Seven Snubs from the Seleção Copa America Centenario Roster
Dunga’s Brazil roster for the 2016 Copa America Centenario was good enough, but several players were criminally snubbed from the roster while other snubs were less criminal.
Coaches everyone in world soccer seem to be making bizarre roster and lineup decisions, and these range from Pep Guardiola’s nonsensical Bayern Munich lineups to Jürgen Klinsmann’s misguided coaching decisions for the United States.
Here are Dunga’s snubs from the Brazilian National Team (Seleção):
Thiago Silva (Center Back – Paris Saint-Germain)
Thiago Silva is still the best center back in the world, and he is also the best defender in general in the world. This snub is clearly personal. Any defender can become the scapegoat for a loss or goal, but the snubbing of Thiago Silva is unforgiveable. This is a clear case of a coach rating himself too highly, and it’s a clear case of a coach on a shameless power trip. There’s no universe where Gil or Rodrigo Caio are better than Thiago Silva.
Marcelo (Left Back – Real Madrid)
Marcelo and David Alaba are the best left backs in the world, and for however good Douglas Santos is, he isn’t more deserving than Marcelo and Alex Sandro. It would have made sense if Marcelo and Filipe Luís made the Seleção roster but not Alex Sandro, but it doesn’t make sense than both Marcelo and Alex Sandro were excluded. The Real Madrid left back is a force of nature that has a hugely positive impact on games.
Danilo (Right Back – Real Madrid)
The argument can be made that Dunga snubbed both the starting right back and the starting left back of Real Madrid from the Brazil roster, and that statement already calls into question Dunga’s coaching abilities. Dani Carvajal is sometimes the starting right back for Real Madrid over Danilo, but Danilo is an impressive right back full of non-stop running and excellent two-way play. As a right back, Danilo also has an excellent left foot, and he’s capable of cutting inside toward the penalty box in attack and scoring. Danilo’s speed and overal skill-set make him hard to get past, but Fabinho is an impressive and versatile right back in his own right. Both players are quality, but Danilo is above Fabinho right now.
Lucas (Forward/Wing- Paris Saint-Germain)
Snubbing Lucas wasn’t as bad as the Thiago Silva and Marcelo snubs. Lucas deserved to make the roster, but so did the other players that made the roster instead of him, except for Hulk. At his best, Lucas is unplayable, and he plays on both the right and left wings. Lucas’s 1v1 abilities are world-class, and he isn’t a consistent starter for Paris Saint-Germain only because of Laurent Blanc’s obsession with playing Edinson Cavani, a center forward, as a wing. Snubbing Lucas is understandable given the fact that Hulk can play as a center forward and the fact that Willian, Douglas Costa, and Coutinho are all playing better. Nevertheless, one has to wonder why Hulk and Ricardo Oliveira are on the roster over Roberto Firmino and Lucas. Even if he isn’t starting for Milan, it would make more sense to have Luiz Adriano on the roster over Hulk and to give Lucas a roster spot.
Roberto Firmino (Forward/Attacking Midfielder-Liverpool)
Roberto Firmino isn’t exclusively a center forward, but he has shown well there for Liverpool. He’s proven to be full of running in his off the ball movement and pressing of the defense, and Firmino can score with both feet and his head. Firmino can stretch the defense or combine with teammates, and he can score and create. While Firmino can play any attacking position, he isn’t a False Nine, but rather he can play as a legit Number 9. If Firmino had been on the roster with Gabigol, then Dunga could have been said to be making a real attempt to improve the Number 9 spot for Brazil.
Allan (Central Midfielder-Napoli)
Allan is the type of Number 8 or segundo volante that the Seleção traditionally try to start, but it makes sense to have Elias and Renato Augusto on the roster. The Napoli midfielder provides plenty of ball-winning and attacking forays in Serie A, but his exclusion is a case of two other capable players being selected instead of him. Still, Allan played too well for Napoli to not make the roster. A strong argument can be made that his play in Serie A was more deserving of a roster spot than Elias’ and Renato Augusto’s play domestically in Brazil. Nothing wrong with Elias and Renato Augusto, but Allan got a raw deal here.
Felipe Anderson (Attacking Midfielder/Forward-Lazio)
Felipe Anderson has been designated as an Olympic team player for this summer, but several other players will be selected for both the Copa America Centenario roster and the Olympic roster. The attacking midfielder and wing positions are the deepest for Brazil, but Felipe Anderson is an amazing attacking midfielder that plays in Serie A and plays wide or centrally. It’s fair to say that Felipe Anderson is better than Lucas Lima, who is widely praised in Brazil and a target for Europe’s top clubs. The argument can be made that Brazil’s six best attacking midfielders and/or wings are Neymar, Willian, Douglas Costa, Felipe Anderson, Lucas, and Coutinho. On this roster, Rafinha, Lucas Lima, and Hulk all made the roster while Felipe Anderson and Lucas did not. A questionable decision.