Brazil v. Netherlands 2011 Friendly: A Preview

Although Brazil play Netherlands in an international friendly on June 4 in Goiania, Brazil, football fans should understand this is anything but a friendly, particularly from Brazil's point of view. The match stakes a tremendous amount of professional pride for the Brazilian national team given their humiliating 2-1 loss to the Dutch in the 2010 World Cup quarterfinals last summer. Furthermore, Mano Menezes has yet to demonstrate his ability to win big matches against the best teams in the world. With players like Arjen Robben, Dirk Kuyt and Robin van Persie, the Netherlands rank well within the orbit of France and Argentina, the two teams that handed Mano his only losses as coach of the Selecao. Expect Brazil to attack from the opening whistle and put the Dutch on the defensive through a bevy of early scoring opportunities and conversions. Mano is likely to play one of two formations:

4-3-3: Julio Cesar, Dani Alves, Lucio, Thiago Silva and Andre Santos in defense, Lucas, Ramires and Elias in midfield, and Robinho, Neymar and Leandro Damiao up front.
4-4-2: Julio Cesar, Dani Alves, Lucio, Thiago Silva and Andre Santos in defense, Lucas, Ramires, Elias and Elano in midfield, with Neymar and Robinho up front.

Mano has recently preferred a 4-4-2 so that's we should expect, although everyone would like to see a 4-3-3 or even a 4-2-4 at some point. What's clear is that the back four and Lucas and Ramires are basically pencilled into the starting line-up. From there on, it's anyone's guess although Mano has favored Elias in the past and is likely to leverage the understanding between Elano and Neymar that has carried Santos to the Copa Libertadores final. To win convincingly, Mano needs to win by more than a one goal margin so he will somehow have to open the floodgates for the likes of Neymar, Robinho and Elano to put the ball in the back of the net. In recent interviews, Mano notes that Dani Alves functions as another attacker, so one option would be to pin down Andre Santos and let Alves attack down the right flank to complement Neymar on the far left. Bottom line: expect Brazil to go all out for a convincing win, beginning in the first half, particularly given that the match is played at home.

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.

France defeat Brazil 1-0 in friendly as Benzema shines and Mano's midfield struggles

France defeated Brazil 1-0 in a match that showcased Brazil's lack of quality strikers and creativity in midfield. Coach Mano Menezes opted for a midfield composed of Hernanes, Lucas, Elias and Renato Augusto in a classic 4-4-2 formation with Dani Alves, Thiago Silva, David Luiz and Andre Santos in defense, and Robinho and Pato up front. Mano gave the number 10 jersey to Renato Augusto of Bayer Leverkusen. After soaking up some early pressure from the 5 time World Champions, France began to settle down in the early stages by finding ways to release Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema. In the 9th minute, Bacary Sagna combined with playmaker Yoann Gorcuff to give Benzema a chance on goal but the France number 10 shot just wide. Pato, Robinho and Alves threatened for the Selecao in the first half but narrowly missed the target or failed to capitalize on minor rebounds from French keeper Hugo Lloris. The match changed dramatically in the 40th minute when Brazil number 11 Hernanes attempted a kung fu style play on a ball bouncing near Benzema's chest and made contact with the French striker. The referee promptly issued Hernanes a red card and all of a sudden, Brazil were put back on the defensive. In the 55th minute, Jeremy Menez ran down the right flank and crossed over the face of goal to Benzema who promptly tapped the ball in to give France a 1-0 lead. Menez's assist and Benzema's goal eerily recalled the 1986 assist from Rocheateau to Michel Platini to give France the equalizer that enabled them to progress to the penalty kick shoot out that ousted Brazil in the quarterfinals of the World Cup in Mexico. Brazil threatened episodically for the rest of the match, but were unable to put together any impressive combination play in midfield leading to high percentage strikes on goal. Moments after Benzema's goal, Julio Cesar saved Brazil from incurring a 2-0 deficit with a spectacular save from a Benzema header. Just after the hour, the Inter Milan keeper came to Brazil's rescue again to stop another threatening shot from Benzema.

After the match, coach Mano Menezes remained defiant about his selection of a young squad and the inexperienced midfield combination: "The red card had a major influence. In the second half things changed with us being a player down. It would be easy to hark back to Kaka or Ronaldinho, but that's not what we are about. We are looking to the future, to 2014 when Brazil will host the FIFA World Cup."

But for all of Mano's investment in renovation, his youthful squad has now suffered consecutive losses to Argentina and France, casting strong doubts about Brazil's continued place amongst the top 5 footballing nations in the world. Meanwhile, the French curse continues as the Selecao continue to struggle against a French national team that knows how to pin back the Brazilian full backs and create a maginot line in midfield. Whether under Aime Jacquet in France's 3-0 victory over Brazil in the 1998 World Cup final or Laurent Blanc in the February 9, 2011 friendly, Les Bleus conceded the occasional defensive lapse, but for the most part took the attack directly to the Brazilians in a case of the student (France) teaching the master (Brazil) a lesson about attacking football.

Fluminense overtake Corinthians in Brazil's Serie A with 2 rounds remaining

Fluminense regained the lead in Brazil's Serie A after pounding Sao Paulo 4-1 while Corinthians dropped points on the road to lowly Vitoria with a 1-1 draw marked by an injury to their flagship striker Ronaldo. Argentine playmaker Conca scored two goals and set up two more for Fluminense as they consolidated their position as favorites for the title with two rounds remaining. Fluminense defender Gum opened the scoring from a Conca corner in the 34th minute. Lucas equalized for Sao Paulo early in the second half but the last twenty minutes witnessed a torrent of goals initiated by Conca, the midfielder who is widely regarded as the best player in Brazil's Serie A this season. Conca put Fluminense back in the lead with a strike inside the box in the 74th minute and then former Lyon striker Fred poached Conca's long distance strike roughly five minutes later. Two minutes from time, Conca sealed an emphatic 4-1 victory for Fluminense with a left footed shot that positions Fluminense within striking range of their first Serie A title since 1984.

Corinthians, meanwhile, failed to capitalize on their draw to relegation battling Vitoria despite an early lead secured by a terrific pass from Ronaldo to midfielder Danilo, the goalscorer. But Vitoria equalized just before half time with a penalty due to a handball by Corinthians midfielder Ralf. Playing in his seventh consecutive match, Ronaldo was substituted in the interim between the two goals in the 30th minute for a right thigh muscle injury. His departure appeared to unsettle the league leaders as they failed to recover their rhythm and impose their game on the home team. Third placed Cruzeiro bounced back from last week's 1-0 loss to Corinthians with a 3-1 victory over Vasco da Gama from goals by Roger, Henrique and Edcarlos, all of which were assisted by corners or passes from Montillo. The result leaves Cruzeiro just one point behind Corinthians who, in turn, lag one point behind Fluminense with two matches remaining.

After 36 matches:

Fluminense: 65 points
Corinthians: 64 points
Cruzeiro: 63 points

Penultimate round: Sunday, November 28

Fluminense (away) v. Palmeiras
Cruzeiro (away) v. Flamengo
Corinthians (home) v. Vasco da Gama

Argentina 1 - Brazil 0: Messi sinks Brazil in Doha Friendly

In a moment of injury time magic, FIFA World Player of the Year Lionel Messi weaved through a tangle of Brazilian defenders and dispatched a left footed shot past goalkeeper Victor to seal a stunning, last minute 1-0 victory for Argentina against Brazil at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar today. Messi's goal ended a 5 match winless streak for the Albiceleste against Brazil and, amazingly enough, marked his first ever goal against the Selecao. The goal did justice to a match rife with high percentage scoring opportunities from both teams. Brazil pressed the attack in the first half with Dani Alves and Andre Santos roaring down both flanks, and Alves, in particular, threatening the Argentine goal. Brazilian midfielders Lucas, Ramires and Elias aggressively closed down the Argentine attack while playing without the ball and, conversely, distributed nicely to Neymar, Robinho and Ronaldinho when surging forward. Alves had the first real scoring opportunity of the match when a one-two pass with David Luiz enabled him to fire a rocket at the Argentine goal that hit the cross bar. Later in the half, a Neymar corner resulted in a ball falling to Ronaldinho in the box who, with his back to goal, opted for a back heel strike that goalkeeper Romero scooped up comfortably. Dinho also threatened the Argentine goal with a curling free kick off his right foot that Romero punched out of danger. As the half progressed, Argentina began to collect themselves and posed their own threats on goal with shots from Gonzalo Higuain saved by Victor in a match that was rapidly turning into a showcase for goalkeeping talent. Messi started to impose himself in the Argentine midfield and began one of his patented, Maradona-like runs based off passes from Zanetti and Banega that resulted in a long range, left footed shot that sailed over the crossbar by inches.

The second half continued the end to end football that fans expected from the South American clasico with Neymar and Robinho running at defenders and setting up dangerous free kick opportunities for Ronaldinho and Dani Alves. On the Argentine side of the equation, the substitution of Ezequiel Lavezzi for Higuain paid dividends as the Napoli striker created opportunities for Lionel Messi by commanding the right flank and distracting Andre Santos and David Luiz in the process. In the 56th minute, Lavezzi tore down the right flank and passed to Javier Pastore, whose shot appeared to have been blocked by the elbow of Thiago Silva, though no penalty was awarded. Meanwhile, Neymar continued to press the attack for Brazil and found himself repeatedly fouled and manhandled the closer he got to goal. In the 63rd minute, the Argentine defense hacked down Neymar in the box and the ball neatly fell to Robinho, but his shot went just wide.

Mano's flurry of substitutions with twenty minutes remaining--Douglas for Ronaldinho, Andre for Neymar and Jucilei for Ramires--seemed to suggest resignation to a 0-0 draw and an accompanying decision to provide his young players with much needed international experience. But Ramires's departure marked a deep, tactical mistake by Menezes because it freed Messi to find space in midfield that he had rarely enjoyed before. Deep into injury time, the Barcelona number 10 picked up the ball near center circle, burst forward, cut the ball onto his left foot and hit a lawnmower of a shot past Victor's left to seal a landmark victory for Argentina after their humiliating, 3-1 loss at home to Brazil in Rosario in World Cup qualifying in September 2009 and the team's recent 1-0 loss to Japan under coach Batista himself.

This was a humiliating defeat for Brazil as it exposed their lack of a single, world class, pure striker. Ronaldinho did his best to generate attacking opportunities alongside Corinthians star Elias but he lacked a powerful center forward such as Luis Fabiano with the strength to carve out that extra yard of space and put the ball in the back of the net. On the brighter side, Brazil's midfield is finally starting to click as the Lucas-Ramires partnership promises to bring much needed coherence to the team, although they still lack a creative playmaker in the form of Kaka, Elano or Paulo Henrique Ganso.

Despite not having as many high percentage shots on goal, Argentina clearly deserved the victory because Batista succeded where Maradona failed in freeing up Lionel Messi, the best striker in the world. Batista will have to worry about his defense, however, as he cannot rely on Romero to bail out the Albiceleste as often as he did today in Doha.

Overall, this was great end to end football and a tantalizing glimpse of two teams who will, in all likelihood, be the clear favorites for the World Cup in 2014, based as it will be on South American soil in Brazil. If Mano shores up his strikeforce with more mature incarnations of Neymar, Pato and Andre, Batista consolidates his defense, and Messi stays fit, the Selecao v. Albiceleste will probably be everyone's favored match-up for the World Cup final in 2014.

Team Captains:

Gonzalo Higuain (Argentina)
Robinho (Brazil)

Shirt Numbers:

Argentina

Messi: 10
Higuain: 9

Brazil

Neymar: 11
Ronaldinho: 10
Robinho: 9

For more on the history of Brazil v. Argentina, see:
Bringing Back the Beautiful Game: Brazil v. Argentina: A Brief World Cup History

Brazil Player Reviews for the August 10 USA friendly

Neymar: The most impressive Brazilian of the evening. Mesmerized the U.S. defense with dazzling step-over moves and pace. Varied his position throughout the evening, starting on the left, then popping up on the right and ultimately in the center to score the first goal.

Ganso: Rose to the challenge of the number 10 jersey by finding his team mates whenever they had the ball and finding them, in turn, when he had possession. Not quite Zidane just yet, but we can expect his confidence and authority to increase with more games for Brazil. A clear challenger to Kaka's place in the squad.

Robinho: Played an amazing game by complementing his Santos teammates Neymar and Ganso as needed. Took full advantage of Mano's directive to switch positions with other players as needed. Like a truly great player, came back deep into midfield and made runs down the left, right and center.

Pato: A great goal, and another goal that was disallowed, but a disappointing performance overall. Needs to figure out whether he should play like Fabiano and lurk around the box, or like (Brazilian) Ronaldo and come back into midfield to get more possession.

Ramires: Great speed and dribbling skills. Set up the second goal.

Lucas: Excellent defensive work in midfield that stopped the Americans from getting possession in the Brazilian first third of the field. Distributed the ball effectively as well.

Andre Santos: One of Brazil's best players of the evening. Consistently threatened down the left flank and combined superbly with Ganso, Neymar and Robinho.

David Luiz: Excellent defensive work in the center of the back four. Stopped many U.S. attacks before they started.

Thiago Silva: Nondescript in this game, but solid overall. Combined well with David Luiz to neutralize the U.S. offense.

Dani Alves: Ran his heart out, and looked for players both in the middle of the park and down the right flank. Possibly a little jet lagged from a Real Madrid club trip to Beijing, but deserves serious consideration as a permanent replacement for the aging Maicon. Mislaid a couple of passes but compensated for one or two mistakes with his work ethic and unselfish attitude.