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One of the more extraordinary stories in Brazilian football this year has been the return of Ronaldo. Thirty-two years of age and hammered by injury, his renaissance and goal-scoring form for Corinthians have triggered a predictable public demand that he return to the national team. That Dunga has resisted is not exactly surprising, though even if Ronaldo did again warrant a place on ability, you wonder how he would now fit in.

Three years ago, Brazil was a team of four galactico attackers – Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Adriano and Kaka. Kaka was galactic in ability but not by nature. Conversely, the impression was that the “jogo bonito” revolved around Ronaldo and Ronaldinho both on and off the pitch.

Can Ronaldo come back into a team on which he is no longer the central figure? And does Ronaldinho face a similar problem now that Kaka has usurped him as the star of the team?

The answer, surely, is that in Dunga’s Brazil, there is no longer a galactico climate. Dunga is, by nature, anti-galactico. The Brazil he is developing is hard-working and honest and has the character to come back from 2-0 down. The message to Ronaldinho and Ronaldo is: you fit in around us; it is no longer the other way round.

No excuse for being fat

We should soon learn a bit about Ronaldinho as the AC Milan he will soon return to will be without Kaka. Will Kaka’s absence leave an obvious void for him to fill? Or is he just too fat? Fat is the opinion of Big Phil Scolari.

Remember Ronaldo. Too fat for too long. However much any of us may struggle with weight, it is almost unforgiveable in a professional athlete. Loss of appetite and too much appetite go very much hand in hand.

Brazil leave Howard in a daze

A rather vivid description from Tim Howard, the Everton and USA goalkeeper - after he had just lost 3-2 and been on the end of 31 shots - on what it is like to play Brazil:

“It’s like: here we go again. They have 11 players and we have 11 players and you think: how come they create numbers, how come we can’t stop them? That’s very frustrating. There’s nothing much we can do about it. They keep you so off balance, you have no idea what they’re going to do until they actually do it. Then you’re reacting. That’s why they are who they are.”

Patronising Blatter

Hopefully, in a year’s time, we will be lauding South Africa for hosting a magnificent World Cup. Until then, can we please pay this nation some respect.

From the moment South Africa won hosting rights of the next World Cup, the world and its media have pored over the Rainbow Nation, asking if it can and will change fast enough to be ready for 2010. The eternal scrutiny cannot be helped - indeed it probably does help - because it matters to the football world and, far more so, to South Africa, that 2010 is a success.

But get this from Sepp Blatter, the Fifa president. These are his closing words at the end of the Confederations Cup yesterday, when he was giving South Africa marks out of 10 for the tournament just completed. Some people were surprised that he did not mark them higher. But more eyebrow-raising, especially if you are not used to hearing this man speak, is his tone.

Anyway, here it is: “If you are in school and you have one to 10, if you have a five, you don’t go through, you have to repeat the class. This is not the case. When you are over a six, you go to the middle school, you are in college. They [South Africa] are now definitely in the college. But I would say that you [South Africa again] are on the way to university. But you are just missing half a point for university. University would be eight. So I would say you are a 7.5. If at the beginning of the next activity, the draw [World Cup draw, in December], you get a half point more, then you can go to university. Then at the end of the World Cup 2010, I would like to give you a 10 and you have a Masters. For the time being you have a 7.5, you have the opportunity to go to eight.”

Does South Africa need to be patronised like this? Can Blatter not adopt a more respectful tone? Surely he did not award South Africa the World Cup so he could so merrily condescend.