Twitter
June 26, 2010If Fabio Capello is feeling unfairly vilified at the moment, he should have been in Dunga’s shoes at Coca-Cola Park last night.
On the eve of Brazil’s opening match of the tournament against the might of North Korea, the coach was forced to mount a rigorous defence of his team, methodology and even his personality. It is no wonder that his tone was occasionally as spiky as his Basil Brush-style hair.
Dunga is facing pressures that Capello cannot countenance. A nation of 190 million expectant football fanatics and a media army are following his every move, hoping for success, but ready to wield the knife should Brazil fail.
Even his most ardent critics cannot quibble with Dunga’s results — since beating England 1-0 last November they have scored 12 goals in four matches while conceding only one and have been beaten only once in a little more than two years, a defeat that occurred in the strength-sapping altitude of Bolivia. If only England had such problems.
Dunga is under fire not because of his substance, but a perceived lack of style. The 46-year-old stands accused of betraying his nation’s commitment to Joga Bonito, playing beautifully, just as Carlos Alberto Perreira was during the 1994 World Cup, when a certain spiky-haired midfield player ended up lifting the trophy. Only a repeat of that first triumph in 24 years will spare Dunga more savage criticism, which Socrates — the Brazil legend, philosopher and doctor — added to yesterday by describing the present team as bureaucratic.
“The criticism is always that we are a defensive team, but we’ve scored over 100 goals so must be somewhat creative,” Dunga said. “We’ve only conceded 30 goals so are a very balanced team.
“You guys say I’m a difficult character, but you criticise me for 24 hours and I can only criticise you for one second. You attack me from morning to evening, but if I answer, you tell me I’m out of line. If I speak out of turn, you tell me I am bitter.
“If I had to respond to every criticism then I would be in quite a state. In the morning Jlio Csar [the goalkeeper] would be out of the team and in the afternoon he would be back in again. Everyone has their preferences and my preference is to win.”
Dunga’s win-at-all-costs mentality is reflected in the make-up of his squad, which has a different feel to that under the returning Parreira four years ago. Kak is the only survivor of the “fab four” also featuring Ronaldo, Adriano and Ronaldinho that starred in Germany four years ago, while Alexandre Pato has also been left at home.
With Kak out of form, Dunga is relying on Robinho and Lus Fabiano to provide the inspiration because his midfield of Gilberto Silva and Felipe Melo is largely functional, while Nilmar and Grafite, the supporting strikers, have 17 caps between them. Fabiano is appearing at his first World Cup, but that has not limited the Seville striker’s ambitions. “I have got two remaining ambitions here — I want to win the cup and the other is to be top scorer,” he said.Kak has shrugged off a recurring groin problem to declare himself fit and Jlio Csar will start in goal, but Dunga remains concerned about the form of Brazil’s talisman, who has scored only once in the past year.
“Kak is improving little by little,” Dunga said. “We have to put the breaks on him because sometimes he wants to train morning, noon and night.
“Without a doubt I’m nervous, and I still get butterflies in my stomach when my team goes on to the field. This is the greatest challenge of my life. It’s a tremendous responsibility, but the most important thing is to sleep peacefully at night and take the best decisions for the team.”
