Selecao outclass Scotland at the Emirates
Numbers shown not necessarily ones used in match. Solid arrows represent
attacking movement, dotted represent defensive movement.
Numbers shown not necessarily ones used in match. Solid arrows represent
attacking movement, dotted represent defensive movement.
- Cesar
- Alves
- Santos
- Lucio
- Silva
- Lucas L.
- Ramires
- Jadson
- Elano
- Neymar
- Leandro
- McGregor
- Hutton
- Crainey
- Berra
- Caldwell
- Adam
- Brown
- McArthur
- Morrison
- Whittaker
- Miller
Scotland started the match with a simple 4-1-4-1 formation, with Charlie Adam playing the deep-lying regista and Kenny Miller a hard-working lone striker’s role. Brazil started with a familiar 4-2-3-1, with Lucas Leiva and Ramires playing behind a new look front four, with Neymar, Jadson and Leandro names who do not immediately spring to mind when you think of Brazilian forwards.
The match settled down into a fairly predictable pattern: Scotland sat deep, with the energetic Miller causing a nuisance to the Brazilian defensive midfielders and looking to play on the break. Brazil, with their new-look side under Mano Menezes, now play possession-based flair football. I think it would be safe to say that naturally, they are very good at that. Brazil dominated, sliding the ball with ease from defence to attack. The lack of pressure on the centre-backs Silva and Lucio allowed them to pick a pass, and Lucio to indulge in his favourite pastime of charging forward with the ball. When this happened, sometimes the amount of players that Brazil got forward was astonishing: with Lucio, the two fullbacks and one of the defensive midfielders all joining the attack, there were often up to eight players in the final third of Scotland’s half. On the other hand, Scotland were defending with ten men, only one of whom ventured out of his half.
First half
This could have degenerated into a dull stalemate, but the game remained entertaining. Brazil’s passing was a joy to watch, and the band of three behind Leandro rotated and changed. All three of them were prominent throughout the half, and Leandro offered a different threat with his aerial ability, grazing the crossbar halfway through the first half. Scotland hardly touched the ball, thanks to Brazil’s intensive pressing from the front. Elano and Jadson in particular were ferocious in their pressing, though unsurprisingly Neymar didn’t look too enthused when Brazil didn’t have the ball. As good as Brazil’s passing and pressing was though, Scotland’s defending was fantastic. Inch-perfect tackles were well executed. Much as Brazil’s movement threatened to drag Scotland around, they moved and covered well as a unit, particularly the back four. Charlie Adam looked promising early on in the “Pirlo role” whilst also being solid defensively, as seen by his great covering slide tackle on Neymar. That said, Brazil were threatening, and should have had a penalty via Caldwell’s hand.
Neymar scores and Brazil take control
Neymar in particular was threatening with pace and guile, with his close control and dribbling making the Scottish defenders back off him. His off the ball movement was also good, as proved by his goal near the end of the half. A great throughball to Andre Santos by Ramires cut down the Scottish right, and he charged into space before cutting back for Neymar, who had drifted into space. He took a few touches and buried it past McGregor.
As the half ended, Scotland looked more proactive, with Miller working the right hand of the Brazilian defence. The gap left by Alves allowed him plenty of room, but Silva’s pace allowed him to cover with ease. The movement by Scotland’s midfield when in possession was interesting: Brown dropped deep, Adam moved slightly in front of him, and McArthur, Morrison and Whittaker moved up to form a 4-2-3-1. In contrast, Brazil’s formation was more ‘rigid’ in the sense that they stayed in the same kind of formation regardless, though the wingers sometimes dropped back in the rare moments when Brazil’s defensive shape was needed, in order to form a 4-4-1-1. Neymar’s work rate, though, was often lacking compared to the more disciplined Elano, and it often formed a lopsided 4-3-2-1. This could well have been a tactical ploy by Menezes though, as Brazil often played through him on the rare opportunites where they could counter. Neymar’s relative laziness could in some cases have caused his team trouble, but thanks to Brazil’s dominance and the way Neymar compensated the problem was more or less non-existent. When out of possession, Neymar drifted around, looking for pockets of space where he could run at defenders, making a counter through him a potent attack.
The second half began with Scotland looking more proactive on the ball, though Adam’s touch let him down and Neymar charged through the middle and let fly, hitting the crossbar. The mistakes by Scotland continued; from the resulting goal kick, McGregor rolled it out to the defender, who was immediately jumped by two Brazilians. With an open goal, Neymar tried to pass to Jadson, but McGregor redeemed himself by pulling off a good intercepting save. Scotland’s fans remained in good voice despite their team’s haplessness, shouting the traditional “Ole!” every time the Scottish completed more than two passes.
Brazilian dominance grows
The Brazilian dominance began to look farcical. Scotland’s defenders were either harried so much they lost possession, or allowed the ball in the knowledge that they didn’t have the technical skill to do anything threatening. Brazilian passes cut through the Scottish defence at ease, and the previously solid tackling of the Scottish backline had deserted them. Ramires skied over an easy chance from a few yards out, and even the normally reliable Adam was looking hunted. The ever-willing Miller was still charging around up front, but was isolated and up against a superb defensive partnership in Silva and Lucio. Realising he was getting no change out of Lucio either for pace or aerially, early on in the first half he switched to working Silva. However, Silva wasn’t beaten for pace either, and he won almost all of his aerial duels with Miller.
As the match wore on, on 56 minutes Craig Levein decided enough was enough and brought on the promising Barry Bannan. The lively crowd added colour to a game which began to become amusing, capped off with Bannan and Morrison’s dancing feet occasionally looking more Brazilian than, well, a Brazilian. Elano also began to do his bit for the general joviality of the occasion, shooting from wherever he felt like, with the particular highlight a 45 yard freekick that he and Lucio spent a good minute arguing over before Elano attempted a shot. To top it off, Barry Bannan tried winning a header against Lucio, much to the mirth of the crowd.
Scotland improve, but Brazil threaten
Bannan’s introduction actually provided an extra dimension to Scotland’s attacking play, however. Before, they were playing strictly through Adam’s long diagonals, but with Bannan’s introduction he and Adam began playing short one-twos as well as direct balls. Bannan’s pace and dribbling skills as well as his creativity allowed he and Adam to switch and interchange, almost immediately creating a half chance for Miller and winning a corner. The introduction of Kris Commons also added some attacking flair and interchange. Scotland’s 4-2-3-1 alternate attacking shape seemed to be more in evidence, with either Bannan or Adam moving into the hole behind Miller.
Both teams began bringing on future stars, with Liverpool’s Danny Wilson and Sao Paulo’s Moura Lucas (not confusingly at all) replaced Berra and Jadson, so moving into centre-back and trequartista positions respectively for their teams. Immediately the latter made an impact, with Moura Lucas sliding the ball to Neymar who was cut down by Adam inside the box. Neymar stepped up to take it, and the inexperienced Brazilian coolly rolled it into the corner past McGregor.
Right afterwards, the hapless Adam was taken off for Robert Snodgrass. Neymar’s magical runs continued, stopped on one occasion only by Caldwell throwing himself at the ball head first. Brazil began to sit back and invite Scotland onto them, before counterattacking through the constant threat of Neymar and the newfound pace of Moura Lucas. Sandro came on for Lucas Leiva, and Scotland threatened only through set-pieces with a decent Bannan freekick saved easily by Cesar. Manezes finished off his widespread changes by taking off Neymar and replacing him with the Leverkusen playmaker Renato Augusto, before the final chance was created by a brilliant swerving run by Moura Lucas setting up Gremio’s Jonas, who fired horribly high. An entertaining match finished 2-0 at the Emirates, with both parties settling for a result that was probably fair.
Analysis: New-look Brazil attack impresses
An international friendly such as this provides a great chance for international coaches to try out new formations and tactics. This was one such occasion. For Brazil, the new-look attacking band of four combined well, with the flair of Jadson allied to the pace of Neymar, the discipline of Elano and the power of Leandro. The attacking band each had their own specific job to do, though Elano and Jadson seemed sometimes to get their roles confused.
Jadson was the trequartista, the man behind the main striker through which attacks flowed. He played well, picking up spaces around the man opposite to him, Charlie Adam. Adam had a poor game; though he started off well, from around the 35th minute onwards his passing was wayward and his tackling reckless. As such, Jadson had plenty of time to pick out passes to his teammates, particularly Neymar.
Neymar was playing a left-sided striker/winger role, shades of Robinho’s at the world cup. In fact, the whole formation was similar to Dunga’s favoured one, though the differences in mentality was marked (the team pressed high up, was proactive with and without the ball, attacked fluidly, and crucially one of the holding midfielders was always free to get up the pitch). Neymar constantly used his pace and trickery to get at Hutton on the right of Scotland’s defence, dancing ‘round defenders with ease. His role was much freer than Jadson’s, however, and much less defensively responsible. As Jadson and Elano slotted back to form a midfield four with Lucas Leiva and Ramires, Neymar moved central and into space, taking advantage of Adam’s dashes upfield. This Ozil-esque role suited him perfectly, and also covered up his less than impeccable defensive work rate. Allowing Neymar to stay up the field meant that Brazil always had a secondary partner for the focal point Leandro to work off, leading to quick and fluid counterattacks.
Elano played a role he’s becoming used to playing for Brazil, a disciplined defensive winger. In attack he is allowed to come inside or stay wide, but usually drifts in to allow Alves down the outside. Defensively however, he adds balance to the side, tracking back and forming a midfield bank of four with Lucas Leiva, Ramires and Jadson. Elano is the outermost right midfielder, with Lucas Leiva alongside him and Jadson slotting in next along. Finally, Ramires shuffles over to left midfield. All in all, when defending properly (something that didn’t happen too much in this game) Brazil form a 4-4-1-1 formation with the left winger cutting inside to play the vacated trequartista position. Elano’s main job, however, is mostly to cover for the runs of Dani Alves, which he performed impeccably today.
The final member of the front four is also the least interesting. Leandro Damiao is a player I have wanted to play for Brazil for a while, as he brings a complete striker’s package which Brazilians are so fond of (think Luis Fabiano, Ronaldo, Adriano etc). With power, strength, surprising pace and most important aerial ability, Leandro provides a foil for the other three attackers. His aerial ability allows him to become a focal point for the attack, hold up the ball to relieve pressure, and add the height an otherwise short front four need.
Player Ratings: Brazil
Julio Cesar – 6 – Could’ve gone to sleep for long periods of the match.
Dani Alves – 7 – His usual rampaging self.
Thiago Silva – 6 – Hardly anything to do, but marshalled Miller well.
Lucio – 6 – Spent more time attacking than defending.
Andre Santos – 7 – Buccaneering like Alves, though he wasted a couple of good positions.
Lucas Leiva – 7 – Kept it tidy and simple. Fast becoming an integral member of the team.
Ramires – 8 – On a good weekend for Chelsea internationals, Ramires showed off his all-round class. Good passing, tackling, attacking, and even a burst of extreme pace.
Elano – 7 – Did very well in a role near perfect for him. That said, seemed to get in Jadson’s way a couple of times.
Jadson – 8 – Performed well in a familiar trequartista role.
Neymar – 9 MOTM – Sparkling performance from Brazil’s new wonderkid.
Leandro – 8 – Did well as a focal point of the attack, and threatened from set-pieces.
Subs:
Moura Lucas – 7 – Impressed. Added pace and showcased his dribbling skills.
Jonas – 6 – Missed a sitter. Didn’t impress.
Elias – 6 – Mostly anonymous.
Sandro, Renato Augusto – N/A – Both came on too late to influence proceedings.
Player Ratings: Scotland
Allan McGregor – 7 – Had to bail out his side on a couple of occasions.
Alan Hutton – 3 – Awful. No attacking intent and destroyed by Neymar and Santos.
Christophe Berra – 5 – Shaky. Did decently in the first half, less well in the second.
Gary Caldwell – 7 – Some superb tackles saved a goal on more than one occasion.
Stephen Crainey – 5 – Seemed flummoxed by Dani Alves, but offered some attacking runs when he could.
Charlie Adam – 5 – Mixed bag. Did well in the first half before going to pieces in the second. Rightly subbed off.
James Morrison – 6 – The one person who tried to offer Miller the support he needed. Also showed great skill on a couple of occasions.
James McArthur – 5 - Was in Ramires’ pocket all game, struggled to influence proceedings.
Scott Brown – 5 – Tried and failed to track Jadson, though that was more due to Adam not being able to.
Steven Whittaker – 5 – Out of position and outclassed by Elano and Dani Alves.
Kenny Miller – 6 – As ever a willing workhorse, harried the defensive midfielders tirelessly.
Subs:
Barry Bannan – 7 – Provided a spark of light for Scotland on a bad day. Good feet, passing and work rate.
Kris Commons – 6 – Got forward well when Scotland threatened, and defended diligently.
Danny Wilson – 6 – Did no worse than Berra.
Robert Snodgrass – 6 – Was more lively than Adam, and added fresh legs to a tiring midfield.
Craig Mackail-Smith, Don Cowie – N/A – Too little time to tell.
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Sorry guys, not such a great one this time round. Changed the diagram too, made my own from scratch, and it needs improving. Quite a complicated one too, sorry. I find it easier to look at if you unfocus your eyes. 
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