Bolivia x Brazil

[FreeKicker]

Well, we're all curious about what Felipão will come up with in the domestic call-up for the upcoming bolivia match - the big surprises usually come from that, when the coach has a wide variety of players to choose from. friends of mine think he's going to call Luisão from Corinthians, others say Lopes from palmeiras. The truth is, a lot of playrs can be used, and the second callup is where Brazil's coach can "touch up" the squad, calling those who shine the most.

IMO, Romario has to be called up! he's the best in the world today. França (from São Paulo) and Marcão (defensive midfield from Fluminense) should go too. The Bolivians are going to pay for all our qualifiers' angst, we're gonna clobber them! I predict a 3 x 2 win for us (we will win, but not without a couple of scares).

What do u guys think?

[Ze da Fiel]

Well,
i htink he wil bring Romario back to the squad, but i doubt Romario will play against Bolivia due to the altitude (remember 97 when romario facked that injury not to play the final?)
and then Romario should play against Venezuela, specially if the Venezuela game will be the decisive game. I don't think Feliipao has the balls to go to that game without the master of goalscoring!

The team v Bolivia should be:

Marcos

Lucio Juan Edmilson

Cafu Vampeta Emerson RC

Juninho Paulista or Paraiba:o or Denilson

Edilson Rivaldo



against Venezuela it should be

Marcos

Lucio Juan Edmilson

Cafu Vampeta Emerson Serginho

Rivaldo

Edilson Romario

[Garrincha]

Originally posted by Ze da Fiel
Well,
i think he wil bring Romario back to the squad, but i doubt Romario will play against Bolivia due to the altitude (remember 97 when romario facked that injury not to play the final?)
and then Romario should play against Venezuela, specially if the Venezuela game will be the decisive game. I don't think Feliipao has the balls to go to that game without the master of goalscoring!

In 97, Romario faked an injury to get out of the Copa America semifinal against... Venezuela or something, I'm not really sure; all I know is we were winning 7 x 0 or like that and Romario wanted to be substituted, to get out and rest for the final. Zagallo didn't look like he was going to do what Romario wanted, so Roma started "limping" in a way he frequently did in Flamengo at that time: A fake injury he always "calls up" when he wants to leave training sessions.;) Zagallo was pissed of at this, as he saw right through Romario's limping.

And wham! , Zagallo put Romario on the bench for the final game. Nobody believed Zagallo would actually do it, but he did, driving Romario out of his mind. :D We won anyway, and Romario never tried to fool the Old Wolf again... :cool:

And I agree with your selection for the Bolivia game, it's probably what Scolari will field. I think Marcelinho Paraíba will play in that playmaker spot you have doubts about. But we can be surprised.

[BatMasterson]

Well, some rumors that Felipão will call up Luisão and, believe or not, Anderson Polga (Gremio)!!

:eek: :redeyes: :fed-up: :mad: :sick:

[Garrincha]

Originally posted by BatMasterson
Well, some rumors that Felipão will call up Luisão and, believe or not, Anderson Polga (Gremio)!!

:eek: :redeyes: :fed-up: :mad: :sick:

Welcome to WSB, Bat! Great to see another person with good taste for clubs! :D

And about the players - I actually like Luisão, and I've heard good things about this Polga guy, seems like he's a good defensive midfielder/defender.

I usually give some credit to unknown players who come from "smaller" football centers (meaning, "Not Rio or São Paulo") because they get less coverage of the national press than guys who play in the bigger centers. A guy who plays in Parana, Minas or Rio Grande do Sul has to really shine to get his chance.

I hope Polga does well, if he's called up - a quality player in his position would be welcome in the National Team. When a new kid I don't know so well is called up, I always hope for the best, that they grow to be world-class stars. Sometimes they reveal themselves to be flops, but it's wonderful when a young player's talent explodes to the world, isn't it? :) :thumbsup:

Let's not be pessimistic, Bat. Once, every new Brazilian player was a promise of talent and showmanship; why must we suspect their talent today? Look at this in a positive light: Imagine this will be the historic first call-up of a great talent!

(And yes, I KNOW I may be too optimistic, and probably unrealistic. But I feel good today. :))

[Garrincha]

And I was trying to be optimistic. Due to a mixture of CBF incompetence and European clubs' disrespect for FIFA rules, Scolari will have the National Team players only TWO DAYS before our decisive, away match agaisnt Bolivia. TWO DAYS! :mad:

I'll explain: For whatever reason (I think it was TV scheduling pressures) the South American federation had changed the Qualifiers' matchday from thursday 8/11 to wednesday 7/11. This change was made four months ago, according to FIFA deadlines for rescheduling National Team matches. So the South American Federation did it right, following FIFA's rules. But the European clubs had demanded that the match be on thursday 8/11 so their players could play in this weekend's games. So despite the change having been done inside the proper deadline, European clubs simply disregarded FIFA's rules (which seem to apply only to South Americans, Africans, and generally suckers, but not to Europeans) and refused to let the players go to their NT.

Bayern Leverkusen stated that they will not allow Ze Roberto and Lucio go before monday!! Barcelona won't let Rivaldo go before their match with Real Madrid. Milan won't let Serginho and Roque go before their Serie A match this weekend either. Roma allowed Cafu and Emerson to go, only to become furious when they found out Milan didn't let THEIR players leave - Roma also liberated Guigou for Uruguay and Samuel for Argentina, and will be seriously depleted for this weekend's game. Basically, FIFA's rules were shredded by EVERYONE.

Now, I think this is one-sided bullsh*t, but CBF has no call complaining. Why, you may ask? Because they also allowed players from BRAZILIAN clubs to play this weekend's matches for their clubs. So Flamengo will have Edilson, Vampeta and Juan for their derby against Fluminense, Atletico will have Gilberto Silva, same thing with Vasco's Juninho and Palmeiras' goalkeeper Marcos. All these players will only be available for Felipão AFTER their weekend matches. So a lot of Brazilians are currently whining about the European clubs' refusal to let players come - but hey, Brazilian clubs do the exact same thing, but THEN it's ok? Bull! It's ALL wrong.

Do you know who's getting screwed in this situation? Scolari. He's the one who will suffer the most, as he'll get his players only two days after that decisive match. :( If we don't win, all hell will break loose, and everybodywill be blaming Scolari; but HOW can he build a team when everyone refuses to let the National Team have the players? How can he train the team? How can Felipão be blamed, if he doesn't even have enough time to TRAIN the &#*@% players?!?

To make Scolari's situation a bit worse, the Argentinian federation decided to change THEIR qualifiers' match against Peru BACK to thursday 8/11, so Bielsa would have one more day with his players. Paraguay also postponed their match vs. Venezuela to 8/11 for the same reason. Good idea, huh? But CBF, whose board of directors is corrupt and incompetent, is slave to huge TV network Globo and has to obey their commands (Globo not only has political power, but also financial, and CBF is currently Globo's servant). And GLOBO demands that the game be on wednesday 7/11, as it fits their program schedule better in that day. So it's better for the TV, but not for the National Team. And if the team loses, everyone will blame Scolari!:annoyed: :fed-up: :depressed

Argh. Let me end this long-winded rant (sorry, had to get this out of my chest) by stating that WHATEVER the result, and even if we DON'T qualify (which we WILL) , Luis Felipe Scolari deserves NONE of the blame! He's a good, competent coach whose job is being made impossible by a mix of politics and commercial interests.

[Cafu100]

FIFA has a new name: GUTLESS.

[Ze da Fiel]

FIFA is ridiculous, so is Felipao, that in such a decisive moment he does not call the best center forward tat ahs ever live on planet earth: ROMARIO.


ALso, CBF should start requring in the contracts of clubs that buy Brazilian players, to have a clause that they will be released for the national team whenever called, otherwise CBF willnot homologate the transfer, and these European clubs will not buy our players....... which will be of a big benefit for Brazilian football in general!.;)

[Garrincha]

The heights of La Paz tax heavily the visiting players' stamina(some players actually pass out, as the air is thinner), and Felipão decided Romario would be at a disadvantage in the stamina department, due to his age. Who knows? He had to make the choice, and his reasoning is solid, even if one doesn't agree.

I actually like the chosen squad, although I was sad to hear that Luisão got injured, as I really like his style. Edmilson is apparently not 100% either, which could be a problem, as he had fit into the team extremely well, making the back three work smoothly.

Let's hope for the best. We won't have much time to train, conditions won't be ideal, but we need the result. The Seleção is strong and we can win. Let's beat Bolivia and settle this situation once and for all. :thumbsup:

[Cafu100]

The palyers have got to realise that they have to give everything and fu@@ the altitude. They do want to play in the World Cup don't they? AND do not forget that Ecuador won there by 5-1. Come on lads!

[Joey]

Gar.. i think u got this one wrong.. its not all about fitness or age.. i mean, yes if u play at high alttitudes, then being fit and younf will come in ur favor, but whats the point, if u are not committed.

I'd rather pick up some very old bunch, or some very inexperienced players which are greatly commited.. players who are pround to represnt their country.. players who the caoch and the fans believe and trust in.. and most of all players who believe in themselves.

You might say that this is all poetry and is not part of the modern soccer, but believe me.. we should try it.. i mean we tried all other combinations.. we hired and scked coaches.. we tried diff. combinations, and we tried diff. players.. we aquired the services of players in top clubs and still ahven't found the right formula or rythym.. i think the problem is not about talent or caoches or strategy's.. corruption may play apart in the nationals recent decline of form, but its not mainly due to that fact alone.. i think the 3 D's are what we are lacking. Yes i belive we are lacking Discpline, Determantion and Desire. Are we not hungry anymore for more WC's.. i really don't know anymore.

i mena i shouldn't be crying about this now.. we are almost there.. but guys, playing in the WC is useless if we are not aiming to win.. i mean a WC is once every 4 years, and every team is there to win.. so should we.. but have we got the right players, and i am not talkin about skills, cuz god knows that brazil still manges to produce some of the best talanted players in the world along with the like of argentina.

Anyway i hope the players scholari picked are the right ones, although i would have liked romario to be on the team.. but i trust in the caosh and respect his decsion.:cool:

[Cafu100]

It is a beautiful shirt and they should give there collective all for it! Let us put those Uruguayans out of contention NOW.

[Rivaldø]

Apparently this is it. If Equador beats Uruguay, we're qualified with one single point. We have two matches, but Bolivia has to be the one. Don't U guys loooooove decisive matches?

Avante Brasil! Vamos encher a rede da Bolívia de bola! Vamos atochar até o Vampeta! :D

[Garrincha]

Originally posted by Rivaldø
Avante Brasil! Vamos encher a rede da Bolívia de bola! Vamos atochar até o Vampeta! :D

I couldn't have said it better. :rolleyes:

But while I believe we can win, things aren't easy in La Paz. Equador won there, yes, but Equador currrently has the best team in their entire history (I KNOW, that's not saying much) and they're used to playing in extreme altitudes, as they are another team that plays in high places only. But other than Equador, the best anybody has achieved in La Paz has been draws - including Argentina and Uruguay, who couldn't claw out a victory up there, even with the current Bolivian team being a pile of crap.

So I don't know. To win, we're gonna have to play a lot of ball, and avoid the mindless running the Bolivians will try to impose - it isn't going to be an easy match. But if we win, we're as good as qualified.

So bring on the Bolivians! We can win!

[Garrincha]

Well, it's 1x1 at halftime. Brazil isn't doing all that well - Bolivia's playmaker Baldivieso is having too much freedom, and is constantly setting up their wingbacks, who are better positioned than Cafu and Serginho. Emerson is a lion, trying to set the pace for the team, and Juan's mistake was a sad misfortune that doesn't make justice to his performance up to that moment.

The altitude, that makes the ball lighter and faster, is giving the Bolivians an edge they're using very well - when you make a pass, the ball goes much faster and farther than usual. The home team is taking full advantage of Brazil's lack of training in the altitude.

But I remain optimistic. :)

Avante Brasil!

[Garrincha]

For the moment, I will resume my comments to one word - gotta go to sleep, there's work tomorrow.

Crap!

[Joey]

Well i am gonna sum this slip up in a few words..

What a Load of Crap..!!

i am so disgusted.. i mean losing alone to the bolivians is the worst thing.. we looked disjointed and to get some facts straight..

those unknown bolivian players totally outclassed our so called world stars... ha.. i am so disgusted that i can't even comment any more at this latest slip ups.

[Zek]

i am sorry guys :(
anyway brasil will at WC the problem is what you gonna do there? what would be the realistic objective winning WC? I am sure Brasil can win WC 2002 but your stars are overworked

have a look on rivaldo's interview on onefootball.com or in the WSB Category Off Soccer, hope to see some discussion there

good luck

[Garrincha]

Many mistakes were committed in the match. Scolari did several bad choices: Rivaldo plays best as a striker, but it's clear that he cannot play among the defenders, he only shines when he enters the area coming from midfield. That's why he did well when Marcelinho Paraiba was on the team: Marcelinho effectively plays as a winger, helping Roberto Carlos on the left wing, while Edilson aids Cafu on the right wing; this leaves spaces inside the area (as the central defenders frequently follow the forwards to the wings) where Rivaldo enters, finishing the crossed balls. Rivaldo IS excellent, but the truth is, he only does really well when he has absolute freedom to attack, preferably coming from the mid. He needs to receive the ball facing the goal.

Felipão changed the system that worked against Chile, by substituting Marcelinho for Zé Roberto - with the clear intention of pushing Rivaldo to attack, while Zé Roberto took his place in the mid. But as it happened, Rivaldo disappeared among the defenders, and the midfield went stale.:annoyed:

But of course, Rivaldo isn't guilty of being fielded in the wrong position. Another problem was Vampeta (who is playing VERY badly for Flamengo) who SHOULDN'T be a starter - Cesar Sampaio is doing WAY better at Corinthians, just to name one better option.

But the main reason for our pathethic performance wasn't Scolari's tactical mistakes, or the players' eventual incompetence. The lack of training was a huge factor, as the players were completely lost with the conditions brought to the game by the height: The ball moves faster, bounces wildly, and our team couldn't train to get acquainted with that different pace. They were lost, basically. The Bolivians knew exactly how to take advantage of our confusion, and their familiarity with the speed and motion of the ball gave them the edge they needed. We were defeated mainly because of lack of training, IMHO. NOT because our players suck (which they don't) or because our coach is incompetent (which, let's be honest, he isn't). We lost to disorganization and lack of training - and of course, FIFA's support to the European clubs' refusal to let the players come to train played a part in this. :mad:

But excuses, valid or not, mean nothing anymore. We have to win the last match, or we'll be faced with having to pass through Australia on our way to Japan. :redeyes:

[Garrincha]

Originally posted by Zek
i am sorry guys :(
anyway brasil will at WC the problem is what you gonna do there? what would be the realistic objective winning WC? I am sure Brasil can win WC 2002 but your stars are overworked

Sincerely? If we qualify, I think we will be strong title contenders, because we'll have time to train. And if we train, we can smash any team in the world, because of our great amount of good players. The entire world knows that - Brazil, once in the WC, is a favourite. Sort of like Italy: It doesn't matter how they qualify: If they're IN the Cup, they're favorites, always.

[Ze da Fiel]

Garrincha,
Feliipao has to go. He is way to scary man!

HE made the silly mistake of already staerting with Ze Roberto and being the 5th man of midfield (instead of the 3rd) to "fechar o meio".

The team only bangged the ball up front for Edilson to run to.
Rivaldo must leave the team, we've put him in midfield in attack and he plays the same way all the time, with his back to goal and just being scored by defenders. We need to put guys that play objectively.......Juninho Paulista for example. There is no reference in the attack, ROmario would be the man (k the altitude might bebad for a player like Romario, then put Franca). BUT Felipao knew 10 days before the brazilian call up that Elber would not be fit......why din't he call an extra forward? Was Romario's rejection bubbling to much in his mind?

At least one good thing, this will be Felipao's last week in charge of BRazil!

[Joey]

No taking scholari out now, will do no good at all.. infact it will ensure us being disqualified.. plus rivaldho is a master at his game when he is placed in a good place. Putting him as an attacker is wrong as we saw but for him to come in the middle and help is great. We saw how it worked in france98, .. however scholari amde one of his biggest mistake's by not calling romario (is he like in a fight with him or somethin), because obviously elbere was not available eben if he had reported to camp in brazil. To be honest we got that one wrong in bolivia from tactics to player combinations to preformance and the alltitude didn't help...

I can't help it, but i have decided not to watch the venzuela match.,.. i know this a loser fan, but i just can't take it if we slip up.. i hope we don't but the thought of it, just shivers in me.:(

but i am sure we can win if the players put in the effort. However i am abit scared of the urguway-argenbtina match. I am getting a feeling that argentina may feild a test team in order to help urgway take the last slot and make life difficult for us.. no offence arg. fans, but we would have done the same..

[Zek]

Sincerely?

:) i like brasilian NT a lot and would love to see them winning WC, but being a favourite and winning is not the same. Agree more trainings together will definetely help Brasil! Good luck!
it would be nice to have Brasil-Argentine final in Tokio, Brasil beats France in semis while Argentine beats Italy
just dreaming