Brazil Out. Deservedly.

July 1st, 2006 – World Cup Quarterfinals: Brazil crash out, against a decent, Zizu-fuelled, France.

Frankly, Brazil played quite crap. Why? Because well ‘it wasn’t their day’ – as most would say it, but no, it’s not that, it is because they just did not gel, and have not been really gelling through out the World Cup. Right from the start, Brazil weren’t really tested with a strong opposition, an opposition that had a mighty midfield, or a classy defense. Mediocre teams like Australia, Croatia, Ghana and Japan, cannot really be called tests. France was the first real test for the Brazilians, and they stumbled, because, according to me, of social pressure. No, no, don’t jump to conclusions; the loss wasn’t because of social pressure on the players, but rather on their un-inspiring coach Carlos Alberto Parreira.

Now this is my theory. Read carefully. The wing backs are the most crucial players in building an attack, because they give width and pace to the side. Observe any great team of the recent ages, as in teams that play breath-taking football, at breath-taking pace, like Barcelona and Arsenal, the Champions League finalists for the season 2005-06. For Barcelona, the likes of Van Bronkhorst, Belleti and Oleguer, and for Arsenal, Ashley Cole, Lauren and Eboue have successfully taken on the wing-back positions. They offered pace, and most importantly vital options for the holding, and creative midfielders. With the ability to run at their opponents and float in dangerous balls, these wingers were responsible for most of the major attacks of their teams. Take for instance; during Arsenal’s prime era (the unbeaten 49 game streak) Lauren and Ashley Cole made devastating over-lapping runs to crack open the opponents’ defense. Beautiful combination play involving Henry, Pires and Ashley Cole on the left flank is considered one of the most devastating and successful partnerships in the history of the English game. So, regarding flank play, did you see Brazil? Cafu was simply pathetic and uninspired. Roberto Carlos showed ineffective passion. Cafu spoiled the game numerous times with his slow, old feet and lethargic touches. Roberto Carlos blasted the ball aimlessly all over the pitch. No pace, no overlapping, no real support was provided by these wing-backs to the rest of the team.The other mistake that Mr. Parreira made was the inclusion of Juninho. Yes he is a good free-kick taker, but what you needed, Parreira, is an attacker, someone like Adriano. All Parreira-favourite Adriano needed was some patience from his coach. Also it took the Brazilian coach almost 80 minutes to get on the electric and youthful Robinho.

Now if I was the coach of Brazil:

1. I would never start with Cafu as the right-back. 36 years old, and worn out, Cafu was, according to me, not the ideal choice for the most stamina-requiring position. It took Parreira 340 minutes of football time to realize this, and then he brought in Cicinho for the last twenty minutes of what would be Brazil’s final match in their 2006 World Cup Campaign. I would have started with Cicinho.
2. I would have given Roberto Carlos 2 games to prove his worth. But after seeing the potential in the substitute left-back Gilberto, I would have put him in instead. What these wing-back positions require is not experience, but youthful exuberance and hard-core pace. A 36 year-old right-back and a 33 year-old left-back definitely don’t meet those parameters. Experience is required in positions like centre-back and the defensive-midfield, which was provided through the likes of Giberto Silva, Ze Roberto, Lucio and the brilliant Juan. In addition to that, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho provided enough ‘experience’ and skill in attack.
3. Emerson would have been my Captain.
4. Ronalidinho would have been made to play a little deeper and would have been allowed to be selfish with the ball. He is by far the best dribbler in the world, so why the hell do you want to prevent him from doing what he is best at – dribbling. In this World Cup, he looked more desperate to weave chipped-through balls and roam around aimlessly. I say, let him do what he is best at, and what he has proved with Barcelona all season long. I would have put him on the left-flank and let him dominate it completely and let the likes of Kaka, Ronaldo and Adriano drift in midfield and attack.

Anyway all these ‘would haves’ would hold some reverence only if I was coach of Brazil, which I am not, and I will probably never be in the course of my entire life. The Brazil loss was more frustrating than depressing. Lack-lustre, totally unBrazilian-like Brazil failed to even have one threatening shot on target. Parreira played his cards wrong. To be fair to him, how could he remove a household name like Cafu from the team? But then that’s what separates ex-Brazilian Coach Scolari from him. Scolari refused to include the oldie Romario in the 2002 Brazilian World Cup squad despite huge public requests. If Parreira had been a little discerning, he would have observed that Cafu by no means had a good season with AC Milan and was growing terribly old. Also Parreira could have been a little more thorough in picking his starting 11 for the World Cup. The match against Japan, was clearly Brazil’s best performance. Cicinho and Juan took centre stage then and provided another dimension to the Brazilian attack, through the wings. Didn’t Parreira get that?

On the other hand, Zidane put on a master-class performance in frankly, quite a dull game. Apart from his 3 goals in the World Cup, Henry continued to struggle in a totally uncharacteristic performance by him. Defensively the game was beautiful, but then defense is not Joga Bonito, is it?

All in all, there are no excuses for Brazil’s loss. They are to blame. I am a Brazilian fan and I feel that Brazil did not deserve to proceed, but hell, I wanted them too. I am heart-broken, and this heart-ache won’t allow me to support any other team for the remaining portion of the World Cup. So, good luck to France, Portugal (who could only scrape past England on penalties), Italy and Germany. Let’s hope that the semi-finals and finals of this World Cup will be more exciting than the quarters.