| "Ducky" saves Brazil |
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| Saturday, 29 March 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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LONDON - I HAVE never seen as many Brazilians together in one place before, until in the cold and rainy night at the magnificent Emirates stadium in Islington, North London. More than 60,000 of them plus a thousand Swedish supporters, a hundred more curious Arsenal fans and a lone fat Filipino bloke trooped Arsenal’s home field to witness Brazil’s newest teen sensation Alexander Pato nipped a stubborn and luckless Sweden. The 18-year-old Pato was greeted with a standing ovation when he came in the last 30 minute of the match. He then gifted coach Dunga’s trust with a beautiful left footed lob at the edge of the penalty box that hit the back of the empty net. It was a great debut for Pato with Brazil’s national team as they have already found a successor for the legendary Ronaldo up front. Pato showed his intelligence on the field when he capitalized on the error of Sweden’s second goalkeeper Rami Shaaban. Shaaban cleared a back pass from a defender at the edge of the box and hit Pato. The AC Milan striker then took the opportunity to secure his name in the long list of Brazil’s next golden generation. BRAZIL’S UP COMING STARS Before I decided to spend my hard earned cash to watch the Brazil-Sweden match, I knew that lots of Brazil’s superstars and senior players would not be playing. But I still decided to watch the match just for two reasons. I wanted to experience the Brazilian Samba crowd and watch the Samba boys enjoy play the beautiful game. There was no Ronaldinho, no Kaka, no Roberto Carlos, no Ronaldo but who cares as long as I saw Pato’s goal, Robinho’s criss-cross over the ball dribbling, Julio Baptista’s curving free kicks, Diego’s brilliant midfield plays, Gilberto Silva’s tough tackling and Lucio’s no nonsense defending. Defender Alex impressed me most. He held the Brazil’s defence with Lucio and their team work were deadly and fearsome to their opponents. Alex was just recently signed by Chelsea to help the ailing John Terry handle Chelsea’s defense. Prior to his Chelsea stint Alex played for PSV for three years where he won three straight titles with the Dutch side. He was nicknamed “The Tank’’ by PSV fans because of his size and his ability to score goals from free kicks and long distance. At Chelsea he has developed a reputation for his long range shooting. Man United’s Anderson was the centre of Arsenal’s booing crowd. Every time he touched the ball he got the boos. He did not deserve the abuse as technically he is one of Brazil’s best midfielders. SWEDEN It is a big Scandinavian country near the North Pole but with very tiny population. But this oil rich country is also a football state with a world class national football team. They held the world’s greatest football nation for more that one hour before surrendering a goal. The Swedish team remains a contender in the coming European Championships with former Arsenal star Frank Ljundberg leading them. Their defense was led by Aston Villa’s central defender Olof Mellberg. He has spent seven years with Aston Villa and is moving to Juventus next season. They almost scored two goals against the Brazilians but were just very unlucky. They however showed us that nation with a tiny population can have a world class football team. BRAZILIAN CROWD The Brazilians showed their love for their national team and showed up in colourful costumes. They were all animated during the entire match despite the cold and the rain. They even put me up on my feet when they produced the “Mexican wave’’. The Emirates shook when the thousands stamped their feet together and before they stood up and executed the wave. But what I missed most are the popular and the half naked sexy Samba dancers. Where were they? Oh, I forgot the temperature was almost below zero. Nobody dared to put their lungs at stake in that situation. I went to watch the Brazil-Sweden match alone meaning without my wife, or a friend. So, I did not have an official photographer to catch these special moment of my life. Besides I still do not have that DSLR I wished I could have this year. I am still working my guts out here wiping asses just to secure that camera. I miss my wife. She used to take my photos when we went out to our football adventures with her small digital camera. She brought along her digital camera to Saudi Arabia. All I have now is my brand new Sony Ericsson mobile which I am still ignorant to use. EMIRATES STADIUM As a Spurs fan I envy Arsenal for having this magnificent stadium located at the middle of the Islington borough suburb. The stadium is impressive and the £300 million Arsenal spent for the venue is money well spent. I wanted to change side after seeing the Emirates. But I thought it is not worth it. I have already bought too many Spurs jerseys. Besides the Hotspurs are now thinking of making the Olympic stadium in Stratford as their possible home field after 2012. GOD BLESS Email the author
jheyar
said:
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| Jack, hahaha! you're one big devil.. i love the article.. Next time invite ME so you will have someone to share the passion of football in one of your tours! hehe |
embing moday
said:
| jack,we could go watch epl matches together.though im not a spurs fan,dont mind goin to london.its been 3 yrs since i last saw one.as a fellow bisaya im sure magkasinabot ta.i used to play for usc-boys high against your Don bosco boys and i played for recoletos during college.email me back if your interested meeting up.paet baya diri sa london walay kalingawan. |
MJ
said:
| Thanks for this article, I am an avid Brazil fan glad they won in this friendly. No need to despair I am sure Spurs will be in the Champions League soon with your Juande Ramos. He is a great coach! |
Reddevil
said:
| Jack, you lucky devil. Another envious moment for me. I'd have loved to see Brazil live. Ive watched manchester United live many many years ago but definitely with or without its aging stars, a Brazilian game is an exceptional experience. The samba and the passion of its fans..a once in a lifetime spectacle I bet. I havent had a chance to watch Pato yet, I'll try to go over some footage on the net. cant rely on Philippine football coverage to see these new players from the Italian league. Dunga says he is the real deal, comparing him to Ronaldo but not as flamboyant. Alex has had a solid reputation especially during his PSV days. However, he will not enjoy the same exposure as he has to play behind Carvallo and terry at Chelsea. Too bad. Also heard about how the crowd treated anderson. they are just pissed because he is a United player. sore loosers these Gunner fans. Anyway, great coverage and reading between the lines, I see how you missed your partner and you must have really saved up to watch the match. Well, life is tough amigo, but we need football to get by. |
jackbiantan
said:
| reffix, Ok lang gaantus sa ka-opaw. Kinsa ka? Taga-Kamagayan ka? Sila ra man god motawag nako ug Daddy Jack. Kanang mga tam-is sa Kamagayan. |
reffix
said:
| daddy jack! kumusta? |
Alex Ryan
said:
| *Selecao |
Alex Ryan
said:
| Very nice review, I'm glad that Alexandre Pato (Forza Milan!) is doing well on the Seleção. No Zlatan, ey? |
kiddo
said:
| ...the crowd & the goal.... |
kiddo
said:
| Hahaha I loved the way you wrote the article Jack. it was like painting the picture of the experience! I swear I almost saw the crowd goal from my living room. :) |
