Brazilian gov't sticking it's nose in...

Brazil's football politics:

In August they played a friendly in war-torn Haiti - an event clearly linked to the government's United Nations objective.

The likes of Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos and Ronaldinho Gaucho all turned up for the game.

But Milan and Bayern Munich refused to release their players.

They were within their rights to do so; they have an agreement with the Brazilian FA whereby they have no obligation to release players for friendlies outside Europe.

So five players were missing - All were axed for the games against Bolivia and Germany earlier this month.