Who to leave out?

“Other coaches have trouble deciding who to pick, but our problem is who to leave out” said Parreira, probably with a big smile in his face. Same smile all Brazilians show when this issue is brought up. Neil asked the same question, so I’ll tell what I know.

I believe the answer is simple. If considering that none of them has any injuries, you can ask these questions: Who have less European experience of the five? Who is the younger? I say Robinho can start on the bench. Here in Brazil not everybody would agree, of course. People have different points of view anywhere, but I hear most people say the same. Robinho is very talented but he is too young. He played very nicely with the Selection more than once, but the World Cup brings a whole other level of pressure. The yellow shirt may be too heavy for him to start playing.

Ronaldo was at the 1994 World Cup, but he didn’t play. Soon after that he was being called “the phenomenon” and getting to the final in 98 and 02. But I’m not suggesting in anyway that Robinho should not play this year. All Brazilians want to see his moves on the green field, but he can act as a secret weapon. He can replace someone tired on the second half of the game to dismantle a heavy defense. It would be incredible if all 5 could be side-by-side haunting some other team, but only if Brazil was way ahead on the score.