Invisiblewall.net: Gilberto Silva News

From Arsenal Mania:

Gilberto, so often villified by Arsenal fans as a sub-standard player, has a higher pass completion rate than teenage sensation Francesc Fabregas.

Gilberto is also the most accurate passer in the league stats-wise, with an 84% accuracy. Fabregas has 83%.

How about that, eh?

Some Arsenal fans are rightly pointing out that Gilberto never makes complicated passes and that’s why most of them connect – but why hoof the ball up field when you could just pass short and keep posession? If every player in a team did that, the team would barely ever lose posession. Maybe they’d never score, but scoring is just a detail, right?

Right.

….Right.

Source

Lyon dismiss Gilberto link

Lyon have rubbished reports linking them with a move for Arsenal’s Gilberto Silva.

It had emerged earlier this week that the French champions were eager to snap up the 29-year-old midfielder as part of their summer strengthening programme.

Chairman Jean-Michel Aulas was believed to have spoken to Gilberto at his Brazilian training camp during the World Cup.

However, Lyon have now denied showing an interest in the Arsenal man, and insisted unequivocally that they have no intention of bringing him to Stade Gerland.

“Olympique Lyonnais is not interested in Arsenal and Brazil international Gilberto Silva,” a spokesman told the club’s official website.

“The club regrets the publication of false information.”

Having ridden the speculation linking Gilberto with a move to Lyon, Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is likely to be doubly determined to keep hold of his man.

The original story was made up here.

Move along.

Taken from The Times Online article ‘Window Watch’.

Gilberto Silva, the Arsenal midfield player, is a target for Lyons.

Well, sorry Lyons. You can’t have him.

Source

It was a sad day for Brazil as they played France… and played quite poorly. France, it seems, simply love playing against Brasil. Gilberto started the game and played the whole 90 minutes, playing very well. He dropped deep every time Lucio steamed up the pitch, and defended set pieces numerous times. It was France’s prowess in defence which meant Brasil’s strikers couldn’t score any goals. Gilberto’s Arsenal team mate Thierry Henry scored France’s winner.

The final score was 1-0 to France, and Gilberto will now go home to Brazil for a brief holiday before he comes back to London to start the new season with Arsenal.

Bad luck Brasil. Have a good rest, Gilberto.

Brazil fans jeer national team on their return

The Brazilian team were greeted by jeers from fans as they arrived on Monday in Sao Paulo following their World Cup exit.

Only Marcos Evangelista de Moraes (Cafu), Cris and Mineiro stayed to face the music. Ricardinho, Rogerio Ceni, Robson de Souza (Robinho), Luisao, Cicinho, Fred and Gilberto Silva, sneaked out of the airport through a different terminal, according to local reports.

Fans chanted “greybeard” and “grandad” at Cafu, 35, telling him to retire. Cafu told waiting media that he will consider whether to retire, but he would first meet with his family and watch the World Cup finals with them.

“Then I will think calmly about my future in the team. I am always willing to help them,” he said.

“We lost because we as a team did not know how to act after conceding a goal: we did not have strength. The lesson we learned was that it is not always the best to win. We are considered the best, and we gave a show, but other teams surprised us,” he said.

He added that despite losing a game, they had not turned the current generation of Brazilian football into losers.

“In the last four World Cups we have reached the finals three times and won two of those finals,”he said.

Brazil had been heavily favored to retain the world title but their title defense came to a surprising end following a 1-0 defeat to France at the quarter-finals.

It is the Brazilian way; only victory is good enough. It’s a shame that the players did not want to face the public at the airport, but the jeers combined with their personal disapointment was probably too much.

On the France game, Gilberto had this to say:

It’s very hard when you lose a game like that. You make your plans, make a lot of sacrifices to make everyone happy in your country and everyone ends up very disappointed. It’s going to be very difficult to sleep. We didn’t play our best game against France and the result was terrible.

France were much better, they were stronger in all parts of the pitch and we feel very sorry for the people back home. It’s not that we played badly, we tried but it just didn’t work. They were very well organised but we didn’t manage to score a goal. I can’t remember exactly what Parreira said in the dressing room after the game, but it was words of sadness.

Juninho waving at someone as if to
visually illustrate his retiring from
international football

“The national team is over for me and those of us over 30 have to leave a place for the younger players to make a new team for 2010.

“We have to think about the young guys and build up another team.”

Brazil stars such as Roberto Carlos, Cafu, Gilberto, Emerson, Ze Roberto, Ricardinho and keepers Dida and Rogerio Ceni are all the wrong side of 30.

The reigning world champions went out of the competition with a whimper to a France team that was criticised in its own country for having too many old players.

However, Juninho added: “There is total sadness but this is not the time to appoint blame, we all lost.”

First, let me say: Gilberto is actually 29. He has a good THREE MONTHS left before he hits the 30 mile stone. That’s AGES. Gilberto is VERY YOUNG, and will be staying in the Brazil international side for a long time to come… I hope.

Brazil and Arsenal midfielder Gilberto Silva said: “It’s very disappointing. We didn’t play our best game and the result was terrible for us.

“France played much much better. They were stronger in all parts of the pitch. We feel very sorry for the people back home.”

Link to the full article. Coach Parreira blames himself.

Nothing much now until late August when the Premiership starts back up.

The Sun have printed this story today:

Silva’s got it off Pat

GILBERTO SILVA is relishing the prospect of his clash with the man who inspired him to make history at Arsenal.

The Brazilian midfield man will face his former Gunners skipper Patrick Vieira in tonight’s quarter-final against France in Frankfurt.

Gilberto and Vieira provided the midfield steel in the Arsenal ‘Invincibles’ side which went on a record 49-match unbeaten Premiership run, including the entire 2003-4 season.

And Gilberto, who will play in place of the injured Emerson tonight, paid tribute to the man who led Arsenal to their record streak before leaving for Juventus last summer.

Gilberto said: “Patrick was an inspirational player and we achieved so much. I felt like I learned a lot of things playing with him and he was a great leader for Arsenal.

“It was fantastic to play alongside him and that season we felt unbeatable but it will be a massive challenge to play against him in the World Cup quarter-final.

“Both Henry and Vieira are players I have spent a lot of time with and know well. We’ve always got on well although we are not maybe as close as our Real Madrid players Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos are to Zinedine Zidane.

“But I have so much respect for Patrick and Thierry. They are world-class players and the French are a very strong and experienced team.

“Losing is not an option for Brazil though. We can’t afford to go home after the quarter-finals.”

Brazil skipper Cafu, who played in the 1998 World Cup final defeat by France, insists his side are not bothered about getting even for that 3-0 humiliation in Paris.

He said: “If I felt that bringing up memories of eight years ago would help us, I would.

“But this is a different Brazil team and we must be confident going into this match.”

Brazil’s AC Milan midfielder Kaka is expected to be fit after injuring an ankle in the 3-0 second-round victory over Ghana.

Gilberto won’t start for Brazil in the France game today, but he will probably be subbed on in the second half. Go Bert, and most of all, Go Brazil!