Brazil 2 – 0 Oman

I did not bother watching it too. When Brazil plays friendlies against unknown countries is like going to a party and end up dancing with your older aunt.

Duvel!! I think Thiago Silva and Hulk has booked their ticket. I am not sure about Bastos and Carlos Eduardo. I still don’t understand why Dunga still prefer Julio Baptista. He should try out Alex to replace Kaka. But for me Diego is the best candidate for Kaka replacement. But till now i still don’t see any Gilberto Silva replacement.

Posted from  Malaysia

Sack Dunga! Need to start a petition!

airjaff, what are you smoking man. Dunga and Brazil have done awesome so far and i think they are in pole position to win next years World Cup although few want to admit it.

Robinho has Nilmar putting pressure on him,Nilmar took his chances i think he’s going to South Africa unless he gets injured but Dunga likes to stick with his players we all know Robinho is going also,we’re usually bring 4 forwards i guess Hulk and Pato gonna have to fight for the last spot i prefer Pato personally,Ronaldinho’s been playing well lately i hope he keep it up so we won’t have Ramires in the selecao no more,we only need someone to convince Dunga to stop calling Lucas,Josue,Julio Baptista i don’t even have to stay anything about him unless you don’t watch AS Roma games Diego Ribas should be there instead of him no matter what…is it only me or the brazilian keeeper who plays for AS Roma is a decent goalie? Julio Sergio,Ranieri even afford to keep Doni on the bench,i’d like to have both Kaka and Ronaldinho in the brazilian squad in South Africa and why not Diego also get rid of Julio Baptista and Ramires

Posted from  United States

Ronaldonho has been doing well lately, which is good for the seleccao. On the other hand I have a feeling that if ronaldinho is picked by Dunga, Diego is doomed( i wish Dunga can pick both but I know I am dreaming). I will be surprised if Dunga picks both players (diego and Ronaldinho), and from his previous selections, he is infatuated with Julio Baptista who despite not playing consistently , always gets chosen, and in fairness to Julio Baptista, he does well for the selecao when he plays, and he is a dunga kind of player, rugged, can help in defense and attack. Dunga being a defensive player during his playing days tend to favor defensive players which explains why he picks Josue, Mineireo (thank Goodness, Mineiro is gone!!!),and Lucas.
My biggest worry is still the LEFT FULL BACK position, and we haven’t solved that problem yet which puzzles me since I feel we have the best left full backs besides the French team (Evra, Cissokho, Abidal, Gael Clichy).It absolutely bewilders me how we can be in such a dilemma when we have players like Maxwell, Fabio Aurelio, Adriano from Sevilla, and Filipe Luis. The substitue bench for the defensive midfield position is another cause for concern; If Gilberto or Felipe Melo gets hurt; we virtually have no capable replacements!!!!!

Posted from  United States

Totally agreed with you Kenny!!! Well said!!! That is what i worry too.

Posted from  Malaysia

i almost agree with everything except the Julio Baptista issue,if you’re not playing well in you’re not having a good season with your club you shouldn’t be in the national team,i hope Dunga realize he’s killing Diego’s confidence,i mean Luis Fabiano wasn’t like this playing for Brazil 3 years ago look at him now we all know he’s going to South Africa and he should,same thing for Diego too give him some time then he’ll show his worth in the selcao,if R10 keep it up he should be in Africa instead of Ramires no matter what Kaka,Ronaldinho,Diego i mean i don’t care how stubborn a defense is one of these guys gotta be able to brake it down, in Dunga’s way of playing all 3 of them won’t be in the starting lineup,he’d rather play with 3 defensive players he won 2 out of the 2 major competitions he participated in so i respect him

Posted from  United States

@Pachet-Your point is well taken. I personally don’t feel strongly one way or the other about Julio Baptista. If he doesn’t make the team I wouldn’t shed a tear. I personally feel that there are more less deserving players than him (you know who they are from my previous posts ). Another recurrent theme I keep reading from previous posts which you reiterated is this ” Does a player’s current form in his club team determine his selection in the National Team”. From your post, it seems to indicate “Yes”. I personally feel that using that as a sole criteria is unwise. It should be used on a player to player basis. For some players, not playing for your club team may be due to loss of form. For some others, it’s not (maybe the player does not fit into the coaching system). So with regards to Julio Baptista, I think the latter case applies. He made his name in Sevilla where he was awesome, then moved to Real Madrid, where he couldn’t make the team because of the galactico policy back then (they had Figo, Zidane, and robinho was then recently signed). He was then loaned to Arsenal and that also didn’t go well, which is not a surprise since Brazilians have a poor track record in the English league. Then he came back to Madrid and then to Roma. One thing I have noticed is that when a player continues to be on the bench for a prolonged period of time, the subsequent coaches tend to assume that you must have lost form even if that’s not the case, and I feel that is what he is experiencing in Roma. I still remember vividly Walter Samuel whom for years was considered washed up since he was on the bench in real Madrid, and as a result even lost his place in the Argentine Team, but fortunately for him, has experienced recent rejuvenation at Inter (ironically because Materazzi, and Chivu were always hurt so he got some playing time)but he has essentially being left out of the Argentine Team. Another player currently in the same predicament is Raphel Van Der Vaart. Here was a guy who was the toast of the German League, was mentioned in the same breath with Diego about 3 yrs ago, and he then made a mistake by signing with Real Madrid, and then found himself warming the bench on a regular basis, and what people forget is that HE IS NOT ON THE BENCH BECAUSE OF LOSS OF FORM BUT BECAUSE OF MADRID’S GALLACTICCO POLICY. He wasn’t gonna be played when Ronaldo, and Kaka are on the team. From these examples, you can see a recurring theme- (Real Madrid and their penchant for destroying players’ careers). That brings me back to Mr Baptista, I think his problems started after he signed for Madrid and subsequent coaches have always assumed that he has lost form, though I believe that he will prove them wrong only if they give him enough playing time. I may be wrong but I have seen him play a couple of times and though I don’t think he deserves to be on the starting line up, he has impressed me enough to warrant being on the team (the goal he scored in the finals of the 2007 COPA America was a beauty). Anyways to cut a long story short, using club form AS A SOLE CRITERIA to judge a player’s national team selection should be done on an individual basis. Based on your argument, one will exclude players such as Robinho, ELano (when he was in Manchester City), Walter Samuel, Van Der Varrt, Podolski (when he was in Bayern), Sneider (back in Madrid)from their respective National teams. Coincidentally, Cicinho is suffering the same fate as baptista (Cicinho was a favorite of mine)and of course Real Madrid is involved .

it’s not only about thim not playing for AS Roma,comparing him to Diego he is NOTHING (i’m not saying you are comparing them),yes he was on another level when he was playing at Sevilla but what he does since? so he couldn’t get used to the system at Real Madrid,Arsenal and now Roma? Diego didn’t perform well only when he was playing at Porto that was it,i’ve been watching him since he was playing in Brazil,Germany and now Italy… Julio Baptista is a nice descent player but not selecao material,are you still using what he did when he was playing for Sevilla as a way to prove to me he’s a descent player? common man,he never really impressed no one at Real Madrid,Arsene Winger didn’t keep him for a reason i wish he had kept him though now he’s at Roma he’s not doing nothing to impress no one but Dunga just like Dunga still select Lucas Leiva,Josue ect…did you watch Julio Baptista last year in the champions league against Arsenal (i think i’m not sure)can you imagine Kaka get injured during the world cup (and let’s say Dunga don’t bring R10 with him in South Africa)do you think Julio Baptista can step up to replace Kaka,who would you rather have Julio Baptista or Diego? that’s my whole point,that’s all i’m saying,your other point is coaching system,is he that comfortable in the selecao? the guy hasn’t done that much for Brazil so i just don’t think he’s all that bro,he did score a great goal against Argentina 2 years ago but maybe you should take a closer look bro,Diego’s goals in Germany are something else it’s for a reason Diego is a ballon d’or nominee,you agree? on the other hand i 100% agree with you on the Cicinho’s issue he killed the confederations cup back in 2005 it’s unfortunate that he keeps on getting injured and when he was at Real Madrid they didn’t give him enough time to show his class by having Maicon and Dani Alves block his way to the national team,the only thing i can’t and won’t accept is the fact that you think Julio Baptista is the best one we have to step up in place of Kaka P.S. : Kenny i am not trying to compete with you,i’m just trying to speak my mind that’s all…

Posted from  United States

I had the same concern as you did, but as i stated in my earlier post, Dunga will pick either ronaldinho or Diego for the world cup ( I hope he picks both), so either one of those guys can replace KAKA. Mt whole issue about Julio Baptista is that I was basically making a point that using your club status as an overiding criteria for national team selection is inadequate. Julio baptista cannot replace Kaka, I never even for one moment suggested that. I just feel that Julio Baptista is a prime example of a player that made the wrong club choices and ended up on the bench as opposed to “not being on form”. On closer examination, one will realize that he has never really been given any significant playing time in his current club or while at Arsenal or Real Madrid. I have more objections to some less deserving players who had never proved their mettle-Josue, ramires, and Lucas. Anyways, I will state it once again; Baptista, I wouldn’t mind him on a bench role (if he is not picked, I won’t be upset)but maybe I am biased , which we all are at some level. At this point, I haven’t seen enough justifiable reason to exclude him

Baptista is an interesting player in the sense that he is a “Jack of all trade”. He doesn’t exactly fit one position perfectly, not a true playemaker, attacker, or defensive midfielder, but can fulfill the stated roles decently. What’s amusing to me about this whole discussion is that I defending a player I DON’T EVEN FEEL STRONGLY ABOUT

i don’t hate him neither,it’s just that we have way better players who can fill his position anyway i’ve been watching Ze Roberto since the 1990s he said he regrets of leaving the selecao if Dunga calls him he’ll be glad to come back out of international retirement,i know he’s like 35,36 but when he’s playing he’s a rock in the midfield personally i think he’s way better than Josue,Lucas Leiva,Anderson besides Gilberto Silva is like 33,34 don’t you guys think Dunga should take Ze Roberto as a backup defensive midfielder to play the last 10,15 minutes of the games in Africa instead of bringing the other clowns? tell me what you think guys…… i gotta tell you i’ve been watching the selecao since the World Cup 1990 in Italy i’ve never seen so much mediocrity in the team (referring to some of our bench players),plus how come Dunga still have problems to pick a decent leftback when we have a bunch of him playing everywhere?

Posted from  United States

Is there anything people think Dunga HAS done well? I’d love to see samba style football as much as anyone, but I also remember the disaster that was 2006. That team was so full of selfish prima donnas it made me sick. Dunga’s done a good job of getting people to really commit to the Selecao again, to play professionally and as a team. I agree some of his choices are uninspired, but I don’t feel he gets enough credit for what he has done. As much as I loved watching Ronaldo and Ronaldinho in 2002, I’d rather Dunga pick some less exciting names if it means they will play with heart and hunger and professionalism. The results appear to suggest he’s done just that.

Black Matt,

I think we can give Dunga the credit for a few things. But you have to remember from the beginning of his work, which was a moment of transition:

1)He found not one but 2 incredible right-backs. Since Cafu joined the national team (in 91), it seemed no one was ever able to replace him. Not that he was a genius, but he was good enough and consistent. So after 06, it seemed Brazil had nobody to replace him. And even the first few attempts with Maicon and Daniel Alves did not seem very promising. But Dunga insisted and now we have 2 of the best right-backs in the market.

2)He found us a goalie. Like in the case of Cafu, the transition from the Marcos-Dida-Rogerio Ceni generation felt empty. But Dunga called Julio Cesar and kept him – even when there was pressure to bring back members of that old trio. And now nobody questions Dunga on this decision.

3)He discovered Felipe Melo. When Melo was called for the first time, the reaction everyone in Brazil had was “WTF”. Today, nobody questions that.

4)He turned Elano into a assist machine. You may not like Elano, but from the beginning Dunga trusted him and the guy delivers at least one good assist every match.

5)He brought back commitment to the national team. And cut people like Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Pato and others who indeed are talented, but lack that extra effort.

6) He closed the chapter of a generation by not calling any longer Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, Dida and others. A true work of transition.

Bruno – Thanks for the reply. I agree with everything you posted – especially re: his development of players like Maicon, Alves, Cesar and Elano. (For the record, I actually like Elano, but I never saw him play for Man City where it seems like he didn’t do too well.) Your point #5, cutting the talented but uncomitted players, is exactly what I was trying to say in my own post.

I love and miss the samba style, but in the end I want to win, (maybe it’s because I’m a half-Brazilian rather than a full one, haha) and Dunga has done a great job of doing just that.

Black Matt,

People talk a lot how they miss the “samba style”, but to be honest, when was the last time we had that? Possibly in the 82 World Cup (incredible side. just incredible). After that, no samba, baby. In 86, under Tele, we already missed something. After 1990, it was pragmatism all the way. Our last 2 cups, 94 and 02, did not have the “samba style”. That idea has become an idea propagated especially by Nike’s marketing team (and that’s why I hate so much this company). Sometimes people are romantic about things they haven’t even seen. So don’t worry about those people who just talk. What counts is titles being pocketed. And Brazil has been doing just that – sometimes with very interesting, and even brilliant, moments.

ps: just to have clear. I was extremely critical of Dunga’s work, and I still don’t like his style. But I understand some of his choices and I think I can see where his coming from in many of his decisions.

Bruno – I DID see the old Zico/Falcao/Socrates team, though I was very young. And I’ve seen all the matches of the 1970 team, for example. But I understand your point.

Black Matt,
I wasn’t saying you’re one of those complaining. I was just being like “relax about what people say”. We both know that Brazil is winning and we’re happy about it above all. =)

We all know that Dunga so far has done a good job as the coach, infact he has exceeded all expectations. I may not have indicated as much from my posts, and may rightfully be accused of being over-critical. You may be happy with the state of the seleccao (since we are CURRENTLY winning)but that’s your prerogative. I am neither happy nor angry about the team,just plain paranoid. The current brazilian team being ranked number one prior to the world cup is nothing new. We have usually been on a winning streak before world cup championships only to falter during the competition so one can make the argument that what Dunga is doing currently is no different from his predecessors with regards to the state of the Sellecao PRIOR to world cup championships. I am not calling for DUNGA to be fired, that will be ludicrous. You have to realize that in football; YOU ARE ONLY AS GOOD AS YOUR LAST GAME. In the event that we falter during the world cup, he will be replaced with no regards about his prior accomplishments. For anyone familiar with the recent world cup history- Highly ranked Teams prior to the World cup championship end up greatly disappointing; The Holland squad in 1990 world cup, The colombian team of 1994 cup,the french team of 2002, and the Brazilian team of 2006. As a coach, you have to constantly critically evaluate your team since the Public has a short memory and you are only a game away from getting fired especially in the world cup. Maybe a couple of you don’t understand my reasons so permit me to further elaborate. My concern stems from certain flaws in the team, which may not be obvious now but will be certainly magnified during the World CUP. The first stems from the left full back position, where Andre Santos was routinely abused during the confedrations cup. Many of the solid teams such as Spain, Argentina, and portugal have awesome right wingers; David Silva, Messi and Ronaldo respectively and if Andre Santos cannot hold his own against the opposition during the confedrations cup, how then can he match up against these world class players? Infact I will rather have a good left full-back than a good right full-back since most wingers are right wingers so operate on the left side of the opposition’s defense.(even the left wingers can operate from the right if it is deemed vulnerable but the reverse is not necessarily the case). My second concern is with regards to the substitute bench. If you look at the brazil team that won the 1994 and 2006 cup, they had one thing in common- A SOLID BENCH.During the 1994 cup, we lost two key players (three if you include Rai, who was not in form)- Leonardo (red carded) during the second round against USA, was replaced by Branco who filled in admirably and scored the awesome goal against Holland in the quarterfinals and also in the finals against Italy, we lost Jorginho to injury, then we discovered a wonderful boy called Cafu. In 2006, ronaldinho was red carded against England so he missed the semi-final game. So to quickly summarise; Dinga has done a GREAT job with the starting line-up (except the left full back position) but the same cannot be said of the substitute bench. Barring any inevitability (no red cards or injury), we should be in good shape but recent history suggests otherwise; most teams experience a major injury or suspension either during the world cup or prior (coincidentally, I just saw a news flash stating that Van Persie is seriously injured, so I guess the dutch team has lost a key player). Anyways, I know some of you take me as a prophet of doom, but I am simply a realist. On the flip side, how would you like a blog solely dedicated to showering praises on Dunga, that will be akin to a religious session Take a cue from the spainish team that lost in the confedrations cup, despite the hype surrounding them before the competition

Kenny you mean 2002 not 2006 and i mention the “bench issue” on the 25th, by the way did you see Julio Baptista playing today again? i’m telling you they shouldn’t letting him buy a ticket to be in South Africa as a spectator but sadly it seems like he’s gonna be part of our 23 man squad (i exagerate a little bit) lol,WE WANT DIEGO,by the way Diego’s been playing like Julio Baptista lately,lol,it’s a good thing R10 is getting back to be R10 and Kaka is still in the process of transition in la liga,i hope he step his game up quick…one last thing when people are talking about FCB they usually mention Messi,Xavi,Iniesta ect…Dani Alves is really important for FCB he deserves a lot of credit that he’s not getting yet, what you think Kenny?

Posted from  United States

You are right. Alves doesn’t get as much credit for several reasons; He is south-american, and since he plays in a european league basically dominated by european press, they tend to hype their own players a lot more.
Secondly, he is a defensive player, and generally, offensive players receive more media attention than their defensive counterparts.

Posted from  United States

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/world-cup/story/_/id/706647/ce/uk/?cc=3888&ver=global. Check this out! Man!!

Posted from  Malaysia

Hey i found another site where they only have news about the selecao and brazilian players it’s http://www.sambafoot.com but the catch it’s in french they don’t really update the english version on the site that often anyway i can’t believe people from Argentina and Paraguay hated brazilians that much,they didn’t vote for one brazilian for the ballon d’or,don’t get me wrong i’m not saying any brazilian deserve to be in the top 5 players for the ballon d’or this year but by not voting for none of them at all is something else,congrats to Messi,but i know if we win the World Cup next summer we know one of our players gonna get it next december so we should step our games up Kaka,Ronaldinho,Diego,Pato,Luis Fabiano common we have enough ballon d’or materials !!!

Posted from  United States