Maicon has returned to form with Roma. Photo: (Tony Gentile/REUTERS)
A Seleção 23-Man World Cup Roster (January 2014)
Felipão has stated that either Kaká or Ronaldinho will go to the 2014 World Cup, but not both, so the race is on between two footballing legends and masters. Of the two, Ronaldinho Gaúcho is The Grandmaster.
Kaká has been playing for Milan with energy, speed, creativity, and passing and attacking skill and vision, and Ronaldinho is Ronaldinho.
No one can deny that an inspired Ronaldinho is a monster of a footballer and still perhaps the most gifted current player, if not ever.
Atlético Mineiro might have lost early at the FIFA Club World Cup, but that Ronaldinho free kick golaço was ruthless, magical, and unstoppable.
Nevertheless, as with the choice between Kaká and Ronaldinho, the problem for Felipão and O Canarinho is deciding which players should go to the World Cup. The Seleção now has an abundance of totally complete center backs (zagueiros), and the Seleção also has many attacking midfielders and forwards to chose from.
Really, Brazil is just absolutely loaded with players at every position, and more and more world-class Brazilian players keep making their case for inclusion on the 2014 World Cup squad.
In almost six months, the 2014 World Cup will begin, and a lot can happen. When the time comes, players like Pato, Robinho, and perhaps Ronaldinho might prove to be just too good to exclude from the roster.
Despite the quality of Germany, Spain, Italy, and others, Brazil is truly the clear favorite to win this World Cup.
Brazil is often every non-Brazilian’s second favorite team (with the exception of Argentineans), and Brazil is the team that neutrals love to watch and support.
From an American perspective, Brazil’s ability to constantly have so many world-class players at its national team’s disposal is hard to even fathom, if it weren’t a reality that soccer fans everywhere have grown accustomed to.
Brazil can beat your national team by four goals, and the loss will just be dismissed be the frequent excuse of, “It was Brazil.”
Without further delay, below is World Soccer Source’s 23-man currently-preferred Brazil World Cup roster, which is somewhat an approximation of Felipão’s ideal roster and somewhat this writer’s preference (and several world-class players have been omitted due to Brazil’s depth):
GOLEIROS: JULIO CESAR (Queens Park Rangers; rumored to be moving), JEFFERSON (Botafogo), RAFAEL (Napoli)/GABRIEL (Milan).
Neymar, the New King of Brazilian and World Football. (Photo: Jorge William / O Globo)
Under Dunga and Mano Menezes, the Seleção were never playing Brazilian football the way Brazilians and lovers of Brazilian football wanted them to play, and Brazil’s coaches stopped using the greatest advantage Brazil had over any national team or club team: superior skill and creativity.
Under Felipão who was obviously not new to coaching Brazil, other national teams, or high-profile club teams, Brazil combined three things: 1.) elite defenders with the technical skill of elite midfielders; 2.) intimidating and highly-skilled defensive midfielders who weren’t just providing defensive coverage; and, 3.) attacking midfielders and forwards who returned Brazil to the glory days of the likes of Pelé, Sócrates, Zico, Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, and Kaká.
Brazil now has the best defenders in the world, and Brazilian defenders and defensive midfielders are by and large tall and strong athletes who are also technical masters.
What Felipão and Brazil did was use bigger, faster, and more athletic defensive players who were also highly-technical and creative players who played soccer the Brazilain way, which has proven to be the best and most successful form of football in all of world football.
While not all of the Starting XI is set in stone, Felipão has formed a cohesive group of players while still allowing some minor adjustments and changes in players depending on circumstances and the form of the players.
Brazil’s line-ups and tactics make sense, and the players who are often the substitutes are honestly better than most players starting for other national teams.
Maicon has returned to form with Roma. (Photo: Tony Gentile / Reuters)
Voicing one’s opinion about who should be on the Seleção roster is one of the quickest ways to be called an ignoramus by Brazilians and non-Brazilians alike. The root of the problem is the sheer amount of not just world-class but truly elite players in the Brazilian player pool. Any list of 23 players for the Brazilian national team always leaves out players who are truly elite players who can put even many of the world’s best players to shame.
Unlike Spain who has been on top of world football in recent years due to a core group of world-class players from basically one generation of players, Brazil has been producing a steady stream of world-class talents who exceed the amount of roster spots available on the Seleção.
Even a player like Diego have seen somewhat limited international appearances with the Brazilian national team, despite being widely-considered one of the best playmakers in the world and one of the very best players in the Bundesliga for many years. Recently, Diego enjoyed two outstanding seasons with Atlético Madrid including a Europa League trophy where he was the playmaker for Falcao, but even all of this didn’t make Diego a Seleção regular.
Any roster proposal for the Brazilian national team brings with it the inevitability of criminal snubs of truly elite players of every position.
World Soccer Source proposes the following 23-man roster for the upcoming 2014 World Cup in Brazil with the obvious potential for changes in opinion as the World Cup approaches.
Explanations for the roster will be provided after World Soccer Source’s Seleção roster proposal.
Here is this writer’s preferred Seleção roster:
GOALKEEPERS: Julio CESAR, RAFAEL, JEFFERSON
CENTER BACKS: Thiago SILVA, David LUIZ, DANTE, DEDÉ
OUTSIDE BACKS: MAICON, Daniel ALVES, MARCELO, MAXWELL
Since the time of Lúcio, Brazil has boasted better center backs than Italy, and Brazil now has center backs in the same league as Lilian Thuram.
Thiago Silva is widely considered the best center back in the world, and David Luiz is also widely considered to be on anyone’s shortlist of best center backs.
Salvador’s own Dante put in a master class with Bayern Munich last year where many observers considered him the most important player for Bayern and the most valuable player in the Bundesliga.
Now, Brazil has three center backs who are widely considered above basically all other center backs, and domestic-based Dedé is himself a monster of a center back who is sought after by all of the world’s top clubs.
Dedé doesn’t have the same fame as the other three, but Dedé is a complete center back whose size and physique are matched by his technical ability, his defending, and his athleticism. Dedé is not just a towering and intimidating center back; Dedé is a skillful and agile center back who can shadow mark anyone.
The other center backs of note are Marquinhos of Paris Saint-Germain and formerly of Roma and Leandro Castán of Roma. The coming months will be a duel between Dedé, Marquinhos, and Leandro Castán to wear the yellow jersey of Brazil in Brazil for the World Cup.
Luiz Gustavo and Casemiro give the Brazil roster two players at something close to the midfield destroyer position known as the cabeça de área role in Brazilian Portuguese. The English term midfield destroyer is a bit of a misnomer for this role with the Seleção as anyone playing for the Seleção is an extremely technically-skilled player with an outstanding overall skill-set in terms of touch, passing, movement off the ball, and vision.
Paulinho and Ramires give the Brazilian national team two box-to-box midfielders who are complete two-way midfielders who offer as much of an attacking and scoring threat as they offer defensive coverage, running, and tackling.
Paulinho and Ramires are referred to as volantes (steering wheels) in Brazilian Portuguese, which is the general term for defensive midfielders, but thinking of Paulinho and Ramires as players who mainly bring defensive coverage to the Brazilian midfielder would be off base. A volante as opposed to a cabeça de área is a box-to-box midfielder
Brazilians refer to attacking midfielders as meias, which is also the general term for midfielders, but more and more meias are listed as atacantes, which is the term for forwards or attackers.
Although there is a host of second strikers and outside forwards in the Brazilian player pool, currently there is somewhat of an absence of elite first strikers in the Brazilian player pool with the exception of Pato.
Of all the Brazilian first strikers currently on the scene, only Pato possesses the ability to simply dribble straight through elite defenders or easily finish passes with first time shots against elite competition. Pato suffered from chronic hamstring and gluteal muscle pulls with AC Milan either due to the sheer explosiveness of his acceleration from a dead stop to a full sprint or due to incompetence on the part of Milan’s medical staff, and even Kaká has made comments about the Brazilian national team having better doctors and physical therapists than AC Milan.
In addition to Pato, Leandro Damião, who lives to do rainbows, is the most ruthless and skilled of the Brazilian first strikers. The other contenders are Jô and Fred, but none of these strikers except Pato have shown anything close to being in the same solar system with Ronaldo. Ronaldo had everything: two-footed finishing, blazing speed, magic feet, a full arsenal of tricks that could leave any defender for dead, and an ability to just score at a prolific rate against anyone, anywhere, anytime.
This writer included both Ronaldinho and Kaká over Willian and Jô or Fred (even though they don’t play the same positions), and opinions on Ronaldinho and Kaká vary from person to person.
This season Ronaldinho has shown that he still has the will power, the fitness, and clearly the skill to play against anyone, but many people view Ronaldinho as past his prime.
Likewise, Kaká is somewhat out of favor, but anyone who saw his speed, endurance, technical ability, passing, and shooting in recent games saw a Kaká who looked more than equipped to excel and produce at the highest level. Kaká even netted a true golaço against Lazio.
The World Soccer Source Brazil Starting XI:
Julio CESAR; MAICON, Thiago SILVA, David LUIZ, MARCELO; RAMIRES, PAULINHO; OSCAR, KAKÁ, NEYMAR; PATO.
A more standard Seleção Starting XI might be something more like this:
Julio CESAR; MAICON, Thiago SILVA, David LUIZ, MARCELO; Luiz GUSTAVO; PAULINHO; LUCAS, OSCAR, NEYMAR; FRED
Neymar’s left-footed golaço past Iker Casillas. (Photo: AP Photo)
Supposedly, the United States Soccer Federation has been studying Brazilian soccer for years, and looking at some of the young MLS players and younger American products, maybe the USSF and MLS are placing a higher premium on technically-skilled players than they used to.
Nevertheless, Brazil’s Confederations Cup formations and starting line-ups are a good case study for the USMNT, even if the USMNT doesn’t have players who are as skilled as the very best Brazilian players.
The Seleção is the model that U.S. Soccer should look to study and emulate.
Brazilian soccer is based on skill and allowing the players the freedom to express themselves with the ball, which is Brazil’s main weapon against opponents, but Brazilian soccer is not without defense, tactics, or strategy.
Brazilian players are allowed the freedom to be more creative with the ball than other national teams, and Brazilians don’t base their attack on merely sending in a steady stream of crosses into the box without a clear target. The premium on working the ball around mostly on the ground is so high that many of the passes that the Brazilian national team executes in its own final third are very risqué by other national teams’ standards.
After a series of games intended to find his best formation and combination of players, Felipão found a strong and balanced Seleção XI right before the 2013 Confederations Cup started.
Traditionally, Brazil uses a 4-2-2-2 formation, but the Confederations Cup formation was more akin to a 4-2-3-1 where the right attacking midfielder and left attacking midfielders were really almost forwards.
There was nothing new or revolutionary about Felipão’s tactics, but they were well-designed and perfectly implemented. In the 4-2-3-1 formation, Brazil mostly used this XI below:
Julio Cesar; Daniel Alves, Thiago Silva, David Luiz, Marcelo; Luiz Gustavo, Paulinho; Hulk, Oscar, Neymar; Fred.
The Seleção almost always exclusively uses two center backs, who have the technical ability and speed of a defensive midfielder, and outside backs that provide width to the attack while always defending the flanks with speed and skill.
In front of the defense, Brazil normally uses two defensive midfielders: one who is more of a midfield destroyer (Luiz Gustavo) and another who is a box-to-box midfielder (Paulinho).
These two players were one of the keys for Brazil’s success because they brought needed defensive skills to a midfield that allowed Brazil to win the ball back without sacrificing technical ability. They also ran without tiring.
There is some important background information about Brazil’s use of defensive midfielders.
It’s fairly well-known that Brazil uses a system of normally two defensive midfielders. One of them plays deeper and doesn’t really go forward, and this midfield destroyer is called a cabeça de área or a volante de contenção. In addition to this player who is associated with the number 5, there is also a more box-to-box midfielder who is associated with the number 8 and called a “volante.” “Volante” is a general term for any defensive midfielder, and it means “steering wheel.”
In front of these two defensive midfielders, Felipão used a line of three attacking midfielders where Oscar was the playmaker (meia-armador) in the middle and Neymar and Hulk were really almost forwards just lining up out left and right on paper.
Likewise, Jürgen Klinsmann has begun to at least iron out a tactical formation. Recently, Klinsmann starting using a 4-2-3-1 formation where two different kinds of defensive midfielders lined up behind three attacking midfielders and a striker. At times, Klinsmann used two strikers during the Gold Cup.
Klinsmann’s switch to the 4-2-3-1 formation was a deviation from his previous use of three defensive midfielders, but Klinsmann has still never fielded three highly-skilled attacking midfielders like Landon Donovan, Joe Benny Corona, and Clint Dempsey at the same time.
In the Gold Cup, a midfield destroyer was used next to an attacking midfielder (Stuart Holden or Mix Diskerud), who was impersonating a box-to-box midfielder, who both lined up behind a line of three attacking midfielders, and this formation and its tactics are covered in detail in other recent World Soccer Source articles.
This formation is somewhat similar to what Felipão used during the Confederations Cup.
Klinsmann is well-aware of how Brazil plays and surely studied their tactics during the Confederations Cup closely, but looking at how Brazil played and why it worked is something that Americans and non-Americans might be wise to do.
This Brazilian midfield formation outlined above is something that Klinsmann has used with the USMNT, but many of Klinsmann’s right and left midfielders in World Cup qualifiers have been players who are either married to the sideline or just looking to play crosses or both.
Klinsmann has used Geoff Cameron as a midfield destroyer with Michael Bradley as a box-to-box midfielder, and in Gold Cup games without Bradley or Cameron, Klinsmann has used Joe Benny Corona as a playmaker flanked by attacking midfielders on the right and left with a striker up top.
The system that Brazil used is a perfect example for the USMNT to study and implement, even if it isn’t as good as the Brazilian version.
Certainly, the USMNT can use a similar set-up to Brazil, which other national teams and clubs also use, even if the overall skill level of all the players is nowhere near Brazil’s.
Tactically, the balance of that Brazilian squad was perfect.
The team was difficult to beat with speed or skill down the middle, and the flanks were patrolled by outside backs, who posed a two-way threat.
Additionally, when the outside backs attacked, the defensive midfielders dropped back to fill the hole left by the outside backs.
Finally, with a playmaker like Oscar combining with Neymar, Hulk, and Fred, the attacking threat was too much for Spain who were humiliated by Brazil in the Confederations Cup Final.
For all the stereotypes of Brazil not defending, Brazil’s 2013 Confederations Cup squad showed not only good team defense through pressing, but they also displayed outstanding individual defenders in the line of two defensive midfielders and in the defensive back four.
This system is essentially what Jürgen Klinsmann is trying to implement with the United States Men’s National Team, and frankly some of his player selections do not seem to have the physical gifts and skills to fulfill their required roles.
To Klinsmann’s credit, in the Gold Cup, he did use a formation that was similar to Brazil’s, but now it’s time to put the higher-level players together in a balanced starting line-up.
The USMNT hasn’t yet used outside backs or center backs like Brazil uses, and given how obvious it is to start Geoff Cameron, Michael Bradley, Landon Donovan, Joe Benny Corona, Clint Dempsey, and Jozy Altidore as the Front Six, Klinsmann will have to start using faster and more skilled center backs who are flanked by modern outside backs who pose an attacking threat and who defend out wide.
While Brazil uses Daniel Alves at right back and Marcelo at left back, Jürgen Klinsmann refuses to use any of the new MLS outside backs like Chris Klute, DeAndre Yedlin, or Andrew Farrell who at least attempt to play with the same aggressive attacking style down the sideline and who can defend skillful and quick attackers.
At center back, Klinsmann has never fielded two players who combine athleticism, technical ability, and the defensive skills of quick, strong, and talented defensive midfielders like Geoff Cameron.
The Brazilian way is one way for the United States to start improving its level of play, but Jürgen Klinsmann will have to field the players with the right tools because the Brazilian way is rooted in having technically-gifted players at every position, even the most defensive positions.
Neymar’s left-footed golaço past Iker Casillas. (Photo: AP Photo)
Neymar’s Triumph. Neymar’s Glory.
In a grudge match between Brazil and Spain with the Confederations Cup trophy on the line, Brazil was out to show the world that Brazil plays the best soccer in the world and that Spain is only a poor imitation of Brazilian soccer.
Brazil destroyed and demoralized Spain in a 3-0 goleada that put the world on notice.
Brazilians like Luiz Gustavo, Paulinho, and basically the entire Seleção set the tone from the initial whistle with ferocious tackling, intense pressing, and an outstanding amount of running that totally disoriented and dazed Spain like an Anderson Silva front kick to the face.
Brazil came out to play with so much intensity that Spain was engulfed and devastated from the opening kickoff.
The approach of the Seleção wasn’t purely psychological and physical intimidation, but rather Brazil brought its historic magic, guile, and trickery that had been missing from the Brazilian national team for several years until the beginning of the Confederations Cup.
Whether it was fueled by huge public protest about inadequate public services and infrastructure in Brazil or a growing sense of rage at the glorification of the style of soccer played by Barcelona and the Spanish national team, something motivated the Brazilians to deliver a level of overall intensity and collective group play that has almost never been seen out of Brazil.
Certainly several years ago, the Seleção displayed a degree of artistry and skill that made fans the world over want to watch Brazil play, but recently the Brazilian national team didn’t show the exciting and creative style of play that captivated audiences and made Brazil the pinnacle of world football.
Spain really was metaphorically body slammed and drop kicked out of Maracanã by the feared yellow jerseys of Brazil, and the emotional state of the Seleção totally disrupted the way Spain liked to play. While Brazil was very aggressive in its tackling, very few tackles were dirty or overly rough.
Brazil played like they really resented all of the praise that Spain has received for their smooth and graceful passing, which Brazilians fell like is a style of soccer that was invented in Brazil decades before Barcelona or Spain starting playing that way.
While Neymar was fantastic in his passing, his movement of the ball, and his overall display of talent, his left-footed golaço scored on Iker Casillas was particularly ruthless.
Without any hesitation, Neymar flamethrowered a left-footed shot at Casillas’ face, which went right over Casillas’ head due to the fact that the shot had to have looked like a blurr to Casillas.
Neymar’s left-footed golaço sent a message around the world like his other goals in the tournament have done, and this particular goal said “Even if you cover the near post, I can still crush a left-footed shot right at your head, and you still won’t have a chance.”
It was a sensational goal that should silence critics.
Spain enjoyed more possession, but it didn’t appear that way when one was watching the game as Brazil was constantly winning the ball back, darting toward the Spanish goal, and stringing together one-touch passes.
In a way, Spain and its players were not even a storyline, as their play was totally eclipsed by the attacking and defensive intensity that hit Spain like a tidal wave for the entire 90 minutes, and any chances Spain had were either rejected by diving saves from Brazil’s goalkeeper, Julio Cesar, or on one occasion a seemingly impossible sliding clearance that David Luiz somehow managed to clear over his own goal, despite making his interception on his own goal line.
Brazil almost bullied Spain, and any fouls on Neymar or any other Brazilian player were met with severe warnings from the rest of the Seleção, as they often surrounded and intimidated players from the Spanish national team.
The Brazilian weren’t violent or dirty, but they did seek to psychologically intimidate Spanish players like Sergio Busquets, Álvaro Arbeloa, and Gerard Piqué.
Spain was devasted by the Seleção in a true goleada that seemed to signal the return of Brazilian soccer to the top of world soccer.
While Spain has its passing and possession, every Brazilian national team player is equally or more capable of passing the ball like Spain, but the Brazilians have the additional element of superior individual skill on the ball, which can embarrass opponents in 1v1 situations.
Brazilian soccer is back, and Neymar has announced to the world that just might be the king of world soccer, and the player par excellence.
The Canarinho won as a team, and Brazil under Felipão has displayed that it has elite players at every position who can devastate opponents with inspired collective play and individual brilliance.
Today, Brazil played with a fire that burned on the inside, and Brazil will have to learn how to demonstrate close to or the same level of intensity in future games, as opposed to not being active enough without the ball.
This Brazil-Spain matchup was one of the most exciting soccer games seen in a long time, and Italy, Spain, Brazil, and Germany are all displaying a very high level of play that should make for competitive and exciting games before and during the World Cup.
France has a new crop of young players who may prove to be a force to be reckoned with, but Brazil showed that they have the capacity to thoroughly embarrass Spain. Now, Germany is the next team that Brazil has to prove itself against.
Anyone who doubted Brazil or Neymar should take a good, hard look at the passing, scoring, and overall skill that Neymar showed in this tournament against elite competition, and Brazil’s doubters should look at how skilled, complete, and deep Brazil is at every position.
Brazil was far more dangerous in the attack, but any look back at Italy’s two to four loss to Brazil has to be prefaced with the caveat that Daniele De Rossi and Andre Pirlo were unavailable to play and that Paulinho was being rested by Brazil to let his ankle recover.
Brazil deserved to win, and particularly Neymar’s third goal in three games was a free-kick golaço that had nothing to do with Italy’s line-up and everything to do with Neymar’s steady string of big performances on the world stage.
It’s worth repeating that Brazil too was a missing a vital player in its midfield: Paulinho. As one of the world’s best box-to-box midfielders and Luiz Gustavo’s partner in the defensive section of the midfield, Brazil was without one of its key ball winners and main protagonists in the midfield, and yet still Brazil won.
If Italy was missing De Rossi and Pirlo, then it’s fair to note that without Ramires even on the roster as a replacement for Paulinho, Brazil was itself missing half of what Italy was missing.
Both Italy and Brazil were without at least one major midfield piece, and this affected how Italy and Brazil played.
Without Pirlo and De Rossi, Mario Balotelli lacked two of the players who are most responsible for either ensuring that Italy has a strong percentage of the possession or providing Balotelli with final balls or at the very least, a steady stream of service.
Gigi Buffon was blamed for two of Brazil’s goals as he blocked two of Brazil’s shots as opposed to catching them, and given his skill level, perhaps blocking them was all he was able to do, despite what the commentators said.
One of Buffon’s blocks was purposely played away from the goalmouth but Brazil’s central defender, Dante, a native of Salvador where the game was played, pounced on the rebound and was in ecstasy as he scored in the Arena Fonte Nova, home of the team that he has been a fan of since childhood, Bahia.
Even without Pirlo and De Rossi, Italy was totally guilty of conceding the third goal to Brazil when Fred outmuscled the much stronger Giorgio Chiellini in the penalty box to roof a left-footed shot into the upper 90 on the left side of the goal.
In many ways, Brazil scored two legitimate goals, and Italy only scored one.
With a possible offside on Brazil’s first goal, a Neymar golaço on the second goal, a well-deserved goal by Fred on the third goal, and a mishandled shot by Buffon on the fourth goal, Brazil scored two totally legitimate goals compared to Italy’s one legitimate goal scored by Emanuele Giaccherini off a balletic backwards flicked assist by Balotelli.
Neymar versus Balotelli and Italy versus Brazil in this first Confederations Cup encounter doesn’t tell the whole story.
Even without De Rossi and Pirlo, Brazil deserved to win, but in the duel of Neymar versus Balotelli is far from over.
Neymar stole the headlines with his free kick golaço, but Balotelli’s backwards volleyed assist to Giaccherini was outrageously brazen. Neymar won, but Brazil almost had to resort to wrestling and kicking Balotelli to stop him.
The Confederations Cup isn’t over, and Balotelli and Neymar offer the world the chance to perhaps see the world’s most talented second striker (Neymar) and the world’s most talented first-striker (Balotelli) face off against each other again in this tournament.
Balotelli has learned how to keep his cool, and Neymar has learned how to body check and get more physical with opponents, in the hopes of deterring them from fouling him too much.
This new physicality was new from Neymar, and perhaps it brings him one step closer from being immune to comments from doubters who say he doesn’t have the physicality to play in Europe.
Neymar unfortunately hurt Ignazio Abate with his body check, but it was time for Neymar to start knocking people off him.
Some observers like to dismiss the absence of certain key players as the reason for a win by the other team, and other observers view the absence of key players as a valid and important piece of analysis.
Neymar and Balotelli both performed, and Italy and Brazil both advanced out of the group stage.
The battle between Balotelli and Neymar continues, and the additional subplot of seeing how Neymar and Balotelli compare to Spain loams on the horizon.
Balotelli and Neymar are coming for Messi, and Brazil and Italy are both coming for Spain…and Germany.
Neymar scores a golaço again. (Foto: Jefferson Bernardes / Vipcomm)
Two Confederations Cup games and two volleyed golaços from Neymar.
Even more spectacular than Neymar’s left-footed volleyed goal was the display of 1v2 dribbling through the Mexican defense to the left of the goal along the endline.
Neymar beat two Mexican defenders with an outrageous nutmeg that one rarely sees executed against international caliber defenders like Mexico’s, and this audacious display of skill allowed Neymar to break through the defense and assist Jô for Brazil’s second goal.
Neymar is often labeled a diver or a showman or both, but once again, Neymar showed how his magic and trickery are effective at producing results.
Commentators, writers, and fans frequently question how Neymar will be able to perform in Europe, as if Brazil isn’t a competitive soccer environment, but Neymar has shown two games in a row in a major FIFA tournament, the Confederations Cup, how he is able to play at the same level in international tournaments as he has played in Brazil.
There were a variety of riveting highlights and tricks from Neymar in Brazil’s win over Mexico, but Neymar was also the author of the first goal and the assist on the second goal.
With his crucial involvement in the victory over Mexico and just like his role in the win over Japan before, Neymar cannot continue to be labeled as merely a YouTube sensation or an unproven player who hasn’t proven himself against strong competition.
With the eyes of the world watching him in a major international tournament, Neymar was effective and electrifying again.
Neymar opened the scoring with a half-volleyed golaço. (Photo: Vanderlei Almeida/AFP)
Neymar silenced his critics with a half-volley golaço in the third minute of Brazil’s opening Confederations Cup match against Japan in Brasilia.
On a field that resembled a slip ‘n slide, Brazil’s three goal victory over Japan was exactly the sort of emphatic win that Brazil needed to get their foreign and domestic critics off their backs.
All three Brazilian goals were golaços, which gave the Seleção the satisfaction of knowing that they not only defeated Japan easily, but that the goals were electrifying enough for a not easily impressed Brazilian public.
Brazil’s first goal came courtesy of a Marcelo cross, which was chested down to Neymar by Fred, and Neymar half-volleyed Fred’s chested pass into the upper 90.
It was a goal that showed why Neymar’s technical ability is so revered worldwide. Neymar’s golaço registered high on the difficulty scale, and it will likely lift some of the pressure off his shoulders and allow him to play with more joy in Brazil’s upcoming games.
The second Brazilian goal was scored by Corinthians’ goal-scoring box-to-box midfielder, Paulinho (a player heavily linked with Inter Milan), and the goal off the half-turn showed his ability to score goals from the midfield.
While Neymar’s goal was the most riveting of the three goals, the third goal where Jô megged the Japanese goalkeeper was an example of Oscar’s excellent passing ability, as Oscar threaded an expertly-weighted pass through the Japanese defense. Both Oscar’s pass and Jô’s finish were equally artistic.
Japan is a technically-skilled team, but this game against Brazil offered little in the way of highlights or positive points for Japan. The grass was way too soft, wet, and slippery for both teams, so the field conditions weren’t really the main problem with Japan’s play. Japan is a team that played well-below its ability, and this loss should provide the Japanese coaching staff with plenty of video evidence of areas that need to be improved in the upcoming games.
This was an important statement game for both Neymar and the Seleção, and Brazil’s convincing victory was just what the Brazilian national team needed to build up some new hope and confidence, in addition to gaining the respect of its fans again.
With all of the criticism and media attention, Neymar has always remained calm and unfazed by the criticism and praise. He doesn’t make conceded statements about his abilities nor does he insult his opponents or fellow professionals.
When Neymar makes a mistake or loses an important game, he gets right back up with the same positive attitude from before the mistake or game, and he shows up to the next game with no fear of failure, but rather with the desire to play with joy.
The magic and flair that Neymar brings to the game isn’t just for show, but rather the trickery is very effective at losing defenders, scoring goals, and getting free to play passes to his teammates when they are in good positions.
Neymar’s tricks are not only exceptional because of the speed and ease at which he executes tricks that most professionals cannot successful perform against elite opponents, but Neymar combines two to three of these tricks in a single sequence.
For the purpose of perspective, it’s worth noting that Clint Dempsey, an excellent soccer player even by international standards and the best American soccer player ever, has 35 goals in 96 games for the United States. Neymar has 20 international goals in 33 games for Brazil before tomorrow’s friendly against France. Neymar also has 138 goals in 220 games for Santos.
People like throwing the proverbial rocks at Neymar, but luckily for Neymar, critics like to throw more rocks at Mario Balotelli, who despite his reputation for being a hot head must have an enormous tolerance for criticism and media slander.
Neymar attracts a lot of criticism for jumping out of the way of hackers to avoid injury, but what do these critics want, for Neymar just to allow himself to be injured?
Another piece of criticism that Neymar receives is that he’s unproven in Europe even though the best players in Brazil have almost always succeeded in Brazil.
Pato, Diego, and Robinho received a lot of criticism for their play in Europe, but no one who has followed those players closely or watched them play would call any of those three players flops or failures. Nevertheless, many soccer fans still label them as flops.
Neymar is better than both Lucas and Oscar who made their debuts in European football this season with enormous success, so why then is there this insistence by so many people particularly in the United Kingdom that Neymar isn’t proven?
Since when is being the best player in Brazil not an indicator of future success in Europe?
Neymar’s critics seem to mostly be English Premier League fans or people who feel that Spain’s success in recent years signals a return to European superiority in world soccer.
Even Champions League fans like claiming that Neymar plays against inferior competition in Brazil, never mind the fact that most of the best Champion League teams are stacked with South American players.
Whatever the motivation is for Neymar’s critics, these same critics will be in for a rude awakening when they see Neymar playing for Barcelona, as Neymar brings both a willingness to pass and the gift of making game-changing passes, not to mention tireless running off the ball and a technical skill-set and 1v1 abilities that are second to none.
Neymar’s critics should get ready to see Neymar shine because only Ronaldinho displayed the same audacity and ease to execute outrageously difficult tricks, shots, and passes.
As the net shakes and the defenders fall over, let Neymar’s critics keep talking.
Neymar’s critics accuse Neymar of being all flash, but his flash is effective at producing goals, lots of goals.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and soccer debates are unwinnable, but criticisms of Neymar that go beyond critiquing a certain element of his game or pointing out areas of improvement are invalid.
No one can accuse Neymar of not being ready for physical and elite defenders because many of the best defenders in the world are Brazilians who come out of the Brasileirão, and many of the best defensive midfielders in the world are also Brazilians who developed in Brazilian academies and in Brazilian club soccer.
There are a lot of people, particularly fans of a certain brand of overly physical tackling and long ball soccer who pretend that Neymar is unproven and all hype, but video evidence going back several years disproves these claims.
The evidence shows Neymar excelling against elite competition in Brazil and in major tournaments, and this invalidates the critics who call Neymar a diving showman who hasn’t proven himself.
One piece of so-called evidence that Neymar’s critics point out is his lack of involvement in Santos’ loss to Barcelona in the 2011 Club World Cup, but this was a game where Barcelona played three playmakers at the same time (Andrés Iniesta, Xavi, and Cesc Fàbregas) in a line of three in order to totally control possession of the ball in the midfield.
Blaming Neymar for Santos’ midfield being outplayed by the best midfield in the world hardly proves that his skill-set isn’t already proven.
All this game proved was that Barcelona planned their entire game strategy around preventing Neymar from having any touches on the ball. In a way, this is evidence of how highly Barcelona rated Neymar.
A close examination of the evolution of Neymar’s skills and playing style since around 2009 show a player who has transformed from being a supremely talented dribbler with great two-footed scoring abilities to a player who has become a deft, skilled, and willing passer who covers a lot of territory with off the ball movement.
Neymar now roams the entire field showing his work rate and his willingness to constantly stamp his imprint on the game, and he isn’t the selfish showboat he’s made out to be.
Neymar does occasionally dive in the penalty box or in other areas around the field, but at the same time, Neymar is subjected to constant fouling and reckless tackles, which require Neymar to jump and pull up his knees to avoid injury.
There is diving in soccer, and players do go down in the penalty box with minimal contact to try to win a penalty kick. This is one of the things about soccer that annoys non-soccer fans and soccer fans alike, but, to avoid injury, Neymar frequently needs to jump, pull up his knees, and then roll to break his fall.
While they are cases of Neymar diving or simulating, there is also ample video evidence of Neymar being hacked and fouled.
Neymar probably ignores the fact that many people label him a diver because he knows he has avoided so many injuries by jumping and often launching himself clear of nasty tackles.
In addition to be labeled by some as a diver, many people call Neymar a showman who is all hype and unproven on the European battleground.
Let critics say that.
They also call Mario Balotelli a head case with a bad attitude who hasn’t produced; his club and international record even at Euro 2012 say otherwise.
There seems to be some unknown motivation behind criticism of Neymar, but whatever the reasons are, Neymar would appear to be a nice person who forms strong bounds with his teammates.
Neymar never brags about his abilities or makes disparaging comments about great players to whom he is compared.
Neymar is a joy to watch because all of his trickery and magic is effective in losing defenders, getting free to make a pass, creating scoring chances, and scoring goals.
It’s very unlikely that the best soccer player in Brazil who has played against so many elite opponents from all over the world even as a teenager would flop in European soccer or not be able to adapt.
Neymar has already learned how to play against strong and physical defenders by playing against Dedé, not to mention the other Seleção defenders he faces in practice for international games.
After playing against Dedé and Thiago Silva, no defender in Europe is going to present some unseen level of physicality, strength, and defensive skill.
Critics who go as far as calling Neymar all hype and unproven because he doesn’t play in Europe, as opposed to reasonably criticizing areas of his game to improve, are just gas bags.
