Just who were these guys?
- by Paul Kennedy @pkedit, Mar 22, 2010
[BRAZIL] Less than 24 hours after their poor performance against the New York Red Bulls in the Red Bull Arena opener, Santos was back action, pounding Ituano,
9-1, in the Sao Paulo state championship with a completely different team. So which was which?
You guessed it, the Santos team that played so miserably against the Red Bulls consisted of
second-string players plus 18-year-old star Neymar.
The first team (minus Neymar and the injured Robinho)
faced Ituano.
Santos is the hottest team in the Paulista league with a 14-2-2 record in all competitions and an average of 3.3 goals per match.
Besides Neymar, Santos' other
young stars include 20-year-old midfielder Paulo Henrique Ganso, 19-year-old left back Wesley, and 19-year-old striker
Andre, who scored three goals against Ituano to give him 10 goals in 15 league games.
Lineups:
Santos vs. Red Bulls – Fabio Costa (Raphael 86), Aguiar, Alex Sandro (Wesley Santos 64), George Lucas, Alan Santos (Jefferson 82), Luciano Castan,
Neymar, Germano, Breitner (Diego Monar 46), Giovanni (Marcel 46), Zezinho (Crystain 80)
Santos vs. Ituano -- Felipe, Wesley, Edu Dracena (Roberto
Brum), Durval, Para (Ze Eduardo), Rodrigo Mancha, Arouca (Maikon), Marquinhos, Paulo Henrique Ganso, Madson, Andre.
Hold the check on Santos...no pay for a no show...TV coverage of the game was horrendous...the ball was constantly disappearing from the screen. Bad opponent, bad coverage, sandy field; however, a historic occasion by leaving Giants Stadium in the dust.
I'm glad that the Red Bulls kicked butt Saturday night sending Santos home with ther butts spanked. The Red Bulls have made the right selection of starters and it showed, Congrats to NYRB.