With the World Cup warm up tournament - the Confederations Cup - set to kick off on Saturday, hosts and defending champions Brazil will at long last participate in a competitive fixture; their first since the Copa America penalty shoot out defeat to Paraguay back in 2011.
It’ll give head coach Luiz Felipe Scolari the opportunity to test out his strongest XI on home soil, 12 months prior to football’s biggest tournament. Not only that, but with the quality of talent on offer - Spain, Italy and Uruguay are also taking part - this summer’s offering is a tantalising proposition for the football connoisseurs aiming to fill the void that the dreary weeks between each season brings.
As such, we here at WhoScored.com have taken the opportunity to look at four potential stars of the Confederations Cup that aren’t necessarily considered a big household name - Neymar, Edinson Cavani and Juan Mata, for example, will also be on show - that could light up the competition.
Giovani dos Santos (Mexico)
Once dubbed the next Ronaldinho, Mexico international Giovani dos Santos became somewhat of a European journeyman following his move to Tottenham Hotspur in 2008. Loan spells with Ipswich Town, Galatasaray and Racing Santander saw his time at White Hart Lane dubbed a spectacular failure, having made just 15 Premier League appearances, before the 24-year-old secured a permanent move to Real Mallorca last summer.
Dos Santos may have failed to help keep Los Bermellones in the Primera Division, but in directly contributing to 30.2% of their goals this season, the attacking capabilities of the striker aren't to be looked down upon. Such were his performances this year that of his teammates, only defender Geromel (7.15) accrued a higher average rating than Dos Santos (7.06) as a result of his attacking input during his 29 appearances.
Impressively, two of his six La Liga goals came from direct free kicks, with only Cristiano Ronaldo (4) and Lionel Messi (3) netting more this season. On top of that, Dos Santos also played the most key passes (2.1) and completed the most dribbles (1.2) per game for Mallorca, not to mention his pass success rate (82.1%) being the best of any player that made 15 more starts for the club this season.
While the player hardly shone during his time in England, his creative ability was evident in a somewhat forgettable campaign for Gregorio Manzano’s side. Yet, while the club failed to avoid relegation, Dos Santos’ performances this season will have attracted plenty of interest across the continent and an impressive Confederations Cup could see the Mexican striker remain in La Liga while Mallorca drop down to the Segunda Division.
Hernanes (Brazil)
Lazio midfielder Hernanes changed the game for the better during Brazil’s 2-2 draw with England earlier this month, with a long distance effort cannoning back off the crossbar and into the path of Fred to give A Seleção the initiative at the Maracanã. The initial effort all but epitomised the midfielder’s striking ability from distance, with no player in Serie A scoring more goals outside of the box (6) than him this season.
Hernanes was a vital cog in the Biancocelesti midfield in a season that saw Lazio secure the Coppa Italia at the expense of arch rivals AS Roma. The 28-year-old enjoyed a 60.2% dribble success rate, having averaged two successful dribbles per game for the Serie A side; the highest of every player in the squad. This aided in seeing only Edinson Cavani and Juan Guillermo Cuadrado (both 8) awarded more man of the match awards than Hernanes (7) of all players in the Italian top flight.
His importance to Lazio can be further highlighted in that the Italian side won 53.3% of their games with Hernanes starting compared to just 25% of the eight games in which he didn’t, while with the Brazilian featuring in the starting XI, Vladimir Petković's side scored an impressive 1.43 goals per game, a significant improvement on the 1.00 per game without him. His impressive season led to an average rating of 7.45, the highest of every player in the current Brazil setup.
While Scolari will likely persist with the double pivot of Luiz Gustavo and Paulinho in midfield for the tournament opener against Japan, Hernanes’ goal in the 3-0 rout of France means the former Chelsea manager has a further option to call upon from midfield, especially with the 28-year-old comfortable in a deep lying playmaker role or as the number 10 in the 4-2-3-1 Brazil will likely adopt. After such an impressive season, he could be set to shine on the world stage in his home country.
Antonio Candreva (Italy)
Another Lazio player to keep a watchful eye on, Antonio Candreva enjoyed a successful campaign for the current Coppa Italia winners during his loan spell from Udinese this season. The winger would only have increased his chances of a place in Cesare Prandelli's opening starting XI for the tournament with an assist for Emanuele Giaccherini's opener in Italy's recent 2-2 draw with Haiti.
He will provide a threat from the wing with balls into the box, with only Manuel Pasqual (63) and Alessandro Diamanti (55) having completed more accurate crosses, excluding corners, than Candreva (34) in Serie A this season. Meanwhile, only Marco Marchionni (33) and Andrea Pirlo (33) completed more crosses from corners (32) than the Lazio winger. With it, only one Lazio player - Senad Lulic - helped himself to more assists (6) for the Rome outfit than Candreva (5) this year.
The Italian also netted six times for Lazio this season, while his shot per game average (3) is the highest in the team of every player to have made 15 or more starts, while no player played more key passes per game (1.7) than him. Clearly, not only does he possess goalscoring capabilities but also had a creative impact on the team this season.
While Prandelli can call upon the likes of Diamanti, Stephan El Shaarawy and Christian Maggio to provide the width in the Italy squad, Candreva offers an attacking option for the Azzurri on either flank that can be utilised to devastating effect.
Hiroshi Kiyotake (Japan)
Nurnberg may not have been overly impressive in the Bundesliga this season, but midfielder Hiroshi Kiyotake was deserving of the plaudits having ended the campaign with the best average rating (7.18) for Die Legende and of every Japanese player in Europe’s top five leagues. The Japan international helped himself to 10 assists in 31 appearances, with only Franck Ribéry (14), Philipp Lahm and Thomas Müller (both 11) creating more goals in the Bundesliga this term.
Of those 10 assists, seven came directly from set pieces, a league high. While securing safe passage from Group A may be a tough ask for Japan, manager Alberto Zaccheroni boasts a player who ended the season with a pass success of 81.3%; the highest of all Nurnberg regulars, highlighting his creative capabilities.
Kiyotake also played 2.7 key passes per game over the duration of the campaign, with only three Bundesliga players - Ribéry (3.2), Jefferson Farfán (3.1) and Toni Kroos (2.8) - making more. Moreover, the player was directly involved in 35.9% of Nurnberg's 39 Bundesliga goals this term and if he can replicate this form on the international stage, he will become as important a member of the Japan squad as he currently is for the German side.
At the tender age of 23, Kiyotake already boasts 12 senior international caps and the midfielder is expected to add to that come Saturday when they take on Brazil in the Confederations Cup curtain raiser. His impressive performances for Nurnberg will have likely seen interest rise and if he can replicate his club form for Japan this summer, speculation surrounding his future will undoubtedly increase.
