World Cup 2014: Player profile - Alex Song, the Cameroon midfielder

Counting down the 100 players to look out for in Brazil this summer

Alex Song (right) of Cameroon (GETTY IMAGES)

The World Cup in Brazil is coming into view and everyone is hoping this summer's carnival can take its place among some of the great tournaments of the past, but who will be the star of the show?

With 66 days to go until things kick-off, check out our latest instalment of 100 players to look out for at the competition below.

66. Alex Song (Cameroon)

Song is a player with plenty to prove: after a superb final season for Arsenal in 2011-12, he has struggled since his move to Barcelona. He has failed to command a regular place at the Nou Camp, and his cause has hardly been helped by a disastrous – and now abandoned – attempt to convert him to centre back. But Arsenal fans will remember that Song at his best is a holding midfielder of rare talent, combining an appetite for destruction in the centre of the park with the vision to deliver some sumptuous passes to the forward line. That creativity could be a priceless asset to a Cameroon side with an acute shortage of midfield flair. Song’s link-up play with the talismanic Samuel Eto’o could be pivotal to Cameroon’s chances of surviving a highly competitive group; if he can provide the same sort of service he used to supply for Robin van Persie, Song could have Cameroon dancing to his tune.

Did you know? Song is one of 28 children – he has 17 sisters and 10 brothers.