The 2nd leg of the Copa Do Brasil Final in Porto Alegre was an entertaining match that featured goals, a near fight, and red cards. Corinthians entered the match with a 2-0 lead from the 1st leg and did not come out defensively remembering what happened in the '08 Final.

The goals started in the 20th minute when Jorge Henrique headed in a André Santos cross to give Corinthians the 1-0 lead and a 3-0 aggregate advantage. In the 28th minute, left back André Santos ended a skillful passing sequence by roofing a shot past Inter keeper Lauro. André Santos was the starting left back in Brazil's run to their 3rd Confederations Cup title and his goal would seal Corinthians' 3rd Copa Do Brasil trophy.

The 4-0 aggregate was too much for Inter to come back from but O Colorado Gaucho fought back with 2 goals from Alecsandro in the 70th and 75th minutes to finalize the 2-2 second leg scoreline. Right after Alecsandro's 2nd goal, tempers boiled over when Inter midfielder, Andres D'Alessandro with fists drawn chased Corinthians defender William ready to throw down. While no punches were thrown between the two teams it delayed the match and eventually D'Alessandro was red carded along with Corinthians midfielder, Elias.

Corinthians defeated Internacional 4-2 on aggregate to claim the trophy and a place in the group stage of the 2010 Copa Libertadores. Corinthians have now completed a domestic double adding the Copa Do Brasil trophy to the Paulista State title they won in May.

Internacional 2 - 2 Corinthians
INT: Alecsandro (70' & 75')
COR: Jorge Henrique (20') & André Santos (28')
Corinthians wins Copa Do Brasil 4-2 on aggregate.

Corinthians Wins '09 Copa Do Brasil

Its that time once again to give praise to the football team that caught our attention more than any other squad. To let the world know that MAF recognizes their accomplishments. The Mad About Fútbol Team Of The Week played matches and/or made headlines during the calendar week of June 15-21.

The winner is:

SPORT CLUB CORINTHIANS PAULISTA (BRA)

The team known as Timão had an eventful week beginning with their 2-0 home win in the 1st leg of the Copa Do Brazil final. Corinthians, appearing in the Copa final for the 2nd consecutive year, got goals by Jorge Henrique and O Fenômeno, Ronaldo. Corinthians will take the 2 goal edge into to Porto Alegre as their opponents Internacional look to deny Corinthians its 3rd Copa Do Brazil title. The Paulista State Champions finished the week with a 3-1 home victory over state rivals, São Paulo FC. 3 different goal scorers helped Corinthians to the victory and a 5th place position in the standings. Two wins against two of the top clubs in Brazil is quite a feat and worthy of the TOW. Therefore, Sport Club Corinthians Paulista wins the Mad About Fútbol Team Of The Week.

2nd place = Côte d'Ivoire National Team (CIV)

Les Éléphants get 2nd place for their massive 3-2 road win against Burkina Faso. The Group E match was a clash for 1st place in the group with both teams having perfect records entering the match. An own goal by Burkina Faso defender Mamadou Tall and a 70th minute goal by Chelsea striker Didier Drogba gave Côte d'Ivoire the win and top spot in the group. Les Éléphants are in excellent position to make their 2nd consecutive World Cup.

3rd place = Mali National Team (MLI)

Les Aigles earned their 1st win of the group stage of African qualifying with a 3-1 win against Benin. Sevilla striker Frédéric Kanouté scored the victory sealing goal as Mali earned a vital 3 points. Mali has taken an important first step in possibly catching 1st place Ghana in Group D.

There it is the Mad About Fútbol Team Of The Week. Let us know what you think.

MAF Team Of The Week #16: June 15-21

The first leg of the 2009 Copa Do Brasil Final featured two teams going for a domestic double. The 2009 Paulista State Champion - Corinthians against the 2009 Gaucho State Champions - Internacional.

An electric crowd in São Paulo at the Estadio Pacaembu watched O Timão defeat Internacional 2-0 in the 1st leg of the Copa Final. The scoring opened in the 26th minute when Marcelo Oliveira got deep into the left side of the box and centered to Jorge Henrique who roofed the ball past Internacional keeper Lauro.

Corinthians extended their advantage to 2 goals in the 53rd minute when O Fenômeno took a pass down the right side, made his way into the box, cut to the middle beating his marker and tucked in a low left footed shot that beat Lauro at the near post. It was Ronaldo's 3rd goal of the tournament.

Corinthians takes a 2-0 edge into the 2nd leg in Porto Alegre at Inter's Estadio Beira-Rio. O Colorado Gaucho have won all 5 of their '09 Copa Do Brasil matches at home allowing only 2 goals in those games. Corinthians will be very cautious going into the 2nd leg this time especially after last year when O Timão led Sport Recife 3-1 after the 1st leg and lost the trophy when Sport took down Corinthians 2-0 in the 2nd leg in Recife.

Corinthians will be going for its 3rd Copa Do Brasil title while Internacional will try to win its 2nd trophy. The 2nd leg is set for July 1st with the winner earning a place in the group stage of the 2010 Copa Libertadores.

Corinthians 2 - 0 Internacional
COR: Jorge Henrique (26') & Ronaldo (53')

Corinthians Leads Copa Do Brasil Final

Oh man, I wish I was that ball. That picture gives new meaning to the phrase, "The Beautiful Game." Whatever the case, its that time to give out the Mad About Fútbol Team Of The Week. This week saw the 1st leg of both Champions League & UEFA Cup semifinals as well as the finalization of the Round of 16 of the Copa Libertadores and domestic matches all over the world. This week's TOW made headlines and/or played matches during the calendar week of April 27-May 3. The winner is:

FUTBOL CLUB BARCELONA (ESP)

Barcelona is the Mad About Fútbol Team Of The Week for their 6-2 crushing of Real Madrid on Saturday. Granted their 0-0 draw on Tuesday in their 1st leg Champions League semifinal against Chelsea wasn't impressive, in the biggest game of the season Barca came out and blasted their arch-rival in their arch-rival's house. Blaugrana responded immediately to Real's goals in a game that ended any talk of who is Spain's best team. 2 goals each from Thierry Henry and Lionel Messi in the Spanish SuperClasico massacre. The annihilation was the perfect bounce back from the disappointing CL result. For their 6-2 demolition of Real Madrid in the Santiago Bernabeu, Futbol Club Barcelona is the Mad About Fútbol Team Of The Week.

2nd Place = Sport Club Corinthians Paulista (BRA)

The team known as O Timão finishes 2nd place this week after winning their 26th Paulista Championship. They defeated Santos 4-2 on aggregate with World Cup All-Time Leading Goalscorer Ronaldo leading the way with 2 goals in the 2 leg finals. Corinthians is believed to be the 2nd most supported side in Brazil with Flamengo being number #1. Timão were the 1st team to go undefeated in the Paulista tournament in 37 years.

3rd Place = Club Estudiantes de La Plata (ARG)

The Argentinians get 3rd place for their impressive 3-0 win over Lanus on the road in the Clausura. Estudiantes' performance prevented Lanus from moving into 1st place in the tournament. The men from La Plata are unbeaten in their last 6 Clausura matches and face Libertad of Paraguay in the Round of 16 of the Copa Libertadores.

MAF Team Of The Week #10: April 27 - May 3

Ladies & Gentlemen, Welcome To Mad About Fútbol's new look site. It looks better and contains everything you still love about MAF, we hope you enjoy and continue to visit the site. As for the business at hand of naming a Team Of The Week. It was an eventful week once again in world football with international club tournaments raging on and domestic champions becoming clearer. The TOW played matches and/or made headlines during the calendar week of April 13-19. The winner is:

CHELSEA FOOTBALL CLUB (ENG)

The team also known as The Blues had an amazing week of fine results that would be envied by any club in Europe. Chelsea held off a gritty Liverpool team on Tuesday the 14th in the 2nd leg of their Champions League quarterfinal clash. It was a 4-4 classic with Frank Lampard's 2 late goals sealing Chelsea's place in the semis against Barcelona.

On the Saturday the 18th, Chelsea had to face a red-hot Arsenal squad in the FA Cup semis. The Gunners had also advanced to the Champions League semis & came in riding an amazing 18-game unbeaten streak in the English Premiership. The Blues were not intimidated and defeated Arsenal 2-1 as Didier Drogba continued to display his clutch goal scoring prowess with the game winner in the 84th minute. Chelsea will now face Everton in the FA Cup final.

Two massive cup wins in the span of 4 days, that's what the TOW is all about. Therefore, Chelsea Football Club is the Mad About Fútbol Team Of The Week.

2nd Place: Boyacá Chicó FC (COL)

The team from Tunja defeated Aurora 2-1 in a Group 7 Copa Libertadores match on Thursday the 16th and then defeated Millionarios on the road 1-0 in Colombian Copa Mustang I tournament on Sunday the 19th.

3rd Place: Sport Club Corinthians Paulista (BRA)

On Sunday the 19th, O Timão advanced to final of the Paulista State Championship by defeating Sao Paulo 4-1 on aggregate. In the 2nd leg, former Milan & Real Madrid striker Ronaldo set up the first goal and scored the 2nd to give Corinthians a 2-0 2nd leg win and secure their place in the 2009 Paulistão final versus Santos.

MAF Team Of The Week #8: April 13 - 19