Romario on the scoresheet in another troublesome week

Veteran striker Romario ended another troublesome week by scoring his ninth goal of the Brazilian championship for Fluminense on Sunday whil...

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Veteran striker Romario ended another troublesome week by scoring his ninth goal of the Brazilian championship for Fluminense on Sunday while fans of defending champions Atletico Paranaense turned their backs in protest as their team lost again.

Thirty-six-year-old Romario, who won the World Cup with Brazil in 1994, had become embroiled in yet another controversy over the privileges he enjoys at Fluminense before Sunday’s match with Bahia.

He walked out halfway through a training session on Friday and failed to turn up at all on Saturday.

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Coach Renato Portaluppi said he had agreed to let the temperamental striker skip training but club directors were angry because they said they had not been told.

Romario made amends by scoring the only goal as Fluminense climbed to 13th in the championship, moving away from the relegation zone and towards the top eight who qualify for the quarter-finals.

They overtook Atletico Parananense, who were early leaders of the competition but who dropped to 15th after losing 3-2 at home to Internacional as Abel Braga made his debut as their third coach in less than one month.

It was their sixth game without a win.

Atletico dominated the match but were denied by superb goalkeeping by Clemer, who turned away four long-range drives from World Cup winning midfielder Kleberson, and by their own sloppy defending.

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International defender Luiz Alberto scored two second half goals to put the visitors 3-1 ahead after goals by Internacional’s Mahicon Librelato and Atletico’s Alex Mineiro had sent the teams in level at halftime.

Dagoberto pulled back an 85th minute goal but most Atletico fans missed the goal because they had spent the last half hour with their backs to the pitch in protest.

Although the supporters celebrated the goal, they still refused to turn around. Media reports said afterwards that several Atletico players had their cars vandalised by angry fans.

Sao Paulo, missing suspended midfielder Kaka, stayed top by beating Guarani 2-1 away thanks to a hugely controversial penalty awarded to and converted by Luis Fabiano.

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Television replays suggested no contact was made as Luis Fabiano went to ground as he shielded the ball in the penalty area.

Sao Caetano, runners-up for the last two years, stayed two points behind by beating Paysandu 2-1 with an 85th minute goal by Adhemar. Juventude, coached by former Paris St Germain and Brazildefender Ricardo Gomes, are a further point behind in third place after beating Coritiba 5-3.

The teams who had begun the game with the two best defensive records in the competition. Gremio’s Rodrigo Fabri and Gama’s Dimba, the competition’s joint topscorers, were both on target again as their teams met on Saturday to take their tallies to 14.

Gremio won 3-1 thanks to two late penalties converted by Anderson and climbed to tenth. Atletico Mineiro beat Cruzeiro 2-1 in the Belo Horizontederby, which boasts one of the country’s fiercest rivalries, while Flamengo, the country’s most popular club, left the relegation zone after a 2-1 win at Vitoria. (Reuters)