Player Focus: New Faces Provide Reason for Cheer Despite Brazil's Managerial Farce

Some clever bloke with a hip, east-London beard once said that history repeats itself first as tragedy, then as farce. Events echo through the ages. The cosmos writes its own punchlines.

You don’t imagine that the corrupt old boys of Brazil’s football federation have much time for Marxist thinking (they probably haven’t even heard of Groucho). And yet, somehow, no group or individual in the game appears so committed to embodying that snappy, throw-away maxim.

These days, they don’t even wait for the pain to sink in before following it up with light relief. Just witness their choice in Brazil coach. Dunga was hounded out of the job after the disappointment of the 2010 World Cup, accused of being a tactical Luddite by a press corps for whom he could barely conceal his distaste. Things got fairly nasty. You would have got unbelievable odds on him returning to coach the Seleção again.

But here we are, four years and two coaches later, back at square one. Old uncle Phil Scolari has exited stage left, to be replaced by the man named after Dopey from the Seven Dwarves. In his opening press conference, Dunga name-checked an Italian coach called ‘Enrico Sacchi’. People assumed he meant Arrigo, but they couldn’t be sure.

A bright new dawn was needed after the horror of The 7-1, yet Brazil have instead drifted back into the recent – and unsuccessful – past. Farcical barely even covers it.

Still, at least there was some good news in Dunga’s first squad selection. For a start, there was no Felipe Melo. Indeed, the former Internacional coach should be gently commended for drafting in five players who have impressed in the Campeonato Brasileiro in recent months – and who were overlooked by his predecessor.

Cruzeiro pair Éverton Ribeiro and Ricardo Goulart will feel that their call-ups were overdue, having played a huge part in the Foxes’ recent dominance of the Brasileirão. The former, a clever, subtle attacking midfielder, was named the best player in Série A last year and has been similarly influential this term. Only one player in the division (Paulo Henrique Ganso) has managed more than his 32 key passes thus far, while he also stands out for successful crosses (1.6 per game) and dribbles (21 to date).

Goulart, meanwhile, has come on leaps and bounds this season. Bustling and barrel-chested, he specialises in arriving in the box at the perfect moment, and has plundered 9 goals in 12 games to date – perhaps not surprising considering he averages 2.4 shots per game. If he can have a similar impact at international level, he will be a useful man to have around.

Another attacker, Atlético Mineiro's Diego Tardelli, has already had a brief taste of life in the Brazil squad. He made five appearances during Dunga's last spell in charge and was one of the back-up players in South Africa. Something of an all-rounder, he is capable of leading the line (34 shots in the Brasileirão so far underline his threat) and dropping deeper to help with creative duties: he averages 1.6 key passes and 2.6 successful long balls per match. He will surely prove more useful than Jô did during the summer.

The quintet is completed by two players from Corinthians. Busy midfielder Elias has flattered to deceive for the Seleção in the past, but appears to have found a new lease of life under mentor Mano Menezes. He is capable of doing the dirty work (he averages 2.5 tackles and 1.7 fouls per game) but also bursts forward with intent. Then there is Gil, the senior partner in a defence that has conceded just 7 goals in 15 games. He has managed an impressive 71 clearances in the league so far, and is a threat from dead balls at the other end, as his 3 goals attest.

While not quite a complete sea change, the influx of new blood – Philippe Coutinho and Filipe Luís are among the other players to come in – should at least ensure some freshness on the field. That, for Brazil fans, will be clung to as a small victory given the predictable, repetitive failures in the corridors of power.

Were any players wrongly left out of Dunga's first Brazil squad since his reappointment? Let us know in the comments below