Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Was Dunga wrong to leave out Ronaldinho?


Today, an interesting comment from 2010 World Cup head organizer Danny Jordaan concerning the selection of Brazil's squad for the tournament.

Jordaan criticized Brazil coach Dunga for leaving AC Milan star Ronaldinho out of Brazil's first-choice squad for the Cup, saying some coaches are "blinded" by a sense of power.

Jordaan said Ronaldinho is a "soccer genius" who had talents "enjoyed by few in the game, both past and present."

Ronaldinho will only play in South Africa if there are injuries to other players after Dunga left the two-time world player of the year out of his 23-man squad yesterday.

Jordaan said it was it was "sad and unfortunate" the tournament would suffer without Ronaldinho and that someone of Dunga's experience should have selected the Milan midfielder as a "matter of course."

Of course, the former Barcelona star isn't the only big star left out of the tournament.

Also missing is Francesco Totti and Luca Toni from Italy, Javier Zanetti and Esteban Cambiasso from Argentina and Patrick Vieira from France, along with many others.

Certainly, the Cup will miss the presence of these great players. But others will fill their shoes and be mentioned in the same breath as these wonderful talents as they display their wares for the world to see come June 11th.

What do you think? Is Jordaan right in his assessment? Should players like Ronaldinho be 'grandfathered' into Cup competitions because of who they are?



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