The eccentric Colombian keeper bid farewell with an exhibition match last week.

Of course, he had to produce the famous 'scorpion' save one last time. But for all its novelty value, the 'scorpion' is not the reason for Higuita's importance. Nor, in the final analysis, are the goals he scored. His free-kicks and penalties were no circus act, and they inspired a line of goalscoring South American goalkeepers.

No, there is a better reason for Higuita to be remembered. He was years ahead of his time.

Higuita performs his 'scorpion' save for the final time

He was a pioneer when it came to his skill with the ball at his feet and in his willingness to take responsibility for situations 40 metres from goal. Before the change in the back pass rule obliged keepers to develop these abilities, he was already showing that a team is made up of 11 footballers, not of 10 players and a goalkeeper.

This had important tactical ramifications, helping forge the style of the Colombia team of the late '80s and early '90s.

With Higuita behind them, the defensive line could push higher up the field, pressing the opposition to win the ball back. Then, when in possession, they were a more compact unit, with lots of options for their trademark short passing.

It was a South American twist on some of the ideas of the great Holland side of 1974.

Colombia coach Francisco Maturana acknowledged the debt and stressed the importance of his goalkeeper to the system.

Higuita, he wrote shortly before the 1990 World Cup, "gives us something no one else has, and we take full advantage. With Rene as sweeper, we have 11 outfield players.... Jan Jongbloed, the Holland keeper in the 1974 World Cup, also operated as a sweeper. With a difference. The Dutchman came out just to boot the ball into the stands. Higuita can do much more."

In the event, Maturana probably wished Higuita had blasted the ball into Row Y.

In the second-round game against Cameroon, just as the Colombian TV commentator was describing Higuita as "an exceptional sweeper", wily Roger Milla robbed him outside his area and raced away to score what proved to be the decisive goal.

This, though, was the price Colombia paid for their style of play. Higuita made no effort to hide his error, seemed strong enough to live with it, and the whole thing could be written off as experience on the way to USA 94.

For me, it is one of the big 'what ifs' of football history. What might have happened had Rene Higuita been able to play in that World Cup 16 years ago?

Placed among the pre-tournament favourites, Colombia's campaign quickly blew up in tears and tragedy - real tragedy, with centre back Andres Escobar murdered in Medellin a few days after their first-round elimination.

It's easy to forget what a good side Colombia were.

They went into USA 94 on a run of one defeat in 34 games, including a 5-0 win in Buenos Aires, the first time Argentina had ever lost a World Cup qualifier at home.

The Colombia team that went to USA 94 had lots of merits - but did not have its goalkeeper. Higuita was in jail - harshly, as the authorities now admit.

He had been called in to act as an intermediary in a kidnapping case. Receiving money for his actions was against the rules.

Colombia were not the same side without him. Young replacement Oscar Cordoba was a competent shot stopper. He had done well in Buenos Aires. But on that occasion, Argentina were doing the pressing.

The World Cup debut against Romania was very different. Hagi and co were the counter-attacking specialists. Colombia played some beautiful football, but this was a game where they needed the keeper to play his sweeper's role. Cordoba couldn't. His decision making was exposed, and Romania won 3-1.

And if Colombia had missed Higuita from a technical point of view, now they really needed him from a psychological perspective.

Andres Escobar scores the own goal which went on to cost him his life

All the pressure was on the second game against the USA. The Colombia team had been receiving death threats since before Italia 90. But now, with the spotlight on them, the stakes were so much higher.

Colombia had become 'Locombia' - the crazy country.

Drug cartels were running amok, politicians, judges and journalists were routinely assassinated. The death threats reaching the national team were taken very seriously. The dressing room was in panic. The team were a nervous wreck.

Faustino Asprilla later confessed that during the national anthems he was glancing round the stadium wondering where the shot was going to come from. In no state to play a World Cup match, they lost again.

Higuita might have made a difference. He seemed nerveless. His antics had traditionally filled his team-mates with confidence.

Against England at Wembley in 1988, he dribbled round Gary Lineker, "as if it was a park game back home," recalled Maturana. "And if Higuita could play his normal, natural game, then the others had to follow his example. And we started playing our football."

His team were well worth their 1-1 draw. This, for them, was a huge occasion, their first big trip to Europe. Holding England at Wembley was seen in Colombia as the day their football came of age.

Their equaliser that night was scored by Andres Escobar. Six years later, his own goal against the USA ended up costing him his life. It's a mark of the importance of Higuita that it is conceivable that events would have take a different turn had he been around.

Comments on the piece in the space provided. Questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.
From last week's postbag:

These transfers in Brazilian football - I'm really interested to find out how they are being funded. It's something that's been on my mind for a while, and even more so now Robinho is at Santos.

Apparently they are paying all his wages and bonuses? How is this possible? Are they relying on improved gates from when he plays or have sponsors/investors stepped in to fund the loan?

I've been told this is how it happened when Corinthians signed Ronaldo. With Vagner Love, Roberto Carlos and Adriano all now playing in Brazil, as well as Botafogo signing Abreu it seems like there must be a lot more money in the league. Is that the case?

Russell Slater

I believe almost all of the money will come from sponsors, as is the case with Adriano, Fred and a few others. Ronaldo is not so much an employee of Corinthians, more a partner who gets a cut of merchandise sales in addition to his basic wage, funded by sponsors.

The big trend here, I think, is the professionalisation of marketing departments, which, together with the size of the internal market and the strength of the Brazilian currency, is making these deals viable.

There are some players earning big money here now, although the drift to Europe shows no sign of stopping. So it would be unwise to go overboard.

As Sao Paulo director Marco Aurelio Cunha says, the return moves are "a short term strategy [ie to gain visibility in the run up to the World Cup], or an option at the end of a career."

As regards the signing by Botafogo of the Uruguayan Abreu, this highlights another growing trend.

In general, first division wages in Brazil are considerably higher than elsewhere in the continent. As Brazil starts to open up to its neighbours, we're seeing more players from the rest of South America come in.

There are a few high profile Argentines in Brazil - but no high profile Brazilians in Argentina.

A quick example. When Adriano came back to Flamengo of Rio earlier this year he instantly put an extra 50,000 on the gate. A crowd of 18,351 had turned up for their previous home game, against Aval, but two weeks later, with Adriano in the team, 68,217 were there to watch the team against Atletico Paranaense.

"The emperor has returned," they sang in celebration - no-one wanted to remember that, in his first spell back in 2000/1 the chant had been very different - "Sell him!" In between he had become a big star, especially for his goals against Argentina, and that was all that mattered.

Similarly, most Santos fans will be so delighted to have Robinho back that the sulk act he pulled before leaving the club in 2005 will be forgotten.

City boss Roberto Mancini has decided he can manage without Robinho for the rest of the English season

As with Adriano, the bulk of Robinho's wages will not be paid by the club. A pool of sponsors has been brought together - Santos president Luis Alvaro Ribeiro delightfully spoke of "more than two companies, but less than five" and this type of arragement is becoming increasingly popular in Brazilian football.

The recent gain in strength of the Brazilian currency is making these deals more viable; Brazil's clubs are becoming more professional in their marketing operations, and then there is a desire to come home from players either at the end of their career or those, such as Adriano, Fred and Robinho, who have run into personal problems or who seem unwilling to knuckle down to the discipline of European football.

Before he became coach of Brazil, Dunga reflected on the importance of crossing the Atlantic in his career: "Our press like to say that Brazilian players move abroad to develop in a tactical sense. But in truth they go to Europe to learn individual and collective responsibility.

"In Brazil, any player who is a little better thinks he can get away with more than the others and behaves irresponsibly, including on the field. And the coach lets him. Abroad, if the athlete doesn't play for the team, he loses his place,"

It is an excellent analysis. It helps explain why some of the highly skilled Brazilian players come across as spoilt children, because they have been nurtured in a footballing culture that allows them to get away with it. Having to fight for their place, being treated like any other squad member - they thought they were above all that.

Back at Flamengo, Adriano has continued his habit of occasionally missing training sessions. Whenever it happens the club automatically say that he had a personal problem to sort out. The other players seem to accept it. They give interviews saying how his humility and charisma has won over the group.

The reserve right-back, however, can be as humble and charismatic as they come, but he will never be given the same leeway. The star player - the craque, as he is referred to in Brazil - has his privileges.

Robinho celebrates a goal for Santos during the 2005 Copa Libertadores

The fact that Santos are prepared to take Robinho on a six-month loan is a tribute to the importance of the craque. A year would make much more sense from their point of view, but none at all from Manchester City's.

Back in August, morale and market value theoretically boosted by the World Cup, City can either offload him or re-assimilate him into a squad that may even be playing in the Champions League, hence their rejection of the Santos idea of a year-long deal.

The trouble is that until August, Santos don't have a great deal of important matches for Robinho to play in.

They haven't qualified for the Copa Libertadores, South America's Champions League, and he can't do much in the National Championship - it kicks off in May, but after a few rounds comes the interruption for the World Cup, with Robinho presumably heading off to South Africa.

They will also be playing in the Sao Paulo State Championship - by far the strongest of Brazil's regional competitions, but still a glorified pre-season tournament that clutters up the calendar - and then there is the Brazilian Cup, which is worthwhile because the winner qualifies for the next year's Libertadores.

So why do it? For all their name, and the Pele link, Santos represent a fairly small city, with a population of around 420,000. Even with Robinho on board, they surely cannot offer the same appeal to sponsors as the likes of Flamengo, Corinthians or Sao Paulo.

The negotiations with these three or four companies must have presented some challenges. So, for what is in reality hardly a vital six months in the history of the club, why go to all this trouble?

The answer is because Luis Alvaro Ribeiro has just taken over as Santos president. Bringing back Robinho is his way of announcing his arrival. Which, come to think of it, is the same reason the player ended up at Manchester City.

Robinho didn't go to Eastlands because his skills were judged as perfect for the needs of the team. His signing was a banner proclaiming 'we're new on the block and we're serious.' His presence gave credibility to the financial strength of the new regime, and helped the club attract other big names. So even if he does move on in August, if never kicks another ball for Man City, Robinho has made some kind of contribution.

Last year they came very close to making the knockout stages of the competition but coach Juan Reynoso feels that his squad is stronger now. This, then, is an exiting moment for the club. Solano, though, has decided not to be a part of it.

After flirting with Colchester and offering himself to Newcastle, he has signed for Leicester. Solano, then would rather wind down his career in lower division English football than in his continent's premier club competition.

Uruguayan playmaker Nicolas Lodeiro, meanwhile, is in the early stages of what promises to be a magnificent career. The 20-year-old was South America's big revelation of 2009, making his name in his country's Under-20 side at the start of the year, and looking thoroughly at home in the senior side by the end of it.

He was also in excellent form in last year's Libertadores, scoring and setting up goals as Nacional became the first Uruguayan club to reach the semi finals in 20 years. They have brought back some experienced players in their bid to do even better in 2010 - but they will have to do it without Lodeiro, who last week signed for Ajax in Holland.

Lodeiro (right) will miss the Libertadores after leaving Nacional for Dutch football

Another loss that will be felt in the Libertadores is that of Colombian striker Teofilo Gutierrez. Strong and direct, he suddenly made the breakthrough last year at the age of 24, linking up well with veteran playmaker Giovanny Hernandez and scoring rivers of goals for Junior of Barranquilla.

This week, Junior are one of 12 sides in action in the Libertadores' brief qualifying round, chasing the final six slots in the group phase, which gets underway on 9 February. The Colombians are clear favourites to overcome tiny Racing of Uruguay, who are making their debut in the competition, and have a powerful incentive to do so as they will go into Group One, along with Corinthians of Brazil, who can boast Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos in their line-up.

It's glamorous stuff - but not enough to keep Gutierrez in Colombia. He has moved to Turkey to join Trabzonspor.

This constant selling undermines the Libertadores, especially with the January transfer window on the eve of the big kick-off. On the other hand, it does make the competition gloriously unpredictable. With even the biggest clubs continually waving off their best players the situation is very different from Europe, where the number of clubs capable of winning the Champions League has shrunk.

True, the Brazilian clubs, boosted by their huge internal market, are beginning to show signs of future domination - the country has provided seven of the last 10 finalists, but the title has eluded them in each of the last three years and part of the charm of the Libertadores is that there is always the chance of a surprise.

The 2010 winners, for example, could even be among the teams taking part in the qualifying round. That's what happened last year when Estudiantes of Argentina struggled mightily to reach the group phase, only getting past Peru's Sporting Cristal on the away goals rule. But during the course of the competition - in what was otherwise a dreadful year for Argentine clubs - Veron and co found the form that made them champions of the continent , and very nearly of the world.

Estudiantes defeated Cruzeiro of Brazil 2-1 in last year's Libertadores final

There is hope, then, for two other Argentine sides in this year's qualifying round. Colon of Santa Fe kick-off the action in a tricky tie against Chile's Univesidad Catolica, while an interesting Newells Old Boys team face Emelec of Ecuador.

Last year's beaten finalists, Cruzeiro of Brazil have to overcome the dreaded altitude to get past Real Potosi of Bolivia and there's an intriguing tie involving Juan Aurich, a little known team from Peru.

From the northern town of Chiclayo, Aurich were one of the first clubs to be included in the country's First Division when it finally decentralised in 1966. Until then, the league was restricted to Lima, the capital, and Callao, the neighbouring port.

In 1969, Aurich became the first provincial side to play in the Libertadores. Since then, though, the Northern Cyclone, as they are known, have blown hot and cold., with spells when they drifted out of professional football.

This is typical of provincial clubs in Peru and helps explain why the title has only ever left Lima/Callao on three occasions, and not since 1989. Now, though, Aurich are making a concerted attempt to establish themselves on a firmer footing.

Their coach has World Cup pedigree - Luis Fernando Suarez, the Colombian who took Ecuador to the last 16 in 2006. And in their squad, back from PSV in Holland, is Reimond Manco, a 19-year-old stocky support striker seen as one of the great hopes of Peruvian football.

Back in Lima, Alianza president Guillermo Alarcon has criticized Aurich as "irresponsible" for over-reaching themselves with financial commitments which are too heavy for the Peruvian market.

The stakes are high, then, when Aurich meet Estudiantes Tecos of Mexico in the Libertadores qualifying round. The Mexicans should be the better prepared side - this week's match is the first competitive game of the year for Aurich, while Estudiantes have been in action this month in the Mexican qualifying tournament.

But Aurich have the first leg advantage of a synthetic pitch in their Elias Aguirre stadium.
and coming out on top over the two legs will lead to at least six paydays for Aurich in the group phase - and they will also be in the same group as Alianza Lima, which after Alarcon's comments will surely set the sparks flying.

Comments on the piece in the space provided. Other questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

From last week's postbag:

Q) My question is about Arsenal's recent signing Samuel Galindo from Bolivia. He seems the kind of midfielder that Wenger likes: very good technically on the ball, and has an eye for the killer pass from midfield. How do you rate him as a prospect, and how soon do you feel we could see him in England? At 6ft 2ins and only 17, I'd imagine he'll soon "fill out" soon enough to adapt to the physical nature of the Premier League.
Jason Romero

A) There's talent there - elegant, languid (perhaps a bit too much for English football) with a left foot capable of playing some excellent 40 yard diagonal passes.
I saw a fair bit of him a year ago when he captain of Bolivia's Under-20s. This is very unusual for a 16 year old, and he later played in the South American Under-17 Championships as well.

Since then there have been allegations made that some of that Under-17 side were in their 20s. This can happen in South American football - Brazil and Ecuador have had most problems with it. It's been reported that the Bolivian FA have appointed someone to look into the allegations.

Hopefully there is nothing untoward with Galindo. I trust that Arsenal have carried out thorough research on their acquisition.

Q) I have a couple of questions about two players that I was really excited about a few years ago who have now gone off the radar. Firstly, Colombia's Johnnier Montano and secondly Argentina's Daniel Montenegro. I remember Montano having a couple of spells at Parma that didn't amount to much, why was this? Montenegro spent a little while at Marseille that also didn't amount to much and I recall him being linked with Manchester United in his early days before that move. Was he just another victim of the 'new Maradona' syndrome that has destroyed many Argentinean youngsters?
Seb, Manchester

A) The pace of European football mean that the playmaker position can be hard for South Americans - they don't have the time on the ball that they'd like to choose their options. 'Rolfi' Montenegro perhaps suffered from an inflated reputation early in his career. There was a buzz around him with European agents that hadn't really been justified by anything he'd done. A good player, but never on course to be a great one - didn't do much in France, Spain or Russia and is now in Mexico with America.

In the case of Jhonnier Montano, I think the talent was there - he looked sensational at 16. I see him as a victim of the premature move syndrome - Parma came way too early, and at a time in his career when he really needed games, he was on the bench or in the stands. Short term loans never worked either, and he ended up losing momentum and motivation and gaining weight. He's done reasonably well in Peru over the last couple of years, and is now with Alianza Lima. But it's very little when compared with the promise that he was showing a decade ago.

Each tournament has its own dynamics, so it would be unwise to draw definitive conclusions for the World Cup from a competition taking place six months earlier.

But if the Africa Cup of Nations is a good opportunity for five World Cup-bound teams to get some competitive match practice, it is also a great chance for their future opponents to do some reconnaissance.

From a South American point of view, there's the possibility of Uruguay meeting Nigeria in the second round, just as Paraguay might face Cameroon, and Chile could come up against Ivory Coast.

And there is the certainty of two clashes in the group phase that look more intriguing with every passing minute in Angola.
Brazil will be wary of the threat from Ivory Coast's talisman Drogba

The story of World Cup meetings between South America and sub-Saharan Africa begins, and for the next few months, ends with 3-0 victories for Brazil in Germany.

But between the wins over Zaire in 1974 and Ghana in 2006, the world became a very different place.

Zaire were out of their depth. They had some nice technical touches but looked like they had never seen a cross before and were even seemingly unsure about some of the rules. Ghana, like the other African first timers four years ago, were full of players with top-class European experience.

Ivory Coast, who Brazil meet in Johannesburg on 20 June, go one step further. Their squad is all based with top European clubs, and many of them also played in the last World Cup. That dreaded word 'naive' can be struck from the records.

Of all the sub-Saharan teams to have gone for the 4-3-3 system, Ivory Coast look the best prepared to carry it out. The lone striker's role is not easy, but Didier Drogba has the all-round game to fill it with distinction.

His team look for him with the long diagonal pass that he chases down the channels. This could create problems for a side such as Brazil, who love to push the full backs forward.

But Drogba can also be a decoy, moving wide and pulling the defence across, creating space for Gervinho and company to play their way through the other channel.

This could be a game, then, where the experience and positional sense of Gilberto Silva could be important for Brazil, identifying and plugging the gaps that the Africans seek to create.

Ivory Coast, though, are likely to spend more time worrying about the Brazil attack than vice-versa. The Brazil fashioned by current coach Dunga are full of confidence and clear on their method of play - although the rebirth of Ronaldinho now presents Brazil's coach with a challenge.

How can the Milan man be re-incorporated in the side?

Playing him and Kaka together has often proved a problem. It certainly didn't work behind two strikers in the last World Cup.

Then, Dunga tried a line of Kaka, Ronaldinho and Robinho behind a lone striker, and that was not a conspicuous success either. There was a feeling that the three got in each other's way.

So strong on the counter, Brazil functioned better when Ronaldinho was replaced by a mixed midfielder, freeing right back Maicon to burst from deep.

So what now? Ronaldinho for Robinho? Or leave Ronaldinho on the bench, a one man plan B for when things get tough?

It's a lovely problem to have. Diego Maradona would love this kind of dilemma to be his biggest headache as he seeks to prepare his Argentina team for the World Cup.

But he has far more fundamental issues to wrestle with - stuff like who will be in the line up and how are they going to play. Plenty of big decisions will have to be taken before Argentina kick off in Johannesburg on 12 June against Nigeria.

Their first World Cup opponents have not had an easy start to the Africa Cup of Nations. Saturday's 1-0 win over Benin was unconvincing - Argentina will surely swamp Nigeria in midfield if they play like that in South Africa - and their confidence had clearly been affected by their opening 3-1 loss to Egypt.

But for the first 30 minutes against the Egyptians, Nigeria had looked impressive. Jon Obi Mikel was directing some nice diagonal passing through midfield and bringing striker Chinedu Obasi into the game, while Taye Taiwo charged forward powerfully from left-back.

In the end Egypt exposed their flaws; with the Nigerian midfield not putting enough pressure on the ball and the centre-backs badly positioned, Egypt could get behind them with one pass. And once Egypt had control of the game, they could sit deep and spring the counter.

I wonder if Maradona might have been inspired by the Egyptian performance. Perhaps the most serious problem he faces is sorting out Argentina's defensive system.
Maradona has been in South Africa inspecting facilities

In the absence of quality full backs there must be a temptation to go with a back three - as Egypt did against Nigeria.

That way he can defend deep so that the lack of pace at the back is not exposed, and he can have three in central midfield (Javier Mascherano, Juan Sebastian Veron and I would have thought that Ever Banega would be pushing himself in front of Fernando Gago).

Jonas Gutierrez can run with Taiwo down the right, and the passing range of Veron and Banega can spring Angel di Maria down the left, or Lionel Messi wherever he can find a hole. The shape of the team would be vaguely similar to the one in which Maradona won the World Cup as a player in 1986.

So if he wants to turn the clock back to the mid '80s, perhaps Argentina's coach should work like an Egyptian.

Comments on the piece in the space provided. Other questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

From last week's postbag;

Q) Paraguayan international striker Salvador Cabañas is repeatedly being linked with a move to Europe. Do you think the time is now right for him? Would he be suited to English football? I personally think that he could become one of the top 10 or 15 strikers in the world.
Ben Hebblethwaite

A) I think he's probably left it a bit too late to achieve the target you've set for him. He's 30 in August, so by the time he's got himself adapted the finish line is all too close.

If he's something of a late developer it's because he went through a positional change. He was a young midfielder in Paraguayan football, but on his journey through Chile and Mexico was converted into a striker.

People realised that, although he's small, he can shine up front because with that stocky frame he's hard to knock off the ball. He receives the ball well, turns well, shoots with terrific power - an excellent striker.

But I do wonder about Europe at this stage. What's the motivation? Does he think he has time to construct a career in Europe, or is it all about the money?

Q) Do either of Manchester United's full-back twins Rafael or Fabio have a chance at getting called up by Brazil for the World Cup 2010?
Vishnu Chari

A) An outside bet at best. Rafael's problem is that Brazil are currently full of right-back options - Maicon and Daniel Alves are in the squad, and then there's Rafinha around as well. Injuries would seem to be his best chance.
Left-back is the problem position, and if Fabio was getting the playing time Rafael had had, then he would have a real chance.

Interestingly, back in Brazil Fabio was the one who was much more highly rated. I suppose that the form of Patrice Evra has got in his way.

The World Cup is full of last minute call up stories (and there's an excellent precedent for this with Brazilian full backs. Anyone remember Josimar in '86?). But as it stands the twins will have to wait for 2014.

Galvao Bueno, commentating on Brazil's TV Globo, was not impressed at all. His post-mortem on the goal was along the lines of 'why didn't someone take Maradona out, come across and kick him?'

He was still going on about it a few minutes later, when Maradona cut through again only to be brought down by Brazil captain Ricardo Gomes, who was sent off. 'Why didn't anyone do that the first time?' he said.

It was all very different from the tone struck by Barry Davies on British TV four years earlier. "You have to say that was magnificent," was the grudging but sincere response to Maradona darting and dancing his way through the England defence to score the famous second goal in the 1986 quarter-final.

If it had happened to Brazil a few minutes after a goal had been punched into their net, it is unlikely that Galvao Bueno's reaction would have been so controlled.

Caniggia celebrates after scoring the winner against Brazil in Turin during the 1990 World Cup

Two decades on Bueno is still - by far - Brazil's best known commentator. He does it very well. He manages to pull off the difficult trick of analysing the game reasonably well while he is describing its progress. His voice is deep and rich, distinctive and resonant and he is excellent at using it.

He also has a whole range of little trademark expressions which he pulls out during the course of the game. My favourite is when a high ball is played into the box and he yells 'Who's getting up there?' - a hugely effective means of building the drama at what could be an important moment.

To casual watchers of the game, Galvao's presence at the microphone sends out the message that the match is important. In Brazil he is a superstar, with an ego to match. He probably signs as many autographs as the players, with the difference that his career has lasted longer.

But, of course, another difference is that the big players are stars all over the world, while Galvao Buenos's fame, like all commentators, is limited to his area of action. Football is watched globally but consumed nationally.

Language is obviously the most significant dividing factor in this process. But culture is vital as well. If, for example, you could put what Galvao says into some new fangled translating tool and have it come out in the voice of a skilled English commentator, it wouldn't work half as well.

One of the big reasons for Galvao Buenos's prolonged success is that he is a genius at giving voice to Brazilian nationalism - a phenomenon that the global game tends to bring to the surface.

"Football has an enormous value for the Brazilian people," I was told a few years ago by 1970 great Tostao. "First, they like it in itself. Second, in competition this turns into something of the nation, something heroic.

"The people feel avenged - the message is that you other countries might be the first world in other things, but we're the best at this."

This is the seam that Bueno mines away at with stakhanovite devotion to duty. He loved doing the World Club Cup final just over four years ago when Sao Paulo won a backs-to-the-wall 1-0 victory over Liverpool.

Sao Paulo defeated Liverpool in the 2005 World Club Championship final in Yokohama

The only goal was scored by little midfielder Mineiro and Galvao spent the rest of the game eulogising his feat with the line: "You don't have to be a giant to play football.'

It didn't make the greatest sense as Sao Paulo are known for being a big, strong team and this side, with its three strapping centre-backs, was no exception. But it fitted perfectly into the David v Goliath story that he wanted to tell.

Liverpool fans woke up the next morning mystified to discover that their websites had been invaded by Sao Paulo supporters quoting Galvao's line.

One of his favourite expressions comes out when someone playing against Brazil unintentionally lets the ball run under his foot for a throw in or takes a shot that narrowly misses the corner flag. "They don't have the same intimacy with the ball," he disdainfully crows.

And when things are going badly for the Brazilian national side his voice can turn into a little boy whine, complaining as if something were wrong with the natural order of the world - and that something is certainly wrong with the referee!

Until the Brazil goal comes and he can sit back with the air of a man lighting a cigar and say that "it was just a question of playing the ball along the ground" as if the goal was as inevitable as night following day.

Of course, Brazil does not have a monopoly on such emotions. Scottish readers may well be chomping at the bit and fuming that England carry around with them an aura and an arrogance that they deserve to be ranked among the best - with much, much less success than Brazil to back it up with.

The point is, perhaps, that English commentators would be wary of using Galvao Bueno's triumphalist tone. In a country with such an imperial history it would come across as a return to the 19th century, as if Lord Palmerston had come back to life and was going to react to a dodgy offside call by sending in a gunboat.

It could also be, of course, that English commentators are a bit out of practice at celebrating major tournament wins for the national team.

Comments on the piece in the space provided. Other questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

From last week's postbag:

Q) As a Manchester United supporter I was interested to see that Douglas Costa (a supposed United target) was on the brink of moving to Shaktar Donetsk for under £5m. In the summer he was being touted as being worth £20m. I know he had an injury but has his form really dipped so much and how highly do you rate him? Is it too early for a move to Europe for him?
Matthew Sleet

A) I don't think all that £20m stuff did him any good at all. He got a first-team chance towards the end of 2008, did well in a couple of games and a week after being unknown was being linked with Europe's biggest clubs. The idea that he was going to step in and instantly replace Cristiano Ronaldo was absolute nonsense.

There is a lot of talent there but a huge amount of growing up to do. I'm sad that he's moved because I think 2010 was going to be a crunch year for him. He's been a bit part player for Gremio, arguing with coaches, getting himself stupidly sent off and so on.

This year should have been the one when he established himself there as a first team player. But the offer came, Gremio needed money and away he went. The fact that so many Brazilians are there already is good - will help him settle in - and bad - he might not get a game. It's a gamble with his career. In a perfect world he would have stayed at least two more years.

Q) I am wondering why Jadson of Shaktar Donetsk, and formerly of Atletico PR, has never been capped for Brazil at senior level. His range of passing, composure on the ball and quality at set pieces could be a real asset for the national team. You have spoken at length about the dearth of passing and playmaking ability amongst the current crop of Brazilian midfielders and recently Dunga has called up Kleberson, Cleiton Xavier, Lucas, Diego Souza and Julio Baptista, while ignoring Jadson.Do you rate him at all, and does his current club and lack of physicality, for want of a better word, hinder his international chances?
Cian Finn

A) Talking of players who could prevent Douglas Costa from getting a game! I'm a big fan of Jadson, picked him out in World Soccer magazine in his glory season at Atletico exactly for his ability to play the surprise pass. If he'd played for a major cub in Rio, Sao Paulo, Belo Horizonte or Porto Alegre he would surely have been given a chance by now.

It's hard to see him get in for the World Cup at this late stage, though I agree that a call up would not be undeserved. The main thing that hinders his international ambitions is Kaka, and perhaps a resurgent Ronaldinho as well. These are the people he is competing with for an attacking midfielder slot - he's not competing against the likes of Lucas and Kleberson.

It's arguable that we are seeing more such acts of inconsistency from players than ever before at the top level of the game, and I am convinced this is no coincidence. On the one hand, football's athletic development and the crowded fixture list mean that the physical and, probably, mental demands are greater than ever.

But on the other hand, so are the rewards. After two years with a major club, a player need never work again. He is surrounded by temptations. Doors open which he never even knew existed when he was a kid. Why bother with all those sacrifices?

Perhaps Ronaldinho is the most glaring recent example. Though there are signs of a recovery this season, he has been a shadow of himself for three years. The talent has all been there but not the acceleration that gave him space to use it. It points to off-the-field excesses and the fact that he, perhaps, is reaching an age at which his body needs more recovery time.

The difference, of course, is that Ronaldinho was on fire for three or four years. He has scaled the mountain. Jo is still gaining a foothold. He's a 22-year-old striker of undoubted promise. But leaving his club in the lurch would seem to indicate that he is happy with what he has achieved and is not prepared to pay the price needed to move up to the next level.

Jo is in his second loan spell with Everton from Manchester City

A decade ago, when Premier League clubs started importing South Americans, they were frequently guilty of buying the player and forgetting the human being. Outside training time, they would leave their expensive acquisition entirely to his own devices, in an alien culture, with no idea of how to solve day-to-day problems.

A few months back, I interviewed Colombian striker Juan Pablo Angel on this very subject. He was proud to see himself as a pioneer. Aston Villa signed him and then left him on his own to sort out a problem with his wife's health. But during the course of his spell in the West Midlands, things became much more professional, with welfare officers appointed to help the players. English clubs are clearly doing something right in this regard. Wigan, for example, have managed to get excellent performances from players from Ecuador and Honduras, countries with little tradition of exporting to Europe.

I wonder, though - and this is speculation rather than criticism - if there is one area where more could still be done: that of forging an emotional link between the player and the club.

It is sometimes said that some Brazilians play for their European club for money and represent their national team for love. There is something in this. Players who may have disappointed English supporters with their attitude, such as Elano and Robinho, are quite happy to knuckle down and make a useful contribution when they pull on the yellow shirt.

But if they can do it for their country, then why not for their club? There are obstacles to be overcome here. When they play for Brazil, they have a very clear idea of who they are representing. But with their clubs, this is more complicated.

I read recently Sir Bobby Charlton's autobiography 'My Manchester United Years' and was struck by the strong sense he had, drilled into the team by Matt Busby, that United were representing the people of the world's first industrial city. This was part of the entire ethos of the club.

So much has changed. Previously, a city's identity was tied up with what it produced. This has weakened with the loss of so much manufacturing. In fact, I would argue that part of the explanation for the extraordinary popularity of football in the United Kingdom is that it offers people a chance, in a sanitised environment, to maintain contact with the collective values of the industrial age. But the factories have closed and the clubs have become global brands. United, for example, have more fans in Asia than in all the other continents combined. So the question of who the clubs represent is not so clear.

And, of course, the players have changed since Charlton's day. The amount they earn limits their contact with ordinary fans, and nowadays the players come from all over the world. The advance of technology means that, for example, a Brazilian can play for an English club but watch nothing but Brazilian TV and keep in constant contact with his mates back home. He can be in one place physically yet his mind be in another. As recently as 15 years ago, a player was almost obliged to integrate. Now he can exist in his own little Brazil.

This is what the clubs are up against - players who earn so much that motivation is not guaranteed and who are increasingly likely to feel no emotional connection to the institution they belong.

I recently saw Portugal boss Carlos Queiroz give a lecture to Brazilian coaches on the demands of working in different continents. He stressed the importance of a coach immersing himself in the history of his club and told the story of his time in charge of Sporting Lisbon when he took the squad to the club museum. They regarded it as a punishment, he said, but they had to go.

Rafael and Fabio da Silva attend a function with Manchester United boss manager Sir Alex Ferguson

This kind of initiative is increasingly important. Manchester United twins Fabio and Rafael da Silva were recently on Brazilian TV saying that Manchester is a terrible place for going out. Do they really not know anything of the city's giant contribution to global popular culture? The club should be telling them. They should know who and what they are representing.

Making players aware of the cultural context can be almost as important as work on the training ground. Jo should be so immersed in Everton culture that he'll be sick at the sight of another toffee. Because by jumping ship in search of some sunshine during the festive period, he has not just let down his manager, team-mates and the fans. He has let down everyone who has helped build the institution since 1878.

Comments on the piece in the space below. Other questions on South American football to vickerycolumn@hotmail.com, and I'll pick out a couple for next week.

From last week's postbag:

My question for you is regarding Brazil's full-back, Maicon. The man is a unique powerhouse with his blend of strength and speed, with adept dribbling and crossing. Will there be many on the left that can stop this guy from tearing through their team, as hardly anyone will be able to put up with his strength?
Will teams have to bring across the left centre-back for cautious cover, leaving a gap in the middle for likes of Luis Fabiano, Kaka etc. to burst through?
Chris Cleary

That's the idea. He's Brazil's first-choice right-back on merit, despite the claims of Daniel Alves. Maicon is the better defender - he's improved greatly in this respect and, as you say, he really is a force of nature bursting from deep.
Dunga changed the formation to free him up. When Ronaldinho was dropped, 4-2-3-1 became 4-3-2-1, with the introduction of a mixed right-sided midfielder (Elano, but could be Ramires and Daniel Alves can play there), one of whose duties is to give cover when Maicon rumbles forward. And keeping the pitch wide to create space through the middle is always one of the aims of Brazil's attacking full-backs.

Martin Palermo is still scoring bags of goals for Boca, despite his chequered record in Europe, and he also scored that crucial winner against Peru. Is there any chance of him being at the World Cup? I think he'd be a different dimension to anyone else at the tournament and could really work for Argentina, who have perhaps been lightweight at recent tournaments. A bit like a Heskey who scores goals.
James Eadon

I sincerely hope not! I am, though, an admirer of Palermo. I was in the stadium 11 years ago for that Copa America match when he missed three penalties, and that's the day he won me over. The fact that he was prepared to look ridiculous, that he was willing to accept the responsibility for taking them - that, for me, is why he's still scoring goals. He doesn't hide and he gets every last drop out of his talent.

Having said that, he's so lumbering these days that I simply can't see him making much of a contribution in the World Cup. Higuain is in front of him in the pecking order. I'm not a great Diego Milito fan, but his club record is good, and if there's space in the squad for another target man, personally I would prefer a recall for Crespo to Palermo.