ROBINHO CALLED UP

Robinho was once regarded as the next superstar for the Brazilian national team. Almost a decade later, the former AC Milan player is now on the wane but he is still involved with the national team after the reappointment of Dunga. The latest sensation for the South American team is Neymar. The Barcelona forward has shown that he can be much better, and probably exceed expectations, than many of the names before him. It is looking highly unlikely that Robinho will be involved with the national team at the next World Cup in Russia.

At 30 years of age, the former football architect of Real Madrid and Manchester City is likely to hang on only for a couple of years before retiring. He recently returned back to Brazil and this is widely seen an indication that his playing days have entered into the twilight. Robinho says that he is very much happy that the future of the Brazilian national team is in the hands of Neymar. He says that he is awe struck by the talent at the disposal of the 22-year-old, who has an astonishing 40 goals from just 58 international caps. Even at this tender age, he has been able to get more than 50 caps and many expect him to cross 150.

“Neymar is just a spectacular player. I knew he was going to be hungry for goals today. I told him he was going to score three goals, but he scored four! And he even missed a couple of chances that he would not normally, so it could even have been more. He decided the game for us. It was a difficult game, people find that Japan are weak but they are not. They are a strong team. They run very hard and attack,” said Robinho after Brazil’s recent friendly against Japan in which Neymar scored four goals.

Tendulkar Reckons they have a chance next year

Sachin Tendulkar reckons that the young Indian ODI team is very capable even in overseas conditions and there is no reason why they cannot defend their crown in the next year’s World Cup in OZ.

According to Sachin, the fight back by the young boys after the test series in England is a sign that they are mentally tough and relish the challenges.

After the 1-3 test series loss, a lot of Indian players, including the superstar Virat Kohli, were criticized.

There had been questions raised over the abilities of the youngsters, but, all those critics eventually had to eat their words as in the One Day Internationals, India came back in style and handed England three consecutive defeats in Nottingham, Rose Bowl and Edgbaston.

Talking about the Indian side the other day, Sachin said, “I have spent time with these young boys and I can assure you that they are all very good. Yes, in test matches, there have not been too many positive results of late, but, let us have some patience. It’s a young team. They will start delivering. I mean see how well they have done in ODIs.”

When asked about India’s chances in the World Cup, the master blaster said, “I would not be surprised if they are able to defend the title. They are a versatile side. There is left-right combination in their batting and as far as bowling is concerned, they are good both pace and spin wise. There is some real quality in there and I am backing them to do well in Australia-New Zealand.”

Sachin was a key part of the Indian side that had won the World Cup in the subcontinent in 2011. He was the man of the match in the semis against Pakistan.