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Items by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

BBC Sport - Tim Vickery blog

• Argentina's battle for South American supremacy

  Posted: May 14, 2012, 1:56 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  With his dramatic title-winning goal for Manchester City, Sergio Aguero paid off a fair chunk of his reported £38m transfer fee - some of which filtered down from Atletico Madrid to Independiente in Argentina, the club which produced him.

  Producing such a magnificent striker has already done wonders for Independiente's finances. The money they received for selling him to Spain was used to rebuild their entire stadium, the Estadio Libertadores de America - named after South America's equivalent of the Champions League, which they have won a record seven times.

  The Copa Libertadores is not only close to the heart of Independiente, it is a huge deal in Argentina nationally.

  Supporters in the country have made up special songs about the Libertadores, and the atmosphere in a big Buenos Aires ground during one of those matches is something every fan should experience.

  

  Juan Roman Riquelme's (10) Boca Juniors beat Chile's Union Espanola to reach this year's Libertadores quarter-finals. Photo: Getty

  The competition was first played in 1960 - and from 1963 until 1979 there was always a club from Argentina in the final. The country can still boast more wins than anyone else (22, compared to 15 from Brazil, eight from Uruguay and seven from the rest of the continent combined).

  However, that domination has started to look very shaky recently.

  Over the past 15 years, for example, only two Argentine clubs have reached the final - Estudiantes on one occasion and Boca Juniors on several. In that same time, Brazil has produced 10 different finalists.

  Argentina's domination was surely helped by the undeniable fact that, in the past, Brazilian clubs gave the competition a lower priority. In 1966, for example, there was no Brazilian participation, a protest against the expansion from one team per country to two, and there were also boycotts on financial grounds in 1969 and 1970.

  Nowadays, though, the competition is a top priority in Brazil as well. And bearing in mind the huge size of the country and the financial gap which has opened up between its clubs and the rest of the continent, it is only to be expected that Brazil has become the leading force in the Libertadores.

  Though Santos won the title, last year was not a good one for the Brazilians, who had problems dealing with different tactical approaches. This year, though, normal service has been resumed.

  The quarter-finals kick off this week, and Brazil provides four of the last eight, just as it did in 2009 and 2010.

  But the decline of Argentine clubs is not only relative to Brazil - performance has also plummeted against everyone else.

  River Plate's relegation is symptomatic of the financial and administrative problems faced by even the biggest clubs in the country. For the past three years (and in four of the last five) Argentina has only provided one of the Libertadores quarter-finalists - a bleak statistic given the country's record of success in the competition.

  This year, though, there are two, and the pair are the best Argentine football has to offer.
  There is Boca Juniors, with all their tradition, back in the competition after a two year absence, and Velez Sarsfield, perhaps the best run club in the country, who have made huge strides in recent years and were unlucky to be knocked out in last year's semi-final.

  Both Boca and Velez are more solid and functional than inspirational - a point made all too emphatically by the dreary 0-0 draw they fought out on Sunday in the domestic championship.

  This week, though, they are on the same side, both taking on Brazilian opposition in a veritable battle for the soul of the Libertadores. Velez host Santos in Thursday's home leg, while Boca are at home to Fluminense.

  As soon as coach Julio Cesar Falcioni took over at the start of last year, Boca were guaranteed to be interesting. Falcioni does not have the habit of picking an old fashioned number 10, and at Boca Juan Roman Riquelme is king.

  At first, the coach struggled to accommodate Riquelme plus two strikers and still retain defensive consistency. Things improved in the middle of the year when lumbering centre forward Martin Palermo retired.

  Falcioni could then operate with two mobile strikers, and seek to bring one of them behind the line of the ball when possession was lost. He built a solid side, one permanently seeking to defend itself against the opposing counter-attack, and was rewarded with an excellent defensive record as Boca won the last domestic title.

  But it has not all been plain sailing.

  Dealing with Riquelme is seldom easy, and he was said to be especially unhappy with the quality of the team's play in their Libertadores debut, a dire 0-0 draw against Zamora of Venezuela. Rumours abounded that Falcioni had resigned.

  Since then relations have been patched up. Boca have won their last six matches in the competition and last week Riquelme was at his elegant and incisive best against Union Espanola of Chile.

  Then, as this week, Uruguayan striker Santiago Silva was absent injured - but that might turn out to be a blessing in disguise. The Fluminense centre-backs would hope to deal with him - but Brazilian clubs can struggle against fast strikers down the flanks, exploiting the space left behind the attacking full backs, and it is here that Dario Cvitanich and Pablo Mouche will look to shine.

  Boca would be ill-advised to go chasing the game because their defensive record is based on collective solidity. Should they over-commit, their lack of pace at the back will be exposed.

  And much the same applies to Velez Sarsfield, whose priority against Santos must surely be to deny space to Neymar. Right-sided midfielder Augusto Fernandez has a big role to play helping out his defence, while at the other end Velez will hope that Juan Manuel Martinez, full of strong running and change-of-pace dribbling, can get behind the Santos right-back.

  Neither Argentine side would be distraught to be held to a goalless draw. With the away goals rule in operation, there is a lot to be said for the home side in the first leg keeping a clean sheet - just ask Chelsea.

  
  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

  From last week's postbag:

  Q) I was just wondering if you could shed some light on Ganso's development? I was just curious due to the fact that a couple of years ago it was always Santos's stars Neymar and Ganso who were wanted by Europe's elite, but now all you hear about and see in the media is Neymar. Is he currently injured or just not playing maybe?
  Shahib Uddin

  A) Ganso was injured for a while, but he is playing well since his return. It is hard not to be overshadowed by Neymar, whose progress has been exceptional. Ganso, though, has bags of talent - a real, old fashioned, elegant number 10 with the vision to see the pass and the technique to play it.
  I am a bit concerned, though, by the amount of premature praise he received from the Brazilian media - which is always difficult to deal with, especially at such a young age. Neymar seems to have dealt with all that. Ganso still gives some worrying signs. Last week, for example, he complained the reason for his disappointing performances with the national team were because he had not been given enough freedom. It is inevitable at this stage of his career, but his decision-making needs improvement. Too many times he is caught in possession in danger zones.

  Q) How would you sum up Venezuela's footballing talents (on the whole and at a youth level)?
  Michael Aridy

  A) Their progress over the past two decades has been nothing short of amazing, but their domestic football has suffered from the process. Now young Venezuelans are on the radar, and being picked up by clubs in Europe and South America. The country invested heavily in stadiums for the 2007 Copa America and expanded the first division, and suddenly the quality has plummeted because of the exodus abroad. This year, for the third successive time, no Venezuelan club made it out of the group stages in the Libertadores. None of them won a game and Zamora could not even score a goal. It is a classic example of the difficulty of launching a league in today's globalised game.

• Lords of the dance

  Posted: May 7, 2012, 12:32 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  Rashidi Yekini has died at a tragically early age, but in his all-too-brief time on earth he certainly left his mark. He will be remembered all over the globe not just for scoring Nigeria's first ever World Cup goal (against Bulgaria in USA 94), but also - perhaps more - for the way he celebrated.

  One of the lasting images of the tournament is that of Yekini gripping the back of the net and then forcing his arms through the holes as he yelled out his thanks to the heavens. It was a beautiful moment because there was nothing contrived about it. It was a genuine, spontaneous show of deep emotion.

  More cheesy but equally sincere was another famous goal celebration from that tournament - Bebeto scoring for Brazil in the quarter-final against Netherlands and then, joined by team-mates Mazinho and Romario, rocking an imaginary cradle. It was a tribute to newly born son Mateus, nearly 18 years later a promising player himself. As the proud father explained, the beauty of the celebration lay in the fact that it was entirely unplanned.

  The same could certainly not be said of the thousands of imitations it spawned, and all the other little dances now found around the world in commemoration of the ball hitting the back of the net. These days planning new celebrations has become a cottage industry - one that has flourished in Brazil more than anywhere else.

  It might be a consequence of the amount of time that Brazilian players are cooped up in hotels before every game. And, of course, what the professionals do, the kids will copy. I once saw a lecture by former national team coach Sebastiao Lazaroni in which he emphasised the motivational importance of goal celebrations when dealing with very young players. They should be encouraged to develop their own choreography, he said.

  It is not advice that all would approve of. Cesar Luis Menotti who managed Argentina to the 1978 World Cup, is horrified by such modern fads. A few years ago, he wrote: "Many players have forgotten genuine emotion. Now they do little dances, take their shirts off or climb up the stands in the act of a demagogue. It's all planned for the media. I feel that the sense of respect towards the opponent is being lost."

  

  Rashidi Yekini scored Nigeria's first ever World Cup goal at USA 94. Photo: Getty

  Pep Guardiola would surely agree. The outgoing Barcelona coach was not at all happy recently when two of his players, Daniel Alves and Thiago Alcantara, celebrated a goal against Rayo Vallecano with a few dance steps. That is simply not the way things are done at Guardiola's Barcelona. Club captain Carles Puyol quickly ran over to put a stop to the festivities, and the coach made a point of apologising to Rayo Vallecano in the post-match news conference.

  The background of the perpetrators is surely significant. Daniel Alves is Brazilian, while Thiago Alcantara, though born in Italy and a Spanish international, is the son of a high profile Brazilian - Mazinho, who rocked that imaginary cradle alongside Bebeto.

  Thiago quickly apologised for his dance steps. Daniel Alves, meanwhile, seemed nonplussed by the reaction. He did not appear to accept that he had committed any transgression - which is hardly surprising given the fact back home that such celebrations are not only tolerated but actively encouraged.

  This might seem a minor incident of little import. The fact that Guardiola felt the need to apologise shows that it touches on values in the game that he sees as fundamental. It also reveals a certain proximity with the more philosophical school of Argentine coaches.
  
  Menotti's old friend, Angel Cappa, was one of the coaches Guardiola consulted before stepping up to take charge of the Barcelona first team. Another was Marcelo Bielsa, the former Argentina coach now in charge of Athletic Bilbao.

  If Guardiola is close to a strand of Argentine football though, he seems distant from the mainstream in Brazil. After his team brushed Santos aside in last December's World Club Cup final, Guardiola talked of the great football played by Brazilian clubs in the past. Delivered with elegance, it was still a barb. Guardiola's mentor Johan Cruyff is a frequent critic of contemporary Brazilian football. Where once they played like Barcelona, he recently said, they now favour the counter-attack like Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid.

  Since Guardiola announced his resignation, some In the Brazilian media have drooled over the idea that he might be tempted across the Atlantic to take over the national team. It would seem highly unlikely, though it would certainly be fascinating.

  Brazil's production line of talent continues to work overtime. But is very hard to find equivalents of Xavi and Iniesta, which is no coincidence. In football the idea comes first, and the Brazilian game has not been looking for little midfielders whose game is based upon possession of the ball. The closest I can think of is a former Barcelona player, Deco, who made his name abroad and ended up playing his international football for Portugal.

  Hopefully, his example will rub off, showing Brazilian coaches and kids the value of the cerebral central midfielder. If others are inspired to follow his example that really would be something to celebrate - with dance steps and all.

  Comments on the piece in the space provided. No space for questions on South American football this week, but send them to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com and I'll pick out a couple for next time.

  Hopefully, his example will rub off, showing Brazilian coaches and kids the value of the cerebral central midfielder. If others are inspired to follow his example that really would be something to celebrate - with dance steps and all.
  Comments on the piece in the space provided. No space for questions on South American football this week, but send them to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com and I'll pick out a couple for next time.
  

• Support still swells for Suarez

  Posted: April 30, 2012, 2:38 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  Gus Poyet was recently remembering the advice he received when he joined Chelsea 15 years ago.

  "I had a team-mate at Zaragoza who had spent four or five years in England and he told me all the things that I shouldn't do," he said to the Uruguayan press.

  "'Don't dive in the area, trying to get a penalty, don't score a goal with your hand, don't try to cheat the ref, don't try to pressure him to give a yellow card to an opponent'. At that moment I wondered where I was going. I thought I was on my way to another planet! But I adapted."

  Football might be a universal language, but we speak it with different accents - one of the reasons that bringing in a player from a different culture always contains elements of a gamble. Not only is he a human being who has to adapt to life in a new country, he may also have to change some aspects of his behaviour on the field - or face the consequences.

  

  Suarez's talent has helped him through a baptism of fire in the Premier League. Photo: Getty

  All of this has since been discovered by one of Poyet's compatriots. When Luis Suarez joined Liverpool I imagined that his attacking thrust and the range of his talent would make him a firm favourite with the club's fans.

  I also suspected that his competitive nature and temperamental streak would mark him out as the type of player whom opposing supporters love to hate. I did not bargain on an international incident.

  Suarez, of course, served an eight- game suspension for racially abusing Patrice Evra of Manchester United, and attempted to defend himself by pointing out that such behaviour was not considered unacceptable in Uruguayan football.

  Whatever the rights and wrongs of the case, it does not seem to have harmed the player's prestige at home.

  Soon after February's infamous 'non-handshake' at Old Trafford, Nacional supporters turned their team's Copa Libertadores tie at home to Libertad of Paraguay into a pro-Luis Suarez rally. There were banners aplenty in praise of their old hero.

  Nacional, of course, are the club where Suarez came through the youth ranks and made his name. It is only to be expected, then, that a bond will continue to exist between the player and the fans.

  But the backing for Suarez has gone well beyond his old haunts. Uruguayan politicians queued up to express their indignation at his punishment. Even President Jose Mujica got in the act, the veteran left winger declaring his full support for Suarez and commenting that some people did not seem to realise that the young man at the centre of the scandal was a poor kid who had not studied to be a diplomat.

  Back home, the hero status of Suarez is safe. To many of them the Evra incident is of little importance when weighed against the service the player has already given in the sky blue shirt of his nation. "Other countries have their history," goes the expression "while Uruguay has its football."

  In South Africa two years ago Uruguay reached their first World Cup semi-final since 1970 - and only their second since going down in extra-time to the great Hungary side of 1954.

  In Uruguay successive generations had only been able to hear tales of their country's footballing prowess from their grandparents - until South Africa when they could climb on the roller-coaster and enjoy it for themselves.

  Since then Suarez has gone from strength to strength. In terms of national team football, no-one on earth was better than him in 2011.

  He made an inspired start to the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, scoring five times in three games. And before that he was the outstanding player last July as Uruguay won the Copa America for a record 15th time, putting them ahead of hosts Argentina in the all-time winners list.

  As they celebrated on the field, the Uruguayan players sang about being champions again, just as they were the first time - a reference to the triumph of their predecessors in the inaugural Copa, held in 1916.

  It is this respect for footballing tradition that gives Saturday's FA Cup Final a certain allure in Uruguay. The idea of a domestic cup competition is not a strong one in South America; Brazil has had such a trophy for the last 20 years, Colombia started recently and Argentina's is in its debut campaign.

  But well entrenched is the practice of a big game to decide the destiny of a title - many league championships end this way. Throw in the historical importance of the competition and the presence on the Wembley pitch of Suarez, fresh from a hat-trick against Norwich, and it is clear the FA Cup final will be closely followed in Uruguay.

  Part of this is down to Poyet, now the Brighton manager. His time at Chelsea did much to raise awareness of English football in Uruguay and also important were his exploits on the road to the 2000 FA Cup win.

  At a time when the Premier League was starting to build a global audience, Poyet made it clear to his compatriots that the English game also contained a historic cup competition with a tradition going all the way back to 1872.

  And so well has Poyet adapted that 12 years later he is still giving the English game the benefit of his international experience. It is hard to imagine Suarez still being in the country 12 years from now - there has even been speculation that he could be on his way out in the near future.

  But however long he stays, his time in England will certainly be remembered - for reasons both positive and negative. He will hope that his contribution to the 131st FA Cup final will be recalled with pride by fans on both sides of the Atlantic.

  Send your questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

  From last week's postbag:
  In your opinion, where does Neymar stand in relation to the top young players in European football, the likes of Gotze, Hazard, Wilshere, Thiago, etc? Is he on a different level altogether or do we have to wait to see him in Europe before a true judgement can be made? Jack Lewis
  I don't watch enough European football to make an informed comparison, but I can tell you that Neymar really is an extraordinary talent. His running with the ball at pace, his capacity to see situations, his ability to improvise at speed and in reduced spaces, his finishing - all of these are sheer class.

  It is true that Brazilian football allows him to operate in something of a comfort zone - the defensive lines operate deep, so there is plenty of space on the field in which he can pick up possession, and he picks up free-kicks that he would not always get in Europe.

  My view is that the time has now come for him to make the move - an opinion Ronaldo gave to Gary Lineker last week. If he follows Ronaldo's advice you'll be able to make your own comparison before long!

  What are your thoughts of the young Ecuadorians, Fidel "The Ecuadorian Neymar" Martinez (Deportivo Quito) and Fernando Gaibor (Emelec)? They seem to be playing well ahead of their age. Pacheg10
  A poor man's Neymar is still something to be! Martinez has done wonderfully well so far in the Copa Libertadores, wide left in that Neymar position, offering a creative threat with both feet.

  I first saw him in the Ecuador side that won the 2007 Pan-American gold medal. After Jefferson Montero I thought he was one of the most interesting players. Cruzeiro in Brazil picked him up but the early move didn't work out.

  He's made a big impression since moving back to Ecuador last year, though, and is certainly one to watch, as is Gaibor. I thought he was the best all-round midfielder in last year's South American Under-20 Championships and he's kept getting better since.

  
  

• How the away goals rule counts double in South America

  Posted: April 23, 2012, 12:52 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  Imagine if Didier Drogba had missed that chance against Barcelona last week at the end of the first half.

  It was Chelsea's only shot on target in the match. Had it not gone in, would their approach in the second half have been bolder?

  I am inclined to doubt it. From a Chelsea point of view, scoring was great - but even better was stopping Barcelona get on the score sheet.

  The away goals rule was introduced to encourage adventure from the visiting side and, for a while, seemed to be successful. But there is a sense now that it often has a very different effect - giving the home side in the first leg a powerful incentive not to concede.
  

  

  Bolivar have breathed new life into Bolivian football. Photo: Getty

  There are those in Europe who argue that the rule has outlived its usefulness, that in a continent where journey times are short there is no need to offer such a benefit to the away side.

  In South America things are different. For a start, the continent is bigger. Journey times are huge, and there are conditions such as altitude and temperature differences which make it hard for the visitors.

  Away wins are much rarer on this side of the Atlantic. So far in World Cup qualification there have been 11 home wins and two away. The group phase of this year's Copa Libertadores, the continent's Champions League equivalent, came to a close last week with a score of 56-23 in favour of the hosts.

  With this in mind, it is possibly true that the away goals rule makes more sense in South America than it does in Europe. The rule was introduced in the Libertadores in 2005 and has already made its presence felt.

  Eight groups of four contest the tournament, with the top two from each group going through to the knockout stage. There, the eight group winners meet the eight second-placed teams, with the group winner with the best campaign meeting the second-placed side with the worst campaign, and so on.

  It would be expected, then, that the group winners would prevail. They, after all, have done better so far in the competition. The contest is weighted in their favour by the fact they have the right to play the second leg at home.

  This is perceived as a considerable advantage and teams are prepared to fight for it. Had they glanced at recent history perhaps they would not try so hard.

  Last year, of the eight second-round contests, five went against form, and were won by the group runner-up. Over the last five years this has happened more often than not.
  In considerable part, this is a tribute to the glorious unpredictability of football but it also has something to do with the effect of the away goals rule.

  Far from being a handicap, for the inferior side it might even be an advantage to be at home for the first leg, keep things tight and then look to play on the break in the return game.
  This was certainly the secret of Uruguayan club Penarol's run to last year's final. As one of the qualifiers with the worst record in the group phase, they were at home in the first leg of every knock-out round - and turned the supposed punishment into a positive advantage.

  In those four home games they conceded just one goal - and then scoring on their travels kept getting them through. Penarol then came unstuck in the final, because this is the only time when the away goals rule is not used.

  Had it been in effect, their 0-0 draw at home to Santos of Brazil in the first leg would have been a very useful result. In the event, Santos won 2-1 to take the title. If the away goals rule had been in operation then against such proficient counter-attacking opponents the Brazilians might have felt more inhibited about pushing forward.

  This is not a problem that the defending champions are likely to face this week, even though the away goals rule is in effect when they get the knock-out rounds underway. In their first leg,

  Santos are away to Bolivar, the theme of last week's column who last Wednesday beat Chile's Universidad Catolica 3-0 to become the first Bolivian side to make it out of the group phase for 12 years.

  Under Argentine coach Angel Hoyos, once in charge of Barcelona B, Bolivar are not counter-attack specialists and they will also surely be going all out to get the most from playing at the extreme altitude of La Paz.

  Brazilian clubs are so uncomfortable at altitude that a few years ago they launched a campaign to ban games in these conditions. Santos have already lost in La Paz in the current campaign, going down 2-1 to Bolivar's local rivals The Strongest.

  Should Bolivar pull off a surprise and get through to the quarter-finals, it will surely not come through cunning use of the away goals rule, but rather from the more traditional route of making the most of home advantage.

  
  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

  From last week's postbag;

  
  Colombian striker Jackson Martinez, 25, who plays for Jaguares in Mexico, is being tipped for a big-money move to Europe this summer. What are your thoughts?
  Oliver Serrant

  He's quick, sleek and uncomplicated. A thoroughly proficient front to goal finisher. My doubt is about his touch and overall approach play. He doesn't offer much else, so if he gets a move and he's not scoring early then confidence could slump.

  
  Can you give your views on whether Lionel Messi is a great or not?
  Chris Bender

  I don't think Messi's greatness can possibly be in doubt. In terms of standard of play the Champions League is the best we have. Season after season Messi is outstanding in it. The best of all time is a different debate and a very frustrating one. How to compare eras? There's the fact that Messi is probably not even the half-way stage of his career
  

• Benfica's Brazilian import-export connection

  Posted: April 2, 2012, 2:11 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  If they were unable to do it in front of their own fans, can Benfica manage to beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge this Wednesday?

  Some might make the point that they were hardly at home last week.

  The Lisbon giants kicked off without a single Portuguese player - and with an extraordinary complement of nine South Americans in their starting line-up, plus another on the bench (alongside a Brazilian-born Spaniard), and one more ruled out by injury.

  And that is not even the half of it. Benfica have a further 17 South American players out on loan with other teams.

  Of the four big clubs here in my adopted city of Rio, three have a midfielder who is on the books of Benfica: Airton at Flamengo, Felipe Menezes at Botafogo and Fellipe Bastos at Vasco da Gama - who also have right-sided striker Eder Luis.

  

  Nicolas Gaitan has been on fine form for Benfica in the Champions League and may be persuaded to move to one of the more successful clubs in Europe. Photo: Getty

  Old colonial and linguistic ties explain why Brazil is Benfica’s favourite shopping venue - five of last week’s first team are from South America’s giant, plus another 10 who are out on loan.

  But they are also on the lookout for talent all over the continent, snapping up players from Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina.

  Benfica come back from the South American sales with more players than they can ever use. Many will simply not get an opportunity. This can happen to big name players.

  Enzo Perez is a full Argentine international, a versatile right-sided midfielder who was fundamental to the campaign of Estudiantes when they won the Copa Libertadores, South America’s Champions League, in 2009.

  Frustrated at not getting a look in at Benfica, after a few short months he has already been loaned back to La Plata, lining up once more with Estudiantes.

  Benfica will not be too concerned if he and a few others in a similar situation spend their entire contracts out on loan, after which time they become free agents. Perez may yet return to triumph in the red shirt.

  But if not, if Benfica get nothing from him, then he can be written off as an acceptable business cost. If so many South Americans are signed up, then some of them will inevitably prove surplus to requirements.

  But there are another two groups that are extremely useful.

  One consists of the type of player who gives long term, solid service. All-action Uruguayan right back Maxi Pereira is one example, but perhaps the best is Brazilian club captain Luisao.

  The gangling centre back has rarely been first choice for Brazil. But one after another, national team coaches queue up to name him in their squads. He has been to the last two World Cups, and at the age of 31, is even in consideration to be one of the over-age players in Brazil’s Olympic squad.

  All of this is evidence of the type of man he is - one happy to put team before self, an ideal team captain. Luisao has been at Benfica for the long haul.

  For the more glamorous players, though, it is often a case of two or three years and out. Benfica buy enough South American lottery tickets to hit the jackpot now and again, and sell someone on at a huge profit.

  This, of course, needs good scouting. David Luiz, for example, was picked up as a raw youngster, and Ramires was acquired just as he was on the verge of breaking into the Brazil squad. Both, of course, were subsequently big money signings for Chelsea, Wednesday’s opponents.

  It is this third group of South Americans, the potential stars, who finance the whole project. In the short term they tip the balance on the field. In the long term they boost the club’s finances.

  The next one along the line is surely Nicolas Gaitan of Argentina, signed from Boca Juniors in 2010, and a likely target for a giant from a bigger league in the next transfer window.

  Gaitan was originally groomed as a playmaker, a consequence of the Argentine obsession with the old fashioned number 10. A similar thing happened with Carlos Tevez at Boca a few years earlier.

  When Juan Roman Riquelme was sold to Barcelona, attempts were made to force the young Tevez into a Riquelme-shaped hole, until the 2003 Libertadores campaign made it clear that he did his best work close to the opposing goal.

  Riquelme was back at Boca by the time Gaitan was breaking through, and the youngster was originally seen either as his replacement or as his partner, operating on the left of midfield.

  But it was clear that Gaitan was at his most effective when he broke into the forward line.
  Veteran coach Alfio Basile transformed him into a support striker.

  He played his best football for Boca on the right side of the attack, from where his booming left-footed crosses had an ideal trajectory for big centre forward Martin Palermo to attack at the far post.

  At Benfica he is free to roam, and can cause havoc with his crossing from either flank. But he is much more than a winger.

  He retains the number 10’s vision for a defence splitting pass, and also has the capacity to dart inside to find goalscoring positions.

  All of this was on show last Saturday when he set up Bruno Cesar’s injury time winner against Braga.
  It is the versatility of his attacking talent that makes Gaitan so interesting.

  If Benfica are to stage a second leg comeback against Chelsea, then he is likely to be behind it. But whatever happens on Wednesday, Gaitan’s time with Benfica could well be drawing to a close.

  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I’ll pick out a couple for next week.

  From last week’s postbag:

  Q) With Brazil’s economy recently overtaking the UK’s, can you foresee an increase of foreign investment in Brazilian clubs like there has been in other aspects of Brazilian businesses? If so, will you expect to see more Brazilian exports returning to their homeland rather than prolong a career in Europe as well as other gems such as Neymar and Ganso staying?
  Sean Brown

  A) There has been a significant change in the conditions of trade, with big name players coming back earlier than before and young prospects staying longer. But one thing remains the same - players are still aiming to spend their peak years in the Champions League. Regardless of any financial considerations, in purely professional terms domestic Brazilian football cannot currently offer a similar challenge.
  Investing in clubs is problematic because of the difficulty of establishing control. Brazil’s clubs are not businesses. They are social membership clubs. You cannot buy up the shares and then own the club.

   Q) What are the prospects of getting a global champions league in place? Or at least one that includes South American clubs? I live in The USA and am an avid fan of the game. I would very much enjoy a tournament that included teams from more than just Europe. Is this feasible?
  Patrick Klasen

  A) I’d love to throw this one open for debate. There is, of course, a tournament that includes the champions of all the continents - the World Club Cup, something I would like to see receive more attention, especially in Europe.
  The Europeans can argue that the current superiority of their teams does not make for an attractive tournament - but that superiority is not permanent.
  A combination of economic and football development could level the playing field. Might an improved World Club Cup one day pave the way for a global Champions League? What do people think?

• For better or worse? How Havelange's global vision changed football

  Posted: March 27, 2012, 12:15 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  Laid low by an infection, former Fifa president Joao Havelange is gravely ill in a Rio hospital, where no doubt he is profoundly irritated at being forced to interrupt his daily routine of swimming 1,000 metres.

  At the age of 95, Havelange remains a force of nature. Over 30 years ago he used his strength to change world football.

  When Premier League chairman Sir Dave Richards made his recent remarks about Fifa "stealing football from the English", there can be little doubt that he had 1974 in mind. That was the year that Havelange unseated England's Sir Stanley Rous to become Fifa president.

  It was a time of change. After the Second World War, Europe represented more than half of Fifa's membership. By 1974, the old continent was down to less than a third. The post-colonial age was producing new nations, increasingly unhappy at being shut out of the game.
  

  Havelange was elected on a pro-developing world ticket. He promised an expansion of the World Cup, with more places available for non-European nations. He pledged to introduce World Cups at Under-20 and Under-17 levels, tournaments that could be staged in the developing world.All of this had to be paid for - and it was here that Havelange commercialised the game, bringing on board multinational sponsors to help bankroll his new agenda.

  Much of this has problematic elements. The extent to which the game sells its soul with such commercial dealings is an interesting debate, though by no means one limited to Fifa business.

  

  Joao Havelange was Fifa president between 1974 and 1998. Photo: Getty

  There is little doubt, though, that in the case of Fifa that organisational structures and general transparency were not improved to cope adequately with the amounts of money now sloshing around the game.

  There are clear problems in the total dependence of some nations on Fifa hand-outs. The scope for corruption was enormous, and the cold and autocratic Havelange was not the only one to have his name involved with scandals.

  Corruption is, of course, deeply lamentable, a cancer that grows in organisations, undermining basic values as it goes. There is, though, a basic point about Fifa corruption which is rarely made; it has been the unwelcome by-product of a project that achieved its aims.

  Havelange's ideas of globalising the game were clearly successful. The World Cup was taken to Asia, Africa and the USA for the first time. Football generates amounts in TV rights and sponsorship deals which would have been unthinkable in 1974, precisely because the global popularity of the game has gone through the roof.

  Would this really have happened had the Europeans stayed in charge? Would anyone really want to go back to the time of Stanley Rous, who organised the 1966 World Cup with just one place for all of Asia and Africa combined?

  To the end of his reign, and with no regrets, Rous fought in favour of South Africa's inclusion, long after the country had been expelled from the Olympic movement. The logic appeared to be that the local FA could hardly be blamed for carrying out government policy.

  Nowadays, Europe's clubs protest about Fifa's operations, but it comes across as a smokescreen to help them get what they want - less international football, and more compensation for allowing 'their' players to take part in it.

  When it comes to the rest of the world they typically seem more concerned with plucking the fruit than watering the plant. An inclusive, global vision is lacking.

  Rightly or wrongly, with all its flaws and problems, Joao Havelange had one.

  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

  From last week's postbag:

  Q) Could it be argued that Pele's goalscoring record is flawed, given that a large proportion of those goals were scored in friendlies and the Campeonato Paulista?
  JJ Donnelly

  A) It certainly could. To be fair to Pele, though, the Campeonato Paulista (Sao Paulo State Championship) was much, much better in his day than it is now. It was taken much more seriously and the depth of talent was much deeper than these days, when so many Brazilians are sold abroad.

  Having said that, Pele's scoring figures have been boosted massively by friendlies, games in the army and so on. None of this detracts for a moment from his greatness as a player. He was a machine for playing football, and time and time again he passed the real test of the great player, giving magnificent performances for his team on big occasions.

  For this reason Pele was very unwise recently when he said that Lionel Messi needs to score 1283 goals to be worthy of a comparison. The greatness of Pele does not lie in statistical accumulation.
  

• Neymar a match for Messi on Day of the Goal

  Posted: March 11, 2012, 5:46 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  A Brazilian journalist this week came up with the thoroughly sensible idea that 7 March henceforth be commemorated as world football's Day of the Goal.

  It was not only the date on which Lionel Messi chalked up his five for Barcelona in the Champions League; in the South American equivalent, the Copa Libertadores, Neymar of Santos also added a magnificent hat-trick of his own.

  The first was nothing to write home about - a penalty which was perhaps harshly awarded. But there can be no quibbles about the other two. Both times Neymar picked up possession in his own half, cut through the defence and ran some 70 metres before scoring.

  The goals showcased his extraordinary control over the ball while running at pace, his capacity to understand space and improvise with its possibilities inside a fraction of a second, and also his eerily cool finishing.
  

  

  Neymar (left) could be to the Copa Libertadores what Messi is to the Champions League. Photo: Getty

  One goal was a right-footed finish, the other a left. Both of them serve as a convincing declaration of a rare talent.

  There can be few qualms about the opposition either. Santos were playing fellow Brazilians Internacional in a clash between the last two winners of the Libertadores.

  Some will point out that Internacional have fielded stronger defensive units than the one they put out on Wednesday.

  It is a fair point and it is also true that so far Neymar has found it difficult to produce moments of this quality when playing for Brazil - observations that make him one of world football's most fascinating narrative strands to follow over the next few years.

  There is no doubt that the talent is all there. But how will he cope when pitted against better, stronger defenders, in spaces reduced by higher defensive lines, and with less protection from the referee? How will Neymar fare when he is up against the best?

  Of course, he has already had one such experience, when his Santos side took on Barcelona last December in the final of the World Club Cup. They were brushed aside even more easily than the 4-0 scoreline might suggest. But it was hardly Neymar's fault.

  How could it be when his team barely had the ball? This was not an individual failure, it was a collective one.

  "I came back from Japan after our defeat by Barcelona convinced that we need to renew our football," said Santos president Luis Alvaro Ribeiro.

  "We spend a lot of time gazing at our own belly button. We were beaten by a new football that we didn't know."

  Implicit in his comments is a criticism of the coach Muricy Ramalho. Hugely successful in Brazilian football, Ramalho loves to talk about how hard he works. But after studying Barcelona for six months, there was little evidence of progress.

  He merely sent out his team with the formula he knows best - three big centre-backs, hope to hold the opposition at bay and break out with a goal from a counter-attack or a set-piece. As his team were torn to shreds he cut a pitiful figure on the bench.

  The warning signs were there in a big interview he gave a few weeks earlier to Brazil's sports daily 'Lance!' when he came across as complacent.

  European coaches, he said, were only worthy of seven out of 10. To get top marks they would have to succeed in the Brazilian context - with an insane calendar, sub-standard structure and unpaid wages.

  Since he has thrived in such conditions, it was clear that he was awarding himself the full 10.

  It was a silly thing to say, firstly because it makes a fetish of poor working conditions, as if they are the true test of quality.

  Secondly, because taken to its logical conclusion, it would mean that Brazilian coaches are the worst in South America and Bolivians are the best, because they have to work with the weakest players - and this surely was not Ramalho's intention.

  He plumbed new depths in the press conference following the match against Barcelona, when he said that the defeat his side suffered would not have the slightest effect on them. After waiting six months to be measured against the best and then to have been massacred in such a manner, his words were fooling no-one - least of all, as it turns out, himself.

  Over the last five years, with three different clubs, Ramalho has won four Brazilian titles and the Copa Libertadores. No-one is lucky for that long. There are clearly merits in what he does - and it now seems likely that the experience of coming up against Barcelona has shaken him out of his complacency.

  Alongside the performance of Neymar, the most interesting thing about Santos last Wednesday was the way they pressed Internacional in midfield, with clusters of three and four players aggressively advancing to close down the opponent in possession.

  This is not a normal part of the Brazilian game and it was surely influenced by Barcelona, as was the make-up of the midfield. A team can only put so much energy into winning the ball if it knows that possession will not be given away cheaply. Unlike many contemporary Brazilian midfields, all four of the Santos quartet are comfortable on the ball.

  Their pressing was not perfect. They probably would have had more problems if opposition coach Dorival Junior had remained true to his convictions and sent out a team that sought to impose itself rather than contain.

  As it was, Internacional were able to expose the defensive weaknesses of Santos left-back Juan, once of Arsenal, and could easily have scored three times from passes played inside him.

  Even so Santos were well worth their 3-1 win and it was fascinating to observe the development that has taken place since they lost to Barcelona. It raised hopes that if the two teams manage to retain their respective continental titles then the final of this year's World Club Cup might be a more interesting affair.

  Perhaps Neymar, as well as Messi, would have a platform to show his skills - and then we really would have a day of world football to celebrate.

  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week. From last week's postbag:

  Q) In the English media there are suggestions of interest from Liverpool in Jackson Martinez, a Colombian striker who plays for Jaguares in Mexico. Do you think he's got the necessary attributes both as a professional and as a personality to achieve success in the Premier League or elsewhere in Europe? Jay Wynn

  A) He's an out-and-out goalscorer, a front-to-goal centre-forward who can finish off both feet, and with excellent spring that makes him a threat in the air. Something of a late developer, he burst into life three years ago when he broke scoring records in Colombia with Medellin, and has since carried that form into Mexican football. The Premier League is a step up, though. His touch and general approach play are not great, and the worry would be that he might not build up a head of steam to feel confident about his game.

• Can Lionel Messi become an Argentina hero?

  Posted: March 5, 2012, 12:32 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  Argentina will be hoping Lionel Messi is finally starting to transform his stunning club form with Barcelona to the international arena following his magnificent hat-trick in the 3-1 win against Switzerland.

  The hints were there late last year, in the second half of the World Cup qualifier away to Colombia, and now the Switzerland game has surely consolidated the Messi-Sergio Aguero link-up at the heart of the Argentine attack.

  The pair have had a natural rapport for years, built up when they roomed together during the 2005 World Youth Cup, and now that understanding is clearly visible on the pitch through their pacy, dazzling exchanges.

  Away to an adventurous Swiss side, there was space for the pair of them to explode on the counter-attack. Against more cautious opponents there could well be the need for the greater penalty area presence of Gonzalo Higuain.
  

  In that case, Messi and Aguero can form an attacking trident with the Real Madrid man.
  Indeed, that was the way they were set up in the second half against Colombia, when the introduction of Aguero at the break changed the game, giving Messi someone to combine with when he dropped deep in search of possession.

  More than any tactical innovations, Argentina will hope the Switzerland match proves important in psychological terms. Messi has enjoyed some excellent games for Argentina in the past, but this was the first time that the headlines in the local press proclaimed that he had produced his Barcelona form for the national team.

  

  Messi has made over 67 appearances for Argentina, scoring 22 goals. Photo: Getty

  This is significant because almost the only place in the world where the presence of Messi is not guaranteed to fill a stadium is in the land of his birth. He tries hard to identify himself with Argentina, with the city of Rosario and the Newells Old Boys club.

  However, when performances are disappointing, he meets with resistance from his own people, who are quick to seize on the fact that he has been based in Barcelona from the age of 13.

  "You're not really one of us," they seem to be saying. "You are more Catalan than Argentine. You don't sing the national anthem or feel with passion the colours of the flag."

  And it does not matter what he says. Words do not count - deeds do.

  The public want to see the Messi of Barcelona, often forgetting that for the national team he does not have a Daniel Alves to burst outside him, or a Xavi and Iniesta to supply him with the ball. But he does have Aguero.

  The resistance towards Messi in an extreme case, but in the proud footballing cultures of Brazil and Argentina it does not take much for the European-based players to be viewed with suspicion.

  If the national team are winning in style, little attention is paid to where they play their club football. Anything less, and those who play in Europe are sometimes branded uncaring mercenaries.

  In any case, the call will always come for the selection of more home-based players.
  This is a political reality the coach has to deal with - especially in contemporary Brazil, where with the clubs paying top wages there are more viable candidates for the national team playing their football for domestic clubs.

  Last year, for example, Brazil boss Mano Menezes could hardly afford not to recall Ronaldinho to the national team. The former world player of the year had moved back home to join Flamengo, the country's most popular club.

  Around the middle of the year he found flickers of form. Brazil, meanwhile, had done badly in the Copa America and were not looking good in friendlies- giving Ronaldinho another chance became a political necessity.

  Against Ghana at Craven Cottage last September it was soon apparent that he was off the pace. The rhythm of international football, as Menezes commented after the match, is more intense than that of the domestic Brazilian game.

  He gave an interesting performance against Mexico late last year, organising from a deeper position, but his reign as first-choice number 10 may well have come to an end with an unimpressive display in last Tuesday's 2-1 win over Bosnia.

  By now Ronaldinho has ceased to be the public's sweetheart, his credibility undermined by a dip in club form and his night time escapades. Mano Menezes gave him enough rope, and can now cut him loose if he chooses because he has Paulo Henrique Ganso of Santos ready to step up.

  Brazil's game against Bosnia flowed much better after Ganso replaced Ronaldinho for the last half hour. The elegant left footer is a wonderful prospect - so much so that he too has also been at the centre of the nationalist debate.

  When Ganso came through strongly two years ago, the Sao Paulo press were falling over themselves to praise him. He was, they said, already the best in the world in his position, a left-footed reincarnation of Zinedine Zidane.

  It was conveniently forgotten that he was only shining in a desperately poor version of the Sao Paulo State Championship, and against poor opponents in the Brazilian Cup.
  The problem was that the player appeared to believe his own publicity. Then came the reality check.

  The subsequent two years have been filled with injuries and excellent learning opportunities - such as a disappointing Copa America and the experience of playing against Barcelona last December.

  History could decide that Mano Menezes has played shrewdly with the political forces, using Ronaldinho as a shield while also holding back Ganso until the time was right for a natural transition in the ownership of Brazil's number 10 shirt.

  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week. From last week's postbag:

  Q) I would say most Colombians are happy with the scoreline after the 2-0 win over Mexico, but I was disappointed in Colombia's style of play. I was expecting a build up from the back, short passing, and a possession game from Jose Pekerman. Instead there was a lot of counter-attacking. Are Colombia going to be a counter-attacking team from now on?
  Fernando Fernandez

  A) It's worth remembering that they were up against a Mexico side that really came at them, and the next two World Cup qualifiers are away from home, against Peru and Ecuador. So there's no harm in an early focus on the counter -attack, with the excellent Darlon Pabon high up the pitch on the flanks where he can do most damage. I was also pleased Juan Cuadrado played from the start - I think they've missed the kind of unpredictability he can bring. Aldo Leao Ramirez was the surprise inclusion, there to knit the game together from midfield - an indication that long-term Pekerman is looking beyond the counter.

  Q) Chile's Milovan Mirosevic has signed with my adopted MLS team, Columbus Crew. Everyone seems very excited by his signing - calling him a designated player without the pricetag. He is also, inevitably, being dubbed the next Guillermo Barros Schelotto. Is he that good? Does he have the ability make the Crew a contender in the MLS this year? Will he bring the leadership to the Crew that they have been missing?
  Ben Dettmar

  A) I remember being really excited by Mirosevic when I saw him for the first time as a teenager back in 1998. He appeared to have so much - an attacking midfielder of strength and explosion, tight skills and a crashing right foot. I've seen many good performances from him over the years, but for reasons I've never understood he has not gone on to achieve as much in the game as I had hoped and expected.
  I'm not sure about him as a team leader. I do not think he quite has that battle-hardened nature of Schelotto, but he's more physically dynamic and I think the club is justified in being excited about him.
  

• The importance of potent partnerships

  Posted: February 20, 2012, 12:42 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  Of the many images football has left in my mind, one of the most intriguing comes from a pre-match warm up more than 15 years ago.

  Flamengo were about to play Internacional in the Brazilian Championship. Reunited for the first time since winning the World Cup just over two years earlier, Romario and Bebeto were exchanging passes.

  Bebeto was sleek and somehow vulnerable, like a cheetah. Romario was stocky and merciless, a perfect hyena. The two made natural hunting partners. It is inconceivable that Brazil would have won USA 94 without them.

  But it was one thing for the pair of them to knuckle down and work together for the limited time frame of a tournament, especially with a big prize at the end. Doing it week in week out at club level would surely be a different matter. The pair had big egos and different temperaments. Now they were together at Flamengo, how would they get along? Would they fire together or end up sniping at each other?
  

  

  Bebeto (centre) and Romario (right) were crucial to Brazil's victory in the 1994 World Cup. Photo: Getty

  In the end the question could not be answered. During that game against Internacional, Romario limped off with one of the muscular problems that plagued that stage of his career. By the time he had recovered, Bebeto had been sold back to Sevilla in Spain.

  All that remains, then, is the image of them knocking up before kick-off. And what stays in the mind is the easy intimacy created between them as the passes went back and forth. Today they would consider each other friends, but no words will ever match the bond forged by the presence of the ball.

  Much attention - too much surely - is given to debates on individual players. Great teams are also often discussed. The spotlight falls much less on great partnerships - the building blocks that make up great teams. And when it does, it is usually on strike partnerships, like the complementary talents of the Romario-Bebeto combination, or a big man-little man duo like John Toshack and Kevin Keegan at Liverpool in the 1970s.

  Just as interesting, but surely more neglected, are those little societies inside a team that help link one function to another. Those functions can be divided into three areas - win possession of the ball, set up the play, and finish.

  Bobby Charlton, for example, never stops paying tribute to the work of Nobby Stiles. For both Manchester United and England, Stiles provided security, winning the ball so that Charlton could use it. Not all of his tackles would survive modern day scrutiny but Charlton is adamant Stiles was a genuinely great player. What is surely not in doubt is that they formed a superbly effective partnership.

  My favourite little society at the moment can be found a little higher up the pitch, linking the functions of setting up the play and finishing off the move - in this case for Atletico Nacional of Colombia.

  The playmaker is Macnelly Torres, one of those rare figures with both the vision to spot the killer pass and the technique to deliver it. Now 27, he has had an up-and-down career. Part of that inconsistency is surely down to the on-field relationships formed with his strikers. The man on the ball dies a lonely death if there is no movement in front of him.

  Now at Nacional he had an excellent partner to latch on to his defence-splitting passes. Dorlan Pabon is a stocky little striker, bullet fast. He is capable of striking the ball on the run off either foot and does most of his best work down the flanks, especially the right.

  Torres and Pabon were in harness a year ago when Nacional won the first of the two separate championships that Colombia stages per year. Then Torres went off to Mexico to play for San Luis on loan. Without him the team were not nearly as good but that title win had guaranteed Nacional's place in this year's Copa Libertadores, South America's equivalent of the Champions League.

  The club have made major investments in defence, midfield and attack. More than the new faces, though, perhaps the most important re-enforcement was the return of Macnelly Torres, and therefore the return of his partnership with Dorlan Pabon.

  That link-up showed its potency two weeks ago when Atletico Nacional made their Libertadores debut against Universidad de Chile, the team who back in December won the Copa Sudamericana, the continent's Europa League, in fine style. 'La U' won that trophy with a run of 10 wins, two draws and no defeats, 21 goals scored and just two conceded.

  The Libertadores was always likely to be harder, not least because 'la U' paid the normal South American price of success - they placed in the shop window three of their most important players, who subsequently moved on. It might take time for coach Jorge Sampaoli to bed in his reinforcements. The trip to Medellin to face Nacional looked like a tough debut, and so it proved.

  The Colombians won 2-0, and the clinching second goal came from a source that had been threatening all night to undo the Chilean defence. Torres chipped into space, a pass hit at the correct angle and with perfect weight, and Pabon latched on, shrugged off the defender and struck a beautifully balanced shot on the turn back across the goalkeeper.

  This Tuesday night Nacional are in action again, in Uruguay away to Penarol, an adventurous side who need a win. There should be plenty of space for the Torres-Pabon double act to do some damage - and highlight once more the importance of little partnerships inside a team.

  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

  From last week's postbag;
  Q) I'm an Exeter City fan and recently there's been a lot of club press around the possibility of an historic rematch of the 1914 Brazil v Exeter City game - the first game ever played by a national Brazilian team.

  I would love to see this game happen - the press from the club is suitably careful but does sound positive that, from a commercial and a footballing perspective, there seems to be some interest in getting the game to happen.

  Given that Brazil will be mainly focused on the World Cup in 2014, can you give us any insight into the local feeling around a rematch?

  Terry Hall

  A) I had the pleasure of meeting a couple of Exeter directors on their recent trip to Rio trying to fix the game up.

  It clearly won't happen on the actual centenary date in July, because everyone will have had their fill of football by then.

  The idea is to stage it shortly before the World Cup, which would be a terrific coup for Exeter because media from all over the planet will be there.

  The match in 1914 took place in the stadium of Fluminense - I think they would love it to happen. Their lovely old ground is only used for training these days, and they would like to transform it into a museum. Staging the match there fits their purpose.

  And so the unknown quantity is Brazil - who will, of course, be fully focused on the World Cup, which begins on 12 June 2014. They will be under pressure the likes of which no team has ever experienced. So a game against Exeter might not be seen as adequate preparation. But if not then I think it should prove easy enough to organise a game against a Brazil Masters team, as happened in Exeter a few years back.

  Q) I was wondering if you could give me a bit of information on the current state of affairs with Boca Juniors. I am currently watching their game versus Union Santa Fe and they seem classless, lazy and insipid - unable to break down a recently promoted team who show a bit of enthusiasm. How can this team possibly be the Champions?

  Simon

  A) Look at the goals against column. In their 19 games last season Boca conceded six, two of them after the title was sewn up.

  Coach Julio Cesar Falcioni was always in for an interesting ride at Boca. He doesn't have the habit of playing with an old style number 10 and at Boca, of course, Juan Roman Riquelme is king. It took Falcioni a while to work out how to set up his team with Riquelme plus two strikers. It is a balance he found by being very safety first, with one of the strikers often behind the line of the ball. It is a team set up not to be open to the counter attack.

  In midweek Boca made their Libertadores debut with an appalling 0-0 draw away to Zamora of Venezuela. In the dressing room afterwards there was, by all accounts, an almighty row - and it was reported that Falcioni had resigned. Peace meetings were held and Falcioni stayed. But the game against Union that you saw is perhaps a reflection of these events.
  

• Argentina's class of '78 deserve respect

  Posted: February 13, 2012, 11:15 am by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  It is now 34 years ago, but the controversy over the Argentina-Peru match in the 1978 World Cup does not want to lie down and die.
  
  Hosts Argentina, needing at least a four-goal margin to reach the final, won 6-0 and then went on to beat the Netherlands and claim their first title.
  
  Last week, veteran Peruvian politician Genaro Ledesma added fuel to the fire. A prisoner of Peru's military government at the time, he claims Argentina's military dictatorship agreed to take custody of him and other dissidents in return for Peru throwing the match.

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  There has always been talk of Peruvian collusion, with conspiracy theories involving shipments of grain from Argentina. Is there fire behind the smoke? It can hardly be ruled out. Little in the way of ethics could be expected of an Argentine dictatorship that was busy murdering thousands of its own citizens.
  
  And then there is the fact that Peru had nothing to play for. Disastrous organisation meant that they had already effectively been eliminated, while Argentina knew exactly what they needed to do to reach the final - hardly the recipe for an honest contest.
  
  But, purely in footballing terms, to ascribe the 1978 win entirely to skulduggery is surely to miss the point - because 1978 clearly represents a before-and-after moment for the Argentine national team.
  
  After a golden age in the 1940s, Argentine football suffered badly from a self-imposed isolation in the following decade. By the time they returned to the World Cup in 1958, they were well off the pace. Poor again in 1962, they had a good team four years later, but failed to qualify for 1970 and were taken apart by the Dutch in 1974.
  
  Since '78 it has been a different story. There have been disappointments, such as the 2002 World Cup. And there have been disastrous games, like the thrashing administered by Germany two years ago. But since 1978 they have also been a feared force, a national team with a secure place at football's top table. And that is not an achievement that can be attributed to the military dictatorship.
  
  It has much more to do with a high-profile opponent of the regime, Cesar Luis Menotti, who coached the team to the 1978 triumph. Appointed after the '74 World Cup, Menotti kept his job even after the military coup of 1976 - one of the dictatorship's brighter decisions.
  
  Menotti introduced two fundamental concepts. One was the idea of a genuinely national team, without the traditional domination of Buenos Aires. He scoured the provinces looking for players to feed into the process.
  
  The other was a way of playing. It was not only Argentina the Dutch had humiliated in 1974. It was also Brazil and Uruguay. The high intensity football of the Dutch appeared to have rendered South American football obsolete. Brazil even confessed as much, attempting to copy the Dutch model in 1978.
  
  Menotti, meanwhile, preached that traditional Argentine passing football could compete with the northern Europeans. But they had to up the rhythm of their play -
  hence the importance of Osvaldo Ardiles to the team.
  
  Ardiles was far from the peoples' choice to play in midfield. JJ Lopez was much more popular - he was an idol with Buenos Aires giants River Plate, while Ardiles, originally from Cordoba, was with the smaller Huracan club. Even Ardiles would probably have chosen Lopez over himself.
  
  But Menotti went with Ardiles precisely because he offered more dynamism. His fetching, carrying and continuous quick passing set the pace at which the coach wanted the team to play.
  
  Without home advantage, it is indeed possible that Ardiles and company might not have won that World Cup. But the suspicion that the military government might have pulled some strings in their favour does not detract from their virtues as a team. After all, Holland certainly did not throw the final in 1978.
  
  The England World Cup-winning side of 1966 have also suffered from a lack of international credibility. In their case, it is argued that the English president of Fifa, Sir Stanley Rous, went out of his way to ensure a home victory, conspiracy theorists pointing above all to the famously controversial third goal in the final.
  
  The "did it really cross the line?" debate is certainly valid. But the focus on this one incident overlooks the team's tactical virtues.
  
  Brazil had gone with a back four in the previous decade, and discovered that if wingers were retained in that formation the team could be left light in midfield. The solution was for Mario Zagallo to shuttle back from the left wing and make the extra man, a role he played in 1958 and, to even greater effect, in 1962.
  
  Four years later Alf Ramsey's England effectively had a Zagallo on either flank. Both Alan Ball and Martin Peters could set up goals like wingers. But they also got behind the ball when the team lost possession - defensive cover that left the side's most talented player, Bobby Charlton, free to attack.
  
  Some 46 years later the 4-4-2 that England played continues to be the framework for many teams.
  
  Could that England team have won the World Cup without home advantage? Maybe not, though the players argue they were at their best in away games, when they had more opportunity to launch the counter-attack.
  
  Subsequent events also back them up. England's 1-0 defeat by Brazil in the 1970 World Cup was much more than a mere group game.

  On the one hand it was a test of England's credibility away from Wembley - the game took place in the scalding midday heat of Guadalajara - and on the other it was of key importance in the context of the tournament. The winner of the group would have an easier ride to the final.
  
  It produced a classic, one of the all-time great World Cup games. Although England lost, they could certainly have won, a point stressed to me by Zagallo, then Brazil's coach, and by a number of his players. Indeed, the Brazilians see this as the key game on their way to winning the tournament.
  
  Even in defeat, England had won respect. They had shown that, irrespective of any real or imagined behind-the-scenes machinations, they were a team worthy of its place in football history.
  
  The Argentina side of 1978 deserves that same respect.
  
  Questions on South American football can be emailed to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com. From last week's postbag:
  
  Q) How come the Boca Juniors sides of 2000-2003 aren't considered to be in the pantheon of all-time greatest teams?
  Rodolfo Diaz
  
  A) I think you've partly answered your own question when you write "sides" in the plural. If it had been one continuous team that had won the Libertadores titles of 2000, 20001 and 2003, then I certainly think they would be worthy of consideration for the pantheon. But effectively we are talking about two different teams.
  
  The 2000-01 side was built around a spine of keeper Cordoba, centre-back Bermudez, playmaker Riquelme and centre-forward Palermo - all of whom had gone by 2003, when the title owed a lot to the explosion on to the scene of Carlos Tevez. There is not enough continuity between the two for it to be seen as part of the same evolutionary process.
  

• Diplomat Bielsa goes on the attack

  Posted: February 6, 2012, 1:00 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  If he needs help in his captaincy dilemma then perhaps Fabio Capello could take a leaf out of the book of Marcelo Bielsa.

  Currently with Athletic Bilbao after spells in charge of the national teams of Chile and his native Argentina, Bielsa believes that the role of the captain is to represent the squad - and on that basis he usually lets the players vote to determine who should lead them out. But that is where Bielsa's democracy ends.

  In the late 90s when he first took the Argentine job there were some early problems - hardly a surprise given the unorthodox nature of his trademark 3-3-1-3 system.

  Training sessions were not going as Bielsa would have liked. He felt that some resistance to his methods. He called his players together and asked them to write on a piece of paper whether they would prefer the team to line up with four or three at the back.

  Then he sifted through the answers, almost all of which were in favour of a back four. "Well," he said to the group, "this shows which model has your preference. I would like to announce, then, that we are going to be playing with a back three. Bye." And with that he strode off.

  Of course, the role of the coach is not to impose, but to persuade. And before long Bielsa had transformed his men into devout believers in his way of doing things.

  After cruising through qualification in superb style, it is a great pity that Argentina turned up at the 2002 World Cup without enough gas in the tank to do justice to their attacking intentions.

  

  Former Argentina and Chile boss Bielsa is an attack-minded coach. Photo: Getty

  Because what Bielsa really wants to do is attack, playing the game in the opponents' half of the field, keeping them under mental and physical pressure and constantly seeking to create two against one situations down the flanks - hence the need to play two wingers.

  The back three may have been controversial. But even more important is the front three.

  Bielsa may have won over his players, but he would always suffer resistance in Argentina. His dynamic football had no room for the old style Argentine foot-on-the-ball playmaker, such as Boca Juniors' Juan Roman Riquelme.

  Once he went to Boca's stadium, where the entire crowd jeered him for ignoring Riquelme. In typical Bielsa style, he loved it. The crowd's reaction, he said, was "the essence of football".

  But he was always likely to get a better response in Chile, whose football, as legendary defender Elias Figueroa once explained to me, has been marked by an absence of identity. Moreover, Bielsa's emphasis on quick wide players seemed to suit the physical characteristics of many Chilean players.

  During his time in charge of Chile Bielsa kept his distance from the country's domestic game. He was not in the habit of chatting with club coaches, for example. But it is now clear that he has made his mark.

  Towards the end of last year I wrote a few times about Universidad de Chile, by some distance the best South American club in the second half of 2011. Their coach Jorge Sampaoli is a self-confessed Bielsa disciple, and in December his methods carried the club to its first international title, South America's Europa League equivalent.

  But now comes the big one. This week the group phase kicks off in the Copa Libertadores, the continent's Champions League. It will be very hard for Universidad de Chile to keep their winning streak going.

  They have paid the normal price for success in South America - it puts the team in the shop window with the result that key players are sold.

  The good news is that the new recruits had excellent league debuts on Saturday. Rangy striker Junior Fernandes and little Peruvian attacker Raul Ruidiaz struck up an instant understanding, and should feature strongly in Sampaoli's 2012 front three.

  Santiago neighbours Universidad Catolica have played two league games so far, and coach Mario Lepe is still struggling to find the right collective blend.

  But going forward, at least, he has a lot of talent available to him, and one option he has already looked at is an attacking trident of Paraguayan centre forward Roberto Ovelar, good with his back to goal, Argentine attacker Nicholas Trecco playing from the right and the hugely promising Kevin Harbottle operating down the left.

  And Chile's third participant in the Libertadores, Union Espanola, seem certain to use a front three. That is the way they were set up for the second half of the home leg and all of the return match in their qualifying round tie against Tigres of Mexico. Such a bold strategy paid off especially well in the away game.

  Indeed, the trend for front threes is not just restricted to Bielsa clones. Coaches spent years removing strikers from their teams. Now they seem to be putting them back.
  I could hardly believe my eyes last year when I saw the team-sheet of Libertad of Paraguay.

  They were visiting Fluminense of Rio in the knock out stages of the 2011 Libertadores, and in this first, away leg I had expected a safety first approach.

  Instead they went with 3 strikers. The 3-1 defeat they suffered was a gross miscarriage of justice, righted the following week when they won the home leg and progressed to the quarter-finals.

  Indeed, Brazilian clubs had lots of problems last year with this type of approach. Defending against attackers in wide spaces caused them a problem. If their attacking full backs pushed up, there was space behind. If they stayed back, then midfield limitations were exposed and the opponent took a grip on the game.

  In theory Brazil should be dominating the Libertadores. Its clubs are paying higher wages than elsewhere on the continent. Brazil has produced nine of the last 14 finalists, and can boast the reigning champions, Santos.

  But last year - the very moment when the financial gap was widening in Brazil's favour - its clubs had a very unconvincing time in international competition.

  On paper Brazil is sending a very strong group of participants into this year's Libertadores. A theme to look for in the competition is how well they cope with different tactical approaches - such as the front threes set to be unleashed against them by coaches who may have been influenced by Marcelo Bielsa.

  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

  From last week's postbag;

  Q) I'm planning to visit Venezuela at the end of March and wanted to see a football match. Do you recommend I watch any particular team? Are there any hidden gems there that you would recommend?
  Abdul Miah

  I was there for the 2007 Copa America, when they had invested heavily in new stadiums, and I would love to go back to check on the advances made to the country's football culture.

  It's a big place, so obviously it depends on where you're going to be, but Caracas in the capital are certainly worth seeing. They've slipped a bit over the past 18 months, but in the last decade they've been the strongest club with the best youth development work.

  To the west I would try to check out Lara in the city of Barquisimeto. The team are doing well, and they have a wonderful stadium, though spectacularly badly located. It wasn't strictly ready when inaugurated during the 2007 Copa. I would love to see what it looks like now.

  Q) I read a story a couple of weeks ago regarding Keirrison's future, with his agent stating he would favour a move back to Coritiba.

  When he signed for Barcelona for €14m in 2009 he looked a real prospect. Would be interesting to hear your take on his career so far. What went wrong? Will he ever fulfil his potential?
  Nick McKuhen

  I've been wrong countless times in the past, but this was one where it wasn't too hard to get it right. He was nowhere near ready for such a move at that time. He was a front to goal right footed finisher and nothing more.

  There is plenty of time for him to come again, but it's not easy for a much hyped young player to come to terms with the fact that he is not as good as he has been allowed to believe.
  

• South American superstars wind down on home soil

  Posted: January 30, 2012, 12:55 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  I have often mentioned the single greatest pleasure of covering South American football -spotting a future superstar on the way up, spying on the early steps of someone with the talent to become a household name all over the world.

  Another pleasure comes from following some of those big names at the end of their playing days, when they come back from Europe to wind down their careers.

  One of the fascinating aspects here is that they can fit into so many different categories.

  One is exemplified by Juan Sebastian Veron, who came back from Italy when still at the height of his powers, motivated by a genuine love for Estudiantes and a burning ambition to bring the glory days back to the club where he first started - and where his father shone so brightly in the late 1960s.

  

  Football legends Romario and Ronaldo both finished their playing careers in Brazil. Photo: Getty

  Mission accomplished. Veron junior led Estudiantes to their third Copa Libertadors title in 2009, and was twice chosen as the South American continent's player of the year.

  Injuries meant that he had meant to retire last month, but a campaign by his team-mates forced a rethink. He will carry his battered body through one more campaign.

  Romario is a different case. When he returned to Brazil at the start of 1995 he had just won the World Cup and been chosen as FIFA Player of the Year.

  His ambitions fulfilled, he left Barcelona to join Flamengo in a bid to escape the routine of a professional athlete.

  Back in Rio he could use his prestige to do as he pleased. Football was not a priority - until his ego was bruised by the explosive rise of Ronaldo at Barcelona in the last few months of 1996.

  At the start of the following year Romario had got himself in shape and was on fire once more.

  He had flipped the switch that says 'genius.' But the next few years were an illustration of the sad fact that man is inevitably fated to lose the battle against time.

  Again and again Romario's body broke down when he needed it most. He missed the 1998 World Cup - and the knock out stages of the 2001 Libertadores - and became an accumulator of largely irrelevant goals.

  In the contemporary Flamengo team, Ronaldinho is perhaps a similar case. It is too early for any definitive conclusions to be drawn about his time back in Brazil - this year's Libertadores campaign could be crucial in determining how he will be judged.

  At times he waddles around with the air of an ex-player in a charity match. At others he inspires the hope that, at 31, the great days might not be entirely behind him.

  But at least he scaled the mountain - unlike another category of returning veterans; those who never fulfilled the hopes they once inspired.

  Uruguay has plenty of those. Before the recent resurgence of the sky blues, there were a few false dawns for Uruguayan football.

  One came in the late 90s. They finished second in the 1997 World Youth Cup in Malaysia - a staggering percentage of the country's population turned out to greet the squad on their return home.

  Two years later many of these players were promoted to the experimental line-up taken to the Copa America in Paraguay, where they caused a shock by reaching the final. The good old days of Uruguayan football seemed within reach once more.

  Instead, the country had to wait a little bit longer, until Oscar Washington Tabarez took over in 2006 and implanted his long-term project.

  That late 90s generation made the 2002 World Cup, but were knocked out in the first round and then missed out on 2006.

  And it was not only with their country that they disappointed. Few made the expected impact at club level, but there is still time for some of them to make their mark.

  Like Fabian Carini, for example. A graduate of the late 90s Under-20s sides and the 1999 Copa America, he was Uruguay's first-choice keeper while still a teenager.

  Combining the nerves of a veteran with the reflexes of youth, he looked set to be one of the world's best. It never happened.

  There were long spells on the bench or in the stands with Juventus and Inter Milan, the occasional loan here and there, a brief, unsuccessful spell in Brazil before going back to Uruguay to join Penarol, where he watched last year's run to the final of the Libertadores from the bench.

  Now he is first choice and showed his value last Thursday at home to Caracas of Venezuela in the first leg of the 2012 Libertadores qualifying round.

  Away goals are gold dust in this competition. It was a big moment, then, with almost half-an-hour gone and the game still scoreless, when Caracas won a penalty.

  Captain Edgar Jimenez struck hard and true, but Carini plunged right to make the save and change the game.

  Within 10 minutes Penarol were two goals up. Coach Gregorio Perez has constructed a bold side, attacking with a pair of wide strikers - and burly Marcelo Zalayeta through the middle.

  A team-mate of Carini's in the 1999 Copa America, Zalayeta was one of Uruguay's great hopes. Like the keeper, though, the centre forward suffered in Italy from a loss of momentum brought about by too much time on the bench and too many loan spells.

  On his day, though, he is still a handful for any defence and pounced with speed belying his 33 years to stroke home Penarol's second goal.

  The final score was 4-0, a splendid margin to take north for Thursday's second leg. The last goal was fired in by right winger Fabian Estoyanoff. At 29, he does not quite belong to the generation of Carini and Zalayeta but he is part of the same process.

  Unleashed as an 18-year-old in the 2001 Copa America, his lithe dribbling made a huge impression. For a while he played the role of supersub in the national team. But it never went further.

  He bounced around Spain from club to club, and more recently spent time in Greece, without ever really delivering on that youthful promise.

  Estoyanoff celebrated his strike against Caracas running across to a pitch-side payphone and talking into the receiver.

  It cost him a yellow card, a price well worth paying to communicate his message - that there are still some new chapters to be written by Penarol's old timers.

  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

  From last week's postbag:

  Q) Great to see Alvaro "El Chino" Recoba having an Indian summer back in his homeland of Uruguay. Why do you think he never really made a impact at the highest level in Europe? Without question he is one of most (if not the most) naturally gifted players I have ever seen. Attitude? Italian coaches?
  Steve Lamb

  A) If Penarol have their golden oldies, Nacional have Alvaro Recoba. He was certainly highly valued in Italy. Inter Milan's president loved him and he was one of the best-paid players in the league. I tend to think his problem has been more psychological than anything else. Not only for club but also for country you could never really rely on him to come good when the team needed it most - and that is the sign of the truly great player. It will be fascinating to see how he goes in this year's Libertadores. In Marcelo Gallardo he has a young coach who should understand him and the position he plays. Bearing in mind his extraordinary talent, it would be nice to see him make an impact.

  Q) Brazil's 1958 side is often reported as one of the best, with Pele's breakthrough, and Garrincha and so on.
  Of course the 1970 side is regarded as one of the best sides in football history.
  But I wonder how the 1962 winners are seen.
  To me they seem like "the forgotten side". Is this mostly because of Pele's injury in the opening phase of the tournament?
  Krister Wendelborg

  A) I think that had he not been injured in the second game, then 1962 could have been what 86 was to Maradona. If you look at the goal he scored in the opener against Mexico then you are seeing a football machine at the peak of its powers.
  The problem that 62 has, apart from Pele's injury, is that it is basically the same side as 1958, only four years older and not as good. I think it's the oldest team to win a World Cup, with several players who were on the downward slope. It is remembered most for the individual brilliance of Garrincha, coming off the right wing in his team's moment of need and displaying the full range of his genius.

  Before signing off for the week, I want to make a quick reference to an amazing charity feat currently being performed by someone I was at school with. I haven't seen Matthew Loddy in over 30 years, but news has reached me that he is running 100 marathons in 100 days, culminating in the London marathon, in a bid to raise money for charity, chiefly the Teenage Cancer Trust.
  I remember him as the best footballer I grew up with and recall that he had hopes of a professional career. That natural athleticism will serve him well as he forces himself over the pain barrier day after day. He's past the 15-mark now, his body is clearly suffering and he and his cause need all the help they can get. His daily blog, information on the charities and how to donate can be found at www.frameworkfoundation.co.uk.

• Insecure coaches set a cynical tone

  Posted: January 23, 2012, 2:03 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  When Pepe, Real Madrid's Brazil-born defender, steps on the hand of Barcelona's Lionel Messi, the blame is not his alone.

  A coach has three main tasks. He selects the team, prepares the strategy - and he also sets the emotional tone for the work. An uptight coach usually produces an uptight team.

  When the opposition is Barcelona, Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho appears to get carried away with the importance of the occasion, with some personal questions and with his own frustration at losing so often.

  He has crossed the line and behaved in a manner inappropriate to a sporting contest and it is no surprise that one of the more hot-headed members of his team commits the same error.
  

  

  Jose Mourinho (second left) has never been far from controversy at Real Madrid. Photo: Getty

  Two weeks ago I argued that footballers are often unfairly criticised for the huge amounts of money they earn. After all, they put on a show followed by millions. But I also pointed out there are perils in paying the players so much. Fundamental values can be twisted.

  Much the same applies to coaches. If the players are getting a fortune, it stands to reason the top coaches will, too. Basic hierarchy requires that they be well paid. But this, too, presents a problem. It means they have a lot to lose. The need to protect their job introduces an excess of fear.

  A couple of months back I had the pleasure of chatting with Estevam Soares, who I hope will not be offended if I refer to him as a fairly typical Brazilian coach. A tough centre-back in his playing days, he has carried that spirit of leadership into his subsequent career. In 20 years of coaching, his most high-profile achievement is fourth place in the Brazilian championship with Palmeiras in 2004.

  I was amazed at how much we agreed on one specific subject - the harm coaches are capable of doing to the Brazilian game.

  Ever since football became a professional sport, the coach has always been the fall guy - the one to take the blame for disappointing results. In Brazil he has more reasons to fall.

  The absurd calendar of the domestic game leaves little time for a proper pre-season. The model of administration means political conflict takes place inside the clubs, with factions often looking to destabilise the situation. The media are hungry for a story, the supporters are notoriously impatient and a tradition has emerged of sacking coaches with bewildering speed.

  The players, of course, are aware of this, and stories are rife of squads taking their foot of the pedal long enough to ensure the dismissal of an unpopular boss.

  Soares, for example, is currently in charge of his 21st Brazilian club - with two or even three spells with some of them, as well as a couple of brief stints in the Middle East. After losing a job he has always managed to find another one. But the fear must always be there that one day he might not.

  It was in search of job security, he told me, that so many coaches constructed their sides on a safety-first basis, with limited but athletic defensive midfielders protecting the centre-backs. It was also the excessive nerves of the coaches, he said, that sent the players out with the mentality of going into battle.

  The spirit of the game is often breached in Brazil, with matches frequently lacking flow, constantly interrupted by a series of fouls committed by over-zealous players.

  The worrying aspect is that the money flooding into the game, in Brazil and elsewhere, only seems to enhance the expectation of instant results. Certainly, job security for coaches in English football is much more precarious than it used to be.

  It is for this reason that I am against moves to introduce technology into refereeing decisions if it means coaches will be given the right to make challenges.

  For one thing, the flow of football makes such a measure extremely difficult to implement. And for another, I sincerely doubt it would be used in the spirit intended by its advocates.

  The prioritising of job security in Brazil gives us an example of the level of cynicism that can exist when coaches are under pressure.

  Just over a decade ago some in the coaching fraternity were convinced that part of the secret of victory was to commit more fouls than the opposition. Indeed, it was argued, a foul is not exactly against the rules. Rather, it is something dealt with by the laws - a resource of the game rather than an offence.

  In more recent times - and this one drives me mad - substitutions have been used to waste as much time as possible. When the winning side wants to make a change, the player about to be removed throws himself to the floor. The little cart has to come on to wheel him off, and a simple switch that should take 10 seconds ends up eating a minute or two. This, to my mind, is an abuse of a measure - the cart - introduced to protect the health of the players.

  A similar risk exists with any proposal to allow coaches, via technology, to challenge refereeing decisions. The intention might be to enhance sporting justice. But I fear the outcome would be to hand coaches another means to interrupt the flow of the game and harm the spectacle.

  Questions on South American football can be emailed to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

  From last week's postbag:

  Q) I see QPR have just signed Brazil Under-20 international Henrique from Sao Paulo. I know little about him, other than that he was player of the tournament at the U20 World Cup last year, and was wondering whether you rate him and think he is good enough to make the grade in the Premier League?
  Alex Snow

  A) I don't think it's gone through yet, and I can't see how he can get a work permit. The argument will be based on his "World Youth Cup player of the tournament" award. Well though he played, he wouldn't have been my choice. Five of that side have since seen action with the senior Brazil team. He's not among them, which tells you something.

  He's certainly promising, talented and versatile - more of a second, support striker than an out-and-out centre forward. But he has yet really to establish himself in domestic Brazilian football. Sao Paulo loaned him out to Vitoria in 2010, where he did OK in a relegated side, and then last year he was a bit-part substitute.

  He's also prone to youthful petulance - and at the moment I think QPR need something more solid than a good long-term gamble.

  Q) I remember watching Giuliano, who captained Brazil in the 2009 Under-20 World Cup. He looked similar to Kaka, and was really skilful. What is the latest news on him?
  Gary Thompson

  A) A terrific little player, who was voted player of the Copa Libertadores in 2010 when he helped Internacional win the title.

  I'm not too sure about the Kaka comparison. Giuliano is squatter, without the same prolonged acceleration. But he's certainly more versatile, capable of filling any role in the midfield.

  I've watched him make steady progress since playing for Brazil at Under-17 level. At every stage he always looked better than the last - which made me disappointed when he moved to Ukraine to join Dnipro.

  It doesn't seem to have worked out - I'm told that the switch to a long-ball style has not been good for him. Gremio are optimistic of bringing him back to Brazil in the next few days.

• Jose Pekerman takes Colombia back to the future

  Posted: January 16, 2012, 11:11 am by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  Pep Guardiola as coach of Argentina's national team? It was an idea floated recently by Argentine FA boss Julio Grondona, but as nothing more than a pipedream.

  It is very, very hard to imagine Argentina having a foreign coach. Same with Brazil.

  The idea was debated briefly in the Brazilian press just over a decade ago. But that was in exceptional times, when the national team were in danger of not qualifying for the 2002 World Cup.

  Over recent decades there have been very few foreign coaches in Brazilian or Argentine club football - those that took the plunge were usually gone sooner rather than later.

  

  62-year-old Argentine coach Jose Pekerman is set to lead the Colombia national team. Photo: Getty

  The other member of South America's traditional big three is Uruguay.
  
  It is an indication of how far they had slipped that after missing out on the World Cups of 1994 and 98 they swallowed their pride and appointed a high profile Argentine, Daniel Passarella, to take charge of their national team.

  It did not last long, and Uruguay have since climbed back to the top table under the command of a local, Oscar Washington Tabarez.

  Elsewhere on the continent, only two national teams have home grown coaches - and in both cases, they are building on foundations which foreigners helped to build.

  Paraguay have enjoyed the most successful spell in their history, qualifying for four consecutive World Cups, never easily beaten and reaching the quarter finals for the first time in 2010, where they gave eventual champions Spain their toughest match of the tournament. The coaches behind this run were Brazilian (Paulo Cesar Carpegiani), Uruguayan (Sergio Markarian and Anibal Ruiz, with a bizarre interlude in between them from the Italian Cesare Maldini) and Argentine (Gerardo Martino).

  Now they have gone local, appointing one of their best players in this process, the former right back Francisco Arce.

  And Venezuela's extraordinary recent rise began just over a decade ago when an Argentine, Jose Omar Pastoriza, identified a promising group of young players.
  He helped lay the groundwork, and then results improved when locals took over, first Richard Paez and now Cesar Farias.

  Bolivia can claim their coach Gustavo Quinteros as one of their own.

  He played international football for the country, including the 1994 World Cup. But he is from Argentina, where he was born, grew up and first developed as a footballer, only taking out Bolivian nationality after he had played in the country for a few years.
  Chile are also coached by an Argentine, Claudio Borghi, while Peru have gone Uruguayan with Sergio Markarian.

  These appointments clearly show the dynamic of South American football.

  The British introduced the game to the continent, especially in the south cone.

  It caught on with remarkable speed in Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, all cities going through rapid booms of urbanisation and immigration.
  The local re-interpretation of the British game soon made it an important part of national identities in these countries - who then helped popularise the game elsewhere in the continent.

  Far bigger than Uruguay, and without Brazil's linguistic isolation, Argentina played the lead role in this process - perhaps more successfully in Colombia than anywhere else.
  The launch of a professional league in Colombia in the late 1940s coincided with a big players' strike in Argentina.

  Unable to make a living at home, some big name players moved north. Stars such as Adolfo Pedernera, Alfredo Di Stefano and Nestor Rossi left a refined Argentine imprint on Colombian football.

  

  Since the heyday of players like Carlos Valderrama, Colombia have lost their way as a footballing force. Photo: Getty

  In 1993, when Colombia beat Argentina 5-0 in Buenos Aires (inflicting the first ever home defeat in a World Cup qualifier) the debt was obvious.

  Colombia's Carlos Valderrama dominated the game like an old style Argentine number 10. It looked like the birth of a new global power.

  Since then Colombia have lost their way. The Colombian school of coaches have had more success in Ecuador, where first Francisco Maturana, then Hernan Dario Gomez followed by Luis Fernando Suarez, and now Reinaldo Rueda have coached the national team.

  It probably makes sense for Ecuador to have a foreign coach - it is easier for an outsider to stand aloof from tensions between the two major cities, the port of Guayaquil and the mountain capital of Quito. But it is striking that these Colombian coaches have done better with Ecuador (much smaller and with less football tradition) than at home.

  Perhaps some of the explanation lies in the trauma of 1994. In that year's World Cup, unable to cope with the expectations, Colombia imploded, with tragic consequences for centre back Andres Escobar, murdered in Medellin.

  The national team were supposed to be ambassadors for the positive side of their country. Instead their World Cup failure ended up attracting global attention to the drug cartel-fuelled chaos that was mid 90s Colombia.

  The national team - a splendid, attractive one, capable of beating anyone outside the pressures of a World Cup - suffered a kind of guilt by association.

  The team and its playing style were seen as discredited. Never since has the Colombian national side had a sense of footballing identity, a clear idea of who it is and what it is trying to do.

  It is in this light that the appointment of Argentina's Jose Pekerman to coach the national team looks so positive.

  Of course, it would have been better had he taken charge eighteen months ago, rather than three games into the current set of World Cup qualifiers.

  But even with limited preparation time it looks a perfect fit. Pekerman played in Colombia, he has a magnificent record in youth development and his 2006 Argentina side was one of the most attractive seen in recent World Cups.

  Built around the playmaking talents of Juan Roman Riquelme, it was almost a retro side, the type of old fashioned Argentine football that was so influential in Colombia.

  Pekerman, then, should be able to help Colombian football get in touch with its lost identity. He is the first foreigner to take charge of the national team in 30 years.

  Some might see it as a backward step. But when you have lost your way, sometimes you have to go back to go forwards.

  Please comment on the piece in the space provided below. You can send questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

  From last week's postbag:

  Q: What are your thoughts about Dorlan Pabón of Colombia? To me he is a technical player with a lot of potential and a good burst of speed. Is there any chance he might make the move to Europe?
  Adam Slater

  I'm surprised there hasn't been more fuss about him. He's ideal for a wide attacking position, on the right in a 4-2-3-1, for example.

  He's stocky, strong, very quick and can shoot well off either foot, with two goals already in World Cup qualification.

  I'm really looking forward to seeing him play for Atletico Nacional of Medellin in this year's Libertadores, especially now that playmaker Macnelly Torres has returned to the club.

  Pabon has attracted interest from Argentina, but I certainly think he's worthy of wider recognition.

• Messi: The best is yet to come

  Posted: January 9, 2012, 10:22 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  Seven years ago, at the start of 2005, I was covering the South American Under-20 Championships in Colombia's coffee-growing region when I came across something that gave me a far bigger buzz than the local produce.

  It was a short, shambling 17-year-old with the air of the pigeon-toed runt of the litter. His name was Lionel Messi.

  Messi had already been at Barcelona for nearly four years and had played one friendly for the senior side but he was an unknown in Argentina. Yet from the first time that he picked up the ball, it was obvious that he would not remain unknown for very long.

  

  Lionel Messi has now won the Ballon d'Or three times and is still only 24 year old. Photo: Getty

  The greatest pleasure in what I do is getting a sneak preview of tomorrow's talents - and in the years I have been doing it, "discovering" Lionel Messi has given me more pleasure than anything else.

  First, there is that extraordinary talent. Diego Maradona said of Messi that his control of the ball is so good that he can dribble while watching TV. I would add that he could also change channels, while changing direction at a pace and an angle that leaves defenders feeling dizzy.

  There is also his simple and unassuming joy at his own talent, plus the fact that he understands that the game is collective. During the Fifa awards ceremony at which he won a third Ballon d'Or, Barcelona team-mate Xavi commented that Messi is a player who does almost everything in two touches. There is no showboating, no elaborate attempts to humiliate his opponent or play to the crowd.

  There is also his body shape, emphasising the universality of football - all shapes and sizes can find a place in the global game. In a cynical age, there is so much that is refreshing about Messi.

  Seven years on from my first sighting of him, I am delighted he has won a third successive Ballon d'Or - and just as delighted that he does not seem to regard winning the prize as a special highlight.

  He is sufficiently grounded and understands the game well enough to know that, in a team sport, such awards are a consequence rather than an objective.

  Three consecutive World Player of the Year awards clearly marks Messi out as the best of his time. But the best of all time? That is much more complicated, a subjective and ultimately frustrating debate.

  The greats of the past would have loved to receive the same protection from referees that today's top players take for granted. Judged by contemporary criteria, the punishment handed out to Pele or Maradona would not just be worthy of a red card, it would bring a jail sentence.

  Then there is also the issue of the World Cup - the greatest stage for Pele and Maradona. In Messi's defence, it seems clear that club football - and especially the Champions League - has superseded the World Cup as football's main event.

  Barcelona are clearly superior to Spain, for example. But, while Messi does not bring his club form into a World Cup, there will always be a question mark against him. Not so much about his ability, more about his temperament.

  At Barcelona, he is the brightest cog in a wheel that spins with mechanical precision. With Argentina, the wheel is always threatening to come off its axle. Can Messi flower in less fertile soil? Can he show the leadership to haul his compatriots in the right direction?

  As the little man himself would say, he has only just started. He should have at least two World Cups ahead of him to silence the doubters. Plus a decade more in the Champions League.

  The first seven years have been the aperitif. I can hardly wait for the main course.

• Football is a class act

  Posted: January 9, 2012, 11:57 am by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  Over the festive season many South American players celebrated their break from football – by organising games of football, often for charity.

  With all the complaints about too much football, this might seem like strange behaviour.

  But these Christmas and new year kickabouts have none of the pressure of their normal professional careers.

  Most top footballers seem to agree that they got more enjoyment from playing when they were kids when everything was more care-free.

  

  Lionel Messi left his home country Argentina at an early age to join Spanish club Barcelona and is now regarded as the best player in the world. Photo: Getty

  These days their bodies are stretched to the limit – often in ways that carry long-term consequences.

  Their work, sometimes their very self-worth, is played out, judged and at times found wanting in front of thousands in the stadium and a TV audience of millions.

  There are less stressful ways of making a living – but what a living. After two years at a top club, a player can have earned so much that he never needs to work again.

  There is an obvious case to be made about the distribution of wealth but many of those who attack footballers’ earnings feel that respect and the big money should go, in the recent words of one British politician, to those who perform “serious hard work”.

  It is hard to avoid the conclusion that there is some class prejudice in this. Golf stars, Formula One drivers and the top tennis players never seem to attract the same criticism – but they are usually middle class.

  The footballers, meanwhile, have triumphed in an activity that has few barriers to entry.

  A top player for a major Premier League club may have been born in a poor area of somewhere like Ecuador or Senegal. What carries him there is his own merit.

  Unlike many walks of life, having a famous father can only get you so far.

  It is open to all and football is one of the most-competitive areas of contemporary life.

  Those who shine in it are putting on a show that is enjoyed by countless millions.

  Throw in the risk of injury and the short duration of the career and it becomes hard to begrudge footballers their pay packets.

  Handing over so much money to these young men is not without problems, however.

  One of my favourite quotes about the game comes from the Argentina’s 1978 World Cup-winning coach Cesar Luis Menotti.

  He said: “To be a footballer means being a privileged interpreter of the feelings and dreams of many, many people.”

  A player is important in terms of who he represents but it becomes easier to forget this when the rivers of money are flowing.

  Players are more inclined to act like private companies, where the objective of the exercise is to use the prestige won on the pitch as a passport to ‘the life’ – an extended version of a pop video or a double-page spread in a glossy celebrity magazine.

  Even more worrying than this inversion of values is the transformation of youngsters into commodities.

  In Brazil there are promising 15 year olds whose families have stopped working.

  Everyone has become a support structure to the teenage prodigy, the boy prince forced to carry the economic hopes of his entire family.

  It is clearly not right to burden an adolescent with such responsibilities.

  No wonder some of these players look back so fondly on care-free childhood football.

  In this awkward balancing act between business and culture, the truly great footballers have something in common.

  They exist in an adult world of sponsorship, contracts and cost-benefit analysis – but, when they take the field, they are able to retain some of that youthful spirit of play.

  They also understand the game well enough to know that its greatest pleasures are collective. It is a case of, ‘What we achieved together’ rather than, ‘Did you see my freestyle trick?’

  The previous two paragraphs could serve as a description of Barcelona and Argentina superstar Lionel Messi.

  A few weeks ago he hurried back across the Atlantic after playing in two grueling World Cup qualifiers for his country.

  Should Barcelona rest him at the weekend? Coach Pep Guardiola thought not. “Playing football fulfils him,” Guardiola said.

  There is never any sense with Messi that being a footballer plays second fiddle to living the life of a celebrity. Guardiola’s selection paid off.

  Messi played and scored as Barcelona swept Zaragoza aside. He played with verve and spark, with joy and also with team spirit.

  Messi hardly seems to care about individual awards. And because he plays that way, he keeps winning them.

  And he is on the podium once more, the unassuming little guy within reach of another Fifa World Player of the Year award.
  
  Please comment on the piece in the space provided below. You can send questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com and I’ll pick out a couple for next week.

  From last week’s postbag.
  
  Q: A lot has been made of Santos's rise to the top of South American football, with Neymar grabbing all the headlines, along with his young Brazilian team-mate Ganso. But what has Elano brought to the team? I always thought he was a classy player but he always seemed to be unsettled. Has playing second fiddle to Neymar helped him recapture top form?
  Odhran Livingstone

  He has not brought too much to the team of late. Elano has had a bad few months, with loss of form and injuries. He has indeed had a strange career – a very useful part of Dunga’s Brazil side, and branded as world-class for a few months at Manchester City. As you say, he was frequently unsettled. Perhaps he has been a victim of his own versatility? In form and in the right frame of mind, there is plenty he can bring to the centenary year of Santos, from his superbly struck set-pieces to his capacity to operate in a number of functions. This is a big year for him.
  
  Q: I was watching the excellent documentary Senna recently and I'm currently fascinated by this amazing man. I was wondering how he was viewed in Brazil.
  Stuart Banham
  
  Ayrton Senna remains a revered national hero. I remember being on a beach on the Sao Paulo coast in April 1993, when suddenly everyone was on their feet cheering and celebrating. Why? Because Senna had just won a Grand Prix in England. I couldn’t think of anyone in our culture who would provoke the same scale of response. He was successful in that long, dry time when Brazil was not winning World Cups – and also when there was little to celebrate in Brazilian public and economic life.
  The fact that he was a rich kid winning in the sport of rich kids is also important. Middle-class Brazilians could relate to him more easily than to many of the footballers.

• Vargas and Neymar battle for player of the year accolade

  Posted: January 2, 2012, 10:28 am by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  In the last competitive game of the South American season, Eduardo Vargas scored a goal that made sure Universidad de Chile won the domestic title, and also highlighted why Napoli are taking him across the Atlantic.

  Vargas broke from the halfway line. Cobreloa defender Sebastian Roco, worried about his pace, kept backing off. Vargas' control of the ball at pace was so good that he was able to do two things.

  First, make a little change of angle to give himself more room. Second, look up and appreciate the situation unfolding around him. He had seen that keeper Nicolas Peric was a few metres off his line. Without breaking stride, Vargas unleashed a beautifully precise chip, over Peric but under the bar.
  

  It is this type of talent that has made the 22-year-old the outstanding figure of the last few months of South American football; but not the player of the year. It was a two horse race, but Neymar of Brazil and Santos pulled away to win the annual prize organised by the Uruguayan newspaper, El Pais.

  Vargas came on strongly towards the end of the year, but the first half of 2011 belonged to Neymar. His year began with the South American Under-20 Championship, and a four-goal haul against Paraguay that had even the Argentine press branding him 'Neymaradona.'

  

  Eduardo Vargas scored twice as Universidad de Chile won the Copa Sudamericana with a 3-0 home win over Liga de Quito of Ecuador. Photo: Getty

  He was then the key figure as Santos won the Copa Libertadores for the first time since 1963. But from a purely individual point of view, his highlight probably came at the end of July with a goal he scored against Flamengo.

  Picking up possession wide on the left, he ran diagonally across the pitch, with a quick exchange of passes and then, on the edge of the area, coming up with an extraordinary dribble past centre-back Ronaldo Angelim.

  Neymar opened out his body and played the ball past the defender with his left foot, emerging round the other side to poke right footed past the keeper. It was as if Neymar had passed to himself. In a fraction of a second he had become two players, and worked his own two-against-one situation against an experienced defender.

  Neymar and Vargas going head to head for the 'player of the Americas' title is a good sign. Both are worthy inheritors of a great tradition.

  A few years ago Brazilian centre-back Juan mused on the differences between top players in Europe and in his country - though in effect he might as well have been speaking about his own continent.

  "Technically, the Europeans are better than the Brazilians in terms of passing, shooting, heading," he said, which is not as surprising as it might seem, given that the extra pace of European football means that functions need to be executed faster. "But we have more ability, with an unmatched capacity to dribble."

  This ability to come up with an improvised solution - showcased by Vargas and Neymar in their superb goals - is a trademark of the South American game. It could be seen as a metaphor for the survival skills needed by the poor kid born on the wrong side of the tracks, where a sharp eye and a quick mind come in handy for taking advantage of the fleeting opportunities that life throws up.

  Then, of course, there is the dynamic of football. One generation inspires the next. Kids in Brazil aim to place themselves in the tradition of Neymar and all those greats who came before him. Chilean kids will be trying to emulate Vargas, now of Napoli, and also his magnificently talented Barcelona-based compatriot Alexis Sanchez.

  But what of British kids? One of the most fascinating aspects of football is its global dimension. Tactical innovations can be born in Holland and picked up years later in Colombia.

  Local culture clearly has a major impact, but the competitive nature of the game means that there is a constant trade of information, ideas and, especially these days, of players as well.

  When I left England in 1994, the Premier League was still an overwhelmingly domestic concern. Much has happened since and the pace of the change has been breathtaking.

  In my childhood footballing idols were often all action, charge-through-the-mud types. I don't even remember us giving any attention to free kicks - apart from during the 1974 World Cup, when Rivelino's rockets made a big impression. I imagine that these days the curling free kick is a normal part of a kid's skill set.

  And are there kids in Middlesbrough growing up trying to copy Juninho? Or young Manchester City fans seeking to pick up Sergio Aguero's capacity to conjure something out of nothing? I would love to set off a debate this week about how football's globalisation has changed the way that British kids approach the game when (or if?) they go to the park for a kickabout.

  Perhaps there are kids out there capable of the same kind of improvised genius of a Neymar or an Vargas. It is a nice thought to kick off 2012.

  Comments on the piece in the space below. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

  From last week's postbag;
  
  Q) Could you please give me your views on Erik Lamela and tell me if his move to Roma was a good one for him?
  Sean Deneen
  
  A) A class act, I think. Elegant, lovely left foot, good vision, combines well and has a surprising change of pace. I saw plenty of him while he was at River Plate, and felt sorry for him. They were in dire crisis and expecting a teenager to solve their problems on his own, which is clearly unfair. I haven't seen much of him since the move to Roma, but I did see that Totti said that Lamela is his heir, which is high praise indeed.
  
  Q) Welliton Soares de Morais or simply Welliton who plays for Spartak in Russia looks to switch nationality if he is not called up for the Brazilian national team. He seems a very exciting striker who can lead the entire front line with his electric pace and stellar finishing. He is a sturdy little striker who I believe can be a nuisance for any defence. Having scored nearly 60 goals in 90 appearances, how has he not been called up by Brazil? What are your thoughts on a possible call-up and why do you think he is frequently overlooked when others such as Vagner Love have previously represented their country?
  Imran Bobat
  
  A) I like him a lot, but he has a big problem in terms of a Brazil call-up - he doesn't really have much of a constituency in Brazil. He played for Goias, an unglamorous provincial club and though the occasional game from Russia can be seen on Brazilian TV, he has largely been forgotten at home. Brazil coach Mano Menezes has called up a few surprise choices, so he can't be totally ruled out. But his call up would be the kind of thing the Brazilian press would attack, along the lines of 'who is this unknown?' and 'we must be able to find a better striker who plays for a Brazilian club'.
  

• La U accompliments unforgettable despite defeat

  Posted: December 26, 2011, 1:40 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  It is finally over. After 36 games, the unbeaten run of Universidad de Chile came to an end last Thursday when they went down 2-1 to Santiago rivals Universidad Catolica (an interesting side themselves - look out for right-back Stefano Magnasco and left-footed striker Kevin Harbottle).

  The long awaited defeat of 'La U' (the previous one was in July) came in bizarre circumstances. At 1-1 and with the game in stoppage time, they looked in total control - until the usually excellent midfielder Marcelo Diaz misplaced a pass out of defence and Catolica's Jose Luis Villanueva fired in a cross shot to win the game.

  Apart from ending the run, the goal was irrelevant. It came in the second leg of the semi-final of the Chilean championship, and was not enough to prevent La U marching into the final against Cobreloa, with first leg on Boxing Day and the return match on Thursday.
  

  In truth, losing the unbeaten run was not a complete shock. La U achieved their main objective nearly two weeks ago, winning the Copa Sudamericana (Europa League equivalent) to claim their first international title. Perhaps inevitably, as the end of the season approaches the standard of their play has dropped.

  They are strong favourites to overcome Cobreloa and win a 15th domestic championship, but opposing coach Nelson Acosta is a wily old fox, and will be planning a surprise or two.

  In a way, the outcome hardly matters. What La U have done this year will not be forgotten in a hurry, and will surely be studied all around the continent.

  

  The Universidad de Chile"s players show their Copa Sudamerica trophy to fans, as they stand on a balcony at La Moneda government palace in Santiago, Chile.

  Earlier this month I was in the audience when Jordi Mestre, Barcelona's director in charge of youth development, gave a lecture at a conference of Brazilian coaches. What he had to say set the tone for the entire two days of the event, and his message takes on even more significance after the massacre of 18 December, when Barcelona barely broke sweat as they swatted aside South American champions Santos in the final of the World Club Cup.

  Discussion after Mestre had spoken centred on some of the differences between the two sides of the Atlantic. He had outlined Barcelona's commitment to imparting humanistic values, which not only helped the future development of the many who do not make the grade at the highest level, but also helps ensure that those who go on to become stars do not behave like stars.

  "We have a lot to learn from that," said Brazil national team coach Mano Menezes, who was also struck by another key plank of Barcelona's philosophy of formation.

  Mestre made it clear that match results do not matter in youth development. From the youngest age group right the way up to the Barca B side, winning is never the priority.
  "We can't live without results, even with our youth sides," said Menezes. The explanation for this is clear - youth coaches are badly paid in Brazil, and are looking to win titles to attract attention and move up to something more lucrative.

  This ties in with another major difference identified by Menezes - Barcelona's work is long term. They have a way of playing and a philosophy of play that has been decades in the making. Mestre dated it to the late 1980s when Johann Cruyff took over as coach.
  The club have a collective project. Menezes lamented that in Brazil there is no such thing. Projects are individual, depending on the philosophy of the coach. Then he gets sacked and a new direction is sought.

  All of this makes Barcelona a difficult reference point for South American clubs. Conciliating the long term with the short is always a big problem in the management of a football club. Culture and conditions in South America will always give priority to the short term. How to make an impact now?

  This is where Universidad de Chile come in, because Barcelona's humbling of Santos was not the only emblematic result involving a South American club in 2011.

  That 36-game unbeaten run of La U includes wins against opponents from Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina and Ecuador. The most astonishing of which was in October, when they won 4-0 away to Flamengo of Brazil, and could easily have doubled the margin of victory.

  Up against much wealthier and more prestigious rivals, La U destroyed them with a collective philosophy of play. In general terms, a good pass in football is one that gives the man receiving possession the option to play a first-time ball. This does not only need precision of passing, it needs the team to be compact.

  Most of La U's passes fit this criteria. At full steam the team is one living, breathing unit, not broken up into attackers and defenders but with everyone participating both with and without the ball.

  The quality of La U's play earned them the nickname 'the Barcelona of South America' - an exaggeration, but one which pays enormous tribute to electric little Argentine coach Jorge Sampaoli. Unlike Barca boss Pep Guardiola, he is not the inheritor of a club philosophy.

  True, Universidad de Chile seem to have a solid base behind them. After flirting with bankruptcy, they and some other Chilean clubs are now being run on business lines, and results have improved. Last year La U became the first Chilean club to reach the semi-finals of the Copa Libertadores since 1997.

  But that was a very different team with a very different playing style - Uruguayan coach Gerardo Pelusso played a counter-attacking game. After the Libertadores campaign key players were sold, results suffered and Pelusso left.

  Sampaoli walked in and in a short space of time, with players he inherited, was able to mould his side to play in a completely different manner, one which has lit up the continent not just for the results it has produced, but for the eye-catching, swashbuckling style in which they have been achieved.

  What he has done, others should be able to. The bar has been set for South American teams in 2012.

  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

  From last week's postbag;
  Q) Now that the Colombian national team manager has been let go, what are your thoughts? Is it too soon? They have a wonderful team, capable of winning against any of the other teams on a given day, but they lack consistency and surely a coaching change like this will add to the instability?
  Josh Davis

  A) Lionel Alvarez has been sacked after one bad game, or perhaps one bad half - the second 45 minutes at home to Argentina last month. As his old mate Carlos Valderrama commented, all the Colombian FA seem to know how to do is sack coaches.
  Valderrama and all the old timers seem to be agreed on one point. Colombia lack an identity, a collective philosophy of play. Changing coaches every three months is not the way to find one.
  

• What Brazil can learn from Barcelona

  Posted: December 18, 2011, 5:24 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  In 1924, Uruguay arrived as unknowns at the Olympic football tournament in Paris, took everyone apart on the way to winning the gold medal and changed football forever.

  The enthusiasm they set off led to the birth of the World Cup six years later. And like so many significant events in football, it was not just because they won - it was because of the way they did it.

  Contemporary accounts raved about them. Influential journalist Gabriel Hanot praised their "marvellous virtuosity in receiving the ball, controlling it and using it," and drew attention to their "beautiful football, elegant but at the same time varied, rapid, powerful, effective."

  It was South American football appearing before the world. It came from Uruguay, but it could have been Argentina. And within a few years, it could also have been Brazil.

  Instead of the dominant, hard running, muscular Christianity style dictated by the English, this was something more subtle and balletic, made to measure for the short player with a low centre of gravity.
  

  Barca added yet another trophy to their collection with a comfortable win in Japan. Photo - Getty

  Fast forward 87 years. Two teams played in Japan on Sunday with the World Club title at stake. Hanot's words apply to one of them - and it is not the South American.

  Like watching Muhammad Ali against some outgunned challenger, Barcelona's destruction of Santos was as joyful as it was clinical. Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas and Lionel Messi ran rings round Santos as if the Brazilians were traffic cones in a training exercise.

  According to the dominant current of thought in Brazil in recent years, this sort of thing is not supposed to happen. The physical evolution of the game, it was thought, had made it impossible. In this modern football of reduced space, the central midfielders need to be six-footers, big and strong enough to win the 50-50 balls and protect the defence.

  And there was no point in possession football - a move with more than seven passes had a reduced chance of ending up in a goal. The way to win was to block the middle and look for quick counter attacks and set-pieces.

  And the quality of the play? "If you want to see a spectacle," says Santos coach Muricy Ramalho, "then go to the theatre." Or maybe go to watch his side taken apart in such style by Barcelona.

  In football the idea comes first. And the line of thinking helps explain the type of players produced. In Neymar Santos could count on a Messi equivalent. But where is the Xavi or the Iniesta? Brazilian football no longer has them because it is not looking to produce them. They do not fit the mould.

  Perhaps the closest in recent times is the ex-Barcelona player Deco, who struggled for space at home and made his career abroad.

  Instead of mobile little intelligent passing midfielders, Brazil has excelled in producing flying attacking full-backs - something Barcelona have successfully assimilated into their model. And also tall, unimaginative, limited central midfielders. These Barcelona can do without.

  The set-piece and counter-attack model could have worked on Sunday. After six minutes, the game still goalless, Neymar got into a threatening position in his team's first counter-attack. Carles Puyol snuffed out the danger. But imagine if Neymar had eluded the tackle and gone on to score. Santos could have parked the bus with even more conviction.

  Internacional of Porto Alegre managed to do it to win the world title five years ago - admittedly against a version of Barcelona inferior to this one. With the talent of Paulo Henrique Ganso and Neymar, Santos would surely have carved out further opportunities on the counter. There are many different courses that a single game can take.
  

  Brazilian star Neymar still has much to learn from the world's best player. Photo - Getty

  But it is almost certainly in the long-term interests of the Brazilian game that Sunday's game panned out as it did. Because now there is no hiding place.

  Five years ago Internacional had a ready-made excuse. The massive financial imbalance between European and South American football left them with no alternative but to fight from a trench.

  That line no longer works. Brazilian clubs are benefiting from the country's economic boom. In the conditions of five years ago Neymar would already be playing his football in Europe.

  In the new environment, Santos have managed to find a fortune to retain him. Since winning the Libertadores in June they have added to their squad, acquiring centre-forward Borges as well as midfielders Henrique and Ibson.

  It was not economic power that tipped the balance in Yokohama. Santos were undone by a collective footballing philosophy to which, despite months of preparation, they could find no answer.

  After Barcelona had beaten Al Sadd in Thursday's semi-final the Brazilian media were quick to criticise the Qatari team, casting aspersions on the fledgling nature of football in the region.

  Totally forgotten was the fact that Al Sadd are Asian champions, and therefore, on paper at least, a notch above Kashiwa Reysol of Japan, who had given Santos such problems 24 hours earlier.

  Come the final, the first half of Barcelona-Santos was a replica of the Al Sadd game. With the difference that since Santos had gone into the match with such expectations they were much sadder.

  But the story could have a happy ending. Defeat is always an opportunity to learn, and a defeat this emphatic could serve as a turning point in the country's footballing culture.

  There is much that Brazil can take from Barcelona - which does not mean slavishly copying something from outside. If anything, it means getting in touch with a lapsed tradition of intelligent, collective midfield play, of passing through the team and all over the field. It means making sure that Gabriel Hanot's words apply once more on the Brazilian side of the Atlantic.
  
  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.
  From last week's postbag;
  
  Q) Why do you think not much effort is put in advertising Latin American clubs or tournaments in Asia? Especially when there are millions of fans here, crazy about Brazil & Argentina and have been so for decades. This could easily translate to a lot of revenue for the clubs, as some of their big European counterparts are doing.
  Anirban Ghosh
  
  A) It's an excellent point. I think Boca Juniors in Argentina are relatively advanced in terms of their global profile. But the Brazilian clubs, though they talk of 'internationalising their brand,' are missing huge opportunities.

  I saw a lecture of Sao Paulo directors a few years back were they gave figures for the number of fans that cubs have. But they were only counting the fans of Brazilian clubs in Brazil, the fans of Mexican clubs in Mexico, and so on. 'How little you understand,' I thought to myself.

  It's not always easy for these people to think in global terms. The big Brazilian clubs, for example, are locked into a calendar that doesn't even give them space to take part in pre-season tournaments in Europe, Asia or North America.

• Universidad de Chile target Barca showdown

  Posted: December 12, 2011, 2:00 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  Crunch time is approaching for this year’s two outstanding South American clubs. Over the next few days both Santos of Brazil and Universidad de Chile are seeking to scale new heights.

  The Chileans, ‘la U’ for short, extended their unbeaten run to 34 games on Sunday, brushing aside Union Espanola to book their place in the semi-finals of the local championship.

  This, though, is hardly the priority. They already have 14 Chilean titles to their name, including the first of the two played this year.

  

  FC Barcelona midfielder Xavi (centre) and other players warm up during their training session in Yokohama, in Japan, ahead of their involvement in the Fifa World Club Championship. Photo: Getty

  What they do not have is an international trophy - yet. Another unbeaten game on Wednesday night will guarantee them the Copa Sudamericana, the continent’s Europa League equivalent.

  Much of the hard work has been done. Last week in the first leg of the final they won 1-0 away to LDU, or Liga of Quito.

  The altitude of the Ecuadorian capital forced them into a defensive change, sacrificing a winger in favour of a holding midfielder.

  But on Wednesday in Santiago it should be business as usual. ‘La U’ will surely take to the field with their customary two wingers and a central striker.

  They will defend with a high line, marking aggressively, seeking to keep the opponent under constant mental and physical pressure, winning possession in the opponent’s half, and exchanging quick passes in the dynamic style which has captivated the continent.

  It is the way that coach Argentine Jorge Sampaoli sends his team out to play. The little coach is every bit as dynamic as his team, constantly pacing up and down - and frequently outside - his technical area as if he is running on batteries.

  His side have been dubbed ‘the Barcelona of the Americas.’ Sampaoli is rightly quick to play it down. But the comparison is not without foundation.

  Because in that fascinating way that footballing ideas can bounce around the globe, there is a common link.

  Barcelona freely acknowledge the role of Johann Cruyff as the father of the club’s on-pitch philosophy.

  His appointment of coach over 20 years ago led to the long-term adoption of many of the principles and practices of the Ajax and Netherlands teams in which he had starred.

  The Netherlands team of 1974 (and their so-called Total Football) also proved extremely influential in South America.

  Brazil tried to copy them in 1978 and the excellent Colombia team of the late 80s and early 90s also borrowed many ideas from Cruyff and company.

  But the South American coach most successful in capturing the dynamism of the Dutch has been Marcelo Bielsa, the Argentine who took his native land to the 2002 World Cup and then did such impressive work with Chile, who won over the neutrals last year in South Africa.

  Sampaoli is a Bielsa disciple. After spells in Peru and Ecuador he has found that the work carried out by his mentor has made Chile fertile ground for his ideas.

  His side have been a joy to watch - their 4-0 hammering of Flamengo in Rio is my football highlight of the year.

  It is worth pointing out that they also knocked out Vasco da Gama on their way to the final.

  It is often the case that Brazilian clubs have problems against teams which operate with strikers in wide spaces - a pertinent thought as Santos prepare to meet Pep Guardiola’s men, ‘la U of Europe,’ with the Fifa Club World Cup in Japan at stake.

  In 1962 and 63, with Pele at his peak, Santos beat the European Cup winners to win the old Intercontinental Cup. Now all the continents are involved, which increases the prestige, but also the risks.

  Santos have to negotiate Kashima Reysol of Japan in a semi-final, while Barcelona face Al Sadd of Qatar.

  As well as winning their own game, Santos will also hope that there is no slip-up from the Catalans.

  They have been dreaming of a clash with Barcelona ever since they were crowned South American champions back in June.

  This gives them a clear advantage in preparation. As their 10th place finish in the Brazilian Championship shows, Santos have been on extended holidays.

  Barcelona, meanwhile, have been in competitive action right up to Saturday night. Compared with the trip to Real Madrid, this tournament in Japan is almost an afterthought. For Santos it has been in every thought.

  The other factor that may level the playing field is the fact that Barcelona do not have a monopoly on outstanding individual talent.

  Neymar of Santos is undeniably something special, and though injury hit and the recipient of dangerously early hype, playmaker Paulo Henrique Ganso is a wonderful prospect.

  Should both sides make the final it will be fascinating to see how the Santos pair cope with the high- pressure marking of Barcelona.

  The prospect of a great game lies in the view that Santos can do more than hold on for grim death and seek to snatch a win with a single counter attack.

  If Ganso can pass into space behind the Barcelona line, or if Neymar can cut through it with one of his dribbles then things could be very interesting.

  And there is another area where Santos will look to cause damage. If coach Muricy Ramalho has cause to regret the injury suffered by specialist midfield marker Adriano, he can celebrate the return to fitness of Elano.

  From the ‘if you want to see a spectacle then go the theatre’ school of coaches, Ramalho has built a reputation producing teams that are more efficient than eye-catching.

  He won three consecutive Brazilian titles with Sao Paulo, whose captain and goalkeeper Rogerio Ceni recalls that “he never wanted to take risks.

  He set up a strong system of marking, he liked to have a tall team and he paid a lot of attention to set pieces.”

  Elano is his best striker of corners and free kicks. Without much height in their team, Barcelona could be vulnerable to his delivery.

  Every time Neymar goes to ground within range of goal Muricy Ramalho will be licking his lips and dreaming of glory.
  
  You can comment on this article below and send questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com and I’ll pick out a couple for next week.
  From last week’s postbag:
  
  Q) A question from a Manchester United fan about Rodrigo Possebon: I was really disappointed when we sold him, as he looked really promising before he had his injury, and I feel we didn't give him enough time to rediscover his form. How has he been doing back "home" with Santos?
  Tomjedur Rahman
  
  A) So far it looks as if United were right to say goodbye. He’s played - either covering for injuries or as part of a reserve side. But he has made little impression, and hasn’t even been included in the squad for the 2011 Fifa Club World Cup.
  
  Q) I remember watching a player called Diego Markic at the 1997 Under-20 World Cup and being extremely impressed with him. I think he captained the Argentina Under-20 side on occasions in that campaign and for me was one of the outstanding players in a side featuring Cambiasso, Walter Samuel, Juan Riquelme, and Pablo Aimar. I believe he played as a central midfielder, sweeper or centre-back and looked like a quality prospect. I wondered what happened to him?
  Chris Smith
  
  A) This is probably a case of a player shining early as a result of premature physical development. For the Under-23s at the start of 2000 it was obvious that he was massively short of top level. He gave Bari in Italy sound service for a while, but has been retired for a few years and is now assistant coach at Tigre in Argentina’s first division.
  
  Q) Like many people I was mesmerised by the Brazil side of 1982 which was top heavy with midfielders but dazzling to watch. Do you think that side is the greatest to never win the World Cup when you consider that Netherlands reached World Cup finals in 1974 and 1978?
  Ahmer Khokhar
  
  A) Much as I love Brazil of 1982 I wouldn’t consider them the best non-winners ever. Even as a third choice centre forward they could have done better than Serginho (Claudio Adao, perhaps) and there was an imbalance in the team between the left and right flanks. Despite their undoubted greatness, I would put a few sides in front - Netherlands of 1974, as you mentioned, but also Hungary of 1954 - and a word, too, for Brazil of 1950, a truly remarkable team unfairly branded as failures because of a few bad minutes.

   

• Socrates so much more than a footballer

  Posted: December 4, 2011, 9:18 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  Just over five years ago, when Brazil’s 1982 World Cup coach Tele Santana died, team captain Socrates recalled the scene in the dressing room after their elimination by Paolo Rossi’s Italy at the second group stage.

  As the media were searching for explanations, there were tears and tantrums, dejection and disappointment. Amid the chaos, Santana stood peacefully, proud of his team and the glorious football they had played – still remembered with extraordinary affection all over the world. They had given it their best shot.

  True, the campaign could have gone on for longer but what memories they left behind. That same philosophy could serve as the epitaph of the captain.

  In order to see this content you need to have both Javascript enabled and Flash installed. Visit BBC Webwise for full instructions. If you're reading via RSS, you'll need to visit the blog to access this content.

  //
  Losing Socrates at the age of 57 seems ludicrously premature. His death hits hard because this is much more than the passing away of a great player. Socrates was an extraordinary talent.

  His synthesis of intelligence and technical brilliance are nowhere better illustrated than in his mastery of the backheel – a resource which gave him an advantage over more physically gifted opponents.

  But he was by no means the greatest. Zico, Falcao and Cerezo, his team-mates in Brazil’s wonderful 1982 midfield, all have claims to be considered better players – an indication of just how exceptional that side really was.

  Socrates may have been best known internationally for his World Cup exploits, especially those of 1982 but, at home, his name is intrinsically linked with his early 1980s spell with Corinthians of Sao Paulo. And his importance went well beyond the football field.

  At the time Brazil was ruled by a military dictatorship. The regime had a cynical slogan aimed at silencing dissent: “Brazil – love it or leave it”.

  Socrates had an alternative – change it. He was the leading light in a movement at the club which became known as “Corinthians Democracy”. Players, coaching staff and club employees would vote on all kinds of issues of interest to the collective – from which players to sign, to whether the team bus should stop to allow people to get off and relieve themselves.

  This was successful in football terms, transforming a struggling team into a cohesive, victorious unit. Corinthians won the Sao Paulo State Championship in 1982 and 83, a time when the title still meant something.

  More than that though, the movement served an educational purpose for millions – imparting the value and virtues of democracy at a time when they were seen as dangerously subversive.

  It was an embryo of a future, better Brazil. This is why Brazil’s president Dilma Rousseff, herself a victim of the military government, referred to Socrates as “a champion of citizenship” on Sunday.
  He was a voice taken from us when he still had so many things to think and to say.

  He was, for example, concerned about Brazil’s preparations to stage the 2014 World Cup.

  Just over a month ago, he said: “[It has been] very badly organised. There is an inversion of values. The way it’s being done, it would be better for Brazil not to have the World Cup. It is a private product that is using public resources.”

  One can agree or disagree. But his was a contribution to the debate that needed to be heard. Certainly it is to be hoped that Ronaldo took note.

  The former striker, now 35, last week joined the board of the 2014 Local Organising Committee, where he clearly runs the risk of being used as a shield by the bungling power structure of the Brazilian game.

  The signs are not promising. In his debut press conference Ronaldo let slip that “you don’t make a World Cup with hospitals” - a comment guaranteed to irritate a trained doctor such as Socrates.

  In 2003, Fifa announced South America would host the 2014 World Cup as part of their policy to rotate the tournament around continents. A year later, the South American Football Confederation voted to hand the tournament to Brazil.

  But the absence of a competitive bidding stage removed discipline from the process.  and, as a result of all the delays, an emergency has been artificially created.

  The only solution is to throw money at the problems which have been allowed to accumulate.

  The power structure will attempt to silence its critics by playing the nationalist card. Anyone not happy with the 2014 World Cup will be guilty of a lack of patriotism.

  But there is no way they would have been able to slip that one past Socrates – whose very name included the word in Portuguese for “Brazilian”.

  A few hours after Socrates Brasileiro Sampaio de Souza Vieira de Oliveira died, Corinthians became champions of Brazil, winning the 2011 championship by a two-point margin from Vasco da Gama.

  Did it happen as a homage to Socrates? Maybe. But Sunday’s title-clincher was a 0-0 draw with local rivals Palmeiras, an ugly game in which four were sent off. Socrates would surely have wanted something more aesthetically pleasing.

  His 57 years with us paid witness to the view that football and life are not just about what you do – the way you do it is at least as important.

  Socrates did it in a way that can make football fans proud that he was one of us.

  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I’ll pick out a couple for next week.

  From last week’s postbag:

  Q) I was just wondering how Lucas Moura's development was going and whether he could be as good as Neymar? I was watching Lucas a lot at the Copa America and he was only a substitute then is he becoming a starter for Brazil now?
  Will Lloyd

  A) He is a very promising talent who has come through reasonably well in his second season with Sao Paulo. He’s quick and direct, retains his speed over distance and scores goals – but I think he was promoted too quickly this year.

  I disagreed with his selection for the Copa America and I think time proved me right. He should have gone to the World Youth Cup where, as the leader of Brazil’s attack, he would have been forced to develop the collective side of his game. At club level, I think there were times when Sao Paulo gave him too much responsibility – especially when, before the recovery of Luis Fabiano, they played him at centre-forward. It’s not his position.

  For Brazil he scored a cracker against a weak Argentina side in September but did not play well in October’s friendlies against Costa Rica and Mexico.

• Brazilian football needs to take the opposition seriously

  Posted: November 28, 2011, 10:48 am by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  I flew back to Brazil from London on the day that the group phase of the Champions League kicked off. I well recall that the talk in England at the time was that the entire group stage was dull and predictable. It was almost too easy for the Premier League sides. But that is not the way things have turned out.

  The gods of football have a tendency to punish such hubris. Perhaps the most famous example is that of the England national team. Begged to appear in the first, pre-war World Cups, England stood imperially aloof. In 1950, when they finally did deign to appear, fate laughed in their faces, reserving for them a sensational 1-0 defeat by the United States.

  Albeit with more justification, Brazilian football can occasionally trip up on a tendency to underestimate the opposition.

  I have always been fascinated with Brazil's displays in the 1974 World Cup. I was nine, it was the first World Cup I had followed and my head was full of tales of how astonishingly brilliant Pele and company had been four years earlier. What would they produce this time?

  Not too much, as it happened. Full of internal problems, the team proved unable to play to anything like its potential.

  I can still remember the glamour of Rivelino's rocket free-kicks, and, in the early stages at least, right winger Valdomiro produced some touches and made everyone fight for the right to 'be' him in the park after school.

  But the overwhelming memory, right from the first game against Yugoslavia, was one of intense disappointment. In the end, in what was effectively the semi-final, the Netherlands put them out of their misery, with the air of the dynamic new force knocking out the declining old champion.

  About 10 years ago, I came across some copies of 'Placar,' the excellent Brazilian football magazine from the early 70s. It was full of information about how the Brazil team of the Mexico 1970 World Cup had been rebuilt on the road to West Germany four years later.

  There was one article that stuck in my mind. In 1972, Brazil organised a big international tournament - in effect part of Joao Havelange's campaign to secure the Fifa presidency. Invites were sent out to teams all over the world. Many declined. This particular issue of the magazine registered the fact that the Netherlands had refused to participate. "Just among ourselves," said the magazine, "Holland will not be missed."

  

  The Brazilian press underestimated Johan Cruyff's emerging Netherlands side. Photo: Getty

  Admittedly, the Dutch national team had not done too much by 1972. But Feyenoord and Ajax were already major players at club level, the latter with a philosophy of play that would revolutionise the game - and would be employed with success against Brazil in that decisive game two years later, when the gods of football demanded their revenge.

  The gods were busy again last week in the first leg of the semi-final of the Copa Sul-Americana (as it is known in Brazil, or Sudamericana elsewhere - however you spell it, the competition is the continent's Europa League equivalent).

  Vasco da Gama of Rio were at home to Universidad de Chile, who this year have been one of the sensations of South American football.

  'La U', as they are nicknamed, have been dubbed 'the Barcelona of the Americas'. Their coach, Jorge Sampaoli, recognises that this is a massive exaggeration, but he is rightly proud of what his men have been achieving over recent months.

  Their style of play is an indication that Marcelo Bielsa planted some interesting seeds in Chilean football before he resigned as national team coach and ended up at Athletic Bilbao, where he has made such an interesting start.

  Sampaoli is a Bielsa disciple. Like his mentor and fellow Argentine, Sampaoli wants his teams to attack at all times, regardless of the opposition or the location of the game.

  'La U' defend high, looking to win possession in the opponent's half of the field. Compact, dynamic, aggressive, they attack with a centre forward and two wide strikers, with Eduardo Vargas on the right the team's most dangerous player.

  In style and with a swagger, they have now gone 30 games unbeaten. The undoubted highlight of the run was a 4-0 win away to Flamengo of Rio, Ronaldinho and all. And the most astonishing thing is that the scoreline was an injustice. 'La U' would not have been flattered by a seven-goal victory margin.

  But before Wednesday's first leg, none of this seemed to impress Vasco da Gama goalkeeper Fernando Prass.

  There are solid reasons for Prass to be full off confidence. Vasco are having an extraordinary year, winning the Brazilian Cup, in with a chance of the league title going into the final round and also into the last four of the Sul-Americana.

  A thoroughly competent keeper, Prass has made an immense contribution to the cause. But last week he missed an excellent opportunity to stay silent.

  Unimpressed with all the 'Barcelona of the Americas' stuff, Prass played down the threat of Universidad de Chile. The Chilean Championship, he said, was well below the Brazilian in terms of technical quality. Fair enough, 'la U' had thrashed Flamengo, but he was unable to judge them on a couple of games.

  Prass seemed to be overlooking the fact that the good results of 'la U' were not restricted to Chile. Vasco have struggled away from home in their Sul-Americana campaign. 'La U' have sailed through, winning away to Arsenal of Argentina after disposing of Flamengo.

  They looked like dangerous words from the Vasco keeper, and so it proved.

  Vasco had the better of the first half and took the lead. Sampaoli, though, had misjudged his selection, and needed an early substitution to put things right. After the break, his team managed an equaliser - with a bit of help from Fernando Prass.

  Vasco's keeper was not the only one at fault for the goal, conceded from a free-kick. But his decision to come out was a poor one. There was no way he could reach the ball, and he was in no-man's-land when a back header from Oswaldo Gonzalez went in.

  Fernando Prass had paid the price for tempting the gods of football. I wait eagerly to see what they have in store for Wednesday's return match.
  
  Comments on the piece welcome below. Email questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week. From last week's postbag:
  
  Q) I remember listening to the Radio 5 live World Football Phone-in about a couple of years ago when one of the topics was people's favourite football books. There was one that you mentioned that I meant to make a point of buying but I can't recall the name. I'm sure it was a football history one. Any chance that you know which one I mean?
  Mark Rennie
  
  A) I believe I do! It was The Ball is Round: A Global History of Fooball, by David Goldblatt. An immense achievement, it does South America better than almost anything else that's out there in English, and covers the rest of the world too.

  On the subject of the World Football Phone-In, this is a nice moment to get the word out that instead of our standard hour and a half, we're doing a mighty four-hour special on 16 December.
  

• Brazil's temperamental fans

  Posted: November 21, 2011, 1:50 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  A year ago, when the Soccerex trade fair came to Rio, I ended up taking some BBC bigwigs to a Brazilian league game - Botafogo against Internacional.

  It was the penultimate round of the campaign and much was at stake. Botafogo badly needed a win to qualify for the Copa Libertadores, South America's Champions League equivalent, for the first time since 1996.

  The stadium was half-full, with a crowd of 19,604, which surprised the visitors all the more when I explained that tickets were half-price in an attempt to pack as many in as possible.

  Botafogo lost 2-1 and the home crowd probably hindered as much as it helped. My guests were amazed at how the home fans turned against their own team, picking out certain players for particularly vicious treatment.

  

  Talented, 24 year-old Brazilian left-back, Bruno Cortes (black & white stripes), made his international debut in their 2-0 win over Argentina in September 2011. PHOTO: Getty   

  Almost exactly a year later - this time a round earlier - the two teams met in very similar circumstances.

  Once again Botafogo needed a victory in their quest to qualify for the Libertadores. Once again they lost 2-1.

  Only this time, instead of a crowd of nearly 20,000, they were being cheered - and booed - by just 5,483.

  The poor turn-out is not hard to explain.

  A couple of weeks ago Botafogo were in contention for the title but the team has been on a downward slope for a while and, when scratchy wins gave way to a run of defeats, many of the supporters gave up.

  Coach Caio Junior was sacked in midweek but even if, as now seems likely, they again miss out on qualification for the Libertadores, Botafogo have exceeded expectations.

  At the start of the season many had them down as relegation candidates.

  Sunday's defeat means they drop to eighth place - but they are only two points behind the team in the final Libertadores slot with two matches to go.

  It is not a disaster - although the fans treated it as such.

  While the game was still goalless they were voicing their displeasure and this week's pantomime villain was their own left-back Bruno Cortes.

  A few short weeks ago he was their idol. The 24-year-old Brazilian has had a strange career, with spells in Qatar and lower-division Spanish football before playing for minor Rio clubs.

  Then he caught the eye of Botafogo and joined them for this championship.
  He quickly made an impression.

  With his wild hair, Cortes has the air of a showman - and he proved there is something different about him when he chose to hold his wedding reception in a fast food restaurant in a working-class Rio suburb.

  On the field his powerful attacking surges made the fans hungry for more - and he went from local to national favourite at the end of September when he made an eye-catching debut for Brazil against Argentina in a game where only domestic-based players were considered.

  Cortes was riding high but he was also riding for a fall. His dramatic progress could not hide the fact that his skill set was far from complete.

  He is the type of attacking full-back who needs to have space in front of him in which to thrive.

  The defensive side of his game is poor and, inevitably, opponents studied him, identified his weaknesses and went to work on them.

  That gave Cortes a psychological problem as well as a technical one.

  Suddenly everything was more difficult - and the pressure cranked up still further when the fans of his own team turned against him.

  On Sunday they got their way as Cortes was substituted at half-time.

  This is an aspect of Brazilian football culture that I find profoundly disagreeable - and it extends to the media.

  Local radio and TV journalists have an admirable fluency in front of the microphone and the ingenuity of the written press is put to the test by the 2200 kick-offs.

  But, among the many good things, there is also a negative side - a tendency to shout the odds about this player being totally useless or that coach knowing absolutely nothing.

  Criticism of players' performances and coaches' decisions is a vital and necessary part of the media's role.

  But it should take place in a context of respect that no truly bad player survives at the top level for long.

  The same does not necessarily apply to the administrators.

  Ricardo Teixeira would surely not have become President of the CBF, Brazil's FA, in 1989 had he not at the time been the son-in-law of vastly influential former FIFA boss Joao Havelange.

  Teixeira is also president of the 2014 World Cup local organising committee.

  Even so, he dodged the responsibility for naming the host cities.

  Worried about the political cost of excluding candidates, he pushed the decision to Fifa, after first having successfully lobbied for 12 venues, rather than eight or 10, to be used.

  The costs of staging the tournament have spiralled as a result. But Teixeira goes on and on after 22 years in charge.

  This is a place where an excess of intolerance for the players can coexist with an exaggerated tolerance for the failings of those who run the game.
  
  Please comment on the piece in the space provided and send your questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com - I will pick out a couple for next week.

  From last week's postbag;
  
  Q) Everybody knows about home advantage in football, especially when it comes to World Cups. Brazil seem to play friendlies abroad, possibly for financial reasons, but frequent visits to England for matches, along with recent friendlies in Africa are hardly going to help the team get used to playing in their own country. With the squad being one of the worst in recent years, do you not feel that the number of matches they play abroad could have a detrimental affect come 2014?
  Ian Stanley
  
  A) It clearly is essential for Brazil to start playing at home. They are aware of this and will start doing so in the run-up to 2014 using Fifa dates to stage matches on home soil. Coach Mano Menezes recognises it is essential because the Brazilian crowds can be so demanding and so quick to turn against their own team. The 2014 side will face unprecedented pressure and playing some games in front of their own fans should help toughen them up for the task ahead.
  
  Q) I was wondering what your thoughts were on Paraguayan striker Rodolfo Gamarra. He was once highly thought of and I am very surprised no European teams have picked him up. I would have thought he made have even moved to Brazil or Argentina.
  Dominic Brady
  

  A) He is a very interesting little striker, tricky in one-on-one situations and packing a surprisingly fierce shot. He was great in the first half of last year and got on the plane to the 2010 World Cup as a result.
  But that's where it stops. He was the only outfield Paraguayan player not to get on the field in South Africa and hasn't made progress since. Under Jorge Burruchaga his club side, Libertad, are looking a bit more cautious and he is spending a lot of time on the bench. Perhaps it has been hard for him to maintain a standard and deal with higher expectations. 2012 is a big year for him.

• Suarez stars as Uruguay teamwork shines

  Posted: November 13, 2011, 8:43 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  There was a little run and a cracking left-foot shot from outside the area. There were two headers, one classic, the other bundled in after sound reading of the situation. And to complete the set there was a drilled, first-time, right-footed cross shot.

  Luis Suarez showed the full range of his astonishing talent last Friday, scoring all the goals in Uruguay's 4-0 World Cup qualifier win over Chile.

  It was breathtaking stuff.

  My favourite was the first goal, shortly before half-time, which paved the way for a comfortable victory over dangerous opponents.

  Firstly, I liked it because it highlighted how a game can be a process. Chile defender Waldo Ponce stood off Suarez, giving him room for the shot. But Suarez had won that space on merit. Previously when Ponce had got loose, Suarez had burned past him.

  It was not a risk the defender was prepared to take again, and he was entitled to believe that Suarez was too far out to score with anything but a perfect shot.

  It was also an outstanding goal because of its collective context. Three of Uruguay's workmanlike midfielders played their part. Diego Perez snapped in with a typically fierce tackle. Alvaro Gonzalez played a neat first-time ball. And Egidio Arevalo Rios planted forward to Suarez in space.

  None of these midfielders are stars. But Uruguay coach Oscar Washington Tabarez knows their value.

  

  Luis Suarez's four goals against Chile took his tally to 26 in 52 appearances for Uruguay. Photo: Getty

  After the game he paid tribute to his players.

  "They know what we want from them," he said. "They are sufficiently humble to know their limitations, but always give their best with positive thoughts."

  That opening goal, with its teamwork rounded off by individual magic, says a great deal about the recent resurgence of Uruguay.

  The golden evening enjoyed by Suarez also illustrates one of football's great truths - that the stars shine most brightly when the collective balance of the team is correct.

  Lose that collective balance, and even Lionel Messi goes down with the ship, as Argentina showed in a desperately disappointing 1-1 draw at home to Bolivia.

  True, the hosts deserved to win. They were very unfortunate to have a goal chalked off, the referee blowing for a foul when he should have played advantage. Another was harshly disallowed. Javier Pastore rattled the post. Bolivia barely threatened - Argentina's defence had to give more evidence of its fallibility to hand them a goal.

  It was at the other end, though, that Argentina fell so short of their potential. There was no sense of a coherent collective idea. Messi started off wide on the right, with Pastore wide on the left - miles apart, when they should surely have been closer to each other in order to combine.

  With the pair of them plus Ricky Alvarez, there was a surfeit of players wanting the ball to feet. Throw in Argentina's glaring lack of attacking full-backs, and all the play was taking place in front of the Bolivia defence.

  Centre forward Gonzalo Higuain offered little with his back to goal, and Argentina's presence in the penalty area was poor. Some of these problems were addressed by substitute Ezequiel Lavezzi, who came on to score an almost instant equaliser.

  But instead of surging on to win the game Argentina spluttered, and Messi even seemed to go missing in the closing stages. They gave all the signs of a team who do not really believe in what they are doing.

  Called in after the Copa America with little time to prepare a side, coach Alejandro Sabella is having a hard time. It is understandable. He has much, much more experience as an assistant than as coach, and he inherited a squad overloaded with options in some positions, but with the cupboard bare in others.

  And that hot seat is about to get hotter. On Tuesday, Argentina travel to take on Colombia in the sweltering Caribbean port of Barranquilla, the kind of place where you work up a sweat sipping a fruit juice in the shade.

  Other than Uruguay, Colombia are the only unbeaten side in this campaign - though they came away frustrated from Friday's game after gifting Venezuela a late equaliser. There are promising signs, though, especially in the development of young left-footed midfielder James Rodriguez, who for the second game running gave evidence that he is a special talent.

  Colombia are dangerous, but perhaps Argentina might like the fact that this will be a vastly different game from the glorified attack-against-defence in the Bolivia game. With the hosts pushing forward, Messi will certainly hope to find some space.

  He may well be pleased that Colombian centre-back Luis Amaranto Perea misses the game through suspension. Perea was badly at fault for Venezuela's goal on Friday, but his sense of covering would be useful against Messi's incisive dribbles.

  Possible replacements Arquivaldo Mosquera and Alexis Henriquez are both tall and ponderous. The other centre-back, captain Mario Yepes, is an elegantly talented defender. But he is nearly 36, and if Messi gets a run at him, his tendency to go to ground could be exposed.

  Much, then, may well depend on the quality of protection given to the Colombian defence. The two sides met in July in the Copa America, where in its own way one of the highlights of the competition was the duel between Messi and Carlos Sanchez, Colombia's midfield marker.

  There was no doubt about the winner. Sanchez doggedly won the day, and Colombia deserved better than a goalless draw.

  That was on a freezing night in Santa Fe. But Sanchez will not be there on a boiling afternoon in Barranquilla. Injury has forced him out. Can Messi take advantage and rise to the occasion? He is Argentina's captain, and his team-mates will be looking to him for leadership.
  Can he do it without the kind of back-up he gets at Barcelona - or even the unselfish platform given to Suarez by the Uruguayan midfield?

  Comments on the piece welcome below. Questions on South American football can be emailed to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

  From last week's postbag;

  Q) I would really like your opinion on Nicolas Lodeiro's career so far. At the last World Cup it seemed he was Uruguay's 'wonderkid' and a symbol of the future, and even the silly red card he received in his nation's first game against France didn't seem to change this status much. Before the ill-timed dismissal he did show signs of being a quality young player, but recently I've seen he hasn't been appearing for his club Ajax. How much of this is genuinely down to injury and bad fortune, and how much (if any) is down to the player himself?
  Callum Madden

  A) It's been an up and down time. In 2009 everything he touched turned to gold - was great at Under-20 level, superb in the Libertadores when he was a vital part of the first Uruguayan club to reach the semi-finals in 20 years, and showed real promise when pitched straight into the senior Uruguay side for the World Cup play-off v Costa Rica.
  Then comes the move to Ajax, early lack of opportunity, the red card and then serious injury in the World Cup followed by more injury. There's physical damage, but psychological also. He has to adapt to the truth that things are not always going to go as smoothly as they did in 2009.

  I think he's coming out the other side now. He scored for Ajax recently in the Champions League, and is still part of the Uruguay squad, though he has slipped behind Gaston Ramirez (who played in place of the injured Diego Forlan on Friday) in the pecking order.
  

• Peruvian striker Andy Polo makes headlines

  Posted: November 7, 2011, 11:03 am by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  A special player is coming to my adopted city of Rio de Janeiro this Wednesday.

  Universitario of Peru are visiting Vasco da Gama in the quarter-finals of South America's Europa League equivalent [called the Copa Sul-Americana in Brazil, the Sudamericana elsewhere on the continent] and in their ranks is 17-year-old striker Andy Polo.

  Already linked with Liverpool and Arsenal, Polo is of particular interest to me. He is something I have been waiting for.

  It was August 1994 when I moved over to this side of the Atlantic. Polo was born at the end of the following month.

  

  17 year-old Peruvian striker Andy Polo's stock has risen on the international front after he helped his club side Universitario secure the Under-20 version of the Copa Libertadores for the first time in the club's history. PHOTO: Getty

  He is the first player to make a major impact who has been in South America for less time than I have.

  A strong, stocky, sinuous runner, he is reminiscent in style to his compatriot Jefferson Farfan. Earlier this year, Polo helped his club win an under-20 version of the Copa Libertadores, the continent's Champions League.

  The stand-outs were Polo and a team-mate, the lithe, left sided Edison Flores. Both - and especially Polo - have made a successful graduation to the senior side.

  It was in late September, a few days before his 17th birthday, that Polo really had me out of my seat. The event was Peru's big derby, Universitario against Alianza Lima.

  This is always a huge occasion, and a real test for a rookie.

  Polo showed strength of character and strength of physique, at one point carving out a clear opportunity with a crash-ball run straight through the middle of the experienced Alianza defence.

  This was clearly a name for the notebook.

  Normally my protective interest in a player such as this would have me hoping that he is not tempted to take the risk of a premature move.

  In this case, though, there is no use. He will inevitably be packing his bags before long - the economic situation of his club leaves little alternative.

  Universitario are a big club with a proud tradition. Although they are traditionally identified with the elite, and their rivals Alianza with the mass of the population, there are surveys which claim that Universitario's support is at least as big. In terms of titles there is no doubt about it - they lead the Peruvian pack.

  They have been in financial trouble for some time now. But recent events seem to have tipped them over the edge, into a chapter of their history which includes both genuine tragedy and dark comedy.

  The tragedy came in that very derby against Alianza where Polo announced his presence. It took place in Universitario's impressive, modern stadium.

  Security arrangements were not so impressive. A group of visiting fans were in one of the executive boxes - in theory the safest part of the ground. Some home supporters broke in, beat them up and threw one to his death.

  It pales in comparison with the human consequences, but the incident had a further negative impact on the club's finances. They have not been able to use their stadium since, borrowing a small ground in neighbouring Callao for league games and moving into the revamped National stadium for last week's first leg against Vasco.

  The comedy lies in some of the recent antics. In May, the club forgot to take their change strip to Trujillo to play Cesar Vallejo. The players had to take the field in training tops with the numbers drawn on with felt pen.

  The weekend before last was even more bizarre. In a bid to save money, the team waited until Sunday morning to fly up to Cuzco to face Cienciano, but the flight was delayed. Come kick-off time, they still had not arrived.

  There was only one solution. The reserves - basically a junior team - had just played the reserves of Cienciano, losing 1-0. Now they would have to play again.

  The referee only authorised nine of them to take the field, since they were the only ones with professional contracts. Halfway through the first half, the delegation arrived. With two extra players and three substitutions, Universitario could strengthen the side.

  But for 20 minutes they were down to nine tired kids. It is a wonder they only lost 3-0.

  It is also a wonder that they have reached the quarter-finals of the Sul-Americana, with a terrific chance of making the last four.

  Admittedly Vasco, with an eye on the Brazilian title, sent a weakened team to Lima for the first leg. Even so, in their 2-0 win, Universitario did enough to suggest they can reach the semis even if Vasco unleash the full-strength side on Wednesday.

  Certainly there seems to be no lack of motivation among the Peruvians - even though they have not been paid for five months.

  The accumulated wage bill could have serious consequences. Tired of waiting, the players are refusing to sign the pre-match paperwork, meaning that the club forfeit any points won on the field. The second division is beckoning.

  The Copa Sul-Americana, meanwhile, is a question of professional pride and also a chance for the players to put themselves in the shop window.

  There are one or two other interesting prospects. Raul Ruidiaz is a tricky little striker, though talk of "the Peruvian Messi" is hardly fair, and not just because Ruidiaz is right-footed. There is Edison Flores. Alvaro Ampuero is a tall, left-footed defensive midfielder with a promising future.

  But the brightest bulb in the firmament is Polo, whose speed, strength and skill look tailor made for European football.

  In an ideal world, a transfer would not happen yet. But force of circumstances is likely to push this one through sooner rather than later. Losing Polo would surely leave a hole in the hearts of Universitario supporters. But the club need to sell to survive.

  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

  
  From last week's postbag:

  What do you think of Fabio Rochemback's career? I wouldnt say he had disaster in playing in Europe. Do you think he has a chance to make back in to Brazil team or even Europe, although age 29 he could have a few good years in him.
  Jawaad Kaleem

  It would be outrageous to call his time in Europe a disaster. He's had a solid career. But remember that he was playing for Brazil and Barcelona while still a teenager - in that light I think that it's clear he didn't go on to fulfil those early expectations. This is something that fascinates me - how does a player cope psychologically when he discovers that he's not quite as good as he's been allowed to think?
  In terms of his future - if he couldn't get in to the Brazil squad a year ago when Gremio were flying, then it's unlikely now. And, 30 next month, a move back to Europe hardly looks likely either - not that there's anything wrong with that. The Brazilian first division is an increasingly interesting place to play, and, as you say, he should have plenty of time left to enjoy himself back home.

• Colombia's rising stars and lost potential

  Posted: October 31, 2011, 12:57 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  Like watching a sneak preview of future blockbuster films, the best thing about South American football is the chance to catch remarkable talent on the way up.

  Barcelona's Argentine Lionel Messi tops the list but I have lost count of the extraordinary players whose early professional steps I have been lucky enough to witness.

  Inevitably, plenty fall short of fulfilling their potential.

  At the 2003 South American Under-20 Championships, I picked out a list of the most interesting players on show for World Soccer magazine. Carlos Tevez would have been on it - but I had already written about him months earlier. His team-mate Javier Mascherano was on my list, along with Brazil's attacking right-back Daniel Alves. And there was a Colombian I was excited about called Avimiled Rivas.

  I wrote: "[He is] A midfielder who can be highly strung but looks a genuine thoroughbred. Tall, quick, strong and dynamic, he plays on the left but likes to cut inside to use his thumping right foot to switch play or shoot."

  He is still doing it but not at the level that once seemed likely. Rivas was promoted to Colombia's senior squad and made a couple of appearances as a substitute. But a move to Real Sociedad in Spain did not work out. He was loaned out to lower-division clubs in Spain before returning home and bouncing around from club to club in Colombia.

  

  Avimiled Rivas, who appeared for Colombia in 2003, possesses masses of unrealised talent. Photo: Getty

  This year he has been more settled, establishing himself as an important player with Colombian club Boyaca Chico in Tunja. It is a small well-run club founded in 2002 - but they are punching above their weight in sixth place, just two points off the top of Colombia's Primera A.

  Last week I saw Rivas play in the second leg of the Colombian cup final. Chico had lost 1-0 at home to Millonarios and needed something special in the return match in Bogota.
  It was tight and Rivas played his part as his side threatened to open the scoring. But, inside the last 20 minutes, he got himself sent off. The second yellow was harsh, more of a tangle than a foul, although Rivas did not touch the ball. This made his protest somewhat hollow when he picked up the ball and showed it to the referee - then downright outrageous when he thrust it into the ref's face before running off the field.
  At 27, Avimiled Rivas is still highly strung.

  The playmaker on the opposing side was Mayer Candelo. With a sweet left foot and a capacity to generate ideas, Candelo was a great hope when he emerged towards the end of the 1990s.

  Some saw him as the successor to the fuzzy-haired Colombian Carlos Valderrama - the midfielder, now 50, who played 111 times for his country between 1985 and 1998.

  It never happened for Candelo. At the top level he was found wanting. Now 34, Candelo has had an interesting career all over South America - most notably in Peru - but he proved unable to fulfil those early hopes.

  A few minutes after Rivas saw red, Candelo had the chance to clinch the cup when he stepped up to take a penalty. Teenage goalkeeper Cristian Bonilla, a Colombia Under-20 international, dived right to make the save.

  I sat thinking this was almost a metaphor for the moment of Colombian football - Candelo, the eternal nearly man, blowing it again, while Bonilla showed that the future lies with a new generation.

  ...And then the keeper made complete hash of a clearance, kicking straight to Candelo, who glided past the last defender and flicked his shot into the corner to confirm Millonarios as champions.

  This, I suppose, is a better symbol of Colombia and its football - beguiling, frustrating, surprising.

  After Brazil's near-200m population, Colombia's 50m is the largest in South America. It has a variety of urban centres and a football-crazy public. And yet they have failed to reach the last three World Cups.

  In part this can be explained by the trauma of the 1994 World Cup, when their very good team collapsed under intense pressure as ambassadors for a country that was falling apart. The murder of centre-back Andres Escobar after that exit made the issues evident to all. The short passing style of the 1994 team seemed discredited by association and no big collective idea came along to replace it.

  But it also seems clear there have been individual problems. A significant amount of South American talent that falls by the wayside seems to be Colombian.

  Local journalists tell me many careers go astray from the moment when the youngster signs his first big contract. Lacking the maturity to cope with sudden wealth and fame, the journey from zero to hero is too quick for the player to assimilate the changes. Then there is the threat of a premature move to Europe where the youngster fails to get a regular game.

  

  How many stars of the future won the FIFA Under-20 World Cup for Brazil in August? Photo: AFP

  Staying or going, both routes have their problems.

  The record shows the best move would seem to be southwards. Argentine football functions as a finishing school for some of the best Colombians, toughening them up for the challenges ahead.

  Defenders Mario Yepes (now at AC Milan), Luis Amaranto Perea (Atletico Madrid) and Ivan Cordoba (Inter Milan) plus strikers Juan Pablo Angel (ex-Aston Villa) and Radamel Falcao Garcia (Atletico Madrid) are recent examples of players who went to Argentina before moving to Europe.

  As Colombia strive to improve on their Copa America displays, where they were solid but lacking spark, they are counting on two Argentine-trained talents.

  Involvement in the World Youth Cup kept Porto's James Rodriguez, 20, out of the Copa. The left-footed midfielder, who made his name in Argentina with Banfield, was outstanding three weeks ago as Colombia began their World Cup qualification campaign with a 2-1 away win over Bolivia.

  In the coming rounds he should be joined in the team by Giovanny Moreno, 25, a languid, silkily talented playmaker/support striker with a wonderful left foot who plays in Argentina with Racing.

  After recovering from a serious knee injury, Moreno hopes to be more than a younger version of Meyer Candelo - the really man rather than the nearly man. He should be able to make his case at home to Argentina on 15 November.
  
  Comment on the piece in the space provided. Email questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

  From last week's postbag:

  Q) After reading on the BBC website about the Premier League ban on third-party ownership of players to "protect the integrity of competition", I'd like to know your opinion of third-party ownership and what harm it might do to clubs?
  Edmund Allen
  
  There are two complaints. One you mentioned - the possibility of outside forces having an effect on sporting outcomes, even without necessarily meaning to.

  My main concern is that I see it as a form of asset-stripping. Advocates talk of it allowing clubs to have players they might not otherwise be able to afford - but this is only because some other club (probably South American) has lost the player and received considerably less than his full worth.

  The central contradiction is that much of South American football runs at a loss but produces some of the most-promising players. Investors take advantage of the weak financial position of the clubs to acquire a stake in the best players. The clubs often need cash urgently to meet their wage bill, so the investor can buy a share in the prospect for a good price. It turns the player into a commodity - something to be sold, not necessarily at the right time or to the right club. It means that, when he is sold, some of that transfer fee is lost to football.

  Q) I have been following the Brazilian Championship this year and been really shocked by the dreadful performances of Cruzeiro. They sit just above the relegation zone and are in serious danger of going down. I know they have had managerial changes and injuries to key players such as Leo and Wallyson - but do their problems run deeper than that?
  Tom Webber
  
  In the first few months of the year they looked like the best team in the continent! After one bad night and elimination from the Libertadores, the house of cards came crashing down.

  Possible reasons are the bizarre coaching changes, while the injury to Wallyson and the sale of Thiago Ribeiro to Cagliari in Italy have left them without goal power.

  But there is another factor. The big stadium they use, the Mineirao, is closed for World Cup works and the city's other stadium (where England lost to the USA in 1950) is also closed. So they have to travel out of Belo Horizonte for all their home games. This is clearly not ideal. Just 37 goals in 32 games means they will probably have to sweat until the final round to see if they stay up.
  

• World Cup 2014 - a scheduling headache

  Posted: October 23, 2011, 10:26 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  "It's been a big task and long work," said Fifa secretary-general Jerome Valcke last week when the calendar of the 2014 World Cup was presented. "We had 57 versions of this match schedule and finally nine on which we have been working. We took into account the medical aspects, logistics, travel and accommodation."

  Staging a World Cup in a country the size of a continent is not easy, and Brazil in June/July offers a specific challenge - winter bites hard in the south and barely touches the north.

  One of the big headaches in drawing up the match schedule must have been the question of how to deal with the southern host cities of Porto Alegre and Curitiba, where temperatures can drop to freezing.

  It had been assumed that for practical purposes this World Cup would have to revert to the previous format, where teams would play all their group games in a certain region. This would have the advantage of reducing travel time in such a vast country - especially interesting since airport capacity has always been seen as the Achilles heel of Brazil 2014.

  

  The 2014 World Cup in Brazil is spread all round the huge South American country. Photo: Getty images

  But this regionalisation created a problem. Those teams based in the south would have been at a clear disadvantage. After spending weeks in the cold for their group games, a move further north in the knock-out stages could subject them to a temperature difference of 30 degrees.

  This was clearly unfair - and possibly dangerous. So the idea of regionalisation was dropped, and instead all the teams will be travelling round the country - only some will be travelling a lot more than others. There are huge discrepancies in teams' itineraries.

  The hosts' group is a good example. Brazil will have to clock up the air miles - indeed, one of the arguments against regionalisation was clearly the perceived need to have the national team in action in different parts of the country. So they open the tournament in Sao Paulo in the south-east, move up to Fortaleza in the north east for the second game and conclude their group programme in the middle of the country in Brasilia - a combined distance of 3,920km (2,435.8 miles) between the three cities.

  Brazil's second opponents have things much easier - they stay in the north east, with games in Natal and Recife as well as Fortaleza, a combined distance of 1,160km (720.8 miles). But the other two teams in the group have to fly up to Manaus in the Amazon. Brazil's opening day opponents are especially penalized - Sao Paulo to Manaus to Recife is a combined distance of 6,000km (3,728.2 miles).

  The team drawn as G1 has three group matches in cities of the north east. H1 has done even better, with fixtures in Belo Horizonte, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro and a combined distance of just 700km (435 miles). While poor old E4 has two games in the cold south, and then from Curitiba faces the marathon flight north to Manaus.

  They have clearly drawn the short straw. There are other long journeys but no others quite as absurd as this. It is here that the temperature differences will really bite - a problem minimized elsewhere in the schedule by downplaying the role of the south. Curitiba has the minimum host city ration of four games, all in the group phase, while Porto Alegre only has one more.

  This looks like an anomaly. Porto Alegre can claim to be Brazil's third footballing city, behind Rio and Sao Paulo. At worst it is fourth, behind Belo Horizonte. And yet six cities will receive more World Cup games, including the likes of Brasilia and Fortlazea whose contribution to the Brazilian game is clearly inferior.

  In Brazil this is widely being interpreted as the latest act in the cold war between Brazil's president Dilma Rousseff and controversial local football boss Ricardo Teixeira. Porto Alegre is Rousseff's political base. Cutting down its 2014 role, it is said, is Teixeira's act of revenge.

  Maybe - and it is certainly worth speculating how much better the tournament planning and organisation might have been had Rousseff come to power earlier. But in this case it seems more likely that Fifa have cut back the participation of the south in order to reduce the number of games in cold temperatures - not just for the players, but also for the tourists.

  Considerable thought seems to have been given to the tourist experience. There is no footballing justification whatsoever for building stadiums in Manaus and Cuiaba. But staging World Cup games there will take people close to two of Brazil's major natural attractions, respectively the Amazon rain forest and the Pantanal wetlands. Visiting those might seem a more attractive tourist package than putting on an extra two layers of clothing to cope with the cold of Porto Alegre or Curitiba .

  Whatever the reasons, it is hard to look at the match schedule and not come to the conclusion that the 2014 World Cup is overblown, and that Fifa original idea of eight to 10 host cities might have been better. As it stands, with the discrepancies in distances to be travelled, the draw in December 2013 will take on extra importance. Everyone will want to be H1 or G1. No one will want to be E4.

  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com and I'll pick out a couple for next week.
  From last week's postbag;
  
  Q) I wonder if you could give me an update on the progress, or lack of it, of two so called South American wonderkids? The first is ex-Bucaramanga star Sherman Cardenas, who was supposed to be one of the great hopes of Colombian football. As far as I can tell if he was such a talent he would be a big name by now, so what happened? Was it merely a case of him being overhyped?
  The second is the Chilean Nicolas Millan. I understand he is still fairly young but has he also failed to make the impact that was hoped for? Or do you think he could still be a big talent in the years to come?
  Max Lintzgy
  
  A) That 'wonderkid' tag can be so unfair - even if the talent is there then it's a lot of pressure to heap on very young shoulders. Cardenas, a little attacking midfielder at his best down the flanks, is having a good year after a few disappointing ones. Early on he was a bit part player in Junior of Barranquilla's Libertadores campaign. Recently he's been getting more of a regular game and doing well. And at 22 time is still on his side, something that applies all the more to Millan, who is only 19. He made his debut at 14, and calling him the next Cristiano Ronaldo at that time was surely unwise. He's currently on loan from Colo Colo to Naval in Chile's second division.
  
  Q) I read that Liverpool are close to a deal with Nacional to have first option on all their young players.
  Who's really benefiting here? I don't understand why Nacional would give up their young players (for lower transfer fees than if they had matured and established themselves more) and doesn't this also mean young players leaving too early in their careers?
  Drew Dadds
  
  A) Uruguayan clubs - even giants like National - don't have much choice. They're restricted by the size of the internal market (Uruguay's population is not much more than three million) which means they have to sell.
  The problem is from a Liverpool point of view that very few of their products will be able to step straight into the Premier League. The trajectory of Luis Suarez - first to Ajax for a few years before the move to England - was excellent. If this deal is to work well then it will need Liverpool to be patient, and loan out the kids to clubs elsewhere in Europe before bringing them over.

• Goals galore in South American World Cup qualifiers

  Posted: October 9, 2011, 2:59 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  It's the same teams, three months apart, coming up with a totally different spectacle.

  Back in July the Copa America in Argentina was always enthralling, but its fascination was frequently the grim, attritional kind, with defences holding the upper hand.

  Now in October, the first round of South America's marathon World Cup qualification campaign produced four open games - at times absurdly so - and 15 goals.

  Much of this can be explained by the differing demands of tournament and league football.

  

  Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuain scored a hat-trick against Chile to give new Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella a triumphant start in his first competitive match in charge. PHOTO: Getty

  In the former - especially in a competition like the Copa America where eight of 12 teams progress to the knock-out stage - avoiding defeat is often the priority. Paraguay, for example, managed to make it all the way to the final without winning a single game.

  It was no surprise when their coach Gerardo Martino decided to resign straight afterwards. He had the feeling that he had taken the team as far as it could go - and he was well aware that a run of five consecutive draws would not be much use in the World Cup qualifiers.

  In a league format, two wins and three defeats score higher than five draws. Over the next two years South America's nations are playing each other home and away. The priority this time is to go in search of three points, especially at home.

  South America is vast. The away sides often face long trips and the need to adapt to different conditions, such as altitude, heat or waterlogged pitches.

  Both in World Cup qualification and in international club competitions, away wins are, generally speaking, twice as likely in Europe as in South America. The story over here of the first round of the 2014 qualifiers was one of comfortable home wins for Uruguay, Ecuador, Argentina and Peru.

  Perhaps on this occasion, some of the away sides contributed to their own downfall. In their anxiety to fly home with three points in the bag they may have opened up too much and made things easy for their hosts.

  This was partly the story in Quito, where Venezuela went down 2-0 to Ecuador. True, this was largely a reserve side but it was one that had been receiving specialist altitude training. Where they slipped up, though, was in tactical terms.

  It should have been clear that Ecuador would attack down the flanks, but Venezuela, who flitted between a 4-2-2-2 and something more like a 4-3-2-1, were not cut out to deal with Luis Antonio Valencia down the right or Cristian Suarez on the left.

  Venezuela were set up with two defensive midfielders in the middle of the park - too deep to stop Ecuador's Cristian Noboa knocking penetrative passes into the wide spaces, too central to get a grip on the wide men. With Valencia rampant, Ecuador had the game sown up before the half hour.

  On their visit to Argentina, Chile provided an even more glaring example of failing to get to grips with their opponents' strong points.

  Chile coach Claudio Borghi's commitment to attack is to be welcomed, but perhaps his head has been turned by a desire to show that he can be even bolder than Marcelo Bielsa, his much touted predecessor. Even Borghi would surely have to admit that he went too far with the selection of his side for Buenos Aires.

  He went with two centre forwards, Humberto Suazo and Mauricio Pinilla, two playmakers, Mati Fernandez and Jorge Valdivia, plus Mauricio Isla and Jean Beausejour looking to attack down the flanks. Defending was left to the typically error-prone back three and one holding midfielder.

  It was the kind of line-up that might have been valid for the last twenty minutes if Chile were chasing the game, but going with it from the start meant that Argentina hardly had to work to create their openings and coasted to a 4-1 win.

  This was a game where Argentina might well have been vulnerable. Following the disappointment of their quarter-final elimination in the Copa America they had a new coach (Alejandro Sabella, once of Leeds and Sheffield United), who has made changes with little time to bed them in. Furthermore, injuries during training forced Sabella to rethink his formation at the last minute.

  Uncertainty would surely have grown in the Argentina ranks the longer the game stayed goalless - and pressure would also have increased with the restlessness of the crowd transmitting itself to the players. Then, at the moment that the hosts over-reached, Chile could bring their firepower to bear, off the bench if necessary.

  Chile never sought to create this pressure, trusting in their capacity to out-attack Argentina. There is nothing wrong with seeking to take the initiative, but a low-scoring game like football seldom lets teams get away with committing so many players forward that they lose a balance between attack and defence.

  One of the great advantages of such a long campaign is that teams have time to shrug off a bad day or absorb the lessons of disappointing results. At home in Tuesday's second round Chile will doubtless look to attack - but then so will Peru, so impressive last Friday as they brushed Paraguay aside to win 2-0.

  This Pacific Ocean derby is seldom pacific, and Tuesday's version promises to be especially fiery. In the heat of local rivalry, keeping a cool head and retaining a balance between attack and defence will help determine the outcome.

  Comments on the piece in the space below. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week. From last week's postbag;

  Q) I would be very interested in hearing your view of the chances of the Peru side in the qualifiers, as it seems to me that they have a very talented side that should be outsiders. Bolivia seem like the only team not to have a serious chance of making it to Brazil.
  John Geary

  A) In the case of Bolivia, remember that they are backed by the extreme altitude of La Paz, the venue everyone dreads visiting. If they can win their home games then snatching the fifth place is not beyond them.
  Peru's big test is now coming up. They indeed have a talented side, and a top quality, experienced coach in Sergio Markarian who seems to have got everyone facing in the same direction. They made a great start on Friday with that 2-0 win over Paraguay, but they are usually strong at home. Away, though, it's a different story. In the last campaign they lost all nine away games.
  Markarian's big task - and I think he's up to it - is to ensure they are not such a soft touch on their travels.

  Q) Kaka has recently found an upturn in his fortunes and his play with Real Madrid is slowly starting to resemble the incredible run of form he had at AC Milan. I'm a huge fan of Kaka, but I worry that, because he is at his playmaking best while playing on the break and Menezes is attempting to wean Brazil off their counter-attacking dependency, his time with the national team is well and truly over. Are there any murmurs about a return to the fold for Kaka?
  Andrew Washbrook

  A) The line seems to be that he has to find some consistent club form first. If he can do that, then a recall is a good possibility, especially as no one has really grabbed the number 10 shirt yet. He'll be 32 at the next World Cup, and he's the type of player who needs to be in top physical condition in order to thrive. With his injury problems it might not be easy for him to force his way back in, but I'm sure there will be no lack of effort on his part. Helping Brazil win in 2014 would be the crowning glory of his career.

• South American giants set for 'super-classic'

  Posted: September 26, 2011, 9:27 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  This Wednesday, Brazil host the second leg of the modestly entitled 'super-classic of the Americas' against Argentina - an old tradition which has now been brought back.

  The first leg in Argentina finished goalless - a result that came as a big disappointment to the Brazilians. With both sides at full strength a draw would be seen as entirely normal.

  But for these games only home-based players are considered, and it is here that Brazil thought they were going into the game with a 12th player - the country's economic boom.

  Argentina is already at a huge disadvantage in terms of population, 40 million against 195. At the moment there is a big difference in currencies - Brazil's is very strong.

  With this in mind, Brazilian football magazine 'Placar' has just published some facts and figures highlighting the financial chasm between clubs on either side of the border.
  

  Even before a new TV deal comes into effect next year, the biggest Brazilian clubs receive nearly four times the TV money paid to Boca Juniors, Argentina's giant.

  In terms of sponsorship deals the difference is twice as big. As a consequence, Brazil's clubs can pay much more, and are attracting some high profile Argentines.

  According to 'Placar', Ronaldinho at Flamengo is receiving six times more than the biggest star of domestic Argentine football, Boca Juniors' Juan Roman Riquelme.

  

  Ronaldinho (left) and Neymar will be looking to defeat South American rivals Argentina. Photo: AP

  There was an expectation, then, that these differences would be reflected on the field when the two sides met in Cordoba. Riquelme and Argentina's other heavyweight, Juan Sebastian Veron were not even there, both missing out through injury.

  Brazil, meanwhile, could field Ronaldinho, Neymar and Leandro Damiao, the same frontline used when the full strength side beat Ghana in London earlier this month.

  In almost every sector of the field Brazil seemed to have the edge - in goal and in defence, and also with that forward line, though Argentina's Juan Manuel Martinez is an excellent and industrious striker.

  Indeed, before he limped off early in the second half, Martinez was the game's outstanding figure. In great part, of course, this was due to his own virtues, his mobility and acceleration and his capacity to identify and exploit a weakness in the opposing defence.

  But it was also because he was given a platform to perform by the one area where Argentina were superior, the midfield.

  New Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella has some knowledge of Brazilian football - he was assistant coach to Daniel Passarella at Corinthians a few years ago.

  Sensing that Brazil could be stifled, he packed the midfield. But not only did he have numbers, he also had clarity, much of it supplied by a team-mate of Martinez at Velez Sarsfield, Hector Canteros.

  After the game Ronaldinho praised the way that Canteros had organised Argentina's play from the centre of midfield. Brazil had no equivalent.

  Their midfield trio of Paulinho, Ralf and Renato Abreu offered physical strength, but barely a flicker of imagination and no capacity to control the rhythm of the game.

  There are obvious dangers in drawing conclusions from a game between two scratch sides who have hardly had time to train together.

  But these midfield deficiencies have been there in Brazilian football for a while - the lack of fluidity in their play is the main reason that more recent sides, win or lose, have often been compared unfavourably with the teams of 1958, 70 or 82.

  National team coach Mano Menezes has been trying to wean the side off an excessive dependence on the counter-attack and recapture some of Brazil's previous brio. He admits that achievements have so far fallen short of ambitions.

  One explanation - the great sides of the past had better, more complete central midfielders.

  Good news could be on the way. This year's Brazilian Championship is proving to be the best in years, and not just because more money means stronger squads. As well as individual quality, there are also some interesting collective ideas.

  For years in Brazil the flanks have been left free for the forward runs of the attacking full backs. Now, though, teams are coming off 4-4-2 or 3-5-2 to play other systems, variations on 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 with strikers operating in wide spaces.

  This means that the full backs have to do more defending, which in turn means that the central midfielders have to take more responsibility on the ball.

  One of the stars of the show is Romulo of league leaders Vasco da Gama. Just turned 21, he is a marking midfielder who wins the ball and then gives dynamism to the play, passing and moving forward to participate in the next phase, opening up the field with quick, crisp distribution.

  Called up to the Brazil squad, he could make his debut on Wednesday. Menezes admits there is a need for a different approach in midfield for the second 'super-classic'.

  For Argentina Martinez will be missing this time, still not recovered from the injury he suffered in the first match.

  Sabella has re-enforced his midfield, too, giving a chance to the Brazil-based quartet of central midfielders Pablo Guinazu and Mauro Bolatti and playmakers Andres D'Alessandro and Walter Montillo.

  Sabella will surely pack this sector once more. This time will Brazil have the wit and patience to pass their way through?

  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week. Here are some from last week's postbag:

  Q) Can you tell me what former Bolivian striker Marco Etcheverry is up to these days and how was he seen in South America? He was just before the internet and tv coverage, but I remember his skills being paraded in USA 94, am I correct? And would it be accurate to recall him as a bit of a firebrand?
  Duke D
  
  A) His skills were more paraded on the road to USA 94, when he helped bring about Brazil's first ever defeat in qualification. Come the tournament he was not 100% fit for the opening game against Germany, came off the bench and was promptly sent off for a little off the ball kick.
  I'm not sure what US-based readers might think of this, but I wonder if his move to the MLS came too early in his career. I have the impression that standards when the MLS was launched were not as high as today, so perhaps he was not being pushed enough. He was a big star with DC United, but when he came back down to play for Bolivia he looked way off the pace, at a time when he should have been at his peak.
  He is now coaching Bolivia's Under-15s, in action soon in the South American Championships.
  

• Allure of European football still remains

  Posted: September 12, 2011, 12:33 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  A year ago, I spoke to Brazilian midfielder Sandro a few minutes after he had made his debut for Tottenham. I caught up with him again a few days ago as, recovering from injury, he watched his international team-mates train for last Monday's international against Ghana at Craven Cottage in London.

  He was, he said, thoroughly delighted with his first season in the Premier League. Despite a few problems adaptating, the whole experience had more than matched his expectations. Twelve months on, he was in no doubt that he was a much better and more complete player, emphasising in particular that he had learned to play at a higher tempo.

  

  Midfielder Sandro cost Spurs £8m from Brazilian club side Internacional. Photo: Getty

  This is not a perspective likely to please the nationalists back home. Brazil, like Argentina, has a proud footballing culture. It rankles with many that the bulk of the national team play for foreign clubs. Especially when results are poor, there are frequently calls for more home-based players to be called up.

  Two myths underpin this way of thinking.

  The first is that those who play with domestic clubs are more committed to the cause. The reality usually is that they might still be waiting for an offer to Europe. And the idea that living abroad automatically makes a person less patriotic is palpable nonsense - the reverse is often true.

  The second myth is that the move to Europe inevitably means that the South American will have his natural flair coached out of him. Of course, it may apply in some cases. But again, the opposite is as likely to be true. When Dunga was in charge of Brazil, for example, he used to complain that many Brazilians abroad were excused defensive duties in order to exploit their attacking strengths. They would go as full-backs and be transformed into wingers.

  The nationalist lobby will then point to the World Cups won by Brazil and Argentina. They will say that the successful teams of the past were culled from domestic clubs. Therefore, today's teams should be as well.

  It is an argument that ignores the huge changes that have taken place in the game over the last 30 years. The World Cups of 1958, 1970 or 1978 came before the global market in footballers opened for business. The best Brazilians and Argentines were playing at home. Also, their national teams were able to spend months together in preparation for the World Cup, which is unthinkable today. With their accumulation of top talent and their time spent together, the national teams could set the standards in terms of quality of play.

  Nowadays, these same advantages are only enjoyed by the major European clubs. They vacuum up talent from all over the world and then work with it week after week, grudgingly releasing their players for the odd international fixture.

  It is little wonder, then, that nowadays it is Europe's Champions League that sets the standards in a game - and even less of a surprise that the best South Americans want to be a part of it. Quite apart from any financial considerations, shining in the Champions League is essential for any player to be considered truly great. Sandro's eyes light up as he recalls the tussles with Milan last season.

  

  Leandro Damiao (left) and Neymar are Brazil stars who have stayed in the domestic game. Photo: Getty

  True, this is a dynamic process. The possibility of a shift exists, with Brazil's economic boom coupled with Europe's problems. The terms of trade have already altered, with Brazilian clubs able to hang on to youngsters for longer and bring back established stars sooner. Against Ghana, Brazil were able to field a front four entirely made up of home-based players, centre-forward Leandro Damiao backed up by Neymar, Paulo Henrique Ganso and Ronaldinho.

  But the general trend remains - and will do so for the next few years at least. Sooner or later, the younger three of the quartet will be on their way to Europe, where they will look to spend their peak years. If they had any doubts, they only had to observe the performance of their veteran colleague.

  On his recall to the national team, Ronaldinho hit some splendid free-kicks and found the space to supply a couple of dangerous crosses as Ghana, down to 10 men, wilted in the closing stages. But for most of the game, he was a peripheral figure, unable to reproduce his form with Flamengo, where he has been so decisive on the edge of the opposing area.

  Brazil coach Mano Menezes commented afterwards that the rhythm of international football is much quicker than that of the domestic Brazilian game and that Ronaldinho had not found it easy to make the adjustment.

  It might be dangerous, then, to draw too many conclusions from this month's two friendlies between Brazil and Argentina, the first on Brazilian soil this Wednesday. Both sides are restricted to home-based players. Among them are some very interesting prospects. For Brazil, for example, Vasco da Gama's Dede is a centre-back of formidable strength and quality.

  But the games are put into context by Sergio Batista, recently deposed as coach of Argentina. In the first interview he gave following his sacking, he mentioned the headaches that he had been given by having, alongside the first team, a squad of home-based players. "Some of the directors," he said, "still don't understand that the first-team players will always be based abroad. The point of having a group of domestic players is that when they go abroad they know what it is to represent the national team."

  And their chances of success will be improved still further once they have picked up the kind of experience that Sandro is so pleased to have acquired in the first year of his European adventure.
  
  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.
  
  From last week's postbag:
  
  Q) You often comment on players' prospective moves to Europe saying that they are not yet ready to make the transition to European football. Are there any players who you are surprised haven't been signed by a European club despite, in your opinion, being ready?
  George Heron
  
  Not many, because there have so many forces pushing players across the Atlantic - agents, often the clubs wanting the sale, pressure from their families to cash in. There are a few, though, usually from outside Brazil and Argentina. Victor Caceres of Paraguay, Michael Arroyo of Ecuador (now Mexico-based). Another Mexican based Ecuadorian is Cristian Benitez, who had that year with Birmingham. I'm very surprised no-one else in Europe picked him up afterwards.

  This is going to become a fascinating question in many Brazilian careers, I believe, because clubs in the country are now paying such high wages that there is no longer an automatic financial advantage in coming over. Players will have to judge what is best for their career. Hernanes of Lazio is one, I think, who should probably have made the move earlier than he did. In the future, there will probably be more players who might be regretting that they came across too late, rather than too early.

• Tough qualifying period ahead for South American sides

  Posted: September 5, 2011, 2:09 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  While Uruguay's players were still celebrating their recent Copa America victory, their coach Oscar Washington Tabarez, with typical wisdom, was guarding against complacency.

  "Winning the Copa doesn't give us any guarantees in terms of the World Cup qualifiers," he said. "They are much more competitive than this tournament."

  On Friday, in their first outing since the triumph in Argentina, it took Uruguay just 13 seconds to realise that the Copa belongs to the past.

  That is how long Ukraine needed to get the ball into the back of the Uruguayan net in the friendly in Kharkiv.

  The Sky Blues hit back to win 3-2 - the decisive goal set up by Luis Suarez for Abel Hernandez, a jet-heeled, left-footed striker who, like Liverpool new boy Sebastian Coates, is a graduate from Uruguay's excellent under-20 side of 2009.

  It is this conveyor belt of talent that is Uruguay's best hope of maintaining their momentum.

  Tabarez is correct. The next set of World Cup qualifiers, which get underway in South America next month, will surely be the most competitive ever. The evidence was there in the Copa, and was reinforced in the weekend's round of warm-up friendlies.
  

  It was there in Chile's impressive performance in going down 3-2 to Spain, the world champions gifted a highly dubious injury-time penalty.

  It was there in wins for Paraguay and Colombia, against Panama and Honduras respectively, and it was there in the 2-2 draw between Peru and Bolivia - an excellent result for the visitors against a side stronger on paper than the one that just came third in the Copa.

  It was there in Ecuador's 5-2 dismantling of Jamaica and it was also there, bizarrely enough, in Calcutta, India.

  New Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella began his reign with a match against Venezuela staged in Asia.

  

  Barcelona's Lionel Messi recieved a hero's reception as he arrived in India for Argentina's friendly against Venezuela. Photo: Getty

  He used a 4-3-3 formation with Lionel Messi, the new captain, in his old position, cutting in from wide right.

  Admittedly, it was hot and the game was played on an artificial pitch, but yet again Argentina were not convincing, seeming to add up to less than the sum of their parts.
  
  Argentina won 1-0, the goal coming from a Nicolas Otamendi header from a corner. It was a rare lapse in concentration by Venezuela, who can take a great deal of heart from their performance.

  In this match, staged in a new frontier for football, Venezuela announced that they have a place in the game's future.

  The only South American nation never to appear in a World Cup, they have earned the right to go into the 2014 qualifiers dreaming of a place in Brazil.

  This is truly a remarkable rise. A generation ago Venezuela were the South American footballing equivalent of San Marino and their progress is down to the work of three coaches.

  Little more than a decade ago, Argentine Omar Pastoriza identified a promising group of young players.

  A home-grown replacement, Richard Paez, improved results by tapping into the local mentality, sending the players out to win rather than merely to keep the score down. Now, Cesar Farias has taken them to the next level.

  The youthful Farias is not to everyone's taste. He seems to be cultivating a Jose Mourinho approach to courting controversy, falling out with rival coaches during the Copa. However, he is clearly talented.

  Still only 38, he has been taking charge of senior sides since his early twenties, and had a consistent body of work behind him when he stepped into the national team job four years ago.

  In 2009 he took the under-20s to the World Youth Cup in Egypt, a landmark for Venezuelan football, and several from that side have been fast-tracked into the senior squad.

  Indeed, one of the most striking things about his time in charge is the sheer quantity of players he has called up. Last season he selected 40 players.

  Farias casts the net wide, but results have not suffered as a result. The ability to assimilate so many players into the process indicates excellent man-management skills and the clear communication of a tactical approach.

  And now the net is being cast wider still. Venezuela's Copa America achievements - they came fourth and were desperately unlucky not to make the final - have raised the profile of the team and made them a much more attractive bet for European-based players who have a connection with the country.

  Venezuelan-born but brought up in Spain, centre-back Fernando Amorebieta made a very solid debut against Argentina before being replaced for the last few minutes by Andres Tunez of Celta Vigo, another debutant with a similar background.

  The stand out first-timer was attacking midfielder Frank Feltscher, who plays for Grasshopper of Zurich and has come through the youth ranks with Switzerland.

  He has now thrown in his lot with Venezuela, the country of his mother's birth, and his strong running and ability to find gaps in the Argentina defence came close to setting up three first-half goals.

  In the wake of his impressive debut, younger brother Rolf, a defender with Parma, will surely also be tempted to swap Switzerland for Venezuela.

  There are more players, then, for Farias to feed in. If he can keep doing it successfully then Argentina might have something to worry about when they meet in October, when World Cup qualification points are at stake.

  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.From last week's postbag;

  Q) I was just wondering if you had any news on the recovery of Giovanni Moreno? While watching the Copa America, I wondered how Colombia would have played if Moreno had of been fit, because they were lacking some creativity in the final third. Do you think the reintroduction of Moreno will alter the style of play?
  Liliana Botero

  A) On Sunday the lanky playmaker made his comeback for Racing in Argentina after six months out. Once he's fully fit I'm sure he'll be back for Colombia - the coaching situation is up in the air at the moment with Leonel Alvarez in caretaker charge, but Saturday's 2-0 win over Honduras strengthens his hand.

  In the Copa they clearly lacked something in the final third, as you say. On Saturday they went with an extra striker, and it did leave them much more open defensively.

  Playing Moreno just off a lone striker is probably the best compromise between these two approaches, so I see him as a vital player for his country.

  Q) West Ham recently signed an 18-year-old Paraguayan striker on a one-year loan with a first option to buy. Any thoughts on the player?
  Chris Edele

  A) This is Brian Montenegro. I saw him at the start of the year in the South American Under-20 Championships and it's worth noting that he's young enough to play in the next version of the tournament in 2013.

  He's well built with some pace and an interesting left foot, and subsequently he's done well in the domestic league for Tacuary.

  However, the money men come in, with investors buying his registration and looking to cash in resulting in what I would view as a premature move. I know I sound like a stuck record on this one but I fear that his long-term interests might have been bettered served by staying a while longer and building up some momentum at home.
  

• Premier League will test talented Coates

  Posted: August 29, 2011, 6:45 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  On the verge of joining Liverpool, Uruguay centre back Sebastian Coates was last seen on the pitch in Buenos Aires celebrating victory in the Copa America, and then accepting an award for the best young player of the tournament.

  These are impressive credentials for a player who is not 21 until October.

  Coates is shaping up as a potential future captain of his country but, assuming the deal goes through, the challenge he now faces at club level is very different, and is surely going to stretch the youngster with the gangling frame.

  Tournament football is played to its own rhythm - look at Paraguay, beaten convincingly by Coates and his Uruguay team-mates in the final. They reached the decider without winning a single game.

  

  Coates enjoyed a successful break-through tournament in the 2011 Copa America. Photo: Getty

  In a competition where eight of the 12 teams make it through to the knock-out stage, the emphasis is on not being beaten. The 2011 Copa was a counter-attacking tournament, and part of Uruguay's success was that they read it so well.

  In every game they played in last year's World Cup Uruguay had less possession than their opponents but more shots. During the Copa they made sure they pulled back still deeper, swapping striker Edinson Cavani for yet another hard working midfielder.

  It was, then, a good tournament for a young centre-back to find his international feet.

  Coates could defend deep, with Diego Perez and Egidio Arevalo Rios snapping into tackles in front of him - and the magnificent Diego Forlan-Luis Suarez partnership to win the game at the other end.

  Coates is now about to team up with Suarez once more, but this time the circumstances are very different. Liverpool's quest is to win enough games to get into the top four, or even mount a title challenge.

  It means that, if called upon, Coates will be asked to defend much higher up the field, with much less protection in front of him, in a context where everything is happening much more quickly than anything he has ever been used to in his young career.

  It is a step up that proved far too big for a South American centre-back previously signed by Liverpool - Gabriel Paletta, who came to Anfield soon after helping Argentina win the 2005 World Youth Cup.

  Paletta has gone on to prove himself in European football, coming back from a serious knee injury to enjoy a solid debut season in Italy with Parma. He is a strong, rugged defender - had he waited until now for a move to Liverpool he might have done better.

  But as I argued in this space five years ago, swapping Banfield in the Argentine league for Liverpool in 2006 was dangerously premature.

  In comparison, Coates would seem more prepared for the new demands he is about to face. Despite his age he has accumulated some interesting senior experience, as well as making his way through Uruguay's excellent youth ranks.

  It was after shining for his country at Under-20 level at the start of 2009 that Coates was thrown into the deep end with Nacional, one of Uruguay's big two.

  He made an immediate impression, and was a fixture in the side that year that became the first Uruguayan club in two decades to reach the semi-finals of the Copa Libertadores.

  Come the vital second leg at home to Estudiantes of Argentina, Coates made the crucial mistake, gifting an away goal after being caught in possession.

  It was an unfortunate error, but also a great learning experience. There are no short cuts for young defenders. Mistakes are going to be made. In this case, Coates did not let it affect his momentum.

  He has performed solidly through the club's two subsequent Libertadores campaigns, having responsibility thrust upon him and, without being a shouter, showing good leadership potential, organising things around him, keeping things simple and using his height to be a dominant figure in both penalty areas. He is much further down the road than Paletta was five years ago.

  For all that, the step up he is taking is still a big one. For evidence, he need only look to the wildly differing fates in English football of his team-mates in the Uruguay attack.

  Diego Forlan is a truly magnificent footballer - intelligent, audacious, unselfish, technically excellent. He could even speak good English when he crossed the Atlantic to join Manchester United.

  But straight from Independiente in Argentina with no senior international experience, it was too much, too soon. At Old Trafford he could never get a regular run of games and he lost momentum and confidence - before going off to Spain and proving himself a truly world class player.

  Suarez, on the other hand, arrived in the Premier League that vital few years later, having bedded in with Ajax and shown what he could do in a World Cup. He has lit up Liverpool from day one.

  The one undoubted plus point about Sebastian Coates joining Liverpool now is that he will only have to face Suarez in training games.
  
  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.
  From last week's postbag;
  
  Q) I've been keeping an eye on the Brazilian league since the start of the season, and I can't help but notice that Santos, who have one of the best squads in the league with the likes of Neymar, Ganso and Elano in their squad, have really been struggling this year.

  Fifteenth in the Brazilian league just isn't good enough for a team that hope to challenge at the Club World Cup this winter. What do you think is going on?
  Arthur Holmes
  
  A) I don't think it's anything to get too worried about, unless they slip back into the relegation zone, which is unlikely as recent results have picked up.

  This kind of slump is normal for a Brazilian team that has just won the Copa Libertadores. As holders they are guaranteed a place in next year's Libertadores, and they start thinking day and night about the World Club Cup - it's hardly surprising that domestic form slumps.

  It becomes even less surprising when you add in the fact that Santos have lost lots of players to international call-ups - the stars away for a month for the Copa America, others away for a month with the World Youth Cup - all during the domestic season.

  I don't think their league form has much relevance in terms of their chances in the World Club Cup.
  

• Has the sun finally set on Javier Zanetti?

  Posted: August 22, 2011, 2:12 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  Has Javier Zanetti's international career finally come to an end?

  New Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella paid tribute to him last week - and then left him out of the squad to face Venezuela and Nigeria. He has forced his way back before after being dropped but at the age of 38 can he really come back again?

  One of the most remarkable aspects of Zanetti's haul of 145 international caps is that the total could have been even higher. The Inter Milan stalwart was controversially left out of the squad for both of the last two World Cups - despite the fact that Argentina have had such difficulty producing full-backs.

  

  Even as a 38-year-old, Zanetti remains committed, fit and dedicated to his football. Photo: Getty

  That lack of decent alternatives may be a major reason why Zanetti - whose commitment, fitness and dedication cannot be questioned - has managed to stick around for as long as he has done.

  By way of illustration, Pablo Zabaleta - more at home as a right-sided midfielder - is currently Argentina's first-choice right-back.

  Perhaps the biggest condemnation of Argentina's deficiency is that Zanetti's last games for his country came on the other flank.

  During this summer's Copa America Sabella's predecessor Sergio Batista came to the conclusion that his best option at left-back was none other than the right-footed Zanetti. The decision was perhaps one reason why Argentina struggled so much to open up a Uruguay side which went down to 10 men after an early red card for midfielder Diego Perez.

  Six years ago, when he was in charge of Argentina, Jose Pekerman declared himself envious of Brazil's tradition for mass-producing dynamic and attacking full-backs. Zanetti was the best equivalent he had. But then, astonishingly, he opted not to take him to the 2006 World Cup in Germany, an omission even more bizarre than Diego Maradona's decision to do without him four years later in South Africa.

  What on earth was Pekerman thinking of? One Argentine journalist, whose opinion I respect, swears that it was because the coach had come to the conclusion that Zanetti was a jinx.

  It is certainly true that Zanetti can hardly claim to be a lucky charm for Argentina. He first played for his country towards the end of 1994. The previous year Argentina won a second consecutive Copa America, and their 14th overall, but have not won another senior title since.

  

  Diego Maradona controversially left Zanetti out of his 2010 World Cup squad. Photo: AFP

  While not being blessed with full-backs the same can hardly be said for Argentina when it comes to other positions. Between 1995 and 2007 they won the World Youth Cup - featuring players aged 20 or under - five times out of seven.

  The 1995 winners were captained by the maverick left-back Juan Pablo Sorin, Pekerman's captain in 2006 and the last top-class attacking full-back to have come out of the country. The 1997 side were especially strong in midfield, with Juan Roman Riquelme, Esteban Cambiasso and Pablo Aimar, as well as centre-back Walter Samuel. Four years later Nicolas Burdisso was the standout defender, Maxi Rodriguez and Andres D'Alessandro shone in midfield and Javier Saviola provided the cutting edge.

  The 2003 team failed to win the title, but left a legacy of Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez. Lionel Messi was the clear star from the class of 2005, supported by Zabaleta, Fernando Gago and Sergio Aguero, who also shot Argentina to triumph in 2007, backed up by goalkeeper Sergio Romero, midfielder Ever Banega and the flying Angel Di Maria.

  Even though some of these players may have fallen short of expectations, it is still a dazzling cast list. And while it is clearly easier to win a World Youth title - or an Olympic football gold medal - than a World Cup, it is understandable that Argentines are left frustrated by their long wait for a senior trophy.

  There have been some spectacular failures along the way - the 2002 World Cup side arrived as favourites but crashed out at the group stage.

  There have been some near misses - especially the 2004 Copa America, when Argentina outplayed what was essentially a reserve Brazil side, who snatched a last-minute equaliser and won on penalties.

  But some wounds have been self-inflicted, such as the lack of balance between attack and defence in the last World Cup, and, I would argue, the absence of Zanetti in 2006. In order to accommodate the roaming of Sorin down the left, coach Pekerman ended up playing a central defender at right-back. The plan backfired spectacularly in the quarter-finals against Germany as Argentina dominated but ultimately failed to convert possession into clear-cut chances. Some well-timed bursts from Zanetti might have made all the difference, appearing as an element of surprise and stretching the German lines.

  Rather than being a jinx, in 2006 at least, he might have been the missing piece of the jigsaw.

  If you've got any questions on South American football you can email them to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com and Tim will pick out a couple for next week.
  From last week's postbag:

  David Sirkin asks: In light of the recent insipid performances by both the Brazilian and Argentine teams, why haven't we seen the inclusions of the Lazio superstars Hernanes and Zarate for their respective countries?

  Tom Vickery answers: Zarate has a tough task getting in because Argentina have so much strength in depth up-front. Even without Tevez the current squad has Aguero, Lisandro Lopez and Eduardo Salvio alongside Messi, with Juan Manuel Martinez of Velez in the squad of home-based players. Not easy to get past that lot - he's going to have to do well on a consistent basis to stand a chance.

  Hernanes is a strange case - poorly selected wide-left against France earlier this year, he couldn't get in the game, got frustrated and picked up a silly and uncharacteristic red card, and has been out in the cold ever since.

  Personally, though, I'd love to see him in. He offers so much - he's versatile and strikes the ball beautifully with both feet. I think I'm in a minority of one here, but I even think he's worth a look in the holding role for Brazil - he can mark and I think he can be a more natural passer from deep than Lucas Leiva. I'd love to see it tried out, but, as I say, I seem to be the only one who thinks that way.

• Brazil fail to rediscover winning formula

  Posted: August 15, 2011, 3:09 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  One of my favourite pieces of football writing is by the splendid Argentine coach Angel Cappa, a romantic of the old school, reflecting on his good fortune at being in Spain to watch Brazil’s midfield in the 1982 World Cup.

  “The ball arrived in this zone [midfield],” he wrote, “and would then disappear to reappear in the form of a rabbit and also a dove and then was hidden again from anguished opponents who would look for it in the most unlikely places without being able to find it….

  "The crowd, myself included, looked at the watch with the intention of making time stand still because we all wanted the game to last for ever.”

  Since then, though, no one has really been able to write about Brazil in quite the same terms. Not through any lack of quality - in the last 30 years the production line of great attacking full backs and magnificent strikers has been working overtime.

   

  

  Brazil's national team have failed to rediscover their past winning formula after World Cup 1982 defeat. PHOTO: GETTY

  But the game has never flowed through the midfield with the same magic, because that has not been the objective.

  For many Brazilian coaches, the failure of that 1982 side to win the World Cup (they lost to Italy) served as proof for ideas that had been kicking around for a while - starting with a 5-1 massacre at the hands of Belgium in 1963, confirmed by the defeat by Holland in the 1974 World Cup.

  The physical development of the game, it was thought, meant that traditional methods had to be revised. Brazilian players had to bulk up - Rubens Minelli, the most successful domestic coach of the 70s, wanted his team to be made up of six footers.

  And with less space on the field, the future of football lay in the counter attack, rather than elaborate attempts to pass through midfield.

  These thoughts have carried a lot of weight in the Brazilian game. They help explain why a succession of Brazil sides have caught the eye for explosive breaks down the flanks rather than for the succession of midfield triangles that enraptured Cappa and everyone else in 1982.

  When former Middlesbrough left-back Branco was in charge of Brazil’s youth sides, he told me that right from the start of the process the search for big, strong youngsters was a priority. Brazilian coaches, meanwhile, became fond of spouting the statistic that the chances of a goal are reduced if the move contains more than seven passes.

  And then along came the Barcelona/Spain school, with its little Xavis and Iniestas and its focus on possession of the ball - and its accumulation of trophies. Had not Brazilian football declared such players and such methods obsolete?

  Once a star with both Brazil and Barcelona, Rivaldo recently made clear the distance that has grown between the two schools. His old team-mate Pep Guardiola, he said, had built a Barcelona team in his own image, giving his players "the tranquillity to go anywhere, even Real Madrid away, and keep passing the ball, irritating the opponents.

  "A time will come when they will be able to slip someone through on goal and score. This is down to him, because he transmits this idea to the players and then trains it, something that you don’t see in Brazil.

  "I visited Barcelona and watched a training session. Here [in Brazil] if you try to train retaining possession of the ball, the players don’t like it. I see people talking about the way that Barcelona play the ball around, but here in Brazil everyone wants to get the ball and charge forward."

  These are fascinating observations, which perhaps help explain why Brazil are in an awkward moment of transition.

  The official line is that Brazil are trying to wean themselves off an excessive dependence on the counter- attack. Coach Mano Menezes declared as such when he took over a year ago, and there is sound thinking behind the attempt to change direction - or perhaps, to turn the clock back.

  First, there is the need to gain full advantage from playing at home in the 2014 World Cup. The local crowd will react better to a style of play more in line with the traditional virtues of the Brazilian game.

  Second, on home ground no one will offer Brazil the opportunity to counter attack. Something more expansive will be necessary.

  But can Brazil currently count on the players with the skills and ideas to put this change of direction into practice? Today’s players, of course, are far too young to have seen the 1982 side.

  On Sunday Brazil met Spain in Colombia in the quarter finals of the World Youth Cup. Before the match Brazil boss Ney Franco, hand picked by Menezes to take charge of the Under-20s, paid tribute to the style of the opponents, but added that “Spain are not exactly a reference - it’s enough to remember our team of 82.”

  The game that followed was a minor classic because of the clash of styles. Before tiredness muddied the waters, the pattern of the game was clear.

  Spain were more like the Brazil of 82, with their carefree passing. Brazil had aspects of that year’s Italy, ruthless on the break. They won on penalties after an exhilarating 2-2 draw.

  It was the type of game that made me lament all the more that the senior teams did not meet in either the 2009 Confederations Cup or last year’s World Cup. Puncher versus counter-puncher often makes for a great spectacle.

  Should they meet in 2014, Brazil’s idea, as we have seen, is that there shall not be such a clash of styles. That is, assuming that Mano Menezes keeps his job, and that he keeps his nerve.

  Losses in recent months to Argentina and France were followed by a disappointing Copa America.

  Attempts to play a more elaborate passing game have not been entirely convincing. And so for last week’s friendly away to Germany he surprisingly dropped his playmaker Paulo Henrique Ganso and selected a midfield that left his team with no other option but the counter-attack. It didn’t work and probably did not deserve to.

  The margin of defeat was wider than the 3-2 scoreline might suggest.

  After the game Menezes commented that his team were not yet ready to trade toe-to-toe with Germany, who were not even at full strength.

  Does this mean that, under pressure, Brazil’s coach is losing faith in his team’s capacity to recapture the swagger of its predecessors that was eulogised with such eloquence by Angel Cappa?
  
  
  
  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I’ll pick out a couple for next week.
  From last week’s postbag;
  
  Q) It has always surprised me that the legend of Argentinean football Carlos Bianchi has never taken the role of coach of the national team. His CV is simply outstanding having won 7 league titles and 4 Copa Libertadores as well as a host of intercontinental cups. As manager of Boca he oversaw the development of the likes of Riquelme, Tevez, Samuel and Palermo into world class players and having been a former great international player himself he appears the perfect candidate to lead Argentina to World Cup Glory.
  Why hasn't he ever managed Argentina? Is it a personal reason or do the Argentine FA not rate him for some reason?
  Monty Hallaq
  
  A) There’s thought to be some bad blood between him and Julio Grondona, the long term head of the Argentine FA. But there have been times in the past when of his own accord he ruled himself out of contention.

  He hasn’t coached for a while, and it’s worth remembering that his spells in Europe, with Roma and Atletico Madrid, were not a success.

  His club record in Argentina is indeed wonderful. The national team is a different challenge, though, and I’m not entirely convinced. He’s an organised, methodical type, perhaps the kind of coach who’s much better suited to the club game. I’m not sure he could adapt well to not having daily contact with players and the chance to drill repeatedly on the training ground.
  
  
  Q) In the World Youth Cup I recently looked up to see who had qualified for the quarter-finals, and ONCE AGAIN, South America is well represented (Brazil, Colombia, Argentina). What do you think about that?
  Jini Twahirwa Sebakunzi
  
  A) Only Brazil are left in the semis, and they only qualified on penalties - which has confirmed my feeling that this year’s is not a vintage crop from the continent.

  Nevertheless, having three in the last eight is in indication of how seriously the Under-20 teams are taken in South America.

  They are seen as a key conveyor belt to the senior side. More important than winning titles at this level is grooming players, and on tis count I think Ecuador have plenty to be pleased about in the current tournament.

  By all accounts they were unlucky not to beat France and reach the quarter finals, and I think there are a few players in their team who in a few years time might be featuring in the senior side.

• Batista must have thought he was safe as houses

  Posted: August 1, 2011, 5:07 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  Just before the Copa America he signed a contract to be Argentina boss in the coming set of World Cup qualifiers. Argentina had not sacked a coach in decades - either they had resigned or had reached the end of their contract. Why would it be any different now?

  On his record over the past year, Sergio Batista is unfortunate to have been ousted - with former Leeds and Sheffield United midfielder Alejandro Sabella lined up to replace him.

  True, the Copa did not go as planned, with the hosts knocked out on penalties in the quarter-finals by eventual winners Uruguay. Batista's plans to form a Buenos Aires imitation Barcelona clearly did not work, and he had to rethink his team after two disappointing draws.

  But it is easy to be wise after the event. He was perfectly entitled to try out the system, with Lionel Messi in his club 'false number nine' position.

  The evidence from friendlies was promising - Batista's team thrashed Spain, beat Brazil and Portugal and at the end of March produced a dazzling first half against the USA.

  Then in the Copa, forced to rebuild his team in a hurry, Batista clearly improved things. Certain selections could be queried, but there were no glaring omissions in his squad, and his side undoubtedly deserved to win their quarter-final.

  

  River Plate have been given a reprieve with the merger of the top two divisions. Photo: Getty

  Essentially, Batista has been sacked because Carlos Tevez had his penalty saved in the shoot-out - but more fundamentally, he has gone because it is electoral year in the Argentine FA. This is the factor that forced the change.

  Julio Grondona, president for 32 years, is hungry for more, which means that he has to play to the gallery. His constituency is the club presidents.

  This is a moment where Grondona is careful to give them what they want. They wanted Batista out, and so out he goes.

  But a switch of national team coach is far from being the most significant change taking place in Argentine football as a result of the fact that Grondona is seeking another term.

  Electoral year also provides the backdrop for the plan to merge Argentina's first and second divisions into a giant 38-team structure in a new-look league to kick off in a year's time.

  The immediate suspicion raised was that this is a manoeuvre to reinstate River Plate in the first division.

  The Buenos Aires giants were relegated a month ago, and now have an automatic pass back - providing the unthinkable does not happen and they do not drop to the third this season.

  Indeed, the River Plate situation has given an extra urgency to the project. But it does not explain why last Monday 15 first division clubs voted in favour. The political attractiveness of the plan lies in the fact that it offers something for nearly everyone.

  The big traditional clubs of Buenos Aires had a shock with River's relegation. Other giants, such as Boca Juniors and Independiente, were looking over their shoulders. They can now feel protected.

  But the project is being sold as a profound shift in the direction of decentralising Argentine football, of limiting the historic domination of Buenos Aires by letting the provinces come to the party.

  The easy response is that this is happening anyway. As this column has mentioned before, Godoy Cruz of Mendoza, near the Chilean border, have in the last three years taken big strides towards establishing themselves in the first division.

  And all four promoted clubs this season are from the provinces - exemplified by River Plate's play-off defeat at the hands of Belgrano of Cordoba.

  This huge expansion of the first division, then, protects the Buenos Aires clubs from the rise of the provinces, while also offering more provincial teams a shot at glory - as I say, there is something for everyone.

  Except, perhaps, for those who believe in quality. Even with 20 clubs, the standard of the Argentine first division has not been high in recent years, as seen by the generally disappointing performance of the country's representatives in the Copa Libertadores, South America's Champions League.

  An increase to 38 clubs would seem to be a charter for generalised mediocrity.

  It is interesting that one of the four clubs who did not back the proposal were the current champions Velez Sarsfield. Widely seen as the best run club in the country, Velez have grown and grown in recent years, with a model based on good youth development and sound financial administration.

  They are a club striving for excellence, and they seem unconvinced by the new formula for football in the country.

  For the moment they are swimming against the tide. In addition to the other clubs, Argentina's government appear in favour of the scheme - a vital detail since the TV rights are state owned.

  It is election year in the formal political structure as well, so presumably a calculation has been made that there are votes to be gained from the expansion of the first division.

  But for how long? Is this new model viable in the long term?

  There are clear problems. One is the fact that at the moment there are no visiting supporters in the second division - the stadiums are not seen as good enough to deal with the country's problem of fan violence.

  It is hoped that a new system of personalised ID cards for supporters will save the situation - a technological solution in which the present writer has little confidence.

  There is also the problem of the sheer number of meaningless games. The suggestion is as follows - in the first half of the season the teams are divided into two groups of 19.

  After the league phase, the top 19 go into another league to spend the second half battling for the title, while the rest are playing to avoid relegation. In practice this could well be unwieldy and dull.

  Even in theory it is not going down very well. If enough club presidents feel that their supporters are not in favour then there could even be a rethink before October's assembly - but nothing that will getm Sergio Batista his old job back.

  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

  Q) When watching the impressive Diego Lugano captain Uruguay to victory in the Copa America I began to reflect on his career so far. I remember following him during his days at Sao Paulo and a move to Italy or Spain seemed almost inevitable - then he inexplicably chose Fenerbahçe in Turkey where he has remained to this day. At this point in his career do you still think there's still a chance we'll see him playing in a more prestigious league?
  Scott Spires

  A) I think time has passed him by with that one - he's 30 now and he wasn't the quickest to start with. The funniest moment of Uruguay's celebrations was when ther big striker Sebastian Abreu was cracking jokes about the irony of Lugano, in his capacity as team captain, receiving the Fair Play award that Uruguay also won in the Copa America. Put him in a quicker league and he could well be a red card waiting to happen.
  
  Q) I've been living in Chile for several years now and follow the national team closely. I would be very interested to hear your thoughts on Jorge Valdivia.
  For me, Valdivia added a touch of class to the Chile team when he came on as a sub for Chile. He actually seems more effective (as a game changer) than the much-touted Sanchez (although, of course, a very different style of player). He certainly seems better than Matiás Fernandez at delivering the killer pass. I'm surprised no European / British teams have been sniffing around after him. Do you think this is because of passed discipline issues, fitness, or because he's considered too much of a luxury?
  Andrew Wood
  
  A) He's a lovely player to watch, a little twinkle-toed playmaker, but I think you've gone way too far placing him above Sanchez or even Mati Fernandez, whose injury was such a blow to Chile's Copa campaign.
  He's back in Brazil with Palmeiras, where there are fans that love him, and others who consider him a luxury, thinking that, for some of the reasons you cite, his cost/benefit is not good.
  He had a brief foray into Europe - Rayo Vallecano and Sevette. He's now coming up 28 and it's difficult to imagine him going across the Atlantic again.

• Kun can charm City's fanbase

  Posted: July 29, 2011, 12:44 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  The sun is rising at Eastlands as "Kun" brings his special talent to Manchester City.

  Kun is the nickname of Sergio Aguero, the Argentine striker who in the last few days has become the latest of City's South American signings - and potentially the best.

  Robinho's capture announced the arrival of the club amongst the super-rich, while the capture of Carlos Tevez had the added cachet of annoying Manchester United.

  But Aguero looks more like being a case of the right player arriving at the right time for the right reasons. His signing is both a present to the club for having qualified for the Champions League, and a declaration of intent to make an impact in the competition.

  

  Aguero won two Fifa Under-20 World Cup titles with Argentina. Image: Getty

  The origin of "Kun" lies, apparently, in a Japanese cartoon character that he liked as a child. The origins of Aguero have much more to do with the tradition of South American football - a working class kid from the urban sprawl who has that low centre of gravity associated with so many of the continent's top players and who honed his skill playing in the street and the park

  The obvious similarity is with Romario, the great Brazilian striker of the 1990s. It is a comparison that lands me in trouble when I use it on Brazilian TV - they are protective of their idols - but making it puts me in good company.

  I recall Cesar Luis Menotti, the great Argentine coach who was in charge of Aguero for a brief spell during the player's early years with Independiente, was the first to make the comparison. Subsequently, Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola, a former team-mate of Romario's, has also pointed out the similarity.

  Like the Brazilian, Aguero has that stocky build, a burst of acceleration and the capacity to work magic in the restricted spaces of the penalty area.

  He also combines well with other players. In particular, he has an excellent on-field relationship with Lionel Messi, one forged when they roomed together during the 2005 World Youth Cup in the Netherlands.

  This is mere speculation on my part but it is conceivable that Aguero might have been in Barcelona's sights had they not been pursuing the superb Chilean striker Alexis Sanchez. Aguero would certainly be at home at Barca, which speaks volumes for the calibre of player City have acquired.

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  But if he is so extraordinarily talented, how come that, at the age of 23, he is not already an even bigger name? It is a fair question and one he seems ready to answer.

  Aguero can be seen as something of a mirror image of Diego Milito, the Inter Milan centre forward who made such an impact on the Champions League two seasons ago.

  Diego was in the shadow of his younger brother Gabriel, the centre-back currently with Barcelona, as Gabriel was seen as by far the more talented of the two.

  No-one was telling the teenage Diego that he was a phenomenon but he kept quietly working at his game until the rewards came.

  Aguero, on the other hand, was being touted as a phenomenon ever since he showed he could cope with the Argentine first division at the age of 15. There was a local push - unsuccessful - to get him into the Argentina squad for the 2006 World Cup, when he had just turned 18.

  Instead, his debut for the national side came just afterwards as a substitute in a friendly against Brazil at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium, and included a delightful piece of skill in the penalty area that set up a great chance for Federico Insua, who blasted the ball over the bar.

  Perhaps some of Aguero's next years were if not wasted then not used to their full professional potential. It was a time of change, from adolescent to man, from Argentina to Spain, from promise to reality.

  It is not always an easy path but Aguero, who married Diego Maradona's daughter along the way, has come out of it seemingly fully focused on being as good as he can be.

  Hence the urge to leave Atletico Madrid and move to a club with Champions League ambitions. Hence the instant brushing aside of any "lifestyle" issues involved in the move to Manchester.

  He is coming across as a hungry player. City fans should be thrilled with his signing.

  Back in Argentina, Independiente are happy enough with the move because they get a little chunk of the transfer fee.

  His sale to Atletico Madrid was a significant moment for Independiente, as the influx of funds allowed them to rebuild their stadium.

  And now it is Manchester City supporters who are lucky enough to be able to watch him in their home ground.
  

• Future bright for Copa kings Uruguay

  Posted: July 25, 2011, 1:00 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  The record 15th Copa America triumph came with a fair dose of suffering - the only way Uruguay know how.

  They drew both their first two games. Then they mounted a heroic rearguard action in the quarter final against hosts Argentina, where they had a man sent off in the first half.

  But in the end it was conclusive. And so was the message from Buenos Aires after the 3-0 win over Paraguay in the final - last year's run to the World Cup semi finals was no fluke. Uruguay are back.

  Much of the credit must clearly go to coach Oscar Washington Tabarez, the thoughtful veteran who has masterminded the resurgence of Uruguayan football. But as I watched his team run down the clock in the second half against Paraguay, I was reflecting on how his entire project could have been derailed right at the start.

  Before starting his second spell in charge of Uruguay in 2006, Tabarez spent time ruminating on the consequences of globalisation on his country's football - on how, with a population little more than 3 million, it was impossible for the domestic game to keep hold of its talents, and how it was difficult to maintain a footballing identity in a globalised context. One of his conclusions was that Uruguay's national teams, at all levels, should play the 4-3-3 formation.

  This hardline philosophy lasted exactly one competitive game. In their debut in the 2007 Copa in Venezuela, Uruguay were taken apart on the road to a 3-0 defeat by Peru. "Reality was too strong for us," commented the coach afterwards. Time for a rethink. Tabarez understood that Uruguay had to acknowledge their limitations. They had to change their gameplan in accordance with the strengths and weaknesses of the opponent.

  

  Uruguay are celebrating their first Copa America since 1995. Photo: Getty.

  Uruguay regrouped in that 2007 Copa, when only a penalty shoot-out defeat stopped them from making the final.

  It gave a boost to the prestige of the Tabarez project, which became increasingly important as his team struggled through World Cup qualification, needing a play-off with Costa Rica to secure their place in South Africa.

  And instead of an inflexible 4-3-3, Tabarez has kept tinkering away, making little adjustments here and there. The idea of the front three has always been there, though, as the coach sought to take advantage of the firepower of Diego Forlan, Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani.

  In-form and a rising force, Cavani was injured during the course of this tournament - which bizarrely turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

  Cavani's work rate and spirit of sacrifice make the front three feasible. There is no like-for-like replacement. Take him out and Uruguay were obliged to do something more cautious - which has fitted perfectly with the tone of this Copa America, where in general defences have been on top.

  Before the semi-final with Peru Tabarez commented that in this particular Copa those sides which had looked to take the initiative in the game had not succeeded. And then, even though his side were strong favourites, he backed up his words by selecting a midfield of runners and markers, with no creative force.

  He stuck with this strategy until Cavani re-emerged for the last half hour of the final with Uruguay two goals up. And these two games - the semi against Peru and the final with Paraguay - were matches where the favourite did not lose, indeed where Uruguay did not concede.

  But they would not have won either without Forlan and Suarez. Of course, Tabarez could only get away with such a limited midfield because he can count on such a magnificent strike partnership, made up of two individual talents who put their skill at the service of the collective.

  Suarez was the undoubted player of the tournament, and highlighted it with an exceptional early goal that paved the way to victory. To score the goal he ingeniously made space, moving inside Dario Veron to fire left footed low into the far corner - a cameo of the threat he offers, two footed, quick thinking, quick to execute and unpredictable. In short, a defender's nightmare.

  But I was especially delighted to see Forlan grab the other two. He has not had an easy time of late, both on and off the pitch. The goals had dried up - he contributed some astonishing misses to this campaign. But the vision and intelligence of his play is truly astounding. He picks options as if he is watching the game from the stands, and I always find him a joy to watch.

  A little incident towards the end of the game sums up his commitment to the cause, and the spirit in the Uruguay team. Just inside the last 15 minutes and leading 2-0, Uruguay had a corner, which Paraguay were able to clear. They began to launch a counter-attack, with quick little right back Ivan Piris scuttling forward. Forlan, who had taken the corner, chased back to put the ball into touch. That moment sums up the current Uruguay side.

  Forlan deserved his post-match celebrations because there is no guarantee that he will play another major tournament. By the time the next World Cup comes around he will be 35. Some other, too, may have said their tournament farewells. Central midfielder Diego Perez, the symbol of the side, will be 34. Even the captain and centre back Diego Lugano might be struggling at 33.

  The good news is that the Tabarez project is kicking in. Uruguay's Under-17 and Under-20 teams are doing well, and a conveyor belt of youngsters are moving through to the senior side - such as centre back Sebastian Coates, playmaker Nicolas Lodeiro and striker Abel Hernandez from the Copa squad.

  Uruguay, then, should be able to make serene progress, gently renewing the team during the next set of World Cup qualifiers. A talent like that of Forlan, though, will not be easy to replace. When the time comes, Tabarez will need all his wisdom to find an able substitute.

  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.
  
  Q) Over the past year or so there has been a lot of speculation surrounding the future of 18-year-old Juan Manuel Iturbe, although he is now officially a Porto player is there any truth to suggestions linking him with a future sell-on to Manchester United? Also I wanted to get your thoughts on how good he could potentially become as I think he is a very exciting player who if given the chance could grow into a sensation in the Premier League.
  Anthony Spencer
  
  A) I've no idea if there's any future deal lined up with Man U, though Porto often buy players with a view to selling them on later. But 'the Paraguayan Messi' is clearly a very exciting prospect. He was born in Argentina of Paraguayan parents, and grew up in Paraguay. He doesn't have the ball tied to his foot in true Messi style, but his slalom dribbling is very exciting. He's a big one to look out for in the World Youth Cup, which kicks off in Colombia later this week. 'The Paraguayan Messi' plays for Argentina!
  
  Q) I was watching Real Madrid playing on their US tour, and Kaka was having a great game - looking very sharp, making those traditional runs from midfield. Do you think Mano Menezes will have a spot for Kaka in the Brazil team given that by the next World Cup he will be 32 or will the emergence of Ganso work against him? Brazil could have sure used him against Paraguay to unlock that defence.
  Shayak Banerjee
  
  A) He's a player who is dependent on his physical condition - take away that burst of acceleration and he's not the same. I would be surprised if Menezes is counting on him for 2014, given his age and injury problems. It's up to Kaka to change his mind.
  

• Inspirational Markarian leads Peru to semi-finals

  Posted: July 17, 2011, 7:31 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  At the time of writing there is the chance that Venezuela might make it two, but at the moment there is the certainty that one of the Copa America semi-finalists will be a team who missed out on last year's World Cup - and who missed out by the widest possible margin.

  Peru finished bottom of the table in South America's 2010 qualifiers. They lost all nine away games, conceding 26 goals in the process. Their preparations for the current Copa were rocked by injuries, losing captain and centre forward Claudio Pizarro, highly talented support striker Jefferson Farfan and spiky Brazil-based midfielder Luis Ramirez - all first choice players - plus Jesus Rabanal, a strong candidate for the left back position. No other team in the Copa suffered such ill fortune. And yet here are Peru in the last four.

  There is an easy explanation for such a sensational turn around. What a difference a coach makes!

  Some will argue that the credit or the blame always belongs to the players, that the importance of coaches is over-stated, and so on. And, hardly surprisingly in such an insecure profession, some coaches are clearly prone to indulge in marketing antics aimed at exaggerating their own contribution. But the fact remains that in a team sport such as football they have a vital role to play.

  

  Sergio Markarian has led Peru to their first Copa America semi-finals since 1997. Photo: Getty

  Their functions are few, but fundamental. They need the technical knowledge to prepare and select the team. And they must have the human skills to set the emotional tone in which the work is carried out. There is a key point at which the technical and the human come together - that of convincing the players that the strategy chosen is the right one, and that if everyone follows their instructions then the chance of success - which can only be achieved collectively - is far greater.

  The CV of current Peru boss Sergio Markarian shows that he has been able to perform this feat time and time again. He can even point to a victory away from home against a Jose Mourinho side - for Panathinaikos against Porto in the UEFA Cup. He may not be a household name in Europe - his experience in the continent is restricted to Greece. But he is hugely respected in South America.

  Markarian was in at the start of the recent boom of Paraguayan football, grooming a group of youngsters through the Barcelona Olympics. Many of them were stalwarts in the senior side that he qualified for the 2002 World Cup, before being ludicrously replaced by the Italian Cesare Maldini.

  His time in domestic Peruvian football is crowned by taking Sporting Cristal to narrow defeat in the final of the 1997 Copa Libertadores - no club from the country has come remotely close to emulating their achievement in the subsequent 14 years.

  Markarian's track record meant that as soon as he was appointed as national team coach Peru's players felt the boost of knowing they were in good hands. They knew that he would not stand for the slipshod way that the local FA had been running the national team. And that, if they gave their all to his project, he would defend them against perhaps the most negative-minded, scandal-obsessed sporting press in South America. They also trusted him to sort out the defence.

  "There's nothing beautiful about allowing the opponent to enjoy himself," he said after masterminding Saturday's 2-0 quarter final win over Colombia. Earlier this year he commented that he was "trying to build a team which plays in the attractive style that Peruvians like. But more important is a team efficient both home and away, that thinks it can win wherever the game is played. We have to increase the level of aggression in our marking, and not let the opponent play so much."

  In the ten games of Markarian's reign going into the Copa, Peru conceded just 3 goals - and they have taken that defensive solidity into the tournament. Indeed, the attacking injuries his team have suffered has allowed the coach to concentrate all the more on keeping things tight, though with centre forward Paolo Guerrero wonderfully supported by the marauding Juan Manuel Vargas down the left, Peru have consistently offered a threat to the opposing goal.

  "I want to go into the World Cup qualifiers (which start in October) in a position where the opponents have more respect for us," said Markarian a few months ago, "and for this the Copa America is perfect."

  That mission has already been accomplished. But after Saturday's triumph Peru are hungry for more - which puts Markarian in an awkward position on Tuesday, when his team face Uruguay in the semi final.

  Markarian is Uruguayan, with a strong sentimental attachment to the land of his birth and its national football team. He even decided to become a coach while watching Uruguay being humiliated by the great Holland side in the 1974 World Cup. His idea was to save the sky blues. Instead he will seek to plot their downfall, and add extra momentum to the remarkable resurgence of Peru.
  
  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.
  
  Q) I am a curious follower of the Chinese Super League primarily based on my nationality. The Manchester City-esque club of the CSL, Guangzhou Evergrande has been buying up pretty much any player that will join them and recently signed an unknown Argentine called Dario Conca on one of the highest wages in world football (I was wondering if you know much of this player at all and could shed some light on his abilities.
  Charlie Jiang
  
  A) He's a little left footed playmaker who's had a curious career. He didn't really make the grade in his native Argentina, picked up some momentum in Chile and then really came good in Brazil, especially last year with Fluminense, when he was key to their title win.

  A good, perky little player, but not a great - he must be astonished to have been offered this kind of money. He's a shy type off the field, so adaptation is a concern. On the field he's a bit lightweight, but he's clever and crafty and rarely gets injured.
  
  Q) Having just seen Corinthians bid £35m for former player Carlos Tevez, and players such as Neymar and Lucas being touted around for similar amounts, I'm just wondering where the sudden influx of revenue has come from, to allow for vast sums of money potentially exchanging hands?

  It was only around 5 years ago that most Brazilians were virtually being shipped off by their clubs, for paltry sums to ply their trade in Europe. Is Football flourishing in Brazil or are clubs potentially heading for a meltdown?
  Neil McGuire

  A) Five years ago I could do everything in Rio - rent, bills, going out money - on £650 a month. Those were the days! Now those same things cost £2000 and rising.

  The currency is very strong, and Brazil has been living a consumer-led boom. The country is huge, so a club like Corinthians can count its supporters in the tens of millions. Even if average crowds in Brazil are poor, millions of people identify themselves with Corinthians, making them attractive to sponsors wanting to reach this market, and also forcing up the amount of money the clubs receive in TV rights - a new deal will effectively double the money.

  There are still problems to overcome - the domestic calendar is a farce, and despite the new flow of income, the clubs' debts are still rising. But the fact that Corinthians can offer a fee for Tevez is landmark moment.

• Argentina must abandon Barcelona plan

  Posted: July 10, 2011, 10:10 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  If the Titanic had reached New York it would have been just another ship ride. The fascination lies in the failure.

  The thought kept running through my mind last Wednesday night as I watched Argentina ride their luck to hold Colombia to a 0-0 draw in the Copa America. The game was like an iceberg - an appropriate image given the Arctic conditions - that left the big idea of Argentina coach Sergio Batista holed below the waterline. The project to mould the national side in the shape of Barcelona will surely have to be abandoned. The slavish copy of the 4-3-3 with Lionel Messi in that false number nine position has not been a success - and the players know it.

  Watching Argentina was a lot like seeing the air removed from one of those inflatable men. The team took the field swelling with hope, fanatical provincial crowd behind them, ready to show that the debut draw against Bolivia was nothing but a case of opening-night nerves. And then during the course of the 90 minutes they visibly deflated, shrinking in front of our eyes as their faith in what they were doing seeped away.

  In part this is a story of the contemporary primacy of European club football, of how the outstanding teams in the Champions League are now a global reference, setting standards throughout the game.
  

  

  Argentina and Messi have struggled in the Copa America so far. Photo: AP

  And to be fair, Batista was perfectly entitled to attempt an imitation Barcelona. It seemed to supply an off-the-peg solution to a vital question - that of how to get the best out of Messi at international level.

  There was some promising evidence in friendlies - especially the first 45 minutes away to the USA at the end of March, when Argentina looked worthy of the comparison they had set themselves.

  Friendlies, though, can be unreliable witnesses. After two ineffective Copa America matches, one of Winston Churchill's pithy observations seems appropriate - however beautiful the strategy, one should occasionally stop to have a look at the results.

  That time has clearly come for the Copa hosts, who, almost incredibly, are going into their final group game still scrambling around for points in order to qualify for the quarter finals - and this in a tournament where only four of the 12 teams fail to make it out of the group stage.

  Tournaments are like time speeded up. Some teams fall apart, others suddenly come together, making a year's progress in half a week as the elements reform and come back together in a more effective combination. By far the biggest test of Batista's coaching career is coming up. Can he find a new formula and convince his players that he has found the way forward?

  The first tactical change is obvious - the introduction of Gonzalo Higuain up front. Very, very few teams can play attacking football without a penalty-area presence. Barcelona can do it. Holland could do it in 1974.

  Almost everyone else benefits from the capacity to take defenders out of the game by playing up to some sort of target man. Without such a figure there is a constant obligation to play perfect football, to have slick passing and moving in restricted spaces plus the occasional touch of genius in one-against-one situations.

  Some presence in the box can also bring out the best in skilful players coming from deep, either by dragging defenders away or simply by offering a strong option for a pass - Brazil have also suffered from the absence in their starting line up of a genuine number nine.

  One of the most inspired balls that playmaker Paulo Henrique Ganso gave against Paraguay on Saturday was the little slip that set up substitute Fred, the only centre forward in the squad, for the last-minute equaliser in the 2-2 draw.

  So Higuain will have to come in for Argentina. So too will Angel Di Maria.
  I found it difficult to understand the one change that Batista made for the Colombia game - left back Marcos Rojo dropping out, Pablo Zabaleta coming in at right back, and Javier Zanetti crossing over to the other flank.

  With no Rojo and no Di Maria, Argentina were without a naturally left-footed player down that flank. Instead of creating space they played into the hands of the Colombian marking. So, to open out the field, Di Maria goes wide left, Higuain is central and Sergio Aguero can cut in from the right, with Messi free to wander behind them. Carlos Tevez is left on the bench, behind Javier Pastore as the first attacking option.

  All this armchair generalship, of course, totally ignores the emotional aspect, which is so important at a time like this. Do Argentina's players and coaching staff really believe they can win the Copa with a revamped line-up - and could their faith survive some missed chances or a goal conceded?

  Normally such questions would not even be raised against an experimental young Costa Rica side. But these are not normal conditions. The pressure is cranking up.

  And to add spice to the occasion, the opposing coach is Ricardo La Volpe, he of the big moustache and even bigger ego. An Argentine who has done much of his coaching in Mexico, La Volpe feels something like a prophet without much prestige in the land of his birth. He would thoroughly enjoy putting one over Sergio Batista - and in explosive striker Joel Campbell he might feel that he has a potent secret weapon.

  On paper, of course, Argentina should walk into the quarter finals - they were placed in Group A for precisely this reason. And they could still go on to win the Copa. But if an early goal does not come, it could be a nervy 90 minutes on a bumpy pitch in Cordoba. And should Argentina fail to make the quarter finals then Batista's immediate job prospects will be as sunk as the Titanic.

  Please leave comments on this piece in the space provided. Send questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

  Q) Tim, I hardly ever read any comments about football in Chile. Based on what Argentina and Brazil have done (or haven't) in the Copa America don't you think Chile has a chance? I know Claudio Borghi is no Marcelo Bielsa, but the players are amazing and CAN make the difference, dont you find?
  Eric Gamboa

  A) They certainly have an exciting team - the only ones in the Copa to score three goals in their first two games. The tournament already owes them a debt! It's also something of an anomaly that they have never won the Copa - Paraguay, Peru, Bolivia and Colombia all have.

  This is probably Chile's finest ever generation, and there is plenty of time ahead for them to achieve things. But I do worry about that defence - I fear that they give away too many soft goals to be real title contenders - but I'd be happy to be proved wrong.
  

• Opening skirmishes hint at wide-open Copa

  Posted: July 4, 2011, 10:52 am by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  They may have had a little bit of help from some a less than perfect pitch in La Plata and some opening match nerves from the big two, but in holding Argentina and Brazil respectively, Bolivia and Venezuela made a powerful declaration of the current strength in depth of the South American national teams.

  Whoever wins the Copa America on 24 July will have to battle their way to the title but both hosts Argentina and 2014 World Cup hosts Brazil will feel they are capable of far better than they produced in their first group games.

  There was a common denominator in their failure of both sides to live up to expectations - a glaring lack of patience in their play.

  Argentina coach Sergio Batista was trying to wriggle out of it after Friday's 1-1 draw with Bolivia, but the local media have months of quotes with which to expose the truth - his team is inspired by Barcelona.

  But they forgot one of the chief characteristics of Pep Guardiola's European champions on Friday - patience in possession, pulling the opposition around and then finding the moment for the dramatic change of rhythm that breaks through the defensive line.

  

  Argentina striker Carlos Tevez is crowded out by the Bolivia defence - photo: Reuters

  Against Bolivia, Batista's team were too frantic, too direct and every time they gave the ball away cheaply the Bolivians were able to breathe again, reorganise and take heart to resist the next attack.

  Brazil, meanwhile, started off like a train against Venezuela but it was a train that appeared to run out of steam after the interval. In this first year of coach Mano Menezes' reign, they have struggled to find the right attacking blend, and have often looked better with a target man striker - which is why to my mind it was a mistake to have just one player of this type in the squad, the injury-prone Fred.

  Centre-forward Alexandre Pato moves beautifully and has some lovely touches, but he is not a genuine penalty area operator, and lacked support against the Venezuelans.

  Brazil could have made mores use of Ramires' capacity to burst into the box, but this would have required more intelligence, and crucially, more patience in possession.

  Playmaker Paulo Henrique Ganso is an outstanding prospect, but he needs to understand that playing the killer pass is not the be all and end all; that a key part of his role is to set up the opening for the killer pass to be played, like a chess master thinking several moves ahead.

  There are powerful attacking options down both flanks, plus Ramires to shuttle down the middle. What was missing on Sunday was a sense of surprise, of fooling the opposition into thinking that they would do one thing, and then doing another - which takes patience.

  There is an old saying in Argentine football that points out that there is a stage in the attacking move when the team should forget about the goal and look for a team-mate - and if they keep looking and keep passing, sooner or later the goal will appear.

  One of the best recent sides I have seen in this respect was the Argentina team in the last Copa America, four years ago in Venezuela.

  Built around midfielder Juan Roman Riquelme, they would take control of the ball and would not be in he least concerned if at half time they had barely a chance to show for all their possession. No matter, in the second half the spaces would start to appear - and with the exception of the final against Brazil, when they were counter-attacked to a 3-0 defeat, that was the script of the competition.

  To be fair, though, that side did have one big advantage over the class of 2011. They may not have been playing at home, but they did benefit in a big way from the climate. Most of their matches in 2007 were played in intense heat - and after trying to keep on the Argentine carousel for an hour or so, the opposition tended to wilt.

  

  Brazil were unable to find a way through against Venezuela - photo: AP

  It is a very different story at the other end of the continent. Four years ago in Venezuela it was a punishment to run around chasing the Argentines. Now, the chasers, the harriers and the markers have the chance to escape from hypothermia in the fearsome winter freeze.

  Taken together, the conditions and the strength in depth of the field mean that we should be in for a fiercely competitive 43rd version of the Copa America, tight and dramatic if not always as eye catching as we might like.

  There is always an element of phoney war about the group phase, because 8 of the 12 teams go through to the quarter-finals. It is probably just as well that there is an important change in the knockout stages of this Copa. If scores are level after 90 minutes, extra time will be played - 30 more minutes to break the ice, break the deadlock and warm up the Copa America.
  
  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

  From last week's postbag:
  
  Q) I recently read that the Santos president announced Neymar is likely to stay on until at least the World Club Cup, hopefully much longer. Given you have spoken about so-called future stars moving to Europe too early and struggling to cope with a new style of play and lesser stardom, when do you think would be the most suitable time for Neymar to move? Would moving soon not help him to curb some bad habits, e.g. diving? And is the president's announcement genuine, or are Santos employing money-making tactics?
  David Wills
  
  A) President is an elected position, so there is a certain tendency to play to the gallery. But I certainly think that it is likely that he will stay another year - for the World Club Cup and to ensure his release for the London Olympics. After that I think he will need to move - for some of the reasons that you mentioned. To fulfil his extraordinary potential at some point he will have to leave his comfort zone, especially in terms of the criteria used by referees.
  
  Q) I watched my first ever U17 World Cup Match last night - the last 16 game between England and Argentina. There was the obvious shock of England winning a penalty shoot out in a tournament but what struck me more, as I watched through "3 Lions tinted" spectacles - there wasn't the usual embarrassing gulf in class, technique and ball retention we see so often with the senior team. We had significantly better possession than Argentina - unheard of at the senior level, against any half decent footballing nation.
  The nagging question in the back of my mind is why, if our U17s can compete technically with Argentina, what goes wrong as their careers progress? I can't help thinking that if the same teams met up again in four or five years time, the gulf in class will have developed, as normal.
  Paul Knights
  
  A) I didn't see the game, so I'm posting this question to see what other people think. A couple of qualifications, though. Firstly, Argentina have no great tradition at Under-17 level (in contrast with Under-20). And secondly, the number of Under-17 players who really come through is not great.
  I suppose one big difference between the English and Argentine youngsters is that in four or five years time it will probably be much easier for the Argentines to be picking up regular first team experience with their clubs.
  

• River Plate face play-off anxiety

  Posted: June 20, 2011, 10:44 am by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  The playing days of lumbering Argentine striker Martin Palermo were one prolonged battle of a man to overcome his own limitations. Sensing and identifying with the essential nobility of the struggle, the fans of Boca Juniors took him to their hearts.

  Palermo's career ended on Saturday on a note of appropriate drama. His last touch as a professional, deep into stoppage time, was a nod down which set up team-mate Christian Cellay to score Boca's equaliser against Gimnasia of La Plata.

  To add spice to the occasion, it was an important goal - and not just because Palermo is from La Plata, a fan and an ex-player of Estudiantes, Gimnasia's local rivals.

  In a frantic last day of the league season, a win for Gimnasia would mean they would not be one of the two teams to be automatically relegated. Instead they would go into a play-off against the team finishing third in the Second Division - but that late Boca goal worsened their position.

  Now they must meet fellow strugglers Huracan, with the losers going down, and the winners earning a chance to save themselves in a play-off against San Martin of San Juan.
  

  

  Martin Palermo (front) was hugely popular among Boca Juniors supporters - photo: AP

  However, it is the other play-off tie which will attract much more attention, because it features River Plate, one of the giants of Argentine football and the team with most league titles to their credit.

  This is not supposed to happen. The way that relegation works in Argentina is designed to save the big clubs from a temporary slump. Two short, separate championships are played per year. Relegation is worked out on an average of points accumulated over three years, or six championships.

  For a massive club like River Plate, flirting with relegation requires a prolonged period of incompetence - and that is what has happened.

  River spent years in administrative chaos, with rumours that the organised gangs of thugs that blight Argentine football were even getting a cut of transfer fees.

  Former great Daniel Passarella was elected club president on a clean-up ticket, but he has found that it is not easy to turn a juggernaut around. Conciliating the needs of the long-term and the short-term is never easy in football, especially at a big club in crisis. There is always too much temptation to hit the panic button.

  Passarella first went with Angel Cappa as his coach, a fan of the flowing, attacking football that is integral to the club's identity. Results were not encouraging, and so he left and the club took an ill-judged lurch in the opposite direction by replacing him with. River's former midfielder JJ Lopez, who, panic stricken, has been sending out desperately defensive sides - three centre backs, two defensive midfielders, wing backs with little attacking projection.

  Responsibility has been unfairly heaped on Eric Lamela, a hugely promising 19-year-old attacking midfielder, who combines well but has had no one to combine with. In 19 games, River have managed just 15 goals.

  Such a negative strategy, in addition to being at odds with the history of the club, made no sense whatsoever. A win and a defeat are worth more than two draws, but River ended the season without a win in their last seven games.

  For this reason their play-off (away on Wednesday, home on Sunday) against Belgrano of Cordoba is no formality.

  

  Relegation for River Plate would be a huge shock for Argentine football followers - photo: Getty

  Belgrano are on a roll, having shrugged off a slow start to shoot up the Second Division table and it promises to be a tense, tight clash, and comes at a moment when the meeting of these teams also takes on symbolic proportions.

  Argentine football is historically highly centralised. The title has almost never left Buenos Aires. Estudiantes have established themselves as a force, but La Plata is only an hour's drive from the capital. Elsewhere, there have been a handful of wins each for the Rosario pair, Central and Newells Old Boys, but that is it.

  Belgrano's city, Cordoba, is the second biggest in Argentina, but has been astonishingly under-represented in terms of top level footballing success and efforts are being made to change this.

  Next month Argentina stages the Copa America, a tournament which is making a conscious attempt to decentralise the game, and only the final will be in Buenos Aires. La Plata will be staging games, taking advantage of a modern stadium in the city, but all the rest is in the provinces.

  Cordoba is one of the venues. Another is Santa Fe - a club from the city, Union, won one of the automatic promotion places to the First Division, and the other went to nearby Atletico Rafaela.

  Another venue is San Juan, close to the border with Chile, the only host city that has built a new stadium especially for the Copa. As we have seen, the city's representative San Martin have made it through to the play-offs, where they will face the winner of the Gimnasia-Huracan match.

  Near San Juan is another Copa venue, Mendoza. Towards the end of last year I wrote a piece abut a club from the city, Godoy Cruz, qualifying for the first time for the Copa Libertadores, South America's Champions League. Some fears were expressed that they would soon slip back - but although they could not qualify for the knock out phase of the Libertadores, they showed good domestic form, challenging for the title for a while before finishing third.

  Their strong showings now give them a real chance to establish themselves on a more permanent basis. Godoy Cruz have so many points on the board that they can plan safe in the knowledge that this time next year they will not be caught up in the relegation dogfight.

  There is a chance, then, that the map of Argentine football is going through a significant modification. Buenos Aires will continue to hold sway - the well-run Velez Sarsfield club underlined the point by winning the title in style - but the capital is not going to have everything its own way.

  Even Boca Juniors might have to look over their shoulder. A very poor next 12 months would drop them in the same quicksand that River Plate have been wading through. In a year's time Boca may even be grateful for that point they snatched right at the end against to Gimnasia with the aid of Martin Palermo's last touch.
  
  Comments on the piece in the space below. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

  From last week's postbag:

  Q) I have heard stories of Liverpool being linked with a £9m move for Lucas Moura. From what I have heard Sao Paulo rate him at £70m. I saw him for a bit against Scotland and he was pretty impressive, I was just wondering how good he is.
  William Lloyd
  
  A) As you mentioned, his buy out clause is huge, so Liverpool or anyone else will have to shell out much more than £9m to land him - and I would probably go on the side of caution and think that a big money move would be premature.
  He is talented and making progress. He's a wonderfully incisive dribbler and his finishing is improving, including snap shots from range, but it is still early days.

  There will be a chance to see him next month in the Copa America. I'm in a tiny minority, but I'm not sure about his selection - I wonder if it might have been better for him to go to the World Youth Cup, which kicks off in Colombia at the end of July. With no Neymar in that side, Lucas would be the leader of the attack and would be obliged to develop his collective play.
  

• Penarol carving out a new history

  Posted: June 13, 2011, 5:39 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  Measuring 309m by 46m, the flag unfurled on 12 April by fans of Uruguayan club Penarol is apparently the biggest in the world.

  Draped across much of Montevideo's Centenario stadium, it hung in celebration of the fact that the club had made it through to the knockout stages of the Copa Libertadores for the first time since 2002.

  Two months later, there is much more to celebrate. Penarol have gone all the way to the final, for the first since they won the last of their five titles in 1987.

  This Wednesday they are at home in the first leg against Santos of Brazil, who are chasing their first title since 1963. It is a replay of the 1962 clash between these first two winners of the Libertadores. This is a match dripping in history, and it could hardly have a more appropriate setting than the Centenario, the legendary old ground built for the 1930 World Cup.

  In recent years a different flag has often been on show in the stands of the stadium, one which suggests that a rich footballing history can be as much a burden as an asset.

  When the Uruguay national team play at home a frequent sight has been a big sky blue banner with '1950' on it - a reference to the last time the Uruguayans won the World Cup, when they came from behind to beat Brazil in Rio.

  National team coach Oscar Washington Tabarez refers to the aftermath of this triumph as 'the complex of 1950' - something profoundly negative for Uruguayan football. The 1950 side were considered the true champions. For decades afterwards Uruguayan sides were judged against the standards set by that team, were weighed and found wanting. "The crowd would give the players ten minutes," says Tabarez, "and then a horrible silence would descend" as the fans reached their melancholy conclusion on the merits of the men they were watching.

  Uruguay's exploits a year ago, when they reached the semi finals in South Africa, would seem to have buried the complex. A new generation has its own idols to applaud - Diego Forlan of Atletico Madrid, Luis Suarez of Liverpool, Edinson Cavani of Napoli.

  Of course, they all play abroad. With a population little bigger than 3m, these days Uruguay is clearly unable to hold on to its best players.

  

  Aguirre (left) has used young and hungry players to great effect at Penarol. Photo: Getty Images

  Before taking charge of the national team for a second spell in 2006, Tabarez spent time reflecting on the effects on Uruguayan football of the globalisation of the game. With the stars spending their peak years abroad, he saw that it was inevitable that Uruguayan club football would be full of teenagers and veterans. But the culture of the game in the country was still strong. Players could still be produced, and Uruguay could use its youth sides to groom them in such a way that they would be prepared for the demands of top level modern football.

  He went in search of team players, capable of passing and pressing the ball as part of a collective. He was also looking for youngsters who could cope with the pace of the contemporary game - not just those with quick movement, but also those technically gifted enough to give them speed of execution, or sufficiently intelligent and cool-headed to take rapid decisions.

  These qualities would stand them in good stead in European club football, but they have grown up with a strong emotional link with their national team and a firm grounding in their country's footballing identity.

  The outcome has been a succession of good displays from Uruguay at under-20 and under-17 levels, and a conveyor belt of players feeding through to the senior side. Cavani and Suarez are graduates of Uruguay's under-20 team of 2007. Striker Abel Hernandez and midfielders Nicolas Lodeiro and Gaston Ramirez came up via the class of 2009. And defender Diego Polenta, captain of this year's under-20s, looks like another with a long career ahead of him in the senior ranks.

  Uruguay's return to football's top table, then, is the result of a well thought-out process. But what does this have to do with Penarol? After all, as we have seen, the leap in quality given by the national team does not have much to do with the domestic game - and yet Penarol have become the first Uruguayan club to reach the final of the Libertadores in more than two decades.

  In part this might be put down to the feel good factor, a general euphoria in Uruguayan football arising from last year's World Cup. But there is also an overlap.

  Current club coach Diego Aguirre is not just the striker whose goal in the final minute of extra time gave Penarol their last Libertadores title back in 1987. He has also been involved in the process with Tabarez, taking charge of the under-20s in 2009.

  Surely aided by this experience, Aguirre has made sure that his Penarol side avoided a trap the club have fallen into so often over recent years. The tendency to bring back old favourites well into their thirties has frequently left the side too slow to cope with the pace of international competitions.

  Not this year. Thirty-five-year-old former star Tony Pacheco, a minor hit in Spanish football, is left on the bench, his place as support striker taken by the nippy, interesting Argentine Alejandro Martinuccio.

  If Penarol are not the most talented team in the competition, then they follow a clear idea based on breaking at pace. The back four stay close together, they can play up to effective target man Juan Manuel Olivera, with Martinuccio buzzing behind him. The midfield work as a block, Nicolas Freitas closing down and tackling alongside the talented all rounder Luis Aguiar, Matias Corujo full of lung power on the right, while the long-striding Matias Mier looks like a real discovery on the left.

  And there is something else. Penarol have lost five of their 12 matches in the competition. They have conceded more goals than they have scored. But in round after round they have delivered when it really counts. There can be little doubt that Santos are clear favourites to win this year's Libertadores - but they should be aware that Penarol are playing like a team inspired, rather than intimidated, by their club's great history.
  
  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

  From last week's postbag;
  
  Q) Simple question: Why isn't Marcelo called up to play for Brazil? I, like many Real Madrid fans, have been impressed with his improvement over the years. And he blossomed under Jose Mourinho. Why isn't he on the Copa America roster? What more does he have to do?
  Jesse Acevedo
  
  A) Beats me - it's now almost five years since he scored a cracker on debut against Wales, and he's had very few opportunities since. When Dunga was coach the argument was that Marcelo was playing on the left of midfield rather than at left back - and then he went with Michel Bastos, who'd been playing on the right wing at Lyon!

  Marcelo was supposed to play against Scotland at the end of March but picked up an injury in training and hasn't been selected since - I've no idea what he has done to irritate consecutive Brazil coaches. Maybe he doesn't sit up straight for the national anthem.
  
  A) I was wondering what you thought of Ronaldo's selection for Brazil in the recent friendly with Romania? A nice sentimental touch? Or, a strange decision weeks before a major tournament?
  Scott Harrison
  
  B) I'm more inclined to the second point of view. I'm not a fan of these farewell games - which is seen by many here as an excess of Anglo-Saxon coldness. He only played for 15 minutes, but, especially in the eyes of the crowd, it did overshadow the efforts of his team-mates preparing for the Copa America.

  Paraguay got in the act as well - their midfielder Roberto Acuna was stuck on 98 caps, so they brought him back to play a few minutes in their two recent friendlies so he could reach the 100 mark.
  

• Having three teams on the go is a risk for Argentina

  Posted: June 6, 2011, 4:33 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  In an end-of-season international friendly, with one side leading 4-0, why on earth would the referee want to add on a heap of stoppage time? Surely the best advice would be to blow up and let everyone go home.

  But that is not what Ibrahim Chaibou did last Wednesday when he was in charge of the match between Nigeria and Argentina in Abuja. He added on five extra minutes. True, there had been plenty of second-half substitutions but it was hard to see why five extra minutes were necessary or desirable.

  But then it got stranger. Five minutes came and went. Then six. Then seven. And then he awarded Argentina an absurd penalty for a non-existent handball. Mauro Boselli converted it to make the final score 4-1 to the home side.

  With an alleged splurge of bets on a late goal, it is little wonder that Fifa is opening an investigation into the events.

  

  Referee Ibrahim Chaibou, in the red top, is surrounded by Argentina players after he awarded a penalty against them in the 4-1 defeat by Nigeria, in Abuja. Photo: AP

  Controversy aside, there is another question that emerges from Nigeria's crushing and thoroughly deserved victory: why on earth would Argentina put their prestige on the line by fielding such a team?

  Describing that Argentina side as "under strength" or as a "reserve" team does not come close. Coach Sergio Batista has announced a provisional 26-man squad for next month's Copa America (incidentally, readers of my column from two weeks ago might be interested to know that Carlos Tevez has been included) but only three of them - reserve defenders Pablo Zabaleta, Emiliano Insua and Ezequiel Garay - were on duty in Nigeria.

  This line-up was at best a C team. One quick example suffices to illustrate the chasm between this and the real line-up. At full strength, Argentina play 4-3-3 with Lionel Messi in the middle of their attacking trident. Against Nigeria, the same role was filled by Mauro Boselli.

  Batista currently has three almost entirely separate squads on the go: the first-choice group for the Copa America; a group drawn from domestic football; and the collection of fringe players who, after losing to Nigeria, went down 2-1 to Poland on Sunday.

  This clearly gives Batista something to do. Bosses of international teams sometimes complain that prolonged spells of inactivity can take the edge off their coaching skills.

  It also gives him a chance to observe lots of players, which can be worthwhile even if the conclusions are not always palatable. In these last two matches, for example, Batista will have observed that, with a midfield that is unable to retain the ball, his 4-3-3 system is wide open against opponents who attack with pace and that, left exposed, his young defenders lack the quality to save the situation.

  The performance against Poland was an improvement on the rout against Nigeria. Little striker Jonathan Cristaldo had some good moments, while centre-forward Marco Ruben took his goal well. But these are crumbs of comfort when set against the risk that Batista is running by accumulating these defeats.

  He took over in 2010 with the claim that he and his back-up staff would be low profile. But losing, especially in the manner that the team went down to Nigeria, makes Batista and his reign an issue. It cranks up the pressure on him as Argentina prepare to play the Copa America in front of their own fans.

  True, none of the players he will pick next month were in action against Nigeria or Poland. But, with no senor title since 1993, Argentina are under enough pressure as it is and an edgy coach can make for an edgy team.

  At least Argentina can count on their supporters to be kinder to them than the notoriously fickle Brazilian fans are to their team. For Brazil, the Copa America is the most serious competitive test they face as they prepare to play the World Cup on home ground in 2014.

  The new-look side of coach Mano Menezes had a taste of what could be in store when they drew 0-0 at home to the Netherlands on Saturday. A chorus of boos greeted the final whistle in Goiania, while the crowd started to cheer every Dutch pass before the game had finished.

  "We need to educate our fans in time for 2014," said Menezes after the game, "acknowledging that we'll be up against strong opponents and that, at important moments, the crowd should support us and not go over to the other side. We have to be united if we're going to take advantage of being the hosts."

  The boos on Saturday were hardly justified by an entertaining 90 minutes. Brazil were poor in the first half, their 4-3-3 looking very inflexible, with Robinho and Neymar either side of centre-forward Fred. Until half-time, the Dutch were more dangerous.

  

  Brazil's Neymar (centre) competes with Netherlands' Tim Krul (left) and Gregory van der Wiel during the 0-0 draw in Goiania. Photo: Reuters

  But it was a different story after the break. Robinho was given more freedom, the formation looked more like a 4-2-3-1 and Brazil had more of attacking threat. They will have days when they play worse and score four.

  It was a fascinating afternoon for Neymar-watchers, with the Santos star taking on a top-class European team for the first time. He was not as effective as usual in one-against-one situations but produced enough moments of magic to reinforce the view that he is a very special talent.

  Tim Krul in the Netherlands goal had to be constantly alert to Neymar's ability to finish with calm precision off either foot, although the Brazilian did earn a yellow card for diving. So did the latest wonderkid, Lucas, of Sao Paulo, who was cautioned for a ridiculous theatrical effort. Fred also seemed primarily concerned with going to ground. A centre-forward in this system must try to stay on his feet and provide a platform.

  Menezes recognises Brazil have a problem against opponents who are defensive or who know how to mark well. It might not be easy when boos are coming down from the terraces but the remedy would seem to be less frustration, more elaboration, more patience and less diving. Not every referee will point to the spot with the eagerness shown last Wednesday by Ibrahim Chaibou.

  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com and I will pick out a couple for next week.
  
  From last week's postbag:

  Q) I was wondering if you could shed any light on the future of River Plate's Erik Lamela. I know that River have been struggling recently and there has been a lot of talk of Lamela maybe moving to Serie A.
  Stephen Connelly

  A) Everyone has been looking at him, which is no surprise because he is the genuine article, a lanky midfielder with a nice change of pace and a lovely left foot, who takes responsibility, has vision and can combine well with others. Usually, I am against the premature move but I do not know if River Plate are doing him any good at the moment. They are in relegation danger and panicking, with a defensive side and a strategy that seems to demand that Lamela sorts out everything on his own. The worry is that this might prove to be too much responsibility for a 19-year-old.

  Q) I just recently watched my first ever Copa Libertadores match in full, Penarol's second leg, semi-final match against Velez Sarsfield. Even though Penarol went through on away goals, it was Velez's Juan Manuel Martinez who really caught my eye. That was the first time I had ever heard of him or seen him and would like to know if he produces performances such as this one on a regular basis?
  Adam McCue

  A) He does, which is why he has been included recently in the full Argentina squad. I suspect the only reason he is not in the provisional 26 for the Copa America is that someone had to make way for the return of Tevez. Martinez won the decisive penalty when he came on as a substitute against Portugal earlier this year. That strong dribbling you saw cutting in from the flanks last week is his trademark. An interesting thing about him is that he is one of a number of Argentine players recently whose career picked up momentum elsewhere in South America. He was a member of Colombian side Cucuta, who emerged from nowhere to light up the 2007 Copa Libertadores. He is one to watch for a move to Europe.
  

• Messi the perfect combination

  Posted: May 30, 2011, 4:05 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  It is too soon to know where he is going to end up in the pantheon, but Lionel Messi's performance on Saturday ensures beyond all doubt that he belongs among the all time greats.

  Watching him scale the heights has given me particular pleasure because I had the good fortune to be there at the start of the journey, the moment when he first appeared before a mass public.

  The event was the South American Under-20 Championships, staged in Colombia at the start of 2005.
  

  

  Messi has shown he can flourish in European football. Photo: Getty

  Messi had already been with Barcelona for four years, had played one friendly in the first team and there were rumours that he might be something special. But he was barely known in Argentina, who called him up with the aim of having a look at him - he was, for example, not given the symbolic number 10 shirt.

  He looked unimpressive as he took the field, small, pale and shambling. But as soon as he was on the ball all of us there knew we were witnessing something special.

  He was only 17, a couple of years younger than almost everyone else, and he found the competition's gruelling calendar hard going.

  But the talent was unmistakable. As Diego Maradona commented, Messi's close control is so abnormally good that he can run with the ball while watching TV - he has now reached a level where could probably change the channels as well.

  As well as his slalom dribbles, back in 2005 Messi was already showcasing his ability to cut in on the diagonal, exchanging beautifully weighted give-and-go passes. He looked like a sure fit for global stardom.

  But there are always causes for concern, forks in the road where potential can go astray.

  I well recall being in Paraguay for the 1999 Copa America when 16-year-old Jhonnier Montano scored a cracking goal against Argentina. He was so full of talent, and cut such a composed figure in the post-match media conference, that he gave the impression of being another dead cert.

  But it never happened for him. After a spell in Turkey he is now heading back to Peru, the country where he has enjoyed a touch of success in recent years.

  It is better than nothing, but measured against his promise, it is as if his career has turned into a line from "Do You Know the Way to San Jose?" - the one about "all the stars who never were [who] are parking cars and pumping gas."

  Clearly, part of Montano's problem was the premature move to Europe. Parma bought him, then loaned him here and loaned him there. The clubs who took him were fighting against relegation and had no stake in his development, so opportunities were few and momentum became non existent. His weight ballooned, his mind wandered and he fell by the wayside.

  This, then, was my fear for Messi back in 2005 - that being at Barcelona might make it hard for him to get a regular game. I need not have worried. Before the end of the year he was a household name.

  In fact, moving across the Atlantic so early almost certainly proved to be an advantage in his case. He went through the entire process of adolescence in Barcelona. It was where he developed as a man and as a team player.

  But his footballing identity, his skill in one-against-one situations - this had already been formed in Rosario. Messi, then, has developed into a perfect synthesis of the Argentine kick-about and the Barcelona academy.

  Those South Americans who make the move a few years later, like Montano, face added risks. Eighteen, for example, is a time of changes - especially for footballers, who in behavioural terms tend to go through adolescence later then their contemporaries.

  It is a time of life that can be disorientating enough, without the added complication of experiencing it in a foreign culture. Throw in the difficulties of adapting to a different type of football, and it is little wonder that there are casualties.

  But the road to the top is always rocky, no matter what path is chosen. Staying at home a few extra years has its advantages, but also its potential pitfalls. There are first-team opportunities in a familiar environment - the flipside of the coin is the relative ease with which premature reputations can be constructed.

  It is just over two years since I first saw Neymar in the flesh. Recently turned 17, he came off the bench for the last few minutes with his Santos team leading Fluminense 2-1. By the end it was 4-1.

  He set one up with a gorgeous, defence-splitting pass, and the other came from a rebound after the keeper failed to hold his shot. In between the two, his dribbling skills forced a red card for the Fluminense right back. It was a sensational seven minutes. Before long he was being proclaimed as a phenomenon and there were calls for his inclusion in last year's World Cup squad.

  The problem here is that domestic Brazilian football dances to its own beat. The defensive lines play deep, so there is space on the field. Today's referees will give fouls for anything and diving is tolerated - a scenario which fills the dribbler with confidence. Take him out of the protective bubble and it can be a different story - Robinho is a perfect example, a player whose fighting spirit seems to shrink in front of your eyes when he does not get the fouls he used to be awarded in Brazil.

  The problem here is that Neymar is a child of the contemporary criteria of Brazilian referees, a fruit of the poisoned tree. I have never seen a player who dives so often and so theatrically. This is clearly an impediment in his quest to reach the level of play that Lionel Messi showed on Saturday, and there is another one.

  

  Neymar still has work to do on his game. Photo: Reuters

  The Boy Prince of the Brazilian game, there is something of the spoilt brat about Neymar. He can scream and shout when he does not get his way, and also lose his focus. Against Argentina, in the big game of the recent South American Under-20 Championships, he was too busy diving and arguing to play much football.

  But this is a work in progress. The current Copa Libertadores campaign could go down as the moment when the boy prince shows that he is prepared to become king.

  This week Santos hope to book their place in the final. In the last few games Neymar has shown less petulance, done less diving and played some wonderful stuff - gliding past his marker on either side, showing vision and intelligence plus his trademark cool finishing.

  He is a special talent. The tests are going to get tougher as he moves up, but his journey will be well worth following. If everything falls into place, if he can keep learning and adapting, then he might be able to shine on the stage that Lionel Messi lit up on Saturday.
   
  Please leave comments on the piece in the space provided. Send questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

  From last week's postbag:
   
  Q) I was wondering what happened to the Brazilian winger Mancini? I remember him doing very well at Roma, but he seems to have disappeared after a bad spell at Inter Milan?
  Arthur Li

  A) He's back in Brazil with Atletico Mineiro. He's had a bizarre career. He was a promising but error-prone, unconfident right back until suddenly exploding as a goalscoring threat in 2002 with Atletico. He then moved off to Italy, where he was reinvented as a wide attacker, had some glory years, was briefly in the Brazil squad, and then he fell back again.
  

• Are Argentina better off without Tevez?

  Posted: May 22, 2011, 11:12 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  The stocky shadow of Carlos Tevez is likely to be cast all over the Copa America in Argentina this July.

  The Manchester City striker will almost certainly not be picked for the tournament as Argentina coach Sergio Batista is apparently building a side without him.

  He is attempting to create an imitation Barcelona, with Lionel Messi in the 'false number nine' role that Pep Guardiola invented for him with the Catalan club. The back-up is to use Gonzalo Higuain of Real Madrid as a target man striker.
  
  Tevez, then, is not in the frame in his favourite centre forward role, and he is not a flank flier like Ezequiel Lavezzi and Angel Di Maria, Batista's other strikers in his 4-3-3 foprmation - though it would be no surprise if Sergio Aguero were to force his way in and play the David Villa role in Batista's Buenos Aires Barcelona.

  And if Tevez is not going to be in the starting line-up, having him in the squad carries an obvious risk.

  As fans of most of the teams he has played for can testify, Tevez is a moaner.

  He never seems entirely happy anywhere. The glass is not only half empty, it is chipped as well.

  Can Argentina accommodate the different styles and strengths of Messi (left) and Tevez? Photo: Getty

  Stuck on the bench, sulking on the sidelines, such a player can contaminate the team environment. A few months ago, Tevez mused about retiring from international football - and Batista needs people committed to the collective cause as he goes in search of Argentina's first senior title in 18 years.

  And there is something else. Tevez also finds himself in the middle of the cold war between Batista and his immediate predecessor as coach of Argentina, a certain Diego Armando Maradona.

  In recent times, no Argentina coach has had a reign as short as Maradona's 20-month rollercoaster. He walked into a trap when he took the job, if it worked, Argentina's eternal FA president Julio Grondona could claim the credit. If it failed, then Grondona had drawn the sting of a potentially uncontrollable critic.

  Maradona took over a team in crisis, with one win in its previous seven World Cup qualifiers. Looked at in that light, he did a reasonable job getting the team to South Africa. Perhaps inevitably in the circumstances, the team he built was cautious and counter-attacking - one where he had to leave out Carlos Tevez.

  The striker's poor run of form was one of the reasons Argentina were struggling. Twice in the campaign he was sent off in the first half. In all, he started 11 games, coming on once as a substitute - a managed just a single tap-in goal.

  Indeed, his international record is unimpressive - 12 goals in 60 games. But Tevez and Maradona share a bond, they were both poor boys a 'born on the wrong side of the tracks' in Buenos Aries tracks, who went on to shine for Boca Juniors.

  Crisis averted, Argentina safely in South Africa, Maradona could not resist the temptation. On the eve of the competition, Tevez was reinstated, a move which ended up de-structuring the team and leaving it wide open for the counter-attacks of the Germans.

  The Veron-Messi link was sacrificed - and since Veron was also the man to head away set pieces at the near post, this also led to a defensive weakness which the Germans exposed within five minutes.

  The long diagonal ball to Di Maria was forgotten, and Messi had to drop deep to initiate the play. Maradona destroyed his own ideas as a result of an emotional commitment to Tevez.

  That bond is still intact. Tevez was the one player to protest openly about Maradona's sacking. Meanwhile, Batista and Maradona, old friends and teammates, were now feuding. "I'm low profile," said Batista, in an obvious jibe at his predecessor. "It's easy for Batista to be low profile," said Maradona. "If he so much as crosses the border and goes to Uruguay no one knows who he is."

  Last week, Maradona was on the attack once more. Batista, he said, must be drunk if he is thinking of leaving out Tevez.

  The once-friendly relationship between Batista and Maradona has deteriorated. Photo: Getty

  Batista, meanwhile was saying that he had been too busy to bother watching Tevez knock in two screamers against Stoke City. Since then, though, he has carried out something of a strategic retreat - which is probably good politics, because Maradona is far from the only one in Argentina with a special weakness for Tevez.

  Messi can stress as often as he likes that he is a fan of Newells Old Boys, he is from Rosario and he is an Argentine. But there is inevitably a certain distance between him and the people in the land of his birth.

  Argentines are fiercely proud of his success, but every disappointing performance with the national team causes some to proclaim that Messi has become primarily a Catalan.

  There are no such strains on their relationship with Tevez, even though the player has spent six years abroad. Before that he starred week in, week out with Boca Juniors, the most popular club in the country. He still bears the scars of his underprivileged upbringing.

  People can find plenty to identify with in his defiant 'take me as you find me' approach. Messi might clearly be the better player, but in a run-off for the title of 'Argentine Idol,' Tevez would be in it to win it.

  For this reason, Batista changed his tune. By the end of the week he confessed that he had been wrong not to visit Tevez when he recently sat down with some of his players on a brief European tour.

  He also stressed that the door is not closed, and that even if Tevez is not called up for the Copa America, he may well return for the subsequent World Cup qualifiers.

  In July, Argentina will be under plenty of pressure to bring their long dry run to an end. If things go wrong, then the absence of Tevez will be used a stick to beat Batista and his players.

  If there is a risk in taking Tevez to the Copa America, then there is also a risk in leaving him out.
  
  Comment on this blog below. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

  From last week's postbag:
  
  Q) I just wanted to ask about Brazilian footballer Jardel. I remember him at Porto, Galatasaray and Sporting as someone who banged in goal after goal after goal. I understand he was hugely successful at Vasco and Gremio as well and I remember some truly great finishing during his time in Europe.

  He later appeared at Bolton for a short failed stint before moving on to various clubs around the world before playing again in the lower leagues in South America.

  In my opinion he was a truly remarkable talent with a goal scoring ability that could have matched Romario - his decline of course coincided with being left out of the 2002 World Cup squad and he's never been a player of any merit since.
  Why on earth was he left out of that squad ?
  Dan Ray
  
  A) A lesson in the need to have mind and body together in order to shine at the top level.

  Target men centre forwards are not always the most popular type of player in Brazil.

  Jardel was hated at Vasco and only flowered when he went to play for Gremio under Scolari, who kept arguing that he should have been in the Brazil squad.

  Then in 2001 Scolari became coach of Brazil, called him up - and immediately slung him out. Already he was not the same player. I believe he suffered some psychological problems after the break up of a relationship, he lost physical sharpness, and, in fairness, he really didn't have the ability of a Romario to fall back on.
  
  Q) There have been rumours on the internet that Arsenal have made a pre-contract agreement with Velez Sarsfield for their 23-year-old attacking midfielder Ricky Alvarez. If this is true, could he be a successful player for Arsenal, and what do you make of him?
  Yousef Teclab
  
  A) I like him. Lanky left footed midfielder with some class about him. No express pace for a wide role, but can tuck in and shoots well. He has had some injury problems, though.

• Long journey pays off for Pedroza

  Posted: May 16, 2011, 1:21 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  The fascinating 51-year history of the Copa Libertadores has now been further enriched by the emergence of a goalscorer born in England.

  Antonio Pedroza's journey has taken him from Chester to Chiapas, the town of his birth to the region in the south of Mexico where he now plays as a striker for Jaguares.

  The son of a Mexican father and an English mother, Pedroza ensured that the club's debut campaign in the Libertadores got off to a good start when, just before his 20th birthday, he scored in both legs of their qualifying match against Alianza Lima of Peru.

  But then little was seen of him - until last week's quarter-final first leg at home to Cerro Porteno of Paraguay.

  

  The game between Cerro Porteno and Jaguares was a close-fought affair - photo: Reuters

  His chances of getting a game improved when Jackson Martinez, the team's excellent Colombian centre-forward, was sent off in the previous match and thus suspended for the first leg against Cerro.

  Pedroza was on the bench, and after Jaguares made next to no impression in the first half, he was brought on at the interval. His pace and willingness made an impression, but whenever he got himself into a good position he was in too much of a hurry and the opportunities were lost.

  As the game moved into stoppage time it seemed that Jaguares were sure to go down to a disappointing 1-0 defeat, but then came a moment of finishing of which one-time Chester City striker Ian Rush would have been proud. Pedroza is no giant, but when a cross came in from the left he climbed above the Paraguayan defence and powered a header in off the far post.

  And so Cerro were denied a first-leg victory that looked to be theirs when Jonathan Fabbro's side-footed volley took a deflection past the Jaguares keeper.

  There is no English connection with Fabbro. He is an old style Argentine playmaker. But veteran observers of English football will know the type. With his lank hair, shirt outside his shorts and flashes of talent mixed with hand-on-his-hips petulance, Fabbro could have stepped out of a sticker album from early 70s England, alongside the likes of Charlie George and Rodney Marsh.

  You could imagine him fitting in to the Queens Park Rangers team of the time, and helping Stan Bowles spend his money down the bookies after training.

  One player it would be very unwise to bet on is Fabbro himself. Inconsistency is part of his nature. Now 29, he has had a nomadic career, taking in Spain, Colombia, Mexico, Brazil and Chile as well as his native Argentina and Paraguay, where he has settled and played some of his best football over the past four years.

  In his time in Colombia he was part of the Once Caldas squad that were surprise winners of the Libertadores in 2004, though he spent most of the campaign on the bench. At the end of the year, though, he was in the starting line up when the Colombians took on Porto in Japan in the old Inter-Continental Cup.

  After 120 goalless minutes, the game went to penalties. Once Caldas had played the cautious, counter-attacking game typical of that 2004 team. Their most incisive moments had come from Fabbro's passes. The side's leading talent, he was the last of their five designated penalty takers.

  

  Fabbro has not always done full justice to the talent he possesses - photo: Reuters

  Just before his turn, Porto's Maniche blasted his shot against the bar. All Fabbro had to do was place his shot beyond Porto's reserve keeper - first choice Vitor Baia was forced off during the game - and a provincial club from the small Colombian town of Manizales would be entitled to call themselves champions of the world. He hit the post, and after four penalties each in sudden death, Porto took the title.

  That same inconsistecy has been in evidence during this year's Libertadores. At home to Santos of Brazil, for example, Fabbro was a disaster. He tried to do everything himself and achieved nothing. It was a performance so poor that it might be worthy of being awarded one out of 10 purely for remembering to put his shirt on the right way round.

  The following week, though, he was irresistible. To make the knock out stages Cerro needed to win away to Chile's free-scoring Colo Colo, and they soon found themselves two goals down. Fabbro dug them out of the hole. He set up one goal with a clever pass, and scored two crackers of his own, the second a high pressure 88th minute free-kick. It was nearly 10 out of 10 stuff.

  Cerro Porteno fans will hope that he can keep delivering. The stakes are high. Five times the club have reached the semi-finals of the Libertadores and have never gone further. Big local rivals Olimpia have won the trophy three times, and never miss an opportunity to remind Cerro's fans of the fact.

  But can a side built around the playmaking of Fabbro ever be sufficiently consistent to go all the way? There is a young striker born in Chester who plans to ensure they will not even reach this year's semi-finals.
  
  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.
  
  From last week's postbag:

  Q) I would like to know if there are claims or cases of age cheating in
  South American teams presented at the various CONMEBOL or
  Fifa-organised youth competitions.
  Nathan Quao
  
  A) There certainly have been - especially in Brazil. When they won the 2003 World Youth Cup, one of their players (midfielder Carlos Alberto) was closer to 30 than 20! There have been a number of cases of this kind of age fixing, usually the work of unscrupulous agents. Ecuador has also had problems - current national team captain Walter Ayovi was caught playing under a false identity a decade ago.
  
  Q) I regularly watch Latin American and Spanish football and i am enchanted and mesmerised by the genius of Ever Banega. For such a young player, his plays like a veteran, possessing an experience and understanding of the game vastly beyond his years but with the lung capacity of a young player. I was disappointed to not seem him included in the World Cup. Surely he has outgrown Valencia and isn't always given the chance his talent deserves. How do you evaluate his career and his future?
  Balarama Chambers
  
  A) I'm a huge, huge fan. The first time I saw him, playing for Argentina's Under-20s, within 20 seconds he was in my notebook for his ability to play a pass. More than Zanetti or Cambiasso, I thought he was the most baffling omission from Argentina's World Cup squad - an error happily corrected right away by Sergio Batista. I'm really looking forward to watching him in the coming Copa America - I think he's capable of giving Messi the same quality of service that he receives from Xavi at Barcelona.
  

• Copa exits may prompt Brazil tactics re-think

  Posted: May 9, 2011, 10:42 am by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  Asuncion is currently the capital of South American football - and not just because the offices of the continent's governing federation are situated on the outskirts of the Paraguayan capital.

  Eight teams are left standing in the Copa Libertadores, South America's Champions League, and two of them are based in the Paraguayan capital; Cerro Porteno, who have blown hot, cold and lukewarm during the competition, and Libertad, who have been consistently excellent. No other country can boast more than one club in the last eight.

  In the case of Argentina, the traditional power in the Libertadores, this is no longer a surprise. It merely repeats the pattern of recent years - but for Brazil, it is a bombshell.

  In the last two seasons, Brazil has provided four of the last eight, and something similar seemed on the cards this year after five Brazilian clubs qualified for the first knockout round, where they all managed to avoid each other.

  But last Wednesday four of them were eliminated, only Santos made it through to the quarter finals - Brazil's worst showing by far since 1994, when just three teams reached the last eight.

  

  Former Brazil star Falcao, now coach of Internacional, reflects on their defeat by Penarol - photo: Getty

  What makes this more surprising is that the current strength of Brazil's currency and the country's economic progress is reflected in the squad lists - high-profile players have been returning home of late and promising youngsters are staying at home longer.

  A sizeable economic gap has opened up between the Brazilian clubs and their opponents from other South American nations. So how on earth could those clubs have suffered such a disastrous night?

  The short answer is that the opposition played better. Only one Brazilian club, reigning champions Internacional, could claim, on the balance of play over two games, to have been unfortunate. A terrible five-minute spell just after half-time in the second leg cost them dear in a 3-2 aggregate defeat by Penarol of Uruguay.

  The rest could have no complaints. Gremio were deservedly beaten home and away by Universidad Catolica from Chile and although Libertad left it late to score the goals to earn a 4-3 win over Fluminense, the superiority of the Paraguayans in both games was undeniable.

  The most surprising elimination, however, was that of Cruzeiro, who won the first leg 2-1 away to Colombia's Once Caldas, only to be turfed out 2-0 at home.

  As for Santos, they rode their luck to beat America of Mexico 1-0. But for a superb performance from goalkeeper Rafael, Brazil's interest in the 2011 Libertadores would have ended already.

  Trying to find a pattern behind these events is not easy - thankfully and gloriously, football defies such neat categorisations - but there are some factors which would seem to have a bearing.

  One is a lack of emotional control. True, over the last 20 years Brazil has been replacing Argentina as the leading force in the Libertadores, but on the last five occasions that teams from the two countries have met in the final, the Argentines have come out on top.
  Brazilian sides can self destruct when the stakes are high - remember the national team against Holland in last year's World Cup.

  This time, Gremio striker Borges got himself stupidly sent off in the first half of the first leg; Cruzeiro attacking midfielder Roger did the same in the first half of his side's return match and, in the image of the week, Cruzeiro coach Cuca stuck an elbow into the face of an Once Caldas player.

  

  Diego Amaya (right) celebrates scoring for Once Caldas against Cruzeiro - photo: Reuters

  Another factor is the calendar of Brazil's domestic football. For months, leading clubs have been cruising through meaningless games in the appalling state championships but now these competitions have reached their climax, with big local derbies - at the very moment that the Libertadores gets serious.

  It is not easy to fight on two fronts. Cruzeiro paid the penalty. Top scorers in the Libertadores, they faced Once Caldas on Wednesday without their three leading strikers, all injured the previous weekend.

  But emotional fragility and poor domestic organisation are not new. It was the same last year, and the year before, when Brazil dominated the Libertadores. So is there some new factorto explain this season's early exits? I believe there might be.

  Current Brazil boss Mano Menezes is a shrewd observer of the international scene. When he was appointed, he mentioned a trend he was observing in Europe: "Coaches took out nearly all the strikers from their teams. Now they're putting them back."
  
  This dynamic has reached South America - and it has caught the Brazilian clubs unprepared. Specifically, they are not set up to deal with opponents who come at them with three up front and attack the wide spaces.

  Brazil invented the back four, dropping an extra player to the heart of the defence to provide cover. It pushed the full-backs out wider and gave them more freedom.

  When wingers disappeared and there was no one to mark, Brazilian full-backs became attackers, charging up with the flanks in glorious style - in the 1950s Nilton Santos was charging forward from left-back and everyone remembers Carlos Alberto's brilliant final goal from right-back in the 1970 World Cup final - but over time, clubs ran the risk of becoming over-dependent on them for launching the attack.

  As a result of this counter-atacking strategy, central midfielders took on more defensive tasks and gave up their previous responsibility for setting up the play.

  Brazilian clubs had a warning of the changing times in 2008, when LDU of Ecuador beat Fluminense in the Libertadores final. The Ecuadorians went with two wide strikers, and throughout 90 minutes of the first leg and 120 of the second the Brazilians were unable to find a response.

  Throw the full-backs forward, and there is too much space behind. Keep them back and without its usual 'out' ball the midfield struggles to maintain controlled possession.

  Once Caldas, with their fascinating coach Juan Carlos Osorio, overcame Cruzeiro by employing wide strikers. Libertad dominated Fluminense with a bold 4-3-3. Universidad Catolica showed spells of patient midfield possession that Gremio were unable to match.

  The end result of all this will surely be positive. Brazil's tradition of attacking full-backs is a wonderful thing, and should not be jettisoned but defeat always presents an opportunity for reflection and football can only benefit if Brazilian clubs add more options to their game by re-activating their earlier tradition of imaginative central midfield play.

  In the short term, too, there is something to celebrate. Seven countries are represented in the last eight of the Libertadores. It is not healthy when one country becomes too dominant - though they may not agree down in Paraguay.
  
  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick up a couple for next week.

  From last week's postbag:
  
  Q) I recently saw Lucho Gonzalez having a solid game for Marseille, do you think he has a future in the Argentine national side, or will coach Sergio Batista attempt to implement younger players?
  Mark Colman
  
  A) No, I think his time has gone. Batista has Banega, Mascherano and Cambiasso, he likes Biglia and there's Gago to come back after injury, so I'd be surprised if Gonzalez gets another go.

  I don't think his international career ever really recovered from the 2006 World Cup elimination against Germany. That controversial move when the coach substituted Riquelme was not supposed to alter the flow of the side - the idea was that Lucho would step up and boss the midfield. It didn't happen.
  
  Q) I'm a big fan of Riquelme as he is just a joy to watch every time! Do you see Riquelme being able to return to the Argentina national team? He was not picked for the team when Maradona was in charge following their bust-up and hasn't had the best run of games for his club. Do you think he still has something to offer to the current squad or is it really the end for him?
  Nico Man
  
  A) Interesting one, where perhaps the most sensible answer is 'never say never.'
  Indeed, Riquelme has been hampered by a run of injuries and by the fact that Falcioni, the current Boca Juniors coach, doesn't usually build his sides around an old fashioned number 10. Given the fact that Riquelme is now coming up 33, it might be easy to conclude that he has no way back.

  But national team boss Batista is a huge admirer, and it might not take much of a resurgence from Riquelme for him to contemplate a recall. He would have to rejig his side - you couldn't fit Riquelme into his current 4-3-3. I wouldn't bet on a recall, but it is by no means impossible.
  

• Prepare for some twists and turns

  Posted: April 18, 2011, 6:42 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  The time has arrived in South America when fans all over the continent will need a calculator in one hand and the phone number of a cardiologist in the other.

  This is the last week of the group phase of the Copa Libertadores, the continent's equivalent of the Champions League. Of the eight groups, four have been completed, while the rest have their last round coming up on either Tuesday or Wednesday.

  The action has been tight and competitive. Of the 32 teams, only two are still unbeaten. Of the 16 places available in the knockout phase, nine have been taken. Thirteen teams are chasing the remaining places - with varying degrees of desperation.

  Holders Internacional of Brazil are nearly home and dry. A draw at home to Emelec of Ecuador will suffice, although the visitors, who need a win, should not be written off. Emelec coach Omar Asad is an interesting figure but the Argentine's team lacks firepower, which is hardly surprising given strikers Jaime Ayovi and Joao Rojas have been sold to Mexican clubs.

  Emelec must do without the talents of Joao Rojas. Photo: Getty Images

  Inter have a fascinating coach of their own. Falcao, the elegant midfielder best remembered for his displays in the 1982 World Cup, has returned to lead the team after nearly two decades of media work. It would take a major upset to deny his team a place in the knockout stage.

  Brazilian Cup winners Santos also look close, apparently saving themselves after a sticky start with last week's win away to Cerro Porteno of Paraguay. Now all Neymar and company need to do is pick up three points at home to the already eliminated Deportivo Tachira of Venezuela.

  Reigning Brazilian champions Fluminense face a much more difficult task. They have only one win from five games, that sole victory coming when Deco came off the bench to inspire a late revival against America of Mexico. On Wednesday, Fluminese travel to Argentinos Juniors, who need a win to be sure of qualification.

  This always looked like a difficult group - Nacional of Uruguay are the fourth team - but few expected that, with a game to go, Fluminense would be bottom. Backed by a generous sponsor, the traditional Rio team have assembled a squad that, on paper, looks at least as strong as the one that lost on penalties in the 2008 Libertadores final.

  Most of Fluminense's problems this year have been self-inflicted. A change of president has caused instability, while coach Muricy Ramalho resigned, launching an attack on the club's training and medical facilities. He may have a point but Fluminense won last year's Brazilian title with the same structure.

  It should surely not be beyond the current Fluminese team to produce at least one convincing display in this year's Libertadores. Even if that happens against Argentinos Juniors, there is a chance that it might come too late.

  Fluminense's chances are dependent on what happens in the other game, played at the same time. If Nacional win at home to America, all of Fluminense's efforts will have been in vain. If the game ends in a draw, then the Brazilians need to win by a two-goal margin. With all four teams in the fight, there is the promise of drama to the end.

  That is also true of Tuesday, when Colombia's Once Caldas, whose campaign seems to come with the guarantee of drama, visit San Martin of Peru.

  The Colombians are coached by Juan Carlos Osorio, who spent five years on the coaching staff at Manchester City. There seems to be a strong English influence in the way that he constructs his team. There is little old style Colombian midfield elaboration about Caldas. They play a centre-forward and two strikers on the flanks, seeking to get the ball quickly into attacking wide spaces.

  In domestic competition, the formula has worked wonderfully well - despite the club's grave financial crisis. Wages were paid late but Once Caldas still fought their way to the Colombian title last December. Key players were sold and Osorio got on with the business of rebuilding his team. They were top of the table once more until a couple of recent defeats and remain well in contention to defend their title - even though the cash crisis continues. Wages are still not being paid on time, prompting suggestions that the players would not travel to Peru for Wednesday's crunch game.

  Like Fluminense, Once Caldas have to win their match and hope for the right result in the other. Whatever happens in Lima, they will be eliminated if San Luis of Mexico manage a win away to the already qualified Libertad of Paraguay.

  There would be an element of poetic justice if Once Caldas are able to save themselves. If football was a game of 90 minutes - or even 92 - then the Colombians would not be bottom. They would already have guaranteed their place in the knockout stage.

  Juan Carlos Osorio was once on the coaching staff of Manchester City. Photo: Getty Images

  Incredibly, Osorio's team have conceded 93rd- or 94th-minute equalisers in three of their last four matches. When it happened for the third time, the Once Caldas coach cut an almost comic figure in his moment of tragedy, jumping up and down on the touchline in a mixture of anger, disappointment and disbelief.

  After all that, if one team deserves to keep alive their Copa Libertadores hopes in this week of the calculator and the cardiologist, then it is surely Once Caldas of Colombia.
  
  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.
  From last week's postbag:
  
  Q) I'd be intrigued to hear your thoughts on the similarities and differences between Paulo Henrique Ganso and Javier Pastore. They seem to have similar attributes and play in virtually the same starting position. Their futures seem tied to one another, with some reports stating that Fiorentina are hoping to replace Pastore with Ganso when they sell the former, while others have both of them going to massive clubs. Who do you rate as the greater talent? Obviously, Pastore is further along in his development but I'd like to know your thoughts all the same.
  Stefan Tavares
  
  A) It is an interesting comparison. There are many similarities and one key difference - Ganso is left-footed - while, as you say, Pastore is further down the line at the moment. He's been a surprise with how quickly and easily he adapted to Italian football. Even Angel Cappa, his coach when he caught the eye at Huracan, doubted his capacity to do it.

  I doubt that Ganso would be interested in going to a club like Palermo. The hype around him is huge. He wants to go to Europe in the near future - and it's likely to be straight to a massive club. This could be a gamble. Pastore has benefited from his time with Palermo and is now ready for the next stage. If Ganso goes to a massive club, he is in the deep end struggling with the problem all South American playmakers face when they make the move to Europe - less time and space to decide what to do with the ball. He was a disappointment in this respect in the 2009 World Youth Cup. It will be fascinating to see how he deals with this question when the time comes.
  
  Q) What are your thoughts on current Parma and Brazil Under-20 player Zé Eduardo? How do you rate him as a prospect? In your view, is he the type of central midfielder who is capable of creativity and invention, providing quality passes? Or is he more of a player who specialises in marking rather than passing?
  Ari
  
  A) On the evidence of the last two South American Under-20 Championships, he is strictly the latter - a marking specialist who stands out for his size and his physical vigour. In fact, I was a bit surprised to see him feature in the recent Under-20s. He is the type of central midfielder that the current Brazil regime are trying to get away from. Sure enough, he was dropped after looking strong but very limited in the group phase.
  

• Will Piazon stand out at Stamford Bridge?

  Posted: April 11, 2011, 8:30 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  Have Chelsea done a good deal acquiring Sao Paulo striker Lucas Piazon, who joins the club next year when he turns 18?

  Sao Paulo are certainly happy. The deal enables them to sell a player who has yet to appear in their first team, bring top-class centre forward Luis Fabiano back to the club - he scored 118 goals in 160 appearances for Sao Paulo between 2001 and 2004 - and still have some money left over.

  Whether Chelsea can feel as pleased with themselves, only time will tell.

  Piazon showed touches of class as Brazil won the South American Under-17 Championship but his performances can hardly be considered conclusive evidence either way.

  Usually operating off the centre forward, he is tall, strong and elegant, two-footed and good in the air. But he also came across as a frustrated figure, fretting when things were not going his way.

  Piazon celebrates victory in the South American Under-17 Championship. Photo: AP

  Two years ago, Piazon was outstanding at the South American Under-15 Championship, finishing as top scorer with nine goals. This time around, he only managed three, none of them in the decisive second round.

  Could this be a youngster who had an early advantage because he matured physically so quickly but, as time went on, stood out less as others caught up?

  If conclusions drawn from performances at Under-17 level are unreliable, it is a different matter when it comes to the Under-20s.

  Players in the South American Under-20 Championship are often already seasoned professionals. If not, it is still possible to judge whether they are ready for the big time.

  Javier Mascherano is an obvious example. When he played for Argentina at the Under-20 Championship in 2003, he had yet to feature in the River Plate first team. Nevertheless, it was clear he was ready.

  Just a few months later, he made his senior debut for his country, still without having played for River Plate. Within a year, it was impossible to imagine an Argentina side without him in it.

  As I have made clear already, conclusions reached at Under-17 level are treacherous. After the South American Championship six years ago, I wrote a column that focused on the two stand-out players, Kerlon of Brazil and Elias Figueroa of Uruguay. Now 23, the world is still waiting for them to make an impact.

  Kerlon was known for the extraordinary seal dribble, running with the ball bouncing on his forehead. In truth, there was much more to his game than that. He looked like an extraordinary talent but he has suffered one injury after another and his senior career has still to take off.

  Figueroa is an elegant, left-footed striker. Superb for Uruguay's Under-17 side, he was much less impressive at Under-20 level. In senior football, he is frequently on the bench for minor Montevideo club Liverpool.

  I also covered the World Under-17 Cup in Peru six years ago. The two big talents were Anderson of Brazil and Mexico's Giovani Dos Santos. More than half a decade later, Dos Santos has still not made the move from promise to reality and is currently on loan at Racing Santander from Tottenham, while Manchester United's Anderson is a very different player from the one who looked so exciting back in 2005.

  There is so much ground to travel before players reach the senior ranks. Youngsters can change so much in just a few years - in technical, physical and psychological terms.

  The physical effects can be obvious. Kerlon, for example, has had his career ravaged by injuries, while a serious one may well have robbed Anderson of his burst of acceleration.

  There is also the phenomenon of premature physical development, as I have highlighted already. How does the youngster cope when the others catch up and he finds out that he is not quite as good as he thought he was?

  Then there are the psychological changes. This is an age when everyone is going through changes. With footballers, there is the added issue of delayed adolescence. Focusing on a career in football can mean a youngster missing out on some of the normal activities of someone his age.

  With the first big contract comes an element of financial independence and the temptation to catch up with his old mates by enjoying some of their pleasures - and so he loses focus at the very moment he needs it most.

  For those who star for their country at Under-17 level, there is the added strain of going through this process in public. Some careers can be pushed too fast.

  An obvious example is Lulinha, a Brazilian attacking midfielder who gave a masterclass in finishing and broke all scoring records in the 2007 South American Under-17 Championship. He was quickly thrown into the Corinthians first team at a time when the Sao Paulo giants were in crisis, fighting against relegation. He was unsurprisingly unprepared and unable to be the team's saviour. He has yet to recover.

  Alternatively, a player may not get enough first-team opportunities - a common danger if he moves to a European giant and finds himself lost in a massive squad.

  Going through teenage changes in a foreign land can be particularly disorientating. But Manchester United appear to have done a sound job with the Da Silva twins.

  Rafael and Fabio have settled well at Old Trafford. Photo: Getty Images

  In their case, there was a compelling reason for bringing them across the Atlantic so early. In Brazil, they would not have been taught how to defend. Indeed, this is almost certainly one of the reasons that Rafael has been able to make more progress than brother Fabio, captain of Brazil's Under-17s and, along with Lulinha, the star attraction.

  Fabio played much more from left-back than at left-back, popping up frequently in the penalty area. It has surely been easier for the less flamboyant Rafael to adapt his game to the demands made of a United full-back. It could be that Fabio's long-term future will be as a wide midfielder.

  Either way, United must surely be happy with their investment. Buying the Da Silva twins was clearly a good bit of business. A few years will have to pass before we can judge whether Chelsea have hit the jackpot with Piazon.

  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.
  From last week's postbag:
  
  Q) What effect, if any, did the mass migration of top Brazilian talent to Europe starting in the 1980s have on Brazilian football? Did it impact on the culture, the tactics or the quality of the league?
  Manuel Marinho
  
  A) It certainly saw the quality drop, although I also think it led to an increase in tactical experimentation. If you didn't have top players to tip the balance, you would have to find some collective way to do it. It also made life hard for the big clubs. With the quality forced down, it was possible for little teams like Sao Caetano to come from nowhere and beat the big boys. Only penalties stopped them winning the Libertadores nine years ago. Being a big club could be a problem. Pressure was piled on by the fans but the squad was not strong enough to cope with the expectations. Over the next few years, I expect to see the opposite happen. With more money and more top players around, I think the big clubs will be better equipped to put distance between themselves and the rest.

• Copa America on horizon for South Americans

  Posted: April 4, 2011, 2:08 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  The countdown is on towards the Copa America, this year's top senior international competition. Over the next couple of months, though, the focus will be firmly on club football, with the closing stages of domestic championships, the Champions League and the Libertadores.

  In the wake of the two recent Fifa dates, this would seem to be the appropriate moment to look back at the recent international friendlies and reflect on how South America's teams are preparing for the Copa.

  Preparation is the key word, because the way the Copa now fits in the calendar turns it into a warm-up tournament. South America plays a three-year cycle of World Cup qualifiers and the Copa comes just before the wheel starts turning.

  National teams all over the continent are stressing that their main priority in this year's Copa is to emerge from it with a team ready to fight for a place in the next World Cup.
  

  As 2014 hosts, Brazil of course have automatically qualified, which gives this year's Copa an extra importance for them.

  This July they will play their most serious competitive games in the run up to the World Cup, which helps explain why experienced campaigners such as Lucio and Elano were recalled for the recent game against Scotland.

  Coach Mano Menezes appears to have settled for a 4-2-3-1 formation with a target-man centre forward, as this column noted last week.

  The pressure will also be on Copa hosts Argentina, despite all the protestations of coach Sergio Batista that the World Cup is his priority. Without a senior title since 1993, they will be expected to bring that run to an end in front of their own fans.

  Last week's column noted some of the question marks around the attacking personnel of Batista's 4-3-3 system and although he has learned a little bit more since then, most of it was negative.

  Without Lionel Messi, Argentina played out a poor 0-0 draw away to Costa Rica last Tuesday, a game in which the tactic of playing Jose Sosa and Nicolas Gaitan in the wide positions was a clear failure. Both prefer the ball played to their feet, making it impossible to lengthen the game and rendering Argentina's midfield interpassing somewhat pointless. Then again, friendlies are when experiments should take place.

  

  Argentina opted to rest Lionel Messi (left) for the friendly against Costa Rica - Photo: Reuters

  Uruguay would love to have a promising new goalkeeper to experiment with after coach Oscar Washington Tabarez admitted his concern about the displays of his two current keepers, Muslera and Castillo, in their recent 2-0 loss to Estonia and 3-2 win over the Republic of Ireland.

  In general though, Uruguay are making serene progress. Edinson Cavani has made great strides this season, and another striker, Abel Hernandez, leads the list of players from the youth ranks being funnelled in to the senior side. There are grounds for the hope that last year's World Cup semi-final appearance was not a flash in the pan, but a sign of a long term revival for the first kings of the global game.

  With Paraguay, on the other hand, it is not clear whether making the quarter-finals in South Africa represents the end or the beginning. Will it mark the highpoint of four consecutive World Cup appearances, or the emergence of Paraguay as genuine contenders?

  Friendlies are never the best place to judge the Paraguayans, who played a disastrous first half hour to lose 3-1 to Mexico and then produced a more typically resilient performance to beat the USA. There does seem to be a lack of genuine quality coming through, and coach Gerardo Martino could be a victim of his own success. Expectations are now higher.

  Expectations plummeted in Chile, who played with such brio in the World Cup, when turbulent changes in the local FA forced the resignation of highly respected coach Marcelo Bielsa. But his replacement, fellow Argentine Claudio Borghi, made an impressive start, with a 1-1 draw with Portugal followed by a 2-0 win over Colombia.

  

  Mati Fernandez has emerged as Chile's main creative force - photo: AP

  Borghi favours a more traditional 3-5-2 over Bielsa's trademark 3-3-1-3 formation, and his side do not seek to press so obsessively in the opponent's half. Sitting deeper allows them to spring a rapid counter-attack, and gives playmaker Mati Fernandez more space to work in.

  He was Chile's standout player, scoring two magnificent free-kicks and setting up the other goal with a shrewd pass. A shy figure, Fernandez may well be benefiting from teaming up once more with Borghi, who groomed him at club level.

  Apart from Borghi, the newest coach in South America is Bolivia's Gustavo Quinteros, who endured rather than enjoyed his second and third matches in charge, a 2-0 defeat by Panama followed by a 1-1 draw with Guatemala. In the Copa America Bolivia are being handed what has become their customary role - they are Argentina's first opponents, in the expectation that the hosts get off to a winning start.

  Quinteros, a naturalised Argentine who represented Bolivia in the 1994 World Cup, will hope that his side can hang on and spring the counter. His biggest hope, though, will be to get through the competition with prestige unscathed and then bet that the altitude of La Paz will help keep his team in contention for a World Cup place.

  In the same group as Bolivia, Colombia will expect to seal their place in the quarter-finals with a win over Quinteros' team, but their coach, Hernan Dario Gomez, has yet to get his side to click - a long term injury to playmaker Giovanni Moreno has not helped - and a shortage of goals continues to be a problem.

  Colombia did manage to put two goals past Ecuador, who are struggling to replace the generation who took them so far so fast. Coach Reinaldo Rueda will look to the likes of midfielder Cristian Noboa and support striker Jefferson Montero to pick up the torch. Last week they were disappointed to be held 0-0 by a Peru side down to 10 men half way through the first half.

  Peru, meanwhile, were delighted to have shown the mental strength necessary to grind out a result. The likes of Claudio Pizarro and Paolo Guerrero give them firepower, and in the Uruguayan Sergio Markarian they have a top-class coach, capable of organising the defence and putting an end to the petty internal problems which have caused such harm to their cause. Peru promise to be an interesting team to follow.

  Finally, there is Venezuela, the only team in the continent never to have been to a World Cup. Their results - a 2-0 win over Jamaica and a 1-1 draw with Mexico - underlined their recent progress.

  Coach Cesar Farias has cleverly promoted players trough the Under-20s to the senior side - little support striker Yohandry Orozco looks especially exciting. Venezuela open their Copa America campaign against Brazil and hope to emerge from the tournament with a team capable of carrying them south to Brazil in 2014.
  
  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

  From last week's postbag:

  Q) With the World Cup in Brazil in 2014, the pressure to win the tournament will be almost unbearable, but how much pressure will there be to win in a "Brazilian style" ? What was the reaction in Brazil to the 1994 winning team, was it one of relief after 24 years of "failure" or was there any criticism that it wasn't technically as good as the 1970 or 1982 teams? Will winning in the "Brazilian style" create added pressure for 2014 or will winning be enough?
  Jack Livings

  A) In the last three days I've had two separate conversations with senior Brazilian journalists who, word for word, have said the same thing - in their view, their countrymen are not interested in sport, they are interested in winning. There's a lot of truth in this. The oft repeated view that Brazilians would rather have fun than win is as wide of the mark as you could wish - the victory of the 1994 side was greeted with hysterical celebrations.

  Having said that, there is also great and totally understandable pride in the style of the global success (and please let's not forget 1958, probably the best of the lot). Mano Menezes, intelligently, argues that to have the crowd fully onside in 2014, and derive full benefit from home advantage, Brazil will need to play in more traditional style.

  His reign has marked the end of the Gilberto Silva era - both central midfielders are now popping up in the opponent's penalty box in open play.

  "My idea is to take the team to victory," said Mano when he was first appointed. "If we can do that playing beautiful football, great." I think that comment shows where the priorities lie.
  

• Brazil show Argentina way forward

  Posted: March 28, 2011, 12:06 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  Taking on Scotland at the Emirates was more than just another friendly for Brazil, more than the chance to return to winning ways after two defeats, and even more than a warm up for July's Copa America.

  The game got to grips with one of the fundamental issues facing the five-time world champions as they prepare for triumph number six in front of their own fans in 2014.

  "We need to learn to play against defensive sides," said Mano Menezes last July in his first press conference as coach of Brazil.

  "If teams stay back we get irritated - but the opposition has every right to play defensively."

  Menezes is weaning his team off what had become an excessive dependence on the counter-attack.

  In the World Cup almost everyone will sit back and try to frustrate Brazil - hence the importance of trying out strategies to beat the likes of Scotland.

  

  Brazil's Leandro Damiao has an effort stopped by Scotland goalkeeper Allan McGregor of Scotland. Pic: Getty

  One of them - unveiled last month against France but curtailed after Hernanes' first-half red card - was high pressure marking, attempting to win possession deep in the opposition half.

  At one point this nearly turned a goal-kick for Scotland into a goal for Brazil, and several times Menezes' men won the ball in dangerous positions.

  With his team compact in Scotland's half, the virtues of Menezes' 4-2-3-1 formation started to appear.

  The holding midfielder Lucas Leiva was able to pop up in attack as an occasional element of surprise.

  There was also a constant quest to create two against one situations down the flanks, with Jadson and Daniel Alves down the right and, especially, with Andre Santos and Neymar down the left - the route of the latter's gloriously taken opening goal.

  And, for the first time since the World Cup, there was a genuine old fashioned number nine. Absent through injury this time, Alexandre Pato scored in all three of Menezes' first games in charge. But for all his talent, it is debatable whether he is ideally suited to the central striker's role in a 4-2-3-1. He is more of a fluid runner than a penalty area presence.

  The same is not true of Leandro Damiao, the 21-year-old who made his debut against Scotland. As recently as December, he was a substitute for Internacional in the Club World Cup.

  Damiao's rise has been meteoric. He was unlucky not to get on the scoresheet against the Scots, provided a threat in the air and helped create space for Neymar.

  It is way too early to know whether Damiao will be the long-term owner of the number nine shirt. What seems clear, though, is that a player of his type - which could still be World Cup striker Luis Fabiano should his return to Sao Paulo be a success - will always be in the thoughts of Menezes when he puts his team together.

  But if Brazil are moving towards fielding an old style centre forward, Argentina are going in the opposite direction.

  

  A 79,000 crowd was at the Meadowlands Stadium to see Messi - photo: Reuters.

  Against the United States on Saturday, as in last month's meeting with Portugal, coach Sergio Batista selected his side without a target man.

  Instead, in an imitation of the role he has been playing for Barcelona, Lionel Messi is being employed in a 4-3-3 formation as a false number nine, with freedom to roam between midfield and attack.

  Either side of Messi, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Angel Di Maria open up the field with their speedy flank play. Behind him, Ever Banega is the key link - the Xavi of Batista's South American Barcelona.

  For the first 45 minutes against the US, Argentina were worthy of the comparison. They played some scintillating stuff, with Messi exchanging passes at breathtaking pace and angles with Banega and Lavezzi.

  The US defended doggedly, but were held in a stranglehold, and were fortunate to be just one goal down at the interval. It was embarrassingly one sided.

  But the final score was 1-1. Batista's men could not maintain their pressing for the full 90 minutes, and with more aggressive intent the US managed to carry the game into the Argentina half - at which point some long-standing defensive weaknesses were shown up.

  Poor defending in the air and sub-standard goalkeeping helped the US equalise. It would have been greatly against the run of play, but the US could even have snatched a winner.

  Batista must surely be reflecting on how such first-half superiority could not be turned into more goals. Does he need to rethink the balance of his attack?

  A penalty-area specialist would surely have capitalised on those periods of Argentina domination when the ball kept flashing across the face of the goal. And indeed, the currently injured Gonzalo Higuain remains an important option.

  Going back to a target man, though, would interfere with Batista's imitation of Pep Guardiola's Barcelona, since it would reduce the space available for Messi to cut through the middle.

  But there is a figure in the Barcelona attack that Batista's side are not currently replicating. David Villa is not a traditional centre forward. He does much of his best work cutting in from the flanks. But he is a penalty-area operator - much more so than ether Lavezzi or Di Maria.

  There is an obvious candidate to carry out the Villa role for Argentina - Sergio Aguero, a surprising omission from the current squad. Diego Maradona's son-in-law has the speed to work wide and the restricted space skills to be effective in the penalty area.

  Aguero has not played for his country since coming off the bench to score against Spain last September. But the Atletico Madrid striker could have an important part to play in Argentina's Barcelona imitation.

  Comments on the piece in the space below. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

  From last week's postbag:

  Q) Any idea what's happened to the Argentine defender Marcos Angeleri signed by Sunderland. I see he's only made a couple of appearances for the first team so far, after being picked by Maradona for the national side I had hoped for him to shine in the Premier League.
  Gareth Williams
  
  He was on the bench for Argentina against the US, called up after Pablo Zabaleta was forced out, and he may even play against Costa Rica on Tuesday. What concerned me, though, when he signed for Sunderland was his fitness. His biggest asset was his pace - that and versatility, because he started as a sweeper and then became a right back, so he could use that pace for defensive cover and to bomb forward.
  But he suffered a serious knee injury, and so far he's offered no evidence of being the player he was before. Had he been fit, I'm sure Maradona would have taken him to the World Cup. The fact that he was left out was a cause of concern, a warning flag that he had not made a full recovery.
  
  Q) I was wondering what seems to have been the motivation for Luis Fabiano's move back to Brazil. It seems especially unusual when you consider he had just signed a new contract with Sevilla, and he was being linked to big clubs (Man Utd, Spurs, etc) over the summer.
  Bobby Smith Baker

  A) After a very unhappy time early in his career with Rennes in France he said that he never wanted to know about northern Europe again! He's going back, I imagine, because Brazilian clubs are paying top money now, and with some big names returning the standard should be higher than for years. He had a happy spell with Sao Paulo in the past, and the club's medical facilities are top class. And if he's still keen, starring at home is a great way to win an international recall - as the column above argues, Brazil seem to have decided that they need a player of his type.
  

• Adriano struggling to find suitors after Roma departure

  Posted: March 21, 2011, 11:47 am by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  When Roma signed Brazilian striker Adriano last year, the club directors may as well have lit their cigars with high denomination banknotes or poured their money down a rathole. They were quite happy to tear up his contract earlier this month and received no money in return.

  This, though, is not the story of a player unable to adapt to life in a foreign country.

  For a good five years, Adriano was a top-class striker in Italian football, a giant centre forward with a howitzer left foot that was also capable of surprising subtlety. And yet, at 29 and theoretically at his peak, he seems unlikely to play in Europe again. Only a very brave or foolhardy European club would give yet another chance to a player who has been wasting them for the last five years.

  Adriano is an extreme example of one of the striking features of contemporary football - inconsistency at the top level of the game.
  

  

  Adriano failed to make an impact at Roma after signing for the club amid much fanfare

  His life story shows how great the gap has become from being a successful professional to relative anonymity. A poor kid from Rio's notorious Vila Cruzeiro favela, Adriano has earned fabulous sums of money through his skill on the football field, but this process has left him walking a tightrope that keeps getting narrower.

  On the one hand, the rewards for playing top-class football are greater than ever before, meaning that so too are the temptations. On the other hand, with the physical development of the game, the sacrifices needed in order to shine are also at unprecedented levels.

  For years Adriano was prepared to make those sacrifices and he paid a high price for his desire to break into the Brazil side. He played in the Confederations Cup in 2003 and '05, the 2004 Copa America and then the World Cup two years later. It is hard to think of many European players who would be willing to do the same, especially as in between these tournaments there were long flights home for World Cup qualifiers.

  All of these tournaments ate into his time for rest and relaxation. It may seem an unlikely comparison, but Adriano was like a butterfly broken on the wheel of an over-crowded fixture calendar.

  For all his physical strength, there is something of the lost, sweet-eyed child in Adriano. It became apparent after the premature loss of his father, whose death was hastened by the fact that he had a bullet lodged in his skull after being caught in the middle of a shoot-out.

  Adriano has confessed that he was terrified by the thought of becoming the man of the family. And there was something else: his great motivations to play football were to make his father happy and, of course, to make money. Now, with his father gone and his bank balance bulging, what was the point?

  The sacrifices of the life of an athlete, once part of his routine, were now an unbearable limitation. Why bother with training when he could drink, either to mourn the loss of his dad or to celebrate the fact that he could buy all the drink that he wanted.

  Alex Ferguson says that, for a top-class player, every game is a statement of his own worth. It is a magnificent quote and, especially for the mentally fragile, a stressful way of life. Forced to put themselves on the line twice a week in front of an audience of millions, it is not hard to imagine why most players enjoyed the game more before they were professional - or why some choose to measure their worth in other ways, such as their nocturnal activities.

  The tragedy, of course, is that their talent has a sell-by date. In a decade's time, someone like Adriano will be able to go where he likes, with whoever he likes to wherever he likes. But he will surely feel better about himself if he can legitimately believe that he took his footballing talent as far as it could go.

  He has surely come to the end of the road in Europe, but that does not mean that Adriano will not be handed yet another opportunity to redeem himself. Things have not gone as he would have liked after he effectively forced his way out of Roma.

  He expected that Flamengo of Rio would welcome him back with open arms - he came up through the ranks with the club, and came back in 2009 to help them to the domestic title.

  Last year, though, before joining Roma, it was felt that he led the squad astray. Now they have a big time idol in Ronaldinho, and a coach (Vanderlei Luxemburgo) who is very reluctant to have his boat rocked.

  

  There has been some talk of Corinthians, the Sao Paulo giants. The recently retired Ronaldo still has considerable influence with the club, and has apparently been using it to push Adriano's claims. Here again there is resistance, especially as Corinthians have recently - and with immediate success - brought back Liedson from Portugal.

  Three years ago Adriano spent some time on loan with Sao Paulo FC, but that door seems closed since the club have signed World Cup striker Luis Fabiano. Cruzeiro have been looking for a centre forward - but have just agreed a loan deal with Brandao of Marseilles.

  Maybe Adriano made a simple miscalculation. Several years ago Brazilian football was so short of big names that he could dictate his terms. That is no longer the case. The economic boom and the strength of the currency are bringing some stars back across the Atlantic. Adriano has not been able to waltz back in to a major club.

  Plenty could have changed, though, by the time the national championship kicks off in two month's time. Flamengo, for instance, could do with a target man, and at the weekend a group of supporters staged a demonstration in favour of Adriano.

  If not them, some other big Brazilian club will find themselves under pressure for results and will go looking for Adriano - hoping against hope that they are signing the proven goalscorer, and not the proven troublemaker.
  
  Please leave comments on the piece in the space provided. Send your questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.
  
  From last week's postbag:

  Q) Just wondering if you could shed any light on a rumour I heard from an Argentinian friend on Riquelme's situation with Boca? He told me he had been sacked from the club for constantly being unfit. Is there any truth in this? He is a River Plate fan and perhaps it is just wishful thinking. How well is he playing in Argentina since his move back?
  Craig McFarlane
  
  A) I think we can destroy that rumour, since Riquelme played on Sunday, back after his latest injury. Boca lost again, though, 2-0 at home, and their situation is not good at all. Riquelme has indeed struggled for fitness for a while, but now he is back it is going to be fascinating to see how he gets on with latest coach Falcioni, who is not known for his use of number 10 playmakers.

  Much as I enjoy watching him, I was never convinced by the decision to bring Riquelme back on a definitive basis in 2008 - it brought to an end a model which had worked very well for Boca for a decade.
  

• South American sides make capital gain

  Posted: March 14, 2011, 4:24 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  With Tottenham into the last eight and Chelsea likely to join them, London is in with another chance of ending its wait for the Champions League success.

  But London is not the only capital city to have missed out on Europe's biggest club prize. Rome, Paris and Berlin have never won it either.

  It is a different story in South America, where the continent's capital cities have had a stranglehold on the Copa Libertadores, their equivalent of the Champions League.

  The explanation is straightforward enough.

  Most South American nations are dominated by a single city, usually the port through which raw materials were exported and manufactured products brought in. Football is a game of the city, so the big clubs tend to be clustered in the capital.

  Brazil is an exception. Its capital, Brasilia, is a modern city inaugurated in 1960, the same year that the Libertadores was launched. It has yet to produce a top-class team. Rio de Janeiro, the previous capital, has won the Libertadores, as have Sao Paulo, Porto Alegre and Belo Horizonte, the other major footballing centres.

  Elsewhere, the pattern is clear.

  Buenos Aires in Argentina, Montevideo in Uruguay, Asuncion in Paraguay have frequently provided the winners of the Libertadores. Chile's title came courtesy of a team from Santiago, while Ecuador's from a side from Quito. Although a Peruvian club has never won the competition, it has had a couple of finalists, both from Lima.

  Then there is Colombia.

  Bogota, Colombia's capital and biggest city, provided major forces Millonarios and Santa Fe when professional football was launched in the country just over 60 years ago. Both reached the semi-finals in the first two years of the Libertadores. Since then, Bogota's fortunes have dipped. It is more than 20 years since the city claimed a domestic title.

  Medellin and Cali, the next two biggest cities in Colombia, have emerged as the heartland of the game. Yet even they were eclipsed by the small provincial town of Manizales in 2004. Located in the country's coffee growing region and with a population of less than 400,000, Manizales was put firmly on the footballing map by Once Caldas, who overcame the big city giants to win the Copa Libertadores.

  Once Caldas celebrate victory in the 2004 Copa Libertadores. Photo: Getty

  It was hardly the most glamorous campaign in the competition's history. In their 14 games, Once Caldas managed 17 goals but conceded only 10. The figures tell the story. This was a title won with blanket defence. They set out to keep a clean sheet, to frustrate the opposition into losing discipline before striking with a sudden counter-attack or a long-range shot. They used the most efficient formula available to the small club.

  The road that Once Caldas trod had been pioneered, with a few excesses along the way, by Estudiantes of Argentina. From La Plata, a city of about half a million and an hour's drive from Buenos Aires, Estudiantes had never even won the Argentine title until 1967. Yet for the next three years, they were champions of South America.

  Most of the credit for this remarkable rise has to go to their coach, Osvaldo Zubeldia.

  Ahead of his time, Zubeldia worked his players hard on physical preparation, while paying attention to detail. The team trained long and hard on set pieces, pioneering the use of free-kicks from the right taken with the left foot - and vice versa. They also complied dossiers on the opposition, working out which levers they could pull to provoke their rivals. With tight defence and a rapid counter-attack, Estudiantes came up with a winning mix, albeit one that was not always easy on the eye.

  All of which makes the achievements of Santos all the more remarkable. Pele's old club probably remain the Brazilian team most famous abroad but they are nowhere near being one of the biggest. Santos is a port with a population of little more than 400,000, about an hour down a winding road from the sprawling metropolis of Sao Paulo.

  The club have a limited catchment area and a rickety little stadium that holds about 20,000 and is frequently half empty. The fact that they have won the Libertadores is laudable. The style with which they did it makes the club extraordinary. Instead of small-team cynicism, Santos traded in big-time talent.

  Pele was at his absolute peak when Santos won the cup in 1962 and 1963. But Santos were more than Pele. One of football's happiest accidents is the fact that a teenage Pele was surrounded by experienced world-class team-mates when he was thrown into pro football in the mid-1950s. His supporting cast in the 1960s was magnificent as well.

  After 1965, Santos turned their back on the Libertadores, preferring to cash in on Pele by playing friendlies all over the world. After he retired, the club slid back to second rank, only reappearing in the Libertadores for one disastrous campaign in 1984.

  Neymar dribbles through the Cerro Porteno defence. Photo: Getty

  Over the last decade, though, Santos have re-emerged as a continental force. And once again the emphasis has been on exciting young talent. The side that boasted Diego, Robinho and Elano reached the 2003 final, falling in the quarter-finals the following year. Subsequently, the team have reached the semi-final once and the quarter-finals twice. This year, the sights are set higher.

  Elano is back, Neymar has emerged and Paulo Henrique Ganso is returning from injury. If they all fire together, there should be no more attractive team in South America.

  But the campaign has not started well. Santos drew their first two games and face a fascinating battle on Wednesday. They are away to Chile's Colo Colo, who have sparkled in attack and struggled in defence in their two matches.

  The scene is set, then, for a wonderful spectacle, with Santos writing another chapter in their remarkable Libertadores history.
  
  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com. From last week's postbag:
  
  Q) I watch Blackburn Rovers a lot and know that they signed Mauro Formica from Newell's Old Boys in January. I'm sure you will have seen him play in Argentina. Are you confident that he will be able to cope with the pace and intensity of the Premier League. Also, what is his best position? Is he better suited to play behind the striker or on the wing? How big a success do you think he will be for Blackburn?
  Mushtaq Quraishi
  
  A) I hope he comes off because he's a player I like a lot, although the doubt you raised about the pace and intensity of the Premier League is a legitimate concern. His natural position is behind the strikers - or lone striker - where he has something of the young Kaka about him - some thrust and an ability to shoot or set up the play off either foot. But he lacks Kaka's physique, so he might find his favourite spaces a bit congested in England, in which case it might be worthwhile shifting him wider. I think he could do well but he'll need time and patience.
  
  Q) I was wondering if you could shed any light on the culture of defending in Brazil? When one pictures Brazilian defenders, it's usually marauding full-backs such as Carlos Alberto, Cafu, Roberto Carlos or Dani Alves. Although Brazil have produced some excellent centre-backs, such as Lucio or Aldair, there doesn't seem to be the same appreciation for centre-back play as in other cultures.
  Aaron Bell
  
  A) It is so easy here to slip into silly myths about happy-go-lucky Brazilians who don't care how many goals they concede. It's well wide of the mark. Brazil invented the modern back four, with the key concept of defensive cover. The 1958 World Cup side - perhaps the most stereotypically Brazilian one - did not concede a goal until the semi-finals and had a magnificent centre-back partnership of Bellini, who was a bit limited but excellent in the air, and the extremely classy Orlando Pecanha, who is still an idol in Argentina with Boca Juniors fans. It is because of the cover provided by the centre-backs and defensive midfielders that Brazil have been able to set free all those great attacking full-backs that you mentioned.

• Is Luiz the new Lucio?

  Posted: March 7, 2011, 6:14 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  Is David Luiz destined to be a pillar of the defence and a leader of men for club and country? With their latest Brazilian acquisition, have Chelsea signed the new Lucio?

  There are clear similarities, not all of them complementary.

  Luiz, already in Portugal with Benfica, first appeared on the radar screen of the average Brazilian fan during a disastrous World Youth Cup campaign in Canada in 2007, mixing up some slipshod defending with disciplinary problems.

  It was all slightly reminiscent of Lucio's introduction to the great Brazilian public at the 2000 Olympics. With time running out and the team needing a goal to force extra time against Cameroon, Lucio led the charge out of defence. He was in a good position on the edge of the area and expected to receive a return pass from midfielder Roger. It did not come. Instead, Roger dwelt on the ball and was fouled. Before the free-kick could be taken, Lucio charged furiously over to his team-mate and headbutted him.

  Luiz has made a big impact for Chelsea. Photo: PA

  Ronaldinho scored from the free-kick and Brazil forced extra-time but it was only a temporary reprieve. Despite being down to nine men, Cameroon scored a golden goal and took another step on the way to winning the gold medal. In the long run, though, Brazil had not so much lost a title as gained a top-class centre-back.

  A couple of months later, Lucio was given his senior debut, thrown into the deep end in a World Cup qualifier at home to Colombia. I was in the stadium in Sao Paulo that day and vividly recall being especially curious about the performance of this new centre-back. Brazil were struggling and short of confidence, while visiting striker Juan Pablo Angel was in good form. How would this explosive youngster cope?

  There was no need to worry. Lucio was quick across the ground, while firm but controlled in the tackle. He also came close to scoring from a corner. The home crowd spent most of the match booing their own team but Lucio did not let the atmosphere affect him, keeping his concentration to the end. His senior career began with a win, too, as defensive partner Roque Junior headed home the only goal deep into stoppage time.

  Before long, Lucio was Brazil's number one centre-back. There were slips - such as the one that let Michael Owen in for the opening goal of the 2002 World Cup quarter-final against England. But even Bobby Moore made the occasional error. Game in, game out, Lucio was the rock of his country's defence. Comfortable bringing the ball out, he was also excellent at linking the team together. Indeed, his passing was often more positive than that of the midfielders in front of him. Crucially, with his aggression under control, he seemed to spread certainty through the ranks that Brazil would prevail in the end.

  Might Luiz mature into a figure of comparable importance?

  He would seem to have similar leadership potential. He comes across in interviews as bright, serious and a team player, the type of person who seeks to set an example on and off the field. He would also seem to possess more natural talent on the ball than Lucio. Luiz's goal against Manchester United was a moment of pure class.

  Where Luiz loses out, perhaps, is in terms of defensive ability. Lucio's early impetuosity can be put down to an excess of youthful enthusiasm. In the case of Luiz, it is possible that his tendency to commit reckless tackles has a more fundamental cause. As a teenager, Luiz was released by Sao Paulo because they considered him too small for the position. Lack of height is clearly no longer a problem but sometimes players who experience a spurt of growth suffer a loss of balance.

  Certainly, Luiz was thrown off balance last month by Karim Benzema when Brazil lost 1-0 to France. The Real Madrid striker was able to get behind his opponent, beat him for pace and in the air, and even slipped the ball through his legs inside the penalty area. The young Lucio looked instantly at home at senior level. The same has not always been true of Luiz. In the five friendlies he has played, he has had reason to be grateful for the covering work of his centre-back partner, the outstanding Thiago Silva.

  Can Luiz become a regular for Brazil? Photo: Getty

  That partnership might be broken now because Lucio has been recalled to the squad for this month's friendly against Scotland at the Emirates Stadium. Back in July, when he was first appointed coach, Mano Menezes made it clear that this was likely to happen. The old guard would be rested while new players were tested. Now, after a phase of experimentation, the priority is on building towards July's Copa America, the most important competitive matches in Brazil's calendar in the run-up to the next World Cup. That means, Maicon and Elano, as well as Lucio, are back in the squad.

  Menezes is also aware that he is coming off two defeats. Before the France game, Brazil went down 1-0 to Argentina, when the defensive work of Luiz could again be faulted as Lionel Messi scored a late winner. For football coaches, the long term is always dependent on the short. Menezes will strengthen his own position - and have more opportunities for future experiments - if his side can brush Scotland aside and give a good account of themselves in the Copa America.

  The safe choice, then, would be to pair Lucio with Silva, leaving Luiz on the bench. But come the 2014 World Cup, which Brazil will host, Lucio will be 36.

  The future belongs to Luiz. But will 'the new Lucio' be able to defend as well as the old?
  
  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.
  From last week's postbag:
  
  Q) Surely my eyes were not lying when I was watching the 2007 Under-20 World Cup. Ever Banega was the best player on show for me. Is he still lauded back home given his resurgence of sorts at Valencia? Metronomic a la Xavi and breaking up play a la Nicky Butt, he had an engine on him, too. If there is one player I'd like to see fulfil his potential and early promise, it is Ever. Do you think he'll be able to move onwards and upwards now or is it another case of moving too early and being caught in the headlights?
  Abu Sayad
  
  A) I'm a huge fan, too. I first saw him in qualifying for that tournament, in the South American Under-20s at the start of 2007. He was in my notebook within the first 10 seconds of his opening game. Then he won the Libertadores with Boca Juniors that year playing the holding role - a tribute to his versatility. He did move very early - perhaps his first experiences in Spain reveal that it was too early - but he came out the other side a while back. Though he admits that his form has dipped a bit of late, I think he's here to stay. To my mind, Banega, rather than Cambiasso or Zanetti, was the unforgivable absentee from Argentina's World Cup squad. Banega has been in the side since the tournament in South Africa and seems to gel nicely with Messi, which could be the key partnership of the 2014 World Cup.

• Debutants in the Libertadores spotlight

  Posted: February 21, 2011, 8:07 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  Of the field of 32 teams in South America's Copa Libertadores, only two have not yet been in action in the group phase - and the pair are among the most famous names in the competition's history.

  Independiente of Argentina have a record seven titles to their name. Uruguay's Penarol are five times champions and were winners of the first version back in 1960. Neither club have lifted the trophy since 1987 but they have won nearly a quarter of all the Libertadores titles between them.

  And they meet on Thursday.

  Independiente have already been in action, creeping past Ecuador's Deportivo Quito in the qualifying round. Inaugural champions Penarol are therefore the final team to make their debut. In the 2011 Libertadores, the first shall be last.

  The spotlight has been on the debutants so far. Last November, this column looked at the chances of Godoy Cruz striking a rare blow for provincial Argentine clubs by qualifying for their first Libertadores.

  The men from Mendoza, near the border with Chile, made it through but then lost star man David Ramirez, perhaps the outstanding player in Argentina last year, and their coach. Ramirez moved to Buenos Aires to join Velez Sarsfield, for whom, incidentally, he scored a cracker against Caracas on Tuesday. The game also witnessed a serious shoulder injury to team-mate Guillermo Franco, recently of West Ham.

  How would Godoy Cruz get on without Ramirez? Their first match was at home to LDU Quito of Ecuador, experienced campaigners and 2008 champions. There was plenty of optimism from the home fans inside the stadium last Thursday. Fireworks were set off before kick-off to mark the occasion and again in the closing minutes with the hosts 2-1 up. It might have been premature. Second-half stoppage time was eventful. LDU had a man sent off but still had time and strength to set up two clear chances. Both were squandered, which meant the Godoy Cruz celebrations could start in earnest.

  No such luck for Leon de Huanuco, the Peruvian club who featured in this column in December following a magnificent gesture from their coach, Franco Navarro. In the decisive second leg of the final of the Peruvian championship, Navarro refused to select one of his best players, who had been unjustly reprieved from suspension after being sent off in the first leg. Leon lost the match but won friends - and at least they had their first Libertadores campaign to dream about.

  It got under way on Thursday at home to Junior Barranquilla of Colombia. It was an afternoon kick-off - as all of Leon's home matches will be. Their little stadium does not have floodlights but it does have a hill behind it - and thousands of fans either too poor or too mean to buy a ticket gathered on it to cheer on their side.

  Junior, though, won 2-1, the opening goal coming from a typical rifling shot from one-time Portsmouth and Southampton midfielder Jhon Viafara. As the home fans left the stadium, at least they had the memory of a superb goal from Carlos Elias to comfort them. And on Wednesday, they are at home again, this time to Oriente Petrolero of Bolivia - Leon's best chance of picking up three points.

  Perhaps the stand out Libertadores debut last week came not from a club but from a player, Juan Manuel Iturbe. Aged just 17, he has already attracted considerable attention, being dubbed 'the Paraguayan Messi'. It is an impossible comparison, although Iturbe did his best to live up to it when he came on for Cerro Porteno of Paraguay at half-time in their match against Colo Colo of Chile.

  This was perhaps the most entertaining game I have seen in some time. Quickly two goals down, Colo Colo found some form, reducing the deficit and threatening more. The Chileans continued to play some sparkling stuff after the break but to no avail. The introduction of Iturbe took the game away from them.

  Iturbe - 'the Paraguayan Messi'? Photo: Getty Images

  It took Iturbe less than a minute to get on the scoresheet with a goal out of the Messi handbook, cutting in on the diagonal, exchanging passes, making space with his acceleration and low centre of gravity and poking in a little left-footed shot at the near post. Towards the end of the game, he rounded off Cerro Porteno's 5-2 win with another special goal, turning his marker and guiding home a precise finish.

  Iturbe, who celebrated his second goal with lots of badge kissing, came through the youth ranks with Cerro Porteno, Paraguay's most popular team. This match marked a sensational return to their colours for the talented teenager. He had been away for a year after falling out with the club.

  It was a significant year. Iturbe's parents were among many Paraguayans who moved to Argentina in search of work. Though he grew up in Paraguay, Iturbe was born in Buenos Aires. And, 16 years later, when he fell out with Cerro Porteno, Argentina swooped.

  Paraguay had awarded Iturbe a senior cap in November 2009, bringing him on as a substitute against Chile. But because it was a friendly, it is not binding. Seeing their opportunity, Argentina got him into their youth structure. He went to the World Cup as part of the sparring team for Diego Maradona's men. And this year he starred for them in the South American Under-20 Championships. The best thing about a disappointing Argentina side, he even scored the winner against Brazil.

  Iturbe, then, is kissing the badge of Paraguay's most popular club but has thrown in his lot with Argentina at international level. And he will not be with Cerro for long. He turns 18 in June and is set to join Porto in Portugal.

  Iturbe is a footballing citizen of the world. Perhaps before his time is out, he can join Penarol of Uruguay and re-educate them in what it takes to win the Copa Libertadores.
  
  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.
  
  Q) I like Shakhtar Donesk and Willian is a fantastic player but he has never been called up to the Brazilian national team? Why is this? Do you think he has a chance? Also, what do you make of Giuliano going to Dnipro? He was fantastic in the Copa Libertadores but will he just be forgotten like some other big prospects? Douglas Costa was linked with Manchester United before but I've not heard much about him moving to any big teams.
  Scott Cormack
  
  A) These Ukraine-based Brazilians have put themselves in the spotlight like never before. Jadson was in the Brazil squad for the recent game against France - a deserved call-up for an excellent passer of the ball - and did well when he came on in the second half. Shakhtar's exploits in the Champions League also ensure that others at the club get noticed. Douglas Costa, for example, was called up by Brazil recently. As for Willian, he is paying the price for leaving Brazil so early. He was OK but nothing more when he played for Brazil at Under-20 level four years ago, making the move to Ukraine soon afterwards. In the case of Giuliano, I would hope that he is too good to be forgotten, even though he has gone to a club with less of a profile than Shakhtar. Next year's Olympics should be his big chance.
  
  Q) What do you think of the Venezuelan clubs in the Copa Libertadores? I watched the Deportivo Tachira v Santos match and thought Tachira deserved to win. I am not saying they are going to win the tournament but it is nice to see a club from Venezuela making life difficult for such a big club as Santos. By the way, great attendance for that match.
  Eduardo Torres
  
  A) I would not go as far as to say that Tachira deserved to beat Santos but I thought they were fair value for their 0-0 draw, with Andres Rouga and Walter Moreno forming a classy centre-back partnership. It will be interesting to see how Iturbe gets on against them! The other Venezuelan side, Caracas, were clearly up against it after an early red card, perhaps harsh, to the talented Louis Angelo Pena. Even so, I thought they did well against Velez Sarsfield, maintaining a threat on the break. It needed two exceptional long-range shots to breach their defence. That 3-0 defeat is not the end and they can still get out of the group. The fact that both Tachira and Caracas have reached the quarter-finals in recent years shows the progress that Venezuelan football is making.

• Brazil seeking the right mentality

  Posted: February 14, 2011, 3:38 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  Last July, in his first press conference as Brazil coach, Mano Menezes said that he was aiming to include a sports psychologist in his back-up staff.

  Brazil had just lost their heads as they bowed out to Holland in the World Cup quarter-finals and Menezes was aware that in 2014, on home soil, the pressure would be much greater.

  The events of the last few days have shown just how important the mental aspect is likely to be for the next World Cup hosts.

  In midweek, Brazil lost yet again to France, a well balanced game transformed into a comfortable victory for Les Bleus by the attempt of Hernanes to remove Karin Benzema's head. The referee had little option but to send Hernanes off after such an uncharacteristic lapse - which I can only presume was borne of frustration.

  This was a big game for the Lazio midfielder but, unwisely selected wide on the left, he was struggling to get into the action and, perhaps as a result, lost self-control.

  But the worrying signs for Mano Menezes were not so much in the red card - which we can put down to a one-off - but in the reaction of his team. They had nothing to complain about. And yet they kept on complaining, team captain Robinho even pulling the referee's shirt.

  They were more focused on the referee - moaning, waving imaginary cards and trying to con him into giving free-kicks - than on playing their way back into the game.

  Brazilian sports psychologist Regina Brandao, who worked with Luiz Felipe Scolari, has carried out psychological profiles of contemporary Brazilian players. She has outlined their tendency to have extreme reactions, to believe that everything is against them - especially the referee.

  This goes beyond psychology, to the way the game has developed in Brazil. Leonardo Gaciba has recently retired after a career as one of Brazil's top referees. A few years ago he told me that the criteria he used in a domestic Brazilian match was different from that he employed in a Copa Libertadores fixture involving teams from other countries.

  The referee, he said, has to be a chameleon, shifting his interpretation of the rules to suit the context. Elsewhere in South America, he continued, the players were more interested in the ball. In Brazil, they would always look for the foul. And so he would give more fouls. It was what everyone expected from him - players, spectators, media.

  

  The referee had little option but to send Hernanes off after his foul on Benzema. Photo: Getty

  TV coverage of football in Brazil is obsessed with the referee. High profile ex-officials are often in the commentary box, giving their verdict on decisions. If not, analysts are forever calling for more fouls to be awarded, more cards to be distributed. Players are diving all over the place.

  It was not ever thus. The great Zizinho, idol of the young Pele and star of the 1950 World Cup, once told me something truly startling. He was highly proficient at breaking the leg of an opponent. And so were all the top players. That same sense of timing that made them so good also made them so dangerous.

  Knowledge of this black art was so important because Zizinho and co served their apprenticeship in the greatest production line of footballing talent known to man - informal street, park and wasteland football.

  It was an unruly world where self-defence skills were essential - and not just violent ones. Players were also learning vital lessons such as the safest moment to part with the ball, and move into position to get it back.

  But urban expansion ate up many of those spaces, and urban violence turned some of the others into no-go zones. And so, instead of these informal games, futsal became the new breeding ground for Brazilian talent.

  There is a lot to be said for small-sided games, with the opportunities they bring for prolonged contact with the ball. But in this case perhaps there has been a down side as well.

  Before, as we have seen, players developed their own self-defence strategy. Now, in organised football, it is supplied by the referee.

  Of course, we should celebrate the fact that today's young stars no longer need to learn to break legs. But in Brazil the pendulum has swung too far in the opposite direction. It has led to systematic diving - the player going to ground either because he has run himself into trouble, or to gain a free-kick in an advantageous position.

  Current wonderkid Neymar is a truly remarkable talent. He glides past his marker on either side and finishes with gorgeous precision. But his diving is out of control. Like all skilful players, he takes punishment - though not nearly as much as stars of previous eras - but all too frequently there is either no contact or, before he plunges to the ground, it has been provoked by Neymar himself.

  These antics have been tolerated in Brazilian football. But what happens when he steps outside the bubble, where referees employ different criteria?

  Then there are two big risks, as the recently completed South American Under-20 Championships make clear.

  First, Neymar will pick up cards for simulation. Secondly, there is the danger of he and his colleagues losing their heads, convinced that the referee is out to get them.
  Brazil were head and shoulders above their Under-20 opponents, and were crowned continental champions.

  But on the way they still managed to lose to a hugely disappointing Argentina side - and loss of emotional control was a key factor in the defeat.

  Right at the start centre-back Juan was sent off and gave away a penalty for throwing an elbow. It was the only time that Brazil went behind in their nine games. Even with 10 men, they were better than their limited opponents. But they were more concerned with diving and protesting than with playing, and lost 2-1.

  In the context of the Under-20 tournament, it hardly mattered. The championship is organised on a league basis. The World Cup is a different matter. No matter how good you are, one bad game (even one bad half) can bring the campaign to a traumatic early ending - as happened to Brazil in South Africa.

  Mano Menezes must surely be worried at the prospect of something similar happening in 2014. Sports psychologists should be sending him their CVs.
  
  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.
  
  Q) I would be interested to know your opinion about the Ronaldo experiment at Corinthians. With their quite spectacular exit from this years Copa Libertadores, their failure to land any silverware in their centenary year, and his, to put it politely, rather rotund physique, is it all considered a tragic misadventure? Or is he worth it purely for shirt sales and gate receipts?
  Brendan Clark
  
  A) Let's remember that when Corinthians signed Ronaldo, there was no guarantee that he'd actually be able to play - in that light, it's all been a bonus. He helped them win the Brazilian Cup, and qualify for two successive versions of the Libertadores.
  Also, though latterly he's as stately as Queen Ann with gout, he's still been a useful player - but he needed others buzzing around him, as Elias did so well. Not replacing Elias was one of the key factors behind the team's Libertadores exit, which has (and I think rightly) forced his retirement. I certainly enjoyed watching him for Corinthians - he added a few more to the fabulous pile of memories he leaves behind him.
  
  
  
  Q) Just wondering what you make of Dario Conca ever playing for Argentina? He was voted best player in Brazil last season, and is still yet to be called up by Argentina. Brazilians praise him, and some rival players from Botafogo said they inspire to play like him. Is it a personal issue between Sergio Batista and Dario Conca? Or has Conca just been unfortunate? He's such a talent and highly influential. Better than D'Alessandro in my opinion.
  Luke Vooght
  
  A) The case against him - he's never come off in Argentina. Also, Brazil has become a playmaker's paradise. There are few of them, but for those who can play there, pickings are rich - lots of space and protection from the referee, plenty of quick players (strikers and attacking full-backs) to bring into the game.

  I don't believe there's any personal vendetta against him. David Ramirez was outstanding, perhaps even more than Conca, for Godoy Cruz last year and he wasn't called up. And there's no space in the Argentina starting line-up for a sensation in Europe such as Javier Pastore. Conca faces an uphill battle. His big - probably only - chance is to make a major impression in this year's Libertadores.
  

• Will amazing miss prove costly for Ecuador?

  Posted: February 7, 2011, 1:34 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  It was a miracle of Marlon de Jesus - and I am still trying to work out how he managed to miss the target.

  Last Thursday, in the South American Under-20 Championships, Ecuador's burly striker Edson Montano burst through the right of the Uruguay defence, got to the byline and rolled the ball square to the equally burly De Jesus, who, positioned no more than three metres from the goal, contrived to shoot over the bar.

  It is a trick he would probably be unable to repeat if he tried.

  The game situation made the miss all the more astonishing. It came in the 88th minute of a hard fought 1-1 draw. The consequences are apparent from a glance at the tournament table. The six remaining sides in the competition are playing off for various prizes. As usual, the top four will qualify for the World Youth Cup. But, since the scrapping of the Under-23 championships, the top two will also qualify for the 2012 Olympic football tournament, which is a big deal in this part of the world.

  De Jesus is one of Ecuador's bright, young talernts. Photo: Getty Images

  With two rounds to go, Ecuador are fourth, behind Argentina, Brazil and leaders Uruguay. Had De Jesus been more accurate, Ecuador would be topping the group.

  Worlds can change on such slips. Four years ago, Uruguay and Argentina met in the last round to decide who would join Brazil at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Uruguay only needed a draw. They had most of the chances and were looking comfortable. Late on, as Argentina pushed up, a long punt put Uruguay striker Elias Figueroa behind the opposition defence. All he had to do was bring the ball under control and he would have found himself with only the keeper to beat. But the ball bobbled away and the chance was gone. It hardly seemed to matter. But then, deep into injury time, Argentina won a corner on the left and Lautaro Acosta, one of the smallest men on the field, rose to head down and in. A year and a half later, Argentina went to the Olympics.

  By then, 1986 World Cup-winning midfielder Sergio Batista was in charge of Argentina's youth sides. He took the team to the Beijing Games and came back with the gold medal. That triumph gave Batista the credibility to take over the senior Argentina side last year. But had Figueroa's control been better and if Acosta had not got his head to the ball, someone else would probably be coaching Lionel Messi and the rest of the Argentina side that take on Portugal this Wednesday.

  Might that miss of De Jesus have similar significance? It certainly makes it tough for Ecuador to qualify for the London Games. They will hope to beat Chile in Saturday's final round but, to be sure of an Olympic place, they may well have to beat Brazil on Wednesday - and Brazil will be stung by losing to Argentina on Sunday. Admittedly, Brazil will be without Neymar. The tournament's outstanding talent showed plenty of the petulant side of his nature against Argentina and is suspended after picking up a second yellow card. Even so, Ecuador will go into the game as underdogs.

  Whatever happens in the closing two rounds, posterity could well declare Ecuador the real winners of the 2011 South American Under-20 Championships. Because the real aim of all of this is not to qualify for the Olympics or go on to win the World Youth Cup. The real purpose is to help groom players for the senior national team.

  And on the evidence so far, Ecuador would seem to be in good shape. More than any other team in the tournament, it is possible to imagine several of the Ecuador players taking the big step up in the future. This is vital because Ecuador have come a long way in a short space of time. As recently as the 1980s, they were whipping boys on their own continent. In 2006, they were in the world's last 16.

  But the danger signs are obvious. Ecuador need only look to their neighbours. Peru made their breakthrough in the 1970s, then slid back. Colombian football promised so much in the late 1980s and early 1990s, then went into decline. In both cases, one spontaneous generation had broken through, caught the world's attention and then not been replaced. And both countries can draw on populations far bigger than Ecuador's.

  

  A golden generation took Ecuador to the World Cups of 2002 and 2006. Some of the current Under-20 team might be able to replace them. Goalkeeping, for example, has not been an Ecuadorian speciality but John Jaramillo is looking very safe. In front of him, captain Dennys Quinonez has a claim to be the centre-back of this Under-20 tournament. His reading of the game and anticipation have been excellent, while he forms an effective partnership with the taller, cruder John Narvaez.

  Combative and with a fine range of passing, Fernando Gaibor is as good a central midfielder as any on show, while there are two interesting speed merchants on the flanks - Alex Ibarra (pictured) on the right and Marcos Caicedo on the left - although their pace can be negated. On Sunday, Colombia did it by defending deep. Still, Ecuador have more ball-playing options in Juan Cazares, who is with River Plate in Argentina, and the left-footed Jonathan De La Cruz. Up front, there is the strong man duo of Montano and De Jesus.

  Of course, not all of them will come through but De Jesus is a great hope. He played in the previous version of this tournament two years ago, scored plenty of goals last year for his club, El Nacional in Quito, and made a couple of substitute appearances for the senior side last September. He was injured in the opening game of the current tournament and was still feeling his way back when he came on as a substitute against Uruguay. But he appears to have many years ahead of him and hopefully many chances to wipe out the memory of that extraordinary miss.
  
  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

  From last week's postbag:
  
  Q) I'd like to ask about Blackburn Rovers' new signing from Newell's Old Boys, Mauro Formica. I've never seen him play - although I knew the name - and was wondering if you can give us Blackburn fans an idea if what to expect. Also, do you think he can adapt quickly to life in the Premiership? Has he moved at the right time?
  Matt Gregory
  
  A) I'm told that Blackburn's coach compared him to Gabriel Batistuta, which is wide of the mark, because Formica is an attacking midfielder. The comparison which has always hung around Formica - Ariel Ortega coined it - is with Kaka. There is something in it. Formica has that capacity to launch surging runs from the middle of the pitch and can shoot with venom off either foot. I like him a lot but I'm not convinced that the Premier League is ideal for him at this stage - the space he likes to operate in is going to get squeezed. And Formica hasn't filled out as much as Kaka did. Still, I think he's more suited to English football than Carlos Villanueva, the talented Chilean playmaker who had a spell with Blackburn.
  
  Q) Whatever happened to Elano? He was sublime in his first season for Man City but only showed glimpses of his class from there. Didn't hear much of him after he moved to Turkey but he had a good World Cup before he got injured and now he's back in Brazil? Backwards step maybe?
  Jordan Cooper
  
  A) He's had a strange club career - and not just in Europe. Before he came good with Santos, there were times when he couldn't get a game with Guarani. I'm not sure rejoining Santos is a backward step. They have some wonderful young players and they are the team that everyone will want to see in the Copa Libertadores. The idea of playing a wise old head in a side like that must be very attractive, especially with the salaries that Brazilian football is currently paying to big names.

• Crunch time for Ronaldo and Corinthians

  Posted: January 24, 2011, 5:39 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  More than eight years after combining to such good effect in South Korea and Japan, the 3 Rs of Brazil's last World Cup win are now all back at home playing for major clubs.

  As discussed in this space last week, Ronaldinho has joined Flamengo. On Saturday, Rivaldo was snapped up by Sao Paulo. And, of course, there is Ronaldo at Corinthians.

  Ronaldo is busy preparing for the final big challenge of his career. If all goes to plan, he will hang up his boots in December, at the scene of his greatest triumph, travelling to Japan to dispute another world title, this one of clubs rather than national teams.

  It can only happen if Corinthians become South American champions by winning the Copa Libertadores in June. This, then, is a quest that could dominate Ronaldo's last year as a player. Alternatively, the dream could all be over by the middle of next week.

  To reach the group stage of the Libertadores, Corinthians must get through a tricky qualifying round against Tolima of Colombia.

  The sides meet in Sao Paulo on Wednesday. Next week's second leg is in the Colombian town of Ibague, the capital of the department of Tolima. It is a long trip to meet awkward opponents. Runners-up in the last Colombian championship, Tolima are a team who break at pace. And if Corinthians have Ronaldo, Tolima have a cutting edge of their own.

  The Christian name of Wilder Medina hardly does him justice. He is one of football's late developers, having to shrug off a past of gang- and drug-related problems. Thirty next month, Medina made a big breakthrough last year, racking up the goals for Tolima. Slippery, good with both feet and capable of surprising the goalkeeper with his snap shooting from long range, Medina (pictured) is a real threat on his day.

  

  Even if Medina hits form, Corinthians are firm favourites to win through, although early-season results can be strange, It will certainly be a nerve-wracking week for the Brazilian giants if the result goes against them on Wednesday. Failure to make the group phase of the Libertadores hardly bears thinking about it. It would be a blow to Ronaldo in his farewell year but a far bigger blow to the club.

  Local rivalries do not just take place in domestic championships. In Paraguay, for example, fans of Olimpia ceaselessly taunt those of their historic rivals, Cerro Porteno. Olimpia have won the Libertadores three times. Cerro have taken part on 33 occasions without ever getting their hands on the cup. Campaign 34 is coming up this year - and to get it kick-started Cerro Porteno first have to overcome Venezuela's Deportivo Petare in the qualifying round. Nerves will be jangling in Asuncion over the next two weeks.

  In Buenos Aires, San Lorenzo fans had to put up with years of baiting from their rivals over their lack of international titles. A decade ago, they managed a couple of wins in second-string competitions but the Libertadores still eludes them - to the delight of the other Buenos Aires giants, all of whom have claimed South America's premier club title.

  It is a similar story in Sao Paulo, with the added spice that, unlike San Lorenzo in Buenos Aires, Corinthians are undoubtedly the biggest club, although the most supported team in South America's biggest city have never been champions of the continent.

  Santos, those eternal upstarts from the nearby coast, have managed it. Sao Paulo FC have achieved the feat three times, too, more than any other Brazilian club. Traditional rivals Palmeiras have done it. But Corinthians never have - and until they put that right they will have to suffer the jibes from their local rivals.

  Hopes were high that Ronaldo might carry them to victory last year but they went out on away goals to Flamengo in the second round - the same stage at which they fell in their two previous campaigns, 2003 and 2006. Both times they fell to Argentina's River Plate. The second of those defeats, which effectively ended the spell of Carlos Tevez with the club, was greeted by a riot as the frustration of the fans boiled over.

  The two eliminations before that are probably even more painful for the club's supporters. In 1999, they lost on penalties to Palmeiras in the quarter-finals. A year later, they went out in the same way to the same opponents a round later - the closest they have come to grabbing the glory.

  Ending the drought would be a fitting way for Ronaldo to round off his career. Corinthians, though, are going to have to do things the hard way.

  Assuming they make it through the qualifying round, they will go into the most difficult group in this year's Libertadores. Guarani of Paraguay have little hope of progress but that certainly does not apply to Estudiantes, winners in 2009 and the reigning Argentine champions. And then there is another Brazilian heavyweight, Cruzeiro, Libertadores stalwarts who were beaten finalists in 2009. Only two teams go through to the knockout phase, so a big name is going to fall by the wayside.

  For the moment, though, Corinthians would be foolish to let their thoughts stray beyond the immediate task of overcoming Tolima. They will have their mass support behind them but when they look at Tolima's frankly hideous red and yellow shirts, they will also see the green of Palmeiras, the white, blue and red of Sao Paulo, and the white and black of Santos. All three hope that Corinthians are defeated and Ronaldo's dream is ended almost before it has begun.
  
  
  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

  From last week's postbag:
  
  Q) I noticed that Giuliano signed for FC Dnipro which seemed like quite a strange move. He was undoubtedly one of the hottest prospects in South America and could have signed for any number of top European sides. Why do you think he chose Dnipro? Could it be the money, football or the big Brazilian contingent in Ukraine? Like many other Brazilians in this league, I feel he may get stuck in a rut and not progress further up the ranks in Europe. What are your thoughts on the move?
  Stuart King

  A) He is one of my favourites, so I was a bit surprised and disappointed with the move. But it's not a case of choosing this club over other options in Spain, England or Italy. Dnipro came up with the money - and since Internacional make no secret of the fact that they plan to sell their potential stars, it was a done deal. One of the striking things about Giuliano is that he has made progress every year. If he can keep doing that, then I think he has the versatility and intelligence to prove himself with Dnipro and move on.
  
  Q) As a Manchester United fan, I have been very interested to follow the progress of our young Brazilian players over the last couple of seasons. After the recent Tottenham game, many people have started to accept Rafael as our number one right-back. How are the twins viewed in Brazil? And what do you think of their chances of getting into the national team? Fabio was supposedly the better player before his move to Manchester but we haven't heard as much from him as I would have liked? What are your opinions?
  Karl Golding
  
  A) Rafael is in the Brazil squad, although he faces a real battle to displace Daniel Alves. No doubt about it, when they went to Old Trafford, Fabio was much more highly rated. He captained Brazil Under-17s and scored reams of goals from left-back, while Rafael was more of a steady figure on the other flank. United took them early because they would not be taught to defend in Brazil, where full-backs are often attackers. It could well be the case that it has been harder for Fabio to adapt to the more conservative role of a full-back in England. With Brazil U17s, he was not so much playing at left-back as from left-back, popping up all over the place. Also, first-team opportunities have been harder for him because of the form and presence of Patrice Evra. Long term, it is going to be fascinating to see how Fabio reacts to losing his place in the family hierarchy.

• One last hurrah from Ronaldinho...?

  Posted: January 17, 2011, 1:15 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  On a Brazilian TV show on Saturday I was asked to explain the success of the English Premier League.

  The answer that instantly came into my mind was the mixture between the old and the new. Modern ideas - the money and the business practices - have been planted in fertile soil because the tradition of the game - its roots in the world's first industrial society - is so strong.

  There was another point I might have made which would have been of more relevance to the audience. Outnumbered by the minnows, the big clubs were part of a structure which did not attend their interests. They spent the money, attracted the crowds, but then had to divide the TV revenue with the professional clubs of all four divisions. So they broke away to form their own structure, and the rest is history.

  Brazil's big clubs find themselves facing a similar fork in the road - as the events of the last few days have made clear.
  

  The return of Ronaldinho after a decade in Europe is an undoubted coup for the Brazilian game. He ended up joining Flamengo, who pipped Gremio and Palmeiras to his signature. He could have gone elsewhere - to the Premier League, for example. Coming back across the Atlantic was a vote of confidence in the direction that the country is taking, with its financial stability, strong currency, and so on.

  It is good to have him back, and more will follow. But there is a downside. With sponsors on board, Ronaldinho will be earning a fortune - his reported salary is above £100,000 a week. This is bound to further inflate wages for top players in Brazilian football, and not all of them can have their wages covered by sponsors. But the clubs already have astronomic debts - Flamengo's are estimated at not far short of £150m.

  And here comes the problem of the structure of the Brazilian game. Before the Premier League, Manchester United only had to divide TV money with small clubs. They did not have to spend months playing against them. But that is what happens in Brazil.

  From now until early May, Brazil stages its State Championships - one for each of the country's 27 states. On a league basis, big clubs - Flamengo boast over 20 million supporters - are playing teams with next to no fans at all. In the Rio first division the meeting of two small clubs will often attract about 200 fans. Sometimes there are less than 50. Clubs like this have no place in professional football and big clubs are wasting their time playing them on a league basis.

  

  Ronaldinho in full flow against Australia at the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany. Photo: Getty

  The signing of Ronaldinho has concentrated minds on this issue like never before. I have been railing against the State Championships for 16 years. For years I felt like a lonely voice, but the momentum has been building, and over the last few days I have noticed an unprecedented outpouring of criticism. People have been looking at Flamengo's fixture list and coming to an obvious conclusion - what is the point of buying a Rolls Royce and then driving it on dirt tracks?

  Change will not come overnight. The State Championships are vital to the power structure of Brazilian football - and since the power structure controls the 2014 Fifa World Cup, there is fear of rocking the boat at the moment. But it is very likely that the Ronaldinho deal will bring closer the day when Brazil's big clubs stage a Premier League-style breakaway.

  This then is the big picture behind the return of the goofy star. But the small picture is no less fascinating. Signing such a big name brings obvious marketing benefits for Flamengo. But strictly in terms of his form on the field, will their investment in him prove to be money down a rat hole?

  Ronaldinho's best days are now a full five years in the past. He is clearly a far more complex character than the happy, smiley image he likes to portray. Barcelona tired of him when they realised they could not get him to react either by being nice or by being nasty. No-one becomes as good as Ronaldinho at football without loving it. And no-one can fritter away such talent for so long without falling out of love with it. Coming up 31, that devastating burst of acceleration has probably gone for ever. A logical view might conclude that he is not worth the investment.

  But we are dealing with a player of such extraordinary talent that normal considerations are suspended. Ronaldinho might just flick that genius switch. I've seen it happen. When Romario left Barcelona to join Flamengo in 1995 he was 30 and jaded. For two years he was appalling. He still scored goals - the man was a phenomenon - but he was not interested and it showed. I thought the show was all over.

  Then something happened. In the tail end of 1996 Ronaldo emerged as a superstar with Barcelona. Romario's ego was bruised. He felt that he had been knocked off his perch. So he flicked that genius switch. In 1997, at the age of 32, he was suddenly unstoppable once more. He had turned back the hands of time.

  There is a catch. Romario went on scoring stacks of goals. But there were very few important ones. The 1998 World Cup could have been his masterpiece, but he missed it. He looked razor sharp in the group phase of the 2001 Copa Libertadores, but played no part in the knock out phase. Both times injury kept him out of the party. He had become susceptible to muscle tears, Romario's body paying him back for his lack of application to training.
  
  Will it be a similar story with Ronaldinho? His aim is to shine in the next World Cup. There is only ever one eventual winner in the sportsman's battle against time. But it is going to be fascinating to see if Ronaldinho can hold mind and body together for long enough to enjoy a last hurrah on home soil in 2014.

  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

  From last week's postbag:

  Q) As an Argentina fan, I have been encouraged by the recent emergence of some promising young defenders at home and abroad (defence being an area of the national team that is in desperate need of refreshing). You mentioned Marcos Rojo in a recent blog, and the likes of Ezequiel Munoz (Palermo), Juan Forlin (Espanyol), Mateo Musacchio (Villarreal), Leonel Galeano (Independiente) and Hugo Nervo (Arsenal di Sarandi) have garnered praise for their performances this season. Do you think that Sergio Batista will give any of these players a chance with the national team soon?
  Toby Millard
  
  A) Batista knows he has to look at new faces. I wonder, though, if he might be held back by the fact that Argentina is staging the Copa America this year. With home advantage the pressure will be on to win the first senior title since 1993, meaning there is an obvious temptation to tick with the tried and tested. An interesting dilemma.
  
  Q) Have you seen any eye-catching performances from players coming from Africa, Asia in the South American leagues? Or even more basic, are there any players from these continents over there? Do you think that African and Asian national teams will perform much better at competitions like the World Cup, if players played in these leagues rather than aiming for lower rung European leagues? Would it also help in improving the quality of these players who perhaps later can try to get into big European clubs after performing well?
  Sourabh Deshpande
  
  A) I've seen very few. There have been a few Japanese, and a handful of Africans - Geremi the most high profile. The big question, though, is why the South Americans would want to buy in from elsewhere when they can produce their own players.

• South American youngsters set to shine

  Posted: January 10, 2011, 1:30 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  The season kicks off on my side of the Atlantic this weekend with one of the great hidden gems of the footballing calendar - the South American under-20 Championship.

  Back in 1954, when it was first held, this was an out-and-out youth competition. It is stretching the point to say the same thing today. In contemporary South American football there are teenagers taking on senior roles with their club sides. This year's main attraction is Neymar, who, like Adriano in the 2001 tournament, is going to the under-20 Championship having already represented Brazil at senior level. Carlos Tevez was already a Boca Juniors idol when he played for Argentina in the 2003 tournament.

  But there are also plenty of undiscovered jewels on show. A team-mate of Tevez back in 2003 was Javier Mascherano. At the time he had not played a senior game for River Plate. But he was so impressive in the under-20s that he was fast-tracked. A few months later he played for the full Argentina side - still without having made his River Plate debut.

  Another Argentine midfielder, Ever Banega, used the 2007 tournament to give his career an astonishing kick-start. Barely known even to Boca Juniors fans at the start of the competition, by the end he had forced his club coach to find a place for him in the starting line-up, and was just a few months away from winning the Copa Libertadores, being capped at senior level and a big money transfer to Spain.

  But, as I have mentioned on other occasions, the most sensational emergence I have seen in the South American under-20s was that of Lionel Messi in 2005. He was only 17 at the time, and even Argentina did not know much about him.

  There was a feeling that he had been selected to ensure that, if there was something special there, Argentina rather than Spain would be the long-term beneficiaries. Messi was not even given the number 10 shirt. Within a few minutes, though, it was apparent that we were dealing with something very special, and the rest is history.

  

  Lionel Messi (white T-shirt) and his Argentina team-mates celebrate winning the 2005 South American under-20 Championships. Pic: Getty Images.

  Being there in Colombia six years ago at the start of the story is the highlight of my career.

  If most of the names mentioned so far have been from Argentina, that is no coincidence.

  The last tournament in 2009 went very badly for them. That aside, over recent years they have been the kings of under-20 football. Between 1995 and 2007 they won five out of seven World Cups at the level. But winning titles is never the most important aspect of youth football. Far more important, they have groomed and prepared a conveyor belt of players for the senior national side.

  Behind this success was a simple but brilliant observation from Jose Pekerman, who took charge of Argentina's youth sides in the mid-90s. The global market in footballers was gathering pace. Pekerman reasoned that Argentine players would be sold abroad at an ever younger age.

  The youth sides, then, were where these players could be secured for the long-term benefit of Argentine football. The youngsters would be given a crash course in their country's footballing identity. The success of the project was apparent in the 2006 World Cup, by which time Pekerman was coaching the senior side. The team was full of graduates from the youth sides. By 2006 almost all of them played in Europe.

  But you could watch their elaborate passing game, based around the midfield artistry of Juan Roman Riquelme, and know instantly that you were watching Argentina.

  The Pekerman model is now being followed by Uruguay - whose 2010 World Cup squad had a number of players recently promoted from the Under-20 team, with more poised to break through.

  Part of Chile's success in playing such pleasing football in South Africa comes from the fact that coach Marcelo Bielsa took over at an opportune moment, just after the under-20's had come third in the 2007 World Youth Cup. Bielsa's dynamic attacking gameplan needs fit young players - and he was quick to promote the wonderful right winger Alexis Sanchez, along with Mauricio Isla, Arturo Vidal, Carlos Carmona and Gary Medel.

  Colombia had a fine under-20 side in 2005, with Hugo Rodallega, Radamel Falcao Garcia, Dayro Moremo, Abel Aguilar, Cristian Zapata and Camilo Zuniga. Their hopes of making it to the next World Cup are in part based on an expectation that this generation has now reached maturity.

  And what of Brazil? They have frequently been South American champions. They won the World Youth Cup in 2003, and were runners-up in the last final in 2009. But there is a feeling that they have been performing below potential at the level. Certainly, new senior coach Mano Menezes thinks so. It was one of the first things he talked about when he was appointed at the end of July. Something was wrong, he said. Not enough players were progressing from the under-20s to the senior side.

  Perhaps the problem lay in the fact that Brazil's under-20 coaches were often inexperienced. Maybe, in an effort to make a name for themselves, they were taking the most dangerous short cut in youth football - bulking up, and giving priority to size rather than skill.

  There has been a change of philosophy, with the under-20s brought closer to the senior side and expected to play in the same style. They are coached by Ney Franco, well-respected and with a sound record in youth development. And Franco is under pressure as soon as the action starts in Peru this Sunday.

  The South American under-20 Championship qualifies four teams for this year's World Youth Cup in Colombia - which should be easy enough for Brazil, especially as the hosts qualify automatically. But the tournament also serves as the qualifiers for the London Olympics - and here South America has only two places.

  Making sure of an Olympic spot is more important for Brazil than for anyone else. As the next World Cup hosts, they have no qualifying games to whip a side into shape. The Olympic tournament, then, is seen as an essential half way house on the road to 2014. Missing out on a place would be a huge blow.

  Normally, the success or failure of youth work can only properly be judged years afterwards. But that is not quite true in Ney Franco's debut under-20 campaign. His Brazil side have to finish in the top two.
  
  Comments on the piece in the space below. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

  From last week's postbag;
  
  Q) What is your opinion of Mauro Boselli? As a Wigan Athletic season ticket holder for the last 16 years I am extremely worried. He came with a huge reputation and a huge price tag (for Wigan Athletic), of around £6m, and rumours are that he is due to be sold/loaned out in this transfer window. He has scored just once in the cup for us and is struggling to either adapt or maybe he just isn't good enough at this level. What you think the problem is.
  Marc Thompson
  
  A) I was frankly amazed that Wigan bought him. He's a goal poacher, a penalty area finisher who doesn't offer anything else. So if he's not scoring? Back with Estudiantes he was playing in front of the best midfield in South America, having lots of chances and as he put them away his confidence soared. I thought it was very predictable that he would find things harder at Wigan - not so many chances, bigger, better defenders, and if he doesn't score then he's not making a contribution, so confidence plummets. He may yet have his moments, but for my mind he was a big gamble, and I'm not sure that a club like Wigan can take such a chance with a record signing.
  
  Q) I have seen reports that Sunderland have been linked to Victor Caceres of Libertad. I have gathered that he is a combative midfield player but am hoping you can shed more light on him and whether he would be suited to the Premier League given that some of the South American players Sunderland have signed seemed to have struggled getting used to the English game.
  Stuart Kirk
  
  A) Ah, Sunderland! I always saw Paulo Da Silva as a squad defender, and was concerned that Marcos Angeleri had not fully recovered from his injury, but I had huge hopes of an old team-mate of Caceres, Cristian Riveros. I thought he would be well suited, but he seems to be really struggling to get into the games - a surprise to me and a reminder of the difficulty of the Premier League.

  You might have seen Caceres in the World Cup. He's a defensive midfielder, tall, good in the air, tough in the tackle, not the quickest but with sound, if unspectacular, passing ability - a player to sit in front of the centre-backs, though possibly liable to give away some dangerous free-kicks.

  After Riveros, it's hard to be confident about him. But things might be easier in this case -Caceres is not a player who needs time on the ball.

• Can Ganso make his mark?

  Posted: January 3, 2011, 12:43 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  One of the many wonderful things about covering South American football is the opportunity to watch young talent bloom. Yet too often that process is interrupted prematurely, the player sold off to Europe at a dangerously early stage in his career.

  That is what has happened to Marcos Rojo, who made such an impact in the second half of 2010 as Estudiantes won the Argentine championship. Could this be the attacking left-back that his country have been looking for?

  I was hoping to draw some conclusions from the Copa Libertadores, South America's Champions League, which kicks off in a few weeks. Yet Rojo will not be participating following his sale to Spartak Moscow.

  Further north there is Fernando Uribe, the interesting centre forward in the Once Caldas side that has just won the Colombian title under former Manchester City assistant coach Juan Carlos Osorio.

  Uribe finishes well and is highly proficient at timing his runs to get behind the opposing defence. The rest of his game needs work. Could he show signs of development in this year's Libertadores? It seems not, as he looks set to join Chievo in Italy.

  European football taketh but European football can also giveth back. Some of those who struggle after moving too early come back across the Atlantic to regain momentum.

  A fascinating example looks like being Louis Angelo Pena, the most talented of the Venezuelan squad who played in the 2009 World Youth Cup. He looks set to join Caracas after failing to get much of a look in with Braga in Portugal.

  Pena, an attacking midfielder, is by no means the only South American playmaker to find it hard to make the step up - which brings us to the player whose progress will be watched most closely in 2011, Paulo Henrique Ganso of Santos and Brazil.

  A tall, elegant, left-footed number 10, Ganso is considered an automatic choice for Brazil after only one game for the national side. Some have talked of him as the best in the world in his position - which I find a bit worrying.

  Ganso - a left-footed Zidane? Photo: Getty Images

  No doubt about it, the talent is there. This is a player who is strong in possession, with the vision to see the killer pass and the technique to play it. His team-mate, the similarly heralded Neymar, talks of Ganso as a left-footed Zidane - a lovely thought for football fans everywhere. But some context is needed before we start getting too carried away.

  There is the view that contemporary Brazilian football offers rich pickings for playmakers. Yet the country has struggled recently to produce attacking midfielders whose game is collective, who dictate the rhythm and bring team-mates into play with inspired passing.

  Meanwhile, a number of imports have caught the eye in recent years.

  In the 2009 Brazilian Championship, Dejan Petkovic, a 37-year-old Serbian playmaker, was the decisive player. At his peak, he did not make much of an impact on the major European leagues but his intelligence and quality were key as Flamengo won the title.

  Last year, it was a similar story with the Argentine Dario Conca at Fluminense, a little playmaker who had failed in his native land before starring in Chile and now Brazil. Another Argentine playmaker, Walter Montillo, has a similar biography to Conca and had a splendid campaign with Cruzeiro.

  These success stories can hardly be put down to coincidence. Instead, it would seem that the following conditions apply:

  With the defensive lines operating deep, the playmaker has time to pick his pass, the criteria applied by Brazilian referees gives him plenty of protection and he is surrounded by interesting options. For example, he can slip a ball through to the wonderfully athletic attacking full-backs that are a speciality of the Brazilian game.

  My cause for concern, then, comes from the fact that, so far, the pedestal on which Ganso is being placed is built of fairly flimsy material. He looked a fine prospect in the 2009 Brazilian Championship, though he found it hard to impose himself on a consistent basis in that year's World Youth Cup. His reputation, then, currently rests on his form in the first few months of 2010, when Santos won two titles.

  Indeed, he was outstanding - but in weak competitions. Of all Brazil's 27 state championships, the Sao Paulo one is the best. But that does not make it very good. A quiet consensus is growing in the Brazilian game that all these competitions do is clutter up the calendar unnecessarily. And the Brazilian Cup is essentially a consolation prize for clubs who have not qualified for the Libertadores.

  Last year's National Championship was when Ganso could have made the transition from promise to reality - as happened with Neymar. But a serous knee injury put him out of action. He returns this year to find that the tests will be much stiffer.

  First, there is the Libertadores, where, if the technical level is not always great, he will be set new tactical puzzles and the marking will be more robust. Then, in July, comes the Copa America, his first senior competition with the national side.

  I am optimistic that Paulo Henrique Ganso can meet these challenges. But as he gets ready for them and, in due time, for the move to Europe, I hope he is mentally prepared for the fact that the bar is going to rise.

  Denilson had the world at his feet but failed to deliver. Photo: Getty Images

  This has not always been the case with young Brazilian talent that has been praised too much too early - and I fear that in the past I have added some grains of sand to unwisely constructed pedestals.

  The most glaring case is that of Denilson, the left winger who became the world's most expensive player when he joined Betis in 1998. I was carried away with his power and acceleration, tight dribbling skills and ability to score. But the player was clearly unprepared for the degree of difficulty that he was going to face, was blown off course and never came close to fulfilling his potential.

  Denilson was the better dribbler, so it would be wonderful if Ganso can pass his way out of the possible trap of premature praise.
  
  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for nest week.

  From last week's postbag:
  
  Q) As a Liverpool fan, I have been taken aback at the evolution of Lucas in our midfield over the last 18 months, leading me to believe he was our best player in a dismal previous season and is leading the way again this term.
  
  With Manchester United's Anderson appearing to be starting a similar renaissance, do you think there is a possibility of the two linking up in Brazil's midfield in the future? Both have excellent distribution skills when at their best and, in the English and European games especially, have dramatically reduced the number of fouls they have given away and seem to be revelling in the roles they are given.
  Tom Roberts
  
  A) I wrote about Lucas in a recent answer - he is booked in as Brazil's holding midfielder, which represents a change of role from the one he fulfilled when he previously worked with national team coach Mano Menezes at Gremio.

  Anderson has gone through an even more radical transformation since he and Menezes were together at Gremio, when he was a teenage flyer, an attacking midfielder with minimal defensive responsibilities. Menezes knows him, and knows that he has changed - and it could be that the change makes him interesting to a coach who is trying to ensure that Brazil play more football through the midfield.

  With Ganso back, I imagine Menezes going for a 4-2-3-1 - Pato up front, Ganso in between Robinho and Neymar, and a midfield pairing currently of Lucas and Ramires. A consistently on form Anderson could be a rival for Ramires - it would need a slight adjustment because the Chelsea man favours the right and Anderson is left-footed. But it is feasible, so it is up to Anderson to make up for lost time and push his claim.

• Team collective more important than individuals

  Posted: December 27, 2010, 3:00 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  When he was first making his name with Santos, former Manchester City striker Robinho often spoke of his big ambition to be elected Fifa World Player of the Year.

  True, he was seeking to place himself in a tradition of some of his illustrious compatriots, but even so I always found it a depressing declaration. For what it is worth, my view is that far too much attention is given to these individual awards.

  In some collective sports the star can make the team. But football is so fluid that it can only happen the other way round - the great player emerges when the collective balance of the side is correct. The team makes the star - and 2010 provides us with some compelling evidence...

  There is no-one I would rather watch than Lionel Messi. I was in at the start - I saw the beginning of his rise in Colombia at the 2005 South American Under-20 Championship. I would not swap him for Mesut Ozil plus Sami Khedira. But come the 2010 World Cup it was the German pair that came out on top, their team brushing aside Messi and Argentina on their way to a 4-0 win in the quarter-final.

  

  Barcelona's Lionel Messi failed to make a major impact at the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa. Photo: Getty

  So where was the world's best player? Messi proved unable to reproduce his Barcelona form in South Africa. Some will say that the occasion was too big for him - there is a school of thought that ascribes everything to psychological motives. Indeed, the mental side of the game is important. But football is not played on a Viennese couch. It has its own dynamic, where the technical, the tactical and the physical come into play. One of the most important questions is, to my mind, not talked about enough: what is the team's collective idea?

  Argentina in the World Cup were caught between ideas. After the difficulties in qualification coach Diego Maradona appeared to be taking a cautious, counter-attacking side to South Africa. He had a back four made up of four centre-backs.

  Then, during the competition he got carried away with a romantic commitment to push forward, and ended up in the confusion of a team that could neither defend nor attack with efficiency. Maradona still had his full-backs at centre-back, so outside him, instead of the attacking thrust of his club colleague Daniel Alves, Messi had the out of position and uncertain Nicolas Otamendi. Behind Messi, Maradona's original idea was to have Juan Sebastian Veron distributing the play much as Xavi does for Barcelona. But come the big day, Maradona was unable to see past a sentimental bond with Carlos Tevez, and Veron was dropped.

  This came undone inside two minutes. Veron's height meant that he carried out a useful role heading away set pieces at the near post. Without him Argentina went straight behind from a free-kick played into exactly that position. And then as Maradona's team sought to play their way back into the match, they lacked someone who could play Messi into the game, and so the number 10 was forced to drop ever deeper in search of possession. In effect, Messi was setting up the play for Tevez - a bit like Michelangelo holding the brushes while an enthusiastic, but less gifted apprentice does the painting.

  Without a coherent collective idea Argentina could not get the best out of Messi. When he reached the danger zone the Germans were able to crowd men around him and reduce his effectiveness. More recently, though, Khedira, Ozil and their team-mates could not get close enough to Messi to throw sand at his backside. This time, of course, they were representing Real Madrid and he was playing for Barcelona, a team where the collective idea and its execution work like a dream.

  The balance between attack and defence is achieved by keeping the team compact - in this way, in an era dominated by the counter-attack, they can take the opposite path. Their game is based on possession, as much as possible in the opponent's half of the field. Staying compact means that when they lose the ball Barcelona can apply pressure and stop the opposing counter at source. In possession, the man on the ball has plenty of options for the pass - the ball is moved at pace with precision.

  There is plenty of width to stretch the opposing defence and either create two against one situations down the flanks or slip the runners from midfield, with Messi equally happy breaking towards goal or supplying the killer pass. Put Messi in such a collective context and he can be unstoppable.

  The world's best player could not do it on his own for Argentina in the World Cup. Meanwhile, Spain won the competition with a huge debt to Barcelona, both in terms of personnel and style of play. They passed and passed and passed again, probing for holes. Without Messi Spain had nothing like the power of penetration that Barcelona enjoy. Their goal tally was not great, but they were attractive and worthy winners, probably seen at their best in the semi-final, when they completely dominated the German side that had eliminated Messi's Argentina with such ease - events which should make 2010 stand out as the year of the collective idea.

  Comments on the piece in the space below. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

  From last week's postbag:

  Q) I want to know what are your thoughts on Brazil hosting the World Cup in 2014. There has been lots of scrutiny on its preparations with respect to the time and their security issues. Do you think they can stage a successful World Cup, after the allegations that the facilities required for the World Cup will not be ready by 2014? Also, recently, this scrutiny has made England put in its name for hosting the World Cup of 2014 instead of Brazil [probably out of desperation and disappointment], if it does not go well with Brazil, as Mexico did for the 1986 World Cup. What are your views on this?
  Saif Sohail

  A) I would be amazed if Brazil were to lose the tournament, both because Brazil are so important to Fifa and because I think they will be ready. True, they have made an awful start, wasting years. The outcome of this is that the government will be forced to step in and spend more public money - from the point of view of the Brazilian taxpayer 2014 will probably cost more than it should and the legacy will be less than it could be. There will be problems staging a tournament in a country the size of a continent - airport infrastructure is a problem, and even if this is resolved there is no way of dealing with the massive difference in temperature between some of the host cities.
  That aside, I expect Brazil to rise to the occasion and stage a successful World Cup.

  Q) I would be interested in your opinions of what the smaller South American nations, particularly Uruguay and Paraguay, are doing to be successful on the international stage and what steps do you think smaller population countries like Wales and Northern Ireland could be doing to improve their prospects of World Cup qualification? Are their national leagues more developed? Is it the technical aspect? Presumably these countries don't have massive budgets, so is there a key reason?
  Peter Walsh

  A) In part there is the aspect of tradition - this is a region of the world where football is of immense importance to national self-esteem, and the achievements of one generation inspire the next, and so on. There are also economic factors - football as a way out of poverty. So in comparison with European nations, there are more youngsters willing to take a chance on a career in the game. Maybe one interesting factor is the role taken on by the FA in youth development. This is something that really started in Argentina in the mid-90s with Jose Pekerman. Based on the evidence of the global market - Argentina was going to lose players to Europe at an ever younger age - Pekerman used the youth teams in an important way - looking for technically gifted players from all over the country and giving them a crash course in the identity of Argentine football. The youth teams were (and are) where the players were developed and secured for the long term future of the senior Argentina side. Uruguay are doing something similar, and over the last 20 years Paraguay have also given great importance to their youth sides. Part of the question, though, is this - what type of players are you developing? The shortcut at youth level is to look for quick success by going with the biggest youngsters. But that is little good in the long run, and youth development is always about the long run. Uruguay are giving priority to technically gifted youngsters, and Paraguay, who once had a reputation for being limited battlers, are now showing that there is far more to their game. I think that a key factor in this progress is the importance given to the Under-20 side as a conveyor belt through to the senior team.

• Winning is not everything for Navarro

  Posted: December 20, 2010, 2:49 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  Just as a flower can grow on a dung heap, so one of football's most heartwarming stories of the year began with a depressing staple of the South American game - the mass brawl. It came in the first leg of the final of the Peruvian Championship.

  The away side, San Martin, are something of a curiosity. They were set up by a university in Lima less than seven years ago and have very few fans. Last year, when I saw them in a Lima derby against Sporting Cristal, they had brought a grand total of 33 supporters across town - plus a dancing mascot dressed up as a tooth.

  Why a tooth? Because the most animated fans of the club's tiny support base - composed of students from the university - are studying dentistry.

  Despite the lack of backing, this fledgling club were crowned Peruvian champions in 2007 and 2008. Now, in 2010, they were going for a third title, up against Leon of Huanuco, who have fans but no titles.

  Leon are from the central highlands behind Lima. It was only in the mid-60s that the Peruvian Championship was extended to include clubs from outside the capital.

  Leon made their first division debut in 1972 and, like many provincial clubs, have struggled to establish themselves. After a lengthy absence, this has been their first year back in the top flight. Coached by former international striker Franco Navarro, they have assembled an experienced squad and for the first time in the club's history were in contention to become national champions.

  Nerves were jangling, then, when Leon staged the first leg of the final. When Christian Ramos, San Martin's impressive centre-back, clashed with Ronaille Calheira, Leon's Brazilian striker, it was the catalyst for a huge confrontation. Both teams squared up, the substitutes were off the bench and getting involved, and referee Manuel Garay needed some time to restore order before sending off four players.

  One of them was Gustavo Rodas, Leon's Argentine attacking midfielder. Now 24, Rodas was something of a child prodigy. He was a star for Argentina at Under-17 level and featured in the Newell's Old Boys first team at the age of 16.

  Perhaps it all came too soon. As the years went by, Rodas did not make the impact that had been expected of him and drifted first to Colombia, then to Peru. This year at Leon, he finally made the breakthrough. For the first time in his career, he was a key figure in a senior championship. Some rated him as the best player in the Peruvian league. He scored goals and also set them up as Leon enjoyed their best ever campaign.

  That red card, though, would rule the little attacking midfielder out of the decisive second leg of the final. Until, bizarrely, he was given a reprieve. The ADFP, the association of professional clubs that organises the Peruvian league, absolved Rodas - and only Rodas. The other three players sent off in the first leg were told they must serve the customary suspension.

  It was an extraordinary decision, with no apparent justification. In his report, referee Garay stated that Rodas had been sent off for swinging punches at an opponent. Were the ADFP playing politics? After all, there was little to lose by rubbing San Martin up the wrong way - they have hardly any supporters. Even in the second leg, Leon had far more fans in the stadium, coming down from the mountains for their big day.

  And now they had the chance of watching their outstanding midfield talent. The first leg had finished as a 1-1 draw. There was everything to play for in the rematch and now Rodas could make a vital contribution.

  Initially, coach Franco Navarro was pleased to be able to count on his playmaker but, as the hours counted down toward the big match, he became increasingly uneasy. Rodas might have been cleared to play but was this morally correct? Clearly not. He had been sent off and should serve his suspension.

  Navarro gathered his players and persuaded them that his course of action was the right one. Rodas would not play in the second leg. He would not even be on the bench. They would have to win their first ever title without him.

  They failed. San Martin won the game 2-1 to secure their third championship. But the victorious coach, Anibal Ruiz, put the outcome in perspective. One of the game's grand old men, the Uruguayan Ruiz took Paraguay to the 2006 World Cup. There is nothing in South American football that he has not seen - but he was truly touched by what happened in the second leg of the final.

  Pablo Vitti (left) scored the second of San Martin's goals in the second leg. Photo: Getty Images

  "I want to stress something which is more important than the result," said Ruiz. "I have to highlight the gesture of Franco Navarro, which elevates Peruvian football and gives nobility to our profession."

  Indeed, Navarro had the strength to remember one of the great truths of football, something so central to the essence of the game but which is forgotten with alarming ease. Football is not just about what you do, it is about how you do it.

  Leon de Huanuco lost the final of the Peruvian championship but they have won plenty of admirers. Early next year, they will make their debut in the Copa Libertadores, South America's Champions League. I, for one, will be wishing them good luck.
  
  Comments on the piece in the space below. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

  From last week's postbag:
  
  Q) I was wondering whatever became of Lulinha. I seem to remember him being touted, as many Brazilian youngsters are, as one of the next wonderkids to emerge from Brazil. At one point, it seemed that Chelsea were close to signing him but nothing ever came of it. What happened to him and where is he now?
  Chris Moore
  
  A) Perhaps there are similarities here with the case of Gustavo Rodas. Lulinha was an Under-17 star - he was quite superb in the South American Under-17 Championships in 2007. But then perhaps it all came too soon - he was thrown into the Corinthians first team at a time when the club were fighting relegation. Youngsters should never have to carry a team, especially one as big as Corinthians, and it was all too much for him.

  Lulinha has yet to pick up any momentum at senior level. He went to Portugal, first to Estoril, and is now with Olhanense, where he seems to spend most of his time on the bench. There is still time for him to come good. As much as anything, it will depend on his mental strength, on how he reacts to the fact that the path to glory is going to be much harder than he thought a few years ago.
  
  Q) In the World Club Cup, how has Internacional's defeat by African champions TP Mazembe been received back in Brazil? I watched most of the match, but would you say that Inter were significantly under par, or just that Mazembe rode their luck and took their chances when they arrived?
  Matthew Temple
  
  A) It has been received very badly. Brazilian football can be a bit contemptuous of less traditional regions, so as soon as the second goal went in the knives were being sharpened and expressions such as "historic disgrace" being pulled out. I certainly expected Inter to get past Mazembe but, unlike four years ago, I had little confidence in then winning the title.

  There is no doubt that the 2010 Internacional side is more attractive than the one that beat Barcelona in 2006 but also more vulnerable. Indeed, Mazembe did to Inter what Inter did to Barcelona in 2006 - frustrated them and hit them on the counter-attack. The sale of Taison after the Libertadores win left the team with less penetration, while centre-back Indio, at 35, has reached the stage where he can be exposed. It is early days but I am optimistic that in a few years the South American champions will be strong enough to come out and play an expansive game against any opponents.

• World Club Cup deserves respect

  Posted: December 13, 2010, 5:09 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  The champions of all the continents have congregated in Abu Dhabi for the annual World Club Cup - to the usual European indifference.

  The great Brazilian left-back Roberto Carlos recently spoke of how, in 2000, he tried in vain to get his Real Madrid team-mates excited at the prospect of becoming world champions, but they treated it as a holiday. It did not endear him to fans of Corinthians, his current club, who won the title a decade ago.

  Meanwhile, British football fans, it seems, can barely stifle a yawn about the competition, but I think this is unfortunate.

  Everything started so positively. The roots of the current tournament lie in the annual battle between the champions of Europe and South America, started in 1960, which produced some epic matches in its early years.

  Indeed, Pele believes his performance when Santos tore Benfica apart to win the title in Lisbon in 1962 as the finest of his career.

  The British, though, only came to the party after Santos had given up on South America's Champions League. Instead, by the time Celtic and Manchester United won the European Cup, the Libertadores was in the grip of Argentine football at its most cynical.

  There was little pleasure in facing Racing and Estudiantes, as Celtic and United did in 1967 and 68 respectively - just a long voyage to face stones thrown from the crowd and niggling opponents determined to remove all flow from the game.
  

  Come the late 70s, when English teams took a stranglehold on the European Cup, they declined to take part in a two-legged tie against the South American champions.

  They did turn up when the format changed in 1980, and the game was played as a one-off in Japan, but never took it seriously. It was a mid-season jaunt to play a glorified exhibition match, a gentle run to give the Japanese an idea of what football was all about.

  Such ideas seem very dated now. With the global expansion of football there is nothing remotely funny about a football tournament taking place in Japan, where the first four World Club Cups were staged after Fifa introduced the current format in 2005.

  The same applies to Abu Dhabi, which is staging the competition for the second time.

  Even so, the tournament has still not caught the European imagination - the British especially. Two things are missing.

  The first is quality. Some of the teams are weak. Then again, without exposure to a better level of competition, how are teams expected to improve?

  African champions TP Mazembe are taking part for the second consecutive year. Last Friday's win over Pachuca of Mexico indicated that they have profited from last year's experience and have developed over the last 12 months.

  

  African side TP Mazembe beat Pachuca of Mexico 1-0 to reach this year's semi-finals - photo: AP

  The other missing factor has been a truly thrilling final, the cut and thrust of two evenly-matched teams producing an excellent spectacle.

  This has not happened because of the imbalance of forces. So far the final has always been contested by the representatives of Europe and South America. There have been two triumphs for Brazil - Sao Paulo beating Liverpool in 2005 and Internacional overcoming Barcelona a year later. But the victorious pair, like the other South American finalists, took the field acknowledging their inferiority. They fought from a trench, hanging on for grim life and hoping to get lucky with a counter-attack.

  The exception was Boca Juniors of Argentina in 2007, who went toe to toe with Milan and were beaten far easier than the 4-2 scoreline would suggest. Their defeat was hardly surprising as the best South American, Kaka, was playing not for them but against them.

  European club football had managed to transform the rest of the planet into its feeder. The South American teams, made up of workmanlike players plus the odd promising youngster, were up against the best that the whole world had to offer. It is little wonder that there has been an imbalance of forces.

  Perhaps the playing field is levelling up a little bit. The crisis in Europe's economy, along with the boom in Brazil's, might in time produce a different scenario - which could be tested out this year.

  Assuming that the final is once again between Europe and South America - and there will surely come a time when it won't be - then Saturday's match-up might prove the most fascinating since the current format was adopted.

  Inter Milan are not the most dominant European champions of recent times, while Internacional of Brazil have a more expansive, talented side than the one which frustrated Barcelona four years ago.

  Having said that, Internacional are still a selling club, who look to finance their squad by producing and selling potential stars to Europe. They anticipate that the terms of trade are working in their favour, and that soon they will be able to hang on to their best players until the age of 23 or 24, rather than the current optimum selling age of 20/1.

  Their latest two products left as soon as the club had won the Libertadores title in August. Midfielder Sandro joined Tottenham, but more problematic has been replacing support striker Taison, who joined Ukraine club Metalist. His flying pace was vital to coach Celso Roth's 4-2-3-1 system.

  Once of Portsmouth, Argentine Andres D'Alessandro is an impish playmaker, and young Brazil international Giuliano is a player of exceptional promise. But without Taison the team have found it harder to lengthen the game. With everyone wanting the ball to feet they have at times had possession without penetration.

  To my mind, then, Inter Milan are still favourites to win the title. But there is the chance of a better game. Rather than a prolonged attack against defence, we might see a match where both sides are seeking to impose themselves. The World Club Cup needs to come up with such a spectacle if it is going to rouse the English from their indifference.
  
  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football tovickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

  From last week's postbag:
  Q) I understand that Brazil always takes the Olympics seriously. Would they take the Confederations Cup in 2013 and the next Copa America seriously considering the lack of competitive matches between now and 2014 when they host the World Cup?
  Edmund Allen
  
  A) No doubt about it, the lack of competitive matches is not ideal. They will try to compensate by facing teams with different styles in friendlies but there is no substitute for competitive action.

  The Copa America will shed light on the success of the generational and philosophical changes they have made since the World Cup, and the Confederations Cup will et them used to the challenge of playing competitive matches in front of their own crowd.
  
  Q) While the much-maligned Lucas Leiva, who at 19 became the youngest player ever to win the Bola de Ouro, struggles to impress for Liverpool in the Premier League (although he has improved since the departure of Rafa Benitez), he continues to be called up by Brazil and especially now under Mano Menezes and has even managed to win some plaudits for his performances in a Brazil shirt.

  What in your opinion is stopping him from repeating his form that he had in the Brazilian league for Liverpool? Do you think he could turn his fortune around if he leaves for say, the Serie A or La Liga?
  Darien Loh
  
  A) I'd love to know what Liverpool fans make of his recent form for the club. It's been hard going for him establishing himself - compared with Brazil, there is so much less time in English midfields, which inevitably creates problems of adaptation.

  The 2007-model Lucas was a player seen at his best making forward bursts and getting into the box - precisely the thing that Steve Gerrard does so well. So I think that was a problem for him. But credit to him - he hasn't stood still as a player. He's a much better defensive midfielder than he was when he joined Liverpool, which Mano Menezes has spotted and is making use of.

  With Gremio, Menezes used Lucas as the second man in midfield i.e. with more freedom to get forward. Now with Brazil he's been playing him as the holder, marking and distributing from deep.
  

• History teaches us that Fifa has changed little

  Posted: December 6, 2010, 4:44 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  A couple of weeks ago I was doing the translating when Dan Roan interviewed former Fifa president Joao Havelange at the Soccerex conference in Rio de Janeiro.

  Still entirely lucid well into his 90s, the Brazilian was asked what needed to change in Fifa. "Nothing," he replied. "It's perfect. It's not because of one fact in 50 years [a reference to the recent corruption scandals] that we have to change."

  It is impossible to agree.

  The facts would appear to be not one but many. Hiding behind its status as a not-for-profit organisation, Fifa's lack of transparency is surely unsustainable.

  But Havelange added something else which is hard to refute. "Football today is a power that has to be applauded," he said. Indeed, there has been an extraordinary global expansion of the game since he replaced England's Stanley Rous as Fifa president in 1974. Football has conquered new territories. Havelange's plan to globalise the game, given continuity by his successor Sepp Blatter, has been an undeniable success.

  Nowadays, football generates rivers of money from sponsors and television rights - and it is alleged that some of this money has been finding its way into private bank accounts. The corruption is an unwelcome spin-off from the success of the game.

  Some may disagree but I am in favour of the investigative work carried out by elements of the British media. One of the most noble tasks of journalism is to make those in power uncomfortable. No-one is obliged to become a sports administrator. Of course they must account for their actions. The investigative work of the free press must continue.

  But I also believe that some of this investigative work suffers from a lack of context. The corruption is attacked without any sense of its relationship to the success of the game. There seems to be an underlying belief that everything was rosy in the garden while the English were in charge.

  In comparison with the shenanigans of the Havelange/Blatter years, the time in which Fifa was presided over by Rous is held up as a kind of paradise lost. Yet the record books do not make quite such impressive reading.

  Sir Stanley Rous (centre) was Fifa president from 1961 to 1974. Photo: Getty Images

  Under Rous, Europe dominated Fifa. Of the 32 games at the 1966 World Cup, 25 had European referees, who gave Pele no protection as he was kicked out of the tournament and made a hash of the quarter-finals, thereby alienating the South Americans.

  Relations with Africa were strained for two reasons. Firstly, because Rous was reluctant to give them automatic World Cup qualification, using the argument that their standard of play was not high enough. But how could they improve without the chance to learn at the top level? Then there was Rous's position in favour of apartheid South Africa. His judgement looked poor at the time but appears disastrous in hindsight.

  Further nations were alienated by one of the darkest chapters in Fifa's history: the decision to authorise the World Cup play-off match between Chile and the Soviet Union in Santiago's National Stadium in November 1973.

  General Augusto Pinochet had launched his coup in Chile on 11 September and had used the National Stadium as a concentration camp for his political opponents. Hundreds were murdered there and thousands were tortured. Two weeks before the game was due to take place, the remaining prisoners were either released or moved to other institutions and the bloodstains were hurriedly removed.

  The Soviet Union quite correctly refused to play in such a venue. Staging the match in Uruguay would have been an acceptable compromise but Fifa ordered the game to go ahead and Chile eventually took the field with no opposition.

  Making such a monumental humanitarian blunder would seem to indicate that Rous was some way out of his depth on the global stage. But while the British investigative journalists have gone after the Fifa of Havelange and Blatter, they have been less inclined to turn their guns on the reign of Rous, who attempted to hold the moral high ground with his holier-than-thou tone.

  Some of England's problems inside Fifa may date from this time - there are some old men on Fifa's executive committee with long memories.

  Havelange is still going strong at 94. Photo: AP

  And so with England left on the outside, the Havelange/Blatter project goes on. Fifa's quest to take the World Cup all a round the globe is both laudable and problematic.

  The former because the game belongs to the people. The latter because there is always the risk that the people end up paying more than they should for the privilege.

  Fifa is so powerful that it is able to bully the host nation. Its own business is low risk - it makes money from the sale of television rights. Meanwhile, it receives all kinds of tax breaks and pressures the government to spend money not only on infrastructure but also on stadiums - some of which become white elephants.

  In the developing world, where governments have so many other pressing priorities, this is a cause for concern.

  Moreover, all that spending on stadiums and infrastructure inevitably produces opportunities for money to be siphoned off into private pockets. Once again, the corruption in football is connected to the game's global expansion.
  
  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

  From last week's postbag:
  
  Q) I remember in the late 1990s Alvaro Recoba was being touted as a potential great. His style of play reminds me of Robin van Persie. I was wondering why his obvious talent was never fulfilled and why he never succeeded in the European game. It would appear players from Uruguay struggle to adapt to the European leagues, talented players such as Recoba, Fabian Carini, Diego Forlan and Lodeiro have either failed or struggled. Is there a key element to the Uruguayan style which hinders footballers moving to Europe? In terms of ability, I have always looked at Recoba as more gifted than compatriot Forlan. What is the general belief from the Uruguayan fans on this point?
  Martin Hadfield
  
  A) I think you've been hard on Uruguayans. Plenty have succeeded in Europe. Of the list you mentioned, Lodeiro has hardly started and Forlan has been an undoubted success. And I'm not really sure that it's fair to say that Recoba didn't succeed in Europe - he scored more than 50 goals for Inter Milan.

  It is correct, though, that he never took the step up to become a true great. I think most would share your view that he is more naturally talented than Forlan. But I think he lacks Forlan's mental strength. The truly great player makes himself indispensable at key moments but Recoba has always given the impression of an impish kid, rather than a player you can rely on to come good when you need him.

  Q) While travelling in South America, I saw a feature on the Corinthians goalkeeper Julio Cesar. In it was footage of some unbelievable double and sometimes triple saves. I hadn't seen saves like that since Neville Southall was at his peak. He's clearly a great shot stopper and acrobatic, too. However, he's not that young and relatively inexperienced. Do you think he could play a role for Brazil in the national team?
  James Tenniswood
  
  A) He has come through from nowhere this season and enjoyed an excellent campaign, although he gave away a goal on Sunday with an awful kicking error. Brazil has become a first class producer of goalkeepers. Who would have thought, 30 years ago, that Brazil would be exporting keepers to Europe? So there is a lot of competition for the national team. But playing for Corinthians gives Julio Cesar a powerful constituency. He's already 26, so no time to waste. Another good year with Corinthians, especially if they can win next year's Libertadores, might be enough to get him into contention.

• Rio violence has left its mark

  Posted: November 29, 2010, 8:22 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  For much of Sunday in Rio de Janeiro, televisions in bars and restaurants were all showing the massive operation of security forces and their invasion of the Alemao group of favelas. By late afternoon, though, they had switched to coverage of the penultimate round of the Brazilian Championship. Viewers were transfixed by both.

  It is fair to assume that there is a link between sport and Rio's latest outbreak of social violence. Last week, the drug lords staged a show of strength, setting fire to vehicles all over the city. It is conceivable that this action was planned to coincide with Rio's staging of the Soccerex conference and trade fair, which aimed to give a kick-start to Brazil's hosting of the 2014 World Cup and the Rio Olympics two years later.

  With the global focus on Rio and Brazil, the scenes of widespread disorder were an embarrassment for the local authorities, who hit back with a show of strength of their own, one which may have been stronger than the drug lords had bargained for.

  The huge and strategically important Alemao group of favelas were wrested from the control of the drug lords, although all concerned are aware it will take more than one operation to combat a problem that has been allowed to fester in Rio for decades.

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  The football fan who thinks of coming to Brazil for the 2014 World Cup may well be having second thoughts. He or she might be wondering whether this place is safe. The obvious answer is no.

  In big city Brazil - and certainly in Rio - most residents have their own nightmare story. Mine is celebrating its 10th anniversary.

  I was coming away from a big match at Vasco da Gama's stadium. It was nearly one o'clock at night, the match had finished some time ago and the crowds were dwindling. I went to catch a bus aware that, relatively well dressed and carrying a bag, I was offering a target yet not feeling unduly worried. It was something I had done many times.

  On this occasion, though, a couple of buses refused to stop. Stupidly, I sat down - with my back open to the area behind me. What followed seemed to take place in slow motion.

  I first felt a tug from behind. I remember thinking that it was probably someone wanting to know the time and being rude about it. I turned to face the truth. Two men in balaclavas.

  Soldiers on alert in Rio after the outbreak of recent violence. Photo: Getty Images

  For some reason, I still thought I could get away. I tried to pull myself forward as they dragged me back. I turned to some people close by and cried for help. They ran away. It was the correct thing to do - they had seen the gun.

  The two of them then pushed me forward and I fell to the ground. One of them cracked his fist against my nose and I turned round to see that the other was pointing a huge pistol at my head.

  "You're going to die," he said. Hand it over time. Watch, wallet, bag - small, bigger, biggest. I did not give him my mobile phone - they were new and expensive at the time. A foolish risk but I got away with it.

  "Stand up, don't look back, cross the road," he said. I did as I was told and wandered away in the knowledge that I had been lucky, although things would never be quite the same again.

  It is one thing to know on a theoretical basis that you are in a place where life is cheap. It is another to look into the eyes of your assailant and receive total conviction that for him pulling the trigger has no more moral complications that ripping the lid off a can of beer.

  Of course, all cities have problems. And going through one bad moment, plus a couple of minor ones, is not unreasonable given the fact that I have been here for 16 years. But what sets this place apart is the degree of brutality, the lack of respect for life. Social inequality, family breakdown and wars between rival drug factions have produced a society that can be brutal and brutalising.

  This, of course, is a huge problem for the city's population. However, I do not necessarily think it will be so for the fans who visit for the 2014 World Cup or the 2016 Olympics.

  A bus goes up in flames in Rio. Photo: Reuters

  "We are great at events," wrote Brazilian security specialist Luiz Eduardo Soares in his blog. "In these moments, there is money available, the spirit of co-operation prevails and rational, planned steps are taken. Our Achilles heel is the routine. The World Cup and the Olympics will be a success. The problem is the day by day."

  He is surely correct. Indeed, it could even be that success in combating the drug traffic will lead to more of the kind of random street crime that I suffered. A drug dealer pushed out of business is unlikely to look for work as an office boy.

  But when it comes to mega events such as 2014 or 2016, the authorities will put on a massive show of strength and the visitor will be protected.

  Some of the images from Rio over the past few days are striking, shocking and scary. But, for what it is worth, my view is this: the drug traffickers may have tried to transmit the opposite message but no-one should be put off coming to the 2014 World Cup for fear of social violence.
  
  Comments on the piece in the space below. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

  From last week's postbag:
  
  Q) I have a question that I have been thinking about since the 2014 World Cup stadiums were named. Could a team possibly play a match at Porto Alegre then another match in Manaus just a few days later? I have spent a fair bit of my life in Manaus. Temperatures are nearly always in the 30s and the main problem there is the humidity. As Manaus is equatorial, there is no real summer or winter as we know it but, during the tournament, Porto Alegre in the south will be in winter. I have watched games on TV where the fans are wearing hats and scarves. Has it been addressed how it would be unreasonable to expect a team to possibly play in cool temperatures in the south, then have to acclimatise to hot and humid temperatures for a match a few days later, or vice versa?
  Ian Stanley
  
  A) I don't think it has been addressed and I share the view that this could be a real problem, especially as we are almost certain to go back to the old system where teams play all their group matches in one region. Those teams based in the south - Porto Alegre and Curitiba - may well be at a disadvantage. Temperatures will be low, so teams may experience a 30 degree difference up north - and not just to Manaus - for their first knockout game.
  
  Q) I came across the wonderful story of Jack Greenwell the other day. What an amazing story and probably one of the most unheralded characters of the beautiful game. He had quite a career in South America, so I was wondering how he is regarded in that part of the world. I know he was around way before your time but is he still spoken about in South America? If not, that would be a great shame.
  Aldoray Gordon
  
  A) This is the tale of the English coach who, after working extensively in Spain, led Peru to triumph in the 1939 Copa America. To be honest, the South Americans seem a little embarrassed by the success of an Englishman in their midst.

  The official history of the Copa America includes a small photo of Greenwell but the caption claims that the 1939 team was actually picked by a Peruvian director - a clear attempt to belittle the contribution of the coach. Given the success that Greenwell had already achieved both in Spain and Peru, I am unconvinced by this claim.

• Bruno, the boo boys and Brazil

  Posted: November 22, 2010, 6:47 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  A tragic, real-life soap opera unravelling in Brazilian football over recent months has been the story of Bruno, goalkeeper of Rio giants Flamengo, who is in prison accused of ordering the brutal murder of an ex-lover.

  Flamengo fans have found a way to extract some black humour from such horrific developments. Last year, Bruno captained the team to the Brazilian title. This season, they have struggled. And as they have slipped dangerously close to the relegation zone, the confidence of Bruno's replacement, Marcelo Lomba, has seemed to suffer.

  In a crucial match on Saturday against Guarani, Lomba slipped up again. A packed stadium responded with a chant of "Free Bruno! Arrest Lomba!" It was hardly the way to help out the young keeper. Lomba decided to play safe. Nothing was caught and every ball was punched as he sought to reduce the chances of further errors. Perhaps luckily, there was little for him to do as Flamengo won 2-1.

  Bruno is taken into custody. Photo: Getty Images

  The result should guarantee Flamengo's place in the first division but the fans seemed more interested in running down their keeper than celebrating as they made their way home on the train after the match.

  Fans booing their own players was also evident the following day, when Botafogo took on visitors Internacional.

  Badly needing a win in their bid to qualify for the Copa Libertadores, South America's equivalent of the Champions League, Botafogo were beaten 2-1. Yet when the team was most in need of a boost, the home crowd made their task harder. Individual players were singled out for vicious jeering.

  Attacking midfielder Lucio Flavio has long been a target for the boo boys. On Sunday, fans also turned on defensive colleague Leandro Guerrero, a player whose identification with the club is strong and whose commitment is beyond reproach. Once both had been substituted, the crowd went in search of another target - and left-back Marcelo Cordeiro was next in line. It was a case of home advantage shooting itself in the foot.

  With Soccerex, a big conference and trade fair, currently running in Rio, it was impossible not to watch the games involving Flamengo and Botafogo without thinking of the 2014 World Cup. And will any team have to put up with more pressure than Brazil when the tournament rolls round in three-and-a-half years' time?

  The precedent, of course, is 1950, when, in the newly constructed Maracana, Brazil suffered a shock 2-1 defeat to Uruguay. The members of that team are no longer with us but it was very clear, when I had the honour of speaking to to them a while back, that they had never managed to shake off a sense of bitterness.

  They were not upset with the Uruguayans - the intensity of that 90 minutes brought the teams close and they often met up - but with the way they were treated by their own public, who lauded them as champions before the game and turned on them afterwards.

  At that time, the population of Brazil was only around 50 million. By 2014, there will be 200 million piling on the pressure. Media scrutiny has become much more intense in the subsequent decades, while the bar has been set extremely high. Back in 1950, Brazil had yet to win a World Cup. Now they have won the competition five times and the idea of being beaten on home soil is almost unthinkable.

  One of the most fascinating aspects of football is that the best team does not always win. Come 2014, there will be some 10 sides in the field, which, given a slice of luck, might have a chance of knocking out Brazil. Their chances of beating the hosts will be improved if local fans turn on their team.

  Indeed, a wily opponent may well decide to take the sting out of the game in the hope that the crowd will transform home advantage into the opposite. Small wonder, then, that new Brazil coach Mano Menezes is considering the inclusion of a sports psychologist in his back-up staff.

  Despite last week's 1-0 defeat to Argentina, Brazil's post-World Cup rebuilding programme has gone better than could have been expected. Menezes has already made significant progress. Only four of his side from last Wednesday went to the World Cup. Along with renewal has come a change in philosophy, with the idea of a more expansive passing game, midfielders who are good on the ball and a 4-2-3-1 formation.

  Indeed, a big problem on Wednesday was that, with Alexandre Pato sidelined with a hamstring injury, there was no centre forward to give the attack a focal point. A World Cup squad would contain more options.

  Friendlies exist to learn lessons in preparation for the serious stuff. It is to be hoped, for example, that Neymar and Robinho absorb the lesson of Lionel Messi's stoppage-time winning goal. The little genius stayed on his feet where the Brazilian strikers would almost certainly have gone to ground in search of a free-kick on the edge of the area.

  Messi celebrates after his goal gives Argentina victory over Brazil. Photo: Getty Images

  These tactical and technical issues can be studied and improved. It is surely harder to deal with the psychological aspects of a Brazilian side playing a World Cup on home soil. Brazil will clearly need to play some friendlies in front of their own fans, where the odd disappointing performance may not be a problem. The boos might toughen them up for when it really matters.
  
  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

  From last week's postbag:
  
  Q) I want to ask about the Brazilian youth system and how it differs from the English way of doing things.
  Michael Kays
  
  A) European coaches sometimes come out to Brazil or Argentina looking for the big secret - and cannot find it in the coaching methods. The big difference, I think, is not necessarily what happens in the clubs. It is what happens before. It is in the sheer numbers of kids willing to commit themselves to a career in the game. An English kid has more options in life. Also, the average Brazilian kid is in school for a much shorter period of time than in England , so there is more time, as well as more inclination, to work on his game.

• Can Godoy Cruz make history?

  Posted: November 15, 2010, 6:07 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  Buenos Aires is calling to the faraway towns this week. In Argentina and all over South America, plenty of attention will be given to the modestly entitled 'superclassico' - the Buenos Aires derby between River Plate and Boca Juniors.

  Both clubs grew up in the working class docklands area of the Argentine capital. River have long since fulfilled the immigrant dream and moved out to the leafy suburbs. Boca have defiantly stayed put. The strength of the rival identities helps give the game its flavour. Over the years, the game has acquired a weight of tradition that makes it important even when it isn't - like this Tuesday.

  After a run of disappointing results, River have just sacked coach Angel Cappa, looking for a quick pick-me-up before the game. Boca could well part company with Claudio Borghi if they are beaten. But there is very little at stake.

  The clubs are 11th and 13 respectively in the table. They are not going to win the title or qualify for the Copa Libertadores, the continent's Champions League. River are flirting with relegation (worked out on an average of points over three years) but they still have well more than 20 games to save themselves, including another 'superclassico.'

  It doesn't receive anything like the same amount of interest but something more important for the future of Argentine football could be happening hundreds of miles from Buenos Aires, over to the west near the border with Chile in the city of Mendoza.

  A club from that region called Godoy Cruz lost on Sunday to a last-minute goal. Even so, a strong finish to the season should ensure they qualify for next year's Libertadores - an achievement which could have great significance.

  Coach Omar Asad hopes to guide Godoy Cruz to Libertadores qualification. Photo: Getty Images

  Argentina is a huge country but, like many of its neighbours, is highly centralised. A giant port dominates a feeble hinterland. Football shows the trend with great clarity. Of the 20 clubs in the first division, 14 are from greater Buenos Aires, with another two from nearby La Plata. The rest of the country hardly gets a look in. Rosario is the only other city with a major national and international footballing tradition.

  The only times the title has eluded the clubs from Buenos Aires or La Plata, it has gone to either Rosario Central or Newell's Old Boys. If this was England, it would be like restricting the title to the London clubs and a couple from Birmingham, only Argentina is a much bigger place.

  Colon of Santa Fe are a provincial club now established as mid-table regulars. Otherwise, the representatives of cities such as Cordoba, Tres Arroyos, Jujuy, Tucaman, Bahia Blanca and San Juan share the same experience. They are promoted, only at best to hang on for two or three years before suffering relegation. Often they go straight back down.

  Unable to consolidate themselves, these clubs cannot build a following or invest in a structure that generates major players. And while Argentine football is so restricted to Buenos Aires, it is clearly operating short of potential.

  That is what makes the Godoy Cruz story so interesting. They went through this yo-yo experience, making their first division debut in 2006/7, only to go straight back down. But after a year out, they were back and have been doing surprisingly well.

  In the current campaign, they are top scorers. The leading light is 29-year-old playmaker David Ramirez, a player of such talent that it seems amazing he was not discovered earlier, while veteran Colombian striker Jairo Castillo seems to have shrugged off his wild child behaviour to play the most consistent football of his wayward career.

  Central midfielder Nicolas Olmedo, given a brief Argentina appearance by Diego Maradona, is a local lad but the vast majority of the squad are not home grown. That might change. Producing their own players will become much easier if Godoy Cruz can keep their momentum going - and that makes a Libertadores campaign all the more important.

  In the 51 years of South America's premier club competition, participation from Argentine clubs has been almost entirely restricted to Buenos Aires/La Plata and Rosario. Colon had a run to the quarter-finals in 1998 and lost in this year's qualifying round. Talleres of Cordoba fell in the group stage in 2002. And that is it.

  Godoy Cruz, then, are within reach of making history for their region. Of course, qualification for the Libertadores brings its own pitfalls. Competing on both the domestic and international fronts would be a huge strain. Talleres were unable to handle it in 2002, a factor in their relegation two years later.

  But for Godoy Cruz, the timing might be more fortunate. Last week, the draw was held for the Copa America, the tournament for the continent's international teams that Argentina is hosting next July. For most countries, the most interesting aspect of the tournament is that it offers a chance to warm up for the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, which get under way soon afterwards.

  Possibly the most important thing about the Copa is the need to invest in stadiums. Eight venues are being used, with Argentina making a concerted attempt to decentralise its football. Only the final is in Buenos Aires, while Rosario does not feature. Instead, the action goes to Santa Fe and Cordoba, to Salta and Jujuy, to San Juan and Mendoza.

  Godoy Cruz are in the right place to take advantage of this moment, to ride the wave of decentralisation and establish themselves as a national force. Their match against, say, Colon of Santa Fe will never have all the hype and the tradition of the Buenos Aires 'superclassico'. But maybe one day it is where the Argentine title will be decided.
  
  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

  From last week's postbag:
  
  Q) As a half-Colombian living in Europe, I have been well aware of the striking talents of both Hugo Rodallega and Radamel Falcao Garcia. Yet every time I check the Colombian line-up they are never partnered together in attack, particularly in in the case of Rodallega, who, a lot of the time, is not selected at all. Has he fallen out with the coach or is it tactical? And if one of these is true, how can Colombia become a real force when they are overlooking such a versatile striker?
  Stephen Tew
  
  A) One or the other has often been unavailable of late. They played together in September in the 2-0 win over Venezuela, while Rodallega came on for Falcao Garcia a few days later in the 1-0 defeat to Mexico. Scoring goals remains a huge problem for Colombia - just one in the last three games.

  Coach Hernan Dario Gomez has gone with a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Giovanni Moreno operating behind the lone striker and Rodallega often featuring on the left. It hasn't quite worked for me. In this system, the lone striker has to be good with his back to goal and Falcao Garcia, a fine player, has struggled here. Neither of your men are in this week's more experimental squad to face Peru, so Jackson Martinez may well get a chance up front.

• Ronaldinho offered chance for final hurrah

  Posted: November 1, 2010, 11:12 am by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  Ronaldinho has been recalled to the Brazil squad for the forthcoming friendly against Argentina and there are some who might think the call has come six months too late.

  When it all went wrong in the second half of that World Cup semi-final against the Netherlands, and coach Dunga looked along his substitutes bench in search of a saviour, was he really more pleased to see the likes of Julio Baptista than Ronaldinho?

  With hindsight, the answer appears obvious. Going into the World Cup, though, Dunga was entitled to think differently.

  He had been unable to find a way to get Kaka, Robinho and Ronaldinho to function together. Ronaldinho had been given chance after chance and had thrown them away, performing like a pitiful apology for his former self. Once he was jettisoned, results improved and the team seemed to take shape.

  There is no doubt about it - the main person responsible for the absence of Ronaldinho from the World Cup was Ronaldinho himself. It was a sporting tragedy.
  

  At the age of 30, the tournament in South Africa could - perhaps should - have been Ronaldinho's definitive statement as an international footballer, and one of the most talented players the game has ever seen.

  He is clearly a much more complex character than his happy, smiling image suggests.

  For all his natural talent, it is not possible to become so outstanding in a competitive activity like football without a true love for the game. By the same token, such a waste of his peak years can only point to a strong disillusionment.

  He went through a mini-slump following Brazil's failure at the 2000 Olympics, a precursor for the massive depression that set in after the 2006 World Cup. Did the responsibility prove too great in Germany?

  

  Ronaldinho in action for AC Milan against Real Madrid - photo: AP

  In his pomp, Ronaldinho had no problems being the leader of the pack at Barcelona. Was it so different when he was representing his country? Was too much of his self-worth bound up with results? Did he really derive so little pleasure from his own breathtaking ability, the source over the years of so much pleasure for so many? Was partying really more important? How could he not see that he had his whole life to party, whereas his one great talent has a ruthlessly unforgiving shelf life?

  Barcelona gave up on him after failing to get a reaction with either the carrot or the stick and Milan had similar problems, at least until Leonardo took charge last season. A mixture of coach, psychologist and older brother, Leonardo managed to coax something of a revival from Ronaldinho - though it proved too little and too late to win him a place on the plane to South Africa.

  Earlier this year, when Milan were bundled out of the Champions League by Manchester United, I felt a pang of worry for him. Those two matches effectively ended his campaign to go to the World Cup.

  I feared that he might be caught in a downward spiral, instead of which, here he is back in the Brazil squad, with the chance to play his way in for a last hurrah on home soil in 2014.

  Two things have changed. Firstly, he is no longer restricting himself to that small strip of the pitch down the left flank. In some games, he has taken on a more central role.
  This is important because at the highest level it is very hard for a wide player to make an impression without searing pace.

  Once, lightning acceleration was Ronaldinho's trademark. He has lost it, and even it he works hard to get it back, time is against him. Playing in the middle gives him more options for his passing ability.

  This is where the second change comes into play. Under new coach Mano Menezes Brazil have changed their approach. No longer restricted to the counter-attack, now they are looking to play a more possession-based game - which needs players capable of putting it into practice.

  In August, Menezes' Brazil made an excellent start with a win over the United States. Last month they were not quite so impressive beating Iran and Ukraine.

  Against the US, promising playmaker Paulo Henrique Ganso made a sound debut, operating centre-field in a 4-2-3-1 formation but he picked up a serious injury soon afterwards and his absence - or, more accurately, the absence of a player of his type - was strongly felt.

  Against Iran, for example, Robinho, Carlos Eduardo and Philippe Coutinho - three players who like to run with the ball - played behind lone striker Alexandre Pato, but however quickly they run, someone with a good range of passing will always move the ball quicker.

  This, then, could be Ronaldinho's role against Argentina. He could be the senior statesman, surrounded by speed merchants to do the running, using his experience to pick the passes and direct the attack - a role similar to the one the veteran Zidane carried out for France in the 2006 World Cup, where, of course, it all went wrong for Ronaldinho.

  Is he up to the task? The answer probably lies as much in his mind as in his body. Those of us who love watching him at his exuberant best will hope that the chance of making history in 2014 works as a powerful motivating force.
  
  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

  From last week's postbag:
  
  Q) I am Colombian, and Atletico Nacional supporter. I have a question about the former Nacional player, currently with Racing Club in Argentina, Giovanni Moreno. Can he make it in the Premier League? What do you think about him?
  Esteban Jaramillo
  
  A) A very interesting player, who's made an excellent start to his spell in Argentina. He's a lanky figure who plays either as a conventional number 10 or a little higher as a support striker. He has a terrific left foot, combines well and seems to have a strong personality, and would seem to have a brilliant future.

  I'm not sure about England, though. His favoured position is not easy - space is squeezed, there's little time to decide what to do. Here his build works against him - with those telescopic legs he perhaps lacks speed off the mark. England might not be his ideal destination, but I think he can succeed in Europe and he has a big part to play for the Colombian national team.
  
  Q) Who do you think Brazil's best right back is at the moment? With Maicon slipping lately (at least in relation to his lofty standards), I see Alves taking the spot. Alves is also a bit younger, and Maicon's legs may be beginning to go. Do you see Alves finally upstaging Maicon? Menezes has a decision on his hands, albeit admittedly a good problem to have.
  Eric Lurz
  
  A) Maicon hasn't had a look-in since the World Cup, as Menezes has gone with Daniel Alves. In fact, very few of the Dunga gang have been called up, though the new man is keen to stress that the door is not closed. But at the next World Cup Maicon will be pushing 33, while Daniel Alves will just have turned 30, and that surely tips the battle in his favour. The other right back in the squad is Man United's Rafael.
  

• Can Ronaldo prove us wrong again?

  Posted: October 18, 2010, 10:41 am by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  It is one of the ancient battles of sport, the struggle between talent and the ravages of time. And it's being fought out as the Brazilian Championship reaches a thrilling finale.

  With eight rounds to go - and at least four clubs still in contention - one of the big questions is this: Can he really do it again? Is Ronaldo capable of staging yet another extraordinary comeback?

  The previous one came when he joined Corinthians of Sao Paulo, the most popular team in South America's biggest city. Surely now he had suffered one knee injury too many. He was all washed up, a bloated figure living on his reputation. But then he proved us all wrong once again by spearheading Corinthians to last year's Brazilian Cup.

  But that was supposed to be the aperitif. The main course was to come this year.

  Winning the cup qualified Corinthians for the Copa Libertadores, South America's equivalent of the Champions League. All their local rivals had won it but Corinthians had yet to reach a final. Putting that right in 2010, the club's centenary year, was the dream of every Corinthians fan.

  Ronaldo in action for Corinthinians during the Copa Libertadores in May. Photo: Getty Images

  But they were knocked out early, losing on away goals to Flamengo of Rio. Rescuing the centenary year - and centenary years are taken very seriously in South America - would mean winning the domestic championship, or at least finishing high enough to ensure qualification for the 2011 Libertadores.

  And they would have to do the hard work without Ronaldo. He played - and scored - in the opening round of the championship back in May but then did not reappear until managing an hour in a match at the end of August. Then 45 minutes - and a goal - on 8 September. Then nothing.

  His body was in rebellion. Some, especially in Europe, labelled him a dilettante. But this is the man who has scored more World Cup goals than anyone else in the history of the competition - 15 - many of which have come after he forced his way back from injuries that threatened to end his career.

  I am reliably informed that Ronaldo's current weight problem is, in part, a consequence of the medication he needs to soothe his battered knees.

  As far as Corinthians were concerned, the absence of Ronaldo hardly seemed to matter. They were even able to shrug off the loss of coach Mano Menezes, who took charge of Brazil shortly after the World Cup. They were on top of the table, apparently in a two-horse race for the title with Fluminense. A place in the Libertadores seemed certain.

  But then the wheels fell off. A big part of the problem was the sheer number of games. Out of sync with the rest of the planet, Brazil's ludicrous football calendar is especially insane in World Cup years. While everyone's attention was on South Africa, the local championship shut down for five-and-a-half weeks, leaving a backlog of fixtures to plough through in August and September.

  Brazilian squads are not deep enough to permit the kind of rotation practised by European clubs, so, after 15 rounds in seven weeks, players are exhausted, overworked and picking up injuries.

  Corinthians suddenly collapsed. In six games, they picked up just two points from two draws and four defeats. They slipped to third - and would have been lower were it not for the fact that their rivals also dropped points.

  Coach Adilson Batista was sacked. Delegations of supporters went to the training ground to either encourage or intimidate the players into greater efforts.

  Come the crisis, send for Ronaldo. He has always thrived on this type of pressure.

  The 2002 World Cup is perhaps the greatest example. Injury kept him out of the entire qualification campaign. Without him, Brazil were a shambles, fortunate even to get to the tournament. With him, it was a different story. He happily took on the responsibility for leading the attack. Rivaldo, so lost without Ronaldo, blossomed in his shadow as Brazil won all their games.

  Ronaldo in his prime at the 2002 World Cup. Photo: Getty Images

  But that was more than eight years ago. Ronaldo still wants the responsibility and will gladly take the burden off his team-mates. But is he still physically capable of doing so?

  The evidence of Sunday's comeback match was inconclusive but promising. Despite intense heat - over 33 degrees - he managed to play the full 90 minutes away to Guarani. It was not the most mobile performance you will ever see from a centre forward but the striking thing about late-career Ronaldo is that when it matters he consistently manages to get in front of the defender.

  He was unlucky to have two early goals disallowed. The first, forcing home after a Roberto Carlos cross, was presumably not given for hands. The other, a gorgeous first-time finish with his left foot, was wrongly ruled out for offside.

  In the second half, Ronaldo produced a superbly timed run to latch on to a Danilo cross from the left but, with the goal gaping, put his header just wide.

  Heading was never Ronaldo's strong suit but laying off intelligent passes for midfield runners is part of his skills set. It is something he has developed during his career, especially when playing alongside Cristian Vieri at Inter Milan forced him to learn how to drop deeper and supply through balls. At Corinthians, he works well with new international midfielder Elias, who likes to break into the box.

  Despite Ronaldo's presence, the game with Guarani finished goalless - and Corinthians have now gone seven matches without a win.

  Next up is the derby against traditional rivals Palmeiras followed by the trip to Rio to face Flamengo, the club Ronaldo grew up supporting and where the fans feel betrayed by his decision to sign for Corinthians.

  These are occasions which Ronaldo will relish - as long as he can show that the battle between talent and the ravages of time can still be decided in his favour.
  
  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

  From last week's postbag:
  
  Q) I was wondering if you watched the Mexico-Venezuela friendly this week. Venezuela pulled out a 2-2 draw, even though they played most of the match a man down. Seeing as the last time these two teams met Mexico ravaged them 4-0, is this result a sign of good things to come from La Vinotinto or just more signs of decline from El Tri?
  Diego Pacheco
  
  Mexico might not have been great post-World Cup but this as an excellent result for Venezuela. They didn't create too much - both goals were long-range free kicks from Juan Arango - but, as you say, they were down to 10 men after 23 minutes. Lots of positives - defensive discipline, the handling of new keeper Hernandez. Seems to me that they are getting an interesting squad together with a number of options and they are growing in confidence. It is amazing to think how much progress they have made.

• Brazil happy to experiment

  Posted: October 11, 2010, 10:50 am by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  Brazil will expect another commanding performance from Thiago Silva when they take on Ukraine at Derby's Pride Park in an international friendly on Monday.

  The 26-year-old Milan defender was in fine form in last Thursday's 3-0 win over Iran - especially important as his centre-back partner David Luiz had a poor game, obliging Thiago Silva to show off his excellent sense of cover.

  In the World Cup, Thiago Silva was a reserve to the old firm of Juan and Lucio. Just three months later, he is the rock on which Brazil's defence is based, highlighting the speed of the generational change taking place under new coach Mano Menezes.

  And offering a clear contrast with Argentina.

  

  Brazil defender Thiago Silva in action for AC Milan. Photo: Getty

  
  For Friday's 1-0 defeat to Japan, and last month's 4-1 win over Spain, Martin DeMichelis and Gabriel Milito were in the heart of the Argentine defence. Both players have their virtues, though neither has always looked comfortable at international level. And, at about the 30 mark, it is unlikely that they will feature in the next World Cup.

  The centre-back situation shows how Brazil are already building for 2014, while Argentina are stuck in limbo.

  Who will lead them forward? And with what philosophy of play? At the moment, in the figure of 1986 World Cup-winning midfielder Sergio Batista, they have a caretaker coach.

  This might provide an opportunity for experimentation but Batista wants the job on a permanent basis and is being forced to fight every inch of the way.

  His principal adversary is his predecessor and former team-mate Diego Maradona. This column has always tried to be fair to one of the all-time greats.

  There were positive aspects of Maradona's reign. He took over at a difficult moment and his record in charge was not as bad as many tried to make out - until he was carried away by euphoria and sent out an unbalanced side to be thrashed by Germany.

  In 2006, Jose Pekerman's side lost on penalties to the Germans after dominating the game against that year's World Cup hosts.

  When they came home to a heroes' welcome, Maradona said that there was nothing to celebrate, that Argentina should aspire to something more.

  By the same criteria, then, there are no grounds for Maradona to continue in the job after his team were taken apart by the same opposition on neutral territory.

  But on the campaign trail for a re-instatement, Maradona has tried to pull rank, mentioning his friendship with Argentina's first family, the president and her husband and predecessor.

  He has sought to undermine Batista, saying that no one knows who he is, even in neighbouring Uruguay. Batista has other candidates to worry about, - Estudiantes coach Alejandro Sabella especially.

  Brazil coach Menezes has been told that early results are not so important, that he has time to build a side and will be supported in good times and bad.

  In contrast, Sergio Batista is working on the opposite basis - that his fate will be determined by results.

  There is, then, no incentive at all for him to blood some younger centre-backs and run the risk of paying for their inexperience.

  Does any of this matter? There are mitigating circumstances.

  Brazil and Argentina are not in the same boat. As the next World Cup, hosts Brazil will not have the benefit of a qualification campaign to whip their side into shape. It is no surprise, then, that their preparation has begun earlier.

  And whoever takes over Argentina, the focus is likely to be on the short term. Next year, Argentina host the Copa America.

  Without a senior title since 1993, the pressure will be on them to win, thus extending the shelf life of the likes of DeMichelis and Gaby Milito.

  A younger team for 2014 can be forged during the course of South America's ultra-competitive World Cup qualifiers.

  And anyway, in the four-year cycle, this is the season when South American national sides are most concerned with making money.

  For three years of that cycle, their time is taken up with the marathon qualifying format. This is the moment now for them to cash in on the prestige earned earlier this year in South Africa - hence the fact that at the moment many of the South American sides are clocking up the air miles on the way to the Middle and the Far East.

  Even so, I would argue the fact Argentina are in a footballing limbo does matter - it has the potential to make a mockery of the extraordinary passion of the players for pulling on their national team shirt.

  Many of the South Americans make sacrifices to play for their national team that would be beyond lots of European players - especially in terms of travelling.

  When they make the long trip to play a friendly in Japan, Argentina's players want to feel that they are representing their country and also that the match forms part of a process in which a team is being prepared for the battles ahead.

  They do not want to be mere cash cows for their football association, or gambling chips in a game of poker where the prize is a contract to become national team coach.

  It does not make sense to force Lionel Messi to the other side of the world and make him play a full 90 minutes when common sense would be better served by him putting his feet up and ensuring there is gas in the tank at the serious end of the season.
  
  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick a couple out for next week.

  From last week's postbag:
  
  Q) I was just wondering what ever happened to Renato Augusto? A player you referred to as the 'right-footed Rivaldo' Just seeing clips of him online he looks a very exciting player; great dribbling skills and an eye for a pass.

  I know he's at Leverkusen but has not featured in the Brazil senior squad as of yet. It seems as though he has dropped off the radar a little do you think he can still be a star for Brazil with the likes of Coutinho, Paulo Henrique Ganso, and Anderson who play in the same position as him?
  Monty Hallaq
  
  I might have laid it on a bit thick with the 'right-footed Rivaldo' thing but no doubt that he's a very interesting player. One of his characteristics - passing - was missing for Brazil against Iran. Robinho, Carlos Eduardo and Philippe Coutinho were too similar to operate together - they all want to run with the ball and there was not enough passing.

  A pity, perhaps, that Renato Augusto is not in the Champions League to push his claims, but he's a player entitled to feel that he could figure in the rebuilt Brazil squad.

• Derby date for new-look Brazil

  Posted: October 4, 2010, 1:07 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  I'm flying to back to Rio and feeling a bit jealous of people who live in the Midlands - not a sentence you're likely to come across every day.

  The reason? Next Monday, Brazil come to Derby to face Ukraine, giving fans at Pride Park the chance to have a close look at a fascinating moment in the development of the five-times world champions.

  This will be Brazil's third full international since losing to eventual runners-up the Netherlands in the World Cup quarter-finals some three months ago. The second is coming up this Thursday against Iran. The first was a 2-0 win away to the USA in August - an impressive result against experienced opposition.

  But more important than the scoreline was the way in which the victory against the States was achieved. The debut game of coach Mano Menezes raised hopes Brazil might get back to playing the type of football that has made them so popular all over the world.

  "Maybe," wrote local journalist Andre Kfouri after that USA match "we had become so accustomed to the counter-attack that a team which plays 600 passes in a game has opened our eyes. Perhaps we had become so used to strength and speed that we have been surprised by talent and creativity."

  It was quite a contrast after the four years of Dunga, during which Brazil's attacking threat came almost exclusively via the counter-attack or the set-piece. Many felt that the team's pragmatic approach was all the fault of the coach. Some blamed the fact that almost all the players were based in Europe. Both accusations were wide of the mark.

  The Dunga team may have been an extreme version but its characteristics had been present in Brazil teams for some time - and result from a domestic dynamic.

  First, coaches in Brazilian football operate with very limited job security. The current national championship is now 27 rounds old. Of the 20 teams in the first division, only three have retained the same coach. The quest to cling on to a job inevitably produces a cautious mindset.

  Second, Brazilian football has a well developed culture of physical preparation, which, as I have commented before, was given a boost by the experience of losing 2-0 to the Dutch in the second round of the 1974 World Cup.

  The pressure that Holland exerted on the ball led Brazilian coaches to think in terms of a game with more physical contact and less space in the middle of the field. Increasingly, the attack was carried by quick-breaking full-backs - and as they took on more responsibilities going forward the central midfielders became more defensive to provide balance. The conclusion was Gilberto Silva - a converted centre-back with limited passing skills - spending a decade in the middle of midfield.

  The team were capable of breathtaking individual moments - such as right-back Maicon's goal against North Korea - but they paid a price in the loss of collective fluidity. Against the USA in August, the Menezes side had fluidity in spades. The emphasis has changed.

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  As so often, defeat has provided an opportunity for a rethink. Bulking up, playing on the break and relying on fantastic individual talent, Brazil had a period of sustained success. Between 1994 and 2002, they reached three consecutive World Cup finals, winning two.

  A few years ago, they were world champions at senior, Under-20 and Under-17 levels. They currently hold none of those titles - and, while the Dunga team spent years racking up good results, Brazil's tradition is such that a second consecutive quarter-final elimination was never going to be seen as satisfactory.

  Menezes, then, has brought something new to the table. He wants his full-backs to play a more conventional role, appearing in attacking spaces as elements of surprise. The midfield, meanwhile, is looking to form midfield triangles in a philosophy based on possession of the ball.

  Against the USA, his team were a joy to behold. But it would clearly be foolish to go overboard on the evidence of one friendly, especially in August. Therein lies the fascination of next Monday's Ukraine meeting. Whatever happens, the Derby public have an intriguing game to watch and a new generation of players to observe.

  Dunga took an old squad to the World Cup. Ramires, now of Chelsea, was its youngest member. He is one of only five members of the South Africa 23 to have been called up this time by Menezes. The new man says that the door is not closed to the old guard - but it is the youngsters who have been given the chance to impress. The better they do, the harder it will be for the likes of Kaka to claw their way back.

  With Brazil lacking senior competitive games on the road to hosting the next World Cup, the 2012 Olympics takes on extra importance. Providing Brazil qualify - South America only has two places available - the London Games will take on huge importance as part of the build-up to 2014.

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  Two of Brazil's most promising young stars are missing from the current squad. Playmaker Paulo Henrique Ganso is injured, while Santos team-mate and support striker Neymar has been left out on disciplinary grounds. Midfielder Giuliano, the neat and intelligent hero of Internacional's Copa Libertadores win, has been included for the first time, while Inter Milan support striker Philippe Coutinho has made an interesting start to the season.

  These are players who will be hoping to shine on English soil in 2012 on their way to achieving immortality by winning the World Cup at home in 2014 - and they will be pushing their claims next Monday at Pride Park.

  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

  From last week's postbag:

  Q) Have the rising cash rewards for finding, developing and then selling talent overseas affected the way Brazilian clubs find and treat their potential players? What sort of stories do they tell the kids? What sort of support do they give them and their family? How do they deal with disappointed kids and families?
  Michael Butterworth

  This is where the money can be made in South American football and the opportunities have attracted all sorts to the arena - sports marketing companies, supermarkets, drink manufacturers. They have all set up junior clubs with the aim of grooming youngsters and selling them at a profit.

  Then there are the agents, who often provide much of the support that you refer to. They are an easy target - and there are plenty of unscrupulous types out there. But without the Martins-Pitta pair of representatives, there may not have been a Ronaldo phenomenon. They came into his life at a difficult moment, when his parents had split up, and looked beyond the big sale to a long-term partnership, giving him guidance, structure and financial support. This is such a competitive activity, so many talented kids fall by the wayside. Without Martins and Pitta, it is unlikely that Ronaldo would have become the leading goalscorer in World Cup history.

• Sandro keen to ignore talk of home

  Posted: September 27, 2010, 1:27 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  Millions of people every year move to live in a new country and struggle to make sense of their new surroundings as they deal with a different climate, new language and unfamiliar culture.

  The fascinating thing about footballers is that they go through this process in public. Everything they do is geared towards their performance on the pitch, where their work (i.e. the success of their adaptation) is viewed and judged by thousands in the stadium and millions watching on television.

  Extra interest is added by the fact that footballers have not usually grown up as global citizens. They are frequently drawn from the lower end of the social scale, with little access to cultures outside their own. Then, of course, there is their youth. Many of the migrating players are at an age when they are going through changes and establishing their own identity as an adult - a process that can be difficult enough on familiar ground.

  It is hardly surprising, then, that there are casualties - players unable to cope and whose potential is never transformed into reality.

  Sandro, Tottenham's new Brazilian acquisition, is determined not to be one of them.

  

  Sandro is trying to put life in Brazil out of his mind in an effort to settle quickly

  Before crossing the Atlantic, he took the initiative of teaming up with a Brazilian sports psychologist. Well trained in preparing her compatriots for life in Japan, she focused Sandro's mind on one key point.

  "She told me to forget about Brazil," the player told me a few minutes after making his debut against Arsenal last week in the Carling Cup. "I have to put Brazil out of my mind and make my life here, form my family here."

  It is excellent advice - simple, but easily ignored. It does not make Sandro any less patriotic. It does mean that he should be able to avoid an obvious pitfall.

  In his time at Manchester City, Robinho always seemed to expect an automatic, first-team place and the same, everything-is-a foul criteria from referees that he was used to back home.

  When he left Chelsea, Luiz Felipe Scolari lamented that his relationship with the players had mostly been purely professional. He had wanted to play the father figure role more normal in Brazilian football. Both he and Robinho might have been more successful in the Premier League had they heeded the advice given to Sandro.

  It is, though, increasingly difficult to make the mental transition. Sixteen years ago, when I moved in the opposite direction to Sandro, the only feasible method of communicating with England was by writing a letter - one week to arrive, another to get a reply. Technology has moved on so much.

  I have two Brazilian stepdaughters, slightly older than Sandro. Both are now in Europe. With a simple application on their mobile phones they can call home for free. It means that routine problems are reported back to their mum. One called home recently because she had woken up with a toothache.

  For a footballer, this ease of communication presents a threat. His is a team sport. How can he find a collective common denominator with his team-mates if his mind has never left home?

  

  Shakhtar Donetsk's Willian has kept close links with Brazil

  Young Brazilian attacking midfielder Willian plays for Ukraine side Shakhtar Donetsk. Some time ago, I saw an interview with him and was struck to learn of his apparent lack of integration into Ukraine life. He watches a Brazilian TV channel on cable - the idea of watching something from his adopted home was greeted with laughter - and talks to friends and family back in Brazil on the internet.

  In his case, he has plenty of Brazilian team-mates to bond with. But that does not apply to Sandro, who only has goalkeeper Gomes at Tottenham.

  Although his English is still very limited, Sandro has clearly been making an effort to build up a relationship with his new colleagues. "There's a really good group here," he says, "and they've received me really well." When he was replaced in extra time of the recent Carling Cup game with Arsenal, the entire Tottenham bench - the subs and the injured players - all came across to congratulate him.

  There was plenty to congratulate. "I'm sad about the result," he said after Arsenal's 4-1 win at White Hart Lane, "but, on an individual basis, I was reasonably happy with how it went. It's always great to play in matches where there's a lot of rivalry. The main difference from the Gre-Nal (the Gremio versus Internacional derby in Porto Alegre, perhaps the fiercest in Brazil) is that more physical contact is allowed here. That suits me."

  Before the match, Spurs manager Harry Redknapp had bizarrely compared his new signing to Socrates. Too young to have seen the 1980s star, Sandro is nevertheless aware that he is a very different kind of player to the Brazil legend.

  "Athletic" is one of the last words that could be used to describe Socrates - and one of the first for Sandro. He may not possess the imagination of Socrates, who developed his skill with the backheel to compensate for his lack of athleticism, but he is much more dynamic, winning tackles on the edge of his own area and with the engine to get into the opposing box.

  "I'm happy to be compared with a quality player," says Sandro - and wants the chance to show his own quality.

  After helping Internacional win South America's Copa Libertadores in mid-August, he has not been included in Tottenham's squad for the Champions League.

  

  Kerlon, famous for the 'seal dribble', has struggled since moving to Europe

  "I was frustrated when I found out," he says, "but there is a positive side. It means that I have more time to settle in, to get to know the club and the city. But I've been told that the list can be changed in January. Now I have to use every game I play and every training session to push my claims, so when January comes the manager will have to find a place for me."

  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

  
  From last week's postbag:

  Q) Whatever happened to the master of the seal dribble, Kerlon? I was amazed to see that he is currently on Inter Milan's books but he hasn't been playing much, if at all. Yet another youngster who moved too soon?
  Iestyn Williams

  He's been dogged by injuries for years - and this has clearly been the main problem. Perhaps, though, if he could have his time again he might go easy on the seal dribble. It has tended to overshadow him - the player who made his name in the 2005 South American Under-17 Championships had so much more.

  Since then he's rarely been fit, but, when he was playing for Cruzeiro, he always seemed under pressure to come up with the seal dribble rather than choose the right option. He left for Italy before he had established himself as a senior player - and that was asking for trouble.

  Q) Don't you think young kids in South America these days start to play football just for the sake of earning lofty salaries one day?
  Ahad Shaukat

  An interesting question. In Rio, I've spoken to talented youngsters as young as nine or 10 and been struck by their ambitions - play for Barcelona and Real Madrid, buy a house for his mother, have an expensive car and a girlfriend with blonde hair. These type of benefits of a top-class career have already permeated their consciousness. But I still think the main reason they play is the joy of doing so. It must give them huge pleasure or else there is no way they would spend so much time doing it.

• Why the Argentine rollercoaster fails to thrill

  Posted: September 20, 2010, 5:09 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  Chelsea's start to the season shows it is not easy for a competition to retain both quality and competitive balance.

  The Premier League has a collective TV deal, with a more equitable distribution of television money than some other major leagues. Even so, those clubs with a wealthy benefactor or a huge fan base can put themselves streets ahead of weaker rivals, while only a handful of clubs go into the season with any realistic chance of winning. A dose of predictability is the price paid for the quality on show.

  It is the opposite of domestic football in Argentina, where the first division has become wildly unpredictable. However, the price paid for this excitement is a lack of quality.
  

  The last eight championships have been won by eight different clubs, including first-time champions Banfield and Lanus. Argentinos Juniors won the last title, only the third in their history, but are down at the bottom of the table after seven games of the new campaign.

  

  Funes Mori was scouted by River while training with Chelsea. Photo: AP

  It is a typical story. A relatively small club clicks for one campaign but then drops back down again after losing their coach and their best players. And the space for these small clubs to break through comes from the fact that the big clubs are continually parting company with their best players.

  A survey published last week found that Argentina has now overtaken Brazil as the leading exporter of footballers - a remarkable statistic given that Brazil's population is nearly five times bigger. And when everyone is selling, all the teams are in a permanent state of flux and the playing field is levelled - downwards, because the standard of play inevitably suffers from the loss of both players and continuity.

  The level of unpredictability is increased by the fact that Argentina stages two separate championships a year, in which the 20 teams play each other once. The shorter the season, the greater the chance of a surprise.

  Largely to protect the big clubs from a bad campaign, relegation is worked out on an average of points accumulated over three years, or six championships.

  This helps explain the bizarre position in which River Plate find themselves.

  The Buenos Aires giants have more domestic titles than anyone else and are in contention this time. On Sunday, they lost 1-0 away to Newells Old Boys. A win would have left them on top of the table. As it is, they lie sixth, only two points behind the leaders.

  Yet River Plate are also in danger of relegation. Bad results for two years mean they entered this campaign with a noose around their neck. Next May, two clubs will go down automatically and two more will go into the play-offs. Using this average of points picked up since the 2008/09 season, River are in 18th position, third from bottom.

  They still have plenty of time to pull clear - another 12 games of this campaign and all 19 of the next - but the players are currently feeling twin forces of pressure: both of winning the title and of fighting the drop.

  It is a situation that cries out for experience. River have it in the form of two former internationals, both now 36. There is captain Matias Almeyda, who played some of his best football in the holding role for Lazio and who has made an unexpected comeback after retiring from the game. Then there is playmaker Ariel Ortega, a victim of his own demons but still capable of flashes of extraordinary talent.

  

  Almeyda began his career at River Plate. Photo: Reuters

  The main beneficiary of Ortega's creative ability is 19-year-old centre forward Rogelio Funes Mori, touted by some at the club as a new Hernan Crespo.

  The rangy Funes Mori has an interesting life story. A decade ago, the Argentine economy collapsed and Funes Mori's family re-located to the USA. While he was there, he won a reality TV show with the aim of unearthing a new football star. Part of the prize was to spend some time training with Chelsea. His spell at Stamford Bridge coincided with a visit from one of River Plate's youth sides, who ended up taking him back to Argentina.

  Another River Plate youngster who must feel as if he has spent his life in a reality TV programme is Erik Lamela.

  The 18-year-old was given his first senior start against Newells on Sunday but has been a household name for six years. When he was 12, there was a huge fuss about Barcelona wanting to take him to Spain. River managed to hang on to him and developed him through their youth ranks. His promise was apparent in the hour he played against Newells. A lanky, left-sided midfielder, he showed composure, played some lovely left-footed passes and produced one excellent moment of tight dribbling skills when he took three defenders out of the game.

  Lamela is half the age of fellow midfielder Almeyda. Funes Mori is only just over half the age of strike partner Ortega. They represent the twin extremes of contemporary South American football - veterans winding down and youngsters on the way up. In the middle are those who were not successful in Europe or who were never considered good enough to receive the call.

  It means that Argentine crowds have very few opportunities to see top players performing in their peak years. But, on the other hand, with everyone in a permanent state of transition, there is no danger of the championship race becoming predictable.

  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

  From last week's postbag;

  Q) I was wondering about your opinion on leggy Colombia striker Giovanni Moreno. I get such delight from the languid way he expresses his ability but simultaneously recognise that he might not have the mentality to succeed at the highest level. What do you think are his prospects at Racing in Argentina? Has he moved at the right time?
  Martha Fischer

  A) I'm a fan. He has lots of imagination and ability. I am also optimistic about his mental strength. He is from a tough mining background in Colombia.

  Problems? As you say, he is languid. Will he cope with the extra pace of the European game if and when he moves? As for his position, right up off the main striker, where space is tight, or a bit deeper where he might lack the acceleration to get into the box?

  I do think, though, that he has made a good move. Argentina can serve as a good finishing school for Colombians and he is working with a top coach in Miguel Angel Russo.

  Q) What do you think of Arsenal's new signing due to arrive in January, Wellington Silva? Do you think he could make it to the top?
  Peter Hornsby

  A) Tiny, talented and a very tricky support striker who can beat the defender on either side. Any move across continents is a gamble, especially so at this age. Can he cope with all the changes he is going through? I have heard that there are already fears about things going to his head.

  He has been eased in gently, spending some time with Arsenal and then going back to Fluminense in Brazil. Recently on his return to Rio, he awarded himself some holiday at a time when the club had an injury crisis with their strikers. Coach Muricy Ramalho was not impressed. To be honest, I think I would have preferred for him to stay in Brazil and build a career at home for a couple of years before making the move.
  

• Emirates experience leaves me jealous

  Posted: September 16, 2010, 11:13 am by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  Emirates Stadium

  Before Arsenal's massacre of Braga, the last time I was at a Champions League game was when the tournament was still called the European Cup.

  In 1992 - a couple of years before moving off to Brazil - I was lucky enough to be at the old Wembley for the final between Barcelona and Sampdoria. It is one of my happiest football memories. The sun shone, London turned into the Mediterranean for the occasion and two excellent sides served up an enthralling game, decided in Barcelona's favour with a goal in the last minute of extra time.

  The British media were wowed by the technique and intelligence on show from the two teams. It was light years in advance of anything that was being played in England, where clubs were still feeling their way back after the ban from European competition.

  Eighteen years later, Barcelona remain a benchmark and the reigning champions of the continent are from Italy. In the meantime, English football has gone through enormous changes. Arsenal fans still refer to the North Bank and the Clock End but little else from 2010 would make sense from a perspective of eighteen years ago.

  In 1992, it would've been all but impossible to predict that English football would become so successful and that so many people would be prepared to pay so much to watch it.

  I can only offer the following explanation: In its mass form, British football was the product of industrial society. In the space of a generation, the country seems to have turned into a post-industrial theme park.

  And in a world where ever-developing technology allows people to lead more de-socialised lives, football continues to offer a great communal experience, the chance to get in touch with the collective values of the industrial age - in a sanitised environment.

  Too sanitised, some would say - and they would cite the atmosphere in the Emirates as evidence. The new ground is magnificent in terms of sight lines and supporter comfort. But fans and journalists kept telling me that the crowd are too quiet nowadays.

  Here, perhaps, the stadium is a victim of its own modernity - and not just in the sense that it is not old enough to have established its own tradition.

  Less than half an hour before kick off, the place was almost empty. There was no buzz, no sense of occasion. I was baffled. "It will be full by the start," a colleague said. And he was right. In an all-seater stadium with numbered seats and excellent access, there is no need to be in the ground early - which changes the whole dynamic.

  Marouane Chamakh celebrates scoring his goal with Jack Wilshere and Cesc Fabregas. Photo: AP

  In South America, where I watch my football, the experience is more like pre-Taylor Report England. For big games, the fans are obliged to arrive in advance if they want a good view. The crowd then becomes part of the spectacle, with songs or mass displays. The supporters are an active part of an experience, which begins well before kick-off.

  But at the Emirates, with the fans arriving in dribs and drabs, the pre-match entertainment is provided not on the terraces but via the big screen.

  Sound quality is so good that an interview with a mumbling Arsene Wenger is clearly audible. The crowd, then, takes on a much more passive role. Little wonder that they are less noisy than before when then players eventually take the field.

  But there is plenty to shout about. The tempo of the action can be breathtaking. The game is so much quicker than anything I'm used to in South America. And with the stands close to the pitch and the press box relatively low, it takes me a while to get my bearings. I'm as bemused as Braga's team of Brazilians.

  Every time I go to a game in South America, I'm always hopeful of spotting some outstanding new talent, a youngster taking his first steps on the way to glory. To my surprise, the Emirates gives me this as well.

  With his passing, forward movement and combination play, teenage midfielder Jack Wilshere makes a huge impression. Not since the emergence of Ever Banega in 2007 have I laid eyes on such a teenage central midfielder of such promise.

  Wilshere benefits from something we cannot claim in South America - the chance to watch and learn from a master who is entering his peak years.

  Cesc Fabregas scores from the spot against Braga. Photo: Reuters

  The domestic game in my adopted continent can come up with exciting prospects and some top class veterans. But no one quite like Cesc Fabregas.

  Football is about moving the ball with precision at pace - and Fabregas does that. His range of passing is superb, he has the calmness on the ball to select the right option and the physical dynamism to exert an influence on all phases of possession, from deep in his own half to deep in the opposing penalty area.

  I've seen some fine performances from Juan Sebastian Veron of Estudiantes over the past couple of years but nothing of this calibre. Fabregas tore Braga to pieces. Back in 1992, it was inconceivable that a player like this would be playing football like this in a stadium like this in North London.

  There may be fully justified gripes about ticket prices and lack of atmosphere. But - and I am not of the Arsenal persuasion - I left the Emirates more than a little jealous of those who are watching Arsene Wenger's team on a regular basis.

• The boys from Brazil

  Posted: September 13, 2010, 4:27 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  Symbol of exotic Brazil, Carmen Miranda was in fact born in Portugal. When she was young, her family decided to try their luck down South American way.

  These days, the flow is in the opposite direction. Bananas, said Carmen, were her business. The business of Braga, meanwhile, is importing Brazilians. The provincial club, who visit Arsenal on Wednesday, are attempting to disturb the peace of Portugal's traditional big three - Benfica, Porto and Sporting - with a squad that includes 17 representatives of the country's former colony.

  Perhaps it is payback time. After all, the Portuguese contribution to Brazilian football is considerable - especially in the history of Vasco da Gama, the Rio club dominated by immigrants from the old country.

  

  Elton is one of many Brazilians at SC Braga and throughout Portugese football

  Introduced by the British, football in Brazil began life as an elite pursuit. It was transformed by the emergence of Vasco and their policy of selecting poor white and black players. Under constant attack from the established clubs, Vasco's place was assured in 1927 when they inaugurated their own stadium in the working class Sao Januario neighbourhood. At the time, it was the biggest ground in the continent, financed by contributions from the Portuguese small businesses that are so characteristic of Rio.

  But it was Vasco's biggest rivals who enjoyed the services of the finest member of Portugal's footballing diaspora. Zico is the son of immigrants, as his nickname testifies. He was little Artur - Arturzinho in a conventional Brazilian family but Arturzico in his home. Shortened to Zico, he remains the all-time idol of the giant Flamengo club.

  In the long run, though, it was inevitable that the flow would be reversed. For three reasons.

  Firstly, there has been no large scale Portuguese immigration to Brazil in decades. The last wave, of young men seeking to avoid military service in the African wars of the crumbling Portuguese empire, ended in the mid-70s.

  Secondly, there is the respective size of the two countries. Portugal has a population of less than 11m. Brazil's is hurtling towards the 200m mark.

  And thirdly, there is the rapid development of South American football after the introduction of professionalism in the 1930s and the primacy it achieved in the following decade while Europe had its mind on weightier matters.

  Brazilian football was gripped with tactical curiosity at the time, which meant that one of the first things to come back across the Atlantic was ideas.

  Flavio Costa, charismatic coach of Brazil in the 1950 World Cup, had some success with Porto a few years later. Far more important, though, was Otto Gloria, the grandson of Portuguese immigrants who carried Brazil's 4-2-4 system with him when he took charge of Benfica in 1954.

  Along with huge domestic success, Gloria was also the man behind the finest hour of the Portugal national team. He took them to third place in the 1966 World Cup in England, playing some exhilarating football but also having few scruples about getting his defenders to hack Pele out of the tournament when his team met Brazil in the group stage. Four years later, he turned down the chance to take Brazil to the Mexico World Cup.

  Brazilian coaches still come across to Portugal. Far more important these days, though, are the players. Portugal's World Cup squad included three naturalised Brazilians - Deco, Pepe and Liedson - leading then-Brazil coach Dunga to quip maliciously - when the two sides were drawn together in the group stages - that it was Brazil A against Brazil B.

  These three are the tip of the iceberg. Last season, 181 Brazilian footballers moved to Portugal. The players union in Portugal is unhappy that more than half the players in the first division are foreign, the bulk of them from Brazil. One club, Maritimo, have even fielded a team made up entirely of Brazilians.

  From the point of view of the Portuguese clubs, it makes clear sense to take advantage of the historical and linguistic ties by buying from Brazil.

  With the size of the country and the importance of the game to the national identity, it is little wonder that Brazil produces players by the cartload. Many head for Portugal without having made a mark in the land of their birth, which does not necessarily make them mediocre. They could be relatively late developers, like Deco.

  Also, Portuguese football can be an interesting stepping stone on the way to one of the bigger European leagues. Ramires is a good example. Benfica picked him up on the day he was first chosen for the Brazil squad and have since sold him on to Chelsea at a huge profit. They were similarly shrewd and successful with the Argentine Angel di Maria, now of Real Madrid.

  Given the limitations of their domestic market, this would seem to be a sound strategy for Portuguese clubs and helps explain why they have extended their Brazil connection to take in the rest of South America.

  Among Braga's key players, for example, are Uruguayan midfielder Luis Aguiar and classy Peruvian international centre-back Alberto Rodriguez. The squad also contains an Argentine, Andres Madrid.

  There is no doubt, though, that Brazilian players give the side its flavour. The team that lost 3-2 to Porto on Saturday included only one Portuguese, with seven Brazilians in the starting line-up and another four on the bench.

  Some of those have played almost their entire career in Portugal. Others made some impact on the Brazilian game before heading across the Atlantic. Only one, though, is a household name back home - goalkeeper Felipe, recently acquired from Corinthians.

  Talented but temperamental, he appears to have struggled to adapt to faster European pitches. Or perhaps a lay-off while he was in dispute with Corinthians has taken the edge off his game. Wednesday would be an excellent moment to rediscover his touch.

  A provincial Portuguese side against Arsene Wenger's cosmopolitan giants, Braga have tried to level the playing field by investing in Brazilians. To have much of a chance at the Emirates, it would help if their keeper can find the form that made him an idol with one of Brazil's biggest clubs. If not, then perhaps Braga fans will be dwelling on the title of Carmen Miranda's last film - 'Scared Stiff'.

  No space for questions this week - normal service resumes next time. Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com.

• Bills rise as clock ticks down for Brazil

  Posted: August 30, 2010, 10:27 am by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  Along with the other candidates to host the World Cup in 2018, England had to select its host cities and stadiums well in advance. And so earlier this month, the Fifa inspection committee could ride the tube, visit the venues, talk to officials and end up with a firm idea of what they will be getting if England gets the nod.

  It is unfortunate that the 2014 hosts did not have to go through a similar process.

  Brazil were awarded the next World Cup via a short-lived rotation policy which was, in practice, simply a means devised to help Sepp Blatter deliver on a promise to take the tournament to South Africa.

  In March 2003, Blatter decreed that South America's turn would come in 2014 and a few days later the South American Confederation announced that Brazil was its only candidate and although Colombia briefly broke ranks, they had no serious expectations of success.

  Brazil, then, has known for over seven years that the circus would be coming to town and Fifa's official announcement in October 2007 only confirmed the obvious.

  But the host cities had not even been chosen - that only happened last May, with the decisions taken by Fifa rather than, as usual, by the local organisers - and it was only last Friday that Sao Paulo, the country's biggest city, finally decided which stadium it would use.

  Taking so long to sort out such basic issues comes across as gross incompetence.

  Some of this is the product of political in-fighting, the projected new stadium of Corinthians replacing that of Sao Paulo FC, for example; some results from the complications of organising an event in a country the size of a continent and some might just be the bungling of inept administrators.

  But I also wonder how much of this has taken place on purpose. All these delays have created a need for urgency. The prestige of the country is on the line, and so the government steps in to pay for things which were not supposed to be its responsibility - such as stadiums.

  The original idea - or maybe the early sales pitch - was that private investors would take care of the stadium work but that has evaporated.

  Of the 12 stadiums to be used in the tournament, only three are owned by clubs. The other nine belong to local governments, which will have to take out loans from the state-owned development bank to carry out the necessary work.
  Workman start shifting seats round the legendary Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro Photo: Getty Images

  Indeed, even one of the private stadiums, Atletico Paranaense in Curitiba, is set to be partly financed by this route. For the vast majority of stadium work, then, the final bill will be presented to the taxpayer.

  And what will Brazil's hard pushed tax payer receive in return? The likely answer is that in the climate of urgency the citizen runs the risk of paying more than he/she should, and receiving less.

  Money will be thrown at Brazil's airport infra-structure, vital for the smooth running of the World Cup, but an area of even greater importance to Brazilian society may find itself being forced down the agenda.

  South Africa perhaps showed that deficiencies in urban public transport are not an insurmountable problem for the running of a World Cup. It is a special event - people turn up hours early to get the most from the experience, and kick-off times are different from domestic games.

  In Brazil, the matches are likely to kick off in the afternoon, time zone differences sparing the fan the ordeal of battling though the rush hour. Investments in public transport could help millions who go through this dreary experience every day, standing on buses for over two hours on their way to and from work.

  Improving this situation is one of the biggest benefits the World Cup could bring Brazil. But with all the delays, time constraints are already causing cutbacks and in some cities plans to build or extend underground lines are already being scrapped in favour of cheaper, easier to implement bus-based solutions.

  But if underground lines might not be built, the stadiums must be - or expensively patched up in the case of some of the older grounds. Here too, there are problems.

  It is unclear how some of the stadiums will be viable after the tournament - Cuiaba and Manaus are obvious examples - and in the heartlands of the Brazilian game, some of the patch-up proposals will retain the existing structure, with a large gap between the fans and the pitch.

  This is unsatisfactory both in terms of the stadium experience, and the TV images. No one is currently building stadiums like this. Some of the 2014 stadiums run the risk of being obsolete before the work has even begun - at the taxpayers' expense.
  The Vivaldo Lima stadium in in Manaus is being demolished and rebuilt ahead of the tournament Photo: Reuters

  Two quick points; firstly, I have every confidence that Brazil can and will deliver an excellent World Cup, enjoyed hugely by the thousands who visit and the billions who watch on TV.

  Secondly, it is only right and proper that the tournament be held in the developing world.

  But the current formula is surely in need of a rethink. Fifa make money from the sale of the TV rights - and to be fair, some of this is distributed around football associations all around the planet.

  It does seem, though, that too much of the financial burden for staging the tournament is being pushed towards a government that has plenty of more pressing priorities. Should public money really be used so that the Maracana can be reconstructed in such a way that moves the executive boxes from the worst place in the stadium to the best?

  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

  From last week's postbag:

  Q) How good is Botafogo's Jobson?
  Connor Fitzsimons

  A) He's my new toy! A 22-year-old striker of wonderful talent. He's a defender's nightmare because he can go either way, has close control on both feet, a burst of acceleration and a stocky frame. He has a huge future, providing he can cope with everything that comes his way. He's had one warning - a six-month ban for testing positive for crack.

  Q) Some businessmen are purchasing clubs in Europe and spending tons of money signing players. Don't you think it would be better in terms of business to purchase a Brazilian club and sell youngsters to Europe instead? I know that Brazilian clubs are not companies, but if big money came around, I think people would find a way to change the club's by-laws
  Marcus Maione

  A) You mentioned yourself the legal problem - the major Brazilian clubs can't be bought in this way. Another problem - why bother? If the aim is to make money selling players to Europe there's no need to go to all the trouble of taking on a loss making concern with a huge debt.

  Instead, start your own small club to produce players - companies are doing this already - keep a share of the players' registrations, loan them to a big club to gain visibility and then count your share of the transfer fee when he is sold abroad. In the last few years this has been a big growth area.

• Robinho in urgent need of fresh start

  Posted: August 16, 2010, 12:51 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  Robinho is in footballing limbo. He sat out Manchester City's opening game of the Premier League campaign and although he might be in action in midweek in the Europa League, or possibly playing his football somewhere else before the end of the month, he needs to sort things out fast because this is a huge season for him.

  I well recall his debut in the Brazilian Championship for an astonishingly young Santos side that went on to lift the title. That was eight years ago. Eight years from now, Robinho will be 34 going on 35, so his time at the top has probably already passed the halfway mark and yet a huge question mark still hangs over him.

  There is no escaping the fact that so far he has been a big disappointment in European club football and it would be unfair to pin all the blame for this on the clubs he has played for - because even after playing some 80 times for Brazil, the same doubts surround him at international level..

  Robinho captained Brazil and starred in their 2-0 win over the United States. Photograph: Getty

  In World Soccer magazine's South Africa 2010 preview, I wrote that Robinho was looking "to dismiss the claims that he is physically and mentally lightweight on the big occasion." He did not do so.

  But in all those 80 games for Brazil, few of his performances - if any - were better than the one he gave last week in the 2-0 win away to the United States. Given the responsibility of captaining Brazil's young side, he was the star attraction on a night for the purist.

  Abandoning the counter-attacking strategy they had embraced for so long, Brazil's game, under new coach Mano Menezes, was based on possession of the ball. Their fluid and imaginative display was aided by having the extra man in midfield - their 4-2-3-1 against the 4-4-2 of the US - but it was Robinho who ensured they got full value from the advantage.

  He floated in from the right to make the extra man, orchestrating the swift passing movements, starting fires the US defence were unable to put out. There have been games where Robinho has tried many more stepovers - but few matches where he has made himself so important to the team, where his extraordinary individual talent was placed at the service of the collective.

  Of course, it is extremely unwise to attach too much importance to international friendlies, especially in August. But if this talent is there, and if this willingness to work for the team exists, why is he unable to show it week in week out?

  Perhaps his coaches have not worked hard enough to understand him. More to the point, perhaps he has not worked hard enough to understand himself and the situation in which he finds himself.

  Like a fair proportion of South American players, Robinho appears to thrive on affection, on being made to feel important. Being given the captain's armband, for example, appeared to do him a power of good for Brazil last week. It was like having favoured son status.

  Paternalistic relations are part of Brazilian society and football. After losing his managerial post at Chelsea, Luiz Felipe Scolari complained that his relationship with many of his squad had been "only" professional - as if something had been missing. His Brazil squad in 2002 were known as 'the Scolari family' but he was unable to recreate the same ties and hierarchies with a multi-national squad in a northern European country.

  Robinho has never been part of a 'Scolari family', though, of course, his intention when he cried his way out of Real Madrid was to link up with Big Phil at Chelsea, only to find his way to Manchester City instead. But he seems to have struggled with the same problem, an inability to adapt to different cultural values.

  Robinho joined Santos on loan last season and won the State Championship. Photograph: Reuters

  There are also technical reasons for Robinho's problems in Europe. He is a player who thrives on confidence, and it is much easier for him to take on his markers in domestic Brazilian football where the balance is tipped in his favour by the knowledge that if he can't get past his man, he is likely to be given a free-kick for the slightest physical contact. Put him in a more rigorous environment and he seems diminished.

  At heart, though, the cultural and the technical differences come down to the same thing, a desire for protection. Like a spoilt son, he appears to want a guaranteed first team place because of who he is, but in Europe he is going to be judged on what he does. Merit is the criteria.

  In the deep squads of a big European club there is no such thing as a guaranteed first team place, he has to earn it.

  Sulking when he is substituted or left out is no solution. The answer lies in working to show his coach and his colleagues that his ability is useful to the team - just as he did for Brazil last Tuesday against the US.

  "Football in Europe is hard," Robinho said earlier this year when he was loaned back to Santos. "The coach doesn't always pick you." Admittedly, the move back was largely motivated by a desire to stay in shape for the World Cup, but it also came across as the option of a little kid wanting to return to the womb to escape his problems.

  The time to grow up has arrived. Approaching 27, with two World Cups behind him, in football terms Robinho is a veteran - with limited time to fulfil his potential. Here's hoping he can sort himself out, whether at Manchester City or elsewhere. The player who captained Brazil last week is worth saving.
  
  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

  From last week's postbag:
  
  Q) Could you tell me anything about Javier Pastore and Mathias De Federico, who were in the same Huracan team a couple of years back? Where are they now, and are they the future of Argentine football or just two in a long line of 'the next Maradonas who ultimately collapse under the pressure?
  Harvey Burgess
  
  A) They complemented each other so well in that attractive Huracan side, Pastore the languid playmaker and De Federico the little gnat-like support striker. It's a shame they were separated.

  Their fates have been very different. Pastore went to Palermo and adapted better and more quickly to Italian football than even his admirers thought he would. He was in the World Cup squad, made a few substitute appearances and looks like being an important player for the future. De Federico, meanwhile, went to Corinthians in Brazil and has struggled to make much of an impression.
  
  Q) I really need to know something, why do Mexican teams play in both South America's Copa Libertadores and the Concacaf Champions league?
  Luke Vooght
  
  A) Because money makes a very persuasive argument. Mexico is in Concacaf, so that one is easily explained. And the Mexicans are invited into the Libertadores for financial reasons - it means access to a market of over 100 million for the tournament sponsors.

  Last week's column dealt with this - and the fact that, if a Mexican club wins the competition then it is not allowed to represent South America in the World Club Cup. This year, for the second time, there is a Mexican club in the final - but 2-1 down from the home leg against Internacional of Brazil, it seems unlikely that Chivas Guadalajara will be lifting the trophy after Wednesday's return match.
  

• Chivas make Libertadores final against the odds

  Posted: August 9, 2010, 1:54 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  Mexico's Chivas Guadalajara have endured a journey over time and space to reach the final of the Copa Libertadores.
  
  First, because they are outsiders in South America's equivalent of the Champions League.

  Mexico is in North America. The distance between Mexico City and Buenos Aires, for example, is further than that between London and Mumbai. Guadalajara and Porto Alegre, home city of final opponents Internacional of Brazil, are even further apart.

  Chivas are in a different hemisphere from their opponents in this campaign - Velez Sarsfield of Argentina, Libertad of Paraguay, Universidad de Chile, and now Internacional.

  The Mexicans, then have clocked up plenty of air miles in the quest to become the first team from their country to win the Libertadores.

  Chivas Guadalajara celebrate victory over Velez Sarsfield

  There is another sense in which this has been a very long campaign. It began back in February 2009.

  With some late drama, Chivas just managed to hold off Everton of Chile and make it out of the group phase. They were to face Brazil's Sao Paulo in the second round. But then swine flu struck, leaving the South American Federation (Conmebol) wallowing with a problem. Mexico was the epicentre of the disease.

  Chivas were unable to stage their match at home. No alternative venue could be found, so Conmebol cancelled the match and decided that the tie would be played over one leg, to be held in Brazil.

  Chivas and San Luis Potosi, another Mexican club in the same situation, pulled out in protest. There were angry words and talk of a complete rupture between Mexico and South American football.
  
  A compromise was inevitable. The Mexicans have been invited to participate in the Libertadores since 1998. The relationship can be strained, but it is mutually beneficial.

  Mexican clubs get to play in a high prestige and fiercely competitive tournament, while the Libertadores and its sponsors gain access to a market of over 100 million people.

  So after the heat had died down, it was decided that Chivas and San Luis Potosi would feature in this year's tournament, entering the competition at the same stage that they had pulled out in 2009. The current campaign, then, is a continuation of last year's.
  
  This may be seen as a privilege, but it also brought a handicap. Mexico assembled their World Cup squad earlier than most - a measure which inevitably weakened Chivas, forbidden by its statutes to field foreigners and a big supplier of players to the national team.

  They had to get through the first two knockout rounds without five of their stars who were preparing for South Africa - keeper Luis Michel, defender Jonny Magallon and strikers Javier Hernandez, Alberto Medina and Adolfo Bautista.
  
  Hernandez, of course, is now scoring his goals for Manchester United. The rest were back for the semi final against Universidad de Chile and will be available for this week's home leg and then the long trip down to Porto Alegre for the return match on 18 August.
  
  But Chivas will not be making the longest trip of all. Even if thy beat Internacional they will not feature in the Arab Emirates this December in the World Club Cup. As outsiders, they cannot represent South America in the annual competition. Whatever happens over the two legs, that honour will belong to the Brazilians.
  
  So far apart geographically, Chivas and Internacional are also poles apart philosophically. Chivas are representatives of Mexican nationalism. Inter, as the name suggests, are an open church.
  
  Their region, the south of Brazil, is one of mass European immigration. Their big local rivals, Gremio, were originally restricted to Germans. Internacional were for everyone, regardless of origin.
  
  But like Chivas, Inter's path to the final has hardly been conventional. They reached the semi-finals by eliminating reigning champions Estudiantes of Argentina - and promptly rewarded Uruguayan coach Jorge Fossati with the sack.
  
  Under replacement Celso Roth the pattern has stayed the same. They have won all their home games in the campaign, but have yet to win away. Indeed, they were beaten on their travels in all three knockout rounds. But they scored once every time - and with aggregate scores level, that away goal was always the margin of victory.
  
  But it won't be in the final. Different rules now apply. In the event of a tie after the two legs then extra-time will be played, regardless of away goals.
  
  The advantage, though, is still with Internacional. That extra-time, if needed, will take place on their home ground. This is another part of the price paid by the Mexicans for their invitation to the Libertadores - they cannot stage the second leg of the final, which must take place on South American soil.
  
  The biggest advantage, though, is that before a ball is kicked Internacional have scooped the prize. The World Club Cup is taken very seriously in these parts. As champions of the Libertadores or as runners up, Internacional can already dream of taking on Inter Milan in December.
  
  Chelsea could benefit from Ramires' bursts into the penalty area

  Comments on the piece in the space provded. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

  From last week's postbag;
  
  Q) I've just seen that Hernanes has finalised a deal to sign for Lazio. Just wondering how you feel about this deal?

  I know you and many other journalists have praised him on numerous occasions, and have tipped him for big things. But do you think this move is a comedown to all your optimism?

  I was expecting him to move to a club like Barca or Juve, so to see him join Lazio is a big surprise. Do you think he is using Lazio as a stepping stone to a bigger club in Europe?
  Michael Booth
  
  A) I think the move reflects the fact that he hasn't come on as much as hoped. I'm a big fan - he's a central midfielder who can do a bit of everything and strikes the ball well with both feet. But he doesn't seem to have made much progress in the last two years. He would have been in my World Cup squad, but he hardly made an unanswerable case for his inclusion.

  Unlike the majority, I fear he might have stayed in Brazil too long. Sao Paulo have relied more on a strong aerial game than constructive midfield play, and perhaps this hasn't helped him - I want to see him boss a game from the centre, dictate all phases of possession, but for all his technique he seems lacking in ideas. There's still plenty of time - he's only 25 - so it will be interesting to see which way his career goes.
  
  Q) Kaka paid glowing tribute to Chelsea new boy Ramires describing him as the best young central midfield player in the world. High praise indeed, do you agree and will he be a success in the Premier League?
  Ben Carter

  A) I wouldn't go quite that far, but I have high hopes of him. One of the things that surprised me when I first moved to Brazil was the absence of midfielders with the lung power and technique to work the middle, burst beyond the strikers and score goals - a type of player which has been emblematic in English football. But in Brazil anyone with those characteristics was playing at full back.

  The interesting thing about Ramires is that he's taken the reverse route. He did play a bit at full back, but was successfully converted into a goalscoring midfielder. He's worked on his finishing - he's still not the greatest, but Chelsea should be able to profit from his capacity to keep bursting into the box.
  

• A tale of two city teams

  Posted: August 2, 2010, 8:50 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  When the fixtures for the forthcoming season were made public, many fans would have immediately checked to see when their team were due to meet their big local rival.

  Derbies are part of the essence of football, perhaps even more so in South America than in Europe. The logic is clear. Distances are vast in South America, forcing the game to develop locally. Brazil has only had a genuinely national championship since 1971, while the Peruvian league was restricted to Lima until 1967.
  

  Vasco and Flamengo could only draw the latest derby between them

  Also, the economic formation of many South American nations left them very centralised, dominated by the major port through which raw materials were shipped out and manufactured produce came in.

  Argentina is dominated by Buenos Aires, Uruguay by Montevideo, Paraguay by Asuncion - and this is clearly reflected in football. Almost all the big teams come from these cities. In Chile, the title very rarely leaves Santiago, and so on.

  Most of these cities were going through a growth spurt when football caught on in the continent and supporting a team quickly became an important part of urban identity.

  In the Spanish-speaking half of South America, the biggest derby is the Boca Juniors - River Plate clash in Buenos Aires. In part, this is a reflection of the prestige of Argentine football on the continent. But it is also because other South American countries can relate to the fault line in the modestly entitled 'Superclasico'.

  River against Boca is the haves against the have-nots.

  The two clubs grew up side by side in the working class dockside areas of the city. After a while, though, River Plate moved out to the snooty suburbs. Boca stayed put. Both moved into their current stadiums and firmly established their identities when Argentine football was on the verge of entering its 1940s golden age - Boca amongst the sweat and the smells of run down, cramped streets, River surrounded by swish streets and with so much space that some of the stadium corridors seem wider than the United Nations building.

  This game has a specifically Argentine, immigrant twist but the 'team of the elite versus team of the people' plotline is enacted all over the continent - in Universitario v Alianza Lima in Peru, or Olimpia v Cerro Porteno in Paraguay, or the ancient Nacional v Penarol clash in Uruguay.

  There are also variations on the theme. I am reflecting on this because I have just come back from watching Rio's biggest derby, Flamengo against Vasco da Gama - 'the classic of the multitudes'.

  The story here is slightly different. Vasco, the club of Rio's Portuguese community, rocked the foundations of the game in the city by winning the local championship in 1923 with a team that included black and poor players.

  The established big clubs, including Flamengo, fought hard to restrict the game to the elite. But in the following decade, after the game had turned professional, Flamengo pulled off a masterstroke. They acquired the popular touch by signing the three leading, black players of the day.

  Most important was Leonidas da Silva, top scorer of the 1938 World Cup and a controversial, charismatic figure who served as a prototype for the likes of Romario.

  The signings gave Flamengo irresistible appeal. Rio was still Brazil's capital at the time and the club's matches were broadcast all across the giant country by radio. Even today Flamengo can fill stadiums thousands of miles away in the north-east of the nation - the consequence of some shrewd thinking almost 75 years ago.

  Vasco, meanwhile, are a big club but their fanbase can hardly compare with Flamengo's - and so having their thunder stolen added spice to the derby. Eurico Miranda, until recently Vasco president, used to say that beating Flamengo gave him more pleasure than sex.

  There were no orgasmic moments for him or anyone else in this latest game between the two sides. It finished 0-0. As I rode the underground home, I reflected that, when local derbies are concerned, so often the social history is more interesting than the game.

  Watching football offers two great pleasures.

  Firstly, it engages the mind. "Our centre-backs are playing too far apart, we need to get the ball to the wings quicker, the opposition are vulnerable in the space behind their left-back." It is the kind of mental analysis that the fan makes based on observation.

  Secondly, it offers pure emotion. The fan can lose him/herself in the high of the occasion.

  The big derbies can often possess too much of the second and not enough of the first. There is an excess of emotion - usually hate, often nerves. Hyped up by the crowd, players can run too much and think too little. As a result, the spectacle suffers.

  For all its dramatic swirl, a derby can be technically deficient and mean spirited. Fans know this already. Even so, many of them will have checked the dates of their particular derby as soon as the fixtures were published. From Manchester to Montevideo, it is part of the essence of the game.
  
  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

  From last week's postbag:
  
  Q) With Brazil hosting the Summer Olympics two years after the World Cup, how much do you think they will put into winning gold in football? Their World Cup history well documented but I can't remember reading much about Brazil's Olympic footballing history...
  Gordon Strachan
  
  A) They take it very seriously. It is the only title available to them that they have never won, so they would love to put that right. Never mind the 2016 Olympics, we have got the London Games coming up next. That is especially important. At senior level, Brazil have very few competitive games to prepare a side for the next World Cup - just next year's Copa America and the 2013 Confederations Cup. So the 2012 Olympics is an ideal halfway house for them. English crowds will be able to get a sneak preview of the side Brazil will be grooming for 2014.
  
  Q) Now that Maradona has been relieved of his duties, who are the front runners to coach Argentina. Could Sergio Batista, coach of the winning Olympics side in 2008, be the best man for the job?
  Omar Gregory
  
  A) Batista, Argentina's Under-20 coach, will take charge of the seniors against Ireland next week and could be a candidate to stay on. But the front runner would seem to be Alejandro Sabella, once of Sheffield United and Leeds. After years as Daniel Passarella's assistant, Sabella stepped out on his own last year as coach of Estudiantes. He won last year's Copa Libertadores and was only a couple of minutes away from beating Barcelona and winning the World Club Cup.
  

• Brazil job will test Menezes' inner calm

  Posted: July 25, 2010, 11:46 am by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  When Brazil shine, the players get the credit for their flair and brilliance. When they fall short of expectations, the coach gets the blame.

  Being in charge of Brazilian team is like sitting in a coconut shy - plenty of things are thrown in your direction. And the bombardment could be especially fierce in the case of new boss Mano Menezes, who is taking over with everyone knowing that he was not the first choice for the job.

  Muricy Ramalho, currently in charge of Fluminense, was the preferred candidate of the CBF - the Brazilian FA - and a man who, after guiding Sao Paulo to three consecutive league titles from 2006-08 he gave an interview in which he described the notion of turning down the Brazil job as "a joke".

  And yet, he has done exactly that, leaving the CBF looking stupid and lapping up criticism from the local media.

  On Saturday, sports daily Lance! put an editorial on its front page describing the farce with Ramalho as an example of "the amateurism and improvisation of the actions of the CBF and its directors with things of real importance to our football. Attitudes for which we have already paid a high price, with the loss of titles and of chances to organise our domestic football. And which have transformed the organisation of the 2014 World Cup into a blind flight to an uncertain destination".
  

  New Brazil coach Mano Menezes (left) shares a joke with 1970 World Cup star Roberto Rivelino - photo: AP

  The problem was that Fluminense would not free Ramalho from his contract. Indeed, it does seem an extraordinary oversight from the CBF not to have checked this before announcing that he was by far the best man to take them forward.

  But Ramalho could have walked. A compensation claim could have been negotiated. It would be naïve to expect such loyalty to run both ways. If Fluminense have a run of bad results, they are liable to sack Ramalho without a minute's thought - they have done it to plenty of others.

  Ramalho has said that contracts should be honoured, and that he needs to give an example to his children by sticking to his agreement with Fluminense. It sounds like an attempt to claim the moral high ground, but I wonder if his refusal has been chiefly motivated by the pragmatism that has always been the hallmark of his teams. Perhaps he was afraid that whoever takes over now might prove to be a fall guy.

  As soon as Dunga was sacked following Brazil's quarter-final exit from the World Cup, CBF president Ricardo Teixeira talked of the need for renewal.

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  Brazil took an old squad to South Africa and few of them will be around in 2014, so there is a big rebuilding job to be done. The new coach may take charge of the Under-20s and will certainly, assuming Brazil qualify, lead the Under-23s at the London Olympics.

  He will also be expected to throw plenty of youngsters straight into the senior side, starting with next month's friendly away to the USA.

  The obvious risk is that results might suffer while an inexperienced team finds its feet. That is what happened some 20 years ago when the great midfielder Falcao took charge of Brazil after the 1990 World Cup with a similar rebuilding brief. Before long, he had lost his job.

  The shadow of Luiz Felipe Scolari hangs over the new coach. He remains the overwhelming peoples' choice and even former captain Socrates appears to have been seduced by the charisma of a man who sees the world from a very different perspective.
  In a recent interview on this website, Socrates pushed Scolari's claims - a fan of Fidel Castro lining up behind an admirer of General Pinochet.

  But 'Big Phil' ensured that he was out of the running by agreeing to coach Palmeiras before the World Cup. He doesn't want the Brazil job now, but he would surely love to have it in two years time, in the run up to 2014.

  'Big Phil' Scolari guided Brazil to World Cup glory in 2002 and may fancy trying to do so again in 2014 - photo: Getty

  So, Mano Menezes has accepted the challenge and the CBF website has paid tribute to his courage in doing so. A (very) lower division centre-back in his playing days, he coached a number of minor sides before hitting the big time in the last five years with Gremio and Corinthians.

  He picked both up after relegation to the Second Division, took them back up and reinstalled them among the giants, leading Gremio to the final of the 2007 Copa Libertadores and winning last year's Brazilian Cup with Corinthians.

  Menezes is no out-and-out-romantic - there is little space for such figures in contemporary Brazilian football. Like Scolari and Dunga, he is from the south of Brazil, a region where mass European immigration has left its mark with a preference for a tough style of play. But there are promising signs in his nurturing of all-round midfielders, an area where Brazil badly need a rethink.

  Lucas developed well under him at Gremio and Cristian and Elias have caught the eye with Corinthians. He is also a believer in pacy wide attackers, Carlos Eduardo with Gremio, Dentinho and Jorge Henrique with Corinthians. His Brazil are unlikely to be totally dependent on the full-backs for penetration down the flanks.

  With his cropped hair and pale skin, Menezes has the appearance of a US marine. But there is clearly more to him than a sergeant-major figure. He is held in affection by his players - as shown at Saturday's press conference when Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos and others briefly invaded the show to give their congratulations.

  Mano Menezes is known for his cool demeanour, he is unlikely to be seen knocking nine bells out of the dugout, as Dunga did during that quarter final defeat by the Netherlands.

  But he takes charge of Brazil at an awkward time and that inner calm will be thoroughly tested over the next few years.
  
  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

  From last week's postbag:
  
  Q) Do you thing Peru stand a chance of qualifying for a World Cup again soon?
  Krister Wendelborg
  
  It's been a while. They haven't made it since '82, and though they were close in '86 and '98, they've been miles away since, but I'm certainly expecting some improvement in the next campaign. Over the last couple of years there have been some promising signs from Peruvian clubs in the Libertadores.

  I'm also a big fan of Sergio Markarian, the Uruguayan who has just been brought in to coach the national team - a very serious figure. But this next set of qualifiers will be extremely competitive, and I wonder if there's enough genuine quality available to pick up points away from home.

  Q) As a Benfica fan I would like to know your opinion on our new signing Nicolas Gaitan from Argentina. He is replacing fellow Argentinean Angel di Maria who is going to Real Madrid. Do you think Gaitan has the qualities to be a major player in the Liga Portugal and the Champions League?
  Marco Sody
  
  A) Although Gaitan is also left footed, they are very different players. Di Maria is a flyer. Gaitan came through the ranks more as an artistic foot-on-the-ball midfielder, though Boca were also using him wide right, curling in crosses for the centre forward. Di Maria's gifts make him more naturally suited to the European game. I hope Gaitan comes off, but I'll be surprised if he makes the same impact as Di Maria.
  

• Brazilian league lacks bite

  Posted: July 19, 2010, 11:44 am by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  Spain or Barcelona? No contest. Week in, week out, Barcelona combine the midfield interplay of Xavi and Iniesta with the cutting edge of Lionel Messi, Daniel Alves and co.

  The comparison serves to confirm the impression that these days club football is of a much higher standard than international - as long as we restrict the debate to the major European leagues.

  The big clubs in Spain, England, Italy and Germany are in front of the national teams because of the time their players spend together and because they count on the best talent from all over the planet. When the World Cup stops and domestic football returns, the level of play goes up.

  In South America, things are different. the Brazilian Championship, almost certainly the strongest in the continent, resumed last Wednesday after a break to accommodate events in South Africa.

  In Rio, there was a local derby between Flamengo and Botafogo, with a few vuvuzelas around to remind everyone that the Maracana will host the next World Cup final in 2014.

  But the expression flying around the press box inside the stadium was "reality shock". After the drama of the previous few weeks, this game, played out in front of just 20,073 spectators, was a sorry comedown.

  There are extenuating circumstances. Flamengo fans have seen the image of their club dragged through the mud thanks to the involvement of Bruno, their captain and goalkeeper, in a murder investigation. Heavy rain also kept thousands of supporters at home - in addition to making the pitch difficult to play on.

  Even allowing for such considerations, the game lacked the sense of occasion that you expect from such an event, while the number of misplaced passes made for a poor spectacle. The most lucid passer of the ball was Dejan Petkovic, a Serbian not far short of his 38th birthday. He helped set up the only goal of the match.

  Veteran Dejan Petkovic has established himself as a star in Brazilian football - photo: Getty

  The match, which took place just three days after the World Cup came to a close, was not a fair reflection of the domestic Brazilian game. Sunday's match between Santos and Fluminense, for example, was much better.

  Santos piled on the pressure, Fluminense held on and scored with a late breakaway. It was enthralling stuff, which also served as a reminder of one of the best reasons to follow South American club football - the chance to have an early look at a future star.

  In mid-table after nine rounds of the championship, Santos might be disappointing their admirers but they are a very attractive side to watch. Unlike many Brazilian teams, their attacking play is not dependent on forward bursts from the full-backs. They are more fluid than that, with the central midfielders able to make an attacking contribution.

  The headlines, though, go to two young players of extraordinary promise - playmaker Paulo Henrique Ganso, 20, and support striker Neymar, 18. This year, the pair have overshadowed Robinho, back on loan from Manchester City, and were tipped by many to make Dunga's World Cup squad.

  And this is where the danger lies.

  The example of Petkovic illustrates the pitfall. At his advanced age, he is one of the top playmakers in Brazilian football. Even in his prime, he was unable to make such a mark in Europe. It has become relatively easy to build up a reputation in domestic South American football. The pace of the game is slower, there is more time and space available and, especially in Brazil, referees give fouls for the slightest contact.

  Ganso and Neymar are being told that they are footballing phenomena. Yet when they make the move to Europe, they are likely to experience their own kind of "reality shock".

  That is certainly what happened to Robinho. When he was first making his name with Santos, he kept being told he was a genius. One pundit, the former World Cup striker Casagrande, used to argue that he was going to be better than Diego Maradona. It was just a matter of time before he received the Fifa World Player of the Year award.

  But in European club football, the game is faster, the standard is higher and going to ground does not automatically gain a free kick. Making his mark at the top level has proved much harder than Robinho was lead to believe.

  And these years later, he still seems unable to reconcile himself to this. For all his talent, his head drops when confronted with difficulty. This is not entirely his fault. The blame should be shared with those who failed to prepare him for the challenge.

  There is a danger that the same thing might happen to Ganso and Neymar. Both seemed to think that, based on form in a semi-serious Sao Paulo State Championship, they had earned the right to go to the World Cup.

  But just a few months before the showpiece in South Africa, Neymar flopped at the Under-17 World Cup and Ganso fell short of expectations at Under-20 level.

  A little humility would have been welcome but it is unlikely to come easily from talented youngsters who are forever being told how great they are. And there are plenty of people with an interest in piling on the praise - the clubs need idols, the media needs stars, agents need hot properties.

  One of the big successes of last season was Inter Milan's Argentine striker Diego Milito. In retrospect, it seems clear that he has benefited from being a late developer. When he was 20, no-one was spoiling him by telling him he was the finished article. Deco, the Brazilian who plays for Portugal, is another example.

  If a youngster is hyped too soon, there is always the risk he will suffer a reality shock when he steps up his career.
  
  Comments on the piece in the space below. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

  From last week's postbag:
  
  Q) I'm interested in how you think Mauro Boselli will do in the Premier League for my team Wigan Athletic next season. In the clips I've seen of him on youtube.com, he looks pretty good but many a player has looked good from their goal clips and turned out to be poor.
  John Lowe
  
  A) I'll be happy to be proved wrong but I'll be surprised if he's a success. He's an out-and-out goalscorer - he doesn't offer anything outside the penalty area. I suppose you might compare him to Miroslav Klose in a way - not particularly big, strong or skilful but he has that penalty area nose.

  With Estudiantes, Boselli was playing in front of the best midfield in South America. So there were lots of chances, he put a few away and his confidence soared. He is now in a much stronger league but not one of the strongest teams. He might struggle - and if he's not scoring, he doesn't do much else.
  
  Q) It has been reported that the Colombian Federation is open to a World Cup bid in 2026 that would also include Ecuador and Peru. I believe, if Fifa really did have the best interest of sharing the experience of the World Cup to everyone, it would make more sense to seriously consider this treble bid. After all, wouldn't it mean more to more South Americans if the World Cup were taking place in three different countries?
  Diego Pestana
  
  I think this is a non-starter - and not just because of Conmebol (the South American Football Confederation) is offering its support for an Argentina/Uruguay centenary World Cup in 2030.

  Think of the complication in qualification. As hosts, three South Americans would qualify automatically. The other seven nations would want to go but how many spaces would they get? This proposal has come from Peru but doesn't make sense from a Colombian point of view. Colombia does not need Ecuador and Peru - it can do it alone.

• It's not the Cup, it's the qualifying

  Posted: July 12, 2010, 12:40 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  A European team has finally won the World Cup outside its home continent.
  
  More than that, for the first time since 1954, Europe is now ahead of South America in the number of World Cup wins - with a strong advantage. Europe has staged the tournament 10 times and South America just four - but in 2014 the World Cup will return to the continent of its birth for the first time in 36 years.
  
  In Brazil the South Americans will be favourites to level up the all time score at 10 wins each - especially after the form they displayed in South Africa.
  

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  Brazil and Argentina bowed out with the feeling that, respectively with better emotional and tactical balance they could have gone further. Chile impressed while Paraguay made history by reaching the last eight, and gave Spain a good game without resorting to the same tactics as the Dutch but most of all there was Uruguay. The team that finished fifth in South America's qualifiers came fourth in the World Cup - an excellent illustration of the continent's strength in depth.
  
  The likes of Uruguay, Paraguay and Chile will hope to do even better in 2014 but first they must book their place - and that will be no foregone conclusion.
  
  There can be no doubt that the lesser nations in South America have made dramatic strides since the introduction of the marathon World Cup qualification format in 1996. Regular competitive games and guaranteed income allows them to appoint good coaches and build a side - and also invest in their youth development work.
  
  Starting with Argentina in the mid-90s, the South American nations have realised that the forces of globalisation take their players to Europe at an ever earlier age. The youth sides are where they secure them for the long-term future of the national team - where talented players are identified and given a crash course in their country's footballing identity.
  
  The under-20 side, in particular, is used as a conveyor belt to the senior team - those who show promise at the level are often fast-tracked into the full squad.
  
  All this, then, feeds into the World Cup qualifiers, which have now become the most competitive on the planet. Carlos Alberto Parreira, who won the World Cup with Brazil in 1994, and Luiz Felipe Scolari, who did likewise eight years later, are of the same opinion - winning the tournament was relatively straightforward. The hard part was qualifying.
  
  The plus point is that those South American sides who make it to the World Cup are well prepared for top-level competition. The downside is the risk of missing out.
  
  The next set of qualifiers promise to be the most competitive ever.

  
  Rio will host matches from the 2013 Confederatons Cup, the 2014 World Cup, the 2015 Copa America and the 2016 Olympic Games
  
  In South Africa, Argentina coach Diego Maradona made the point that Ecuador may well have given a good account of themselves had they qualified. The Ecuadorians face a rebuilding job - the generation that took them to the 2002 and 2006 tournaments needs to be replaced.
  
  Perhaps Colombia will come through strongly. Football mad, with the biggest population in the continent outside of Brazil, Colombia narrowly missed out on the play-off place in the last three campaigns, and should be doing better. They have reappointed one of the continent's most respected coaches, Hernan Dario Gomez , who was Colombia's assistant coach in 1994, in charge in 1998 and the man behind Ecuador's debut in 2002, Gomez is steeped in experience and with him at the helm it is hard to see Colombia missing out on a fourth consecutive World Cup.
  
  There have been signs of a slight resurgence in Peruvian football, and Peru, too, have appointed a coach of quality and experience, the Uruguayan Sergio Markarian.
  
  Venezuela will also go into the campaign with real hopes of success. Last year they qualified for the World Youth Cup for the first time, and in the closing stages of the 2010 qualifiers many of these youngsters were thrown into senior action, with promising results.
  
  It is clear then that there will be no cheap places available for the South Americans in 2014. Any team which manages to fight its way through the qualification campaign can have its sights set on the knock-out stage in four years' time.
  
  But where does this leave Brazil? The hosts qualify automatically but Brazil have to rebuild their side and come up with a team capable of coping with the intense pressure that a nation of nearly 200m will put them under - and they will have to do it with very few competitive games. At senior level they have just next year's Copa America and the 2013 Confederations Cup.

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  For this reason the new coach - almost certain to be named in the next two weeks - will probably take charge of the under-20s and, providing Brazil qualify, of the under-23 team in the London Olympics. He will take over at a fascinating moment, for the question of style is hanging heavily in the air. Spain have shown that old-style passing football can be successful. Brazil's claim to be the great entertainers is left looking hollow. Can the international reputation of the Brazil national team survive another pragmatist at the helm? Having to overhaul the side with few competitive games, change the style and prepare for the kind of pressure that no team has ever had to experience - Brazil's new coach really will be stepping in to the hotseat.

  
  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

  From last week's postbag:
  
  Q) Don't you find the British media's witch-hunt of Uruguay's Luis Suarez quite embarrassing? Is it because they relate it to the hands of God and Henry? Or is it just some self-proclaimed right to be morally superior, even though they are not? I honestly can't see how Ghana can have any complaints, as a penalty was awarded. Uruguay had a decent claim for a penalty earlier in extra-time, while the free-kick before the handball was an absolute joke. Several Ghana players also seemed to be offside before in the situation leading up to the penalty.
  Fredrik Ohrn
  
  A) Agreed. This kind of hysterical and often hypocritical moralising doesn't show my countrymen in their best light. As you say, the free-kick which started the whole thing was an absurd decision, and I made it two reasonable Uruguay penalty claims. The handball thing - Jack Charlton did it more blatantly in the 1966 semi-final against Portugal, and you weren't even sent off for it in those days! Much of this seemed to be fuelled by prejudice. How much flack are the Dutch getting for kicking anything that moved in the World Cup final? Imagine if that was Uruguay? Argentina were vilified for less in 1990.
  
  Q) This question seems especially pertinent given the shambolic defending that dumped that dumped Argentina out of the World Cup. Which players are capable of coming in and doing a great service to that Argentine backline apart from Ezequiel Garay who I think has a BIG future. There seems to be a dearth of talent in especially the full-back areas.
  And between the sticks, it's a sad state of affairs when Romero is your best goalkeeper. Whatever happened to Ustari and why does Argentina not produce keepers like Brazil do?
  Finally is there any way they can improve defensively in a year to win the Copa America on home soil next summer?
  Omar Gregory
  
  A) They could pick a midfield for a start! Even with better defenders I think Argentina would have been overrun by Germany because the balance of the side was not right. In terms of names, I like Garay as well, and I'll be interested to see if Juan Forlin comes through this season with Espanyol. Goalkeeper has become a chronic problem. Argentine keepers these days look big on personality, but all over the place on technique. I think that Argentina should have the humility to recognise that it has fallen behind in this area and should be investigating the methods Brazil is using.

• Emotion no substitute for clear thinking

  Posted: July 4, 2010, 2:00 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  Diego Maradona compared Argentina's 4-0 World Cup defeat by Germany to being on the wrong end of a punch thrown by Muhammad Ali. Perhaps he needed Ali's legendary trainer Angelo Dundee alongside him on the bench.

  In one of the great sports books. David Remnick's 'King of the World,' Dundee recalled his involvement in the first fight with Sonny Liston, when Cassius Clay (as Ali was still called at the time) had been blinded by a substance allegedly put on Liston's gloves. He was threatening to abandon the fight, but Dundee managed to calm him down.

  "Isn't experience wonderful?" reflected Dundee.

  "I've only been doing this for 48 years. You can't get to where you're hysterical and lose your cool. Then you're no good to the fighter."

  The pressure of the World Cup quarter-finals exposed the inexperience - and the lack of emotional control - of Maradona and Brazil coach Dunga.

  Maradona is consoled by his daughter following Argentina's defeat by Germany - photo: Getty

  In Maradona's case, he allowed himself to get carried away by euphoria. As he will surely be reflecting on the plane home, back in March his side won away to Germany with a cautious 4-4-2 formation. In South Africa he went with something more expansive and refused to change back, even when the warning lights were flashing.

  After 20 minutes of the second round match against Mexico it was obvious the team was not right. The Mexicans could have been two goals up and Maradona was in earnest conversation with his assistants. There was, as German coach Joachim Loew said after the quarter-final, no balance between attack and defence.

  Against Mexico two mistakes got Argentina out of jail - one by the linesman, allowing Carlos Tevez's offside goal to stand, the other from Mexico's Ricardo Osorio, who gifted Gonzalo Higuain the second - but they were not going to get away with it twice.

  This is not hindsight - it was clear as day before the game against Germany began. With the same starting line-up that played against Mexico, they were inviting a rout.

  The big change that Maradona had made since March was to include Tevez in place of Juan Sebastian Veron, a switch made largely on emotional grounds.

  Tevez is key to the soul of Argentine football, even more so than Lionel Messi. His upbringing in the poor outskirts of Buenos Aires, his time with Boca Juniors, his never say die spirit - it is reminiscent of Maradona himself. The two of them have a bond.

  But despite the glorious finish Tevez came up with for his second goal against Mexico, his inclusion in the team was a huge mistake.

  Messi's best football in the tournament came while Veron was on the pitch. They formed a partnership which looked like being the central axis of the team. No Veron meant that Messi had to drop deeper in search of the ball, but Messi setting up play for Tevez made little sense, especially in the light of the latter's poor international scoring record.

  No Veron also meant no raking diagonal passes to bring Angel Di Maria into the game and left Javier Mascherano desperately overworked with the defensive midfield duties.

  All this was apparent before the Germany game. But to act on it, Maradona had to first recognise it - and with Argentina's campaign riding on a wave of optimism, there was no place for a dose of realism.

  If Maradona was undone by euphoria, it was anger that did for Dunga, who has always been a man on a mission to shove it down the throats of his critics. As a player, this can be useful. As a coach in charge of 23 players, it can be dangerous.

  Dunga's demeanour transmitted itself to his team during the quarter-final against the Netherlands - photo: Getty

  Being in charge of Brazil is not a job for the faint-hearted. There will be lots of criticism, some of it fair and thoughtful but much of it irritatingly stupid. Dealing with it may have sent Dunga over the edge.

  There were signs in the tournament that he was out of his depth, that anger was controlling him instead of him channelling the anger. In the press conference after the Ivory Coast game he looked like a man in need of therapy, muttering and swearing under his breath at one of the least offensive members of the Brazilian press corps.

  Whatever controversies may exist about his philosophy of play and his selection policy, there was much to admire in the work he carried out in his first coaching job - as his players showed in a magisterial first half performance against the Dutch.

  But as well as picking the players and determining the tactics, one of the key functions of the coach is to set the emotional tone of the team - and here the occasion proved too big for Dunga.

  On the touchline he was a nervous wreck, wailing his disapproval of every decision that went against his side, pummelling the dug out and looking a picture of despair. An uptight coach inevitably produces an uptight team.

  After the Dutch equalised, Brazil suffered a collective emotional collapse, and when this happens there is no one to blame but the coach. An obsession with arguing with refereeing decisions can spread from the touchline to the pitch.

  Robinho spent much of the second half protesting and with two minutes to go Gilberto Silva was pleading with the referee to give a Dutch player a yellow card - a total irrelevance at that stage in the game.

  Brazil were praised as a team of '11 Dungas,' all with the warrior spirit of the man who selected the side, but that backfired badly in the quarter-final - under pressure they became 11 nervous wrecks, a reflection of their inexperienced coach.

  Dealing with the rollercoaster of emotions is one of the hardest things about a World Cup. It proved too much for Dunga and Diego Maradona.

  The four coaches who are left in the competition may not have quite the experience of Angelo Dundee. But they have been around the block, taken the blows, and can now have their sights set on becoming champions of the world.
  
  Longer than usual this week, so no space for questions. Normal service resumes next week - questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com and I'll pick out a couple for the next column.

• When the Dutch led the way

  Posted: July 1, 2010, 12:17 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  Brazil versus the Netherlands has given us some wonderful World Cup memories. The 1998 semi-final was one of Ronaldo's best performances in the competition. The Dutch should probably have won a pulsating game, losing their nerve in the penalty shoot-out, but they softened up the Brazilians for France in the final.

  The 1994 quarter-final had Bebeto's immortal 'rock the cradle' celebration, a shock Holland comeback and finally Branco's spectacular long-range free-kick.

  But the really important contest - the one whose repercussions continue to ripple through the game - was the meeting in West Germany in 1974. In what was effectively a semi-final, the Netherlands won 2-0 while a frustrated Brazil, the reigning world champions, resorted to a full repertoire of rugby tackles and body checks.

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  Spearheaded by the legendary Johann Cruyff, that Dutch team have gone down in history as one of the greatest sides not to win the World Cup. Their style of play caught everyone's imagination.

  Most often remarked on is how the players constantly changed positions. The game with Brazil supplies a classic example, right-back Wim Suurbier having a shot saved after cutting in from the left wing.

  More fundamental than this, though, was the general idea of having as many players involved in the game as possible at any given time, with or without the ball.

  Jan Jongloed had to be a sweeper keeper because the back line pushed so high up the field. Not because they were trying to play offside but because they were ferociously pressing to win the ball back.

  In the space of a few weeks, the Netherlands rendered South American football obsolete. They toyed with Uruguay on their way to a 2-0 win, brushed Argentina aside 4-0 and then did for the Brazilians.

  The South American playmakers were used to having time on the ball. Watch Brazil's Gerson in 1970. He picks up possession, wanders around chatting to his team-mates, pointing and gesticulating. He almost has time to get out the newspaper and check the headlines before deciding which pass to give. This was no longer possible.

  In 1974, no sooner had the playmaker received the ball than half of the Netherlands was charging towards him, anxious to win it back and set an attack in motion. They pressed collectively to win possession and then offered the man on the ball options for a pass.

  It was the definitive moment when football stopped being a collection of man-against-man duels and became a constant contest of 11 against 11.

  How could this new challenge be met?

  A nation's footballing culture can be a complex thing, with different currents pulling in different directions. In the most general terms, however, Brazil and Argentina came up with very different responses to the Netherlands of 1974.

  If there is any truth in Jonathan Stevenson's argument last week that Argentina have become the new Brazil, then this is the moment when the process begins.

  After the 1974 World Cup, Cesar Luis Menotti took over as coach of Argentina. Something of a footballing philosopher, he had a passionate belief in the tradition of his country's game. Old style Argentine passing football could still compete with the big, strong Europeans, he argued, but the rhythm would have to be increased.

  Hence the importance of the ever busy, fetch-and-carry Osvaldo Ardiles to the 1978 midfield. The Argentina side remains full of short players with a low centre of gravity, the classic build of the South American footballer.

  Brazil's coaches were less philosophers than technocrats. They were fascinated with the Dutch team and made a brief attempt to imitate it under Claudio Coutinho in 1978. After that had failed and the more traditional approach of 1982 had not worked either, a consensus formed on the need for change.

  It was argued that the physical evolution of the game and the fact players were covering more ground made more physical contact inevitable. So the Brazilians decided that if they could match the Europeans in physical terms, their extra skill would tip the balance.

  This has been achieved with interest and Brazil are now a huge side. When they met Germany in the 2002 World Cup final, they did so at no physical disadvantage.

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  In this new, more athletic football, the statistics seemed to indicate that a move's chances of ending in a goal were reduced if it contained more than seven passes. So rather than old style elaborate moves through the middle - which Argentina love to indulge in, especially if Juan Sebastian Veron is on the field - Brazil put more emphasis on quick breaks down the flanks.

  So Gilberto Silva is a symbol of the modern Brazil - a big, strong central midfielder of limited passing ability whose main function is to close down the middle of the field and plug the defensive gaps. But so is Maicon - a big, strong right-back with the pace, power and skill to rip through any defence.

  Of course, the attacking full-back was part of the culture of Brazilian football before 1974, as was the defensive midfielder. But the forward bursts of the full-back have become more important precisely because the central midfielder makes less of an attacking contribution. And the defensive skills of the central midfielder are more important precisely because he has to cover for the full-back.

  And this switch in balance, which profoundly alters the style of play, can be dated back to the day that Brazil lost 2-0 to Holland back in 1974.

• Bielsa plots Brazil downfall

  Posted: June 27, 2010, 5:09 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  Chile coach Marcelo Bielsa came to the World Cup with a point to prove. Eight years ago, in charge of his native Argentina, his side turned up in the Far East as favourites but crashed out in the first round and despite their impressive start in South Africa, there was a moment when it seemed that Chile, too, would not make the knockout stages.
  
  When they went two goals down to Spain and had a man sent off, hopes of a place in the last 16 appeared to be slipping away but they pulled a goal back, and with Switzerland held by Honduras, Chile were safe.
  
  You might have expected Bielsa to be ecstatic. But then you would have misjudged the man. "To celebrate qualification," he mused, "when it is superimposed with a defeat generates ambivalence." It was classic Bielsa . The language, the approach - it could only come from one of the most curious and refreshing coaches in the world game.

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  I first had contact with Bielsa in the 1999 Copa America when, in the early stages of his spell with Argentina, his side had just been beaten 3-0 by Colombia. Watching his centre-forward Martin Palermo miss three penalties had proved too much for him. Bielsa had been sent off for yelling at the referee.
  
  In the press conference Bielsa, in what I came to appreciate was his own eccentric style, sat staring transfixed at a spot in space. What had he thought of the refereeing? "I don't have the habit of commenting on referees," he said, "but on the subject of this one I would like to say..."
  
  I waited for the standard diatribe of how his team had been robbed. But something very different came out. "I would like to say that in terms of my expulsion the referee was correct because I protested in an ill-mannered form." My jaw hit the floor. I was captivated.
  
  During matches Bielsa's demeanour on the touchline betrays the fact that he is no ordinary coach. He squats to watch the action from ground level. Then he goes for a little walk in his technical area, muttering away to himself, head down with the air of a man who has dropped his keys. In fact he is deep in thought - and what he is usually thinking about is how to attack the opposition.
  
  "In today's football caution is a virtue," he said after the Spain match, "and daring is not well thought of." But Bielsa is nothing if not daring. Iin an attacking line - up, he sees no point in the conventional full-back. He wants his width higher up the field. If the opponent plays with two strikers he will have three at the back, two to mark and one to cover. A defensive midfielder will provide protect and for the rest, they have the job of squeezing the opposition back in their half of the field.
  
  This is the thinking behind his trademark 3-3-1-3 formation. At times he will go with a 4-2-1-3, but the principle stays the same. There is always a front three - two wingers and a central striker. Behind them is an attacking midfielder. And the two wide midfielders are expected to keep pushing forward - both at the same time, unlike the normal full back. They link up with the winger to create two against one situations against the opposing full-back.
  
  It is high-tempo football. The team attack at pace, with quick exchanges of passes, lots of width, plenty of options for the man on the ball and presence in the penalty area and when a move breaks down the objective is to put the opponents under pressure and win the ball back in their half.
  
  This recipe has worked even better with Chile than it did with Argentina. Bielsa had moments of success with the land of his birth - under him Argentina cruised impressively through qualification for the 2002 World Cup, were desperately unlucky not to win the 2004 Copa America and claimed gold at that year's Olympics.

  Sanchez has admitted he wants a move away from Udinese this summer Photograph: Getty

  But he was fighting an uphill battle. Under Bielsa there was no place in the team for an old style Argentine foot-on-the-ball playmaker like Juan Roman Riquelme. Once when Bielsa went to Boca Juniors' stadium the entire crowd were booing him and calling for Riquelme. Characteristically, Bielsa loved it. The crowd's response, he said, was "the essence of football."
  
  With Chile, though, Bielsa did not have to push against an established tradition of play. Chilean football has no fixed identity. As the country's great defender Elias Figueroa once told me: " We've tried to imitate Argentina, we've tried to imitate Brazil, we've tried to imitate Germany and Spain."
  
  It was fertile soil in which Bielsa could plant his own tradition. And he took over at an excellent moment, inheriting a hungry young group of players who had just come third in the 2007 World Youth Cup.
  
  The pick of the bunch is right winger Alexis Sanchez. Up against the weaker flank of the Brazil defence, he offers the best hope of Chile pulling off a surprise .
  
  In qualification Chile's bold approach and lack of height and strength played right into the hands of the big, strong counter-attacking machine that is Dunga's Brazil. Chile went down 3-0 at home and 4-2 away but Sanchez has come on since then, and Chile may have grown in confidence, perhaps surprising themselves with the way they bettered Spain for the first half hour.
  
  Brazil, though, represent a different kind of challenge - one Chile will have to meet without Waldo Ponce, their best defender in the air, and Gary Medel, their best defender on the ground.
  
  "While you're sleeping," Marcelo Bielsa once told one of his players, "I'm thinking of ways for the team to win." He might be entitled to some sleepless nights as he ponders how to beat Brazil.
  
  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.
  
  From last week's postbag :
  
  Q) Watching Chile in the World Cup I have enjoyed their attacking football, but I am a bit concerned about where the goals are coming from. They seem to be looking to walk the ball into the net. Is this the way they played in qualifying and did they have the same difficulty in scoring goals then?
  Peter Stone
  
  A) This was not a problem in qualifying because of centre forward Humberto Suazo, who finished the campaign as the continent's top scorer. He was injured in the build up and has hardly featured so far - just the first half against Switzerland, when it was clear he was well short of 100%. A fully fit Suazo would give them more of a chance against Brazil - Sanchez to make the bullets and Suazo to fire them.
  

  Q) Can you tell me about Uruguay's outstanding defender Diego Godin.
  He was particularly outstanding in the opening game against France helping his captain Diego Lugano through an uncertain period in the match , he certainly looks the type to easily play for a top European club.
  George Murray
  
  A) I picked him out as one to watch in World Soccer magazine after the 2005 South American Under-20 Championships. It took me a couple of games to realise how good he was - he was so unflustered, doing the right things neatly and inconspicuously. And he's certainly living up to that potential. He's had problems with illness and injury in this World Cup, but while he's been on the field I haven't seen too many better centre backs. Came through with Nacional, one of the Montevideo giants, has been in Spain with Villareal for a few years now and at 24 has plenty of time to go higher still.

• South American stars shine in South Africa

  Posted: June 21, 2010, 5:22 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  The time for definitive conclusions on the World Cup is 12 July. Until then, as we have already seen, Monday's marvel can easily be transformed into Friday's flop. On what has been served up so far, though, it is safe enough to argue that Brazil look best equipped to win the competition.

  The 2010 model might not be the easiest Brazil side to love but it is one of the hardest to beat. Well balanced, physically and mentally strong, sure of what it is doing and blessed with deadlock-breaking moments of individual magic, Dunga's team will take some stopping.

  This is hardly a surprise. In South Africa, Brazil are reproducing the form that lead them, along with Spain, to be considered pre-tournament favourites.

  What might be more of a shock is that Brazil are leading such a strong contingent from their own continent. With an accumulated seven wins and two draws, this has been South America's World Cup so far.
  

  True, Chile could have a problem. Spain losing to Switzerland was a bad result for La Furia, but it was even worse for the Chileans, who now may end up needing a draw against the Spaniards to survive.

  Paraguay and Uruguay are not there yet, but they are close.

  And only a spectacular collapse will prevent Argentina from reaching the last 16.

  
  Argentina players celebrate after beating South Korea 4-1 in their first round match

  Of course, they all might get knocked out before the quarter-finals. It is nothing more than a promising start. But a pattern has emerged. Without suffering a single defeat, the South Americans have seen off three African sides, two from Asia and one each from Europe and Central America.

  And more than the results, what has caught the eye is the conviction of the performances and the ambition of the players.

  It is true that every World Cup outside Europe has always been won by a South American side. But this time the continent appears to have more strength in depth - certainly when compared with 2002 in Japan and South Korea, when Argentina, Uruguay and Ecuador fell in the group stages and Paraguay just sneaked into the second round.

  So what has changed? Part of the credit can be apportioned to the marathon format of World Cup qualifiers in South America, where all the countries play each other home and away. This started in 1996 and has clearly had an effect.

  Before, there could be huge gaps - sometimes of years - between competitive matches. But since 1996, the South Americans have enjoyed the kind of structure that the European national teams take for granted, with regular qualifying matches. Remember that there are no qualifiers for the Copa America. That means South American countries can invest in a project, employ a coach for the long term and build a team.

  This only brings parity with Europe, of course. What is tipping the balance?

  In a tournament of cautious, compact teams, there is nothing that destabilises a defence like a dribbler, an individual who in the blink of an eye can take two or three opponents out of the game. This is a South American speciality.

  Players like Argentina's Lionel Messi, Alexis Sanchez of Chile or Uruguay's Luis Suarez are part of the continent's footballing essence, with a low centre of gravity and full of tricks they can pull off at pace.

  Chile's Alexis Sanchez practices his skills in training

  Many in the European game lament the decline of informal street, park and wasteland football, which they blame for the absence of this type of player. Indeed, the European national teams seem full of stale academy products, technically competent but without the spark that cannot be taught, the spontaneous generation of ideas that comes from imagination.

  Messi, Sanchez, Suarez - they all have this. They grew up with informal football. Their time with European clubs has given them the rest. Argentina's 1986 centre forward Jorge Valdano once described Messi as a synthesis of street football in his homeland and the Barcelona academy - an excellent observation.

  All five South American sides at the World Cup can also count on considerable firepower. All five want to bring their front players into the game.

  Uruguay did little against France, likewise Paraguay against Italy. But on neither occasion was there an intention to be negative. They found the rhythm, pressing and athleticism of their opponents hard to combat and were unable to retain enough possession to be dangerous.

  In general, though, the South Americans have gone out to impose themselves on a game. Some of the European teams seem obsessed with waiting in their own half and only springing out in numbers when their opponent makes a mistake.

  Paraguay manager Gerardo Martino marshalls his side in their Group F victory over Slovakia

  I especially enjoyed the words of Gerardo Martino, Paraguay's impressive coach, after his side had beaten Slovakia. Many would have basked in the glory of the moment. Martino, though, took the opportunity to criticize his team's second-half performance. "We forgot our good moment in the first half and resorted to pumping long balls forward," he said. "That's not what we want to do, unless the strength of our opponent obliges us to."

  If a country such as Paraguay - poor and with a population little greater than six million - can set such a standard for itself, then why cannot more of the European teams do the same?
  
  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.
  From last week's postbag;
  
  You got it right. Truly you were spot on. The Germans couldn't deal with the euphoria, the expectation was high. The Argentine team is looking better. Angel di Maria was OK against the Koreans after Nigeria's Sani Kaita (now vilified at home) kept him quiet. Over here in Nigeria, it's blame game and calculations. People are turning to mathematicians to see how we can qualify. Tell Diego to help us. We are praying.
  Azubike Finecountry
  
  You give me too much credit! I honestly cannot say that I predicted Germany would lose to Serbia, only that making a great start to the World Cup can cause problems and it would be interesting to see how the Germans, as a young side, would deal with them. Klose, Podolski and Kaita, who you mentioned, are good examples of how the World Cup can quickly turn heroes into villains.

  Argentina will make plenty of changes for the match against Greece, but it is likely that Messi will play and the reserves will want to show something. But Argentina cannot take their foot completely off the peddle because a place in the last 16 is not 100% guaranteed.

  If Nigeria do not beat South Korea, then from a Nigerian point of view it hardly matters what Argentina do.
  

• World Cup winners pace their tournaments

  Posted: June 14, 2010, 9:55 am by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  A World Cup is like time speeded up, a kaleidoscope of emotions crammed into a month.
  But the tournament is rarely won by the team that gets out of the blocks fastest.

  For those sides that start well, dealing with euphoria can often present problems - as the Germans might find after their superb 4-0 win over Australia.

  Pacing tournaments is normally a traditional German strength, but the 2010 team are young and it will be interesting to see how they cope with the expectations they have now aroused.

  And Argentina may find themselves in a similar situation.

  Without an excellent performance from Enyeama in the Nigeria goal Diego Maradona's men would have won by more than 1-0.

  And bearing in mind their problems in qualifying, Argentina can feel as ecstatic as the Germans at getting their campaign off to a winning start. And therein could lie the danger.

  So far, Maradona has had a good year - and the tide started to turn when his side won 1-0 away to Germany at the start of March.
  

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  Mesut Ozil and Thomas Muller, tormentors of Australia's flat back line, made little impression in a match where the Germans could only manage one shot on target.

  Maradona was delighted. Shoring up the defence had been his priority. In a bid for solidity, he had gone with a back four essentially made up of four centre backs (Nicolas Otamendi, Martin De Michelis, Walter Samuel and Gabriel Heinze) and a team set up for the counter-attack.

  After the match he announced that this would be his team for the World Cup.

  In the ensuing months, doubts crept in. Such a line-up had worked well away to the Germans, but might not prove appropriate against defensive opponents.

  Throw in the fact that so many Argentine strikers were running into form, factor in the positive vibes of good team spirit, and Maradona's line-up has gone through important changes.

  First, in the farewell friendly against Canada, which they won 5-0, Jonas Gutierrez dropped from midfield to roving right back, making space for Maxi Rodriguez. With Lionel Messi not risked, Carlos Tevez came in.

  The stocky Manchester City striker is desperate to make an impression, and did so well in training that Maradona could not bring himself to leave him out.

  So against Nigeria the variation on the Germany game was Tevez rather than Rodriguez in for Otamendi.

  And with just one change, a side whose balance was over-cautious, may have swung too far in the other direction.

  The introduction of Tevez allowed Messi to float free - and surely now we can forget the talk, substantiated by nothing more than dislike for the man, that Maradona is jealous of Messi and out to sabotage his campaign. Messi could have scored a hat-trick on Saturday.

  There may be grounds for concern, though, that Argentina needed so many chances to score one goal.

  It also seems to be the case that pushing the team forward reduces the space available to spring Angel Di Maria down the left.

  And the debate over Tevez will continue. An international record of nine goals in 53 games suggests that at the highest level, for all his hard work, he does not carry enough of a threat - a theory that Saturday's game did nothing to disprove.

  All this is significant because the addition of the extra striker left the team alarmingly open, especially after midfielder Juan Sebastian Veron went off for the last 15 minutes.

  Veron and Messi are room-mates, and are forging an interesting partnership on the field.

  As their tactical consultations during the game revealed, Veron is Maradona's coach on the field.

  Responsibility has been heaped upon the shaven head of a player who is now 35 - and, as I have commented here before, Argentina's squad is short on central midfielders.

  Newcastle's Gutierrez is by no means a natural right back, and the rest of the back line are not the quickest.

  And Maradona must surely fear captain Javier Mascherano will be forced into giving away free kicks to protect the defenders, with the risk of picking up cards and sitting out a vital match through suspension.

  His deputy Mario Bolatti is elegant on the ball but has nothing like the same defensive tenacity.

  Maradona might be well advised to revert to a more cautious line-up at some point in the tournament.

  But in the post-victory euphoria the temptation to make defensive changes is easy to resist. Perhaps on Thursday the speed of the South Koreans will make him think again.
  
  Now to a quick word on Brazil's fascinating opener against North Korea on Tuesday. Dunga's men will outgun their opponents technically and physically, and should win comfortably.

  But - and this is the intriguing element - they have tended to struggle against defensive teams who do not play into the hands of their counter-attack.

  Often in this situation they have broken the deadlock from a set piece. A favourite is the corner which swings out before it reaches the near post - one of their giants will attack the space and flick the ball on, either at goal or towards the far post for a team-mate.

  When they played Ireland in a friendly a few months ago it was clear that rival coach Giovanni Trapattoni had done his homework.

  At Brazil's corners, Ireland placed two men blocking the space, preventing the Brazilians from getting a run.

  It worked well, and it will be interesting to see if North Korea, and Brazil's other opponents, have picked up on it.
  
  Normal service resumes next week with questions - please send them to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next time.

• Lights, Camera, Action

  Posted: June 11, 2010, 4:12 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  Back in December, when England and the United States were drawn in the same World Cup group, an instant thought went round my head: This might just revive my flagging career as a Hollywood movie star.

  Six decades before Saturday's clash in Rustenburg, the two nations met in Brazil in what turned out to be the biggest World Cup upset of them all. The shock 1-0 victory for the US was immortalised in film a few years back, with yours truly playing the part of the BBC radio commentator in order to help tell the story. The movie, released in 2005, was initially called The Game Of Their Lives, although it was later retitled The Miracle Match for DVD.

  Getting roped in to do it is one of the more bizarre episodes of what I ludicrously call my career but also one of the most memorable. It happened in August 2003. Just back in Rio after a brief trip to London, my mobile phone was full of urgent requests to turn up to the stadium of Fluminense, not far from my house, where filming was taking place.

  Still a bit jet-lagged, I wandered over and was offered the part. I wasn't sure. My previous acting experience was as Prince Charming in a primary school production of Cinderella. I said I would think it over. But later that night, while I was at a game, the phone rang and I was told that I had been hired, whether I liked it or not.

  Hollywood remains just out of reach for Tim. Photo: BBC

  The only thing I could remember about acting was Robert Mitchum's advice: Point your suit at the camera.

  I was issued with a dapper 1950-style number, so that was a good start. Even better was the news that there were no lines to learn. I could make them up myself.

  The production team did not have any idea of how a 1950s BBC announcer would sound, or what he would say. So I could improvise it all, with the request that I made it as authentic as possible. I tried a John Snagge "it's either Oxford or it's Cambridge" accent and used a couple of heroes for inspiration.

  I tried to put in a bit of Peter Jones, who used to make football on the radio so dramatically terrifying, while there is also a homage to the great Brian Moore, known to my generation through television but a BBC radio man beforehand.

  The production people liked what I did, so the part kept growing. It started as a small, incidental role, but I ended up doing a voiceover all through the match. As the film strains for its dramatic big climax, the last 20 minutes or so have me warbling away in an absurd antiquated accent.

  When the reviews came out, I seemed to have fooled some of the critics as well. I got some great write-ups. There was one in the prestigious Variety magazine that still makes me giggle when I think about it now. My girlfriend started fretting that I would be invited to Hollywood, meet Jennifer Lopez and never come back.

  It did not happen. I blame my supporting cast - lightweights such as Gerard Butler, Wes Bentley and John Rhys-Davies. I am, of course, joking.

  One of the things that I carried away from the experience was respect for those who put films together, in front of the camera and behind.

  For someone whose work is basically solitary - one man with a laptop or a microphone - the sheer collective scale of film-making was quite dazzling. My tiny involvement in the process has made me more charitable in my own judgment of films. It seems very harsh to dismiss so much work with a cheap, throwaway line.

  In general, the critics were not very charitable with this particular movie. I suppose I can understand why. It hardly stands the test of historical accuracy and turns the English into cartoon villains - Stanley Mortensen transformed into Terry-Thomas.

  The US were not expected to provide England with many problems in 1950. Photo: Getty

  But one of the things the film does well is show how the US players gelled into a team. There were rival camps in the squad, of groups from varying backgrounds and different parts of the country. There was even a rank outsider in the shape of Joe Gaetjens from Haiti - later a victim of political violence in his homeland but in 1950 the scorer of the decisive goal that beat an England team that Brazil coach Flavio Costa had identified as tournament favourites.

  Rather than the Hollywood treatment, perhaps the achievement of that US team deserves a top quality documentary. But I am quite happy that Saturday's rematch is giving a second lease of life to the movie version. And I am still very keen on meeting Jennifer Lopez.

• Uruguay have case for local support at World Cup

  Posted: June 7, 2010, 11:48 am by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  Once the World Cup hosts have got the action under way in South Africa on Friday afternoon the drone of the vuvuzelas might die down and the sound of drums should come through as the second game kicks off in Cape Town. They might sound straight out of Africa but the drums will be pounding for Uruguay, telling a tale that stretches across oceans, religions and races.
  
  It is entirely fitting that Uruguay grabbed the last place in the 2010 tournament - and not only because they were the first champions. Africa's World Cup is surely strengthened by the presence of the country that did most to pioneer the selection of people of African descent.
  
  One of them, Isabelino Gradin, was top scorer in the first Copa America in 1916. Three years later he played in the third version of the tournament in Brazil, where his presence had a huge motivational effect on his forbears from Africa, If ever a player deserves a statue for his influence on the development of the global game, it is Gradin.
  
  His presence in the sky blue shirt of Uruguay was not a coincidence. It was the product of enlightened social policies in the country at the start of the 20th century, where Uruguay attempted to replace the feudal hierarchies so common in South America with a prototype welfare state.

  Football came to the continent brought by the British and full of first world prestige. In Brazil the game endured a difficult journey as it spread down from well-heeled students to the sons of slaves. The aristocrats fought hard to keep it to themselves. Policies of social inclusion meant that this process took place quicker in Uruguay. The country had - and still has - a small population but it was soon able to call on talent from all backgrounds, which helps explain why Uruguay were so good so early.
  
  The drums of candombe - the name of the Uruguayan rhythm - pounded out for Gradin and Jose Leandro Andrade, the hero of the triumphs of the 1920s, and for Obdulio Varela, the great captain of the 1950 side - nowadays they pound out for left wing-back Alvaro Pereira. But they don't just pound out for him. They do so for the whole team. Candombe has clear African roots but today's drummers are just as likely to be descendants of Spanish or Italian immigrants. The rhythm is part of Uruguay's cultural heritage.
  
  Many of the South African population seem to have adopted Brazil as their second team. Perhaps they should also follow Uruguay - though not, of course, on 16 June when the Sky Blues are up against the Bafana Bafana and the vuvuzelas will drown out the candombe drums.

  South African fans back Uruguay in a warm-up game. Photo: AP.
  
  Uruguay are the first South American team in action in the World Cup. Chile are the last, which is probably just as well - there is more time for centre forward Humberto Suazo to recover from his hamstring injury.

  I wonder if the problem Suazo has picked up was avoidable. If so, it means that coach Marcelo Bielsa has made a mistake with his physical preparation - as almost certainly happened eight years ago.
  
  Bielsa is a self-confessed attack obsessive. He wants his team to play in the opponent's half, exerting constant pressure. It is high-tempo, high-pressure football, which requires a high level of fitness.
  
  Back in 2002, when Bielsa was in charge of his native Argentina, the players were too drained at the end of the European season to carry out their coach's attacking ambitions.

  In the build-up to the World Cup some of them complained to the Argentine media that they were being worked too hard in training. Their complaints looked justified when, in the warm-up before the opening match defensive linchpin Roberto Ayala pulled up with a tear and played no part in the competition - an important factor in their first round elimination.
  
  This time, Suazo was carrying a knock when he joined up with the Chile squad last month. Giving a chance for fans in the provinces to wave off the side, Chile played a number of warm-up friendlies up and down the country. Suazo stayed out - until the last one against Israel, when he played, scored and then came off at half-time with the hamstring problem that may well force him out of Chile's first two World Cup ties.
  
  Everything is easy in hindsight, but fielding Suazo against the Israelis looks like a mistake - Diego Maradona, for example, resisted the temptation to play Lionel Messi in Argentina's farewell game against Canada, even though the Buenos Aires crowd were calling for him. Messi had taken a knock in training and Maradona decided that the risk of playing him was not worth taking.
  
  Bielsa perhaps wishes he had done the same. Suazo was South America's top scorer in qualifying and Chile have no clear replacement for him in their squad. As former great goalscorer Marcelo Salas put it: "We're going to miss him a lot because in the system Chile play, the centre forward is either Suazo or it's Suazo."
  
  Comments on the piece in the space below. Other questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.
  
  A quick note of apology but I've got so much on at the moment that I don't have time to get back individually to all the questions, so I'm very sorry if you haven't had a reply. However, please keep sending them in - they all get read and considered and they all help in formulating themes for future columns.
  
  From last week's postbag:
  
  Q) Does the economic necessity of exporting the next/new Messi or Kaka lead to young players in South America being hyped too early?
  Stuart Bird
  
  A) No doubt about it. The seller has a clear vested interest in hyping his product - remember when Birmingham were talked into believing that Luciano Figueroa was the new Batistuta? Also, with so many top players abroad it can be dangerously easy to build up huge reputations in the contemporary domestic game. It is easy to get caught up in the hype as well - a crime I have been guilty of along the way. I remember the rise of Robinho. One pundit, a player with World Cup experience, said that he was going to be better than Maradona! For all his talent, I think that is taking it way too far and makes it hard for the player to cope when he moves to Europe and finds out that he is not quite as outstanding as he had been led to believe.
  
  I read an excellent article recently on Diego Milito by Juan Pablo Varsky, a very good Argentine journalist, making the point that this is a story of someone who benefited from being a late developer - as a kid nobody was telling Milito that he was some kind of phenomenon and he has grown into a far better player at 30 than he was at 20.
  
  Q) I am living in Brazil at the moment and loving the build-up to the World Cup. One thing has surprised me though - like so many others I am taking part in a World Cup tipping competition but to my surprise not one of my friends or (girlfriend's) relatives here have picked Brazil to win it. One friend even has them bowing out in the group stage! I was wondering if this kind of pessimism is normal before a big competition or do Brazilians genuinely not fancy their team's chances in South Africa? If so, why?
  Brendan Clark
  
  A) Four years ago they all thought that Brazil had won the competition before it started and only had to turn up to collect the trophy. So they got burned that time. And this time there are plenty in the media who might have a quiet smirk at Dunga's failure - he has made plenty of enemies in the press. Throw in the fact that this side has been constructed on a team-over-stars basis, without the usual hubbub over big names, and it is understandable that this build-up is a bit low key - but nothing that a convincing victory cannot put right.
  

• World Cup Q&A

  Posted: May 31, 2010, 8:28 am by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  This week some of our regular bloggers will be answering your World Cup questions. South American expert Tim Vickery is first to put his neck on the block.

  GENERAL

  Q. Who do the bloggers think will be the real surprise package this time around - both overachieving and underperforming?
  Ben, Thailand

  A. The World Cup qualification campaign in South America is so long, with so many games to follow that, to be honest, my knowledge outside the continent is very sketchy.

  I had a quick look at some of the African sides in January and I am watching a few warm-up matches but, in general, I will get to know the other teams during the competition.

  I cannot give an authoritative reply but I think and hope that the surprises this time round will be for positive reasons. In 2002, I thought that in general the surprises were negative. Almost everyone who had come through the European season was physically on their knees and the quality suffered as a result. There was a levelling down.

  Fifa had tried to protect the World Cup since, with the cut-off point for the club season, trying to give players more time to recover. So now I hope that any surprises will come from the fascinating dynamic of international football - the fact that players from all over the world gain top-level experience in Europe, which widens the spread of nations who can be competitive.

  Q. Which unheard of players will shine in this tournament?
  Faraz, UK

  A. Alexis Sanchez of Chile, Luis Suarez and perhaps Nicolas Lodeiro of Uruguay and I hope Paraguay can get the best out of Cristian Riveros.

  Chile's Alexis Sanchez could make a big impact at the World Cup

  Q. In its current format the World Cup is predominantly made up of teams mainly from Europe and the Americas. Do you think it's time Fifa changes the rules so that more countries from Africa and Asia participate in the finals. After all it is the 'World' Cup?
  Amit, UK

  A. I would have thought that since the expansion to 32, both Africa and Asia are adequately represented and that there is no longer a problem in this area, although I would welcome comments from people who disagree. Certainly, I agree with the statement that it should be a 'World Cup' - ie with all the continents represented.

  There is a case for arguing that in the Stanley Rous years FIFA was not sufficiently active in developing the less traditional continents - if they don't come to the party, lose and learn from their mistakes then how are they going to grow?

  Q. Do you think England have a good chance of winning the World Cup?
  Luke Anderson, England

  A. I have seen very little of them and nothing at all in qualifying so it is hard to give an opinion. Winning the thing might be expecting too much but I am hoping for a better level of performance than in recent World Cups.

  I wonder if the Sven-Goran Eriksson years were undone by that 5-1 victory back in 2001. It ended up being a good result for Germany - they finally had to get to grips with learning how to defend with a back four. And it seemed to leave England stuck in a groove of trying to sneak one on the break.

  The team ended up playing such pallid, negative stuff that to my mind was a poor fit with the English mentality. I would like to see something more aggressive this time.

  Q. What do you reckon about the United States? I think they have what it takes to progress from the group. What do you guys think and what do you think the future for football in America is?
  Andreas, Sweden

  A. I have never been to the place, so again it is not a very informed opinion, but they have clearly reached the level of competence that is good enough to think in terms of getting out of the group. Have they got enough real quality to take it further? It is here that I have my doubts.

  Long term, with the size, resourcefulness and mentality of its population, it is not hard to imagine the US becoming a serious power. If they play their cards right they should be able to blend European and South American styles.

  Q. Is the vuvuzela trumpet going to put you off the World Cup at all?
  David, Scotland

  A. Here in Rio one of the things that is already coming across is the sheer joy of the South African population in hosting the tournament and if that is expressed with the vuvuzela, then fair enough.

  The World Cup is a global party, with people from all over the planet, and in the middle of all this I think a bit of local flavour is important.

  SOUTH AMERICA

  Q. Which coach is under the most pressure - Diego Maradona or Dunga?
  Cleo Sharp, United Kingdom

  A. Maradona only has 40 million Argentines to pile on the pressure - Dunga has 195m Brazilians! Also, Dunga is hopeless at schmoozing the press.

  He receives some intelligent constructive criticism from the Brazilian media as well as a lot of unintelligent stuff and he puts it all in the same basket.

  After the excesses of the 2006 campaign, he has cut back massively on press access to the players - all of this means that he makes enemies.

  Q. In refusing to select Ronaldinho, is Dunga being wise or just stubborn?
  Mitch Holder, Mansfield, England

  A. Now that is a great question and one that can only be answered definitively with hindsight.

  Wise? Well, Dunga was patient with Ronaldinho for three years while the player was a pitiful apology for a professional player, frittering away his immense talent.

  No-one seemed to be able to get through to him - he is obviously a much more complex character than the happy, smiley image. So Dunga lost patience and the team gelled better without Ronaldinho. And for Brazil the lesson of 2006 was that stars might win matches but teams win titles.

  Stubborn? Under the guidance of Leonardo and motivated by the World Cup, there was a return to some kind of form this season, although that old acceleration seems to have gone forever. Brazil do appear to lack a plan B and Ronaldinho on the bench would be an interesting option.

  For what it's worth, I think he should have been included but I think a coach should live or die by his own convictions. Once he lets the media start picking his team, it is all over.

  Q. Even if Brazil win the 2010 World Cup, do you agree that Dunga's example of coaching the Brazil team should not be allowed to be repeated? Brazil are (were) the last ambassador of 'the beautiful game' and should remain as such.
  Yulian Totev, Bulgaria

  A. Interesting that this one comes from Europe. Dunga sees this kind of talk as part of a European conspiracy to ensure that Brazil play pretty pretty football and do not win.

  For my own taste, the current team is too limited in central midfield but I have spent years criticising Dunga and he has spent years winning matches and that, after all, is his priority.

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  Post 1982 there does seem to be a belief in Brazilian football that some kind of contradiction exists between playing well, or certainly playing expansively, and winning. I would love this to be reassessed; to my mind, the main reason to play well is that it offers the best chance of winning.

  It will be interesting to see what happens if Brazil are not successful in South Africa but the current Dunga side are nothing if not difficult to beat.

  Q. What do you think Maradona's starting XI will be for the World Cup and how can he keep all of these players happy?
  
  Also the same question about Dunga's Brazil, what do you think his first choice XI would be? Will there be a place for the impressive Nilmar or will he not be given a chance despite his hat-trick against Chile last year?
  Sam Rodger, England

  A. I expect Brazil to line up without Nilmar:

  Julio Cesar; Maicon, Lucio, Juan, Michel Bastos; Elano, Gilberto Silva, Felipe Melo; Kaka, Robinho; Luis Fabiano.

  Argentina - Romero; Otamendi, De Michelis, Samuel, Heinze; Gutierrez, Mascherano, Veron, Di Maria; Messi, Higuain - with a possible variation of Gutierrez dropping to right-back and Maxi Rodriguez coming in on the right of midfield.

  Q. Diego Maradona has the potential to destroy one of the best teams at the World Cup. Can the players rise above the situation or does he ultimately wield too much influence? How do the people of Argentina perceive it?
  Sam, England

  A. At the moment they seem to be rallying to the cause, although in a nation of football coaches, there are many disagreements with his selections. But the signs are that things are dropping into place.

  It is easily forgotten that Maradona inherited a team in crisis - only one win in seven. With more difficult fixtures he won four in eight to get them over the line.

  It was not always pretty but his floundering reminded me of Brazil in 2001 when Luiz Felipe Scolari, a much more experienced coach, was all over the place with a Brazil side in trouble - and we all know how that one ended up.

  The test of Maradona's work comes this year - choosing a philosophy of play, selecting his players, establishing variations and fostering team spirit. He appears to have done all that. By no means all of his choices would be mine but for the moment I cannot see the disaster that so many appear to want.

  Q. I believe that Chile have the potential to progress far and I don't think I'm alone in thinking this.

  I've caught glimpses of them and their attacking options can be scary at times (especially Alexis Sanchez). However, from what I understand, the earthquake somewhat hindered their preparation. What is your opinion of them and how do you think their attacking, free play will match up in South Africa?
  M Hunt, UK

  A. I wrote about this a couple of weeks back. They are perhaps the most fascinating side in the field.

  Alexis Sanchez is indeed the genuine article and I hope that with all the nerves jangling they have the courage of their convictions and really give it a go. I cannot see them going all the way, though - their defence is too suspect, especially in the air.

  Q. What do we think of Uruguay's chances in South Africa? I personally think they are capable of a semi-final place. They have extreme firepower with Diego Forlan, Sebastian Abreu, and the unsung Luis Suarez. They potentially have the next world star in Nicolas Lodeiro. Where is all the hype?
  Tom Campbell, England

  A. No hype I suppose because they are in a tough group, it is 40 years since they have done anything at a World Cup and because they only slipped in through the play-off. They have made progress since then, though, and I agree that this is their best chance of doing something in years.

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  Question marks - Lodeiro provides extra subtlety but might have had the edge taken off his game as a result of his settling in period at Ajax. Can Nacho Gonzalez tip the balance at the highest level?

  And there are some defensive problems as well - the centre-backs Lugano and Godin can struggle against quick, mobile strikers and there is space to be found behind Maxi and Alvaro Pereira at either full-back or wing-back.

  Q. What chance if any do you think Paraguay stand of success at the World Cup and have they shown already, by rivalling teams such as Brazil and Argentina, that they are capable of doing this to other big nations in South Africa?
  Josh McAloone

  A. Some of the warm-up results have not been great but I wouldn't read too much into that. Paraguay are traditionally poor in friendlies, they have been working with all 30 players and experimenting with personnel and systems.

  The build-up, though, has given them one huge plus - recently naturalised striker Lucas Barrios (Argentine with a Paraguayan mother) has had a dream start - one game versus the Republic of Ireland, 20 minutes against Ivory Coast and two cracking goals.

  With Santa Cruz starting to find some rhythm, some other interesting strikers and Christian Riveros to support from midfield, they carry some firepower.

  They have a good coach, Gerardo Martino, who is keen to replace Paraguay's typical World Cup timidity with something more aggressive. The draw has been kind, too. They have never reached the quarter finals - maybe this time.

  European football expert Phil Minshull will answer your questions on Tuesday.

• Milito form boosts Argentina hopes

  Posted: May 24, 2010, 11:41 am by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  What a season it has been for Inter Milan's Argentine striker Diego Milito and what a pleasure it is to be proved hopelessly wrong about him.

  Three years ago in the Copa America, Milito replaced the injured Hernan Crespo and was so ineffective that coach Alfio Basile decided he would rather play without a target-man centre-forward. Milito returned to make a few appearances in World Cup qualification, but again made little impression.

  Argentina manager Diego Maradona seemed to have given up on him when, chasing the game against Brazil last September, Milito was brought off the bench only to fluff a couple of chances in a 3-1 defeat.

  He looked so ordinary for Argentina. How, then, had he scored so many goals for Genoa? A year ago I had the chance to ask this very question to one of his former team-mates, Brazilian goalkeeper Rubinho.
  

  Milito celebrates after scoring against Chievo during Inter Milan's Serie A football match in Milan

  Milito, he told me, was perhaps not quite in the class of Argentina's other forwards and although he was good, he was greedy. He was not good at combining with other strikers and to operate effectively he needed to have the play set up for him.

  In the light of this analysis, we agreed that he would probably struggle at Inter Milan, but 30 goals later - big, decisive goals - it is clear that we were very wrong. Or rather, I was. To my mind, Rubinho's point of view still holds.

  Inter coach Jose Mourinho has set up his team in such a way that Milito, like Drogba at Chelsea, is king of the front line, with Samuel Eto'o withdrawn to a deeper role on the right. As Rubinho saw it, given a tactical formation built around his strengths, Milito has thrived.

  My mistake, based on what I had seen for Argentina, was that I thought he was too ordinary to deliver at the highest level, even given such favourable circumstances.
  It is always nice to be proved wrong when someone exceeds your expectations - certainly much more so than when the opposite happens.

  The value of Milito's short running stride was perfectly illustrated by the second of his goals against Bayern Munich in the Champions League final.

  He generated the pace to beat Daniel Van Buyten to the left, but was quickly able to get in position for a right-footed cross-shot. Both that and the first goal, when he waited for his moment with impressive calm, bore the hallmark of a striker full of confidence.

  And no wonder. Not only has he won the Champions League, he is also going to the World Cup. A few months ago it looked unlikely but, with all those goals for Inter, the striker has taken a giant leap on to the plane to South Africa.

  He may also have given the Argentina squad something of a problem. They now seem to have an excess of number nines.

  Gonzalo Higuain is first choice, although he will be feeling the pressure from Milito and will be hoping to do well in Monday's friendly at home to Canada. And Maradona has persisted with his Martin Palermo fixation, including the lumbering 36-year-old striker as a substitute to be brought on when his side are desperate for a goal.

  Three centre forwards, plus Lionel Messi, Carlos Tevez and Sergio Aguero make a total of six strikers in his 23 and inevitably leaves the squad short of cover in other areas, like central midfield.

  There are doubts that 35-year-old Veron wil last the pace

  Especially, there is a lack of cover for Juan Sebastian Veron, the man Maradona refers to as "my Xavi". Veron no longer has quite the dynamism of the Barcelona man, but his passing over distance is better - in midweek he set up a goal for Estudiantes in a Copa Libertadores quarter-final with as fine a diagonal ball as you could wish to see. The old warhorse is in good form but he is 35, and may struggle to last the pace.

  Javier Pastore is inked in as Veron's deputy and the elegant youngster is an outstanding prospect. He has adapted surprisingly quickly to Italian football, and makes the point that after a year at Palermo the defensive side of his game and his tactical awareness are greatly improved. He is at his best, though, higher up the pitch than the role filled by Veron. Maradona has surely left himself short of options in terms of genuine all-round midfielders.

  Many would argue that Esteban Cambiasso should be in the squad - on the basis of his club form rather than his displays for Argentina, because he was not missed by anyone when Maradona dropped him. I would prefer Ever Banega of Valencia or Fernando Gago of Real Madrid but certainly one of three should be in.

  Having three number nines, though, means that some other area is bound to be light.
  It is worth it? Palermo is a gamble. At his age can he really score goals at the highest level? And despite his club form, so is Milito. Argentina's system and personnel are different. So far Milito has been unable to combine with Messi. Can he suddenly learn to do so now?

  I have my doubts but, then again, I have been wrong before - and when it comes to Diego Milito, very wrong indeed.

  Comments on the piece in the space below. Other questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I will pick out a couple for next week.

  A quick note of apology - I have got so much on at the moment that I do not have time to get back individually to all the questions, so I am very sorry if you have not had a reply. But please keep sending them in - they all get read and considered, and they all help in formulating themes for future columns.

  From last week's postbag;
  
  Q) I was leafing through my Panini-sticker book just now and Uruguay sort of popped out at me. I'd like to know what you make of their chances in South Africa. They have a good, although sometimes slightly erratic, keeper in Muslera, quality full-backs in the Perreiras and the pure undiluted class of Suarez and Forlan in attack. Not to mention Godin, Lugano, Fucile and other Caceres. I am not saying they are my red-hot favourites right away but I was considering sticking a tenner on them, as an amusing outsider bet. They seem like a strong team or is that only on paper?
  Thomas Liekens

  A)Hard to see them going all the way but they can certainly travel with a bit of confidence. Forlan and Suarez, plus big Abreu off the bench - there is plenty of firepower. In qualification, though, they did not find goals easy against the strong. That is why the emergence of Nicolas Lodeiro is so important - the young, left-footed playmaker adds so much more subtlety to their game and allows Forlan to get further forward. He joined Ajax at the start of the year and has not had much playing time - will inactivity have taken the edge of his game? It is a key question for Uruguay's campaign.
  
  Q)I was interested in your opinion on Lucas Barrios, Argentine by birth but now holding a Paraguayan passport. He has a very good scoring record in German football for this season and was the surprise inclusion in the provisional Paraguay World Cup squad. Can you see him muscling out the front line who helped Paraguay to the top of the South American qualification or will he have to settle for a supporting role? If he does, I can see him propelling his adopted nation deep into the tournament.
  Brent Horner
  
  A)He has a Paraguayan mother, so there is nothing fishy about his inclusion. An interesting case. He has always scored goals but it was only when he did it for a big club (Colo Colo in Chile) that people started to take notice. I think that is because he looks ungainly, as if he was running in Wellington boots that are too big for him.

  He will have a chance with Paraguay - remember that Salvador Cabanas, top scorer in qualification, is recovering after being shot in the head and will miss the World Cup. With Santa Cruz, Haedo Valdez and Cardozo, Paraguay have strength in depth with their strikers, and Barrios will have to make a quick impression in the warm up friendlies, against the Republic of Ireland this Tuesday and then Ivory Coast and Greece. As an outsider, he'll have to do better than the others to get into the first team in South Africa, so his World Cup starts in Dublin.

  
  

• South American trio count down to World Cup

  Posted: May 17, 2010, 11:45 am by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  Four years ago, in the build-up to the World Cup in Germany in 2006, there was a real buzz about South America's big two.

  Brazil could boast a dazzling collection of individual talent. Coach Carlos Alberto Parreira had such riches at his disposal that, as he later confessed, he felt obliged to go against his own principles and select a team that was almost a throwback to 4-2-4.

  Argentina, meanwhile, brought a team built around the sumptuous passing skills of Juan Roman Riquelme. In qualification they had already shown hints of great quality - with switches of play, changes of rhythm, continuous formation of attacking triangles. In the World Cup they topped it all with an awe-inspiring defeat of Serbia. But they could not quite hit that standard again, and fell on penalties to the hosts in the quarter-final.

  Brazil crashed out at the same stage but without ever coming close to living up to the expectations.

  Four years later, it is impossible for Brazil to disappoint in the same way - for the very good reason that in aesthetic terms, much less is expected from them. They top the Fifa rankings, and after an excellent run of results go to this summer's World Cup finals in South Africa as justified favourites.

  But, as Dunga's squad selection has confirmed, the 2010 Brazil is principally a pragmatic side - deadly on the counter-attack, with a superb array of set-pieces but without the pretension of capturing hearts and minds a la 1958, 1970 or 1982.

  Argentina, after their problems in qualifying, would also seem to offer the purists less to get excited about. Selecting a back line made up of four centre-backs gives the team obvious limitations in possession. Argentina, too, look set to base their play on the counter-attack.

  Argentina coach Diego Maradona will managing at a World Cup finals for the first time. Photo: AP.

  From an idealistic point of view, the most interesting South American team in South Africa will be Chile.

  In qualification the Reds scored more goals away from home than anyone else . It is no coincidence. Coach Marcelo Bielsa is obsessed with attack. If the game is played home, away, up a mountain or into a force 10 gale, it makes no difference - Bielsa wants the action to take place in the opposing team's half of the field. His trademark 3-3-1-3 formation is designed to apply constant pressure. He seeks to create two against one situations down the flanks, and while getting his wingers behind the defence.

  Tricky right-winger Alexis Sanchez is the side's big hope, a potential superstar full of changes of direction and bursts of pace. Centre-forward Humberto Suazo was South America's top scorer in qualification. Just behind him Mati Fernandez has yet to show his best in European club football - for the national team, however, he carries something of the thrust of the youthful Kaka and if he is off form, Jorge Valdivia is a delightful twinkle-toed alternative.

  Chile are basically a four and six side - the three in the back line plus the holding midfielder are primarily defensive with everyone else looking to push forward. Such an approach can leave them open to their opponents' counter-attack, and they struggle to defend in the air. One of the most fascinating questions of the World Cup will be whether Chile will get away with such a bold gameplan at the highest level.

  The weight of history is not on Chile's side. They came third when they hosted the World Cup in 1962. Other than that, though, their last victory in the tournament was way back in 1950 when they beat the United States. They played in 1966, 1974, 1982 and 1998 without managing a single win.

  And the weight of history also presses down on Bielsa. He needs to overcome the World Cup ghost of 2002, when he was in charge of his native Argentina. His team sailed through qualification in a blaze of goals, turned up in the Far East as favourites and promptly crashed out in the group stage.

  In part, he was undone by the calendar - with the tournament held earlier than usual to avoid the rainy season, his players had not had enough time to recover from the rigours of the European season. Perhaps, too, it was a problem Bielsa did not administer well with some of the team complaining that they were being worked too hard in training.

  These are vital issues for any side but especially for one of Bielsa's. Sitting back in defence is less tiring but to play Bielsa's high-tempo, high-pressure football the players must be in top condition.

  Questions on all of these issues - the tactical formation, the physical preparation, the team's mental and emotional strength - will begin to be answered in just under a month's time. Chile kick off their campaign against Honduras on 16 June. This is no easy baptism. The pressure is right on from the start. With Spain in the same group, the opening clash is vital. Chile badly need to win their first World Cup match on foreign soil for 60 years. Fans of brave, attacking football will be in their corner.
  
  Comments on the piece in the space below. Other questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I will pick out a couple for next week.

  A quick note of apology - I have got so much on at the moment that I do not have time to get back individually to all the questions, so I am very sorry if you have not had a reply. But please keep sending them in - they all get read and considered and they all help in formulating themes for future columns.

  From last week's postbag;
  
  Q) I've always wondered why Brazil have never been able to produce marauding box-to-box midfielders like Steven Gerrard, or Michael Ballack? Players who score and defend, are everywhere in the middle of the park. The midfield seems to produce attacking players like Kaka or defensive ones like Gilberto Silva.
  Sola Sanusi
  
  A) I would not say never! For me the golden age of Brazilian football, certainly as a spectacle, happened not necessarily with 4-2-4 but with midfielders who had grown up in a culture of 4-2-4. The pair in the middle had so much space to cover that they were obliged to do everything . Take 1970 - Gerson and Clodoaldo were interchangeable. In the semi-final against Uruguay, Gerson was being marked tightly, so he sat back and sent Clodoaldo forward to score the vital equaliser. You can still see this influence in the development of Falcao and Toninho Cerezo in the 70s and 80s.

  What has happened since is that Brazilian football has become a hostage to attacking full-backs. Many of them have forgotten how to defend - Cicinho at Roma was appalled at being expected to mark the opposing winger. So if the full-backs do not defend, someone else has to - and thus the purely defensive midfielder was born and this separation of midfield functions became the norm.
  
  Q) Just wondering what you made of the inclusion in the Argentina squad of Fabricio Coloccini and Jonas Gutierrez. I'm a Newcastle fan and both players have been impressive this season in the Championship. Is this enough though? In particular, seeing Coloccini in there instead of Gabriel Milito of Barca?
  Chris Owens
  
  A) I cannot for the life of me explain why Coloccini is in, especially as he has hardy featured under Maradona - only one game at right-back against Spain last year. It is entirely possible that he will not make the cut - but Gutierrez is likely to be in the team and for all his limitations, I can understand it.

  Maradona has heaped importance on Juan Sebastian Veron - indeed the big hole in the squad is the lack of cover for him, unless you see Marco Bolatti as a potential replacement. Anyway, Veron is now 35 and you do not want him taking on too much defensive responsibility. If he tries it he now has a tendency to arrive late for the tackle and pick up cards. So I don't think Maradona is too concerned by the weakness of Gutierrez in providing end product - he is a strong, unselfish character who is there to run and cover and take the defensive strain off Veron. Maradona even said he would pick Gutierrez if Newcastle were in the third division!

• Brazil stay focused - Argentina look muddled

  Posted: May 12, 2010, 1:28 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  Dunga's announcement of his Brazil squad for South Africa was a crushing defeat for the nation's media in one of its favourite sports - trying to force the inclusion of big names players on to the plane for this summer's World Cup.

  But it was the perceived excesses of Brazil's stars that undermined their campaign in Germany in 2006 and paved the way for Dunga's appointment. He took over with a message that individuals might win matches but groups win titles. Over three and half years later, coherence has been maintained.

  Before the squad was announced, clips were shown of some of Brazil's recent triumphs. Then came a declaration for Kaka, paying tribute to the spirit of union of the current team. It was a giant hint that there would be no last-minute surprises.

  So no place for Ronaldinho. On form and in shape, he would surely be a useful one-man Plan B to have on the bench but he can hardly complain of lack of opportunities. Dunga carried him around for almost three years before finally losing patience.

  It is a tough thing to say but the only person responsible for Ronaldinho's absence is Ronaldinho himself. At 30, he should be an automatic choice but he has spent the last few years betraying his own extraordinary talent.

  
  Ronaldinho can hardly complain of lack of opportunities

  Ronaldinho may have been the focus of international attention but the local media had switched generations in its campaign, piling on the pressure in favour of the Santos pair of support striker Neymar, 18, and attacking midfielder Paulo Henrique Ganso, 20.

  For all the undoubted promise of Neymar and Ganso, there are elements of nationalistic delirium in this movement. The pair were outstanding in the Sao Paulo State Championship but this is a bit like selecting someone for a World Cup on the basis of some good games in the Carling Cup.

  Significantly, and Dunga was quick to pick up on it, the pair struggled towards the end of last year when asked to step up a level. Ganso was a relative disappointment in the World Under-20 Cup while Neymar was an absolute disappointment in the World Under-17s.

  Their time will come but, as he made clear, Dunga is not in the business of giving anyone experience for 2014 but is being paid to win the World Cup now. And, of course, one more new face would mean one less space for a group of players who have earned the right to be in South Africa.

  Whatever we might think of his approach, Dunga can point to the results achieved. In the last two seasons, Brazil have won 18 of 23 games, suffering only one defeat, which came at extreme altitude.

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  Adriano has been part of that process but he, too, misses out. He is another one, though, who can have no complaints. He received support and opportunities from Dunga and assistant Jorginho.

  After his problems with depression and alcohol, Adriano was allowed to play his way back into contention. A squad place was his. He has thrown it away by repeatedly not turning up to train with his club, Flamengo, as well as his off-the-field antics. As Dunga said, if he let Adriano get away it he would be running the risk of losing command of the group.

  This focus on the collective underpins everything that Dunga does. It explains the eminently sensible position to name his 23 straight away (seven reserves, including Ronaldinho and Ganso, were added later). Other teams still have to whittle down from 30 - a traumatic process that jangles nerves and threatens to undermine morale at a crucial stage.

  One of them is Argentina. It is hardly surprising that coach Diego Maradona is not as far down the line as Dunga in terms of consolidating his group. He has had much less time in charge - and it is often forgotten that he took over a team in trouble, which with one win in the previous seven games was already struggling to qualify.

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  Maradona got them over the line and would seem to have made progress since. It is highly likely that his planned starting line-up in South Africa will be the team that won away to Germany some two months ago. From the chaos of the qualification campaign, a first XI and a general method of play has emerged.

  But the rest of his party looks a bit of a mess. It speaks volumes that Brazil named their 23 in a well prepared and orderly fashion while Argentina apparently needed a lengthy last-day meeting to finalise the 30.

  Under Maradona, Argentina have toured the country playing a number of matches with only home-based players. This has the advantage of taking the team to the provinces and of giving Maradona more experience on the touchline but it also might have cluttered his head with excess information. He has been looking at more players when he might well have benefited from narrowing down.

  Ten of his 30 are based in Argentina. Boca's lumbering centre forward Martin Palermo looks set to stay in the 23. But can he really make an impact at the World Cup? And is he needed as well as Higuain and Milito? It means someone has to miss out - probably Lavezzi of Napoli, such a slippery player on the counter-attack.

  Banega would be an ideal deputy for Juan Sebastian Veron

  At the other end of the field, Garce of Colon is in while Zanetti of Inter Milan is out - a baffling defiance of common sense. There are lots of wide midfielders but the area that looks especially deficient is central midfield. Fernando Gago's lack of playing time with Real Madrid has cost him a place while Maradona is not a fan of Esteban Cambiasso, who, in fairness, was one of the least effective members in the side before he took over.

  To my mind, the strangest omission is that of Ever Banega, a midfielder of superb passing range who can drop back and mark. He would be an ideal deputy for Juan Sebastian Veron, who at 35 might struggle for gas.

  Brazil's choices, then, are methodical, well thought out, coherent. Some of Argentina's look scattergun, products of whims of inspiration. And the wonderful thing is that neither guarantee results - football has never been an exact science.
  
  Apologies, this blog has been longer than usual so no space for questions. Normal service resumes next time. Send questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com.

• Beating the drop by any means necessary

  Posted: May 3, 2010, 11:05 am by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  Sheffield Wednesday fans don't need to be told that relegation is a painful blow, almost like a death in the family.

  It is so traumatic that the major South American leagues have a history of trying to ensure that it never happens to their big clubs. There were years in Brazil when it was decreed that no former First Division champion could go down.

  Even when this clause was not in effect, there were times when big clubs finished bottom of the table, and still stayed up. All kinds of strange justifications were employed to keep them in the top flight - such as scrapping relegation altogether to save Fluminense from the drop.

  People in Brazilian football would argue, in all seriousness and with a totally straight face, that it was absurd for big clubs to be in the Second Division, no matter how bad their results. It was feudalism in action, the exact opposite of meritocracy of the game.

  It is an indicator of how much progress the country has made in the last few years that this way of thinking is now obsolete. Even Corinthians have been relegated to the Second Division - and with over 20m supporters, this is a giant club indeed - and other big names have also fallen, including Palmeiras, Vasco da Gama, Botafogo, Gremio and Atletico Mineiro.

  The Second Division has benefited enormously as a result from TV deals and greater publicity and there is no doubt that Brazil is more than big enough to support a good standard second tier.

  The clubs have benefited as well and with the exception of Bahia, all have bounced back at the first attempt, stronger for the experience.

  Argentina has a different system. Since the early 90s, in a bid to keep the interest level high, the season is split into two short and separate championships. The Apertura (Opening) runs from August to December, and the Clausura (Closing) from February to May, each with the 20 teams playing each other once.

  It would clearly be unfair to relegate clubs after one campaign of 19 games, but using a combined total of points from the two championships (38 games) would surely be a fair solution. That's not the way it works, however.

  The threat of possible relegation next year is hanging over River Plate

  The perceived problem is that even the biggest clubs are forever selling their best players and are thus frequently caught in a spell of transition, when results can suffer as one team is deconstructed and another built. So, to protect the giants from the consequences of such a situation, relegation is worked out on an average of points accumulated over three years, or six championships.

  This system helps the big clubs, but it's not foolproof, not if a transitional phase becomes an institutional crisis, as has happened with River Plate.

  The Buenos Aires giants enjoyed their last taste of success when they won the 2007/8 Clausura, but since then the wheels have come off. Over the two championships in that season they accumulated 66 points, but in in 2008/9 they managed just 41 and with two games to go in the current campaign, they only have 40.

  What has gone wrong? Coaches have come and gone, with no improvement in results. Traditionally a great producer of players, the club's talented youngsters have not been making the progress expected. Both are signs of something fundamentally wrong in the set up.

  Supporters groups, meanwhile, have been battling for control, prompting suspicions that they may have been receiving a cut of transfer fees.

  River's former great Daniel Passarella took over as president at the turn of the year and announced that he found the club in a financial coma. He recently appointed Angel Cappa as the new coach, an old style footballing romantic, whose preference for a pass-and-move game puts him right in line with the tradition of the club. It should be a perfect fit - and it needs to be.

  River are not in immediate relegation danger. The two teams with the worst points average go down, the next two go into play-offs. Of the 20 clubs, River currently lie 12th in the relegation standings - saved by those 66 points accumulated in 2007/8.

  But next August, when the new season kicks off, they lose those points. Only their disastrous results from the next two seasons will count, along, of course, with the points they pick up in 2010/11.

  They will therefore go into the next campaign under pressure and if they do badly in the Apertura they could find themselves in a strange situation - needing to win the Clausura to stay up, simultaneously fighting for the championship and to avoid relegation.
  
  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Other questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

  From last week's postbag:
  
  Q) I've been very impressed by Maxwell of Barcelona in this current campaign. He looks very good going forward and a pretty decent defender. Can you tell us a bit more about him, and why he's never been called up for Brazil despite their left-back problems?
  Shayak Banerjee
  
  A) Interesting, though, that Barcelona didn't trust him to start the home game against Inter Milan. It probably counts against his international chances that he moved abroad so early, and has played almost all of his career outside Brazil. Dunga has said that the World Cup squad will not have any surprises, which would seem to rule him out, because he hasn't been called up to the senior ranks.

  Dunga is also keen on people who've done well for Brazil at junior level, and here again Maxwell loses out. He played for the Under-23s in the Olympic qualifiers at the start of 2004 - taken very seriously over here. He was awful - had to be dropped though he was the only left back in the squad.
  
  Q) There seems to be a lot of hype around Velez Sarsfield defender Nicolas Otamendi. This week Liverpool have been linked with a £9m bid for him and in the past he has been linked with Real Madrid. At 5'10 he seems a little on the small side to cope with the likes of Peter Crouch or Nicolas Bendtner in particular. I can only think of Carlos Puyol in recent years who has had an impact despite being so small. If he was to come to the Premier League how would he fare? And should we expect to see him at the World Cup?
  Michael Hocking
  
  A) He had a fabulous 2009 - from Velez reserve to Argentina's first team. Looks like being first choice right-back in the World Cup, though it's not his position. He's a centre-back by trade, well built with excellent anticipation and good timing in the tackle. I would be a bit worried about him with a big Premiership club at this stage, though I think he does have real potential.

  I worry that he goes to ground too much, and I think he might have problems in the air. He certainly had problems in a game against Catalonia at the end of the year - Argentina lost 4-2, and after the game one of the Velez directors was hoping that none of the clubs interested in him was watching the game. "if they saw it they'll withdraw their offer," he said. So he's a work in progress. Not there yet, but one to watch.
  

• Could technology stop a winning World Cup squad spirit?

  Posted: April 19, 2010, 11:34 am by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  I have been back in England for a quick visit and I was struck by an outburst that Hull boss Iain Dowie aimed at his squad.

  "Sometimes the players have to forget about the iPods," he said. "They need to think about what really matters."

  He went on to admit: "I'm not a big fan of these big earphones on the way to games," and that "my thing with the iPod generation is that when they leave the ground and go away to their closeted little lives they shouldn't forget what's got them where they are and what impact they can have."

  It is, of course, the complaint of a member of one generation about the desocialising effect of technology on the next.

  
  

  Argentina star Lionel Messi in his own bubble as he listens to his headphones

  Towards the end of his international career, England defender Gareth Southgate observed that when the squad were together at the end of the day, those sitting round a table having a chat and swapping experiences were the older players. The younger ones had scuttled off to their rooms and their laptops, DVDs, video games and so on.

  So how can the coach create and maintain a collective spirit among his squad in an age when the players are willing and able to stay in their own private little world?

  This is a question that is especially pertinent for national team coaches as the 2010 World Cup approaches. True, they can count on a certain linguistic and cultural harmony among their players. But they operate under huge time restrictions. Outside tournaments, the squad are together for just a few days. In these short periods, how can a collection of individuals be moulded into a team?

  The success that Dunga has enjoyed as Brazil coach is perhaps partially explained by the thought he has given to this question.

  Seen as a stop gap when he was appointed after the World Cup in Germany four years ago, Dunga has taken his team to victory in the Copa America, the Confederations Cup and first place in South America's World Cup qualifiers. Many will dispute his methods but his results are beyond reproach - Brazil go to South Africa on a run of one defeat (and that at extreme altitude) and 18 wins in the last 24 games.

  He had no previous coaching experience. But he did have experience in the threat that technological advance can pose to group spirit.

  He was captain of the side that won the World Cup in 1994. "That team had something fundamental," he said. "It was a group that taught the country how to win. We went without for 24 years, with exceptional players, but unable to take that step. And that 94 generation did it, showing that work comes first."

  Four years later in France the team never looked as solid, and fell apart in the final against the hosts. Quite apart from any technical or tactical deficiencies, Dunga acknowledged a small piece of technology played its part in their downfall - the mobile phone.

  In 1994 they were almost unheard of in Brazil. By 1998 all the players had them. And so the outside world was continually allowed in, interfering with the focus of the group, undermining the process by which a team gels and the collective unit becomes greater than the sum of its parts.

  Back in 94, Brazil's coaching staff were worried about Romario. The little striker was extraordinarily talented. But he was a born individualist. Could he be relied upon to tow the line, to be part of a team effort on and off the field over the course of an entire World Cup campaign? The fate of the entire endeavour was hanging on finding an answer.

  The solution? Put Romario in the same room as Dunga. The combative midfielder helped keep him in line, and the rest is history.

  It is also an inspiration for the present day. When Dunga took over as coach, one of his early moves was to stop the players having individual rooms. They should share, and they should bond.

  This process seems to have taken place with enormous success. Players such as Elano and Robinho may have had problems with their clubs, but on national team duty they are seen as paragons of commitment, ready to carry out any role required of them. Dunga has been able to bring their talent into his project. They are part of his group.

  It is for this reason that Dunga looks like holding out against a form of pressure traditionally exerted by the Brazilian media in the build up to the World Cup - the campaign for star names. Two months ago it was all about Ronaldinho. Now, Santos wonderkid Neymar is the peoples' choice.

  But they are not part of his group - and Dunga can argue that individuals might win matches, but groups win titles. But the knives will be out if his group do not prove good enough to bring the glory back from South Africa.

  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

  From last week's postbag:

  
  Q) We all know about the fortunes of Adriano, Ronaldo and Robinho, but I was wondering what you could tell us about other players who have returned to Brazil - namely, Roberto Carlos, Fred, Vagner Love, Cicinho and Kleberson. I hear that the two full-backs in particular have struggled.
  Sam Cooper

  
  A Still early days for Cicinho, who has been struggling for fitness. Roberto Carlos had early problems with the criteria of the referees - these days in Brazil everything is a foul, and he was sent off a couple of times. But as he's found his feet there has even been speculation that, with Brazil having problems at left back, he could sneak into the World Cup squad.

  Fred had some injury problems last year. Since coming back he looks impressive, giving a terrific platform up front and leading the charge as Fluminense had a miracle escape from relegation.

  Kleberson of Flamengo was excellent until getting injured last year - recapturing his 2002 form and winning an international recall. The club are going through some turbulence at the moment. Vagner Love has been scoring goals for them, after an unhappy return to Palmeiras, but his partnership with Adriano has been hit by the latter's injury.

  The Brazilian Championship kicks off in a couple of weeks time - boosted by the presence of all these players.

• Immigrant pride and working-class thrift

  Posted: April 12, 2010, 1:32 pm by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  A century ago when the Velez Sarsfield club was founded in Argentina their shirts were plain white - the cheapest they could find. Then they went with stripes of red, green and white - a tribute to the Italian origins of the club's founders.

  Finally they settled on the current strip - which, with a blue V on a white background looks like something out of rugby league. This is no coincidence. The story goes that they were offered a good deal on the shirts, which a rugby club had ordered and not bothered to collect.

  The tale of Velez and their changing strip, with its conflict between immigrant pride and working-class thrift, tells us much about the early years of the sport in Argentina.

  
  Club Atletico Velez Sarsfield was founded in 1910 and is now based in the Liniers neighbourhood of Buenos Aires

  Football is the game of the city and one of the reasons that it developed so quickly in this part of the world is that its introduction coincided with rapid urbanisation.

  In 1880 the population of Buenos Aires was just over 300,000. Thirty years later, when Velez were born, it was 1.3m. A huge proportion of this extra million were immigrants, pouring in from Europe and the Middle East, and especially from Italy.

  Buenos Aires is a city that speaks Spanish with a strong Italian intonation. Even today it is a battleground in Italian elections and Italians settled elsewhere in the continent - Montevideo in Uruguay and parts of Brazil, especially Sao Paulo.

  When Italy won the World Cup in 1934 they made full use of the South American connection. Three Italian-descended Argentines were roped in. Midfield hard man Luis Monti had even played for Argentina in the 1930 final and Raimondo Orsi had been snatched after starring for Argentina in the 1928 Olympics. He was Italy's top scorer in the 1934 campaign, while his compatriot Enrico Guaita grabbed the only goal of the semi-final.

  
  Italy's line up for the 1934 World Cup Final included Luis Monti (2nd L), Raimondo Orsi (5th L), and Enrico Guaita (7th L)

  There was a Brazilian in the squad as well, 'Filo' Guarisi and four years later Italy successfully defended their title, this time with a Uruguayan, Michele Andreolo, in their midfield.

  After that, though, it was a long time before Italy had anything to shout about in the World Cup - although they continued to attract top-quality South Americans. In 1962, for example, the Azzuri's centre forward was Altafini, part of Brazil's World Cup-winning squad four years earlier. Behind him they had Maschio and the great Sivori, plucked from the Argentina side that won the 1957 Copa America but the team still failed.

  Sandro Mazzola, one of Italy's greats of the 60s and early 70s, has argued that part of the problem was the presence of these foreigners.

  Selecting them in the 1930s had worked because the immigration process was so recent but a few decades later it was different. The South Americans could no longer be seen as genuine Italians and perhaps any gains in quality were more than offset by the loss of team cohesion.

  Immigration, of course, is a dynamic process - one celebrated in the famous Buenos Aires derby between River Plate and Boca Juniors.

  The two giants share similar origins. Both grew up in the working-class Boca neighbourhood, where millions of immigrants toiled on the docks. Over time, River moved out to the leafy suburbs, while Boca stayed defiantly put.

  
  At time of writing, Boca lead River 120-104, with 102 draws, in the Superclasico Buenos Aires derby

  River, then, had lived out the immigrant dream of moving up in the world. Boca could find solace in working-class sweat and solidarity. They, too, were founded by Italians but these days there are not too many Italians living in the area's ramshackle housing. The more recent waves of immigration have come from Bolivia and Paraguay - which the River fans love to dwell on as they taunt their old rivals.

  From the poorest countries in the continent, the Bolivians and Paraguayans have followed the traditional immigrant path, moving in search of opportunities. In football terms, this movement has yet to have significant consequences for the Bolivian national team but the same cannot be said for Paraguay.

  Midfielders Jonathan Santana and Nestor Ortigoza are examples of players born in Argentina to one Paraguayan parent. They sound like Argentines, they don't speak Guarani (the indigenous language proudly spoken in Paraguay alongside Spanish) and they almost certainly grew up dreaming of playing for Argentina but now they represent Paraguay.

  It is, though, a struggle for them to be accepted. Paraguay's Argentine coach Gerardo Martino told me last week that dealing with this subject "is not easy". He added: "I see it [the difficulty of acceptance] less as a consequence of nationalism, more in terms of footballing taste. The discussion centres around whether the player is considered good enough."

  Events last week may have proved him right. Another Argentine-born player became eligible for the country of his mother's birth when Lucas Barrios took out Paraguayan citizenship.

  An ungainly striker - he can look as if he is wading through water in ill-fitting Wellingtons - Barrios is highly effective. After breaking scoring records in Chile with Colo Colo he is now doing well in Germany for Borussia Dortmund.

  Until recently Barrios was campaigning for an Argentina call-up. Even so, opinion in Paraguay seems to be in favour of his selection. His goalscoring pedigree makes it easier for him to be accepted.

  Perhaps, like the South American Italians of the 30s, the old country will embrace Lucas Barrios as long as he can help deliver success.

  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Other questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

  From last week's postbag:

  Q) I was wondering what the options are for Argentina in terms of wingers. Having frequently watched Newcastle and seen Jonas Gutierrez I am amazed that he is set to start for Argentina in South Africa. For all of his runs he seems to have very little end product, both in terms of goals and assists. Surely there must be better options for Maradona?
  Chris Moore
  
  A) The winger is on the other flank - Di Maria. It seems to be that the selection of Gutierrez is a measure aimed at achieving defensive balance. With an attacking trident of Messi, Higuain and Di Maria, and Veron behind them to orchestrate, Maradona appears to be keen on the ability of Gutierrez to run and cover - not only down the flank, but also inside to give Mascherano a hand.

  Q) I remember seeing Carlos Alberto playing for Porto a few times, and remembered being really impressed with him every time I saw him, including a Champions League Final goal. The ball seemed to stick to him and he had a really good buzz about him at such a young age, is he still alive, as I expected a big future for him in Europe.
  Paul Crawford

  A) It's indicative of the genius of Jose Mourinho that he managed to get such value from the talent of Carlos Alberto.
  Few others have been able to. His last spell in Europe was a disaster. He came back from Werder Bremen in Germany suffering from insomnia.
  He faces a big season now. He's at Vasco da Gama, helped them win promotion last year, and when the first division kicks off in a couple of weeks he'll be expected to produce, which means that he'll have to show that he's learned that football is a team game.

• Messi - the devastating decoy

  Posted: April 5, 2010, 10:37 am by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  Reading Phil McNulty's blog after the Arsenal-Barcelona game, I was struck by the number of people who went out of their way to criticise the performance of Lionel Messi.

  It is indicative of the enormous pressure the young Argentine will be under in the World Cup - the same pressure that broke his friend and former Barca team-mate Ronaldinho four years ago.

  People are expecting circus tricks and something special in every game. It is the dilemma of the big name star in today's football.

  The overkill of the marketing industry means that there is more focus than ever before on the top individuals - at a time when the physical and tactical development of the game makes football more collective than ever before.
  

  Lionel Messi turns away from Cesc Fabregas during Barcelona's 2-2 Champions League draw at Arsenal - pic: Getty

  Back in the 1950s, when sides played the WM system, football was essentially a collection of one against one duels - the right-back against the left-winger, the left-back against the right-winger, the centre-back against the centre-forward, and so on.

  The great Hungarian side of the mid-50s rendered this obsolete. Their centre-forward dropped deep, leaving the centre-half in no man's land, and two attacking midfielders rushed in for the kill. Players became important not only in terms of the space they occupied, but also because of the space where their dynamism could take them.

  The Brazilians found a way to protect themselves against this threat - the back four, with its key concept of extra defensive cover. But withdrawing an extra man to the back line left the midfield duo with acres around them, a problem spotted by left-winger Mario Zagallo, who funnelled back to help.

  As the French coach Aime Jacquet said decades later, Zagallo taught the world that a player can have two shirts - that of attacker and defender.

  Zagallo was fundamental to the World Cup wins of '58 and '62 and four years later England had a Zagallo on either flank, with Martin Peters and Alan Ball carrying out the double function. And so was born 4-4-2, probably the most successful system in the history of the game.

  It was a key moment on the way to the revolutionary Holland side of 1974, with its clear intention of having as many players as possible involved in the play at any given moment, either in trying to win the ball back, or in giving options to the man on the ball.
  The whole team - even the goalkeeper - had two shirts. It was the football of participation.

  According to Brazil's physical preparation specialists, at the time of that great Dutch side, players were running 5,000 metres per game. By the mid 90s this had doubled, and now some players are covering 13,000.

  Obviously, this leaves less space on the field for the star player to show his stuff. Instead of the previous succession of isolated one against duels, the game now is a permanent dispute of 11 against 11, where teams fight to create space for their talented players.

  Mario Zagallo, scoring during the 1958 World Cup final, filled a vital dual role for Brazil - pic: Getty

  Now, more than ever, the rule applies that the stars appear when the balance of the team is correct. It is impossible to judge the contribution of the gifted individual without reference to how he fits in to the collective context.

  But in today's climate this elemental truth can be hidden. With all the individual endorsement deals, FIFA World Player of the Year awards and so on, it can be easy to lose sight of the fact that football is a team game.

  A player's performance, though, should not be judged on how many stepovers he performed, but by how his display contributed to the team's objective.

  Lionel Messi against Arsenal is an illustration. The little man had a profound effect on the game. He wants the ball played to his feet and the opposition are justifiably terrified by the prospect of him turning and spinning into one of his dribbles, and so they try to crowd him out.

  The centre-back on that side of the field is concerned with pushing up and denying him space, which means that if Ibrahimovic can spin off the other centre back he is through on goal. There is no cover. The mere presence of Messi has negated the key advantage of the back four formation.

  On the evidence of last month's 1-0 win away to Germany, Argentina have also worked out how to use Messi as a decoy. He drags the opposing defence over to the right, creating space for Angel Di Maria to fly down the other flank.

  This is something that national team coach Diego Maradona understands well. In his finest hour, the 1986 World Cup, he took out England and Belgium single handedly on the way to the final, where he met the full force of the German marking.

  What did he do? He dragged his markers all over the field and provided passes for his team-mates, like the one from which Jorge Burruchaga scored the winning goal. It was superb individual talent placed at the service of the collective - and that is the mark of the truly great player.
  
  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

  From last week's postbag:
  
  Q) What has happened to Andres D' Alessandro? He seems to have been lost off the radar since he had a loan move to Portsmouth. Is he ever likely to fulfil his early promise and do you think he is ever likely to play for the national team again?
  Jamie Hill
  
  A) Never say never, but his career hasn't come close to fulfilling the hopes I had for him. European football can be hard on the playmaker, with the space squeezed and he was often turned into a wide midfielder, which he was not keen on.
  He's in Brazil with Internacional of Porto Alegre. There are some nice touches, but he's not dominating the game the way he promised to do when he first broke into the River Plate side.

  Q) I was wondering how Édison Méndez has been getting on since returning home to Ecuador with Liga de Quito. I always thought that Méndez looked a useful player when he was at PSV and I was surprised to see that he had returned to South America whilst still reasonably young at 30.
  Conor McCann
  
  A) I too am a huge fan - followed him on the way up and see him as an excellent all round midfielder who is worthy of wider attention. He helped LDU win the Copa Sud or Sul Americana (Europa League equivalent) and he's now gone to Brazil to join Atletico Mineiro, though he's not eligible to play until July.
  
  Q) Is there any chance Nelson Cuevas will make the Paraguay squad this year? Coaches don't seem to like him but he has made a real impact off the bench in previous World Cups. He is one of the most skilful players I've ever seen.
  Alex Morton
  
  A) I first saw him at the start of 1999 in the South American Under-20 Championships. He played at both right-back and left wing, and interpreted both roles in exactly the same way - going on mazy dribbles with the ball tied to his foot. He was indeed a great impact sub in the last two World Cups, and is pushing his claims back at home with Olimpia. But Paraguay have a couple of players in front of him in the queue who also look like promising impact subs - Edgar Benitez on the left, and the fast arriving Rodolfo Gamarra on the right. Cuevas' chances are not looking good at the moment.
  

• Caniza experience crucial for Paraguay

  Posted: March 29, 2010, 10:37 am by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  Can Lionel Messi reproduce his Barcelona form for Argentina? Will Wayne Rooney be able to sustain his current level of performance into June and July? Might Cristiano Ronaldo, or even Kaka, be fresher at the end of the club season because Real Madrid are out of the Champions League?

  The World Cup is where reputations are confirmed and football fans across the planet are hoping the stars to be firing on all cylinders in South Africa.

  But football is a collective activity, with a variety of functions that need to be carried out in order for the team to be successful. Bobby Charlton has spent over 40 years reminding people of the importance of Nobby Stiles to England's World Cup victory in 1966, winning the ball, using it wisely and demanding the best from all around him.

  Brazil were first victorious in 1958, a tournament in which Pele and Garrincha made their names - but Didi, the midfield brains of the side, argued that the best player in the campaign was centre-back Orlando Pecanha. Brazil did not concede a goal until the semi-final, and it was this defensive solidity that gave the platform for the attacking players to show their skills.

  The World Cup, then, is also the story of the unsung heroes and an excellent current example - an unsung hero in an unsung side - is Denis Caniza of Paraguay.
  

  Caniza battles for the ball with South Korea's Lee Keun-Ho during a friendly in August 2009 - photo: Getty

  The chances are that unless you come from Paraguay or Mexico you may never have heard of him, but his team-mates, past and present, and a succession of coaches are well aware of his value.

  For an impoverished country with a population of just over 6m, making it to a fourth consecutive World Cup is a remarkable achievement and Caniza has been there from the start. He is the last member of the France '98 squad still in contention for a place in the Paraguay squad, and he has played in every game of their last three World Cup campaigns - with a versatility that pays tribute to his usefulness.

  A centre-back by preference, he is, at well under 6ft, probably too short to play there at the highest level, but he can fill other positions effectively. In France, he came off the bench to stiffen the midfield in the opening game against Bulgaria and the epic second round match against the hosts, when Paraguay were just a few minutes away from forcing a penalty shoot-out. In the other two games he featured as a left wing-back.

  In Japan and South Korea four years later, he played on the left of a back three against South Africa, as a conventional left-back against Spain and Slovenia, and then at left wing-back when they reverted to 3-5-2 in the second round clash with Germany.

  Four years ago in Germany, he was at right-back in all three of Paraguay's games but was denied what would have been only his second goal for Paraguay.

  In their final group game, he broke forward from right back, latched on to a chest down from midfielder Edgar Barreto and fired a shot past the Trinidad and Tobago keeper. It was an excellent goal, and would have been a real landmark - the 2000th goal in World Cup history. Perhaps the referee thought that someone more glamorous than Caniza should score it because Barreto was wrongly adjudged to have handled, and the goal was disallowed.

  That appeared to be the end of his international career. Caniza was pushing 32 at the end of the tournament and announced that he was no longer interested in representing his country, but the following year coach Gerardo Martino persuaded him to return. He played eight times in the qualification campaign, at both right and left back, and is surely worthy of selection for South Africa, if only for the experience he brings to the squad.

  Last year he provided clear evidence of his continuing quality when he spent a few months with Nacional, a traditional but tiny club in Paraguay's capital Asuncion. They have the reputation of being everyone's second club - both because they produced Arsenio Erico, the country's greatest player, and because they never offered a serious threat to anyone else.

  But with Caniza captaining the side, Nacional ended the long wait for the club's seventh title, and their first since 1946. He then moved to Mexico, where he has spent much of the last decade, to join Leon in the Second Division. Without him, Nacional are not the same side - back in mid-table and comfortably beaten in all four of their Copa Libertadores games.

  So Denis Caniza continues in relative anonymity. But when national team coach Martino says his side's strength is their "collective play" and that teamwork "is a natural characteristic of Paraguayan players", he might well be thinking of the solid and selfless contribution of his veteran defender.
  
  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

  From last week's postbag:
  
  Q) I saw Messi yesterday and he broke Zargoza but my Latino friend kept talking about 'Cintura.' I am not sure that that means in football terms, its something about the waist, can you tell me a bit more about it?
  Omino Gardezi
  
  A) Football is a game of twisting and turning, where players are constantly changing direction, so the idea of having flexibility in the waist ('cintura') is very important, especially in the tradition of the South American game.

  When Uruguay amazed everyone with their play in winning the 1924 Olympics contemporary reports compared them favourably with the English professionals - up until then seen as the best in the world. Where the English were seen as strong, in comparison with the Uruguayans they were adjusted inflexible in the waist, and therefore straight line runners.

  With greater flexibility - and also I would argue a low centre of gravity - the South Americans were better at changing direction and therefore surprising and confusing their opponents. Maradona and now Messi are fantastic examples.
  
  Q) What are your thoughts on Sandro and his move to Tottenham?
  Eoin Barry
  
  This is what I wrote about him in World Soccer magazine at the start of last year when he captained Brazil to victory in the South American Under-20 Championships: "A tall, powerful central midfielder with fierce tackling and defensive anticipation who organises the team in possession, can distribute off either foot and rumble forward to link up with the attack. His range of passing needs improving, but in a problem area for Brazil it will be interesting to see if he is fast tracked into the senior squad."

  I still stand by that. He was indeed fast tracked into the senior squad, and he is a promising, competitive player, though I'm still not particularly impressed by his passing - at times I think he has tunnel vision.

  I see him as a good squad addition, as long as he's not weighed down by expectations to produce 'samba soccer,' because that's not his game.
  

• Uruguayan football on the rise

  Posted: March 22, 2010, 11:44 am by Tim Vickery (BBC Sport)

  In 'Back Home,' his excellent account of the 1970 World Cup, Jeff Dawson does a disservice to the first kings of the global game - after 90 minutes of their quarter-final with the Soviet Union, he writes "the score is that old Uruguayan party piece, 0-0".

  Just 16 years earlier, Uruguay produced a very different party piece in the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland. They beat Scotland 7-1, ended England's campaign in with a 4-2 win in the quarter-finals, but then fell 4-2, after extra time, to the great Hungarians in the semi-final.

  It was the first time Uruguay had lost a World Cup match and six years later, when World Soccer magazine was launched, its inaugural edition carried a feature arguing that this was the greatest match ever played.

  In recent decades it has been Brazil who have been renowned for artistic football, but once upon a time this image belonged to Uruguay.

  In terms of their global standing, it is unfortunate that the Sky Blues' great days precede the age of television - and that subsequently some of their less attractive antics were beamed into living rooms all around the globe.
  

  Semi-finalists once again in 1970, Uruguay were humiliated in '74, failed to qualify for '78 and '82 but hoped to make a glorious return at Mexico '86. Instead, in the second game, they were embarrassed 6-1 by Denmark.

  With so much national pride tied up in prowess on the football field, this was hard to take. An aggressive mentality was a traditional part of their footballing make-up, but this became twisted into an ugly caricature as they took refuge in violence.

  If Uruguay's reputation has improved since then, much of the credit must go to Oscar Washington Tabarez, who placed his calm intelligence at the service of his country's football and took charge at Italia '90, producing a ball-playing side without the ugly excesses of four years earlier.

  But it is his current second spell in charge of the national team, which has seen them qualify for this summer's finals in South Africa, that looks particularly promising.

  Uruguary celebrate after beating Costa Rice to qualify for this summer's World Cup - photo: Getty

  Tabarez is thinking in the long term, heading a project aimed at identifying technically gifted youngsters and developing them through the country's youth sides. Encouraging displays last year in the under-17 and under-20 World Cups show the project is on the right lines - and the evidence of this year's Copa Libertadores, Uruguayan clubs are also benefiting.

  Nacional are one of the country's two giants, along with Penarol. They have won the Libertadores twice, but not since 1988. Last year they became the first Uruguayan club for 20 years to reach the semi-finals, with a team based around the subtle talents of playmaker Nicolas Lodeiro, since sold to Ajax.

  With two wins and two draws, they have made a good start to this year's campaign, where the stand out has been another member of last year's under-20 team, gangling centre-back Sebastian Coates.

  He was Man of the Match in last week's 2-0 victory away to dangerous Argentines Banfield. His aerial power was decisive - he scored one and set up the other - and he also defended well, especially after his experienced partner Lembo had to go off injured in the first half.

  It meant that Coates had to take responsibility for leading the defensive line, and he did it in style.

  Nacional have an impressive tradition in the Libertadores, but the same certainly cannot be said for Uruguay's other two entrants this year, Cerro and Racing. These are neighbourhood clubs, Montevideo's equivalent of Leyton Orient.

  For them to qualify for the Libertadores is achievement enough - Cerro have taken part only once in the past, Racing are debutants. For them to hold their own in the competition is quite remarkable, but that is exactly what they are doing.

  Half-way through the programme, Cerro top their group, while Racing are second in theirs, even though the two Uruguayan minnows can only draw tiny crowds to Montevideo's giant Centenario stadium.

  Last week Cerro switched their home game with Internacional of Brazil to the city of Rivera, on the Brazilian border. It meant that they were effectively the away side, but they were comfortable enough in a 0-0 draw, having already beaten one Ecuadorian club at home and another away.

  Racing's campaign is even more surprising. After overcoming Colombia's in-form Junior in the qualifying round, they suffered a narrow defeat away to Brazil's mighty Corinthians - Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos and all - but beat Cerro Porteno, Paraguay's most popular club, and last week played out a terrific 0-0 draw in an open and entertaining game away to Medellin of Colombia.

  To put this in perspective, this is a club who half-way through the qualifying round lost captain Diego Scotti to the Spanish Second Division.

  Hope, though, lies with the youngsters. Racing's most eye-catching figure is Matias Mirabaje, another member of last year's under-20 squad. Strong and with an exquisite left foot, Mirabaje has scored two well struck goals so far in the campaign, and rattled the post from long range against Medellin.

  The fact that he is playing for such a tiny club makes Mirabaje a symbol of Uruguay's resurgence and suggests that, if it can keep grooming technically gifted players then this country of just 3.4m people will continue to punch above its weight on the football field - and that, surely, is a better course of action than punching below the belt.
  
  Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

  From last week's postbag:
  
  Q) I would be really interested on your thoughts on Fabio Da Silva. I wonder whether you think that given Manchester United's expectations for full-backs to overlap may preclude a right-footed, left-back such as Fabio from integrating as effectively as his brother ? The game, at the absolute highest level, seems so fast now that it is highly unconventional for a full-back to play on the opposite flank to his natural foot ? Denis Irwin was an exception, but I struggle to think of a truly effective recent example, since even Philip Lahm has flaws.
  Matt Savage
  
  A) I remember when I first saw him, three years ago in the South American under-17s. It took me a couple of games to work out that he was right footed - he's very good with his left, far, far better than Philip Lahm. He can hit running crosses on the outside, so I see it as an extra virtue that he can cut in towards goal so well.
  With United's tradition for wing play it shouldn't be a problem, as long as there's a left footer higher up to keep the pitch wide. Remember Brazil 82? Junior, right footed, cutting in from left back because Eder on the flank was creating the space.

  Q) You have said that Maradona now seems to have settled upon his preferred first 11. With this in mind, will Higuain be spearheading Argentina's attack at the World Cup, as seems likely? Is there any chance that Aguero, Tevez and/or Milito will get a place in the first team, or will Maradona stick with the Real Madrid man, supported by Messi?
  Stuart Bird
  
  A) I think the attacking trident will be Higuain flanked by Messi and Di Maria. As options off the bench, this will leave Tevez, Aguero, Milito or Palermo and maybe Lavezzi.

  A year or so back Maradona was talking in terms off persisting with the diddy men attack - Messi, Aguero, Tevez - but he said that the only way it could work would be with the time on the training ground that he will only have in the weeks leading up to the World Cup. He will obviously use this time to look at some variations, but that win over Germany has probably solidified his starting line-up.