Flamengo Re-Focuses Without Adriano
By Matthew Burgess, Contributing Reporter RIO DE JANEIRO – Having suffered elimination from the Copa Libertadores last week on away goals to Universidad de Chile, Flamengo turned their attentions towards defending their Brasileirão title, following consecutive draws in the opening two rounds. Last Thursday, Flamengo arrived in the Chilean capital knowing that only a victory [...]
Dunga Passes on Cariocas for WC
By Robbie Blakeley, Contributing Reporter RIO DE JANEIRO – Brazilian coach Dunga announced his 23 man squad for the World Cup last week along with seven reserves to be called up in case of injury, and the list has been met with a mix of derision and disbelief by the majority of Brazilians. The focus [...]
Flu Finally End Losing Streak
By Matthew Burgess, Contributing Reporter RIO DE JANEIRO – Muricy Ramalho picked up his first win as coach of Fluminense against newly-promoted Atlético-GO on Saturday night, following a rocky three game losing streak. Muricy has endured a torrid time since taking over the Laranjeiras-based outfit, with the club eliminated from the Copa do Brasil and [...]
Ramping Up for Campeonato Brasileiro
By Matthew Burgess, Contributing Reporter RIO DE JANEIRO – Three of Rio’s main clubs endured mixed results last week ahead of the opening round of the 2010 Campeonato Brasileiro, which gets underway this weekend. In the quarter-final stage of the Copa do Brasil, Vasco and Fluminense both suffered first leg defeats to Vitória and Grêmio respectively, [...]
Botafogo Wins Campeonato Carioca
By Jayme Monsanto, Senior Contributing Reporter RIO DE JANEIRO – After defeat in the Campeonato Carioca finals in the last three seasons, Botafogo finally got the better of Flamengo and lifted the state championship trophy this weekend, wining 2-1 with both goals coming through penalties by their foreign strikers Herrera and “El Loco” Abreu. Flamengo’s [...]
Botafogo Face Flamengo in Cup Final
By Jayme Monsanto, Senior Contributing Reporter RIO DE JANEIRO – For the fourth consecutive year Flamengo and Botafogo will contest the Campeonato Carioca final after both ran out victorious against Vasco da Gama and Fluminense last weekend. If Botafogo takes the trophy they will automatically claim the state championship as well, having won the Taça [...]
Vasco Resurrected in Taça Rio
By Jayme Monsanto, Senior Contributing Reporter RIO DE JANEIRO – Off the back of two defeats against minor teams and a sacked coach, Vasco finally found its way back to playing good football last weekend, defeating Fluminense 3-0 on Sunday night in the seventh round of Taça Rio at the Maracanã Stadium. Last week Vasco [...]
Botafogo 2-2 Flamengo in Taça Rio
By Jayme Monsanto, Senior Contributing Reporter RIO DE JANEIRO – After another week in the headlines for the wrong reasons Adriano put in a great performance against Botafogo in the Taça Rio, scoring twice in the 2-2 tie to remind the Flamengo fans and the media exactly why he is known as O Imperador (The [...]
Fluminense Beats Botafogo 2-1 in Taça Rio
By Jayme Monsanto, Senior Reporter RIO DE JANEIRO – Last weekend saw Taça Rio reaching round three, and the first classic match in the competition: Fluminense versus Botafogo. The two traditional rivals met on Sunday at the Maracanã Stadium, in a showdown that is known in Rio as “o Clássico Vovô” (“the Grandfather Classic”), since [...]
Flamengo Upsets Fluminense 5-3
By Jayme Monsanto, Senior Reporter RIO DE JANEIRO – Eight more Campeonato Carioca matches happened this weekend, completing the fifth round of Taça Guanabara. The round saw this year’s first FlaFlu, a classic match-up between rivals Flamengo and Fluminense. The FlaFlu happened on Sunday night at a crowded Maracanã Stadium and gave justice to the [...]