¡Futebol Falam português!*

*Football speaks Portuguese!

Brazilian and Mexican players fight for the ball during a cup match.

Brazil and its one-time colonial master Portugal will play Saturday afternoon for the championship of the 2011 Fifa Under-20 World Cup. It's an interesting match-up between Portugal, once a world power, but now indebted and near bankruptcy, and Brazil, one of the world's future economic superpowers.

I expect that Brazil, the perpetual football world favorite, will win, but my sympathies lie with Portugal, since football is about the only glory it has left.

Portuguese finally have something to cheer about. 

Even tho Colombia's team disappointed by losing in the quaterfinals, the Colombian nation has been this tournament's big winner, thanks to an almost-flawless tournament notable for good sportsmanship, some exciting matches, nice weather - and, thank God, no terrorism or other violence. Undoubtedly, this will help Colombia land future and more important sporting events, such as the Panamerican games and even the real World Cup.

Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

A Primer on the Under-20 World Cup

Colombia Under-20 World Cup Team players.

The day after tomorrow the Under-20 World Cup kicks off in Medellin with a match between England and the not-very-democratic Democratic Republic of Korea, better known as North Korea.

The U-20 2011 logo.

Spaniard Canales

This is Colombia's biggest-ever sporting event, and Colombians are hoping that it goes off smoothly to burnish the nation's image and put it into the running to host the 'real' World Cup. The competition runs thru August 20, in eight cities, and will showcase rising young players from some of the world's great clubs, such as Spaniard Sergio Canales of Real Madrid, Argentine Erik Lamela of A.S. Roma and Frenchman Gaël Kakuta of Chelsea. And this junior World Cup will probably produce future Messis and Maradonas.

Kakuta, of France.

Who will win? The Under-20 could give lesser-known football nations a chance to shine. While powers like Brazil, Spain and Argentina have dominated the tournament, the last U-20, Egypt 2009, was won by Ghana.  Some call Ghana's cup a good omen for Nigeria, which has lots of buzz around it, altho it disappointed in its recent friendly matches. Spain, Brazil and Argentina will contend, but football powerhouses Italy, Germany, Holland and Paraguay definitely won't raise the cup - none of them qualified, while football liliputians Panama, New Zealand and Guatemala did.

Playing at home, Colombia just might surprise.

But the best which Colombians can hope for is that the tournament goes off smoothly, unmarred by violence, with lots of exciting matches.

The U-20 tournament is participating in the Green Goal program, which means that it will plant some 35,000 trees to compensate for the event's carbon footprint.

Here's the schedule: http://www.fifa.com/u20worldcup/matches/index.html

Ticket purchasing information is here: http://u20worldcup.tuboleta.com/Default_en.aspx?langpref=en

Offering pay TV to watch the tournament.

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours