FIFA World Cup 2014: Can Brazil do it next year ?

When the FIFA World Cup starts in Brazil on 12th June next year, it would be 16 years since a host nation has won a World Cup. The last country to achieve this feat was France. When we hear the name Brazil in any football tournament, we quite easily tag them as the favorites. But the question is, “Can the Selecao do it come 13 th July next year?”

For many, the answer to this question would simply be yes. Playing on their home soil and with millions supporting them, one will definitely think that Brazil has the best chance this time around. Also, they have a coach in Luiz Felipe Scolari who certainly knows how to guide them to the ultimate glory. He was the coach last time around when the men in yellow won the World Cup in 2002 .

One thing is for sure that Brazil has got a taste of playing in front of their home crowd. The recently concluded confederations cup is a proof of that. Brazil had outclassed the current world champions Spain in the finals.

They were brilliant throughout the tournament. With their new footballing prodigy NEYMAR scoring four wonderful goals. His assist against Mexico to set up Joe was simply breathtaking. He surely is and will be their go to man. He certainly has proven those wrong who said that he would struggle against European teams. His displays since moving to Barcelona have been nothing short of brilliant.

Also, the good thing for Scolari is that he is already settling on his first choice 11. Marcelo and Dani Alves are two full backs who will bomb forward on every possible opportunity. With two brilliant holding midfielders in Luis Gustavo and Paulinho , the back four gets full protection in front of them. Luiz Gustavo is a deep lying midfielder, who allows Paulinho to go forward whenever necessary.  Having lost his place to Javi Martinez at Bayern Munich , Gustavo moved on to Wolfsburg to boost his world cup chances next year. A good move.

But as it has always been throughout the Brazilian football history, they possess their main threat in their attack. They have a plethora of players on the attacking front. Fred, Jo, Neymar, Oscar, Lucas Moura, Bernard, Hulk to name a few. The list still goes on. It would be interesting to see if Robinho and Kaka can make the final cut.

In the confederations cup, Scolari started with a front four of Fred, Neymar,Oscar and Hulk with Oscar playing as their play maker and Neymar cutting in from left. Hulk, with his pace and power was more than handful on each occasion. Also, Scolari used Lucas Moura as a substitute, especially when the opponents looked tired. Lucas Moura possessed great pace on the right wing and gave the opposition full backs a run for their money.

Brazil scored a total of 14 goals and conceded just 3 in the tournament. Something that their defense would be proud of. But, if at all one had to pick a weakness in their game, it would surely be their defense. The probable back four of Dani Alves, David Luiz ,Thiago Silva and Marcelo all are brilliant individual players. But David Luiz can be erratic at times  as already seen during his Chelsea career so far. Having said that his contribution against Spain in the Confederations Cup final was immense. Whereas his partner Thiago Silva is a solid, strongly built defender. One that every coach would love to have in the team. He will be the lead of the team and rightly so. His displays with PSG certainly prove that. Also, if Marcelo and Dani Alves can hold their own against powerful wingers and can cope with teams who will look to counter them, there is no reason why they can’t go all the way next year.

They have also got a brilliant shot stopper with them. Julio Cesar,34, would certainly look to end his career on a high. Having already won the Champions League and the Serie A titles, he would like to win the football world’s most coveted title, the only one remaining in his glittering CV.

For many years now, the term JOGA BONITO has rightly been associated with the Brazilian team. Joga Bonito, a Portuguese phrase which means “play beautifully”. This team certainly does that when they are at their menacing best. Luiz Felipe Scolari will make sure that there are no stones left unturned.

The world is ready. Brazil is ready. Let the carnival begin!