Brazil Selects Marcelo, Thiago Silva and Hulk For 2012 Olympics

Brazil coach Mano Menezes named a star studded squad for the London 2012 Olympics today featuring Thiago Silva, Marcelo and Hulk as Brazil's three players over the age of 23. Brazil travel to the London Olympics in search of the elusive Olympic gold medal, the only major soccer trophy they have yet to win.

Previously, the Brazil men’s Olympic soccer team earned two silver medals and two bronze medals. Brazil won the silver medal at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles and 1988 Olympics in Seoul and the bronze medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and the 2008 games in Seoul. This year’s squad is widely considered one of the strongest ever and correspondingly, Brazilian football hopes are pinned on the Olympics in the absence of positive results by the national team at the 2010 World Cup and the 2011 Copa America.

Highlights of Brazil’s 2012 Olympic squad include the following:

• Overage players in the form of Thiago Silva, Hulk and Marcelo
• Selection of Rafael and Danilo as right-backs and the omission of Barcelona's Dani Alves
• Two deeper playing midfielders in Romulus and Sandro
• Three attacking midfield options in the form of Oscar, Paulo Henrique Ganso and Lucas Moura
• Four strikers as represented by Neymar, Hulk, Pato and Leandro Damiao

Brazil are in Group C along with Egypt, Belarus and New Zealand. Mano Menezes’s team kick off their quest for Olympic gold with an opening match in group play against Egypt on July 26 in Cardiff. They play Belarus on July 29 and New Zealand on August 1. AC Milan’s Thiago Silva is likely to captain the team.

Brazil 2012 Olympic Squad

Goalkeepers: Neto (Fiorentina), Rafael (Santos).
Defenders: Alex Sandro (Porto), Rafael (Manchester United), Danilo (Porto), Marcelo (Real Madrid), Bruno Uvini (Sao Paulo), Juan (Inter Milan), Thiago Silva (Milan).
Midfielders: Romulus (Vasco), Sandro (Tottenham), Oscar (Internacional), Paulo Henrique Ganso (Santos), Lucas Moura (Sao Paulo).
Strikers: Alexandre Pato (Milan), Hulk (Porto), Leandro Damiao (Internacional), Neymar (Santos).

Brazilians Sparkle in Europe With Goals Aplenty As Hulk Scores Again

This weekend, Brazilians sparkled in Europe, taking some of the limelight off their compatriots back home as the battle for Brazil’s Serie A title goes down to the wire. Here are some of the goals from European based Brazilians this weekend:

• Hulk scores a brace and provides an assist in Porto’s 3-2 victory over Braga.
• Kleber scored Porto’s third goal against Braga.
• Thiago Silva opened the scoring for AC Milan against Chievo.
• Alexandre Pato scored in AC Milan’s 4-0 victory over Chievo.
• Michelle Bastos scored the third goal in Lyon’s 3-0 victory over Auxerre.

Hulk is clearly taking on the mantle of the hottest Brazilian striker in Europe as Porto are now unbeaten in 50 consecutive league games. The other question, lurking on everyone’s mind, is whether Michelle Bastos deserves a place in the Brazilian national team.

Brazil draw 0-0 against Netherlands in Goiania friendly

Brazil drew 0-0 against the Netherlands in a friendly match that was rife with goal scoring opportunities but devoid of cases where the ball legitimately hit the back of the net. Mano played a 4-3-3 formation with Lucas, Ramires and Elano in midfield and Neymar, Robinho and Fred as attackers, in front of the expected defensive combination of Andre Santos, Thiago Silva, Lucio and Dani Alves. Holland’s Ibrahim Afellay had two golden opportunities for the Dutch in the opening half that were saved by Brazil goalkeeper Julio Cesar. Moreover, Robin Van Persie missed the opportunity to direct an aerial ball on target soon before the half time whistle. Brazil, meanwhile, had opportunities in the first half from a Ramires goal that was deemed offside and later, a long range Ramires strike that narrowly missed the top left corner.

Brazil dominated the second half as Neymar, in particular, began to impose his authority in and around the box. The Neymar, Robinho and Fred combination caused the Dutch defense problems early in the second half, but the Brazilian strikers simply failed to find the back of the net. Neymar had a number of shots on target saved by Dutch goalkeeper Tim Krul and, meanwhile, Robinho and Dani Alves pressed the attack for Brazil as well. Robinho’s strike curled toward goal after bouncing off the keeper’s feet but it was cleared off the line by Joris Mathijsen, away from the onrushing Fred. Brazil continued to attack but to no avail, with Ramires ultimately earning a second yellow card for a foul on Arjen Robben roughly ten minutes from time that resulted in his ejection.

For Brazil, this match represented a phenomenal display of defending from Lucio and Thiago Silva, two of the best center backs in the world. The second half witnessed some inspiring attacking play from the Selecao that would have created a bulge or two in the back of the net had it not been for a combination of luck and Tim Krul’s remarkable goalkeeping. Clearly, 4-3-3 is the formation for Brazil as it renders it very difficult to mark the combination of Neymar, Robinho and another striker, whether it be Fred or Leandro Damiao. If Mano ever has the luxury of fielding Paulo Henrique Ganso in a 4-2-1-3 combination, with Lucas and Ramires behind Ganso, Brazil is likely to win more matches against top 20 opponents. The other option is to bring on The Hulk as the center forward to replace Fred. But these are tactical questions that are easy for a journalist to make and much more difficult for a coach to implement in practice when he has to consider the culture of the team and its ethos on and off the field. Clearly, what we are seeing here is a lightweight Brazil team doing as best as it can given the talent at its disposal, though struggling to pull its weight against heavyweight contenders such as France, Argentina and the Dutch. Neymar had several high percentage chances that a more experienced Brazilian striker would have buried in the back of the net. If Brazil loses against Romania, Mano may have no option but to call upon the services of The Hulk to obtain more conversions from the Brazilian attack. Overall, the team looks like it is learning to find each other and create space and opportunities. The Selecao now just needs some quality strikers that can create a bulge in the back of the onion bag when given space in the box.

Leonardo Nascimento de Araujo Quotes on AC Milan, 2009 - 2010

On coaching AC Milan for the 2009-2010 season:

"[AC Milan] was great...Thiago Silva needed confidence, directions. Europe isn't easy for a skilled Brazilian defender. Abate and Antonini had to improve mentally and believe: I can. It's nice to see Antonini on the national side. Borriello needed room. Dida never said anything, but he worked like a madman. He was great. Pirlo's silence was powerful. Ambrosini carried us in his first year as captain. Seedorf showed character. Ronaldinho regained his energy and enthusiasm. Occasionally he would start to fade and I would give him a push and he would come back. Pato's first season as a starter was marked by injuries and difficulties. Nesta returned after being written off. It was great. From the exterior they look like champions, but from an insider's view they are fragile, sensitive people. Leading them was personally an exciting and gratifying experience. It was great."

On his decision to leave and Silvio Berlusconi:

"Milan was so many things for me. I was a player, executive and coach for the club. At a certain point in time, after 13 years with the club, I thought that I would be with Milan forever. Instead, I broke it off. I'm going to need this year to change who I am, to see things objectively, not as part of the AC Milan organisation."

"Let's make two things clear. The first is that I would have never left after 13 years for tactical reasons, also because today Milan play the same way as they did before. The second thing is that I decided to leave. I forewent the final year of my contract to leave on the best terms possible. I left because my character and style were not compatible with his. I said all the same things to him. Narcissus does not like anything that is not a reflection of him."

Read the full text of the September 2010 interview with Leonardo here:
"Leonardo takes a Swipe: Berlusconi like Narcissus." La Gazzetta dello Sport. September 18, 2010. Interview by Luigi Garlando.

Mano's Renovation Continues

Brazil coach Mano Menezes continued his radical restructuring of the Selection, better known as the Selecao, by dropping Santos teenage sensation Neymar from the national team for two international friendlies scheduled for October. Citing Neymar’s recent outburst at former Santos coach Dorival Junior, Mano noted the importance of defining the kind of professional conduct deemed acceptable for the national team. Neymar’s omission and Ganso’s knee injury pave the way for Carlos Eduardo and Philippe Coutinho to take charge of the offensive component of midfield alongside Robinho. Meanwhile, Mano’s squad continues to omit players from the World Cup 2010 such as Luis Fabiano, Maicon and Lucio in what many view as a refreshing “selection” that will be difficult to scout against given its youth and lack of a history of playing amongst one another. A close look at the roster reveals that Mano’s defensive back four is starting to take shape with Thiago Silva and David Luiz anchoring the center of midfield, and Andre Santos and Dani Alves taking the place of left and right back respectively. But the midfield and strike partnerships remain a revolving experiment both in terms of players and the precise formation that gets played on the pitch, even though Mano has historically favored either a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-3-2-1.

Squad for Brazil's October friendlies, with opponents TBD:

Goalkeepers: Victor (Grêmio), Jefferson (Botafogo), Neto (Atlético PR)
Fullbacks: Daniel Alves (Barcelona), Mariano (Fluminense), André Santos (Fenerbahçe), Adriano Correia (Barcelona)
Central Defenders: David Luiz (Benfica), Alex (Chelsea), Thiago Silva (Milan), Rever (Atlético MG)
Midfielders: Lucas (Liverpool), Ramires (Chelsea), Sandro (Tottenham),
Elias (Corinthians), Carlos Eduardo (Rubin Kazan), Philippe Coutinho (Inter Milan), Wesley (Werder Bremen), Giuliano (Internacional)
Forwards: Alexandre Pato (AC Milan), Robinho (AC Milan), André (Dynamo Kiev), Nilmar (Villarreal)

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.