| Dida, Cicinho, Lucio, Roque Junior, Gilberto, Emerson, Kaka, Ze Roberto, Ronaldinho, Robinho and Adriano: this was Brazil’s starting eleven for last summer’s Confederations Cup final. It would strike fear into any other team in world football. But it is even more intimidating if you are a Brazilian player not listed in that line-up, yet with aspirations to pull on the sacred yellow jersey and represent the selecao. How do you break into a team in which the talents of Real Madrid’s Ronaldo are barely missed and the likes of Lyon’s Juninho Pernumbucano are mere substitutes? For an increasing number of Brazilians, the answer to such a conundrum is pragmatic: don’t even think about it. Instead, get citizenship in another country and play international soccer for a nation that is only too welcome to inject some Latin American flair and technique into their football. Brazil-born players now wear the shirts of selections as diverse as Macedonia and Japan, and with the increasing number of Brazilians (now around 850 per year, up from 130 per year in the early 1990s) leaving their homeland for more prosperous and stable leagues in Europe and Asia, it seems to be an inexorable trend.
Deco gained Portuguese citizenship after six years’ residency, and was only too happy to make his international debut against Brazil in March 2003, aptly scoring the winning goal in a 2-1 victory for his adopted country. Across the border, Spain have called up Villarreal hard man Marcos Senna with a view to incorporating him into their 2006 World Cup master plan; Senna follows in the footsteps of another Brazilian, cultured midfielder Donato Gama Da Silva, who earned 12 caps for Spain in the 1990s. However, for cultural and historical reasons, it is perhaps not surprising that Brazilians should end up playing for Portugal and Spain. But Tunisia is another matter: ostensibly, the Maghrebian country has virtually no links with Brazil. Yet this decade, three Brazilians have been in the Tunisian national team frame, and two of them -- full-back Jose Clayton, and striker Francileudo Silva Dos Santos -- have been remarkable successes, especially the latter. Dos Santos, who had failed to make the grade at Belgian club Standard Liege, played for two years (1998-2000) at Tunisian club Etoile du Sahel, scoring 32 goals in 50 league matches. But it was only after he had earned a transfer to mid-table French Ligue 1 side Sochaux that he accepted an offer to play for Tunisia. Faced with the grim prospect of competing with the likes of Ronaldinho for a place in the Brazil squad, Dos Santos philosophically switched allegiance to Tunisia and was the top scorer at the African Cup of Nations in 2004 as the Tunisians won the competition on home soil. Brazilians have also proven popular amongst the countries of the former Yugoslavia. Confronted with a hugely-reduced player pool compared to the situation in the days of the Yugoslav Federation, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Macedonia have all called up naturalized Brazilians in recent seasons. While Bosnia-Herzegovina’s Ricardo Wagner Santos Baiano has featured in just one match -- a substitute appearance in a World Cup 2006 qualifier against Serbia & Montenegro -- Croatia’s Eduardo Da Silva, who plays for Dinamo Zagreb, looks to have a brighter future. Macedonia’s Angel Braga has arguably been the most successful Brazilian import to the Western Balkans, playing regularly for his new country. Arguably the country with the most Brazilian influence in its football has been Japan, who have strong ties with the South American nation: over 1.5 million ethnic Japanese are estimated to live in Brazil. The J-League is crammed with Brazilian talent, Japan are coached by one of Brazil’s all-time legends -- Zico -- and the national team have a tradition of fielding players of Brazilian origin. In recent times, three in particular have caught the eye: Wagner Lopes, Alessandro “Alex” Santos, and Marcus Tulio Tanaka. The best is Alex, who like Deco left Brazil in his teens; the Urawa Reds utility player now has around 70 caps for Japan. Of course, some countries are less amenable to the prospect of staffing their national team with Brazilians. England is one example. Despite having a perennial problem in left midfield -- no one has effectively filled the berth since the mid-1990s -- England turned down the opportunity to give British citizenship to Edu, a highly gifted left-footed, left-sided midfielder, when he was resident in London with Arsenal from January 2001 to May 2005. Similarly, Juergen Klinsmann politely declined overtures from Schalke 04 star Lincoln, despite Germany possessing no cover for attacking pivot Michael Ballack.
But with globalization proceeding apace and Brazil continuing to produce more sensational players than it can possibly cap, do not be surprised if your country is next in line for the samba pandemic that is sweeping planet football. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
England didn't expect: left-footed Brazilian Edu failed to arouse the attentions of Sven-Goran Eriksson
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
0 Response to "Samba Pandemic Sweeps Planet Football"
Post a Comment