Brazil vs. Argentina: Neymar, Ronaldinho and Other Brazil Player Ratings
If ever a match needed a goal, Wednesday night's meeting between Argentina and Brazil was it.
Both nations played only players based in South America, since the friendly wasn't scheduled during the European calendar's international week.
So, it wasn't surprising that both teams gave run-outs to players on the fringe of their squads.
But there were exciting moments.
Neymar dazzled the crowd a few times, including a nice pull-down, turn and cross in the first half.
Ronaldinho almost scored on a free kick late in the second half—and almost reminded us of his old self.
Damiao excited the crowd with an audacious back-heel flick over his head and nearly scored on a beautiful lob—only to see the ball bounce off the post for the second time of the night.
So, even though the match finished scoreless and didn't really come to life until the final 15 minutes, a few moments like that were worth the price of admission.
Below are player ratings for Brazil.
Jefferson: 6.5
He must have been tempted to fall asleep for all the downtime he had.
Argentina tested Brazil's back line at times, especially in the first 15 minutes. Jefferson looked confident and provided a rock for his defenders.
Kleber: 5.5
He normally attacks well, but his runs down the flank were held in check by Ivan Alexis Pillud all night. Like his teammates, defending was problematic at times.
Danilo: 5.5
See above.
Argentina marked well all night, keeping both Brazilian fullbacks from getting into the attack.
Rever: 7.0
He served as a rock for Brazil at the back.
Dede: 6.5
See above, except Dede apparently had to get over some jitters in the early part of the match.
He recovered and played well.
Renato Abreu: 5.5
Argentina won the midfield battle and Abreu had trouble exerting himself.
Ralf: 6.5
A solid, stoic performance. He did his job without any frills but tackled well.
Paulinho: 6.5
He combined well with Ronaldinho when the latter came to life in the second half.
Neymar: 6.5
He thrilled the crowd with a few dazzling moments but couldn't maintain that level for the full 90.
Damiao: 6.5
Damiao played well and created Brazil's best chances.
He should have scored at least once and was especially unlucky late in the second half.
Ronaldinho: 6.0
He struggled to make an impact for most of the match until the final 15 minutes.
That free kick was nice, but he got manhandled by Argentina most of the night.
Substitutes
Oscar: 6.0
He entered in the second half and struggled to impose himself on the game.
Casemiro: no rating
He played only a few minutes at the end of the match.
