Neymar And Douglas Costa Give Brazil Late Win Against Peru

Brazil came away with a 2-1 victory against Peru in their opening match of Copa America to extend their unbeaten streak to 11 matches in a match that showcased Neymar’s leadership and vision while concomitantly underscoring the death of attacking talent with the squad that Dunga fielded. With the match barely underway, Peru’s Christian Cueva opened the scoring by capitalizing on David Luiz’s weak back pass to Brazil goalkeeper Jefferson. Brazil retained their composure, however, and equalized scarcely two minutes later after a Dani Alves cross found an unmarked Neymar in a center-forward position from which he headed the ball into the back of the net for his 44th goal for the national team. The game continued at an electric pace with Brazil dominating possession and attacking through the center by way of nifty combination play featuring Chelsea’s Willian, midfielder Fred and skipper Neymar, who classically threatened on the left while cutting diagonally inside towards goal at every opportunity.

Peru soaked up the pressure well and attacked on the counter-attack by threatening Brazil’s nascent central defensive partnership between Miranda and David Luiz. Shocked by their early defensive sloppiness, Brazil tightened up defensively with Fernandinho and Elias trekking back to help cover spaces exposed by the team’s attacking forays down the center of the park, with occasional wide play from the likes of Fred, Dani Alves and Filipe Luis. The match continued in much the same vein throughout the second half and Brazil appeared headed for a draw until Neymar, in extra time, deftly found Douglas Costa on the right of the box, who subsequently slid the ball past the Peru goalkeeper’s left hand to give coach Dunga an impressive record of 11 consecutive victories. Brazil fans should be impressed by the cohesiveness and skill of this young team but wary of the lack of a creative playmaker or attacking midfielder to complement Neymar’s brilliance. In today’s match, the Barcelona pair of right full back Dani Alves and Neymar represented the most threatening combination on Brazil’s team and Peru can feel rightly disappointed not to have eked out a draw against the five time World Champions.

Copa America: Brazil Draws 2-2 with Paraguay

Brazil drew 2-2 against Paraguay in their second round match of Copa America, leaving them tied with Paraguay in second place for Group B. Brazil now face Ecuador in their final group match and need a victory to assure qualification into the next round. Jadson opened the scoring for Brazil after his surprise inclusion instead of Robinho. Paraguay continued to apply the pressure they brought to the opening minutes of the game in the second half and were rewarded with two goals in the space of twelve minutes from Roque Santa Cruz and Nelson Valdez. Mano substituted Lucas of Sao Paulo for Ramires and Fred for Neymar in an effort to spark the Brazilian attack but Paraguay packed the defense and were unlucky to concede a last minute goal from Fred. The Fluminense striker turned and fired a low shot past the keeper's right with one touch from a through ball flicked through the center of the defense by Ganso. Fred's goal keeps Brazil's Copa America hopes alive as questions begin to mount about Mano Menezes's tactics and inconsistent midfield formations. Brazil fans can take consolation that Paulo Henrique Ganso provided assists for both goals and will go into the Ecuador game with the confidence that he can pick out the Selecao's strikers. Moreover, Fred showed once again that he can put the ball in the back of the net and fill the center forward role that Brazil otherwise lacks. Meanwhile, defending champions Brazil continue to fight for a place in the knockout stages. Given strong performances by the Brazil substitutes against Paraguay, it's anyone's guess as to who will feature in the Brazil starting line-up on Wednesday against Ecuador.

Copa America: Brazil Play Disappointing 0-0 Draw Against Venezuela

Brazil drew 0-0 against Venezuela on July 3 in a disappointing match for the Selecao that highlighted, once again, its inability to convert high percentage chances into goals despite a bevy of opportunities. The attacking trio of Pato, Neymar and Robinho threatened convincingly throughout the first half. Pato hit the crossbar on the half hour mark and Robinho was unfairly denied a penalty after slipping a ball by the keeper that was blocked by the shoulder of a lunging Venezuelan defender. Disappointingly for Brazil, Paulo Henrique Ganso failed to assert his authority on the game, and consequently the offensive initiative resulted from Neymar, Pato and Robinho returning into deep positions and running at the Venezuelan defense, or else through wide play from Dani Alves and Andre Santos. Just before the half, Neymar missed a golden opportunity given some space in front of goal but he curled the ball high of the top corner of the net. It was the first time that Pato, Robinho, Neymar and Ganso played together since the Brazil-USA friendly in the summer of 2010, and while Brazil sparkled with some of the offensive vision and fluidity of the game against the USA, it lacked the clinical finishing that has begun to plague this revamped, post-World Cup 2010 team. Pato was clearly the most dangerous and nimble footed of the three strikers, but he lacks the international experience and gravitas to take charge of the offensive component of the game, as does Neymar. Herein lies Brazil's quandary as a team loaded with promising young talent without a heavyweight striker to put the ball in the back of the net. That said, Mano is famous for building diamonds out of the rough as he did in Brazil with Gremio and Corinthians from 2005 onwards. Mano is also a master tactician and it will be interesting to see what adjustments he makes in advance of the crucial game against Paraguay on July 9. Expect the same squad with Neymar and Robinho positioned deeper, behind Pato, and thereby playing the attacking midfield role as a complement to Ganso until the Goose begins to find his fitness and form.

Shirt numbers:

Pato: 9
Robinho: 7
Ganso: 10
Neymar: 11

Brazil land in Campanas, Argentina in preparation for Copa America 2011

The Brazilian national football team left for Campanas, their training base for the July 2011 Copa America tournament, yesterday. With the exception of Santos players Elano, Neymar and Ganso, the squad left Rio de Janeiro with coach Mano Menezes and his staff. Brazil enter the tournament as defending champions but will encounter stiff opposition from a number of strong South American opponents as they attempt to hoist the title for the third consecutive time. Mano Menezes identified Paraguay as its most difficult opponent in the group stage but is wary of the threat posed by Ecuador and Venezuela as well, and particularly Venezuela, given that they constitute their first opponent. Mano has also noted that Argentina is currently the tournament favorite given the evolution of their squad over the last few years.

Group assignments for the initial phase of the Copa America tournament are as follows:

Group A

Argentina
Colombia
Costa Rica
Bolivia

Group B

Brazil
Paraguay
Ecuadaor
Venezuela

Group C

Uruguay
Chile
Peru
Mexico

Mano Menezes finalizes Brazil squad for Copa America 2011

Mano Menezes announced the Brazil 2011 Copa America squad in a press conference in Sao Paulo soon after Brazil's 1-0 victory over Romania in a friendly that marked Ronaldo's farewell game. Mano trimmed down an initial list of 28 players to 22, with Paulo Henrique Ganso and Fred standing out as the notable inclusions. The selections of Fred and Ganso suggest that Mano is intent on playing a 4-2-1-3 with Lucas and Ramires behind Ganso, who in turn plays behind an attacking triumvirate combination of Neymar, Robinho, Fred and Pato (Neymar, Fred and Robinho would be one obvious combination). Speaking about the presently injured Ganso, Mano remarked: 'I've said before that Ganso is the more complete player for the position to organize the team the way I want, and there will be a lot of time for him to get ready and play well.'' Ganso's inclusion in the squad as an attacking midfielder behind 3 strikers marks one of the more offensive formations Brazil has fielded in the last 10 years, particularly given the tendency of Dani Alves and even Ramires to join the attack. Manchester United's Anderson, Nilmar, Thiago Neves, Fabio, Jefferson, Henrique, and Leandro Damiao were all dropped from the initial list of 28 for Copa America 2011 while The Hulk remains out of the orbit of Mano's immediate vision for now. Defending champions Brazil will be aiming to claim the trophy on the soil of their arch-rivals, Argentina.

By foregrounding Ganso, Mano is essentially opting for a 4-2-4 that conjures up shades of the great team of 1970 against which every Brazilian national team is compared. Brazil 1970 played with Clodoaldo and Gerson in midfield, and Pele, Jairzinho, Rivelino and Tostao in attack. Pele, however, would often drop deep into midfield while Gerson would come forward. Brazil's 2011 Copa America squad represents one of the more mouthwatering midfields in the modern game with creative players like Elano, Ganso, Elias, Jadson and Sao Paulo's Lucas alongside more rugged midfielders in the form of Liverpool's Lucas and Ramires of Chelsea.

Brazil's 2011 Copa America squad is as follows:

Goalkeepers: Julio Cesar (Inter Milan), Victor (Gremio).

Defenders: Andre Santos (Fenerbahce), Adriano (Barcelona), Maicon (Inter Milan), Dani Alves (Barcelona), Lucio (Inter Milan), David Luiz (Chelsea), Thiago Silva (Milan), Luisao (Benfica).

Midfielders: Ramires (Chelsea), Lucas (Liverpool), Sandro (Tottenham), Elias (Atletico Madrid), Lucas (Sao Paulo), Jadson (Shakhtar), Elano (Santos), Paulo Henrique Ganso (Santos).

Forwards: Neymar (Santos), Fred (Fluminense), Robinho (Milan), Alexandre Pato (Milan),

Mano Announces Brazil Squad for Scotland Friendly

Mano Menezes announced a predictably surprising roster for Brazil's March 27 friendly against Scotland that omitted Robinho, Ronaldinho and Kaka, but recalled World Cup stars Maicon, Lucio and Elano. Citing an immediate need to prepare a squad for the July 2011 Copa America tournament in Argentina, Menezes noted that his squad selection was consistent with his larger philosophy of giving experience to new players and preparing for the possibility that Kaka and Ronaldinho may not be in full form and fitness for the 2014 World Cup. Neymar replaces Robinho up front while Sao Paulo's Lucas has received his first call-up to the national team after a sparking performance in the South America U-20 championships. The midfield features a mouthwatering combination of Liverpool's Lucas, Ramires, Sandro, Henrique, Elias, Elano, Renato Augusto, Jadson and Sao Paulo's Lucas. It will be anyone's guess as to who Mano starts in midfield given the creative power of Elano and the ability of Sao Paulo's Lucas to come forward and score goals. One has to give Mano credit for sticking with his guns and replacing, almost carte blanche, Dunga's midfield quartet of Kaka, Elano, Gilberto Silva and Felipe Melo. The immediate sense we get from this squad selection is that Mano has opted to go with 2 strikers and some kind of attacking midfield combination wherein one or more midfielders has the license to come forward and score goals.

Defenders:
Dani Alves (Barcelona)
Maicon (Inter)
André Santos (Fenerbahçe)
Marcelo (Real Madrid
Lúcio (Inter)
Thiago Silva (Milan)
David Luiz (Chelsea)
Luisão (Benfica)


Midfielders:
Lucas (Liverpool)
Ramires (Chelsea)
Sandro (Tottenham)
Elias (Atlético Madrid)
Elano (Santos)
Renato Augusto (Bayer Leverkusen)
Jadson (Shakhtar Donetsk)
Lucas (Sao Paulo)
Henrique (Cruzeiro)

Forwards:
Alexandre Pato (Milan)
Neymar (Santos)
Nilmar (Villarreal)
Jonas (Valencia)