Subtopic	Posts		Updated
	Archive 01	50		2004/07/01, 05:48 pm

Ooops. Wrote too soon. 3-0 Gremio -- they escaped relegation. I taped the game Sunday night and just finished seeing it on Monday. Too bad MLB, NFL, NBA and the NHL don't have relegation. A team near the bottom of the standings fighting off relegation is far more exciting to the fans than middle of the pack teams playing before 5,000 bored fans in Maracana. The Gremio game had a packed house and the fans were way into it.

Feh.... what a weekend - my team Internacional did NOT make it to Libertadores where they deserved to go, and f-ing Gremio did NOT go to the second division, where THEY deserved to go. All that Inter needed was a tie, but instead they got creamed, 5-0, by Sao Caetano. And Corinthians went and died...

Flamengo lost to a division 2 team, Santo Andre(?), at Maracana in front of 70k for the Brasil Cup. 2-0 for a 4-2 aggregate.

Flamengo players lash out at fans

Brian Homewood

RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Flamengo players lashed out at their own supporters after being insulted, jeered and pushed as they arrived at Rio de Janeiro airport following a heavy defeat in the Brazilian championship on Sunday.
Television pictures showed goalkeeper Julio Cesar push one man to the ground and then kick him.


Defender Junior Baiano, sent off after two minutes of the game, was seen wrestling with another supporter while other players exchanged insults with fans.

Dozens of supporters swore at the players as they got off the flight which brought them back from Ipatinga, where were earlier beaten 6-1 by Atletico Mineiro in a relegation battle.

The defeat left the country's most popular club stuck in the relegation zone with only five matches to play.

The players, clearly shaken by the situation, said they were protected only by a handful of club security men as they tried to make their way through the lobby to their bus.

'He hit me in the back ... so I grabbed his shirt and threw him to the ground,' Julio Cesar said in a television interview later.

'We arrived at the airport and we were completely unprotected.

'We were alone, we had to hit back, there was no police,' he added. 'I'm very sad at what happened and I apologise ... these people are not Flamengo supporters.'

Flamengo are 22nd in the 24-team table from which four teams are relegated. The four-times Brazilian champions face fellow strugglers and neighbours Botafogo next Sunday.

Midfielder Douglas Silva said: 'It was insane. I saw people waiting with stones in their hands. The majority were not Flamengo supporters.'

He added: 'We're not going down. This is the biggest club in the world.'

What is "relegation," and "the relegation zone?" Obviously, I know nothing about soccer (an unacceptible shortcoming for one who plans to spend as much time in Brasil as I do).

"Maaaaaang-goooo, Maaaaaaa-goooo." Boy do I have some favoritas pissed about this now. As you probably have heard, it's not just a game in Brasil.

Relegation means the bottom 4 teams drop to a lower league with 4 teams from that league being promoted to replace them. I suppose money talks in US pro sports so it doesn't happen much. It would be the equivalent of the bottom team in the AL East etc. being sent down to the minor leagues.

Flamengo, "the biggest team in the world" is almost as funny as the college basketball player who once said Duke v North Carolina was the biggest rivalry in world sports. FWIW, I'd love to see Flamengo relegated just for their fans supporting Man Utd in the World Club Championships held in Rio a few years back.

Like Ardgneas says, the bottom four drop to the next lowest league or tier, and the top four of that lower league moves up a league. Relegation and promotion happens at the various levels of professional soccer. It happens in Europe and probably Asia, as well. It might even apply to basketball leagues in SA and Asia, but I am only guessing.

There is no relegation in American sports at any level. The American equivalent would be having the 4 major league baseball teams with the worst records dropping to AAA, and four best AAA teams jumping to the major leagues. Relegation will continue on down to the lowest minor league. If relegation does exist in the US, it will be for soccer; but the MLS doesn't have it.

Botofogo, a Rio team, got relegated a couple years ago but made it back to the top league a year later. If Flamengo got relegated, I can easily imagine some exception or pretext to the rule being created so they don't get dropped. It's happened before. Flamengo isn't the "biggest" team in the world, but it is the biggest in Rio and Brazil.

Relegation adds a level of excitement to the bottom teams. The struggle to avoid relegation can be almost as exciting as the battle at the top.

(Message edited by maracana on November 16, 2004)

(Message edited by maracana on November 16, 2004)

Its unfortunate that MLB isn't structured to allow for relegation. The relationship between the Majors and the Minors is very unhealthy in Baseball, and is largely a historic accident.

What should happen is that the minor league teams be free to pursue championships, but to be able to sell some of their players upwards to make necessary cash. Then the trick would be to balance profit with winning, just like in the majors.

In Brazil and other countries, the First Division does not control the teams in the lower divisions, that is how it should be.

Fox Sports World had video clips of Flamengo fans "greeting" their team. It really was ugly.

Imagine Yankee fans greeting their team if the Yankees were close to relagation to AAA. Now multiply that fury 10 times, and you get a Flamengo fan.

Hehe.. He said Flamengo was the biggest club in the world... I've never heard of them until now. I suppose living in Rio I'm gonna have to learn the local teams =)

Brazil looks like a lock for the World Cup in 2014. It's South America's turn, and Brazil hasn't hosted since the 1950 World Cup.

I guess I should start making plans not to be in Brazil then, as I suspect the male--female ratio in the termas will be unfavorable and the hotels may get rather expensive. Any idea exactly when in 2014 I should plan on avoiding the place?

World cup usually runs from early june to early july. This year for example Fri june 9th to Sun july 9th. I would definitely avoid this time frame this year as well. World cup is played every 4 year. Brasil stores close if I am correct days when Brasil plays so up to 7 games. Brasil has the shittiest stadiums, I cant believe they would host the world cup with these venues but heck they have the pan am games coming to Rio too.

Talking about futebol, I have to say I am quite impressed by brasileiro love for the game. They talk about their teams every day of the week like we do here for the nfl but big difference is all the best players play in Europe, I mean imagine if the best 200 players were removed from the NFL, would you still follow it? What I like also is the females seem to be into it.

After being in Rio during this year's Carnaval, I have to say that the amount of mongers being in town is more dependent upon how the dollar/euro is doing than there being a big event. During Carnaval, the termas were less crowded than any given point in time during 2003 and 2004. This past week there were more Europeans than Americans in Rio and the termas. Talent level wasn't great (considering this might be perceived to be the peak season for a gdp) but good enough to keep me satisfeito.

Those people who belong to a samba school are really into them -- as much as their football teams, if not more so (at least, during Carnaval).

Brazil versus USA at Giants Stadium on June 23 -- women's soccer.

ESPN's Outside the Lines on the 2014 World Cup Preparations (or lack thereof)

http://search.espn.go.com/otl-2014-world-cup/

There are two additional videos about the 2014 World Cup.
(Message edited by maracana on May 28, 2012)

(Message edited by maracana on May 28, 2012)