Ganso....Neymar .....2010 World Cup?

I say YES to Paulo Henrique Ganso in South Africa. He already is a mature and phenomenol player. Just looking at him during the games you can see how focused he is always with a serious look on his face. His brilliant passes and goals are getting everyone's attention, and in my opinion he is the main cause that Santos is doing so well in the Paulista. For me he is the best player in Santos at the moment. Many football fans are thinking Kaka the brazilian star may not do so well in the World Cup, so its essential that he has an exceptional replacement. So along with Ramires and perhaps Julio Baptist, I think Dunga should take Ganso. He has such a privileged view of the game, that many desire, and can be very helpful at South Africa. Ganso really deserves an oppurtunity after his dedication here in Brazil, and many other coaches agree. I dont think Neymar should go because he hasnt been playing for a while and I think Ganso is more objective in field then Neymar. Neymar has to mature a little more, then he should be considered to go to South Africa. In terms of football skill Neymar and Ganso are about the same. I hope Dunga is watching what Ganso's been doing in Brazil, and realize what a hard time he could give to Portugal's defense.

Formula 1 Season Update

After 2 really exciting races, Fernando Alonso(Ferrari) and Felipe Massa(Ferrari) are fighting for the lead. Now Massa is four points behind Alonso which is in first place in the drivers championiship. In the constructors championship Ferrari leads. The already expected electrifying dispute between the two Ferrari drivers is becoming reality. This weekend in the Melbourne Grand Prix, Felipe Massa arrived in third followed be Alonso in fourth after a tough start in the race. Right in the beginning of the race the spaniard touched the rear of another car and spun in the middle of the track falling to last place. But since his Ferrari is a much superior car compared to many others he was able to finish in fourth. In the other hand for Massa this is his best championship beginning. He finished in second in the first race in Bahrein and now in third in Melbourne, being very pleased with this result. He also complemented the work Ferrari`s been doing, also very pleased with the tire pit stop strategy during Melbournes Grand Prix. The three drivers that made the podium this weekend in Melbourne were: 1st Jenson Button, 2nd Kubica and 3rd Felipe Massa(Brazil). I'm still waiting for Schumachaer to do something amazing like in the "old days".

Another Unbelievable Victory

Santos the brazilian team of the year has won another unbelievable match. This Sunday March 21, Santos won the match against Ituano in Pacaembu 9 x 1. Without two main stars of the team Neymar and Robinho, Santos was able to make an outstanding game. After winning another match against Naviraiense 10 x 0, Santos impresses all again with a 9 x 1 victory against Ituano for the "Campeonato Paulista". The scorers for Santos in this match were: Andre(3), Ganso(2), Maicon Leite, Madson(2), Ze Eduardo. Andre is the new lead scorer for Santos with 10 goals followed by Neymar with 9 goals. Andre is the second highest scorer in the tournament so far. Even though Ituano is not a very good and strong team, other big teams from Sao Paulo had some difficulty playing against them also. Sao Paulo won a tough 1 x 0 against them, Palmeiras tied 3 x 3 playing at home, and Corinthians hasn't played them yet. With this victory Santos remains in the lead in the "Campeonato Paulista" with 35 points followed by Santo Andre with 33.

2010 Formula 1

After a pre season filled with doubts the 2010 Formula 1 championship is about to start this weekend. Twelve teams and twenty four drivers are confirmed for the season. Amongst these there are 2 new teams, Hispania and Manor. Driving for Hispania is Brunno Senna, nephew of the 3 times winner Ayrton Senna. Hispania had many difficulties to get sponsers and ended up being sold to one of the partners Jose Ramon. In team Manor another brazilian will be competing for the first time in the F1 championship. He is Lucas di Grassi, former test driver for team Renault. The 2010 championship will have a total of 4 brazilian drivers, Felipe Massa (returning from a serious accident) for Ferrari, Rubinho for Williams, Bruno Senna for Hispania, and Lucas di Grassi for Manor. The other great attraction will be Michael Schumacher, returning to the F1 after a 3 year retirement. He is the greatest winner F1 has ever had. We can always expect great performances from him. For this season there are four teams which are the favorites for first place, Ferrari, Mclaren, RBR, Mercedes. The Bahrain Grand Prix is the first of 19 Grand Prix's. This championship is expected to be the best and most competitive one compared to those of previous years.

Puny Football

This Saturday North Korea, Brazil`s first adversary in the world cup demonstrated puny football in a match against Venezuela. North Korea and Venezuela showed a low skill of technique throughout the match which ended 2 to 1 in favor of Venezuela. Venezuela scored the first goal with a powerful kick made Granados from Venezuela right in the beggining of the game. Then the North Korean team scored in the second half with Inguk, and tied the game. Then in the last minute of the game, Venezuela scored the winning goal because of a pathetic defense of the Noth Koreans. North Koreas own player headed the ball to the goal and made the goalie defend it and then it was easy for the Venezuela to score and win the game.
In this match North Korea had its own uniform, instead of having to use the reserve uniform of the opposing team. They demonstrated a game with a lack of imagination and skill, with simply lots of running. They do not seem to be a threat to Brazil in the world cup, which is great because after their game Brazil will have to play two very strong teams, Ivory Coast and Portugal. North Korea and Brazil will play in Johannesburg June 15 for the world cup.

Ticket prices rise for classic Santos x Corinthians

Santos F.C raised the ticket price for the classic game this Sunday at Vila Belmiro(Santos Stadium) against Corinthians. The worst seats went from R$30 to R$80. This irritated many fans but this change was justified by Luis Alvaro (Santos president).He simply said that when a game brings together so many oustanding players, such as Robinho, Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, Neymar and others, the expected show should be more expensive. He also reminded that this is a classic that happens over 80 years, and is once more bringing together the best football players in Brazil. Santos president mentioned that in order to maintain a high level squad they need more resources, therefore takes advantage of these great games that everyone wants to watch.
Inspite of using Robinho as one of the reasons for elevating the price, he may not play the classic against Corinthians. Robinho was called to play for the Brazilian national team and should leave on Sunday. But Luis Alvaro is trying to convince the national team to allow Robinho to take a night flight. Dunga appears to have allowed Robinho to fly out later, but Ricardo Teixera (CBF president) still hasn`t decided. All Santos fans are anxiously waiting for his decision, and hoping to see the man of the hour play on Sunday.

Cesar Cielo vs. Frederick Bousquet

These two great swimmers are both rivals and good friends. The brazilian swimmer Cielo currently owns the 50m record, but Bousquet said he will become the fastest swimmer once more. They are practice partners even though they are the greatest rivals in the pool. Bousquet said that every practice now seems like a competition, which has helped them both evolve a lot as fast swimmers. Cielo now has the Olympic gold medal and last year he broke Bousquet record at a competition in Rome. Both swimmers do not enjoy loosing at all, especially Bousquet which is extremely determined to take Cielo`s crown back, but humbly admits that it`ll be a tough task. They trust each other a lot and seem to care for one another. But both said in an interview that inside the pool they become very fierce competitors. Bousquet even said he was glad that Cielo broke his world record and not any other swimmer. Now he can observe Cielo in practice to see if he can get any good tips from the brazilian.