In the recent interview after Brazil successfully defeated England on the last friendly match, our man Ricardo Kaka said that England does need David Beckham to play in the next match.

Kaka believes Fabio Capello must include David Beckham in England’s World Cup squad for next summer’s finals.

The LA Galaxy ace played his part in their qualifying campaign, although is not guaranteed a place in the final 23-man squad.

Kaka played alongside the midfield veteran with AC Milan earlier this year and he believes his experience and quality are invaluable.

The 27-year-old, who is now at Real Madrid, says the former Three Lions captain is one of the most intelligent players he has played with.

Read more »

The Telegraph posted an interesting article about the match preview of Brazil vs England this Saturday. Read on:

Touchline duel
The Brazil coach Dunga is well known to Fabio Capello from his time as a player in Serie A — he played for Fiorentina from 1988 to 1992 – and the England manager said yesterday that the midfielder had learned “Italian pragmatism” and tried to blend it with the natural Brazilian flair.

When he was appointed after the last World Cup, Dunga was seen as a short-term solution but he has since won the Copa America, Confederations Cup and his Brazil finished top of the qualifying group for South Africa. And he has done it his way. A bit like Capello.

Key battle
Gareth Barry v Kaka. The Manchester City midfielder will need to be disciplined and attempt to shackle Kaka, who is Brazil’s linchpin and main attacking force. With his runs, vision and precise passing, Kaka is the catalyst for the way Brazil play but also has the ability to follow the coach’s instructions. It will be a big test for Barry, whose lack of pace could be a concern.

Talking tactics
Dunga has radically changed the philosophy and has produced results. Gone are the days of possession football and building attacks.

Instead Brazil rely on a rapid, counter-attacking football suited to the modern-game. It’s said that they are often at their most dangerous when defending an opposition corner – a classic example of this came with Robinho’s goal in the Confederations Cup against the US.

There is also the base of two, big defensive midfielders who stifle the opposition and shield the back four.

Probable Brazil team (4-2-2-2):
Julio Cesar; Maicon, Lucio, Thiago Silva, Michel Bastos; Gilberto Silva, Josue; Kaka, Daniel Alves; Luis Fabiano, Nilmar.
Referee: Abdulrahman Abdou (Qatar)

Source: Telegraph

Just found these two interesting articles about the upcoming match of Brazil vs England in Doha. The first one came from Mirror Football, describing about the Brazil training session yesterday (which is more hilarious than the photos) and then from The First Spot, where Ricky admitted that he’s a fan of the Liverpool captain and England’s very own Steven Gerrard. The complete two articles are under the cut.

Read more »

England v Brazil. A classic in world football. So where is it being played? The Maracana? Wembley?
No. The Khalifa Stadium in Doha.

Where?
Doha. The capital of Qatar, an oil and more specifically gas rich country of around 1.5 million people, most of whom are foreign workers, that is a thumb shaped peninsular sticking up in to the Gulf.

Oh, right. Why there?
Money. But England won’t see much of it. The FA are set to receive around a £400,000 appearance fee while Brazil will end up with 10 times that amount.

Read more »