Brazil squad for Costa Rica friendly

Hulk and new boy Fábio look on (Mowa Press)

Brazil’s players have been training in San José ahead of their friendly match with Costa Rica on 7 October (this Saturday Friday – 23.00 Brazil time). They also play Mexico four days later in a place called Torreon. The group includes 15 European based players and nine locally based players including Ronaldinho and Neymar. Because the locally based players will miss domestic club matches, Mano Menezes his limited his call up to one player from each club.

Ronaldinho and Neymar are the two main attractions of this team and it seems that for the first time in many years, Brazil’s real stars are locally based players. ”I think that’s really cool. Most of the kids are here and they are really good and there are those that have come home” said Ronaldinho, citing himself. Neymar said: “I’m happy to be recognized globally. That shows that you don’t have to leave Brazil to be visible.”

The goalscoreres against Argentina, Neymar and Lucas (Mowa Press)

Here is the full squad:

Goalkeepers

Julio César (Inter de Milão)
Jefferson (Botafogo)
Neto (Fiorentina)

Full backs

Daniel Alves (Barcelona)
Fábio (Manchester United)
Marcelo (Real Madrid)
Adriano (Barcelona)

Centre backs

Réver (Atlético-MG)
Thiago Silva (Milan)
David Luiz (Chelsea)
Dedé (Vasco)

Defensive midfielders

Lucas Leiva (Liverpool)
Fernandinho (Shakhtar Donetsk)
Sandro (Tottenham)
Luiz Gustavo (Bayern Munich)

Attacking midfielders

Lucas (São Paulo)
Elias (Sporting)
Oscar (Internacional)
Hernanes (Lazio)

Forwards

Ronaldinho Gaúcho (Flamengo)
Hulk (Porto)
Jonas (Valencia)
Neymar (Santos)
Kleber (Porto)
Fred (Fluminense)

Good to see Hernanes get another chance. Interesting call ups for young striker Kléber of Porto and Fábio (Manchester United). Not so good to see Fernandinho’s name still there!!!

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19 thoughts on “Brazil squad for Costa Rica friendly

  1. Interesting that Fabio got a call up, although obviously that’s due to circumstance. Still, I imagine in Brazil they’ve been waiting for him to step up considering his youth performances. His performances for United have largely been good as well but mostly he’s played on the right. Curious to see where he’s played.

    • Thanks for that Ruel. I think he deserves a chance. Interesting how he is now ahead of Rafael in the United pecking order. I’m not sure if he’ll get a run out in this match. I’m assuming it’ll be Dani Alvez. Maybe he’ll get some game time against Mexico? I’m sure he was called up as a right back.
      But Maicon and Danilo (who wasn’t called up because Mano only called up one player from each club in Brazil and he picked Neymar from Santos unsurprizingly) must be ahead of him.
      Are you a United fan? I’m still baffled why Anderson never gets a chance. Especially considering how poor the other alternatives are: Fernandinho, Elias, Lucas Leiva, etc.

      • Just to confirm Rafael is out with a damaged shoulder caused in pre season hence Fabio has been picked ahead of him. But when he plays for Man Utd, Fabio is in the left back slot.

        I am glad one of the brothers have been pick especially when I have seen some poor Brazilian full backs in Europe.

        I totally agree with the Anderson comment. As a genuine fan of Manchester United I can honestly say that they tick much better when he plays. This season he has helped both in scoring and also minimising the loss of Scholes. I am not saying he is on par with some of the best Brazilian midfielders but he should get a chance when watching Lucas Leiva and Ferandinho!

  2. I think the most interesting talking point in these friendlies will be how Hernanes fits in (I feel he was unjustly punished for that red card against France). Mano said a while ago that Hernanes, in his opinion, was an attacking midfielder. Based on that comment, Hernanes will probably be battling Ronaldinho for a starting place., but I would like to see Mano try playing him beside Lucas Leiva to provide that passing quality from deep. That is what this current team lacks, and, despite what Mano thinks, Hernanes can provide that. Since this is happening is unlikely, I hope he at least starts over Ronaldinho.

  3. this has to be by far the best players brazil have got at the moment based on form,youthfullness and experience in my opinion,would have loved to see kaka in there though, considering he’s been finding his form again wth a ran of games by morinho,settingup and scoring like kaka of old… The best part has to be the centrebacks,-luiz and thiago,what a patnership it’ll be generating into,flanked by dani and marcelo and julio cesar behand…certainly that department is fixed for 2014wrldcp,especially whn u have able replacements like the da silva twins,luisao,lusio,adriano,maicon as backups…the trick though is how best 2 get the best out of the flair players in the midfield department,something they fail 2 do when the likes of ronaldinio,kaka etc were at their very peak , bt all in all u couldnt complain much about Meno’s selection…granted those working their way after out injured will surely have a lookup later on hopefully

  4. Thanks Gordon, Skinoo.

    I agree that Hernanes deserves another chance, especially as Brazil are lacking in the creativity department. If Kaká keeps up his form I think he will come back into contention. It would be hard to field him, Ronaldinho and Ganso in the same side though as they all operate better centrally but a good choice to have for Mano.

    The bigger problem is further back in midfield. I don’t rate Lucas Leiva. I just don’t think he has a very good range of passing. He is not overly physical or quick or anything like that either. Would love to hear the comment of a Liverpool fan on that one.

    At right back, I’d take Danilo over either of the twins (Fabio or Rafael). I assume you would agree Gordon. Can’t believe Maicon isn’t there.

    Looks like Sandro and Kléber have pulled out with injury. I think Fernandinho may also be struggling (oh no!! – not!).

    • Hi Brian, I’m a Liverpool fan and have come to rate Lucas Leiva very highly indeed. He does nothing flashy but retains possession superbly, is outstanding at covering behind a full back pushing up and is generally vital to the balance of our midfield. He reads the game very well, which makes up for the fact that he isn’t the quickest as he is often in the right position to begin with. My one complaint is that he does give away a few too many free kicks around the box, but overall I really do think he’s a quality player.

      I haven’t seen that much of him playing for Brazil, to be honest, so I can’t judge how he is used in the side or how he performs, but for Liverpool I am very happy with him.

      • Thanks for that Simon. Interesting to note. Do you think that most Liverpool fans share the same opinion?

        He seems to struggle in a Brazil shirt. It could well be that he is suited to a faster paced game than Brazil’s. With Brazil playing the ball around very slowly, it gives the opposition time to get back in numbers. Then, Lucas picks up the ball just in front of his own back line and most of his options are blocked. He doesn’t look very comfortable in possession and doesn’t have the range of passing to get the ball into a good attacking position from there. I think he needs to get rid of the ball quicker.

        Obviously it would if he had a good passer of the ball next to him in midfield. Ganso and Ronaldinho are always much further up the pitch and he is stuck alongside the likes of Elias, Fernandinho and Ralf. I wonder what kind of midfield pairing him and Anderson would make? I don’t think Anderson is the world’s greatest passer either so that might not solve anything. Perhaps as Gordon said, Hernanes is the best option.

        • The Lucas issue is one that still divides a lot of Liverpool fans, but more and more appreciate what he brings to the side. Certainly most LFC fans I know who understand the game see him as a very important player.

          I think the point you make about the pace of the game is very relevant. I agree that his range of passing isn’t wonderful (he’s certainly no Xabi Alonso, though he is getting better with the ball) and he doesn’t have the skill to unlock a defence that is given the time to organise itself.

          I think the faster pace of the Premier League, while giving him less time on the ball, works well for him as there is more space for him to find teammates in. I totally agree that if Hernanes was played alongside him then a lot of that pressure to find players in space would be lifted from him and he’d be a better player for Brazil.

          Another thing I forgot to say earlier was that he has taken a real leadership role in the side. With a lot of young players coming through into the side, Lucas is often the one on the pitch seen talking to them, making sure they’re in the right areas and building up their confidence.

  5. Oh, its also worth saying that in Brazil from my experience nobody talks about Lucas Leiva, EVER. It’s like some sort of taboo. Its really weird.

  6. General Leiva is Liverpool’s most solid player, and has been for 2 years now. He never gives the ball away, his tackling is sublime, his match-intelligence and reading of the game is world fucking class, and the bigger the game, the more unspectacularly solid he becomes. He’s owned every midfield in the league at least once. Future captain.

    • Agreed. All this after we gave him a hard time when he was thrust into the side to replace Alonso. To his credit, he took the criticism, knuckled down and has really flourished. Excellent player.

  7. Lucas is a class player for Liverpool. He covers the work of two players. I think he sometimes suffers because there aren’t any other players in midfield with him who can put a shift in tackling. But I think the way Kenny sets up Liverpool these days he would prefer to attack teams rather than absorb their pressure. So Lucas has to do the job which Mascherano and Alonso had to do combined in the past. He’s a great player, boundless energy, but will never be appreciated by many in the game because of the tough job he does. They will appreciate him more when this season is over though

  8. Love the roster but what is menzo waiting to include kaka. He already gave ronaldinho a chance why not kaka. By 2014 i doubt ronaldinho is in form to play in the selecao while kaka will be young enough to play. From this group would love a line up of.

    Jefferson (is time to bench julio cesar)
    adriano
    dede
    rever
    marcelo
    sandro
    luis gustavo
    ronaldinho
    lucas
    neymar
    hulk

  9. Mano’s starting line-up in training yesterday was:

    Jefferson, Fábio, David Luiz, Thiago Silva, Adriano, Ralf, Luiz Gustavo, Ronaldinho Gaúcho, Lucas, Neymar and Fred. Hernanes came in for Ralf midway through the session.

    The game actually kicks off at 23.00 (Brazil time) on Friday night. That’s 03.00am on Saturday morning in the UK.

  10. true brazil squad:
    (gk)
    julio cesr (neto)

    adriano david luis thiago silva dani alves

    lucas moura sandro hernanes

    ronaldinho

    hulk naymer

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