In recent times, these players' job have grown from simply helping defense to also organizing the plays and, when possible, appearing in the offense to try long-distance shots. On the other hand, most of the time the "brainless" defensive midfielders called, and they are usually held responsible for the awful game Brazil has been playing...
In the present National Team, one of the main problems seems to be the lack of a good midfield connection, and not little of this comes from the fact that all the defensive midfielders usually called lack the creativity and speed needed to start decent offensive plays.
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One of Scolari's favourites since the time they both worked together in Grêmio, Emerson divides oppinions here in Brazil... Some say he's got what's been lacking in the rest of the team: will, fighting spirit and so; others (and I would most certainly include myself in this group) think he's a symptom of the present team, as he's unable to pass a ball quickly or intelligently, slowing down every play and, many times, killing them where they should start. Defensively speaking, he oftem commits too many hard fouls, and that could be a problem if a tough referee is on his way. Among his good points one must say he's a fighter, has an amazing stamina and sometimes scores on long-distance shots.
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A quite skilled defensive midfielder, Vampeta has some of his greatest moments playing with Corinthians in 2000, when they won the FIFA Club World Cup. From then on, though, he's been drifting from team to team, having had a quite frustrating European season and never really settling on one team or playing the same game anymore. As of the beginning of 2002, he was said to be joining Corinthians once again, but Flamengo, his most recent team, was trying to ruin that transfer. A regular on the National Team lists, his performances haven't been too impressive lately, and his name started to be questioned, too. As a player, he has good defensive behavior and good offensive skills, too, but he tends to hold the ball for just too long and to take risks on very unnecessary dribbles, too.
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One of the cornerstones of the Ponte Preta team, Mineiro is a hard worker who has the ability to defend very well without making too many fouls - what sets him apart from 99% of the defensive midfielders we have by now. He's had some opportunities on the National Team, but it seems very unlikely that he'll be on the World Cup list.
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Other player that called some attention for being able to defend without commiting fouls, Gilberto has also a good ball control and doesn't try to hold the ball longer than needed. For some reason, though, his name wasn't remembered more than once or twice and, despite quite a good performance when tested, he seems to be out of the race, too.
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A very solid defensive midfielder who first showed his skills in 1990, when he helped the small team of Bragantino both to the title of the tough Paulista Championship and to the 2nd place in the Brazilian Championship... By that time, he signed with Desportivo La Coruña (more or less at the same time as Bebeto), and was a very important piece to the team that rapidly became one of Spain's strongest teams... A very talented and strong player, Mauro Silva is very good in the defense, but can also help the offense when needed. He was a starter in Brazil's team that won the 1994 WC and, despite his "quiet" style, he was one of the key pieces of the team, his solidness in defense freeing both Márcio Santos, Aldair and Dunga to help the offense. Now, after many great seasons in Spain, his name was put once again in the National Team list when the coach felt the team needed some experience, and a defender with good ball control!
Zé Roberto |
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José Roberto da Silva Júnior - born: 06/07/1974; height: 1m72; weight: 67 kg; team: Bayer Leverkusen (Germany);
This left-winger, who can also play in the midfield, was elected both the best surprise and the best left winger in the 1995 Brazilian National Championship. His ability to defend, help the midfield and still go towards the offense has made him one of the key pieces of the Portuguesa team. After he was left out of Brazil's team that played the Olympic Games, he started playing midfield in his team, and to great success (his ball control, together with some experience - Portuguesa's team is mainly formed by very young players - was one of the reasons why the team made it to the final in the 1996 Brazilian Championship...). In the end of 1996 he took part in a confused episode after signing a pre-contract with Real Madrid and then almost signing with Lazio... Bottom line, he went to Real Madrid (to play as a midfielder) for something like US$ 8 Million and Portuguesa lost the sponsor (the Italian Cragnotti group, which owns the Lazio team...). Now, gossip apart, he became a very solid midfielder, and his name has always been around when the National team is called...
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A very skilled and quite versatile defensive midfielder, Simplício is still struggling for a place in São Paulo's starting team, his skill and tactical discipline already show up, and, if things keep going the way they are, he shall be a good name for 2006...
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A very young player who had plenty of chances in the start of the "Scolari era" and called Bordeaux's attention very early, Costa is a defensive midfielder with very little technical resources, but plenty of will and fighting spirit. In the National Team, his performances were always too criticized so, despite admittedly still liking his game, Scolari had to leave him aside.
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Another very young player, Rochemback started his career in Internacional de Porto Alegre and, after some good matches with the National Team, got transferred to Barcelona. A good long-distance shooter, he is also somehow more technical than the average Brazilian defensive midfielder, without losing defensive power because of that. Another "victim" of the bad times, he had to be pushed away from the National Team and traded for more experienced players when things went from bad to worse... Expect to see him back there, though.
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At a very young age, this guy came up during 2001, becoming one of the favourites of the brazilian media in the first half of the year. Strong, resolute and very skilled, despite his apparently clumsy way, he suffered a lot throughout the year while trying to find his own place in the field; during 2001, he's played both as a defensive and offensive midfielder, and this "duality" seems to have collected its bills, as by the end of the year he was still to grant a starting position on the team (by the way, the choice to select him as a defensive midfielder for these pages was personal, based on the fact that this is where I think he'll show up eventually). Anyway, a regular in all U-XX National Teams, he was already called for the main National Team a couple of times, and he's sure to be called many times more...
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One of the most complete defensive midfielders in recent times, he started his career in Santos; after some years, he went to join Palmeiras, and that's when the legend grew: in the almost-perfect team Palmeiras managed to put together in the beginning of the 90's, Sampaio was the soul and the spirit; he would be an almost-unbreakable barrier in the defense, and his offensive sprints would always bring terror to the opponent... More than once, he dribbled 4 or 5 players before scoring a beautiful goal... After a couple of years with Palmeiras, by the year 1994 he went out to Japan, becoming one of the Frugels' greatest stars. In recent times, he came back to Brazil, to join Corinthians, and his performances, together with the lack of good names for the position, make some people remember him once again...
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One of the most important Brazilian players of his generation, Dunga has known heaven and hell when it comes to the public oppinion... A very solid defensive midfielder known for his strong marking and fighting spirit, he's a natural born leader, becominh captain in almost every team he played for in his long career... His international experience includes many seasons in Italy, where he granted the press' respect for his braveness and tireless fighting spirit. In 1990, he was seen as the symbol of the what was allegedly the worst (and less-skilled) National Team Brazil has ever sent to a World Cup and his name seemed to be fated to fall into oblivion in terms of National Team. For most of the crowd's surprise (and dislike, at the time), he was called to join the National Team again by 1994... During the World Cup, he was not only the team's captain, but ha also provided some very good long passes that seemed to be the solution, as the team's midfield refused to work properly... After the Worl Cup, he went to Japan for what seemed to be the end of a glorious career... Once again, when the Brazilian National Team's defense started to show up as its main problem, he was called to give the team the defensive strenght it was lacking... After being Brazil's capitan in the 1998 World Cup, he still played for some 2 years more, going for a well-deserved retirement by the start of 2001.
If, for any reason, you came straight to this page and is viewing it in full screen, please follow this link to get to the original page, with links to a lot of stuff...
By Guilherme Soares Zahn - 2002.
The pictures contained in this page were found on the Internet so, if they may hurt any copyright laws, please let me know.
The comments presented reflect my own personal oppinion
