October 7: Gilberto’s 30th birthday
Today (Saturday) Gilberto is 30 years old. He is in Kuwait City, playing for Brazil against Kuwait tonight. Everybody at Invisiblewall.net (ie. me) wishes Gilberto a very happy thirtieth birthday, and we hope that Robinho plays him happy birthday on the guitar.
Taken from the excellent site www.Sambafoot.com, this story announces Dunga’s team selection for Brazil’s upcoming friendlies. Click here for the original story.
Written by Nicholas Savage , 22.09 16h42
Dunga yesterday announced his squad for Brazil’s upcoming friendlies. Against Kuwait on October 7th, with confirmation of the Ecuador game to follow.Dunga has taken this opportunity tohave a look at Goalkeeper Helton,Daniel Alves, Adriano Correia and midfielder Lucas who have all received first time call ups.
Goalkeepers:
Gomes (PSV Eindhoven)
Helton (FC Porto)Wingers :
Adriano (FC Séville)
Daniel Alves (FC Séville)
Maicon (Inter Milan)
Marcelo (Fluminense-RJ)Central Defenders :
Alex (PSV Eindhoven)
Juan (Bayer Leverkusen)
Lúcio (Bayern de Münich)
Luisão (Benfica)Midfielders :
Dudu Cearense (CSKA Moscow)
EdmÃlson (FC Barcelona)
Elano (Shakhtar Donetsk)
Gilberto Silva (Arsenal)
Kaká (AC Milan)
Lucas (Grêmio)
Ronaldinho (FC Barcelona)Attackers :
Daniel Carvalho (CSKA Moscow)
Fred (Lyon)
Rafael Sobis (Real Bétis)
Robinho (Real Madrid)
Vágner Love (CSKA Moscow)To make way for the new players Dunga dropped : Fábio, Cicinho, Gilberto and Júlio Baptista.
Ronaldo remains unfit for selection and Adriano is out of favour with the Brazil coach.
Please don’t get injured, Bert. Amen.
This was taken from the Independant Online today:
After last Tuesday’s game, the equally callow Cesc Fabregas was to be heard praising the club’s careful grooming in his own case, and Gilberto, who captained the team early in the season, was keen to stress the importance of not overburdening Walcott with too much football or expectation.
“Arsène has been very careful with him, not put a lot of pressure on him, because he’s a young boy,” he said. “If you put a lot of pressure on him it’s not going to be good for him. I think he can handle it. But he’s only 17, he needs time to improve and to grow. The more he trains with us and plays he will grow in confidence and very soon he will be ready to start a game and play confidently like he does in training. He looks very good in training and I think you’ve even seen at times when he plays for us, he’s very confident when he gets the ball. Myself and other experienced players and Arsène talk to him a lot, and he listens to what we say. He’s a very good player and a nice guy.”
Those warnings about great expectations notwithstanding, those who work with Walcott every day have more reason than most to acknowledge his potential and Gilberto admits: “I think he can be one of the greatest players in England.” Having been to two World Cups (and won one of them), the amiable Brazilian also believes that Walcott’s experience in Germany last summer can only help him.
“It was good for him, at his age, to have the opportunity to join a squad in the World Cup. He was there. He doesn’t need to feel down because he didn’t play, the only thing he needs to have in his mind now is that he was there because he has the quality to play in the England team.”
So far, there has been only one chance to prove it, as a substitute against Hungary last May. Friendlies in November or Feb-ruary could offer the next one.
Gilberto really likes Walcott; this is the third in a series of Theo-praising interviews.
Bert played in the Charlton match yesterday, Arsenal won it 2-1 thanks to a double-goal whammy from Gilberto. (Actually it was Robin van Persie).
Gilberto and Song on standby for defensive job at Charlton
Arsène Wenger may have to draft in an emergency centre half at Charlton on Saturday if William Gallas and Johan Djourou fail to recover from injuries.
The pair picked up knocks at either end of the 2-0 win over Porto on Tuesday. Djourou aggravated a previous foot problem in the warm-up while Gallas damaged his hamstring in injury time. Both face scans in the next couple of days.
With Philippe Senderos still absent, Wenger admitted he may have to employ midfielders Alex Song or Gilberto in an unfamiliar role.
“Neither Gallas nor Djourou are fit at the moment,†the manager told Arsenal TV Online on Thursday afternoon. “Djourou will have a test tomorrow. Gallas is having a scan today and that will decide whether he participates in the Charlton game. Personally I am very pessimistic.
“We are short of central defenders at the moment because Philippe Senderos is still out. But Alex Song can fill in. He has played in central defence. Gilberto can play there too so we will just have to see.â€
Arsenal TV Online subscribers will be able to see the full interview with Wenger on Friday morning. In it the manager discusses: the victory over Porto, why Arsenal’s form has improved in the past month, how he will celebrate his 10 years at Arsenal, Charlton’s poor start and the absence of Alan Curbishley.
Gilberto misses penalty, but Arsenal go on to win
In Thierry’s absence, Gilberto captiained Arsenal to a win over Manchester United. Emanuel Adebayor scored the winner late on to get Arsenal the three well needed points.
After Gilberto’s pre-match words of “Manchester United will kill us if we don’t attack them first” (read that story here), it was vital that Arsenal attacked early.
Gilberto has become a much more attacking player this season. He is getting into the opposition box a lot more, and as a result, he’s getting a lot more chances. He’s also taking penalties – which as captain, he has to volunteer to do.
Here is what a Manchester United fan said about Gilberto’s performance today!
I thought Gilberto was fucking mint for you guys today. Highlighted exactly what we are missing in midfield. Totally protected your back 4, mopped up any stray balls and intercepted when ever we tried to create. When you have someone like that protecting the defence then you have a chance anywhere. Different class. MOM for me!
Man of the match for me too.
Well done Bert! (Even though you missed the pen)
From Tribalfootball.com:
Arsenal midfielder Gilberto Silva has hit out at former teammate Ashley Cole’s claims they lack fighting spirit.
The Chelsea fullback made the comments in his new book, My Defence, but Gilberto rapped: “If Ashley did say those things, it is completely wrong.
“He knows that inside of him. He knows the atmosphere at Arsenal has always been good. We need to show how strong we are all the time and what a great spirit we have in the group.”
Funny, I didn’t know Gilberto was a rapper.
Gilberto: Captain, Enforcer, Scorer
Yesterday (Wednesday) was a great night in Gilberto’s Arsenal career.
In Thierry Henry’s absence, Gilberto was captain. Gilberto scored a penalty in the 11th minute, and led Arsenal to a 2-1 win over Hamburg. Gilberto had a great game.
Here is the video of his goal:
Here is some skill he did:
How about that?
Taken from icons.com:
Silva: Arsenal have to think big in Europe
Gilberto Silva says why he thinks Arsenal’s Champions League game against Hamburg could be a dangerous mission.
To be honest, I know practically nothing about Hamburg, but German teams are always tricky opponents. They are a bit like the English sides; they are physically strong, they have a remarkable fighting spirit and lots of determination. You wouldn’t want to concede a goal against the Germans because they know how to defend. That makes our mission in Hamburg even more dangerous than normal.
It’s fair to say that Arsenal don’t have a good record in Germany. The thing with the Germans at home is that they keep their discipline as if they are playing away. But then again, every team in the Champions League gives you a hard time at home.
We all know how important Sol Campbell and Ashley Cole were for the club and there is no doubt that Arsenal have lost experience and quality with their departures – but that’s life in football and we just have to go on without them. I respect players’ decisions to leave. They moved somewhere else because it was better for them.
On the positive side, William Gallas’ arrival was extremely important, especially in terms of the experience he brings. In past seasons we’ve let our well-travelled guys leave and not replaced them. This time we have.
I think William has everything he needs to be a fantastic signing for us. He’s been a great player for Chelsea and France and I don’t see why he and Kolo Toure can’t form a very reliable partnership in our defence this season.
In the Cole-Gallas deal, both Arsenal and Chelsea ended up with quality players. One could say that Gallas is a more versatile player because he can also play as full-back, but I don’t see any sense in comparing the two players. They are both good people and the important thing is that both of them seem happy at their new clubs.
I must admit that when I read the statements put out by Chelsea about William, I thought the entire thing sounded very strange. It seemed as if Chelsea didn’t really want William to go and ended up not treating him with the respect he deserved. He helped their club win two Premiership titles and that should have been taken into consideration. I don’t really believe a professional player would threaten to score an own goal.
Our start to the season hasn’t been great but much of that is because we are just not killing our opponents. We are playing reasonably well, we are having more possession and creating chances, but we end up not scoring. Meanwhile, other teams are taking their chances. As we say in Brazil, if we decide to stab the jaguar, we’ve got to twist the knife as well!
Thierry Henry has plenty of time to score his 50th European goal, but it would be great if he scores it against Hamburg and we start our Champions League campaign in style. That’s important for us because last year, Arsenal did well from the very start and that possibly made all the difference.
Arsenal have to think big this season, but keep our feet on the ground. Let’s play again like a team, because that was the reason we got so close to the trophy last season. We must all pull together.
Our group is not easy, though. In the past Porto have shown the world how favouritism counts for nothing, and CSKA have a recent UEFA Cup title under their belts, let alone the fact that two of the newest players in the Brazil squad are there: Vagner Love and Daniel Carvalho. We will have to play well to reach the knockout stages.
Tuesday 12th September 2006
Gilberto’s new Brazilian friend, Julio Baptista, talked to The Sun about his musical interests. Here’s the interview:
JULIO BAPTISTA can make Arsenal’s Champions League rivals Hamburg face the music — after striking up a duet with Brazilian team-mate Gilberto.
Baptista, 24, nicknamed The Beast, made his Gunners debut as a sub against Middlesbrough following his arrival from Real Madrid.
The attacking midfielder, 24, now aims to make his first start in Germany tomorrow. And he also plans to get the dressing room singing along — as he is a sort of Samba George Formby.
He explained: “I play the cavaquinho — a Brazilian ukulele.
“I’ve always loved music. I learn tunes and use music for relaxing.
“Gilberto plays the mandolin, so I think I’ll end up jamming together with him.
“This used to happen with the Brazilians in Madrid. I’d pick up the cavaquinho then Roberto Carlos and Robinho would pitch up.â€
Excellent!
Gilberto talked to the Arsenal website, and here’s what he said:
Brazilian Gilberto is in no doubt Arsenal’s results will soon begin to match their performances.
“This is the worst start since I have been here, but we need to believe in ourselves,” the midfielder said.
“We have a great team and want to turn the situation around.
“It is not a situation we are comfortable with because we are used to winning games, to be going for the title.
“But we will change it, that is for sure.”
The midfielder told Arsenal TV Online: “We are playing well, but are not scoring the chances we create.
“We can still get better and now need to focus on the next game, and what we need to do to win.
“It is important to start well in the Champions League, because you know each game you play will be very hard.
“If we go into this game thinking it will be easy, maybe there will be a problem.
“We need to keep our shape and just play our own game.”