When it rains it pours. When it rains in Brazil, hold on to whatever you can because it is a media tsunami. When you have Pelé, the master second-guesser and virtual kiss of death of any favorite, calling you out there is no way out. The beauty in comments is that he has no accountability and what better scenario that to see him ¨(Brazil) would have won (the gold medal) if I would have played.¨ That comment was both a regret as well as indirect shot at the national team as their lack of success leads to little defense.
After the World Cup in 2006, CBF boss Ricardo Teixeira hired the canarinha talisman that lifted the World Cup in 1994 in the US. His job was to bring back to the era where his type of hard work had returns. Brazil’s players began to wander off and somehow the hunger was not there, maybe the distractions go to them. If there was a chink in this past generation of Brazilian player was that that they did not respond well when they were the favorites. If you need examples, France ’98, Germany 2006, and (why not) the Olympics. This team was much be more successful when their eternal rivals to the south had that tag.
Dunga was the atypical Brazilian player. He was the anti-jogo bonito, if there ever could have ever been a criticism about his game. Hiring a person whose style as a player resembled a more defensive and more Europeanized system of the game. He was never looked at in the same light as Zico, Socrates, Junior, or other predecesssors that played the game in such as way that made Brazil the household name that generated excitement regardless fo where they went. One could say he was the necessary evil to a certain extent. He was that balance that they needed as they saw their ultra offensive style not garner any results since 1970.
His hiring did generate controversy. Even though he was a famous player, and a successful one at it. The problem lied in the CBF hiring an inexperienced coach to take over the job with the most pressure in the sports world. Some may say England would have deserve that, others even say Mexico- but unlike those two, in Brazil people don’t talk about winning, they talk about style points- and Dunga had very few of those. Such were the series of performances, that ¨O Burro ¨became¨ the prominent jeer from the stands, especially when they played at home. Reminiscent of the days of Sebastião Lazaroni when his hard-nosed attitude began to be confused with his hard headedness.
Dunga brought his hard-nosed, lunch pail attitude to the pitch. His vision of the game conflicted with the players at his ¨disposal¨. It was very hard to see a player like Ronaldinho going back to mark. There were problems in the strategic layout of the club. It was evident, and there was no way to hide it. They looked pale, lacking energy and with no direction offensively. Dunga’s teams were now depending solely on defense and a solid backline.
What kept Dunga on scholarship was the fact that he was playing his friendlies in Europe. HIs style of play when compromised, was bailed out by individual spurts of individual talent that only could come from that South American country. Eventually as players began to fall by the wayside, he became exposed. He was bailed out once more after winning Copa América despite a horrid start.
Operation Rescue Ronaldinho
Not all of the debacle should be blame of the Scratch´s head man. Ricardo Teixeira had a great deal to do with this as well. Like any other symbol of propaganda, which Brazilian football definitely is, the men in the dress suits always try to implement their will against the men in the sweat suits. RIcardo Teixeira was aware that the team needed a mediatic centrifuge to bring attention to their side. Kaká and Robinho were not going to be in Beijing, so he ¨decided¨ that the Olympics would be the perfect backdrop for Ronaldinho to return to his form of old. Teixeira alongside Nike wanted to see if this wa the moment that saw AC Milan’s newest acquisiton stop his footballistic freefall. As we all know and saw, Dinho was there is body but not in spirit. In a way I can’t blame him…but that should be for another rant.
Friday, while the Braziilan media began to write his eulogy, Dunga will have to realize his mistakes a tad too late. If he were in any other country, there might a last chance. Unfortunately, in Brazil those are very few and he had to learn that the hard way. By Monday the question will most likely be who will be the next coach or who will be willing to take over this hot potato as they find themselves in a precarious position in World Cup qualifying.
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