Brazil-Paraguay Recap

June 10th, 2009 | by: Duvel | Comments(6)

Brazil 2 – Paraguay 1

This was the type of match to be expected against the Paraguayans. It was a little ugly and physical, with the occasional flash of brilliance. It was clear what Paraguay’s strategy was from the outset: kill Kaka. Nearly every time he touched the ball he was swarmed and fouled immediately.

It was a very unspectacular first half for Brazil. The team looked very lethargic, and nowhere did that appear to be the case more than the midfield. The passing and dribbling were awful. Even the most short and basic passes could not be connected during the half.

The second half was an obvious improvement. The team asserted itself as the half went on, and the ball was in the Paraguayan side of the pitch for most of the last 45 minutes.

Brazil’s two goals were scored by Robinho and Nilmar. Robinho, previous to his goal, was having a dreadful match, giving up the ball constantly. However his goal was outstanding, and helped change the momentum of the match. Nilmar scored on a perfect lob from Felipe Melo.

From Recife it’s on to South Africa for the Confederations Cup, where the Spanish will be the favorites. Brazil’s next qualifiers will be September 5th at Argentina and September 9th at home against Chile. A victory in against Argentina will secure qualification. I will post a preview of the Confederations Cup this Friday. The team’s first match for that tournament is June 15th against Egypt.

For now here are my match ratings. It was hard to pin down one particular player who was the man of the match. Many players tonight would follow one outstanding play with two bad ones. Due to his consistency tonight, and his several shots on goal, I went for the third consecutive game in a row with Dani Alves, just beating out Kaka and Lucio.

Starting XI:

Julio Cesar, 7, He was not tested nearly as much as the Uruguay match.

Dani Alves, 8, He was so active. He is a creative force on the pitch, and if it were not for the great play of the Paraguayan keeper he could have easily score two or three goals tonight. Even when he made a bad play defensive he recovered immediately.

Lucio, 7.5, It was good to see Lucio put in a good match after a string of streaky performances. He made several outstanding runs, and showed surprising pace tonight.

Juan, 6, He was extremely shaky again tonight. He had a few careless mistakes that could have
been capitalized on.

Kleber, 5.5, Same as Juan, except he gave the ball away a ton.

Gilberto Silva, 6.5, He put into your now standard Gilberto Silva performance. Good, timely tackles, with some lousy passing thrown in there.

Felipe Melo, 7, Had a similar match to Gilberto Silva until he had a beautiful assist on the Nilmar goal. From that moment on he kicked it up a notch.

Elano, 6, He had a very average match. He was part of the passing problem in the first half, and was substituted for Ramires somewhat early in the second half. Made a terrible deflection on a free kick that caused the Paraguayan goal.

Kaka, 7.5, He played a little frantic at times, but he was a constant presence on the pitch, sparking the counter attack in a way only he can.

Robinho, 3 (first half before goal), 6.5 (total), I was getting ready to rip Robinho apart like I did Ronaldinho in the Ecuador match, until he scored. From there he put another couple shots on goal.

Nilmar, 7, He had a decent match, despite the fact that he barely touched the ball in the first half. His performance justified his start.

Subs:

Ramires, 7, Good sub by Dunga. He was very active and steady for the most part.

Pato, 5, Didn’t get too many chances, misfired on his only good opportunity.

Kleberson, 5, Came in late, didn’t need to do much

Brazil: Julio Cesar, Daniel Alves, Lucio, Juan, Kleber, Gilberto Silva, Felipe Melo, Elano (Ramires), Kaka, Robinho (Kleberson), Nilmar (Alexandre Pato)

Paraguay: Justo Villar, Dario Veron, Julio Caceres, Paulo Da Silva, Denis Caniza, Carlos Bonet (Edgar Benitez), Victor Caceres, Eduardo Ledesma (Sergio Aquino), Cristian Riveros, Osvaldo Martinez (Dante Lopez) and Salvador Cabanas

Goals: Salvador Cabanas (25′), Robinho (40′) and Nilmar (50′)

Referee: Oscar Ruiz (Colombia)

Venue: Estadio do Arruda, Recife