Brazil-Zimbabwe Recap

I think your brother is spot on with his evaluation especially with his comments on Bastos. He looked impressive going forward but he is very, very suspect in defense. I feel bad for him since he is playing a role not really suited for him. He IS NOT A LEFT BACK!!!!!! but rather suited more for an attacking role. I am just afraid that if he screws up during the cup, he may be dropped from the national team in subsequent tournaments WITH NO CONSIDERATION THAT HE WAS PLAYING IN AN UNSUITABLE POSITION. I am pretty sure that he will be thoroughly overwhelmed if he is matched up against left wingers like Ronaldo or Robben.

That being said, If we play collective defense (in other words if the defense and midfield play as a cohesive unit), we can withstand any attack just as Inter Milan neutralized Barcelona.

Duvel, I don’t understand what you mean by not being able to access ESPN 360. I watched it online by going to ESPN website and downloading ESPN 360. It shouldn’t matter who your cable provider it. You should be able to watch it online which is what I did.

Woah, Duvel your brother is a talented blogger. You guys should both run this blog together like Paul and Julian do over @Italy World Cup Blog. Fantastic review that really puts the game into perspective (thanks)

On to Brazil, i am extremely concerned about Kakà. Please lord let him be game fit by June 15th when we play our first game. On the demises of Maicon and Lucio i just feel they are very tired after a long but succesful season with Inter. If neccesary Dunga can start Thiago Silva and Luisao in the opening games while they get some much needed rest. Let me be clear that i am NOT worried about Bastos starting as a fullback he used to play there earlier on in his career and he’s just readjusting the notion that he’ll suffer againts better wingers is laughable to me are you guys already forgetting how he made Capello’s players look second rate in the England game? Michel Bastos will be the revelation of South Africa 2010.

To conclude YES Melo needs to get his act together, he will. & i’m incredibly proud of Robinho who has been an absolute killer in front of goal these days. Let’s keep this up>> força Brazil!

@Kenny. You probably have Verizon fios, because i have Optimum and it doesn’t work for me. It sorta depends on where you live as well I’ve heard

Thanks for this, Duvel. Heartening at least to hear your opinion of Robinho. Again, I’ve heard other people on other message boards say Kaka was decent, and that Thiago Silva did NOT look very composed, so I’m not really sure what to think.

Kenny – When I go to ESPN 360 (which is now ESPN3 btw) it says I have to have a specific provider (which I don’t have.) Can you give us a link to exactly where you went? Where do you DOWNLOAD ESPN 360?

Thanks in advance.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/world-cup/story/_/id/5247411/ce/us/brazil-practices-appreciative-crowd-soweto?cc=5901&ver=us

Kenny,

your concern is valid. However, i am more optimistic because people said that about Roberto Carlos as well but he did rather well for Brazil & Real Madrid. If he can chip in a goal here & there then he is worth a risk

@Black Matt- I guess I was wrong. I went online and did further research, and then discovered that Time Warner subscribers cannot access ESPN 360. Sorry for the wrong info. I have COX cable and I simply went to ESPN website and downloaded ESPN 360, and was able to watch the game. They have an impressive list of past friendly matches over the past couple of days that one can access at their leisure.

if kaka was decent in this game we are in alot of trouble because he was completely ineffective, and i think some of the problems with peoples oppinon of thiago silva is that hes so relaxed when he plays, but in my oppinon he didnt do anything wrong in this game and made some nice plays in the back, he plays at ac milan so he partners with allesandro nesta who is one of the best centerbacks in the world if not the best so i could understand some adjustments being made when playing for the national team as far as communication and postiioning go when nesta is not there to correct him

Thanks Duvel for the recap.

Just to keep you guys at ease about Michel Bastos. i give you another example of collective defence rather one on one. Cast your memories back to 1994 QF Brazil v Holland and Branco (30 slowed down a lots) against Overmars (this guy was quick). All the talk before the game was about how Branco could handle the speed of Overmars and we know what happened. Branco even scored the winner. So bring on WC i can’t wait any longer

@Dan- by the way, I have always felt that Roberto Carlos is not just a good defender but a great one. In fact I actually think that he is the best left full back I have ever seen in my lifetime, and even in his current form, I still believe that he is better than any of the left full backs we have in our team. Bastos is clearly not even in the same class as Carlos. People criticize Carlos at times since he occasionally loses concentration but overall, he is the greatest in that position.

Talking about Bastos, he was one player I will be forever grateful to Dunga for including since I noticed his brilliance way back before he was even called up. You are correct- even if he is just average defensively, we still need him for his proficiency in set pieces as evidenced by his recent goal. This team being very defensive has made a living from scoring from set pieces which is needed in a team playing with a lone striker such as Brazil. Bastos definitely makes me less apprehensive when Ramires starts (in place of Elano) since we will still have someone that can score from the set piece.

Duvel

You can watch all the games that are not on tv or on ESPN3 if you go online to P2P4u.net

I watched it while I was at work on my iphone also it was a great match.

Phillip, would it also work on an Itouch? Or do you need 3G connection instead of Wi-fi?

Thanks for the tip Phillip. I knew of a couple sites to watch the match live. My problem was that I was looking for a replay of the match online, I haven’t found anything.

Kenny – no worries.

anonymous – don’t get me wrong I love Thiago Silva and think he’s a fantastic addition to the team – I would have no problem seeing him start along Lucio (though I think Juan is a bit better.) I remember when he first got called up a few people mentioned he should be given a chance for the leftback spot. It never happened but it would have been interesting.

As far as him being nervous against Zimbabwe, I’m just repeating what I heard.

As far as Bastos vs. someone like Ronaldo, does Cristiano even really play as a left winger anymore? For Portugal, and increasingly for Madrid, he seems to play more of a free role.

This is where Kenny’s collective defense idea will be so important.

One thing I do think Dunga deserves some criticism for is the left back spot in general. He should have given guys like Aurelio and Filipe more time long ago, but he never did. What I wish for Bastos is that he’d be given the midfield spot next to Kaka instead of Elano or Ramires. I think he’d be fantastic there.

BTW, Duvel, you mention that Lucio might have trouble against Drogba. I doubt it. Lucio SLAUGHTERED Drogba in the Champions League. His height and strength were just too much. I think he’ll do it again. I’m not worried about Lucio.

With regards to Thiago Silva, he may be doing well in Seria A because it is a very defensive league where the defenders are aided by the midfield so they are not usually exposed and left by themselves. That may explain why even the Inter Milan defenders actually look more impressive than they actually are since defensive midfielders like Cambiasso, Motta and Muntari help out in defense.

If you notice Canavarro, Walter Samuel and Zambrotta struggled when they went to the spanish league. In fact Canavarro complained about the spanish league for that particular reason.

Basically what I am saying is that Thiago Silva, though I think he is a solid back up, may not be as good as one may think because he is playing in a defensive league where midfielders contribute defensively unlike other leagues. Also for Lucio and co to succeed in this world cup, they really need the midfielders to contribute defensively which makes me wary especially when Melo usually seems a tackle away from receiving a red card.

With regards to Ronaldo, he usually plays as a winger, sometimes on the right but mostly on the left. The playmaking role in Madrid is occupied by Kaka or Van der Vart.

@Samuel- Bastos will do well against a team like England since they flat out don’t have any good wingers. (please don’t mention Joe Cole or Shaun Wright Philips)

It is so goddamn funny to read your comments about Felipe Melo, because he’s been so immature the last two season in Italy. If he gets his head on straight though, Brazil (as you all know) have a great player for the World Cup.

Over at the Juve Offside, I’ve been profiling the different Juventus players who are going to the World Cup, their skills, weaknesses, personality, club season, etc. I did one tonight of Felipe Melo, thought you guys might be interested in someone who has watched him week-in-week-out. Here it is:
http://juventus.theoffside.com/team-news/2010-world-cup-player-profiles-felipe-melo.html

The big difference is I think Melo is like Robinho, a different player for his country than club, because he cares. Bit funny we have the anti-Melo on our team, Diego, who Duvel told me never really did it for Brazil. He was definitely a protagonist for us this season.

With regards to Thiago Silva, he may be doing well in Seria A because it is a very defensive league where the defenders are aided by the midfield so they are not usually exposed and left by themselves

Definitely true compared to Spain, but Milan’s midfield didn’t really offer much in the way of protection this year. They played a very Brazilian-style 4-1-3-2, which had plenty of possession but very vulnerable on counter-attack.

I don’t watch much of Brazil, but I can tell you Thiago Silva was probably one of the top 5 defenders in Serie A last year. He transcended “a good defender for a Brazilian” and cut off the last 3 parts. I think he was even better than Lucio, he just had a newbie coach and a joke of supporting cast.

Thanks Alessio for sharing your views on Thiago Silva. They were really insightful especially coming from someone very familiar with seria A.

Talking about Melo, I understand that he is hot headed at times, but I have watched Juventus games a couple of times and he really was not as horrible as advertised. In fact, I feel that the Italian press were being unfair in their criticism because Melo, Diego, and Cissokho were foreigners. I have watched Juventus play on countless occasions and I felt the above named players were really not bad. Cannavaro and Grosso were unimpressive but they really didn’t get that much criticism.

In general players tend to get less criticism when they play in their local league as opposed to a foreign league. This explains why Robinho and Adriano are thriving after they went back to Brazil. Also explains why players such as Joe Cole, Les ferdinand, and John Terry command huge wages even when they are not doing well.In fact Joe Cole has never been a starter for Chelsea

In summary, I feel that the criticisms leveled at Melo and co (diego, Amauri, Cissokho etc) were grossly unfair while their italian counterparts like Grosso, Canavarro, Iaquinta and Camoranesi were left off the hook. This is especially true if one realizes that the the Juventus defense was primarily to be blamed for much of their implosion this season

By the way, if you happen to be Italian, I don’t expect you to agree with my views just as an English man will disagree with my views about English players being over hyped since the English press dominate Europe.

I meant Rio Ferdinand instead of Les Ferdinand who retired a couple of years ago

ZIMBABWE IS JUST USELESS

ZIMBABWE REALLY IS A BUNCH OF USELESS ADULTS WHO WANT TO REAP VICTORY WITHOUT INVESTING THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN PUNISHED AT LEAST NO SERIOUS INJURIES FOR THE BRAZILLIANS

i still have questions and concerns but waiting for the normal role , waiting for the mistakes to be corrected in monday match against Tanzania ..

Kenny –

I agree with you about Serie A in general, but as Alessio said Milan didn’t play a very Serie A type of defense, and Thiago Silva often had to carry the load without Nesta.

As for Lucio, yeah he had a great team of defenders around him, but he was man-marking Didier Drogba, and completely shut him down. He was probably the best player on the pitch in both matches against Chelsea, or at least very close. In my opinion, anyway. And we already knew of him as a great defender in Germany so I don’t think Inter made him “look” any better than he already was. I think he was and remains incredible.

As far as the defensive midfielders helping out – well, we are all justifiably uneasy about Melo just blowing his top, but we still have Gilberto Silva and he remains to this day probably the most solid and consistent player we have. I’ve always felt he’s the unsung hero of Brazilian football the past 10 years, and despite the fact that he’s aged he’s still effective – mostly because he’s as savvy and hard working as he ever was.

Going back to CR9, Kaka or Van der Vart may have had the playmaker role, but Ronaldo was pretty free to roam wherever he wanted all around the pitch. Frankly too many players were way too free in this regard, but that’s a Madrid topic. I feel he will do this even more heavily for Portugal. The point is I don’t think Bastos or any other single defender will have to shoulder the burden of marking him – they’ll have to share it.

Duvel – any chance you can ever do some liveblogging around here when Brazil plays? I’ve seen some of the other blogs doing that for their recent spat of friendlies. It would be cool if we could do something like that too.

It’s time to bring on Ronaldinho if Kaka’s not @ 100% fit. Hmmm … initially everyone’s talking about Brasil’s defensive core of players and now I’m seeing that the first half was sluggish defence work … oh heck!!!

Hope things go ok so that we dont say
wish Dunga had called dinho ..

Ahmed … no kidding … yikes!!

I’m the only guy wearing a Brasil shirt at work and will put on my official Brasil jersey with Pelé’s name on the back … woot!!

Paul
i will say it the other way
Hope Dunga puts the right man in the right position

Didier Drogba out of the World Cup:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/international/article7144088.ece

If this is true, Brazil’s group just got WAY easier. But I’m still very, very disappointed. Feel bad for Ivory Coast, who I thought would be the dark horse of the tournament, and you always want to see as many great players as you can.

Man, surprisingly bummed out by this.

Brazil backline may have problems against speedy players like Ronaldo of Portugal. They were not able to keep up against some of the speedier forwards from Zimbabwe. They really can’t afford to be out of position at all times. Lucio looked slow. Dani Alvis looked very sharp and unlike others was trying to create opportunities. He should be the first substitution ALWAYS no matter what the position is. Bastos let forwards go around him and then fouled them to make up for his mistake. He definitely needs to work on his technique and positioning on the field as a defender. Kaka had a decent game considering that most of the times he was mobbed by opposition players. He is still the best. Players were also not that effective in shooting at the goal with the chances that they got. Overall a good collective performance. One thing is for sure if Brazil wins this World Cup it will not be because of magic or star power or big names (2006) but through collective teamwork and discipline which they showed plenty in this game.

Hey Black Matt, Im actually the one who wrote this blog and i wanted to adress one of your comments-
BTW, Duvel, you mention that Lucio might have trouble against Drogba. I doubt it. Lucio SLAUGHTERED Drogba in the Champions League. His height and strength were just too much. I think he’ll do it again. I’m not worried about Lucio.

i was just saying that drogba does have quite a bit of pace and i was worried with the way lucio dealt with the pace of the zimbabwean attackers such as benjani, now it could have been that he was tired and what not but still he wasnt impressive which was why i was concerned.

Now he could repeat his performance with Brazil but he’ll be partnered with Kalou for the duration of the game who also relies on his speed unlike Anelka, who is more based off of positioning and strength. I think lucio will be fine but he did struggle quite a bit in the begginign part of the 1st half. Thanks for your comment

haha nvm we dont have to worry about drogba

After watching the holland v/s Ghana and Portugal v/s Cameroon, I was shocked to see the 1st half performance of Brasil and expected the selecao to be a bit more sharp than what they dispayed. I hope they improve with every game.

Chris – and thanks for filling in for Duvel with your recap! It was a great read.

I understand what you are saying about Lucio. Its possible he’s tired; I think it’s equally possible he was just taking it easy in a friendly match against a subpar opponent. He was probably surprised by the speed of the opposition and was just slow to react.

When we play actual matches, I think Lucio will be more prepared.

Again, thanks for your recap of the match!

Drogba injured in the hand , he needs 3 weeks rest as per the news, they play Brazil 20/6 and N.Korea 25/6
it is a great loss for their national team ..

@Balck Matt-Recent reports indicate that Drogba may yet still recover to play in the World cup. It’s pretty ironic that Drogba had this injury just as Coach Eriksson excluded one of their key strikers Bakari Kone from the team.

This world cup may be a disappointment in terms of quality since a lot of star players have been ruled out either by injuries or just not selected by their respective national team coach. The players affected are not just stat players but arguably the best players in their respective teams. Started with Beckham’s injury and then Salvador Canbanas gun shot injury, Ballack’s ruptured ligaments, and on and on. Now Drogba and Rio Ferdinand injuries were just announced today

BRASIL SA LA LALALALALA

It may yet come back to hurt us but I hope that’s true, Kenny. Thanks for the update.

Kinda frustrating to see a lot of these great players getting hurt .. maybe that’s the reason why Brasil’s last game was more like a “warm up” & “non aggressive” approach type of friendly game?

Okay. Seriously, bubblewrap Kaka, don’t let him play any games till the world cup. Drogba might be gone, Rio’s out, and now Pirlo…players are dropping like freaking flies.

Which might be an advantage to us, unless something happens to one of our players. :/

…Is it bad of me to hope that, if there must be another player injuried, it’s someone from the Spanish squad?

@ Rankae- I think Spain has their own injury problems- I don’t care what they say, I think Torres and Fabregas won’t be fully fit for the world cup

Awesome! Now, all we need is for Holland to suffer an unsettling injury and then we’re good to go!

Samba hex anyone? Bubblewrap sounds good ..

Hoping for other team players too get injured is kind of cheap and disgusting

Just hope it doesnt happen to beloved brazil because if it does than only God can save brazil

I still want to see a great World Cup, a great one means great players so hopefully Drogba recovers it would be a shame to lose him especially for this tournament since it’s being played on African soil.

First of all, I just want to make it clear I thought Lucio would dominate against Drogba.

Secondly, to answer a question. I will definitely live blog the first two Brazil matches of the World Cup. The Portugal match towards the end of the month is up in the air. I think I will be able to do that as well. I was planning on using Cover It Live so everyone can interact. If anyone has a better idea let me know.

Geezus, they’re dropping like flies:

JCesar
Bastos
Rio F.
Drogba
Pirlo
Altidore

Anyone else?

Not saying they’re ALL out of the wc, just listing injuries before the damned thing’s started!

Why did you list Bastos, did something happen in training? OMG please tell me that was a typo.

What’s this about Bastos?

You forgot Milito by the way.

http://globoesporte.globo.com/futebol/selecao-brasileira/noticia/2010/06/michel-bastos-deixa-treino-apos-dividida-com-elano.html

He is fine according to the CBF. He slightly twisted his ankle, but they are saying its not serious.

What a close call, we cannot afford to lose a versatile guy like Bastos. Hope our players remain cautious and try not to pick up senseless injuries…

Sheesh, almost had a coronary.

Dunga vs FIFA. I want to hear the thoughts of you all on this, http://www.worldcupblog.org/world-cup-2010/dunga-takes-on-fifa.html

Sanuel, I posted on that blog already, tho this horrible new system of comments doesn’t show all the comments. I’d like to read what others have to say but this new system won’t allow me to read them.

Yeah, I heard about some injury to Bastos earlier today, I too almost had a coronary.

Talking about Melo, I understand that he is hot headed at times, but I have watched Juventus games a couple of times and he really was not as horrible as advertised. In fact, I feel that the Italian press were being unfair in their criticism because Melo, Diego, and Cissokho were foreigners. I have watched Juventus play on countless occasions and I felt the above named players were really not bad. Cannavaro and Grosso were unimpressive but they really didn’t get that much criticism.

Well, you can kind of see why Cannavaro and Grosso got a little let off, chiefly, we didn’t spend 20million+ two solid players for them. Canna was free, and Grosso was cheap. The other reason is they simply sucked, but tried their hardest. Melo complained, whined, and then started fighting with the fans. We knew Canna and Grosso were old, and that they’d have declined (more than we expected) but Melo was supposed to be stepping up.

Either way, 2 weeks ago I gave Grosso a worse rating than Melo.
http://juventus.theoffside.com/bianconeri/cannavaro/the-juventus-2009-2010-mercato-report-card.html

As far as balls go, I don’t know why they always have to be experimenting with them. I mean, it’s a ball. This isn’t the 1960s anymore.

The NBA tried to install a new ball about 3 years ago, but met with such tremendous disapproval from the Players Union that they decided to go back to the old one. FIFA needs some kind of Players Committee (like the ATP Mens Tennis tour has) that can influence these kind of decisions and veto these kind of decisions if necessary.

sandrahn, FIFA is just mad Ronaldinho is not at the World Cup, that’s why Dunga gets lambasted for critisizing the jabulani ball and others don’t LOL. He told them though the man just has amazing comebacks

Samuel, Dunga’s response was classic.

Have to say I agree with alessio re Melo at Juve. Expected much more from him. I know he’s been good for the national team but he’s got a lousy temperament and just didn’t want to deal with the pressure at Juve in a mature fashion.

Also, I too don’t understand why they have to constantly come up with a new ball. It’s like every single year there’s some newfangled hi-tech ball with lots of bells and whistles, yet the players are always complaining about them.

First of all – let me clarify. I was JOKING when I said I was hoping/hoped competing teams would be hit with injuries. I wouldn’t wish an injury on any player, because I respect them too much, and I do too want to see the best showcased at the World Cup. I was just trying to cast a humorous and playfully competitive spin on the world of football misfortune.

Second of all… #^@&$%%@#*$. J Caesar and Bastos…I feel like I can’t leave this blog, for fear of coming back and learning about some other devestating injury.

I also feel like the injured list is ENORMOUS this year, more than any other year, maybe? Or is that only because time has dulled the past?

Agreed, agreed, agreed about the ball thing. Honestly – is there ANY need at all to mess with the ball? Football’s simplicity when it comes to equipment is part of what makes it so popular, I think. All you need is a round thing, and hopes and dreams (My dad back in Brazil didn’t have a ball to play with when he was young, as he grew surrounded by devestating poverty. He used to roll up socks and then kick it around with his buddies in the streets).

All these new ‘advances’ don’t do anything to really improve the game. I think it’s one of those “Don’t fix what isn’t broken” kind of things.

And Dunga definitely won more of my respect for his answer to Fifa.

Samuel

I am not sure if you need 3G or not but if you download this application (Justin.tv “JTV”) you will be able to see it but as long as you have WiFi access. Let me know how it goes.

@ sandrahn and renkae

regarding the annual change of the ball, may be there is a deal between fifa and adidas ( gratuity ),
you need the detective Columo to find out ..

The spate of injuries is leaving me very despondent. I just have a feeling this world cup won’t live up to its hype. Would have liked to see most teams operating at full strength which will make for more exciting games as opposed to having them fielding makeshift squads with key players all hurt or not even selected. Germany is a totally different squad without Ballack, and Ghana without Michael Essien and so on

It definitely sucks the stars are missing. But I don’t know if you necessarily need to be despondent about the Cup in general. Many of these sides might play BETTER without their stars – the players will have to come together, knowing each of them has to take up the slack and, frankly, that each of them have a greater chance at achieving recognition.

Or those sides might completely suck. Maybe I’m just an optimist.

I am a realist. I have watched enough football to realize that there is only so much a team can do without their individual star playeras. You don’t expect Pedro to suddenly start playing like Fernando Torres nor will you expect Kalou to be another Drogba. Yes, they can still win games but the quality of play in general will be significantly diminished.

@ Black Matt and Kenny

These injuries are all because of renkae, see his above comments , he wishes and it becomes true

hope his wish brazil will be the champion will be true

rofl! I’m freaking awesome like that. My will rules all, Ahmed.

I’m also a she, so guess what that means, kiddies? God is a woman!

Based on the recent friendly, the only thing I would say about this WC is about conditioning and fitness. With most of the top teams either just had their clubs completed their season, we are looking at tired legs here. I foresee the underdogs giving top teams hard games and a few upsets (ala Korea/japan). A fit team shall go along way.

Saying that, I would love to see Dunga field Dani Alves at left back to counter the speedy and much fit Koreans for our first game. If the likes of Kaka, Lucio, and the likes who is slow off the turn (coz of tiredness) they can always be substituted later in the game when everything is slower in pace.

Go Brazil.

Hopefully Dunga sorts out everything in time for the first whistle to blow in our opener for againts the North Koreans.