Brazil continue their World Tour with a friendly against Italy tonight in Geneva. Brazil being the hosts of next year's FIFA World Cup have to resort to such games to give their players much playing time as they are exempted from playing their regional qualifiers. The Italians meanwhile play only one qualifier as compared to the other teams.
Since then, Spain have come to be the dominant team in world football and few teams have managed to knock them off the perch. With a World Cup and 2 European championships, the Spaniards' dominance has been total. Other teams from the continent such as Germany and Netherlands have also seen a revival. Brazil and South American football have been pushed to the fringes a bit and on the world stage their flair has been countered by the clinical efficiency of the continental game. Uruguay, South America's sole representative in the semis of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and their success to a good degree can be attributed to the fact that they now play a European type of game.
The current Brazilian crop is one that is looking for an identity. As always, there is never shortage of prodigious talent from the Selecao. The star of the lot is Neymar, the preening 21 year old striker from Sao Paulo. The man billed as the 'most marketable sports star in the world' has been the subject of much transfer talk for a few years now as he's linked to a move to Barcelona or Real Madrid. Giving him company are a host of other youngsters such as Oscar from Chelsea, Lucas Moura from PSG and also Danilo, David Luiz and Leandro Damiao. Thiago Silva and Hulk, both only 26, are the veteran faces in the team but Silva is missing from the game due to an injury. Dante and David Luiz, are likely to don the defensive responsibilities for Brazil in his absence. Luiz Felipe Scolari was brought in at the end of last year for his 2nd stint as Manger of the Selecao as the Federation lost faith in Mano Menezes. In their last outing which was Scolari's first game in charge, they were beaten 2-1 by England at Wembley quite comfortably on a night when only Neymar and Oscar showed some signs of fight. They are on a rebuilding phase and every match provides a window for Scolari to test players in order to come up with the best possible squad going into the World Cup at home. Ronaldinho was recalled for the England game but his poor showing sees him axed and Kaka has been given a call-up.
Italy finished Runner-Up only to Spain in last year's European Championships. Cesare Prandelli's Italy are a well established team with a set squad. They do play more attacking football unlike teams of the past. However, they are still a very solid unit defensively marshaled by the excellent trio of Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci and Andrea Barzagli. The evergreen Andrea Pirlo leads the midfield pack ably assisted by Claudio Marchisio and Daniele de Rossi. This is one area of the pitch where the advantage is clearly with the Italians. Mario Balotelli has been on a roll for AC Milan in Serie A since sealing a move to the Rossoneri from Manchester City in the January transfer window. He has scored 8 goals in 7 games and was a key player in Italy's run to the finals, especially in the semis where his power packed performance put paid to Germany's hopes. Italy are top of their qualifying group, a healthy 4 point lead.
Italy will travel to Brazil again later in the year for the latest edition of the same tournament.
Likely XI's
Brazil: Julio Cesar, Dani Alves, Dante, David Luiz, Filipe Luis, Fernando, Hernanes, Hulk, Oscar, Neymar, Fred
Italy: Buffon; Maggio, Bonucci, Barzagli, De Sciglio; De Rossi, Pirlo, Marchisio; Giaccherini; Osvaldo, Balotelli.
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