Kaka will start the game for Brazil when they meet the USA at Soldier Field, Chicago. I really don’t think Dunga can do without Kaka at this point if he wants to really nail the big European powers. Dunga has an impressive 13 wins and just the two losses since he began as manager but this accomplishment is the result of a very impressive and sustained defensive effort and not the attack which remains ragged and inconsistent. Kaka creates chances and as an attacking midfielder he stands out with his goalscoring with 23, second only to Ronaldinho.
At the Copa America final, one thing was evident, it was not the Brazilians that won as much as the Argentinians lost. Juan Roman Riquelme chose the final match to turn nondescript and the Veron Riquelme combination ran aground with too many ineffective and misdirected passes. On the other end Gaby Heinze and the somnolent Argie defense made Alves and Vagner Love look very good.
The Copa America final although one sided does not indicate Brazil has recaptured its once invincible status. Elano is Dunga’s footsoldier but he is a little short in the creativity department. I think Elano is technically sound and creates that essential link between defense and offense but even in the Man City games it is quite clear that Martin Petrov is a far more creative player creating more chances.
Without Kaka, this Brazil team will have problems breaking down physical and fast defenses consistently. This was quite evident against Copa America teams that actually played them hard like Mexico and Ecuador. So although Kaka is not exactly Dunga’s ideal player he is one of the last remaining vestiges of the sort of creativity that Brazil has used before to establish themselves against the Europeans.