Player profile

Despite being forever remembered as one of Sir Alex Ferguson’s worst buys in his reign at Manchester United, Kleberson will care not one jot if he lifts the World Cup for a second time this summer.

After arriving at Old Trafford from Atletico Paranaense for £5.93m in 2003, he never seemed to be in peak physical condition and a host of injuries blighted his two seasons in Manchester.

He played just 30 matches before United cut their losses and sold him on to Besiktas. It was far from a case of Turkish delight in Istanbul, as despite winning a domestic cup, his patchy form saw him return to Brazil with Flamengo in 2008.

Since then he has not looked back and his renaissance in Rio saw him receive his first international call-up for four-and-a-half years, ahead of the 2009 Confederations Cup.

He has remained in the squad since then, but is well down the pecking order and is unlikely to trouble Brazil’s starting XI. Useful as a substitute, he has been picked by Dunga for his ability to cover various midfield positions.

He shot to prominence at the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea, breaking into the starting line-up halfway though the tournament and setting up one of the goals in their 2-0 win over Germany in the final.

One of his main competitors for a place in Brazil’s squad for the World Cup was expected to be a Brazilian central midfielder playing for Manchester United, but injury curtailed Anderson’s chances of reaching South Africa.

The Old Trafford faithful gleefully sing a song about Anderson that begins with the line, ‘Anderson, son, son, he’s better than Kleberson.’