[Ze da Fiel]

Here we go,
It will probably be the anteciapted final of this World Cup, however wins this game will grow even more in the tournament.

Tough game for me, as Brazil is my country and England is the country i most like after Brazil. BUt anyway, LET'S GO BRAZIL!

England are old "customers" (as we say in Brazil) of us. In our first 3 titles we beat played them, winning twice (62 & 70) and drawing once in 58.

They certaily have a huge respect for our football, arguably one of the countries that most has respect for Brazilian football in the world.

About this game , it will be a cracker!

We need to sort out our midfield urgently and our defense needs to come in more closer to the forwards, specially Owen and not let him turn! Lucio and Edmilson must use their bodies when going up for the headers. Roberto Carlos needs to tackle Beckham before he even gets the ball , so he does not have time to put in those crosses.

Having said this, I think it is vital for Felipao to put Ricardinho in the team. He will give more stability to our team, he can make our team work as a unit, and not in 2 blocks (defense and attack ) as it has been the whole tournament. Also putting Ricardinho, he will be able to free Roberto Carlos more, making Beckham stay away from the area and his deadly crosses, and will put pressure on the awful Danny Mills, who can easily get irritated and sent off!

Apart from just attacking on the left side, we must not go in over th top , cause Ferdinand and Campbell will win every ball there is. LEt's make those tricky 1-2 just close to the area, something i doubt them 2 have ever experienced in there careers. Remember Silvestre being made a clown out of Felipe and Edmundo in the FIFA clubs world cup??

I believe in our quality, it will be tough. We need to play beter than what we played against Belgium.... we were on a rise and now after the Belgium game we went down hill.


Ronaldinho gaucho needs to play like a man and not like a wimp....and Juninho Paulista needs to leave this team cause he is taking it to the hole with his selfish and useless football!:fero: :devil: :fero: :devil:


And a big thumbs of for RONALDO AND RIVALDO. They have been SUPERB!!!!! Scoring in every single game.


BUt if we play our game, we should go through to the semis!


Secret will be:
- Close down the crossing mine = Beckham
- Netrualize Owen's speed.
Watch out for those headers
- PLay the ball in the ground, quick and tricky
- Put Ronaldo or Rivaldo, or RC down Mills's back and exploit his narrow temper to get him sent off!

 

[falcao]

agreed, ze. brazil needs to attack the weakness of the brazil defense:

in the middle (campbell, ferdinand), we need to attack on the ground with lots of dribbles and quick, short passes. the big men england has in the middle can't handle the skill of ronaldo, rivaldo, ronaldinho and juninho paulista. (sorry, ze, but i think felipao will play him again.)

on the outside, against danny mills and ashley cole, we can use our speed and superior dribbles of robcarlos, cafu and denilson. danny mills is especially vulnerable to the attack of brazil's skill.

what a fantastic match this is for me, ze! the country of my birth, ENGLAND, against the country of my future and all my girlfriends, BRAZIL! i have waited all my life to see a match like this.

i love england, but they can't handle the skillful brazilian attack.

 

[Grinch]

It Doesn't Look Good

As I've said elsewhere, i'm pessimistic. unless serious changes are made, specially in our midfield, I think we're not going to make it through England. They're practically on our level techically and they're MUCH more organized defensively. With our mid like it is now, I don't see how we can win this one.

Maybe I'm being too harsh here, but today's performance got me really worried. Our mid, with just Gilberto covering the defs, was wide open. And our playmakers were too far upfield to help the transition from defense to midfield. We need physical precence, we need strenght and we need taller players. I'd like to see Kleberson or Ricardinho come in Ronaldinho Gaucho's place. He's very talented but let's be honest, he isn't delivering the goods.

I actually thought our three defenders fared extremely well today. Our midfield was wide open and still they kept the clean sheet. Marcos was the hero of the match but credit must be given to the defenders, who fought bravely and cleanly. I don't expect the media to recognize the efforts of three centre-backs playing without midfield coverage, though; it's much easier to make wisecracks about them and call them the 'Three Stooges'.

So IMO the midfield needs changes. If we go with the same formation of today's match I must tell you I fear for the worst. :mute:

 

[Ze da Fiel]

GArrincha,
I know this English team very well, and i know English football also, and sorry but the not even Beckham is techinically up there with us!

Taking away those defenders (cambell and Ferdinand), only Owen would cut into our squad..... Beckham would not...... after all in my book, Marcelinho is a similar player to him and Marcelinho is not in the squad (for techincal and disciplinary reasons)

Now , we ned more presence in midfield. We are playing with only 2 players there. Giberto SIlva is overwhelmed by so much he has to do, and Juninho Paulista drinks about 4 cups of cofee and gets thrilss when he is withthe ball. We need a brain overthere....we need Ricardinho URGENTLY...specially to put 2 men in Beckham and lot let him swing those balls at our utterly awful, clueless defense! (only Roque Jr. is saving us....and that is SOMETHING )

But i believe in my team. The players know it is already an antecipated final...... They are gonan go with evrything against England as ROnaldo said after the game.

The pressure for Felipao to put Ricardinho is immense. Today was the first day i saw the game with the commentary of GAlvao Bueno , but aftert the game Casao, Zico, Dada Maravilha, Zagallo etc... were all DEMANDING ricardinho on the team. ANd that RIvaldo stays were he is, which is doing brilliantly!


falcao,
i got a job now that i will go to brazil evry now and again! Hopefully they transfer me down there permanately, only to come out to got to Britain & Yurp...and check out MIami once and a while of course!

 

[jason_at_uofa]

Ze I agree with most of what you say.

I think Brazil should do these things:

1. Put 70% of things down the left side and make Mills life hell. If Neville cant stop R Carlos then Mills is finshed. Do a lot of dribbling in the box as Im sure he will give a stupid penalty.

2. Marcos was FANTASTIC against Belgium. I hope this means he is a big match preformer as we really need him at his best against England.

3. Ronaldo Rivaldo a goal each please to keep the streak alive

4. Defensive midfielder in Juninhio out. Scholes and Beckham can kill us if we leave it all to G Silva. Either Vampeta or Richardinhio should come in to slow down the middle. Who ever is the better long ball passer as this will be vital.

5. Score the first goal or england will cowardly put 11 men behind the ball for 89 minutes if they have to.

 

[Ze da Fiel]

Ricardinho will solve 90% of our problems...the only thing he will not solve is the "hitting heads" of our defenders!:fero: :devil:

 

[juve 4ever]

mills is by far the worst defender england have...if brasil attack him he will simply go crazy

 

[Grinch]

2. Marcos was FANTASTIC against Belgium. I hope this means he is a big match preformer as we really need him at his best against England.

I hadn't thought of that but yes, now that you mention it, Marcos does have a very good track record on decisive big matches... he does usually perform well under pressure. I guess it is a good sign.

 

[Ze da Fiel]

and if we go to penalties, we have a good chance of winning it...as MArcos is a specialist in saving penalties...like Dida!

 

[falcao]

there is no way england is equal to brasil technically. not even close! not even beckham or owen can match the technical abilities of brasil.

what we need to do -- and i think we all know it -- is to take out juninho paulista and put in ricardinho. juninho is too small to handle anything in the england midfield. guys like butt and scholes would break him to pieces and would dominate the midfield. we need help for gilberto silva, who for me has been one of the greatest surprises of this world cup. i think he's done a really good job for us, but he can't handle the england midfield by himself.

if we start ricardinho, we win this game.

and please, felipao, leave denilson on the bench! denilson is only useful when we are tied or losing, because then he runs at the opposing defense with determination and a mission. but when we are winning, he just likes to walk around with the ball, dance over the ball and then commit a foul when he loses the ball.

ze, congratulations on the job! if you can get one for me, too, let me know; i'll take it. i was in rio and sao paulo last month for two weeks. met some AWESOME girls. now i'm thinking about marriage. seriously. i'm going back to brazil in august, goiania. two more weeks!

 

[Russell]

You guys are talking about defending? you have never needed to so why start now just use 10 strikers like you normally do.

Seriously though, i highly doubt you will do many tatical changes, it's just not Brazil, you rely on talent rather than organisation.

 

[Russell]

Oh and why do you under-rate Mills so much. He's done very well and is one of our most consistant defenders. He may be a Leeds thug but he's done well.

On another note you can try to wind him up, the Argies couldn't do it even when they spat at him.

 

[Ze da Fiel]

Rusell,
The higns is that England x Argentina is a completely different game and atmosphere to an Engalnd x Brazil. When is you guys agianst the Argies, is the same as a war. When you guys play us, you guys have a much biger respect, there is no hatred, just admiration. That changes a lot the mind of a player.

Say England get the lead, we put Denilson in the second half.....he will run wings round Mills......Beckham will have to help him, otherwise we might see a similar dribble that Tostao gave Bobby Moore back in 1970

btw, we play in blue....last time we played in blue against England we lost, i was at wembley....and we were robbed by a Stuart Pearce handball! Also , it's been 28 years that we have not lost with a blue shirt in a world cup!


Falcao,
the women in Goiania are really , really gorgeuous....but there accent is awful and they are quite dumb! (which is a plus for any tourist!)

 

[falcao]

if this england-brazil match is even 25 percent as good as 1970, it will be a real joy to watch. 1970 was one of the best matches ever!

ze, i like dumb women! and when i go to goiania, i won't act like a tourist. i'm seriously going to look for a place to live over there. my friend andrea told me that her boyfriend lives in a beautiful, big apartment, eats in fancy restaurants every day with is parents, goes to clubs every night, goes to games on weekends -- and he doesn't even have any money! all that and beautiful girls, too. i can't wait.

 

[San Siro]

Ze and Falcao, amigos, you're killing me both with your wonderful stories about Paradise...:drool::excited::finger::lick:

Please tell me more guys about the Gathinas overthere; the lifestyle and everything else.

Ze, tell me, how much would someone need per month in Brasil, to leave, confortably each month. By confortable, i mean, having enough to cover the costs of shelter, (a nice ocean-view apartment or villa with a pool ), food, fun and some more for those gathinas and not having to work...:tongue::howler::drool:

It's also my short-mid-long term goal to move to Brasil. But there's a big problem: i have no clue of Brasil; never been there! So, guys, tell me, what's the best area to go as a tourist first, then, once i'm used to it, live. Also, for someone not speaking any portuguese, ( i speak italian and some basic spanish, on top of french obviously, ), is that going to be a problem in Brasil? Or do the people speak english or french?

Muito Obrigado!

VIVA BRASIL!:star::star::drool::lick::finger:

P.S. Ze and Falcao, do you guys have MSN?

 

[milano77]

I am in a very sour mood right now.:depress: . One of my favourite team to lift the WC is out.

But My other favourite is still there. I would like Brazil go on and win this. England are nothing compared to Brazil. I know Brazil can do it.

VIVA BRAZIL NT Show them what an art football is.

Bye

 

[Ze da Fiel]

San Siro,
Man , with all honesty, to me if you have omney in Brazil there is no other place to live in. Ok there is corruption, large crime, loads of poor people, lack of respect for the citizen, but at the end of the day you have one thing that no other place has : wild partying, happiness, tranquility, you can do anything, your FREE! Plus the weather is second to none, and the people are really cool, really easy to make friends (unlike America) and the women are brill and not so materialitic as in the USA!

Not a lot of french san siro...in the past yes. Your spanish and english should get you by! Well, Brazil is an immense country and anywhere you go you have somehting to do. Advice: Rio , FLorianopolis (probably the best women, never been there though!) and the whole of the northeast beaches....particularly Fortaleza (despite the women being ugly), Recife and Bahia!

Falcao,
yestedy i was talking to my mum, and she was telling me to go back. If this job does not work out, i'm getting my stuf and moving back with my mum. There i don't pay no bills......... and i live close to you.....in Brasilia of course!

 

[Ze da Fiel]

England will lose this game because of there heands. The old thing of English football, in which the players don't believe in themselves is starting to show up...just look at this report


Butt and Scholes can stop carnival
Steve Curry in Awaji

Brazil may be counting on the three Rs to take them to the top of the class, but England hope their educated midfield will have all the answers on Friday.



Paul Scholes: Important figure (Empics)
Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes, graduates of the Old Trafford academy, have been the heart and soul of England's midfield so far and they know they have a huge task ahead of them in the quarter-final showdown in Shizuoka.

Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho are putting the beauty into Brazil's beautiful game and Butt is well aware of the danger posed by the attacking trio.

'Stopping them is a very big part of it,' he said. 'If we can do that, our forwards can go on and score goals. We need to defend as a team and get back in our shape, with the midfield joining the back four. That has worked for us so far.'

Manchester United anchorman Butt knows a more prosaic approach could be the key to success and added: 'Our team hasn't got the flair of the South Americans, so we operate on a work ethic. It is a case of supporting the back four and not fearing them just because Brazil are the biggest team in the world.

'Just the mention of Brazil might be enough to scare some people but we have got to avoid that.'

Butt is not blessed with natural skill in the way that Scholes and David Beckham are. He plays the simple game of win-it-and-give-it and Scholes is the first to acknowledge how important he is.

'A lot of people seem surprised by the way Nicky has played, but everyone who knows him is not surprised,' he said. 'He has always been a great player, people are just taking a bit more notice now.'

That review was backed up yesterday by Butt's club manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who thinks his man deserves all the praise he is getting. 'Nicky Butt has been the star man,' said Ferguson. 'He's been fantastic.'

Typically, however, Butt sought to play down his contribution so far. 'One game isn't going to make anyone,' he said, referring to his man-of-the-match display in negating the threat posed by Juan Sebastian Veron against Argentina. 'I'm doing quite well, but playing in a good team always helps.

'When you are doing well your confidence is high and you try things you probably wouldn't try if you were down.'

While many England fans are already looking beyond the Brazilian challenge with optimism, Butt urged caution.

'At the time of the Argentina game, we knew we could beat them. I don't think anyone is thinking like that about Brazil just yet. It is certainly a bit far-fetched us talking about winning the World Cup.

'We have a massive game coming up. I think Brazil have a slower build-up than Argentina, but they are a lot more explosive. We will try to draw them out and then get behind them with our pace up front. We know we can compete against them. They can be unbelievable one minute, then steady the next.'

Butt and Scholes will make sure there is more steadiness than sensation.

 

[RazorUK]

On the contrary my dear Ze

Our players won't lose this in the head. This is the one thing Sven has given our players that they've lacked in the past.
We've overcome Argentina, stuffed Germany 5-1. We fear nobody anymore. Respect yes we all respect Brazilian football, but you can bet we'll come out fighting on Friday

The fact we intend and probably will field an unchanged team for the 3rd game in a row will stand us in good stead as well.

Whatever happens all the best guys

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport3/worldc...t/england_v_brazil/newsid_2054000/2054593.stm

Sven-Goran Eriksson says his players are calm and focused ahead of Friday's quarter-final against Brazil.
"The players are calm, very calm, and they believe that they have an excellent chance. They are not frightened," said the England boss.

The Swede also said winning the World Cup would fulfil one of his longest-held ambitions.

"I know England have been waiting since 1966 to win the World Cup again - I have been waiting all my life," he said.


The feeling here is that we've got what it takes this time as well

Eriksson is likely to field an unchanged line-up for a third consecutive game, with both Michael Owen and Paul Scholes expected to have recovered from minor injuries.

England's other injury worries Owen Hargreaves and Darius Vassell are also expected to be fit.

A confident Eriksson said: "What we have to do is play as we did against Argentina, be very compact and very aggressive.

"If we give them space, we will have problems."

Spurs striker Teddy Sheringham also believes the squad is bristling with confidence ahead of Friday's match.

"There's a feeling at the moment that we've got what it takes but we have to make sure that we produce that.


"People expect great things from England and that puts great pressure on us.

"But there was always a sense of the moment, that we would do well in Euro 96 and the feeling here is that we've got what it takes this time as well."

Like Eriksson, Sheringham believes England will have to produce the performance that gave against Argentina to beat the four-time champions.


" If we play as well as we did against Argentina we have got a chance," he said.

"Brazil have got some outstanding individuals, but individuals don't win games.

"It's a team performance that we need."

Paul Scholes added that that he had been impressed by the spirit Eriksson had helped to develop within the squad.

"Everyone wants each other to do well, everyone is getting on great and looking forward to playing," said the Manchester United midfielder.

"You can only get closer when you have four weeks away, living with each other every day.

"It can only be good for teams. I think it's proving that way for us.

"We got through to the last 16 last time in 1998 but it feels better than it has done before, especially compared to Euro 2000.

"It never quite felt right then that we were going to go far in that tournament.

"Everything is going well now though and we just hope that we can go a bit further."




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport3/worldc...t/england_v_brazil/newsid_2053000/2053071.stm

England's Sol Campbell has told Brazil: "We can't beat your history but we can beat you."

Brazil's total of four World Cup wins has made them the masters of the global game.

But England are confident they can end their campaign in Korea and Japan at the quarter-final stage in Shizuoka on Friday.

And Campbell believes England have reached their defining moment as a team against Brazil - and have no plans to make an early departure from Japan.

Campbell and Rio Ferdinand - who are unbeaten in the 18 outings they have started at the heart of England's defence - will be handed the task of taming Brazil's potent attack, spearheaded by Ronaldo.

And the Leeds United defender is also relishing the job.


Ferdinand said: "When you play Brazil it is a case of expecting the unexpected because they have so many gifted and world class players.

"But I think this is the game that will define how good we are as a team. We don't want to go home - we don't want the story to end here.

"It is only 10 days out of your life standing between us and a World Cup final - it's not a lot is it? We want to beat Brazil and stay here.

"We can't beat their history, but we are going to have one hell of a go at beating them."

Campbell added: "I think it's going to be a game where the emphasis is on attack.

"Brazil seem to have lots of options, but I have noticed they always have the same number of people left at the back.

"People keep criticising their defenders, but they play for Brazil so they must be half decent.

"We have to be very resilient and concentrate on what we do best, not worry too much about Brazil.

"We want to make them worry about us because we have got world class players ourselves - let's not just think about Brazil all of the time."

Ferdinand continued: "We would have taken anybody in the quarter-final, but there is no doubt the fact that it is Brazil spices it up for everyone.

"It virtually guarantees an exciting game, and it will be just as exciting off the pitch because the fans have been magnificent.

"We went to the Brazil game against Belgium and couldn't believe the amount of yellow shirts. The England supporters will also be mob-handed so it will be quite an atmosphere.

"I hope I see our fans doing the conga at the end of the game rather than the Brazilians doing the samba - because it means we will have won."



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson has said his side can beat Brazil if they repeat the form they showed against Argentina.
Eriksson team's 1-0 win over Argentina, thanks to a David Beckham penalty in the group phase, has arguably been England's most impressive overall performance in these finals.

"We must play as good as we did against Argentina if we are going to beat Brazil," the Swede told the BBC.


"Maybe we have the best defence and I think Friday we are going to meet the best attack, so it will be a big battle and a very interesting game.

"I'm very optimistic, I think if we can repeat the performance against Argentina then we can beat them, but it's not going to be easy, of course."


Eriksson admitted he is hoping for rain on Friday as England will have to play in the heat of the Japanese afternoon against a Brazil side much more accustomed to the conditions.

"Let's hope it will rain a little. We are used to rain in England," said Eriksson.

 

[Ze da Fiel]

DOn't know Razor,
From what i saw yesterday in SKy Sports, it seems you guys are respecting us a lot! Specially Dyer and Ferdinand. Itis good to respect, but not so much!.

BUt let's see how the game goes, we will definitly step up a gear from the previous games!