2012 Olympics

Brazil’s Olympic football squad have opted for a quiet life away from the "temptations" of the athletes' village.

In their quest to secure a first Olympic gold in soccer Brazilian coach Mano Menezes has opted to stay in an isolated Hertfordshire hotel to curb his squad's partying tendencies.

Brazilian football squads are known for a couple of things – being extremely talented, failing to win a World Cup at home, failing to win an Olympics and having a tendency to party.

With the Brazilian squad for this Olympics, comprised of as always virile under-23 players, their coach has decided to pre-emptively head off any predilection for partying by basing his side in the countryside rather than an Olympic village stocked with 150,000 condoms.

Reading between the lines of coach Mano Menezes latest statement he is well aware of what could happen should he have given his wealthy charges the run of the Olympic village

“There are too many temptations here," he said during a visit to the Olympic Park, “some of the players like Neymar and the others have already been the focus of attention from so many other athletes when we've been here and we have serious work to do at these Games."

Neymar who should join up with Messi at Barcelona in 2013 is widely touted as one of the best players in the world and he and his compatriots are under immense pressure at home to secure a first Olympic soccer title. Their preparations haven’t been derailed so far as they impressed beating the reunited Great Britain side in a friendly 2-Nil at the Riverside this Friday.

In the wake of Menezes’s comments we were reminded of the more hedonistic moments from Brazilian footballers in the past:

• In 2007 Robinho was partying with some Brazilian teammates, during which he asked for 40 condoms and missed a flight back to Spain.
• In 2008 Ronaldo picked up three cross-dressing prostitutes “to amuse himself” after dropping his girlfriend home.
• In the past month Ronaldinho left Flamengo for Athletico Minerio saying that from now on he was dedicating his life to partying:  "Now I'll let life take me. I'll have a party every day."
• Or you can just take your pick of any of the stories regarding the famously well-endowed Garrincha, whose abilities on the field were only matched by his samba-partying and womanizing off it.