Year End News

Sportnet's headline reads "Sport Agrees to Terms with Six Athletes" and then goes on to say that the club will announce their names only after they have signed the contracts. As you may remember from a little while back, Sport had supposedly already signed seven players, not one of whom has yet put pen to paper.

Carlinhos Bala has, according to Globo, accepted Botafogo's proposal. However, also according to Globo, Cruzeiro has transfered four players to Botafogo, Weldon among them. Globo, once more, reports that Weldon's arrival precludes that of Carlinhos Bala. Weldon's agent, according to Globo, says that his client has yet to agree to a salary, and that he won't necessarily go to Botafogo. Globo prefers novelas to soccer, and this saga must be delighting the company's executives.

Elections Today

So, Homero Lacerda reconsidered and ran for president after all. And apparently he lost a resounding 75%-25%, so maybe he is gone for good. Why that would be a mixed blessing is worth understanding.

Homero Lacerda was president of Sport Club do Recife when the team won its only Série A title. That was his only term as president, but he has served in various other capacities, including director of football and vice-president of football. What is clear is that he understands the game, he can identify good players and coaches, and can bring them to the club. What isn't clear is whether or not he can continue the development of the club as a whole, something that Milton Bivar has done to great success. The supporters love him because of the 1987 championship, and he was Director of Football when the team returned to the Série A after the 2006 season. However, his personal honesty is suspect, and perhaps more importantly, there was no clear reason why he thought it important to challenge Milton Bivar for the presidency.

Perhaps as a result of Homero Lacerda's challenge, Milton Bivar (who succeeded his brother, Luciano, as president) sought a different position, and chose Sílvio Guimarães to succeed him as president. At one point, a week ago, the two slates were known as "The Situation" and "The Opposition", but, perhaps to underscore the amicable nature of the dispute, the names were changed to "Work and Continuity" and "Union and Everything for Sport". ("Pelo Sport Tudo", translated as "Everything for Sport" is a phrase that the supporters use to express their love for the club.)

Roberto Neto wrote, on meusport.com, a series of questions for what was then known as The Opposition. He asked them, first, what is was that they were opposing. Second, while they criticised the projects undertaken by the other slate, they offered no proposals of their own -- what was their project? Third, they spoke of renovation but the slate was composed entirely of poeple with twenty years or more of association with the club's administration, so what was the renovation of which they spoke? And finally, they criticised the lack of experience of the current administration, an administration which had cleaned up the club, balanced the books, and gotten the club out of the hole dug by many of the participants of The Opposition. After considering these questions, the only explanation that remains is that Homero Lacerda wanted some of the glory of the Copa do Brasil victory for himself.

Homero Lacerda has done, and hopefully will continue to do, great things for Sport Club do Recife. That said, the club is moving in the right direction, setting itself up to be the equal of the best teams in the country, and Homero Lacerda was not the right man for the moment. He knows football, and would make an excellent director (or vice-president, a position created specifically for him) of Football. But not president.

New Signings Announced Before Their Contracts Are Signed

Let's hope none of these deals have been jinxed. According to Sportnet, Sport has "practically signed" seven players: Paulo Sérgio (right fullback, most recently with Grêmio), Aislan (central defender, São Paulo), Daniel Paulista (volante, Rapid Bucharest), Fernando (volante, Goiás), Renan (volante, Vitória), Enzo Guitierrez (midfielder, Rangers of Chile), Gastón Cellerino (forward, Rangers of Chile). The only areas of the team that don't need strengthening are goalkeeper and central defender. Supposedly Aislan is young and talented, but if São Paulo lets him go then there's no reason to be confident. Of course, it remains to be seen how many of these seven actually sign.

While seven may sign, eight have left the team in recent days. Junior Maranhão, Cássio Lopes, Fábio Gomes, and Dudé have been released. Enílton and Francisco Alex have been returned to their clubs (Palmeiras and São Paulo, respectively). Finally, Bia and Lúcio have been made available to other teams, and will soon leave on loan.

Bafo do Leão Turns 36

Sport's oldest organized supporters group, Bafo do Leão (The Lion's Breath), this afternoon celebrated the 36th anniversary of its founding. O Bafo can be found at midfield, opposite the member's section, at all home games, and is represented at away games as far as Rio. Presumably, although this is yet to be confirmed, the Bafo will have a presence at Sport's Libertadores games outside of Brazil.

Sport Ends the Season With a Win

It was ugly. In fact, it looked a lot like two amateur teams playing to see who would buy the beer after the game. Sport won 4-3 (see the goals here), but maybe Sport's second (and it was a messy goal) and fourth goals, and Coritiba's third, were the kind of goals you expect to see in a first division game. The others just showed that none of the players took the game seriously.

In particular, Sport's third goal was one of the worst of the season. It was so ugly, so improbable, such a complete failure on the part of Coritiba's goalie, that it didn't even feel right to celebrate. Sport suffered more from a few bad players than from a bad group, but Coritiba didn't look at all like the team that played so well all year.

Cléber was an important part of the Santa Cruz team that finished second in the Série B in 2005, but he isn't the same goalie today. He doesn't play with confidence, and while it's difficult to blame him for Coritiba's goals, I can't honestly say that he had a good game. He looks slow and somehow soft.

Marcelo Goiano looked like the player I expected him to be against Atlético Mineiro. He had a couple of nice moments in the first half, but overall looked slow and not at all committed to the cause. On the right side, Sidny looked like a man who does not want to play for Sport in 2009. He was directly responsible for Coritiba's first two goals. He did pass the ball to Wilson for Sport's third, but that was such an embarrassingly bad goal that he gets no credit for it -- if Coritiba's goalie had been interested in the game then it wouldn't have been a goal. At least he managed to get the ball to his own team on throw-ins, something he couldn't do against Atlético Mineiro, but that's a small comfort. Goodbye, Sidny.

César and Durval were okay. Durval erred on Coritiba's first goal, but scored the best goal of the game to put Sport ahead for good. Andrade was another player who showed more interest in leaving than in playing. He was terrible. He wasn't responsible for any goals, but he made too many mistakes, and if he stays with Sport it will certainly be as a backup. Junior Maranhão was fine, as always. Not spectacular, but competent. A part of the supporters will never accept him, because he once played for Santa Cruz, but he has been a good player for Sport for a year and a half now. He'll be a fine player to have on the bench for the Libertadores.

Moacir was played out of position today, as a more offensive midfielder instead of his normal segundo volante position. He made the pass to Wilson for Sport's first goal, although it is debatable whether or not he meant to pass or shoot. He was competent, no more. Juninho came on for him at the start of the second half and played the way we have come to expect -- almost very good, but ultimately not very effective. Juninho is fast, hustles, dribbles well, and almost passes very well. He is young, and hopefully he'll get a lot of chances in next year's Campeonato Pernambucano. Kássio had a decent game. He hustled a little more than usual, which is a good sign. He has gotten much better over the course of the year, and next year should be an important part of the team.

Ciro didn't have the best of games. He didn't play poorly, but he got a bad red card early in the second half. He made an ill-advised challenge, and the referee (who had previously ignored far worse fouls) gave him a straight red card. The greater part of the blame lies with the inconsistent referee than with Ciro, but it was an unnecessary tackle and all that Ciro can do is learn to play with more control. When he stops trying to do everything and plays more within the flow of the game he will be a very good forward. Wilson scored three goals without playing well. He is not a good forward and Sport needs, desperately, to sign better forwards for next year.

I'm very happy to see the season end. Sport never had a realistic chance of winning the Brasileirão, and never had to worry about relegation. The last five months, since winning the Copa do Brasil, have been alternatingly frustrating and boring. When Sport won it was usually without playing very well, and when Sport lost it was through lack of effort and concentration. The team is capable of playing very well, but without any motivation they were just going through the motions for the majority of the season. Next year should see an improved team, and hopefully that will mean much improved performances.

Sport - Coritiba Preview

Dorival Júnior returns to the Ilha do Retiro this afternoon, in command of Coritiba. Coritiba has a good team this year and qualified for the Copa Sul Americana with ease. Neither team stands to gain the slightest advantage by winning the game today, so both teams will probably field young teams.

Cléber, Sport's backup goalie, will make his second appearance of the year, along with Sidny, César, Durval, Márcio Goiano, Andrade, Moacir, Júnior Maranhão, Kássio, Ciro, and Wilson. Wilson arrived on loan from Genoa and was expected to take over for Roger, but he has been a disappointment. This afternoon's game might be his last chance to show that he should stay with Sport next year.

Maybe Carlinhos Bala Will Stay After All

Sportnet is now reporting that Carlinhos Bala is willing to receive less money than he is promised in his contract with Cruzeiro, and may stay with Sport. Sport's president, Milton Bivar, will travel to Belo Horizonte in the next few days in order to discuss the player's future with the Cruzeiro directors.

Homero Lacerda Ends His Presidential Candidacy

Homero Lacerda, Sport's president in 1987 and more recently Director of Football in 2006 and Vice-President of Football in 2007, announced today that he will no longer seek the presidency in this month's club elections. Homero had formed a ticket that included Luciano Bivar, ex-president and brother of the current president, and had once again plunged the club into an extremely mild sort of crisis. In 2006 he also considered running against Milton Bivar, Luciano Bivar's hand-picked successor, but decided against the run at the last minute. He accepted, instead, the newly-created position of Vice-President of Football. At the end of last year he stepped down from that position, citing a desire to spend time with his family and to pay closer attention to his business interests.

Milton Bivar has surpassed all expectations as president, laying the foundations for the club's long-term success. He has invested heavily in the youth program, bought two training centers (one for the professionals, one for the juniors), renovated the stadium grounds, and retired the significant portion (INSS debt is not considered significant) of the club's debt. This blog would have endorsed his candidacy later this month, and may still do so, but it appears that no endorsement is necessary.

Globo Spreads Rumors; Bad Players Leave Sport

"Durval Doesn't Guarantee He Will Stay With Sport" reads Globo.com's headline. No, he doesn't. He says that he has received proposals from other teams, but that nothing concrete has materialized. He also expresses enthusiasm for playing in the Copa Libertadores. Sport isn't cooperating with news organizations -- there are no rumors, leaks, or scandals, and the team has nothing left to play for. All that Globo can do is try to create controversy because otherwise stories about Sport take the form of "The sun rose in the East, set in the West yesterday."

Enílton and Francisco Alex have left Sport, never to return wearing Sport's jersey. No one will miss them.

Carlinhos Bala Is Unlikely to Return

Sportnet is reporting that Carlinhos Bala is almost certainly not going to play for Sport in 2009. Sport will still discuss with Cruzeiro the possibility of reducing the player's salary for 2009, but Cruzeiro is unlikely to be willing to pay a part. Sport is unwilling to pay his R$83,000 monthly salary in full, nor is Sport willing to pay a high fee to renew his loan. He has declared his desire to continue playing for Sport, but he has also said, in a local radio interview, that he would not accept a pay cut to stay with Sport.