No1s vanquish Brazilian myth

By Paolo Menicucci

Brazil is almost as famous for its export of talented footballers as for its coffee beans, yet the nation's goalkeepers are often called to defend themselves from a dubious reputation.

Brazilian duel
Dida and Heurelho Gomes, however, are doing enough to dispel the myth that goalkeepers are Brazil's main weakness. One of them will have the chance to contest the UEFA Champions League final on 25 May as Dida's AC Milan and Gomes's PSV Eindhoven go head to head in the semi-finals, starting with Tuesday's first leg at the San Siro.

Milan shutout
Dida has not conceded a Champions League goal since 2 November 2004 - comprising more than 520 minutes of football, including the 72 minutes he played in the second leg of Milan's abandoned quarter-final with FC Internazionale Milano on 12 April, when he was struck on the shoulder by a firework.

Penalty king
The following night, the 24-year-old Gomes was instrumental for PSV, saving penalties from Olympique Lyonnais' Michael Essien and Eric Abidal to pave the way for a 4-2 shoot-out win and the Dutch side's first European Champion Clubs' Cup semi-final in 17 years.

Different people
Their astonishing performances in the Champions League may be proving that Brazilians can also be great goalkeepers, but the duo are diverse individuals. PSV veteran Phillip Cocu describes Gomes as "an enormous joker who makes you laugh all the time", while Dida is known for being the quiet type.

European joy
Gomes is regarded as a new face in Europe, having made his PSV debut in a 3-2 defeat by FK Crvena Zvezda in the third qualifying round of this year's Champions League, while Dida is already considered among the world's best shot-stoppers after being cast as the hero in the penalty shoot-out win against Juventus FC in the 2003 final.

'Extraordinary' talent
Since that night at Old Trafford, the 31-year-old has never looked back and his quarter-final displays left Inter coach Roberto Mancini frustrated. "Dida was extraordinary as he has been every time we have faced Milan this season. He is a fantastic goalkeeper, almost unbeatable and made fantastic saves in both legs," he said.

'Great defenders'
However, Dida likes to keep his feet firmly on the ground. "I'm playing well because I'm very serene and I have self-confidence," said the custodian. "It's mostly because I play with great defenders and they make my life much easier. I'm always trying to do simple things and help my team-mates. It's a very good period for me."

Similar paths
Like Dida, Gomes is a specialist in penalty saving and hopes to follow in his compatriot's footsteps, after keeping goal for EC Cruzeiro, the side Dida helped to lift the Copa Libertadores in 1996. "It was already a big honour for me to play for the same club where my role model [Dida] played," Gomes admitted, "but it will be fantastic for me to enter the San Siro and see Dida opposite me, and it would be fantastic to beat him and Milan.

Great ambitions
"As a young boy I was a striker and like every Brazilian I wanted to be a goalscorer. When I was forced to stand in goal for the first time I did not like it at all. Yet I appeared to have a talent for it, and now I would not change it for all the money in the world," Gomes said. "I want to achieve everything in Europe, I want to be as good as Dida one day." Tuesday would be the perfect time to prove he is on the right path to repeating the success of his opposite number.