Brazil

With their rich world cup history, Brazil head into most world cups as one of the favourites. Being a "selecao fan", this team is my favourite to win the world cup. To be honest, Brazil is the only team I've been able to follow in the past 4 years. This team, however is pretty much different from most world cup winning teams. Dunga has made a unit that does not exactly play the "beautiful game", but gets the job done. He has been heavily criticized for dropping the big stars Ronaldinho and Adriano.

Looking to join Mario Zagallo and Beckenbauer - Carlos Dunga

However, I always felt Ronaldinho would be dropped. Dunga goes for hardworking and dedicated players and Ronaldinho sadly does not possess the desire he had as a youngster back in 2002. Also he did not play many matches for Brazil in the past two years. Somehow, I felt Dunga should have selected the legendary Big Ron(Ronaldo). Arguably the finest player of the decade, though Ronaldo has not been in very good form, he has been there and done it. A player of his stature and class would have surely risen to the occassion. However, Dunga has other plans.

This team is pretty different from most Brazilian world cup squads and the team in 2006. It has compromised on flair and style and focussed more on the European style. Dunga who went about his job in a business like fashion as a player, has adopted the same style as a coach.He has selected dedicated players, many of them new to the big stage. This team, unlike many Brazilian teams, is a solid defensive unit. A lot of their goals come from the counter attacking style. At counter attack, I feel they are one of the best teams around. The speed at which they break away is amazing, with Robinho and Kaka mostly leading the attacks.They played two pre world cup friendlies, thrashing Zimbabwe 3 - 0 and lowly Tanzania 5 - 1 (who stopped their clean sheet run).

At the goal line, they have Julio Cesar, who is perhaps one of the best keepers in the world. He did a great job at Inter Milan this season. However, he hurt his back against Zimbabwe and I hope he would be fit in time. As replacements, Dunga has Tottenham guard Gomes and AS Roma keeper Doni.

.Julio Cesar- One of the best in the business.

In the defense, there is the mighty Lucio at the centre, who has been pretty good for Inter this season. Along with him, there would be Juan, who plays for AS Roma in the Serie A. Dunga also has the tall Luisao and AC Milan defender Thiago Silva as other options. At the left, he has Lyon's Michel Bastos, who scored from a well taken free kick against Zimbabwe. To replace him , Dunga has Gilberto as an option. At the right, there is the efficient Maicon.Dani Alves could come on as a super sub if Dunga has to force the issue down the wings.
.Lucio - Could head in a few goals from corners.

At midfield, there is the Veteran Gilberto, who is likely to play as the holding midfielder.Then there is the versatile Ramires, who could play well as an attacking or a holding midfielder. He opened his scoring account for Brazil just a few days ago. On the right its likely that he would field Felipe Mello. Up front, there is Kaka, who could make it his cup. He has an ideal mix of experience and talent. It is hoped that he would live upto his billing. Manchester City's Elano could come on as a substitute. Dunga could also play Kleberson, who was hailed by Big Phil Scolari as their main man in 2002. As other options, he also has Josue and Julio Baptista.
.Ramires - Could be the next star.

Up front, Dunga has a pretty good strike force. However there is a small cause for worry as the Fabulous Fabiano (who has taken the no. 9 from the legendary Ronaldo) hasn't been able to find the net in the past 5 matches for Brazil. Along with him, there is Robinho who has managed to find some form with Brazilian club Santos. Then as options Dunga has Wolfsburg marksman Grafite and Villareal's Nilmar.
.Hope he gets back to his scoring ways - Fabulous Fabiano.

Its most likely that Dunga would play a small variation of the diamond formation (4-1-2-1-2).Here is a probable line up

Julio Cesar


Maicon ........... Juan ............ Lucio .........Michel Bastos


Gilberto Silva


Felipe Melo ........................................... Ramires

Kaka

.................. Robinho

Fabiano .....

This Brazilian team may not be as good as 2002, but will be a difficult team to beat. They are placed in the group of death which they would mostly win. They are the critics favourites after Spain and Argentina and my personal favourites to lift the Cup. .B..