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Brazilian dominance in soccer takes a new complexion. There used to be a time when the Brazilian men's national soccer team were of average size and build. They were small (shorter), fast and skillful. Diminutive in stature but this did not apply to their technical and tactical abilities.

The Brazilian men's national soccer team might appear to line up in some formal positional formation and set up. Once the game starts it is an all positions for everybody on the team. They seem to play a 1 (goalkeeper) -10 (field) as all the players are in constant motion and are able to play off of each other at any time. The team members do however have certain defensive responsibilities and are accountable for their respective areas.

They truely understand "the game" and are ready to be spontaneous as well as volatile.

The Brazilian team seems to make the opponents play catch up and defensively throughout most of the contest.

A goal scoring opportunity can come from any where and any one on the field and at any time.

The only thing that you can predict is that the goalkeeper will not leave the 18 yard box to act as a forward and score some goals.

Ronaldinho has just acquired his second FIFA international player of the year award in a row. Does he deserve it? Most definitely.
He is a pleasure to observe as he sets up most of his team mates to lead his current team FC Barcelona to the top of the Spanish "La Liga".

Now add the goalkeeper Dida who has been a major part of his team's successes, in the back and Adriano up front who has seemed to be totally unstoppable goal scoring machine on the forward line for the Italian "Serie A", Roberto Carlos on the left where he still has a command on the free kicks, and Ronaldo the task master who often and still shows flashes of brilliance in the mix and you have a fortress of power and abilities few can match.

I think the ball got rolling with the the introduction of Junior Biano as a defenseman in 1998. With the exception of France his presence was a dominant deterant for other teams.
The latest big man to join him is Lucio

Brazil found mass to be a compliment to all their other strengths. It would appear that they have continued to build from there. The average weight of their national team has increased without diminishing their agility and manouverability. Although not a necessity, muscle mass has been a factor in other team sports. This might be true in modern Futbol as speed has become an over-riding factor to the game in the last 15 years.Most of the elite players are also playing in the Italian and Spanish premier leagues and on similar if not the same teams. They are learning from each other by being rivals and combats as well as compatriots.

Here are the possible candidates for the next world cup roster for Brazil.

Goalkeepers:

DIDA,
JLIO CSAR

Defenders:

CAFU,
CICINHO,
EDMLSON,
GILBERTO Melo,
JUAN,
LCIO,
ROBERTO CARLOS da Silva,
Jos Vtor ROQUE JNIOR

Midfielders:

EMERSON Ferreira,
GILBERTO Silva,
JUNINHO Pernambucano,
KAKA',
RENATO,
Z ROBERTO,

Forwards:

ADRIANO,
Jlio BAPTISTA,
Ricardo OLIVEIRA,
ROBINHO,
RONALDO,
RONALDINHO Gacho,

Very impressive roster as was the one in 1998.

A team can only be as good as it is a team and is coached as a team.
A team can only be good if all the members play for the team and with the team.

It does not matter how many stars you have and how big the egos or the payroll is either.

Win as a team and lose as a team. play as individuals and the team will lose. I say this not because outstanding players could change the outcome of games, but because other teams and players are more sophisticated and more knowledgable now than ever before. The opposition can read this and contain the key players rendering the rest of the team less potent.

// posted by 58378 @ 6:47 PM 0 comments

Having just been back from a week-long vacation at walt Disney World near Orlando, and returned with more than we expected. My wife and I did all the wdw things and had a Saturday left over to leisurely relax. That is until we visited a kiosk on one of the properties that talked about the DVC or Disney vacation Clubs. We arranged for a one hour tour of Saratoga springs, a timeshare on the lake across from Downtown Disney. We had no intension of buying anything, but we did have some time to kill.

Now, first a brief word about our situation. We are semi-retired and run a web-based business out of the home. I have stock investments and three grown children, one still in college. We have seen other timeshares and agreed they are usually not good investments. Typically, they have many restrictions, are over-priced and more often than not offer properties in places you might never visit. For example, they are miles away from the beaches or main towns. Anyway, we did the tour out of morbid curiosity and the fact that it was a Disney resort.

They sent a van to our resort and drove us over to the sprawling 1000 room resort. Once we arrived, we were pleasantly surprised. The massive project composed of three-story buildings was very well designed. There were several pools, restaurants, fitness center and spa and buses and a ferry to the rest of walt Disney World. Once we finished the tour, the representative went over the details.

The timeshare system is simple. You buy a bunch of points beginning at 150 for around $15,000, give or take a bit. Then you get a brochure of properties that are grouped by collections. The best value and most flexible choices are those in Florida and one in Hilton Head, SC. Based on the time of year and size of room, you could get anywhere from a few days to a few weeks on the property. Disney also partners with a company called Interval International to add foreign destinations to the plan. There are restrictions like a minimum of a full week and other rules for those pieces of real estate. But Disney also provides complete travel packages like escorted tours and of course, their cruise line.

So what did we decide? Well, the most endearing feature is that it is a Disney timeshare, which means they do have high standards. Even the partners must adhere to the Disney tradition of excellence. But the downsides would be familiar to most timeshare buyers. There is an annual maintenance fee that begins around $850 after your have paid the $15,000, plus closing costs. That fee can go up every year and does, even if it is as little as 5%. Then there is a booking fee from $75 to $95 for every arrangement. If you book 5 separate, 2-day stays, you would pay 5 separate booking fees.

The good news is that there are no blackout dates but you need to book far enough in advance to secure the room at the property of your choice. Another plus is that you use one agent and one phone number for all arrangements, even for restaurant and transportation reservations. The locations for most of the timeshares are good; some are four and five star resorts, but those use the most points, of course. Also, the more popular times of year require more points as well. Okay, so whats the bottom line?

You could do worse than buy a Disney timeshare. If you plan to go to Disney world on a regular basis, then this is for you. There are numerous member discounts from park fees to souvenirs and restaurants. The Saratoga springs timeshare lasts 47 years. You can pass that onto your children, without any penalties. Or have them use the points while your still around. Its all up to you. There are also DVC timeshare re-sales available at a lower cost, but I cant endorse them because they are not connected to Disney. Do your own research online. But the discussion forums Ive visited have nothing but praise for DVC and all the various properties. If you have ever considered a timeshare but were as skeptical as us, look into DVC. We are thinking of buying three, one for each child and their future children. They could still be using it 47 years from now and they would have already been paid for. And who doesnt love a Disney vacation?

Jeffrey Hauser was a sales consultant for the Bell System Yellow Pages for nearly 25 years. He graduated from Pratt Institute with a BFA in advertising and has a Master's Degree in teaching. He had his own advertising agency in Scottsdale, Arizona and ran a consulting and design firm, ABC advertising. He has authored 6 books and a novel, "Pursuit of the Phoenix." His latest book is, "Inside the Yellow Pages" which can be seen at his website, http://www.poweradbook.com Currently, he is the Marketing Director for http://www.thenurseschoice.com a Health Information and Doctor Referral site.

// posted by 58378 @ 8:06 AM 0 comments