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Posts Tagged ‘bruno’

Valentim tastes defeat and the fog rolls in

Posted in Administration, tagged , , , on May 27, 2014| Leave a Comment »

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Force Majeure made me miss out on watching what several describe as Palmeiras’ worst performance so far this year. Not a tremendous surprise, that is: after four straight victories, the backlash was rather expected, and what better backdrop than an away game against the bottom team of Chapecoense? Palmeiras lost 2-0, Fábio being the sole reason the score wasn’t stretched further. Gareca, in case you had any doubts: there’s work work work to be done. And players to be signed.

Yesterday morning the squad was supposed to take off for São Paulo, but another Force Majeure came into play as heavy fog rolled in and shut down the airport for 24 hours. Already yesterday, Palmeiras contacted CBF with a request for transfer of Wednesday’s game against Botafogo, claiming there was insufficient time for preparations. Request denied. The squad got on a plane this morning, disembarked in Campinas, then continuing the remaining 500+ kilometres by bus (why, I don’t know: there are flights available Campinas-Presidente Prudente). Don’t expected players in the best of physical shape against Botafogo. If they’ll be motivated? Tomorrow, 19:30 (GMT -3) we’ll find out.

— ooo —

Bruno, the keeper, has asked for a transfer. Unable to regains the confidence of coaches and supporters alike, he feels the only way for him to redeem himself is getting plenty of live action defending another team until the end of the year. Seems the best of solutions for everyone involved. As I’ve stated before: Bruno is a respectable and hard-working professional, on top of a passionate palmeirense. It’s a shame he’s not the brilliant keeper we all would like him to be, but such is life. It’s time to flip the page.

— ooo —

Speaking of change: while the modifications to Palmeiras’ statutes are slowly [sic] cooking, the club’s Deliberative Council (DC) yesterday night voted in three new vitalícios, i.e. members for life. One of the new persons to perpetually integrate the deliberative body is Osório Furlan Júnior, owner of 36% of Valdivia’s economic rights. How that’s even allowed is beyond me. Talk about conflict of interests. The cancer within Palmeiras is alive and well, thank you very much.

And still… Scoppia che la vittoria è nostra!

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Palmeiras 2-0 Vilhena

Posted in Brazil Cup, tagged , , on April 3, 2014| Leave a Comment »

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In the shockwaves of eliminations and with a lion’s part of any regular starting eleven in the medical department, anything but advancement in the Brazil Cup was irrelevant.

With two goals from a feverish (yes, as in ill) Bruno César, nevertheless the man of the match must’ve been Dalton, the Vilhena keeper. Saving the Rondônia team on several occasions, I wouldn’t be surprised if he receives an offer from a second division club. Actually, all in all, nothing but respect for Vilhena: they played well, gave it all they had and can leave São Paulo proud of their performance and posture.
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Two additional comments: a) Marquinhos Gabriel came on and really loosened up the tension, also being directly involved in the first goal. Hopefully we’ll see much more of him in the future. b) Bruno’s got to go. I like him, but he’ll never win back the confidence of the squad and our supporters, nor the respect from our opponents.

Palmeiras now have a little more than two weeks to digest the last few days’ turmoil and get ready for the return to the first division: 20 April, away against Criciúma.

Time for tweaking the squad. Time for healing and training and recovering confidence. Time for announcing that Master Sponsor.

Scoppia che la vittoria è nostra!

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Palmeiras 1-2 Tijuana/MEX

Posted in Libertadores Cup, Players, tagged , , on May 15, 2013| 2 Comments »

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Palmeiras eliminated. For the close to 40.000 supporters at the crowded Pacaembu stadium and the millions watching at home, the end of a dream we knew was more than far-fetched. Now, it’s all about restructuring, closing sponsorship deals and aggressively hit the market: Palmeiras must secure the best pieces available as soon as those transfer windows open. We need a squad that will successfully conclude the two obligations that 2013 has in store: second division and the Brazil Cup. With that, next year Palmeiras commemorate their 100th anniversary in the top division and playing the Libertadores Cup. Anything else would be… Let’s not even think about it.

Yesterday’s game could have developed in a different way. Palmeiras were applying pressure during the first 20 minutes and Ayrton hit the crossbar at 24’. Shortly after, a monumental error by our keeper Bruno and everything went crumbling down like a house of cards.

In true Libertadores fashion, the game was violent and yellow cards were generously distributed. Early in the second half, a bad clearance from Henrique allowed for a spectacular shot and 0-2 on the scorecard. Coach Kleina went all or nothing, a penalty was converted by Souza, a goal by Kleber very dubiously dismissed as offside, and that was as close as we got.
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Goalkeepers have the most difficult task of them all. A keeper never wins a game, always depending on his teammates to perform. Mistakes are generally punished hard, resulting in goal for the opponents. Huge responsibility, little glory.

The most important characteristic of a good keeper is consistency. Bruno has been mixing stellar performance with very weak ones. Yesterday’s obviously goes beyond weak. Not sure if Bruno will survive this last episode in the Palmeiras jersey.

As for the directors, they now must double their work. Supporters are growing increasingly impatient and will need to see change, not only to the management structure. In the end, a strong team is the only indicator of success that matters. It’s a long and winding road.

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Palmeiras 1-2 Santos

Posted in Brazilian Championship, tagged , , , on August 26, 2012| Leave a Comment »

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Yesterday against Santos Palmeiras played if not their best then certainly one of their best games this season. Speed, passing accuracy, determination, aggressive defence, fast counterattacks. It was impressive to watch, especially in the first half. Palmeiras dominated Santos fair and square, creating numerous opportunities. The line-up for the night: Bruno; João Vitor (João Denoni, 36′ 2nd H), Leandro Amaro, Maurício Ramos and Juninho; Henrique, Corrêa, Valdivia and Mazinho (Obina, 24′ 2nd H; Barcos and Betinho (Vinícius 45′ 2nd H).

The goal was pending and was released when for the day excellent Corrêa found the net from outside the penalty area at the end of the half. Unfortunately, Palmeiras enjoyed little the supremacy in the score as Neymar only four minutes later equalised with a perfect free kick that hit the goalpost on the way in.

The second half resembled the first, with Palmeiras calling the shots. With tension rising the referee started distributing yellow cards. Suddenly, that bucket of cold water: you just can’t give Neymar any space. None. Whatsoever. He received the ball outside the penalty area, surrounded by four Palmeiras players, turned and fired away rather unexpectedly. Bruno reacted too late and the second goal, again by touching the right goalpost, was a fact. Yes, it was an unexpected shot but a class A keeper must expect the unexpected, especially from a player like Neymar. The shot was defendable.

Bruno shouldn’t be crucified, as Palmeiras created many chances and should have equalised. Barcos had the golden opportunity with minutes from the final whistle, alone with the keeper, but didn’t follow the manual and headed high instead of towards the ground.

Leaving the derby empty-handed was extremely bad and left Palmeiras in the bottom four halfway through the Brazilian Championship. The result did not reflect the game as it unfolded, but did indeed reflect how decisive Neymar can be and normally is.

If Palmeiras play like this the rest of the championship, there’s no chance in hell this team’s going down. That said, It would be great to start living it and not only say it.
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Botafogo 1-2 Palmeiras – JACKPOT

Posted in Brazilian Championship, tagged , , , , on August 9, 2012| Leave a Comment »

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On the night that Luiz Felipe Scolari reached the mark of 400 games for Palmeiras (191 victories, 110 draws e 99 defeats), Barcos and Bruno secured the first victory ever in the history of Botafogo vs. Palmeiras at the João Havelange stadium – the Engenhão. If it hadn’t been for one of the most absurd linesman error I’ve ever seen, Barcos would have a new hat-trick in his CV. Luckily, the extra goal wasn’t “needed”, but the last 15 minutes were never-ending agony as Botafogo adopted the all-or-nothing final pressure and hit Bruno’s goalpost on stoppage time. On the whole, Palmeiras did not play well (although with much disposition) and the game could have gone either way. Again: the standout performances of Barcos and Bruno made all the difference.

Our taboo-breaking heroes for the night: Bruno; Artur, Maurício Ramos, Leandro Amaro and Juninho; Henrique, Marcos Assunção Patrik (Betinho 38′ 2nd H) and Fernandinho; Obina (Daniel Carvalho 17′ 2nd H) and Barcos.

AVANTI PALESTRA!
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Palmeiras 2-0 Botafogo

Posted in South America Cup, tagged , , , , , , on August 2, 2012| 1 Comment »

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Scolari continues having difficulties due to the elevated number of players in the medical department – the latest member is Daniel Carvalho who on Wednesday left the training session. Against Botafogo in yesterday’s first leg of Palmeiras’ debut in the South America Cup, our warriors in green were Bruno; Artur, Maurício Ramos, Leandro Amaro and Juninho; João Vitor, Henrique, Marcos Assunção (Márcio Araújo – 20’/2nd H) and Mazinho (Obina – 38’/1st H); Maikon Leite (Fernandinho at halftime) and Barcos. At least we got Maurício Ramos and Assunção back, but not even Scolari was to be found on his usual position: due to previous bad experiences with the two linesmen he chose to put assistant coach Murtosa in the frontline, Scolari calling the shots from the stands by radio.

As you can notice, Palmeiras came without a reference playmaker on the midfield as both Valdivia and Carvalho are injured. This was clearly felt as improvised Mazinho didn’t deliver and both he and Maikon Leite got almost nothing right in the first half. Botafogo were not dominating completely, but Palmeiras certainly weren’t on top of the situation. We went to halftime with a goalless draw, much thanks to Bruno’s inspired evening between the posts.

Second half began with Obina on Mazinho and Fernandinho on Maikon Leite, turning the game around completely. Palmeiras gradually took command of the midfield and created chance after chance. The efforts paid off twice and in similar fashion: Barcos taking down the ball on his chest, turning, choosing the angle, and netting. Two spectacular goals by the Pirate.
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Barcos’ two goals and the excellent performance put on by Bruno were the highlights of the night, together with the hilarious moment below. The basketball player in disguise deserves a medal.
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The return game will take place in three weeks’ time and Palmeiras have an important advantage, especially for not having conceded any away goals.

Now for the less positive aspect of yesterday’s clash: 3.833 paying spectators at the Barueri arena. “Less positive” is quite an understatement: utterly revolting is more like it. To your right, a picture taken by “ArqPalestrina” and posted on the Arquibancada Palestrina blog, showing the ticket box at the stadium less than 30 minutes before kick-off. Deserted.

Those responsible at Palmeiras for insisting on using the Barueri must be pressured every single moment and in every possible way to reverse this perversity and put Palmeiras back at the Pacaembu stadium. If that doesn’t help, hang’em high. This has GOT to change. Palmeiras are being clinically separated from the lion’s part of their supporters, with only the die-hard fans mustering enough energy to time and time again show up at the Barueri stadium. Enough!

AVANTI PALESTRA!

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Palmeiras 3-0 Náutico

Posted in Brazilian Championship, Players, tagged , , , , on July 23, 2012| Leave a Comment »

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Again, our favourite moustache man had to improvise due to the large amount of injured players: Luan, Maurício Ramos, Thiago Heleno and Román are all recovering from muscle-related injuries, while Barcos is in the final stages of recovery from the appendicitis and Assunção has been feeling pains in the knee. The solution is bringing up the new generation and again, Wellington took position alongside Leandro Amaro as centre-back in Bruno’s 50th game between the posts in the Verdão jersey. Full line-up: Bruno; Cicinho (Artur), Leandro Amaro, Wellington and Juninho; Henrique, Márcio Araújo, João Vitor and Valdivia (Daniel Carvalho); Mazinho and Obina (Betinho).

The little more than 7.000 souls that showed up at the Barueri stadium saw Palmeiras in one of their best performances this year: rapid, precise and fluent passing, excellent tactical effort by everyone on the pitch and just the correct amount of intensity – players showing that they knew when to push hard but also when to slow down. The end result was a resounding 3-0, with Obina participating in each of the three goals. I’m telling you: the giant has woken up and will give a great deal of teams a great deal of trouble in this year’s edition of the Brasileirão. It’s joyful to see the newfound confidence in the whole squad.
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Considering all of the above, Valdivia’s comments after the game are even more unfortunate. The “I’m staying” was yesterday exchanged for a “We’ll see” attitude as he again evoked the image of his split family and uttered the phrase “contracts exist to be broken”. We all have Kleber aka Gladiador aka Judas in fresh memory and Valdivia’s stance surely echoes the attitude of the former. The last thing Palmeiras need is another backstage vendetta. If Valdivia is at all concerned about Palmeiras, he should simply put keep his mouth shut and quietly decide about his future.  

— ooo —

The pressure on Deola became too much and the former keeper of choice, replaced by Bruno, is being transferred to Vitória for the rest of the season. It should be a good solution for everyone: at Vitória – a club from the state of Bahia and currently in the second division – Deola should have little problem securing his spot in the starting eleven. Hopefully he recovers his form and either returns to Palmeiras in 2013 or is sold for a hefty amount.

The vacant spot as Bruno’s substitute will be filled by the very promising Raphael Alemão from the youth academy.

Avanti Palestra!

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