Felipe Massa slams Dunga over World Cup squad

RIO DE JANEIRO - No exception to Brazilians’ love for football, Formula 1 driver Felipe Massa slammed national team coach Carlos Dunga over his choice of a World Cup squad.

“The truth is I didn’t like it. And I think most Brazilians did not like it,” the Ferrari driver told Brazilian radio network Jovem Pan in an interview Wednesday.

“You have to take the best players to a World Cup, and that’s not what Dunga does. He is taking the players he trusts, and he is excluding those who are most talented,” Massa complained.

He was particularly upset about the absence from the squad of Milan star Ronaldinho and about Santos’ rising talents Neymar and Paulo Henrique Ganso.

Ganso and Ronaldinho have been included in the reserve list of seven players who might get to play the World Cup in case of any injuries.

Young Neymar, 18, who is a darling of Brazilian sports media and fans alike after an impressive season, will have to wait four more years for the chance to play a World Cup.

“I think Neymar, Ganso and Ronaldinho should go to South Africa. They are players who have already shown their skill in football, and they should be on the list,” Massa said.

He also slammed Dunga for his decision to call Cruzeiro’s Gilberto and and Olympique Lyon’s Michel Bastos as left-backs.

“I would have included Marcelo, of Real Madrid, and Maxwell, of Barcelona, who play very well,” Massa noted.

Like Ganso and Ronaldinho, Marcelo is in the “waiting list” that was sent to FIFA Tuesday, while Maxwell, like Neymar, will not play in South Africa 2010.