Ronaldinho, Kaka to get no favors from Brazil coach
RIO DE JANEIRO: Ronaldinho and Kaka will have to win back their places in the Brazilian team after skipping the Copa America, coach Dunga said on Monday.
Dunga said the pair would not be getting any special treatment and that the players who took part in the tournament in Venezuela had a head start in the race for places in the team.
Brazil won the Copa America, beating arch-rivals Argentina 3-0 in the final, despite the absence of the high-profile pair, who asked to be rested.
Both players, who said they were tired after a long season in Europe and were widely criticized for pulling out, have been recalled for Wednesday's friendly against Algeria in Montpellier, France.
"The players who were there (Venezuela) and took their chance are ahead in the pecking order," Dunga told Brazilian media in France. "That is natural, it's the way of things."
Dunga added: "We have to think about the whole team. Each one of the players has to win his place by what he does on the pitch."
Dunga, who took over exactly a year ago, has already left both players on the substitutes' bench.
During the Copa America, he repeatedly thanked the players who had taken part, saying they had left their families behind to play for their country.
Wednesday's game is part of a warm-up for the 2010 World Cup qualifiers. Brazil is away to Colombia in its first game, then faces Ecuador at home - its first international in Brazil since October 2005.
Agencies
(China Daily 08/22/2007 page23)
