Positional Breakdown #2

The Midfield

The Brazilian midfield has some of the biggest names and biggest clubs in the world represented in the depth chart. Dunga has shown a preference to play at least two defensive midfielders. There are several emerging talents who will have the opportunity to break through into the starting eleven. I will break down the pure midfield starters from the Italy match (so no Robinho), and the reserves.

Felipe Melo – If you read the previous post you know that he is a quality player who got his first cap against Italy. It will be interesting to see if Dunga continues to give him the call. I hope he does to say the least.

Elano – Elano has turned in several impressive performances for the national team, even if his playing time for his club, Manchester City, has been inconsistent. Despite this, he deserves to start for the national team based on his play with them alone.

Gilberto Silva – I think that his time has passed. Although he had a solid game against Italy, I did not think his previous form with the team was very impressive. I have no idea how he has looked for his club Panathinaikos because I can’t read Greek, and I’m definitely not throwing down the money to watch Greek Super League games on T.V. I think Denilson is ready to take over this spot for the national team.

Ronaldinho – When he left Barcelona a lot of people thought he was finished. He’s had a bit of the renaissance at AC Milan and has played well enough to be starting for the national team. When he is fit, he is still a maestro in the midfield, and one of the most exciting players in the world. I just don’t think you can justify starting a Julio Baptista or Diego when you have a player like this. One question that some have posed is: Do he and Kaka take something away from each other? It’s a fair question, and Kaka has commented this might be the case. I think the only way to get past this is to just have them play with each other as much as possible.

Reserves

Kaka – Kaka is not a reserve. He just was injured for Italy which is why I have him here. When he is healthy, Kaka is still one of the best three players in the world. He turned down a world record offer from Manchester City to stay at AC Milan, which was a good decision as far as his role for the national team because he will have the opportunity to play in the Champions League next year.

Anderson – Last year many of us thought that Anderson was destined for stardom, and it still might be. However, this season has cast some doubt on this notion. I think its fair to say that this campaign has been a bit of a struggle for him. During the Olympics you could see this coming. Against lesser talent he was expected to be a big part of the Brazilian team in Beijing, but the exact opposite occurred. Anderson is the heir apparent to Ryan Giggs at Manchester United, but based on his inconsistency, and dependence on his left foot, that time might not be before 2010.

Mancini –The Inter Milan midfielder has not be as consistent as he was during his time at Roma. He has not be able to nail down an every week starting place for Inter. He is a good player, but not being a regular starter hurt his case to be anything more than a reserve for the national team. I thought leaving Roma was a bad decision in this respect.

Josue – In case you haven’t noticed, I cannot stand him. I don’t know what Dunga ever saw in him, maybe it was a little bit of himself. He plays for Dunga’s former club, Wolfsburg, in the same position. I thought his play was extremely poor for the national team. He gave away the ball constantly, and would foul anything that walked at the worst times. I don’t even believe he should be on the national team.

Denilson – He has a lot of potential, and is still growing into a better player. Many have billed him as the next Gilberto Silva. Like Gilberto Silva, he is a defensive midfielder who plays for Arsenal, Gilberto Silva’s former club. He has nailed down a regular starting place for the Gunners. I thought his performance against Roma last week was impressive. Dunga has not given him a cap however, and I have no idea why. You would have to believe that his time is coming soon.

Lucas – This is a difficult one to figure out. You know that he has talent. However he has not been able to string enough consistency together to be a regular at Liverpool. He is only 22, so he still has some time to figure it out. He was not in Liverpool supporters’ good graces at the start of the current campaign because of his play. I’ve never watched a game with him in which I thought he stood out. Should he be starting on the national team? No, not until he is playing regularly, which might not be anytime soon at Liverpool with Xavi Alonso and Javier Mascherano playing in front of him.

Julio Baptista – The Beast’s move to Roma was a good one. He is playing more regularly than he was at Real Madrid. There is no doubt that Baptista should be on the national team. His passing ability is a little suspect, although he is good at knocking the ball down and taking free kicks.

Diego – Diego, who plays for Werder Bremen, and been linked to high profile moves to major clubs. His club has valued him at above €30 million. Do I think he is a good player? Sure. €30 million? Probably not. He has eight goals on an eleventh place team, in the fourth, maybe the fifth best league in the world. Again he’s a solid player. However, I don’t believe he is better than Ronaldinho, who he needs to beat out to start for the national team. I think his performances for the national team have left a lot to be desired.