DORTMUND, Germany _ After a convincing performance in his first World
Cup start, Robinho is eager to get another shot as one of Brazil's starting 11.
The striker replaced regular starter Adriano in Brazil's 4-1 win over Japan
on Thursday, adding speed to Brazil's attack and creating several scoring
opportunities.
Robinho, who replaced Ronaldo in Brazil's first two matches against Croatia
and Australia, failed to score but was pleased with his performance.
"I tried my best to do what I'm here to do _ get to the goal, finalize,
arrive at the front and score too," he said. "I think I played well. Of course,
there's still room for a lot of improvement."
Robinho said he wasn't upset that he didn't score.
"Goals come when they're supposed to. I tried my best but I think I can still
do better."
Robinho was a starter when Brazil won last year's Confederations Cup, earning
praise from coach Carlos Alberto Parreira. Many in Brazil have called for him to
start instead of Ronaldo, especially after the veteran striker's lackluster
performances against Croatia and Australia.
Instead, he started alongside Ronaldo.
"I found out I was going to play today, in our briefing before the match,"
Robinho said. "But it wasn't a surprise, we're all here and ready to play."
Ronaldo scored twice against Japan to tie the all-time record of 14 career
World Cup goals. The win gave Brazil the top spot in Group F and eliminated
Japan from the tournament.
With its second-round berth already secured, Brazil fielded four other
reserve players and got goals from two of them, Juninho and Gilberto.
"Some of the players had never played in a World Cup and it was very
important for them to play to build up their confidence," Parreira said. "I
don't want to preoccupy myself with one name or another. All of them played well
and Brazil needs options when it goes onto the field."
