Santos advance to Copa Libertadores final for first time since 2003

Santos advanced to the Copa Libertadores final after a thrilling 3-3 draw with Cerro Porteno in the second leg of their semi-final match in the Copa Libertadores. Santos won the semi-final 4-3 on aggregate after having won the first leg 1-0 in Sao Paulo. Goals from Ze Eduardo, a Cerro Porteno own goal, and Neymar gave Santos enough of a cushion to withstand a late rally from the Paraguayan team featuring two goals in the last 30 minutes. Santos will now face either Argentina's Velez Sarsfield or Uruguay's Penarol in the final. Santos has not won the Copa Libertadores since 1963 although they are heavily favored now given their surfeit of young talent and the brilliant stewardship of coach Muricy Ramalho. Captain Edu Dracena will miss the final owing to a red card received in injury time.

Santos beats Sao Paulo 2-0 as Neymar and Ganso combine again; Corinthians defeats Palmeiras on penalties

The Neymar, Ganso and Elano combination continues to scintillate in Brazilian football in both the 2011 Copa Libertadores and the Sao Paulo state championship. In Saturday's Sao Paulo championship semi-final, Santos struggled to impose their rhythm over Sao Paulo in the first half despite a bevy of scoring opportunities for Neymar, who repeatedly exploded down the left flank and then cut diagonally inward after dribbling through a maze of Sao Paulo defenders. The complexion of the game changed dramatically in the 61st minute when Paulo Henrique Ganso received a pass from Neymar in the box from the left. Ganso collected the ball, moved to his left and then turned and lifted the ball onto the crown of Elano's head on the right flank. Elano made no mistake and headed the ball past the keeper's right hand into the back of the net to give Santos a 1-0 lead. Roughly ten minutes later, Neymar latched onto a magnificent through ball from midfield that sent him clear of all but two Sao Paulo defenders. Unable to circumvent the Sao Paulo defense, Neymar skillfully maintained possession until he saw Ganso burst toward goal from the center of midfield. Ganso coolly collected Neymar's pass and dispatched a left footed rocket into the top of the net in a play that recalled Ganso's goal against America in the first leg match of their round of 16 game in the Copa Libertadores. Santos now play Corinthians in the Sao Paulo state championship final. Corinthians defeated Palmerias 6-5 on penalties after regular time goals by Amara (Palmeiras) and Willian (Corinthians) tied the match at 1-1. Santos now go into their May 3 clash against America bursting with confidence as the Neymar-Ganso partnership picks up steam.

Neymar and Ganso give Santos a 1-0 victory over America in Copa Libertadores

Neymar and Ganso combined to give Santos a gritty 1-0 victory over an America side that played defensive football with 9 men behind the ball. In the 39th minute, Neymar raced down the left flank before finding Ganso just outside the box. Ganso kept his head down and dispatched a bullet of a left footed shot to the goalkeeper's left to give his side the lead and a crucial victory in the first leg. Playing in Sao Paulo, America's defensive tactics were intended to stifle the creativity of Neymar, Ganso and company but the strategy backfired and ultimately proved unsustainable. Nevertheless, a 1-0 victory for Santos means the match is still wide open, particularly given that the next leg will be played at the Queretaro Stadium on May 3. Santos can now claim four consecutive Copa Libertadores victories and are improving with every match, even though they struggled to break down America's ultra-defensive formation. Pele's former club will be tough to beat given the 4-2-2-2 formation that coach Muricy Ramalho favors, with Elano and Ganso positioned behind Neymar and Ze Eduardo.

In other Copa Libertadores news, Cruzeiro beat Once Caldas 2-1 thanks to goals by Wallyson and Ortigoza.

Neymar Scores Two as Brazil Beats Scotland in Style

Brazil 2-Scotland 0 (Neymar, 42; 77 (penalty))
Venue: Arsenal's Emirates Stadium, London

Brazil beat Scotland 2-0 in a glorious display of samba football that showcased the national team's depth, one touch passing, offensive vision and willingness to play the beautiful game. After withstanding some early pressure in the opening 10 minutes, Brazil burst forward in waves, utilizing both the overlapping fullbacks and the midfield as a source of attack and creative play. Elano's inclusion added spice to the attack as his wicked crosses and corner kicks found the lively Leandro Damiao on a number of occasions in his debut for the Selecao. Damiao narrowly missed converting Elano's assists twice in the first half, and Jadson threatened in the opening twenty minutes as well. Neymar, however, was the star of the show as his dribbling abilities and extraordinary positional awareness gradually began to destabilize the Scottish defense. In the 42nd minute, Andre Santos raced down the left side and found Neymar open in the box. Neymar proceeded to use his defender like a shield in curling the ball into the back of the net in a move reminiscent of the cat like prowess of Romario in the penalty area. Andre Santos, meanwhile, seems to have inherited the role of Roberto Carlos on the left side although he has a couple of years before the 2014 World Cup to master the art of defending.

Neymar threatened again immediately after the break by bursting forward from midfield and hitting the cross bar less than a minute after the half time whistle. The match was replete with high percentage scoring opportunities for Brazil. In the 53rd minute, Ramires skied a ball over the cross bar from a Dani Alves cross. Minutes later, Damiao illustrated his climbing abilities yet again by heading yet another Elano corner just wide. Neymar finally settled things in the 77th minute after one of his dribbling moves resulted in him being brought down in the box and earning a penalty kick for Brazil. The Brazilian number 11 stared at the goalkeeper's right hand side with uncanny composure for a player his age and buried the ball in the same corner of the net for a 2-0 lead that freed coach Mano Menezes to make a bevy of substitutions. The game was marred by a banana thrown onto the pitch following Neymar's penalty in what Brazil has historically understood as a gesture of racism. The banana represents a claim of primitivism about Brazil, particularly when experienced against European opponents on European soil. Roberto Carlos was recently shown a banana in Russia by a fan in one of his first matches for Anzhi, against Zenit, on March 21.

Overall, this was a fantastic result for Brazil, Neymar and for Mano the magician, in particular. We saw the midfield come alive for the first time since Brazil's match against the USA. Jadson, Lucas, Ramires and Elano combined neatly to advance the attack down the center, left and right. Damiao looked like a Brazilian number 9, even though he's clearly not ready to wear Ronaldo's shoes just yet. Neymar is easing into the number 11 jersey and will need to stay fit and put on more muscle to develop into the center forward Brazil desperately needs. Most importantly, the match against Scotland displayed that Brazil can play attacking, creative football without Robinho, Pato, Kaka, Ronaldinho and Maicon. With Paulo Henrique Ganso still recovering his form after a layoff from injury, and the likes of Hernanes, Elias, Casemiro and Lucas of Sao Paulo making their case for a place on the starting 11, the sun is suddenly shining very brightly on the Selecao.

Starting Formation:

Goalkeeper: Julio Cesar
Defense: Andre Santos, Thiago Silva, Lucio, Dani Alves
Midfield: Lucas (Liverpool), Ramires, Jadson, Elano
Strikers: Neymar, Leandro Damiao

Notable jersey numbers:

Neymar: 11
Jadson: 10
Damiao: 9
Elano: 7
Alves: 4
Santos: 6

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)

Brazil's Midfield Under Mano Menezes

Brazilian football currently stands at its lowest moment since Paulo Falcao assumed the responsibility of coach of the Brazilian team after the 1990 World Cup, roughly 20 years ago. Ronaldo has retired, Ronaldinho's career appears to be at a sunset after his move from AC Milan to Flamengo, Kaka has yet to find his form, and the Brazilian midfield continues to lack a quality player of the caliber of Socrates, Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, Leonardo or Kaka. Mano Menezes introduced new blood into the Selecao after their disgraceful performance at the 2010 World Cup, but the team has yet to gel and display any signs of coherence in five performances.

Mano's midfield selections in the friendlies since he has taken over the responsibility of coach are as follows:

Brazil v. France: Lucas, Elias, Hernanes and Renato Augusto
Brazil v. Argentina: Lucas, Elias, Ronaldinho and Ramires
Brazil v. Ukraine: Lucas, Elias, Ramires, Carlos Eduardo
Brazil v. Iran: Lucas, Ramires, Carlos Eduardo
Brazil v USA: Lucas, Ramires, Ganso

Experimentation is good a thing, and if there's ever a moment to give promising young players experience in the yellow jersey, the time is now. As Mano noted in an interview following the loss to Argentina, Brazil needs to start thinking about a midfield without Kaka and Ronaldinho. That said, Brazilian fans should start demanding one of two things: (1) clearer delineations of midfield responsibility such as the way Dunga had Gilberto Silva take charge of the hard tackling, while Kaka and Elano orchestrated the more creative attacks; or (2) a more explicit commitment to the total football of the 1970s where the midfielders, and players at large, assumed multiple roles and switched positions with one another as the game dictated.

Up front, Brazil has considerable problems as well. While Pato and Robinho are blossoming into quality strikers, they have yet to find their form on the world stage and lack the understanding between one another that should develop from their time together at AC Milan. Meanwhile, Brazil's left back position needs further review as Andre Santos has done well, except in the latter two games against Argentina and France. Against Argentina, in particular, Santos was responsible for freeing Ezequiel Lavezzi to set up Lionel Messi's last minute goal.

The one bright note in Brazilian football concerns the U-20 side's breathtaking South American U-20 championship performance where they emerged as champions. Ney Franco's team demolished Uruguay 6-0 in the final match to take first place and guarantee an Olympic berth and spot in the World U-20 Cup finals. Neymar scored a record 9 goals for the tournament, Sao Paulo starlet Lucas scored 4 goals and Casemiro, also of Sao Paulo, scored 3 goals while serving as both a rock and architect of attacking plays in his midfield position.

While we applaud Mano's commitment to rebuilding a new squad without looking back on the old, we feel the time has come for a more focused midfield formation that, like any good midfield, can create chances for goals and score goals. Brazil has started to rely in excess on the overlapping fullbacks to create goal scoring opportunities and allowed the midfield to stagnate. The midfield must gel first and then allow the fullbacks to express themselves. Maybe the answer will come from Brazilian based players in the form of Paulo Henrique Ganso or Sao Paulo's Lucas and Casemiro.