5 key players for Brazil at Copa America 2015
One thing Brazilian football and their national team has never been bereft of is pure precocious talent. And this Brazil side at the Copa America 2015, with 1994 World Cup-winning player Dunga at its helm, is no different. But put it down to any factor as you may like, the team doesn’t really ooze the same class and appeal that the world has come to expect from this nation.
That, however, doesn’t mean that this side is any less talented. Brazil are odds on favourites to atleast make it to the final of the competition, as we look at their five most important players who’ll play a key role in their team’s fortunes in Chile.
Jefferson
After Dunga’s first-choice keeper Diego Alves (Valencia) was ruled out of the competition due to a last-minute injury, the goalkeeping mantle has shifted to the shoulders of Jefferson Oliveira. The 32-year old, who plays for Botafogo in the Brazilian top-flight, is not exactly a household name in world football and has only represented his country on 15 occasions in his long career.
His lesser known status, however, doesn’t reduce his responsibilities whatsoever. In a competition consisting of players like Messi, Sanchez, Falcao, Di Maria et al, Jefferson will have to gather all his experience to keep the opposition strikers at bay and ensure that a result like the ill-fated semi-final last year is not repeated.
In a team brimming with prodigious and world-class talent, the little-known shot-stopper holds a pivotal role if Brazil are to progress to the later stages of the tournament.
David Luiz
For David Luiz, Copa America 2015 is a chance for redemption. After all, it was under his captaincy that Brazil suffered that heartbreaking defeat in the World Cup semi-final last year. He had a wonderful World Cup until that game against Germany, post which experts pointed to Thiago Silva’s absence in defence. For Luiz, it was a discrediting indictment of his own defensive abilities.
A year later, with Thiago Silva demoted to the bench by Dunga, David Luiz will be wearing his heart on his sleeve and hoping to set the record straight in Chile, and prove that he’s good enough to wear the national colours and carry the weight of the nation’s expectations on his shoulders.
After a successful first season with Paris Saint-Germain in France, the 28-year-old will be looking emulate his club success on the international level and justify his tag of being the most expensive defender in the history of world football and not just another overvalued South American footballer.