Looking In On: Soccer

Saturday, Dec. 31, 2005 | 7:55 a.m.

Anyone who grew up in the shadow of Corcovado, with Copocabana Beach and the Maracana as playgrounds, qualifies as a noteworthy subject in the soccer arena.

And Loyola Marymount sophomore forward Vitor Boccardo, a Rio de Janeiro native, did not disappoint after his basketball team got pounded by UNLV on Thursday night at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Boccardo's eyes lit up when asked about futebol in soccer-mad Brazil.

"It's crazy down there when World Cup time comes, and I'm looking forward to this summer in Germany," Boccardo said. "I played until I was about 12, when I got too big for it."

Boccardo, 6-feet-9 and 230 pounds, claims to have been a semi-decent striker.

"I was good. I scored a couple of goals in the school Olympics," he said. "Then I started getting too big, and I went to goalie because I wanted to keep playing."

A Flamengo fan, Boccardo has visited the fabled Maracana (muh-ROCK-uh-nuh) Stadium -- which hosted a world-record 200,000 spectators for Brazil's stunning 2-1 World Cup final defeat to Uruguay in 1950 -- about a dozen times, mostly for derby matches against city rival Fluminense.

"It's pretty amazing," he said. "They don't really have seats, so everybody just piles in and watches standing. It's great fun. I miss it."

Next Summer

Brazil, which has won a record five World Cups, will be joined by Australia, Croatia and Japan in Group F. Boccardo has been keeping an eye on how coach Carlos Alberto Parreira has been using his star-studded roster.

Boccardo believes Robinho, the Real Madrid forward who turns 22 next month, might be the odd man out of the starting fold in Germany.

"The last couple of games I've watched, they're having trouble setting up 11 guys to start," Boccardo said. "We're bringing Ronaldo, Adriano and Ronaldinho, so I think (Robinho) will sit on the bench. But he will get a lot of minutes.

"I love them all. The only way Brazil will lose is if the team beats itself because there are too many stars."

Required Reading

Can't get enough about the Brazilian game? Then "Futebol: The Brazilian Way of Life," written in 2002 by Alex Bellos (and available on Amazon.com's United Kingdom Web site) is must reading.

In 1953 Aldyr Garcia Schlee beat out 300 others to win a contest for the new design of Brazil's uniforms, a yellow shirt with green trim that is likely the most recognizable sports jersey in the world. One small problem: Aldyr reveals to Bellos that he is a Uruguay fan.

Bellos also spoke with Ghiggia, who scored the winning goal for Uruguay in the '50 finale in Rio. "Only three people have, with just one motion, silenced the Maracana: Frank Sinatra, Pope John Paul II and me."

Also Noted:

Should a hitch develop in those negotiations, UCLA assistant Paul Bravo and California assistant Brad Agoos are next on Hamrick's short list.

John Kennedy, an assistant with the Las Vegas Dustdevils of the Continental Indoor Soccer League in 1994 and '95, will coach the Toros. Former UNLV assistant Frank D'Amelio and Eddie Henderson, the director for youth coaches in Nevada, will assist Kennedy. Ex-Rebels boss Barry Barto will handle radio duties.

The inaugural season will be played entirely in Las Vegas, on select Sundays starting Feb. 12, to gain exposure for the league.

Match of the Week

Manchester United at Arsenal, Tuesday

The Gunners, first or second in the English Premiership the previous three seasons, get Man U at home at Highbury to figure out who might challenge Chelsea atop the table.

$110

The sale price, in millions of dollars at Friday's exchange rate, that Aston Villa (which last shone in 1981 and '82) is fetching in England.

Rob Miech can be reached at 259-4087 or at miech@lasvegassun.com.