RONALDINHO AND CUP

RONALDINHO AND CUP

Ronaldinho’s gap-toothed grin will be missing from the Brazilian team photos from South Africa. The most dazzling player of a generation was omitted from Dunga’s preliminary roster Tuesday, signaling perhaps that supreme talent alone is not enough to be part of the Seleção, and that training habits and commitment may also be important. The striker Adriano was also left off the initial list of 23 players named to the team. Dunga will add seven more later in the day to the preliminary list submitted to FIFA. This signals a new-look Brazil team, with Kaka as the undisputed leader. The Real Madrid player was named along with Robinho, Maicon and his Inter Milan teammate, goalkeeper Julio Cesar.

Ronaldinho, a veteran of the 2002 and 2006 World Cup finals, was not the only aging superstar left off the team: Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos, who played in every World Cup since 1998, were left off the team as expected.
Dunga, who won the World Cup as a player in 1994 and helped lead the team to the final in 1998, has carefully re-made the Brazil team since taking over as coach in 2006. Known for a more defensive, physical style as a player, he began phasing out his flashier former teammates and brought in a number of more conservative players willing to play defense. Brazil is still Brazil: quick passing, artful step-overs and keen flicks season their play. But Dunga relies on players like Maicon and Lucio, physical defenders who can win balls and advance directly, to anchor his team, rather than the samba-style practitioners like Ronaldinho.
Though he had been on the outside of the Brazil team for over a year, Ronaldinho showed renewed vigor this season with A.C. Milan, scoring 10 goals in Serie A.