Fortaleza 1 x 3 Corinthians

By: dylan | September 8th, 2008

André Santos Sorry for the delay — it was a busy weekend. Here we go…

Fortaleza put up more of a fight than Gama or ABC, but they didn’t fare much better, as Corinthians brought home an easy 3-1 win. Chicão converted a penalty and Preto scored a comedy own goal to make it 2-0 at halftime; Bambam came off the bench in the second half to score for the hosts, before André Santos nailed the coffin lid shut with a magnificent goal.

With this result, we’re now seven points clear of the second-place team, Vila Nova, and 12 points ahead of fifth-place Barueri. All eyes are on the first division now, and the press is already calling up mathematicians to predict how soon we’ll be promoted.

Highlights and thoughts…

• First, André Santos. Take off your hat and bow, my friend, that’s two beautiful goals in two games. Our left-back is back, with the form that had European scouts sniffing around a few months ago. I almost wonder if Mano told him to disappear for the summer, just to shake off the foreign suitors. (Globo noticed the timing, too.)

• The stray goal syndrome — As usual, we’re our own worst enemy. The guys played well — not the full-court press of the last two games, but the smart, conservative football you’d expect from an away game in muggy northeast Brazil. They earned two goals, with a little help from Fortaleza’s defenders, and then… kind of went to sleep for a while. If you’ve seen Corinthians at all this year, you know what I’m talking about: the stray goal syndrome.

It’s the “1″ in all the 3-1 and 4-1 games we’ve played. Worse, it’s the “1″ in all the 1-1 games we’ve played. And, of course, it was a stray goal that ultimately snatched the Copa do Brasil from our hands.

This time, at least, we woke back up. Careca came on for Bebeto, a couple minutes later he set up André Santos’s golaço, and we lived happily ever after. Still, too close for comfort, for a while there.

Full highlights:

While I’m at it…

• Silly names — Brazil’s Série B is the first division when it comes to truly silly names. In the last three games, we’ve faced Rodrigo Ninja, Ben-Hur, and Bambam. And fans of vintage cinema may be surprised to see Allan Dellon lacing up for Brasiliense, but club officials assure me that he is not, in fact, the 72-year-old French actor.

• Perdigão — I think he’s only on the squad so he can squeeze into every celebration shot. (And I do mean “squeeze.”) They should just put him in a musketeer outfit and make him the official mascot.

• Classification calculations — The mathematicians are saying we could be promoted in four rounds. Mano and I don’t get too worried about these things, but you’re welcome to take out your calculators:

		Pld	Pts	Won	GD
1	Corinthians	23	51	15	+34
2	Vila Nova	23	44	13	+31
3	Santo André	23	43	12	+20
4	Avaí	23	42	11	+21
5	Barueri	23	39	12	+0
6	Ponte Preta	23	36	11	+6
7	Bragantino	23	36	10	+3
8	Ceará	23	33	9	+5
9	Juventude	23	32	9	–1
10	Bahia	23	32	8	–6