When winning is all that matters

For the duration of this year's Copa America, Brazil has been criticized at home and abroad for not playing up to par with what has generally been perceived as the traditional Brazilian way of playing football. The 'jogo bonito', or beautiful game, style of play made Brazilians famous, with a controlled pace given to the game so as to entertain fans, dominate the opposing team and ultimately - if it came to it - win titles.

It worked superbly in a different era, when Brazil had the talent to play like this and almost always emerge victorious in the end. The team would surrender quite a few goals for deciding to play an open game filled with flair. But it would inevitably score more, and the team would generally come away with the win. When the quality of Brazilian players would decline, so would the rate of success of this type of strategy. Other teams learned to adapt and neutralize this kind of football too, and soon it was evident that Brazil would need to adapt if it was willing to keep on winning.

What followed was a total departure from that old game, and the beautiful game gave way to the game of results. It didn't matter how the game was won, all it mattered was the win. This is how Brazil barely managed to win its fourth World Cup title, in 1994. Captained by Dunga, the team was more concerned about defending first, and only then attacking. With sub-standard opponents in what was considered a weak World Cup, Brazil beat Italy in the final on a penalty shootout. Italy would have to wait another 12 years before it finally won its fourth World Cup title - curiously enough, in another poor World Cup, decided on penalty kicks.

Following Italy's win in 2006, Brazil's old captain, Dunga, was brought in to get Brazil back on track with a results-oriented philosophy. Giving too much attention to flair and players who worried too much about the 'jogo bonito', it seemed, had cost the country the chance to win the last world Cup. Instead of worrying about the team, each player seemed more concerned about his own future and personal contracts.

Concentrating on the end result would bring championships back to Brazil, and prima-donnas would no longer be tolerated. Instead, a hard-working team would give the country its best shot at winning. The first months of the new Dunga era saw alternating good and bad results, as the new coach tried several new faces. Slowly, the team started being shaped in the way Dunga wanted the game to be played. The way he played. Defending first and worrying about the attack later.

This is an approach which is as dangerous as the flamboyant style adopted earlier by Brazil. By taking this stance, Dunga ultimately levels down the field, and the Brazilians start playing similarly to other less-talented teams, which would not have a different option other than taking a defensive approach.

The Copa America showed how poorly Brazil can play when adopting this new style of play. But the effort of all players and the collective posture of the team as a unit first, and not a group of individuals, also showed how strong this mindset can be. A 2-0 loss to Mexico, a weak win over Ecuador, two good wins over Chile and a lucky one over Uruguay had put Brazil in the final of the competition against the heavily favoured Argentines.

A mixture of strength, commitment, some luck, and lots of effort gave Brazil its most remarkable performance of the Cup, when it mattered the most. By defending first, and cancelling Argentina's main plays - even if to do that the team had to commit a series of fouls to stop the opponents - the team was allowed to explore counterattacks and patiently build a 3-0 win.

To the Brazilians, this is the new 'jogo bonito'. If they can mix that kind of commitment and effort with the talent and flow of their flamboyant game, it will become even more beautiful.