lunes, 28 de marzo de 2011

Glad it wasn't their REAL team! - The Sun

CRAIG LEVEIN watched Neymar take Scotland apart - and thanked his lucky stars Brazil only brought their reserves.

Superkid Neymar struck in each half as the Scots were given a lesson.

Levein said: "People were telling me Brazil were a bit depleted, but I don't know how bringing Neymar in makes them weaker!

"He might have come in as back-up, but we knew what quality he had and he went out and showed it. He was terrific.

"But it's not just the quality of the Brazilian players that impresses you, we have to give credit for the way they pressed up the field.

"They didn't give us time to settle and play the ball through midfield. Their athleticism equals their technical ability."

Brazil were without star players like Kaka, Pato, Robinho and Nilmar, but still had far too much for Levein's side.

He added: "I enjoyed the whole experience - and one thing's for sure, we won't have many tougher friendlies than that.

"There's always a thought at the back of your mind against a team this good that we might get turned over, but that didn't happen.

"The players stuck at it and worked their backsides off and I'm sure they have learned a lot and I have as well.

"I was as interested as anyone to see how we coped against Brazil and the reaction of our players at the end was interesting.

"They are disappointed with how they did - Charlie Adam in particular felt he didn't do himself justice.

"It was refreshing to hear him admit he could have done better. That's a mark of how far he's come and what standards the whole group have set themselves."

Levein hailed his week with the squad in La Manga, culminating with this glamour friendly, a huge success despite the defeat.

He said: "This week has been about getting the players together and trying to gather a team mentality and it's worked out well.

"We'll definitely see the benefits of it in the future. We're a very tight group with a great team mentality.

"It was a big occasion for a lot of the players, because to go into the unknown as they did is tough.

"But the more often you do it, the less of a worry it becomes.

"So the next time a Barry Bannan or a Danny Wilson plays a team this big, they will have the experience of coming on against Brazil to fall back on.

"Today will help them become regulars at this level in the years to come.

"We now have the two Carling Nations Cup games to come - but the big games are the Euro qualifiers in September."

No hay comentarios:

Publicar un comentario