Kaka on Brazil roster for game at Meadowlands

By foxsports
Published

Kaka was picked for Brazil's roster for next month's exhibition game against Colombia at the Meadowlands along with Neymar.

Barcelona right back Daniel Alves, recovered from a left thigh injury, also was selected for the Nov. 14 match at MetLife Stadium - the 1,000th game in Brazil's history.

Kaka, relegated to a reserve role at Real Madrid, returned to the national team last month for the first time since the 2010 World Cup.

Coach Mano Menezes also selected Chelsea playmaker Oscar and Paris Saint-Germain defender Thiago Silva.

''It's very important to be able to keep picking the same squad,'' Menezes said Tuesday. ''I think the national team is on the right track to begin next year in good position to compete in the Confederations Cup, which will give us a better idea of where we are because we will be playing top-level nations. Hopefully we will keep improving until then.''

Brazil is missing injured defenders Marcelo of Real Madrid, Alex Sandro of Porto and Dede of Vasco da Gama.

Daniel Alves missed the last two exhibitions and was sidelined for nearly three weeks after pulling his left thigh during Barcelona's 2-2 tie against Real Madrid in the Spanish league.

Kaka scored a goal in each of the exhibitions, a 6-0 rout of Iraq and a 4-0 win over Japan.

Menezes left open the possible return of Ronaldinho, a former two-time FIFA Player of the Year who is playing well again in the Brazilian league.

''You need to respect the quality of these experienced players, Ronaldinho is a world champion,'' Menezes said. ''We have to take it slowly, just like we did when he was being criticized for not playing well in the past. He will have the same opportunity as all the other players.''

Colombia, led by Radamel Falcao, has won three straight World Cup qualifiers.

''It will be one of the most difficult matches of the year. Colombia is an opponent which will demand a lot from us, and we will have to be on top of our game to get the win and come up with a convincing performance,'' Menezes said. ''Falcao is having an extraordinary run, but Colombia is not only about Falcao, its game has really developed in all areas.''

Brazil will be playing its 1,000th match nearly 100 years after its first - a 2-0 win over the English club Exeter City at Rio de Janeiro on July 21, 1914.

The five-time world champions are at an all-time low 14th in FIFA's rankings, mainly because as World Cup host they don't have any competitive matches this year.

The roster:

Goalkeepers: Diego Alves (Valencia, Spain), Jefferson (Botafogo)

Defenders: Adriano (Barcelona, Spain), Daniel Alves (Barcelona, Spain), David Luiz (Chelsea, England), Fabio Santos (Corinthians), Leandro Castan (AS Roma, Italy), Rever (Atletico Mineiro), Thiago Silva (Paris Saint-Germain, France)

Midfielders: Arouca (Santos), Giuliano (Dnipro, Ukraine), Kaka (Real Madrid, Spain), Lucas (Sao Paulo), Oscar (Chelsea, England), Paulinho (Corinthians), Ramires (Chelsea, England), Sandro (Tottenham, England), Thiago Neves (Fluminense)

Forwards: Hulk (Zenit St. Petersburg, Russia), Leandro Damiao (Internacional), Neymar (Santos)

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