Game of the Week: Atlético Goianiense 3×0 São Paulo

So far in this Game of the Week feature, I have only really focussed on big clubs. This week, for a change, I decided to look away from the giants of Rio and São Paulo, and towards one of the league’s most intriguing underdogs.

Atlético Goianiense’s presence in Brazil’s top flight is rather bewildering when you consider that they were disputing the Série C in 2008 – Brazil’s third tier. However it is all the more mind-blowing when you consider that only six years ago in 2005, Atlético weren’t even playing in a national league, instead they were contesting the second division in Goiânia’s state championships.

Game of the Week: Botafogo 2×2 São Paulo

Good afternoon and welcome to the all-new Game of the Week feature on I Like Football Me. The premise is simple, I take a close look at a top-level match from the week passed and provide some of my own analysis. This time it is a game from the Campeonato Brasileiro but who knows, in future I may take a look at one in the Argentine Primera, or a midweek Copa Libertadores clash, or even a good old international match. Now, this may become a regular once a week feature, it may not, it depends on how it is received. So if you like it/don’t like it or if you have any suggestions, leave a comment at the bottom.

“Football is a game of two halves”

                                        Countless football-enthusiastic pedants since 1980

It is one of the most excruciatingly overused football clichés available, but its relevance has never ringed truer than it did on Sunday afternoon at the Engenhão. A 2×2 draw between two exciting and energetic sides like Botafogo and São Paulo sounds like a real classic spectacle, end-to-end, and with the momentum to-ing and fro-ing constantly throughout the ninety minutes. In fact, what we got was two distinct forty-five-minute periods of startlingly one-sided football.