NEYMAR JR | THE MOST OVERRATED FOOTBALL PLAYER IN WORLD SOCCER ?

When Brazilian Footballer Neymar was elected 3º rd in the last FIFA Golden Ball Award I was more than surprised. Frankly, I could not understand how the FC Barcelona forward was in the Top 5 & less at the level of such giants as Messi & Cristiano Ronaldo.

In my opinion, witnessing things up till this point, Neymar is the most overrated Footballer in World Soccer. Yes, he has talent, scores goals but little more than any other Top 20 World Footballer. Neymar has his head on everything else except on Football & this is not good.

The FC Barcelona player is on the front pages for irregular transfers fees, tax invasion in Brazil, parties with "his boys" & "his girls" & multiple non-ending publicity commitments & events. Football seems to be a sideline issue. 

Lastest incident, throwing an object at Valencia CF player Barragan & telling team-mate Jordi Alba to "go f*ck yourself" for not passing him a ball. This unusual behaviour coincides with the drop of form & three straight losses by Barça, including a Champions League elimination. Which just to add, we witnessed a non-existent Neymar on the field.

The Brazilian is gaining quiet an image for himself. Spectacular diving to cheat the referees in calling fouls & penalties, arrogant behaviour & humiliation towards opponents & some undisciplined behaviour worrying the Club FC Barcelona as the player dances the night away around city Clubs. And yes, if the kid wants, gets on a private jet flys 12 hours, has a good time, flys back to Barcelona in 2-3 days. Normal stuff.

Neymar is dangerously at the crossroads. Not the first big time name that has come over to European Football & a big Club to end up smashing head-on at the bright lights. Time for serious reflection by the youngster & decide which is the road to take. Neymar has the potential to reach the top, but just, potential that at this moment. 

While marketing, social media, front pages of media & the satellites-elements that surround Neymar inflates his image, his Football etc, the extras (doggy characters) are confusing this player. Big part of the problem is his Father, Neymar Senior , who is badly managing his son, with the focus being on money, self interest & other "dark" issues that pop up on media frequently. The old man is "shady" its a well known rumour that hits nearly the truth, an issue that is delicate but serious for Junior.

I hope that young Neymar gets over this slump, that the Brazilian regains his head, elects the correct options & behaves according to his ambition, to be the best Football player. Football will appreciate it, Brazil will desire it, fans will be overjoyed, his Club will be delighted & Neymar will be back on course. 

Difficult moments, I wish Neymar luck. 

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SPAIN IN GROUP B WITH HOLLAND, CHILE & AUSTRALIA | WORLD CUP 2014 BRAZIL

The current FIFA World Champions SPAIN knows which Football Nations will be their Group rivals in next years World Cup 2014 to be held in Brazil after the celebration of the draws in Salvador ( Brazil ).

Spain will head Group B with Holland , Chile & Australia all joining in what is one of the more difficult Groups of the tournament. The other "death Group" is D with Uruguay, Costa Rica, England & Italy. 

courtesy of "marca"

The first match for Spain in Group B will be against Holland on the 13th of June in Salvador de Bahia. Spain will then play its second game against Chile in Rio de Janeiro on the 18th of June, while the last Group match for Spain will be against Australia in Curitiba on the 23rd of June. The interesting extra news piece from this Group is that the final "second placed" Nation will play the Winner of Group A which could be Brazil as everyone is expecting.  

From the Spanish Team perspective the team that everyone was wishing to avoid is Chile & destiny has put the latter in the same Group as Spain. Chile has a very solid outfit with an extraordinary midfield lead by Arturo Vidal ( Juventus FC ) with pressures & a talented forward line lead by Alexis ( FC Barcelona ). 

Thus the countdown definitely begins. Spain vs Holland 21.00 hrs Spanish time the 13th of June 2014. Spain has some hard work ahead to reach that date fresh, concentrated & in their best possible form.

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BRAZIL DEFEAT SPAIN 3 - 0 IN FINAL FIFA CONFEDERATIONS CUP

Brazil won Spain 3 - 0 & took the FIFA Confederations Cup in a Final that will be remembered as perhaps the "rebirth" of Brazilian Football. Lead by their young star Neymar Brazil suffocated literally the Spanish play makers & took the ball away from them to dismantle the "Spanish Machine".

Said this it was a night too forget for Spain as it seemed that it was destined to be the night of Brazil as they were also pushed their 80.000 local supporters & nearly 200 million Brazilians who looked at this tournament as a "release valve" for more than Football issues.  Luck was not on the Spanish side either as they missed a penalty & then went down to 10 men when Pique fouled Neymar, which was perhaps harsh. 

With all these elements in motion, Brazil was clearly superior on all fronts & deserved their win. This will give them wings for the upcoming 2014 World Cup where they are hosts & look now favourites. 

The match could not have started better for Brazil as Fred grabbed a fumbled ball in the 2nd min to score a "deadly psychological goal" that shook Spain & put them on the back foot early. From here it was pressure & more pressure & Brazil literally rattled Spain to play in a manner that the Spaniards have not been accustomed too. Spain lost control & this was the key tonight.

Spain kept losing the ball & Brazil pounced every time to create their chances, opportunities that Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas bravely managed to keep the ball out of the net.

Pride & honour kept Spain standing & Andres Iniesta was one who gave his team glimpses of hope. Spanish winger Pedro nearly managed an equalizer but Brazilian defender Luiz saved on the line.

But when Spain looked like withstanding the Brazilian blows, a 44th min Neymar produced a power-drive goal that put things back into their place.

The second half started like the first, Fred scored the 3rd goal in the 46th min & this was the virtual last nail in the Spanish coffin. Spanish Coach Del Bosque put on Azpilicueta ( on for  Arbeloa with a yellow card ), Navas ( for Mata ) & Villa ( for Torres ) to find solutions.

Spain then won a penalty when Navas was fouled by Marcelo & Sergio Ramos missed it which must have been a moral blow to the whole Spanish side. The question will be, why did Ramos take the penalty? 

Moving on, things got worst when Spanish defender Gerard Pique fouled a run away Neymar & got a red card, harsh perhaps, but this left Spain with 10 men which was by this stage psychical "destroyed". Obviously, Spain from here had one objective, to limit the damage.

This objective was achieved at a cost that will be remembered for a long time by the Spaniards. The positive elements for Spain tonight is to study well the lessons of this match & this defeat to make some improvements. The right back position needs solutions, Arbeloa is not cutting it in my opinion. Spain also has a problem with its forward line & needs to find a true "goal-square killer", Torres is not the solution & Villa may have his best days passed.  The worst part is that Xavi Hernandez, the play maker , can´t keep up with the physical efforts needed in theses types of games as he is getting on in age & a substitute will be hard to find.

But theses are my humble ramblings as they are mild compared to the 45 million Spaniards who all will have their opinions & criticism. The Spanish National Sport is to "kick hard" when your on the ground & I hope we aren't too severe with this great Spanish Team. The reality is that Spain had everything going against them in this FIFA Confederations Cup it was destined for the host team.

Don´t read more further in my last words. Brazil was brilliant tonight & was great in all their games. Deserved winners of this tournament & they have some names that will be soon World Football stars if not already. Thiago Silva & David Luiz are a formidable defensive team, Hulk is a machine, Fred has surprised us all & Neymar is now MVP & the new World Football star. Congratulations Brazil, after all you are 5 times World Champions while Spain has its lone star on top of its emblem.
I have a feeling this World Soccer duel with continue...at least I hope so.

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FIFA CONFEDERATIONS CUP SEMI FINAL | SPAIN WINS ITALY 7 - 6 IN PENALTY SHOOT OUT

Spain has won Italy in a dramatic semi-final with a dramatic penalty shoot-out 7 - 6 after 120 minutes of extreme Football which ended in a 0 - 0 draw. Both sides took themselves & their rival to the limit & almost to complete exhaustion as the heat & humidity took its toll.

The penalty shoot-out is a lottery &,  the nerves of steel plus some luck are more a factor than Football in itself. Unfortunately for Italy Bonucci missed the 6th penalty shot & luckily Jesus Navas fired home the winner & 7th penalty to send home Italy from the FIFA Confederations Cup & send Spain onto the Sunday Final at the "Maracana Stadium" against the host Brazil & the "dreamt" finale.

The first half was clearly all Italy with numerous opportunities that they did not manage to convert & two vital saves from the Spanish Captain & goalkeeper Iker Casillas. Spain looked unfamiliar & was suffocated in the midfield with some fierce Italian pressure. The men of the match for Spain were being their defenders Gerard Pique & Sergio Ramos & it was to stay this way until the end. This last comment says it all on how brave, disciplined & adventurous Italy was tonight & how Spain was on the back foot. 

Spain in the second half managed to halt the "haemorrhage" & began to calm themselves & regain their Football, yet here as with Italy in the first half Spain did not manage to convert their chances into goals. Italy more conservative however continued to be dangerous especially when Spain relaxed & they attack dangerously to create their own chances. 

Spanish Coach Del Bosque moved the bench with Jesus Navas , Mata & Javi Martinez ( as Centre Forward ) coming on to inject freshness, pace & perhaps the "surprise factor". Italy as they know so well historically held out & the match went into extra-time.

The 30 mins of extra-time saw a post to Italy & half a dozen missed chances to Spain that also included a post to Xavi Hernandez. The tiredness & exhaustion then set in as it floored players from both sides & took proceedings to the penalty shoot-out.

Both teams did not fail taking the penalty shoot-out score-line & the nerve to the limits until Italian Bonucci missed & Spaniard Jesus Navas settled things with the winning penalty. Here Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas looked out of place & perhaps his 5 months out on the sidelines showed, but destiny smiled on Casillas tonight & on Spain as both manage to avoid the possible criticisms that may have fallen on both if things had turned different. At least Casillas can be proud to have saved Spain in the first half at least.

As for Italy, they were fantastic & made their country proud as they leave with their heads well high. They had their chances & could have won, but as the saying goes, that's Football. Spain has the luck of the Champions.

Spain will now need to recover physically from tonight's effort as Brazil will enjoy an extra day of rest. Spain also will rethink their strategy & will have back two important players for the upcoming Final; Cesc Fabregas & Roberto Soldado.

The World now awaits the grand finale, Brazil vs Spain. 

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NIGERIA 0 SPAIN 2 | FIFA CONFEDERATIONS CUP GROUP B RESULT

Spain has finished in top spot of Group B in the FIFA Confederations Cup after defeating African Champions Nigeria 0 - 3 in the city of Fortaleza in Brazil. The Spanish Football National Team will stay there as they now will meet the second placed Nation of Group A which is Italy next Thursday in the semi-final. The other semi-final will be on Wednesday between Brazil & second placed Group B Nation Uruguay which defeated Tahiti 8-0.

Although the final result looks comfortable, it wasn't especially in the first half as Nigeria was physically stronger & made Spain work hard. In fact, Nigeria had Spain on the back foot most of the first half even though Spanish defender Jordi Alba scored first in the 3rd min to put Spain ahead.

From here onwards Nigeria created clear chances of goal & could have equalized had they been more accurate. The Spanish defence was pushed & Spanish goalie Victor Valdes was excellent with some strong aerial work that transmitted confidence to the team. In my opinion Valdes earned his place today to start in the semi-final & onwards as he looks the more inform goalkeeper of the three. The Italians will use fixed plays & corners as "arms" & I personally see Valdes more secure than Casillas in this aspect. However, the final decision is with Coach Del Bosque & he of course knows better. 

Spain too had their chances in the first 45 mins & surprisingly missed them. Roberto Soldado missed two sitters, Cesc Fabregas hit the post & so on which if any would have been converted would have put the game in the "bag" earlier for Spain.

The second half saw the steamy & hot conditions affect both sides as the rhythm drop & Spain played the ball around more than in the earlier part of the match. Spanish Coach Del Bosque changed Soldado for Fernando Torres & the freshness along with a fabulous Pedro pass, Torres headed the second goal in the 62th min & brought tranquillity to the Spanish Team.  Nigeria did not give up & they created two clear chances which they missed again.

In the 88th min a long defensive free-kick pass found Jordi Alba who won the backs of the Nigerian defenders & ran straight at the Nigerian goalie which he swerved & scored his second for the night & the third for Spain.

Special mentions to Musa & Mikel for Nigeria who were outstanding & unlucky to not have scored a goal. Other special mention to Spanish players Pedro who ran all night, Ramos & Pique both which held firm in the first half under the Nigerian "attack", Spanish goalkeepr Victor Valdes solid in the air & my MVP again the "magician" Andres Iniesta who was brilliant.

The FIFA Confederations Cup now enters the "business part" of the tournament with the first semi Brazil - Uruguay & the second semi Spain - Italy. Beforehand Spain looks favourite over an Italian side that is not firing 100%, but historically the Italians are not a team to meet relaxed or overconfident. Italy will be dangerous & looking for "revenge" after the 2012 Euro Final loss to Spain as they too have pride & will go in with everything.
Frankly, Italy are beforehand very dangerous. 

Match details:

SPAIN 3 : Víctor Valdés; Arbeloa, Sergio Ramos, Piqué, Jordi Alba; Busquets, Xavi; Iniesta, Cesc (Silva, m.54), Pedro (Villa, m.75);& Soldado (Fernando Torres, m.60).

NIGERIA 0 : Vincent Enyeama; Efe Ambrose, Kenneth Omeruo (Egwuekwe, m.12), Godfrey Oboabona, Uwa Echiejile; Ogude, Obi Mikel, Sunday Mba (John Igu, m.63); Ideye, Ahmed Musa & Akpala (Muhammad, m.71).


Goals: 1-0, m.3: Jordi Alba. 2-0, m.62: Torres. 3-0, m.89: Jordi Alba.

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SPAIN 10 - TAHITI 0 | FIFA CONFEDERATIONS CUP GROUP B RESULT

Spain defeated Tahiti 10 - 0 in their second Group B match of the FIFA Confederations Cup tournament in the famous "Maracana Stadium" of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). The victory assures the Spanish Football National Team a place in the semi-finals.

Spanish Coach Del Bosque changed the team around to give the players which did not participate against Uruguay a run ( except Ramos who started ) with Pepe Reina as starting as goalkeeper. Later in the match Cesc Fabregas & Andres Iniesta came on to touch the ball around & keep active.

The level of Tahiti is known but they went into the game with high spirits & great Sportsmanship, a real example for their Nation, & the local crowd was on their side from the first minute. In fact, the crowd whistled & booed Spain when they touch the ball, in an inoffensive manner, as they wished to see Tahiti play more & score a goal. 

These matches are the types of games which are very difficult to maintain the concentration & the tension at maximum. Spain was not at full gear the first 30 minutes as they were not accustomed to the situation, the crowd "against" them & perhaps suffered some humility in the back of their minds. 

However the second half changed as Tahiti tired physically & Spain lost its initial match "shyness" to lift gears & score plenty of goals. There were two HAT-TRICKS tonight, the first to Fernando Torres who actually got four ( & missed a penalty ) & the other to David Villa (3). Other team-mates that got onto the score sheet were David Silva with two & Juan Mata with one. 

Here are the all goals:
Torres 4th min
Silva 31st min
Torres 32nd min
Villa 38th min
Villa 49th min
Torres 57th min
Villa 63rd min
Mata 65th min
Torres 77th min
Silva 88th min

Spain s next Group match will be against Nigeria in the Brazilian city of Fortaleza & will play after this the semi-final there as well against the second placed team of Group A.

As for Tahiti, they played their style, game, level & created chances for themselves. They showed us all the beauty of the Sport & the human universal values of participation & endeavour that is winning the hearts of most observers in this Confederations Cup. Congratulations Tahiti!

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SPAIN 2 URUGUAY 1 | FIFA CONFEDERATIONS CUP GROUP B RESULT

 It was an exhibition, at least the first half. The World Champions Spain defeated 2 - 1 the South American Champions Uruguay in the opening Group B game of the FIFA Confederations Cup. The first match is always vital to win as it sets the team on course & Spain surprised everyone, Uruguay & spectators, with the high level achieved tonight at Recife ( Brazil ). However,  & to their credit , Uruguay managed to save their image towards the end with their goal.

The other news for Spain was the start of Iker Casillas & Roberto Soldado in the opening XI & the no use tactically of the "double midfield pivot" system by Spanish Coach Del Bosque. This last element gave Spain a more attacking edge & more domination in the midfield which showed as Spain had virtually total ball possession. 

Spain touched perfection at certain moments tonight & from this came their two goals. The first from Pedro in the 19th min when he hooked a loose ball that got a deflection from a Uruguayan defender & went into the net.

The second goal came in the 31st min from another excellent build-up that included a brilliant & surgical pass from Cesc Fabragas that found Roberto Soldado who powered the ball into the net.

The second half was more Spanish domination & at times a true bath over Uruguay that deserved more goals for Spain but the chances did not get converted. Keeping the intensity up so long is difficult under steamy & humid conditions & Spanish Coach Del Bosque began making changes to give others a run.

Uruguay managed to win back their pride with a fabulous 88th min Luis Suarez free-kick goal that beat Spanish keeper Casillas all out, it was unreachable & this lifted Uruguay to attempt to equalize with a now tired Spain on the field.

In the end Spain held out their opponents, managed the win & the three points leaving a clear path open for Tahiti up next & Nigeria as their last Group match.

Special mention to Spanish midfielder Xavi Hernandez who was a "maestro tonight" along with another magician of the ball Andres Iniesta who was outstanding. Busquets played well, Cesc Fabregas very good, as was Soldado who fought hard in attack & defended well. In a nutshell, Spain look very strong & is at a high level which hopefully they can maintain & thus get them far in this Confederations Cup. Excellent match.
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2013 FIFA CONFEDERATIONS CUP DATES - MATCH SCHEDULE | SPAIN

The Spanish Football National Team is already in Brazil ( Recife ) to prepare for their participation in the  upcoming FIFA Confederations Cup tournament. What I think may interest all the readers is the match schedule of Group A & B & where all the participating Nations are placed. Spain is in Group B along with Uruguay, Nigeria & Tahiti. The first match for Spain will be against Uruguay on the 17th of June ( Sp time ) in the city of Recife.

2013 FIFA Confederations Cup dates & match schedule: 
Time is Spain-Spanish local time

Grupo A
15/06 - Brazil – Japan (21:00 hrs, Brasilia)
16/06 - Mexico – Italy (21:00 hr, Río de Janeiro)
19/06 - Brazil – Mexico(21:00 hr, Fortaleza)
20/06 - Italy – Japan (00:00 hr, Recife)
22/06 - Italy – Brazil (21:00 hr, Salvador) 
22/06 - Japan – Mexico (21:00 hr, Belo Horizonte) 

Grupo B
17/06 - Spain – Uruguay (00:00 horas, Recife) 
17/06 - Tahití – Nigeria (21:00 horas, Belo Horizonte) 
20/06 - Spain – Tahiti (21:00 horas, Río de Janeiro) 
21/06 - Nigeria – Uruguay (00:00 horas, Salvador) 
23/06 - Nigeria – Spain (21:00 horas, Fortaleza) 
23/06 - Uruguay – Tahití (21:00 horas, Recife)


Semifinals
26/06 - 1A – 2B (21:00 horas, Belo Horizonte) 
27/06 - 1B – 2A (21:00 horas, Fortaleza) 


Final & 3rd/4th place game
30/06 - Losers of semifinals (18:00 horas, Salvador)
1/07 - Winners of the semifinals (00:00 horas, Río de Janeiro)

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FC BARCELONA | NEYMAR ARRIVAL & PRESENTATION IN BARCELONA

The city of Barcelona received with open arms "Hurracane Neymar" who landed to officially pass his medical check, sign his new contract with FC Barcelona & then be presented in front of around 50.000 fans at the "Camp Nou". From there he was raced off to give a press conference to the Spanish Sports media & let known that he is finally here to stay.

The expectation was maximum & the player went through all the protocols of a big star signing. The habitual smiles, good vibrations, hand shakes, photographs & the occasional shout of "Visca Barça". It was clear that the 21 year old Brazilian was well versed & advised with "how to win over the crowd" strategy.

At the "Camp Nou" Neymar showed himself with the FC Barcelona uniform & "Neymar Jr" on the back to let everyone know what to get put on their new Barça shirts. Lots of thank you to the fans, ball juggling to excite the crowd & ball kicking into the crowd to give away souvenirs of the afternoon.

The player flys back to Brazil to join the National Team & begin preparing for the upcoming FIFA Confederations Cup.

From Spanish Football Sports Blog, welcome to Spain & Spanish Football Neymar.

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SPANISH FOOTBALL TEAM | PRE-LIST FOR THE CONFEDERATIONS CUP

Spanish Football National Team Selector & Coach Vicente Del Bosque has handed in this midday his pre-list of 26 players that will make up the Spanish Team squad for the upcoming FIFA Confederations Cup Finals to be held in Brazil next month. I say pre-list because three names will fall off next week to keep it to 23 players before flying off to the Friendly games scheduled & to Brazil.

Novelty, if you can call it, is keeping Iker Casillas as goalkeeper when he hasn't played for the past months, plus the call ups of Beñat, Soldado & Javi Garcia. Fernando Torres returns as well after a good run of goals with Chelsea FC in the final part of the season. An absence to mention is Sevilla FC forward Negredo,  & in my opinion Real Madrid goalkeeper Diego Lopez who has been superb & above Pepe Reina in form & performances. But here I suppose that Del Bosque wishes to avoid dressing room distractions & media "pressure & questions".

Full pre-list of 26 players:

Goalkeepers: Casillas (Real Madrid), Reina (Liverpool) & Valdés (Barcelona).

Defenders: Monreal (Arsenal), Jordi Alba (Barcelona), Albiol (Real Madrid), Piqué (Barcelona), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Azpilicueta (Chelsea) & Arbeloa (Real Madrid).

Midfielders: Iniesta (Barcelona), Cazorla (Arsenal), Busquets (Barcelona), Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid), Xavi Hernández (Barcelona) y Javi Martínez (Bayern de Múnich), Javi García (Manchester City) & Beñat (Betis).

Forwards: Mata (Chelsea), Silva (Manchester City), Cesc Fábregas (Barcelona), Pedro (Barcelona), Jesús Navas (Sevilla), Villa (Barcelona), Fernando Torres (Chelsea) & Soldado (Valencia).

Three players will fall off this list next week. 

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REAL MADRID | WELCOME BACK KAKA

REAL MADRID Brazilian midfielder is back. Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite, alias KAKÁ, has suffered his time in the Desert just as Jesus, but his was a Football Desert & 16 months away from the National team. Today Kaka received the news that "officially" collaborates his "resurrection", with BRAZIL Coach Mano Menezes calling the player for two upcoming International Friendly games.

Kaká

The player will be obviously happy, but his Spanish Football Club REAL MADRID is delighted to finally have the player with the 68M€ price tag performing close to his best & scoring goals. The Brazilian has regained form & has sat on the bench regular midfield starter Ozil. Lets hope & wish that the recovering continues for Kaká as all World Football fans will be delighted to see again all your skills, & that the "injury clouds" finally blow away.

Congratulations Ricardo!

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SFS FLASHBACKS | 15 YEARS AGO | THE "FAMOUS" RONALDO GOAL

Fifteen (15) years ago the below occurred in the Spanish Football League when FC Barcelona played away Santiago de Compostela.



Spectacular goal from the Brazilian star RONALDO , bit more younger & slimmer, that has comeback to all our memories after 15 years. Great player, one of the best Nº9s in Football History.

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FC BARCELONA FOLLOWING BRAZILIAN LEANDRO DAMAIO ?

The story circulating these couple of days in SPANISH FOOTBALL circles is the apparent interest of FC BARCELONA for INTERNACIONAL DE PORTO ALEGRE forward LEANDRO DAMIAO. Spanish Sports media are making echo that Barça has been following the new Brazilian International & maybe thinking about next season as a new incorporation to the squad.  Supposedly this player is to the liking of Coach Guardiola,  something one could not say about countryman Neymar, although Barça President does seem to have a certain fix on the latter.

Leandro Damaio

The 22 year old has reportedly a 17M€ price tag which Barça considers too high at this stage. The Spanish Football Club will no doubt pressure to bring the price into "reasonable" margins. 


Stay tuned for possible developments, but it is too early & it is still a very loose & immature rumour & I personally am not getting "excited"; not yet anyway.

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RONALDO RETIRES FROM FOOTBALL | TIME TO SAY GOODBYE

Ronaldo Luis Nazário de Lima, RONALDO, has announced his retirement from Football at the age of 34 years of age. The players body just instead the same & as he himself says, the body does not want to do what the mind thinks. According to Spanish media the player will give his last press conference this afternoon (Sp.Time) to communicate the news. Arguably the Best Number Nine that Football has seen ( with permission from Alfredo Di Stefano) at least in "Modern Times" the player has notched up:

• 420 goals in 616 games
• 2 Golden Ball Awards
• 3 FIFA World Player Awards
• 2 World Cups with Brazil

these are just the notable prizes...as there are many more in Champions League, Spanish League...

The many Clubs of Ronaldo

Ronaldo played in Cruzeiro, PSV, FC Barcelona, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, AC Milan & Corinthians

Ronaldo with FC Barcelona

Spanish Football had the privilege of having Ronaldo twice in the Spanish League, firstly with FC BARCELONA when he arrived in 1996 for a short but explosive spell & secondly with REAL MADRID when he arrived in 2002. You can see all the facts & figures in the Wikipedia

Ronaldo with Real Madrid

Ronaldo will be remember for his incredible vertical & front-on attacks at defenders which left them behind with his almost "video games" dribbling skills. A goal-scoring machine with deadly pin piont accuracy & precision the player earned the name "The Phenomenon". An appropriate term as he looked like a "Hurricane" or a "Tsunami" when he got the ball midfield & raced towards goal: unstoppable.

Football will miss Ronaldo, & from here I would only like to say THANK YOU! I am sure we will be seeing Ronaldo still associated with Football in some capacity as the man has the Sport in his DNA.

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ROBERT CARLOS CORNOR KICK GOAL FOR CORINTHIANS | VIDEO

Remember this ex-Real Madrid Brazilian player? Roberto Carlos is still doing his tricks:



Perhaps Real Madrid should call Roberto Carlos back for the Number Nine spot. Sure he can do it well Tweet

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INDOOR SOCCER | SPAIN DEFEATS BRAZIL 2 -1 TO WIN GRAND PRIX CUP 2010

SPAIN defeated BRAZIL 2 - 1 in the Final of the INDOOR SOCCER INTERNATIONAL GRAND PRIX tournament celebrated in the city of Anapolis in Brazil. The goals for Spain came thanks to RAFA USIN & ORTIZ, with FERNANDINHO scoring for Barzil.

Spain in action against Brazil 

This tournament has been organized by the Brazilian Indoor Soccer Federation since 2004 & it has alwyas been won by the local team. Spain wins for the first time day & breaks the string of Brazilian victories. Spain is currently the "Best Indoor Team in the World" with Brazil being their closet rivals for the last few years. Tweet

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FIFA WORLD CUP 2010 | 32 TEAMS | GROUP G

Source Blog: Sp Ftball Sprts /
Today we feature GROUP G of the upcoming FIFA WORLD CUP 2010. A difficult group with Top Nations that will eventual meet up in the finals stage of the tournament with the Group where Spain is found, a Group that will be featured tomorrow.

GROUP G

BRAZIL
NTH KOREA

IVORY COAST
PORTUGAL

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REAL MADRID FOLLOWING BRAZILIAN 18 YEAR OLD PROMISE NEYMAR

Source: Spanish Football Sport Blog /
Spanish daily paper “AS” publishes that there is a new Brazilian Football star on the horizon & his agent has him in REAL MADRID in the near future. Firstly, apart from the fact that this is a representative initiative – which in itself smells a bit from the beginning – lets dwell deeper into this highlighted player.


He is NEYMAR an 18 year old player currently with SANTOS who some are hailing as the “New Robinho”. Apparently Real Madrid has been following the youngster since 2007 & has been studying closely his evolution. Wagner Ribeiro, the player’s manager, has commented to local media “Estadao” that he sees the future of his player at Real. However, the father of Neymar thinks it is too early for the 18 year old to travel overseas & should continue with his progression at Santos.

The youngster has scored 10 goals so far this season. SFS will be taking note of the name & will be keeping an eye on future developments.

Watch a VIDEO of the “Kid” in action. Neymar is the Number 7:



At least Neymar can dance! Tweet

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SPECTACULAR INDOOR FOOTBALL GOAL FOR BRAZIL BY FALCAO (VIDEO)

Here is another example of Football (Soccer) acts that transcend
frontiers & slogans to convert them into Universal.

Brazilian Indoor International Falcao scores this spectacular goal
in the Indoor Tournament (Grand Prix de Futsal) where Brazil won
12-0 Romania. Best Goal ever in Indoor Football History?

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THE ROBINHO SHOW

At times SFS gets out of its Spanish Football & Sports boundaries to
feature videos that are universal in their appeal & of interest to its
readers supposing beforehand that they are not only Spanish Football
fans but ultimately Football lovers on the whole.

Found this video of Brazilian International & Manchester City player
ROBINHO doing his thing while training in South Africa at the FIFA
Confederations Cup. Enjoy, its fun, the guy enjoys his sport:

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