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),

Brazil v. Romania: A Brief World Cup History

World Cup 1970
June 10, 1970
Guadalajara Stadium
Brazil 3 - Romania 2

Brazil and Romania have played just once in the World Cup, namely, in 1970 in Mexico in the group stages. Pele swore that he would never play in the World Cup again after Portugal’s Morais had fouled him out of the tournament in 1966. But the selection of Mario Zagallo as coach changed matters and Pele returned to the World Cup as the world’s best player. Brazil typically played with four attackers in the form of Jairzinho, Gerson, Tostao and Rivelino, with Pele in a deeper role in the number 10 jersey. For the Romania match, Zagallo chose to rest Gerson and Rivelino. In the 20th minute, Pele was fouled on one of his runs through midfield toward the box. The King stepped back from the dead ball with all of the arrogance and entitlement due to the world’s best football player. Pele scored by curling in a free kick around the left corner of the wall to give Brazil a 1-0 lead. Two minutes later, Paulo Cesar burst down the left flank and beat his marker to cross to Jairzinho, who opportunistically deflected the ball into the box to make it 2-0 Brazil. But Romania were not going to lie down easily. Dumitrache collected a deep midfield pass with his back to goal. He then promptly turned and beat two lackadaisical Brazilian defenders to make it 2-1. Brazil effectively put the match away twenty minutes into the second half after Carlos Alberto’s cross from the right flank was deflected by Tostao’s heel to the onrushing Pele, who found the left corner of the net. The score was now 3-1, in Brazil's favor. Romania's Dembrowski scored in the 83rd minute to render the final minutes tense as Brazil held on for victory and a place in the quarterfinals against Peru.

Brazil v. Scotland: A Brief World Cup History

Brazil v. Scotland World Cup Results

1974: Brazil 0 - Scotland 0
1982: Brazil 4 - Scotland 1 (Zico, Oscar, Eder, Falcao; Narey)
1990: Brazil 1 - Scotland 0 (Muller)
1998: Brazil 2 - Scotland 1 (Sampaio, Tom Boyd (own goal); John Collins)

Brazil and Scotland have played in the World Cup in 1974, 1982, 1990 and 1998. Considering that Scotland has qualified for the World Cup only eight times, the Scots can consider themselves unlucky to have drawn Brazil in four of their eight World Cup appearances. In 1974, Scotland played a highly physical match against the defending champions in Frankfurt in 1974. The game featured 50 fouls divided evenly amidst both teams. In the 12th minute, Rivelino's free kick was parried away by Scottish goalkeeper Harvey. Brazil's Nelinho took the resulting corner and Leivinha hit the cross-bar to no avail. Minutes later, Jairzinho attacked from the right but Scotland's Jardine kept the ball off the goal line. In the second half, Scotland's Lorimer posed more than one threat against Brazil by way of a dangerous 30 yard free kick and shots from all corners of the field. Both sides struggled with a pitch saturated with rain but, all in all, Brazil's team looked like a ghost of the squad that had dazzled the world in Mexico four years earlier. Rivelino wore the number 10 jersey though he failed to pose the attacking threat that had destroyed defenses in the 1970 World Cup. 1982 was a different story entirely, however. The Scots went ahead early through a goal by Narey, but from then on, it was all Brazil. Zico curled in a glorious free kick to equalize in the 33rd minute and then, just after half time, Oscar latched onto a corner from Junior to make it 2-1 Brazil. Brazil now continued the attack relentlessly on all fronts and Socrates asserted his authority in orchestrating the final two goals. In the 64th minute, Socrates found Serginho in the center, in front of goal. Serginho flicked the ball left to Eder on the left flank, who caught the goalkeeper off his line and magically curled the ball into the far right post to make it 3-1 Brazil. In the 86th minute, Socrates, lurking on the edge of the box, saw Paulo Falcao steaming forward from midfield and poked the ball into his path. Falcao made no mistake and sent a rocket into the bottom left corner of the net. As in the match against the Soviet Union, Brazil came from behind and asserted their place as favorites for the 1982 World Cup in dramatic fashion. In 1990, Brazil beat Scotland 1-0 thanks to a goal by Muller, who had come on as a substitute for the young Romario in the 65th minute. Alemao struck a lawnmower of a ball at the Scottish keeper who, unable to prevent a rebound, left the loose ball to Careca. Careca deflected the ball to his strike partner Muller, who had burst forward from the right flank to tap the ball into an open goal. In 1998, Brazil encountered Scotland in their first match of the tournament and opening group game. With all of the hype around the young sensation Ronaldo and the controversy of Romario's last minute exclusion from the squad due to injury, Brazilian journalists were ready to pounce at the slightest display of weakness from the defending champions. Brazil beat Scotland 2-1 thanks to an own goal from Tom Boyd after Cesar Sampaio opened the scoring before Brazil conceded a penalty that John Collins converted in the 38th minute.

Romario, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Kaka & Bebeto: A Guide to Shirt Numbers for the Selecao

The number of a football player's shirt speaks volumes not only about his position on the pitch but also about the way in which he is perceived by his coach and the team more generally. In the case of the Brazilian national football team, the symbolism of numbers worn on the shirts of Selecao players is richer than in most other national teams given the Selecao's illustrious history, complete with 5 World Cup trophies, two runner up medals and the memory of Tele Santana's 1982 World Cup squad, widely regarded as the best football team never to win a championship. Ever since Pele wore the number 10 shirt for Brazil in 1970, the number 10 shirt has typically been given only to remarkable footballers who have the capacity to change a game. Zico inherited the number 10 shirt in 1982 and 1986 and, like Pele, occupied the position of a pure striker. In recent years, however, the number 10 shirt has shifted to creative, attacking midfielders that orchestrate attacks in addition to scoring goals. When Mario Zagallo gave the number 10 jersey to Allessandro Rivaldo at the 1998 World Cup in France, for example, there was much speculation in the Brazilian media as to whether Rivaldo could "bear the weight" of the number 10 jersey. As it turned out, Rivaldo lived up to and even exceeded expectations in the number 10 shirt both in 1998 and 2002, and since then, the number 10 shirt has gone, for the most part, either to Ronaldinho or Kaka.

The number 9 and 11 jerseys signify a pure striker in the vein of Ronaldo and Romario. Ronaldo famously wore the number 9 whereas Romario was most often seen in the number 11. 7 marks yet another well known number in the pantheon of venerable Brazilian shirt numbers as it is typically worn by another striker, and most likely a winger of a certain kind who lies deeper than a primary striker and plays a pivotal role in creating goal scoring opportunities alongside the attacking midfield. Bebeto wore the number 7 given his penchant for lying deep, behind Romario, and setting up his strike partner to score while concurrently dispatching scoring opportunities that came his way. Rivaldo also wore the number 7 jersey earlier in his career when playing alongside the famous "Ro Ro" combination of Romario and Ronaldo as a left sided winger. The final number of any real significance is 8, the shirt number worn by the great midfielder Socrates and, in select matches, by Ricardo Kaka, who wears the same jersey for Real Madrid. 8 seems to have fallen out of favor in the last ten years or so, but its symbolic association with Socrates has unforgettably marked its bearer as an embodiment of creativity, leadership and midfield brilliance.

The following list identifies attacking Brazilian players for the Selecao and the shirt number they typically wore in World Cup matches or qualifying rounds:

World Cup 2010

Robinho: 11
Kaka: 10
Luis Fabiano: 9
Elano: 7

World Cup 2006

Ronaldinho: 10
Ronaldo: 9
Kaka: 8
Adriano: 7
Roberto Carlos: 6

World Cup 2002

Ronaldinho: 11
Rivaldo: 10
Ronaldo: 9
Roberto Carlos: 6

World Cup 1998

Bebeto: 20
Rivaldo: 10
Ronaldo: 9

World Cup 1994

Romario: 11
Bebeto: 7

World Cup 1990

Muller: 15
Romario: 11
Careca; 9

World Cup 1986

Socrates: 18
Zico: 10
Careca: 9
Muller: 7

World Cup 1982

Falcao: 15
Eder: 11
Zico: 10
Serginho: 9
Socrates: 8
Junior: 6

World Cup 1970

Rivelino: 11
Pele: 10
Tostao: 9
Jairzinho: 7

Santos midfielder Paulo Henrique Ganso is widely expected to take over the number 10 jersey in the coming years while Neymar may well inherit number 11, and Alexander Pato the number 9 shirt for Brazil.