Andre Virtue, the director of Ballaz International who brought the Brazilian Legends to the island, expressed his delight that he was able to satisfy fans who witnessed the Jamaican All Stars delivered a 2-1 victory over their Brazilian counterparts.
Goals by Gregory Simmonds and Ricardo Gardner, in the 35th and 79th minutes, respectively, gave the Jamaican legends a historic win over their more illustrious Brazilians in the friendly ‘Share the Love Tour’ football match at the National Stadium on Friday tonight.
For the Brazilians, Ray Ferreira Martha Defreitas had pulled them level in the 58th minute.
“We feel good pulling it off. We feel good bringing the players here together. We spoke about it and for them to show up and do what they did…” a beaming Virtue told the Jamaica Observer.
“They play football, they love the game, and so we didn’t disappoint in that area. We promised the crowd the names, and on both teams they came, they delivered. So we feel great about that,” he noted.
Approximately 6,000 fans turned out to witness the football spectacle involving players that won the World Cup for Brazil in 1994 and 2002 and members of Jamaica’s historic 1998 World Cup team.
Dunga, who played in Jamaica in 1982 as a youngster before captaining Brazil to victory at the 1994 World Cup in the United States of America (USA), was back, but this time he was on the touchline as coach.
Former Barcelona star and 1999 World Player of the Year Rivaldo, who was instrumental in Brazil’s 2002 World Cup triumph, was in action and showed that he was still capable of reproducing a bit of the old magic.
Edmilson, also a former Barcelona player and a member of the 2002 winning team in South Korea and Japan; Paulo Sergio and Viola, members of the 1994 team; as well as Ze Carlos, were also on show.
The Jamaican All-Star team featured a mixture of the 1998 World Cup squad and some current Under-20 players, and the fans were treated to a cameo by none other that Walter “Blacka Pearl” Boyd, who demonstrated glimpses of his skills that made him a favourite in his heyday.
Theodore Whitmore, the only Jamaican to score at a senior FIFA World Cup, and now the current national head coach, also displayed his array of trickery, the most notable being an “air pie” that shaved the head of his Brazilian opponent.
Other members of the Jamaica legends team were Gregory Messam, Fabian Davis, Andy “Bomber” Williams, Donald Stewart, Cornel Chin-Sue, and Kevin Wilson.
“We always would have loved to have more people here in the stadium, but we had our own challenges in trying to raise funds to do it. But at the end of the day, those who came got their money’s worth in the show and the performance from Rivaldo and Walter Boyd and the lot. I think it was great and I am happy we were able to pull it off,” he reiterated.
Virtue, who established himself a schoolboy star for Jamaica College, said if the opportunity arises again to stage such a match, he would be happy to do it.
“There is never a no. Football does great things, so if we have the opportunity again to do it we will definitely put our best foot forward and give the Jamaican people something that they can enjoy as they did today (Friday),” said Virtue.
The opening 25 minutes of the game were not the best as fans were expecting the typical flair of the Brazilians to be on display. Instead it was a cagey affair. But things got interesting when young Zhelano Barnes of the Jamaica team showed good pace and skill and worked his way into the box and was fouled.
Simmonds converted from the penalty spot.
But the Brazilians regrouped after the interval and Defreitas tapped home after Rivaldo’s corner kick was flicked on at the near post.
Immediately a loud cheer went up, but it wasn’t for the Brazilian goal. It was for Boyd, who was caught warming up in preparation to make his entry. He replaced Fabian Taylor in the 58th minute.
But it took Boyd nearly 20 minutes to excite the crowd, though he duly obliged when, on one occasion, he mesmerised two defenders with his fancy footwork before he was fouled. From the resulting quick free kick Gardner fired home, catching the Brazilians off-guard, who protested by surrounding referee Karl Tyrell.
The tour is a spin-off of an existing Tour of Love that has successfully travelled to countries such as Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Burundi, Madagascar, Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, Chile, Singapore, Japan, Fiji, Indonesia and Guatemala. The Brazilians will next journey to Lebanon.
Goals by Gregory Simmonds and Ricardo Gardner, in the 35th and 79th minutes, respectively, gave the Jamaican legends a historic win over their more illustrious Brazilians in the friendly ‘Share the Love Tour’ football match at the National Stadium on Friday tonight.
For the Brazilians, Ray Ferreira Martha Defreitas had pulled them level in the 58th minute.
“We feel good pulling it off. We feel good bringing the players here together. We spoke about it and for them to show up and do what they did…” a beaming Virtue told the Jamaica Observer.
“They play football, they love the game, and so we didn’t disappoint in that area. We promised the crowd the names, and on both teams they came, they delivered. So we feel great about that,” he noted.
Approximately 6,000 fans turned out to witness the football spectacle involving players that won the World Cup for Brazil in 1994 and 2002 and members of Jamaica’s historic 1998 World Cup team.
Dunga, who played in Jamaica in 1982 as a youngster before captaining Brazil to victory at the 1994 World Cup in the United States of America (USA), was back, but this time he was on the touchline as coach.
Former Barcelona star and 1999 World Player of the Year Rivaldo, who was instrumental in Brazil’s 2002 World Cup triumph, was in action and showed that he was still capable of reproducing a bit of the old magic.
Edmilson, also a former Barcelona player and a member of the 2002 winning team in South Korea and Japan; Paulo Sergio and Viola, members of the 1994 team; as well as Ze Carlos, were also on show.
The Jamaican All-Star team featured a mixture of the 1998 World Cup squad and some current Under-20 players, and the fans were treated to a cameo by none other that Walter “Blacka Pearl” Boyd, who demonstrated glimpses of his skills that made him a favourite in his heyday.
Theodore Whitmore, the only Jamaican to score at a senior FIFA World Cup, and now the current national head coach, also displayed his array of trickery, the most notable being an “air pie” that shaved the head of his Brazilian opponent.
Other members of the Jamaica legends team were Gregory Messam, Fabian Davis, Andy “Bomber” Williams, Donald Stewart, Cornel Chin-Sue, and Kevin Wilson.
“We always would have loved to have more people here in the stadium, but we had our own challenges in trying to raise funds to do it. But at the end of the day, those who came got their money’s worth in the show and the performance from Rivaldo and Walter Boyd and the lot. I think it was great and I am happy we were able to pull it off,” he reiterated.
Virtue, who established himself a schoolboy star for Jamaica College, said if the opportunity arises again to stage such a match, he would be happy to do it.
“There is never a no. Football does great things, so if we have the opportunity again to do it we will definitely put our best foot forward and give the Jamaican people something that they can enjoy as they did today (Friday),” said Virtue.
The opening 25 minutes of the game were not the best as fans were expecting the typical flair of the Brazilians to be on display. Instead it was a cagey affair. But things got interesting when young Zhelano Barnes of the Jamaica team showed good pace and skill and worked his way into the box and was fouled.
Simmonds converted from the penalty spot.
But the Brazilians regrouped after the interval and Defreitas tapped home after Rivaldo’s corner kick was flicked on at the near post.
Immediately a loud cheer went up, but it wasn’t for the Brazilian goal. It was for Boyd, who was caught warming up in preparation to make his entry. He replaced Fabian Taylor in the 58th minute.
But it took Boyd nearly 20 minutes to excite the crowd, though he duly obliged when, on one occasion, he mesmerised two defenders with his fancy footwork before he was fouled. From the resulting quick free kick Gardner fired home, catching the Brazilians off-guard, who protested by surrounding referee Karl Tyrell.
The tour is a spin-off of an existing Tour of Love that has successfully travelled to countries such as Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Burundi, Madagascar, Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, Chile, Singapore, Japan, Fiji, Indonesia and Guatemala. The Brazilians will next journey to Lebanon.