Brazil to bring top stars to Dublin

In return for the substantial fee they will be paid by the Football Association of Ireland for coming to Dublin to play a friendly international at Lansdowne Road on Wednesday week (February 18th) world champions Brazil yesterday named a squad for the game that includes 11 of the 13 players who featured in the 2002 World Cup final.

Of the 13 only Rivaldo (who recently joined Brazilian club Cruzeiro after being released by AC Milan) and Denilson (of Real Betis in Spain), whose stars have fallen since that 2-0 victory over Germany, are excluded.

Twenty of the 22-man squad are European-based, with goalkeeper Marcos (Palmeiras) and Luis Fabiano (Sao Paulo), who both play their football in Brazil, the only squad members based outside Europe.

All the big names have been included by coach Carlos Alberto Parreira, including Real Madrid's Roberto Carlos who could yet be a doubt for the game having missed the Spanish champions' 3-2 defeat of Valladolid at the weekend with a hamstring tear.

Three English Premiership players and World Cup winners - Gilberto Silva (Arsenal), Kleberson (Manchester United) and Juninho (Middlesbrough) - will, fitness permitting, travel to Dublin, as will Real Madrid's Ronaldo and Ronaldinho, the only bright spark in what has been a poor season for Barcelona so far.

Seville's midfielder Julio Baptista, who moved to Europe from Sao Paulo last summer, is the newest name in the squad.

The match is the first of a three-game series of friendlies - the Czech Republic (March 31st) and Romania (May 27th) follow the Brazil game - for which supporters can buy a package of tickets, 10,000 of which will go on sale through Ticketmaster from tomorrow at 9 a.m. (terrace tickets for the three games cost a total of €60). Tickets cannot be purchased from Ticketmaster for individual games.

Brazil's only previous visit to Dublin came in 1987 when a Liam Brady goal gave Ireland its sole victory over the South Americans - before that Brazil had beaten Ireland 2-1 (Rio de Janeiro, 1974) and 7-0 (Uberlandia, 1982).

BRAZIL SQUAD (v Republic of Ireland, February 18th, Lansdowne Road): Gilberto Silva (Arsenal), Ronaldinho (Barcelona), Lucio (Bayer Leverkusen), Juan (Bayer Leverkusen), Ze Roberto (Bayern Munich), Adriano (Inter Milan), Juninho (Lyon), Edmilson (Lyon), Kleberson (Manchester United), Juninho Paulista (Middlesbrough), Cafu (AC Milan), Kaka (AC Milan), Dida (AC Milan), Marcos (Palmeiras), Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Roberto Carlos (Real Madrid), Emerson (Roma), Luis Fabiano (Sao Paulo), Julio Baptista (Seville), Roque Junior (Siena), Junior (Siena), Belletti (Villareal).