Parreira’s Words - Episode 2

This part of the interview is crucial to me. I am constantly warning everyone about the damage the high heel effect can do to us and the problems we had in the past with the ‘oba-oba’ mood among our players. He pointed out seven other teams that are eligible to the title, so if your team was mentioned, you can start to rejoice now.

About favoritism: “This is the trap of success. The Seleção is considered the favorite because of it successes, because of the success the Brazilian players had in their clubs, and for the results we conquered that were very good. Now, we know that the World Cup is a very tricky competition, there are only 7 games and beyond the third game every match is eliminatory. It’s a competition where a technically weaker team can win over a stronger team as it already happened in many opportunities. So we must be prepared”.

“Favoritism outside the pitch will not interfere in any way; we cannot restrain or prohibit this kind of favoritism that came from the outside, not from here, so the players are very aware, I have been observing some statements through newspapers and TV; inside the pitch its all the same, there is no favoritism. Each game must be played as it was the final and the opponents must be indeed respected, otherwise you can be surprised in any match, against whoever it may be”.

As much as I love to see him very aware of the damage favoritism can deliver, I don’t think he read Zé Roberto’s opinion about our chances in Germany. I ask you to keep this answer in mind, because I will soon translate another part of the interview that will make our rivals hate him even more, but for no reason. Just keep that in mind.

About Croatia: “The first game always creates huge apprehension, great expectations; the Seleção did not play any official games for eight months and will break this fast exactly against Croatia that made a very good qualification, didn’t lose any match, recently won over Argentina, two months ago, so it is a team that is no fool at all. So I expect… this game is extremely important. It’s the first game, the pressure is huge, everyone expect the Seleção to perform well; the important thing is to win and to develop and improve our confidence”.

He is absolutely right about this. Croatia is a strong team this year and we must have a good performance against them. If we tie against them but playing well we can move on with just a minor headache. If our team plays really badly (winning, losing or tying) we can be considered doomed. Morale will drop among the players and they may be not able to recover.

The interview goes on: Is Brazil a favorite? What are the other favorites? “I think Brazil is one favorite side by side with Argentina, Germany, England, Italy, Czech Republic, France and Holland. We never got into a World Cup with so many teams that are able to become champions and that (if they win) would not cause any impact or surprise in anybody. It’s the first time I get to a World Cup that eight teams, at least, can be consecrated World Champions and that will not represent any surprise. So Brazil is not the only favorite; there are other teams that can be considered favorites as well”.

I know these are the juggernauts of the competition, but I must admit I’m glad he used the term “at least”. As you can see (or if you can’t you’ll find out sooner or later) my Brazilian heart is divided. In one end I know we have a great selection of players and great chances in Germany, but at the same time I see that every team can represent a threat to our goal, even (don’t laugh) Australia.

There is still much more to come. Zagallo is the fierce-mouth in the technical commission and he has some interesting stuff to say. More of the interview later today in ‘Episode 3’ of this saga.