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A day after failing to beat 10-man Bolivia, Brazil and beleaguered coach Dunga came under renewed pressure from the nation’s demanding fans.

“A team without football, without a goal and without fans,” O Globo newspaper said in its Thursday edition.

Brazil was booed off the field after the 0-0 draw against Bolivia on Wednesday, which was a player short for most of the second half and is last in the South American World Cup qualifying group.

If the jeers in Rio de Janeiro’s Engenhao Stadium were not as loud as might have been expected, it was only because the stadium was half full.

“It isn’t worth it to watch the game,” college student Andre Luiz Oliveira said as he waited for a bus in Ipanema. “Why waste my time if they’re going to play like this?”

Brazil had hoped to follow Sunday’s convincing 3-0 win at Chile, with both the players and Dunga calling for more respect for the team after that victory. But little was being shown Thursday.

Roberto Assaf, a columnist for the Rio de Janeiro sports daily Lance, said it was possibly Brazil’s worst game “in many years.”

Brazil’s Ronaldinho said he understood the fans’ dismay, but said that the team was focusing on the future.

“The crowd expected a great performance, a spectacle, especially after the win against Chile,” Ronaldinho said. “Now we’re thinking of the next opportunity to play well and rectify this.”

Brazil plays Venezuela on Oct. 11, when Bolivia takes on Peru.

Dunga, for his part, said he would not resign.

“I’ll continue my work,” he said after the match, noting that several previous Brazil teams have struggled in World Cup qualifiers. “It’s not all sunshine and roses.”

Bolivia coach Erwin Sanchez said the result would allow his players to “dream again, imagine again.”

“We all have bad nights and tonight was Brazil’s time to have one,” Sanchez said.

(canadianpress)

SHANGHAI, China (AFP) - Brazil overcame their deep frustration at not making the men’s Olympic football final by putting away Belgium 3-0 to take the bronze medal consolation prize at Shanghai Stadium here Friday.

Goals by Diego and Jo in the first half and a second from Jo on full-time settled the outcome.

It was the second time they had met in these Olympics, after Brazil narrowly won their opening pool match 1-0, but this time the samba boys were not as laid back.

Although clearly demoralised by their 3-0 semi-final loss to Argentina, they had inspirational captain Ronaldinho to re-ignite their motivation with a masterful display in the midfield.

And the AC Milan star announced he was firmly back on the world stage.

“One month ago I was deciding about my life without playing for four months. Then the reality was totally different. From now, it’s the return of Ronaldinho football,” he said.

“We came here for gold, but we didn’t deserve to beat Argentina.

“Now the bronze medal may not be important from a Brazilian’s point of view but in the future we will be proud of it.”

Werder Bremen midfielder Diego also pleaded for Brazilian fans to proud of the medal, even if it is bronze.

“We deserve respect as a group of players because we took some criticism after the defeat to Argentina,” he said.

“Everyone came to China for a medal and we got one. It’s not what we were expecting at the beginning but it’s one of the most important awards.”

Ronaldinho created numerous opportunities through the first half starting with a header that just sailed over the bar in the opening minutes.

A free kick by Ronaldinho then found Alex Silva unmarked to the right of the goal but his header went wide.

Belgium were able to absorb the pressure for the first quarter of the game, assisted by a lack of precision when it counted by Brazil, before Diego found the net to open the scoring.

A build up down the right flank by Manchester City’s Jo had Belgium scrambling at the back.

In a quick one-two, Jo fed Rafinha whose cross to the goal mouth was picked by Diego with a first touch strike that Bailly had no chance of getting to.

A desperate Belgium fought to level the score and chances in quick succession by Maarten Martens and Thomas Vermaelen went dangerously close before Brazil came back to close out the half with a late goal by Jo.

Belgium refused to lie down but man-on-man pressure, while restricting the Brazilians, did not bear fruit for the Europeans with their best opportunity, a long-range shot by Kevin Mirallas easily covered by Renan.

The Brazilian goalkeeper was also called up on the last 10 minutes and deflected away a right-foot attempt by Sepp de Roover.

Brazil rarely troubled Bailly in the second half until time was up and a solo effort by Jo saw him take the ball just inside the Belgium and weave his way into the clear to hammer home Brazil’s third goal.

The bronze medals adds to Brazil’s collection of two silvers (1984, 1988) and another bronze at Atlanta in 1996, but again the one prize they want, an Olympic gold medal, has eluded the five times world champion.

Belgium at least have the history books to show they won the Olympic final at the 1920 Antwerp Games.

(Yahoo)

Argentina fully deserved their 3-0 victory over the Brazilians – no question about that. They were dangerous throughout the second half, in large part due to the brilliance of Lionel Messi. His combination of speed and elusiveness is dazzling, and once he has the ball at his feet it seems to take a minimum of two to three defenders to slow him down. His dance through the box helped set up the second goal, and he put Sergio Leonel Aguero in position to get fouled in the penalty box and allow Juan Riquelme to score from the spot.

Messi seems to get better and more dynamic with each game, and his willingness to run at the defense and force the issue differed greatly from Ronaldinho, who had his moments but was much more stationary when he had the ball (perhaps due to fitness issues). That said, Ronaldinho was unlucky to miss on his second-half free kick that hit the post, and Brazil have been unlucky to get an offside called on the ensuing goal that could have made it 2-1 (TV didn’t show a conclusive may replay).

At the end of the game the two former Barcelona teammates embraced, but the youthful Messi certainly got the best of his counterpart on this day.

While Aguero scored two goals, it was as ugly a brace as you’ll see. Upon replay, the first goal was surely in off the left shoulder, although it was very difficult to see that since he had the arm so closely tucked in to his body. And his second goal, an open-net tap-in, almost became a memorable miss as he somehow managed to nearly whiff it. His best move of the day was not a goal but the nice little stop-and-go move in the box in the 74th minute that drew the penalty.

It was a fun second half after the final 30 minutes of the first half were rather uneventful. The first goal finally opened everything up, and it was the Argentineans who took advantage of it. The ending of the game was a bit embarrassing for the Brazilians, as the two straight red-card fouls were committed without much attempt for the ball - although, the first one might have been a little harsh.

At the end of the day, we’re looking at a very entertaining final on Friday between an Argentina team on a roll with a very productive Messi, and a Nigerian squad that can produce plenty of offense. With an Argentinean defense that can be shaky, we’ll hopefully see plenty of scoring – especially since this tournament hasn’t specialized in nil-nil draws.

Brazil national team boss Dunga has criticised forward Alexandre Pato, and says that the Milan forward needs to grow as a player.

Pato, who joined Milan from Internacional last summer, has had a superb start to life in Serie A, scoring nine goals in just 18 Serie A appearances since debuting in January.

The Brazilian, who is still only 18, is tipped by many as a superstar of the future, however he has struggled somewhat during this month’s Olympic Games in Beijing.

He was substituted during the Selecao’s 2-0 quarter final win over Cameroon on Saturday, and replaced by Rafael Sobis.

Pato has now been criticised by Brazil boss Dunga, who says that the teenager still has much developing to do as a player.

“I brought on Rafael Sobis because he knows how to deal with tight marking, can open up the spaces and does not go offside,” Dunga is quoted as saying by Ansa.

“Pato must grow again, and he must learn to free himself from his marker.”

Pato, who could now be dropped from the starting line-up, will be hoping to do better if given the chance during the much-awaited semi final against bitter South American rivals Argentina.

Following the controversial exit of Italy, the winners of this semi final are expected to go on and win Gold. Brazil have never won the competition during their glorious history.

(Goal)

Camaroon came out playing with two lines of four, every man behind the ball—with a clear intention to hack away at the Canarinhos.

But after 120 mins of tooth-and-nail defending, coupled with outright violent play, Cameroon came away well beaten, 2-0.

The African side could only manage one shot on goal in 120 mins of play.

Six yellow cards, one red, and a trip back home was all their violent brand of football managed to yield.

For Brazil, coach Dunga left the struggling Alexandre Pato out of his starting line-up, and wisely opted for his only other similar option, Rafael Sobis.

Cameroon were reduced to ten men soon after the break, as Albert Baning got his second yellow card for a foul on Lucas.

Thiago Neves came on, in an attempt to score from long range against Brazil’s unambitious opponents.

However, the African blocade continued to work as Brazil were unable to penetrate, despite being constantly in possession.

But with 101 minutes on the clock, Diego finally unlocked the Cameroonian defence from a long ball.

Rafael Sobis raced on to it, and as the desperate Song tried to cover, calmly slotted it past the keeper—putting Brazil in front.

Camaroon were now forced to try something, and four minutes later, after a brilliant interchange between Ronaldinho and Thiago Neves, Marcelo scored from close range to conclude a beautiful play.

Brazil now go on to face either Holland or Argentina in the semi-finals. The latter would set up one of the world`s greatest derbies, and probably be the match of the tournament.

Cameroon, however, have to go home.

(bleacherreport)

Brazilian defeated host China 3-0 in their last group match of the Olympic men’s soccer tournament here on Wednesday.

Brazil thus advanced to the finals with an unbeaten record from Group C.

The loss for China also marked the fourth consecutive time that host country failed to progress to the knockout stage.

Brazil’s first goal came in the 18th minute when Alves Diego ran after a through pass by Ronaldinho, and avoided Chinese goalkeeper Liu Zhenli on their one-on-one encounter before he coolly sent the ball into the empty net.

In the 68th minute, Han Peng, a usual striker but played a defensive position in today’s match, received a yellow card after pulling down Brazil’s striker Sobis Rafael.

Brazil’s Neves Thiago then extended their lead in the awarding free kick with his left-foot shot. The goalkeeper, however, couldn’t make any response to his shot.

In the 73rd minute, Thiago again enlarged the winning with a left-footed low shot from outside the penalty box.

The only threat to Brazil’s goalkeeper came in the 37th minute, when Jiang Ning dodged Brazil’s defenders and struck from the left side, but his effort was warded off by defender Silva Thiago’s outstretched right foot.

(Chinadaily)

SHENYANG, Northeast China, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) — Ronaldinho declares a high-profile recovery of form in a match in which Brazil showed the true color by thrashing Olympian debutant New Zealand 5-0 here on Sunday.

His remarkable free kicks directly slammed into the Kiwi’s net in the second half, and his dutiful penalty shot made him the most worthy player of the match in the star-studded Brazilian squad.

“Ronaldinho did a good job today and we can see he smiled on the pitch again,” coach Dunga said. “Such a talented player like him can adjust very soon to play better, even though he hasn’t played for four months.”

“It’s a responsibility to play good football for Brazil. We had special training these days to strengthen our aggressiveness and we were better than last match” said the coach. “Our pace is faster and the players are finding their form back from the League matches.”

Brazilian midfielder Anderson opened the scoring when he dived for a follow-up scoring header near the goal after his right-footed strike was cleared by New Zealand goalie Jacob Spoonley, finishing a sole run in the third minute.

AC Milan’s 19-year-old striking prodigy Alexandre Pato enlarged the lead in the 34th minute, heading home a superb cross from Rio Madrid defender Marcelo.

In the 54th minute, two-time FIFA World Player of the Year Ronaldinho got a chance to launch a spot kick near the edge of the box. He stroke a low shot with his right foot, curling over the Spoonley and hitting the back of the net.

Only six minutes later, Ronaldinho, who recently transferred from Barcelona to AC Milan, was brought down inside the box and got a foul kick. He duly put the penalty into the left corner of the net.

“We conceded the first goal a little bit too early but Brazil is one of the best teams in the world,” New Zealand coach Stu Jacob said. “Some of our players are a bit tired after last Thursday’s match with China.”

The Brazilians were not content with the disparity of scores and during injury time, forward Rafael Sobis, who replaced Pato 20 minutes before the final whistle, put in another easy goal after a number of consecutive passes by Ronaldinho and midfielder Lucas.

“In the last 20 minutes we dominated the match and we had chances to show our individual abilities,” Lucas said.

Brazil’s brilliant techniquess effectively curbed the Kiwis. They dominated two thirds of the match in terms of ball possision and had 11 shots on goal, compared to three of New Zealand.

Brazil’s attacks are assisted by a full audience magneted by the mega stars such as Ronaldinho and Diego.

Brazil have won the FIFA World Cup a record five times but have come up short at the Olympics, finishing with a silver medal in the 1984 and 1988 Games, and bronze in 1996. After failing to qualify in 2004 Athens Games, coach Dunga’s side is determined to bring the champion title home from Beijing.

chinaview.cn

Brazil opened their Olympic football campaign with an unconvincing 1-0 win over Belgium who ended Thursday’s match in Shenyang with only nine men.

Hernanes scored the only goal of the Group C game with a fierce left foot strike in the 79th minute shortly after Belgium captain Vincent Kompany had been sent off by referee Khalid Al Ghamdi for a second yellow card.

Belgian midfielder Marouane Fellaini also went in the closing moments in controversial circumstances for an innocuous foul with minimal contact. He complained bitterly to the fourth official and had to be ushered off the field by teammates.

“It’s always important to get a win in the opener,” Brazil coach Dunga told the Associated Press. “We have a game against New Zealand now and we have to focus on that.”

The sendings-off overshadowed a fighting display by the Belgians against a star-studded Brazil team including AC Milan’s Ronaldinho and Alexandre Pato.

Diego and Rafinha were also allowed to take the field after their German club sides Werder Bremen and Schalke did not invoke a Court of Arbitration in Sport ruling on Wednesday which would have prevented them from playing in the Games.

Brazil are desperate to win Olympic gold for the first time, but on the evidence of their first half display will need to improve to meet their ambition.

Sparked by Ronaldinho and Pato, they improved after the break with Pato curling a shot wide and then nearly forcing the ball home after excellent work down the left by his new teammate.

But Belgium also had their moments as striker Kevin Mirallas shot narrowly wide from the inside the area and generally troubled Brazil.

The dismissal of Kompany in the 72nd minute for pulling back Diego changed the course of the match as gaps started to open in the Belgium defense.

Persistent work by Diego helped him find Hernandes who showed excellent skill to evade several challenges and fire an unstoppable shot past goalkeeper Logan Bailly. Brazil had a goal disallowed in injury time when defender Breno was flagged offside.

The later Group C match saw hosts China grab a late 1-1 draw against New Zealand as Manchester United’s Dong Fangzhuo equalized on 86 minutes.

In other Olympic football action on Thursday, Italy beat Honduras 3-0 in Group D. First-half goals from forwards Sebastian Giovinco and Giuseppe Rossi and another from Robert Acquafresca after the break sealed an easy win. South Korea and Cameron shared a 1-1 draw in the same group.

The United States also made a winning start as they beat Japan 1-0 in Group B while Serbia and Australia shared a goal apiece in Group A. The later match in this group also saw a draw, with Nigeria and the favored Netherlands drawing a blank.

(CNN)

Brazil, led by AC Milan star Ronaldinho, has beaten Vietnam 2-0 in a friendly in Hanoi which served as a pre-Olympic warm-up for the South American giants.

Alexandre Pato of AC Milan scored the first goal in the sixth minute before a packed out crowd that included Vietnam’s President Nguyen Minh Triet in Hanoi’s My Dinh 40,000-seat stadium.

But his second attempt to score in the 46th minute was warded off by Vietnam’s goalkeeper, Brazilian-born Fabio Dos Santos who became a naturalised Vietnamese citizen in December.

Vietnam nearly equalised just after half-time, in the 47th minute, when striker Nguyen Viet Thang took a bold shot at goal, which keeper Diego Alves deflected away to safety.

Midway through the half Nguyen Minh Duc shot from long range and hit the post.

In the 81st minute Thiago Neves, voted the best player in the Brazilian league last year, scored Brazil’s second goal.

Two minutes later, left-footed Brazilian forward Jo, who recently inked a four-year deal with English Premier League club Manchester City, found the net, but the goal was disqualified as a Vietnamese player got pushed.

-AFP