Football: Corinthians ready for battle

RIVALRY BETWEEN the Sao Paulo clubs Corinthians and Palmeiras is so intense that even the ball-boys can be a source of conflict.

The most recent encounter between the two bitter enemies from Latin America's biggest city ended with Corinthians star player, Marcelinho Carioca, attacking a ball-boy he accused of employing time-wasting tactics.

When the final whistle went, a livid Marcelinho ran over to a ball-boy he believed had dallied when Palmeiras were ahead and had to be pulled away by team-mates.

Corinthians scored a late equaliser to force a 1-1 draw in April's Paulista championship match in Brazil.

Although the game was in the neutral Morumbi stadium, Palmeiras were officially the home team and were responsible for the ball-boys who were wearing the club's green and white colours.

"I told my players that these ball-boys could cause trouble," said the Corinthians coach, Vanderley Luxemburgo, afterwards. "This shouldn't happen in a derby."

The Palmeiras coach, Luis Felipe Scolari, denied that he had instructed the ball-boys to help his team. "It seems that I'm to blame for everything bad that happens at Palmeiras," he said.

The teams face each other again tomorrow at the same stadium is in the Brazilian championship and both teams will want the points to move closer to the last eight.

The 24 teams play each other once in the first stage with the top eight then going into the quarter-finals. Second-placed Corinthians, who lost their lead on Wednesday to Santos, and fourth-placed Palmeiras are both well-placed but need to win to keep up their momentum.

Even without qualification at stake it promises to be as volatile as ever, thanks to the fierce rivalry between everyone from the coaches to the fans. Palmeiras was founded in 1916 by a group of Corinthians' rebels of Italian origin and the two clubs have been feuding ever since.

Corinthians boast the bigger support but Palmeiras have come out slightly on top in terms of titles.

They have won four Brazilian championships, one Copa Brasil and 21 Paulista championships while Corinthians have one Brazilian title, one Copa Brasil and 22 Paulistas. Neither club has won a continental competition.

Scolari, nicknamed "Big Phil", and his Corinthians rival Luxemburgo, who is currently splitting himself between Corinthians and the Brazilian national team, employ vastly different approaches to the game.

Luxemburgo once accused Scolari of punching him during a touchline altercation in a game between Flamengo, coached by Luxemburgo, and Gremio, coached by Scolari.

On the terraces and outside the ground there has been so much trouble between rival fans that their respective fan clubs have been outlawed by a Sao Paulo court. Any object bearing their names is banned from Sao Paulo stadiums.