» Cocky Land

FIFA Interviews Maradona… and cannot stop asking about Brazil!

Ana — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 17:52:34 +0000

FIFA published the second part of the interview with Diego Maradona, Argentina’s god and coach. The funny part is, FIFA would not stop asking questions about Brazil. Ok, Brazil plays Argentina on September 5th and if Brazil wins, Seleção already qualifies for the World Cup while Argentina would be in serious trouble (could this cost Dieguito’s job?). But I think they would do the same even if Maradona was in vacation.

Here are some interesting parts. You should read the entire interview here.

FIFA.com: Diego, another huge clash with Brazil is fast approaching. How would you explain the rivalry between the two countries to somebody not from either nation?
Diego Maradona: They’re the ones who play the joyous and attractive football [TRUE], while we’re known for our gutsiness [TRUE] and having very good players [HALF TRUE since Brazil is actually more well known for that].

FIFA.com: There’s a constant debate between Brazilians and Argentinians over whether Pele or you is the world’s best ever player. Is it possible to make a comparison given you played in completely different eras?
Do you know what? I played in European football for ten years while Pele played in South America. Yes he won World Cups and everything [TRUE... MANY], but playing in Europe is something else entirely [WILL GIVE YOU THAT... TRUE]. Not that that makes me much better than him or anything like that [OH SOOO TRUE - you said it Maradona, not me]. When I played, the man-markers in Spanish and Italian football were like hunting dogs. They never left me alone.

Pele had Coutinho and Rivelino, who for me is one of the best ever [TRUE], alongside him. And then there was Jairzinho, Clodoaldo, Gerson and Tostao. Those guys were brilliant. Oh well, what matters is that when the people voted, he came second behind me [WHO VOTED? INTERNET POLL? ARE YOU REALLY THAT NAIVE?]. Nobody can take that away from me. And there was another vote in Brazil in which he came second behind Ayrton Senna. He needs to stop coming second [DID YOU DO SOME LINES?]!

Fifa.com: If you could have one of the Brazilians in your team, which would you choose?
From this national side? I’d like to have Kaka. He can turn a game for you. [TRUE]

Fifa.com: And which Argentinian do you think the Brazilians would like?
They’d love to have [Lionel] Messi, I’m sure of it. [TRUE]

What did you expect? I’m Brazilian!

Is Romario Broke?

Bruno Romani — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 20:12:26 +0000

After spending one night in jail for not paying his kids pension, the financial situation of Romario, the hero of the 1994 World Cup, is in check. According to Placar, the most traditional football magazine in Brazil, the forward has a US$ 5 million (US$ 1 = R$ 2) debt as a result of several cases in Brazilian courts.

Some of the cases are:

R$ 39,675.54: Municipality of Rio for cutting down 10 trees without permission in 2001.

R$ 51,000: Detran, the Brazilian DMV, for not paying ownership tax over his Mercedes.

R$ 89,641: First ex-wife for not paying the food pension of his 2 oldest kids.

R$ 200,000: Municipality of Rio for not paying the tax over the ownership of land property and fees for unauthorized constructions.

R$ 600,000: Zagallo, for panting a caricature of the ex-coach on the door of one of the cabinets of the restroom of his restaurant.

R$ 5,5 million: Downstairs neighbors in one of his luxurious buildings, due to a water leak caused by constructions which prevented them from renting the apartment.

Also, newspaper Extra from Rio, reports that Romario was involved in a illegal gambling situation which forced him to give away 2 cars that together were worth R$ 700,000, in order to avoid threats against his life. On the other side, the forward is still pocketing salaries from Flamengo and Vasco. Is he broke?

Having a top footballer pays off.

Ana — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 22:00:27 +0000

Why do clubs hire top footballers? So that when it comes time to make a difference on the pitch they will get the job done. Well done. Individually or collectively. They will find space where no one else could and hit the net in most inexplicable ways. There a couple of lucky teams with such footballers out there.

Today, however, Cristiano Ronaldo was the one to take Manchester United qualify to the semi-finals of the Champions League with a single moment of pure football beauty.

Porto had entered the pitch confident after a 2-2 tie back in Manchester on the first leg. Everyone had hopes at Estádio do Dragão and the Portenhos only needed to tie to send Man U back to England and qualify to Champions League’s semi-finals. But football is football and that’s why we love it so much.

With only 6 minutes into the match, Cristiano Ronaldo received a pass from Anderson, about 35 yards out of Helton’s goal, took the shot… and Bob’s your uncle. Manchester 1. Porto 0.

From there on, it was hard for Porto to bring momentum back. With one single individual play, Cristiano Ronaldo managed to put Manchester into the semis and add one more reason to live in cocky land.

Watch Cristiano Ronaldo’s goal. Porto vs. Manchester United.

No Surprises as Dunga Announces WCQ Squad

Bruno Romani — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 19:28:36 +0000

Dunga announced the squad to take on Ecuador and Peru for the World Cup Qualifying. The biggest surprise? Defender Miranda from Sao Paulo. The “no” surprise? Dunga is always late. When Miranda was one of the best defenders in Brazil, Dunga ignored him. Now that he is not even the best defender at Sao Paulo (Andre Dias is the man now), Dunga called him. Is it Dunga just th late guy (you know, the one who just bought an iPod when everyone is moving to an iPhone) or is he working with player’s agents (as many say)? Don’t be surprised if Miranda moves to Europe in June. Anyway, the players are:

GOALKEEPERS
Julio César (Internazionale)
Doni (Roma)

SIDEBACKS
Maicon (Internazionale)
Daniel Alves (Barcelona)
Kleber (Internacional)
Marcelo (Real Madrid)

DEFENDERS
Lúcio (Bayern de Munich)
Miranda (São Paulo)
Luisão (Benfica)
Thiago Silva (Milan)

MIDFIELDERS

Gilberto Silva (Panathinaikos)
Elano (Manchester City)
Anderson (Manchester United)
Josué (Wolfsburg)
Ronaldinho Gaúcho (Milan)
Julio Baptista (Roma)
Felipe Melo (Fiorentina)
Kaká (Milan)

FORWARDS
Robinho (Manchester City)
Luís Fabiano (Sevilla)
Alexandre Pato (Milan)
Adriano (Internazionale)

C. Ronaldo’s goal. Manchester vs. Blackburn.

Ana — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 19:15:20 +0000

My goodness. It is public my not so great love for C. Ronaldo. However, I cannot deny the guy knows what he is doing… I was watching Manchester vs. Blackburn this Saturday and here comes C-Ron to take the foul. He poses, and does his very “cristiano-cocky-boy” thing, and then comes a nice super beautiful free kick and of course… a goal. Unbelievable. One cannot deny, even if you also play on the can’t-stand-him side, that he is a great player who deserved the little FIFA prize he took home for 2008.

C. Ronaldo takes Ballon d’Or … obviously.

Ana — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 23:05:14 +0000

It was news today but not really. C. Ronaldo, as predicted, took home France Football’s Ballon d’Or award. Well deserverded, I guess. Hopefully cocky land levels won’t rise after that. Leo Messi took second, and Fernando Torres, from Spain, was third.

It was taking too long: C. Ronaldo gets cocky.

Ana — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 21:53:32 +0000

He is a great footballer. But when C. Ronaldo gets on cocky land, I feel like taking away all his merits and achievements. Today he pretty much told France’s L’Equipe that no one else deserves France Football’s Ballo D’Or but him (he’s a simple guy, you know…). He says he has had a stable year and won all major competitions with Manchester: Premiership and Champions League. On top of that he reminds us that he also scored more goals that pretty much anyone this past year. A little detail: on the Champions League final, C-Ron actually missed his penalty. So on a crucial time like that he failed.

I’ll take on point out for that.

So keep the cockyness to yourself and shush just for a little bit. We all know how good you’ve done and the mistakes you’ve made. And yes, we all already know you are taking Ballon D’Or and FIFA Player of the Year.