Football â€“ as it should be

binny · March 30, 2004

Preseason 2007

There was quite a bit of transfer activity as we rushed to get our squad together before the GoiÃ¡s Championship started again. Edgar was the only player to leave the club during the close season, going to CearÃ¡ for a snip at Â£22,000. 14-year-old Alex Rodrigues, a striker, came through the youth ranks, and we made the loan deal of goalkeeper Weber permanent, as he joined for Â£35,000 from SÃ£o Raimundo (AM). Rafael MoÃ§amba, a winger, came in from Caxias for Â£20,000 and attacking midfielder Helinho was signed for Â£100,000 from Remo. Full back Bruno Leite came in for Â£150,000 from Vasco, and we signed another winger, Carlos Alberto, for a nominal fee from SÃ£o Paulo.

We played two friendly games in the build-up to the new season, and the first one was away at Bandeirante (DF). An early strike from JÃ´ sent us on our way, and FlÃ¡vio gave us a second on 27 with an own goal. Cristiano scored a third six minutes into the second half, and we won the game 3-2. Cristiano and Michel scored in either half on our trip to Figueirense, and the home side scored a late consolation as we won 2-1.

With a minimum of 58 games this season weâ€™re really going to need our squad this season, and I believe that we can make a good fist of it.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">FlÃ¡vio Mendes GK Tute GK

Weber GK Bira D R

Bosco D/DM RC Bruno Leite D RL

Carlos Alexandre D R Stefano D RL

Alex D/DM L Juninho D LC

Marcelo Borges D/M LC Alessandro Lopes D C

Henrique D C Marcos Roberto D C

ClÃ³vis DM C Jean DM C

RÃ³bson M LC Carlos Alberto AM RL

ChicÃ£o AM R LÃ©o AM R

Rafael MoÃ§amba AM/F RC Leandro Diniz AM L

Helinho AM/F C Liminha AM C

William AM C Carlos Henrique F RL

Cristiano F LC Alex Rodrigues S C

Cley S C FlÃ¡vio Guilherme S C

JÃ´ S C LuÃs Fernando S C

Michel S C

</pre>

PMLF · March 30, 2004

Good to know you have been promoted to the BrasileirÃ£o (Brazilian National First Division).

Carlos Alberto and to a lesser extent Bruno Leite and Rafael MoÃ§amba were great signings.

If you finish the National League within the 12 first positions you'll qualify to Copa Sudamericana.

If you win the Brazilian Cup or finish within the first 4 positions you'll qualify to Copa Libertadores but I suppose you already know that.

Keep up the good work!

Educated Hick · March 30, 2004

Simply amazing Binny, that's I all have to say. Keep it up!

You gotta admire a league structure that makes a team work for promotion.

binny · March 31, 2004

Thanks for the support guys. It's certainly an achievement to get this far - but staying up will be equally as difficult.

January 2007

The campaign began with a trip to Caldas, and on 15 minutes FlÃ¡vio Guilherme gave us the lead. We failed though to build on the lead, and midway through the second half Cordeiro equalised for the home side. Six minutes later though Leandro Diniz restored our lead, and we had eked out a victory.

Cristiano scored twice before half time at home to Novo Horizonte, and we should have added more than a FlÃ¡vio Guilherme strike as we dominated from start to finish.

We managed to prise 52-year-old scout Leonardo Camargo from Portuguesa Santista to join the club ahead of our trip to CRAC. The home side were awarded an early penalty, but BrandÃ£o sent his effort straight into the arms of FlÃ¡vio Mendes. We struggled to get a grip on the game, and we had to rely on a deflected effort from Bosco six minutes from time to secure the points for us.

During the week we signed defensive midfielder Geninho for Â£100,000 from Internacional, and at the same time allowed Bira to join Cabofriense on loan for three months. The last game of the month was a home tie with GrÃªmio Inhumense, and goals from FlÃ¡vio Guilherme and JÃ´ had us 2-0 up at half time. ClÃ³vis was sent off twenty minutes from time, but the result was never in doubt.

It has not been a fluent start to the season, and I would have hoped that we would score a few more goals. Nevertheless, weâ€™ve got a 100% record so far, and hopefully we can build upon that.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts

1st GoiÃ¡s 4 4 0 0 16 1 +15 12

2nd Vila Nova (GO) 4 4 0 0 14 2 +12 12

3rd GoiÃ¢nia 4 4 0 0 8 1 +7 12

4th Anapolina 4 3 0 1 13 3 +10 9

5th AtlÃ©tico Goianiense 4 2 1 1 10 5 +5 7

6th AnÃ¡polis 4 2 1 1 9 5 +4 7

7th GoianÃ©sia 4 2 0 2 4 9 -5 6

8th Real (GO) 4 1 2 1 5 7 -2 5

-------------------------------------------------------

9th Caldas 4 0 0 4 1 8 -7 0

-------------------------------------------------------

10th GrÃªmio Inhumense 4 0 0 4 1 12 -11 0

11th CRAC 4 0 0 4 0 11 -11 0

12th Novo Horizonte 4 0 0 4 1 18 -17 0

</pre>

binny · March 31, 2004

February 2007

Two new players joined the club as the month came in, both on free transfers. Tiago, a young left-winger, comes in from Nacional (AM) and Allan, a defender, comes in from Remo. We began well away at AnÃ¡polis and JÃ´ scored twice before half time. Nine minutes into the second half Leandro Diniz added a third from the penalty spot, and on the hour further goals from FlÃ¡vio Guilherme and JÃ´ had us five-nil up. Allan was sent off twenty minutes from time on his debut, and Leandro Diniz missed an opportunity for 6-0 when he sent a 79th-minute penalty into the arms of the goalkeeper.

Another Leandro Diniz penalty put us ahead at home to AtlÃ©tico Goianiense, but even when the visitors had Toninho sent off on 51 we struggled to wrap the game up. Indeed, we had to wait until the final minute for Liminha to secure the points.

We got off to a good start at home to GoiÃ¡s as Geninho opened his account on five minutes, and JÃ´ doubled the lead on 23. But just six minutes later MuÃ±oz pulled a goal back, and on the stroke of half time AraÃºjo equalised. In the end it took a bizarre goal from Carlos Alberto to settle the tie as our good form continued.

A poor first half at home to Real was soon forgotten when Cristiano netted twice in the first eleven minutes of the second half. JÃ´ added a third just past the hour.

The last game of the month was a trip to GoianÃ©sia, and again we struggled to get past their defence. Ten minutes from time FlÃ¡vio Guilherme capitalised on a defensive mistake to give us an undeserved victory.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts

1st Q GoiÃ¢nia 9 9 0 0 22 3 +19 27

2nd Q Vila Nova (GO) 9 8 0 1 27 6 +21 24

3rd Q GoiÃ¡s 9 6 2 1 28 6 +22 20

4th Q Anapolina 9 5 2 2 24 9 +15 17

5th Q AnÃ¡polis 9 5 2 2 21 12 +9 17

6th Q AtlÃ©tico Goianiense 9 4 2 3 17 13 +4 14

7th Caldas 9 3 0 6 7 18 -11 9

8th Real (GO) 9 2 3 4 7 16 -9 9

---------------------------------------------------------

9th CRAC 9 2 0 7 4 17 -13 6

---------------------------------------------------------

10th GoianÃ©sia 9 2 0 7 5 22 -17 6

11th Novo Horizonte 9 1 1 7 7 30 -23 4

12th GrÃªmio Inhumense 9 1 0 8 7 24 -17 3

</pre>

binny · April 1, 2004

March 2007

We began the month away at Anapolina, and it was quite disappointing. Neither side really looked like scoring, even when the home side had Diego sent off thirteen minutes from time.

Helinho fired in his first goal for the club with a fantastic free kick early on at home to Vila Nova, and we were totally in control. But it took until the 75th-minute for JÃ´ to secure a 2-0 win.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts

1st Q GoiÃ¢nia 11 10 1 0 24 3 +21 31

2nd Q GoiÃ¡s 11 8 2 1 33 7 +26 26

3rd Q Vila Nova (GO) 11 8 0 3 27 10 +17 24

4th Q AnÃ¡polis 11 7 2 2 27 12 +15 23

5th Q Anapolina 11 6 3 2 25 9 +16 21

6th Q AtlÃ©tico Goianiense 11 6 2 3 24 14 +10 20

7th Q Caldas 11 4 0 7 10 22 -12 12

8th Q Real (GO) 11 3 3 5 9 17 -8 12

---------------------------------------------------------

9th Novo Horizonte 11 2 1 8 10 35 -25 7

---------------------------------------------------------

10th R CRAC 11 2 0 9 5 22 -17 6

11th R GoianÃ©sia 11 2 0 9 7 27 -20 6

12th R GrÃªmio Inhumense 11 1 0 10 7 30 -23 3

</pre>

The quarterfinal got off to a good start as Liminha fired us ahead in just the fourth minute at home to Real. Liminha added a second early in the second half to set up a semifinal tie against GoiÃ¡s.

But first we had a home cup-tie against Figueirense. FlÃ¡vio Guilherme opened the scoring within 45 seconds, but we couldnâ€™t turn further dominance into goals. The visitors had CearÃ¡ sent off just before the break, and a minute into the second period FlÃ¡vio Guilherme doubled the lead. JÃ´ scored a third on 53, and Carlos Alberto made it 4-0 midway through the second half to send us through to the fifth round.

The first leg against GoiÃ¡s was at home, and was an absolute disaster. GoiÃ¡s took a 12th-minute lead through LuÃs Fernando, and on the half hour we had JÃ´ sent off. Neto added two further goals either side of half time, and LÃ©o MacaÃ© made it 4-0 seventeen minutes from time to give us a mountain to climb.

PMLF · April 2, 2004

You did very well in the League Stage and then GoiÃ¡s crushed you. This kind of thing that makes this kind of league format so funny.

Who will you play against in the Brazilian Cup 5th Round?

binny · April 3, 2004

You have to play according to the rules I guess. Ah well

April 2007

It was always going to be difficult to overcome our first-leg deficit as we travelled to GoiÃ¡s, but when FlÃ¡vio Guilherme scored in the first minute, we had some hope. We couldnâ€™t capitalise though, and midway through the half Guiseppe equalised for the home side on the night. ClÃ³vis put us back in front four minutes later, but GoiÃ¡s closed out the rest of the game, and for the first time since I came to the club we wouldnâ€™t be competing in the State final. Vila Nova did get to their fourth consecutive final, but they were beaten 4-2 on aggregate by our conquerors, GoiÃ¡s.

We hosted third division side Guarany de Sobral in the first leg of the fifth round of the cup, and after struggling to break them down, JÃ´ put us ahead on 36. But six minutes later we allowed Piva in to equalise. More pressure finally paid off on 65 when JÃ´ restored our lead, but yet again a defensive lapse cost us as NenÃª earned the visitors a 2-2 draw to take back to their place.

Before the return leg we allowed Cley to join IndependÃªncia on loan for three months. We were given a helping hand in the second leg on 19 minutes when Dani was sent off for hacking down JÃ´, but we had to wait until ten minutes before the break for Helinho to give us the lead. JÃ´ and FlÃ¡vio Guilherme added further goals before the break, and we were in control. Eighteen minutes from time Daniel pulled a goal back from the penalty spot, but four minutes later Leandro Diniz did likewise. Guarany de Sobral had de Oliveira Santos sent off four minutes from time as they ended the game with nine men and on the end of a 6-3 aggregate loss.

Our first top-flight league match was a trip to GrÃªmio, and as a poor first half ended FlÃ¡vio Guilherme sensationally gave us the lead. We were more than holding our own, but midway through the second half Marcelo equalised, and eight minutes from time Rodrigo struck to condemn us to an opening-day defeat.

Our first home game was against SÃ£o Paulo. We played well early on, and on 28 took the lead through FlÃ¡vio Guilherme. SÃ£o Paulo were harshly awarded a penalty just before the break, but Ricardinho smacked the ball against the crossbar, and we survived. Ten minutes into the second half Cristiano doubled our lead, and we were in heaven on 64 when Cristiano struck again. Ten minutes later LuÃs Fabiano pulled a goal back, but in the final minute Cristiano completed his hatrick with a fantastic diving header. Ricardinho pulled another goal back in injury time, but we had recorded a famous victory.

We were drawn to face Paysandu in the sixth round of the cup, and we hosted them in the first leg. We took our time to get going, but just after the half hour mark FlÃ¡vio Guilherme struck to put us ahead. Helinho doubled the lead just before the break, and we seemed to be in control. Five minutes into the second half Carlos Alberto made it 3-0 only for Paysandu to go down the other end of the field and FÃ¡bio Santos pulled a goal back. But three minutes later FlÃ¡vio Guilherme restored our three-goal lead, but midway through the half we had Bosco sent off. It didnâ€™t seem to affect us much as within the next six minutes both Juninho and JÃ´ scored to give us a 6-1 lead to take into the second leg.

Our home tie with Ponte Preta got off to a poor start when we had Juninho sent off after just 13 minutes. Ponte Preta though failed to take advantage, and if anything we had the better of the game. Eight minutes into the second half Alessandro Lopes was sent off for a second booking and we now had both centre backs sent off. Still though there was little action, and we easily dealt with what Ponte Preta could throw at us. The game ended with 19 men on the field; Ponte Preta having LuÃs Carlos sent off thirteen minutes from time.

The last match of the month was a potentially tricky tie at Santa Cruz, especially given that we had our first four centre backs out due to suspension or injury. But any doubts were soon blown out of the water as FlÃ¡vio Guilherme scored twice in the first ten minutes, and Cristiano made it 3-0 on 27. Santa Cruz had Edu Silva sent off on the hour for a second bookable offence, but they did pull a goal back in the penultimate minute through Ricardinho.

All in all itâ€™s been a decent month for us. It was disappointing to lose in the State semifinal, but weâ€™ve made a good start to our league campaign, and we also look set to qualify for the quarterfinals of the Cup.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts

1st Santos 3 3 0 0 7 2 +5 9

2nd Cruzeiro 4 2 1 1 10 5 +5 7

3rd Juventude 3 2 1 0 5 1 +4 7

4th GoiÃ¢nia 4 2 1 1 8 5 +3 7

5th ParanÃ¡ 3 2 0 1 6 3 +3 6

6th Guarani 4 2 0 2 8 6 +2 6

7th Portuguesa 4 2 0 2 6 7 -1 6

8th Corinthians 3 1 2 0 6 4 +2 5

9th SÃ£o Caetano 2 1 1 0 5 2 +3 4

10th CriciÃºma 3 1 1 1 2 2 0 4

11th Ponte Preta 4 1 1 2 4 5 -1 4

12th GrÃªmio 4 1 1 2 4 7 -3 4

13th AtlÃ©tico Mineiro 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 3

14th Flamengo 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 3

15th SÃ£o Paulo 2 1 0 1 3 4 -1 3

16th Internacional 3 1 0 2 5 7 -2 3

17th Vasco 3 1 0 2 3 5 -2 3

18th AtlÃ©tico Paranaense 4 0 3 1 3 7 -4 3

19th Palmeiras 2 0 2 0 2 2 0 2

20th Fluminense 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1

21st Coritiba 2 0 1 1 1 4 -3 1

22nd Paysandu 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

-------------------------------------------------------

23rd Santa Cruz 3 0 0 3 2 8 -6 0

24th Bahia 3 0 0 3 1 7 -6 0

</pre>

binny · April 3, 2004

May 2007

The month began with the return leg against Paysandu. They didnâ€™t really compete very well, and goals in either half from FlÃ¡vio Guilherme and Cristiano sent us through to a quarterfinal against Londrina 8-1 on aggregate.

We hosted the first leg, but Londrina defended in numbers, and managed to hold out for 0-0 draw to take back to their place.

A week later we travelled to Londrina for the second leg. We were stunned into action when Marcelo Souza scored after 20 minutes, and it found it difficult to break them down. Midway through the second half substitutes Cristiano and ChicÃ£o combined to put us ahead on the away goals rule. Two minutes from time though Londrina were awarded a harsh penalty, but FabrÃcio Lima skied the effort and we went up the other end of the pitch and confirmed a semi-final berth thanks to Cristiano.

Prior to our first leg trip to Vasco we allowed Bira to drop down two divisions as the right back joined Miguelense for Â£20,000. FlÃ¡vio Guilherme sensationally put us ahead after just 11 minutes, and things got even better when Rodrigo Santos was sent off for the home side. But for all our attacking play, we didnâ€™t get another, and ten minutes before the break Anderson equalised. Things got worse five minutes into the second half when Alessandro Lopes was given his marching orders, but seven minutes later Helinho struck a free kick to put us back in front. Eleven minutes from time FlÃ¡vio Guilherme added a third and we had a good lead to take back to our place.

We were 2-0 up inside 12 minutes at Portuguesa thanks to goals from Helinho and FlÃ¡vio Guilherme, but on 21 we had Marcelo Borges sent off, and we were set to defend for the rest of the game. But instead we were the more potent of the two sides, and just before the hour Cristiano made it 3-0. Roberto pulled a goal back four minutes later, but it was never going to be enough for the home side.

Anderson put Vasco ahead at our place to give the visitors some hope in the second leg of the Cup semi final, but seven minutes later Cristiano levelled things up on the night to restore our two-goal advantage. Bosco scored a second just before half time as we qualified 5-2 on aggregate for the final.

Helinho put us ahead midway through the first half at home to AtlÃ©tico Paranaense, but we paid for our poor finishing when JoÃ£o Alex equalised eleven minutes from time.

The trip to Cruzeiro started quietly, but five minutes before half time Leandro Diniz gave us the lead. Cristiano doubled the lead eleven minutes into the second half, but just six minutes later Alex pulled a goal back with a fantastic free kick. We couldnâ€™t quite hold out for a win; Wilson scoring an equaliser eight minutes from time.

Weâ€™ve been unbeaten this month, but the last two results have shown us that we must really try to take our chances when given them. The sides in this division will punish you if you give them the opportunity.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts

1st Flamengo 9 8 1 0 18 5 +13 25

2nd Santos 9 7 1 1 17 6 +11 22

3rd Palmeiras 10 6 3 1 20 10 +10 21

4th ParanÃ¡ 10 6 2 2 18 10 +8 20

5th CriciÃºma 9 6 1 2 20 8 +12 19

6th Internacional 10 5 0 5 21 18 +3 15

7th Fluminense 8 4 3 1 11 7 +4 15

8th Cruzeiro 9 4 2 3 15 11 +4 14

9th Juventude 9 4 1 4 10 9 +1 13

10th Santa Cruz 8 4 0 4 10 13 -3 12

11th GoiÃ¢nia 7 3 3 1 14 9 +5 12

12th GrÃªmio 10 3 3 4 8 13 -5 12

13th AtlÃ©tico Mineiro 8 3 2 3 11 9 +2 11

14th Guarani 10 3 1 6 14 17 -3 10

15th Coritiba 9 3 1 5 8 13 -5 10

16th SÃ£o Caetano 7 2 4 1 10 9 +1 10

17th SÃ£o Paulo 6 3 0 3 7 9 -2 9

18th Ponte Preta 9 2 3 4 8 10 -2 9

19th Portuguesa 10 2 3 5 12 19 -7 9

20th Corinthians 10 2 3 5 10 17 -7 9

21st AtlÃ©tico Paranaense 10 0 5 5 8 23 -15 5

22nd Bahia 9 1 1 7 6 15 -9 4

-------------------------------------------------------

23rd Vasco 8 1 1 6 5 17 -12 4

24th Paysandu 6 0 2 4 2 6 -4 2

</pre>

PMLF · April 4, 2004

You're doing a good job this season so far.

Win the Cup and you'll play the magical Copa Libertadores next season.

binny · April 4, 2004

June 2007

We hosted league leaders Flamengo, and did a good job of neutralising their attacking threat. Neither side had much in terms of goal bound efforts, even when Flamengo had CÃ¡ssio sent off on the hour.

We travelled to SÃ£o Caetano for the first leg of the Cup Final, but we didnâ€™t play well and Raulen scored on 26. A bit of a bust-up thirteen minutes from time saw both sides reduced to 10 men; we had Alex sent off and our hosts saw Raulen given his marching orders. There wasnâ€™t any more scoring though, and weâ€™ll have to overcome the deficit if we want to win the competition.

We travelled next to Corinthians, and for a long well our defence held out. But on the hour Thyago put the home side ahead, only for Cristiano to equalise a minute from time. But two minutes into injury time Corinthians were awarded a penalty and Marquinhos sealed victory from the spot.

Twenty minutes into the Cup Final second leg against SÃ£o Caetano we had the lead thanks to FlÃ¡vio Guilherme, but five minutes later SomÃ¡lia scored for the visitors, giving them a vital away goal. We kept on plugging away though, and on the hour Leandro Diniz levelled up the aggregate scores. But another rash foul allowed Hugo to equalise on the night from the penalty spot and we lost the tie 3-2 on aggregate.

The trip to Guarani was another rearguard action, and we did well, breaking just before half time to take the lead through FlÃ¡vio Guilherme. But Guarani came back at us, and Waldir struck twice late on to condemn us to defeat.

We travelled to bottom-side Bahia, and we started magnificently as FlÃ¡vio Guilherme gave us a 4th-minute lead. But within four minutes ClÃ¡udio had equalised, and midway through the second half Pires won the game for Bahia as we continued to slip down the table.

The home tie against struggling Vasco got off to another good start as Cristiano scored in the fourth minute, but five minutes later Vasco were level as Iriney scored from the penalty spot. The rest of the half was even, and it wasnâ€™t until midway through the second half when ChicÃ£o put us ahead again. Six minutes later Cristiano made it 3-1, only for Leandro to pull another goal back for Vasco. Six minutes from time we breathed a sigh of relief as Cristiano completed his hatrick, and in injury time FlÃ¡vio Guilherme scored a fifth.

The last game of the month was at home to a struggling Paysandu side. Yet again we took an early lead through Leandro Diniz, only for Orlando to equalise five minutes later. We werenâ€™t helped when Juninho was unluckily sent off early in the second half, but FlÃ¡vio Guilherme scored twice late on to put us 3-1 up. Rena pulled a goal back a minute from time, but it was nothing more than a consolation.

Iâ€™m really concerned about our defensive record recently; weâ€™ve conceded two goals in each of our last six games. Itâ€™s only been poor defending from Vasco and Paysandu that has allowed us to win those games, but hopefully we can overcome our injury and suspension problems to sure up at the back.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts

1st Flamengo 13 9 4 0 19 5 +14 31

2nd Palmeiras 14 9 3 2 30 16 +14 30

3rd Juventude 14 8 2 4 21 14 +7 26

4th Santos 14 8 2 4 24 18 +6 26

5th Fluminense 13 6 6 1 17 10 +7 24

6th Internacional 13 7 1 5 27 20 +7 22

7th CriciÃºma 14 6 4 4 24 14 +10 22

8th SÃ£o Paulo 13 6 3 4 20 20 0 21

9th Coritiba 14 6 2 6 19 16 +3 20

10th ParanÃ¡ 14 6 2 6 22 21 +1 20

11th Cruzeiro 14 5 5 4 24 18 +6 20

12th Guarani 14 6 1 7 20 21 -1 19

13th GoiÃ¢nia 13 5 4 4 25 19 +6 19

14th AtlÃ©tico Mineiro 14 5 4 5 20 19 +1 19

15th Corinthians 14 5 4 5 20 22 -2 19

16th GrÃªmio 14 4 6 4 12 16 -4 18

17th Ponte Preta 14 4 5 5 15 16 -1 17

18th Santa Cruz 13 4 3 6 12 19 -7 15

19th SÃ£o Caetano 12 3 5 4 17 18 -1 14

20th Portuguesa 14 3 5 6 18 25 -7 14

21st Paysandu 14 2 5 7 12 20 -8 11

22nd Bahia 14 2 2 10 10 21 -11 8

-------------------------------------------------------

23rd AtlÃ©tico Paranaense 14 0 7 7 12 30 -18 7

24th Vasco 14 1 3 10 8 30 -22 6

</pre>

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">State Winner State Winner

Acre IndependÃªncia Alagoas CRB

AmapÃ¡ MazagÃ£o Amazonas Nacional (AM)

Bahia VitÃ³ria CearÃ¡ Fortaleza

Brasiliense Gama EspÃrito Santo Serra

GaÃºcho Juventude MaranhÃ£o Sampaio CorrÃªa

Mato Grosso Juventude (MT) MG do Sul OperÃ¡rio (MS)

Minas AmÃ©rica (MG) ParÃ¡ Remo

ParaÃba Botafogo (PB) ParanÃ¡ Coritiba

Pernambuco Sport Recife PiauÃ River (PI)

Potiguar AmÃ©rica (RN) Rio Fluminense

RondÃ´nia GÃªnus Roraima BarÃ©

Santa Catarina AvaÃ SÃ£o Paulo SÃ£o Paulo

Sergipe ConfianÃ§a (SE) Tocantins Palmas

</pre>

binny · April 7, 2004

July 2007

Our month began with a trip to Coritiba, and after a quiet opening, Marcelo struck to put the home side ahead. Three minutes later though FlÃ¡vio Guilherme equalised, only for Marcel to restore the lead for Coritiba three minutes before the break. We were much improved in the second half, and just past the hour JÃ´ got his name back onto the scoresheet to equalise. On 75 FlÃ¡vio Guilherme sensationally put us into the lead, and we held on to win.

We welcomed cup winner SÃ£o Caetano back to our place and within 10 minutes they had the lead through Marcos Paulo. The visitors then had Hugo sent off on the half hour, but we couldnâ€™t get our act together. Midway through the second half AnaÃlson made it 2-0 and we were looking down and out. But five minutes later JÃ´ pulled a goal back, and with twelve minutes to go JÃ´ equalised. We had the initiative now, and JÃ´ completed his hatrick two minutes from time to give us a strange victory.

We began well in the home tie against Juventude, and Liminha scored a screamer on 18 to put us into the lead. Juventude though pounded our goal, and four minutes into the second half BalÃ£o finally equalised, and seven minutes later BalÃ£o scored what turned out to be the winning goal.

Our trip to Santos was nothing short of a disaster. Amaral had our hosts ahead midway through the first half, and five minutes later Jerri scored a second from the penalty spot. Three minutes into the second half we found ourselves 3-0 down when LÃ©o fired in, and worse was to follow when Carlos Alexandre was sent off. Santos did have Alex sent off, but it didnâ€™t stop their charge forward, and Luiz Carlos completed the rout on 73.

We made a good start at home to Internacional as first Liminha and then JÃ´ scored inside the first 21 minutes. The visitors tried their best to come back, but by the end only had a 49th-minute Nilmar goal to show for their efforts.

ParanÃ¡ came to town and were 3-0 up inside ten minutes. Geraldo opened the scoring, and that was followed by further strikes from TaÃlson and LÃª. We did improve after that, and eight minutes into the second half had a chink of light when FlÃ¡vio Guilherme pulled a goal back. Fifteen minutes from time Juninho headed home a second, but it wasnâ€™t enough for us.

We travelled next to table-toppers Palmeiras, and on 26 gifted them the lead when VÃ¡gner Love fired in a penalty. Somehow we managed to stem the rest of their attacking flow, and sixteen minutes from time capitalised on a rare moment of madness in their defence to earn a draw through Carlos Alberto.

Prior to the trip to CriciÃºma we signed 27-year-old backup defender Rubens for a nominal fee from Moto Clube. We had a bit of a disaster, falling behind to a Carlos Alberto goal on 11 minutes. JabÃ¡ added a second just before the break, and we never looked like getting back into the game. In the last twenty minutes of the game Wesley made it 3-0 for CriciÃºma and then Rosinei and LeandrÃ£o added further goals as we crashed to a heavy defeat.

The last action of the month was the transfer deadline-day sales of Henrique and LÃ©o. Henrique has joined Fortaleza for Â£20,000 and LÃ©o joins Desportive for Â£30,000.

Itâ€™s been a bit of a mixed month for us as we earned a few good wins, but also suffered two heavy away defeats. Still, our aim for this season is to avoid relegation, and although there is still a long way to go, we seem to be on target to achieve that aim.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts

1st Palmeiras 21 12 6 3 40 24 +16 42

2nd Flamengo 20 12 6 2 29 14 +15 42

3rd SÃ£o Paulo 21 12 4 5 34 27 +7 40

4th Juventude 21 10 6 5 28 21 +7 36

5th Fluminense 21 9 9 3 29 16 +13 36

6th Santos 21 10 5 6 32 22 +10 35

7th Internacional 21 10 2 9 43 33 +10 32

8th Guarani 21 10 1 10 29 28 +1 31

9th CriciÃºma 21 9 4 8 36 22 +14 31

10th SÃ£o Caetano 20 8 6 6 33 27 +6 30

11th Coritiba 21 9 2 10 29 30 -1 29

12th ParanÃ¡ 21 9 2 10 32 37 -5 29

13th GoiÃ¢nia 21 8 5 8 37 39 -2 29

14th Cruzeiro 21 7 8 6 32 25 +7 29

15th Corinthians 21 8 4 9 31 32 -1 28

16th GrÃªmio 21 6 8 7 20 26 -6 26

17th Vasco 21 7 4 10 23 36 -13 25

18th AtlÃ©tico Mineiro 21 6 6 9 26 31 -5 24

19th Paysandu 21 6 5 10 25 30 -5 23

20th Santa Cruz 21 6 5 10 26 36 -10 23

21st Portuguesa 21 5 7 9 27 39 -12 22

22nd Ponte Preta 21 5 6 10 20 32 -12 21

-------------------------------------------------------

23rd Bahia 21 4 6 11 17 27 -10 18

24th AtlÃ©tico Paranaense 21 0 9 12 19 43 -24 9

</pre>

binny · April 7, 2004

August 2007

We started the month with a trip to Fluminense, and on 14 found ourselves behind to a Rodrigo TiuÃ strike. We didnâ€™t really manage to get a grip on the game, and on the hour Rodrigo TiuÃ doubled the lead with what turned out to be the final goal of the game.

After a promising opening to the home tie with champions AtlÃ©tico Mineiro, we fell behind to a LÃºcio FlÃ¡vio strike. We regrouped, and seven minutes into the second half found an equaliser through JÃ´. Four minutes later though Alex Alves broke through to restore the lead for the home side, only for Geninho to equalise with a strike on the hour mark. We had the ascendancy, but our finishing was summed up on 86 when Leandro Diniz struck a penalty straight into the arms of the goalkeeper. As a result both sides had to settle for a 2-2 draw.

We got off to a fantastic start away at SÃ£o Paulo as Cristiano put us ahead inside 60 seconds. But just two minutes later AlÃª equalised. We were under immense pressure for the rest of the half, and seven minutes before the break KlÃ©ber finally broke through. On the stroke of half time LuÃs Fabiano added a third, and we crashed to yet another defeat.

Santa Cruz came to town, and we dominated from start to finish. We struggled though to find a way through, but eleven minutes from time JÃ´ struck. In injury time at the end of the game JÃ´ added a second, and we recorded a very welcome win.

We fell behind at home to GrÃªmio to a disputed ClÃ¡udio Pitbull penalty. But five minutes later JÃ´ struck, and we earned ourselves a point.

The trip to Ponte Preta was a rather poor affair, with neither side showing to match in attacking terms, and in the end 0-0 was a fair result.

Our trip to Paysandu was given a huge boost in the very first minute when the home side had LeÃlton sent off, and on 12 minutes FlÃ¡vio Guilherme struck to put us ahead. FlÃ¡vio Guilherme put us in control on 26, and we let up after that, even when the home side had Ronaldo sent off twenty minutes from time.

Weâ€™ve conceded just one goal in our past four matches, and all of a sudden our defensive is looking a lot sturdier again. Weâ€™re still plugging away, and a mid-table finish looks likely at this stage of the season.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts

1st Palmeiras 28 16 8 4 50 29 +21 56

2nd SÃ£o Paulo 27 16 5 6 41 29 +12 53

3rd Flamengo 27 14 9 4 37 22 +15 51

4th Fluminense 28 13 12 3 39 18 +21 51

5th Santos 27 15 5 7 47 27 +20 50

6th SÃ£o Caetano 28 13 9 6 47 34 +13 48

7th ParanÃ¡ 27 14 2 11 43 45 -2 44

8th Internacional 28 13 5 10 52 39 +13 44

9th Juventude 28 12 7 9 37 31 +6 43

10th Corinthians 28 11 6 11 41 41 0 39

11th GoiÃ¢nia 28 10 8 10 45 47 -2 38

12th Guarani 27 11 4 12 39 38 +1 37

13th Coritiba 28 10 7 11 35 36 -1 37

14th Cruzeiro 26 9 10 7 38 28 +10 37

15th CriciÃºma 28 10 5 13 40 31 +9 35

16th GrÃªmio 28 8 11 9 28 34 -6 35

17th Santa Cruz 28 8 6 14 36 50 -14 30

18th Paysandu 27 7 8 12 32 41 -9 29

19th Vasco 27 7 6 14 27 46 -19 27

20th Portuguesa 27 6 9 12 31 46 -15 27

21st AtlÃ©tico Mineiro 28 6 8 14 32 44 -12 26

22nd Bahia 28 6 8 14 23 36 -13 26

-------------------------------------------------------

23rd Ponte Preta 28 5 10 13 22 39 -17 25

24th AtlÃ©tico Paranaense 28 2 10 16 25 56 -31 16

</pre>

binny · April 7, 2004

September 2007

The month started with a home tie against Bahia. We didnâ€™t play brilliantly, but were the better side. We failed though to find the net, and fell to a 36th-minute Nonato strike.

We were caught defensively early on at AtlÃ©tico Paranaense as Alexandre FÃ¡varo put the home side ahead, and seven minutes before the break Fernandinho doubled the lead. Fernandinho made it 3-0 just after the restart, and we had Allan sent off just minutes after coming on for two bookings.

Yet again we found ourselves behind early on, this time to a Seleznyov strike on 11 minutes. But just after the restart we were level when Guilherme put into his own net, and we earned ourselves a draw.

Things got off to a good start away at Vasco. We took the lead on 16 thanks to a well-taken JÃ´ strike, and ten minutes later Vasco were reduced to ten men when they had Paulo Rodrigues sent off. But come the second half Vasco turned things round. On the hour AÃlton equalised, and three minutes later LÃ©o Borges had the home side ahead. Kim added a third on 74, and in the last seven minutes AÃlton scored twice to complete a hatrick as we crumbled 5-1.

The home game with Corinthians was a poor affair. We had Allan sent off on the half hour, they had Wendell sent off midway through the second half, and that was about it.

We were holding out well against Cruzeiro for a long time at home, but eighteen minutes from time Bosco put the ball into his own net, and we crashed to defeat.

Itâ€™s not been a particularly good month for us. Weâ€™ve found scoring difficult, and that makes winning a problem. Still, weâ€™re holding on in there, and hopefully we can still avoid the drop.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts

1st Palmeiras 34 20 9 5 60 34 +26 69

2nd SÃ£o Paulo 34 20 7 7 57 36 +21 67

3rd Flamengo 34 18 10 6 47 26 +21 64

4th SÃ£o Caetano 34 17 10 7 57 38 +19 61

5th Fluminense 33 16 13 4 46 20 +26 61

6th Santos 34 18 6 10 58 37 +21 60

7th ParanÃ¡ 34 17 6 11 48 46 +2 57

8th Internacional 34 15 8 11 60 46 +14 53

9th Corinthians 34 13 9 12 48 49 -1 48

10th Guarani 33 14 4 15 47 44 +3 46

11th CriciÃºma 34 13 7 14 51 39 +12 46

12th Juventude 34 13 7 14 40 40 0 46

13th Cruzeiro 31 11 12 8 42 32 +10 45

14th Coritiba 34 11 10 13 39 42 -3 43

15th GrÃªmio 34 10 12 12 35 42 -7 42

16th Santa Cruz 34 11 8 15 44 56 -12 41

17th GoiÃ¢nia 34 10 10 14 47 58 -11 40

18th AtlÃ©tico Mineiro 33 9 9 15 38 47 -9 36

19th Bahia 34 9 9 16 30 41 -11 36

20th Paysandu 34 7 10 17 34 53 -19 31

21st Vasco 32 8 6 18 34 56 -22 30

22nd Portuguesa 34 6 12 16 35 57 -22 30

-------------------------------------------------------

23rd Ponte Preta 34 6 10 18 25 53 -28 28

24th AtlÃ©tico Paranaense 34 3 14 17 30 60 -30 23

</pre>

binny · April 8, 2004

October 2007

We were behind in just the third minute at Internacional when JoÃ£o fired in from the penalty spot, and although we competed well Nilmar doubled the lead eight minutes before the break. It was 3-0 on 48 when Nilmar struck again, and although Alessandro Lopes headed in his first goal for the club, we were not able to pull back the deficit.

Prior to the trip to Flamengo we signed a new coach; 55-year-old SÃ© joining from Villa Nova (MG). We didnâ€™t play particularly well against Flamengo, and at half time were behind to a 19th-minute Andrezinho strike. But Flamengo had CÃ¡ssio sent off just before the break and three minutes into the second half Cristiano levelled up the scores. Four minutes later JÃ´ put us ahead, but on the hour Andrezinho equalised. Fifteen minutes from time Fernando Baiano struck, and we had lost again.

We played well at home to Guarani, but just couldnâ€™t find a way past once Andrezinho had struck on 21.

Things didnâ€™t get much better as we travelled to Juventude. BalÃ£o put them ahead on the half hour and RogÃ©rio Silva doubled the lead seven minutes later. But just before the break Cristiano pulled a goal back, and after trying hard FlÃ¡vio Guilherme equalised eight minutes from time. But four minutes later Geufer broke through to condemn us to a 0% record this month.

Things are starting to look decidedly dodgy at the moment. With eight games to go we are only eight points clear of safety, and although we have a buffer of four other sides as well, our form does not bode well.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts

1st Palmeiras 38 22 9 7 67 40 +27 75

2nd Flamengo 38 20 11 7 54 33 +21 71

3rd SÃ£o Caetano 38 19 12 7 63 41 +22 69

4th SÃ£o Paulo 38 20 8 10 60 45 +15 68

5th Fluminense 38 18 14 6 57 28 +29 68

6th Santos 38 19 7 12 63 42 +21 64

7th ParanÃ¡ 38 19 7 12 56 53 +3 64

8th Internacional 38 17 9 12 68 53 +15 60

9th Cruzeiro 38 15 14 9 55 37 +18 59

10th Guarani 38 17 5 16 54 48 +6 56

11th Corinthians 38 15 9 14 53 53 0 54

12th CriciÃºma 38 15 8 15 57 44 +13 53

13th Juventude 38 14 9 15 45 47 -2 51

14th GrÃªmio 38 11 15 12 40 45 -5 48

15th Bahia 38 12 10 16 38 42 -4 46

16th Coritiba 38 11 13 14 44 48 -4 46

17th Santa Cruz 38 12 8 18 48 66 -18 44

18th GoiÃ¢nia 38 10 10 18 52 68 -16 40

19th Portuguesa 38 9 13 16 43 60 -17 40

20th Vasco 38 11 6 21 46 73 -27 39

21st AtlÃ©tico Mineiro 38 10 9 19 44 57 -13 39

22nd Paysandu 38 8 11 19 38 61 -23 35

-------------------------------------------------------

23rd Ponte Preta 38 7 11 20 31 60 -29 32

24th AtlÃ©tico Paranaense 38 4 14 20 37 69 -32 26

</pre>

binny · April 10, 2004

November 2007

We began the month in fantastic style at home to Coritiba as Cristiano netted in just the first minute. But we failed to build on the lead, and just after the half hour Marcelo equalised. We had the opportunity to retake the lead just before the break, but Bosco sent his penalty into the arms of the goalkeeper. We were still the better side in the second half, and on 65 Cristiano put us back into the lead. Coritiba did try to get back, but we held on to claim a timely win.

We did well early on away at SÃ£o Caetano, keeping them at bay. Ten minutes before the break we broke and Cristiano put us ahead, only for SomÃ¡lia to equalise just three minutes later. The game petered out for much of the second half, but ten minutes from time we had ChicÃ£o sent off, and two minutes from the end SomÃ¡lia broke our hearts.

We started well against the league leaders Palmeiras, and took the lead on 11 minutes through FlÃ¡vio Guilherme. Four minutes later though we allowed VÃ¡gner Love in to equalise, and on the half hour Diego Souza put Palmeiras ahead. JadÃlson added a third early in the second half, and in the dying moments we had JÃ´ sent off.

Both sides huffed and puffed as we hosted Santos, but neither side had the cutting edge. Fifteen minutes from time though Santosâ€™ Alex put through his own net to give us enough points to ensure our safety with still four games to play.

Poor defending allowed Geraldo in to put ParanÃ¡ ahead as we travelled to them. We were really wretched defensively, and it was a surprise that we didnâ€™t concede again before LÃª struck early in the second half. Cristiano pulled a goal back three minutes later, but seventeen minutes later ParanÃ¡ were awarded a harsh penalty. But FlÃ¡vio Mendes did well to keep out the spot kick from Kuptsov and two minutes later Cristiano struck to earn us a point with his 100th goal in club colours.

Iâ€™m just relieved to have finally ensured our safety for the season, and two factors seem to have turned things around. The first is the return from injury of Leandro Diniz, and the second is the sparkling form of Cristiano.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts

1st Palmeiras 43 25 9 9 75 44 +31 84

2nd Fluminense 43 23 14 6 67 28 +39 83

3rd Flamengo 43 22 13 8 58 35 +23 79

4th SÃ£o Caetano 43 21 13 9 71 48 +23 76

5th SÃ£o Paulo 43 21 10 12 70 55 +15 73

6th Santos 43 21 9 13 68 46 +22 72

7th ParanÃ¡ 43 20 10 13 63 58 +5 70

8th Cruzeiro 43 18 15 10 62 40 +22 69

9th Corinthians 43 18 10 15 60 59 +1 64

10th Internacional 43 17 11 15 74 67 +7 62

11th Guarani 43 18 6 19 58 54 +4 60

12th Juventude 43 17 9 17 51 54 -3 60

13th Bahia 43 16 11 16 44 43 +1 59

14th CriciÃºma 43 16 10 17 65 52 +13 58

15th GrÃªmio 43 14 16 13 46 48 -2 58

16th Santa Cruz 43 16 9 18 58 68 -10 57

17th Coritiba 43 12 13 18 51 58 -7 49

18th Portuguesa 43 12 13 18 49 65 -16 49

19th GoiÃ¢nia 43 12 11 20 59 76 -17 47

20th Vasco 43 13 6 24 49 80 -31 45

21st AtlÃ©tico Mineiro 43 11 10 22 46 66 -20 43

22nd Paysandu 43 8 12 23 38 66 -28 36

-------------------------------------------------------

23rd Ponte Preta 43 7 12 24 35 71 -36 33

24th AtlÃ©tico Paranaense 43 5 14 24 40 76 -36 29

</pre>

binny · April 10, 2004

December 2007

The home tie with CriciÃºma wasnâ€™t a particularly good affair. Both sides did have their opportunities, but the winning goal came from centre-back Allan with a header on the hour. CriciÃºma had Paulinho sent off three minutes from time, and we had another victory under our belts.

We got off to a brilliant start away at AtlÃ©tico Mineiro, scoring through Leandro Diniz and Bosco inside the first twelve minutes. Cristiano made it 3-0 on 32, and just before half time the home side had William sent off. Midway through the second half Paulinho was sent off, and eight minutes later FÃ¡bio JÃºnior was given his marching orders to leave the home side with only eight men on the field. Carlos Alberto scored a fourth late on with a fantastic lob.

The last game of the season was at home to Fluminense, who needed a point to ensure the Championship. But we were determined to give them a game, and midway through the first half Cristiano continued his good form to give us the lead. On the hour mark through Rodrigo TiuÃ equalised, and both sides were happy to settle for a point.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts

1st C Fluminense 46 24 16 6 72 31 +41 88

2nd Palmeiras 46 25 9 12 76 52 +24 84

3rd Flamengo 46 23 13 10 61 41 +20 82

4th Santos 46 23 10 13 78 49 +29 79

5th SÃ£o Caetano 46 21 15 10 75 54 +21 78

6th SÃ£o Paulo 46 21 12 13 76 65 +11 75

7th Cruzeiro 46 20 15 11 69 41 +28 75

8th ParanÃ¡ 46 21 11 14 69 63 +6 74

9th Corinthians 46 18 13 15 61 60 +1 67

10th Internacional 46 18 12 16 79 71 +8 66

11th Guarani 46 19 7 20 61 56 +5 64

12th Santa Cruz 46 18 9 19 63 71 -8 63

13th CriciÃºma 46 17 11 18 67 53 +14 62

14th Juventude 46 17 11 18 52 57 -5 62

15th Bahia 46 16 13 17 45 47 -2 61

16th GrÃªmio 46 14 18 14 48 53 -5 60

17th Coritiba 46 14 14 18 57 61 -4 56

18th Portuguesa 46 14 14 18 53 65 -12 56

19th GoiÃ¢nia 46 14 12 20 65 77 -12 54

20th Vasco 46 14 6 26 52 87 -35 48

21st AtlÃ©tico Mineiro 46 11 11 24 46 73 -27 44

22nd Paysandu 46 8 14 24 39 70 -31 38

---------------------------------------------------------

23rd R Ponte Preta 46 8 13 25 40 75 -35 37

24th R AtlÃ©tico Paranaense 46 7 15 24 45 77 -32 36

</pre>

Itâ€™s been a tough season for us. Playing 71 games in 11 months is tough going, and weâ€™ve had to use the squad wisely. We havenâ€™t been as impressive as in previous seasons, but then again, we were playing against much better opposition this season. The cup run made those in the know sit up and watch, because, for some reason, I was awarded 2nd place in the South American Manager of the Year award. Perhaps more surprisingly was that Cristiano was awarded 3rd place in the Player of the Year award for the top flight.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Name Apps Cln Conc MoM Av R

FlÃ¡vio Mendes 68 21 91 4 6.99

Tute 1 0 1 0 5.00

Weber 2 1 3 0 6.50

Name Apps Gls Asts MoM Av R

Alessandro Lopes 4 (15) 1 0 1 6.47

Alex 58 0 2 4 6.67

Alex Rodrigues - - - - ----

Allan 19 (11) 1 0 0 6.00

Bosco 61 3 3 2 6.64

Bruno Leite 16 (18) 0 0 1 6.06

Carlos Alberto 49 (2) 5 5 1 6.45

Carlos Alexandre 62 0 6 4 7.08

Carlos Henrique - - - - ----

ChicÃ£o 17 (20) 2 6 0 6.08

Cley 0 (1) 0 0 0 6.00

ClÃ³vis 13 (8) 1 0 1 6.76

Cristiano 39 (22) 27 22 8 7.15

FlÃ¡vio Guilherme 58 (3) 32 13 3 6.72

Geninho 47 2 5 1 6.96

Helinho 51 6 7 2 6.98

Jean 6 (3) 0 1 1 7.00

Juninho 55 2 1 1 6.78

JÃ´ 44 (3) 23 15 7 6.68

Leandro Diniz 59 8 16 2 7.51

Liminha 20 (34) 5 2 0 6.89

LuÃs Fernando 0 (7) 0 0 0 6.43

Marcelo Borges 2 (2) 0 0 0 5.75

Marcos Roberto 11 (14) 0 1 2 6.88

Michel 1 (6) 0 3 0 6.43

Rafael MoÃ§amba 4 (6) 0 0 0 6.70

Rubens - - - - ----

RÃ³bson 1 (3) 0 1 0 6.75

Stefano 1 (3) 0 0 0 6.25

Tiago 12 (4) 0 2 1 6.94

William 0 (2) 0 0 0 6.00

-------------------------------------------

Bira - - - - ----

Henrique - - - - ----

LÃ©o - - - - ----

</pre>

Football fans are a fickle lot. Leandro Diniz was again the best player this season (in my opinion at least), but the goals in November and December that Cristiano scored were enough to earn the striker the fansâ€™ vote for Player of the Year. Weâ€™ll probably have to make a few squad adjustments ahead of the new season, but Iâ€™m confident that we can consolidate our position again.

PMLF · April 11, 2004

At least you didn't get relegated. For the next season I hope you finish among the Top 12 as it will qualify your team to the second most important South American competition (Copa Sudamericana).

binny · April 13, 2004

I hope so too PMLF - but it won't be easy

Preseason 2008

There was quite a bit of transfer activity as we rushed to get our squad together before the GoiÃ¡s Championship started again. Marcelo Borges retired from the sport and Cley joined CENE for Â£50,000. We had nine youngsters come up through the youth system, but none of them look like breaking into the side for at least two years. We broke our transfer record to sign Roger, a right-winger, from German side Hertha BSC for Â£650,000 and young striker Marcelinho joined on a free transfer from GrÃªmio. We also strengthened the backroom staff. Wanderley joined the coaching staff from Volta Redonda, and former Russian international Dmitry Alenichev joins the scouting force.

We played one friendly game in the build-up to the new season, and it was our first match on foreign soil as we travelled to Ecuador to take on Deportivo Quito. The game was a pretty poor spectacle, and it ended 0-0.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Name Age Position(s) Value

Albuquerque 16 DM RC Â£0

Alessandro Domingos 14 M RLC Â£0

Alessandro Lopes 23 D C Â£210K

Alex 27 D/DM L Â£350K

Alex Rodrigues 15 S C Â£0

Allan 24 D/DM C Â£120K

Bosco 27 D/DM RC Â£250K

Bruno Leite 26 D RL Â£110K

Carlos Alberto 26 AM RL Â£425K

Carlos Alexandre 28 D RL Â£190K

Carlos Henrique 30 F RL Â£6K

ChicÃ£o 34 AM R Â£24K

ClÃ³vis 29 DM C Â£400K

Cristiano 28 F LC Â£825K

Everson Paula 14 D L Â£0

Fernando Vital 15 S C Â£0

FlÃ¡vio Guilherme 27 S C Â£275K

FlÃ¡vio Mendes 30 GK Â£220K

Gabriel Brito 15 DM LC Â£0

Geninho 27 DM C Â£375K

Helinho 27 AM/F C Â£850K

Jean 28 DM C Â£160K

Juninho 25 D LC Â£275K

JÃ´ 20 S C Â£300K

Leandro Diniz 28 AM L Â£2.2M

Liminha 31 AM C Â£95K

LuÃs Fernando 23 S C Â£150K

Marcelinho 21 S C Â£650K

Marcos Roberto 34 D C Â£24K

Mariano 15 S C Â£0

Michel 25 S C Â£180K

Rafael MoÃ§amba 26 AM/F RC Â£300K

Rocha 14 DM C Â£0

Roger 23 AM/F RC Â£1.1M

Rubens 27 D LC Â£120K

RÃ³bson 22 M LC Â£160K

Schneider 14 F RC Â£0

Silva Moraes 14 S C Â£0

Stefano 29 D RL Â£40K

Tiago 22 AM L Â£375K

Tute 29 GK Â£60K

Weber 24 GK Â£95K

William 27 AM C Â£50K

Coaching Staff

SÃ© Assistant Manager

Tisdale, N Coach

Batista, J Coach

Wanderley Coach

Silva Moraes, M Physio

Santos da Silva, C Scout

Camargo, L Scout

Alenichev, D Scout

</pre>

binny · April 13, 2004

January 2008

The first game of the season was a home tie with Inhumas, and on 11 minutes JÃ´ opened his account for the season. We had an opportunity to double the lead on the half hour, but Leandro Diniz sent his penalty into the arms of the goalkeeper. We finally got our second on the hour through Cristiano and fifteen minutes later Leandro Diniz made it 3-0, this time scoring from the penalty spot. Helinho added a fourth soon after and we had got off to a good start.

Another Leandro Diniz penalty gave us the lead at Vila Nova, and although we dominated proceedings, we couldnâ€™t find a second. It was to cost us as Guilherme equalised eight minutes from time.

Two goals inside the first fifteen minutes from Helinho got us under way at home to Anapolina, and JÃ´ added a third just before half time. Slack defending allowed AndrÃ© Pinto in to score a consolation in injury time at the end of the game.

The month ended with a drab 0-0 draw away at Real. It was a game that neither side came close to winning, and 0-0 was a fair result.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts

1st GoiÃ¡s 4 4 0 0 11 1 +10 12

2nd AtlÃ©tico Goianiense 4 3 1 0 12 1 +11 10

3rd AnÃ¡polis 4 3 0 1 10 2 +8 9

4th GoiÃ¢nia 4 2 2 0 8 2 +6 8

5th Vila Nova (GO) 4 2 2 0 6 3 +3 8

6th Anapolina 4 2 0 2 10 6 +4 6

7th Caldas 4 2 0 2 7 6 +1 6

8th Goiatuba 4 1 0 3 4 7 -3 3

-------------------------------------------------------

9th Aparecida 4 1 0 3 2 8 -6 3

-------------------------------------------------------

10th Inhumas 4 1 0 3 2 12 -10 3

11th Real (GO) 4 0 1 3 0 10 -10 1

12th Novo Horizonte 4 0 0 4 1 15 -14 0

</pre>

binny · April 13, 2004

February 2008

A lot of contracts in Brazil end at the end of January, and so the 1st of February sees a lot of transfer activity. Carlos Henrique was allowed to leave to join FerroviÃ¡rio ST, whilst we had five new players arriving at the club. Wellington and XandÃ£o, both centre-backs, come in from Santos and SÃ£o Paulo respectively, and right wingback Borges Neto joins from Portuguesa. We also signed Bahia forward Marcinho and Adriano, a goalkeeper, from 15 de Campo Bom.

Our first match of the month was a bit of a disaster though. We were at Caldas, and after just four minutes AssunÃ§Ã£o had Caldas ahead. Half an hour later AssunÃ§Ã£o doubled the lead, and in the first minute of the second half Batista dos Santos made it 3-0. The rout was completed ten minutes from time when Maciel netted to make it 4-0.

We struggled early on at home to AtlÃ©tico Goianiense, but just before the break JÃ´ struck to put us ahead. JÃ´ doubled the lead on the hour, and although Wilton pulled a goal back three minutes later, Cristiano made it 3-1 on 68 and that was it.

The deadlock at Goiatuba was broken on the half hour when Geninho scored his first goal of the season, but six minutes later it was 1-1 as Leandro Diniz scored an own goal. He made up for it within a minute, providing the cross for Cristiano to restore the lead for us. The game wasnâ€™t made safe until six minutes from time when Cristiano got his second of the game.

We got off to a fantastic start at home to GoiÃ¡s as JÃ´ scored inside the first minute. It was 2-0 on 19 minutes when JÃ´ struck again, and six minutes later Cristiano made it 3-0. But on the half hour GoiÃ¡s pulled a goal back when Giuseppe converted a disputed penalty, and ten minutes into the second half we were sweating when AraÃºjo made it 3-2. But we somehow managed to keep them at bay, and two minutes from time Leandro Diniz made sure of the points with a well-taken penalty.

Prior to the trip to AnÃ¡polis I allowed Michel to join Treze on loan for three months. It will give him an opportunity to get some first team football. The game started well for us as Juninho fired us ahead in the third minute following a corner. Cristiano doubled the lead before half time, and although Edil pulled a goal back seventeen minutes from time we held on for victory.

Iâ€™ve been really pleased with our response to the loss at Caldas at the beginning of the month, and weâ€™re now starting to play the way that I know we can.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts

1st Q Vila Nova (GO) 9 7 2 0 23 4 +19 23

2nd Q AtlÃ©tico Goianiense 9 6 2 1 25 7 +18 20

3rd Q GoiÃ¢nia 9 6 2 1 20 11 +9 20

4th Q Caldas 9 6 0 3 19 10 +9 18

5th Q GoiÃ¡s 9 6 0 3 18 9 +9 18

6th Q AnÃ¡polis 9 5 1 3 16 8 +8 16

7th Anapolina 9 4 2 3 21 11 +10 14

8th Aparecida 9 3 1 5 9 15 -6 10

---------------------------------------------------------

9th Real (GO) 9 2 2 5 4 16 -12 8

---------------------------------------------------------

10th Inhumas 9 2 0 7 6 24 -18 6

11th Goiatuba 9 1 0 8 5 26 -21 3

12th R Novo Horizonte 9 0 0 9 4 29 -25 0

</pre>

eli · April 14, 2004

excellent storY!!

i just want to make sure i got it straight, why are you playing two leagues??

sorry for being slow...

PMLF · April 14, 2004

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by eli:

excellent storY!!

i just want to make sure i got it straight, why are you playing two leagues??

sorry for being slow... <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Two leagues?

You mean teh State League (GoiÃ¡s State League) and the National League?

binny · April 14, 2004

I just do what the Brazilians tell me to do. The first part of the season is for regional divisions, and the rest is a National League

March 2008

The month began at home to struggling Novo Horizonte, and after a quiet opening, JÃ´ put us ahead on the half hour. Two minutes before the break Cristiano made it 2-0, and a minute later JÃ´ added a third with a fantastic strike. The second half was a bit quieter, and the game ended 3-0.

It was a similar story away at Aparecida. We pushed and pushed, but it wasnâ€™t until a minute before the break that we took the lead thanks to Cristiano. We had an opportunity to double the lead midway through the second period, but William struck his penalty into the arms of the goalkeeper. Ten minutes later JÃ´ finally scored a second, and three minutes later Juninho fired in for 3-0. Cristiano made it four in the final minute, and Albuquerque scored a consolation deep into injury time.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts

1st Q Vila Nova (GO) 11 9 2 0 32 4 +28 29

2nd Q GoiÃ¢nia 11 8 2 1 27 12 +15 26

3rd Q AtlÃ©tico Goianiense 11 7 2 2 28 12 +16 23

4th Q AnÃ¡polis 11 7 1 3 22 8 +14 22

5th Q GoiÃ¡s 11 7 0 4 24 12 +12 21

6th Q Caldas 11 7 0 4 23 13 +10 21

7th Q Anapolina 11 6 2 3 26 12 +14 20

8th Q Aparecida 11 3 1 7 10 21 -11 10

---------------------------------------------------------

9th Real (GO) 11 2 2 7 5 23 -18 8

---------------------------------------------------------

10th R Inhumas 11 2 0 9 7 31 -24 6

11th R Goiatuba 11 2 0 9 7 31 -24 6

12th R Novo Horizonte 11 0 0 11 4 36 -32 0

</pre>

The quarterfinal pitted us against Anapolina. We didnâ€™t play particularly well, but neither did they, and it was still goalless at half time. Five minutes into the second half JÃ´ put us ahead, and despite opportunities to do so, we couldnâ€™t wrap things up. Eight minutes from time Ytimura was allowed in to equalise, and the game went to extra time and eventually penalties. FlÃ¡vio Mendes was the hero for us, saving three spot kicks, and we inched through 3-1 to face Vila Nova in the semi-final.

We first had to negotiate a tricky cup-tie away at Corinthians. We started well though, and Roger chose a good time to open his account for the club. Eight minutes later Cristiano added a second, and it could have been more. But Corinthians came back strongly, and four minutes before the break Gil pulled a goal back. And just before the break Gil got through to equalise. We didnâ€™t roll over though, and had the better of the opportunities in the second half. But twelve minutes from time BadÃ© put the home side ahead, heading in from a corner. It didnâ€™t look good for us until we were awarded a penalty in the final minute, and Leandro Diniz made no mistake, taking the game to penalties. The first six kicks were all scored, but we missed our next two and went out 4-3.

We had to pick ourselves up quickly as we hosted Vila Nova in the first leg of the semi final. And we put the cup disappointment behind us quickly as JÃ´ scored inside the first minute. Vila Nova were further hampered when Luciano Santos was sent off on the half hour, and in the two minutes before half time Roger and JÃ´ added further goals. We eased up in the second half, and will take a 3-0 lead into the second leg early next month.

Before the month was out I moved to sign yet another centre-back. Itâ€™s the one position in the team that I havenâ€™t been impressed with, and so in comes 31-year-old Marinho from Ponte Preta. Heâ€™s got good experience and has even been capped once by Brazil, and costs us Â£325,000.

PMLF · April 15, 2004

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> I just do what the Brazilians tell me to do. The first part of the season is for regional divisions, and the rest is a National League <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Exactly. It happens because we have 27 State FAs and 1 National Confederation. Each FA and the National Confederation (CBF) organie its own league.

Dark_Soccer · April 15, 2004

Excellent Story Binny just read it all...high quality and the leagues are wierd!!

KUTGW and quality!

binny · April 15, 2004

Thanks for the support guys - much appreciated

April 2008

We got off to a good start in the return leg at Vila Nova as first FlÃ¡vio Guilherme and then Leandro Diniz had us 2-0 up within 11 minutes. A minute later though Capinha pulled a goal back, but after that we defended well, and held out for a 5-1 aggregate victory and a tie against AnÃ¡polis in the final.

The first leg was at home, and it wasnâ€™t pretty. The game was decided midway through the second half thanks to FlÃ¡vio Guilherme, but it was only a slender lead to take into the return fixture.

First though we had our first league fixture, away at ParanÃ¡. Prior to that we allowed Stefano to return to his first club, Serra, for a fee of Â£35,000. Heâ€™s only ever been a bit-part player, but has always been decent backup when called upon. The game at ParanÃ¡ didnâ€™t start too well for us, as Geraldo was given too much space to put the home side ahead inside 16 minutes. But we held on well, and five minutes before the break Cristiano equalised. As the game wore on we looked the more likely to win the game, but deep into injury time we were caught on the break and LÃª broke our hearts.

We had to pick ourselves up quickly as we travelled to AnÃ¡polis for the second leg of the GoiÃ¡s State Final. Leandro Diniz made no mistake when we awarded a penalty on 10 minutes, and although we controlled proceedings, nothing happened for us. AnÃ¡polis were handed a lifeline five minutes before the break when Alexandre Alvim levelled things up on the night from the penalty spot. The home side came out fighting in the second half, but sixteen minutes from time had Mozart sent off and we took advantage through Cristiano to win the Championship 3-1 on aggregate.

Our first home league game was against Internacional, and things started well when FlÃ¡vio Guilherme put us ahead on 13 minutes. Midway through the half Cristiano doubled the lead, but ten minutes later Ã‰der pulled a goal back with a harshly awarded penalty. Internacional pummelled our goal for the rest of the game, but we defended heroically and claimed our first points of the season.

Our last game of the month was a home tie against Juventude. It wasnâ€™t a brilliant match by any stretch of the imagination, but we did have the better of the chances. It looked to be heading for a 0-0 draw, but four minutes from time Cristiano pounced on a goalkeeping error to earn us an unlikely win.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts

1st Fluminense 3 3 0 0 6 1 +5 9

2nd SÃ£o Paulo 4 3 0 1 8 5 +3 9

3rd Santos 3 2 1 0 7 2 +5 7

4th Cruzeiro 2 2 0 0 5 0 +5 6

5th Juventude 3 2 0 1 6 2 +4 6

6th SÃ£o Caetano 2 2 0 0 4 0 +4 6

7th Guarani 3 2 0 1 6 3 +3 6

8th GoiÃ¢nia 3 2 0 1 4 3 +1 6

9th ParanÃ¡ 3 2 0 1 3 2 +1 6

10th Coritiba 4 2 0 2 7 7 0 6

11th Bahia 3 1 1 1 6 4 +2 4

12th AtlÃ©tico Mineiro 3 1 1 1 4 4 0 4

13th Paysandu 4 1 1 2 4 4 0 4

14th Santa Cruz 1 1 0 0 3 1 +2 3

15th Botafogo 2 1 0 1 3 3 0 3

16th Palmeiras 3 1 0 2 4 7 -3 3

17th Flamengo 3 1 0 2 1 5 -4 3

18th GoiÃ¡s 4 1 0 3 7 13 -6 3

19th Corinthians 2 0 2 0 2 2 0 2

20th CriciÃºma 4 0 2 2 1 4 -3 2

21st Vasco 3 0 1 2 3 7 -4 1

22nd Portuguesa 4 0 1 3 1 8 -7 1

-----------------------------------------------------

23rd GrÃªmio 1 0 0 1 0 2 -2 0

24th Internacional 3 0 0 3 3 9 -6 0

</pre>

binny · April 17, 2004

May 2008

The month began with a poor spectacle at CriciÃºma. Chances were few and far between, and so when JabÃ¡ netted eleven minutes from time, it was enough to condemn us to defeat.

We got off to an amazing start away at Corinthians as FlÃ¡vio Guilherme put us ahead within 13 seconds of the start. We could have scored twice more before Cristiano doubled the lead on 15 and from there on it was mission defend. Somehow we did, and we had another famous victory.

Prior to our next game we made another signing. Dykson, a 24-year-old left wingback signs for Â£75,000 from Inter de Limeira. We were doing well at home to Guarani, holding them 0-0 for a long period. But thirteen minutes from time Juca scored for the visitors, and two minutes later we had Bosco sent off as we lost again.

We travelled to Bahia next, and after doing well in the opening exchanges, we ripped apart in a six-minute period midway through the first half. ClÃ¡udio scored twice in three minutes and then Nonato added a third before we had Marinho sent off for two yellow cards just before half time. Douglas Silva made it 4-0 just after half time, and Bahia left it at that.

Things didnâ€™t get much better as we travelled to Coritiba. Marcel had them ahead on 28 and then scored a second just before half time.

Our final game of the month was at home to Palmeiras. We were doing well before Palmeiras had GlÃ¡uber sent off on 33, and William put us ahead from the penalty spot. Six minutes later FlÃ¡vio Guilherme added a second, and we were in dreamland. But just two minutes into the second half Palmeiras pulled a goal back through VÃ¡gner Love and after dominating proceedings, equalised on 72, again through VÃ¡gner Love. That sparked us into action, but we couldnâ€™t get past the defence, and eight minutes from time VÃ¡gner Love broke our hearts as he completed his hatrick.

Itâ€™s been a poor month for us as we lost five of our six games. Itâ€™s already looking like we might be involved in another relegation battle, and again itâ€™s our defence that is really concerning me.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts

1st Bahia 10 5 4 1 18 6 +12 19

2nd Corinthians 10 5 4 1 14 7 +7 19

3rd Guarani 9 5 2 2 14 7 +7 17

4th SÃ£o Paulo 9 5 2 2 12 8 +4 17

5th Fluminense 9 5 1 3 16 7 +9 16

6th Santos 8 4 3 1 17 9 +8 15

7th SÃ£o Caetano 9 4 3 2 11 6 +5 15

8th Juventude 8 4 2 2 14 10 +4 14

9th GoiÃ¡s 10 3 4 3 15 16 -1 13

10th Cruzeiro 7 4 0 3 11 10 +1 12

11th Coritiba 10 3 3 4 12 12 0 12

12th GrÃªmio 8 3 3 2 9 9 0 12

13th ParanÃ¡ 8 3 3 2 7 7 0 12

14th Botafogo 10 3 3 4 12 17 -5 12

15th Internacional 10 3 2 5 20 21 -1 11

16th Palmeiras 9 3 2 4 16 20 -4 11

17th Vasco 10 3 2 5 12 17 -5 11

18th Santa Cruz 7 3 0 4 11 15 -4 9

19th GoiÃ¢nia 9 3 0 6 8 14 -6 9

20th AtlÃ©tico Mineiro 8 2 2 4 6 11 -5 8

21st Flamengo 9 2 2 5 7 17 -10 8

22nd Paysandu 10 1 5 4 9 11 -2 8

----------------------------------------------------

23rd CriciÃºma 10 1 4 5 6 12 -6 7

24th Portuguesa 9 1 4 4 7 15 -8 7

</pre>

binny · April 17, 2004

June 2008

We weathered the early storm away at Cruzeiro, and midway through the first half broke to take the lead through Roger. But five minutes into the second half we had Bosco sent off for a professional foul, and two quick-fire goals from first Wether and then MÃ¡rcio Nobre turned the game on itsâ€™ head and condemned us to yet another defeat.

An exciting second half followed a goalless first half at home to fellow-strugglers Flamengo. Jean had the visitors ahead ten minutes into the second half, but Cristiano replied almost immediately. Twenty minutes from time Andrezinho put Flamengo ahead once again, but eight minutes from time JÃ´ rescued a point for us.

Another well-marshalled defensive operation ensued as we travelled to SÃ£o Paulo, and midway through the second half we broke and took the lead through Roger. But we couldnâ€™t quite hold on, and FÃ¡bio Santos struck an equaliser seven minutes from time.

GrÃªmio come to our place in a must-win game for both sides. The first half was again goalless, but we were dealt a harsh blow early in the second half when Borges Neto was sent off. But just nine minutes later GrÃªmio had CÃ©sar sent off. Six minutes after that a Geninho strike from 25 yards somehow crept in, and we had a much-needed victory.

JÃ´ put us ahead eight minutes before the break at home to Santos, and things were looking even better when the visitors had Marlon sent off eight minutes into the second half. But Santos are a good side, and on 66 Robinho equalised. In the final minute Santos were awarded a penalty, but thankfully FlÃ¡vio Mendes saved from Renato to earn us a point.

We had Borges Neto sent off after just 11 minutes at home to Santa Cruz. But we didnâ€™t crack, and Cristiano scored twice in three minutes ten minutes before the break. Santa Cruz pulled a goal back a minute before half time through Ricardinho, and on the hour found an equaliser through FÃ¡bio Reis. Six minutes from time Leandro Diniz sent a penalty over the bar, and Roberto Santos struck in the last minute to condemn us to defeat.

Prior to our last game of the month we allowed Michel to move on. Heâ€™s a third division player, and he recognises that as he joins TocantinÃ³polis for Â£100,000. It was a poor game at SÃ£o Caetano. The home side had Roger sent off after 21 minutes, but we failed to take advantage, and with their only real move of the game won it through Warley on the hour mark.

Weâ€™ve shown a lot more promise this month, but we still only managed to claim six points for our efforts. It would help if we could keep eleven men on the field more often and some of the fringe players started to show why they think they should be starting games. Itâ€™s still very tight down the bottom, but with 30 games to go, thereâ€™s still a very long way to go before anything is decided.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts

1st Fluminense 16 9 3 4 28 15 +13 30

2nd Juventude 16 9 3 4 28 20 +8 30

3rd Bahia 16 8 6 2 28 12 +16 30

4th Palmeiras 16 9 2 5 30 23 +7 29

5th Santos 16 8 5 3 28 15 +13 29

6th Guarani 16 8 3 5 25 22 +3 27

7th SÃ£o Paulo 16 7 5 4 21 13 +8 26

8th SÃ£o Caetano 16 7 4 5 19 15 +4 25

9th Botafogo 16 7 4 5 23 23 0 25

10th Corinthians 16 6 6 4 22 15 +7 24

11th Santa Cruz 16 7 2 7 25 28 -3 23

12th Vasco 16 6 3 7 22 25 -3 21

13th Internacional 16 6 2 8 31 35 -4 20

14th GoiÃ¡s 16 5 5 6 24 26 -2 20

15th Portuguesa 15 5 5 5 18 20 -2 20

16th Cruzeiro 14 6 1 7 19 23 -4 19

17th AtlÃ©tico Mineiro 15 5 3 7 15 25 -10 18

18th Flamengo 16 4 5 7 20 30 -10 17

19th Coritiba 16 4 4 8 20 25 -5 16

20th GoiÃ¢nia 16 4 3 9 16 24 -8 15

21st ParanÃ¡ 16 4 3 9 11 22 -11 15

22nd CriciÃºma 16 3 6 7 16 19 -3 15

----------------------------------------------------

23rd GrÃªmio 16 3 6 7 13 21 -8 15

24th Paysandu 16 2 7 7 15 21 -6 13

</pre>

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">State Winner State Winner

Acre IndependÃªncia Alagoas Corinthians (AL)

AmapÃ¡ SÃ£o JosÃ© (AP) Amazonas Rio Negro (AM)

Bahia Bahia CearÃ¡ Fortaleza

Brasiliense Gama EspÃrito Santo Desportiva

GaÃºcho GrÃªmio MaranhÃ£o Sampaio CorrÃªa

Mato Grosso UniÃ£o RondonÃ³polis MG do Sul Comercial (MS)

Minas Cruzeiro ParÃ¡ Paysandu

ParaÃba Treze ParanÃ¡ Malutrom

Pernambuco Santa Cruz PiauÃ Flamengo (PI)

Potiguar Potiguar Rio Botafogo

RondÃ´nia Ji-ParanÃ¡ Roraima BarÃ©

Santa Catarina AvaÃ SÃ£o Paulo SÃ£o Caetano

Sergipe ConfianÃ§a (SE) Tocantins Palmas

</pre>

binny · April 18, 2004

July 2008

The first game of the month took us to our fierce rivals GoiÃ¡s, but we were the happier as JÃ´ gave us the lead with just 16 seconds on the clock. JÃ´ added a second seven minutes before the break; his 50th goal for the club. GoiÃ¡s did get a goal back four minutes from time through Vital, but we held on for a very welcome victory.

Bruno Leite has not settled in well at the club, and has failed to stake a claim in the first team. So he was quite happy to move on, joining Corinthians for Â£200,000. We held out well at home to Vasco, and at half time it was still 0-0. Four minutes into the second half Vasco took the lead through JoÃ£ozinho, but just past the hour mark Cristiano had us level. A defensive mistake meant that Vasco retook the lead within minutes when Alex scored an own goal, and in the final minute JoÃ£ozinho wrapped up the result with a third.

It was a similar story as we travelled to Portuguesa. We fell behind ten minutes into the second hald to a FabrÃcio strike, and seven minutes later NÃ¡dson doubled the lead. We pulled a goal back eight minutes from time through FlÃ¡vio Guilherme, but instead of capitalising on it, we conceded a third to Rodolfo Soraes two minutes from time.

Helinho cracked in a free kick after 20 minutes to put us into the lead against champions Fluminense, and five minutes before the break they also had Tinoco sent off. Somehow, Fluminense were poor, and we held on to record a famous victory.

We were ahead inside eight minutes at home to Paysandu when Cristiano struck, and we should have scored a few more. Eighteen minutes from time we had William sent off, and he was followed down the tunnel four minutes later by de Freitas as the game petered out and we had won again.

The game at AtlÃ©tico Mineiro was frustrating for both sides, as both sides struggled to find the net. Ten minutes from time FÃ¡bio JÃºnior struck for the home side, but in injury time JÃ´ rescued a point for us.

We fell behind at home to Botafogo early on to a Marcelo strike, and seven minutes into the second half Carlinhos doubled the lead. FlÃ¡vio Guilherme pulled a goal back eight minutes from time, but it was too little too late.

Weâ€™re already half way through the season, and a decent enough month has meant that we have a slender 6-point gap above the relegation zone. I think that we have enough to stay up, but we canâ€™t let up just yet.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts

1st Palmeiras 23 13 4 6 37 26 +11 43

2nd Santos 23 12 5 6 41 26 +15 41

3rd Guarani 23 11 7 5 39 26 +13 40

4th Fluminense 23 11 6 6 37 21 +16 39

5th SÃ£o Caetano 23 11 6 6 29 19 +10 39

6th Corinthians 23 10 9 4 36 21 +15 39

7th Juventude 24 11 5 8 36 27 +9 38

8th Bahia 23 10 8 5 32 16 +16 38

9th SÃ£o Paulo 23 10 6 7 30 26 +4 36

10th Vasco 24 10 6 8 35 33 +2 36

11th Santa Cruz 23 11 2 10 38 39 -1 35

12th GoiÃ¡s 24 10 5 9 38 37 +1 35

13th Botafogo 24 9 7 8 34 34 0 34

14th Cruzeiro 22 9 2 11 28 36 -8 29

15th Coritiba 24 8 5 11 30 31 -1 29

16th Portuguesa 24 7 8 9 27 34 -7 29

17th ParanÃ¡ 24 8 4 12 20 30 -10 28

18th Internacional 23 8 3 12 41 51 -10 27

19th AtlÃ©tico Mineiro 23 7 6 10 25 40 -15 27

20th GoiÃ¢nia 23 7 4 12 24 34 -10 25

21st CriciÃºma 23 5 8 10 27 28 -1 23

22nd GrÃªmio 23 5 6 12 21 35 -14 21

----------------------------------------------------

23rd Paysandu 23 4 7 12 19 34 -15 19

24th Flamengo 23 4 7 12 23 43 -20 19

</pre>

PMLF · April 19, 2004

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> 24th Flamengo 23 4 7 12 23 43 -20 19</pre>

What happened to Flamengo!

binny · April 19, 2004

August 2008

We made a new signing at the start of the month as the European season ended. Feyenoord decided against renewing the contract of midfielder Carlos Alberto, and so we swooped to sign him up. Because heâ€™s the second player at the club going by that name, heâ€™s agreed to go by his other nickname of Ferreira. The month began in fantastic style away at Internacional as FlÃ¡vio Guilherme put us ahead in the very first minute. We were totally on top, and twenty minutes later FlÃ¡vio Guilherme doubled the lead. It was only then that Internacional started to play, but we put us a good rearguard action, and soon began to counter them again. There was to be no more scoring, but we did have Carlos Alberto sent off sixteen minutes from time.

The opening period of our home tie with Corinthians was poor, and it took a magical goal from Gil to light up the game. FlÃ¡vio Guilherme equalised just before half time, and we were much improved in the second half. Eight minutes from time Bosco headed in from a header, but we couldnâ€™t hold onto our lead as AÃlton struck two minutes from time.

Next up was a visit from ParanÃ¡, and again we dominated. Cristiano gave us the lead midway through the first period, but we had to wait until 76 for FlÃ¡vio Guilherme to finally ensure the victory.

A poor first half at title-chasing Juventude was interrupted by a Rafael Silva penalty on 17, but the second half was a much better affair. We kept pushing, and midway through the half FlÃ¡vio Guilherme equalised. Five minutes later Alex Rodrigues scored his first goal for the club, but we couldnâ€™t quite hold on as Geufer made it 2-2 two minutes from time.

Cristiano had us ahead at home against struggling CriciÃºma after just ten minutes, and three minutes before the break FlÃ¡vio Guilherme scored his seventh goal in six games to double the lead. Helinho added a third from a free kick in the first minute of the second half, and we settled for a 3-0 win.

The first half at Santa Cruz was a quiet affair, but four minutes into the second half Roger struck to put us into the lead. We had to wait until seven minutes from time when Bebeto put through his own net. And although CearÃ¡ pulled one back for the home side, we held on for victory.

The home tie with Coritiba was ultimately settled by an early Helinho free kick, but both goalkeepers played fantastically well to prevent the other goals that never were.

Itâ€™s been a fantastic month for us, and weâ€™ve ended with three consecutive victories â€“ something that weâ€™ve found difficult to achieve in the top flight so far. From seven matches weâ€™ve dropped only four points and kept four clean sheets, and we can now start to look up at the top, rather than worrying about what the clubs at the bottom are doing.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts

1st Bahia 30 15 8 7 45 23 +22 53

2nd Palmeiras 30 15 7 8 47 33 +14 52

3rd Santos 30 14 7 9 48 35 +13 49

4th Juventude 30 14 7 9 48 35 +13 49

5th Santa Cruz 30 15 2 13 54 49 +5 47

6th Guarani 30 13 8 9 46 34 +12 47

7th SÃ£o Caetano 30 13 8 9 34 26 +8 47

8th Corinthians 30 12 11 7 45 32 +13 47

9th Fluminense 28 13 7 8 46 29 +17 46

10th Vasco 30 12 8 10 40 39 +1 44

11th Botafogo 30 12 8 10 42 44 -2 44

12th GoiÃ¢nia 30 12 6 12 38 39 -1 42

13th GoiÃ¡s 30 12 6 12 44 47 -3 42

14th SÃ£o Paulo 29 11 7 11 37 39 -2 40

15th Cruzeiro 30 11 7 12 34 40 -6 40

16th Internacional 29 12 3 14 51 56 -5 39

17th Coritiba 30 10 7 13 33 34 -1 37

18th Paysandu 30 9 8 13 30 39 -9 35

19th AtlÃ©tico Mineiro 30 9 8 13 33 50 -17 35

20th GrÃªmio 30 9 7 14 34 44 -10 34

21st Portuguesa 30 8 9 13 30 43 -13 33

22nd CriciÃºma 29 7 9 13 32 37 -5 30

----------------------------------------------------

23rd ParanÃ¡ 30 8 5 17 23 41 -18 29

24th Flamengo 29 5 9 15 28 54 -26 24

</pre>

binny · April 20, 2004

September 2008

Our good form continued as we travelled to Guarani. We had to hold out early on, but four minutes before the break Cristiano struck to put us ahead. And in first half injury time FlÃ¡vio Guilherme added a second, and thatâ€™s how it ended.

We welcomed title-chasing Bahia to town, and although they came at us, we held on well, and the game ended 0-0.

Our winning streak came to an end at high-flying Palmeiras, although we had done well early on. We even had our chances to take the lead, but just after the hour VÃ¡gner Love put the home side ahead. WÃ©ldon broke through thirteen minutes from time, and our nine-game unbeaten run had come to an end.

The last game of the month was at home to Cruzeiro, and goals in either half from Cristiano gave us a very comfortable 2-0 victory.

Our form has seen us climb up to 12th, and if we finish there, weâ€™ll qualify for the Copa Sudamerica next season. Thatâ€™s now got to be our aim, and Iâ€™m hoping that we can start to pull away from the bottom half of the table.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts

1st Bahia 34 17 10 7 52 24 +28 61

2nd Palmeiras 34 17 9 8 51 33 +18 60

3rd Santos 34 17 8 9 56 39 +17 59

4th Corinthians 34 15 12 7 55 37 +18 57

5th Juventude 34 16 7 11 53 39 +14 55

6th Santa Cruz 34 16 4 14 61 55 +6 52

7th Fluminense 33 14 10 9 52 33 +19 52

8th SÃ£o Caetano 34 14 10 10 40 31 +9 52

9th Vasco 34 14 9 11 49 47 +2 51

10th Guarani 34 14 8 12 49 41 +8 50

11th Botafogo 34 14 8 12 46 51 -5 50

12th GoiÃ¢nia 34 14 7 13 42 41 +1 49

13th Internacional 34 13 5 16 59 65 -6 44

14th Cruzeiro 34 12 8 14 38 47 -9 44

15th GoiÃ¡s 34 12 7 15 47 55 -8 43

16th SÃ£o Paulo 34 11 10 13 43 48 -5 43

17th GrÃªmio 34 11 9 14 42 49 -7 42

18th Coritiba 34 11 7 16 35 43 -8 40

19th AtlÃ©tico Mineiro 34 10 9 15 38 55 -17 39

20th ParanÃ¡ 34 11 5 18 30 45 -15 38

21st Paysandu 34 10 8 16 35 46 -11 38

22nd CriciÃºma 33 9 9 15 38 43 -5 36

----------------------------------------------------

23rd Portuguesa 34 8 12 14 33 48 -15 36

24th Flamengo 34 5 13 16 32 61 -29 28

</pre>

binny · April 21, 2004

October 2008

The trip to bottom-of-the-table Flamengo was terrible. Andrezinho scored twice in a minute inside the first five minutes, and although Helinho pulled one back almost immediately, but Andrezinho grabbed his hatrick before the 10-minute mark. Felipe Melo added a fourth on 17, and it looked like being a cricket score. Somehow though Flamengo eased off, and we left the field bruised and battered at 4-1.

The woodwork came between us and a victory at home to SÃ£o Paulo, but in fairness, a 0-0 draw was all that we deserved.

The last game of the month was a trip to GrÃªmio, and again we played well, both at the back and the front. Midway through the second half FlÃ¡vio Guilherme put us ahead, and seven minutes from time JÃ´ doubled our lead. GrÃªmio got a late consolation through Michel, we held on for a timely victory.

The month got off to a difficult start for us, but weâ€™ve recovered well, and can still look ahead to fighting for 12th spot (or above).

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts

1st Bahia 37 20 10 7 56 24 +32 70

2nd Santos 37 20 8 9 63 39 +24 68

3rd Palmeiras 37 17 10 10 53 38 +15 61

4th Corinthians 37 16 13 8 58 39 +19 61

5th Santa Cruz 37 18 5 14 69 58 +11 59

6th Guarani 37 17 8 12 59 46 +13 59

7th Botafogo 37 17 8 12 54 56 -2 59

8th Juventude 37 16 8 13 57 46 +11 56

9th Vasco 37 15 10 12 53 52 +1 55

10th Fluminense 36 14 13 9 57 38 +19 55

11th SÃ£o Caetano 37 14 12 11 41 35 +6 54

12th GoiÃ¢nia 37 15 8 14 45 46 -1 53

13th Cruzeiro 37 13 9 15 45 52 -7 48

14th SÃ£o Paulo 37 12 12 13 48 48 0 48

15th Coritiba 37 13 7 17 41 45 -4 46

16th GrÃªmio 37 12 10 15 48 54 -6 46

17th Internacional 37 13 6 18 60 69 -9 45

18th GoiÃ¡s 36 12 8 16 49 59 -10 44

19th AtlÃ©tico Mineiro 37 11 9 17 41 65 -24 42

20th CriciÃºma 37 10 11 16 44 48 -4 41

21st Paysandu 37 10 10 17 36 51 -15 40

22nd ParanÃ¡ 37 11 5 21 32 55 -23 38

----------------------------------------------------

23rd Portuguesa 37 8 13 16 34 52 -18 37

24th Flamengo 37 6 13 18 38 66 -28 31

</pre>

binny · April 22, 2004

November 2008

Midway through the first half at home to GoiÃ¡s FlÃ¡vio Guilherme struck to give us the lead. We were totally in command, but it wasnâ€™t until twenty minutes from time when Cristiano made it 2-0. Three minutes later though Wellington Amorim pulled a goal back, but we seemed to be able to hold on. But with the very last kick of the game Neto struck, and we had dropped two points.

Our assistant manager, SÃ©, has moved to 15 de Campo Bom, taking over the reigns as manager. In his place comes NÃ¡utico coach JoÃ£o Batista Monteiro, and hopefully the change wonâ€™t adversely affect us for the rest of the season. His first match as my sidekick was a trip to title-chasing Santos, but three minutes in FlÃ¡vio Guilherme put us ahead. And when Cristiano made it 2-0 after just 16 minutes, we were in dreamland. Santos came back at us, and midway through the second period pulled a goal back through Smith. This time though, instead of crumbling, we went up the other end of the field, and Cristiano put us 3-1 ahead. And thatâ€™s how it finished.

We hosted SÃ£o Caetano, and after a quiet opening, Cristiano put us ahead on the half hour. The visitors went all out at us in the second half, but we held on, and claimed another good win.

The trip to Fluminense started badly as first Daniel Carvalho and then Dagoberto had the home side 2-0 up inside 11 minutes. Daniel Carvalho added a third on the half hour, although FlÃ¡vio Guilherme pulled one back eight minutes before half time. Dagoberto made it 4-1 on the hour, before Rodrigo TiuÃ got Marinho and Leandro Diniz both sent off. Rodrigo TiuÃ added a fifth eleven minutes from time, and we were just terrible.

It wasnâ€™t the best preparation for a trip to Vasco, but we more than held our own and ten minutes before the break broke to take the lead thanks to Cristiano. Six minutes into the second half Luciano Ratinho equalised for Vasco, and two minutes later Rodrigo Souto had them ahead. Somehow though we scored on the break again through FlÃ¡vio Guilherme, but in the final minute Vasco were awarded a very dodgy penalty. Thankfully though Luciano Ratinho sent his spot kick into the arms of FlÃ¡vio Mendes, and we held on for a draw.

Hosting Portuguesa got easier early on when they had CearÃ¡ sent off after just four minutes of play, and within a minute Roger put us ahead. We failed though to really take advantage until just before the break when Cristiano struck. Portuguesa came out strongly in the second half, and ten minutes in NÃ¡dson pulled a goal back. And after intense pressure, Amauri scored a lovely chip to level things up. But six minutes from time FlÃ¡vio Guilherme put us back in front, and we held on to win.

The trip to Paysandu again started poorly as Anselmo put them ahead after just two minutes. We rarely looked like getting into the game, and two more goals from Anselmo in five minutes around the midway point of the second half condemned us to a 3-0 defeat.

A topsy-turvy month for us has seen us end it still in 12th place, but with a bit of a gap ahead of SÃ£o Paulo in 13th. A win in one of our last two games will confirm a top-12 finish, but the league is so tight that we could even make a late push for the Copa Libertadores.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts

1st Bahia 44 23 14 7 66 29 +37 83

2nd Santos 44 23 10 11 74 49 +25 79

3rd Palmeiras 44 21 11 12 62 47 +15 74

4th Corinthians 44 19 13 12 71 50 +21 70

5th Fluminense 43 18 15 10 71 45 +26 69

6th Juventude 44 19 10 15 70 55 +15 67

7th Guarani 44 19 10 15 69 55 +14 67

8th Cruzeiro 44 19 9 16 58 56 +2 66

9th Botafogo 44 18 12 14 66 69 -3 66

10th Santa Cruz 44 20 5 19 77 68 +9 65

11th SÃ£o Caetano 44 17 14 13 52 44 +8 65

12th GoiÃ¢nia 44 18 10 16 57 61 -4 64

13th SÃ£o Paulo 44 15 14 15 57 56 +1 59

14th Vasco 44 15 13 16 61 66 -5 58

15th GrÃªmio 44 15 12 17 61 69 -8 57

16th Coritiba 44 15 8 21 45 53 -8 53

17th AtlÃ©tico Mineiro 44 14 10 20 55 77 -22 52

18th Internacional 44 14 8 22 69 84 -15 50

19th GoiÃ¡s 43 13 11 19 54 73 -19 50

20th Paysandu 44 12 13 19 47 58 -11 49

21st ParanÃ¡ 44 14 6 24 42 65 -23 48

22nd Flamengo 44 11 13 20 50 76 -26 46

----------------------------------------------------

23rd CriciÃºma 44 10 15 19 50 58 -8 45

24th Portuguesa 44 10 14 20 47 68 -21 44

</pre>

PMLF · April 23, 2004

Good work so far this season.

And nice to see Flamengo is not in the relegation zone anymore.

binny · April 24, 2004

Perhaps you shouldn't read this post ....

December 2008

Our last home game of the season was against AtlÃ©tico Mineiro, and 18 minutes in Ferreira put us ahead with his first goal for the club. We were slightly more dominant, and midway through the second half Cristiano doubled the lead. Three minutes into injury time Alex Rodrigues added a third, and we had confirmed a top-12 finish.

The final game of the season was at the MaracÃ£na to face Botafogo, and things started badly when Juninho was sent off after just four minutes for a professional foul. Eleven minutes later Quirino put the home side ahead, but we were breaking effectively, and inside three minutes JÃ´ had equalised. Cristiano made it 2-1 just three minutes later, and ten minutes before the break Botafogo had Paulinho sent off for a second booking. Marinho headed in his first goal for the club just before half time, but ten minutes into the second period Marcelo made it 3-2. Cristiano restored our two-goal lead on 67, but seven minutes later Carlinhos again pegged us back, and five minutes from time Marcelo struck to claim a 4-4 draw.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts

1st C Bahia 46 24 14 8 67 30 +37 86

2nd Santos 46 23 10 13 76 55 +21 79

3rd Palmeiras 46 21 12 13 62 48 +14 75

4th Fluminense 46 19 17 10 80 51 +29 74

5th Cruzeiro 46 21 9 16 60 56 +4 72

6th Corinthians 46 19 15 12 76 55 +21 72

7th Juventude 46 20 11 15 73 56 +17 71

8th Guarani 46 20 10 16 71 57 +14 70

9th Santa Cruz 46 21 5 20 82 71 +11 68

10th GoiÃ¢nia 46 19 11 16 64 65 -1 68

11th Botafogo 46 18 13 15 72 78 -6 67

12th SÃ£o Caetano 46 17 16 13 52 44 +8 67

13th SÃ£o Paulo 46 17 14 15 62 57 +5 65

14th GrÃªmio 46 17 12 17 66 72 -6 63

15th Vasco 46 15 13 18 61 72 -11 58

16th Internacional 46 16 8 22 75 86 -11 56

17th GoiÃ¡s 46 14 12 20 57 78 -21 54

18th Coritiba 46 15 8 23 47 58 -11 53

19th Paysandu 46 13 14 19 50 59 -9 53

20th ParanÃ¡ 46 15 7 24 45 65 -20 52

22nd CriciÃºma 46 11 15 20 54 61 -7 48

------------------------------------------------------

23rd R Flamengo 46 11 13 22 50 79 -29 46

24th R Portuguesa 46 10 15 21 51 73 -22 45

</pre>

Weâ€™ve had a fantastic second half to the season, losing only four of our last 23 games. That form has seen us claim a very respectable 10th place, and, if Iâ€™m not mistaken, a place in next seasonâ€™s Copa Sudamericana preliminary round. Iâ€™m hoping that we can build on our form, taking it into next season and make a push for a Copa Libertadores place for 2010. Our form has again not gone unnoticed, as for the second year in succession, I was awarded runner up in the South American Manager of the Year award.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Name Apps Conc Cln MoM Av R

Adriano - - - - ----

FlÃ¡vio Mendes 63 83 20 3 7.49

Tute - - - - ----

Weber - - - - ----

Name Apps Gls Asts MoM Av R

Albuquerque - - - - ----

Alessandro Domingos - - - - ----

Alessandro Lopes 1 (9) 0 1 1 6.20

Alex 52 0 4 3 7.02

Alex Rodrigues 0 (11) 2 0 1 7.09

Allan 4 (9) 0 1 0 6.00

Borges Neto 18 (1) 0 0 0 6.05

Bosco 29 (23) 1 0 0 6.60

Carlos Alberto 10 (16) 0 2 0 6.23

Carlos Alexandre 44 0 1 3 7.27

ChicÃ£o 1 (1) 0 0 0 6.50

ClÃ³vis 27 (13) 0 8 0 6.82

Cristiano 60 34 13 6 7.17

Dykson 7 0 0 0 6.00

Everson Paula - - - - ----

Fernando Vital - - - - ----

Ferreira 9 (6) 1 4 0 6.80

FlÃ¡vio Guilherme 37 (11) 20 9 0 6.85

Gabriel Brito - - - - ----

Geninho 33 2 1 1 6.70

Helinho 41 7 5 3 7.39

Jean 3 (10) 0 0 0 6.85

Juninho 38 2 1 2 6.71

JÃ´ 27 (5) 19 6 3 6.81

Leandro Diniz 58 6 26 3 7.45

Liminha 3 (8) 0 1 0 6.82

LuÃs Fernando - - - - ----

Marcelinho 1 (3) 0 0 0 6.75

Marcinho - - - - ----

Marcos Roberto 0 (1) 0 0 0 6.00

Mariano - - - - ----

Marinho 42 1 0 5 6.64

Rafael MoÃ§amba 0 (7) 0 0 0 6.29

Rocha - - - - ----

Roger 52 6 8 0 7.17

Rubens 5 (4) 0 0 0 6.89

RÃ³bson - - - - ----

Schneider - - - - ----

Silva Moraes - - - - ----

Tiago 3 0 1 0 8.00

Wellington - - - - ----

William 13 (12) 1 0 0 6.20

XandÃ£o 12 (15) 0 2 0 5.85

-----------------------------------------------

Bruno Leite 0 (2) 0 0 0 6.00

Carlos Henrique - - - - ----

Michel - - - - ----

Stefano - - - - ----

</pre>

FlÃ¡vio Mendes had a fantastic season in goal, and Leandro Diniz was fantastic yet again on the left wing. But itâ€™s goals that people look up to, and so a record-breaking season from Cristiano meant that he was again named by the fans as their Player of the Year, and also picked up third spot in the First Division Player of the Year award. A bit more surprising was that, having made just 11 appearances, Alex Rodrigues, still only 16, was named in third place for the Young Player of the Year award.

binny · April 24, 2004

Preseason 2009

There wasnâ€™t too much transfer activity over the preseason, mostly because we had 10 new youngsters coming into the squad, although they do look like being a way off claiming first team places. The only signing that I made was that of 17-year-old centre back Bruno Ribeiro for Â£50,000 from Desportiva. He arrived to replace the retiring Marcos Roberto. Also retiring were Liminha and ChicÃ£o, whilst Geninho was allowed to go out on loan to Spanish side Murcia until June. Marcinho and Wellington both moved on having failed to make an impact on the first team. Marcinho joins Vasco for Â£80,000 and Wellington moves onto AtlÃ©tico Paranaense for Â£230,000.

I decided against playing any friendly matches in the build-up to the new season. I felt that the squad needed as much rest as they could get after a long, hard season before having to get back into competitive football less than a month later.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Adriano GK FlÃ¡vio Mendes GK

Tute GK Weber GK

Arlindo D RC Borges Neto D/DM R

Bosco D/DM RC Carlos Alexandre D R

Leonardo Dutra D RC Alex D/DM L

Alves Silva D LC Cavalcanti D L

Dykson D/M L Everson Paula D L

Juninho D LC Rubens D LC

Alessandro Lopes D C Allan D/DM C

Bruno Ribeiro D C Cerqueira D/DM C

Marinho D C Pontes D C

Ronaldo Santos D C XandÃ£o D C

Albuquerque DM RC Gabriel Brito DM LC

ClÃ³vis DM C Geninho (out on loan) DM C

Jean DM C Rocha DM C

Alessandro Domingos M RLC RÃ³bson M LC

Carlos Alberto AM RL Ferreira AM RC

Rafael MoÃ§amba AM/F RC Roger AM/F RC

Leandro Diniz AM L Luiz Medeiros AM LC

Tiago AM L Helinho AM/F C

Hugo AM C William AM C

Schneider F RC Souza Vieira F RLC

Cristiano F LC Alex Rodrigues S C

Fernando Vital S C FlÃ¡vio Guilherme S C

JÃ´ S C LuÃs Fernando S C

Marcelinho S C Mariano S C

Silva Moraes S C

</pre>

eli · April 25, 2004

Excellent, now get the championship, we wont rest until we will see Libertadores Cup!!

binny · April 25, 2004

Thanks eli. I doubt we'll acheive the league this year. We certainly won't get the Copa Libertadores - we're not in it

January 2009

The season began with a home tie against CRAC, and we struggled to get going. Just past the half hour mark though we were awarded a penalty, and Leandro Diniz put us into the lead. We were never in much trouble after that, but had to wait until twenty minutes from time for FlÃ¡vio Guilherme to wrap up the victory. We did have Carlos Alexandre sent off minutes later, but it didnâ€™t adversely affect us.

Next up was a trip to GrÃªmio Inhumense, and we played poorly early on, falling behind to a da Costa Ferreira effort on 25. The home side had Miranda sent off ten minutes before the break, and eight minutes into the second half we took advantage, equalising through Cristiano. We pressed and pressed after that, with JÃ´ hitting the bar twice, but had to wait until three minutes from time for FlÃ¡vio Guilherme to grab the winner.

Young midfielder Albuquerque was allowed to join Sergipe on loan for 3 months prior to our home tie with Vila Nova. The game was not a classic by any stretch of the imagination, but we had our chances and failed to take them as the game petered out to a 0-0 draw.

Last up in the month was a trip to AnÃ¡polis, and with twenty minutes gone Cristiano had us ahead. We had a ten-minute spell soon after where we could have added four or five goals, but we didnâ€™t, and were caught out three minutes before the break when Alexandre Alvim struck. The second half was a tight affair, but three minutes from time we allowed NÃ©lson Bortolazzi in to win the game for the home side.

Not such a brilliant start to the season for us, but I can put that down to players being very tired having had very little rest. It does mean that I have to try to chop and change the side a bit, but I donâ€™t want to rush in too many of the fringe players.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts

1st AnÃ¡polis 4 3 1 0 9 2 +7 10

2nd GoiÃ¡s 5 2 3 0 3 1 +2 9

3rd Vila Nova (GO) 4 2 2 0 10 1 +9 8

5th Anapolina 4 2 1 1 8 3 +5 7

6th GoiÃ¢nia 4 2 1 1 5 3 +2 7

8th Caldas 4 1 2 1 4 7 -3 5

-------------------------------------------------------

9th Real (GO) 4 1 1 2 3 8 -5 4

-------------------------------------------------------

10th CRAC 4 0 1 3 3 11 -8 1

11th Aparecida 5 0 1 4 4 13 -9 1

12th GrÃªmio Inhumense 4 0 0 4 2 6 -4 0

</pre>

PMLF · April 26, 2004

Too bad my MengÃ£o has been relegated to the Second division.

Anyway, you are not in Copa Libertadores in 2009 because only the Top 4 in the league + the Brazilian Cup winner get there. But you certainly will play the Copa Sudamericana.

binny · April 26, 2004

I was also quite surprised about Flamengo, but never mind. As for the Libertadores, my aim is to qualify for it this season

February 2009

With his contract not being renewed, RÃ³bson left the club on a free transfer, dropping down a division to join Remo. The first game of the month was a home tie against Real, and although we didnâ€™t play particularly well, goals from Roger and Cristiano before the half hour mark were enough to give us a comfortable 2-0 win.

The trip to Aparecida got off to a good start when Cristiano netted after six minutes, but after that we failed to break them down adequately, and they had chances to equalise. Midway through the second half Alex Rodrigues added a second, and eight minutes from time Leandro Diniz made sure with a screamer.

Cristiano got us under way away at GoianÃ©sia after 18 minutes, and despite missing a few more chances, Cristiano doubled the lead just after the break. Cristiano completed his hatrick on the hour, and we had an easy 3-0 victory.

Caldas were next up at OlÃmpico, and we struggled again to break them down. Eight minutes into the second half JÃ´ broke his duck for the season, and six minutes later JÃ´ got a second, and that was enough for the win.

The trip to GoiÃ¡s started with good defensive work, but on 14 minutes we broke forward and took the lead through FlÃ¡vio Guilherme. Inside the next six minutes both Leandro Diniz and Cristiano scored, and we found ourselves 3-0 up at the break. FlÃ¡vio Guilherme added a fourth early in the second half, and GoiÃ¡s then had Alexandre sent off for a second booking. AraÃºjo pulled a goal back for the hosts before we had Bosco sent off, but the result had long been assured.

The last game of the month was a trip to AtlÃ©tico Goianiense, and after 17 minutes Cristiano put us ahead. We were looking very comfortable, especially when Douglas Ricardo was sent off on the half hour for two bookings. But seven minutes into the second half the home side were awarded a penalty. AndrÃ© Dias put away the penalty, and we had to settle for a disappointing draw.

Weâ€™re just starting to get into our stride, although I do get the feeling that we raise our game for the â€œbigâ€ matches â€“ as showed by our 4-1 trouncing of GoiÃ¡s. Anyway, thatâ€™s irrelevant now, as weâ€™ve got a last group game to prepare for as well as a quarterfinal.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts

1st Q AnÃ¡polis 9 7 2 0 22 4 +18 23

2nd Q GoiÃ¢nia 10 7 2 1 20 5 +15 23

4th Q GoiÃ¡s 9 5 3 1 16 7 +9 18

5th Q Vila Nova (GO) 9 5 2 2 23 10 +13 17

6th Q Anapolina 9 5 1 3 20 8 +12 16

7th Real (GO) 9 3 1 5 9 15 -6 10

8th Caldas 9 2 3 4 6 18 -12 9

---------------------------------------------------------

9th Aparecida 9 2 1 6 13 21 -8 7

---------------------------------------------------------

11th CRAC 9 0 2 7 6 26 -20 2

12th GrÃªmio Inhumense 9 0 1 8 3 19 -16 1

</pre>

binny · April 27, 2004

March 2009

Our last group game was a home tie with Anapolina, but it was a poor affair. Neither side looked too interested, and when we were awarded a penalty eighteen minutes from time Leandro Diniz sent it into the arms of the goalkeeper. Ten minutes later through Cristiano struck to give us a tight victory.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts

1st Q AnÃ¡polis 11 8 2 1 25 9 +16 26

2nd Q GoiÃ¢nia 11 8 2 1 21 5 +16 26

4th Q GoiÃ¡s 11 7 3 1 22 7 +15 24

5th Q Vila Nova (GO) 11 7 2 2 31 10 +21 23

6th Q Anapolina 11 6 1 4 22 9 +13 19

7th Q Caldas 11 4 3 4 10 20 -10 15

8th Q Aparecida 11 3 1 7 17 25 -8 10

---------------------------------------------------------

9th Real (GO) 11 3 1 7 9 19 -10 10

---------------------------------------------------------

11th R CRAC 11 0 2 9 7 33 -26 2

12th R GrÃªmio Inhumense 11 0 1 10 5 26 -21 1

</pre>

Prior to our quarterfinal tie at Caldas I allowed Dykson to move to Botafogo on loan for the rest of the season in order to get a bit more action. The game as Caldas was another frustrating game for us, as we struggled to break them down effectively, and as the game wore on, there was always the possibility that Caldas might strike. As the game looked to heading into extra time Cristiano struck, and we were through to a semi-final berth against AnÃ¡polis.

The cup draw was again mean to us; sending us to CriciÃºma for the Fourth Round. The first half was quiet, but three minutes into the second half Cristiano struck again to put us in front. That sparked the home side into action, and within eight minutes JabÃ¡ had levelled things up. A defensive mistake a few minutes later allowed Rosinei to put CriciÃºma ahead, and we were out at the first hurdle again.

Twenty minutes into the home leg of the semi-final with AnÃ¡polis Leandro Diniz fired in to give us the lead. We might have added to the score, but a 1-0 win was all we had to take into the away leg.

The second leg started with us in command again, and ten minutes before the break Roger had us ahead on the afternoon. AnÃ¡polis did play a bit better after that, but we defended well, and will face GoiÃ¡s in the final early next month. We will though be without JÃ´. The young striker has failed to make much of an impact recently, and I agreed to sell him to ParanÃ¡ for a fee of Â£1,000,000, as well as 50% of his next transfer fee.

binny · April 28, 2004

April 2009

28-year-old defensive midfielder Pingo joined the club on a free transfer from Oeiras as the month began. Heâ€™s likely to battle it out with Jean for a place on the bench. We were given a helping hand early on in the home leg of the Final against GoiÃ¡s when the visitors had Alexandre sent off, and after pressing for the whole of the first half, Helinho struck to give us the lead on the stroke of half time. Four minutes into the second half GoiÃ¡s were level through Guiseppe, but Roger restored our lead on 73. We didnâ€™t manage to hold on though as Binho struck eight minutes from time to leave the tie finely poised for the second leg.

The second leg started well as Cristiano put us ahead on the night after just 11 minutes. From then on we were in total command, and I donâ€™t know how we failed to score a second. As the game wore on GoiÃ¡s looked more likely to equalise, and in the very last minute MuÃ±oz took the game into extra time. Towards the end of the first period, Alex made a rash challenge in the box, and the captain was sent off. LuÃs Alberto took the penalty, but FlÃ¡vio Mendes pulled off a fantastic save to keep us in the game. In the first minute of the second period Cristiano put us back in front, and with six minutes to go we broke to add a third through FlÃ¡vio Guilherme. Two minutes later Cristiano completed his hatrick , and we had retained our championship for the first time since Iâ€™ve been here.

The first league game was a home tie with Coritiba. We did look the better of the two sides, but we werenâ€™t firing on all cylinders, and the game ended 0-0.

JÃ´ was back at OlimpÃco as ParanÃ¡ came to visit, and after eleven minutes Helinho had us ahead. Weâ€™re not scoring enough goals at the moment, although we have been defending well. Twenty minutes into the second half ParanÃ¡ were awarded a penalty, but Kuptsov put the kick straight into the arms of FlÃ¡vio Mendes. Thirteen minutes from time we had Roger sent off, but within a minute FlÃ¡vio Guilherme wrapped up the victory for us.

The last game of the month was a trip to pacesetters Santos. They came out at us early on, and after 26 minutes a wonderful move ended with Robinho putting them ahead. Apart from that though, we had defended well, but when they had Alcides Eduardo sent off early in the second half we sensed an opportunity to get back into the game. We left it late though; FlÃ¡vio Guilherme earning us a point in the final minute.

The State Final was a rollercoaster ride for everyone involved, but it seems to have taken itsâ€™ toll on the players. And with a full league campaign to get through, thatâ€™s not good news. One good point from the last few months is that our defence is looking a lot tighter, and that can only be a good thing.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts

1st Santos 4 3 1 0 11 5 +6 10

2nd Cruzeiro 4 3 1 0 8 3 +5 10

3rd Santa Cruz 4 3 0 1 11 8 +3 9

4th Guarani 2 2 0 0 4 1 +3 6

5th ParanÃ¡ 4 2 0 2 7 6 +1 6

6th Fluminense 3 1 2 0 7 5 +2 5

7th GrÃªmio 3 1 2 0 5 3 +2 5

8th GoiÃ¢nia 3 1 2 0 3 1 +2 5

9th SÃ£o Paulo 4 1 2 1 6 7 -1 5

11th Bahia 2 1 1 0 3 1 +2 4

12th SÃ£o Caetano 3 1 1 1 2 1 +1 4

13th Juventude 4 1 1 2 5 6 -1 4

15th Palmeiras 2 1 0 1 2 3 -1 3

16th GoiÃ¡s 2 1 0 1 2 4 -2 3

17th Internacional 3 1 0 2 4 7 -3 3

18th Botafogo 4 0 3 1 6 7 -1 3

19th Sport Recife 3 0 2 1 4 5 -1 2

20th CriciÃºma 3 0 1 2 1 3 -2 1

21st Vasco 2 0 1 1 2 5 -3 1

22nd Coritiba 3 0 1 2 1 4 -3 1

----------------------------------------------------

23rd Corinthians 3 0 1 2 3 8 -5 1

24th Paysandu 2 0 0 2 0 4 -4 0

</pre>

binny · April 29, 2004

May 2009

FlÃ¡vio Guilherme scored his 100th goal for the club on 33 minutes to give us the lead at home to Paysandu, and despite having ample opportunity to extend the lead, 1-0 was how it finished.

We were doing well away at AtlÃ©tico Mineiro, but twenty minutes into the second half FÃ¡bio JÃºnior struck for the home side. We didnâ€™t really look like getting back into the game, and FÃ¡bio JÃºnior made sure of the points with a second in injury time.

A trip to our cup conquerors CriciÃºma was never going to be easy, especially when we had Juninho sent off after just 27 minutes. But six minutes before the break FlÃ¡vio Guilherme had us ahead, and when FlÃ¡vio Guilherme added a second on the hour from a swift break, we had another good win.

An early defensive mistake at home to Fluminense allowed Dagoberto in to score, and with us failing in front of goal, it was enough to win the game.

The trip to Internacional went poorly. GÃ©rson scored a soft goal early on, and then added a second from the penalty spot on 25. Nilmar scored a third twenty minutes into the second half, and our humiliation was complete in injury time when Nilmar claimed his second of the game.

It was another rearguard action at home to Palmeiras, but for once we defended well, and managed to hold them to a 0-0 draw.

Bottom-of-the-table Corinthians came to town, and a quiet game was brought to life just before half time when Elano put them ahead. We had Roger sent off on 63, and there was no way back for us.

Our trip to Santa Cruz was made easier when LÃºcio was sent off for the home side after just five minutes, and ten minutes later FlÃ¡vio Guilherme put us ahead with our first goal in over 400 minutes. Six minutes later Cristiano doubled our lead, but eight minutes before half time Ricardinho pulled a goal back. We were put onto the back foot early in the second half, and two quick-fire goals around the hour mark from Roberto Santos had us 3-2 down. Seven minutes later though FlÃ¡vio Guilherme equalised, and seven minutes from time Cristiano put us back in front. But we couldnâ€™t quite hold on as CearÃ¡ equalised in the third minute of injury time.

Apart from the games at Santa Cruz and Internacional, our defence has looked pretty good and steady, although we must try to cut out as many lapses as possible. But now that we have sorted out the defence, the strike force is starting to worry me. We managed just seven goals in seven games this month, and four of them came in the last game. FlÃ¡vio Guilherme looks like heâ€™s getting back to his best, but I need to see Cristiano score a few more in the top flight.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts

1st Internacional 11 7 1 3 27 17 +10 22

2nd Cruzeiro 11 5 5 1 14 7 +7 20

3rd Santos 11 5 4 2 18 12 +6 19

4th GoiÃ¡s 10 5 4 1 12 10 +2 19

5th SÃ£o Caetano 11 5 3 3 17 8 +9 18

6th GrÃªmio 11 4 6 1 13 8 +5 18

7th ParanÃ¡ 11 5 2 4 18 13 +5 17

8th Bahia 10 4 5 1 16 10 +6 17

9th Juventude 11 4 4 3 18 11 +7 16

10th Fluminense 11 4 4 3 15 15 0 16

12th Palmeiras 9 4 2 3 9 9 0 14

13th Santa Cruz 11 4 2 5 22 26 -4 14

14th Paysandu 8 4 1 3 7 8 -1 13

15th Sport Recife 11 3 4 4 15 14 +1 13

16th GoiÃ¢nia 11 3 4 4 10 13 -3 13

18th Guarani 8 3 2 3 13 11 +2 11

19th SÃ£o Paulo 11 2 5 4 15 19 -4 11

20th CriciÃºma 11 2 4 5 10 13 -3 10

21st Vasco 11 1 5 5 14 20 -6 8

22nd Botafogo 11 0 7 4 9 18 -9 7

----------------------------------------------------

23rd Corinthians 9 1 2 6 6 18 -12 5

24th Coritiba 11 0 4 7 5 20 -15 4

</pre>

binny · May 1, 2004

June 2009

The beginning of the month saw the arrival of two new players, both attacking minded. Juliano, a right-winger, joins on a free transfer from SÃ£o Gabriel, and Guilherme, a forward, joins for Â£600,000 from Vasco. The first game of the month was away at SÃ£o Caetano, and after five minutes Cristiano had us ahead. Only poor finishing and excellent goalkeeping prevented the home side from equalising, and when Cristiano hit a second early in the second half we were looking good. So good in fact, that the only way the home side were to get back into the game was a penultimate minute penalty from Hugo, but we held on to claim victory.

We were helped on our trip to AmÃ©rica (MG) when Edson committed a foul in the box. He was sent off and Leandro Diniz had us ahead from the penalty. Milton then sent off for a professional foul, and eight minutes before the break Guilherme doubled our lead with his first goal for the club. The home side had Tininho sent off early in the second half for another professional foul, but we couldnâ€™t really be bothered, and the eight men held out to lose only 2-0.

An early strike from Cristiano got us under way at home to Guarani, and when Cristiano doubled the lead on 33 things were looking good. But things were a little more uncomfortable for us when Vital scored on the break six minutes before the break, but just five minutes into the second half Cristiano completed his hatrick to give us a 3-1 win.

We had a 17-day break before our next game, and that gave me a chance to review the way things are going, and allowed the players to have a much-needed rest. During this time I sold Allan to Fortalza for Â£120,000 and Alessandro Lopes joined local rivals GoiÃ¡s for Â£130,000. Neither player has really stamped themselves on the first team, and I decided that it was best for them to move on. We also found out our Copa Sudamericana groups. The preliminary round puts us in group B, and we will travel to Santos in late July before hosting Juventude in mid-August. With only two games being played, and only the top side qualifying, we really canâ€™t afford to lose either game, and in reality, need to claim at least 4 points from the 6 available if we want to get through.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts

1st Santos 14 7 4 3 23 15 +8 25

2nd GrÃªmio 14 6 6 2 19 12 +7 24

3rd Cruzeiro 14 6 6 2 16 9 +7 24

4th Guarani 14 7 2 5 26 20 +6 23

5th Juventude 14 6 5 3 24 13 +11 23

6th Internacional 14 7 1 6 27 23 +4 22

7th GoiÃ¢nia 14 6 4 4 17 15 +2 22

9th SÃ£o Caetano 14 6 3 5 21 11 +10 21

10th Santa Cruz 14 6 3 5 30 31 -1 21

11th Fluminense 14 5 6 3 19 16 +3 21

12th Paysandu 12 6 2 4 15 11 +4 20

13th Sport Recife 14 5 5 4 20 15 +5 20

14th CriciÃºma 14 5 4 5 16 14 +2 19

15th GoiÃ¡s 14 5 4 5 14 20 -6 19

16th ParanÃ¡ 14 5 3 6 19 19 0 18

17th Bahia 14 4 6 4 19 18 +1 18

18th Palmeiras 13 4 3 6 12 17 -5 15

20th SÃ£o Paulo 14 3 5 6 18 26 -8 14

21st Coritiba 14 3 4 7 11 21 -10 13

22nd Vasco 14 2 6 6 20 25 -5 12

----------------------------------------------------

23rd Botafogo 14 1 7 6 12 25 -13 10

24th Corinthians 13 2 2 9 9 24 -15 8

State Winner State Winner

Acre IndependÃªncia Alagoas Corinthians (AL)

AmapÃ¡ Santos (AP) Amazonas Nacional (AM)

Bahia Bahia CearÃ¡ Fortaleza

Brasiliense Brasiliense EspÃrito Santo Desportiva

GaÃºcho Caxias MaranhÃ£o MaranhÃ£o

Mato Grosso Juventude (MT) MG do Sul Comercial (MS)

Pernambuco Santa Cruz PiauÃ Flamengo (PI)

Potiguar ABC Rio Fluminense

Santa Catarina AvaÃ SÃ£o Paulo Portuguesa

Sergipe Sergipe Tocantins Palmas

</pre>

binny · May 1, 2004

July 2009

The month began with a trip to Vasco, and although both sides had their chances, 0-0 was how it finished.

Having Juninho sent off at home to Juventude was not what we needed after 21 minutes, but having been fouled in the box, Leandro Diniz stepped up to put us in front from the penalty spot after 33. But just before the break Reinaldo equalised for the visitors, and just after the restart Thiago Gentil turned the game around. We tightened up after that, but the third was just a matter of time, and it came nine minutes from time through Geufer.

We had been doing well away at Sport Recife until the home side were awarded a 49th-minute penalty and Tiago fired them ahead. Even when they had WÃ©lber sent off we couldnâ€™t take advantage, and eight minutes from time Cristiano was given his marching orders. And a minute from time CÃ©sar Santin struck to ensure victory for the home side.

We had done really well at home to Cruzeiro, and the game seemed to be heading for a 0-0 draw. But it wasnâ€™t to finish like that, as Pedrinho struck to break our hearts five minutes from the end.

Travelling to Botafogo was never going to be easy, and the sides cancelled each other out early on. The deadlock was broken midway through the second half by a fantastic Roger strike, but just five minutes later Vilas Boas equalised for the home side. Four minutes later Milhomem put them ahead, but FlÃ¡vio Guilherme rescued a point for us on the break ten minutes from time.

Young striker Mariano was allowed to join AtlÃ©tico Goianiense on loan for three months prior to the visit from GrÃªmio. Midway through the first half Guilherme turned his form into a goal, and twelve minutes later FlÃ¡vio Guilherme doubled the lead. Things got interesting when the visitors pulled a goal back through ClÃ¡udio Pitbull, but Leandro Diniz made sure of the points for us with an excellent strike eight minutes from time.

The trip to SÃ£o Paulo was difficult, but we defended well, and on 24 broke and took the lead through Cristiano. We effectively neutralised the threat from SÃ£o Paulo after that, and on 65 Cristiano scored his second of the afternoon to confirm victory.

The last game of the month was a trip to Santos in our first ever Copa Sudamericana game. We started really well, and after 17 minutes FlÃ¡vio Guilherme gave us the lead. Santos through everything at us, but we held on well and four minutes before the break FlÃ¡vio Guilherme had us 2-0 up. But within two minutes Martins Silva pulled a goal back for the home side, and on the hour, Robinho equalised with an amazing goal. We still should have held on for a draw, but seven minutes from time Santos were awarded a penalty, and Luiz Carlos effectively put us out of the competition.

The month started really badly for us, but weâ€™ve come back strongly, and I feel that we were unlucky at Santos. I also managed to add two new faces to the squad just ahead of the transfer deadline. First in was defender Roger Guerreiro for Â£600,000 from SÃ£o Caetano, and the other signing was young attacking midfielder Leandro from ABC for a nominal fee.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts

1st Santos 21 11 5 5 32 21 +11 38

2nd Juventude 22 10 8 4 35 18 +17 38

3rd SÃ£o Caetano 21 10 5 6 34 19 +15 35

5th Fluminense 21 9 8 4 31 22 +9 35

6th Cruzeiro 22 8 11 3 24 16 +8 35

7th Internacional 22 11 1 10 42 37 +5 34

8th Paysandu 21 10 4 7 26 20 +6 34

9th Sport Recife 21 9 6 6 30 22 +8 33

10th GrÃªmio 21 8 9 4 27 18 +9 33

11th Guarani 21 9 5 7 35 28 +7 32

13th GoiÃ¢nia 21 8 6 7 25 24 +1 30

14th Bahia 21 7 8 6 25 23 +2 29

15th CriciÃºma 21 8 4 9 25 25 0 28

16th Santa Cruz 21 8 3 10 37 44 -7 27

17th GoiÃ¡s 21 7 6 8 21 28 -7 27

18th ParanÃ¡ 21 7 4 10 25 34 -9 25

19th Botafogo 22 5 9 8 29 36 -7 24

20th SÃ£o Paulo 22 5 7 10 28 40 -12 22

21st Vasco 22 4 8 10 25 32 -7 20

22nd Palmeiras 20 4 7 9 17 29 -12 19

----------------------------------------------------

23rd Corinthians 21 3 7 11 15 32 -17 16

24th Coritiba 22 3 5 14 13 37 -24 14

Copa Sudamericana Preliminary Round Group B

Pos Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts

1st Santos 1 1 0 0 3 2 +1 3

----------------------------------------------------

2nd Juventude 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

3rd GoiÃ¢nia 1 0 0 1 2 3 -1 0

</pre>

binny · May 2, 2004

August 2009

The month began with a trip to champions Bahia, but we looked the more potent of the two teams. Six minutes after the restart FlÃ¡vio Guilherme put us ahead, and after a nervy half hour, FlÃ¡vio Guilherme sealed victory with a second nine minutes from time.

The home tie with GoiÃ¡s was quiet early on, but the crowd were soon on their feet when Juninho came from nowhere to put us ahead. Roger scored a second in first half injury time, and that was enough for a 2-0 win.

The first half in ParanÃ¡ was poor, but just before the break we had Alex sent off for his second booking of the game. That didnâ€™t hinder us too much as Cristiano put us ahead with a wonderful chip in first half injury time. Poor defending allowed Geraldo to equalise immediately after the restart, but just six minutes later Juliano ghosted through to score his first goal for the club and restore our lead. ParanÃ¡ gave us the ghost after that, and we had yet another victory.

With Santos having beaten Juventude, our home tie with Juventude was a dead rubber, and meaningless in the Copa Sudamericana. Still, we were trying to gain some Continental pride, but after a quiet first half, a terrible moment at the back allowed Alan Bahia to put the visitors ahead on 52. We huffed and puffed, but couldnâ€™t find a way through, and ten minutes from time Orlando ensured that our first-ever foray into South American competition was to end with defeat.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Copa Sudamericana Preliminary Round Group B

Pos Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts

1st Q Santos 2 2 0 0 6 2 +4 6

-----------------------------------------------------

2nd Juventude 2 1 0 1 2 3 -1 3

3rd GoiÃ¢nia 2 0 0 2 2 5 -3 0

</pre>

We were back in league action at home to CriciÃºma, and after 11 minutes Helinho put us ahead with a well-taken free kick. On the half hour FlÃ¡vio Guilherme doubled the lead, and although JabÃ¡ pulled a goal back early in the second half, we held on to win.

The trip to bottom-of-the-table Coritiba was a tight affair, and it seemed that neither side wanted to score. But eighteen minutes from time FlÃ¡vio Guilherme found a way through, and four minutes later he set up Guilherme to ensure the three points.

We were in control at Paysandu until just before half time when Paulo Krauss broke quickly and curled in a fantastic goal. We didnâ€™t look too convincing early in the second half, but a fabulous strike from Alex Rodrigues levelled things up. That gave us the initiative, and nine minutes from time Helinho put us ahead. Five minutes later Helinho doubled the lead, and we registered our eighth consecutive league victory.

The last game of the month was a home tie with AtlÃ©tico Mineiro, and a very poor game ensued. Out of nothing Cristiano put us ahead on 68 minutes, but within a minute William equalised for the visitors. Eight minutes later LÃºcio FlÃ¡vio got in to put the visitors ahead, and in injury time William ensured that our winning streak had ended.

Iâ€™m obviously disappointed that we lost the tie with AtlÃ©tico Mineiro, but weâ€™ve been on a fantastic run, and have pushed ourselves right to the top of the league. We do still have 18 games to play though, and because the league is so tight, nothing is guaranteed.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts

1st SÃ£o Caetano 29 16 5 8 52 29 +23 53

2nd Santos 28 15 7 6 44 29 +15 52

4th Guarani 28 14 6 8 53 34 +19 48

5th GoiÃ¢nia 28 14 6 8 39 30 +9 48

6th Juventude 28 13 9 6 43 26 +17 48

7th Sport Recife 29 13 8 8 41 29 +12 47

8th Fluminense 29 12 11 6 38 29 +9 47

9th GrÃªmio 28 11 11 6 38 26 +12 44

10th Cruzeiro 29 11 11 7 28 23 +5 44

11th Paysandu 28 12 6 10 33 30 +3 42

12th Internacional 29 13 1 15 52 54 -2 40

13th CriciÃºma 29 12 4 13 40 38 +2 40

15th Bahia 28 9 9 10 28 30 -2 36

16th Santa Cruz 29 9 7 13 48 60 -12 34

17th Palmeiras 28 8 9 11 29 35 -6 33

18th Botafogo 29 7 11 11 40 48 -8 32

19th Vasco 29 7 9 13 36 42 -6 30

20th ParanÃ¡ 29 7 8 14 33 51 -18 29

21st GoiÃ¡s 29 7 8 14 24 42 -18 29

22nd SÃ£o Paulo 29 7 8 14 35 55 -20 29

----------------------------------------------------

23rd Corinthians 29 5 10 14 23 40 -17 25

24th Coritiba 29 3 9 17 16 46 -30 18

</pre>

PMLF · May 3, 2004

Too bad your team have been eliminated at Copa Sudamericana. But at least you are doing very well in the National League.

binny · May 3, 2004

Thanks for the support PMLF

September 2009

We began the month with a trip to Fluminense, and after a quiet first half hour, Carlos Alberto broke through to put the home side ahead. We kept probing in the second half without looking too threatening, but with the very last kick of the game we equalised through a Guilherme strike.

We got off to a fantastic start at home to Internacional when Helinho lobbed in after three minutes, and six minutes later Guilherme doubled the lead. Guilherme made it 3-0 after 15 minutes, but we eased up after that. That being said, the visitors never really threatened us, even when we had Bosco sent off twelve minutes from time.

The trip to struggling Corinthians was a quiet affair, but after twenty minutes we were awarded a penalty that Guilherme put away. But within a minute the home side were level as Andrezinho was given too much space to sweep the ball home. We were the more potent side in the second half, but we lacked much in the way of real attacking prowess. That was until a minute from time when Guilherme looked to have won the match for us. But it wasnâ€™t to be as Thyago went up the other end of the field and fired in an equaliser.

The excellent form of Guilherme continued as he put us ahead after 28 minutes at home to SÃ£o Caetano as we dominated proceedings. But we failed to convert any more of our chances as on 63 AnaÃlson equalised for the visitors. The game seemed to peter out towards the end, but in the final minute Cristiano struck to earn us all three points.

The final match of September was at home to Santa Cruz, and our good form continued when Cristiano had us ahead after seven minutes. Surprisingly, the visitors came back at us, and ten minutes before the break Da Silva equalised. Just before the hour Roberto Santos put them ahead, and we had no way back. It certainly didnâ€™t help when Helinho was shown his second booking for back chatting, and we slumped to a disappointing defeat.

Our form has been really good of late, but the effects of a long season already look to be taking their toll, and there are still 13 games to go. Guilherme showed the sort of form that I know he can produce, but we need to find two strikers who are both on form at the same time. Still, weâ€™ll keep our challenge up. I donâ€™t think that weâ€™ll win the title, but we can certainly keep our top-five position, and who knows, maybe a top-three place isnâ€™t beyond us.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts

1st Santos 33 19 8 6 54 30 +24 65

3rd SÃ£o Caetano 34 17 6 11 60 38 +22 57

4th GoiÃ¢nia 33 16 8 9 48 36 +12 56

5th Fluminense 34 14 14 6 47 33 +14 56

6th Cruzeiro 34 13 13 8 34 29 +5 52

7th Guarani 34 14 9 11 59 45 +14 51

8th Juventude 34 14 9 11 45 35 +10 51

9th Sport Recife 34 14 9 11 45 35 +10 51

10th GrÃªmio 34 12 14 8 45 36 +9 50

11th Paysandu 34 13 10 11 37 35 +2 49

12th Bahia 34 13 10 11 36 34 +2 49

14th Internacional 34 15 1 18 57 62 -5 46

15th Santa Cruz 34 12 7 15 56 69 -13 43

16th CriciÃºma 34 12 6 16 43 46 -3 42

17th Palmeiras 34 10 10 14 34 42 -8 40

18th Botafogo 34 9 13 12 46 53 -7 40

19th ParanÃ¡ 34 10 8 16 42 59 -17 38

20th Corinthians 34 8 12 14 32 46 -14 36

21st GoiÃ¡s 34 8 10 16 32 51 -19 34

22nd Vasco 34 8 9 17 41 54 -13 33

----------------------------------------------------

23rd SÃ£o Paulo 34 7 10 17 41 65 -24 31

24th Coritiba 34 6 10 18 22 49 -27 28

</pre>

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