There are so many of them! Everyone from AC Milan to Shahktar Donetsk has at least one or two Brazilians, often as many as seven or eight. Some of the lesser known clubs from places like Romania have more than half of their team consisting of Brazilians. Not a lot of defenders in that group though. Or more importantly, holding midfielders. Now I am not talking about destroyers, everyone has those, I am talking about cultured ballplayers who get stuck in, as the English would say, but also pull the strings and play the passes that create the opportunities for the more attacking players.
However, when it comes to those more attacking players, that is where Brazil really shines. And the big names are nowhere near the most impressive of them.
So, what was the problem at the World Cup? I think it is pretty simple. When your greatest strength is your attacking flair, and your manager insists on playing a very defensive formation and style, you are not going to win anything. A manager's job is to put his players in a position to succeed. Dunga just didn't do that in South Africa. Would they have beat Holland or Spain with a more free-flowing return to the days of the Samba Boys? I don't know. But it surely would have been more fun to watch.
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