Brazil version 2.014 – Mano Menezes leads the rebirth

Nary a month has passed since Brazil were dumped out of the World Cup by a sucker punch of a second half by The Netherlands in Port Elizabeth, but already the rebirth of the Seleçao has begun in earnest.

After a bout of blush-inducing confusion and politicking by the Brazilian Football Federation (CBF) reminiscent of the time England courted and then scared away Luiz Felipe Scolari (and let’s hope for Brazil’s sake this tale has a happier ending than befell England), former Corinthians coach Luiz Antonio Venker ‘Mano’ Menezes has been appointed new Brazil coach. This after Fluminense’s Muricy Ramalho was originally named Brazil boss, before the CBF were forced to back down sheepishly when Fluminense refused to release Ramalho from his contract.

Hailing from the southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, Mano Menezes carries on the CBF’s growing tendency to look to southern Brazilian coaches to lead the national team. Menezes is the third ‘gaúcho’ to lead Brazil this decade after Scolari and Dunga. Through mass immigration from Europe into southern Brazil in the 18th and 19th centuries, the economically prosperous south has garnered a reputation for being a more European Brazil – more pragmatic and sensible than the rest of the country – a trait which some also associate with the region’s football. Make of it what you will. Dunga was heavily criticised for such traits. His replacement Menezes looks more like a military general than a football coach.

Up to now though, Mano Menezes has had a distinguished coaching career. Winning trophies at both Grêmio and latterly, Corinthians, Menezes is a meticulously detailed coach who studies the game with a fine-toothed comb.

“Mano Menezes is a football addict,” writes GloboEsporte journalist Leandro Canon. “He studies several games a week… not only Brazilian football, but also European games. A student of the ball, he is always looking to learn new tactical lessons. Both how best to utilise, and how best to combat.”

Menezes also profits through popularity – both with his players and the press. His final press conference at Corinthians was interrupted by several his players, including Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos, barging in to congratulate him. Meanwhile, as father to a daughter with a degree in journalism, his greater understanding of the press means relations will not be as strained as with Dunga, whose snarling and growling at press conferences won him few allies.

By his own admission, Menezes favours a 4-2-3-1 formation with holding midfielders, and wide men are fundamental to his setup.

“As you know I like to play with a defensive line of four players, and I will always look for wide midfielders in the team with this setup in mind. I think really the midfield is the area in which we’ve been having the greatest difficulties.”

An astute point. While Elano impressed in South Africa and was badly missed in the Netherlands defeat, Dunga largely stripped Brazil’s midfield of any traces of flair, preferring tough tackling, physical players. There was great debate about the conservative nature of his Brazil squad for the World Cup, with a lack of creativity the major stick with which Dunga was beaten as soon as Brazil fell at the quarter final stage. Menezes will have to forge a new, more expansive Brazil team if he is to win over the nation.

With that in mind, his first Brazil squad, announced ahead of the friendly against USA in August, reads as a complete tearing up of Dunga’s blueprint. Only 4 veterans of South Africa remain – Robinho, Ramires, Dani Alves and Thiago Silva – while many of the players Seleçao supporters screamed out for before the World Cup, such as Neymar and Paulo Henrique Ganso, are in. Here is the squad in full:

Goalkeepers: Jefferson (Botafogo), Renan (Avai), Victor (Gremio)

Defenders: Andre Santos (Fenerbahce), Dani Alves (Barcelona), Marcelo (Real Madrid), Rafael da Silva (Manchester United), David Luiz (Benfica), Henrique (Racing Santander), Rever (Atletico Mineiro), Thiago Silva (AC Milan)

Midfielders: Carlos Eduardo (Hoffenheim), Ederson (Lyon), Paulo Henrique Ganso (Santos), Hernanes (Sao Paulo), Jucilei (Corinthians), Lucas Leiva (Liverpool), Ramires (Benfica), Sandro (Internacional)

Forwards: Alexandre Pato (AC Milan), Andre (Santos), Diego Tardelli (Atletico Mineiro), Neymar (Santos), Robinho (Manchester City)

With an average age of 23.1 years, Menezes is clearly looking to the future, in particular the 2012 Olympics, a tournament Brazil have never won. Brazil hosting World Cup 2014 means they have no qualifiers in which to fine tune the squad, so 2012 takes on huge importance as a gage of the nation’s – and Menezes’ – progress.

While it would be remiss to read too much into the omission of several World Cup participants (after a gruelling campaign why throw them into a meaningless friendly so soon?), Menezes’ mandate will clearly be to rejuvenate a growingly stale Brazil team. Brazil’s average age at the World Cup was 29.3 – the oldest squad ever selected for an international competition in the country’s history.

Taking the spine of that team alone, by 2014 Julio Cesar will be 34, Lúcio and Juan 36 and 35 respectively, Gilberto Silva 37, Kaka 32, Robinho 30 and Luis Fabiano 33. Evidently, Dunga’s team has had it’s time. Now for the 24 youngsters named above to carry the mantle.

Of the players in Menezes’ first Brazil squad, who would you pick in a first team and in what system? Has anyone been unfairly omitted? And is the former Corinthians boss the right man for the job? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section below.

(pic via nikefutbol on Flickr)

Brazil, Football in Latin America, Mano Menezes