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Posts Tagged ‘mauricio ramos’

Logical Progression

Posted in Brazilian Championship, Players, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on July 22, 2013| Leave a Comment »

20-07-2013-19-18-23-zagueiro-thiego-meia-valdivia-figueirense-2-x-3-palmeiras-cristiano-andujar-divulgacao-20072013.
Palmeiras were once again put to the test last Saturday, this time against an opponent carrying some weight – Figueirense, from Florianópolis – and on hostile ground. Would Valdivia confirm his ascending curve? Would Alan Kardec make his debut?  Would the Verdão bag another three points? Yes, yes and yes.

Rising to the top of the tables, Palmeiras showed power of reaction: after Leandro having missed a penalty, Palmeiras went into halftime behind on the score sheet. Returning considerably more alight and with Kardec as the reference point up front, chances materialised: a shot from Vinícius was cleverly deflected by Vilson, finding the net. Shortly after, André Luiz bagged his first brace in the Palmeiras jersey, taking advantage of Figueirense’s weak aerial coverage, multiplied by the fact that the team had just become one man short. Palmeiras suffered the equalizer before Kardec, five minutes from stoppage time, put his forehead to a cross from Ronny, saw the ball hit the post and proceed in the direction of Valdivia, who securely placed it where it belonged. Don’t miss the highlights.
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Palmeiras have a week of training before next Saturday’s clash with current 12th positioned Guaratinguetá. With more quality players available than ever before  – Kardec, Eguren, Menezes – coach Kleina have interesting options to explore.

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The extinction of the Palmeiras B team, swapping Barcos for four Grêmio players and the signings during the Confederations Cup brought total number of players in the Palmeiras squad to well over forty. That is now being corrected, mostly by placing players in other teams to gain experience: young Chico is playing for Santo André, João Denoni and Emerson for Oeste. Patrik is at Sport, while midfielder Tiago Real is heading for Náutico to join Maikon Leite and Leandro Amaro. Weldinho seems to be heading for Sporting/POR. The only player who has left “for good” is Maurício Ramos, now at Sharja FC. Well, there’s also the striker Kleber, who recently returned to Porto/POR after a not very impressive season over here.

Still no news on a master sponsor…

But apparently there’s a launch of an upgraded version of the supporter programme “Avanti” due within the week. Stay tuned!

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Sonar pings #57

Posted in Administration, Brazilian Championship, Players, tagged , , , , , , , , , on July 10, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Palmeiras v2.0 came on last Saturday, still a few players short: Alan Kardek recovering form, Vilson idem, Eguren signed but not yet with all papers cleared for play, and Leo Gago with a few weeks to go before full recovery.

Now, what we DID have was Prass between the posts, Valdivia commanding the midfield, Charles the pitbull by his side and returning youngster Luís Felipe on the right flank. With six minutes Leandro opened the scorecard. Oeste threw away a few good opportunities to equalise (Kleina needs urgently correct defensive positioning, especially airballs) but stopped short, seeing Palmeiras double up with Leandro again just before halftime. Second half was Palmeiras steamrolling all over Oeste, Charles bagging twice and closing the scorecard 4-0.

Yes, the opponent wasn’t the strongest, but nevertheless Palmeiras showed new qualities and personality. Valdivia was directly involved in three of the four goals. Mendieta came on in the end and didn’t score twice due to one great save by the Oeste keeper and one bad call by Caio, who opted for shooting when he should’ve passed the ball.

All in all a good performance, especially the offensive moves. If the new pieces fit as expected, Palmeiras will sail through the Brasileirão like a breeze and be a serious contender for the Copa do Brasil title.

Next challange is ABC, at the Pacamebu stadium, this coming Friday. A good crowd is expected: it’s been a while since Palmeiras played in São Paulo due to the four-game punishment imposed due to incidents last year.

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Eguren_unveiledSpeaking of Sebastián Eguren: the defensive midfielder was unveiled today, receiving the #4 jersey from the hands of president Paulo Nobre. The 32-year-old was excited about the future of not only playing in Brasil but for a big club like Palmeiras. Having spent the last ten years abroad, playing mainly for clubs in Spain and the Nordic countries, Eguren expects no difficulties in adapting to Brazil. Those who saw his first training session at Palmeiras can nothing but approve: the tall member of the Uruguayan national squad has a strong presence, showed passing qualities and good positioning.

— ooo —

RamosAt Sharja FC, Maurício Ramos is the new owner of the #4. Officially unveiled at the beginning of the week, the centre-back, with close to 200 games for Palmeiras, expressed his gratitude toward club and supporters alike, showing great appreciation for the almost four years he spent at the Verdão.

Anything Palmeiras wishes Maurício the best of luck in this new endeavour.

— ooo —

Maikon Leite said his goodbyes, left… and boomeranged back. There are few details available, but something obviously got in the way of his transfer to Qatar club Umm-Salal Sports. Training isolated from the rest of the squad while awaiting a definition in regard to his future, things have certainly looked better for the 24-year-old striker. A possibility is re-inserting Leite into the negotiations with Portuguesa in the Ayrton-for-Luis Ricardo negotiations.

— ooo —

Remember the 2011 Martinuccio case? Palmeiras lawyers have silently and patiently been working on the case, awaiting a decision by FIFA. Palmeiras are claiming roughly US$ 4.5 million in compensation, in addition to the suspension of the player and a fine for Fluminense. Palmeiras’ lawyer André Sica is leaving for Zurich this Friday to check up on the case. “We’re looking after our interests and only want what’s just”, Sica stated. One can only hope that sooner or later, Martinuccio – currently at Cruzeiro – and Fluminense will pay a price for breaching the pre-contract.

Scoppia che la vittoria è nostra!

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Sonar pings #56

Posted in Administration, Advertisement, Players, tagged , , , , , on July 5, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Fat-PigIt’s a fattened Palmeiras returning after the month-long Confederations Cup break. The already large squad – mostly due to the extinguishing of the B team – has been inflated by Mendieta, Menezes, Kardec and, in a matter of days if not hours, Eguren. With more than 40 players in the squad, Kleina has received the mission to deflate: even practice sessions suffer due to the exaggerated numbers. Maurício Ramos and Maikon Leite have already left for Sharjah (Emirates – for good) and Umm-Salal (Qatar – one-year loan) respectively. Expect more to follow.

Coach Kleina yesterday announced the 20 players traveling to Presidente Prudente to take on Oeste in the seventh round of the Brasileirão B on Saturday: keepers Fernando Prass and Bruno; centre-backs Henrique, André Luiz and Tiago Alves; wingbacks Luis Felipe and Juninho; defensive midfielders Charles, Wesley, Márcio Araújo and João Denoni; offensive midfielders Mendieta, Tiago Real, Valdivia, Serginho, Ronny and Fernandinho; strikers Caio, Vinicius and Leandro. Apart from the novelty of having Valdivia and Prass back from the medical department, Luis Felipe (previously on loan to Penapolense) replaces Ayrton on the right flank. Menezes and Kardec are not yet in physical conditions and were left out.

Yours truly expected the announcement of a master sponsor during the break, but drew a blank. Yesterday, president Nobre signed an agreement with the philanthropic institution Santa Casa: the logo will feature on Palmeiras’ jersey in the coming two home games at the Pacaembu – the 12th against ABC and the 30th against Icasa. The haemorrhage continues…

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In time – three points

Posted in Brazil Cup, Brazilian Championship, tagged , , , , on July 3, 2012| Leave a Comment »

It took seven rounds, but Palmeiras finally won a game in this year’s Brasileirão (check out the tables to the right). The 3-1 against Figueirense came at an important moment to release at least some of the pressure: everyone can focus on the Brazil Cup final with a victory vibe.

Not that it was an easy game. Palmeiras, featuring Deola back in the starting lineup (12 games absent due to Bruno’s better form), came with Cicinho, Thiago Heleno, Maurício Ramos (Román – 19′ 1st H) and Fernandinho; Márcio Araújo, João Vitor, Felipe, Daniel Carvalho (Valdivia – 22′ 2nd H) and Felipe (Mazinho – 26′ 2nd H); Maikon Leite and Barcos. Plenty of traditional bench warmers, but what we got was an open game with plenty of chances being created on both sides. Figueirense could have walked away with victory had they taken better advantage of theirs, but in the end the pendulum swung in Palmeiras’ favour, honouring the hard work of front men Barcos and Maikon Leite. Not an unjust result but perhaps slightly misleading. Highlights below.
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Maurício Ramos felt his left thigh already in the first half, leaving way for Román, but today received positive news from the medial department and trained in the afternoon before leaving with the rest of the squad for a hotel in the northern parts of São Paulo. Coach Scolari has anticipated the seclusion and will conduct secret practice sessions as of tomorrow.
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Palmeiras’ squad is complete with the exception of centre-back Henrique: as these lines are in the making, he’s defending himself in the Supreme Tribunal of Sports. It will take a miracle. IF (in major capital letters) Henrique escapes – and he should if any higher justice remains – I’ll let you know a.s.a.p.

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Off topic: the voting for the 2012 Football Blogging Awards closed last Friday and so it happens that Anything Palmeiras made the shortlist in the Best Club Specific Blog category. Winners will be announced at the official Awards Ceremony talking place in Manchester (UK) on 14 July. The ceremony will have live comments on twitter (@TheFBAs) while pictures and videos in due time should appear on the FBAs official facebook page. 

Fingers crossed!

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Atlético/MG 2-1 Palmeiras

Posted in Brazilian Championship, tagged , , on November 2, 2011| Leave a Comment »

I’ve been dragging my feet to do this write-up of Sunday’s game against Atlético/MG. No need, really: it’ll be quick and rather painless. Isn’t it sad how rapidly we humans adapt to new realities? I’ll just grab some crisps and pour me another dram of malt first…

Sunday market Palmeiras’ third straight 2-1 loss. Expectations were sort of fulfilled, as Palmeiras faced a team with boosted morale after having beaten Fluminense 2-0 in the round before this one. Nevertheless, Atlético wanted to be on the safe side and paid up a US$ 110.000 fine to Palmeiras in order to have defensive midfielder Pierre on the pitch (for those of you less familiarised with Brazilian football: it is common over here to have a clause in the contract stipulating that players on loan are prohibited to play against their club unless a fine is paid – and as Pierre belongs to Palmeiras but currently plays for Atlético, the mineiros had to cough up the silver to have him play on Sunday). For relegation-threatened Atlético and in hindsight, I guess it was a good investment.

The Verdão played the last 30 minutes first one then two players short, as Maurício Ramos and Valdivia left their brains somewhere else and both saw the red card. Valdivia… What a disappointment. Our captain was clearly holding back when stating last week that this is the worst year in his career. Let me assure you, dear reader: it’s worse than that. Being sent off means he will not face Coritiba on Sunday next, nor be available for the two coming games against Grêmio and Vasco da Gama, as he will be serving the Chilean national team. Magnificent. I’d be much surprised if he’s part of the team in 2012. If you can be bothered, game highlights below.

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With only six rounds to go, what are we looking at? Well, first of all, a squad in utter disbelief. We must praise the Lord for Palmeiras having done a good/great first half of the championship, because otherwise… Second: we face respectable opponents in these coming rounds, almost all of them either chasing the title, a spot in next years’ Libertadores or trying to avoid relegation. There’s not one single easy game ahead. It might not be likely, but it’s absolutely possible that Palmeiras lose ALL remaining games this season. Are we toast?

Possibly not. Palmeiras are still nine points from the first relegation spot, meaning that a team like Ceará must win at least three games against their coming opponents Avaí (A), Santos (H), Corinthians (H), Grêmio (A), Cruzeiro (H) and Bahia (A). Impossible? Of course not. Likely? Not really. But then again…

It’s sad, it’s pathetic, it’s even demoralising in a larger sense of the word, but it might be utterly necessary: in order to motivate out players and have them chase those few points needed in addition to disturb our rivals Corinthians and São Paulo in their aspirations for the championship title and the Libertadores Cup respectively, Palmeiras might have to offer them bonuses. Players who already earn a fortune and have performed badly this year might soon be staring at a rather impressive carrot. Go figure.

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