We needed this victory!

Today, São Paulo played Ponte Preta for the Paulista Cup. The game was very interesting with both teams creating great opportunities to score. The only difference was that São Paulo did not waste his opportunities and won the game. The game was 2x0, both gol's scored by Washington. The game was very dramatic. Ponte Preta had many opportunities to score, but luckily they did not. Rogério defended a penalty shot and saved the team. Even though the game was replete with surprises, I think São Paulo is starting to play better.

This positive result definitely gave confidence to the team. We have a very important game coming up on Thursday, against Nacional. I think São Paulo has a great team this year. He just needs to gain confidence and discover our "ideal" team. I think the formation used against Ponte Preta was very good because São Paulo was very offensive and has a really good defense.

São Paulo x Monte Azul

São Paulo played Monte Azul after 2 consecutive losses (to Palmeiras and Once Caldas). After a long trip coming back from the game against Once Caldas, the coach decided to let some of the players rest and give opportunities to new players. On the beginning of the game, Leo Lima scored a very beautiful goal, kicking from outside the area. After that, São Paulo decrease his game rate and the game became very boring. Monte Azul had some chances to score and if São Paulo continued playing like that, he would eventually suffer a goal.
On the second half, São Paulo came back as a different improved team. Fernandinho entered on São Paulo's team and played his first game. None the less, the scored 4 goals, a "perfect" game for someone who just entered the team. I think São Paulo won because he came back for the second half with a different attitude and decided to win the game. The game ended 5x1 and I believe after winning from Monte Azul, São Paulo has gained confidence and is ready for the next matches.

São Paulo x Once Caldas

The game started very well for São Paulo. Unfortunately, São Paulo did something I thought would not happen, he managed to lose to Once Caldas. São Paulo definately had a better team. São Paulo players definately had more quality than Once Caldas, but football is very complicated with unexpected surprises. São Paulo started ahead on the score with a gol scored by Rogério Ceni (now São Paulo's player with most gol's scored on Libertadores Cup. Note: he is our goalie!). The first half was completely dominated by São Paulo and I thought the second half would be the same, but I was wrong. São Paulo came back for the second half with no motivation or objectives. He "watched" Once Caldas play, and in two unfortunate moments, Once Caldas scored their gol's.
I think both gol's could've been prevented if São Paulo was more active in the game. I also think Xandão is not a very good player and he failed during the second gol. São Paulo still has chances to classify to the next phase of the competition, but with this loss really affected the team and there is now a lot of pressure to win.

São Paulo x Palmeiras

On February 21st, São Paulo played against Palmeiras. It was a sad game because Palmeiras had the best chances to score and played better. The game was 2x0, and São Paulo has now fallen behind. I believe part of the loss was because Xandão, São Paulo's defense player received the red card during the beginning of the second half. Robert was the one who scored the two gols.
With this loss, São Paulo is now placed on 6th and Palmeiras is on 8th place.

I believe São Paulo could have won the game. During the first half, the game was very equal, but after Xandão got expelled the team definately had no chance against Palmeiras. I think that even with this loss, São Paulo still has great chances to enter the G-4, which would take the team to the semi-finals of the Paulista Cup.

Cicinho is back!

Cicinho is back to São Paulo and will be a great reinforcement for the team. With the start of the Libertadores Cup and the Paulista Cup, I believe São Paulo has a great team and is capable of winning both championships. Not only Cicinho, but Alex Silva, Marcelinho Paraíba, Xandão, and few other players has also joined the team.
With the loss of the Brazilian Cup last year, I believe São Paulo has the responsibility to win atleast one competition in the year of 2010. Last year was a very bad year, where São Paulo did not win anything and loss the Brazilian Cup even though he had great chances to win.

I think São Paulo will win the Libertadores Cup, which is a very important championship (São Paulo has won 3 times) and this year will be far better than the last.

The final decisive game

With 2 games left for the Brazilian Cup to end, São Paulo needs to beat Goiás. São Paulo has only 1 point of advantage over Flamengo who will play against Corinthians. Obviously, Corinthians will let Flamengo win because Corinthians considers São Paulo as a rival and there are many players that are "flamenguistas" playing in Corinthians.

Even though Flamengo might receive a "little" help from Corinthians, I believe that São Paulo will beat Goiás. If São Paulo beats Goiás and later Sport, we will be "heptacampeão" and will be a team who won the Brazilian Cup 4 times in a row.

Finally leader!!! Justice Made!

With the loss of Palmeiras to Fluminense, São Paulo has now assumed 1st place in the Brazilian Cup. With an incredible tie where São Paulo managed to have 3 players expelled from the game, he is now leader with 59 points on the competition. The game against Grêmio was harder than I expected. Grêmio made 1x0 on the 1st half and I thought the game was lost because Grêmio was playing on his stadium and had the advantage, but after a few minutes Dagoberto tied the game for São Paulo. The game continued to be very equal until the second half where São Paulo started losing his players. Borges, Dagoberto, and Jean all received red card with about 10 minutes left for the game to end. After that incident, it was basically offense against defense. São Paulo had no attack players, so he only defended. Fortunately, he was able to maintain the result.

On November 8, 2009 Palmeiras played Fluminense. Palmeiras had the obligation to win or either tie to maintain the 1st position on the cup. Fluminense had to win to still have chances to be able to leave the last positions (which would make him go to the 2nd division). It was a very interesting game, where Fluminense won by 1x0.

I thank Fluminense for helping São Paulo become leader!
TRI CO LOOOORRR
TRI CO LOOOORRR