Liverpool midfielder Philippe Coutinho has been called into the Brazil squad as new national manager Dunga signalled his intentions by leaving out 13 players who featured at the World Cup. Coutinho was omitted from Luiz Felipe Scolaris squad for the World Cup, at which hosts Brazil were beaten 7-1 by Germany in the semi-finals. However, the 22-year-old has made the selection under Dunga, who replaced Scolari in the wake of Brazils humiliation. Full-backs Marcelo and Dani Alves were among the biggest names omitted for the friendlies against Colombia on Sept 5 in Miami and Ecuador on Sept 9 in New Jersey, while there is no room for Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Paulinho. Neymar, Oscar and David Luiz all survived the cull, while newcomers include Atletico Madrids Miranda and the Brazilian leagues leading scorer Ricardo Goulart. Most of the players returning were starters at the World Cup, including Hulk, Luiz Gustavo, Fernandinho and Maicon. Captain Thiago Silva was not called up because he is injured. History shows that you cant start from scratch, its important to keep some of the previous structure in place, Dunga said. Slowly we will be giving opportunities to the younger players. Its not because of one bad result that everything was wrong. Dunga said other World Cup players may be back in the future. Its important that all players know that this is just the beginning of our work, the coach said. It doesnt mean that the players not in this list wont have another chance with the national team. The doors will remain open to all Brazilian players. Striker Fred, who scored only one goal in the World Cup, was among those left out. Ronaldinho, Kaka and Robinho, who did not make it to the home tournament, were left out again, as was Lucas Moura of Paris Saint-Germain. The match against Colombia is likely to pit Neymar against Colombia defender Juan Camillo Zuniga, who fractured the Brazilian stars back in the World Cup quarter-finals, ending his tournament. Brazil are expected to play two other friendlies this year, against Argentina on Oct 11 in Beijing and Turkey on Nov 12 in Istanbul. The teams next tournament is the 2015 Copa America. Goalkeepers Jefferson (Botafogo), Rafael (Napoli) Defenders Maicon (AS Roma), Alex Sandro (Porto), Danilo (Porto), Filipe Luis (Chelsea), David Luiz (Paris Saint-Germain), Marquinhos (Paris Saint-Germain), Gil (Corinthians), Mirando (Atletico Madrid) Midfielders Luiz Gustavo (Wolfsburg), Elias (Corinthians), Fernandinho (Manchester City), Ramires (Chelsea), Willian (Chelsea), Philippe Coutinho (Liverpool), Oscar (Chelsea), Ricardo Goulart (Cruzeiro) Forwards Everton Ribeiro (Cruzeiro), Hulk (Zenit), Neymar (Barcelona), Diego Tardelli (Atletico Mineiro).
Posted on: Wed, 20 Aug 2014 16:40:27 +0000