B,
You missed an incredible futebol weekend.
First, Saturday night, the under 20 Brasilian seleção won the World Cup 3-2 against Portugal. Ansley's boyfriend made all three goals. Amazing. Especially his last goal. Here are your highlights from that game.
Then yesterday Ronaldinho Gaúcho and Flamengo came to town. We almost didn't get in (me,Anderson and Garrett) because they said they sold all the tickets. I decided that we needed to go home to watch it on tv but Garrett wanted to stay in the line to try to get one even though everyone said it was sold out. While he was in the line a friend (André S.) called me to say he heard on the radio that they just freed up 500 more tickets. Garrett was about 100 people out when it happened so he got a ticket for R$15. His persistence paid off.
Even with us playing short one man(Guinazu got red carded), the juiz cheating (as usual against teams from Rio and São Paulo.....notice the guy pushing our barreira during Ronaldinho's falta with no call and D'Alessandro getting pushed down in the área with no call), and Ronaldinho playing better than anybody in Brasil right now (except Damião)we played great and ended up tying them and almost won at the end. Damião made a bicicleta to tie it at 2. It was awesome. It was the best tie game we've ever been to. People were clapping when it was over. I've never seen that happen before. Even the Flamengo fans enjoyed it. Even Garrett, "Mr. only an Inter victory is good Garrett", didn't complain about the tie so you know it was good.
Here are the highlights from that game:
Finally, saving the best for last, your brother had a game yesterday morning.
His team won 7-1. He scored twice, almost scored again and assisted in 2 other goals. Here are his melhores momentos.
Sorry you missed the fun.
Showing posts with label Seleção. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Seleção. Show all posts
Monday, August 22, 2011
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Soccer Family
We moved to Brasil almost 8 years ago.
At that time we knew nothing about soccer and I mean nothing. Not the rules, not the teams, nothing.
On Tuesday I realized how much our family has changed in the past 8 years.
Tuesday was the day that the Brasilian national coach announced which 23 players would be on our World Cup soccer team.
The announcement was shown on national television and radio stations carried it live.
I realized how much our family has become soccer fans when we were on our way home from school and I was forced to speed to get home so the kids could rush in and watch the announcement live. I then watched as everyone in my family crowded around the tv to watch.
Benay and I talked about it later and we, as Americans, don't have anything like the excitement of the World Cup. We don't announce a national team for the Olympics or the World Cup and have it carried live on radio stations and major national tv channels. ESPN maybe but ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox? No
Soccer really is the world's sport and we are excited about the beginning of World Cup next month.
Bronwyn isn't even leaving for college in the states until the after World Cup is over.
We've changed a lot in the past 8 years.
At that time we knew nothing about soccer and I mean nothing. Not the rules, not the teams, nothing.
On Tuesday I realized how much our family has changed in the past 8 years.
Tuesday was the day that the Brasilian national coach announced which 23 players would be on our World Cup soccer team.
The announcement was shown on national television and radio stations carried it live.
I realized how much our family has become soccer fans when we were on our way home from school and I was forced to speed to get home so the kids could rush in and watch the announcement live. I then watched as everyone in my family crowded around the tv to watch.
Benay and I talked about it later and we, as Americans, don't have anything like the excitement of the World Cup. We don't announce a national team for the Olympics or the World Cup and have it carried live on radio stations and major national tv channels. ESPN maybe but ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox? No
Soccer really is the world's sport and we are excited about the beginning of World Cup next month.
Bronwyn isn't even leaving for college in the states until the after World Cup is over.
We've changed a lot in the past 8 years.
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
Football Weekend
We just finished a great futebol (soccer) weekend.
We've shared a couple of times before about the seleção. On Saturday the seleção (Brasilian national team) beat our biggest rival Argentina in Argentina. Great victory. When I say rivalry you need to think Yankees-Red Sox times 50. It's a rivalry on massive steroids. We had cars honking and fireworks going off throughout the city after the game. With the victory we are assured a place in next year's World Cup.
For those that don't know the World Cup is the biggest event in soccer. It happens every four years in a different country. Next year it's in South Africa. In 2014 Brasil will host the World Cup and there will be games in Inter's stadium. We plan on being there.
Speaking of Internacional, on Sunday our favorite team won again. We went one state up from ours and beat the 5th place team in their house. We continue to be in 2nd place just one point behind the leader.
Garrett I were talking yesterday about how we could not have had a better sports weekend.
We've shared a couple of times before about the seleção. On Saturday the seleção (Brasilian national team) beat our biggest rival Argentina in Argentina. Great victory. When I say rivalry you need to think Yankees-Red Sox times 50. It's a rivalry on massive steroids. We had cars honking and fireworks going off throughout the city after the game. With the victory we are assured a place in next year's World Cup.
For those that don't know the World Cup is the biggest event in soccer. It happens every four years in a different country. Next year it's in South Africa. In 2014 Brasil will host the World Cup and there will be games in Inter's stadium. We plan on being there.
Speaking of Internacional, on Sunday our favorite team won again. We went one state up from ours and beat the 5th place team in their house. We continue to be in 2nd place just one point behind the leader.
Garrett I were talking yesterday about how we could not have had a better sports weekend.
Thursday, April 02, 2009
Seleção-Part 3
We went to the game as planned last night. Bronwyn was a last minute bail out. Our family has been passing around some light stomach/cold symptoms little bug and she had to stay at home because she wasn't feeling well. It killed her but we reassured her that she could come back in 2014 to see the World Cup when Brasil hosts it.
We invited Katy (another American missionary and good friend of Ansley's) to take her spot. We also went with three of our brothers from our church family.
This was the third game of the seleção that I've been blessed to see. I went (like I mentioned on Tuesday's blog) in 2001 and then took Garrett in 2005.
Both of those games had an atmosphere that I had never experienced in sports before.
Last night wasn't quite so exciting for a few different reasons. We played Peru who is in last place and they are honestly an awful team. I think a lot of fans stayed home and watched it on tv instead of paying to see our team play someone so bad. The stadium was three fourths full which took some of the emotion out of it but it was still an exciting thing to be a part of.
Benay's soccer boyfriend (Kaká) played the entire game. The coach also made sure all four of the guys on the roster from our state got in the game which made the fans very happy.
By the way, we won 3-0. Here is a video if anyone, other than my dad and Brasilians, cares.
Enjoy:
We invited Katy (another American missionary and good friend of Ansley's) to take her spot. We also went with three of our brothers from our church family.
This was the third game of the seleção that I've been blessed to see. I went (like I mentioned on Tuesday's blog) in 2001 and then took Garrett in 2005.
Both of those games had an atmosphere that I had never experienced in sports before.
Last night wasn't quite so exciting for a few different reasons. We played Peru who is in last place and they are honestly an awful team. I think a lot of fans stayed home and watched it on tv instead of paying to see our team play someone so bad. The stadium was three fourths full which took some of the emotion out of it but it was still an exciting thing to be a part of.
Benay's soccer boyfriend (Kaká) played the entire game. The coach also made sure all four of the guys on the roster from our state got in the game which made the fans very happy.
By the way, we won 3-0. Here is a video if anyone, other than my dad and Brasilians, cares.
Enjoy:
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Seleção-Part 2
Yesterday we shared about the Seleção. They had a practice yesterday to get ready for tonight's game.
Fans were allowed in to see the practice if they took a kilo of a non perishable food (beans and rice typically are the foods of choice here).
I heard almost 30,000 people showed up on a workday afternoon just to watch a practice. Pretty amazing.
The first is this guy in the blue shirt. His name is Alexandre Pato.
He used to play here for our team (the greatest team in the world) before being sold to AC Milan. That is the sad part of Brasilian soccer. We have some of, if not, the best players in the world but we have to sell our very best players to Europe because we need the money and they have the money. Anyway, he is back home and will be playing again on Inter's field. He's an incredible player and he's only 19.
Fans were allowed in to see the practice if they took a kilo of a non perishable food (beans and rice typically are the foods of choice here).
Again, just to let you know how big a deal soccer is here.......here is what it looked like for a practice:
I heard almost 30,000 people showed up on a workday afternoon just to watch a practice. Pretty amazing.Two other reasons why we are excited about the game:
The first is this guy in the blue shirt. His name is Alexandre Pato.
He used to play here for our team (the greatest team in the world) before being sold to AC Milan. That is the sad part of Brasilian soccer. We have some of, if not, the best players in the world but we have to sell our very best players to Europe because we need the money and they have the money. Anyway, he is back home and will be playing again on Inter's field. He's an incredible player and he's only 19.The other reason we are excited is that this guy (in the blue shirt with the ball).....
Kaká will be playing. He was voted the best soccer player in the world in 2007. He has been hurt but he is back and will play tonight. Garrett, Anderson and I are excited because he is so good and will make our team better. Benay, Bronwyn and Ansley are excited because they all think he's cute. If Benay has a soccer boyfriend it is Kaká.The best thing about Kaká is that he is a very strong Christian brother of ours. We've heard him share his faith in remarkable ways. He is definitely a light for Christ to this country. Here he is last year celebrating his team's victory in the FIFA Club World Cup in December of 2007. All my life I've heard athletes praise God with words and actions during games, only to see them in interviews later using God's name in vain. Kaká is the real deal. 
Garrett has been praying to be a professional soccer player regularly since he was 7. His role model is Kaká. He wants to use soccer as a ministry like Kaká does. I pray God blesses his request. The sports world, and the world in general, needs more Kakás. 
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Seleção
So I'm in Carys's gymnastics class yesterday and all of a sudden I hear tons of police sirens. I look out the window and see police cars, motorcycles and a police helicopter. They were all following a bus.
Anyone here who saw this knew immediately what it was.
It was a bus carrying the Seleção.
Seleção ("selection" in portuguese) means the Brasilian national soccer team. Brasilian national soccer team means more police protection than our president would get if he were visiting our city.
You haven't seen anything until you've seen Brasilians watching the Seleção. It's one of, if not the most incredible thing I've ever seen in sports.
The very first soccer game I ever saw in person was when I first visited Brasil in 2001. It was the Seleção. I had no idea what the soccer rules where, who the players were, what the Seleção meant or anything, but it was incredible. Fireworks for 10 minutes before the game, 4 singers on the field singing the national anthem and the entire stadium singing with them, fans yelling and cheering for most of the game and a victory by Brasil. I was hooked.
The team is here to play a game in our stadium tomorrow night against Peru. They are playing qualifying games to see who will make it to next year's World Cup in S. Africa. When they play home games they play in different cities. Some of the curbs of our major streets have been painted yellow and green for the game. We see more Brasil flags on cars this week. Soccer is a passion here and it unites the country.
Brasil has won more World Cups than anyone else. This is a picture of our team from the 2006 World Cup. We didn't win. It was disappointing.
We hope to win another one next year.
By the way........Benay, Bronwyn, Garrett, Ansley and I will be at the game tomorrow night.
We are hoping for a victory and some extra energy as the game starts around 10:00 at night.
Pictures, and maybe some video, will follow.
Anyone here who saw this knew immediately what it was.
It was a bus carrying the Seleção.
Seleção ("selection" in portuguese) means the Brasilian national soccer team. Brasilian national soccer team means more police protection than our president would get if he were visiting our city.
You haven't seen anything until you've seen Brasilians watching the Seleção. It's one of, if not the most incredible thing I've ever seen in sports.
The very first soccer game I ever saw in person was when I first visited Brasil in 2001. It was the Seleção. I had no idea what the soccer rules where, who the players were, what the Seleção meant or anything, but it was incredible. Fireworks for 10 minutes before the game, 4 singers on the field singing the national anthem and the entire stadium singing with them, fans yelling and cheering for most of the game and a victory by Brasil. I was hooked.
The team is here to play a game in our stadium tomorrow night against Peru. They are playing qualifying games to see who will make it to next year's World Cup in S. Africa. When they play home games they play in different cities. Some of the curbs of our major streets have been painted yellow and green for the game. We see more Brasil flags on cars this week. Soccer is a passion here and it unites the country.
Brasil has won more World Cups than anyone else. This is a picture of our team from the 2006 World Cup. We didn't win. It was disappointing.
We hope to win another one next year.By the way........Benay, Bronwyn, Garrett, Ansley and I will be at the game tomorrow night.
We are hoping for a victory and some extra energy as the game starts around 10:00 at night.
Pictures, and maybe some video, will follow.
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