Campeonato Carioca - Taça Guanabara - Week 1

Group A

Flamengo 4-0 Bonsucesso
Botafogo 3-1 Resende
Olaria 0-1 Nova Iguaçu
Madureira 1-0 Macaé

The big two in the Group both got off to victories. Flamengo made light work of promoted Bonsucesso at the Engenhão as they prepared for their midweek Copa Libertadores qualifier in Bolivia. Two goal in the space of three first half minutes from Jael put Flamengo in control before Camacho and Adryan wrapped things up in the second half. The day after the Engenhão witnessed Botafogo make hard work of overcoming Resende. Sebastian Abreu put the Alvinegro ahead but Emerson's leveller on half time stunned the small crowd. Maicosuel restored the Botafogo lead before a second from Abreu wrapped things up. Nova Iguaçu got off to a winning start when Leandrão's goal midway through the second half was enough to give them victory at Olaria. Madureira also made a winning start to the season when Dinei's goal a minute before the break was enough to give them victory over Macaé.


Group B

Fluminense 3-0 Friburguense
Boavista 3-1 Duque de Caxias
Vasco da Gama 2-0 Americano
Bangu 1-2 Volta Redonda

Unlike Flamengo, Fluminense don't get their Libertadores campaign underway for a couple of weeks but they put a strong side out to defeat Friburguense in Bangu. Araújo set the Tricolor on their way after fifteen minutes before Rafael Moura doubled the lead nine minutes before the break. Thiago Carleto got the third six minutes into the second half to give Fluminense a comfortable night. Vasco da Gama start their Libertadores campaign the night after Fluminense and they were comfortable winners over Americano at the Engenhão. Alecsandro put them ahead after half an hour and Fágner doubled the lead ten minutes later. Despite losing Jonathan to a red card sixteen minutes from time Vasco were able to comfortably hold on. Last season's Taça Guanabara runners up Boavista got their campaign off with victory over a Duque de Caxias side which took 30th minutes lead through Gilcimar. Two goals in a minute from Luiz Alberto around the hour but Boavista ahead before Somália grabbed a third fifteen minutes from time. Finally a last minute goal from Volta Redonda ensured that there were no drawn games at the weekend. Bangu took a third minute lead through Tiago Neiva but Joao Gabriel levelled on the hour before Jhonnattann snatched all three points.

With Flamengo in continental action this midweek Round two takes place next weekend and they line up like this

Group A

Bonsucesso x Maduriera
Macaé x Flamengo
Nova Iguaçu x Botafogo
Resende x Olaria

Group B

Friburguense x Bangu
Volta Redonda X Fluminense
Americano x Boavista
Duque de Caxais x Vasco da Gama

Campeonato Paulista A1 - Week 1

Corinthians 2-1 Mirassol
Portuguesa 0-2 Paulista
Ituano 3 - 0 Guaratinguetá
XV de Piracicaba 1 - 1 Santos
Guarani 2 - 1 Oeste
Comercial 3 - 4 Linense
Bragantino 1 - 2 Palmeiras
São Paulo 4 - 0 Botafogo SP
São Caetano 1 - 0 Ponte Preta
Catanduvense 0 - 2 Mogi Mirim

The four promoted sides had mixed results as the 2012 Paulistão got underway at the weekend. Guarani, who despite being in the national top flight in 2010, got the best result with a come from behind 2-1 victory over a ten man Oeste side that made the finals last year. Fabio Souza got the Guarani winner seven minutes from time. Last year Série A2 Champions XV de Piracicaba are back in the top flight after a 16 year absence and they will be happy with a point against reigning champions Santos. Alan Kardec put Santos ahead in the first half but André Cunha grabbed an equaliser two minutes from time for XV de Piracicaba. The other two promoted sides were defeated, Comercial threw a two goal lead away to go down to the odd goal in seven at home to Linense while Catanduvense learned life will be hard in the top flight when they went down 2-0 at home to Mogi Mirim.

Santos apart, the big guns all started their season with victories. São Paulo were the biggest winners on the day with a 4-0 victory over Botafogo SP with Luís Fabiano chipping in with the last goal. Palmeiras needed a Maikon Leite winner six minutes from time for them to win at Bragantino while Corinthians needed two goals in the last fifteen minutes to overcome Mirassol at the Pacaembu. Two sides which have been promoted to the National top flight for 2012 both fell to defeat. Portguesa went down 2-0 at the Candidé to Paulista while Ponte Preta were defeated by a Moradei goal for São Caetano. Ituano stayed in the top flight on goal difference last season but got their season off to a confident start with a thumping victory over Guaratinguetá to leave them second in the table behind São Paulo after the first week.

As ever, no rest for the wicked in the Paulistão as Week 2 takes place this midweek

Mirrasol x Catanduvense
Botafogo SP x XV de Piracicaba
Oeste x São Paulo
Ponte Preta x Bragantino
Paulista x Comercial
Linense x São Caetano
Palmeiras x Portuguesa
Guaratinguetá x Corinthians
Mogi Mirim x Guarani
Santos x Ituano

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2012 Copa Libertadores Guide

Next week the the 53rd edition of the Copa Santader Libertadores will get underway in Buenos Aires when Arsenal take on Sport Huancayo in the first game of the qualifying round as 35 teams attempt to wrestle the crown away from last year's winner Santos of Brazil.

12 teams enter in the qualifying round with 26 teams going straight into the group phase. Brazil have six entries this year as holders Santos are guaranteed the chance to defend their title. Argentina have five entries and the rest of the associations, plus invitees Mexico have three qualifiers each.

These fixtures are dated to UK times and a game a week will be covered by Premier Sports TV. Friend of the site Will Downing will be up into the early hours calling the shots from the premier club competition in South America

Qualifying Round

Game 1: Arsenal (Argentina) v Sport Huancayo (Peru) Leg 1: 24 Jan, Leg 2: 31 Jan
Game 2: Real Potosí (Bolivia) v Flamengo (Brazil) Leg 1: 25 Jan, Leg 2: 1 Feb
Game 3: Peñarol (Uruguay) v Caracas FC (Venezuela) Leg 1: 26 Jan, Leg 2: 2 Feb
Game 4: El Nacional (Ecuador)v Libertad (Paraguay) Leg 1: 24 Jan, Leg 2: 31 Jan
Game 5: Internacional (Brazil) v Once Caldas (Colombia) Leg 1: 25 Jan, Leg 2: 1 Feb
Game 6: Unión Española (Chile) v UANL (Mexico) Leg 1: 25 Jan, Leg 2: 2 Feb

Group 1: Santos (Brazil), Juan Aurich (Peru), The Strongest (Bolivia), Winner Game 5

Feb 9: Winner Game 5 v Juan Aurich
Feb 15: The Strongest v Santos
Feb 24: The Strongest v Juan Aurich
Mar 8: Santos  v Winner Game 5
Mar 14: Juan Aurich v Santos
Mar 15: Winner Game 5 v The Strongest
Mar 21: The Strongest v Winner Game 5
Mar 23: Santos v Juan Aurich
Apr 5: Winner Game 5 v Santos
Apr 6: Juan Aurich v The Strongest
Apr 19: Juan Aurich v Winner Game 5
Apr 19 Santos v The Strongest

Group 2: Olimpia (Paraguay), Emelec (Ecuador), Lánus (Argentina), Winner Game 2

Feb 10: Emelec v Olimpia
Feb 16: Lanús v Winner Game 2
Feb 23: Olimpia v Lánus
Mar 9: Winner Game 2 v Emelec
Mar 13: Lanús v Emelec
Mar 16: Winner Game 2 v Olimpia
Mar 20: Emelec v Lánus
Mar 29: Olimpia v Winner Game 2
Apr 3: Lanús v Olimpia
Apr 5: Emelec v Winner Game 2
Apr 12: Olimpia v Emelec
Apr 12: Winner Game 2 v Lánus

Group 3: Bolívar (Bolivia), Atlético Junior (Colombia), Universidad Católica (Chile), Winner Game 6

Feb 9: Universidad Católica v Bolívar
Feb 10: Winner Game 6 v Atlético Junior
Feb 22: Bolívar v Winner Game 6
Feb 24: Universidad Católica v Atlético Junior
Mar 7: Winner Game 6 v Universidad Católica
Mar 9: Atlético Junior v Bolívar
Mar 21: Bolívar v Atlético Junior
Mar 29: Universidad Católica v Winner Game 6
Apr 6: Atlético Junior v Universidad Católica
Apr 11: Winner Game 6 v Bolívar
Apr 18: Atlético Junior v Winner Game 6
Apr 18: Bolívar v Universidad Católica

Group 4: Boca Juniors (Argentina), Zamora (Venezuela), Fluminense (Brazil), Winner Game 1

Feb 8: Fluminense v Winner Game 1
Feb 15: Zamora v Boca Juniors
Feb 22: Winner Game 1 v Zamora
Mar 8: Boca Juniors v Fluminense
Mar 14: Fluminense v Zamora
Mar 14: Winner Game 1 v Boca Juniors
Mar 29: Boca Juniors v Winner Game 1
Mar 30: Zamora v Fluminense
Apr 10: Zamora v Winner Game 1
Apr 12: Fluminense v Boca Juniors
Apr 18: Boca Juniors v Zamora
Apr 18: Winner Game 1 v Fluminense


Group 5: Nacional (Uruguay), Alianza Lima (Peru), Vasco da Gama (Brazil), Winner Game 4

Feb 9: Vasco da Gama v Nacional
Feb 10: Winner Game 4 v Alianza Lima
Feb 16: Nacional v Winner Game 4
Mar 7: Vasco da Gama v Alianza Lima
Mar 15: Winner Game 4 v Vasco da Gama
Mar 21: Alianza Lima v Nacional
Mar 22: Vasco da Game v Winner Game 4
Mar 27: Nacional v Alianza Lima
Apr 4: Alianza Lima v Vasco da Gama
Apr 5: Winner Game 5 v Nacional
Apr 13: Alianza Lima v Winner Game 4
Apr 13: Nacional v Vasco da Gama

Group 6: Corinthians (Brazil), Deportiva Táchira (Venezuela), Nacional (Paraguay), Cruz Azul (Mexico)

Feb 8: Nacional v Cruz Azul
Feb 16: Deportivo Táchira v Corinthians
Feb 22: Cruz Azul v Deportivo Táchira
Mar 8: Corinthians v Nacional
Mar 13: Nacional v Deportivo Táchira
Mar 15: Cruz Azul v Corinthians
Mar 22: Corinthians v Cruz Azul
Mar 28: Deportivo Táchira v Nacional
Apr 3: Deportivo Táchira v Cruz Azul
Apr 12: Nacional v Corinthians
Apr 19: Corinthians v Deportivo Táchira
Apr 19: Cruz Azul v Nacional

Group 7: Vélez Sarsfield (Argentina), Deportivo Quito (Ecuador), Defensor Sporting (Uruguay), CD Guadalajara (Mexico)

Feb 7: Defensor Sporting v Vélez Sarsfield
Feb 8: CD Guadalajara v Deportivo Quito
Feb 14: Defensor Sporting v Deportivo Quito
Feb 23: Vélez Sarsfield v CD Guadalajara
Mar 7: Deportivo Quito v Vélez Sarsfield
Mar 14: CD Guadalajara v Defensor Sporting
Mar 22: Vélez Sarsfield v Deportivo Quito
Mar 28: Defensor Sporting v CD Guadalajara
Apr 10: Deportivo Quito v Defensor Sporting
Apr 11: CD Guadalajara v Vélez Sarsfield
Apr 17: Deportivo Quito v CD Guadalajara
Apr 17: Vélez Sarsfield v Defensor Sporting

Group 8: Universidad de Chile (Chile), Atlético Nacional (Colombia), Godoy Cruz (Argentina), Winner Game 3

Feb 15: Atlético Nacional v Universidad De Chile
Feb 17: Godoy Cruz v Winner Game 3
Feb 21: Winner Game 3 v Atlético Nacional
Feb 22: Universidad de Chile v Godoy Cruz
Mar 6: Winner Game 3 v Universidad de Chile
Mar 9: Godoy Cruz v Atlético Nacional
Mar 23: Atlético Nacional v Godoy Cruz
Mar 30: Universidad de Chile v Winner Game 3
Apr 4: Godoy Cruz v Universidad de Chile
Apr 11: Atlético Nacional v Winner Game 3
Apr 20: Winner Game 3 v Godoy Cruz
Apr 20: Universidad de Chile v Atlético Nacional

Round of 16 First Leg: Week commencing 30th April
Round of 16 Second Leg: Week commencing 7th May
Quarter Final First Leg: Week commencing 14th May
Quarter Final Second Leg: Week commencing 21st May
Semi Final First Leg: Week commencing 11th June
Semi Final Second Leg: Week commencing 18th June
Final First Leg: Week commencing 25th June
Final Second Leg: Week commencing 2nd July

Premier Sports TV is the home of the Copa Libertadores in the UK
You can subscribe at www.premiersports.tv or by calling 0871 663 9000

Ex-pat of the week #7

The French league resumed this week with the last two - Germany and Holland - set to begin again this week as Europe snaps out of holiday mode. There was derby action too in Italy and Spain and cup games galore. Here's who stood out for us this week:

Fernando Amorebieta. Athletic Club de Bilbao are making great strides under Marcelo Bielsa and his Venezuelan centre-back is at the heart of it. Another clean sheet in the league and a rare goal - his second this season out of a total of two for the club in seven years - was followed by another clean sheet in the Copa del Rey against Mallorca as Athletic put one foot in the semi-finals.
Radamel Falcao. Difficult times at Atlético Madrid, but things have started well under new manager Diego Simeone as they walloped Villarreal with Colombian striker Falcao the stand-out player on the field.
Nenê. When the Qatari money flooded into PSG, it was thought that Nenê's days there were numbered. But he's worked his way into his new manager's thinking and bagged a brace as the Parisians maintained top spot by beating a good Toulouse side 3-1.
Matias Suárez. Get used to the name as he's attracting a lot of interest. Anderlecht opened up four-point gap at the top of the Belgian league after beating Club Brugge at the weekend, Suárez the stand-out player and scorer of the third goal.
Maicon. Inter are on a roll in the league and also making strides in the Coppa Italia. Maicon rifled in a thunderbastard opener from 25 yards for the opener this week against Genoa and created the second, eventually finished by Andrea Poli, in a 2-1 win.

And the winner...
Radamel Falcao. When he's on song, Atléti look like world-beaters. When he isn't... But he was this week and got his new gaffer off to a flier.


Seriously. Can you name this section better than this? Let us know yeah

Campeonato Carioca 2012

With the Paulista kicking off this weekend the action also gets underway in the other of the state leagues we cover in Brazil. The Campeonato Carioca. The 111th edition kicks off this Saturday afternoon with Flamengo looking to defend both the Taça Guanabara and the Taça Rio.

The sixteen clubs are split into two groups with the Big 4 in Rio, Vasco da Gama, Flamengo, Botafogo and Fluminense seeded so two are in each group. Friburguense return to the top flight after a 12 month absence and they take their place in Group B while Bonsucesso also come into the top flight and they will play in Group A.

The format of the competition is unchanged. The teams are drawn into two groups with the big four seeded two to a group. The first stage is the Taça Guanabara where all the teams play a single round robin against the teams in their group, giving seven games. The top two in each group meet in a single game semi final with a group winner playing the opposite group runner up, which if level goes straight to penalties, before a single game final which again goes to penalties after 90 minutes.

The second stage is the Taça Rio, for this the clubs play every team in the opposite group giving a total of 8 games. As with the Guanabara the top two in each group meet in a single game semi final with a group winner playing the opposite group runner up, which if level goes straight to penalties, before a single game final which again goes to penalties after 90 minutes.

If a team wins both stages, as happened last year with Flamengo, they are automatically crowned state champions and the need for the play off is not required. Otherwise the winners of the Taça Guanabara and Taça Rio meet over two games at the Engenhão with the winners over the two games being crowned State champions.

The Big Four normally fill the play off spots but Boavista surprised everyone last year by making the Taça Guanabara final while Olaria pipped Botafogo to a place in the Taça Rio Semi Finals. This year though things could be a bit different with three of the big four, Botafogo being the exception, have the Copa Libertadores to contend with. Flamengo still have to get through the qualifying stage which starts the week following the opening fixtures. Fluminense and Vasco da Gama have qualified directly in the group stage so their distraction is a possibly great than that of Flamengo.

So the action gets underway this weekend and we'll have a round up of things on Monday

The opening fixtures are

Olaria x Nova Iguaçu        
Madureira x Macaé        
Fluminense x Friburguense        
Flamengo x Bonsucesso
Boavista x Duque de Caxias
Vasco da Gama x Americano        
Bangu x    Volta Redonda        
Botafogo x Resende

Campeonato Paulista 2012

After seven weeks off for the big clubs, and just five in the case of Santos after their trip to Japan for the FIFA Club World Cup. It's back to business at weekend as oldest league tournament in Brazilian Football gets underway for it's 111th edition.

The new play off format which was introduced last season will continue into 2012. The first round will be single elimination on a 1 v 8; 2 v 7; 3 v 6; 4 v 5 format. The winners then progress to the semi finals and again that will be a single elimination game. The final as ever will be played over two games in mid-May. For the opening two rounds the highest placed team will be at home and if it's all square after 90 minutes penalties will decide things.

Santos are the defending back to back champions, but after dominating in 2010 they won the competition from fourth place last year despite having the Libertadores as huge distraction. This will again be the case this year as they look to defend their continental title as well. They will open up their campaign at last year's Série B champions XV de Piracicaba.

The four big clubs in São Paulo finished in the top four places in the league with São Paulo actually winning the league stage before crashing out to Santos in the semi finals. Corinthians were runners up last year, the finished third in the league despite having no Libertadores distractions. Although the National Title ended up with the Muskateers they will be looking for a 27th title. Palmeiras, under Felipão, finished second after the league state before losing on penalties to Corinthians in the semi finals. Their form was alarming in the national championship towards the end of last year and the pressure will be immediately on the former Brazil, Portugal and Chelsea coach.

Of the other teams, Ponte Preta and Portuguesa will be looking for strong seasons as they prepare for a return to the National top flight in May while last year's Troféu do Interior winners Oeste and Mirassol will be looking to repeat last years play-off qualifying success.

The four promoted clubs who take their place in the top flight are XV de Piracicaba, Guarani, Comercial and Catanduvense the champions of Série A2 this year. They will be looking to keep their place in the top flight as four team will be relegated to Série A2. One more change has seen Americana return to Guaratinguetá and change their name back again.

So we get underway this weekend and they line up like this and we'll have a full round up on Monday. Confirmation that coverage on Premier Sports TV is yet to arrive but we expect a couple of games to feature.

Corinthians x Mirassol - Selected for TV Coverage
Portuguesa x Paulista
Ituano x Guaratinguetá
XV de Piracicaba x Santos
Guarani x Oeste
Comercial x Linense
Bragantino x Palmeiras
São Paulo x Botafogo SP - Selected for TV Coverage
São Caetano x Ponte Preta
Catanduvense x Mogi Mirim

Premier Sports TV is the home of South American Football in the UK
You can subscribe at www.premiersports.tv or by calling 0871 663 9000

Ex-pat Of The Week #6

Welcome back. As the leagues around Europe crank back into action, it's time to have a first look at those making their way in the game away from South American shores and make note of those who are doing it rather well. Yes, it's the first Ex-pat Of The Week* for 2012. Here are your nominees:

Ricardo Álvarez. Diego Milito - the forgotten man at Internazionale - may have bagged a brace, but the architect of their 5-0 win over Parma was fellow Argentine Alvarez. This was Inter's fifth win in a row which saw them climb to fifth place in Serie A, a great tonic to begin 2012 this way after the season started so badly.
Erik Lamela. Meanwhile, in the Coppa Italia, Roma's Argentine midfielder Lamela continued his emergence at the top level with a starring role against Fiorentina, capped by two goals.
Diego Lugano. A winning start for Carlo Ancelotti at PSG and he was indebted to two South Americans. Javier Pastore put the oil-rich Parisians ahead against fifth division St-Colomban, but they were begged back by a second half penalty. Lugano popped up with a winner two minutes into stoppage time to spare blushes all round in what could prove to be a significant result.
Óscar Cardozo. The Benfica striker has hit the ground running after the winter break, steering his side to a win in the League Cup and chipping in as they beat União de Leiria 4-0 to return to the top of the Liga Zon Sagres.
Gonzalo Castro. The league isn't yet back up and running in Spain, but the Copa del Rey round of 16 took place during the week. Mallorca trailed 2-0 to Real Sociedad after the first leg in San Sebastian and back on the island, they improved the lead with an early Diego Ifrán strike. Cue a nost impressive comeback as Los Bermellones stormed back with six unanswered goals, Uruguayan midfielder Castro getting the first to get the ball rolling and the fourth, which but Mallorca ahead in the tie for the first time.

And the winner is...
Erik Lamela. We like this boy and he's getting better and better. This was his best performance for the Giallorossi to date and we hope there are plenty more to come.


* - we really could use a better name for this feature than that. Any suggestions? That and nominations for next week's award, chuck us a line on Twitter or leave us a comment below.

Ex-Pat of the Week #5

Domestic cups and the final round of games before the winter break (for all bar one notable exception) took the headlines this week, and a certain jamboree in Japan also falls within the remit for this edition of ex-pat of the week. The nominations:

Bruno Cazarine. Erstwhile CONMEBalls favourite Cazarine is in Australia at the moment, plying his trade with Sydney FC. They had their big derby with Newcastle Jets at the weekend and won to go third, Cazarine bagging the equaliser after the Jets had gone one up.

Crístian Rodríguez. The Uruguayan fell out with Vitor Pereira a couple of weeks ago, seemingly ending his Porto career, but he's back in the fold now and came off the bench at the weekend to nab a late goal to send Porto towards their third win on the spin.

Jonas. Last seasons top scorer in the Brasilieirao, he's now providing the perfect foil for the prolific Roberto Soldado at Valencia. The two combined for Soldado to get Valencia's first against big-spending Málaga to consolidate 'best-of-the-rest' (i.e. third place) in Spain.

Ricky Alvarez. By his own admission, it's taken him time to settle at Internazionale, but he's finally looking the part as Inter overcome their early-season woes. He capped his recent run of form with the fourth as Inter beat Lecce 4-1 to go 5th in Serie A.

Edinson Cavani. Napoli are still up there despite a little wobble these last few weeks. They bounced back from a dispiriting loss to Roma by walloping Genoa 6-1 with Cavani bagging two early on as the wounded Neapolitans responded brilliantly.

Lionel Messi. At his sublime best as Barcelona won yet another trophy, this time the Club World Cup in Yokohama. The chip for the first goal, the pass for the third... all brilliant, all the time.

Esteban Alvarado. OK, so he's not technically South American, but AZ's Costa Rican goalkeeper deserves recognition on these pages for lumping seven bells out of a pitch invader, as highlighted by our cousins at Euroballs. Unfortunately, the incident led to Esteban's dismissal, the abandonment of the game and a massive mess for the KNVB to sort out. While we're here on Costa Rica, wasn't Bryan Ruiz's goal last weekend fabulous? Let me answer that for you: yes it was.

And the winner is...

Lionel Messi. We couldn't not award him the gong this week - he was just too good to ignore. So were his team as they blasted Santos apart with something to spare.


We take a break now as most of football shuts down for the winter. We'll be back in January, but in the meantime, keep them peeled and let us know if you see anything worthy of nomination by hitting us up on our Twitter feed.

That Was The Year That Was

As 2011 draws to a close the CONMEBalls team would like to thank in no particular order

Premier Sports TV – For their support and continued coverage of South American Football in the UK

Will Downing – For the late nights covering the games

Jon Cotterill – For his help during the year and having what would be my dream job

Bira Brasil – For the continuous mentions after we’ve tweeted in during the live games

All our colleagues and friends who also have great websites that pretty much cover what we do and a little bit more as well (see the links section) and if we've missed you off please don't be offended. We love you all.

And most importantly you, the people who take the time to read what we write. We thank you for your continued support.

After this weeks Ex-Pat of the Week we will be taking a short break until the State League action gets underway in Brazil in mid-January and the Copa Libertadores qualifying round towards the end of the month. We look forward to bringing you all the action again in 2012. Our sister site, Euroballs will continue to operate while we hit the beach for some well deserved rest and relaxation.

If you have an interest in a particular area of South American football and would like to share your passion for the Peruvian/Chilean/whichever league, we’d be very happy to accommodate you.

Finally, from all the team at CONMEBalls, we would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a prosperous 2012.

Barcelona dominate in Yokohama

Barcelona dominated the Club World Cup final from first to last and handed Santos a lesson into the bargain as they added yet another trophy to the frankly ridiculous collection they're building up in what will no doubt become known as the Guardiola era.

The Catalans dominated from the off and it proved something of a surprise that it took a full quarter of an hour before they took the lead. They did with a quite outstanding goal; Xavi with a sublime touch and Lionel Messi with a delightful, cheeky, impish, just plain sexy chip over the stranded Cabral. Xavi turned finisher a few moments later as the Blaugrana carved open their South American rivals, Dani Alves prominent on the right. There was so much space on the flanks, the ball came in from the right and Xavi was on the edge of the box to sweep it home.

A goalmouth scramble - Barca can even make those look amazing - saw the third goal come on the stroke of half time. A wonderful back-heel from Messi played in Alves down the right and the ball found it's way, via half a dozen other feet, to Cesc Fabregas, unmarked on the back stick, and he passed it across goal and inside the far post. Santos trudged off the field, heads on chests, already a beaten side.

The second half started as the first ended with Fabregas starting the move and the eventual shot grazing the outside of the post via Cabral's fingertips. Andres Iniesta was almost a peripheral figure in the first half, but he too went close after a stereotypical passage of intricate passing, but aside from that, Barcelona were content to keep the ball away from Santos and preserve the lead they'd built. The third goal had killed the game.

A fourth eventually arrived with eight minutes to go, Alves playing Messi in whose initial control was poor, but it served a purpose in drawing Cabral out of his goal allowing the little Argentine to take the ball round him and pass it into the net.

This was as comprehensive a win as it's possible to see. Barca, with a staggering 72% of possession, starved Santos. They were clinical in the first half, pragmatic in the second. Xavi's control and pass for the opener was pure porn and Santos were a beaten side from there on in. It's difficult to be too critical of the Brazilians: they were just beaten by a far superior side.


Earlier in the day, Asian champions Al Sadd won the third-place play-off against Kashiwa Reysol on penalties after a dismal 0-0 draw.