3. Ronaldinho's 100th Cap
Ashley Cole was playing his 100th game for England. Steven Gerrard was rewarded for reaching 100 in his last game. And Brazil rewarded Ronaldinho for 100 games....except he hasnt played a 100! I had remembered from reading in The Times that the Brazilian playmaker was nearing a 100, but they said he was on 94. A quick glance in the programme confirmed the ex-Barcelona and AC Milan was on 94 caps, so why give him a shirt that says 100? He did play 5 games for the Brazil U20 side, so for some reason they must include them too.
2. Brazil Take Their Warm Ups Very Seriously
You know the traditional picture: a sub is sent out to warm up: they do some barely-bothered jogging, pretend to do some stretching, ignore the manager when he calls them back in, then sit back on the bench, trying to stay warm in their comically oversized coat. Not so Brazil, who send out a coach with a bunch of cones who runs the players through some training drills. To be honest, it didnt seem to really help, although Fred did come on at half time and score, but only after Gary Cahill had gifted him the opportunity.