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Wednesday 19 October 2016

Diary of an unlikely hero: Meet Botafogo cult favourite Camilo, the best player in Brazil at the moment

He doesn't look like a hero. He's short, stumpy, has a scrunched-up face and the kind of haircut that should have been left in the last millennium.

He doesn't sound like a star. He's 30 and has never played for his country. His CV is that of a ten-a-penny Brazilian journeyman, elevated above the mundane only by spells in China and Saudi Arabia. They didn't go very well. He has all the global cachet of the salt shaker in your cupboard.


Appearances can be deceiving, though, for this is the best player in Brazil at the moment. Meet Fernando Camilo Farias (Camilo to his friends),  full-time cult figure and the creative force behind Botafogo's unlikely ascent to the upper echelons of the Campeonato Brasileiro.

Read the rest of this piece on the WhoScored website.

Tuesday 18 October 2016

Ronaldo, Romário and Denílson run riot at the airport: Nike's classic Brazil advert in excruciating detail

For football fans of a certain generation, adverts – sports-related or otherwise – will never, ever reach the heights achieved by Nike's airport spot, which aired before the 1998 World Cup.

There was Ronaldo, the star of the moment. There was Romário, ageing but still cool as hell. There was Denílson, a man who thought nothing of doing, oh, 34 consecutive stepovers during a match. There were flicks, tricks and moments of humour.


But if you're anything like me, you probably don't recall all of the little touches that further elevate the ad. But fear not! Help is at hand.

Join me on this Proustian rollercoaster ride on the Unibet blog.