Maicon

BRAZIL

Right-back

Full name: Maicon Douglas Sisenando

Date of birth: July 26, 1981

Place of birth: Criciúma, Brazil

Club: F.C. Internazionale Milano (Italy)

One week before the start of World Cup 2010, Brazilian right-back Maicon told journalists at Randpark Golf Club, his country’s base near Johannesburg, that winning was more important to him than playing well.

“I want to be a champion – whether or not Brazil turn on the Jogo Bonito [beautiful game],” he said. “Whether you turn on the style or play ugly, the important thing is that come July 11, Brazil are in the final,”

Such comments will have inspired mixed feelings in the heads and hearts of Brazilian fans, potentially compromising the attacking ethic they are so renowned for, but also promising a resilience and determination so absent from their disappointing 2006 campaign.

Fortunately for A Seleção supporters, however, Maicon’s particular brand of football exemplifies why Brazil are now only two games away from the final, and current favourites to win the trophy for a record sixth time.

Before the tournament began, many favoured Barcelona’s Daniel Alves as right-back. Considered a more defensive player, Maicon’s selection in the starting line up was seen as confirmation of manager Dunga’s preference for defence over attack.

But from that solid backline Brazil have charged magisterially into the quarter-finals, conceding only two late goals along the way. Maicon, along with Juan, Michel Bastos and captain Lucio, has played every minute of his team’s campaign so far. Such a solid and steadfast defensive has allowed the more famous and revered forward players, such as Kaka, Robinho and Luis Fabiano, to play with more freedom and less pressure.

Maicon’s strengths, his speed, power and impressive athleticism will undoubtedly be called into further action as the quality of opponents progresses, but his performances in nullifying the threat of Portugal, who scored seven past North Korea, and Ivory Coast have been exemplary.

In a 4-2-2-2 formation, Brazil can operate with a flat back four, but the flexibility of the formation in front of them, moving from left to right leaving space on the wings, allows the full-backs to support and even overtake the midfield at times. This has given Maicon the opportunity to demonstrate another side to his game, his remarkable offensive threat.

Critics of his attacking tendencies were silenced in Brazil’s opening match against North Korea, when Maicon opened the scoring with a shot matched in its ferocity only by its audacity.

With the forward players moving down the left side of the pitch, Elano found space on the right, receiving both the ball and the attentions of the Korean left-back, allowing Maicon the opportunity to race down the right flank and offer an overlap.

The swerving shot which arrowed past the static goalkeeper and into the net from a seemingly impossible angle has been dismissed by many as a fluke. But the Champions League winner has a history of incredible goals, including an almost identical strike against Portugal in November 2008.

Coming when North Korea had stifled Brazil for almost an hour, Maicon’s goal settled the nerves as well as reminding the watching world that while Jogo Bonito may no longer be the raison d’être of A Seleção, it is still something that the five-time World Cup winners do better than anyone else on the planet.

This is Maicon’s biggest strength, the reason he is the best right-back in the tournament, because he can fulfil the counter-intuitive duality of a position which requires him to be unreservedly professional and organised in defence, but also contribute towards a free-flowing style of attacking play which requires exceptional skill and technique as well as a forward-thinking mentality.

With a great touch and fantastic crossing ability, which saw him provide defensive-partner Juan with the chance which gave Brazil the lead in their second round match against Chile, Maicon would not be out of place as an outright winger. But in a team filled with stars, he is far more valuable doing a job which very few players in the world can do.

In a more defensively minded team, Maicon’s attacking instincts might be a weakness, allowing the rest of the back line to be exposed. But what makes a great player is not just their individual ability but their contribution to the team, and Maicon achieves the seemingly impossible task of making Brazil better.

Beyond that, the only further acclaim he can win is to help Brazil to a sixth World Cup, a feat made more impressive by the fact that Africa would become the fifth continent in which they have triumphed. So while his desire to win over playing the beautiful game is absolute, Maicon, above any other player in the Brazilian team, has the ability to help them do both.