‘Performance should always outrank age’ – Oscar

At Rafa Benitez’ Chelsea Oscar might not be at the top of the pecking order, his displays for Brazil have been hailed by many people as a sign that the midfielder could soon justify the nickname ‘’Little Kaka’’, given to him by the youth academy coaching staff at Sao Paulo FC, the club that also nurtured the Real Madrid player. During Brazil’s preparations for the friendly against England at Wembley, Oscar took time to answer a few questions for Cricketsoccer.com readers.

FD: How are your expectations for this game?

Oscar: It would be impossible to be really excited for this match. It’s England at Wembley. I grew up in Brazil dreaming that I could one day play great international matches and this is one of them. It has obviously a special interest for England-based players in the Brazilian squad, such as myself, David (Luiz), Ramires and Julio (Cesar). It will surely be a tough match and we will have to be careful not to give England chances. They have players can punish us.

FD: England is the only side with a high position in the FIFA rankings that Brazil has managed to defeat since November 2009. Does it make the game a bit tense for Brazil?

Oscar: The stat is not something that keeps popping in my mind. It is a high-level friendly and players can go the extra mile to win those. We need to use the England game as a chance to evaluate ourselves against the bigger teams, since we are not involved in World Cup qualifiers. I am sure the England players are also treating this game with caution as well.

FD: Especially because they need to break this duck against Brazil, whom they have defeated for 23 years…

Oscar: Motivations differ, but in this case you can also say that Brazil would really enjoy winning at Wembley for the first time since 1995. Personally, my last memories of Wembley are quite sad. We lost a Gold Medal match against Mexico and that still bothers me a bit.

FD: Can you give us your views on England?

Oscar: They have shown progress since South Africa 2010 and have undergone some major changes. They have a strong squad that will make us work hard and we need to be ready for them. Wembley should be packed to the rafters and this is the kind of atmosphere players will always love.

What about facing your Chelsea team mates?

Facing them will feel a bit weird and I am sure they will talk to the other guys about us the same way we talk about them to our guys. It will be nice to play against Ashley (Cole), Gary (Cahill) and Frank (Lampard). I am quite happy for Ashley’s 100th game for England. Let’s hope he won’t leave the pitch feeling so good…

FD: Scolari has hinted he will be looking into bringing more seasoned players to try to settle the team a bit more. As one of the youngest in this squad, how do you react to that kind of competition?

Oscar: I am sure Scolari meant that he would not discard people immediately because of their age. At the same time, I don’t think he believes us to be too young. He will be looking for the players who can perform the best. I am not saying that playing a home world cup is not a massive pressure, but we won’t make things easier by simply bringing in older players. Performance should always outrank age as a deciding factor.

FD: So does it justify the return of Ronaldinho?

Oscar: He had a great season in the last Campeonato Brasileiro and instead of thinking of fighting for a place with him I prefer to see his return as a chance to learn a lot from a player who I have always admired. But everybody will have to perform well to earn a place. There is always a good amount of players who can get into the squad so even more established names have to earn their caps!

Image Credit: talksport.co.uk

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Fernando Duarte

Fernando Duarte is a leading Brazilian sports writer and a go-to expert for international outlets to discuss matters regarding the beautiful game. He’s a contributor to The Guardian newspaper, World Soccer and Champions magazines, as well as a regular pundit for CNN and BBC. Living in the UK since 2001, Fernando is also the European Football Correspondent for Universo On-Line, Brazil’s leading web news portal. He is a childhood CR Flamengo supporter. Fernando holds an MBA in Football Industries awarded by the University of Liverpool and has covered the 2006 and 2010 World Cups, as well as five Uefa Champions League finals. You can find Fernando on twitter @Fernando_Duarte