More than a failure, a disappointment
Brazil was unable to defend its title in Germany, but the reasons for the poor form shown in Europe are only now beginning to surface. Prior to the tournament, the team was considered by many experts as one of the top sides ever fielded by the country, and even compared to teams such as the ones from 1958, 1970 and 1982 - the latter did not win the World Cup but thrilled fans worldwide with an offensive display of football. Seldom has a team arrived at the World Cup with such a favouritism.
After being knocked out in the quarterfinals by virtue of a 1-0 loss to France, these same experts are asking how could they have been so wrong about the team. Brazil never seemed to find its game during the competition, even in the four wins before the loss to the French. The team's best performance came in the third match of the first stage, a 4-1 win against a weak Japan side that manage only one point in the competition thanks to a scoreless draw against Croatia. In that game, several reserves were fielded and seemed to bring some emotion and willingness to perform to the team.
In the other matches, the team was never more than a collection of individual stars that never seemed to work together, and seldom showed any poise or desire to climb an extra level to perform at their best. Filled with aging veterans which were part of the winning 2002 side, the team seemed to feel like it could win any match it wanted, anytime it wanted. Because of this approach, players lacked any motivation in the early matches, and were still successful in beating Croatia and Australia in the group stages and Ghana in the round-of-16.
When they met France in the quarterfinals, though, Brazil could not do anything during the entire game, and ended up paying with a loss that eliminated the team from the tournament.
Even though the team was losing since the 56th minute, there was no sense of urgency from players of the coaching staff. Worse, players seemed to not care about the game itself, and showed little or no motivation in the field, passively watching as Zinedine Zidane orchestrated his comeback to centrestage of the world game. During the goal scored by Thierry Henry, four Brazilians players just watched as the French attacker easily entered the penalty box with no marking to net the game's only goal. After the game, just a couple of players seemed to show their disappointment on the field, while the others quickly left for the dressing room or even smiled while exchanging shirts with their opponents.
This performance in particular caused most Brazilians to be angry at the team. Not so much because of the result, a perfect normal score in a match against two traditional teams. But the apparent lack of effort was harder to take. A sense of disappointment took over fans in regards to the National Team. Not so much of failure, but rather of frustration that these players could care so little about the fate of the team in the tournament. That they could be more interested in just making more money (and they already have tons of it) instead of showing some pride in wearing the National colours.
Back home, players now begin to question the style of coaching employed by Carlos Parreira, the training regime, lack of tactical strengthening and apparent wrong approaches taken during the preparation for the Cup. Beginning with the roster choice, with some veterans clearly out of shape or far from their once admired capabilities. With the loss, everything is now up for questioning, and a reformulation of the team is unavoidable. Parreira will likely leave his position, as he should - together with assistant coach Mario Zagallo.
A decision on who will succeed Parreira should be announced shortly. In August, the National Team will face Norway in a friendly match. The team will probably be quite different from the one that entered the pitch on July 1.
With the disappointment regarding the Brazilian National team in the 2006 World Cup, all the attention in the country goes back to the local competitions. The second half of the Serie A (First Division) and the finals of the Brazilian Cup are the top concerns for local fans. Sao Paulo and Internacional are still battling in the continental Libertadores Cup, while several teams will also take part in the Copa Sudamericana.
As for the World Cup, Brazilians only hope players in 2010 can show more heart.
After being knocked out in the quarterfinals by virtue of a 1-0 loss to France, these same experts are asking how could they have been so wrong about the team. Brazil never seemed to find its game during the competition, even in the four wins before the loss to the French. The team's best performance came in the third match of the first stage, a 4-1 win against a weak Japan side that manage only one point in the competition thanks to a scoreless draw against Croatia. In that game, several reserves were fielded and seemed to bring some emotion and willingness to perform to the team.
In the other matches, the team was never more than a collection of individual stars that never seemed to work together, and seldom showed any poise or desire to climb an extra level to perform at their best. Filled with aging veterans which were part of the winning 2002 side, the team seemed to feel like it could win any match it wanted, anytime it wanted. Because of this approach, players lacked any motivation in the early matches, and were still successful in beating Croatia and Australia in the group stages and Ghana in the round-of-16.
When they met France in the quarterfinals, though, Brazil could not do anything during the entire game, and ended up paying with a loss that eliminated the team from the tournament.
Even though the team was losing since the 56th minute, there was no sense of urgency from players of the coaching staff. Worse, players seemed to not care about the game itself, and showed little or no motivation in the field, passively watching as Zinedine Zidane orchestrated his comeback to centrestage of the world game. During the goal scored by Thierry Henry, four Brazilians players just watched as the French attacker easily entered the penalty box with no marking to net the game's only goal. After the game, just a couple of players seemed to show their disappointment on the field, while the others quickly left for the dressing room or even smiled while exchanging shirts with their opponents.
This performance in particular caused most Brazilians to be angry at the team. Not so much because of the result, a perfect normal score in a match against two traditional teams. But the apparent lack of effort was harder to take. A sense of disappointment took over fans in regards to the National Team. Not so much of failure, but rather of frustration that these players could care so little about the fate of the team in the tournament. That they could be more interested in just making more money (and they already have tons of it) instead of showing some pride in wearing the National colours.
Back home, players now begin to question the style of coaching employed by Carlos Parreira, the training regime, lack of tactical strengthening and apparent wrong approaches taken during the preparation for the Cup. Beginning with the roster choice, with some veterans clearly out of shape or far from their once admired capabilities. With the loss, everything is now up for questioning, and a reformulation of the team is unavoidable. Parreira will likely leave his position, as he should - together with assistant coach Mario Zagallo.
A decision on who will succeed Parreira should be announced shortly. In August, the National Team will face Norway in a friendly match. The team will probably be quite different from the one that entered the pitch on July 1.
With the disappointment regarding the Brazilian National team in the 2006 World Cup, all the attention in the country goes back to the local competitions. The second half of the Serie A (First Division) and the finals of the Brazilian Cup are the top concerns for local fans. Sao Paulo and Internacional are still battling in the continental Libertadores Cup, while several teams will also take part in the Copa Sudamericana.
As for the World Cup, Brazilians only hope players in 2010 can show more heart.
posted by fejas @ 10:01 AM
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