Mano Menezes, Ronaldinho, Victor, Sergio Batista and Lionel Messi had the following to say after Argentina's 1-0 victory against Brazil in an international friendly at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar on November 17, 2010.
Brazil
Mano Menezes: Coach
"We have to look at this result with serenity. We created several chances, the final result was not fair, but we have to learn from everything that happened."
"We played an even match with Argentina. We were closer to victory throughout the second half, but I think our team lacked experience near the end of the match. You can't allow a goal at a time like that."
"It was important to go through these four matches with an idea of the team's potential and of how it can keep improving.”
“Ronaldinho did well, taking responsibility for creating offensive moves. He was substituted because of his physical condition and not because of his performance. We brought him back to the Selecao at the right time”
“They weren’t hurting us, but Messi had reserved one extra move for Argentina.”
Ronaldinho
“He is the world’s best player, and unfortunately for us he found a gap and with his quality settled the match when it already looked like a draw,”
Victor
"We controlled the match, they barely had any chances to score. But in one play Messi made the difference."
Argentina
Sergio Batista: Coach
“We have the best player in the world and we made the most of that. I’m not going to discover now who he is because he is the world’s best player. But you can always hope for more from a player of Messi’s quality.”
Lionel Messi
"I had planned that before playing. I always looked for my chance."
"It's always important to win and this victory is even more important because it's against a direct rival and it gives us confidence.”
"My goal was important because it enabled us to beat Brazil."
Hi.
ReplyDeleteI'm 14 years old, Indian, and have always been a HUGE Brazil fan. I almost broke down in tears when I saw them lose to Netherlands in the World Cup... Dunga's mistake, eh?
I didn't watch the Brazil - Argentina friendly because it wasn't being shown here, so I read minute-by-minute highlights.
So, now that they've gone back to samba football, I want to know how they really played - how much did they dominate? What do you think about players like Neymar and Robinho (my favourite) ?
And finally, do you think this team will mature enough in time to compete with teams such as Spain and Germany in 2014? Will the present team reach the same level as the magical team of 2002?
I sincerely hope your answer will be yes. :)
Hi Raman,
ReplyDeleteYou ask a great question. In a way, you ask the only serious question about international soccer: Can Brazil recapture the World Cup title on home soil in 2014? Do they stand a chance? What do they need to do to win?
The answer is they dominated the first half against the Netherlands, but should have put away more opportunities in order to seal a victory by half time. In the second half, the Dutch began to use a lot of histrionics (acting) into intimidating the Brazilian players into either getting yellow cards or fearing they would obtain yellow cards. The strategy worked. The first Dutch goal was partly luck but after that, Brazil were unsettled and couldn't regain their composure. I wouldn't say it's Dunga's fault. Kaka didn't control the midfield and impose his strength on the game.
As for 2014: you'll have to keep following my blog :=). But briefly, yes, Brazil can certainly win the 2014 World Cup. Their main dilemma at the moment concerns their strikers. They have lots of quality in midfield amongst young players. It will be interesting to see how Mano deals with the problem of lacking strikers of the caliber of Ronaldo, Romario and Rivaldo.
On the other hand, a highly attack oriented midfield may well be enough to carry Brazil to the trophy as long as there's one striker in form. We'll see! It's really to early to tell but there are lots of encouraging signs so far.
Hmmm. So, what was your reaction when you heard that Dunga was playing the counterattack based Euro-style and not the traditional samba way?
ReplyDeleteHow far did the new team dominate against Argentina?
Another thing I want your opinion on : Do you think the likes of Neymar and Pato will improve to reach the level of legends Ronaldo and Romario?
And I don't think Ronaldinho will be available for the 2014 World Cup - how old will he be then? Who will replace him?
And I'm now a regular follower of your blog. :) It's really nice to get updates on Brazilian football - especially on club football. Again, they don't broadcast Brazilian leagues here in India. It's just the BPL, La Liga, Italian Serie A and the Champions League.