³ÉÈËÂÛ̳

There's a famous South American film with a title that translates as

It's Brazilian, set in the country's arid northeast. But it is Argentina that has the sun in the middle of its flag, and the title could easily and appropriately apply to events in .

Good and evil are not hard to find in Argentine football, sometimes in the same place - such as the club at the moment.

Read the rest of this entry

Sunday was the 39th anniversary of a previous Brazil victory over Italy by a three-goal margin. One of the main architects of that 4-1 win in the final of the was Pele, who last week was criticising the current Brazil side.

He gave an interview during which he was drawing tactical diagrams, explaining that in comparison with his day, the team's central midfield play is "bureaucratic." It is an observation that many purists would agree with - for what it's worth, the present writer among them.

Dunga's Brazil don't care - and, while they are racking up wins as convincing as , why on earth should they?

Read the rest of this entry

History shows that the brings two dangers for a Brazil coach - he can take it too lightly or he can take it too seriously.

was guilty of the former lapse eight years ago. Brazil's 2002 World Cup campaign was already in problems when he took charge, and his reign brought no instant improvement.

Fearful of failing to qualify for the main event, the dress rehearsal in hardly seemed important. Leao was specifically told that the 2001 Confederations Cup was not a priority, and so he took a highly experimental squad.

As a result Brazil were held to goalless draws by Canada and Japan, lost to France in the semi-final and went down to Australia in the third and fourth play-off.

Thinking that he had little to worry about - the tournament, after all, was not important - Leao got a shock when he returned home and was sacked at the airport. Luiz Felipe Scolari took over and the next time Brazil went to Japan and South Korea it was to win

Read the rest of this entry

passed through Manchester.

The 27-year-old Brazilian had been top of Real's wish list for some time, but Milan kept saying he was not for sale. , and Milan were open for business.

Something had changed. Kaka and Milan had looked like a career-long relationship, but after the City bid the bond had loosened.

Read the rest of this entry

Four of the five games in this weekend's 13 round of were won by the away team.

That's a remarkable statistic in a continent where so often the home sides come out on top. Before this round, the campaign was reproducing the standard South American ratio of 3 to 1, with 31 home wins to 10 away.

So there are four teams entitled to feel happy with their 90 minutes' work. All were great results. But in my mind, there is no doubt whatsoever as to which was the most impressive performance.

It is not Venezuela's 1-0 victory away to Bolivia, even though it meant overcoming the hazards of extreme altitude. Venezuela sent a group of players up the mountains early to acclimatise to the conditions, and their young side defended well.

Read the rest of this entry

Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand might not look back at the with much pleasure, but a glance at Manchester United's goals against column this season highlights the importance of a great centre-back pairing.

It was Brazil who invented this concept - dropping an extra player into the heart of the defence to create the back four. Their first featured the classic contrasting pair of centre backs.

Team captain was the towering presence who was at his best dealing with the aerial threat. Alongside him was , a defender of such quality that he later became an idol of Boca Juniors fans in Argentina. He supplied the class, the reading of the game, timing in the tackle and the passes out of defence.

Eight years later with a similar double act, Jack Charlton and Bobby Moore. There is a modern-day equivalent, and one of the most successful and long-running partnerships in international football, at the heart of the Ecuadorian defence.

Read the rest of this entry