Players and Clubs

Hello everyone!

Are you wondering in what clubs all those players play?
I was! So I decided to list them here. I wrote their names, nationality and position. Here they are:

1. FC Bayern Muenchen - 14 players, 7 of them are from Germany:

• Neuer (GER) - goalkeeper
• Boateng (GER) - defender
• Schweinsteiger (GER) midfielder

  

  Robben - FC Beyern Muenchen

• Lahm (GER) - midfielder
• Kroos (GER) - midfielder
• Müller (GER) - midfielder
• Götze (GER) - forward
• Dante (BRA) - defender
• Van Buyten (BEL) - defender
• Javi Matínez (ESP) - midfielder
• Green (USA) - midfielder
• Shaqiri (SUI) - midfielder
• Robben (NED) - forward
• Mandžukić (CRO) - forward

2. Manchester United - 14 players

V. Persie - Manchester United

• De Gea (ESP) - goalkeeper
• Evra (FRA) - defender
• Smalling (ENG) - defender
• Jones (ENG) - defender
• Fellani (BEL) - midfielder
• A. Valencia (ECU) - midfielder
• Januzaj (BEL) - midfielder
• V. Persie (NED) - forward
• Rooney (ENG) - forward
• Kagawa (JPN) - forward
• Welbeck (ENG) - forward
• Mata (ESP) - forward
• J. Hernandez (MEX) - forward
• Nani (POR) - forward

3. FC Barcelona - 13 players

Alexis Sanches - FC Barcelona

• Daniel Alves (BRA) - defender
• Piqué (ESP) - defender
• Jordi Alba (ESP) - defender
• Song. A (CMR) - midfielder
• A. Iniesta (ESP) - midfielder
• Xavi (ESP) - midfielder
• Fábregas (ESP) - midfielder
• Mascherano (ARG) - midfielder
• Sergio Busquets (ESP) - midfielder
• Alexis Sanches (CHI) - forward
• Messi (ARG) - forward
• Neymar (BRA) - forward
• Pedro Rodriguez (ESP) - forward

Other famous players from well-known teams:

Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior

Hi everyone!

It has been a long time since I last wrote... but I'm surprised by the number of access the blog is getting so I decided to post something special today.

Neymar by WSJ.com

The Wall Street Journal posted a beautiful article about this fantastic soccer player, "one of the most electric and creative players in the modern game", as the author describes Neymar. 

I would quote the whole article if possible hahaha but I prefer to share it with you guys.

Click on the link below, take a look and write your comments here.

Enjoy!

The Wall Street Journal

Groups and Matches

Hello Guys!

So here are the groups for the first stage.

Some groups are fine while others are not very easy… oh, well!

Understand how the Final Draw works

Let's understand how the final draw works before it starts.
The Final Draw will be broadcasted live from fifa.com beginning at 1pm local time. (Costa do Sauípe - 03:00)

Final Draw by Globo

There are 32 teams, that will be divided first into 4 bowls of 8 teams.

In the bowl numer 1 will be added the 7 best teams according to FIFA Ranking of October 17th plus Brazil, the host country, those will be the seeded countries.

1. Spain
2. Germany
3. Argentina
4. Colombia
5. Belgium
6. Uruguay
7. Switzerland
8. Brazil

Bowls number 2, 3 and 4 were divided having in mind the geographical position of each country.
So, bowl number 2 will have 5 African countries and 2 from South America: Algeria, Côte d'Ivoire, Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Chile and Ecuador.
Bowl number 3 will have 4 Asian countries, and 4 from North and Central America: Australia, Japan, Iran, Korea Republic, Costa Rica, Mexico, Honduras and USA.
Bowl number 4 will be formed by European countries only: Croatia, France, Greece, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Netherlands, Russia, England, Italy and Portugal.
Since the bowl number 2 has only 7 teams and bowl number 4 has 9, an European team will be randomly chosen to join bowl number 2.

After that the draw will get started.

The first teams to be divided are the seeds, Group A will have Brazil, the host country, as seed. They necessarily will be put in position 1 of that group.
In order to have more equally divided groups, FIFA decided that shouldn't have be more than 2 teams from the same continent in each group. Fair enough!  

Brazuca by Adidas

So… that one European team that will be transferred to bowl 2 will necessarily be part of a group which a South America team is the seed.

One more thing, if Chile or Ecuador end up in a team which the seed is a South American country, they will automatically be reallocated to a group in which an European country is the seed.

So far so good?

The other teams will be divided into 8 groups following the order of the draw.

I hope this post was helpful!

Good Luck!

Final Draw

Are you guys excited?

We are about to find out in which group our nations are and who will be our first adversaries. 

Costa do Sauipe Resort - www.costadosauipe.com.br

When? October 6, 2013 - 1 pm local time
Where? Costa do Sauípe Resort, Bahia
Where can you watch? www.fifa.com

Stay tuned!

Qualifier's Almost Over!

I want to congratulate Ghana, Croatia, Greece, France, and Portugal, they've made it to the 2014 World Cup! Congratulations!

Cristiano Ronaldo scored all the 3 goals… what an amazing player! 
Will he win the next Ballon d'Or? 

Cristiano Ronaldo by fifa.com

It is nice to be part of the biggest event on Earth and we, the Brazilians, are waiting for you.

French Flags - fifa.com

Today we'll have Mexico and Uruguay confirming their spot… we are cheering, guys!

Next month ---> Final draw on December 6th, 2013
The groups will be defined and you will be able to book your flights and hotels :)

So exciting!

I'll leave you with Sweden x Portugal highlights

 footballdaily2

Thank you guys!

Qualifiers

Hello! Hello!

Today is the day...

This is the last chance for France to prove they can make it to the World Cup.

Last game they lost to Ukraine 2 x 0, now the Bleus need a difference of 3 goals to win. Will they make it? 

Watch tonight from Saint-Denis - 21:00, local time.

fifa.com

Portugal won at home, Cristiano Ronaldo scored… tonight Sweden will give their best at home.
The game will be broadcasted from Solna at 20:45, local time.

fifa.com

Today you will also watch:
Croatia x Iceland
Romania x Greece
Egypt x Ghana

Music Contest

If you love music and football there is a very cool contest coming soon… 

This nice contest is about submitting original songs that will be chosen and recorded by Ricky Martin to be in the next World Cup.

fifa.com

Starting on December 2nd, 2013 you can submit your video to www.SuperSong.com. The songs should be in one of the 2014 World Cup official languages: Portuguese, Spanish or English until January 6th, 2014. The winner will be announced in February 2014.

From FIFA's official website:

"The winner will travel to Puerto Rico to work with Ricky Martin and a top music producer on the final version of the song, which will be recorded by Ricky Martin & included on the Official Album of the 2014 FIFA World Cup™, to be released by Sony Music Entertainment in 2014.

The winner and a guest will also travel to Brazil where they will be VIP guests of Sony at the final match of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in July 2014 and also receive additional prizes from Sony."

Isn't it cool?

Who's going to give it a try? Good Luck!

* The official Word Cup Song will be released in mid-2014.

Want a Local Friend?

Dear readers how are you today?

Have you been planning your trip to Brazil?
It's not too early at all!

Today I'm here to talk about this idea that I fell in love with...

...to rent a local friend!

Want a friend? by bothsidesofthetable.com

I've never used this service, but it might be very useful in a country like Brazil where the majority of people don't speak English, or French, or Deutsch. And I guess the majority of travelers prefer to experience a country like a local other than a tourist. And more... this is a great alternative if you are traveling by yourself.

The team of friends is made by all kinds of people including journalists, photographers, chefs, that like you, also love to travel.

They will create a tour that includes everything according to your interest, so let them know exactly what you like and the places you want to visit when filling up the form.
The best idea is to choose a friend that has the same interests as you, and that speak your language.

You will find friends in the following host cities:
São Paulo, Rio, Curitiba, Brasilia, Fortaleza, Natal, Recife, and Salvador.

The video bellow is cool and explains it all, take a look:

Website: Rent a Local Friend

Like the idea? Have you used this service?

Leave your comments bellow.

Até mais :)

Tchau

Qualifiers - October 11th

Dear readers,

We are getting close to define the teams that will compete the 2014 World Cup and how the groups will be decided.

Asia has decided the teams that qualified: Japan, Australia, Korea Republic and Iran

Europe so far knows that Holland and Italy have qualified.

fifa.com

Europe Games - October 11th (local time)

South America Games - October 11th (local time)

Argentina is the only country from South America that has qualified so far with the host country Brazil.

Big Day

Good Luck!

Belo Horizonte: Hospitality

Hello dear readers, 

I'm having lot of fun writing about BH and I'm sure you will fall in love with the city and with the mineiros. Today, let's see what are the best hotel options, both close to the stadium (Pampulha) and close to the restaurants and shops (Savassi and Lourdes). 
Savassi and Louders are very close to the Central Market and Praça da Liberdade. The distance from those locations to the stadium is about 20 minutes by car, and 1 hour by bus. But leave earlier, the traffic can be pretty bad. If you decide to take a bus it's not complicated, it's usually one bus only to get to the stadium. Later on, I will check the new options for the World Cup.
Book your hotel as soon as possible, many hotels already don't have vacancies for the World Cup.

Hotels at Savassi (blue on the map)

• Savassi - free wi-fi, breakfast included, restaurant in the hotel.
• My place Savassi - there are 40 two-story apartments in this charming hotel. 
• Boulevard Express - breakfast included, free wi-fi.
• Ibis Afonso Pena - brand new, opened in 2013 the hotel offers free wi-fi.

Hotels at Lourdes (green on the map)

• Mercuri Lourdes - offers free wifi, gym, and has a restaurant in the hotel.
• Ibis BH Liberdade - located close to the Praça da Liberdade, it's a new hotel that offers free wi-fi and has a restaurant in the hotel.
• Clarion Lourdes - in this hotel if you make your check in between 7 and 9pm you get a free glass of champagne! Free wi-fi and breakfast included. 

Another location:

• Quality Afonso Pena (Serra) - offers free wi-fi, breakfast included, restaurant in the hotel. 13.4 km from the stadium.

Hotels Close to the Stadium:

• Pampulha - it's 15 min walking to the stadium. Breakfast included.
• Bristol Jaraguá - if you prefer to walk to avoid traffic it takes 30 minutes. It was opened in 2012, it offers free wi-fi, breakfast and the restaurant is in the hotel.
• Bristol Pampulha Lieu - 7 min driving or 40 min by bus to the stadium.

World Cup Qualifiers: June 11th and 12th

Hello everyone,

Today we have exciting games going on...

Let's cheer!

Japan is already on... what teams from South America will qualify?
Today we also have the USA, Sweden, and the African countries.

* The matches time are set for local time, so for example the first game will be at 15:30 in Barranquilla, Colombia.

fifa.com

Belo Horizonte

Belo Horizonte is the capital of the state of Minas Gerais located at the southeast of Brazil. 

Population: 2.37 million
Person born in Minas Gerais: Mineiro - the Mineiros are in general very welcoming, relatively quiet, reserved and prudent. Oh, they are also famous for telling people that the places are "right there" at walk distance, when actually, for regular people, the place is far away! "Uai" (sounds exactly like "why") is a common expression they use, but impossible to translate. 
Distance from other cities:  
Rio de Janeiro 444 km
São Paulo 602 km
Brasília 747 km
Airport: Tancredo Neves / Cofins Intenational Airport - 38 km (23mi) from Belo Horizonte
Stadium: 

Mineirão - Avenida Abrahão Caram, 970 - São Luis, Belo Horizonte, MG

Matches: World Cup 6 matches:
- June 14th - Colombia x Greece
 - June 17th - Belgium x Algeria
- June 21st - Argentina x Iran
- June 24th - Costa Rica x England
- June 28th - 1A x 2B
- July 8th - W57 x W58

The city know as BH (/Bay-Agah/) is a beautiful wooded city to visit, with nice historical architecture, parks, markets and an amazing cuisine. The state of Minas Gerais is the country's largest milk producer, it produces 41% of milk produced in Brazil and the largest coffee producer as well, it produces 50% of the national production. It is 100% arabica beans, being the majority exported. In the past Minas Gerais was one of the biggest gold, diamond, and gems explorers.

To begin exploring the city go to the Praça da Liberdade, there you will find many museums, and historical buildings from the 19th century, it is a nice place to relax and look around.

After visiting Praça da Liberdade you can take a bus or cab and visit the Central Market (Mercado Central). There are over 450 tents selling everything you can imagine, the Market has more than 80 years. Don't forget to buy a mineiro cheese, cachaça (Brazilian Liquor), desserts made of fruits and "dulce de leche" (in Portuguese - doce de leite). You will also fall in love with the crafts.  

Save a day to visit the Complexo Arquitetônico da Pampulha, projected by the famous Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer, it has 18 km of beautiful buildings placed around the Pampulha Lake, very close to the Mineirão Stadium. Take a cab to make this tour, there's a lot to see and walking would take too long. Pay attention to the Arts Museum, Casa do Baile and the São Francisco de Assis Church. 

If are planning to stay a little longer in BH, visit the Inhotim Institute, it's located in Brumadinho, 63 km from BH. The Institute is the biggest outdoor contemporary museum in the world, the arts are exposed at the Botanic Garden. The collection has around 500 pieces of art; sculptures, paintings, installations, draws, photographies, movies and videos made by 100 artists from 30 different countries. The arts are dated from 1960 to today's date. A driver in an electric car can take you through the whole space, it costs $10 dollars and you can use it as many time as you want, it's worth it. The tickets for the museum vary between $10 and $14 dollars, grab a map at the entrance and it will be easy to find the collections.

Where can I go with the kids?

Zoo: located at the Pampulha Lake, there are over 900 animals.

Toy's Museum (Museu dos Brinquedos): the kids will have a chance to see toys from other countries and from older times.

I will talk more about BH on my next posts.

See You!

World Cup Qualifiers: Matches of June 7th

What exciting Friday!

There are many matches today, just choose your favorite teams and lets go!

Remember that the time showed is local time, ok?

Today we have South America, Africa, Europe, Caribbean, and North America.

fifa.com

Vote for the best goal in FIFA Confederations Cup history from their '13 Goals for 2013' shortlist: 13 Goals for 2013

Who is closer to qualify?

What team are you cheering for?

World Cup Qualifiers: June 4th and 5th, 2013

Hi guys!

The qualifiers are back this week... are you excited?

There will be 7 qualifiers games in two days, Tuesday and Wednesday. The time is set as local time:

Kenya x Nigeria

fifa.com

Vote for the best goal in FIFA Confederations Cup history from their '13 Goals for 2013' shortlist: 13 Goals for 2013

Rio de Janeiro: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Hello readers! Today's post is about food. This is a though post because I can't list all the good restaurants in Rio and because usually the food will be good everywhere haha so I will need your help. I will list a few and you will share your opinion too so we have more options. Deal or no deal? 

Breakfast - Many hotels, and hostels include breakfast but if you want to have breakfast somewhere else, or if your hotel don't serve breakfast you can have a delicious breakfast at a bakery. Click here to read the post about coffee.

CONFEITARIA COLOMBO - served on the second floor at Bar Jardim from 9 am to 11 am. On Sundays there's a buffet with fixed price of R$37.00 per person.
Website: Confeitaria Colombo
Location: Centro

BISTRÔ CASA DO PÃO - Sat, Sun, Holidays from 9 am to 1 pm

Website: Casa do Pão

Location: Rua General Garzon, 10 - Lagoa - Rio de Janeiro

LA BICYCLETTE - French Café, excellent coffee. I love the banana and oatmeal cake, and the whole wheat baguette. Detail: the check comes in a cute basket.
Website: La Bicyclette - Portuguese and French
Location: Jardim Botânico

CEREAL - open to public on Sundays from 9 am to 1 pm.
Website: Cereal
Location: Santa Teresa

CONTEMPORÂNEO HOSTEL - Tue - Fri from 7:30 am - 10:30 am / Sat and Sun from 7:30 - 1 pm
Website: Contemporaneo
Location: Botafogo

GRINGO CAFÉ - Open everyday from 8:30 am to 11 pm

Website: Gringo Café

Location: Rua Barão da Torre 240 - Ipanema

Lunch - In Brazil lunch is a bigger meal than dinner, so you will find nice buffets worth trying, restaurants por quilo, that means you pay for the weight of what you put on your plate.

VIENA - per kilo (self-service)

Website: Viena

Locations: Barra Shopping - Barra da Tijuca and many other locations, usually inside malls

RÁSCAL - per kilo (self-service) - Mediterranean cuisine

Website: Ráscal

Locations: Shopping Leblon, Shopping Rio Sul and Casa Shopping

PORCÃO: Steakhouse

Website: Porcão

Locations: Many locations, you can check them all on the website.

Dinner - You can always go out for dinner and later on enjoy the nightlife in Rio. There are many nice bars where you can try out greatest appetizers and beers. 

POMODORINO - Italian Cuisine, they prepare an artisan pasta and serve with meat, fish or seafood.

Website: Pomodorino

Location: Avenida Epitácio Pessoa, 1104 - Lagoa

FOGO DE CHÃO - Steakhouse

Website: Fogo de Chão

Location: Botafogo

FASANO AL MARE (HOTEL) - Seafood

Website: Fasano

Location: Av. Vieira Souto, 80 - Ipanema

PIZZARIA CARIOCA DA GEMA - Brazilian and Pizza - The Pizzaria Carioca da Gema is next to the bar that carries the same name. Ideal if you want to eat and then enjoy the nightlife having few beers with your friends or to meet new people - 18 or older. Remember to make reservation - (21) 2221-0043 / (21) 2508-6952 

Website: Carioca da Gema

Location: Lapa

Sunset by Rodrigo_Soldon via Flickr

Rio de Janeiro: Hospitality

This post will be dedicated to the hospitality in general, it's a post for you who want a nice, comfortable hotel, for you whose focus is the city, for the adventure travelers and those who want to save money. You should as well concern the location. Later on, maybe next year, I will write another post about hospitality because there are many hotels being built for the World Cup and because many people will host the travelers at their homes. But for those who like to plan the trip in advance this is a helpful post. 

By the way... while I'm writing this post I'm surprised to find out that many hotel already don't have vacancies for the World Cup. So hurry up! 

$$$$$ COPACABANA PALACE - Copacabana Beach 

Website: Copacabana

Breakfast not included

$$$$$ HOTEL SANTA TERESA - Santa Teresa

Website: Santa Teresa 

Breakfast not included

$$$$$ SOFITEL - Ipanema

Website: Sofitel

Breakfast not included

$$$$ WINDSOR ATLANTICA - Leme

Website: Windsor

Breakfast included

$$$ IPANEMA PLAZA - Ipanema
Website: Ipanema Plaza

Breakfast included

$$$ TROPICAL BARRA HOTEL - Barra da Tijuca

Website: Tropical

Breakfast included

$$ IBIS SANTOS DUMONT - Centro

Website: Ibis

Breakfast not included

$$ .OZTEL - Botafogo

Website: .Oztel

Breakfast included 

$$ CASA AMARELO - Santa Teresa
Website: Casa Amarelo
Breakfast included

$ ADVENTURE HOSTEL - Ipanema

Website: Adventure

Breakfast included

$ LEBLON SPOT DESIGN HOSTEL - Leblon

Website: Spot

Breakfast included

$ BOSSA IN RIO HOSTEL - Santa Teresa
Website: Bossa in Rio
Breakfast included

$ CONTEMPORÂNEO HOSTEL - Botafogo
Website: Contemporaneo
Breakfast included

*Dear readers, I couldn't list all the hotels located in Rio, so if you need any help please contact me and I will do my best to help you. Hope you have an amazing trip!

Maracanã Stadium: Rua Professor Eurico Rabelo - Rio de Janeiro, 20271-150, Brazil ‎