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Tag: Brazil

  • Real Madrid’s Vinicius earns first Brazil call-up

    Real Madrid’s Vinicius earns first Brazil call-up

    Real Madrid’s forward Vinicius Jr. was called into the Brazil squad for the first time on Thursday and will travel for March friendlies against Panama and the Czech Republic.

    Real Madrid paid Flamengo a reported fee of 46 million euros (39 million pounds) for the 16-year old in 2017.

    This was in spite of the fact that he had made just two substitute appearances for the Rio club.

    He moved to the Spanish capital last year.

    “He’s at a very demanding club,” national coach Tite told reporters of the 18-year-old Vinicius. “I want to give him that growth, affirmation and evolution.

    “(With) him participating, being in the dressing-room, feeling the weight of the yellow jersey, is important.”

    Team captain Neymar is missing from the squad due to a foot injury that has kept him out the Paris St Germain (PSG) side since January.

    Manchester City midfielder Fernandinho and Real Madrid full-back Marcelo were also left out.

    Among players recalled were Porto defender Eder Militao, AC Milan’s young attacking midfielder Lucas Paqueta and Daniel Alves of PSG.

    Brazil play Panama in the Portuguese city of Porto on March 23 and face the Czech Republic in Prague three days later.

    The five-times world champions have won all six of their games since being knocked out of the 2018 FIFA World Cup at the quarter-final stage in Russia last July.

    Their next competitive matches will come in the Copa America, which kicks off in Sao Paulo in June.

  • I cried for two days after sustaining injury – Neymar

    Brazil striker Neymar says he cried for two days after breaking a metatarsal bone in his right foot in late January.

    The Paris St-Germain star is out until April, having sustained the problem in a French Cup game against Strasbourg.

    It is the same injury he suffered in February last year which put his World Cup in doubt, but this new blow “is more complicated”, Neymar said.

    “This time I had a tough time getting over it,” the 27-year-old told Brazilian TV channel Globo.

    “I spent two days at home crying.

    “The first time I hurt myself I said, ‘I’ll have an operation, it has to be fixed as quickly as possible’. I wasn’t sad.”

    Last year, Neymar was out for three months after surgery, returning just in time to play in the World Cup where he scored twice in Brazil’s run to the quarter-finals.

    This time, PSG’s medical staff has decided on conservative treatment of the fracture rather than another operation.

    PSG said that Neymar will be out for around 10 weeks, meaning he will miss their Champions League last-16 tie against Manchester United, which the French side lead 2-0 after last week’s first leg at Old Trafford. The second leg is in Paris on 6 March.

  • Over 300 feared dead after after dam collapses in Brazil

    Over 300 feared dead after after dam collapses in Brazil

    About 300 people are feared dead after a dam collapsed at an iron ore mine in south-eastern Brazil, officials say.

    The break caused a sea of muddy sludge that buried the dam’s cafeteria where workers were eating lunch on Friday.

    Rescue teams used earth-moving machinery at the site near the town of Brumadinho, in Minas Gerais state.

    State governor Romeu Zema said there was little chance of finding people alive. So far nine people have been confirmed dead.

    It is not clear what caused the collapse of the dam, owned by Brazil’s largest mining company, Vale.

    On Saturday, state prosecutors filed a request to freeze 5bn reais ($1.33bn; £1bn) on Vale’s accounts to help fund recovery works and handle damage claims.

    The collapse comes just over three years since a dam burst in Mariana, also in Minas Gerais, killing 19 people, in what is considered Brazil’s worst environmental disaster.

    The dam near Feijão iron ore mine burst its barrier at around 13:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Friday, flooding another dam down below.

    The torrent of sludge cut through the dam’s complex, nearby farms and the neighbourhood where many of the workers live, destroying houses and vehicles.

    There are reports that the dam’s alarm system – which local residents had been trained to respond to – failed at the time of the accident.

    But Vale president Fabio Schvartsman said the accident may have occurred too quickly for a siren which triggers security protocols to be activated.

    The Globo website later reported that rescue officials provided the following breakdown on the number of the missing:

    Dozens of trapped people, many of them covered in mud, had to be evacuated by helicopter as roads were destroyed.

    Many other residents have been evacuated as a safety measure.

    The company’s chief executive Fabio Schvartsman said only one-third of the roughly 300 workers at the site had been accounted for.

    Local firefighters also said the number of missing in the area could be as many as 300.

    “I’m anxious, I want news,” 28-year-old Helton Pereira told the BBC as he waited outside a hospital in nearby Belo Horizonte – his 28-year-old wife and 35-year-old sister worked at the dam’s cafeteria and were both missing.

    The search is being carried out by 100 firefighters with 100 more expected to join them on Saturday.

    “From now, the odds are minimal and it’s most likely we’ll recover only bodies,” Governor Zema said.

    Built in 1976, the dam was one of several in the area and it was used to hold residue from the mine.

    It had capacity for 12m cubic metres and had been an inactive site for three years, Vale said.

     

  • Brazil follows U.S. lead, to move its embassy to Jerusalem

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Brazil’s President-elect Jair Bolsonaro told him that it was a matter of “when, not if” he moves his country’s embassy in Israel to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv.

    The far-right Bolsonaro, who takes office on Tuesday and is hosting Netanyahu and the leaders of other countries for his inauguration, has said he would like to follow the lead of U.S. President Donald Trump and move the embassy.

    But he has come under intense pressure from Brazil’s powerful agriculture sector not to do so, as it could hurt Brazilian exports to Arab nations.

    Such a move by Bolsonaro would be a sharp shift in Brazilian foreign policy, which has traditionally backed a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

    The Arab League had told Bolsonaro that moving the embassy to Jerusalem would be a setback for relations with Arab countries, according to a letter seen by Reuters earlier in December.

    “Bolsonaro told me it was “when, not if” he moves the embassy to Jerusalem,” Netanyahu said on Sunday during a meeting with leaders of Brazil’s Jewish community in Rio de Janeiro.

    “We attach enormous importance to Brazil, and Brazil in the context of Latin America,” he added. “This heralds a historic change.”

    Netanyahu, who met with Bolsonaro on Friday, said that the Brazilian accepted his invitation to visit Israel, a trip that is likely to take place in March.

    Netanyahu is the first Israeli prime minister to visit Brazil.

    After he met the Israeli leader, Bolsonaro said that “we need good allies, good friends, good brothers, like Benjamin Netanyahu.”

     

  • Ex-Brazilian FA boss Marin jailed for four years for corruption

    A former head of Brazil’s football association has been jailed for four years for corruption.

    Jose Maria Marin, 86, was one of seven Fifa officials arrested at a hotel in Zurich in May 2015.

    He was convicted of accepting bribes from sports marketing companies in exchange for contracts to broadcast tournaments such as the Copa America.

    In addition, Marin was fined $1.2m (£920,000) and ordered to forfeit $3.34m (£2.59m).

    He was sentenced in a Brooklyn federal court by judge Pamela Chen and he is the first official to be sentenced as part of an American investigation into corruption at Fifa.

    Marin, a former governor of Sao Paulo, was last year found guilty of six of the seven counts against him, relating to money laundering and wire fraud conspiracy.

    He was convicted alongside Juan Angel Napout, who led South America’s football governing body Conmebol. He will be sentenced at a later date.

    Peru’s Manuel Burga was cleared of taking bribes by a jury in the USA.

    Marin’s lawyers say he will appeal against the sentence.

    BBC

  • Heineken considers closing Brazilian factories

    Heineken considers closing Brazilian factories

    Heineken NV, the World’s second-largest beer maker, is considering closing two factories in North-eastern Brazil, the company said on Friday in a statement.

    “This is as an extreme measure after a court ordered the company to sell beer and soft drinks in the region at a money-losing price.

    “Heineken is in a court dispute with Grupo LGH referring to the prices to sell its portfolio in the states of Pernambuco and Paraiba,’’ the statement said.

    “A court decision mandates Heineken to sell beer and soft drinks below cost to a local distributor.

    “Due to these distortions, Heineken is reviewing its strategy in the northeast and considers extreme measures such as the closure of the factories.

    “Two factories that might close are in the states of Bahia and Pernambuco,’’ the company said.

    It gave no details about the product mix at those factories.

    Since Heineken’s 1.2 billion dollar purchase in 2017 of the money-losing Brazil operations of Japan’s Kirin Holdings Co. Ltd., the brewer operates 15 factories in the country.

    It cut its full-year margin forecasts in the first half due to currency weakness in some more profitable markets and expansion in Brazil.

    A newspaper, Valor Economico, reported that the closure was being considered because the court decision resulted in an accumulated loss of 23.4 million dollars in 2017.

    Reuters/NAN

  • World Cup exit left me mourning – Neymar

    World Cup exit left me mourning – Neymar

    Brazil forward Neymar said he “didn’t want to see a ball” or watch any of the remaining World Cup matches after his side’s quarter-final defeat by Belgium.

    “I was in mourning, I was really sad, but sadness passes,” the Paris St-Germain player said.

    “I have my son, my family, my friends and they don’t want to see me moping around.”

    The 26-year-old also called reports linking him with a move to Real Madrid “all speculation”.

    Neymar joined PSG for a world record £200m from Barcelona last summer and scored 28 goals in all competitions as the French side completed a domestic treble.

    The Brazilian was criticised for acting after being fouled at the World Cup, but says he should have been better protected by referees.

    “People were faster to criticise the one being fouled than the one doing the fouling,” Neymar told AFP.

    “I went to the World Cup to play, to beat the opposition, not to get kicked. The criticism of me was exaggerated, but I’m a big boy, I’m used to dealing with this kind of thing.

    “I can’t be the referee and play at the same time, but there are times I wish I could.”

  • World Cup: Belgium’s victory over Brazil, set up all-European semi-finals

    World Cup: Belgium’s victory over Brazil, set up all-European semi-finals

    There will be five European teams in the semi-final of the World Cup for only the fifth time, after Brazil were dumped out by Belgium on Friday night.

    Fernandinho’s own goal gave Belgium the lead, before Kevin De Bruyne finished off a counter-attack with a blistering strike.

    Raphael Varane and Antoine Griezmann scored as France advanced to a World Cup semi-final against Belgium after beating Uruguay 2-0.

    Belgium will take on France in the last four on July 10.

    The all-European final foursome will be completed Saturday: England plays Sweden and Russia faces Croatia in the other two quarterfinal matches.

    Asked on Friday about Europe’s strength, Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez said “reality from a financial point of view, from a historical point of view” could not be ignored.

    “Don’t ask me something that is self-evident,” said the veteran coach, who led Uruguay to the semifinals in 2010.

    Back then, Uruguay was eliminated by the Netherlands, who lost to Spain in the final.

    Europe’s winning run began with Italy in 2006, Spain followed four years later, and Germany took over in 2014.

    A title for France or England in Moscow on July 15 would keep the glory within a closed circle of countries whose national teams, domestic leagues and television markets are known as Europe’s “Big Five”: Spain, Italy and Germany are the others.

    They are home to the richest and most storied clubs, attract the most valuable broadcast deals worldwide, and place most teams in the Champions League. The five will have 19 of the 32 places next season.

    It is a virtuous circle helping earn more prize money and build lucrative global brands.

    It also attracts the best players from other continents, and Neymar was almost a late arrival coming from Brazil to Barcelona when he was 21. If the wave of talent flowing to Europe denies playing time to domestic players, it also raises the overall level of play.

    In those five countries, national federations and clubs have the money and an obligation to invest in youth coaching programs and keep producing talent. National centers such as Clairefontaine in France and more recently St. George’s Park in England have their own strong identity.

    Now even Croatia and Sweden are close to their first World Cup semifinal berths since the 1990s, revealing European depth that South America craves.

    Since the 1982 World Cup, when a semifinal round was reinstated, 40 teams will have been involved and Europe has provided 31 of them. South America has eight, and 2002 co-host South Korea was the other.

    Africa has never had a semifinalist and failed to advance any of its five teams from the group stage in Russia. Japan was the only one of five Asian confederation teams to reach the round of 16, losing to Belgium.

    It adds up to another European semifinal sweep, following 2006 and 1982.

    Europe got 14 places in the 32-team World Cup lineup in Russia (44 percent), even though it currently has 20 of the top 32 teams in the FIFA rankings. European dominance increases deeper into the bracket: 10 of the round of 16 teams (62 percent); six of the quarterfinalists (75 percent); all of the semifinalists (100 percent).

    European club dominance is even greater when looking at World Cup rosters. A total of 74 percent of players selected across the tournament — 544 of 736 — are employed by teams in Europe.

    This hegemony could be tough to maintain when the World Cup increases to 48 teams in 2026. Only three extra places were given to Europe, raising its guaranteed number to 16 — one-third of the total.

    Regardless, the final World Cup week in Russia is all Europe, all the time.

  • [BREAKING] World Cup: Belgium stun Brazil to reach semi-finals

    [BREAKING] World Cup: Belgium stun Brazil to reach semi-finals

    Belgium produced a brilliant performance to knock five-time winners Brazil out of the World Cup and reach the semi-finals for the first time since 1986.

    Roberto Martinez’s side turned on the style in Kazan to clock up their fifth straight win of the tournament and ensure the semi-finals will be contested by four European sides for the first time.

    Brazil had conceded just one goal in their past four games in Russia but were behind early when Nacer Chadli’s corner struck Fernandinho’s arm and flew into the net, the 10th own goal of this World Cup.

    Fernandinho’s Manchester City team-mate Kevin de Bruyne doubled Belgium’s lead with a sublime arrowed finish from 20 yards after Romelu Lukaku’s powerful run.

    In an entertaining and open game, Brazil hit the post when the match was goalless – Thiago Silva missing in front of a gaping net after Neymar’s corner – before substitute Renato Augusto gave Brazil hope with a headed goal after Philippe Coutinho’s delicious pass.

    However, the South Americans became the latest heavyweight to depart the competition after holders Germany and other past winners Argentina, Spain and Uruguay.

    Impressive Belgium will now face France, 2-0 winners over Uruguay earlier on Friday, in a semi-final in St Petersburg next Tuesday, 10 July.

    The other semi-final in Moscow on Wednesday 11 July will be contested between the winners of Saturday’s quarter-finals featuring Sweden and England, Russia and Croatia.

  • [BREAKING] World Cup: Neymar shines as Brazil beat Mexico to reach quarter-final

    [BREAKING] World Cup: Neymar shines as Brazil beat Mexico to reach quarter-final

    Neymar scored one goal and played a key role in the second as Brazil edged out Mexico in Samara to reach the World Cup quarter-finals for a seventh consecutive time.

    Brazil did not have it all their own way, especially in an opening period dominated by the Central Americans, but the five-time winners grew into what became a controlled performance.

    It means Mexico are once again eliminated at the last-16 stage – as they have been at every World Cup since 1994.

    They did have plenty of chances early on, and it was only after a largely frustrating first half for Brazil that Neymar started the move to put his side ahead.

    His run across goal and clever backheel won Willian space, and the Chelsea midfielder only needed two touches to drive into box and lay the ball across for the world’s most expensive player to slide home.

    It was Brazil’s 227th goal at the World Cup, meaning they overtake Germany as the all-time top scorers.

    Just moments earlier, Mexico’s Jesus Gallardo wasted a brilliant chance when he shot wildly over the crossbar instead of playing in Hirving Lozano.

    For much of the second half, Mexico’s bright start was just a memory, but Carlos Vela forced a save from Brazil goalkeeper Alisson with his side’s first shot on target not long after going behind.

    In the match’s closing stages they rallied once more, but Brazil defended stoically before doubling their lead on the break through a Roberto Firmino tap-in after Neymar’s effort was diverted by the toe of Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa.

    Brazil will face Belgium or Japan – who meet in Rostov-on-Don in the day’s second match – in their last-eight tie in Kazan on Friday.