Pele himself told you that Neymar, the fleet-footed wisp of an attacker for Brazil, was the best player in the world. Not even close, he said. It’s Neymar over Leo Messi by a Brazilian mile.
So U.S. fans should be slap-kneed giddy to learn that Neymar did, in fact, land on the Brazilian roster for the upcoming friendlies, including three in the United States.
Brazil meets Jurgen Klinsmann’s United States team on May 30 outside Washington, D.C., Mexico outside of Dallas on June 3 and Argentina at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on June 8.
Other names to know: Barcelona’s Dani Alves, Inter Milan’s Juan, AC Milan’s Thiago Silva, Real Madrid’s Marcelo and Porto’s fast-emerging Hulk, a young midfielder who is already among the summer’s most high-profile transfer targets.
The complete Brazil roster announced Friday:
Goalkeepers: Jefferson (Botafogo), Neto (Fiorentina), Rafael (Santos)
Defenders: Dani Alves (Barcelona), Danilo (Porto), Juan (Inter Milan), David Luiz (Chelsea), Marcelo (Real Madrid), Alex Sandro (Porto), Thiago Silva (AC Milan), Bruno Uvini (Tottenham)
Midfielders: Casemiro (Sao Paulo), Paulo Henrique Ganso (Santos), Giuliano (Dnipro), Lucas (Sao Paulo), Wellington Nem (Fluminense), Oscar (Internacional), Romulo (Vasco de Gama), Sandro (Tottenham)
Forwards: Leandro Damiao (Internacional), Hulk (Porto), Neymar (Santos), Alexandre Pato (AC Milan)