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’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 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.
*Note: Lionel Messi was not included in this list because the list is intended to be a Best XI of players who are young prodigies who are new to the scene or underrated. Lionel Messi is widely considered the best player in the world, and he belongs on a list of simply the Best XI.
*Note: Leonardo Bonucci seemed to not really be young enough or underrated enough to be part of this list. Bonucci would likely be the starting center back with Thiago Silva on a World’s Best XI list. Salvatore Sirigu is older than some of the other players because he is a goalkeeper, and 25 is fairly young for an elite goalkeeper.
The World’s Best XI: The Young, The Underrated, The Sleepers, and the The Newcomers
The World’s Best XI: The Young and the Newcomers
*Many people may call the formation above narrow, but anyone who thinks that should try breaking down the back six players or stopping the five attackers. This formation uses two center forwards (a.k.a. first-strikers)
Many of the top, so-called “young” goalkeepers are around 25 years old, and this is the case with Salvatore Sirigu. The Italian Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper was part of the project to stock Paris Saint-Germain with elite players to bring PSG back to elite status and prominence, and the fact that Sirigu was sought out says a lot about his ability. Based on Salvatore Sirigu’s play with Paris Saint-Germain, the Azzurri net will be in good hands when Gigi Buffon retires or is unavailable. Tall and athletic with good reflexes, Sirigu fits right into a club team stocked full of world-class players.
Right Back: Raphaël Varane (Real Madrid; France)
Raphaël Varane is a 19 year old starting center back for Real Madrid who can play anywhere in the defense and even as a central midfielder. Varane’s ability and defensive prowess have stood out on more than one occasion while playing against the pass masters of Barcelona, not to mention Lionel Messi. Tall, skilled, fast, and 19, Varane will be the cornerstone of Real Madrid’s and France’s defense for years to come. There’s a new crop of elite defenders on the world stage, and Raphaël Varane is one of the best defenders in the world regardless of age. Varane was an easy and automatic pick for a Best XI list of new, young, or underrated players.
Center Back: Dedé (Vasco da Gama; Brazil)
Dedé is widely regarded as the best Brazilian defender playing in Brazil, and perhaps only Thiago Silva is a better Brazilian defender than Dedé. Dedé is an enormous human being, especially for a soccer player, and his technical ability and dexterity with his feet is not hindered by his height and incredible physical strength. Until Dedé plays outside of Brazil in Europe, he will continue to be underrated, but Dedé is wanted by almost every top club in the world. All the hype about Dedé is true, and the stamp of authenticity is the almost universal belief among the Brazilian people that Dedé is the best defender playing in Brazil. Dedé is an imposing figure and a scary individual. Dedé will be feared for years.
Left Back: Angelo Ogbonna (Torino; Italy)
Angelo Ogbonna, like Dedé and Varane, is the most sought after young defender in the world. Ogbonna is a world-class athlete with natural technical ability who runs and moves with grace. Ogbonna plays as a center back or left back, and whoever buys Ogbonna from Torino will be dropping a lot of cash. Expected to partner with Leonardo Bonucci in the center of the Italian defense, watching Ogbonna in action is quite the sight to see. Ogbonna is easily one of the very best defenders in the world.
Central Midfielder: Paul Pogba (Juventus; France)
The French midfielder playing for Juventus like several of his countrymen on this list is a teenage prodigy who was ready to play at the highest level the first time he was given the chance. Pogba is a central midfielder that gives a team everything: passing, defense, speed, goals, running, vision, strength, and mental toughness. Pogba’s skill-set is not confined to a single midfield position, as Pogba has everything. Pogba has no single position that can be classified as his natural position, except that he is a central midfielder. Pogba’s play at Juventus as a teenager speaks for itself, and his spectacular highlights in addition to overall performances throughout games make Pogba already one of the best midfielders in the world. Read more about Paul Pogba here:
Central Midfielder: Paulinho (Corinthians; Brazil)
Paulinho has garnered worldwide praise for his play at Corinthians, and he is now a fixture on the Brazilian national team where he (along with Ramires) wears the number 8 of the box-to-box midfielder. The Seleção has played Ramires and Paulinho together as two box-to-box midfielders on some occasions as opposed to using a box-to-box midfielder with the more defensive number 5 or cabeça de área who roams the back of the midfield in front of the defensive back four. Given Paulinho’s overall ability and strong defensive skills in addition to his speed and stamina, many clubs have sought out Paulinho’s services, none with more determination than Inter Milan. Paulinho is a complete central midfielder who provides everything: defensive coverage, quality passing, speed, technical ability, 1v1 ability, and goals.
Attacker: Thomas Müller (Bayern Munich; Germany)
Thomas Müller started for Germany and scored five World Cup goals and provided three assists at the age of 20 at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Additionally, Müller is a starter for Bayern Munich where he plays the role of two players as a playmaker and a striker. Still, Thomas Müller has his share of critics, even though his record speaks for itself and his ability is self-evident by anyone who looks at it. There are those who are already pushing for Marco Reus or Tony Kroos to take his starting spot for Germany, but Müller won the World Cup Golden Boot at age 20 in a tournament where many professionals complained that the official ball was difficult to control. Müller has speed, creativity, two-footed skill and finishing ability, exceptional passing, and a nose for goal. 126 appearance for Bayern Munich and 44 goals plus 39 appearances for Germany and 11 goals at 23 years old speak for themselves.
Playmaker: Oscar (Chelsea; Brazil)
Neymar gave Oscar the nickname, “Oscraque,” while Neymar was still playing with the playmaking prodigy, Ganso, and that’s all anyone needs to know about Oscar. Oscar stepped into English Football like it was nothing, despite all the naysayers saying the physicality of the English Premier League would be hard for Oscar to deal with. Oscar was not the first world-class playmaker to grace the English Premier League, but he did put everyone in the English Premier League on notice that there was a young Brazilian prodigy orchestrating the attack for Chelsea with a level of skill and creativity nowhere to be found in the EPL.
Attacker: Neymar (Santos; Brazil)
This writer has never seen a player who attacks defenders like Neymar or who has the same 1v1 dribbling ability, and this includes Pelé, Diego Maradona, Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldinho, Lionel Messi, and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Neymar will be the best player in the world soon, but the incredible skill of Mario Balotelli (discussed below) should not go overlooked. Neymar’s dribbling ability is already at a level really unseen before, even be Ronaldinho. While Ronaldinho destroyed defenders at pace or from a standstill in his prime, Neymar seems to combine two to three tricks in one sequence, which are effective and not just for show. Much of the focus on Neymar is his speed, quickness, incredible dribbling skill, and his goal-scoring ability with both feet, but Neymar is a magnificent passer who goes all over the field to receive the ball and play excellent passes to his teammates. Words do not do Neymar justice, and Neymar must be seen on video or in person to fully appreciate. Neymar is a sight to behold, and he will eclipse Messi, even when one looks at video of Messi in his prime. With all of the new talent on the world scene, Neymar might not receive four Ballons d’Or as Messi has, but Neymar’s skill looks more complete than Messi’s. Read more about Neymar here:
With the exception of Neymar, Mario Balotelli is possibly the best player of his generation skill-wise, and he lives to silence his critics in big games. Super Mario is almost always more technically-skilled than his teammates or opponents, and his size and athleticism are a new frontier in world soccer. A first striker in the mold of Ronaldo, Balotelli is also a dead ball specialist. Balotelli strikes fear into the hearts of his opponents, and his so-called mental problems and off field problems are normally pure fiction. Now back at the club that he supported as a child, AC Milan, where he is performing well, Balotelli should no longer have to answer his critics after his masterclass against Germany in the semifinal of UEFA Euro 2012. Mario Balotelli is without a doubt the most talented first-striker since Ronaldo and Thierry Henry. Balotelli’s only competition for the title of the best first-striker in the world is his teammate, M’Baye Niang. Perhaps, Niang possesses better 1v1 dribbling skills than Balotelli, but Balotelli’s are off the charts. Read more about Mario Balotelli here:
M’Baye Niang is a 6’4” teenage striker who combines supersonic speed with a magnetic first touch and 1v1 skills and tricks that are only rivaled by Neymar, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Mario Balotelli. Many observers cannot discuss M’Baye Niang without discussing Mario Balotelli because of obvious physical similarities, but M’Baye Niang is a prodigy and a phenomenon in his own right. Niang uses both feet interchangeable, and he attacks defenders and plays at one speed: full speed. Keep an eye on M’Baye Niang because in his first Champions League game, which was against Barcelona, he left Carles Puyol for dead and was the catalyst of the second and decisive goal. Niang is an elegant player who provides electrifying and effective play. Like Mario Balotelli, M’Baye Niang is a first-striker in the style of Ronaldo and Thierry Henry. Niang also looks to be a player who excels at dead balls and passing. Unlike his teammate Mario Balotelli, Niang appears to enjoy tracking back on defense to hound the opposition and regain possession.
Lucas Moura is another electrifying young talent whose skill is unquestioned. Lucas electrifies with his speed, skill, dribbling, and overall attacking skill. Lucas should be an almost certain starter for the Seleção in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
