Coach Alexandre Gallo has announced his squad of U21 players for the 2014 Toulon Tournament. Brazil will defend the title they won in 2013 after stand-out performances from players such as Grêmio’s Yuri Mamute and Vinicius Araujo then of Cruzeiro but now on the books at Valencia. The 2014 squad contains two stand-out centre backs in the shape of Botafogo’s Dória, and Marquinhos of PSG who many thought would have made Brazil’s World Cup squad. Elsewhere the […]
The 1958 World Cup was an important moment in the history of Brazilian football for many reasons. It was the first World Cup appearance of one of their greatest players – Garrincha. It was also Pelé’s first tournament, and a competition in which Didi was able to display his unflinching class on a world stage, winning the Golden Ball in the process. It was a tournament of balance for the Brazilians. A healthy mixture of […]
It’s difficult to believe that it’s over two years since Manchester City midfielder Fernandinho played for Brazil. It’s not that he wasn’t impressive for his previous club Shakhtar Donetsk, after all, Manchester City wouldn’t have paid the massive £35m fee for a mediocre player. For a long time the Ukraine, and similarly Russia, has been the back-burner of the Brazilian talent cooker. Shakhtar have a rich history of successful Brazilian players, and having joined the […]
Luiz Felipe Scolari’s Brazil face South Korea at midday this Saturday (UK time), with plenty of players in the side looking to make an impression as the 2014 World Cup gets ever closer. The game will take place at the Seoul World Cup Stadium – one of the stadiums used during the 2002 World Cup which was won by Scolari’s Brazil, although they didn’t play there. Brazil will face a South Korean side who have already […]
Atlético Madrid’s Brazilian forward Diego Costa scores the only goal as his side secured a big win in the Madrid derby. The 24-year-old striker was a constant thorn in the Real Madrid defence until he was substituted on the 85th minute, and he caused problems for Pepe and Sergio Ramos with a typically spiky performance. He’ll wind up his opponents even when he doesn’t have the ball with his unique brand of sledging, but he […]
Vasco da Gama’s 17-year-old midfielder Danilo Barbosa da Silva, has attracted transfer interest from European sides Liverpool and Inter Milan, according to reports in Brazil. The youngster from Simões Filho, Bahia, impressed Liverpool’s scouts during the 2013 Toulon Tournament, where he was part of the Brazil side which won the competition. The Anfield scouts were at the prestigious French youth tournament to watch another midfielder, Grêmio’s Matheus Biteco, but have since turned their attentions to Danilo on […]
When the subject of your football related drivel has a name like Oscar, the silly headlines and titles are tempting. But some of the plays on words around his Academy Award winning old English name might help us delve further into the type of player Oscar is, what roles he’s played, and the ones he might go on to play as his career progresses. Brazil’s number ten, who will take the number eleven jersey because […]
Brazil dribbles and shimmies its way tentatively into the 2013 Confederations Cup, with many great questions waiting to be answered. As a nation which churns out footballers for export with an efficiency and regularity only matched by their coffee production, its players cover every corner of the globe, which makes choosing a squad for the Seleção a mammoth task which no manager will ever get 100% right. The choice of personnel is only a minor […]
Botafogo centre back Doria was voted as defender of the tournament, as he captained a selection of Brazil under 20 players to victory in the 2013 Toulon Tournament held in France. Brazil went through the tournament unbeaten with their only dropped points coming in the group stage as they drew 1-1 against Nigeria. Yuri Mamute of Gremio was Brazil’s stand-out player, scoring two goals and emerging from the tournament with the best player award for […]
The Botafogo Star had the pleasure of interviewing @BrazilStats and its accompanying blog http://brazilstats.wordpress.com. Read on to see what he had to say about the current state of the Brazil national team ahead of the World Cup next year, and his view on Neymar’s development amongst other things. Who do you think Brazil’s star players will be at the 2014 World Cup, and are there any players who are currently relatively unknown who could stand out? […]