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Luiz Felipe Scolari named Brazil's 2014 World Cup squad on Wednesday, and we at Bavarian Football Works were waiting to see which Bayern Munich players would have the honor of representing their country as they host the World Cup this summer. It basically went exactly as we expected it to go.
Dante was named to the squad to cap what has been a crazy four year stretch for the centerback. He spent the majority of the 2010-11 season dealing with injuries while Borussia Mönchengladbach survived the Bundesliga relegation playoff. The following season he played his way into a transfer to Bayern Munich, where he helped the club win their first ever triple (Bundesliga, DFB Pokal, and Champions League). While this season didn't go as planned, Dante still helped Bayern win the UEFA Supercup, Club World Cup, Bundesliga, make the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League, and still have a shot at winning the DFB Pokal against Borussia Dortmund.
The other Brazilian at Bayern, Rafinha, wasn't so lucky. The right back did receive a lot of playing time under Pep Guardiola this season while Philipp Lahm was moved to the midfield compensating for a lot of injuries, and Scolari rewarded his solid play with a few call-ups this year. It was always an uphill battle for Rafinha, and he missed out on the squad purely due to the superior players in front of him.
In other squad news, former Bayern play Luiz Gustavo and reported Bayern Munich target David Luiz made the team. Also, you are reading that correctly, Brazil's starting goalkeeper at the World Cup will be Toronto FC's Julio Cesar.
Very happy to be part of the team that will play the @FIFAWorldCup at home. I would like to thank Scolari and the staff for giving me....
— Dante Bonfim Costa (@dante_bonfim) May 7, 2014
the chance to represent my country and I will try my best to help the team to bring the sixth championship to Brazil.
— Dante Bonfim Costa (@dante_bonfim) May 7, 2014
Full Squad:
Goalkeepers: Julio Cesar (Toronto FC), Jefferson (Botafogo), Victor (Atletico Mineiro).
Defenders: Dante (Bayern Munich), David Luiz (Chelsea), Henrique (Napoli), Thiago Silva (Paris St-Germain), Dani Alves (Barcelona), Maicon (AS Roma), Marcelo (Real Madrid), Maxwell (Paris St-Germain).
Midfielders: Luiz Gustavo (Wolfsburg), Fernandinho (Manchester City), Oscar (Chelsea), Paulinho (Tottenham), Ramires (Chelsea), Hernanes (Inter Milan), Willian (Chelsea).
Forwards: Bernard (Shakhtar Donetsk), Fred (Fluminense), Hulk (Zenit St. Petersburg), Jo (Atletico Mineiro), Neymar (Barcelona).