Brazil delivered an abysmal performance in a 2-1 defeat to
England in Luiz Felipe Scolari’s first match as coach of the Brazilian national
football team under CBF President Jose Marin. The match showcased Ronaldinho’s poor
fitness and form, Neymar’s trademark inability to deliver in high-pressure
situations for the national team, the inability of Paulinho and Ramires to make
a significant footprint on the game, Luis Fabiano’s inefficacy as the lone pure
striker and slack defending by Brazil overall. The team’s poor performance was
compounded by Scolari’s highly questionable substitution of Arouca for
Paulinho in the second half, a move that in many respects led to England’s second goal as a result
of a mislaid Arouca pass. Oscar was by far Brazil’s best player of the night
with visionary runs out wide and at the heart of the defense that created
opportunities for Neymar which the Santos striker failed to convert. This was
England’s first victory over Brazil in 23 years, and the match raised deep and
important questions about the realism of Brazil’s chances of earning any kind
of respectable place in the 2014 World Cup.
Scolari fielded a team of stars in their own right—World Club Cup champion Paulinho, Champions League winner Ramires, World Cup champion Ronaldinho, Neymar and Oscar, but the midfield failed to gel and impose itself on the English defense except in fits and spurts. True, Brazil had only one day to train with a new squad in Scolari’s first match in charge. But Brazil fans will need to start thinking deep and hard about how the team can live up to the potential of its individual players. The stark truth of the matter is, Brazilian football is now officially in ruins. After almost two decades of a golden age of Brazilian football from 1993 to 2009, the performance of the team has declined to the point where it resembles a ghost of the glorious victories enabled by players such as Romario, Bebeto, Dunga, Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, Roberto Carlos and Cafu. And if Scolari fails to deliver by the Confederations Cup, we may be back to Menezes with not enough time for his experiments in renovation and restoration to achieve fruition.
Scolari fielded a team of stars in their own right—World Club Cup champion Paulinho, Champions League winner Ramires, World Cup champion Ronaldinho, Neymar and Oscar, but the midfield failed to gel and impose itself on the English defense except in fits and spurts. True, Brazil had only one day to train with a new squad in Scolari’s first match in charge. But Brazil fans will need to start thinking deep and hard about how the team can live up to the potential of its individual players. The stark truth of the matter is, Brazilian football is now officially in ruins. After almost two decades of a golden age of Brazilian football from 1993 to 2009, the performance of the team has declined to the point where it resembles a ghost of the glorious victories enabled by players such as Romario, Bebeto, Dunga, Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, Roberto Carlos and Cafu. And if Scolari fails to deliver by the Confederations Cup, we may be back to Menezes with not enough time for his experiments in renovation and restoration to achieve fruition.
