The initial schedule for the Brasileirão Série A has been released by CBF. The tournament will not pause for Copa América, despite the recent request by multiple teams. https://www.cbf.com.br/futebol-bras...erie-a/cbf-anuncia-tabela-do-brasileirao-2024 The first weekend of matches is April 13/14. The final matchday is December 8. https://ge.globo.com/rj/futebol/bra...lga-tabela-do-brasileirao-veja-os-jogos.ghtml https://www.uol.com.br/esporte/futebol/ultimas-noticias/2024/02/29/brasileirao-tabela-cbf.htm
The first set of matches will be: Inter x Bahia Cruzeiro x Botafogo Vitória x Palmeiras Fluminense x Bragantino Vasco x Grêmio Corinthians x Atlético-MG São Paulo x Fortaleza Athletico x Cuiabá Atlético-GO x Flamengo Criciúma x Juventude
I will post this here for lack of a better thread. Textor claiming he has recordings of refs talking about bribes. STJD has given him 3 days to provide proof. These are serious allegations. If he doesn't have anything, he is truly unhinged.
This is as good a place as any. While he said this after the Libertadores match with Bragantino, it's referring to Brazilian refs in general. The ANAF (Associação Nacional de Árbitros de Futebol) has already responded and as you pointed out the STJD wants to compel him to present the evidence he claims he has. Of course, if he has such evidence, he'd be a hero, uncovering a huge conspiracy. Last year he claimed to have this big deal report that showed bias and rigged matches but in reality it was biased itself and just showed errors made by refs that didn't necessarily point to anything. This time around the reaction will be quite a bit stronger if his evidence is along those lines or even non-existent. Maybe he thought he could say things like that again and never have to show evidence unless a case moved forward (which he thought might never happen). But the way he said it was so accusatory that now STJD wants evidence, so what is he going to do now?
Also, he really walked back his previous statement on CBF being corrupt: Saying he never said anything about CBF and that it is battling external corruption is basically another way to say "please don't sue me" like he did at the beginning of this statement.
I saw Textor's latest interview and this is my takeaway. - First, it's a bit hard to follow his train of thought because he is not objective. He goes around mixing his objective of helping clean up football with his supposed accusations and proof. - With respect to Ednaldo, he didn't accuse Ednaldo of being corrupt (if we are talking about his post game rant in the Palmeiras game). He did call back then for Ednaldo to step down but didn't accuse him directly of being involved. He is right about that. So now he is basically saying there is corruption and Ednaldo, while not being part of it, just wasn't / isn't dealing with it successfully. But he dropped the speech of Ednaldo resigning. So you're right ... it's basically saying stop suing me. At a point in the interview he implies if CBF wants him to stop talking about corruption they shouldn't be suing him. - The proof he has of refs complaining about not receiving a bribe was from lower division game and was already being investigated. He accuses Globo of twisting his words making it about the title race last year. I didn't see what he said so I can't tell. - He said Palmeiras wasn't involved in any of the "match fixing" but then he mentions there was a Palmeiras x Fortaleza game in question in 2022 (not 2023) that there was some accusation of fixing. The first leg game was 0 x 0 draw and the 2nd leg Palmeiras won 4 x 0. But Palmeiras had already clinched the title. - He also mentions this company that analyzed games with experts and technology to determine that there is match fixing / corruption going on but he didn't hire them. They've been analyzing games supposedly on the behalf of betting houses. In summary it seems like he has some access to some cases of accusations of match fixing that CBF were already aware of and he tried to use that to extrapolate it into what happened to Botafogo last season. He is just blowing a lot of smoke IMO.
Putting this here since this is the major tournament for which this is relevant: I guess no one's getting Gabigol. https://ge.globo.com/futebol/times/...e-manifesta-confio-que-serei-inocentado.ghtml 2 year suspension (counting from last year, so he is out until April next year) not for doping but for trying to defraud the anti-doping process. He can still appeal, but I'm not sure how quickly that will move.
Problem solved. I haven't followed the case so I don't know how much merit there is to this. I am sure it will get appealed.
Cartola is open already, for anyone who wants to play. I'm playing the free version, as I have the past two years, just for fun, but also to keep me paying closer attention to teams besides Flamengo. https://cartola.globo.com/#!/fantasy
I don't get what's Textor's angle doubling down in this match manipulation accusation. I don't doubt there are players doing stupid shit with betting, but he keeps almost leaving his accusations open for interpretation where people assume he is saying clubs are involved.
I haven't been able to watch any matches cause of the rights not being sold yet for overseas markets (and some fans and administrators wonder why the Brasileirão isn't bigger outside of Brazil), but what a poor start for Flamengo, who barely got out of Serra Dourada with a 2x1 win. The field was horrible, the ref seems like he was out of his depth and Flamengo played starters with little rotation, despite having Libertadores a few days ago and São Paulo and Palmeiras coming up this week. 1x0 on a free kick late in the first half which was really nicely hit by de la Cruz. Also resulted in a red for denying a goal scoring opportunity, so Flamengo went into the second half 1x0 up and with a 1 man advantage. (Oh and Atletico's coach had been red carded early too.) And in the second half, down a man Atletico-GO tied, had a PK in their favor that they missed. Overall they had more shots than Flamengo. Then, in the dying moments, the ref gave Flamengo a penalty for an elbow by a defender. 2x1 Flamengo, thoroughly undeserved and Flamengo will either face SP very tired or heavily rotated.
Really good start for Athletico-PR, 4x0 over Cuiabá. Other winners so far: Inter over Bahia 2x1 Fortaleza beat São Paulo in SP, 2x1 Vasco beat Grêmio today 2x1. Other matches so far were draws: Criciuma 1x1 Juventude Fluminense 2x2 Bragantino Corinthians 0x0 Atletico-MG And Cruzeiro 2x2 Botafogo is in progress and the final match of the round, Vitoria x Palmeiras is 0x0 just 20 minutes in.
Some controversial calls on that game but I think the ref got most of them right. Not sure about the last PK though. There was contact with BHs lip but that really didn't look like an unnatural movement on the elbow. Not sure how that's supposed to be called. Can't really jump without raising and moving your arms. Weird tidbit was Tite being pissed at the ref by red carding Atletico's coach in the beginning of the game. I liked Tite's work at the NT, but sometimes it seems like he is trying too hard to show that he wants everything to be fair. Palmeiras beat Vitoria but had a terrible performance. Started off good with an interesting lineup with endrick and estevão starting and some good pressure until the goal was scored. But afterwards the play was awful. Vitoria looked bad too. Probably a relegation candidate. Field and temperature didn't help.
Flamengo beat São Paulo 2x1 today. Started well. Rotated 3 or 4 starters (though Cebolinha got injured and had to come off early) and were up 2x0, but I guess the tired legs caught up to them and they conceded late in the second and could have conceded again. Palmeiras 0x1 Inter a bit of a surprise, though Inter have a good roster and are in some people's picks for top 4. The match was at Palmeiras, so they were strong favorites. Juventude 2x0 Corinthians is my pick of the round. Largely because in addition to de la Cruz I had another midfield maestro on my cartola team this week: Jean Carlos! Yeah, no, I don't follow other teams closely enough, but I gambled on Juventude being able to win at home and got lucky cause he got a goal. Both he and de la Cruz scored huge points for me.
Flamengo looked good for most of the game. Took the foot off a bit after some late subs when they conceded a goal. Palmeiras with a slow start again. Put a lot of pressure in the 2nd half but couldn't break Inter's defense. Lots of crossing so nothing new. I wonder if Abel is just going to waste Felipe Anderson in this type of system. Inter missed a PK in the 1st half too.
And with that result, Carpini has been fired. Yet another demonstration of the impatience that is part of Brazil's soccer culture. Carpini is certainly inferior to Dorival Jr. and to Tite, but the roster was injury-depleted. Granted, SPFC losing to Talleres after a 17-day break didn't help, but just getting rid of him will not make SPFC a better team. And the roster wanted him to stay. SPFC fans are unfortunate Dorival went to the national team, and I want Dorival to win everything with Brazil. But already, a number of managers (from abroad) have refused the job. Who will replace Carpini? And will SPFC manage to bring 3 points from n Guayaquil next week under these conditions?
Are there any rumors about who's replacing Carpini ? The only name I've heard being thrown around (and that was before Carpini's firing) was Scolari. But that could just be his friends in the media trying to get him another job. Would be interesting from the perspective that he has never coached a team other than Palmeiras in São Paulo.
That would be a very strange move for sure. What's your club team in Brazil BTW ? Or are you not Brazilian ?
Some of the speculation thrown around for SP's next coach is hard to parse. Is it legitimate? Is it jus it wishful thinking or delusion? Reportedly the management want a European name and Domenec Torrent and Carlos Carvalhal seem to be the names in the press today. On the other end of the specturm are pundits saying that they need someone to fix things short-term, just like Dorival did, and arguing Felipão would be a good name.
Tite already saying Pedro and de La Cuz will start on the bench . I don't get about announcing this early . I know both teams have tough altitude Libertadores games midweek. It's a shame that Libertadores match influences a game that should be an attraction for the Brasileirão.
2nd half had a little more chances but still, pretty cagey game with a 0 x 0 final score. Neither team wanted to lose. Forgettable game.
As you certainly know by now, former LDU manager Luis Zubeldía has already signed a contract with SPFC; he's on board until the end of 2025. He actually eliminated Dorival Jr.'s SPFC in the 2023 Copa Sul-Americana quarterfinals via PKs (in Morumbi Stadium) after a 2-1 win for LDU in Ecuador and a 1-0 win for SPFC in Brazil. He stopped playing at 27 due to injury and he's been around. He was very straightforward, but politically correct, during the press conference. He comes off as a pragmatic type who said he will use the best player for any given situation depending on circumstances and the said player's characteristics. As for Scolari, no. I might have welcomed him in the 2000s and even in the early 2010s, but he's way past his prime, and while I wish him the best possible health given his age, I do not see him as a good fit for SPFC. I have no idea how long SPFC will keep Zubeldía. Your own team hired and then, not too long after, fired Ricardo Gareca. Yet later on, after Gareca was long gone, one of Palmeiras' players stated publicly that Gareca's ideas were beginning to work. He was then suddenly sacked. I hope SPFC shows a little more patience, because switching managers repeatedly isn't a formula for winning championships.