England, Brazil fans not happy
"THE fans of England and Brazil are not happy with their teams this week and for fairly good reasons. Brazil were beaten 3-0 by their main rivals Argentina in the Olympics while England needed a last-minute Joe Cole goal to draw 2-2 with the Czech Republic in a friendly. In fact many England fans jeered the team off the pitch while in Brazil the knives are out for coach Dunga. Whether he lasts until the 2010 World Cup remains to be seen. I have always said that being coach of either Brazil or England is the hardest job in football because the pressure and expectations are so great.
What Brazil have to understand is that they just can't turn out and expect to win ¿ especially against a team like Argentina who I feel is the best in the world right now especially with young players like Messi and Sergio Aguero who scored two second-half goals in seven minutes Tuesday against Brazil. Argentina have so many really good young players coming through it is amazing.
England also have good players but they do not seem to apply themselves. I think the problem for both the England and Brazil players is mental. They have the ability but it doesn't seem to translate on the field.
Argentina will now meet Nigeria for the gold medal this weekend and it should be an entertaining match. Once again Brazil will have to wait four more years to win the gold ¿ something they have never done.
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PREMIERSHIP
Chelsea got off to a great start last weekend when they beat Portsmouth 4-0. It seems that the players have bought into their new manager Luiz Felipe Scolari's way of thinking. And why shouldn't they ¿ he won the World Cup with Brazil. It was also a nice debut for Deco who had a great game and capped it off with a stunning long-range goal right before time.
Hull City got off to an excellent start in their first Premiership season with a 2-1 victory over Fulham. I know their fans must be overjoyed. However Stoke City, who are in the top flight for the first time in over 20 years, went down to Bolton 3-1. It is not going to be an easy season for them.
One of the best games last weekend was Blackburn's 3-2 victory over Everton at Goodison. I was very happy for Blackburn's new manager Paul Ince. He has the team playing like he did ¿ a never-give-in attitude. The match was action-packed and I especially liked the goal from Roque Santa Cruz who took the pass beautifully.
Manchester United and Newcastle played to a 1-1 draw and you know Keegan will be happy with getting a point at Old Trafford ¿ not the easiest of places. United had a fair number of players out and used their young Brazilians as subs. Not a great start for the champions but then again they didn't have that great a start last year and look what they did.
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WORRIED
This violence among our youth is out of control. And it is deeply worrying. Earlier this week there was a drive-by shooting in Hamilton and this comes on the heels of the murder of young Kellon Hill. Our young people really have to start thinking about the consequences of their actions. Besides really hurting the families of those involved they are also hurting our island. I would expect a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles . . . but Bermuda?! If I was a tourist thinking about coming to Bermuda and then heard about these types of things I would honestly think again about coming here. We can't let this go on. We really must come together as a community to stop this madness. It is totally out of hand already.