Brasileirão In Focus: Corinthians

Corinthians, o Timão, the biggest team in São Paulo state and truly one of the giants in the Brazilian game. They have a significantly different team to the one that finished 3rd in last season’s Brasileirão, with the retirement of Ronaldo Fenômeno and the departures of Roberto Carlos, Jucilei and Elias. Despite these losses, they still managed to make the final of the Campeonato Paulista, partially thanks to the signing of former Sporting Lisbon forward Liedson.

This transfer window has been a busy one for Corinthians, and there seems to be a lot more to come. Bruno Cesar will leave in June to sign for Benfica, and striker Dentinho has sealed a move to Ukraine with Shakhtar Donetsk. The really interesting part is the players coming in. Since the end of the 2010 Brasileirão, o Timão have recruited names like Liedson, Fábio Santos, Adriano, Emerson and ex-Spartak Moscow midfielder Alex. Roma’s Fábio Simplício appears to be close to signing, and there are strong rumours regarding the signings of AC Milan’s Clarence Seedorf, Paulo Henrique Ganso from Santos and André of Dynamo Kiev.

This is a team who certainly have what it takes to win the league, with some of the best players in Brazil at their disposal, especially if they go on to sign any of the other names mentioned. Perhaps their only weak spot is their coach, Tite. Not a bad coach by any means, but since he has been in charge of Corinthians it has not seemed like the fans have been particularly won over by him. He failed to win the 2010 Brasileirão last season, was knocked out by Deportes Tolima in the qualifying rounds of the 2011 Copa Libertadores, and now suffered in the Paulistão final. You feel that Tite needs instant results, and any more disappointment in the near future will leave him out of a job.

Without knowing the extent of their activity in the transfer market, it is hard to pinpoint a formation for Corinthians, but with the players they have under contract currently, they will play a 4-2-3-1. Fábio Santos and Alessandro play left and right back respectively, dominating the flanks. In the midfield, Ralf is the holding man, and he is partnered by Paulinho, who is a little more athletic and mobile. The attacking three (for the time being) should line up with Jorge Henrique, Alex and Willian, and Liedson is the first choice at centre forward.

Expected formation:

Q&A: Miguel Bianconi

Today, I thought I’d do something different. Recently I’ve been talking a lot about the Copa São Paulo which took place in January. My initial plan was to pick out some players that I was impressed by, and give a little bit of a scout report on each one, letting you know what to expect when they make their move into the big leagues. But I had a better idea. One of the players I was going to write about, Miguel Bianconi of Palmeiras, has recently been promoted to the first team and he made his debut last week in the Copa do Brasil.

Instead of just writing about him from my point of view, I decided to get in touch with young Miguel, and I am now proud to present the first (of many hopefully) player interview exclusively for I Like Football Me.

(Photo: GazetaPress.com.br)

I caught up with Miguel on Monday afternoon, not long after training, only one day after heavy rain in the city of São Paulo gave us these scenes in the stands of the Estádio do Morumbi for the São Paulo x Palmeiras derby. (I also must mention that the interview was conducted completely in Portuguese, and then translated back to English)

I Like Football Me: Good afternoon Miguel, thanks for taking the time out to speak to me. Good training session today?
Miguel: Yeah, training was good. It’s a pity that it was raining so much.

ILFM: Well you do live in São Paulo, you’ll be used to it by now.
Miguel: That’s true.

ILFM: Ok let’s begin shall we? Recently you were promoted to the first team squad at Palmeiras. What has it been like for you to train with the idols of the team like Marcos, Kléber, Valdivia, and to work under such a renowned manager as Luiz Felipe Scolari?
Miguel: It’s very important for my career to begin with such successful players like Marcos, Kléber and Valdivia and to be working with the best manager in the world. I just have to thank God for this opportunity and I’m going to make the most of it.

ILFM: Last week, you were called up to the squad for the first time for the Copa do Brasil match against Comercial in Piauí. What was that whole experience like for you? To travel with the squad, to play in front of the fans…
Miguel: It was really cool and very exciting. A really incredible experience for me. I hope it’s the first of many, but more importantly the team got the victory, and that puts us in a great position for the second leg! (Note: Palmeiras won the second leg 5-1)

ILFM: Palmeiras have made a good start to 2011. The team is playing well, the defence looks strong, and you are sitting in a good position in the Campeonato Paulista, only one point off the top. Do you think the team can continue like this throughout the 2011 season?
Miguel: I am certain that we can. We have a great squad and because we are Palmeiras we always have to be looking for victories and especially we have to win titles. We know that it will be very difficult, but with our ability and the help of the supporters, we will go on and win trophies.

ILFM: That’s music to my ears Miguel. Ok moving on, to play for a big club in Brazil, especially in São Paulo, can bring a lot of pressure to the players on and off the pitch. Recently we saw Roberto Carlos leaving Corinthians for Anzhi Makhachkala of Russia, citing “personal safety” as one of the reasons for his exit. Do you feel you would be prepared to deal with that kind of pressure at Palmeiras?
Miguel: I don’t think I am, I am sure I am! This past year in the youth squads I have been preparing a lot both technically and psychologically. Of course I know that the fan pressure at Palmeiras is massive, but I’m sure that over time I will show them my worth in the squad and then hopefully I’ll have formed a good relationship with the fans.

ILFM: This year was your second year playing for Palmeiras in the Copinha (Copa São Paulo de Juniores). Last year, you scored twice as the team got to the semi-finals. I watched you play in this year’s Copinha, and you improved your performance and scored four goals. What aspects of your game do you think you have improved upon since last year?
Miguel: I know that my in first Copinha, I didn’t play much for the team, I focused on my own performance more. But this year, I played looser, I dropped deep to get the ball, generally I moved around a lot more, trying to help the team. Thank God it went very well and today I am in the first team. The improvement was all thanks to the coaches who trusted in my ability and supported me every step of the way.

ILFM: Continuing with the Copinha, I was impressed by several players in the Palmeiras team, (Patrick Vieira, Bruno, Vitor and yourself of course!) do you think there are any players in this team that can have a big future at Palmeiras?
Miguel: Definitely. Palmeiras have done a very good job with the youth team, and we will be enjoying the fruits of their labour very soon. I’ve started the year in the professional squad, and hopefully I can stay there!

ILFM: That definitely sounds positive. Are there any players in particular you think will shine?
Miguel: Patrick Vieira, Paulinho and Peterson. Great players that can bring the joy that the supporters and the directors are always looking for.

ILFM: You are a strong, energetic and tenacious attacker who plays at Palmeiras. Naturally the media like to compare you with Palmeiras’ idol Kléber. What do you think about these comparisons between you and O Gladiador?
Miguel: I think that it’s too early for all of this. Kléber is an established footballer, and I am just starting out. I hope to one day win what he has won, and principally I would love to be a hero at Palmeiras like he is. Sure, I have a long way to go, but with the help of God I can get there.

ILFM: Brazilian football loves “the craque”, the idol of the team. Who is your craque? A player who you admire more than any other.
Miguel: My idol in football is Ronaldo. Just for everything that he won in his entire career while having to overcome so many obstacles at the same time.

ILFM: Brazil is absolutely obsessed with football, there are matches from all over the world on television every day. Do you watch much football from outside of Brazil?
Miguel: Yeah I do. I really like Bayern Munich in Germany, they have quick, light players but at the same time they have big, strong players. The team is really good in the Champions League, and recently they have been good in the Bundesliga as well. Basically, I watch a lot when I have days off, and I try my best to learn from them.

ILFM: Footballers can often be quite superstitious and ritualistic people, especially on matchdays. For example, goalkeepers in Brazil will almost always pray on their goal-line at the start and end of each half, and players often have a pair of boots, shinpads or even underwear that they regard as their “lucky pair”. Do you have any superstitions or rituals that you go through on matchdays?
Miguel: No I don’t. I believe in God and I have a lot of trust in Him, my family are Evangelists and I learned to hand over my career into the hands of God, and to allow Him to resolve it. I think that this business of superstitions has nothing to it, but of course I respect those who have them.

ILFM: Excellent, now finally some quick-fire questions to finish off:

Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo?- Messi
Copa Libertadores or Champions League?- Champions League
Volleyball or MMA?- Volleyball
Twitter or Orkut?- Twitter
Feijoada or pizza?- Pizza
Faustão or Gugu?- Neither! I don’t watch any of them.
Funk or Sertanejo?- Again, neither. I like gospel music mainly.
And finally, an easy question…. Pelé or Maradona?- Pelé.

ILFM: Thanks so much for speaking to me today Miguel. Good luck in your future, I’ll be cheering for you!
Miguel: No problem, bye for now. God bless.

Brazilian Football: 2010 So Far..

Now as a few of you will know, I am currently residing in São Paulo, Brasil for the next month or so, and following on from my previous post about Brazilian football, I thought I would post a bit of an update on the current 2010 Brazilian football season.

As is mentioned in that previous post, the Brazilian football season starts in January with the State Championships, which run until May, when teams get prepared for the National Championship, the Brasileirão. So what I'm going to do here is give a little recap of where we stand currently in the major state championships, and any important cup competitions.

We'll start with arguably the biggest of the Campeonatos Estaduais, the Paulistão of São Paulo state.

Campeonato Paulista

The Campeonato Paulista, or Paulistão as it is popularly known, is the State Championship for the state of São Paulo. The top division is made up of 20 teams from the state. Each team plays eachother once during the campaign, after all games have been played, the four best-placed teams enter into the final knockout stage to compete for the trophy.

Generally speaking, the top four is usually made up of the G-4 clubs in São Paulo state; São Paulo, Palmeiras, Corinthians and Santos. This year has been a little different though, with only São Paulo and Santos progressing to the final stage.

Of the two that missed out on the top-four places, Palmeiras had by far the more disappointing campaign. The Verdão finished in an embarassing 11th position, with 6 losses and 11 points behind fourth place. This recent disappointment is just another in a series of disappointments for Palmeiras fans, and they will be fearing what may happen if the team does not improve quickly with the 2010 Brasileirão approaching soon. Palmeiras' main rivals Corinthians were the other G-4 side to miss out on a top-four place. Unlike Palmeiras, Timão came very close to qualification, only missing out by one point.

Now enough about the teams that failed to make it, let's go over the four semi-finalists. First of all, the most impressive team of the tournament this year, Santos. Finishing 10 points clear of their nearest challengers, Santos dominated this year's Paulistão, beating teams by four or five goals on a regular basis, even recording a 9-1 victory over Ituano. Santos are a team in a great position, with the loan signing of Robinho, and great performances from young stars like Neymar, Paulo Henrique Ganso and André, they are truly a great team to watch.

The next two qualifiers are the surprise finalists, Santo André and Grêmio Prudente. Both sides had solid campaigns, with both finishing on 37 points. Arguably, they would not have qualified if São Paulo, Corinthians and Palmeiras played to their potential, but with the poor performances of the other G-4 teams, the hard work and perserverance of Santo André and Grêmio has paid off with a semi-final place.

The last semi-final place went to São Paulo, despite having a fairly disappointing season by their standards. The Tricolor finished with 36 points, with 5 losses, just managing to outmuscle their rivals Corinthians and reach fourth place. The four finalists will now compete in two-legged semi-finals (Santos x São Paulo and Santo André x Grêmio) to compete for a place in the two-legged 2010 Paulistão final.

Here is the final league table and the schedule for the semi-finals of the 2010 Paulistão. Note that the times are in Brazilian time (UTC-3). The semi-finals will most likely be available to watch this Sunday on the free bet365.com Live Streaming service.

(tables taken from globoesporte.globo.com)



Campeonato Carioca

The Campeonato Carioca is the State Championship for the state of Rio de Janeiro. The format is a bit different from the Paulistão, as the Carioca is split into three phases, the Taça Guanabara, the Taça Rio and the Finals. In the Taça Guanabara, the 16 teams in the top division are split into two groups of 8. The G-4 of Rio de Janeiro (Flamengo, Fluminense, Botafogo and Vasco) are seeded so they are split equally into the two groups. The teams then play every team in their group once, and the top two from each group progress to the knockout stage to determine the winner. This year, Botafogo became the champions of the 2010 Taça Guanabara, defeating Vasco 2x0 in the final.

Next comes the Taça Rio, it's format is very similar, with the 16 teams kept in the same groups as the Taça Guanabara, but this time they play each team from the other group once. Then, same as the Taça Guanabara, the top two sides from each group progress to the knockout phase to find the winner. The winner of the Taça Rio will then play the winner of the Taça Guanabara in a two-legged final to determine the winner of the Campeonato Carioca (unless of course the same team wins both the Taça Guanabara and Taça Rio, then they are automatically crowned champions).

This year's Taça Rio saw Flamengo and Fluminense cruise to victory in Group A, and Botafogo and Vasco progressing from Group B, Vasco only qualifying by one point. This weekend will see the semi-finals of Botafogo x Fluminense and Flamengo x Vasco. The winner of the Taça Rio will then play Botafogo over two legs to decide the Campeonato Carioca (unless of course Botafogo win the Taça Rio as well). The Final will be played at the Maracanã on the 26th April and the second leg on the 2nd May. Once again, there is a good chance these games will be shown on bet365.com's free Live Streaming service.

Campeonato Gaúcho

Now, just a quick review of some of the other major state championships. The Campeonato Gaúcho is contested in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, home to the two big sides from Porto Alegre; Internacional and Grêmio. The format is somewhat similar to the Carioca, with 18 sides contesting two seperate cups (this time the Taça Fernando Carvalho and Taça Fábio Koff) with the winners of each playing a two-legged final for the Campeonato Gaúcho title. One difference from the Carioca, is that in each cup, the top four from each group progress to the knockout phase, as opposed to just the top two teams in the Carioca.

The 2010 Gaúcho has so far seen Grêmio win the Taça Fernando Carvalho, beating Novo Hamburgo 1x0 in the Final. Currently, the Taça Fábio Koff is in the quarter-final stage, Internacional and Ypiranga booking their places in the semi-finals against eachother, after beating Novo Hamburgo and Caxias respectively. In the other quarter finals, São José eliminated Inter de Santa Maria through penalties for a place in the semi-finals where they will face Pelotas, who surprisingly outclassed Grêmio to win 2x1 in the fourth quarter-final.

Inter will now be desperate to win the Taça Fábio Koff, to set up the grand final against bitter rivals Grêmio, and they will be highly favoured to do just that. The semi-finals will be played this weekend and may well be available on the bet365.com Live Streaming service.


Campeonato Mineiro

The last of the Campeonatos Estaduais I'll review is the Campeonato Mineiro of Minas Gerais state. Minas Gerais is the second most populous state in Brasil behind São Paulo state. It contains the urban centre of Belo Horizonte, home to the two big sides in the Mineiro; Cruzeiro and Atlético Mineiro. The Mineiro has a simple and straightforward format, there are 12 teams in the top level, throughout the campaign each team plays one another only once. Then the 8 best-placed sides advance to the knockout stage to decide the champion.

At the moment, the 2010 Mineiro is in the semi-finals stage, Cruzeiro facing Ipatinga and Atlético Mineiro being drawn against Democrata-GV. The first legs of these semis will take place this weekend, with the second legs played one week later. Generally a Atlético x Cruzeiro final is expected, but after the solid league display of Democrata-GV, Atlético may have a tougher time making the final than they first thought.

Copa do Brasil

Copa do Brasil is Brasil's top domestic cup competition, held in high regard in clubs throughout Brasil with the 2011 Copa Libertadores place at stake for the winner a huge incentive for success.

The tournament itself has a straight two-legged knockout format with 64 teams entered (they qualify either through their 2009 State Championship performances, or by CBF rankings). Teams that are qualified for the 2010 Copa Libertadores are not entered into the competition due to scheduling conflicts, so that means that reigning champions Corinthians and Flamengo, Internacional, São Paulo and Cruzeiro were not entered.

Currently we are in the last-16 stage of the tournament, and only two Série A teams have thus far been eliminated, Botafogo and newly promoted Ceará. The last-16 ties include four all-Série A clashes and the first legs are played on Wednesday 14th and Thursday 15th April, with the second legs one week later. The complete list of last-16 ties are as follows:

Corinthians-PR x Vasco de Gama
Goiás x Vitória
Santa Cruz x Atlético-GO
Palmeiras x Atlético-PR
Fluminense x Portuguesa
Grêmio x Avaí
Santos x Guarani
Atlético-MG x Sport

Now, that's it for this post. I do recommend you have a look out for these upcoming games, the State Championships get quite tense, and with local pride at stake in every game, expect some really intense encounters. I'll post a final review of these competitions in May, just linking back to this post letting you know how it all turns out...