Brazil's top players to miss Confederations Cup

Brian Homewood

Brazil bowed to pressure from their domestic clubs on Thursday and named a weakened squad for the Confederations Cup in Japan next month.

National team co-ordinator Antonio Lopes announced a provisional 35-man squad which excluded players from Vasco da Gama, Palmeiras, Flamengo and Corinthians, who are all wanted for club commitments.

Striker Romario and midfielder Juninho, who play for Vasco, were left out, as were midfielders Marcelinho Carioca and Ricardinho of Corinthians, and Edilson of Flamengo.

Rivaldo, Roberto Carlos and Cafu, who all play abroad, were also omitted from a squad which will be whittled down to 22 players by May 20.

"Once again, coach Emerson Leao left out the best Brazilian players," said the Estado news agency.

Leao has had enormous difficulty putting together his squad for the tournament. Brazil begin their campaign with a match against Cameroon.

Leao, who has been unable to spend more than three days with his players before any match since he took over last November, had hoped to arrive in Japan 10 days before the start of the tournament.

But his plans were scuppered because of a clash with the final stages of the Carioca and Paulista championships as well as the South American Libertadores Cup, in which Vasco and Palmeiras are involved.

Since taking over, Leao has been unable to settle on a team and Brazil, after a series of poor results, are in danger of missing out on the finals of the World Cup for the first time.

Brazilian commentators have bitterly criticised officials for a lack of planning, saying they made no effort to avoid a clash between domestic competitions and the Confederations Cup.

Provisional squad

Goalkeepers - Dida (AC Milan), Fabio Costa (Santos), Carlos Germano (Portuguesa)

Defenders - Ze Maria (Perugia), Evanilson (Borussia Dortmund), Anderson (Gremio), Cesar (Sao Caetano), Leo (Santos), Silvinho (Arsenal), Dede (Borussia Dortmund), Lucio (Bayer Leverkusen), Edmilson (Olympique Lyon), Emerson (Portuguesa), Cacapa (Olympique Lyon), Cesar (Rennes)

Midfielders - Vampeta (Paris St Germain), Ze Roberto (Bayer Leverkusen), Fabinho (Fluminense), Marcao (Fluminense), Leomar (Sport), Renato (Santos), Fabio Rochemback (Internacional), Edu (Arsenal), Robert (Santos), Ramon (Fluminense), Irenio (Portuguesa), Julio Batista (Sao Paulo)

Forwards - Donizete (Botafogo), Elber (Bayern Munich), Anderson (Olympique Lyon), Washington (Ponte Preta), Christian (Paris St Germain), Dodo (Santos), Deivid (Santos), Magno Alves (Fluminense)