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Gilberto warns of Pato pressure |
| Theallineed.com |
It took Alexandre Pato just 11 minutes to mark his international debut with a goal - and what a goal it was. Charging down Rami Shaaban's attempted clearance near the right-hand corner of the penalty box, he turned in an instant and lifted a first-time lob high over the stranded Swedish substitute keeper and into the far corner of the net.
The 72nd minute strike gave Brazil a 1-0 victory over the Europeans and also served to reinforce Pato's reputation as being one of the game's most exciting young talent. But those present at the Emirates Stadium in London were well aware of that already. His name was cheered loudly by the fans when the teams were announced, he was given an enthusiastic reception when warming up on the touchline and those cheers increased still further when he replaced Julio Baptista shortly after the hour mark.
The roof was almost lifted off the arena when his cheeky effort hit the back of the net. Without Ronaldo, Ronaldinho or Kaka - the Brazilian fans had a new name to chant. Excited journalists were already making comparisons with Pele, as where O Rei stole the show in 1958; Pato came to the fore in the commemorative game half a century later.
Yet team-mate Gilberto Silva has warned the press and the public alike not to expect too much too soon from their new darling.
"He can be very, very good," the Arsenal midfielder told FIFA.com exclusively after the game. "But we should not put a lot of pressure on him, because he's still young, he still needs to develop and improve on aspects of his game. But yes, I'm sure he'll be a fantastic player in the future. He certainly took his goal well.
"We're looking forward to the World Cup qualifiers in the summer and I am sure he will be involved in them. Tonight was all about preparing for them and we were given a good test by Sweden. We were delighted to win the match and I feel that we're in a very strong position to qualify for South Africa.
"We have a lot of good players at our disposal. I'm not too sure whether the players we have this time are better than four years ago; it's difficult to compare, but the important thing for us is the fact that even if some players are not able to play, those who come in will do an excellent job for us."
Swedes stay positive
Although defeated, the Swedish players left north London with their heads held high.
"We learned quite a lot from the game," Swedish defender Olof Mellberg told FIFA.com. "Even though we won't be up against a South American team in the summer [at UEFA EURO 2008], we know that we will be playing against teams who are comfortable on the ball, and so Brazil were the perfect test. I think we did quite well, so hopefully we can bring the positive aspects of our performance into the summer."
The Juventus-bound player is delighted with the fact that the Scandinavians have conceded just three goals in four matches since the turn of the year and believes that should help boost confidence as the EUROs approach in little more than ten weeks time. In truth, goalkeepers Andreas Isaksson and Rami Shaaban were rarely tested by a Brazilian side boasting some fine attacking players.
"We played well defensively," continued Mellberg. "From the strikers to the back four, everyone worked hard to deny them space and we limited them to a handful of chances. It was a tight game and I think that a draw would have been a fair result."
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