Good morning! It might be a bank holiday but Rob is still here with the latest from Sao Paulo and the CM World League
It’s the final run in of season four, we are in a position to win both the Premier League and FA Cup. Winning both would mean that we will have won every domestic trophy possible in four seasons. It seems a long time since we won the Auto Windscreen Shield and Division 3 in season one. There is a long way to go before that though.
Our first game is at home to Sporting Lisbon, the stats for this game are ridiculous and I really hope it is not a sign of things to come. By the looks of it they barely touched the ball in our defensive third but we only hit the target 33% of the time so only have ourselves to blame for this 0-0 draw.
Happy Monday! Here’s Rob with more from Brazil, as Sao Paulo try to cement themselves as title challengers in the CM World League
In part 10 we had slowly started to find our feet and thanks to nine wins out of thirteen games we had climbed to the top of the table, however with only seven points between 1st and 12th things are still very close.
Our next opponents are Borussia Dortmund, they have a centre back pairing of Jurgen Kohler and Michael Duberry, Nicolas Anelka is up front and a young John Oster is on the wing. Unfortunately for them Christer gets an got in the first minute, Pirri gets another in the second half and Christer rounds off an MOM performance with a second three minutes from the end. That game ended up being a lot easier than I thought.
Rob is here to start your week with the start of a new season in the CM World League. Sao Paulo have made it to the top league but can they continue their red hot form?
It’s the beginning of season four, our time in the lower divisions seems to have reduced our reputation as a number of the more high profile players are not interested in joining. Despite the millions in the bank I hunt out a number of bargains to provide some strength and depth to the squad. Matthew Tinnion is the regen of Ian Wright.
Asmunder Eyjolfsson is none other than this guy, he wouldn’t join me last season, I couldn’t activate his big club release clause, fortunately now we’ve made it to the top division that isn’t a problem anymore. I’m hoping that year with Viking has helped him develop, my plan is to play him in the centre midfield role, rotating him and Doni.
Rob is back to kick off another week for us here at cm9798.co.uk. It’s the end of the third season in the World League and Sao Paulo are well placed to reach the big time. It’s a question of when, not if…
Welcome to the final third of the season, there is a fair bit to get through, 16 league games and matches in both the League and FA Cup. Our main aim is obviously promotion to the big time, the International Premier League but we will be fielding full strength teams in both cups as we try and make an impression.
Our first match is against South American rivals and Premier League big boys Boca Juniors. A home tie gives us the best chance of making it through but after 15 minutes our hopes are dentend as we go 0-1 down. Christer George gets the equaliser just before half time but we can’t kick on, we edged a close game but a replay is our only reward.
Merry Monday to you! Rob Tait is here to kick the working week off with the latest from Sao Paulo, where we’ll find out the answer to the question “what happens if Robbie Fowler gets crocked?”
We have made a good start to life in Division 1, winning 12 games and leading Bielefeld by five points. Our first opponents of the update are Danish side Brondby who are captained by Australian international Harry Kewell. Things are looking good at half time as we go in 1-0 up, they look even better just after half time when Brondby have Nielsen sent off for a professional foul but we can’t capitalise and their captain gets a goal against the run of play, two points dropped in this match and our first draw of the season and to top it all off Pirri is out for a month.
Rob Tait is here to kick off your week as Sao Paulo prepare to tackle the second tier of the World League. Can Denilson and Fowler pick up where they left off?
It is the beginning of season three, Sao Paulo have smashed through the bottom two divisions of International England with a “slightly” overpowered team and are beginning life in division one, mixinging it with the slightly bigger boys. In order to prepare for life in division one I go a little crazy and sign ten players. Viktor will replace Margas as club captain and centre back, Ian Searle is the reincarnation of Big Nev Southall and the rest speak for themselves. I was trying to sign the Icelandic regeneration superstar however my club reputation must have fallen as I couldn’t activate his big club release clause!
Happy Monday! Our very own Bez, Rob Tait, is here to bring you the end of season two as Sao Paulo continue to smash up Division 2. Promotion is a formality for Rob but the real question is how many will Denilson and Fowler bag?
At the end of part five we had completed 30 league games, we’re 20 points clear at the top of the table and Fowler and Denilson had already scored over 40 league goals each, I’m interested to see how many they can get by the end of the season and also how far we can get in the FA Cup.
Grasshopper of Zurich visit the Morumbi at the start of February and despite Denilson missing a penalty we run out comfortable winners. 75,000 fans are now watching us in league two but the stadium is still only half full!
Neville Southall is player manager of Turkish side Genclerbirligi and there must be a keeper crisis as he is playing himself in goal at 39. Having said that we have 12 shots on target but only score four and he gets a rating of nine. I’m waiting for you to regenerate Big Nev.
Saturday 13th February 1999, FA Cup 5th round, we have not been given the nicest of ties, in fact it’s probably the worst draw we could have got, away to Man Red Utd. I wanted to see how good we are compared to the best and the answer is not great. We are battered from the first minute to the last. Despite all this we go in 1-0 up at half time thanks to our only shot by Robbie Fowler. It looks like we might get a reverse Champ Man until the 57th minute when Brian Laudrup equalises. I’ll take a draw and a home replay, but it all falls apart in the 82nd and 83rd minutes when Bergkamp and Giggs finish us off.
After FA Cup disappointment Dick Last and his Norrkoping side come over to Brazil for a league game. Dickie Last makes up for his poor performance the last time we played them with a MOM display here and it looks like a draw is on the cards till young da Costa pops up in the 83rd minute with a strike out of nowhere to win the game. With that victory we secure a playoff place before the end of February.
Three days later we are at the Municipal de Chaves. I’ve recalled Nevland from loan as he isn’t getting any game time so he gets a spot on the bench. We dominate the game with Fowler getting a first half hat trick taking his goal tally to 50 for the season. Doni keeps getting goals from his CM role and Denilson scores a couple to stay in the hunt for the Sao Paulo golden boot and League two top scorer, just behind Fowler.
Back to Brazil on Saturday and an away game against Bryan Robson’s Corinthians side. They are 2nd in the league and looking for automatic promotion for the second year in a row. Bryan Robson has managed to sign Dejan Savicevic from AC Milan and he is the creative spark that Corinthians need to inflict a rare defeat. Nevland with a consolation goal but too little too late and our second loss of the season. Despite the loss, other results mean that we have secured automatic promotion before March.
A week later Cesena make the journey to Sao Paulo. Pirri is suspended and so Miklos Molnar gets a rare start up front with Fowler. This really is a game of two halves, the first is electric with six goals the second is a dull and goalless affair. Molnar’s hat trick is the difference maker. 132,000 fans flocked to the Morunbi after our automatic promotion last week.
Brescia try to shut up shop against us at the Mario Rigamonti, they almost pull it off too before Fowler pops up in the 72nd minute to get the only goal of the game and a step closer to the division two championship.
Some sad news for young Rio, with promotion already secured the lads get a little over excited in training. Nine months with a broken leg, Rio is a good centre back option who can also play in the hole just in front of the defense. He will be missed.
Promotion hunting Derby are our next opponents, they are looking to secure a playoff spot and set up in a very defensive formation that I believe is called parking the bus. Their plans are spoilt by one of my favourite new discoveries Cristiano Doni and they can’t adjust, it’s another 1-0 win.
The international break brings some good news for young Richie Wright as he wins his first cap in a European Championships qualifier against Cyprus, let’s assume his rating of five is more to do with Cyprus not having any shots that an actual bad performance on his part. Glen does seem to have selected an experimental side for the game.
Richie makes it four clean sheets in a row for him and another 1-0 victory for us when we play Merida away. Molnar getting a game due to Denilson’s suspension gets the only goal of the match.
The win at Merida gives us enough points to win the league. We have been mighty this year and I can’t help it might not be so easy after all the last two seasons have been against the bottom 48 teams in this 172 team experiment. I’m thinking Margas might need replacing as club captain and some more cover in the attacking midfield, but anyway no need to worry about that now, we will just enjoy the victory.
I’ll move quickly now through the final games before a little round up of season two. We finally stop winning 1-0 when LA Galaxy come to town.
We score another five goals against Germinal Ekeren, as we give up with defense now we are champions.
It’s another five goals as Denilson and Fowler trade blows for the golden boot.
Only the three goals against Ferencvaros.
Another clean sheet and both Fowler and Denilson on the score sheet again.
Denilson looks like he is going to pip Fowler at the post and take the top scorer award. Fowler has been less prolific recently.
The final game of the season is a dull 0-0, out only draw of the season. Here are the team stats.
Assists, attacking midfielders da Costa and Pirri making 57 goals between them and Doni with 16 from centre midfield.
Goals, Denilson and Fowler both in the 50’s but Denilson with three more in the end. Doni with 15 goals, why have I never had this guy before? Denilson has scored 100 goals in two seasons.
Average ratings
These are the other teams that had winning seasons, adding some silverware to their trophy cabinets.
English International League
League Cup: Ajax who beat last years winners Boca Juniors 1-0 FA Cup: Man Utd, again a 2:0 win against Dortmund Premier League: Man Utd for the second year in a row Div 1: Coventry who won Division 2 last year head up to the Premier league Div 2: São Paulo Div 3: Steve Bruce’s Velez Sarsfield
Italian International League
Coppa Italia: Barcelona Serie A: Juventus dethrone last years surprise winner Marseille Serie B: Atalanta
Spanish International League
Copa del Rey: Atletico a 1-0 win over PSG Primera Division: Real Madrid for the second year in a row Segunda Division: Valladolid
International (European) Trophies
UEFA Cup: Atletico with a 2-1 win over Bayern, Bayern’s strike force of Dublin and Big Dunc just couldn’t do the business. Cup Winners Cup: Lazio with a 2-1 win against Spanish side Salamanca who now play their football in Germany, a finalist outside of the big three leagues. Champions League: Real Madrid again, this time a 2-1 win against Man Utd
Man Utd and Real Madrid seem to be the dominant forces on the World Leagues scene over the past two years, makes my 1-3 loss in the FA Cup 5th round feel more acceptable. I’m off to the close season to try and strengthen a little before we try and do a Coventry.
The games come thick and fast on the run into Christmas, something that is not helped by the fact we are competing in four competitions. The purchase of Fowler at the beginning of the season was the right thing to do, and though I feel bad for last year’s hero Kosta-D I remind myself there is no time for sentimentality in football.
Germinal Ekeren arrive in Sao Paulo for the Saturday game and despite the game being even, the score line is heavily in our favour. Richard Wright is growing in stature with every game and gets MOM for making five saves and keeping a clean sheet.
Happy Monday. Rob is here with the beginning of a second season for Sao Paulo where the chairman appears to be some sort of sugar Daddy…
Life in the second division begins with the welcome boost of a cash injection to write off the £11 million debt, I’m not sure where the money comes from and I don’t really care, ask no questions, hear no lies and all that.
Cash has always burnt a hole in my pocket, having said that 49 goal hero Kosta-D is the wrong side of 30 and Molnar hasn’t had enough games to prove he can take his place. I consider this signing quite a coup for a team in the third tier and also a bit of a bargain.
It’s the final push now to the end of the season, there are 18 league games left to play and we are in the area semi final of the Auto Windscreen Shield, a trophy that the whole of Sao Paulo is hoping we can win for the first time. Red Star are our first opponents and they may be even more ill disciplined than we are. The front two of Kosta-D and Denilson are on song and we are even getting attendances over the 40,000 mark, not bad for a third division side.
