[Djslutmonkey]

Originally Posted by puntyboy

I wouldnt go lumping into brazil if i were you.... last time we drew nil nil with them in a pretty entertaining match. Its just we do have a pretty good record of getting results against big sides at home, and with this going to be a near full croke park (atmosphere is unreal) Id say ireland could give them a go. I doubt brazil will be too bothered about the outcome of this match....

I'd agree with you if it was a similar team to last time you played them; this is totally different, its young players trying to secure their place in the Olympic squad. Obviously home advantage is a factor, but I fancy Brazil to be up for this game.

Tim Vickery had this to say on the matter....

Republic of Ireland fans are in for a treat this week when Brazil come to town; and the fact that Dunga's squad is not at full strength only adds interest to Wednesday's match.

When Brazil last brought all their stars to Dublin four years ago there was a feeling that they were going through the motions, in a gentle preparation for the World Cup qualifiers to come.
This time Brazil are once more in the early stages of a World Cup qualification campaign.
But for this match their priorities are slightly different and it means that the squad is full of hungry, young players keen to make a name for themselves.
Teenage defender Breno, just snapped up by Bayern Munich, looked pure class in his first season last year with Sao Paulo.
His former team-mate Hernanes is a highly promising central midfielder with a good range of passing.
And then, of course, there is Anderson, who made a brief appearance last year in the Copa America.
Since then he has made a huge impression playing in central midfield for Manchester United, a position where Brazilians did not expect to see him. Will Dunga select him there against the Republic?
So there will be some fascinating experiments taking place and what adds spice to the occasion is that it will not be experimentation purely for its own sake.

What Brazil are seeking to do on Wednesday is build a team for this year's Olympic Games.
The Olympic football tournament may hardly rate a mention in Britain but across the Atlantic it is big news.
Reigning gold medallists Argentina are also fielding an Olympic side against Guatemala on Wednesday.
The tournament is seen as important for two reasons; first, because teams participate with an under-23 squad, which can be bolstered by three over-age players, thus making the Olympics a halfway house towards the next World Cup.
Many were surprised when Brazil's much-hyped team collapsed in the 1998 World Cup final.
Those who had followed their progress could not share the same feeling.
At that point the world champions did not have to go through the qualifying process, so the Olympic tournament was especially important to Brazil, in terms of providing much needed competitive matches.
Then coach Mario Zagallo happily assumed that, blessed with an excellent generation of talent, the Atlanta 96 side would form the basis of his World Cup team.
Their failure to live up to expectations caused the panic button to be hit. Dunga was brought back to provide midfield leadership, even though Brazil were well aware that he was past his best and would struggle to last through to the end of France 98.

The other reason for the importance of the Olympic tournament is the fact, pure and simple, that it is a title. In fact, it is the only title Brazil have never won.
This heaps pressure on the head of the coach.
The last man to accumulate the posts of senior and Olympic team coach was Vanderlei Luxemburgo.
He went to the 2000 Olympics with his back to the wall, reeling from defeats in World Cup qualifiers and off-the-field problems.
After his Olympic team were eliminated by a Cameroon team reduced to nine men, he was sacked. Had he hung on and won the Olympic gold his story may well have turned out very differently.
Perhaps he, and not Luiz Felipe Scolari, would have enjoyed the benefits of a fit-again Ronaldo and taken Brazil to glory in the 2002 World Cup.
These are all reasons, then, for Dunga to hope that Wednesday's game against the Republic will help his team run Olympic rings around the opposition in China later this year.