From our Senior Correspondent in Brazil, Mark Gannon. Reporting from the trenches deep in the heart of futebol country.
Here is Mano Menezes’s list for the seleção that will face Argentina in Doha on the 17th of November.
Goalies:
Victor (Grêmio)
Jefferson (Botafogo)
Neto (Atlético-PR)
Interesting that all three are playing in Brazil. A lot of people, including me, thought Victor might be the third goalie for the World Cup. Brazil very often takes a young goalie who might become the starter in the next World Cup.
Wingbacks:
Daniel Alves (Barcelona)
Rafael (Manchester United)
Adriano Corrêa (Barcelona)
André Santos (Fenerbahçe)
André Santos probably owns the left wingback position unless he really screws up. There are other players at his position who would be good choices, but Mano knows and trusts him from their days at Corinthians. Similarly, Daniel Alves seems to be Mano’s guy at right wingback, and deservedly só. He’s very effective and dependable now, and is likely to still be quite good at age 31 in 2014. Rafael is only 20 and already seems to be solidifying his position as Daniel’s backup. His first call-up to the senior team was as part of Mano’s first list, for the friendly against the USA in August.
Central defenders:
Thiago Silva (Milan)
David Luiz (Benfica)
Alex Costa (Chelsea)
Réver (Atlético-MG)
No surprises here. It’s interesting that after a long period of total stability at the center-back position (Juan and Lúcio), Mano already seems to have established who his starters and even preferred backups are at this position. And they seem to be good choices.
When rosters and lineups are listed in Brazil, midfielders are usually separated into “volantes” and “meias.” The basic rule is that meias are offensive midfielders and volantes are more defensive, but there are volantes who can be really important parts of the offense, so I don’t like the term “defensive midfielder” as a translation of “volante.”
Volantes:
Lucas (Liverpool)
Ramires (Chelsea)
Sandro (Tottenham)
Jucilei (Corinthians)
Lucas has been getting more chances with Mano. Ramires was one of Dunga’s best additions to the seleção, and I’m convinced that Brazil lost to Holland in the World Cup quarterfinal basically because Ramires had to sit out that game because of accumulated yellow cards. Brazil had just found what seemed to be the best formula for the team (given that there was no way to sit Kaká, no matter how much he needed it) in the game against Chile. The presence of Jucilei and Elias (see below) is not surprising, not only because Mano remembers the success he had with them at Corinthians, but also because Corinthians is one of the leaders of the Brazilian championship now, in large part because of its excellent midfield (both volantes and meias).
Sandro was an alternate for the World Cup squad and has played for the U-20 and primary national teams.
Meias:
Douglas (Grêmio)
Philippe Coutinho (Inter de Milão)
Ronaldinho Gaúcho (Milan)
Elias (Corinthians)
Mano knows Douglas from Corinthians, where they were successful together. Douglas had gone to play in the UAE, but has returned to Brazil and is playing well for Grêmio.
When Mano first called Philippe Coutinho, it was seen as something of a gamble (the headlines said Mano was “betting” on him). Since then, he has become a starter and played well for Inter.
One of the biggest news stories in this list is the return of Ronaldinho Gaúcho. When Mano was in Europe, he had a well-publicized one-on-one conversation with Ronaldinho.
Forwards:
Robinho (Milan)
Alexandre Pato (Milan)
André (Dínamo de Kiev)
Neymar (Santos)
The other big news story is the return of Neymar after his disciplinary problems at Santos kept him off the lists for the seleção games against Iran and Ukraine.
Lots of teammate action among the forwards. Robinho, André, and Neymar played together at Santos, and now Robinho and Pato are together at Milan.
Mano said that Ronaldinho’s return is due to his play in Italy and the fact that Mano’s seleção still hasn’t found a reliable solution for arming the potent offense:
“We have looked into everything here and our understanding was that at this moment we could think about him [Ronaldinho] again. He is a player who is having a successful run, and at a position where we have a need. He is a reference and will add value to the seleção in a sector where we still need to evolve, and (yes, another ‘and’) he will help in that sector.”
It’s nice when the biggest problem I have with the seleção’s roster is how to choose between excellent options at most positions.
