Sports

Brazil Stars Return to ‘Jogo Bonito’, Dazzle in Qatar

Published

2 years ago

November 26, 2022

By Afolayan Adebiyi with Agencies reports

Brazilians’ put an end to their local politics of October 2022’s presidential election, as the ‘World Cup fever won out in the end’ Thursday (24 November) as the streets were donned with the yellow-and-green canarinha jerseys of the National Team, Selecao, as the Samba boys returns to the joyful ‘jogo bonito’ style that earned them good applause in the past on the field.

The small army of vendors selling jerseys, flags, scarves, hats and endless other World Cup gear were, meanwhile happy Lula’s win in Brazil’s divisive October elections had finally brought an end to a taboo on wearing yellow and green, the colours which defeated far-right President Jair Bolsonaro and his supporters had embraced as their own.
“People were resistant. They really waited until the last minute to buy (yellow and green gear), because of the political situation,” said vendor Giselle de Freitas, 41, who was selling a plethora of earrings, tiaras and other accessories on Copacabana.

For most, World Cup fever won out in the end.
Not for everyone, however.
Hotel doorman Osvaldo Alves, a slight 74-year-old with thinning white hair and a bright red uniform, was one of the few not watching the match.
“The country always drops everything when the ‘Selecao’ play. We sit there watching football and don’t fix any of our problems,” he said from his post at the downtown hotel where he works.
“It’s a disease Brazil has. Brazilians are just crazy about football.”
But in the streets, all decked in yellow-and-green canarinha coloured bikinis, Neymar jerseys, sparkling tops straight out of carnival, Brazilians dropped everything, in what ought to be a midday at work, to watch the Selecao take on Serbia in their opening match of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Brazil Manager, Tite perhaps read the mood of his countrymen and women. He abandoned his cautious approach to games, and put on a display of full ‘Jogo bonito’, the beautiful football.
When Tite announced he was taking nine forwards to the World Cup, many questioned if that was too many and wondered if he would reallydare to abandon his traditionally defensive approach to unleash so much attacking talent.

The answer came in an impressive 2-0 victory over a strong and organised Serbia team who did not make it easy for Brazil and frustrated them in a goalless first half.
Tite’s decision to start Vinicius Jr. alongside Neymar, Richarlison and Raphinha should not have been a surprise as the Brazil coach has been much more inclined recently to unleash his talented young forwards together. With these quartet, Tite still had on the bench Anthony, Rodrygo, Martinelli, Pedro and Jesus, all awesome attacking talents.
Thinking that he would leave Vinicius on the bench was an assumption of those looking at the 61-year-old manager’s past rather than his present.
Tite is a bright coach. He was the last South American to lead a Copa Libertadores champion to the Fifa club championship, winning 1-0 with Corinthians against Chelsea in 2012.
But his accomplishments then were achieved with more caution then daring. His 2022 version seems to acknowledge the talent he has at his disposal.
The 22-year-old Vinicius scored Real Madrid’s winner in the Champions League final against Liverpool and finished eighth in the Ballon d’Or ballot last month, elevating him to world-class level in his fifth season with the LaLiga side.
Leaving him out of the team would have been madness.
Though Richarlison scored a brace, Vinicius was arguably the best player on the pitch, creating most of Brazil´s chances.
Tite evolved while his team progressed over the last four years, moulding his squad to find new ways to adapt his system to his players.
But it was the emergence of a new generation of talented youngsters in the last two years that finally made Tite leave his background as a defensive coach behind, embracing their youth and giving them the freedom to flourish together.
The result is a team faithful to Brazil’s traditions in the beautiful game.
Tite does not only want to win. He wants to win playing a style of football that for many years seemed to get lost among pragmatic coaches who believed Brazil had to be solid rather than joyful.
Tite has a plethora of talent in every department and, with a goalkeeper like Alisson and centre backs like Marquinhos and Thiago Silva sitting behind a rock-solid defensive midfielder in Casemiro, he can have the luxury of starting four forwards.
That is exactly what he did against Serbia, relying on a superb Casemiro who won every challenge to keep Serbia as far away from Alisson’s goal as possible.
Meanwhile, he left his four strikers to work out their way through Serbia’s five-man deep defensive line.
They kept their cool and ended up breaking down their opponents thanks to talent and confidence.
Brazil sent a clear message to their World Cup rivals. They came to Qatar to try to win their first world title in 20 years and to stay true to the style that Brazilian football is famous for.
Against an organised and stubborn Serbs, it all required two second half goals from Tottenham forward Richarlison – including a spectacular acrobatic scissor-kick – to helped Brazil to victory over in Group G encounter.
After a stubborn defensive display, Serbia finally cracked in the 62nd minute when a shot by Vinicius Jr. was saved by goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic but only as far as Richarlison who drilled in the rebound.
Richarlison then grabbed a spectacular second in the 73rd minute, flicking up a low pass by Vinicius before swivelling in mid-air to lash home an exquisite volley.
The 80,000-capacity Lusail Stadium erupted in delight at the moment of magic before Richarlison wheeled away to be mobbed by his teammates.
“It’s a childhood dream come true,” Richarlison said afterwards.
“We played a good game, especially in the second half, when the
opponent got tired, and we managed to take advantage of that.”
Back home in Brazil, thousands abandoned work by midday and packed in front of a giant screen on Rio de Janeiro’s famed Copacabana beach, in the middle of what would normally be a work day, fans of all ages cheered Brazil’s 2-0 football victory over Serbia — and allowed themselves to dream a record-extending sixth World Cup title could be on the horizon.
Standing on the seaside avenue in his Brazil jersey, construction worker Benildo Ferreira erupted in joy at the second of the two goals, both fired home by Tottenham Hotspur striker Richarlison.
“I was worried” during the goalless first half, Ferreira, 51, told AFP, as fireworks exploded overhead.
“But Brazil are going to reach the final, and we’re going to win.”
It was an anguished wait for many in football-mad Brazil, whose fevered passion at World Cup time often draws comparisons to a nation going to war.
Milton de Souza nervously stirred his caipirinha in a seaside bar as he waited for the opening goal.
“We just have to be patient,” said the 58-year-old retiree, who was wearing green and yellow — as was virtually the entire country, it seemed.
He was cautious on the question of whether the “Selecao” could end their 20-year title drought.
“Nothing’s certain in football.”
Others were already daring to dream.
“The Cup is ours this year, without a doubt,” said 23-year-old Marcos Vinicius, who accurately predicted a Richarlison brace before the match.
City centres in Rio, Sao Paulo and other hubs of Latin America’s biggest economy meanwhile turned to ghost towns as Brazil ground to a halt to watch the match.
Street-food vendor Kaua Suarez, 19, and three clients were crowded around a cell phone he had propped up on his hot dog stand,
watching the match in Rio’s near-deserted city centre.

“I had to work, so I found a way to watch anyway. I’m going to watch every match, no matter what time,” he said.
“Football is every favela kid’s dream in Brazil. We’re crazy about it. Brazilians are born loving football.”
Even president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva took time out from political horse-trading ahead of his January 1 inauguration to watch.
He tweeted a picture of himself and his wife in national team jerseys, a TV in the background, with the message: “Congratulations Brazil. On our way to title number six!”

www.focusmagazineonline.com (C2022) (With agencies reports)

Sports

Barca Still Vulnerable in Europe, Xavi Admits

Published

8 months ago

November 9, 2023

FocusMag

FC Barcelona might be threading a familiar path in Europe with the latest result where they slumped to a 1-0 defeat to Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday (07 November).
With this result, they spurned the chance to seal an early qualification to the Round of 16 Champions League knock-out stages.

FC Barcelona have struggled miserably in Europe since they last lifted the trophy in 2015, only reaching the quarter-finals in two occasions.

Danylo Sikan’s dipping header in the 40th minute secured Shakhtar a famous victory as Xavi Hernandez’s flat Spanish champions failed to trouble their Ukrainian opponents.
Barcelona still lead Group H ahead of Porto, second, hosting Royal Antwerp later on, with the Portuguese side able to pull alongside the Catalans on nine points with victory.
“We can see we’re in a bit of a footballing rut, we have to do a reset,” said Barca coach Xavi.
“We played a bad game, we have to admit it.”
Xavi said his team had wasted a good chance to progress.

“After two years without qualifying for the last 16, today is a missed opportunity,” he continued.
“It’s the most inopportune moment. There are a lot of demands (on us), I think that today we couldn’t fail and we failed.”
After failing to progress from the group stage for two seasons running, Barcelona saw this clash as an opportunity to get the job done with two games to spare.
However Shakhtar, playing their home games in Hamburg because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, held their own from the start.

Barcelona missed big chances in the first match in October but this time Marino Pusic’s team shut down their uninspired visitors, who produced just one shot on target.
Xavi insisted his team’s performance in the narrow 1-0 league win over Real Sociedad on Saturday was unacceptable, despite the good result, but his team did not heed the coach’s words.
Shakhtar forced Marc-Andre ter Stegen into the first save of the game, with the German goalkeeper denying Mykola Matviienko at the near post after he got in behind Joao Cancelo.
Ilkay Gundogan and Raphinha lashed over from distance as Barca created no danger, with veteran striker Robert Lewandowski woefully disconnected on his return to Germany.

The former Bayern Munich forward has not scored in any of his last six appearances for Barca, amounting to his worst run of goalscoring form for over a decade.
The hosts took the lead a few minutes before half-time, easily slicing the visitors open when Giorgi Gocholeishvili took advantage of Barcelona left-back Marcos Alonso being a long way out of position.

The full-back crossed for Sikan, who beat Andreas Christensen in the air and headed beyond the reach of Ter Stegen.
Ter Stegen saved from Gocholeishvili early in the second half as Shakhtar continued as they left off.
Just before the hour Xavi took action, sending on speedsters Alejandro Balde and Lamine Yamal, as well as Pedri, looking to shake up his team’s lifeless display.
Barcelona were better but not bright enough, as Shakhtar goalkeeper Dmytro Riznyk enjoyed a quiet night.
“Not so long ago we were playing very good football — it’s a mental issue,” said Xavi.
Shakhtar’s latest young Brazilian winger, Newerton, scored a stunning second in the final stages but it was chalked off for offside — it would have been a superb way to crown a glorious night for Pusic’s team.

Barcelona had seven minutes of added time to work with but could not find a breakthrough, with Felix unsuccessfully appealing for a penalty after he was clipped on the edge of the box.
The Ukrainian champions, third, celebrated joyously at full-time and now sit only three points behind Barcelona, who host Porto in their next Champions League match on November 28.
“We do things step by step and we stay humble,” said Pusic, who was proud of his team’s defensive effort.
“We like to attack and we had several good moments tonight, but game organisation comes first.
“If you concede easily at this level there is not a high chance you will win.”
Barcelona midfielder Oriol Romeu said his team had to look in the mirror after their disappointing display.
“Every defeat is a warning,” he told Movistar.
“We have to be self-critical and see what we did wrong, to correct it quickly.”

www.focusmagazineonline.com with www.afp.com reports

Sports

Champions League: Man City, Real Madrid, Bayern qualify for UCL last 16

Published

8 months ago

November 9, 2023

FocusMag

Expectedly, there were less drama as the record 14-time champions, Real Madrid joined holders Manchester City, last season’s runners-up Inter Milan, Real Sociedad, RB Leipzig and Bayern Munich, to qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League with two group games to spare.

However, Manchester United’s poor form continued as they slipped to a stunning 4-3 defeat against FC Copenhagen, just as FC Barcelona could not wrap up qualification, having to wait till matchday 5, before attempting to scale the hurdle.

Madrid, the record 14-time European champions, made sure of their progress from Group C with a 3-0 home win over Braga after surviving an injury setback just before kick-off.
There were grunting around the Santiago Bernabeu when starting Goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga pulled out hurt in the warm-up, but his replacement Andriy Lunin excelled by saving Alvaro Djalo’s sixth-minute penalty.

With recuperating Starman, Jude Bellingham rested, to properly recover from the shoulder injury he sustained during the LaLiga game against Rayo Vallecano over the weekend, returnee Brahim Diaz gave Real a 27th-minute lead before the fantastic Brazilian duo of Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo both scored in the second half.

Rodrygo thanked Carlo Ancelotti for supporting him through a tough start to the season after scoring in Real Madrid’s 3-0 Champions League win over Sporting Braga on Wednesday.
Rodrygo, who hasn’t found the net in LaLiga since the first weekend of the season, but has now scored in consecutive Champions League games, ran to hug Ancelotti after scoring in the 61st minute at the Santiago Bernabeu.

“I’m very happy, it was a perfect game,” Rodrygo told Movistar. “I’m very happy with the goal and the assist, but also with the win and qualification.
“The hug was to thank Ancelotti. When you aren’t in a good moment, that’s when you see who people really are. I wasn’t in a good moment and he was always there with me. I scored and I had to celebrate it with him.”

Rodrygo has been an important player for Madrid in recent seasons, contributing to their 2022 Champions League and LaLiga double and scoring 18 goals in all competitions last season, but has struggled so far this campaign.

“In my career, there’ve been forwards who’ve scored in every game and others who have moments when it’s hard to score,” Ancelotti said in his postmatch news conference. “All you can do is support them. A player with Rodrygo or Vinícius’s characteristics will score sooner or later. They have extraordinary quality, it’s just a question of time.

“Vinicius and Rodrygo combined spectacularly in the second half. There aren’t many duos who can counter-attack like Rodrygo and Vinicius.”
Ancelotti admitted that playmaker Diaz, who returned to Madrid from AC Milan last summer, had been unlucky not to play more often.
“He showed great quality, defensive sacrifice, he did very well,” Ancelotti said. “That means he could have played more minutes. But [Jude] Bellingham has played in that position. Today Brahim replaced him very well.”

The coach said goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, who dropped out of the starting XI before kickoff and was replaced by Lunin, had felt “discomfort” in the warm up and would be assessed on Thursday.

Napoli are poised to go through from the group alongside Real despite being held to a 1-1 draw at home by Union Berlin.
Matteo Politano put Napoli ahead late in the first half but David Datro Fofana, on loan from Chelsea, equalised soon after the restart.
The result allowed Union to end a 12-game losing run but they cannot now qualify for the last 16.

Their Bundesliga rivals Bayern qualified with a 2-1 victory at home to Galatasaray, their 17th consecutive win in the Champions League group stage.
Thomas Tuchel’s side saw Galatasaray have a goal disallowed for offside before Harry Kane headed in the opener with just 10 minutes left.
Kane then added another, his 19th goal already for Bayern in just 15 appearances, before Cedric Bakambu pulled one back in stoppage time for Galatasaray.

“He’s a phenomenon and we’re proud that he’s playing in the team,” Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer told broadcaster DAZN of Kane.
Galatasaray still stand every chance of going through from Group A after United lost in a remarkable game in Denmark.
Erik ten Hag’s team appeared to be cruising thanks to two goals in the first half an hour by their Danish striker Rasmus Hojlund.

Yet they suffered a blow when Marcus Rashford was controversially sent off in the 42nd minute for a foul on Elias Jelert, and Copenhagen took full advantage to haul themselves level by the break.

Mohamed Elyounoussi pulled one back before Diogo Goncalves equalised from the spot in the ninth minute of stoppage time.
Still United got back in front via a Bruno Fernandes penalty midway through the second half, but Lukas Lerager made it 3-3 seven minutes from time and Roony Bardghji, the 17-year-old Kuwait-born Swedish Under-21 international, got Copenhagen’s winner in the 87th minute.

Ten Hag’s team have now lost three of their four Champions League matches this season and have been beaten in nine of their 17 games in all competitions.
“I think first we played very good until the red card. The red card changed everything. Then it becomes a different game,” Ten Hag told broadcaster TNT Sports.
“I saw lots of positives, but in the end we lose some focus. It’s hard when you play so long with 10 men.”

Meanwhile, Arsenal are on the brink of progressing from Group B after a 2-0 home win over Sevilla, in which Bukayo Saka set up Leandro Trossard for the opener in the first half, and then added the second after the break.

“I’m really happy with the performance from the team. They showed aggression and commitment,” Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta told TNT Sports.
The Gunners are four points ahead of both Lens and PSV Eindhoven, with the Dutch side boosting their own hopes by beating the French side 1-0 thanks to Luuk de Jong’s early header.
Lens had substitute Morgan Guilavogui sent off late on.

In Group D, Inter secured their progress with a 1-0 win away to Red Bull Salzburg in Austria, a game settled by a late Lautaro Martinez penalty.
That result also allowed Real Sociedad to qualify after their earlier 3-1 defeat of Portuguese giants Benfica, who have lost all four matches in the group.

Mikel Merino, Mikel Oyarzabal and Ander Barrenetxea all scored in the first 21 minutes for the hosts, before Brais Mendez hit the post with a penalty. Rafa Silva pulled one back for Benfica.

www.focusmagazineonline.com with www.afp.com reports

Sports

Ancelotti returns to Napoli with Real to prove a Point

Published

9 months ago

October 3, 2023

FocusMag

Fourteen times champions, Spain’s Real Madrid are set to play one of the most in-form teams in Italy in what promises to be their “toughest group-stage game”, as veteran coach, Italian Carlo Ancelotti, said on Monday (02 October) ahead of the huge Champions League clash.

LaLiga leaders Real began their quest for a record-extending 15th European Cup with a last-gasp 1-0 home victory over Union Berlin last month, while Italian champions Napoli, who are currently third in Serie A, won 2-1 at Sporting Braga.
Tuesday’s clash at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium could be pivotal to both sides’ aims of taking top spot in group C.

“We’ll play against one of the best teams in Italy. They did very well last year. It will be a competitive and evenly matched game as they have a high level,” Ancelotti, who once managed Napoli, told a news conference.
“It’s going to be the toughest game of the group stage for us. I don’t want to say that we’re used to it, but the shirt of this club weighs on us.”
The match will also see Ancelotti return to Naples after he managed 73 games at the club from 2018 to 2019, leading the team in an unbeaten run in the Champions group stage before being sacked with the team in seventh place in Serie A.

“I had positive moments, it is a wonderful city. There were also less good moments, but I have the memory of a positive experience,” Ancelotti said.
“Backtracking before a game like this doesn’t make sense. When the relationship between a club and a coach doesn’t have the right feeling, it’s better to stop.
“I think it was the right decision for Napoli and for me, because two years later I came back to the best club in the world.”

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti is not a man to hold a grudge, as reflected by his return to the Spanish capital despite being harshly sacked by Los Blancos chief Florentino Perez in 2015.
However the 64-year-old veteran would doubtless enjoy proving a point when his Madrid side visit Napoli in the Champions League on Tuesday at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.

Ancelotti was axed by president Aurelio De Laurentiis in December 2019, less than an hour after helping Napoli reach the Champions League knock-out stages with a 4-0 thrashing of Genk.
The Italian side were struggling in seventh in Serie A at the time and won their first Scudetto for 33 years in 2023, so De Laurentiis will consider his decisions more than justified.

Ancelotti spent a year and a half in charge of Napoli, guiding them to a second place finish in the 2018-19 campaign, but his tenure was abruptly cut short in its sophomore year.
At the time it seemed Ancelotti had reached the game’s summit years earlier and was on the way down football’s food chain, with his next appointment at Everton appearing to confirm that.
Dressing room tensions and a dispute with De Laurentiis over a training camp led to his downfall in Campania. The president appeared to think Ancelotti did not have it in him to manage the squad.

However Ancelotti’s surprise return to the helm of Madrid in 2021 put him back among the elite, and in 2022 he won his fourth Champions League title as a coach, more than anyone else, as well as LaLiga to complete a superb double.

Meanwhile, Madrid’s 3-0 win at Girona on Sunday ensures they also arrive in Italy as leaders in LaLiga, after a wobble in the derby against rivals Atletico Madrid. A painful 3-1 loss at the Metropolitano on September 24 saw Ancelotti come in for criticism for his tactics and diamond midfield system.

However the Italian made some minor changes and it proved sufficient to earn a comfortable victory over the high-flying Catalans, who had hoped to score a second consecutive home win over Madrid at Montilivi.
“Winning here means that we did well and I’d like to highlight our defensive work, which was very good,” Ancelotti told reporters.

The coach deployed Eduardo Camavinga at left-back instead of the more attacking Fran Garcia, and also asked Jude Bellingham to help with covering Girona to ease the burden on Vinicius Junior.
“We put Bellingham on the outside to avoid Vini having too many defensive duties, bearing in mind that (Aurelien) Tchouameni was in the centre to provide cover,” added Ancelotti.

Bellingham has seven goals and two assists this season across all competitions, largely playing in the number 10 role, despite his capacity to operate in deeper areas.
It was an “invention” by Ancelotti to help cover for the departed Karim Benzema and so far it has paid dividends for the England international, top scorer in Spain.

The coach’s tactical shift and subsequent tweaks dispel any doubts over his dedication at Madrid, showing he is not just on cruise control and heading towards the Brazil national team job he is set to take next summer.
Part of the reason behind the new set-up is to add muscle to the team and bolster the midfield, after Manchester City demolished the record 14-time European champions in last season’s semifinal.

The visit to Napoli will be another acid test for both Ancelotti’s plan and Madrid’s squad depth, with striker Victor Osimhen in excellent form, despite his recent anger over the club insulting him on social media network TikTok.
Los Blancos are without injured defender David Alaba, leaving only Antonio Rudiger and Nacho Fernandez available in central defence.

Napoli coach Rudi Garcia will also be looking forward to the game – he was due to face Madrid when at Roma in 2016, but was sacked ahead of the last 16 tie.
Real Madrid and Napoli last met in the Champions League in the 2016-17 round of 16 when the Spanish giants won both legs 3-1 to and went on to claim the title.

www.focusmagazineonline.com with www.afp.com and www.reuters reports