Fluminense Crowned 2010 Brasileirão Champions

Fluminense were crowned champions of the 2010 Campeonato Brasileiro on Sunday evening, after seeing off Guarani 1-0 at the Engenhão. The title is the Tricolor's first league win since 1984, and only their third since coming into existence in 1902. The success is also another feather in the cap of coach Muricy Ramalho, who now has four national titles to his name. In truth, Flu have limped over the finish line in recent weeks, aided by a schedule which has seen them play three demotivated sides in the final rounds. This, though, shouldn't take too much away from the club's achievement. Fluminense were on the verge of relegation just twelve months ago, saved by Marquinhos' goal on the final day. One year, a few signings, and a wise managerial appointment later, they are at the summit of the Brazilian game.

Command and Conca; Flu's inspirational captain soaks up the applause.

Fluminense 1-0 Guarani
As fans queued around the clock during the week for Flu's final game, the expectant atmosphere was tainted with mild disappointment. The club's biggest match (and more importantly, biggest party) in recent history took place at Botafogo's Engenhão stadium, rather than at the Maracanã, Fluminense's spiritual home. By matchday, however, such reservations had been firmly buried, as the fans of the Tricolor joyfully colonised their temporary home. An enormous mosaico (a picture created by thousands of individual banners) filled the stadium with white, green, and maroon, and was adorned with the message "JUNTOS PELO TRI" (together for our third national title). This was an impressive display of support for a club which has been starved of domestic success in recent years.

Tricolor fans celebrate a third national title.

Muricy Ramalho's side were without the injured Deco, but forwards Emerson (lovingly known as 'Sheik' following a spell in the middle east) and Fred, and talisman Darío Conca (who has started every Série A game for the club in 2010) were all present and correct. Guarani...well nobody really cared about Guarani; already relegated, the Bugre were merely the straw man forced to stand in the path of history. The game, in truth, was a disappointment; Fluminense predictably dominated possession, but created precious few chances. Those that came in the first period were promptly squandered by Fred. The performance, though, was understandably of secondary importance; the crowd were merely waiting for the inevitable to occur.

Sheik, rattle, and roll; Emerson celebrates with Washington, Fred, and Conca.

The moment arrived just after half time. Carlinhos' cross from the left ricocheted off Washington and a Guarani defender, and fell at the feet of Emerson. The striker poked out his left leg, doing just enough to divert the ball below his namesake in the Guarani goal. Cue a wild outpouring of emotion in the stadium, and an enormous pile-up of Flu players on the pitch. At that point, a bet on the final score being 1-0 would have been the safest wager in history (if only I was a betting man...); Muricy duly shut up shop, replacing Fred with defensive midfielder Fernando Bob, and howling cautionary instructions at his players from the touchline. The game, hardly a classic to begin with, became almost unbearably dull; the clock in the corner of the screen became the sole point of interest.

Flu coach Muricy Ramalho salutes his side's fans in the Engenhão.

When Carlos Simon blew the final whistle (the last act of his distinguished refereeing career, incidentally), the stadium erupted. A throng of journalists, who had already been interviewing Emerson before the final whistle, swarmed around the jubilant Muricy Ramalho. His reaction, though, was drowned out by the songs and cheers of the crowd; this was a historic day, 26 years in the making. As captain Conca (who was elected the Série A player of the year on Monday) lifted the Brasileirão trophy, everyone involved with the Tricolor must have looked back at the past twelve months with a vague sense of disbelief. Whatever the next couple of years brings, Fluzão's recent turnaround in fortunes will live long in the memory. Parabéns, Fluminense; campeão Brasileiro de 2010!

Gameweek 38 Round-up
Cruzeiro finished their campaign on a high, overcoming Palmeiras to leapfrog Corinthians into second place. This means that the Raposa will not have to go through a qualifying round to qualify for next season's Libertadores. A sensational run and cross from Patrik allowed Rivaldo (not that one) to put Palmeiras ahead, but strikes from Henrique and the gloriously-named Wallyson gave Cuca's men the points. Corinthians, meanwhile, fluffed their final lines of the season, drawing against a Goiás missing many regular starters. Felipe Amorim coolly gave Goiás the lead following a poor clearance from Corinthians 'keeper Júlio César, before Dentinho rounded off a slick move to equalise. The Timão, however, could not find a winner, and finish in third. The immanent departures of Elias and Jucilei could signal the start of a transitional period for the Pacaembu club.

At the Olímpico, Grêmio brushed Botafogo aside to claim fourth spot. André Lima bagged the opener against his former employers, reacting quickly after Jéfferson parried Jonas' shot. Jonas then got in on the act himself, drilling home a low shot from outside the area. It was the striker's 23rd of the campaign, a figure which made him the competition's artilheiro by some distance. The victory was sealed in the second period, when Douglas finished following a slick one-two with André Lima. The Tricolor will now hope for a favour from Independiente; if Goiás win the Copa Sul-americana, Grêmio will be denied their place in next season's Libertadores.

Série A's top scorer Jonas celebrates his goal.

Atlético Paranaense ended their impressive season with a tight win Avaí at the Arena da Baixada. Paulo Baier scored the only goal of the game, nodding home Márcio Azevedo's superb left-wing cross. Vasco also finished on a high note, beating Ceará 2-0 thanks to Dédé's header and Bruno Paulo's deflected effort. Santos and Flamengo, meanwhile, completely cancelled each other out, playing out a dull goalless draw.

Due to travel arrangements for their upcoming appearance at the Club World Cup, Internacional played their final game on Wednesay. The Colorado faced Grêmio Prudente, and strolled to a convincing 3-0 victory. Alecsandro headed home a typically accurate Kléber cross to give Inter the lead, before Tinga chested (!) home to round off a devastating attack. Rising star Giuliano completed the scoring the second half, smashing home a stunning first-time volley from distance.

São Paulo also concluded their campaign in some style, storming to a 4-0 win over Dorival Júnior's Atlético Mineiro side. Former Shakhtar Donetsk player Ilsinho scored the opener; drilling home a low finish when the referee brilliantly let play continue after a foul. The impressive youngster Lucas rifled home the second, before Marlos made it three with a delightful curling effort. Renato Silva's late header would be the final meaningful action of the game. Vitória met Atlético-GO at the Ressacada, needing a win to secure survival at their opponents expense. In a predictable nervy game, Atlético just did enough, battling to a goalless draw. Try as they might, Vitória could not manage the single goal they needed, and will have to compete in Série B next term.

So there we have it. As ever. it's been an exciting Brasileirão season, with the title and relegation battles going down to the wire. 380 games, and 978 goals later (that's an average of 2.57 per game), there's one thing we know for sure; things are never predictable in Brazil. At the bottom of the table, Vitória, Guarani, Goiás, and Grêmio Prudente are relegated, and will be replaced by Coritiba, Fugueirense, Bahia, and América-MG. There are Libertadores places for Fluminense, Cruzeiro, Corinthians, Internacional (as reigning champions), Santos (as Copa do Brasil winners), and one of Grêmio and Goiás. The biggest prize of all, however, goes to Fluminense, the 2010 Brasileirão champions.

Thanks to all who have followed SKP (here and on Twitter) over the course of the season, it's been a fun ride. There's no rest for the wicked, however; the Club World Cup starts later this month, and the 2011 state championships will be kicking off before you can say "largely meaningless, ridiculously unbalanced, glorified pre-season tournament." No complaints from me, though; there's always the next big star or a returning hero (Elano, anyone?) to look out for.

Results; Grêmio Prudente 0-3 Internacional, São Paulo 4-0 Atlético-MG, Goiás 1-1 Corinthians, Cruzeiro 2-1 Palmeiras, Fluminense 1-0 Guarani, Santos 0-0 Flamengo, Vitória 0-0 Atlético-GO, Grêmio 3-0 Botafogo, Vasco 2-0 Ceará, Atlético-PR 1-0 Avaí.

(Photo credits; (1) Paulo Sergio, (2) Júlio César Guimarães, (3) Agência Photocâmera, (4) Folhapress, (5) Ricardo Rimoli.

Timão Send Mano Off With a Win; Galo Hold Avaí

Mano Menezes was given an emotional send-off at the Pacaembu, watching his team beat Guarani to reclaim the leadership of the Brasileirão. Elsewhere, Atlético-MG scrapped to a point against in-form Avaí, and Fluminense were held by Botafogo in the clássico Carioca.

Corinthians 3-1 Guarani
A comfortable win for Corinthians was a fitting end to Mano Menezes' impressive spell with the São Paulo giants. After dragging the club from the depths of Série B, he leaves with the Timão sitting pretty at the top of the Brazilian league system, with plenty to be hopeful about; not least the future of Bruno César, who was the architect of this win, and who has rapidly developed into one of the league's best players.

The Corinthians players evidently got hold of their scripts early; within the first min, the home side went ahead. Bruno César's corner was flicked on at the near post by captain William, and Jorge Henrique, one of the most consistent performers during Menezes' reign, gleefully headed home. If the crowd were hoping for a goalfest, however, they were to be disappointed; the Timão drifted through the rest of the opening period, and looked set to drop two points when Guarani levelled in the second. Mazola held off a half-hearted Roberto Carlos challenge before slotting sweetly past Júlio César in the Corinthians goal.

Menezes takes up his place on the Pacaembu bench for the final time.

The last word(s), however, would go to Bruno César. With ten minutes remaining, the playmaker restored the jovial atmosphere in the stadium, hitting a fabulous free-kick that gave Bugre 'keeper Douglas no chance. Two quickly became three; Roberto Carlos drifted down the left, before supplying a dangerous cross that Bruno César headed home at the far post. At the final whistle, Menezes was lifted aloft by his squad, and widely cheered by the home crowd; it was a touching farewell to a man who has won over all of his doubters in recent months.

Avaí 0-0 Atlético-MG
A brief scan of Atlético Mineiro's squad makes you wonder how on earth they could be in the relegation zone after eleven games. A side that boasts Diego Tardelli, Diego Souza, Daniel Carvalho, and Ricardinho really ought to be in the upper reaches of the Campeonato Brasileiro, rather than engaged in a relegation scrap. For one reason or another, though, Vanderlei Luxemburgo's men went into Saturday's game at the Ressacada having won just 3 points in the previous 8 games. A 0-0 draw, then, may turn out to be a good result for the Galo, especially given the nature of the game.

I can summarise the game in one question; "how did Avaí not win this?!" The home side were dominant in the first half, and created countless opportunities. With the skilful duo of Caio and Robinho behind striker Roberto, the Leão da Ilha attacked with great menace were only let down by some shoddy finishing. Robinho and Caio both went close, but the chief culprit was left-back Eltinho, who contrived to drill wide from 4 yards with the goal at his mercy. Atlético almost made them pay when Diego Souza brought a fine save from Renan.

The second period was more balanced, but Avaí will feel they should have profitted from some indiscipline which left the Galo with only nine players at the final whistle. Daniel Carvalho was dismissed for a lunging challenge on Caio; a correct decisions despite the protests from the former CSKA Moscow man. Substitute Neto Berola also saw red in the dying minutes, but this time the decision was a harsh one; the striker's challenge on Marcos was more clumsy than aggressive. Atlético, though, held on for a point, and their first clean sheet of the season.

Gameweek 11 Round-up
Vasco stormed out of the bottom four on Saturday evening with a 2-0 win over Atlético-GO. Nilton opened the scoring for the São Januário team with a thumping effort from distance, before Fumagalli smashed in a second after the break. Fernando Prass saved Robston's penalty late on to secure all three points for the Gigante. Saturday's other game saw Grêmio Prudente draw 0-0 with Vitória.

Fumagalli (right) soaks up the applause after his goal.

With Muricy Ramalho still at the helm, and with Juliano Belletti and Emerson making their debuts, Fluminense looked a good bet to beat Botafogo in Sunday's Clássico Vovô. The Alvinegro, though, had other ideas, and claimed a point in a heated game at the Engenhão. Emerson gave Flu the lead, running onto Fred's pass after Jefferson failed to clear his lines with a goal-kick. Botafogo equalised thanks to Edno's header, and the game finished with 19 men after Somália, Danny Morais, and Thiaguinho saw red. A rocket from striker Taison condemned Flamengo to a 1-0 loss to Internacional at the Beria-Rio. Despite resting players in anticipation of Wednesday's Libertadores semi-final against São Paulo, the Colorado were too strong for Fla, and maintain their place in the top four.

São Paulo warmed up for that semi-final in less than ideal fashion, falling to a third straight loss against Santos. With players from both sides rested (Santos play the first leg of the Copa do Brasil final on Wednesday), it took an own-goal by Tricolor defender Renato Silva to separate the sides. Fellow São Paulo heavyweights Palmeiras travelled to the North of Brazil to face Ceará, and came home with a point following a goalless draw.

Despite being second best for much of the game, Cruzeiro twice came from behind to draw 2-2 with Grêmio at the Arena do Jacaré. The team from Porto Alegre took the lead through Borges' header, and later grabbed a second thanks to Jonas' wicked free-kick. The Raposa, though, levelled on each occasion thanks to a brace of headers from big centre-back Henrique. Atlético Paranaense move up to midtable after picking up their second consecutive win, against Goiás at the Serra Dourada. Manoel headed the Furacão ahead on the half-hour mark, before Maikon Leite sealed the victory with a low drive in the second half.

(Photo credits; (1) Joel Silva/Folhapress, (2) Bruno de Lima.)