Brazil legend Zico has questioned the calibre of the current Selecao squad following their underwhelming displays at their home World Cup this summer.
The hosts stuttered to the semi-finals, thanks mostly to the performances of Neymar, before being emphatically dumped out by Germany in Belo Horizonte.
Zico, who scored 52 goals in 71 appearances and represented his country at three World Cups, has claimed that Brazil do not have the same star power that they had in his playing days, with few of the present squad, including Neymar, leading figures for their clubs.
"If you look at the starting players in the last year, none of them were key players at their clubs," he told reporters.
"Look at Neymar, the best player in Brazil, but how many times was he on the bench for Barcelona last season? Fred, Marcelo, Hulk all played inconsistently. Even David Luiz and Oscar, you can't say they were first choices at Chelsea."
Zico has called for Luiz Felipe Scolari to be sacked and replaced with someone who will "play the Brazilian way".
Joe Fish
