Pleased with Sport's win. It's the first time the Copa Brasil has gone to a team from the North East.

Carlinhos Bala has always stood out when I've seen Sport - a really speedy, busy player who must really get on the nerves of the opposition. He was shooting his mouth off after the first leg, much to the disdain of Corinthians, saying that Enilton's late consolation would prove to be the winner. And so it turned out to be with Bala scoring the first and, though I haven't seen the incidents, he seems to have been instrumental in getting two Corinthians sent off.

It looks like reports of São Paulo's (and Muricy Ramalho's) demise have been greatly exaggerated. A 4-2 hammering of previously unbeaten Flamengo in the Maracanã lifted them to 6th place and, if scoring 9 goals in two games isn't exactly typical of them, their aerial power and organisation are very bfamiliar. And of course they've done this without Adriano whose absence seems to have galvanised their other strikers.

As for Flamengo, I always thought their early position flattered them (5 out of 6 games at the Maracanã and two of them against reserve teams). One thing that mystifies me is why the last two managers have consistently preferred Souza up front to Obina who won a penalty as soon as he came on and almost got an equaliser. I know my opinion is shared by possibly millions of Flamengo fans.

Elsewhere, Cruzeiro's heavy defeat at Palmeiras on Thursday means that the leaders are joined by Grêmio. I haven't seen much of them this season. Any thoughts, Pitaco?

i really thought Flamengo were going to pummel São Paulo on saturday (shows what i know! haha) Ramalho's side deserved the win. this was like the São Paulo of the last two years: solid defence, and five chances, which resulted in four goals - pretty much like last week against Atlético MG.

Obina should have started. it seems obvious to us but i suppose if you have someone who can come off the bench and change things, the temptation is to leave him there (remember supersub, David Fairclough? - probably not haha.

i liked what i saw of Grêmio vs São Paulo. but then they were rubbish against Vasco. they do have a better team than i thought but the jury is still out for me.

No change at the top with Flamengo, Cruzeiro and Grêmio all winning comfortably, though Grêmio needed a rather generously-awarded hatrick of penalties, all converted by Roger.

A result that caught my eye was Santos' 4-0 hammering at home to everyone's favourites for relegation, Goias. Santos now only have Fluminense (reserves) below them so new manager Cuca did the sensible thing and blamed his predecessor Emerson Leão for the poor physical condition of the players. And to complete a lousy weekend, Pelé was robbed at gunpoint after his car was held up by an armed gang.

Some good news, I think, for FCLymond.

Those who have read Alex Bellos' book will be familiar with Eurico Miranda, former Brazilian Senator and Vasco President. Well, the old tyrant has finally been voted out and replaced by all-time leading scorer and Vasco legend, Roberto Dinamite. Cue much rejoicing amongst Vascainos and hope for better times ahead.

Supporters choosing their own President. Whatever next?

Miranda is quite a character isn't he. Would it be fair to say that we haven't seen the last of him at Vasco?

I think we've almost certainly seen the last of him. There's no going back now.

The reaction to his downfall from Vascainos was a mixture of delight and sheer relief. With Miranda in charge, Vasco had become a laughing stock and had no chance of attracting the sponsorship and financial backing they need to compete.

And democracy works - eventually. I'd think he's got about as much chance of being re-elected as New Labour.

sidjames wrote:

QUOTE:
Some good news, I think, for FCLymond.

Those who have read Alex Bellos' book will be familiar with Eurico Miranda, former Brazilian Senator and Vasco President. Well, the old tyrant has finally been voted out and replaced by all-time leading scorer and Vasco legend, Roberto Dinamite. Cue much rejoicing amongst Vascainos and hope for better times ahead.

Supporters choosing their own President. Whatever next?

[furiously researching]

Having not read the Bellos book, I wasn't familiar with Miranda. Wikipedia tells me that he's been under investigation for numerous allegations, but doesn't give me much to go on in terms of what he's meant to have done...bribery? match fixing?

Dinamite I do remember from years ago--obviously great news for Vasco to have a legend at the helm.

Obstruction of justice, electoral fraud and match fixing are just some of the accusations made. And with Vasco sliding deeper into debt, as Alex Bellos puts it 'Eurico has assets that appear incompatible with his official earnings.'

As for this weekend, the main news is that Flamengo go 2 points clear at the top after a 2-1 win at Sport. Caio Junior is obviously reading OTF as he's finally put Obina in the starting line-up who rewarded him with both goals, including a last minute winner. Both were assists from my favourite left back, Juan. Cruzeiro and São Paulo both seemed happy with a draw but neither team impressed and Cruzeiro really need to be winning this sort of match.

There's a new fashion in penalty-taking. All 3 penalties this weekend, (Roger for Grêmio, Alex Mineiro for Palmeiras and Alan Bahia for Atlético PR), were scored by the taker stopping (Brazilians call it a 'paradinha') and waiting for the keeper to commit before sliding the ball in. Sooner or later someone's going to mess up and look a bit stupid.

Before the season started I was sceptical about Flamengo's chances of mounting a sustained title challenge but with a 5 point lead, I may have to revise my opinion. 23 points from 27 is the best start to the Brasileiro since Cruzeiro in 2003 and they ended up champions

I had few doubts about their defence and I think their fullbacks are the best in the league but I thought that the midfield lacked creativity and the strikers were mediocre. However with on-loan Marcinho scoring regularly and the long overdue return of Obina they're the top goalscorers and even Kleberson has had a return to form. More importantly, the other contenders have shown few signs of quality or consistency and Gremio, Palmeiras and Sao Paulo have all lost, or are about to lose, important players in the transfer window.

At the other end, Flu lost again to stay adrift at the bottom and need to start winning soon before they lose their two best players - Thiago Silva and Thiago Neves - to the Olympics and also probably to Europe.

Nice thread and thanks to pitacodogringo for letting me know about it's existence.

I too am surprised by Flamengo's start to the season, especially after the way they were knocked out of the Copa Libertadores and the fact they had to replace Joel Santana after he left for South Africa just as the season began. But with the way Brasilian clubs change players during the course of the season, it always is hard prognosticating how teams will do in the national championship. But Flamengo are building up a nice cushion in this first part of the season.

I've always had a fondness for Cruzeiro but they are usually one of the worst offenders in Brasil of selling star players to European clubs in the middle of the season. I can't see them maintaining a title challenge this year.

Welcome, Merengue.

Perhaps getting knocked out of the CL was a blessing in disguise. And Caio Junior seems to be doing a pretty good job.

What sort of coverage of Brazilian football do you get in the States?

Thanks for the welcome Sid. You may be right that Libertadores elimination ended up being a blessing in disguise for Flamengo. Fluminense certainly paid the price domestically with their Libertadores run to the final.

Actually Brasilian league coverage in the US is pretty minimal now unless you subscribe to a Brasilian satellite channel. Brasilian league coverage used to be much better in the US but that was until two years ago when the Brasilian networks bought the US rights and moved them away from other more accesible networks (Fox and GolTV). I get most of my info from watching Brasilian clubs in the Libertadores, from highlights shows, our friend pitacodogringo's blog and reading Brasilian websites and watching online videos of league play.

I cna't complain too much but the Brasilian league is probably the least covered major international league in the US. The coverage of the sport here in general is still superior to what I could get in my home country of Spain.

Merengue, another option you might want to consider is the live streaming on SportItalia, which includes Pitaco's FootBrazil highlights show and at least one live (or sort of live) match per week. Not sure about how the times will work in San Diego, but it is worth a look (just click "Click per Vedere" to start). Highlights are available under "Video" and a schedule (Italian time, of course) under "Programmazione"