras Gains New Hope
4. Colors of the Week in the Brasileiro: Black and White
5. Brasileiro: Sao Paulo or Flamengo?