Video of the Day: Neymar, Ganso, Robinho

There is a lot of smoke where is the fire?

Thanks for sharing! I like this video a lot. Robinho was having so much fun. His laughter made him giggle!

Anyways, I have a video (in Spanish, but with Eng subtitles) to share, too. Well, they are actually making fun of Dani Alves in this video. However, to a certain degree, it is somewhat a compliment as it shows how hardworking and dedicated Alves is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eth54t5VOX8&feat...

When Robinho first went back to Santos I wondered if there'd be any jealousy there, any resentment at having to share the spotlight (or even concede it) to Neymar. So happy to see that the opposite is true, that the two players (and Ganso) seem to really like each other both on and off the pitch. There hasn't always been the greatest degree of chemistry between the top players (I remember Romario and Bebeto being fairly edgy around each other, though they seemed to reconcile later on) but Mano's team looks like it will have tons of it. Which is would be really great.

Hope the new national team call-ups which Duvel mentioned above will be same
as these three , want to know who they are ..

hey guys…hugs from Buenos Aires!!!I'd like to ask you does Robinho want to go to Inter?any chance?I'm an Inter fan and I like to know.

According to twitter, Mano will announce the selection for the September friendlies on Friday at 12:30 Rio time.

Anybody watch that INSANE Libertadores final last night? We have a Brazilian winner this year. What an out of control game!

Unfortunately, I couldn't watch it. I saw the highlights, and it was crazy!!! I hope Inter will do well at the FIFA Club World Cup! If they could win, it will help ease the pain of not winning the world cup. My dream final: Inter vs. Inter Milan!!!!

well anything is possible at this point. ManC doesnt seem to want him and he doesnt want them. So the next thing is to find a team that does want Robinho and willing to meet salary terms as well as ManC transfer amount. In any case ManC overpaid for him and will get nothing close to what they originally paid.

thanks.so nothing 4sure yet.let's see.

Hey, by the way, I like your moniker “Redundo” since I think Fernando Redondo is the best defensive midfielder I have ever seen. My only regret is that he isn't Brazilian

hey,thanks kenny.yea I think our Fernando Redondo is the best defensive midfielder till now but of course I don't know about future…

According to Globo, Mano will call up players for training ONLY since CBF couldn't find any opponents (on the other hand, Argentina will be playing Spain in September, I am jealous!!!). The rumor is that the training will be in Barcelona. And, it sounds like Mano will call up players who play abroad since players based in Brazil will still be busy with matches, while FIFA already set aside September 2 to September 9 for friendlies AND Euro qualifying matches.

This is very true. I think it also depends on how the coach handles the situation. Anyways, I think Neymar and Ganso somewhat managed to help Robinho find the joy of playing football again.

I hope Brazil play Germany or Holland in a friendly in September, just to prove to the world that Brazilians are still the god of of football ! Fluke winners need to get ready to face joga bonito/samba style football, the best in the world !!!!!!

They will play Germany next year (August, 2011).

There will be no friendlies in September. The idiots at CBF failed to find proper teams to play, so the team will just assemble for training.

How the hell is Mano supposed to build a team if the federation cannot perform its most basic duty and organize games?

I can't believe they could not find a proper team to play when Argentina is scheduled to play Spain in September. Anyways, if Mano is going to call up mostly Europe-based players, maybe he can use this chance to get to know them and see how they may fit his system. Well, I hope the Selecao can one day play Spain in a friendly, if not this year, maybe next year…

Neymar is staying at Santos!

Yes, assembling the team for training is still better than nothing and it should give Mano a chance to have a look at some Europe-based players.

I hope the CBF learn their lesson and try to plan the games well in advance next time.

Mou is now interested in signing Bastos a versatile player who can play both @ the back and attacking midfield.Does this spell the end for Marcelo since i thot Mou was going to get the best out of his defensive wise??

I'd take Bastos over Marcelo anyday. I know a lot of people here are high on Marcelo, but remember that he'd REALLY underperformed at the leftback role, worse than Bastos did against lesser competition, IMO. Also, I know many, many Madrid fans were extremely unsatisfied with him as a leftback. When he was moved up to play more of a winger spot he played much better, but he really is not a leftback.

Still, if Mourinho really does plan on having Bastos play leftback than he's high on something. Its a wasting a very good player in a position he's not made for. However, if he's looking for Bastos to play more in the midfield, it would be a good pickup. Bastos and Marcelo pretty much provide you the exact same thing tactically, but in my opinion Bastos does everything just a bit better. Especially set pieces. Real Madrid relies too much on Cristiano Ronaldo for every freekick that comes their way.

very interesting development. Now the rumor is that if Bastos go to Real Madrid, Lyon wants Robinho on loan (but I think Man City wants to sell Robinho permanently).

Honestly, I don't know what Madrid is thinking. A better option for them is to offload players such as Gago and Mahamadou Diarra since Madrid already have quality central/defensive midfielders such as Khedira, Lassana Diarra, and Xabi Alonso. They should then use the funds to buy David Luiz since he can play both as a central defender and left full back, which are areas where they are really struggling at. Raul Albion and Pepe (central defenders) are presently hurt so they really need a central defender and of course they have always needed a left full back. Trading for Bastos makes no sense since he is not really a quality left full back and Ronaldo is a better left winger than Bastos and also a better set piece taker so I don't really see the need for him in Madrid

In the same token (with respect to Brazil), it may be a wise decision to deploy Luiz to the left full back position in the event that Lucio and Juan partnership is retained by Manu. Just from what I have seen, he is too valuable to be on the bench and since he is also proficient in the left full back position, there lies another great option for us!! Besides , he can provide additional cover for Lucio when he decides to go on his solo runs up field.

By the way, Arsenal, I am looking at you. Your midfield is a joke, it wouldn't hurt to get those players (Mamoudou or Lassana Diarra) from Madrid to add more steel to your midfield and besides they should come cheap

At practice, MouMou had Sergio Ramos playing as a central defender…Anyways, I'm not sure what MouMou is thinking. He said something about wanting to sign another striker soon recently.

Speaking of Lucio…haha…true, there are times that he will really just go solo and move forward to attack!!!!!! I saw him do that at the WC, more frequently than I would like to see!

That's why they don't want to let Cesc go. Did you watch their match against Liverpool last weekend? Arsenal could have lost the game even when they had 11 players on the field while Liverpool was one man down. Arsenal was so lucky that Liverpool's goal keeper made a Robert Green-like mistake. They were pathetic!

Agree! I don't think Ronaldo is better at set pieces than Bastos. He may think he's better cos he takes every free kick but the number of goals he scores from them proves he is not that good.

Man, I loved seeing Lucio storm forward. Frankly his runs through the center were better than anyone else on the team. In a more offensive minded team it wouldn't work, but in Dunga's Brazil, who despite whatever flaws they had were incredible from a tactical perspective, one of the two holding midfielders would usually drop back to cover for him.

J

Ronaldo is really not a left winger for Madrid. He pretty much has (or at least had, before Mourinho) full discretion to range freely around the pitch. Bastos would be an upgrade over Marcelo in my opinion, which maybe is what Mourinho is thinking, but I agree, they still need a leftback.

If Kaka hadn't gotten hurt, maybe the Kaka for Ashley Cole rumors would have become a reality.

YAY! Philippe Coutinho has been named by Mano. http://www.goal.com/en/news/60/south-america/20...

I know its just training but at least the kid is on Mano's radar.

Here's the whole list (which I'm sure Duvel will post up very shortly)

Goalkeepers: Diego (Almeria), Gomes (Tottenham)

Defenders: Daniel Alves (Barcelona), Rafael (Manchester United), Thiago Silva (Milan), David Luiz (Benfica), Henrique (Racing Santander), Alex (Chelsea), Andre Santos (Fenerbahçe), Marcelo (Real Madrid)

Midfielders: Sandro (Tottenham), Ramires (Chelsea), Hernanes (Lazio), Fernandinho (Shakhtar Donetsk), Douglas Costa (Shakhtar Donetsk), Lucas (Liverpool), Philippe Coutinho (Inter), Carlos Eduardo (Hoffenheim)

Forwards: Alexandre Pato (Milan), Andre (Dynamo Kiev), Hulk (Porto), Robinho (Manchester City)

Hope Sandro can make it this time. And I bet Hernanes gets more playing time as well. Finally, happy to see Alex and Hulk get called up again.

I am really happy as well!!! Well, Coutinho could be a potential attacking midfielder for the Olympics. I think probably he must be surprised he got a call up so soon!!!!

Wow, I love this selection!!!! I am starting to like this Manu guy more and more!!!

You are right in a sense. In the absence of Kaka, Ronaldo was used in the attacking midfield position which allowed him to roam freely. Being a left winger doesn't always mean that the individual is restricted to that wing, some coaches allow wingers to float around similar to the way Manu used Neymar in the last game. Since Madrid recently signed Di Maria who is a left winger, Ronaldo will likely be deployed in the attacking midfield position (where Kaka is normally used) which will allow him to roam more freely.

Basically, this spells doom for Kaka since If Di Maria excels in that left wing position and Ronaldo excels in the attacking midfield position, then Kaka will forever be a bench warmer. Furthermore, if Van der Vaart and Canales prove to be solid players under Maurinho, it will push Kaka further down the pecking order when he recovers from his injury.

Basing on Champions league success from last season Lyon would be a better option for Robinho if he goes there than Fenerbahce or Bekistas other teams linked with him.

actually maybe not. If Kaka comes back, Maurinho may move Ronaldo to the right wing allowing Kaka to regain his attacking midfield position (assuming that VDV and Canales fail to convince)

That's true. Lucio still amazes me actually. But if he ever plays on Mano's team (which is more offensive minded than Dunga's), Lucio cannot do that.

Me, too! Although it is only training, I'm happy with the selection Mano made. It is good to see that he is giving new players opportunities. On one hand, I am disappointed that there will not be any friendlies. On the other hand, he could really use this period to get to know the players based in Europe more. At the same time, the players probably want to get to know Mano as well. Anyways, it is a good mix of players actually. Some of them will certainly play a key role in Copa America (and Mano said that he will probably call up more WC 2010 players next year). The younger ones will probably represent Brazil in the Olympics.

Well, I hope they will have a great time at the training.

Well, there's always Ozil too. If Kaka remains in Madrid, I actually wish Mourinho would try something a little radical and make Kaka function almost as second striker of Higuain. Frankly, all of Kaka's best moments last year came when he sort of fell into that role naturally. Kaka's a good finisher, great at playing in the final ball, and really, he sort of had a similar role in Milan for awhile. I don't think he's really a pure AM at all. But if Mourinho were to do that, he could still conceivably play a Ronaldo on the left, and a Canales or Ozil in the center. What do you think? You know far more about tactics than I do.

I like how Mano seems to have a philosophy already in place as to who he is calling up. The really young players first (against the US), now European-based players who have a bit more experience but still not that much, and then I think later he'll start calling the true veterans, the Kakas, Maicons, Lucios, etc. It should be the best way to have a squad that is equally balanced between young and old without blindly committing to either.

That was supposed to be “off” Higuain.

Under a formation like 4-4-2, where you have 2 strikers, then kaka may function as a second striker, but if Maurinho decides to go with the conventional 4-2-3-1 formation where you have only one striker (which is what i think he will do), then Kaka will have to play as the attacking midfielder, since Higuain or Benzaman will occupy the lone striker role.

and of course, now Mou Mous has Ozil who pretty much plays the same position as Kaka…

I actually think kaka is best utilized as an attacking midfielder since he is more liberated to roam about and wreck more havoc. In fact that was his original role till he started being used in other positions like second striker. The key with Kaka is that since he doesn't force the issue given his docile nature, you have to consciously build your team around him or else he will be eclipsed by more dominant personalities like Ronaldo. The same case applies to Diego

Exactly!!! He already said that he will call up more veterans next year, probably to prepare for Copa America.

I really like his vision. You can see that among the Europe-based players he called up, there are some who will still be qualified to play at the Olympics (if their clubs release them) while being able to contribute at Copa and, hopefully, WC 2014 (if not, they may still be able to play at WC 2018). At the same time, there are older (actually, still not very old considering Robinho is, again, the most experienced player on this squad and he is only 26) who can contribute at the Copa and still are not too old for Confed and/or WC. Mano is certainly experimenting with different players, and he is open-minded enough to consider all options that are available to him. Based on the selection he made, Mano really studies a lot of football games, both domestic and overseas. He is not focusing on top clubs/top leagues only. He picked out individual talents that may work with his philosophy. At the same time, he is also preparing for the future of Brazil.

Anyways, I am sure they will have a good time in Bracelona. Maybe Dani Alves could show them around! =D

How awesome is to have such a deep midfield! Sandro, Ramires, Hernanes, Coutinho, Ganso, Kaka and Lucas. All of these guys, with exception to Kaka are young and should be hitting their prime come 2014. Then we finally have a bunch of options at left back. We have the two best RBs in the world.We have the best CB pairing in the world in Juan and Lucio (Spain fans might disagree about this one) as well as the two best up and coming CBs in David Luiz and Thiago Silva. We have one of the best goalkeepers in the world. We have some amazing wingers in Neymar and Robinho.

The only thing I think we're missing is an established striker. Hopefully, Fabiano will still be in shape by next world cup because we need a tall guy to bat down high crosses and finish with gusto.

And we have one of the best goal keepers in the world – Julio Cesar!!!!

According to Lucio, Pato is fast and unpredictable.

http://foreign.peacefmonline.com/sports/201008/...

I agree. The problem though is that strikers are judged based on how clinical they are in front of the goal. Pato has good technique but needs to work on his finishing