footballcircus: Waxing Lyrical about Brazilians

We have a very Brazilian-heavy Football Circus this week (Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Adriano all feature. Now, now. We said Brazilian-heavy, not heavy Brazilians)...Carnival, jail sentences, strops and a bromance. The ingredients for a perfect Football Circus? Throw in some Mario Balotelli and some on pitch violence from Daniele De Rossi and we're in business.

Two Ronnies Light Up Carnival in Brazil

Carnival kicked off in Brazil this week and the city of Sao Paolo saw fit to wheel out Brazilian legend Ronaldo in a gold suit to get things started. The legendary striker was the city's guest of honour and he appeared atop a float alongside dancers, bodyguards and his parents.

Meanwhile in Salvador, Ronaldinho made an appearance as he and rapper EdCity performed for the city's carnvial. We recently reported on how Ronaldinho was embarking on a music career and he performed his new single to a delighted crowd. In typical Ronaldinho fashion, he partied a little too excessively and was fined by his club Atletic Mineiro, having turned up late for training the following day. Teammate Diego Tardelli was also punished as he was an hour late for the training session.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jPYOnBKZDg

Ex-Barca and Spurs Star Popescu Jailed

Former Tottenham Hotspur defender Gica Popescu has been sentenced to three years in prison this week over tax evasion and money laundering. The former Romanian international was sentenced on Tuesday, just one day before he was due to be named as president of the Romanian FA.

Popescu was one of eight men found guilty of registering false sums for twelve player transfers which took place between 1999 and 2005.

The Associated Press reported:

"Prosecutors said the state lost 1.7 million euros ($2.34 million) in taxes and the clubs lost 10 million euros ($13.8 million) because the officials registered false sums for the transfers".

Badriano

We have recently been reporting on former Brazil international Adriano's latest attempt to get his career back on track. You may recall that, following a number of months training with the team, Adriano signed a contract with Brazilian outfit Atletico Paranaense, just in time for their Copa Libertadores campaign. Everything, it would seem, was looking rosey.

However, in only his second appearance for the side to date, the player nicknamed the 'Emperor', was brought on as late as the 83rd minute as Paranaense took on Velez Sarsfield. Before coming on, the striker stared down his manager and gestured his frustration at not having been brought on earlier. He later rushed past reporters looking to grab a post-match word with him.

Acknowledging Adriano's frustration, manager Miguel Angel Portugal commented afterwards:

"We have to take it slowly when it comes to Adriano so eventually he can start doing good things for our team.

"He played a few minutes in the first match, and now a few more minutes in this second match, and it's clear that he is happy and has a lot of desire to do well. He did the best he could".

Adriano's Paranaense teammate Manoel stated:

"We wanted him to get in, but it's the coach who makes these decisions.

"He keeps telling us how much he wants to play and score goals, but we have to respect the coach".

Pique writes Open Letter to Puyol

Carles Puyol this week confirmed that, after 19 years at the club, he will be leaving Barcelona at the end of the season.

The news has prompted his partner at the centre of Barca's defence, Gerard Pique, to issue an open letter on his Facebook page. The letter reads:

"You were my guardian angel.

The day has arrived. You are leaving. It’s the law of life, but it is tough for me to imagine Barça without you. If I look back and remember Paris or Rome, the first image that comes to my mind is you lifting the European Cup. You gave the honour of lifting the trophy in Wembley to Abi, which just makes you even greater. My generation and those that come after do not know what the club will be like without Puyi in defence branding the captain’s armband and the number 5 on the back of his shirt. I think that nothing will ever be the same.

I met you 6 years ago. You were the captain and the emblem of the team and I was just a kid arriving, set on conquering the world. From day one we had a great relationship, both on and off the field. By your side I felt protected and I knew that if one day I made a mistake you’d always be there to save me. You were my guardian angel.

I know that I will miss our talks in the locker room, your advice and especially you giving us hell on the pitch. You are unique; a one-off. I find it amusing when they talk about signing “the new Puyol”. They can look all they want, but they’ll never find it.

Thanks for everything, Puyi".

Bloody hell Pique...Who's chopping onions round here?

What's Mad Mario Upto This Week

The mercurial has, by his standards, had a fairly low key week. Out of action due to injury, Balo missed Milan's 2-0 loss to Juventus and Italy's mid-week friendly with Spain. Balotelli was on hand however, to unveil Italy's new home jersey which they will wear at this year's World Cup in Brazil.

Super Mario said of the jersey and Italy's World Cup prospects:

"Our national team has a great challenge ahead and we are preparing to represent our country and make our fellow Italians around the world proud.

"Knowing (the shirts) represent the support, belief and passion of our fans is inspiring. Italian supporters motivate us to perform to our best and I hope many Italians will pledge their support".

Meanwhile Tottenham were the latest London club to be linked with a summer move for Balotelli, with talk this week that they will offer Erik Lamela plus £10 million in exchange for the Milan striker. With Chelsea and Arsenal already mentioned in the media as possible destinations for Balo, it's only a matter of time before West Ham, Fulham and Crystal Palace are linked.

Italian Football Story of the Week

- De Rossi not Boxing Clever

Short-fused Roma midfielder Daniele De Rossi was omitted from Cesare Prandelli's Italian squad this week, but the omission had nothing to do with form - Prandelli dropped the Roma man after he lashed out at Inter Milan's Mauro Icardi last weekend.

Prandelli said of his decision:

"I have told my players that I watch games and that I don’t have to wait for a disciplinary ruling to make a decision.

"I have told them that if I see a gesture that I consider inappropriate, the player responsible for such an action will not come into the national team.

"I would not expect them to misbehave the weekend before I make my selection. But I do not want these type of gestures at the World Cup".

Italy went on to lose 1-0 to Spain and Prandelli was as unimpressed with his team's fitness levels as he was with De Rossi's lack of discipline. Speaking to RAI Sport, Prandelli stated:

"At this moment of the season the fitness levels compared to Spain are almost embarrassing. We need to work hard, as to play with a high tempo we need intensity in our running.

"We wanted to win the wall back early, we never managed it because we weren't physically sharp enough. I'll be honest, I did not expect the players to have these fitness levels.

"At this moment with these fitness levels it's impossible to judge the difference in quality between us and Spain. Quite simply, they always got to the ball first".