People in Series A have been raving about Adriano (including his last game). Where does he fit into the selecao. He is only 21 so i am very certain he will be on the Olympic roster. How should he be utilized?
Adriano is the next Élber. He may be olympic squad material, but will be lucky if he makes the roster for the next World Cup.
A little harsh, MIG. If you are saying that he is more prototypical European center forward material (ie. more power and strength than finesse and technique) then I would agree with you....those types of forwards don't usually shine for the Selecao. Whether that is due to style conflicts with the rest of the squad, or simply not being given a chance I'm not sure. I haven't seen him on a regular basis since his days at Flamengo. Can he create his own shot? But he's only 21; its hard to say how things will turn out.
I saw him in the Confederations Cup. Seems the limited player that could choke in a crucial time for Brazil.
I don't really agree with Adriano being like Elber. I think Adriano may fit better into the Selecao - he definitely will fit in better with the full Selecao playing behind him. This means taht he will benefit from the creativity and chances created by a Ronaldinho, Rivaldo or Kaka or Kleberson, etc. He is scoring Serie A goals, he will be included. Start? Perhaps that is a stretch. BUt I would definitely include him in sudamerica qualifiers. Hopefully he will be healthy, and in 2006 he will still be very young. And he will probably feature in the next Olympic team. He has a future with the Selecao. Remember, my problem with Elber was that not only was a bat fit with hte Selecao, but his hijinks and BS soured with fans of Brazil + he turned his back on the Selecao and spoke ill of them and the organization in Munich. He's scum to me. In fact this post will be the last time I hopefully have to mention Adriano and Elber in the same sentence.
Like your viewpoint Alex...Adraino is definetly a goal scorer worthy of consideration. I still don't know if he can create his own shot?...does he create opportunities for teammates? The Selecao is so fluid at this point - with players who create and score - that he might stick out like a sore thumb. IF he's the kind of guy you have to play for, one you have to have the whole team using as a focal point, than he will not be effective with this group of players (IMO). Does he command enough presence for the others to do that? Seems you need more of a guy who will come out of the box and continously look to get involved in the offensive flow. Can he do that? Luis Fabiano seems to be able to (I'm not saying LF is better, but his game might be better suited to Selecao) Just asking, 'cause haven't seen enough of Adriano lately to know. But agree with you, he should get his chance to show and prove. Aside: Has a WC winning Selecao side ever had a pure center forward? The stay in the box kind. Romario definetely was not that in '94 (though he became more and more a fox in the box type afterwards). Maybe Vava...
Go back and watch Adriano's goal against Lazio two weeks ago. If dribbling around five players is not creating your own shot, then no, Adriano can't do that. Adriano is awesome. You don't score 15 goals in 28 games against the world's tightest defenses without amazing skill and potential. And that was last year when he was 20! This year, he will be the league's top scorer, I truly believe. IMO, he will be starting for Brazil in 2006 if Ronaldo is broken, which he will be, again IMO.
I will check it out...as I stated in my post I haven't seen enough of him lately. Maybe he has picked up that part of his game. Is he also playing his teammates into space? This is a issue where I want to be way off base, cause it can only benefit Selecao to have another stud. However, Parmigiano, I also saw Ruud VN take on a whole defense last year on a 40 yard run to score in some EPL game!...despite that amazing goal, I don't view RVN as a creative type to consistently create his own. In the run of play, over many games, things can occur that are not necessarily an indication of a player's tendencies. IMO RVN, as good a goal scorer as we know him to be, would not be a natural fit with the Selecao's manner of playing, whereas Titi Henry would. Styles. So, please don't mistake me for an Adriano detractor; I'm just not yet convinced that he is a sure-fire Selecao stud either. He'll have a chance to show and prove. And don't be so sure L.Fabiano will not beat him to the spot behind Ronaldo.
They talked about that earlier in the season when he was leading Parma to a higher standing than them. He's been out through injury, but has been scoring some pretty great goals - eveyrojnt thought he would suffer without Adrian Mutu there but he'd been doing just fine. I remember when Inter bought Adriano, right after I think the U-20 championships. He didn't feature... they had Ronaldo, Vieri, Sukur and I think even Robbie Keane. He's been pretty much loaned out since he arrived and the past few years, done well in Italy, a tough league. Almost could have made my: "I told you so" thread in rivalries. But with injury, I don't think it'll happen now. On a side... speaking of Olympic teams... that'd be a pretty damn impressive one, no? Adriano there with Kaka, Nilmar, etc. etc.
Right on ALex!!! This should be a unbelivable Olympic squad. We might not even need to bring in Ronaldo as an overage player. Here is a starting lineup without any overage players. Not bad Not bad. The attack is awesome!!! -------------------Adriano -------------------------------Nilmar -----------Kaka------------Diego -----------Baptista-------Renato Adriano-------Alex-----Luisao------Mancini/Maicon ---------------------Gomes Isn't Mancini from Roma under 23?? With overage players, I suggest bringing in Roberto Carlos, Dida, and maybe Ronaldinho or a defender like Lucio.
Re: What of Adriano..... I bet that Jon Pall has creamed his pants this sunday. http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news?slug=afp-fbl_copa&prov=afp&type=lgns
Re: What of Adriano..... Right you are MigKiller...I went through a whole lot of tissue...even during the boring Brasil-Costa Rica game, I was flabbergasted by Adriano's explosiveness. I wonder if Ronaldo, Adriano, Ronaldinho, and Kaka can ever play together at the same time. With Adriano bulldozing his way into the box, Ronaldo lurking just outside the area, and Ronaldinho pulling the strings with his usual playmaking magic.just imagine the space Kaka would have to unleash one of his patented long range shots. We could make do with just two hardworking defensive mids...I wish Edgar Davids was a Brazilian.
Re: What of Adriano..... Adriano will definitely make the World Cup squad, could very well be starting depending on his upcoming seasons. I had the chance to watch Adriano play quite a bit this year and he's a future star in the making. In the last game of the season (a must win game for Inter) he had a brace and both were beautiful. One was a header and one was a brillant individual effort, putting to rest if he can create his own shot. You can see it on Inter's site, on the 2003/2004 highlights page which is on the left hand side of the screen.
Re: Adriano top scorer of Copa America so far. Didn't need tissues, I watched the game with a ladyfriend!! --------------Adriano-----------Ronaldo ----------------Ronaldinho-------Kaka --------------Silva---------------Kleberson/Baptista Roberto Carlos-------Luisao/Alex/Juan.etc-----Lucio------Maicon --------------------------Dida
Re: Adriano top scorer of Copa America so far. How surprised was she when you yelled Adriano's name at that moment?
Re: Adriano top scorer of Copa America so far. A little bit, but I told her it meant, "Good job, take a five minute break" in Portuguese and that straightened it all out.
Re: What of Adriano..... His strength is remarkable....kind of like the Iron Mike Tyson of old on the football pitch...with touch of course . In this Copa America he has proven to be a lot more mobile than I expected (and that I recall from his Flamengo days). Barring injury to Ronaldo, Kaka, Dinho, I don't see him starting in '06 (if Dada Maravilha could sit on bench in '70, so can Adriano) based on the formation CAP is sure to keep. Good thing for Brasil that a replacement for Ronaldi is in the wings for '10 and '14!!