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Dunga coach Brazil has abandoned the beautiful game
By ROBERT MILLWARD, AP Soccer Writer
July 16, 2007
LONDON (AP) -- Brazil has another Copa America title. Has it abandoned the "beautiful game" to get it?
Since Pele burst onto the scene as a raw 17-year-old almost 50 years ago, Brazil has traditionally put entertaining the fans ahead of winning games. Even now, the likes of Ronaldinho play the game with smiles on their faces, bamboozling defenders with fancy footwork and clever tricks with the ball.
That's not the Dunga way. Brazil's coach wants results, and that means leaving the tricks and the flair in the locker room.
A year after Dunga took over the team that tamely handed its World Cup title over to Italy, Brazil now looks more like the Italians. In Sunday's 3-0 victory over Argentina, Brazil regularly defended with nine men back and caught their opponents on the counterattack. Any Italian coach would have been proud.
Dunga could argue he didn't have imaginative stars Ronaldinho and Kaka, who pulled out of the tournament citing fatigue after a long season with their European clubs.
But it's likely Dunga would not have changed his style with those two in the lineup. He also has reshaped the team without Ronaldo, Cafu, Roberto Carlos and Adriano, all attack-minded players.
The coach, a hardworking midfield organizer with few tricks, has put his own playing style onto the field with a team of powerfully built young athletes, who tackle hard, cover each other and pass rather than dribble.
Although it might not be pretty to watch, it gets results, and Dunga's Brazilian team snuffed out the threat of Argentina's star-studded lineup -- arguably the most talented man-for-man in world soccer.
To be fair, two of the goals were high quality and even Roberto Ayala's own-goal resulted from a slick, inter-passing Brazilian move.
But whenever Lionel Messi, Carlos Tevez and Juan Ramon Riquelme got near the ball, they had two Brazilians snapping at their heels. They rarely were able to put two passes together or gets shots on goal, although Riquelme hit the post and had a shot saved by Brazil goalkeeper Doni.
And Argentina failed to produce the performance that made it the favorite, largely because of Dunga's tactics.
"There was a lot of mistrust in Dunga's work," Brazil captain Gilberto Silva said. "There were also a lot of people from the press who criticized us. But we have been together for 34 days, and we all knew the way that we have been working."
Robinho, who led the tournament with six goals, played his part, even in his own half of the field.
"Despite that fact I could not score (in the final), I'm delighted because we clinched the title," the Real Madrid striker said. "I could not score a goal and bring joy to fans but I had to help out defensively."
Imagine Ronaldo, Ronaldinho or even Pele saying that.
By ROBERT MILLWARD, AP Soccer Writer
July 16, 2007
LONDON (AP) -- Brazil has another Copa America title. Has it abandoned the "beautiful game" to get it?
Since Pele burst onto the scene as a raw 17-year-old almost 50 years ago, Brazil has traditionally put entertaining the fans ahead of winning games. Even now, the likes of Ronaldinho play the game with smiles on their faces, bamboozling defenders with fancy footwork and clever tricks with the ball.
That's not the Dunga way. Brazil's coach wants results, and that means leaving the tricks and the flair in the locker room.
A year after Dunga took over the team that tamely handed its World Cup title over to Italy, Brazil now looks more like the Italians. In Sunday's 3-0 victory over Argentina, Brazil regularly defended with nine men back and caught their opponents on the counterattack. Any Italian coach would have been proud.
Dunga could argue he didn't have imaginative stars Ronaldinho and Kaka, who pulled out of the tournament citing fatigue after a long season with their European clubs.
But it's likely Dunga would not have changed his style with those two in the lineup. He also has reshaped the team without Ronaldo, Cafu, Roberto Carlos and Adriano, all attack-minded players.
The coach, a hardworking midfield organizer with few tricks, has put his own playing style onto the field with a team of powerfully built young athletes, who tackle hard, cover each other and pass rather than dribble.
Although it might not be pretty to watch, it gets results, and Dunga's Brazilian team snuffed out the threat of Argentina's star-studded lineup -- arguably the most talented man-for-man in world soccer.
To be fair, two of the goals were high quality and even Roberto Ayala's own-goal resulted from a slick, inter-passing Brazilian move.
But whenever Lionel Messi, Carlos Tevez and Juan Ramon Riquelme got near the ball, they had two Brazilians snapping at their heels. They rarely were able to put two passes together or gets shots on goal, although Riquelme hit the post and had a shot saved by Brazil goalkeeper Doni.
And Argentina failed to produce the performance that made it the favorite, largely because of Dunga's tactics.
"There was a lot of mistrust in Dunga's work," Brazil captain Gilberto Silva said. "There were also a lot of people from the press who criticized us. But we have been together for 34 days, and we all knew the way that we have been working."
Robinho, who led the tournament with six goals, played his part, even in his own half of the field.
"Despite that fact I could not score (in the final), I'm delighted because we clinched the title," the Real Madrid striker said. "I could not score a goal and bring joy to fans but I had to help out defensively."
Imagine Ronaldo, Ronaldinho or even Pele saying that.
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