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Well... WC2002 is here, and so I decided to put together a special section with the players selected for the Cup. Unfortunately (shame on me!) not all players selected for the World Cup are already presented in the ordinary pages, so this section may prove quite useful! Other than that, the only plus of this section are the numbers for caps and goals scored, which I could only find for these players (and are accurate as of May, 1st, 2002).
Anyway... good reading, and I hope you'll enjoy your stay!
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Marcos Roberto Silveira Reis - born 03/07/1974; height: 1m93; weight: 86kg; team: Palmeiras (SP/Brazil);
World Cup Experience: None; Games for Brazil: 15; Goals suffered: 11
Tall, solid and quiet, Marcos has been the starting goalkeeper of the National Team since Luís Felipe Scolari was called to coach the team. In Palmeiras, where he's built his whole career, he's called "Saint Marcos" after more then a hand of miracles he's made when the team needed it most. As a drawback, maybe only his poor skills with the feet and his unreliable ball return.
He's expected to be the starting goalkeeper in the World Cup, too.
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Nélson de Jesus Silva - born 07/10/1973; height: 1m95; weight: 85kg; team: Corinthians (SP/Brazil);
World Cup Experience: 1 (1998) - 0 games/0 goals; Games for Brazil: 49; Goals suffered: 38
This is a tall goalkeeper, who began his career in Vitória, a team from Salvador, Bahia, and was World Champion together with Brazil's under-21 team. He went Cruzeiro circa 1994, and was Brazil's starting goalkeeper in the 1996 Olympic Games. His strong points are his reflex and agility, but he fails more often than desired in high balls and shows some lack of confidence, specially in quick plays. Also, his game is full of "highs and lows"... He played in the 1998 World Cup, and was part of the Corinthians' team that won the FIFA Club World Cup in 2000; after that, he went to Italy, where he ended up on the bench for A.C. Milan until he was discovered to use a false European passport, what costed him a long-lasting ban on Europe; for some "strange" reason, though, FIFA allowed him to keep playing, both for Brazil and for Brazilian Clubs. Despite his bad shape and his "not-more-than-average" performances, he's still strong with the National team coach, and seems to be a certain name for the World Cup.
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Rogério Ceni - born: 22/01/1973; height: 1m88; weight: 85kg; team: São Paulo (SP/Brazil);
World Cup Experience: None; Games for Brazil: 13; Goals suffered: 12
A precise and complete goalkeeper, seen by many as the undisputable best in action in Brazil today, he is sometimes referred to as the Brazilian Chilavert, both for his strong temper, his leadership and for his excellent foul-kicking skills (among others, he scored the goal that gave São Paulo the Paulista Championship title in 2000). For some strange reason (maybe his temper), he was never a real darling of the National Team coaches. If you ask the sports press, though, you'll find he would be the man to call - very far above from the competition...
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José Vítor Roque Júnior - born 31/08/1976; height: 1m86; weight: 76kg; team: AC Milan (Italy);
World Cup Experience: None; Games for Brazil: 17; Goals scored: 2
A very tall, strong and quite skilled, but quite unreliable defender, Roque is one of Scolari's favourite defenders; in fact, he gained his fame while playing with Palmeiras during 1999/2000, and their coach by then was the same Scolari. After leaving Palmeiras, Roque Júnior went to join AC Milan.
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Lucimar da Silva Ferreira - born 08/05/1978; height: 1m87; weight: 82kg; team: Bayer Leverkusen (Germany);
World Cup Experience: None; Games for Brazil: 15; Goals scored: 0
When you see Lucio on the field, you soon realize one thing: his team may even lose, but he'll put all his heart and soul to make sure it doesn't happen - even if it means becoming a forward in the last minutes! A true fighter, he also strikes attention because of his skill, strenght and awesome air game.
After calling a lot of attention playing by Internacional in the year 2000, he soon went to join Bayer Leverkusen. In the National Team, he's bee a constant name, and he's almost sure to be in the starting team in the World Cup.
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José Edmílson Gomes de Moraes - born 10/07/1976; height: 1m86; weight: 75kg; team: Lyon (France);
World Cup Experience: None; Games for Brazil: 13; Goals scored: 0
Edmílson started his career as a midfielder, but his tactical obedience and his versatility took him across the field, first to the defensive midfielder position, then to a true defender one (with a quick tour by the right-back, also). This previous experience in the midfield makes him one of the most versatile defenders Brazil's got, as he can quickly change his own place in the field, taking the team from a 3-5-2 to a 4-4-2 and back again.
After playing many years with São Paulo, where he developed a love-hate relationship with the crowd, in 2000 he went to France, to play for Lyon. In the National Team, his performances were never too solid, at least until 2001, when Scolari brought him back, fielding him "almost by chance" after Roque Junior was suspended, and he soon seemed to fix most of our defensive problems, even helping to relieve some of the midfield problems as well.
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Ânderson Corrêa Polga - born 09/02/1979; height: 1m82; weight: 76kg; team: Grêmio (RS/Brasil);
World Cup Experience: None; Games for Brazil: 5; Goals scored: 3
A very young defender, almost unknown until one year ago, Polga has granted himself respect for his performances as the sweeper in Grêmio's team. This unique skill (in a country where almost 100% of the teams play in a 4-4-2 scheme, with no sweeper) made him an easy choice for Scolari's 3-5-2 team. His game very solid, based on his speed, his great notion of space and, from time to time, his excellent long-dstance shots. On the other hand, he's sometimes accused of not being skilled enough...
6. Roberto Carlos |
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Roberto Carlos da Silva - born 19/04/1973; height: 1m68; weight: 69kg; team: Real Madrid (Spain);
World Cup Experience: 1 (1998) - 7 games, 0 goals; Games for Brazil: 88; Goals scored: 5
Named after a very popular Brazilian singer, Roberto Carlos was the first player from União São Joao (a team from Araras, a small town in the São Paulo state) to join the National Team, around 1993-1994, going then to Palmeiras for around 1 million dollars; in the middle of 1995 he was sold to Internazionale di Milano, from Italy, for +/- US$ 7 Million, and one year after he was borrowed for Real Madrid for the season. In 1997, he signed a new contract with Real Madrid, thus raising the amount needed to take him away from Real to something like US$ 100 Million...
A very physical (and quite strong-tempered) left winger, he is respected mainly because of his physical strength, aerobic resistance and strong kicking. He's been a regular starter in the National Team for more than 6 years now, becoming one of Brazil's "untouchables", despite the fact that part of the crowd seems to be very unhappy with his "too-Europeized" game.
2. Cafu |
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Marcos Evangelista de Moraes - born 19/06/1970; height: 1m72; team: Roma (Italy);
World Cup Experience: 2 (1994 & 1998) - 9 games, 1 goal; Games for Brazil: 104; Goals scored: 6
On the beginning of his career, the first question that was always raised when talking about Cafu was: what's his place in the field? In the very beginning, in São Paulo (~1990), he was a defensive midfielder (by that time, he was also part of the U-21 Brazilian Team); soon enough, as the team needed, he became a right-winger and, some time later, he also played as an offensive midfielder (when he had some of the best performances in his whole career, using very well the freedom coach Telê Santana gave him). In every one of these positions, he's always used his amazing aerobic resistance (so amazing, indeed, that he was a subject to some scientific studies by 1992/1993), together with his tactical obedience and his will to improve, so that it always seems you have 2 or 3 of him on the field... After the golden years with São Paulo, where he won both the 1992 & 1993 Toyota Cups, he took part in a very complicated and confused deal, signing with Parmalat to join Parma, but soon coming back to Juventude, and then to Palmeiras (the main aim of all this was, most people believe, to try some workaround in a term in his contract, as São Paulo clearly forbid Parma from reselling him to Palmeiras in less than one year - it should be noticed that all three teams involved were controlled by the Italian company Parmalat).
In the National Team, after being a replacement for Jorginho in the 1994 WC (not without a lot of complaining from the fans), he's now the absolute starter in his position. In the middle of 1997, he signed with Roma (Italy), where he became internationally acclaimed as one of the best players in his position in the world. In Brazil, although he has been the undisputable starter in the National Team since 1995, he has also been very criticized, mainly for his lack of precision when passing the ball. On the other hand, there is almost no player in Brazil to fight for his place, so...
16. Júnior |
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Denilson de Souza Júnior - born 20/06/1973; height: 1m73; weight: 65kg; team: Parma (Italy)
World Cup Experience: None; Games for Brazil: 12; Goals scored: 0
A quite discrete player, Junior has granted a lot of recognition while playing for the amazing Palmeiras squad of the early 90's, a team full of stars, where he was always a starter. When Parmalat (who financed a large part of the team by then and "owned" most of the team's players) decided to end their contract with Palmeiras, Junior was quickly traded to Parmalat's own "hometeam", Parma. On the National Team, his appearances were short and not really impressive, but he's always remembered by a large part of the press, and has quite a good affinity with Brazil's present coach, Scolari.
13. Belletti |
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Juliano Haus Belletti - born 10/06/1976; height: 1m75; weight: 69kg; team: São Paulo (SP/Brazil)
World Cup Experience: None; Games for Brazil: 10; Goals scored: 1
As most Brazilian side-backs/wingers, Beletti started his career as a defensive midfielder, and indeed this was his position for a long time; on the other hand, São Paulo was in deep need for a right-back/winger, so he started to play there "just as an improvisation, until the team finds a native right back" and, due to some good performances and to the lack of good right-wingers in our teams, he started to feel that this could be his ticket to the National Team - even if just to be in the bench for Cafu - and, indeed, he's now seen as the natural backup for the Roma star.
Now, despite all that, Beletti have taken a real long way to grant all that... In the beginning, his "physical defending style" granted him a quite unwanted title, as he was always between the most undisciplined players in any championship, collecting yellow and red cards all of the time; this problem prevented him from having a straightforward career, as he was put away from São Paulo, playing for Atlético Mineiro for some time. After some good performances (back in the midfield) on the 1999 Brazilian Championship, São Paulo decided to bring him back, once again to play as a right back; by then, he made a commitment to change his in-field behaviour and, amazingly enough, the cards indeed became history, and he not only granted his place in São Paulo, but also became a regular on the National Team lists.
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Emerson Ferreira da Rosa - born 04/04/1976; height: 1m79; weight: 74kg; team: Roma (Italy);
World Cup Experience: 1 (1998) - 2 games, 0 goals; Games for Brazil: 44; Goals scored: 5
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.
A quick, but important, note: Emerson got injured less than 24 hours before Brazil's debut game against Turkey; he got some severe elbow damage while playing as a goalkeeper in training; as his recovery would take more than 4 weeks, he was sent back home and Ricardinho was called to replace him
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Marcos André Batista Santos - born 13/03/1974; height: 1m84; weight: 74kg; team: Corinthians (SP/Brazil);
World Cup Experience: None; Games for Brazil: 37; Goals scored: 2
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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Gilberto Aparecido Silva - born 07/10/1976; height: 1m84; weight: 74kg; team: Atlético Mineiro (MG/Brazil);
World Cup Experience: None; Games for Brazil: 6; Goals scored: 3
A former defender who has 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. In the few matches he played for the National Team, he has proven to be very solid and, as a bonus, quite deadly on the air game and on long-distance shots. He's also been tested as a defender, and may be used as a defender in case Scolari needs a fifth man back there.
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José Kléberson Pereira - born 19/06/1979; height: 1m75; weight: 64kg; team: Atlético Paranaense (PR/Brazil);
World Cup Experience: None; Games for Brazil: 5; Goals scored: 2
A young player who called the soccer world's attention in 2001, when the (relatively) small Atlético Pararaense won the Brazilian Championship, Kléberson is one of those all-round midfielders, so hard to find (at least in Brazil) these days. When defending, he can be very efficient without commiting fouls; when attacking, he plays like a true midfielder, quickly and intelligently, and can also be very deadly on long-distance shots. He's been tested by Scolari quite often, mainly when he needs to enhance the creative power of the midfield without losing defensive grip.
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Ronaldo de Assis Moreira - born: 21/03/1980; height: 1m76; weight: 71kg; team: Paris Saint-Germain (France)
World Cup Experience: None; Games for Brazil: 24; Goals scored: 14
The first thing that comes to my mind when thinking of this guy is the goal he scored, back in 1999, possibly on his first appearance for the National Team (against Venezuela, I think)... put short, that was a piece of art, pure and simple; in that exact moment, many here in Brazil noticed that this was not an average player, in any possible sense. Intelligent and amazingly skilled, Ronaldinho is the kind of forward (or offensive midfielder, as he can play both) that's almost impossible to stop; once he's got the ball, he is completely unpredictable, and you never know if he's gonna dribble, pass, shoot...
Unfortunately, his career has suffered two almost simultaneous major drawbacks, and that prevented him from showing his best for over 6 months in the second semester of 2000. First, there was the disaster in the 2000 Olympic Games, which really costed a lot of popularity for all the players in that team; second, there was the troubled deal to trade Grêmio for Paris Saint-Germain, which left him out of the field for the whole semester, as Grêmio wouldn't allow him to play for PSG before FIFA forced both parts to a deal (this was probably the most noisy case introduced by a change in Brazil's rules for player transfers, approved by the middle of 2000, somehow on the trail of the now famous Bosman case).
On the second semester of 2001, though, already setlled in Paris and playing at Saint-Germain, Ronaldinho started to reacquire his confidence and prestige, and now it's very likely that he will be one of the top-stars in the 2002 Japan/Korea World Cup!
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Rivaldo Victor Borba Ferreira - born 19/4/1972; height: 1m87; weight: 75kg; team:
Barcelona (Spain);
World Cup Experience: 1 (1998) - 7 games, 3 goals; Games for Brazil: 63; Goals scored: 31
A tall and fast player, Rivaldo called Brazil's attention when Mogi Mirim, at that time a small and almost unknown team from city near São Paulo, had an amazing season, in 1993. After that, he went to play for Corinthians, where his elegant style set him as one of the best new players of the whole country; in 1994, after a lot of confusion between Mogi Mirim and Corinthians, he went to play for Palmeiras, where he fitted perfectly, showing some unexpected experience for such a young player. His strongest points are his ability to help in the defensive work, running fastly with the ball to the offense as soon as it is recovered, as well as his precise kick; his only weakness comes from his tendency to hold the ball for too long and to try individual plays a little more often than he should. His almost-perfect season with Palmeiras made La Coruña take him (not before disputing with Parma) for US$7Million, and made him a National Team starter during the 1996 Olympic Games, where he was somehow blamed for the bad result. The "Olympic disaster" left him out of the National Team for a while, but he recovered his place and had a chance to play in the 1998 World Cup. After that, he went on a "rocket ship to stardom", first changing La Coruña for Barcelona, then winning the Golden Ball award in 1999... On the National Team, though, his performances were never even close to the expectations, and his position as a starter is in under deep attack from the crowd and the media.
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Oswaldo Giroldo Jr. - born 22/02/1973; height: 1m67; weight: 58kg; team: Flamengo
(RJ/Brazil)
World Cup Experience: None; Games for Brazil: 45; Goals scored: 4
He was from a poor family (as most Brazilian players) and used to play for amateur teams until he was 18-19. He was refused by Corinthians in his youth because of his size (he was considered too small and too thin to be a professional player), and had his fist contract as a professional at Ituano, a small team from a city near São Paulo. After a splendid Paulista Championship for Ituano, he was bought by São Paulo for very little money (something around 400-500 thousand dollars). In São Paulo he was offered a special training routine and special nutritional diet, and so he became a little taller and much stronger than before. Rising fastly, he had his official début for the National Team in 1995's America Cup, where he got his chance when Amoroso, another very talented young player from Guarani, left the team due to a knee injury; in the same year, he left the English audience astonished when Brazil won the Umbro Cup, a friendly tournament, beating the home team inside Wembley Stadium. He's a midfield/forward player known for his speed and dribbling capabilities. In September of 1995, Middlesborough, an upcoming English team, signed him for US$7 Million, hoping he'd be the cornerstone of the team. Although his performances in 1996, both with Brazil in the Olympic Games and with Middlesborough in England's Premier League, didn't keep the same level as before, he's still seen as a very important player of the new generation. In the end of the 1996/1997 season he was selected the 2nd best foreign player in the Premier League (even with his team's bad performance)... At the same time, he announced he was joining Atlético Madrid for the huge sum of US$ 20 Million. His performances in Spain, though, were never at the same level as before, and by the beginning of 2000 he was back to Brazil, joining Vasco da Gama on their effort towards the FIFA Club World Cup. Once he was back to Brazil, he was soon back to the National Team, but once again it seems the "magic" is not the same anymore... By the way, in Vasco he gained the "Paulista" nickname, as there was also another Juninho in the team ("Paulista" is the name for someone born in the São Paulo state)
For 2002, he traded Vasco for Flamengo, has granted a place on the bench for the World Cup and is sometimes considered a good choice for Rivaldo's (quite too common) bad days.
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Ricardo Izecson Santos Leite - born 22/04/1982; height: 1m83; weight: 76kg; team: São Paulo (SP/Brazil)
World Cup Experience: None; Games for Brazil: 2; Goals scored: 1
In the beginning of 2001, Kaká was just a kid on the bench of São Paulo's U-21 team, still recovering from a problem in the vertebral spine; by the end of the year, he was voted one of the best players on the 2001 National Championship, and elected the "rookie of the year", receiving great cumpliments from people like the former stars Tostão (1970), Zico (1982) and so on... This awesome rise started almost by chance, as São Paulo was in desperate need for a man to organize the midfield, and none of the men tested did a good job... Then, on the final match of the Rio - São Paulo Tournament, the young guy on the bench was fielded, scored two goals and gave the team the much-awaited title... From then on, he soon granted a place on the team, and his amazing performances attarcted cumpliments, recognition, and even brought the press to put some pressure on Brazil's coach Scolari to call the boy to the World Cup... The pressure worked, but he's most likely to watch the whole World Cup from the bench (unfortunately).
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Ronaldo Luís Nazáro de Lima - born 22/09/1976; height: 1m80; weight: 81 kg; team: Internazionale (Italy);
World Cup Experience: 2 (1994 & 1998) - 7 games, 4 goals; Games for Brazil: 66; Goals scored: 40
A complete forward player who seems to smell the goal at long distances, he kept a 1 goal-per-game average up to his 51th professional match (I don't have the figures after that, but I suppose it shall not be much worse - if not even better - right now); he started in Cruzeiro and was in the 94 World Cup (though he didn't play in the WC, a large part of the crowd thought he should have replaced Bebeto at that time). In 1994, after the World Cup, he changed Cruzeiro for Holland's PSV Eindhoven, where he kept on scoring goals, fighting with (and winning!) Dutch youngster Kluivert for the top place at the scoring table. After some very serious injuries left him apart of the playing field for some months in the beginning of 1996, his presence in the Olympic Games seemed impossible, but he recovered just in time to play Brazil's last friendly match before the nominnation of the 18 players that would go, and Zagallo decided to call him, even if he wasn't yet back to his best shape (by the way, in the Olympic Games, he was Brazil's top scorer). After the Olympics, he announced he was leaving PSV (for something like US$ 21 Million) to join Barcelona's "Dream Team" (together with Giovanni, Stoichkov, Vítor Baía, and other stars); soon enough, he proved to be Barcelona's greatest star, finishing the year 1996 as the top scorer in the Spanish League (well above the 2nd); in the beginning of 1997, he was 2nd in the election for the "Golden Ball" (the title for the best player in Europe - and he's only 20 years old!!!) and, also, he was chosen by FIFA "the best player in the world in 1996", becoming the youngest player ever to get this title (the former record belonged to Roberto Baggio, who won it at the age of 26!!!). All this success attracted lots of offers from every rich team in Europe, and in the end of the 1996/1997 season Barcelona refused to sign a new contract with their star and Internazionale payed the US$ 32 Million for breaking his contract with the spanish team... This episode reached FIFA's tribunals and then an additional fee was imposed, but he eventually became Internazionale's brightest star, showing the world that even the toughest defenders in the world (as the Italians are known) aren't enough to stop his goals... Unfortunately, though, these same defenders had their victory in 1999, when Ronaldo suffered a very serious knee injury. This injury left him out of the fields for more than 2 years (after one year there was an intended comeback, which lasted for less than 20 minutes). Now, by the end of 2001, he finally scored another goal in the Italian league, and if things keeps going the way they seem to be, Brazil should have a very improved offensive lineup for the 2002 World Cup (and the opponent's defence, a huge nightmare)...
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Luiz Carlos Goulart - born 14/11/1975; height: 1m76; weight: 73kg; team: Corinthians (SP/Brazil)
World Cup Experience: None; Games for Brazil: 11; Goals scored: 5
A true killer, this player has been among the top scorers of every tournament he plays since he first appeared, playing for Guarani (where, by the way, he would join Amoroso in one of the deadliest offensive line-ups of the last years), then at the age of 16. After long years playing for the green Campinas' team, he went to Palmeiras in the beginning of 1996, where he soon started to score important goals, reaching the National Team again after some 2 years. For some reason, he was soon once again forgotten by the National Team coaches. By 1998, he went to Spain, where he joined the "Brazilian Legion" at Desportivo La Coruña, and be the start of 2000 he came back for Corinthians, just in time for FIFA's Club World Cup. When everything was arranged for him to move to germany, by the end of 2000, he suffered a serious injury that left him 6 months of of the fields; back in action by mid-2001, he once again started to score plenty of goals and, more than that, he developed beter passing skills, too. Back in the National Team once again for the last two matches of the World Cup Qualifyers, where Brazil needed some goals very badly, he didn't disappoint Scolari's faith: after missing the first one due to an injury, he came to the last match against Venezuela, just to score Brazil's first two goals and seal the place for the Korea/Japan World Cup, both for the team and for himself.
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Denílson de Oliveira - born: 24/08/1977; height: 1m72; weight: 63 kg; team: Betis (Spain);
World Cup Experience: 1 (1998) - 7 games, 0 goals; Games for Brazil: 54; Goals scored: 8
When he was only 15, Denílson made such an impression on São Paulo's coach Telê Santana that the latter called him to join the professional staff... Two years later, Denílson was already seen as a player with outstanding talent, reaching the U-19 National Team, but his selfish style still prevented him to be a regular starter. In 1996, more experienced and less selfish, Denílson soon became one of the most important players in his team, finally getting respect and admiration even from his opponents... His fast dribbling is his strongest point and, although he should somehow improve his shooting, he's already made a very good impression on Zagallo, specially after his first appearances in the National Team, against Cameroon and Bosnia, when he was elected the best man in the field... In the middle of 1997, after a long and frustrated negotiation with Barcelona (the figures that came out at the time were something like Giovanni plus US$20 million), Denílson was negotiated with Betis (Spain) for US$ 25 Million. After some bad seasons in Spain, period in which he was forgotten by the National Team coaches also, Denílson came back to play for Flamengo for the 2000 season, and this move took him back to the National Team as well. In 2001, he went back to Betis. In the National Team, his killer dribbles were decisive in the last Qualifyer matches, making him one of the crowd's favourites. For some reason, though, he seems to deliver his best only when coming in during the second half - thus it is expected that Scolari uses him exactly this way in the World Cup.
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Edílson da Silva Ferreira - born: 17/09/1970; height: 1m65; weight: 62kg; team: Cruzeiro (MG/Brazil)
World Cup Experience: None; Games for Brazil: 17; Goals scored: 5
Also known as "Capetinha" (little devil), because both of his unpredictable dribbles and temper, Edílson is both an amazing forward and a not-less-amazing troublemaker. Throughout his career, his game has never been called less than "awesome" (and, more than once, the word "genius" has proven quite adequate, too); fast, unpredictable, bold and amazingly skilled, he unfortunately cut short many of his chances with his egocentric, many times stoopid and inconsequent, attitude.
7. Ricardinho |
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Ricardo Luis Pozzi Rodrigues - born 23/05/1976; height: 1m76; weight: 73kg; team: Corinthians (SP/Brasil)
World Cup Experience: None; Games for Brazil: 3; Goals scored: 0
Called at the last minute, after Emerson's injury, Ricardinho is a solid midfielder and a very good playmaker. Although not a defensive midfielder, his tactical obedience and his natural leadership may have made the difference to the competition.
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.
