If possible, please watch the last 20 minutes of the match between Brasil and Turkey in the 2003 Confederations Cup. Their combination was brilliant.
seemed to work out well since turkey scored that death goal towards the end that knocked us out of the tournament. that whole tournament was garbage. i was pretty disappointed with it.
I don't have that, but we are working on getting some from the last game against France... where they were also excellent. They can read each other... they have a Pele / Coutinho thing going. I wish I had the actual quote in front of me, but I believe that when asked who was the player with whom he most enjoyed playing and meshed best with, Ronaldinho said Alex.
They had about 15 minutes to play together in that game... Alex didn't start. At the end, Ronaldinho got red-carded and Alex scored a last minute equalizer to avoid a humiliating defeat. The game ended 2-2.
Brilliant one touch passing, 1-2s, backheels, feints... it really is a wonder to behold. They anticipate and play off of each other. They are both in their prime... it's a shame this won't have a chance to become one of the legendary duos in Brasilian football history.
i forgot about the red card. ive tried hard to forget that tournament, even though it was meaningless. looks like it may be the last confed cup where the countries dont care about who they call up. i was looking at some of the players who played...man. Ilan? Gil? Maurinho? ugh.
The Turkey game was good... the game against the US was also pretty good. There was a friendly against Nigeria in Nigeria that we won 4-0... that was exellent... it was worth it to see a few new faces, and test future options. I only wish that Ronaldinho and Alex had gotten more time together.
I end the second day of mourning with this: Ronaldinho, comenting on Alex (at a recent callup): "facilidade para dar lançamentos e toques precisos" Alex lacks the marketting machine behind some of the other players that today are seen as untouchable... that is a huge factor in why many question him. Try the following thought experiment: imagine a player as talented (or more so) than Kaká... in fantastic form... with every possibility of becoming a titular... and now envision him cut for what can only be personal (or otherwise non-football related) reasons to allow the inclusion of a player that is the manager's xodó. How would you feel?
well again, part of the marketing problem is that he's in turkey. but yes, even then, he will never compare to a kaka with his model looks or ronaldinho with his pure love of the game. i think though, that if alex were to make the switch to another league, and still continue on this role, he would obviously be more marketable.
It would suck. But that's not what has happened here. It sucks that one of the better new posters (you) has fallen into this obsession and convinced himself that Parreira has something personal against Alex. There is no evidence of that and you have not been able to show anything that leads to that conclusion. First of all he was not "cut". He has not been on the team in a while now. Why? Footballing reasons. Parreira wants a more versatile guy on the bench which is the only spot he had open (no, sorry, the starting spot was not up for grabs). Second, your logic for the "personal reasons" is very poor. Ricardinho got the number 20. So? As I pointed out that was always going to belong either to him or Juninho Pernambucano. So it was 50/50. And the notion that Parreira told Alex to go to Turkey so that he could then ignore him is comical. I'm asking you Redshift, not as a moderator, but as a reader of the Brazil forum who admired you contributions to get back to posting sensible stuff and drop this conspiracy theory.
Alex isn't nearly as telegenic, this is true. His plays are, however. The difference is this: he doesn't drive an expensive car, dress up in the latest fashions, promote himself, etc. He is geniunely humble. He concerns himself with playing the game... and he's pretty introverted compared to many other players. Also, when he is on a team, he speaks his mind... he doesn't say what other people want to hear. I used to, but I can no longer fault him for playing in Turkey... not after seeing how he is treated by the Turkish fans... It's easier to sell crap with excellent marketting than something execellent with crap marketing.
I don't know if you read some of my previous posts... I have not come to this opinion based on just the number 20 incident alone, but a series of other things that defy explanation unless you look at them systematically.... Call it conspirary theory all you want... the alternative is coincidence theory. If Ricardo is Ronaldinho's direct sub, then IMO (this is just another piece of the puzzle) it cannot possibly have been footballing reasons. In pretty much every category required for the offensive third, Alex is superior... Here's a great post from César (someone I ran into in a Brasilian forum) that sums this up in exelent fashion: Parreira sabe que, em qualquer comparação séria e objetiva entre Alex e Ricardinho: Alex FINALIZA melhor; Alex DRIBLA melhor; Alex LANÇA melhor; Alex PASSA melhor; Alex CRUZA melhor; Alex COBRA FALTAS melhor; Alex COBRA PÊNALTIS melhor; Alex COBRA ESCANTEIOS melhor; Tudo isso com a cabeça levantada, encarando os adversários de frente, com inteligência para localizar o companheiro com melhores condições de receber a bola e - em não havendo este - surpreender a defesa contrária com um chute de longa distância ou a aproximação da área para um arremate certeiro. O Alex vive uma fase estupenda na Turquia - ainda melhor que as havidas no Palmeiras e no Cruzeiro. Parreira, assim, tinha a OBRIGAÇÃO de convocá-lo, para o bem do nosso futebol... Preferiu o traíra do Ricardinho, eleito em pesquisa de capa da Placar, pelos jogadores e técnicos do país, como o mais ODIADO (por que será?) dos boleiros brasileiros... With his skillset, Alex can play at least 5 positions -- meia-armador (direita or esquerda), meia-atacante/ponta de lanca, and even as a makeshift striker (he'd be pretty good). Ricardinho can play as a meia-armador or a volante.
Redshift, everybody here knows your point of view and most people agree. Do you really believe you must write the same stuff everyday? I think Alex is better than Ricardinho too, but we must live with it. Is Fenerbahce guaranteed on the next CL?
On top of being longwinded... I often repeat myself. Expressing my outrage helps me to cope with the enormous frustration of having witnessed one of the greatest injustices in Brasilian football history. I believe so... and it's Fener's centenary year.
i don't think Redshift's trying to say that CAP doesn't like Alex. the personal issue is Ricardinho's relationship with CAP.
thepundit, I think it's a combination of both, TBH. To all, Also... I found another compilation... this is only stuff from the last 2 years. There are some things that also appear in the other compilation that most of you have seen, but it isn't categorized, and there is a lot more.... watch this: http://www.videosdefutebol.com.br/site.php?id=122 It will only solidify your impression that Parreira is insane.
at least we can take consolation in knowing that this craque will be watching the World Cup on a considerably nicer TV set.
Bah! Recent happenings have further confirmed my suspicions. What little respect and goodwill I still had left for Parreira is now gone... Seriously, he can go pound sand. I hope after the cup he goes to the Ukraine (as has been rumored) and that I never have the misfortune of looking at his face again. I'm also done with this thread. If I post anything further, it will be something new and unrelated to this travesty.
Re: Bah! I dont think it's that big a deal. Parreira has always been a journeyman coach. He seems to me to be someone who really enjoys coaching. I mean, so much so that he'd coach Kuwait, UAE, and Saudi Arabia. Or...maybe the money they offer him. Who knows. But I havent heard of these Ukraine rumors yet though.
I don't care where he goes, as long as it's far away from my sight. As a manager and student of the game, he is very good... but like I said, certain things have happened that have caused me to totally lose respect (they are related to this situation but have not and will not be mentioned). I will leave it at that.
Here is a preliminary version of the Ronaldinho Alex compilation: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5323427642820044056 The video quality is crap... so if anyone here has a digital version of this game as well as footage of the Confederation Cups of 2003 and 1999... I would appreciate it. Also... any footage of the pre-Olimpico of 2000. Still, its possible to see how well they work together. Thanks.
That was awesome. The greatest part about it is that I have this game on tape and will watch it again as soon as I can .