Cicinho factor
According to the headlines, Manchester United are chasing a Brazilian defender.
But Sir Alex Ferguson is barking up the wrong tree if he expects Cicinho to do much in the way of defending.
In contemporary Brazilian football the balance of a full-back´s game is strongly weighted towards attack - and that is especially true in the case of the Sao Paulo flyer.
Cicinho is at his happiest bursting down the wing - squat and fast, like a right-footed version of Roberto Carlos.
In recent times he has been unleashing a Roberto Carlos-style rocket shot - a fact that illustrates why the 25-year-old has suddenly become a star.
A natural athlete, he has worked on his football and now has an excellent range of attacking skills to go with his speed.
His crossing has improved, he has developed the ability to play one-twos at pace on the edge of the opposing box and he is now a regular scorer and creator of goals.
He was a key part of Sao Paulo´s recent triumph in the Copa Libertadores, South America´s equivalent of the Champions League, and came to global attention in the final of the Confederations Cup, where he helped set up all of Brazil´s goals in the 4-1 win over Argentina.
Cafu has had Brazil´s right-back berth to himself for a decade. In all that time Cicinho represents the biggest threat he has faced.
It was for this very reason that Cicinho seemed willing to delay his move to Europe for another year.
Keen to make sure of his place in the 2006 World Cup squad, he was fretting about the possible consequences of crossing the Atlantic; a new club in a new country may give him problems of adaptation that might mean that he lost form at the decisive moment.
Money talks, though, and glory tempts but if he does make the move to Old Trafford there will surely be problems of adaptation to overcome.
Even in Brazilian football, Cicinho has had problems operating in a 4-4-2 system and in the Confederations Cup Brazil took time to incorporate him into their back four.
He is best-suited to Sao Paulo´s 3-5-2 formation - the extra centre-back gives him the protection to push forward at will.
Manchester United may well find that his defensive deficiencies are exposed when played as a conventional right-back. He will certainly struggle in the air at the far post.
But pushing him forward to the right side of midfield may not be the solution. Cicinho is not a winger, with the trickery to beat players from a standing start.
He is first and foremost a runner and to be effective he needs to build up a head of steam by starting his runs from deep.
These were exactly the problems that Roberto Carlos faced when he first moved to Europe. It seems to have been generally forgotten now but the great left-back was not a success in his time with Inter Milan.
The Italians mistrusted his defending and found him unsuited to midfield. His career was revived when he moved to Real Madrid and was given license to roam from full-back.
Can Cicinho fit into Manchester United? Are Manchester United prepared to change their style to fit him in? These are the fascinating questions to be answered if the Sao Paulo flyer touches down at Old Trafford.
