Ronaldinho returns for Brazil, at last

Ronaldinho... The Return

They always say to keep your emotions in check when writing, but it’s hard, especially where Ronaldinho is involved. Nonetheless, my aim today is to stay calm and refrain from eulogising endlessly about the buck-toothed football ninja.

Brazil face Ghana in a friendly international in London this evening, a game in which Ronaldinho, the two-time World Player of the Year in 2004 and 2005, will make his return to the national side after almost a year without a call-up.

Ronaldinho was also overlooked for the 2010 World Cup and it seemed his career with the national team was over following Brazil’s 1-0 defeat to Argentina late last year.

But after a Hollywood-like comeback with Flamengo the 31 year-old now returns the Brazil team with a lot of expectation on his shoulders. Basically all those with ties to the Selecao hope Ronaldinho can revitalise a Brazil side that has flattered to deceive over the past year and is now not even the best team in South America.

He comes into the side at a time when the Brazil team is at a crossroads, with the 2014 World Cup of course the big target.

It’s hard to understand why it has taken so long for Ronaldinho to make it back the national team. But he is not alone, Hulk and Marcelo, two of the finest performers in world football over the past 12 months, also return tonight after being shunned.

The lack of creativity and link-play, once the hallmark of Brazil, was the most glaring fact in the side’s dismal Copa America campaign.

All throughout the Copa America Brazil’s overall combination play was average at best, with the side lacking imagination and a link between the back-line, the midfield and the attack. The Samba Football we had grown accustomed to was also absent and clearly Brazil lacked someone like Ronaldinho or Kaka who could drive the team.

Tonight is a chance to see if there will be a change, or at least if the wind is blowing towards it.

Flamengo hero

Some of the problems the Brazil side has had recently have been fundamental and more than just the absence of Ronaldinho. Brazil has diminished its production of deep-lying passers, organisers and conductors… the Xavi-role. Increasingly focus has been put more on brawn in the centre of the park. Of course the use of two defensive midfielders has been the Brazilian way for some time, but for example Dunga even for all his defensive qualities was a wonderful allround midfielder and linker of play. These days the attack has been divorced from the rest of the team.

A player like Hernanes for example, who operates relatively deep, has been mentioned resulting from the realisation you can have all the attackers and advanced playmakers you like, but simply without that kind of central midfielder you are flogging a dead horse.

Those are issues Brazil will still have to tackle moving forward.

The other problems as said have been self made. Why on earth the best players have not been picked is a conundrum. Perhaps the coaches – Dunga and Menezes – were trying to prove a point in some sort of way.

Whatever their reasons, the lack of a leader in the final third was shown in the individualistic approach of the Brazil attack during the Copa, Neymar preferring the extra fancy move to a pass or shot on goal, for example. There was no focal point for the attack and for the team as a whole.

Further back, Andre Santos for instance is a decent player but doesn’t offer the dynamism of Marcelo, arguably the best attacking left-back in the game at the moment. Although the Real Madrid fullback is suspect defensively that didn’t stop Roberto Carlos from re-defining the left-back role.

Hulk meanwhile will no doubt add another dimension to the attack with his powerful runs and that rocket of a left foot.

Today’s game ultimately is a chance for Ronaldinho to stake a claim in the team. You only get one chance sometimes, and after his self-made problems, this is the case with Ronaldinho. His career seemed to have stagnated at AC Milan. He looked overweight, disinterested and lacking confidence.

But Ronaldinho has bounced back and has been key in Flamengo’s charge to the top of the Brazilian league, prompting loud calls from fans and media in Brazil for his recall to the Selecao. 

“After his return to Brazil there has been enough time for him to start playing well again,” Brazil coach Menezes said recently about the man himself. “He is one of the most important players in Brazil this season. He has been playing constantly and has been getting better and better physically. Technically, we all know how good he is.”

Will the Real Ronaldinho please stand up...

Ronaldinho’s goals and skill have also been complemented by his leadership at Flamengo.

“Ronaldinho can become a reference to the youngsters, providing the type of leadership that we need in the national team,” Menezes said.

So can Ronaldinho play at the 2014 World Cup on home soil?

“Of the veterans, Ronaldinho is the one with the most chances to be playing in the World Cup,” Menezes said. “He has no history of serious injuries and has been playing constantly.”

Despite his increasing age Ronaldinho is still a player a team can be built around; just like France did with Zinedine Zidane at the 2006 World Cup.

Brazil Squad
Goalkeepers: Julio Cesar (Inter Milan), Jefferson (Botafogo), Fabio (Cruzeiro)

Defenders: Daniel Alves (Barcelona), Marcelo (Real Madrid), Danilo (Santos), Adriano (Barcelona), Lucio (Inter Milan), David Luiz (Chelsea), Thiago Silva (AC Milan), Dede (Vasco da Gama)

Midfielders: Lucas Leiva (Liverpool), Ralf (Corinthians), Luiz Gustavo (Bayern Munich), Elias (Atletico Madrid), Paulo Henrique Ganso (Santos), Lucas (Sao Paulo), Fernandinho (Shakhtar Donetsk), Ronaldinho (Flamengo)

Forwards: Alexandre Pato (Milan), Neymar (Santos), Leandro Damiao (Internacional), Robinho (AC Milan), Hulk (FC Porto)