World Cup winners Ronaldinho and Kaka were both left out of the Brazil’s Confederations Cup squad on Tuesday as manager Luiz Felipe Scolari opted for youth instead of experience.
Manchester United fullback Rafael and Chelsea midfielder Ramires, who has been a regular for his country over the past years, were also excluded, as was former AC Milan striker Alexandre Pato.
Brazil will use the same squad for the friendlies against England in Rio de Janeiro on June 2 and France in Belo Horizonte one week later.
Photo: AFP
Brazil had been expected to take at least either Kaka or Ronaldinho, who were in Scolari’s 2002 World Cup winning squad, to the eight-team competition that they host next month.
Ronaldinho, 33, had been a favorite thanks to some inspirational performances for his team, Club Atletico Mineiro, but they were clearly insufficient to impress the man known as Big Phil.
“We could lose out in terms of experience but we will make up for that with the enthusiasm which the young players bring,” Scolari told a news conference of about 300 reporters at a Rio de Janeiro hotel. “If a player is not in the squad, it means I have doubts about him. If he is in the squad, it means I don’t have any doubts.”
Scolari took over the squad in November last year after Mano Menezes was surprisingly sacked and has managed only one win, away to Bolivia, in his five friendlies in charge. Ronaldinho played in three of those games.
“When I chose the squad, I analyze what I can win and what I can lose with each player and I make my choices,” Scolari said. “When it comes to discipline, I base my choices on the way the player has behaved with the Brazil team and what has happened with us in the five friendlies.”
Ronaldinho was taken off at halftime in the friendly against England in February after an apathetic performance in which he missed a penalty. He also played in the 4-0 win in Bolivia and 2-2 draw at home to Chile, where Brazil were jeered off the field.
Real Madrid’s Kaka produced low-key performances against Italy and Russia.
Scolari said he did not fear a backlash from Brazilian fans for omitting Ronaldinho, who remains hugely popular.
“If we don’t do well, we’ll be under the cosh whoever I picked,” he said.
Scolari has made it clear that most of the players at the Confederations Cup will form the basis of his World Cup squad next year.
The biggest surprise was the inclusion of 20-year-old Atletico Mineiro striker Bernard, who has only one cap.
Brazil face Japan, Italy and Mexico in their group.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
If all goes well when the biggest marathon field ever gathered in Australia races 42km through the streets of Sydney on Sunday, World Marathon Majors (WMM) will soon add a seventh race to the elite series. The Sydney Marathon is to become the first race since Tokyo in 2013 to join long-established majors in New York, London, Boston, Berlin and Chicago if it passes the WMM assessment criteria for the second straight year. “We’re really excited for Sunday to arrive,” race director Wayne Larden told a news conference in Sydney yesterday. “We’re prepared, we’re ready. All of our plans look good on
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
When details from a scientific experiment that could have helped clear Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva landed at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the leader of the organization’s reaction was unequivocal: “We have to stop that urgently,” he wrote. No mention of the test ever became public and Valieva’s defense at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) went on without it. What effect the information could have had on Valieva’s case is unclear, but without it, the skater, then 15 years old, was eventually disqualified from the 2022 Winter Olympics after testing positive for a banned heart medication that would later