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The Good-bye of Sorin

Bruno Romani — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 03:07:46 +0000

Sorin played yesterday his last match as a professional footballer. And the stage for the farewell party could be no other place than the Mineirao, in Belo Horizonte. And the teams on the field could be no different than Argentinos Juniors, club where the left-back started his career, and Cruzeiro, club for whom he professes all his love. Sorin played most of the match for Cruzeiro. You read it, right – most of the match. For 13 minutes, the left-back played for Argentinos. But the 62 thousand Cruzeiro fans were there to see him playing for the home team. And he did so. Cruzeiro won 2-1, but that was just a detail. The fans knew that they were watching the final chapter not only of Sorin’s career, but of one of their idols. Before the match, Sorin had his footprints taken to be part of Mineirao’s walk of fame.

And it’s remarkable that Sorin gets all this love. It’s rare for foreign players to get that in Brazil. Being from Argentina makes it even more unlike. But he got it -lots of love. Congratulations!

Video: Cruzeiro 1 – 2 Palmeiras

Bruno Romani — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 18:31:25 +0000

This is a bit a late, but it confirms what i wrote earlier this week about the 25 round of Brasileirao. It was a Palmeiras round. The club visited Cruzeiro and performed like a club coached by Muricy Ramalho: solid in the defense and precise in the counter-attacks. The winning goal, by Vagner Love, was constructed in such fashion. Cruzeiro pressured a lot, but the fact that Palmeiras tied the match just minute after Thiago Ribeiro opened the scored board got in the nerves of the home team. And again, the name of the match was Diego Souza, who with all the justice, is in the national team.

Palmeiras leads the Brasileiro with 47 points, 3 ahead of Sao Paulo.

Photo: Ramires Arrives at Benfica

Bruno Romani — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 06:02:43 +0000

The ex-Cruzeiro midfielder was introduced not only to his new club. The mascot seemed to make him nervous…

Video: Ronaldo Never Stops Making Into the Headlines

Bruno Romani — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 20:34:01 +0000

The man never stops even when we seem tired of talking about him.

This Sunday, he had his footprint taken to be kept at the Mineirao stadium. Before the match, Cruzeiro, this Sunday’s rival, honored the player they projected to the world. And when the action took place, Ronaldo gave an assist, missed a penalty in lazy fashion and scored a goal. It was also his first goal outside Sao Paulo state since his return to Brazil – Now, he has 6 goals in the league. Calling his return to Brazil a success is an understatement.

Photo: Estudiantes and Atletico-MG United

Bruno Romani — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 07:56:52 +0000

Estudiantes arrived in Argentina after title of Copa Libertadores. The detail is that the players had with them a flag of Atletico-MG, the main rival of Cruzeiro.

The Face of Defeat

Bruno Romani — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 09:54:07 +0000

Thiago Ribeiro from Cruzeiro in the defeat against Estudiantes.

“Mineirazzo”: Estudiantes Lifts Libertadores in Brazil

Bruno Romani — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 09:34:27 +0000

The 50th edition of Copa Libertadores had its final match tonight at the Mineirao, in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. After the nil draw in Argentina, it seemed Cruzeiro, the home team, was ready to lift the third title in the competition, the first since 1997.

However, a “Mineirazzo” took place and one more time Brazilian clubs failed at home. Estudiantes de La Plata won its first title since the 68/69/70 titles.

The match started nervous. Estudiantes liked to keep ball possession, exchanging many passes. Cruzeiro tried to explore the left side of its attacking field through Wagner and Gerson Magrao. In the counter attacks, Estudiantes looked dangerous. But, in the collective imaginary of Cruzeiro fans, the victory was a matter of time. In the group stage, these two clubs played at this same stadium and Cruzeiro crushed the visitors 3-0.

As time passed by, however, reality landed on the stadium. Cruzeiro did not create the chances. And the match looked extremely good for Estudiantes. They wasted time in every possible way and kept the attack of Cruzeiro innocuous. The 3 pillars from the blue team – Wagner, Ramires and Kleberg – had no space.

When the second-half started, destiny seemed to make a turn. Cruzeiro started more aggressive and with 6 minutes midfielder Henrique scored after trying a long range that deflected on Desabato. After the goal, the second goal seemed close. Too early for anything.

Instead of keeping the pace, Cruzeiro relaxed and laid back. Estudiantes relaxed too. It kept playing its game and five minutes later Fernandes tied the game after finishing a play started by Veron. Cruzeiro collapsed. Estudiantes really relaxed. And kept fighting.

Ramires, on his last match before joining Benfica, played his worst match for Cruzeiro. His passes were poorly executed. And he did not attempt any of those runs with the ball in the right side.

Wagner, also very shy in the second half, was replaced by Athirson, who expected to play with Gerson Magrao in the left.

On the 27th mark, the 3 thousand Argentineans at Mineirao got even louder. Boselli, the top scorer of Copa Libertadores, scored his 8th using his head after Veron took the corner. Cruzeiro’s world collapsed – too many historical marks were against the home team. “The Mineirazzo” was taking place.

The last time a Brazilian club lifted Copa Libertadores beating a foreign rival was in 1999. Since then, Brazilian clubs reached the final 8 times – two of them had 2 Brazilian clubs. The other 6, Brazil lost (Palmeiras 00, Sao Caetano 02, Santos 03, Gremio 07, Fluminense 08). All defeats were in Brazil.

Also, in 07 and 08, Gremio and Fluminense eliminated Sao Paulo of the tournament. This year Cruzeiro did the same. What a spell.

Thiago Ribeiro replaced Wellington Paulista. Cruzeiro passively lost at home. The fans started to demand more passion from the team. And Cruzeiro seemed to respond. In the final 5 minutes, Cruzeiro missed 3 chances. The one that probably won’t be forgotten is when Thiago Ribeiro hit the cross bar with powerful long range.

Conducted by Veron, Estudiantes controlled the time. The clock seemed faster as they did not Cruzeiro be faster. And Veron was making history himself by lifting the title of Libertadores for the same club as his father did in the late 60’s. A beautiful family story.

When the match ended, Cruzeiro did not even look sad. They were frustrated. The club did not play well the most important match of the year. But Estudiantes was ready for this title. A club that reaches the finals of Copa Sulamericana and Copa Libertadores in a matter of 6 months is ready for the title.

And, indeed, Brazilian clubs cannot face the ones from Argentina in the final. Argentina, now, reaches 22 titles of Copa Libertadores against 13 of Brazil. The last time a Brazilian club beat an Argentinean one in the final of the continental tournament was in 1992, when Sao Paulo beat Newell’s Old Boys.

The Quickest Red Card in the World

Bruno Romani — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 08:13:54 +0000

Ze Carlos, forward from Cruzeiro, spent less time on the pitch in the Belo Horizonte derby against Atletico Mineiro than you will spend reading this. With 7 seconds into the match, he elbowed midfielder Renan. Ref Paulo Cesar de Oliveira saw it, and with 15 seconds the red card was up in the air. It was the quickest red card shown in a match of Campeonato Brasileiro. What a record. Watch it below:

The final score? 3-0 Atletico.

Libertadores: Cruzeiro Silences Argentina

Bruno Romani — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 08:13:28 +0000

Estudiantes let Cruzeiro enter the pitch alone in the first leg of the Copa Libertadores final. The locals knew that its fans were going to suffocate the Brazilians with a red and white smoke. The chants suffocated any attempts of communication between the players. And Estudiantes started the match suffocating.

But as time passed by, one man took away the breath of the crowd. Goalie Fabio took over the match. A save after the other slowly silenced the stadium. The zero in the first half was a bucket of water on Estudiantes.

When the second-half started, Fabio did another 2 saves. And Estudiantes started to literally lose breath. It was clear that the locals got tired. The match started to look good for Cruzeiro. And Kleber missed an incredible goal. At that point, Estudiantes and its fans were breathless out of desperation as it felt time taking away the chances of pocketing any advantages before the match in Brazil.

When the ref blew the final whistle, Cruzeiro was breathless. The reason? They know the third title of Copa Libertadores is very close.

Libertadores: Cruzeiro in the Final

Bruno Romani — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 21:40:29 +0000

Cruzeiro reached the final of Copa Libertadores after a 2 goals draw against Gremio. Gremio played at home, but in 4 minutes (between the 34th and the 38th minutes) the visitors scored twice and buried the dreams of the home team.

The final will be against Estudiantes from Argentina on the 8th and the 15th. The final game will be in Brazil.

After the final of Copa do Brasil and semi of the Libertadores, the joke that goes around in Brazil is this:
What do Inter Gremio and Michael Jackson have in common? They all promised a great performance, sold out all tickets and died at home. =P

The negative thing about this game was how Gremio fans reacted to Elicarlos, the player who accused Gremio’s Maxi Lopes of racism. Every time Elicarlos touched the ball, the fans emulated the sounds and gestures of monkeys. Shameful.