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Brazil team guide

Dunga Brazil’s coach has been required to rest several of his top name players as he goes into his first major tournament with the ‘Seleccao’, therefore there will be no Ronaldinho, Adriano, Ronaldo or Kaka. However, this does make room for some of the fringe players who arguably helped produced Brazil’s best performance at the last World Cup when they beat Japan 4-1 in Dortmund.

Brazil played a traditional 4-2-2-2 formation against England in a warm-up match that finished 1-1 at the New Wembley Stadium, so there aren’t many wingers about in this formation. Instead the width will be provided as usual by the overlapping full-backs. Brazil are expected to play with at least one defensive midfielder who is expected to shield the back two and also cover in case of one of the fullbacks is caught out of position. The 2nd deep midfielder is expected to dictate tempo and field the two central midfielders. These two will be posted behind the strikers and both will have licence to roam forward and across the pitch, occupying space as they see fit. These two attacking midfielders will be expected to contribute with goals as well as help set them up. Up front Dunga will try and find a combination that works, pace seems to be the key component but there are one or two options.

In the goalkeeping department error prone Dida of AC Milan has been rested and in his place come’s his cross-town countryman Julio Cesar from Inter Milan. Cesar maybe not be as flamboyant as Dida but is a far safer option in the goal, he is also better at coming from crosses. Doni of AS Roma who has been number one choice since displacing Luca Curci and Helton of Porto, who is more in the mould of Dida will provide competition.

Defensively Brazil will operate with overlapping fullbacks, which places a great strain on the two remaining central defenders. Lucio of Bayern is rested and in his place will come Naldo from Werder Bremen and Alex from PSV. Both are considered to be finer defenders that Lucio although perhaps not as comfortable on the ball. Both are dangerous from set pieces in the air � Naldo scored a hat-trick against Eintracht Frankfurt before Christmas and Alex scored the goal to knock Arsenal out of the Champions League this season. Juan from Bayer Leverkusen could be another option in this area.

Roberto Carlos and Cafu are not included in this squad so at left back either Gilberto from Hertha Berlin or Adriano from Sevilla are the options. Gilberto is better defensively and played for the Brazilian team in the Conderations Cup in Germany in 2005 earning himself the move to the German capital. Adriano is more usually seen at left midfield for Sevilla but could be an option if Brazil are chasing a game. Dunga has also called up young Marcelo from Real Madrid who moved to the La LIga giants in January after impressing with Rio based Fluminense.

Over on the right Brazil again give themselves similar options; the more defensively minded Maicon from Inter Milan will be safe choice. Maicon has done well since coming to Europe from Cruzeiro and was instrumental in Inter Milan’s excellent season from the right side of defence. His attacking runs and well delivered crosses gave Inter an extra dimension down their right flank. If Brazil are in the market for goal Daniel Alves the exciting Sevilla right winger will be called for. Alves who is pacy and a great dribbler has the ability to beat most defenders and generally delivers a mean cross from both deep positions as well as from the byline.

In the midfield Brazil’s defensive lynch pins will be Gilberto of Arsenal and Edmilson from Barcelona. Whether both players can perform together remains to be seen but Gilberto’s presence in theory should give Edmilson the room to dictate tempo. The Barcelona midfielder has at times been caught out as the holding man when playing in the Spanish league but his range of passing and vision should not be under-estimated. Cover is provided by the consistent Josue one of the World Club cup winners for Sao Paulo, and probably long overdue a move to Europe and the recently relocated Mineiro, the latter having previously played at Sao Paulo but now at Hertha Berlin.

In the attacking department despite Kaka’s absence Brazil look well equipped to service the frontmen. Diego and Elano both came to fame during the 2003 Santos Copa Libertadores run which saw them finish with a runners up medal each and move to Europe on the back of their performances. Both have been overshadowed by their missing compatriot Kaka but both are capable of his performance level. Diego struggled to adapt, surprisingly, to European football at Porto and was released to Werder Bremen where he has flourished this season catching the eye on a regular basis for the German team. Elano is less likely to fid the back of the net but is equally adept at finding a killer pass or through ball. This season he has disappointed a little at Shakhtar Donetsk in the Ukraine but a good Copa America could well see Elano move on to more Western pastures. Their back-up is Europe returnee Ze Roberto who looks to be returning to his previous club Bayern after a 12 month sojourn at Santos. Reincarnating the famous No. 10 shirt worn so famously by Pele he has dazzled at times when given the room.

Up front Dunga despite some key absentees still has some talent at his disposal. Robinho from Real Madrid is perhaps the best known player in the squad. He has recently found his feet under Fabio Capello and has been one of the key players in Real’s resurgence. How he copes after a tough La Liga season which won’ finish until the 16th June remains to be seen. If he fails to sparkle Fred could be called upon, the Lyon striker burst onto the European scene with a flurry of goals upon his arrival from Cruzeiro. This season though has seen him fallout with notorious disciplinarian Gerard Houllier and he has banished from the Olympique first team for failing to return from holidays on time. He’ll be fresh no doubt, but what will his frame of mind be like? Other options are the CSKA Moscow pair of Vagner Love and Jo who are both respectively lightening quick and good in the air, both are deadly finishers. Rafael Sobis from Real Betis is a similar type of player to Robinho who loves to comes from deep to collect the ball and run at defenders. Caught up the general sporting malaise at Betis this season he hasn’t made the impact many had hoped following his arrival from Internacional whom he helped win the Copa Libertadores last season. The remaining player on the squad is probably the lest well-known having literally just burst onto the scene. He is Alfonso Alves from Heerenveen in Holland and has scored 37 goals in just 39 appearances this season for the Eredivisie outfit. He arrived last season as the replacement for Klaas Jan Huntelaar from the Swedish side Malmo and has exceeded all expectations of him this season. He received his first cap for the national team when he came on as sub for Kaka against England and could be in line for some playing time at the Copa America. He is a targetman, strong in the air and deadly on the ground, a real poacher who doesn’t come alive until he has the ball at his feet in the opposition penalty area. A number of bigger clubs including Chelsea if the rumours are to be believed are tracking his progress. If Brazil are in trouble needing a goal don’t be surprised to see a most un-Brazilian like player take to the pitch. And if he finds his scoring touch as he has done this season in Holland don’t be surprised to see him turning up at Stamford Bridge!

Key Man: With all the talent that is available the obvious choice would to be to go for a Robinho or Diego. However, Brazil won’t function if someone doesn’t provide some cohesion and stability. For that reason I am choosing Gilberto as Brazil’s most important player. If he can keep this team together on the pitch as well as dictate the tempo to matches then Brazil have every chance of setting this tournament on fire.

Summary: The main question mark over Brazil is whether the team can settle quickly and find a rhythm? A number of players are missing from last year’s World Cup squad and the old guard have now been swept away. If the youngsters can find their feet early on one should expect an appearance in the final is almost a foregone conclusion. However, with a rookie coach in Dunga and a number of new caps this remains open to debate.

Posted by Walter Townsend on Saturday, 23rd June 2007

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