ZE SERGIO ( Jose sergio presti) Born in sao paulo on the 8th of march 1957, Ze Sergio was one of the most talented footballers in brazil during the mid 1970's to 1981.. he was tipped to be one of brazil's greatest ever wingers before injuries began to take their toll and affect his performances.. He grew up idolizing his cousin- brazilian legend Rivelino who would take him to watch games and bring him training kits, balls and boots as gifts. Rivelino recognized Ze Sergios talent early and at the age of 13 ze sergio was taken by Rivelino for a trial at his club Corinthians. He enchanted the coaches there with his ability and was immediately offered a place in the youth team, but the distance from ze sergios home to corinthians training ground was too vast for him. The young Ze sergio suffered fatigue and the travelling affected his school studies so he continued to just play indoor football for the time being.. Three years later in 1973, Rivelino took Ze Sergio to Sao paulo for a trial. Now more mature and stronger ze sergio accepted terms at sao paulo and signed his first professional contract.. Ze sergio was a right footed left winger who tormented and confused full backs with his skill and left them for dead with his speed. He made his first team debut for sao paulo in june 1976 against America and became the holder of the left wing position. He helped sao paulo become brazilian champion in 1977. No defence could stop Ze sergio. The media and pundits of the time considered him equally as good as zico,socrates or anybody else.. he was a 'craque' as they say in brazil.. Claudio coutinho took him to the 1978 world cup in argentina, but ze sergio complained he was not allowed to play the way he wanted under coutinho's regime and was only used as a reserve. Coutinho wanted 'physical' hard working players.. In 1980 ze sergio was named the best player in brazil. A favourite of Tele santana - ze sergio was the absolute first choice for the left winger/ left sided position for brazil ahead of Eder and mario sergio, but fate conspired to hinder his career. Violent tackles were the only way of stopping ze sergio and he began to get injured more and more. He had a minor knee operation in 1980 and was only out of action for a short time and quickly recovered his form. But after a lacklustre performance by his standards at the mundialito things seemed to go downhill from there on.. Another more serious injury in 1981 meant that ze sergio had to go under the knife again and there was not enough time for him to regain his place in the selecao for the 1982 world . He also failed a doping test in 1981 but was later cleared of any offence. In brazil - ze sergios absence from the 1982 team was considered more of a tragedy than Careca's injury on the eve of the tournament. Indeed Santana's intended attacking unit for the '82 world cup was socrates, zico, ze sergio and reinaldo .. that was santana's dream attack - but fate decided it was not to be...
ZICO : ' MARACANA ACE ' Although it is undoubted that Zico was a great player he actually received a lot of criticism from the press and the fans for not replicating his flamengo form for the selecao.. I have spoken to many fans from zico's era and many state that zico was accused of only playing his best inside the maracana . In the writings of Certain journalists - solange bibas, Ricardo setti etc there is evidence of this fact..while all were in agreement of how great Zico was and how important he was to brazil there was also a sense of disappointment that he never really performed as he did for his club.. Being as my thread is on the eve of the mundialito final, i thought i would drop this information in now as it is interesting to hear the thoughts of brazilians who watched football in zico's era.... one flamengo fan wrote this next piece and his sentiments were echoed by others ( certainly not by all) - i asked a silly question - "did you miss zico at the mundialito because of his injury ? "- " yes, of course we missed zico he was a genius, but his best days were always at the maracana for flamengo. Zico didnt shine for brazil in world cups as he did in club football. This is why he was known as the 'maracana ace' .. after the opening game of '82 vs the ussr people began to wonder if zico was going to have another off form display as he did in 1978. Zico always seemed to be playing under pressure for the selecao and not with the freedom he had at flamengo " ..
Quoting the last sentence above "Zico always seemed to be playing under pressure for the selecao and not with the freedom he had at flamengo " I think perhaps some players can't handle different types/forms of stress, they just don't have that kind of resolve in them. They feel less comfortable playing for NT relative to clubs due to the difference in freedom and importance of the event. With league football there is less pressure since you are merely being put on a display in front of the indigenous fans of your club whom you are familiar and accustomed to. But wearing the NT shirt is to represent your nation on a global stage where the whole world is watching! Changes perspective a bit doesn't it? So couldn't it be that Zico was one of those technical maestros doing wonderful things on a local level, only to falter with the increased responsibility of a WC event, due to lack of mental strength?
Possibly.. he did no doubt have great matches for brazil but i am just repeating what i've read and discussed.. Nobody is saying he was poor in 1982 - they just say he was not as decisive for the selecao as he was for flamengo.. some even say he wasnt as good for flamengo away from the maracana.. I just thought it was interesting to post these views from people who lived through that period.. I ve watched an unhealthy amount of brazilian club football but its no substitute for the actual opinions of brazilian people who followed brazilian football in zico's peak years.. But yes- some say his mental weakness was the reason he missed that penalty against france in 1986..
True first hand witness account gives more insights into the events than by mere watching matches alone. The overall environment, the hype, the emotions, and circumstances of that time can hardly be understood by watching video matches in hindsight.
Plus, at club level there's always next year to look forwards to... At NT level, if you're 27 years old at one WC, and you don't play well at 27, then the feeling is "He'll be 31 years old for the next WC, this was his last real chance..." That aspect of NT football also adds a great deal of the pressure that you simply don't get at club level. The World Cup is a one month event that happens once per every four years... I get the impression that a lot of people just fail to truly grasp the "one month per every four years" part of it.
Interesting interview with Carlos Alberto who said that the reason behind their loss in '66 was because they were caught out by the so called "power football". This so called European based "power football" in 66 motivated the team to work on physical "strength" 4 months prior to WC70. That is an interesting insight coming from a key member (captain) of NT70. The remaining comments from Carlos Alberto is also worth listening to. He describes what made NT70 so memorable e.g being always on the attack. @giles varley @leadleader @celito
TELÊ SANTANA : " MY IDEAL TEAM IS THE NETHERLANDS OF 1974"... (09/01/1981) After the impressive performances of Brazil against argentina and west Germany at the mundialito, Telê Santana has become much sought after for his views and opinions on the game of football.. Today Santana seemed to be in high spirits and throughout the interview he frequently smiled and was only too happy to talk about his deep love of football and the teams that were the inspiration for how he thinks the game should be played.. Santana has often been accused of being a miserable and grumpy character when faced with the press .. " I am actually a very happy person" said Santana " sometimes on camera i can appear a little dour because i have to be careful how i answer questions, and some questions i am asked are also malicious and inaccurate. I am wary in interviews. Please understand that i have to answer the same questions to many different journalists a million times a day !, it is not easy for me when all i want to do is coach my team ! " " i am not at all grumpy away from the cameras, i am an exrovert always joking with my friends and family. You only see me in front of a microphone - constantly under pressure from questions. My personality is much different from the one you see there "... Telê is then more than happy to discuss the future of the selecao under his command and the style he wants his team to play in ... " i have said often that the ultimate satisfaction for me would be to coach a team like Holland '1974. They lost in the final, but they were the team that stood out. They were the best team, a very special selection.. I loved the strategies that team produced. The flowing movements, the interchanging of positions. It was a team strategy that allowed players to roam into different positions without weakening the system or formation.. The genius Cruyff could drift from the left to the right side if he wished to do so and another player would fill the void he left. Every player could play anywhere on the pitch if need be. It was a beautiful team with very intelligent players who moved all over the pitch to support each other.. that is ideally how i would like my teams to play , i believe there is enough talented and intelligent players in brazil to achieve a similar style of play.. not to emulate the dutch style, but to take inspiration and influences from it "
Pardon me for this off-topic post What was the reason why Edmundo was left out of WC94 when he won Brasileirao 1993 with Palmeiras? What was the reason why Rivaldo was left out of WC94 when he was already well known in Brazil back in 1993? Here a question related to Parreira's managerial decisions, why did he take Viola over Edmundo? One more question related to Parreira's managerial decisions, why did he hesitate till last moment deep into extra time to make some minor substitutions, why did he wait to have a fresh Viola on pitch till last moment and why not use Ronaldo when all the other strikers were knackered and exhausted after extra time? As soon as Viola got on pitch he gave a great dribble on the right flank that created a dangerous opportunity for a goal. If he only had swapped some tired players with fresh ones in the first half of the extra time, perhaps it might have ended with a score? @celito @Puskas 1988 @leadleader @Jaweirdo
It is tough to say whey he left Edmundo and Rivaldo out exactly although both had just started coming into the scene in 93 and the team may have been more or less determined. Both were tested before the WC however. Edmundo's no call is probably a bigger deal. He played good in 93 and 94. His exclusion could have been partially because of his temperament. Plus the fact that CBF wanted to include Ronaldo in the team for a variety of reasons. As for Rivaldo, remember that he was young. He burst into the scene in 93 and had a good season. But apparently he had a poor Paulista 94 leading up to the WC. Nobody could probably foresee how could he would later become. I have to say that I was already living in the US at that time and news from Brazil was not easily available as it is today. Just as an example, I knew Edmundo and but very little about Rivaldo ... and had no idea who Ronaldo was. As for the late substitutions, technically Viola would have to come in for Romario or Bebeto. I doubt Parreira would sub any of them out as they played the whole tournament and could produce a piece of magic at any moment. I forget who he ended up coming in for in the end. Probably Zinho or Mazinho. That essentially made the team for vulnerable defensively. He probably wanted to make sure Italy were spent physically and not much of a threat on the counter before going for a riskier formation. As for Ronaldo ... he was way too young for such an occasion. And again, he wasn't taking Romario nor Bebeto out.
As for the substitute part, I guess Viola came in for Jorginho who was injured before ET, and also because obviously Romario and Bebeto were still fit and posing threats. So the question was not much to do with the whom Viola had coming in for the end but more to do with why parreira left it till deep in ET to make those substitutions. paolo sergio was also one of them subs who came in till last minute. So he was very reluctant till the very end to make fresh subs which under those circumstances a draw (0-0) leading to a likely PK shoot out looming was in my opinion unwise, don't you think? As far Rivaldo, I agree, he still had very little going for it to deserve a call. But Edmundo? Com'on the guy was a hit from the onset with Vasco and with Palmeiras he was important for them in 93/94 Brasileirao. I think Edmundo deserved a call-up more then Viola. Imagine Edmundo -Romario - Bebeto in the ET. It might have pressed the Italians to make mistakes and who knows perhaps even the goal in the end. Even if he had subbed Violaearlier then he did it might as well have bring about such an effect,cause as soon as he got into the game in ET he gave that flanking dribble past 2 defenders passing the ball to Romario who missed the shot, don't you think Viola coming for a sub earlier in the match might have chanced the balanced in favour of Brazil?
GET OFF MY THREAD !! this thread is about 1980's brazil, tele santana and nothing else ..no romario, no R9 ....be gone sir !!
No problem for me , it´s Giles´s thread. Cafú came in for Jorginho, Viola came in for Mazinho, but I´m not sure. Wasn´t Müller in the 1994 squad??
BRAZIL LOSE THE MUNDIALITO FINAL URUGUAY 2 BRAZIL 1 ( estadio Centanario, uruguay 10/1/1981) Tele santana's new look brazil team who have impressed during the mundialito lost out to uruguay in the final of the tournament.. Brazil failed to take their chances in the first half .. Rodriguez in the uruguay goal keeping out Junior and Cerezo's efforts. Ze Sergio went close with a shot just over the bar. But brazil seemed to tire towards the end of the first half and throughout the second half they lacked energy.. ' we played well in the first half ' said Santana ' i am proud of my players, but we didnt have the legs in the last twenty minutes of the game. Uruguay were fresher than us having had more days to rest, but that is not an excuse, they marked well and used the ball intelligently. We lacked focus at times and there were some things we could have done better but i am pleased with our work so far. For two and a half games of three we showed good football at the mundialito. As ever i am not satisfied totally, we will improve i believe. Zico and Reinaldo will be returning to play soon and that will only make us better- and dont forget Falcao in Rome and the other players in brazil who we didnt take this time. As i have said before , victory would have been nice for us but these are early days and we will continue to progress as a team before the 1982 world cup. This tournament has been a positive experience " ... The game was still 0 -0 at half time. Santana made no changes to his team. After the break, play was equal - until Leite in brazils goal could only parry Ramos' shot into the path of barrios who scored on 51 minutes.. Socrates equalized from the penalty spot 12 minutes later- but it was uruguay who got the winner 10 ten minutes from full time through a victorino header... BRAZIL : Joao leite, edevaldo, oscar, luisinho, junior, tita, isidoro, Batista,cerezo, ze sergio, socrates.. Subs used: serginho, Eder.
TELE SANTANA'S PLAYER SELECTION CRITICIZED IN BRAZIL .... Although brazil can be pleased with the football they played during the mundialito, questions are still being asked of tele santana's player selection.. Why does he continue to overlook the best keeper Leao ? Why is Nelinho no longer in his thoughts ? How can tele ignore the sublime skills of mario sergio and Pita ? Why is Zenon not given a chance ? What of the flamengo trio andrade,adilio and nunes ? The young goalscoring sensation of guarani careca ? At the mundialito Tita, ze sergio and renato- while not playing badly failed to impress. With socrates being used as a makeshift centre forward ( santana prefered socrates in the role even after serginho recovered from injury ) brazil lose something in the midfield. Pita or mario sergio could have filled the creative void in midfield if socrates was to play up front.. Socrates has played well but he is more comfortable in the middle dictating play and brazil have played better with the doctor in midfield... Why then did santana not consider other forwards for his squad ? Baltazar and Nunes have been in good form, so to has Careca ( although santana may feel careca is too young for a call up right now ) ... In the absence of Reinaldo, brazil have missed a craque forward.. the only forwards listed in the squad on paper were serginho and Eder, but Eder is not a forward he is more of an offensive side midfielder or left winger who never really plays centrally.. there are doubts over serginho in the media. Although he scores goals at sao paulo people still raise questions on his ability at this level.. Santana himself seems to be undecided over the big man and confused by the centre forward position for brazil... ( gazetta esportivo 13/01/1981)
Telê Santana and Emerson Leão Many people still question why Santana refused to select Emerson Leão for his 1982 world cup team. Leão was considered by virtually everyone to be the best goalkeeper in Brazil during the time of Telê santana's reign as selecão coach.. Leão was a member of Brazil's world cup winning squad in 1970 and the number one at the 1974 and 1978 world cups. His ability was never in doubt.. But Leão by all accounts had a very nasty personality and a very bad temper. He was a trouble maker. His playing career was full of incidents of fighting with players ( team mates and opponents ) .. When he retired from playing and became a manager he was no different - He has attacked reporters, clashed with managers and players and fought with club owners. As manager of atletico mineiro in 1997 he suffered a fractured face after causing trouble with Argentinian opponents Lanus. His face needed to be rebuilt. Leão didnt like argentines and as manager of corinthians in 2006 he clashed with tevez and mascherano after he made xenophobic comments against them ... his list of offences and outspoken comments during his managerial and playing career is too long to list here.. Leão's personality made it impossible for Telê Santana to select him for Brazil. During the 1974 world cup after Brazil's 1 - 0 loss to poland in the third place play off, Leão attacked and punched full back Marinho chagas for neglecting defensive duties. In the 1978 brasileiro final between Leão's palmeiras and Guarani, he attacked and elbowed Guarani forward Careca and was sent off but took seven minutes to leave the field.. These incidents among others were not forgotten or forgiven by telê santana. Leão's character was the complete opposite of what santana wanted in his team.. In 1983 Leão joined Corinthians where he refused to be a part of the famous Corinthians democracy movement... He clashed with Socrates ,casagrande and others.. Socrates said - " leão is a great goalkeeper, but not a great person. Everything you would expect to find in a bad person is here in Leào " And there are the reasons why Santana never selected leão..
LMAO at Socrates' subtle way of saying, "Leão is a great goalkeeper, but not a great person, in fact, Leão is everything bad that there is about bad people, but you get it all condensed into one single person. A terrible person to put it simply."
Santana and Raul Plassmann At this stage of Telê santana's reign as Brazil coach,( early 1981) it was pretty clear that Leão was out of the picture and would have no chance of being selected, even as a squad member.. throughout 1981 Santana seemed to favour waldir peres above all the other keepers. This raised doubts and lead to debates in the Brazilian media.. Peres was not a popular choice among the vast majority of journalists.. if santana wasn't going to select the controversial leão then they felt that Raul plassmann of flamengo was the obvious choice.. Raul himself was very vocal in the media about not being selected by santana since early 1980 - and this didn't help his case - infact years later Raul said that he regretted the comments he made about santana in the press because he wasn't even selected as a squad member for the 1982 world cup.. Raul said in an interview - " I would rather play than train just to sit on a bench like a spectator " Santana would not be badmouthed or criticized by players and he certainly wouldn't be pressured by the media to select players -even if the media may have been correct.. Telê would also take no notice of the military who had interfered with team selections at previous world cups. Santana was his own man and he was going to do things his way or not at all...
Nice little video - I think it's pretty accurate apart from the description of Brazil and Serginho's role - the Brazilian team was not set up to play with Serginho up front - and Serginho wasn't allowed to be aggressive by santana..santana tried to change Serginho's style to suit the team - but i'll get to that later !
BRAZIL AFTER THE MUNDIALITO ... (13/1/1981) TONINHO CEREZO : player of the mundialito Brazilian midfielder toninho Cerezo was named as the best player of the mundialito reports the newspaper El Dia today.. he was chosen by a jury that included technical director of Uruguayan football Hugo Bagnulo, 1950 world cup winner Juan Schiafinno and representatives from the uruguayan media..the trophy receives by Cerezo is a replica of the centennial stadium honor tower... Cerezo, according to selecão fitness coach Gilberto Tim, is the fittest Brazilian player of all - " Cerezo is almost abnormal with his physical endurance - I'm sure he has another lung hidden somewhere inside his body ! " Cerezo said - " I know that people have been critical of my game in the past, and everyone has a right to give their opinion on a player, but I hope they respect me as a human being...my family reads the papers and listens to the criticisms on the radio and when the critics attack the man not the player - this hurts them. I'm tired of telling my parents not to worry or take things so seriously - I play for Brazil so I must be a good player ! every player at some stage will be the subject of criticism or praise - it's natural and you have to take the rough with the smoothe.. but my mother will be proud that I have won this award - my mother thinks I play well all the time, even if I have a disastrous game ! " "What everyone needs to understand is that every single player of the selecão wants to play great football in every match. I always want to give my best and help this generation of footballers put Brazil back at the top of world football. I've received criticism because I ran too much, attacked too much, pressed too much - I was called an irresponsible tactician - I couldn't please no matter what I did ! But now I am playing how I myself and telê want me to play - I am free to create and join the attack and this is beneficial for the selecão" " it is clear that the whole country wanted to win the mundialito. That was what the players desired too, but we came away from the tournament with credit. Before the tournament remember that people mocked Brazilian football, saying that our great players were a thing of the past. But we have many great players today. The 74 and 78 world cups were negative experiences for everybody in Brazil and didn't show the world what Brazilian football is all about. We became almost European in our style and talent was wasted - telê will not allow that to happen. We are turning things around. The Germans, the Italians, the uruguayans and so on have all been impressed with our football at the mundialito.. maybe we should have won the final and made more of our chances but we learn and move on " "Before the mundialito, nobody was believing in the work telê and the players were doing. When we thrashed Paraguay the fans said we were the dream team, but when we only beat Switzerland by 2 goals we were bad.. Brazilian fans are like that and maybe that's why Brazilian football is so strong, the supporter demands brilliant football, but what I ask for is patience because things are going well with telê. We did not have that much time to train together at Los Aromos yet we played as a united team." " before the mundialito Argentina were claiming that Brazil were no longer a force in world football. But we were better than them and should have secured a victory. After that game, even though it was a draw, people started to believe in Brazilian football again " " the game against West Germany was a very difficult mission- we all respect German football, but we thrashed them and reached the final on goals scored.. It was party time in Brazil! Everyone was happy with football again ! Then we entered the field to play Uruguay in the final for the cup and we lost 2 goals to one. It could have gone the other way..i admit we played below ourselves but we are satisfied with our development. We will get better and better. Our two best players Zico and Reinaldo will be available again soon - so everyone must look forward. Losing the final does not diminish anything ".. "The aim of the mundialito was to prepare us for the world cup qualifiers, and then to win the world cup. We outplayed the world champions and the European champions so how can anybody criticize the work we are doing ? We are not perfect, There have been mistakes and telê has noticed them. It is nothing we can't correct. The team line up will change, players will be replaced by others. But everyone in the squad is friends with each other, there is no gossip or backstabbing - we all want what is best for The team.. The mundialito was a testing ground for all of us. We lost the final but we played well".. " regarding my own football, some people insist that I run aimlessly, I do not know what to do on the pitch and that I mess up the team and other things - that is their opinion, but surely they are wrong - I take advantage of my physical condition so I can defend,attack, chase and score.. if that was bad for the team then telê would replace me with a substitute." "Others say that Brazil's midfield should be formed with Batista, falcão and zico. That is for Telê to decide. In the selecão there is no unfair competition. The coach will select who he thinks is best for the team. Zico will obviously be back in the team as soon as he is over his injury and Falcão who is in Rome is a brilliant player. He can fit into any team , but it does not worry me." " I just want to make it clear that this defeat to Uruguay should not make the world fall apart for our fan's . Everything is great within the selecão" ..Journalists from all over the world saw Cerezo as the ideal midfielder at the mundialito. A German reporter said " Cerezo is the ideal athlete -intelligent, strong, skilful and he knows how to shoot " Cerezo the atletico mineiro player is hated by some ,adored by others but nobody can deny he played very well at the mundialito. His team mates are all unanimous in their praise of his footballing ability.. Cerezo sent a message to the fans - " believe in this Brazilian team. Don't dwell on the defeat to Uruguay. We need the support and faith of the fans. We are training hard and all this hard work is going to generate a lot of joy in the future. We have the talent to win the world cup " ( Gazette esportivo)
ZICO RETURNS FROM INJURY (28/1/1981) ..After 40 days without kicking a ball Zico is ready to return to the selecão after recovering from his injury. When he tore his muscle before the mundialito, all Brazilian supporters were concerned. After all Zico is not only an idol to flamengo fans but loved by supporters and coaches of all Brazilian clubs. His skill, intelligence and creativity was sorely missed at the mundialito in Uruguay.. Zico was treated for his injury in Rio but joined up with the selecão here in Bogota on the 22nd in readiness for Brazil's friendly game against colombia on the 1st of february. He trained on saturday morning running and sprinting, being put through his paces by Gilberto Tim. Zico has showed great desire to get back to full fitness. In the afternoon he trained again more intensively but zico admits he will not be ready for the colombia game but expects to play at least part of the world cup qualifier against Venezuela in Caracas... The biggest star of Brazilian football is coming back much to the relief of Telê Santana and all concerned with Brazilian football. Zico knows he needs to be fit for the world cup qualifiers , he said " we are no longer in a preparatory phase , we are in a decisive phase " ... Zico is the main man of the selecão - he is sought after by every club in the world. He is a player that makes defenders anxious, he can change a game in the blink of an eye. His place in the selecão first eleven is a certainty and non negotiable as soon as he is fully fit... " I've been a long time away from football" said Zico " I want to be back as soon as possible. Everybody knows how much I suffered not being able to play in the mundialito but I am coming back to stay in the team and make up for lost time " " I felt the altitude training here in Bogota more than my team mates because i have not played in so long. But I am doing everything i can to come back stronger than ever. As soon as Gilberto Tim says I am ready I will fight for my place in the team" "At the moment Brazilian football needs to show it's strength and prestige, I do not want to miss any more games - missing the mundialito was enough for me" " I'm like a racehorse - stuck, bound, desperate to run a race but I must control myself and not rush back. My head has to rule my heart. It's sad that when there is an injury some people say that I am deliberately missing Brazil's games because I can only play well at the maracana. This is nonsense - my team mates know this and so does Telê Santana and im sure a good part of the brazilian public know it too. I cannot help getting injured..I desperately wanted to play against maradona and argentina at the mundialito and to test myself against the world's best." " I also want to say that although it's important - physical training is not the most important aspect of all - I need to work on my relationship with a ball, I haven't kicked a ball in 40 days and this causes some concern. I need to get my sharpness back - its only natural that my ball control will be rusty through lack of practice. " " when I watched Brazil at the mundialito I wanted to be on the pitch helping the team. I felt we were the best team at the tournament and as a supporter I wanted us to win it. Even though it was not an important trophy like the world cup I was still sad that we lost" "After the final I decided to take my family on holiday to the United States.. to get away from football for a short while and relax with my wife and children. It was nice. With all the training and matches and my involvement with football the family is sometimes forgotten, but to spend some days of leisure with them helps to heal The mind and forget your worries".. The number 9 is not a problem But who will be the centre forward of Brazil?.. " I understand that whoever plays at centre forward for Brazil - the team will not change it's tactics or philosophy. Whether it's Reinaldo, Socrates or Serginho, the team will play the same" " Reinaldo or Socrates? - I have played with both of them. We are great friends and get along very well on and off the pitch. Both are brilliant footballers and a pleasure to play with.." " Serginho - I don't think there will be a problem if he plays. His style is different from the other two - more aggressive and less touch - but we could make it work " " the selecão has been developing a style of play with telê that every player is excited about. Each player is beginning to understand each other's movements and a rapport is growing. Apart from the need for victories it is important to play in an offensive and entertaining manner - the Brazilian way. Not just for the players but for the people of brazil..My dream is for the team to have an understanding , all inspired, seeking goal after goal and I hope this comes into fruition during the qualifiers. We have already showed that we are capable of achieving this but we have to repeat it game after game " " I would like to play against colombia, I believe that I could and there would be no problem, but Gilberto Tim wants to hold me back a bit longer to be safe" " I don't think the colombians will be dirty in this game, at least I hope not. The Colombian public have been critical of the violence that their own team has shown in recent games and I'm sure their players will have taken note of this. One thing I can be sure of though is that Brazil will win "