Comments on: Brazil 2 – 0 Oman

By: Pachet5@hotmail.com

Pachet5@hotmail.com — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 03:54:45 +0000

Hey i found another site where they only have news about the selecao and brazilian players it’s http://www.sambafoot.com but the catch it’s in french they don’t really update the english version on the site that often anyway i can’t believe people from Argentina and Paraguay hated brazilians that much,they didn’t vote for one brazilian for the ballon d’or,don’t get me wrong i’m not saying any brazilian deserve to be in the top 5 players for the ballon d’or this year but by not voting for none of them at all is something else,congrats to Messi,but i know if we win the World Cup next summer we know one of our players gonna get it next december so we should step our games up Kaka,Ronaldinho,Diego,Pato,Luis Fabiano common we have enough ballon d’or materials !!!

By: jzlim11

jzlim11 — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 03:38:29 +0000

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/world-cup/story/_/id/706647/ce/uk/?cc=3888&ver=global. Check this out! Man!!

By: kenny

kenny — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 17:26:52 +0000

You are right. Alves doesn’t get as much credit for several reasons; He is south-american, and since he plays in a european league basically dominated by european press, they tend to hype their own players a lot more.
Secondly, he is a defensive player, and generally, offensive players receive more media attention than their defensive counterparts.

By: Pachet5@hotmail.com

Pachet5@hotmail.com — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 23:23:01 +0000

Kenny you mean 2002 not 2006 and i mention the “bench issue” on the 25th, by the way did you see Julio Baptista playing today again? i’m telling you they shouldn’t letting him buy a ticket to be in South Africa as a spectator but sadly it seems like he’s gonna be part of our 23 man squad (i exagerate a little bit) lol,WE WANT DIEGO,by the way Diego’s been playing like Julio Baptista lately,lol,it’s a good thing R10 is getting back to be R10 and Kaka is still in the process of transition in la liga,i hope he step his game up quick…one last thing when people are talking about FCB they usually mention Messi,Xavi,Iniesta ect…Dani Alves is really important for FCB he deserves a lot of credit that he’s not getting yet, what you think Kenny?

By: Kenny

Kenny — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 19:46:22 +0000

We all know that Dunga so far has done a good job as the coach, infact he has exceeded all expectations. I may not have indicated as much from my posts, and may rightfully be accused of being over-critical. You may be happy with the state of the seleccao (since we are CURRENTLY winning)but that’s your prerogative. I am neither happy nor angry about the team,just plain paranoid. The current brazilian team being ranked number one prior to the world cup is nothing new. We have usually been on a winning streak before world cup championships only to falter during the competition so one can make the argument that what Dunga is doing currently is no different from his predecessors with regards to the state of the Sellecao PRIOR to world cup championships. I am not calling for DUNGA to be fired, that will be ludicrous. You have to realize that in football; YOU ARE ONLY AS GOOD AS YOUR LAST GAME. In the event that we falter during the world cup, he will be replaced with no regards about his prior accomplishments. For anyone familiar with the recent world cup history- Highly ranked Teams prior to the World cup championship end up greatly disappointing; The Holland squad in 1990 world cup, The colombian team of 1994 cup,the french team of 2002, and the Brazilian team of 2006. As a coach, you have to constantly critically evaluate your team since the Public has a short memory and you are only a game away from getting fired especially in the world cup. Maybe a couple of you don’t understand my reasons so permit me to further elaborate. My concern stems from certain flaws in the team, which may not be obvious now but will be certainly magnified during the World CUP. The first stems from the left full back position, where Andre Santos was routinely abused during the confedrations cup. Many of the solid teams such as Spain, Argentina, and portugal have awesome right wingers; David Silva, Messi and Ronaldo respectively and if Andre Santos cannot hold his own against the opposition during the confedrations cup, how then can he match up against these world class players? Infact I will rather have a good left full-back than a good right full-back since most wingers are right wingers so operate on the left side of the opposition’s defense.(even the left wingers can operate from the right if it is deemed vulnerable but the reverse is not necessarily the case). My second concern is with regards to the substitute bench. If you look at the brazil team that won the 1994 and 2006 cup, they had one thing in common- A SOLID BENCH.During the 1994 cup, we lost two key players (three if you include Rai, who was not in form)- Leonardo (red carded) during the second round against USA, was replaced by Branco who filled in admirably and scored the awesome goal against Holland in the quarterfinals and also in the finals against Italy, we lost Jorginho to injury, then we discovered a wonderful boy called Cafu. In 2006, ronaldinho was red carded against England so he missed the semi-final game. So to quickly summarise; Dinga has done a GREAT job with the starting line-up (except the left full back position) but the same cannot be said of the substitute bench. Barring any inevitability (no red cards or injury), we should be in good shape but recent history suggests otherwise; most teams experience a major injury or suspension either during the world cup or prior (coincidentally, I just saw a news flash stating that Van Persie is seriously injured, so I guess the dutch team has lost a key player). Anyways, I know some of you take me as a prophet of doom, but I am simply a realist. On the flip side, how would you like a blog solely dedicated to showering praises on Dunga, that will be akin to a religious session Take a cue from the spainish team that lost in the confedrations cup, despite the hype surrounding them before the competition

By: Bruno Romani

Bruno Romani — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 07:09:24 +0000

Black Matt,
I wasn’t saying you’re one of those complaining. I was just being like “relax about what people say”. We both know that Brazil is winning and we’re happy about it above all. =)

By: Black Matt

Black Matt — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 04:51:58 +0000

Bruno – I DID see the old Zico/Falcao/Socrates team, though I was very young. And I’ve seen all the matches of the 1970 team, for example. But I understand your point.

By: Bruno Romani

Bruno Romani — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 06:23:55 +0000

Black Matt,

People talk a lot how they miss the “samba style”, but to be honest, when was the last time we had that? Possibly in the 82 World Cup (incredible side. just incredible). After that, no samba, baby. In 86, under Tele, we already missed something. After 1990, it was pragmatism all the way. Our last 2 cups, 94 and 02, did not have the “samba style”. That idea has become an idea propagated especially by Nike’s marketing team (and that’s why I hate so much this company). Sometimes people are romantic about things they haven’t even seen. So don’t worry about those people who just talk. What counts is titles being pocketed. And Brazil has been doing just that – sometimes with very interesting, and even brilliant, moments.

ps: just to have clear. I was extremely critical of Dunga’s work, and I still don’t like his style. But I understand some of his choices and I think I can see where his coming from in many of his decisions.

By: Black Matt

Black Matt — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 01:24:49 +0000

Bruno – Thanks for the reply. I agree with everything you posted – especially re: his development of players like Maicon, Alves, Cesar and Elano. (For the record, I actually like Elano, but I never saw him play for Man City where it seems like he didn’t do too well.) Your point #5, cutting the talented but uncomitted players, is exactly what I was trying to say in my own post.

I love and miss the samba style, but in the end I want to win, (maybe it’s because I’m a half-Brazilian rather than a full one, haha) and Dunga has done a great job of doing just that.

By: Bruno Romani

Bruno Romani — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 21:22:45 +0000

Black Matt,

I think we can give Dunga the credit for a few things. But you have to remember from the beginning of his work, which was a moment of transition:

1)He found not one but 2 incredible right-backs. Since Cafu joined the national team (in 91), it seemed no one was ever able to replace him. Not that he was a genius, but he was good enough and consistent. So after 06, it seemed Brazil had nobody to replace him. And even the first few attempts with Maicon and Daniel Alves did not seem very promising. But Dunga insisted and now we have 2 of the best right-backs in the market.

2)He found us a goalie. Like in the case of Cafu, the transition from the Marcos-Dida-Rogerio Ceni generation felt empty. But Dunga called Julio Cesar and kept him – even when there was pressure to bring back members of that old trio. And now nobody questions Dunga on this decision.

3)He discovered Felipe Melo. When Melo was called for the first time, the reaction everyone in Brazil had was “WTF”. Today, nobody questions that.

4)He turned Elano into a assist machine. You may not like Elano, but from the beginning Dunga trusted him and the guy delivers at least one good assist every match.

5)He brought back commitment to the national team. And cut people like Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Pato and others who indeed are talented, but lack that extra effort.

6) He closed the chapter of a generation by not calling any longer Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, Dida and others. A true work of transition.