Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ

I flew back to Brazil from London . I well recall that the talk in England at the time was that the entire group stage was dull and predictable. It was almost too easy for the Premier League sides. But that is not the way things have turned out.

The gods of football have a tendency to punish such hubris. Perhaps the most famous example is that of the England national team. Begged to appear in the first, pre-war World Cups, England stood imperially aloof. In 1950, when they finally did deign to appear, fate laughed in their faces, reserving for them a sensational 1-0 defeat by the United States.

Albeit with more justification, Brazilian football can occasionally trip up on a tendency to underestimate the opposition.

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A year ago, when the , I ended up taking some Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ bigwigs to a Brazilian league game - Botafogo against Internacional.

It was the penultimate round of the campaign and much was at stake. Botafogo badly needed a win to qualify for the Copa Libertadores, South America's Champions League equivalent, for the first time since 1996.

The stadium was half-full, with a crowd of 19,604, which surprised the visitors all the more when I explained that tickets were half-price in an attempt to pack as many in as possible.

and the home crowd probably hindered as much as it helped. My guests were amazed at how the home fans turned against their own team, picking out certain players for particularly vicious treatment.

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There was a little run and a cracking left-foot shot from outside the area. There were two headers, one classic, the other bundled in after sound reading of the situation. And to complete the set there was a drilled, first-time, right-footed cross shot.

Luis Suarez showed the full range of his astonishing talent last Friday, scoring all the goals in .

It was breathtaking stuff.

My favourite was the first goal, shortly before half-time, which paved the way for a comfortable victory over dangerous opponents.

Firstly, I liked it because it highlighted how a game can be a process. Chile defender Waldo Ponce stood off Suarez, giving him room for the shot. But Suarez had won that space on merit. Previously when Ponce had got loose, Suarez had burned past him.

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A special player is coming to my adopted city of Rio de Janeiro this Wednesday.

Universitario of Peru are visiting Vasco da Gama in the quarter-finals of South America's Europa League equivalent [called the Copa Sul-Americana in Brazil, the Sudamericana elsewhere on the continent] and in their ranks is 17-year-old striker Andy Polo.

Already linked with Liverpool and Arsenal, Polo is of particular interest to me. He is something I have been waiting for.

It was August 1994 when I moved over to this side of the Atlantic. Polo was born at the end of the following month.

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