Weldon, the player who arrives planning his departure, has signed a one-year contract with Sport. The deal would have been done a few days ago, but Weldon wanted a smaller buy-out clause so that it would be easier for him to move on to the new challenges of Korean or Qatari football. He formed a daunting partnership with Adriano Chuva in 2003, when Sport was in the Série B, and he did little apart from score a nice goal against Corinthians when he played for Sport in 2007.
Weldon announced that he has a "special affection" for Sport's fans, which he will need, because Sport's fans have no special affection for Weldon. His "honeymoon" will last all of 20 minutes or so into his first game, and if he doesn't suit up almost immediately after the CBF clears his contract then it might not even last that long. Last time he played for Sport a reporter asked him if he intended to be the team's leading scorer and he responded, "No, I just want to score a few little goals and then leave for a bigger team."
Was that a sarcastic answer to a stupid question? Possibly. That's the explanation that seemed most plausible to me at the time, and it satisfies Occam's Razor better than presuming the extreme stupidity necessary for that kind of naked honesty. But no matter what Weldon meant by that answer, the fans interpreted it to mean that he wanted to leave, and leave he did just a few months later.
He's an average forward, tall and capable in the area, skillful enough to be useful outside of the area, too. But however well rounded his game is, he is distinctly average, and Sport's fans had hoped for more. Not just hoped, but believed that better was coming.
This morning I stood in line for five hours to guarantee my tickets for the first three matches of the Copa Libertadores. Five hours, because Sport's administration is less competent than it could be. During those five demoralizing hours, Weldon's signing was announced, and we felt all the more demoralized. Ciro is showing himself to be a great player, but the rest of Sport's forwards are below the necessary standard. Sport needed a forward, and still does, because if Weldon is the answer then the question should never have been asked.
sexta-feira, 23 de janeiro de 2009
quarta-feira, 21 de janeiro de 2009
Sport Defeats Sete de Setembro
Sete de Setembro reminds me of the 1994 Canadian team that almost (depending on your definition of “almost”) qualified for the World Cup finals. That team had Craig Forrest, the greatest goalkeeper to ever put on gloves, and a dwarf named Alex Bunbury (seriously, he was like 4’6” and lightning fast by Honduran standards). There was also a defender named Frank Yallop and some guy named Catliff, but neither of them matter, and the other guys who wore the Canadian uniform didn’t matter, either. Craig Forrest routinely faced 35 shots per game, stopping 32 with ease. His goal kicks frequently came to rest in the opposing goalkeeper’s arms after one bounce. Every so often he would miskick a goal kick and the ball wouldn’t go quite so far, and Alex Bunbury would run under it have a chance. And every so often he would convert one of those chances. And so sometimes Canada would beat Honduras 2-1, and lose 3-1 to Mexico, and Canada came three points and 12 goals away from qualifying for the 1994 World Cup finals.
Sete de Setembro is like that. Raul Mondragon is quite a goalie, apparently. He can only beat himself when he plays against Sport. Last year he played like a man possessed and Sport could only tie 1-1 in Garanhuns. Sport won 2-0 in Recife, but only Mondragon kept Sport from scoring five. He had no defense in front of him, and his Alex Bunbury was a midfielder named Juninho, who is 22, skinny, and balding, and now plays for Sport. Juninho was good, and Sete de Setembro finished the state championship with both nostrils wet, but above the water. This year’s Alex Bunbury is Nêgo Pai and that is Sete de Setembro’s problem.
20,011 people showed up to watch Paulo Baier make his first appearance for Sport. Maybe that number should be an even 20,000 – there were a few people in the Sete de Setembro section, and they were probably more interested in seeing Nêgo Pai. Sport played 45 minutes of listless, inspiration-free soccer. Mondragon made a few impressive stops, because that’s what he does, and Jonas did his best Sidny impression and now we all know why Internacional had to force Sport to take him. The right fullback position is a gaping hole in Sport’s team right now, and Sport must take action to fill it. Neither Sidny (who spent the game on the bench, considering whether he really wants to continue stealing money from soccer teams) nor Jonas is capable of playing fullback for a team in the Série A. At halftime Nelsinho removed Jonas, moved Igor to right fullback, and put César in Igor’s spot. Igor proved himself a far more capable fullback than either Sidny or Jonas, which was a relief, but he is too slow to play the position except in emergency situations. Unfortunately, it looks like Sport has an emergency situation on its hands.
Paulo Baier showed why his signing was greeted with such celebration, showing a vision and touch that Sport hasn’t had in recent years. As he becomes accustomed to playing with his new teammates his influence on the field will grow, and Sport will be a formidable team. And when Daniel Paulista is freed to play (there are bureaucratic delays in Romania, apparently) and takes Hamilton’s spot, Sport’s midfield will be a thing of beauty. Sandro Goiano was angrier today than he has usually been since leaving Grêmio for Sport, and that can only be a good thing. An angry Sandro Goiano is a frightening thing (and a friendly, polite Sandro Goiano would probably still frighten my mother, just to give you an idea of how frightening the man is) and when he looks like he’s about to lose control, tear off someone’s arm and eat the raw meat right off the bone, well, his team tends to play a little harder. Everyone wants Sandro Goiano on their team, if only so that they don’t have to play against him.
Ciro had a reasonable game, but didn’t make a difference. He scored one goal that was annulled (he did look like he was offside) and took two or three good shots that went over the crossbar. Wilson isn’t up to the task of being Ciro’s partner, so he left at halftime and Luciano Henrique moved up from midfield, and Fumagalli entered in Luciano Henrique’s place. Fumagalli had a good game, his best of the four games Sport has played this year. Luciano Henrique scored the game’s only goal, but it might as well have been credited to Mondragon, who appeared to have stopped the shot, only for the ball to dribble out between his hands and in to the goal. To remove all doubt, and because a goal isn’t really a goal unless the net bulges, Ciro thumped the ball into the corner of the net and ran off celebrating wildly.
Sport lacked the precision that the supporters have come to expect. Dutra’s touch abandoned him toward the end of the game, Durval made several uncharacteristic mistakes (including volleying in the direction of the moon when he received a corner in front of an open goal), and while Hamilton played well on defense he seemed more interested in giving the ball back to Sete de Setembro than he did in giving it to his teammates.
Nothing to be worried about – the team has played one bad game so far (I think, since I didn’t actually see the game against Salgueiro. Apart from a few brilliant passes from Paulo Baier, a few flashes from Ciro (that all ended up with the ball in the stands), and César’s bicycle kick – miraculously saved by Mondragon – the game was a boring affair. The crowd was quiet, and no one responded when someone behind me tried to start the crowd chanting (after the game, which may have accounted for the lack of enthusiasm). That incident showed how listless and jaded the supporters have been since the Copa do Brasil last year. The games in the Série B in 2006 were raucous affairs, everyone singing and shouting all game long, but since Sport’s return to the Série A things have been subdued. For now I think we should blame it all on Nêgo Pai’s macumba and stay optimistic for Sunday’s game against Porto.
Sete de Setembro is like that. Raul Mondragon is quite a goalie, apparently. He can only beat himself when he plays against Sport. Last year he played like a man possessed and Sport could only tie 1-1 in Garanhuns. Sport won 2-0 in Recife, but only Mondragon kept Sport from scoring five. He had no defense in front of him, and his Alex Bunbury was a midfielder named Juninho, who is 22, skinny, and balding, and now plays for Sport. Juninho was good, and Sete de Setembro finished the state championship with both nostrils wet, but above the water. This year’s Alex Bunbury is Nêgo Pai and that is Sete de Setembro’s problem.
20,011 people showed up to watch Paulo Baier make his first appearance for Sport. Maybe that number should be an even 20,000 – there were a few people in the Sete de Setembro section, and they were probably more interested in seeing Nêgo Pai. Sport played 45 minutes of listless, inspiration-free soccer. Mondragon made a few impressive stops, because that’s what he does, and Jonas did his best Sidny impression and now we all know why Internacional had to force Sport to take him. The right fullback position is a gaping hole in Sport’s team right now, and Sport must take action to fill it. Neither Sidny (who spent the game on the bench, considering whether he really wants to continue stealing money from soccer teams) nor Jonas is capable of playing fullback for a team in the Série A. At halftime Nelsinho removed Jonas, moved Igor to right fullback, and put César in Igor’s spot. Igor proved himself a far more capable fullback than either Sidny or Jonas, which was a relief, but he is too slow to play the position except in emergency situations. Unfortunately, it looks like Sport has an emergency situation on its hands.
Paulo Baier showed why his signing was greeted with such celebration, showing a vision and touch that Sport hasn’t had in recent years. As he becomes accustomed to playing with his new teammates his influence on the field will grow, and Sport will be a formidable team. And when Daniel Paulista is freed to play (there are bureaucratic delays in Romania, apparently) and takes Hamilton’s spot, Sport’s midfield will be a thing of beauty. Sandro Goiano was angrier today than he has usually been since leaving Grêmio for Sport, and that can only be a good thing. An angry Sandro Goiano is a frightening thing (and a friendly, polite Sandro Goiano would probably still frighten my mother, just to give you an idea of how frightening the man is) and when he looks like he’s about to lose control, tear off someone’s arm and eat the raw meat right off the bone, well, his team tends to play a little harder. Everyone wants Sandro Goiano on their team, if only so that they don’t have to play against him.
Ciro had a reasonable game, but didn’t make a difference. He scored one goal that was annulled (he did look like he was offside) and took two or three good shots that went over the crossbar. Wilson isn’t up to the task of being Ciro’s partner, so he left at halftime and Luciano Henrique moved up from midfield, and Fumagalli entered in Luciano Henrique’s place. Fumagalli had a good game, his best of the four games Sport has played this year. Luciano Henrique scored the game’s only goal, but it might as well have been credited to Mondragon, who appeared to have stopped the shot, only for the ball to dribble out between his hands and in to the goal. To remove all doubt, and because a goal isn’t really a goal unless the net bulges, Ciro thumped the ball into the corner of the net and ran off celebrating wildly.
Sport lacked the precision that the supporters have come to expect. Dutra’s touch abandoned him toward the end of the game, Durval made several uncharacteristic mistakes (including volleying in the direction of the moon when he received a corner in front of an open goal), and while Hamilton played well on defense he seemed more interested in giving the ball back to Sete de Setembro than he did in giving it to his teammates.
Nothing to be worried about – the team has played one bad game so far (I think, since I didn’t actually see the game against Salgueiro. Apart from a few brilliant passes from Paulo Baier, a few flashes from Ciro (that all ended up with the ball in the stands), and César’s bicycle kick – miraculously saved by Mondragon – the game was a boring affair. The crowd was quiet, and no one responded when someone behind me tried to start the crowd chanting (after the game, which may have accounted for the lack of enthusiasm). That incident showed how listless and jaded the supporters have been since the Copa do Brasil last year. The games in the Série B in 2006 were raucous affairs, everyone singing and shouting all game long, but since Sport’s return to the Série A things have been subdued. For now I think we should blame it all on Nêgo Pai’s macumba and stay optimistic for Sunday’s game against Porto.
The Campeonato Pernambucano Begins
If your team is any good, you only have one month off in Brazil. Sport had one month between games, and it seemed like forever. I got through the time alright, it wasn’t fun but it wasn’t the prison sentence it always seems like when the Brasileirão ends, but when I went back to the stadium to watch the first game this year it seemed like I hadn’t been there in ages. I spent the first fifteen minutes of the game getting used to the feeling and trying to follow the game. I don’t think I even watched a game on tv in that month, so it wasn’t like the perspective from the stands wasn’t the normal one, but somehow it was strange and I needed fifteen minutes to get back into the groove and understand what I was doing there.
13,000 people, which seemed like an empty stadium, braved the sun to watch Sport beat Vitória 4-0 on January 10. The team was almost unchanged from that which ended the Brasileirão a month earlier. Sidny, in particular, played exactly as he had played in December. Vitória didn’t provide any resistance, and Sport didn’t play particularly well, but got the job done. Ciro won a penalty and then scored two, and every time he takes the field he looks better than he did last time.
The absence of beer has become a sad normality in Brazilian stadia, and the poor organization of Sport’s event staff has long been the norm. Last year, before the ban on alcohol sales in stadia, it was normal for the beer to run out before the game ended, and sometimes in the first half. What was not normal was for water and soda to sell out before the game ended, or in the case of this game, before halftime. This represents an inexcusable lack of planning by, and loss of income for, the club, but it also represents a legal hazard. In the tropical summer, under the afternoon sun, water is a necessity. One angry parent, whose child got sick in the sun could sue the team and cause all manner of problems. Sure, there are ambulances and doctors to provide first aid, but offering that as a solution to problems caused by the heat and sun is like W claiming that all Americans have access to health care because they can go to the emergency room.
The following Wednesday night Sport beat Salgueiro, Pernambuco’s sole representative in this year’s Sèrie C, 2-0 in Salgueiro. The game wasn’t televised, but reports say that Guto, on loan from Internacional, changed the game when he entered in the second half. Ciro scored Sport’s first goal.
On January 18 Sport played Serrano in Recife. An improved, but still anemic, 17,000 people attended the game. Sport played better, although Sidny still did his part to hurt the cause, and won 3-0. Luciano Henrique scored the first, minutes after entering the game, Ciro scored the second, and Sando Goiano dribbled past the goalie to score the third. Sidny was substituted at halftime, and Jonas made his first appearance in Sidny’s place. Jonas wasn’t as bad as Sidny, but he didn’t look close to the quality that Sport needs. Guto also entered in the second half and looked tired. Lúcio Surubim, a former Náutico player turned analyst for Globo Nordeste, said after the game that Sidny needs to decide whether or not he wants to continue to be a professional soccer player. Sidny really has been just that bad lately.
Daniel Paulista signed a three-year contract last year, once again guaranteeing that Sport (playing two of Daniel Paulista, Hamilton, and Sandro Goiano) will again have one of the two or three best volante pairs in Brazil. Paulo Baier will make his first appearance tonight against Sete de Setembro.
13,000 people, which seemed like an empty stadium, braved the sun to watch Sport beat Vitória 4-0 on January 10. The team was almost unchanged from that which ended the Brasileirão a month earlier. Sidny, in particular, played exactly as he had played in December. Vitória didn’t provide any resistance, and Sport didn’t play particularly well, but got the job done. Ciro won a penalty and then scored two, and every time he takes the field he looks better than he did last time.
The absence of beer has become a sad normality in Brazilian stadia, and the poor organization of Sport’s event staff has long been the norm. Last year, before the ban on alcohol sales in stadia, it was normal for the beer to run out before the game ended, and sometimes in the first half. What was not normal was for water and soda to sell out before the game ended, or in the case of this game, before halftime. This represents an inexcusable lack of planning by, and loss of income for, the club, but it also represents a legal hazard. In the tropical summer, under the afternoon sun, water is a necessity. One angry parent, whose child got sick in the sun could sue the team and cause all manner of problems. Sure, there are ambulances and doctors to provide first aid, but offering that as a solution to problems caused by the heat and sun is like W claiming that all Americans have access to health care because they can go to the emergency room.
The following Wednesday night Sport beat Salgueiro, Pernambuco’s sole representative in this year’s Sèrie C, 2-0 in Salgueiro. The game wasn’t televised, but reports say that Guto, on loan from Internacional, changed the game when he entered in the second half. Ciro scored Sport’s first goal.
On January 18 Sport played Serrano in Recife. An improved, but still anemic, 17,000 people attended the game. Sport played better, although Sidny still did his part to hurt the cause, and won 3-0. Luciano Henrique scored the first, minutes after entering the game, Ciro scored the second, and Sando Goiano dribbled past the goalie to score the third. Sidny was substituted at halftime, and Jonas made his first appearance in Sidny’s place. Jonas wasn’t as bad as Sidny, but he didn’t look close to the quality that Sport needs. Guto also entered in the second half and looked tired. Lúcio Surubim, a former Náutico player turned analyst for Globo Nordeste, said after the game that Sidny needs to decide whether or not he wants to continue to be a professional soccer player. Sidny really has been just that bad lately.
Daniel Paulista signed a three-year contract last year, once again guaranteeing that Sport (playing two of Daniel Paulista, Hamilton, and Sandro Goiano) will again have one of the two or three best volante pairs in Brazil. Paulo Baier will make his first appearance tonight against Sete de Setembro.
sábado, 10 de janeiro de 2009
Campeonato Pernambucano Begins Today Vs. Vitória
Sport begins its defense of the Pernambuco championship this afternoon against Acadêmica Vitória in the Ilha do Retiro. Vitória was in the Série A2 last year, after a one-year stint in the top division in 2006. Sport will field a team of players from last year's Brasileirão -- none of the new signings will play, and unlike in Europe, they won't be paraded in front of the fans. In fact, there is a good chance that Paulo Baier won't even be in the stadium, but that's no matter. Ciro, Kássio, Moacir, and the rest of the young players will be more than enough to see off Vitória, and Durval, Dutra, and a few other experienced players will be on the field with them.
However bad Vitória most likely will be, this won't be an easy game. Vitória has had a long time to train with the same players, and they will play a very defensive style. If the last few years are a guide, Sport will dominate possession and struggle to create chances, and win 1-0 or 2-0 by scoring ugly goals.
However bad Vitória most likely will be, this won't be an easy game. Vitória has had a long time to train with the same players, and they will play a very defensive style. If the last few years are a guide, Sport will dominate possession and struggle to create chances, and win 1-0 or 2-0 by scoring ugly goals.
segunda-feira, 5 de janeiro de 2009
Paulo Baier
Paulo Baier, a midfielder of advanced age, has signed for Sport. He is old, but he plays well. He started his career as a right fullback, but for years now he has been a midfielder. When he plays well he can dominate the game, but he is getting on in years. He will be thirty-five this October, but Sport can take heart knowing that he hasn't shown any signs of decline yet.
Sport also signed a Paraguayan forward, Roberto Ovelar, who is 22 and has played for Cerro Porteño (Paraguay) and Universidad San Martín (Peru).
Sport also signed a Paraguayan forward, Roberto Ovelar, who is 22 and has played for Cerro Porteño (Paraguay) and Universidad San Martín (Peru).
sábado, 3 de janeiro de 2009
Two Players Arrive From Internacional
Forward Guto and right-back Jonas have arrived on year-long loans from Internacional. Guto is supposed to be a promising player, and accepting Jonas was a condition Internacional demanded as a part of the Guto deal. Sport already has Ciro, Wilson, Joélson, and Everton Felipe (recently promoted from the juniors), and intends to bring two more forwards into the squad, so it remains to be seen how large a role Guto will play. Jonas isn't expected to contribute much at all to Sport's efforts this year.
quinta-feira, 1 de janeiro de 2009
Hamilton Returns to Sport
Sport has signed Hamilton, who played an integral part of Sport's 2006 promotion campaign, for next year. Hamilton, a revelation in 2006, is an excellent defensive midfielder who relies more on his speed than on his positioning who is the very model of consistency on the field. Unfortunately, off the field he is also the very model of consistency -- he is always looking to make an extra real. There is still no news on the length of his contract, but it is almost impossible to believe that he would sign a contract longer than one year. At the end of 2006 he displayed bad faith in his negotiations with Sport (he was still under contract, but Sport agreed -- twice -- to his requests for raises) and was sold to a Turkish team. At the end of his contract in Turkey he returned to Brazil, rejecting a two-year contract with Sport to sign a short contract with Náutico where he played the last few months of the past Série A season. He will surely be a factor in whatever success Sport achieves in the next six months, and he will just as surely leave as soon as someone offers him more money. If bookies were taking bets on it, I would bet all I have that he will leave Brazil in July.
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