Copa America 2011: Is Alex De Souza the Player That Brazil Is Missing?

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at Internationaled.org

Published: July 13, 2011

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After a dismal start to this year's CopaAmerica, Brazil's critics and supporters alike have began to question the team's credentials to actually defend their title.

The Samba Boys have taken just a point from each of their fixtures, one a scoreless draw against Venezuela and the other a somewhat fortunate 2-2 tie against Paraguay, in which they salvaged a point thanks to a last minute strike from substitute Fred.

They're known as notoriously slow starters, but this year it's different. Coach Mano Menezes has been criticized for his squad selection, as he left out a number of the best Brazilian players from Europe this season.

Some of the prime examples are players like Porto's Hulk and Marcelo of Real Madrid, but one of the less widely regarded exclusions is Alex de Souza of Turkish champions Fenerbahce.

He is already 33 years of age, but the one-time Brazilian captain enjoyed a spectacular season, scoring 28 goals and setting up 13 in just 37 matches.

While his age is a major deterring factor, he would provide some much needed experience as well as the creative spark Brazil are missing in attack. Many have claimed that the presence of veterans like Alex are unneeded,  and that this competition is simply a stepping stone for the 2014 World Cup. However, the exclusion of promising players like Douglas Costa, Willian, Marcelo, and Hulk, as well as the presence of other players like Fred, Elano, and even Jadson show that the coach has attempted to inject a little bit of experience into the side.

However, he has definitely gone the wrong way, failing to include any truly seasoned veteran of an attacker in the squad, save Robinho, who has failed to shine as of yet.

At that, a seasoned veteran is exactly what Alex would be for the Brazilian squad! He debuted with the Seleção in 1998, and played in the 1999 Confederations Cup, 1999 Copa&...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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