Kaka Out Of Copa America With Injury

Kaka, who made his Brazil debut in 2002, became Orlando’s first designated player in 2014

Brazil’s Kaka is out of the Copa America with a muscle injury and will be replaced by Paulo Henrique Ganso.

The former AC Milan and Real Madrid midfielder, who now plays for Orlando City in Major League Soccer, was a late replacement for Douglas Costa.

Kaka, 34, is the fifth player to withdraw from the squad and is expected to be out for about three weeks.

The 100th anniversary Copa America starts in the United States on Friday, with Brazil’s first game on Saturday.

Their campaign begins against Ecuador, before they face Haiti on 9 June and then Peru on 13 June.

BBC

Kaka Out Of Copa America With Injury

Brazil Call Up Kaka For Copa America

Kaka won Fifa’s Ballon d’Or and World Player of the Year in 2007

Kaka has been called up to the Brazil squad for next month’s Copa America in the United States.

The Orlando City midfielder, 34, will replace Bayern Munich’s Douglas Costa, who was removed from the squad because of an injury to his left thigh.

Ex-AC Milan and Real Madrid player Kaka has been a regular in coach Dunga’s squads, without getting much game time.

He has won 91 caps and scored 29 goals, but has only played 60 minutes for his country in three years.

Kaka is the second player to be added to the squad because of injury, with Benfica’s Jonas replacing Santos striker Ricardo Oliveira.

Brazil have been drawn in Group B with Ecuador, Haiti and Peru for the tournament, which is staging a special 100th anniversary edition.

BBC

Brazil Call Up Kaka For Copa America

Brazil Name Copa America Squad, Kaka And Oscar Out

Santos starlet Gabriel ‘Gabigol’ Barbosa and Liverpool’s Coutinho were among those named in Brazil coach Dunga’s final 23-man squad for June’s Copa America Centenario.

Orlando City’s Kaka, Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino, PSG’s Lucas Moura and Cheslea’s Oscar were were among 17 players to be cut from the preliminary 40-man squad announced last week.

The others were Marcelo Grohe, Fagner, Alex Sandro, Jemerson, Gabriel Paulista, Wallace, Fernandinho, Ganso, Felipe Anderson, Luan, Jonas, Alex Teixeira and Gabriel Jesus.

Captain Neymar will be absent after an agreement was reached with Barcelona that will see the forward play the Rio Olympic games instead.

Inter defender Miranda and Chelsea midfielder Willian, Dunga’s first choices for his remaining two overage slots at the games, were named in the final 23 which appears to have ruled them out of the Olympics.

Real Madrid’s Casemiro returns to the squad following an impressive season with Spanish giants, as does Barcelona’s Rafinha who had been missing since suffering a serious knee injury in September.

Elias of Corinthians, Dunga’s most-capped midfielder after Willian, also returns after overcoming injury problems.

Any late replacements to the squad must be selected from the remaining 17 from Dunga’s preliminary squad.

Brazil have been drawn in Group B of the centenary version of the competition, set to be played in USA, alongside Ecuador, Haiti and Peru.

The Copa America Centenario has been organized to celebrate 100-years of the South American football championships. It will be played outside of the continent for the first time and feature six teams from North American Confederation CONCACAF

Brazil’s Copa America Centenario squad

Goalkeepers: Alisson (Internacional), Diego Alves (Valencia), Ederson (Benfica)

Defenders: Miranda (Inter), Gil (Shandong Luneng), Marquinhos (Paris Saint-Germain), Rodrigo Caio (Sao Paulo), Dani Alves (Barcelona), Filipe Luis (Atletico Madrid), Fabinho (Monaco), Douglas Santos (Atletico Mineiro)

Midfielders: Luiz Gustavo (Wolfsburg), Elias (Corinthians), Renato Augusto (Beijing Guoan), Coutinho (Liverpool), Lucas Lima (Santos), Willian (Chelsea), Casemiro (Real Madrid), Rafinha (Barcelona)

Forwards: Douglas Costa (Bayern Munich), Hulk (Zenit), Gabigol (Santos), Ricardo Oliveira (Santos)

Goal

Brazil Name Copa America Squad, Kaka And Oscar Out

Ronaldo Deserves More Respect From Real Madrid Fans - Kaka

Cristiano Ronaldo deserves more respect from Real Madrid fans, according to former team-mate Kaka.

The Portugal captain joined from Manchester United in 2009 for a then-world-record £80million transfer fee before going on to become the club’s record goalscorer.

The 31-year-old has scored 354 goals in 338 games and has 41 to his name this term yet still finds himself on the receiving end of jeers from some sections of the Madrid support.

Kaka, who played for Madrid between 2009 and 2013, told Cadena Cope: ‘Cristiano is a great player, I am not just talking about his quality, but in terms of what he has contributed to Madrid.

”I would like to see the fans have more respect for Cristiano for what he has done for this club. Sometimes I hear whistles against Cristiano and it’s not good after all he has done.”

Ronaldo Deserves More Respect From Real Madrid Fans - Kaka