Posts by analoghound9

Honestly, I’ve got zero faith left in national teams, though when it comes to club football, I'm not even surprised anymore. That’s just how the business works.

Chloe Palmer2 said:And who even serves as the captain for Brazil now? 🤔 It used to be Cafu, but he hasn't played in ages. I suppose it might be someone from the defense, maybe Roberto Carlos? 🤔 I was under the impression it was Ronaldinho 😕

Lucio is actually the captain of Brazil, even though Ronaldinho has more caps and more goals. Ronaldinho really should at least be the vice captain (he was the captain during the FIFA Confederations Cup), but Dunga gave that title to Kaka last time. It’ll be interesting to see who steps up as captain for the friendly against England since Lucio is out—injured or just recovering from surgery, whatever.

Roberto Carlos retired from the national team, and so did Dida and Juninho. Weirdly enough, Cafu didn't retire, but he hasn't been called up since the World Cup.

Both Ronaldinho and Kaka sent in requests to skip the Copa América, so this roster is basically just for the friendlies against England and Turkey. They probably only called them up because they're the big names; if you look at the rest of the list, those two are the only ones anyone actually cares about watching.

Man, honestly, ever since Dunga took over, he hasn't done a single thing right. It’s like he’s just coaching exactly how he used to play as a player and Captain: all work, all discipline, zero creativity, and absolutely no taking risks. He wants Brazil to play this ultra-defensive style, which is hilarious because their defense is a complete disaster zone. The only guy who actually fits into this rigid system is Kaka—mostly because AC Milan plays defensively too—so obviously Dunga is obsessed with him. And don't even get me started on how he's trying to flex his authority on Ronaldinho by benching him, stripping him of the number 10, and even taking away his status as co-captain... It's ridiculous. Against Chile and Ghana, he finally threw both Ronaldinho and Kaka onto the pitch, but only if Ronaldinho played basically as a defensive midfielder😲. If you ask me, Argentina is taking the whole thing home.

Anonymous said:I mean, I couldn't care less, but I just heard a rumor that Ronaldinho is actually interested in playing in the Copa America!

Yeah, he said he wants in, but since Kaka asked for written permission to sit this one out, Ronaldinho decided to tag along. Look, Dunga and Ronaldinho can't stand each other,

for anyone wondering why: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0WBTWYlV8Q

Some random kid actually cut in front of the captain of the winning Brazilian squad when they got back home🤣.

Bottom line: if Kaka had chosen to play, Ronaldinho would've been right there with him because they're basically glued at the hip—both trying to reclaim their glory. But honestly, the guy hasn't had a break. It feels like he’s played every single tournament for the US since the 2002 World Cup (Copa America, Confederations Cup, you name it), so this timing with Kaka works out perfectly. If Kaka plays and Ronaldinho stays home, Dunga probably wouldn't even look his way again. But since Kaka isn't playing either, that's not an issue. Still, though... saying you "can't" play a few more games for your country? That's just a bad look.

Charles Evans said:But wait, Brazil absolutely dismantled Argentina in London! I'm not sure how you could possibly overlook a performance like that.

Look, I’m not even counting that Argentina game because they were basically a walking disaster at that point. If you want a real look at them, check out the games against Ghana, Chile, and Switzerland. Sure, they won all of them (even beating Chile 4-0), but they weren't actually dominating anyone. Against Ghana, they scraped by 1-0 after a corner. Against Switzerland, it was 2-1, and honestly, Kaka basically carried them (pretty sure Switzerland gifted them an own goal too, gotta double-check that). That 4-0 win over Chile? One was a penalty from Ronaldinho, the second was a free kick from Ronaldinho, then Kaka scored from open play, and the fourth came off a corner—which, by the way, featured some insane assist from Ronaldinho where you can't even tell if he meant to do it or if it was just pure luck. On the flip side, Portugal shut them down in just two plays. Now, think about this upcoming Copa America: take away Kaka and Ronaldinho, and you’re left with a super shaky squad. And yeah, those two were pretty inconsistent themselves, but still.

Charles Evans said:If you’re just looking at the names on the roster and current momentum, sure, you could argue Argentina is the favorite here. But honestly? That doesn't mean a thing. You can never count out Brazil; they’re going to be an absolute powerhouse regardless of what the pundits say.

I honestly doubt Brazil will be any kind of threat. They aren't even strong on paper anymore—I mean, Ronaldinho and Kaka are basically just ghosts of a powerhouse that used to exist 🤣. Obviously, that’s not a guarantee, but still. Those games they won after the World Cup (they've only lost once since then, and that was against Portugal) they pretty much scraped by because of Kaka (who isn't even there) and one lucky break thanks to Ronaldinho (who also isn't playing). They played terrible, honestly. They weren't outclassing anyone. Not to mention how Portugal absolutely dismantled them in just two plays.

It's all going down in Venezuela from June 26th through July 15th.

Group A:
Bolivia
Peru
Uruguay
Venezuela

Group B:
Brazil
Chile
Ecuador
Mexico

Group C:
Argentina
Colombia
Paraguay
USA

So, Kaka and Ronaldinho are out for Brazil. Word is they’re just totally wiped out, so they officially asked to be pulled from the roster. Honestly, I can't stand that kind of attitude when you're playing for your country. In the States, even during the big tournaments, the superstars always show up, but these guys always seem to have some excuse ready to go.

Who do you guys think is actually gonna take it?

Man Utd is sitting pretty with a 4-1 lead at the half. Ibro missed a penalty, though. Cristiano Ronaldo nailed a free kick.

Chloe Palmer2 said:I suppose one might wonder what criteria were used to select these players 😁

Marcello Lippi claims he was just calling up guys who would get him the win. Honestly, I’m dying to see how that actually plays out: a disciplined squad going head-to-head against some uncoordinated All-Star mess. And man, if Zinedine Zidane had shown up too...

I always find these charity matches pretty entertaining. Sure, nobody’s playing for their lives on the pitch, but you usually get clean, flashy football with plenty of goals. I mean, an All-Star roster might fall apart in the long run, but for one night? It can be top-tier entertainment.

How would you guys line up this roster?

Mark your calendars for Tuesday, March 13th. We’re looking at a massive exhibition match celebrating 50 years since Manchester United hit the big leagues in international play and signed the Roman Treaty.

Alex Ferguson basically said he's bringing out his absolute heavy hitters for this one.

Marcello Lippi is running point for the World XI, and here’s the roster they called up:

Ronaldinho
Steven Gerrard
Juninho
Abidal
Puyol
Thuram
Zambrotta
Carragher
Maldini
Gattuso
Pirlo
Ronaldo
Casillas
Mancini
Luis Miguel
Kahn
Grosso
Materazzi
Malouda
Ibrahimović

Fox Television is broadcasting the whole thing at 8:55 PM. You guys tuning in? What’s the vibe? Anyone seen matches like this before? Personally, I dig these types of games—it's usually just pure football, way less tactical grinding and way more goals.

Look, I get it, the Champions League is way more fun to watch, but honestly, it’s just because the clubs have more time to gel and actually learn how to play together. Whether you like it or not, our guy Šimić works way better with Kaká than he does with Srna, and yeah, Kaká plays better with Šimić than he ever did with Ronaldinho. But hey, the World Cup isn't actually that much worse than the Champions League—I'd take a Brazil-Argentina match over a Levski-HSV game any day of the week.

What if they actually set up some kind of competition between leagues? It would be wild. Eto'o wouldn't even have to deal with citizenship issues, and we'd finally see the real gap between South American style and European football (though let's be real, everyone plays the European way now, except maybe a few random teams from Africa or Asia that sneak into the World Cup finals). Maybe a tournament between the big five leagues? It's all just different versions of the World Cup concept.

The players on national teams really need more downtime or longer training camps; if they did that, the World Cup would be a hell of a lot better. I don't want to see football end up like what happened to basketball.

National teams just hit different, man. That’s why I still prefer the World Cup, even if I gotta admit the Champions League usually has more eye candy on the pitch. Last World Cup was honestly a snooze fest, but it wasn't because the superstars didn't care—it was just because they were absolutely gassed. The World Cup follows the Champions League way too fast, not even mentioning all the domestic leagues, and the players just can't catch a break. They need some breathing room between the two; space them out and maybe we'll actually see some quality.