Re: Oitavas (Round of 16) I'm cautiously optimistic (still). Estrada has been red-carded, which means he'll be out. We have the precedent of the 1998 World Cup's round of 16, as well as recent victories over Chile in WCQ and the 2007 Copa America. Still, I foresee a very tough match; Chile showed some serious guts vs. Spain and they will go down fighting if they are to go down.
Re: Oitavas (Round of 16) It will be tough, to be sure. They have a good selecao. But if we have pretensions of winning this thing, we have to be able to beat the Chiles of the world.
Re: Oitavas (Round of 16) What gives me reason for hope, in addition to our recent ownership of Chile and the return of Kaka, Robinho, and Elano, is the fact that Marcelo Bielsa has insisted on the 3-3-1-3 in this World Cup. He's a manager who wants his teams on the offense - witness Argentina in the 2002 WCQ and his refusal to deviate from that system when Argentina failed in Korea/Japan. If Chile insists on being offensive against us, it will fit our current system perfectly, and we've got a deadly counterattack. At the same time, if Chile defends as the Ivory Coast tried to do, we can attack to get the goal. I am not saying it's impossible for Brazil to lose to Chile; however, I do firmly believe we've got enough reasons to expect a win.
Re: Oitavas (Round of 16) The last 6 meeting between the two Brazil has scored 25 goals and conceded only 3 but throw that out the window since this is a whole new game.
Re: Oitavas (Round of 16) Silver lining: if he rests, his yellow will be cleared for a potential matchup with Holland.
Re: Oitavas (Round of 16) Well, just to relax, I found something funnyish. After getting red carded against CIV, Kaká "showed the world his bad boy side". To celebrate this moment, a few Kaká's facts were made: Kaká Bad Boy Facts Depois da expulsão no jogo contra a Costa do Marfim, o bom moço assumiu seu lado marrento, e vieram à tona histórias de sua vida que comprovam que ele é bad boy. Começou a circular na Internet a partir da iniciativa do blog Testosterona uma lista com os Kaká Facts, uma sátira com os famosos Chuck Norris Facts, que brincam com as façanhas e bravuras do ator norte-americano. Confira a lista abaixo e, se puder, contribua com mais clicando nos comentários. - Numa festa de crianças Kaká comeu dois brigadeiros antes de ser cantado o parabéns. - Kaká assistiu o horário eleitoral gratuito no mudo. - Certa Vez Kaká saiu à noite em Milão no frio sem um casaco. - Kaká já alugou um filme romântico e por engano veio um pornô dentro da caixinha. Ainda assim Kaká assistiu uma boa parte. - Na juventude, a mãe de Kaká pediu pra ele comprar presunto e ele trouxe mortadela só pra sacanear. - Kaká recebeu troco a mais em uma loja e não falou nada. - Uma vez Kaká olhou pras pernas de uma mulher na rua. - Em certa oportunidade, Kaká atirou num companheiro de time quando jogava Counter Strike. - Kaká nunca deu boa noite pro Willian Bonner no final do Jornal Nacional. - Quando criança, Kaká tocou a campainha do vizinho e saiu correndo. - Kaká já ficou offline no MSN sem dar tchau para seus contatos. - Kaká não precisou de pulserinha pra entrar no show do Restart. - Kaká já tirou meleca do nariz e colou embaixo da carteira do colégio. - Dirigindo, Kaká passou o outro dia no sinal amarelo. - Kaká já foi dormir sem escovar os dentes. - Kaká assistia o Cine Privé escondido dos pais. - Kaká já atravessou a rua fora da faixa de pedestres. - Kaká mentiu prá mãe dele que estava doente só pra não ir pra escola. There iare some interesting stuff, check it out yourself. http://uolesporte.blog.uol.com.br/arch2010-06-20_2010-06-26.html On topic, it seems like our path for the Final will be like this: Chile ---> Holland--->Uruguay---->Finals It doesn't seem THAT bad.... We can't let our guards down, if we remain focused we can definitely do it!
Re: Oitavas (Round of 16) It actually not that easy. Two South American rivals that knows us pretty well and than the Dutch who we usually have heart stoping games with.
Re: Oitavas (Round of 16) Yeah, but only if Thiago Silva or Kleberson plays in his position. Josue stinks in linking with the attacking players.
Re: Oitavas (Round of 16) I meant that it could be much worse. Look at the other side of the table: Oitavas-de-final Argentina México 27/06 - 11h00 Bloemfontein Alemanha Inglaterra 29/06 - 11h00 Pretória Paraguai Japão 29/06 - 15h30 Cidade do Cabo Espanha Portugal I think that we got the easier side... However we've seem many zebras already, so it doesn't mean that much... Just trying to feel more optimistic
Re: Oitavas (Round of 16) Josue is hit or miss in midfield. He can pass and made that great pass to Ramires against Tanzania. But there's no doubt that our passing changed a lot once Melo was substituted. I actually never realized how important he's become lol. I wouldn't mind Ramires to start honestly, especially when you consider that Chile is a bit screwed. Their defense is already mediocre enough...but they lost both their starting central defenders to 2nd yellow cards. And the red card on their d-mid. So...this might be the perfect game to let loose.
Re: Oitavas (Round of 16) Exactly. As I was saying in the other thread, Josue was shite today. I'm a huge fan of Kleberson, and he definitely has experience. I wonder if Dunga would do this.
Re: Oitavas (Round of 16) a lot of our team was shit. alves, josue, baptista. really the entire midfield save for gilberto silva, and even that's a stretch. no surprise that both our forwards were completely isolated. alves in particular was extremely frustrating to watch. i dont know how many corners and crosses he messed up on. it was quite maddening.
Re: Oitavas (Round of 16) We got what we wanted ... the one team in the WC that may attack us. Chile e' fregues galera, vamos fazer barba e bigode ... espero
Re: Oitavas (Round of 16) I am cautiously optimistic because I'm one who believes in "past performance is no guarantee of future results," and today's lackluster 2nd half left me a bit unsettled - as I said earlier, I can't understand why a team who did so well in the 1st half got so worse in the 2nd. Anyway, here are some tidbits from UOL as to why Brazil should not fear Chile. If everything said there holds, we should atropelar the Chileans, but every game is unique. Three painful losses If Elano is physically 100% by Monday, Dunga will have all his starting players for the round of 16 match. Chile, on the other hand, lose three fundamental athletes in Marcelo Bielsa's tactical system. Defensive midfielder Marco Estrada, the main fortress in midfield, was red-carded in the match vs. Spain. Waldo Ponce, one of the most precise and conscientious defenders in the tournament, received a second yellow card, just as the multi-functional Gary Medel, "Chile's lung," who has enviable stamina and who is pivotal in helping the defense and in supporting the offense. Coach Dunga's ownership of Chile Dunga began his work as Brazil's manager in 2006, and since then, he has nothing but good memories of games played vs. Chile. Under the management of the current coach, Brazil played Chile 5 times and won all of them easily. In 2007, Brazil won a friendly 4-0 and won both Copa América games: 3 a 0 and the 6-1 rout. In qualifying, Brazil surprised Chile in Santiago, with a convincing 3-0 (2008), and again beat the Chileans in Salvador, this time 4-2 (2009). Brazil's favorite tactical system Chile's coach, the Argentine Marcelo “El Loco” Bielsa, is sufficiently daring to leave Brazil's NT happy and thankful. Audacious, the Chilean group's boss lacks the patience to rein in his side or to study the opponent's first moves. His game plan is dynamic, oriented towards the offense - an explosive combination when the opponent is fragile and cowardly. But the Chileans collapse when they have a compact opponent, with left/right-backs and fast strikers and creatively dependent on counter-attacks. Brazil, who struggles to break down defensive sides, is thankful. Victorious track record The history of confrontations between the two teams shows a broad advantage to Brazil. According to FIFA statistics, they have played 65 times. Of these, Brazil has won 46 (70.7%), lost only 7 and drew the other 12; Brazil scored 152 goals and received 55. In World Cups, both teams met only twice. The first time, in the 1962 World Cup semifinals, Chile lost at home 4-2. More than 3 decades later, in the 1998 World Cup in France, the team commanded by Coach Zagallo routed Zamorano's Chile 4-1 in the round of 16. I think we can do it galera, and I believe we will!
Re: Oitavas (Round of 16) Felipe Melo is actually a doubt. Dunga said that's why he was subbed ... unless he is blowing a smoke screen. What I did like about the game yesterday is that Dunga was visibly pissed at the team. He was not happy at all. That's a good sign. He means business and the players know it.
Re: Oitavas (Round of 16) Not just that but he was open about it in the press conference "Brasil admite que ficou devendo" was one headline, and Dunga said they were "apenas regulares". It's good for him to be open about poor performances and show people he expects more. He was especially upset we didn't use the flanks effectively - while Coentrao was huge for Portugal, Maicon was decent for us but Bastos was non-existent.
Re: Oitavas (Round of 16) Let's hope that he gives the team a wake up call on an issue that really bothers me and happens at almost every match: lack of movement. They only want to play with the ball on their feet. Just look at what Robinho does, he is everyhere.... Even if he is not in a good day this movement will keep the defenders busy and will open spaces for teammates.
Re: Oitavas (Round of 16) Eu nao tenho acompanhando o Brasileirao ultimamente, e entao nao sei como o tal do Josue se destacou pra merecer uma convocacao, mas achei ele pessimo hoje. Ele prende demais a bola e complica as jogadas desnecesariamente. Parece que nao sabe dar um passe simples (muito menos armar jogadas), e nao tem a estatura fisica ou a velocidade do Felipe para se impor no meio. Ele fez algums desarmes mas, sem duvidas, foi um dos responsaveis pela nossa queda de rendimento no segundo tempo. Tambem nao sei se o Kleberson esta' em forma. Mas sei que sem ele difficilmente teriamos ganhado a Copa de 2002. Depois que entrou no jogo contra a Belgica, ele consertou nosso meio campo e foi um de nossos destaques. Ele tem historia com o Gilberto Silva, velocidade (pelo menos tinha), bom passe, e mais intimidade com a bola. Se o Felipe nao puder mesmo jogar, gostaria de ver o Kleberson ou o Ramirez no lugar dele. O Josue teve uma chance de ouro. Nao deu conta do recado. Fora!
Re: Oitavas (Round of 16) I think we will eventually see Daniel Alves at LB. Bastos hasn't struggle defensively as I thought he would; it offensively where he is lacking. If Melo can't go, I seriously consider putting Lucio at midfield.
Re: Oitavas (Round of 16) Hi! I agree with you, except when you wrote: Estrada is horrible, so thanks God he's not playing against Brazil. But I agree with you about Gary Medel and Waldo Ponce. Medel is our best player, and Ponce is our starter sweeper and he's a great header of the ball. Anyway, we have 1 good new: Carlos Carmona comes back to the starter XI, after the 2nd yellow card in the Switzerland game. Carmona is our starter deffensive midfielder. Also, Matías Fernández is able to play, but I woulnd't pick him for this game. I prefer Jorge "wizzard" Valdivia. I think Pablo Contreras and Rodrigo Tello (or Rodrigo Millar) have good chances to play as starters against Brazil. Our "BIG ???" is Humberto Suazo, southamerican top scorer in the WCQ: He thinks he's fit to play, but Bielsa doesn't think the same. Suazo is very upset right now, because he wanted to play some minutes against Spain.
Re: Oitavas (Round of 16) apparently, bastos has not even connected on a single cross in the first 3 games.
Re: Oitavas (Round of 16) Can Alves play left back? There are a lot of side midfielders and full backs that can switch sides. Maybe we should try that. Or Gilberto. Who knows what Dunga will do? He can't be happy.