By Guest Writer Nigel

Firstly, sorry for the delay folks.  I was caught up with work and I only managed to reach home at 12 midnight after the game.  Imagine how bad the traffic was?  33,650 fans packed the stadium!

The Singapore National Stadium, which is due for reconstruction, held its last football match between The Singapore Selection side and The Brazil Olympic team.  The Brazil team are very popular amongt the local fans especially Pato, Ronaldinho and Anderson. 

                                           

Everybody was dressed up in Yellow and you can see Brazilian flags everywhere.  As there are, also many Man United fans on this Island.  Anderson too received many cheers and applauses from the crowd.  However, guess what?  When the announcer reported the line up, the loudest cheer was reserved for PATO and RONALDINHO!  The new twin terror of Milan!!

Prior to this game, the whole world was expecting Singapore to be trash by the Brazilian but somehow, I felt that the humidity could be a major factor for them.  And my predictions were CORRECT!   Brazil did slow down their tempo after they scored the 2nd goal.  It was more evident at the start of the 2nd half when Singapore came pouring forward! 

I'm not sure if the Brazilian are just treating this game as some "Kick About" but they sure look rusty and tired.  The 2nd half was a bore with me nearly dozing off.
 
Pato playing as the lone striker impressed me with his speed but his finishing and his linkup play with Ronaldinho were debatable. (Milan fans, what do you think? ) In my opinion, he still needs a lot of training and I'm sure Kaka will guide him to become a fantastic player.

Singapore  Monday, July 28, 2008 - Ronaldinho scoring the second goal and his teammates celebrating

Although Ronaldinho created and scored the second goal of the match, he looked unfit.  Even the local papers are talking about it!  To be fair, it has been a long time since "JaJa Binks" (a nickname given by my friend) played his lst match, so a performance like htat do deserves a cheerleading dance from us.  Nevertheless, if he still does not improve on his fitness, I am 100% certain he will end up like how Rivaldo and Ronaldo did in Milan.  The question is, can he return to his old self and help Milan win the UEFA Cup and Scudetto?

Diego, the Werden Bremen player is another player that impressed me.  He is cool with his passes and never panic when the Singapore defenders surrounded him.  He is playing in the middle of midfield just behind Ronaldinho.  I guess the position that he played in is better known as the "Water Carrier."  Similar to the position Pirlo plays in.  It is a pity he is not playing in Serie A as he would be a good addition to any team. I remember Juve once wanted to buy him but the deal was call off.  His shot from a Ronnie back heal was a grounder and unstoppable. Bravo!

Sorry guys, I will not mention anything about Anderson, as I hate Man United. Hahaha..

Jo, the Manchester City bound player scored the last goal for Brazil but after much struggle.  Singapore was launching waves after waves of attack only for Brazil to score from a quick counter offensive. Jo latched on to a cross from the right and placed a sweet angle header into the net.  I shall reserve my comment on this player until later stage of the tournament.

Although, this is not a fantastic display by Brazil, their presence in the stadium and this country certainly brought back the smiles that are lacking among the fans for so long.  In fact, the crowd  performed the "Human waves" in the stands that were such a delight to watch.  Honestly, it has been a long time since I seen the crowd did "the Human Wave" in a football match. 

Lastly, I feel that this young Brazil team needs to gel as a team quickly or else, with this kind of performance, I do not think they have the capability to win the Olympic Gold medal in Beijing.

Forza Italia 

Nigel

Here are some photos for your delight.
                               

Singapore  Monday, July 28, 2008 - Part of the crowd at the Stadium watching the friendly match SingaporeWrite-Brazil. Lots of children went to watch their idols in action.




Singapore  Monday, July 28, 2008 - Brazil and AC Milan striker Alexandre Pato doing warm up exercises.



Singapore  Monday, July 28, 2008 - Pato and Ronaldinho, the 2 Brazilian and AC Milan strikers  warming up.






Singapore  Monday, July 28, 2008 -The Media Trying to Interview Ronaldinho




Singapore  Monday, July 28, 2008 -Anderson and Ronaldinho on the bus team.


Related Stories

-  RESULT Friendly Match: Singapore 0 - 3 Brazil "2 Serie A Players with Brazil RONALDINHO as Captain and striker PATO" Ronaldinho scored the second goal! , July 28, 2008


-  "I'd like to score a goal per match and become the top scorer of the Olympics with 6 goals." - said Brazil and AC Milan Striker Alexandre Pato, July 27, 2008

-  AC Milan Striker Ronaldinho named Captain of the Brazilian National Olympic Team by Head Coach Carlos Dunga, July 26, 2008

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Friday, August 1, 2008
Vietnam - Brazil