Brazil striker Grafite admits he was more surprised than anyone by his World Cup call-up.
Inclusion was unexpected, says Wolfsburg forward
Brazil striker Grafite admits he was more surprised than anyone by his World Cup call-up.
The 31-year-old, who has won just three caps for his country since making his international debut in 2005, has been named in coach Dunga's final 23-man squad for the tournament in South Africa this summer.
And Wolfsburg forward Grafite says three months ago a spot in the World Cup line-up had not even crossed his mind.
Chance
"Three months ago I had no hopes of playing at the World Cup," said Grafite.
"I knew Dunga had closed his group of players and my chances were minimal."
Grafite has only played a few minutes under Dunga, impressing the coach in his side's 2-0 friendly win over the Republic of Ireland in March after regular starter Luis Fabiano missed the game.
Despite his display in that London encounter, which marked the team's last match before the World Cup squad was announced, Grafite insists he was still dubious of making the final cut, adding: "I still thought I was a long shot to make the team."
The striker says he was so overcome with nerves on the day the Brazilian squad was named that he could not bear to watch the announcement.
"I was in my house and just went to the garden with my dog to wait there," he added.
"My family and all my friends were in the living room watching the TV. From time to time I would just look at them from the garden to see what was going on. If they kept quiet I knew it would be bad news.
"All of a sudden they started yelling and celebrating. My daughter ran to me and we hugged and started crying."
Proud
Grafite is likely to take a back seat to more seasoned strikers such as Robinho, Fabiano and Nilmar in South Africa, but the forward insists he is proud just to have been included in the World Cup set-up.
"My trajectory hasn't been easy, like of most players," he added.
"This is a dream. When I got called up for the World Cup, my wife just said, 'You deserve what is happening to you, it's what you fought for'."
