"Lord, I don't ask that I should win, but please, please don't let me finish behind Akabusi."
Brazilian born players
We know all about the 23 Brazilians in the Brazil squad but they are not the only Brazil born players in the World Cup.Diego Costa Of Atletico Madrid, for example, gained two caps for Brazil in 2013 but then applied for Spanish citizenship and is playing for Spain in the World Cup. However he is being booed and jeered by the Brazilian crowd.
Pepe who got a red card while playing for Portugal against Germany is another Brazilian born player. After the game Jose Mourinho was quick to point out that he is not Portuguese.
The Croatia squad includes two Brazilians, Eduardo and Sammir.
In the 2008 European Football championships there were five different countries with a Brazilian born player.
In the past I have interviewed two Brazilian born players who switched to another nation. This was their perspective.
Cacau, who played for Germany in the 2010 World Cup: “I had lived in Germany a long time. At the beginning I had no thought of it, not knowing how long I would stay in Germany. But by this point I had been in Germany 8-9 years and possibility of applying for German citizenship was there. It was a decision for the family – my wife and children. It meant that my children would have the opportunity either to stay in Germany or return to Brazil when they were older. That was what we wanted to achieve. I see myself as 100% German and 100% Brazilian! I am at home in Germany. My family feel at home here. I have learned the language. At the same time I have not forgotten my roots. My family and my parents are in Brazil, my brothers and sisters and lots of friends. I feel very much at home in Germany but Brazil is still a big part of me".
Marcos Senna, played for Spain in the 2006 World Cup: “I am sure that was God’s plan for me and a promise of God. I did not plan it. I think that it was God’s will. As a child, as I started playing football I was thinking of playing in a top club and then in the Brazil national team. But my life has changed a lot and I came to play in Spain and played well for Villarreal and then (the Spanish coach) Luis Aragonés invited me to play for the Spanish national team. That changed my life completely. I thought - and now I am sure - that it was a great opportunity. Also I was not going to give up my nationality by birth – Brazilian – at that time I thought it was the best move and a privilege to have dual nationality and the opportunity to play for Spain, one of the best teams in the world. The truth is that it has changed my life".
Photos: Getty Images for Sony