Kaka is two goals away from becoming Brazil’s all-time leading scorer in World Cup qualifiers, but his toughest obstacle will not be Venezuela.
In order to surpass Zico and Romario, both with 11 goals, the Orlando City player will have to persuade Brazil coach Dunga into letting him play.
The Brazilian manager called up Kaka to replace Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho, who got injured before he could make his debut in World Cup qualifiers. The other main absence in Brazil’s squad is the team’s star, Neymar.
Unlike the injured Coutinho, Neymar is out serving a two-game suspension because of his antics against Colombia in the Copa America.
With Neymar out of the squad, Kaka was awarded Brasil’s fabled no. 10 jersey (worn by Zico as fate would have it). Many would think that the player wearing Brazil’s no. 10 would be a sure feature in the squad. Not Dunga.
Instead of choosing the player with most international experience in his squad, Dunga opted to start a struggling Oscar in Brazil’s debut game against Chile.
The result was a comfortable 2-0 home win for Alexis Sanchez and his compatriots.
Brazil’s next challenge will be Tuesday when they host Venezuela in Fortaleza. Kaka’s track record against La Vinotinto is good in World Cup qualifiers. The midfielder played twice against Venezuela and scored once in Brazil’s 4-0 away win over their neighbors in San Cristóbal.
Whether he will play or not in Fortaleza is up to Dunga, but the manager, who is already under fire, would do well to give the veteran a chance.
It became evident in their match against Chile that Brazil’s biggest weakness was decision-making. The Selecao made good runs powered by wingers William and Douglas Costa, but they lacked proper key passes to set up a finish. With Kaka on the field, that should be no problem.
Whether he ends up getting the record or not, the Orlando City star has already told the media that as much as he would love to break the record, he also knew it wouldn’t stand for long.
If I break the record, Neymar will do it again anyway - Kaka http://t.co/iGWvnvotms pic.twitter.com/dfFLKy6hXX
— Goal (@goal_intl) October 7, 2015"It will mean a lot to me," Kaka told the media. "If I score two goals now and become the all-time scorer of the qualifiers, in a team with so many great players at a high level, it will mean a lot to me.
"I have been aware of this feat since the 2010 qualifiers, but didn't know how many I needed.
"Now I know I need two, but then Neymar will come and run away with it anyway."
