Ronaldinho bashes Brazil squad ‘of mostly average players’; Raphinha hits back
Brazilian legend Ronaldinho on Saturday lashed out at the current Selecao squad selected for the upcoming Copa America, branding them the 'worst team'.
"This is a sad moment for those who love Brazilian soccer. It's getting hard to find the spirit to watch the games. This is perhaps one of the worst teams in recent years, it has no respectable leaders, only average players for the majority.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. I've been following football since I was a kid, long before I thought about becoming a player, and I've never seen a situation as bad as this. Lack of love for the shirt, lack of grit and the most important of all: football," Ronaldinho posted on Instagram.
He also said he would boycott all the national team matches.
"I'll repeat, our performance has been one of the worst things I've ever seen. Such a shame. I therefore declare my resignation. I will not watch any CONMEBOL Copa America game, nor celebrate any victory," he added.
One Brazil star has responded to Ronaldinho's comments.
During a pre-match press conference, Brazil and Barcelona winger Raphinha was asked about Ronaldinho's comments.
As per Fabrizio Romano, he replied: "Ronaldinho's statement? I don't know if that was an adv or not but… few days ago, I'm told he asked Vini Jr for tickets to come see our games.
"In any case, I was surprised and I don't agree with his statement."
The Brazil squad is coached by Dorival Junior, who took over in January and has been in charge for only two friendlies and his squad for Copa so far provided little evidence of his plans. Added to that is the absence of aging superstar Neymar, now 32, who is out with an ACL injury.
A few Brazil team traits have been easily recognizable over the last decades. Win or lose, there's often sharp dribblers up front, right and left backs that play from one end to the other, and strong defenders in place to score goals. But that's not the case this year.
The one exception is Vinicius Júnior, one of the favorites for the Ballon d'Or after winning the Champions League with Real Madrid and scoring in the final against Borussia Dortmund. He will be Brazil's main star at the tournament from June 20 to July 15.
Brazil is in Group D in the Copa America and will face Costa Rica, Paraguay and Colombia.
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