Football Wonderkid Scout

 Neymar, Ganso and Pato "The Future"

its Copa America title next July. Santos star Ganso looked comfortable on his debut, and while he may have been overshadowed by his goalscoring colleague Neymar, he pulled the strings in midfield and controlled the game along with Chelsea's new signing Ramires and Liverpool's Lucas. Touted as one of the top talents in South America, Ganso's display will have confirmed his rising reputation in the game and he is widely expected to join on of Europe's elite in 2011, with Real Madrid and Milan vying for his signature. Also making an assured debut at the back was Benfica's David Luis who was subject to intense speculation in the recent transfer window. Priced at £ 27 million by the Portugese outfit, Luiz looked calm and composed on the ball and was strong in the air. Although making a shaky start, Luiz grew as the game went by and looks a very good addition to the new look Samba outfit.

Of the new faces called up to the squad included Manchester United defender Rafael who replaces the man widely considered the best right back in the world, Maicon. While his inclusion may have come of something of a surprise to many, Rafael has represented Brazil at Under-17 level and reports suggest Menezes is trying to fend off interest from Portugal with Carlos Queiroz reportedly trying to lure the right-wing back to switch nation. Also in the squad was Tottenham's new defensive midfielder Sandro who has been helping Internacional to Copa Libertadores success.

Earlier this month, Mano Menezes called up a foreign-based squad for the national team's training camp. With the recent international break as the European Championship qualifiers got underway, Menezes decided to take advantage and use the opportunity to fine tune his squad and have a further look at some of the country's most promising talents. Menezes decided not to call up any of the Brazil-based players so as not to disrupt the Brazilian clubs. Of those called up was Inter Milan's young prodigy Philippe Coutinho, Menezes added "Philippe fits that group of players that are very young and talented, with the condition to contribute to the idea of this more creative style of football. I think he already showed this talent at Vasco. He had his first appearances at Inter, showing a lot of personality." Also in the squad was Shaktar's outrageously talented Douglas Costa who is currently starring in the Ukraine and who has been labelled as the next Ronaldinho. There was also room for FC Porto's Hulk who has started the season in fine form, baging a hat-trick against Racing Genk in the Europa League and scoring 3 goals in 2 games in Portugal's SuperLiga.