Rivaldo Signs With Angolan Club Kabuscorp

Former Brazil international Alessandro Rivaldo has signed with the Angolan side Kabuscorp at the age of 39. Rivaldo moves to Kabuscorp after a one year stint at the Brazilian club Sao Paulo. By signing Rivaldo, Kabuscorp hopes to win the Angolan league championship after finishing second place last year. Speaking of the surprise move to an African club, Rivaldo noted: “I received offers from several countries, but I chose Angola because of the language and because I liked the project." Like Brazil, Portuguese is the predominant language in Angola.

Rivaldo was one of the great Brazilian players in a golden age of Brazilian football featuring Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, Cafu and Carlos Dunga in the years between 1997 and 2002. In the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan, Rivaldo scored in five consecutive World Cup games against Turkey, China, Costa Rica, Belgium and England en route to Brazil's fifth World Cup title. Wearing the famed number 10 jersey, Rivaldo scored a memorable goal in the second round against Belgium from a pass delivered by Ronaldinho with the outside of his right foot. With his back to goal, Rivaldo chested down Ronaldinho’s pass, turned and sent a rocket of a left footed shot into the back of the net to give Brazil the vital lead in a close, tense match. In the quarterfinals against England, Rivaldo scored another crucial goal, again from a Ronaldinho pass, by giving Brazil the equalizer in first half injury time after Luis Felipe Scolari’s team conceded a goal scored by Michael Owen. At the 2002 World Cup, Rivaldo formed one of the 3 Rs in a three pronged attacking formation in the Brazilian national team alongside Ronaldo and Ronaldinho.

Rivaldo was FIFA World Player of the Year, European Footballer of the Year, and World Soccer Player of the Year in 1999. He helped Barcelona win La Liga in 1998 and 1998 and is widely considered one of the greatest strikers of all time. Rivaldo is known for his bow legged dribbling, his refusal to shoot from anything other than his left foot, his curling free kicks, long range shots and his unfailing accuracy from the penalty spot. Rivaldo plans to continue playing until the end of 2012.

Brazil v. Germany: A Brief World Cup History

Brazil 2 - Germany 0 (Ronaldo, 66, 78)
2002 World Cup Final
June 30, 2002
Yokohama International Stadium, Yokohama, Japan

Brazil and Germany have met just once in the World Cup, namely, in the 2002 World Cup final in Yokohama, Japan. In advance of the final, many commentators characterized the match as an epic confrontation between Brazil’s Ronaldo and German goalkeeper Oliver Kahn. Ronaldo sailed into the final against Germany having scored six goals. Kahn, meanwhile, had conceded only one goal prior to the final in a group match against Ireland. The actual final turned out to be more complex than a Ronaldo-Kahn match-up.

In the first half, Germany disrupted Brazil’s free flowing football through a combination of tight marking and hard challenges. The Germans knew that Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho posed the principal goalscoring threats and marked them appropriately. Thomas Linke man-marked Ronaldo while Carsten Ramelow and Christoph Metzelder did well to close down space enjoyed by Rivaldo and Ronaldinho. Rivaldo and Ronaldinho played deeper than they often had in the tournament behind Ronaldo, the lone striker. Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari played Ronaldinho in a deep, attacking midfield position akin to the role currently played by Paulo Henrique Ganso for Brazil under Mano Menezes. As in the quarterfinal match against England, however, Brazil’s Kleberson emerged as the wild card that Germany failed to fully anticipate and strategize. The Brazilian midfielder carved out space to hit the cross bar in the first half and play a pivotal role in the Brazilian attack in the second half.

The early minutes of the second half witnessed two important goal scoring opportunities for Germany. Jens Jeremies directed a bullet of a header on goal that was cleared off the line by Edmilson. Moments later, Oliver Neuville whipped a swerving free kick around the Brazilian wall that seemed to be sailing into the back of the net were it not for a spectacular touch on the ball by goalkeeper Marcos. Having survived these early scares, Brazil gradually began to figure out how to penetrate the German defense by bringing defenders such as Roque Junior, Lucio and Kleberson forward to join the attack.

Ronaldo initiated the scoring in the 66th minute by scavenging to win back a ball from the German defense and passing to Rivaldo in anticipation of a give and go. Rivaldo directed a curling strike at the German goal that Kahn spilled into the path of the opportunistic Ronaldo who buried the ball in the back of the net to give Brazil a 1-0 lead. Twelve minutes later, Kleberson raced down the right flank and crossed to Rivaldo, who, seeing his partner Ronaldo behind him, dummied the ball so as to let it run through to his teammate. True to his billing as the world’s greatest striker, Ronaldo converted the chance by sending the ball low to Oliver Kahn’s left to make it 2-0 Brazil. Ronaldo’s eight tournament goals punctuated a fitting victory for Brazil who became five time World Champions with the best team they have fielded since Pele and the great team of 1970.

Starting Line-Ups:

Brazil
Marcos (GK), Lucio, Edmilson, Roque Junior, Roberto Carlos, Cafu, Kleberson, Gilberto Silva, Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, Ronaldo

Germany
Kahn (GK), Linke, Ramelow, Metzelder, Frings, Schneider, Jeremies, Hamann, Bode, Neuville, Klose

Brazil to Play Ultra-Attacking Formation at Copa America

Brazil's coach Mano Menezes has confirmed that Brazil will play a 4-2-1-3 formation against Venezuela with Paulo Henrique Ganso behind Neymar, Robinho and Alexandre Pato. For purists of Brazilian football, this is a dream, ultra-attacking formation that essentially fields four attackers in front of two defensive midfielders in the form or Lucas and Ramires. The question raised by this formation is how much room Mano will give the full-backs Andre Santos and Dani Alves to roam forward and contribute to the attack. Mano's formation represents one of the most offensive Brazilian line-ups since the World Cup championship team of 2002, where Ronaldo spearheaded the attack behind Rivaldo and Ronaldinho in Luiz Felipe Scolari's famous 3 Rs combination. In 2002, Ronaldinho acted as the playmaker with complete license to come forward, knowing that his back was covered by Gilberto Silva and Kleberson, two of the best defensive midfielders in the world. In the 2011 Copa America, the main Brazil player to watch will be Ganso and his ability to dictate the tempo of the game. As a creative playmaker, Ganso is slated to inherit the role played by the great Socrates in 1982 and 1986. Brazil have sorely lacked a creative midfielder since Socrates, even though Kaka assumed that role but failed to dominate the position in both the 2006 and 2010 World Cups. But if Ganso can stop and start games the way he has for Santos, Brazil could well emerge as a serious contender in Argentina at the 2011 Copa America, particularly if he has the courage to go forward and pose a threat on goal as well. The other player to watch is obviously Neymar, but we should expect him to be well complemented by Scudetto champions Robinho and Alexandre Pato of AC Milan.

Pato's shoulder injury may leave the Copa America door open for The Hulk

Alexandre Pato's dislocated shoulder, sustained during last Sunday's 0-0 draw between AC Milan and Udinese, may create room for Porto's Hulk in Mano Menezes's 2011 Copa America squad. The Hulk has been in devastating form for Porto this year both as a striker and provider of assists to the Colombian sensation Rademel Falcao in addition to his other Porto teammates. He scored 23 goals league goals this season and contributed a total of 13 assists in spearheading Porto's path to the 2011 Portuguese Primeira Liga championship title. The Selecao currently lacks a player with his ability to muscle through defenders and retain his balance while converging on goal and dispatching the ball into the back of the net with a calmness and focus that recalls Romario's unfailing accuracy in and around the box. The Hulk most pertinently represents a cross between the dribbling ability of Alessandro Rivaldo and the muscular power and pace of Ronaldo. He could serve as an effective compliment to Neymar and Robinho, both of whom have a tendency to go to ground in challenging circumstances. This year's Copa America will be held from July 1 to July 24 in Argentina.

Player Profile: Rivaldo

When Brazil arrived in France for the 1998 World Cup, Mario Zagallo was faced with the choice of which player to award the mythical number 10 jersey. In the matches leading up to the World Cup, Denilson Oliveira had worn the number 10 shirt on a number of occasions, but questions lingered as to whether the 20 year old sensation could fit into the attacking line-up given the presence of Ronaldo and Bebeto on the national team. Much to the controversy of the Brazilian media, Zagallo chose Rivaldo, the Barcelona striker and playmaker whose golden left foot had terrorized Spanish defenses since 1997. Many in the Brazilian press felt that Rivaldo was incapable of bearing the weight of the number 10 jersey that had once belonged to Pele, Zico and Rai. As the tournament unfolded and Ronaldo failed to score quite as many goals as expected, critics singled out Rivaldo as the cause of Ronaldo's lack of goals by claiming that he dribbled too much and selfishly held onto the ball when he should have passed to the strikers in front of him.

Everything changed in the quarterfinal match against Denmark. Brazil went down to an early goal in the 2nd minute by Martin Jorgensen but equalized, ten minutes later, thanks to a magnificent through ball to Bebeto from Ronaldo. The 34 year old Bebeto demonstrated all of his experience by maintaining his composure as he clinically dispatched the ball past the right of the diving goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel. In the 27th minute, Ronaldo once again displayed terrific vision and positional awareness by creating yet another through pass, this time to Rivaldo, who promptly buried it in the back of the net from a narrow angle near the left touchline. Rivaldo had put Brazil ahead and scored his second goal of the tournament.

Just after halftime, Roberto Carlos tried to clear a loose ball in the area with a bicycle kick and missed, giving Danish striker Brian Laudrup the opportunity to rocket the ball into the roof of the net with his right foot past Claudio Taffarel. In the 50th minute, the match was tied 2-2 and Brazil were now in deep trouble. Another goal from Denmark or an ultra-defensive formation from them could spell trouble and pave the way for an early World Cup exit. But once again, Rivaldo rose to the occasion and took the match on his shoulders by living up to his number 10 shirt. In the 60th minute, Rivaldo turned on a pass from Dunga and converged on goal after having been given a pasture of space by the Danish defense. Taking sight of room to Schmeichel's left, the Barcelona striker unleashed a lawnmower shot into the bottom left corner of goal to score a dramatic goal that restored Brazil's lead. From that moment on, Rivaldo took over the Brazilian midfield by dribbling through Danish defenders, finding Ronaldo, Denilson, Leonardo, Roberto Carlos and Cafu and using the outside of his left foot to craft unexpected passes that troubled the Danish defense. Rivaldo answered the critics who said he was unworthy of the Brazil number 10 shirt and went on to create the killer pass that enabled Ronaldo to score against the Dutch in the semifinals in Marseille in the subsequent match.

In Word Cup 2002, Rivaldo--again in the number 10 shirt--took over the Brazilian attacking midfield yet again, and scored in five consecutive World Cup games against Turkey, China, Costa Rica, Belgium and England. As a club player, he is best known for his performances at Barcelona where he won the La Liga title in 1998 and 1999. In one of his more astonishing performances for Barcelona, Rivaldo scored a hat-trick in 2001 against Valencia featuring a curling strike from a free kick, a long range left footed shot and finally, a sublime bicycle kick goal that turned the score from 2-2 to 3-2 in Barcelona's favor with just minutes remaining on the clock. With his gangly legs and dribbling ability that recalled the Brazilian great Garrincha, Rivaldo represented the first truly creative Brazilian midfielder since Socrates. Nevertheless, his greatness was all too often eclipsed by his historical conjunction with legends such as Romario and Ronaldo who tended to steal the spotlight because of their raw goalscoring ability in contrast to Rivaldo's unique combination of playmaking ability and goalscoring power.

Now 38 years old, Rivaldo has just signed with the Brazilian club Sao Paulo after serving stints in Greece with Olympiacos and AEK Athens, Turkey with Bunyodkor and most recently, as President of the Brazilian club Mogi Mirim. In what appears to be evidence of reverse globalization, domestic Brazilian football now features Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos at Corinthians, Rivaldo at Sao Paulo and Ronaldinho at Flamengo.

Flashback: Tears of Joy for Mario Zagallo After Brazil's Victory Against Netherlands

July 7, 1998, Stade Velodrome, Marseille, France
World Cup Semi-Finals: Brazil v. Netherlands (1-1; 4-2 on penalties)

Football fans await the World Cup with baited breath every four years, but the World Cup of 1998 figured exceptionally in the hearts and dreams of soccer fans all over the world because of one man: Ronaldo. The buck toothed Brazilian striker had been in blistering form in 1996 and 1997 with Barcelona and Inter Milan respectively. In the 1996-1997 season, he scored 47 goals in 49 games for Barcelona and went on to score 34 goals in 47 games for Inter in the 1997-1998 season, his first in Italian football. Although he had accompanied the Brazilian team to World Cup glory in 1994 at the tender age of 18, Ronaldo did not play in a single World Cup game in the U.S. and hence was widely expected to take the 1998 World Cup by storm. Now, at the age of 22, Ronaldo commanded the field as if he were a 30 year old after having had the experience of captaining Inter Milan in the latter stages of a gripping battle for the Scudetto that saw Inter inched out of the title by Juventus in the final games.

Having reached the semi-finals against Holland, only two games stood between Brazil and World Cup victory. Coached by Mario Zagallo, Brazil arrived in France as favorites, largely on the strength of Ronaldo’s shoulders and his ability to change a game. The team had just come through a thrilling 3-2 victory over Denmark in the round of 16, but they knew the Dutch would be more organized and exhibit a greater degree of ball control than the Danes. Zagallo fielded a 4-2-2-2 formation with Roberto Carlos, Aldair, Junior Baiano and Cafu in defense, Dunga and Cesar Sampaio in defensive midfield, Rivaldo and Leonardo as attacking midfielders and strikers Ronaldo and Bebeto up front wearing the number 9 and 20 shirts respectively. Full-backs Roberto Carlos and Cafu had carte blanche license to supplement the Brazilian attack by roaming up and down the flanks. As the tournament unfolded, Brazil fans warmed to the brilliance of Barcelona striker Rivaldo, whose golden left foot scored two pivotal goals in the preceding match against Denmark.

The Dutch fielded their share of world class talent in a standard, European 4-4-2 formation with Phillip Cocu, Frank de Boer, Jaap Stam and Michael Reiziger in defense, Zenden, Edgar Davids, Wim Jonk and Ronald de Boer in midfield, and the illustrious strike partnership of Patrick Kluivert and Dennis Bergkamp up front. The game featured two central match-ups: Dunga and Edgar Davids went head to head in the battle for midfield while Jaap Stam was given the Herculean assignment of man marking Ronaldo. Given the history of Brazil’s climactic 3-2 victory against Holland in the 1994 World Cup, both teams began gingerly, treating each other with tremendous respect and collectively creating a first half stalemate as the Dutch did well to contain Brazil's overlapping full-backs and render it difficult for Rivaldo and Leonardo to create space in midfield. Conversely, Aldair and Junior Baiano gave Bergkamp little room to play and shut down the supply of passes to Patrick Kluivert.

Scarcely had the whistle blown after half-time, however, than Roberto Carlos found Rivaldo, who in turn delivered a terrific through ball to a Ronaldo who raced into space behind the Dutch defense, fended off shirt pulling from Frank de Boer and buried the ball through the legs of Edwin van der Sar to open the scoring. In this piece of play, we saw Ronaldo at his trademark best, getting away from his marker Stam and maintaining his balance on the run despite Frank de Boer’s efforts to restrain him. But despite numerous opportunities for Brazil to capitalize on their lead, they failed to score a second goal and ultimately fell prey to the aerial strength of the Dutch in the form of a header equalizer by Patrick Kluivert in the 87th minute. Nevertheless, Brazil continued to threaten both deep into regular play and the 30 minutes of injury time. Denilson entered the game as a substitute for Bebeto in the 70th minute and he and Roberto Carlos took ownership of the left flank, creating multiple opportunities for Ronaldo and Rivaldo in the process. Ronaldo had a bicycle kick chance on goal that was defended off the line by Frank de Boer in addition to a curling, right footed shot saved by Edwin van der Sar as the game turned into a nerve racking battle with the prospect of the match ending at any minute in extra time given the golden goal rule.

At every moment in which play was suspended, Zagallo talked earnestly to his team. Stepping out of his usual contemplative position on the bench, he passionately delivered instructions to his team and waved his hands in illustration as the match wore on into extra time. As the referee blew the whistle for penalty kicks, both teams collapsed in exhaustion on the pitch. Zagallo began yelling wildly and moved from player to player, embracing their faces with his hands like a father and injecting a final dose of energy, power and belief into his team. He told them that Brazil was going to win the match and ultimately lift the trophy in the final. And after Taffarel made the final save in the dramatic penalty shoot-out, the "Old Wolf" as Zagallo is nicknamed in Brazil, burst into tears of joy.

The 66 year old Zagallo had broken down into tears after Brazil's thrilling 3-2 victory against Denmark in the quarterfinals. Flushed with deep feelings after the Denmark game, Zagallo required medication to calm his irregular heartbeat. But after the semi-final victory against the Netherlands, the Brazilian celebrations were even more effusive than against Denmark since the nerve jangling victory had required penalty kick conversions from Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Emerson and Dunga, and near clairvoyant saves from goalkeeper Claudio Taffarel. On the pitch, Dunga and Taffarel chest humped each other in celebration. Meanwhile, on the bench, Zagallo burst into tears as he was hugged by Zico and the rest of the Brazil coaching staff. Unable to contain himself, Zagallo strolled onto the Stade Velodrome somberly, took off his spectacles and wiped the tears flowing from his eyes as he took stock of the stunning victory. Despite all his experience as both a player and a coach, Zagallo wept on the field for two matches in a row like an Italian at the opera. Calming his racing heart, the Old Wolf celebrated with tears of joy as he looked ahead to the dream final where Brazil would defend their World Cup title against the home team at the Stade de France on Sunday.

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.

Player Profile: Ronaldinho Gaucho

No player better defined the decade from 2000 to 2010 than Ronaldo de Assis Moreira, better known as Ronaldinho or Ronaldinho Gaucho. Dinho, as he is also called, began his career at Gremio before transferring to Paris Saint Germain in 2001. Despite a number of spectacular goals and performances for Paris Saint Germain, Ronaldinho burst onto the international stage most visibly in the 2002 World Cup for Brazil in Japan and Korea. Ronaldinho was the lesser known of the “3 Rs” attacking formation additionally constituted by Rivaldo and Ronaldo. Though playing third fiddle to Ronaldo and Rivaldo, Ronaldinho provided some decisive assists and goals to lead Brazil to World Cup victory in moments when they were struggling. In the round of 16 against Belgium, Brazil found themselves in deep trouble with the match scoreless after 65 minutes. Belgian players Marc Wilmots and Mbo Mpenza took shot after shot on goal, only to be denied by acrobatic saves from the Brazilian goalkeeper Marcos. In a moment of magic from the right flank, Dinho floated a mid-air pass using the outside of his right foot that Rivaldo chested down, turned and rifled into the back of the net. Similarly, in the quarterfinals against England, with Brazil trailing 1-0 due to a Michael Owen goal, Ronaldinho picked up the ball near center circle and charged at the English defense, dribbling past the English defender Ashley Cole as he dished off yet another crucial pass to Rivaldo that the Barcelona star dispatched with his golden left foot. Minutes into the second half, Ronaldinho struck again, this time with a sublime curling free kick into the back of the net from 35 meters after catching England goalkeeper David Seaman off his line.

At the club level, Dinho’s most productive years were at Barcelona from 2004 to 2006, where he led the team to the La Liga title in 2005 and 2006 and earned himself the FIFA World Player of the Year Award in consecutive years in the process. After leaving Barcelona in 2008, Ronaldinho has struggled to find his young form at AC Milan, though he has produced tantalizingly displays of his earlier form under coach Leonardo and, most recently, Massimiliano Allegri. Dinho scored a hat-trick against Sienna on January 17, 2010 and produced a scintillating display against Manchester United a month later with a goal and an assist in a performance rife with back heels, flicks and dazzling dribbling skills that mesmerized the Manchester United midfield and defense.

Ronaldinho plays with a child-like joy and wondrous sense of possibility every time he takes the pitch. As an attacking midfielder and left winger, Dinho typically plays deep and then surges forward, looking for his teammates or an opportunity on goal. Known more for his dribbling ability than, say, the explosive pace of Ronaldo or the direct, swooping attacks on goal by Kaka, Ronaldinho is best known for his ability to forge creative plays and scoring opportunities out of nothing by bending deep over the ball, luring in defenders and then darting by them in a flash or serving his team a creative pass down the center or to either flank. His career has also been marked by spectacular goals from free kicks and long range strikes from within the run of play, off both feet. Dinho set the standard for excellence in club and international football for over a decade in a manner that the sport has rarely seen. His recent recall to the Brazilian national team in a high profile friendly against Argentina speaks volumes of Mano Menezes’s regard for the 30 year old midfielder, and testifies to his enduring vitality and place in modern football.

Ronaldinho was named Player of the Decade by World Soccer magazine in December 2009.

Flashback: The Magic of Ronaldo

Brazil 2-Germany 1. International Friendly. Gottlieb Daimler Stadium, Stuttgart, Germany. March 25, 1998.

Weeks before the first World Cup ever to be held in France, football superpowers Brazil and Germany squared off in a friendly at the Gottlieb Daimler Stadium in Stuttgart, Germany. Mario Zagallo fielded a star studded squad that epitomized yet another golden age in Brazilian football. Zagallo started Claudio Taffarel in goal, Cafu, Junior Baiano, Aldair, Roberto Carlos in defense, Dunga and Cesar Sampaio in central midfield, Denilson and Rivaldo as attacking midfielders, and Romario and Ronaldo near the mouth of goal. The veteran Brazil coach opted for a 4-2-2-2 formation given the ultra-attacking firepower at his disposal, with Bebeto on the bench and the up and coming prodigy, Denilson de Oliveira, wearing the number 10 jersey.

Berti Vogts's German team boasted their own share of household names including Jurgen Klinsmann, Andreas Moller, Oliver Bierhoff, Jurgen Kohler and Christian Ziege. The match against Germany marked one of Brazil’s final stops on their Nike Brazil World Tour of friendlies before France 1998, and the stadium was packed with fans anxious to see the home team clash with the boys in gold and blue despite near freezing temperatures. Fans all over the world, meanwhile, awaited with baited breath yet another rare glimpse of the "Ro Ro" strike partnership between Romario and Ronaldo, two of the most brilliant marksman in the history of football.

The game started scrappily at first. Both teams attacked down the center of the pitch, with direct end to end play and a go for goal attitude toward the game. The Germans didn’t hesitate to use the time honored strategy of fouling the Brazilians whenever they started to break in midfield. Dietmar Hamann repeatedly stopped Denilson in his tracks as he attempted to burst down the left side and Jurgen Kohler confirmed his reputation as one of the best man markers in Europe by shadowing Ronaldo deep into the center circle and fouling the 1996 and 1997 World Player of the year precisely as he received the ball and turned and darted toward the German goal. Klinsmann, Bierhoff and Moller threatened on the counter-attack and, on the whole, the Germans did a fantastic job of containing some highly skillful opponents by allowing Romario and Ronaldo only a handful of scant touches on the ball.

Against the run of play, Cesar Sampaio scored on a header from a corner kick in the 27th minute with what he later called the “shoulder of God”. But from here on, the rough play continued even though Brazil started to string together more passes as Ronaldo, Romario, Rivaldo and Denilson began to collectively swarm towards goal. Minutes before the half time whistle, Jurgen Kohler committed a studs up foul on Cafu and promptly earned a red card from referee David Elleray. Kohler’s ejection appeared to make it curtains for Germany, trailing 1-0 and down a man against the best ball possession team in the world. But Brazil captain Dunga made matters more interesting when he correspondingly received a red card for a late challenge on Ulf Kirsten. Within ten minutes of Dunga’s ejection, Germany displayed their hallowed tradition of coming from behind as Ulf Kirsten toe poked an equalizer in the 65th minute following some lax Brazilian defending.

Now, it was 10 versus 10 and anyone’s game. Germany pressed forward as the home team, but in the game’s dying minutes, Ronaldo’s magic sealed the game for Brazil. Roberto Carlos picked up Moller’s misplaced pass and burst down the left flank. Seeing the German team caught up field, he delivered a magnificent diagonal through ball to Ronaldo who had retreated to his team’s center circle arc and followed every inch of Moller’s misplaced play. Like a sprinter out of the blocks, Ronaldo exploded forward, eyeing the ball like a hawk, out-muscling a pair of defenders and using his speed and balance to power himself into the box. The Brazilian ace sidestepped goalkeeper Andreas Koepke and tucked the ball into the back of the net with his characteristic composure in front of goal. After appearing invisible for much of the game, Ronaldo finally displayed his trademark explosive pace and ability to power through defenses. His goal marked an extraordinary finish to an otherwise scrappy but hard fought game marked by 2 red cards and 6 yellows, with both Brazil and Germany anxious to send some messages to the global football community prior to France 1998.

Neymar's Uniqueness

He has a lanky build and spiky hair. At first glance, one might mistake him for a playground player with pace and the chutzpah to take shots on goal. He occasionally throws tantrums on the field that testify to the immaturity of an 18 year old boy. But this same petulant youth has been compared with Pele and Robinho and hailed as one of the brightest stars in the emerging generation of Brazilian football. His name is Neymar da Silva Santos Junior and he wears either the number 11 or 7 shirt for the Brazilian club Santos.

Although Neymar has scored 10 goals for Santos in Brazil's Serie A this season so far, and 10 in the preceding season as a whole, his international fame and attention from clubs such as Chelsea and Juventus have rested less on the raw statistics of his goals per game, and more on his unique style of play. For one, there is a boundless energy and exuberance about his movement on the pitch. He plays with the youthful energy of a teenager, bursting forward on the left and right wings and running at the center of defenses as well. The Brazilian press have compared him most frequently to Robinho because of their shared propensity to dribble and cut inward from the flanks without fear of swarms of defenders.

In a style reminiscent of his compatriot Ronaldo, Neymar roams all over the pitch and returns deep into midfield in order to run at defenses. But unlike Ronaldo, he brushes by defenders by relying almost exclusively on an exquisite sense of balance and ball control in contrast to Ronaldo's combination of power, strength and skill. Drawing throngs of defenders in his wake, he solicits the foul, scores from the penalty spot or orchestrates the ensuing free kick and instinctively locates the right place in the box for the killer header or deflection or shot on goal. More often than not, he carves his way out of a thicket of defenders by feigning a move right and then darting left, or employing a similar set of guileful tricks to fool defenders.

Like Ronaldo, Neymar shoots off both feet. Like Ronaldo, he treks back deep into midfield. Like Romario, his balance and goal scoring precision around the box are virtually unparalleled in the modern game. Like Rivaldo, he takes penalties with confidence and success. Like Kaka, he has a sixth sense for the placement of his team mates on the pitch at all moments. But in the final analysis, he is just Neymar, the lanky Santos striker who finds the back of the net from all corners of the pitch and applies himself to his trade with a limitless energy and adolescent disrespect for the positioning and rigidity of the modern game.

In recent months he has scored for Santos in Brazil's Serie A against Atletico Mineiro, Gremio, Avai, Corinthians, Cruzeiro, Internacional and Sao Paulo. And he scored Brazil's opening goal in their friendly against the USA on August 10, 2010 in New Jersey. Nevertheless, Selecao coach Mano Menezes opted to drop Neymar from Brazil's friendlies against Iran and the Ukraine because of his incidents of indiscipline at Santos. At the moment, it's anyone's guess as to whether the Santos sensation will be included in the Brazil roster for the November friendly against Argentina. As every coach knows, brilliance and indiscipline are often coextensive traits that take time for a gifted young athlete to juggle and balance. The question now on everyone's mind is whether Mano and Santos can enable Neymar's talent to blossom to reach its fullest potential and become a complete player that bears no comparison to Robinho, Pele, Ronaldo or Romario, but is just Neymar, the aggressive forward whose creativity marks the fullest embodiment of the beautiful game since Ronaldinho, Diego Maradona and Socrates.

Deadly Striker Partnerships: Romario and Bebeto (Part 1 of 2)

The evolution of modern soccer increasingly features a 4-3-2-1 formation marked by 4 defenders, 3 midfielders, 2 wingers and a sole target striker. Brazil used this formation at the World Cup 2010 with Kaka and Robinho playing behind Luis Fabiano. World Champions Spain similarly relied on a 4-3-2-1 formation in the World Cup final match as it became clear that Fernando Torres was struggling to find his form. In the final against the Netherlands, Vincent Del Bosque positioned David Villa as the lone striker behind Xavi, Iniesta and Pedro. Argentina’s Maradona fielded a 4-3-2-1 with Messi and Tevez behind Higuain while Germany opted for a 4-2-3-1 with Ozil, Muller and Podolski behind Miroslav Klose.

Even at the club level, the 4-3-2-1 formation is increasingly supplanting the traditional 4-4-2 formation that we see most commonly in the British Premier League. AC Milan now features Ibrahimovic in front of Ronaldinho and either Inzaghi, Pato or Robinho, while Inter Milan typically plays a 4-3-2-1 with Samuel Eto and Wesley Sneijder playing deep behind Diego Milito.

All this is to say that memorable strike partnerships, as we used to know them, are increasingly rare in modern soccer. Some of the more deadly strike partnerships in recent memory include the following:

Club teams

Drogba and Anelka: Chelsea, 2009-2010
Morientes and Raul: Real Madrid, 1998-2002
Del Piero and Inzaghi: Juventus, 1997-1998
Rush and Dalglish: Liverpool, 1982-1983

National teams

Rivaldo and Ronaldo: Brazil, 1998-2002
Zamorano and Salas: Chile, 1997-2002
Romario and Ronaldo: Brazil, 1995-1998
Romario and Bebeto: Brazil, 1993-1994

But Romario and Bebeto are, without any question, the most accomplished and lethal strike partnership soccer has witnessed in the last 20 years. Within the tiny space of 3 group matches at World Cup 1994, they created the stage on which World Cup 1994 revolved despite rumors of rivalry and ill will that involved their confrontations in Spain's La Liga. Romario scored 30 goals for Barcelona in 1993-1994 in comparison to the 29 scored by Bebeto for Deportiva La Coruna the season before. Prior to the 1994 World Cup, Romario famously called a press conference prior to Brazil’s departing flight to the U.S. in which he insisted he would not sit next to Bebeto on the plane. And it was Romario who nicknamed Bebeto “crybaby” for his tendency to pout to referees after calls had not gone as Bebeto had wished. But as the World Cup unfolded, like lovers, Romario and Bebeto displayed both an inherent and cultivated understanding of their partner’s moods, position on the pitch and likely mode of play in any given situation.

For more on Romario and Bebeto, see:
Bringing Back the Beautiful Game. Deadly Striker Partnerships: Romario and Bebeto (Part 2 of 2)

Which Mano Menezes Will Show Up as Coach of the Selecao?

What kind of coach will Mano Menezes (Mano) become at the helm of the Brazilian national football team? For starters, Mano is a fan of precisely the 4-2-3-1 formation that Brazil used in South Africa. He is well known for his ability to restore teams such as Gremio and Corinthians to glory after suffering humiliating relegations to their respective second divisions. And, like his predecessors, Carlos Dunga and Luiz Felipe Scolari, Mano has historically professed a certain pragmatism to football, with an emphasis on winning, even if this means sitting on the lead and hogging ball possession at the expense of going forward to score more goals. Mano's teams have tended to play with two defensive midfielders and score on the counter-attack in much the same fashion as Brazil under the Dunga era from 2006 to 2010.

But in a recent interview, Mano promised to turn his back on a footballing philosophy of pragmatism as the head of the national team.

"We are going to rescue our style. Brazil has it's own way of playing," he noted in an August 3, 2010 interview with Sport TV.

"We want to recover that tradition of being the protagonists, and stop being bit-part actors looking for the rival mistake. The world now plays more similar to that Brazil and we ourselves have distanced ourselves from it."

That said, it's really anyone's guess as to what kind of coach Menezes becomes as he settles into his role as director of the Selecao.

Consider the case of Luiz Felipe Scolari, for example, in leading the Seleaco to World Cup victory in Yokohama, Japan in the summer of 2002. Like Dunga, Scolari was initially known for his commitment to tough tackling and rough, defensive minded play. An ardent supporter of a strong defense and quick counter-attacks, he championed winning at the expense of beautiful football. As coach of Gremio from 1993-1996, Scolari threatened to bench players for not committing enough fouls, and additionally became famous for encouraging player ball-boys to throw balls onto the field when opponents were about to take a throw-in, or having his players solicit the help of local police against visiting teams in the event of an on field fracas.

In Korea and Japan in the summer of 2002, something remarkable happened to Scolari's rough and defensive style of play. Brazil's starting line-up initially featured Roberto Carlos and Cafu attacking down the left and right flanks respectively, Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho as the triumvirate "3 Rs" strikeforce, and another offensive midfielder in the form of Juninho Paulista attacking down the center. Fans were dumbfounded by Scolari's offensive formation, especially since the rigidity of his earlier career had given way to a fluid, samba style of soccer where players would routinely switch positions instead of sticking to a predetermined tactical formation. The result produced moments of magic for the Brazilian national football team at a level unseen since 1982. Fans will recall Edmilson's sublime bicycle kick goal in their 5-2 demolition of Costa Rica, Rivaldo's magical goal in the 67th minute against Belgium, Ronaldinho's sublime free kick against England in the quarterfinal to mark a 2-1 come from behind victory and, most importantly, the great strength of Ronaldo in and around the box, scoring 8 goals in 7 games, shaking off defenders shamelessly and putting the ball where it belongs.

But Scolari had at his disposal an extraordinary crop of players, the quality of which Menezes is unlikely to have unless Robinho, Pato, Neymar, Ganso and company blossom into world class talent that can hold their form over the greater part of a decade. Time will tell, but the interesting thing is that, for all the talk of renovation, rebuilding, rebirth and jogo bonito in Brazil, few people in Brazil are calling Ricardo Teixeira's bluff and noting how the Brazilian Confederation of Football's choice of a coach for the Selecao seems disturbingly similar to Dunga and the early Scolari, at precisely the moment when Brazilian football needs radical change.

Mano's Dilemma About the Brazil Number 10 Jersey

One of the intriguing questions raised by Mano Menezes's (Mano) roster for the upcoming Brazil v. USA friendly is the question of who will wear the famed number 10 jersey given Kaka's absence from the squad. In the last 20 years, the Brazilian number 10 jersey has traditionally been worn by a creative midfielder or playmaker who can also score goals. Alessandro Rivaldo wore the number 10 jersey at both the 1998 and 2002 World Cups, Ronaldinho did so in 2006 and Kaka wore the Brazilian number 10 shirt in South Africa 2010. Rai, another creative midfielder and younger brother of the legendary player Socrates, wore the number 10 shirt at the 1990 World Cup in the era before it had been designated for a pure striker such as Zico in 1982 and 1986. But the bottom line is, anytime you give the number 10 shirt to a Brazilian player, watch out.

Mano's squad leaves plenty of room for speculation, however, given that his midfield selection contains no players from Dunga's World Cup team with the exception of the 23 year old Ramires. Ramires has hardly earned the right to wear the number 10 shirt but the same could be said about any of the other midfielders, especially since the young sensation Paulo Henrique Ganso has yet to earn his first international cap.

One obvious choice would be to give the number 10 shirt to Robinho, and leave the number 9 shirt--traditionally reserved for a pure striker--to Alexander Pato. Part of this decision will depend on how Mano plans to play Robinho given that it's not yet clear whether Robinho will play the role of the lone striker or an attacking midfielder behind Pato, Andre or Neymar. Another option, for Mano, would be to return the number 10 shirt to a pure striker as a signal that the torch from Dunga has indeed been passed, and that Brazilian football under his direction has anchored its vision in the attacking, creative spirit of the Zico era of the early to mid 1980s.