Olympic players back for Brazil's 2 friendlies
Most of the Brazil players at the London Olympics were included Thursday in the senior squad for friendlies against South Africa and China next month.
Coach Mano Menezes picked Neymar, Oscar, Leandro Damiao and seven other players who were in the squad that failed to bring Brazil its first Olympic gold medal in football after losing 2-1 to Mexico in the final.
He also included defender David Luiz, midfielder Paulinho, right back Daniel Alves and defender Ramires, who were added to the senior squad for the friendly against Sweden just four days after the Olympic final in London.
Brazil will play South Africa on Sept. 7 in Sao Paulo and China on Sept. 10 in Recife. The five-time world champions are not playing in South American World Cup qualifiers because they have already secured their place in the 2014 tournament as hosts.
Playmaker Paulo Henrique Ganso, who played sparingly at the Olympics, and the injured Alexandre Pato are not on the 22-player list.
Menezes said he left Ganso out because of his indecision regarding his club future. It has been rumored for quite some time that he will leave Santos but is yet to finalize a deal.
''This is not helping him,'' Menezes said. ''He needs to make a decision about his future so he can once again become the type of player we want to see in the national team.''
Ganso has been touted as one of the promising stars in Brazilian football, and Menezes once said he would be the man in charge of leading Brazil's midfield at the World Cup. At the Olympics, Ganso lost his starting spot to new Chelsea playmaker Oscar.
The other players who were also in the Olympic squad were Thiago Silva, Romulo, Sandro, Hulk, Marcelo, Alex Sandro and Lucas.
Brazil was the heavy favorite to win gold at the London Games because it was one of the few teams with most of its top players available for the under-23 tournament. Each nation could also use three older players.
There were high expectations because most of the players in the Olympic squad are also expected to be in the team that will try to win the World Cup at home in two years.
Brazil dominated the competition but fell to Mexico in the final after allowing a goal just 29 seconds into the match at Wembley Stadium.
Brazilian federation president Jose Maria Marin had hinted before the Olympics that Menezes would be in danger of losing his job had Brazil performed poorly in London, but recently he said there was no reason to make a coaching change right away.
''I never worried too much about that,'' Menezes said. ''I'm doing my job, which is to rebuild the national team. That's not easy.''
Menezes replaced Dunga after the team's elimination in the quarterfinals of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
Two players were selected for Brazil's squad for the first time - goalkeeper Cassio of Corinthians and defensive midfielder Arouca of Santos.
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Squad:
Goalkeepers: Jefferson (Botafogo), Diego Alves (Valencia), Cassio (Corinthians).
Defenders: Alex Sandro (FC Porto), Marcelo (Real Madrid), Daniel Alves (Barcelona), Adriano (Barcelona), Thiago Silva (Paris Saint-Germain), David Luiz (Chelsea), Dede (Vasco da Gama), Rever (Atletico Mineiro).
Midfielders: Sandro (Tottenham), Lucas (Sao Paulo), Romulo (Spartak), Ramires (Chelsea), Oscar (Chelsea), Paulinho (Corinthians), Arouca (Santos).
Forwards: Leandro Damiao (Internacional), Neymar (Santos), Jonas (Valencia), Hulk (FC Porto).
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