Goalkeepers Julio Cesar (Inter) Heurelho Gomes (Tottenham) Center Backs Thiago Silva (Milan) David Luiz (Chelsea) Lucio (Inter) Luisao (Benfica) Full Backs Marcelo (Madrid) Adriano (Barca) Dani Alves (Barca) Maicon (Inter) Midfielders Lucas Leiva (Liverpool) Sandro (Tottenham) Ramires (Chelsea) Hernanes (Lazio) Lucas Moura (Sao Paulo) Douglas Costa(Shakhtar Donetsk) Ganso (Santos) Elano (Santos) Forwards Neymar (Santos) Robinho (Milan) Hulk (Porto) Pato (Milan) -------------------------------------------- Starting 11 1. Julio Cesar 2. Dani Alves 3. Lucio (This should be his last tournament. This is a way of thanking him for all his services over the years) 4. Thiago Silva 5. Lucas Leiva 6. Marcelo 7. Lucas Moura 8. Ramires 9. Hulk 10. Ganso 11. Neymar After Lucio retires from the selecao, I expect David Luiz to replace him. I think he will be a force in the middle in less than two years. Right now, he is not there yet but, his offensive skills are impeccable. As for the defensive midfielders, I am not overly confident with Lucas Leiva and Ramires but, I think they are the best options right now. I would really like to try Jucilei at #5 but, he needs more experience. You'll notice one important omission in the lefback position. Yes, Michel Bastos whom I respect a lot is not on the list. I have thought really hard about it but, after watching Marcelo and Adriano for the past few weeks, there simply isn't room for him as he recently came back from surgery and is not 100%. It is unlikely that he will reach his peak in times for Copa America. The funny thing is that, even at his best right now, he might not make my team. Marcelo has really improved defensively this year. Adriano has impressed me a lot with his defensive performances but, I start Marcelo because he has the edge in the offensive game. Why Hulk over Pato? Hulk is just a powerful and explosive finisher with a lot of tricks in his bag. Pato is also great but, he is not reliable. He is too prone to injuries. He is always pulling a hamstring or something else. Since he has been at Milan, he has missed a lot of games every year. He just pulled a hamstring last Sunday and will be out for three weeks. He was recently called up last month to play for Brazil against Scotland and then, he got injured. I think Brazil should start thinking about 2014 and should establish team chemistry. Therefore, Brazil will need to play with the same group of starters more or less for the next couple of years so they can get to know each other and establish a rhythm. They will need to play in lot of friendlies. They will have a problem in finding quality opponents as the teams that are trying to qualify for the world cups will not want to risk fielding their top players in an attempt to win a meaningless friendly match against Brazil. One more thing: Brazil has a lot of young players who need to gain a lot of experience in time for the 2014 world cup. That is the reason I am starting Lucas Moura in the midfield along with Ganso. Lucas will be a very important player and therefore needs to be put on the stage right now so he can learn. Brazil should not worry about just winning the trophy. It is more important to give this young group of players the experience they need so it can pay off in 2014. If the current coach is smart, he will preserve the same starting forwards and attacking midfielders in the olympics next year. What players would you call up for the upcoming Copa America?
mis favoritos para avanzar en este grp son los de brazil y paraguay de los otros dos, pienso que el que saque un empate a paraguay, puede avanzar como mejor 3rd. Hoy eso se complico con el empate que logro bolivia en el otro grp.
After watching Brazil's first match against Venezuela, I am convinced the following players should not be in the starting line-up: Robinho and Ramires. These two have not played well lately for the national team. I believe they should still remain on the team but, they don't belong in the starting line-up. Lucas Rogriguez Moura and Elano should be in the line-up instead. If Elano cannot be consistent, let's bring in Sandro. Also, at some point, I'd like to see the LB Adriano get some playing time. He is a very solid player.
estoy de acuerdo con lo de ramires (perdido hoy) pero el otro si puede aportar experiencia y liderazgo a los dos jovencitos- ganso y neymar too bad the subs...had less futebol to show
I think Robinho no longer belongs in the starting line-up. He does not make good decisions. Brazil needs very explosive players in order to compete with the likes of Spain, Argentina, Germany and Netherlands. I think Lucas Rodrigues Moura and soon Philippe Coutinho will fill that void. For sure, Neymar will be in the starting line-up. Pato is not a sure bet. Maybe, Brazil ought to give Hulk a chance.
thanks!! is he going to be replaced? I think that only due to injury, a team can call a new player to copa america
Mano fielded a better team against Ecuador. Julio Cesar Maicon Lucio Thiago Silva Andre Santos Lucas Leiva Ramires (Maybe Elano) Robinho (Lucas) Ganso Neymar Pato I think I would make two changes: 1. Definitely Lucas for Robinho With Lucas in the lineup, I think the team would be more explosive. Robinho makes too many mistakes passing and finishing. A lot of times, he seems not be in sync with everyone else although he had an above average performance against Ecuador. Robinho has the experience of playing for Brazil and I think in the last Copa America, he was voted best player but, he has not shown up in big games and has not played well for Brazil in quite some time. Lucas Moura is a talent that needs to be nurtured now as Brazil is building a team for the future. I think Robinho is at risk of not even being called for the next world cup in three years unless he improves a lot. To be honest, Robinho's current position will be occupied by Philippe Coutinho (who is playing U20 World cup) or Lucas. 2. Maybe Elano for Ramires Elano is a more of an offensive threat but, he lacks Ramires's pace. Ramires has made a lot of defensive and offensive mistakes lately. He is a very important player but, he is not playing well right now.