Brazil midfielder Edmilson has been ruled out of the World Cup. The 29-year-old Barcelona utility man, who can also operate in the centre of defence, suffered a knee injury in training on Monday in Switzerland but he was only pulled out of the squad by the defending champions today following the results of an MRI scan.
A statement on the website of the Brazilian Football Federation (CBF) said: 'After a meeting between the coaching staff, the team captain Cafu and Edmilson at the Thermoplan Stadium, Edmilson was told he has been removed from the Brazilian squad that will play in the World Cup on Germany.'
Edmilson will be replaced by Sao Paulo midfielder Mineiro.
Weggis, Switzerland -- Fans have been hiking to higher ground in the hopes of catching a glimpse of Brazil's soccer stars as they prepare for the World Cup.
With all 45,000 tickets sold for Brazil's training sessions in the small lakeside resort town, those left out are doing whatever it takes to peek over the stadium fence. A hill overlooking the 5,000-seat arena built for Brazil has attracted many fans, despite the mud and rain.
"It's kind of far from the field, but at least we can see the players," said Daniela Aschwanden, one of nearly 200 people on the hill watching Brazil practice yesterday. "It's great. I can't complain, even with all this mud."
Others tried to get a closer look, climbing onto parked cars and even bicycles to look over the stadium fences.
Stadium tickets sold out, despite costing $18 (U.S.) each. Organizers said as many as 10,000 people a day have been flocking to Weggis, a town of only about 4,000 citizens.
On Tuesday, Brazil's coach, Carlos Alberto Parreira, threatened to bar the public from training sessions if the hysteria surrounding the national team began interferring with his preparations. The team has even chosen a secret training site in case things get out of hand.
Welterweight champion Matt Hughes dominated UFC Hall of Famer Royce Gracie to win a non-title mixed martial arts fight in short order Saturday night.
The bout was halted at 4:39 of the first round with Hughes on the back of a prone, face-down Gracie dealing more than 15 unanswered blows to the head of Gracie.
Hughes had earlier almost submitted Gracie, twisting the Brazilian's arm into a painful armbar hold. Gracie offered little offence during the bout and was on the defensive throughout.
"Of course I'm disappointed but he is the welterweight champion," Gracie said.
"I've got a couple more in me," he said when asked if he would keep fighting. "Let me go home and heal this up. I'll be back. I'll be back."
The main event of UFC 60: Hughes vs. Gracie at the Staples Center pitted one of mixed martial arts' legends against one of its most dominant champions.
Royce Gracie is a 39-year-old submission artist who won the first Ultimate Fighting Championship event in 1993 and last fought in the Octagon ring in 1995. Gracie, who retired from active competition from 1995 to 2000, exited the 175-pound bout with a 13-3-3 record.
In recent years, Gracie has averaged one fight a year, mostly on the K-1 circuit in Japan. The Brazilian, who now calls California home, was out of active competition from 1995 to 2000 and since then has fought six times to 30 for Hughes.
A Brazilian woman ran onto the pitch and hugged striker Ronaldinho as the world champions finished a training session, watched by around 5 000 fans, in Weggis on Friday.
At least four other fans followed her onto the field, raising worries about security and underlining the concerns about the carnival-like atmosphere which has been created around the world champions in the small Swiss village.
Brazil's players had finished an attack-versus-defence practice and were doing stretching exercises on the ground when the incidents happened.
The blonde-haired woman jumped the fence around the field and appeared to land a kiss on the World Player of the Year Brazil striker Robinho jokingly threw a mattress over the pair.
Ronaldinho appeared to take it as a joke and even waved goodbye to the woman as she was led away.
A security official said that five people were arrested and taken away by police for questioning. He said that one appeared to be drunk and bit a policeman.
Brazil have been in Weggis since Monday to prepare for the World Cup finals where they face Croatia, Australia and Japan in their first-round group.
But instead of peace and quiet, their training sessions have been watched by around 5 000 people a day in a purpose built arena where the crowd is less than two metres from the pitch.
Practices have also been televised live in Brazil and scrutinised by around 800 journalists.
Coach Carlos Alberto Parreira, who initially said that training would be closed off if the crowd became too boisterous, said on Thursday the players enjoyed the carnival atmosphere.
First set of photos from the Brazilian Soccer Team in Swiss
Now the focus is 100% to the World Cup! The Brazilian Team has been training hard in Switzerland for its first game against Croacia, and here you can check the first set of photos of their practice:
Swiss Samba - Brazilian culture invades Switzerland pre World Cup
WEGGIS, Switzerland - Scantily clad Samba dancers and drummers took over the usually serene streets of this small lakeside Swiss village yesterday as the resort town hosting Brazil's World Cup preparations was jolted by an unprecedented Brazilian Carnival.
Local residents mingled with Brazilian fans for a street parade following Weggis's inauguration of a 5,000-seat arena built to accommodate the Brazilian national team.
"This is just fantastic, you wouldn't see anything like this in Switzerland if it weren't for the Brazilians," said 42-year-old Rolf Leeb, a resident of nearby Lucerne who said he extended his vacation just so he could see the Brazilians.
The Globo media group has reached an exclusive agreement with FIFA to broadcast all 64 games of the 2006 World Cup live over the Internet, a Globo executive said Monday.
Frederico Monteiro, marketing director for the Globo.com Web site, said Globo was the only group in Brazil -- and perhaps the world -- that will transmit every game live from Germany over the Internet using video streaming.
"It's the biggest event in the history of the Internet in Brazil," said Monteiro, adding that initial studies suggest as many as 100,000 people could tune in for the games.
Monteiro declined to disclose the cost of the deal except to say it was a "very large sum."
The entire tournament will be available to subscribers for a one-time fee ranging from 7.90 reals (US$3.43; euro2.69) to 14.90 reals (US$6.40; euro5.02), depending on the user's Internet connection speed.
Ninety-five percent of Brazil's 185 million people have access to television, while only about 35 to 40 million Brazilians have access to the Internet.
Monteiro said that because of the time difference between Brazil and Germany, most of the games would take place during working hours in South America, when many people could tune in via computer.
Companies in Brazil traditionally give workers time off to watch the national team in the World Cup, and Monteiro said businesses probably wouldn't object if workers watched soccer during business hours.
"This is Brazil. The boss will probably be watching, too," he said.
Brazil's soccer team leaves for Switzerland for World Cup preparation
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP) - Brazil's national soccer team prepared to leave for Switzerland on Sunday to begin its quest for a record sixth World Cup title.
Defending champions Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Roberto Carlos and 11 other players were to leave late Sunday from Rio's Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport, arriving Monday in Zurich, the Brazilian Soccer Confederation said.
Brazil coach Carlos Alberto Parreira, co-ordinator Mario Zagallo and the team's medical and training staff will travel with the team.
Eight team members that play for European clubs will report to the squad directly in Switzerland, the CBF said. They include Cafu, Dida, Edmilson, Fred, Gilberto Silva, Lucio, Kaka and Ze Roberto.
Juninho, who plays for Lyon in France, will fly to Switzerland from his home state of Pernambuco, in northeastern Brazil.
The team will train until June 4 in Weggis, a serene resort town of 3,000 people by Lake Lucerne, in the shadow of the Swiss Alps.
The World Cup starts on June 9 in Germany, when Brazil will seek an unprecedented sixth title. Brazil won the title in 1958, '62, '70, '94 and 2002.
These days Brazilian youth don't just shake it to samba and capoeira. For the last few years, electronic four-on-the-floor has been making headway in the world's hardest partying nation and the Skol Beats Festival is now one of the highlights of the nation's dance music calendar. Spread over seven main stages, 59 thousand people danced and had fun to over ninety house, techno, trance, electro, breaks and drum 'n' bass artists.
After 20 hours of happiness, here are some pics of the party: Main Stage
Brazil soccer manager says World Cup roster complete
Brazil's soccer manager Carlos Alberto Parreira said on Friday that he has drawn up the list of 23 players for the World Cup in Germany in June, but said he would not publish it until Monday.
At a launch for his book -- Training Winning Teams, Parreira said: "I have no doubts, I only need to consider a couple of things before Monday."
He added that there would be no surprises on the list. "Everyone knows who the finalists are, and that is a good thing, because the team is the fruit of three years' work."
When asked if being favorite to win was a bad thing for Brazil, he replied: "That favoritism began oversea, not in Brazil. And that story is one repeated by our rivals. Brazil will have to humble if it wants to win the World Cup."
She is from Rio, has 27 years old, and loves the ipanema beach. Her favorite food is japonese and italian, and her favorite part of body is her breasts. Any doubt about it?
As eerily similar as Maria Rita’s voice is to her late mother’s, Elis Regina, Rita has also managed to find her own style, singing pop-flavored play lists with a jazzy feel, backed simply by piano, acoustic bass and drums. On her self-titled debut album, she connected with audiences by making hits out of the Rita Lee-penned “Pagu” and the blues-tinged “Nao Vale A Pena” (It’s Not Worth It), and earned two 2004 Latin Grammy Awards for Best New Vocalist and Best Brazilian Album.
On Segundo, her sophomore album, she covers O Rappa’s anti-conformist “Minha Alma” (My Soul), giving an acoustic feel to what was originally an electric, hip-hop-inflected tune. The amusing, up-tempo “Feliz” (Happy) allows the singer and her band to take themselves less seriously, while on “Conta Outra” (Tell Me Another Story), Rita seamlessly inserts funk elements into a straight samba song.
This is her first proper U.S. tour—previous appearances were delayed when she became a first-time mom—and fans have been eagerly awaiting Rita’s live performance since sampling her flavorful style on her live DVD.
What: Maria Rita concert When: May 5 Where: Irving Plaza, 17 Irving Pl. (at 15th St.), 212-777-6800; New York How Much: $ 23-37
Brazilian culture, news, fashion, eletronic music, samba, places to hang out, beaches, and much more... Everything you should know about Brazil, but couldn't find it on the web.
Brazil midfielder Edmilson has been ruled out of the World Cup. The 29-year-old Barcelona utility man, who can also operate in the centre of defence, suffered a knee injury in training on Monday in Switzerland but he was only pulled out of the squad by the defending champions today following the results of an MRI scan.
The Globo media group has reached an exclusive agreement with FIFA to broadcast all 64 games of the 2006 World Cup live over the Internet, a Globo executive said Monday.
The entire tournament will be available to subscribers for a one-time fee ranging from 7.90 reals (US$3.43; euro2.69) to 14.90 reals (US$6.40; euro5.02), depending on the user's Internet connection speed.
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP) - Brazil's national soccer team prepared to leave for Switzerland on Sunday to begin its quest for a record sixth World Cup title.
Adriano (Internazional)
Brazil's soccer manager Carlos Alberto Parreira said on Friday that he has drawn up the list of 23 players for the World Cup in Germany in June, but said he would not publish it until Monday.
