Brasil x Costa do Marfim Brazil x Cote d'Ivoire Sunday, June 20th at 2:30pm Eastern Time, 11:30am Pacific Time, Domingo, 20 de junho, 15:30 no Brasil Match 29, Soccer City Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the pre-match thread. The game is one week and a few hours away. You know the drill - check our rules and posting suggestions, this thread will be heavily moderated. Some things I will highlight - stay on topic, do not post without reading first and don't post "thank you" or other short messages to posters - use the PM system instead. Also do not engage posters in personal battles, talk about the game. You can also discuss this game in the Official World Cup forums Keep in mind the moderation there is also strict and unlike this forum you will find a lot more neutral and rival posters - so once again don't make things personal, talk about the game, not about personal arguments.
this is the game im most worried about to be honest. we've always struggled against these types of african teams and i expect the same here. the million dollar question is whether dunga will change the team a bit. both elano and melo remain question marks in my mind. i really like elano but he was invisible for a lot of the game. with that said, it's hard to knock on a guy who provided the maicon pass and then scored his own goal thanks to robinho. i really want to see ramires or alves in melo's place. if there was a game to try this out, it may be against the ivorians.
Leonidas, what do you think about this possible lineup, courtesy of Olho Tático? 'Com as entradas de Daniel Alves, Ramires e Nilmar, um Brasil ainda no 4-2-3-1, porém mais solto na saída de bola e leve no ataque. Pode e deve ser mais utilizada.' I like it except that Kaká is absent. I think Kaka should start because he needs to get his game form back, but if he still underperforms, Dunga better bench him early.
That formation puts a lot of pressure on our CBs. Gilberto Silva is too slow to give adequate cover for the CBs. Some thing that has been discussed here, but has been brought up by one of my friends. I wouldn't be surprised if Melo were sent off in this game. CIV are going to play physical with us and Melo might get sucked into that and commit some hard, foolish fouls.
this was what was used later in the north korea game. it was an interesting formation and certainly changed the team up a bit. but the formation wasnt used long enough to really gather much. nilmar tho did look good in the time he was on the pitch. he had 2 shots, which was great. i think it could work but i dont envision we will use this formation that much. kaka will play more and more. the important change will be whether dunga has the balls to drop melo for ramires or alves.
I was thinking about something. Why not used Thiago Silva in one of the DM roles. I think it worth experimenting with. I doubt it will ever happen but it an option I would like Dunga to explore.
That would be the best way to turn this team into a 3-5-2 but yeah it's unlikely to happen unless two D-mids are injured and Dunga does not want to use one of his meias there.
although to be fair, ivory coast could just as easily get a guy sent off. we definitely have to watch out for gervinho on the wing if he starts.
Thiago Silva can dribble and can go past players on one on one in lightning pace...and is very good in defending...and do not get foolish yellow cards... His occassional runs from the back aka Lucio style were superb in Milan this year.. This is a very good opion Dunga can consider...He's fatser and more technical than Melo..But the truth is MELO played well in the first game...He had only one bad pass that too it was in the opponents half... If Ivory cost plays teh way they played against Portugal they can be beaten...Ther goal keeper is known for some foolish mistakes...But if they try to do like North Korea or switzerland , it's very difficult to break them down.. and Their number 10 Gervinho is a hell of a player ...Drogba is afraid of LUCIO after the two meetings they had in the champions league..LOL
i wonder if we might see a change in our line-up. the starters for the past 2 days havent quite trained -- just jogging and light muscular work. but the reserves have really been training -- especially today.
I wouldn't object to either of these two: Josue for Melo, Gilberto for Bastos but any change would surprise me. I was about to post so I'll add it here: Where is CIV training? Their game with Portugal was at sea level while this game is at 1,700 meters. Will that affect them? If it does it could be another typical Brazil game - patient and taking advantage of second-half legs for a win that doesn't look comfortable to everyone but probably is.
i actually forgot about the altitude switch. but, apparently ivory coast were training in the swiss alps so they should be ok.
I still not sure about Josue. Granted, he actually never been bad when he has played more along the lines of quiet but consistent. He has not shown the ability to link the midfield with the forwards. Also, I think it would be harsh to bench Melo after the first game in which I thought he was solid overall.
I think Brazil would benefit immensely from not taking this attitude that 11 players are starters and that if you sit one game you were "OMG Benched!" Gilberto for example is a better defensive left-back than Bastos so to use one over the other would be a question of what the coach wants in that game, not a question of benching one for not performing well. I know Dunga talks about having 23 players, not 11 but I wonder how much his players would accept that kind of squad rotation.
he had a solid game but he had a bunch of poor games before hand. but, i dont really blame him for our struggles. we were passing just fine -- but fabiano and robinho were just outmanned in the box. we had a lot of good chances in the box -- just couldnt get the shots off. but josue is actually a pretty good passer -- i'd say better than melo to be honest. he came on as a sub in the tanzania game and he made the pass to ramires on his first goal. great pass overall. i mean melo should start against the ivory coast given the size of those players. i also think this may be the game where we see grafite and his 1.90 frame off the bench.
Fabiano had 3 men on him every time. It was awful. Still he got one brilliant chance, if only he had kept the ball down. I wish he had scored then cause it would relieve some pressure. I still think he will show up against bigger teams - like Portugal and the Ivory Coast - as opposed to Robinho who will look quieter in those games than he did against North Korea.
Gervino is going to be a hand full so it make perfect sense to rest bastos. The midfield is were will truly be tested; Yaya toure is just a beast of a player.
According to terra, Josué is training with the starters. http://esportes.terra.com.br/futebo...ade+entre+titulares+no+treino+da+Selecao.html
Josué over Gilberto Silva...? Well that would help our transition between defense and attack since he is a better passer, but I don't think that it would be a good idea to use him against IC... Those guys are HUGE, we need the physical presence of Gilberto Silva and Melo in the midfield, perhaps even Julio Baptista later on.
thing with josue is he is very pesky. he's like a little flea, so im ok with it -- especially when you consider that Ivory coast is fast as they are big. i would prefer a faster player than a slow one. edit: seems as if gilberto silva didnt even feature in the reserves...so he may have been rested. so josue may not be a starter just yet after all...
Damn why didn't he get hurt earlier? We could've called Sandro I hope that this injury doesn't stop him for too long, we need everyone now that we can't call any extra players, plus he is our vice-captain, he brings a lot of experience to the group.
Pretty interesting stats. Not too shocking. http://www.lancenet.com.br/noticias...ao-comprovam-eficiencia-da-saida-pela-direita The right side and Maicon were responsible for both goals. Maicon had twice the plays as Bastos. And Gilberto Silva didnt do much passing.