Brazil first to qualify as host country and….Uruguay last team to qualify….will the shadows of 1950 repeat themselves……Puma thinks so!!
Maracanazos like to think that history repeats itself!
Football is the universal sport because it is the closest to human nature.
True to this blog, it would be a fantastic feat if Iceland could qualify for their first World Cup. If it achieves that, Iceland would be the smallest country – in terms of population – to ever qualify for the final round of a World Cup. Iceland needs to beat Croatia though, not an easy task despite recent weaker performances by the team who finished 3rd in the 1998 World Cup.
Maracanazos will be rooting for Iceland!
If you compare to the minimum monthly wage of 678 reais (about US $300), then the lowest non-discounted fare of 330 reais (about US $150) to attend the final is IMO vastly too expensive. That’s almost 50% of the monthly minimum wage to attend the final. With the low rate of savings of Brazilian households, the cost is a burden for many of the poorer Brazilians that would like to attend the game of a lifetime. I wonder what the ratio was back in 1950 for the Maracanazo?
Maracanazos keep an eye on budget.
The game was more important to Brazil than for la Celeste. Also being in Belo Horizonte didn’t help…A Maracanazo can only happen well in the Maracana..
Main points I took from yesterday’s game:
- Now Tabarez should really start thinking about finding an alternative to Forlàn who is clearly no longer in shape for 90 minutes.
- What a waste of Cavani’s energy to have him run around the whole field when such a talented player would benefit from being positioned in the attacking half of the field only.
- Cavani + Suarez probably make up for the best forward duo today.
- Neymar is talented but he should stop falling all the time.
- Brazil has problems with teams pressing high like la Celeste did (well many teams do…).
Maracanazos don’t like waste of energies!
No Maracanazo can equal the first one, certainly not this Confederations Cup. Still a shame though that Brazil – Uruguay today is not staged at Maracana…do the Brazilians still have ghostly memories? The only Maracanazo that could come close to the first one would be a remake on July 13 2014 but we’re still far from that!
Maracanazos know their classics.
« Le malheureux Louis XVI s’écria : “C’est une émeute ? – Non, sire, répondit La Rochefoucauld, c’est une grande révolution.” »
Apart from the unacceptable events that occurred during the trophy ceremony at the Trocadéro, there is a bigger problem at hand for the PSG staff. 10 000 to 15 000 fans attended on Monday for the third championship win of PSG’s history, and the first in 19 years. The Paris metropolitan area has 12 million people. Now take Manchester United and Barcelona where 500 000 and 600 000 fans showed up for the champion parades out of respective metropolitan areas numbering 2.2 million and 4.5 million inhabitants. Neither Barcelona nor Man United have waited 19 years to win a championship title, they win every other year since a couple of years and despite that the fans are there in big numbers. There is a huge lack of following and of passion for the PSG amongst the Paris population. The PSG, even with the hundreds of millions of euros that the Qatar is pouring into the club, won’t achieve the levels of a Barça or a Man United without a consequent fan base that goes along with it. Nice marketing problem at hand for the PSG management!
Maracanazos like to compare numbers.
Image credit: Dmitri Korobtsov
The PSG has always been my favorite French club. My father used to bring me to the Parc des Princes since I was age 5 and I have seen countless matches with some great players like Dahleb, Susic, Weah, Rai, Leonardo, Pauleta along the way. Now with the arrival of the Qatari financial backup, the PSG has a unique chance of competing amongst the best teams in Europe. The current strategy is to invest in star players, older and younger, to give a head start to the club and accelerate the path to stardom. I would advise the PSG to gor for what I call a “sandwich strategy”. This means investing both at the top for short term results, such as buying Ibrahimovic, but just as important invest at the bottom in a local Masia. The PSG has the unique chance in Europe to be the only major football club in a area of about 10 million inhabitants comprising Paris and the greater Paris. Imagine all the youth talent that a well made detection system could yield. The big difference with the past is that Qatari financial power can now be used to retain this talent. Imagine if the PSG could have detected and kept Thierry Henry, Nicolas Anelka, both native from Paris suburbs…
I would combine the idea of developing this home made Masia with a partnership with the Paris area transport system, the RATP. The RATP reaches out to most of the Parisian suburbs and would be a great fit in terms of a marketing strategy in building the Masia. The whole idea of discovering young talent would be combined with the image of the PSG using the RATP to reach out to hnudreds of thousands of kids. Some ideas that come at mind for this partnership:
- Cheaper tickets to get to the Parc des Princes
- PSG tv channel in selected metro, train and bus stops
- PSG branding on RATP tickets, stations
- PSG/RATP football academies and competitions then leading the best to integrate the Masia
I have had this idea for years now convinced that the transport system of such a big area like the Paris one is closely associated to the discovery of young talent for the PSG.
Maracanazos want their favorite club to succeed!
Image credit: enrevanche
Take a snapshot of how the Mannschaft and Nazionale are playing in this year’s Euro and rewind some years ago. The contrast is flagrant. The whole philosophy has changed. Instead of reasoning in terms of preserving your own goal, Klinsmann and then Löw and Prandelli have built their strategy which prioritizes an attacking style that concerns all players, not only the offensive side. Look at Lahm, Barzagli, Abate, Hummels (a new Beckenbauer in my mind). They are all incredible defenders of course but their implication in the offensive potential of their teams is growing thanks to their coaches. I wonder the impact this has on Italian and German kids….probably a long lasting one and good news for the next Euros and World Cups for these 2 countries.
Oh and by the way, Italy and Germany have Pirlo and Özil, that makes it easier to apply these new revolutions!
Maracanazos like risk takers.
Image credit: stargardener