Luiz Felipe Scolari announced his official World Cup squad for Brazil today, and was quickly drowned out by journalists at the auditorium in Rio de Janeiro demanding to know where the ‘youngsters’ were.
17 out of the 23 names called up by Scolari won the Confederations Cup with the squad last year, a decision the 2002-World Cup winning coach made based on his belief that a World Cup winning squad needs experience and leadership.
Many high-profile names from Ronaldinho and Kaka were excluded alongside rising talents such as PSG’s Lucas and Liverpool’s Coutinho. At the press conference, Scolari explained that his decision to pick Luis Gustavo, for example, was due to the fact he showed “exemplary attitude with Brazil team, was consistent and has been called up regularly. This fits the profile of all the players in this squad.”
Goalkeepers: Júlio César (Toronto FC), Jéfferson (Botafogo), Victor (Grêmio).
Defenders: Daniel Alves (Barcelona), Maicon (Roma), Marcelo (Real Madrid), Maxwell (Paris Saint-Germain), David Luiz (Chelsea), Thiago Silva (Paris Saint-Germain), Dante (Bayern Munich), Henrique (Napoli).
Midfielders: Luiz Gustavo (Wolfsburg), Paulinho (Tottenham), Ramires (Chelsea), Fernandinho (Manchester City), Oscar (Chelsea), Willian (Chelsea), Hernanes (Internazionale), Bernard (Shakhtar Donetsk).
Forwards: Fred (Fluminense), Neymar (Barcelona), Hulk (Zenit St Petersburg), Jô (Atlético Mineiro).
