Fútbolita

So Dunga has finalized his tropa that will face Argentina next month… and Adriano aside, we’re excited to see that our friend Lucas has also been summoned! Grandeeeeee mano!

The Dinho and Pato were both left out of the squad again (Milan’s dismal form has been obviously detrimental to their chances ). Kleberson, who is nursing a shoulder injury, was left out of the squad and his place went to Lucas. Andre Santos has also been called up to replace Marcelo while Deportivo la Coruna’s Luis Filipe earned himself a spot after his performance against Estonia earlier this month.

As for churrascaria chubs, Adriano, his call-up doesn’t come as a surprise given his current status in the Brasileirao. He may have a pot belly, but cara is also the league’s top scorer….so he’d better not be lazy!

Here’s the full squad list for Brazil’s qualifying games against Argentina and Chile (to take place in October).

SQUAD LIST :

GOALKEEPERS : Julio César – Inter, Victor – Grêmio
DEFENDERS : Daniel Alves – Barcelona, André Santos – Fenerbahçe, Maicon – Inter, Filipe Luís – La Coruña, Lúcio – Inter, Juan – Roma, Luisão – Benfica, Miranda – São Paulo
MIDFIELDERS : Felipe Melo – Juventus, Elano – Galatasaray, Gilberto Silva – Panathinaikos, Josué – Wolfsburg, Julio Baptista – Roma, Kaká – Real Madrid, Lucas – Liverpool, Ramires – Benfica
ATTACKERS : Robinho – Manchester City, Adriano – Flamengo, Luis Fabiano – Sevilla, Nilmar – Villarreal

Bom dia, futbolitas! After much excitement, Dunga has announced his 23-man squad that will face Uruguay (on the 6th of June) and Paraguay for the World Cup qualifiers in early June. The same squad will go on to train and compete in the Confederations Cup in South Africa.

A significant addition to the squad is Internacional’s Nilmar (yes!!!) , whom Dunga selected as a replacement for Adriano. We would’ve liked to see young Keirrison as well, but he has been under performing for Palmeiras. Otherwise, there’s not much to complain about the choice of strikers… Pato hasn’t scored off the webcam as of late, but Dunga still has faith in him.

The other new names include Andre Santos (Corinthians), and Ramires (Cruzeiro). Doni’s injury also sees Gremio’s Victor seizing the spot. As expected, Ronaldo Lima was not called up.

Also, it’s fantastic to see the hardworking Felipe Melo back. Dani Alves is injured for the rest of the season, so Marcelo could be a possible replacement. We’re a little apprehensive about the midfielders, though. Why wasn’t Diego summoned? He’s been indispensable to Werder. And while it’s pretty clear The Dinho sucks, Gilberto Silva hasn’t been impressive as of late either!

Feel free to complain…or celebrate. We’d love to hear your thoughts.

OFFICIAL SQUAD LIST

Goalkeepers : Julio Cesar - Internazionale / Gomes - Tottenham / Victor - Grêmio 

Defenders : Maicon - Internazionale / Daniel Alves - Barcelona / Alex - Chelsea / Juan - Roma / Lúcio - Bayern de Munique Luisão - Benfica / Kleber - Internacional / André Santos - Corinthians 

Midfielders : Anderson - Manchester United / Gilberto Silva - Panathinaikos / Josué - Wolfsburg / Ramires - Cruzeiro / Elano - Manchester City / Felipe Melo - Fiorentina 

Attackers : Júlio Baptista - Roma / Kaká - Milan / Alexandre Pato - Milan / Luís Fabiano - Sevilla / Nilmar - Internacional / Robinho - Manchester City

The seleção defeated Peru 3-0 last night with goals from Luis Fabiano and Felipe Melo. Força!

Eager to prove their critics wrong after Sunday’s draw against Ecuador, the boys began attacking from the very first minute. Zambrano pinned Kaka down in the penalty box and the home side were awarded a penalty that was duly converted by Fabiano. A cross from Daniel Alves saw Fabiano netting in his second of the game – and his sixth in the qualifiers so far.

Kaka made a great comeback, controlling the attack by making accurate passes and creating chances at goal. He nearly scored a volley in the 16th minute but the ball went wide. Melo’s goal in the second half was brilhante! He simply took off with the ball with a fantastic run-in and the Peruvians were unable to match up to his speed.

Of course when Dunga fielded Pato, Porto Alegre’s favorite menino, in the 68th minute, Futbolitas in the stands went wild. There were more love declarations from the Internacional fans as you can see in the photos below.

Photos : Alexandre Alliatti, R.Ribeiro and EFE

Brazil have their lucky stars to thank for yesterday’s 1-1 draw against Ecuador. They also have their two Júlios to thank for salvaging them – Baptista’s goal in the 71st minute and Cesar’s short-stopping saves. Ecuador were unlucky not to have converted their chances as they pressured the selecao with deadly long balls that were all on target!

Maybe we were watching the game with our eyes half closed but the Brazilian midfield was largely empty. Neither The Dinho nor Elano did much with the ball. Robinho seemed to be taking a stroll and for a while, it seemed like the defenders were doing all the work. Luis Fabiano had the better chances in the first half and Luisao needs to work on his ball clearance! There were plenty of communication lapses between him and Lucio last night.

Anyway, Baptista came in as The Dinho’s sub and immediately netted in a beauty of a goal. Ecuador’s equaliser was a consolation for a game they honestly (ugh, we hate to admit it) deserved to win. The taxing altitude at Quito (2,740 metres above sea level) has always proved to be a challenge for visiting teams.

Pull up your socks, caras!!!

These have got to be the best lot of photos we’ve received in the last few days. Simply because the caras look pretty high and random.

Ronaldinho’s watching a movie (looks like it involves fire) on his laptop, Lucio is reading a wine magazine, Luisao is trying his best to sleep, Felipe Melo loves his ipod a little too much, Marcelo and Pato are probably talking about girls, Robinho looks like he’s incredibly excited to see our amigo and Adriano and the rest are watching an in-flight movie. Oh, and Doni looks incredibly annoyed.

Let’s not forget, Thiago Silva has such a lovely smile! From what we’ve seen personally, he’s a pretty shy hombre so it’s great to see the man happy.

Photos : R.Ribeiro