It’s Raining Footballers

So many unpronounceable names.

A dozen other international teams have named their preliminary rosters for South Africa, highlighted by perennial World Cup contenders Brazil and Italy.

With a powerhouse side such as Brazil, a few notable names are sure to be left on the sidelines, but this year’s selection has some superstars on the outside looking in. Ronaldinho failed to sway Coach Dunga. Same with midfielder Diego, AC Milan striker Pato, holdovers like Adriano and the emerging starlet Neymar. To me, Diego is the biggest omission, the only true creator available behind Kaka.

Jersey-born Giuseppe Rossi was called into the Italian camp after a few weeks of nail-biting. Some big names left out of the Azzurri set-up, including Alessandro Del Piero, Luca Toni and Roma’s Francesco Totti, who probably hasn’t done himself any favors by just running around and kicking people.

If you’re studying up for your World Cup fantasy team and need to know who’s starting at left back for Cameroon, here are links to the complete preliminary rosters released so far today:

Brazil
Italy
Netherlands
Spain
Portugal
Switzerland
Denmark
Greece
Cameroon
Ghana
Australia
Ivory Coast
NewZealand
Honduras
Japan
South Africa