The soccer season in Europe is officially over, and teams are settling down to watch the Eurocopa the most important european event in the world. Although in most leagues, fans have received surprises. Such as Milan in the UEFA Cup instead of the UEFA Champions league. The big surprise was that late at night yesterday, the UEFA committee decided to kick the portuguese team Porto out of the UEFA Champions league, after finding out the portuguese bribed some referee’s. Milan on the other hand is stacking on players, this week they have hired for the right back position Gianluca Zambrotta now ex-Barcelona. Recently Cristiano Ronaldo Manchester superstar, has told the press he wishes to play for the Real Madrid team. Milan has also been on the market highway, early today it was said that Emanuel Adebayor has come closer to the Milan team. It is said he has his contract bases established, such as salary. The soccer teams are going through more and more changes and by the end of the transfer market periods teams will be completely renewed. The team probably taking the hardest hit towards players is Bayern Munich they have lost the veteran goalkeeper and the German goalie Oliver Kahn to retirement. To there problems they have found a “cure” the goalie from Benfica, Butt. Other then the Eurocopa and the transfer market we have also had great friendly’s all over the world such as Brazil vs Canada, the game ended 3-2 for Brazil, the Goal-scorer’s were Diego from Werder Bremen,  Robinho for Real Madrid and Luis Fabiano from Sevilla. The Eurocopa starts on Saturday and the teams are getting pumped but are also suffering loses such as Italian defender Cannavaro who will not be able to participate because of a leg injury in practice and has just been operated. This will be my last blog for school but I hope to be able to continue writting about soccer in the future. Although the good thing is summer is almost here.

Lately the soccer negotiation world has been on fire. Many offers have been made lately., but very few negotiations have been ended. Keita ex-sevilla has gone to Barcelona, and Edmilson ex-Barcelona has gone to Villareal. The biggest deals being talked about are Ronaldinho going to Milan, Kaka to Barcelona,Chelsea, and Real Madrid, and Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid. The soccer world seasons in Europe have ended and now the business has started. Rumors are running and Coaches are trying to get deals. Jose Maurinho has made promise to bring Deco to Inter. I would be really looking forward to seeing Ronaldinho in MIlan and his partner Eto’o in Milan too, but those players cant forget that Milan will be going to the UEFA Cup, not the Champions league. The next year MIlan team will be great in attack if we get the players expected, Ronaldinho and Eto’o who will join Pato the revelation, and Kaka 07-08 Best player in the world. Coaches have moved such as ex-Chelsea, Jose Maurinho has moved to defending champions. Although the biggest negotiation this summer would probably be Cristiano Ronaldo going to Madrid because he recently won the Champions league and is probably one of the best in the world. Last this tuesday Amauri ex-Palermo will sign in with Juventus because of his excellent performance in the Serie A Italiana. Many teams at the moment will probably wait for the Eurocopa to close deals because they want to see the European performances just incase they found someone better then they were going to buy, unless they are planning to buy a player from another continent, other than the uropean. Unfortunately many negotiations have not happened and eventually they will come and the some will shake the world and change it. Until then the suspense will stay and fans will pray all over the world for there team to get the best deal to create the championship team they want.

The Eurocopa is the second biggest soccer competition, after the World Cup. It happens every 4 years and many European national teams go through though qualifiers to get to the actual competitian. This year it will be held in Austria and Switzeraland. I myself am looking foward to this competitian because it substitues the World cup for me. The biggest surprise was that England, with players like Beckham, Terry, Lampard, Gerard did no qualify. I will be cheering for Portugal and Italy because they are my favorite European National team. The favorite team to win this competition is probably Italy because they are the deffending world cup champions. Also because they have players like Totti, Cannavaro, Buffon, and Pirlo. The other reason I will be cheering for Italy  is because my cousins are Italian and because I Like the soccer team.Portugal although has the third best player in the worl Cristiano Ronaldo,who recently led his team to the UEFA champions league Championship. This competition is a major competition mainly because its in Eurpe but the truth is that the cup is one of the hardest prizes to get because of all the countries in Europe.The qualifiers started about 3 years ago and it took a break during the World cup. I can’t wait for it to start and I think this will be a great year for the cup, the reason being both countries worked really hard to make it possible. Recently FIFA the international futbol federacion located in France built its home base in Switzerland. I am glad to see these small countries gaining attention., and I think unlike other famous soccer countries they will not take it for granted. The cup will start june 7 and will go until the beginning of July, because after that we have the long awaited Olyimpic games in China. But thats another topic thanks for reading.

Yesterday the day went by so slowly, there was only one thing on my mind, the quarter final round of the Libertadores. Specifically the game was, yes, Sao Paulo my favorite team vs Fluminense, the surprise in the cup. Finally the game started after hour of waiting. Sao Paulo were favorites but in my mind anything could happen in our house the Morumbi. The game started and Sao Paulo like always pushed forward to the goal. Finnally we got results when Hugo made a shoot/ cross which the goalie deflected, but for their luck the rebound went out and eventually it was a goalkick.  Gees the game got me tense and my eyes were glued to the TV the only thing I could see or hear was the TV. My heart started beating faster and faster and they were getting better in the game, but we were still dominating. I felt relieved and in happy when in the 31st minute Adriano made a long pass to Dagoberto who kicked but fortunately the goalie deflected it to Adriano who tapped it in. I was happy and then I felt a horrible leg cramp happy, yes I was, but in horrible pain. After it relived I got up and jumped up and down from the joy. But damn that cramp hurt. Finally the half was over and I took that time to relax and to get ready for the half, which meant I had to eat dinner in 5 minutes. Relaxed and ready for it to start the game re-began and Sao Paulo had that chance which hurt when they missed and my heart pumped faster and faster and my breath got heavier. Dagoberto missed that chance and i wanted to cry for that miss. I could not believe my eyes. The game was tense that one goal difference was the only good,positive thing. Lucky for all off us the game ended 1-0 for Sao Paulo, thanks god.

This Sunday a major soccer game happen, Ac Milan played Inter de Milan and this game was known as a derby match, because they were arch-rivals. This match would decide a lot because if Inter won they would be crowned champions of the italian league and if Milan won they would bump up to 4th place and would be in  the Pre-UEFA Champions league zone, but Milan also counted on Calgiari winning Fiorentina who were 2 points ahead of them. This match started really and for me to watch it I had to wake up at 6:30 am because the game started at 7:00 am. Boy was I tired because the night before I slept at 1:30 am. After being fully awake the game started. I was so nervous and I was getting really anxious  for the first goal. Surprisingly Milan started of dominating the game something no one expected. The first chance came when Kaka(best player ever) made a pass that any player would die, it split the defense. Inzaghi received the ball smoothly with no problems, and kicked to the goal but for Inter’ luck Julio Cesar their goalkeeper saved. Everyone who cheered for Milan and were watching let out a disappointing ”ohh” including me. The game became more tense when Seedorf made a wondrous pass to Kaka who crossed it and Inzaghi let Milan fans down when he headed the ball and the ball slowly bounced out of bounds. It was sad to see it and my heart started beating faster then ever my eyes were glued to the game. The first half ended 0-0, Milan had pity for them because of that score. On the second half everything seemed the same Milan pressured and Inter defended. Something in those Milan players was amazing they ran from one side to the other, they wanted that game, you could see it. On the 51st minute a reward shook the nets, when Kaka obviously ran with the ball down the sideline and crossed it in and Inzaghi anticipated the Inter defenders and headed it in. Milan 1-0 Inter everyone roared with joy. I myself ran around so happy, I jumped up and down and could not contain my happiness. But yes it got better when 4 minutes later Kaka smoothly scored it with a gentle kick/tap around the keeper to the near post. Milan 2-0 Inter, it couldn’t get any better. Until Inter scored from a free kick hit by Julio Cruz. The game went on to end 2-1 for Milan. The other results also favored Milan, but not Inter, Fiorentina had lost to Calgiari 2-1 which bumped Milan to 4th place, Roma had won 3-0 against Sampdoria and were in 2nd place 3 points behind Inter. With 2-3 matches to go this got better and better for Milan and worst for Inter.

Lately I’ve been looking at people’s blogs, mostly the ones that have to do with soccer and I’ve noticed that a lot of people have made a good point towards it such as Camille. In her website she points out how hard it is to explain your passion and I totally agree with her. For me soccer is magic because when you have the ball there are so many options and when you for example perform a hard trick you feel accomplished, for example in fifth grade I wasn’t really good at soccer and I was in a soccer class on Saturday and they thought a trick which many of you may know, the 360 roulette created originally by Zidane. The first time I tried it did not work and after about a month I finally got it and when I got right you know it felt amazing that sense of accomplishment is just impossible to explain with words, but when it happens in any sport its amazing wether its making a hole in 1 or a half-court shot, or even the simplest thing, trust me when I say the feeling is amazing. This may be hard to believe but I prefer playing soccer in recess sometimes than in a game obviously because there less pressure and more room to have fun and to try new things which is fun. Many people might not figure out there passion but when it happens it amazing and it fills you with joy and even though your good at that sport you feel something for it that is so pure and  beautiful. Today in sports we have kind of lost the essence in it teams move from town to town just looking for more money and so do players. There is term in Brazil that a lot of people know towards sport which is love to your teams shirt or as Brazilians call it “amor a camisa”. What it means is that you don’t sell yourself to other teams for money, you stay in your team because you love it and there are very few examples of it such as Pele, who played in Santos and could have made millions if he accepted deals to go to Milan or Madrid but he didn’t and he is a true example of love for your team. Soccer for me as I said is inexplicable when your there as player and hear your crowd screaming you just feel lifted even if it is the worst of siuations, for examole Liverpool were losing 3-0 to AC Milan but in 5 minutes they made it 3-3 and in penalties they won. What an amazing game and this is the kind of inspiration that lifts you up and sweeps you of the floor and in a snap amazing happens, like in that game. This passion is amazing and these kinds of situations are the ones that test your passion and when if you pass the test you will figure out that you really do love that passion.  

This Sunday one of the best games ever happened. If you remeber my last entry stated that Sao Paulo were playing Palmeiras again after winning 2-1. That game was on this Sunday in the Palestra Italia the Palmwiras stadium. The game was very tense and I myself was very nervous and afraid. Then the worst possible thing happened on the 21st minute Leo Lima from Palmeiras made a tricky long shot which sent the keeper the wrong way after a small curve. After that I got even more nervous and tense I walked from one side of the room to the other, I could not stay still in one place and with every missed chance by Sao Paulo the more nervous and anxious I was because time was also running out. During half time in the locker rooms someone threw a pepper spray bomb in the Sao Paulo locker room which caused them to cough alot and for there eyes to tear and for them to become a little dizzy. They came back earlier to the field and the second half started the game became better and better and spaces opened and in a counter-attack Palmeiras scored the decisive goal which made it 2-0 and took away most possiblities of Sao Paulo qualifying which made me very sad. Right after the lights of the stadium went out and the teeams had to wait 16 full minutes to restart but unfortunatly that did not change anything. In the end it was 2-0 Palmeiras we Sao Paulo had lost but at least we are still in the Libertadores.  

This Saturday and Sunday teams played the last round of the campeonato Paulista. In the first game on Saturday Guaratingueta lost 1-0 to Ponte Preta. Luckily this Saturday they will play again against Ponte Preta at home so at least they still have a chance to qualify. The game that took place on Sunday was Sao Paulo vs Palmeras and these teams were fierce rivals. Sao Paulo started of well even though they had less possession they still defended well and made some very good plays and in the 11th minute they were rewarded when Jorge Wagner made a cross after one of the Sao Paulo players got fouled, the cross seemed to be to high to header but it dropped in the end and Adriano dived in to score the goal. This goal created allot of discussion because according to many people such as the Palmeras coach Adriano had hit it in with his hand even though it slightly touched his head. The second half started of amazing because right of the first minute Gustavo the Palmeiras defender made a bad pass and Jorge Wagner intercepted it and made a splendid pass to Adriano who controlled it well and came to a one on one situation with Marcos the Palmeiras Goalkeeper and Adriano with class kicked it around the goalkeeper. When this goal was scored I was really happy because it was such a tense game and in the 31st minute  got even more nervous when Palmeiras got a penalty. Alex Mineiro stepped up to the spot and took the penalty vvery well and sent the goalkeeper to the wrong side and scored it and then it was 2-1.  I was  really nervous and was really anxious for the game to end and it did like that 2-1 what a relief for now because on Sunday they play the second leg.

The second leg of the UEFA Champions league quarter-final was played on Tuesday April 8th and Wednesday April 9th. On Tuesday Chelsea from England played Fenerbahce from Turkey in the first leg Fenerbahce won 2-1 after starting of losing one to zero. The second goal was from Deived a beautiful shot from a long distance in the top right angle of the keeper, ironically Deived the scorer of that goal had scored an own goal which had Chelsea in front one zero in the beginning. In the second leg Chelsea played at home and won 2-0 against Fenerbhce, Chelsea scored the first goal with only 3 minutes of play with a perfect header from the German Ballack also known as the captain of the German national team. With this result Chelsea would be qualifying, but if the Turkish team scored a goal to make it 1-1 they would have qualified. Instead in the 82nd minute Lampard from Chelsea scored an easy goal after a ground cross which means the ball didn’t go off the ground, then all he had to do was tap it in. Surprisingly ther real star in the game was the Chelsea goalkeeper Hilario who came in because the goalkeeper Cuducini got hurt and since the starting off goalkeeper Peter Cech was in an operation it was all up to him when he came in at the second half more a less. He made two big saves the first one was a shot from outside the box which hit a defender so he had to change the direction in which he was going to jump which for keepers is really hard, but he made the save right before the ball crossed the line. The second shot came from another Turkish man the forward Kazim but the goalie blocked it very well. The other game on Tuesday was Liverpool from England against Arsenal also from England. In the first game in Arsenals stadium they drew 1-1 after Arsenal taking the lead in the 23rd minute from a goal from Adebayor, but Arsenal did not keep the result instead they “fell asleep on defense” and the Dutch man Dirk Kuyt scored a goal for the Liverpool team. Liverpool when to there stadium wining thanks to the away goal rule. When the game started Arsenal attacked straight of and in the 12th minute Diaby scored for Arsenal and again Arsenal just didn’t keep it and on the 30th minute the man Finland Sami Hyypia scored a goal that would make it 1-1 and if it stayed like this it would go to extra-time. It didn’t and in the 69th minute Fernando Torres recieved a pass when he was just about 2-3 steps into the box, so he turned an shot and shot went right by goalkeeper and into the left angle of the goalkeeper. Amazingly in the 84th minute Emanuel Adebayor tapped it in after an amazing run frm Theo Wlacott the English who passed low and Adebayor tapped it in. This amazing goal would qualify Arsenal what game it would make, but it became better when Ryan Babel the Dutch got a penalty in the 85th minute and the captain Steven Gerrard scored the penalty. The game still had possibilities but it ended when Ryan Babel scored in the 90th minute. In the end it was 4-2 what a game, what a game!! Liverpool were qualified and that was that. Today on Wednesday two game also happened. The first game was Barcelona from Spain against Schalke 04 from Germany, in the first game in Germany, Barcelona won 1-0. The play started of with the frenchman Henry shot it, but the goalie blocked it and then Henry passed it in so Bojan the young Spaniard could tap it in and make it 1-0. In the second leg in Barcelona Spain the Spanish team had the advantage from the game in Germany and they also had the away goal advantage. In the beginning Barcelona had many good chances and so did Schalke 04 but Barcelona got better in the game and started to dominate the game, but the goal came in after various repetitive shots because the ball would not go in but Yaya Toure shot it in after various tries. The last quarter final game was Manchester United from England against the Italians, Roma. In the first leg in Rome Manchester won 2-0 with one goal from Cristiano Ronaldo and one from Rooney. The first goal was in the 39th minute from Cristiano Ronaldo, after a good play from Rooney who passed it to Cristiano Ronaldo who anticipated the defense shot and scored the goal. In the second goal started of from a cross which Doni the Roma goalkeeper did not get and all Rooney did was tap it in. In the game in Manchester, Roma created good plays and in the 30th minute Mancini got a penalty for Roma. Then De Rossi stepped up to the spot and when he shot it he sent it flying over the top bar. In the 70th minute the game “ended’ because Hargreaves crossed it in and the Argentinean Carlitos Tevez headed it precisely in to the goal. The game ended 1-0 and Roma were out. Although there positive side because it wasn’t as bad as last year when they played Manchester United for the quarter-finals. It was in the 06/07 season, in the first game the won 2-1 and in the second game they lost 7-1. In the semi-finals Manchester United will play Barcelona, and Liverpool will play Chelsea. My favorite teams still competing are Manchester United because of there style of play, and the quality of all the players. My other favorite team is Barcelona and ironically they are playing Manchester United in the semi-finals and the reason I like Barcelona is because they have one of the best players in the world Ronaldinho who is going by a bad phase.

The campeonato Paulista is a pre-tournament for the major national tournament called Brasileirao. The campeonato Paulista is part of the state championship in Sao Paulo the state. Other then the Paulista there is a one called the Campeonato Carioca, and the championship you play in depends on the state you live, whether its the state of Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Parana, Bahia, and etc…At the moment my team Sao Paulo which is part of the Paulistao, is in 3rd place with one round to go. Third place might seam mediocre or even bad because they are not winning, but actually that position is really good. The reason why is the following; first 20 teams play each other one time, it could be home or even away, then the first four teams in the end go to a semifinal in which the person in first plays the one in 4th and the one in 2nd plays the one in 3rd. The semi-final round and final round work in the same way as the UEFA Champions league which was the in my first post. The next game Sao Paulo plays is against Juventus-SP a very bad team which is in 14-20th place more a less. the end is going to be really exciting because in the second to last round two teams guaranteed the passage to the semi-finals, with 37 points. Those teams were Palmeiras and the tournaments big surprise Guaratingueta. Only four other teams have a mathematical possibility of qualifying: Sao Paulo, Corinthians, Barueri, and Ponte Preta. The favorites teams out of those four are Sao Paulo and Corinthians. But the teams that have the most chance are Sao Paulo and Ponte Preta. Sao Paulo is the team I’m going to be cheering for because it is my favorite team. The campeonato Paulista is probably the most competitive state competition out of all of them. I think Sao Paulo can win the Paulista because with every game they have become better and better and they seem to be in sink.The the ranking of the teams that can still qualify(ex 1st, 2nd)

1. Guaratingueta, 37 points, 12 victories
2. Palmeiras, 37 points, 11 victories
3. Sao Paulo, 35 points, 10 victories
4. Ponte Preta, 34 points, 10 victories
5. Corinthians, 33 points, 9 victories
6. Barueri, 32 points, 10 victories

Chances:

1. Guaratingueta = Qualified
2. Palmeiras = Qualified
3. Sao Paulo = 91% chance
4. Ponte Preta, = 53% chance
5. Corinthians = 23% chance
6. Barueri = 33% chance

The following is a picture of the symbol of the Campeeonato Paulista.