Here follows a very brief preview of the Brazilian league, Serie A for the 2008 season.
Atlético Mineiro
Mineiro, in English means , miner. This is due to the extensive mining activities in the State of Minas Gerais.
Their nicknme is Galo, on account of a rooster being their mascot.
They won the first ever Brazilian Championship, but
have been relegated a couple of times since. They did however win promotion from Serie B in 2006 and finished
a respectable 9th in Serie A last year.
I think they will
probably finish mid-table again in 2008,
worth a bet at big odds in away games.
Atlético Paranaense
Paranaense are from South Brazil, and are former Serie A champions.
They finished
12th last season, and I think
they will struggle again this year,
they may however, avoid the drop into Serie B - a strong home side - not betting material away from home.
Botafogo
Botafogo are a Rio de Janeiro based team, and are former Serie A champions.
Botafogo have a big following not only in Rio , but all over Brazil.
They finished 8th last year, but
are capabale of better than that, and I think they may do well this year.
A lively outside bet for the Championship in my opinion - a good all-round side,
who win their share of games both home and away.
Coritiba
Coritiba is a Southern Brazil team, based in the City of the same name in Parana.
The team was formed by members of the German community there - no surprise really, as over the years, thousands of German and Italian immigramts settled in Parana - which is manifest in communities and culture of the area.
They won Serie B last year and were duly promoted, and I believe
they have a very good chance of staying up.
Cruzeiro
Cruzeiro are based in Belo Horizonte in Minas Gerais and
are a strong side,
regularly finishing in the top half of Serie A. In fact they finished 5th last year and are
good candidates for top 6 finish again. As you would expect from a solid side,
they win a good deal of both home and away games.
Figueirense
Figueirense are based in the city of Florianopolis in Santa Catarina.
They have never won a Serie A title, and I don't think they will in my lifetime -
or possibly , anytime!
They finished 13th last season, and are candidates
for the bottom half again, may miss the drop, but I wouldn't bet on it!
Flamengo
Flamengo are one of the big Rio de Janeiro clubs. It is
one of the most popular clubs in Brazil with about 40 million fans inside the country. They have
never been relegated and have won the title 5 times.
They
finished 3rd last year, and will again be pushing for a top 3 spot - a reasonable bet to win outright, and
a good side to bet at home.
Fluminense
Another Rio team, previous winners of Serie A to boot.
They finished 4th last year, and if they could improve their home form, they would go close to winning the title.
A good team to bet in away games.
Goiás
Goiás are based in the state of the same name, in the city of Goiânia in West-central Brazil.
Never won a title and unlikely too, unless it's a Serie B title.
They escaped the drop last year by a single point -
they will need that kind of luck again to stay-up - a team to bet against.
Grêmio
Grêmio are based in the city of Porto Alegre in south-Brazil.
They are former Serie A champions and finished
6th last year.
They are a strong solid and big club, and will be pushing for a
top 6 spot again, a good
team to back at home.
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Internacional
Internacional are based in Porto Alegre, south-Brazil. Their best performance on the international stage was when beating Barcelona in the 2006 FIFA Club World Cup.
They have also won the Brazilian Championship 3 times.
Last year they finished 11th, and can probably do better, they are not champion material this year, but are worth betting in both home and away games.
Ipatinga
Ipatinga is a relatively new club, being formed as late as 1998.
They are here through promotion from Serie B, thanks to a 2nd place finish in 2007.
Ipatinga are sure candidates for the drop - it would be a surprise if they survived their first Serie A campaign.
Náutico
Nautico are based in Recife and have never won a championship - they only just survived in Serie A last year, and will struggle again this year - a bottom half finish is the order of the day, possibly escaping relegation - they are however, worth betting in selected away games at big prices.
Palmeiras
Palmeiras are a Sao Paulo based club, they have won the championship 4 times and finished a respectable 7th last season.
The are not championship material, but can again claim a top 10 spot - they are worth betting in away games.
Portuguesa
Portuguesa are Sao Paulo based and have a large ex-pat Portuguese contingent of support, indeed it was ex´-pats from the mother country who founded the club.
They were promoted from Serie B and will surely struggle at this level - I envisage them going straight back down.
Santos
Santos are based in Sao Paulo, and due to it's location near the docks, the team nickname is, Peixe, literally meaning, Fish.
Santos had a golden age when Pele played for them and they have won the championship twice.
They finished second to Sao Paulo last season and are contenders again this year - however, my suspicion is they will just fall short, but ought to be in the top 4 or 5.
They are a stable , well rounded side, and win well at home in addition to their fair share of away games.
Sao Paulo
Sao Paulo are current championships, and are favourites to take the league again.
They are a strong side at home and away, and a profit can be made betting them - of course, the bookies usually keep their prices tight, so look around for best prices if betting them.
Sport
Sport a based in Recife, and are currently , probably the best Recife side.
They usually have 2 battles in Serie A, the first to get as high as possible, annd the second being to finish above Nautico.
They finished 1 place above Nautico last year and will be aiming for a top 10 spot this year.
Worth betting at home.
Vasco
Vasco are based in Rio de Janeiro, and are traditionally supported by the Portuguese ex-pats there.
They finished 10th last season and agin look sure to be in the top 10 finishers.
No betting advice for them really, except that they are worth considering for draw bets.
Vitoria
Newly promoted Vitoria are from Bahia in north-east Brazil, they finished 4th in Serie B last season and were promoted on the back of that.
They are going to be (along with Ipatinga) the Serie A whipping boys this year, and I fully expect them to go straight back down.
Brazil Serie A Pre-cursor for 2008/09
that relegation battles have been won and lost through same state teams putting out second-string players or such like - although , of course this is only rhetoric 
and unproven.
.GIF "Thumb(1)")
