Brazil v. Germany: A Brief World Cup History

Brazil 2 - Germany 0 (Ronaldo, 66, 78)
2002 World Cup Final
June 30, 2002
Yokohama International Stadium, Yokohama, Japan

Brazil and Germany have met just once in the World Cup, namely, in the 2002 World Cup final in Yokohama, Japan. In advance of the final, many commentators characterized the match as an epic confrontation between Brazil’s Ronaldo and German goalkeeper Oliver Kahn. Ronaldo sailed into the final against Germany having scored six goals. Kahn, meanwhile, had conceded only one goal prior to the final in a group match against Ireland. The actual final turned out to be more complex than a Ronaldo-Kahn match-up.

In the first half, Germany disrupted Brazil’s free flowing football through a combination of tight marking and hard challenges. The Germans knew that Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho posed the principal goalscoring threats and marked them appropriately. Thomas Linke man-marked Ronaldo while Carsten Ramelow and Christoph Metzelder did well to close down space enjoyed by Rivaldo and Ronaldinho. Rivaldo and Ronaldinho played deeper than they often had in the tournament behind Ronaldo, the lone striker. Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari played Ronaldinho in a deep, attacking midfield position akin to the role currently played by Paulo Henrique Ganso for Brazil under Mano Menezes. As in the quarterfinal match against England, however, Brazil’s Kleberson emerged as the wild card that Germany failed to fully anticipate and strategize. The Brazilian midfielder carved out space to hit the cross bar in the first half and play a pivotal role in the Brazilian attack in the second half.

The early minutes of the second half witnessed two important goal scoring opportunities for Germany. Jens Jeremies directed a bullet of a header on goal that was cleared off the line by Edmilson. Moments later, Oliver Neuville whipped a swerving free kick around the Brazilian wall that seemed to be sailing into the back of the net were it not for a spectacular touch on the ball by goalkeeper Marcos. Having survived these early scares, Brazil gradually began to figure out how to penetrate the German defense by bringing defenders such as Roque Junior, Lucio and Kleberson forward to join the attack.

Ronaldo initiated the scoring in the 66th minute by scavenging to win back a ball from the German defense and passing to Rivaldo in anticipation of a give and go. Rivaldo directed a curling strike at the German goal that Kahn spilled into the path of the opportunistic Ronaldo who buried the ball in the back of the net to give Brazil a 1-0 lead. Twelve minutes later, Kleberson raced down the right flank and crossed to Rivaldo, who, seeing his partner Ronaldo behind him, dummied the ball so as to let it run through to his teammate. True to his billing as the world’s greatest striker, Ronaldo converted the chance by sending the ball low to Oliver Kahn’s left to make it 2-0 Brazil. Ronaldo’s eight tournament goals punctuated a fitting victory for Brazil who became five time World Champions with the best team they have fielded since Pele and the great team of 1970.

Starting Line-Ups:

Brazil
Marcos (GK), Lucio, Edmilson, Roque Junior, Roberto Carlos, Cafu, Kleberson, Gilberto Silva, Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, Ronaldo

Germany
Kahn (GK), Linke, Ramelow, Metzelder, Frings, Schneider, Jeremies, Hamann, Bode, Neuville, Klose

Brazil Make Disgraceful Exit from Copa America 2011

Brazil made a disgraceful exit from the 2011 Copa America by losing to Paraguay on penalties after failing to convert four consecutive penalty kicks by Elano, Thiago Silva, Andre Santos and Fred in the extra time shoot-out. The Selecao controlled possession but displayed what has begun to become their trademark, under Mano Menezes, of failing to find the back of the net. Ganso’s presence was negligible in midfield and although the Selecao created some high percentage chances for Lucio, Neymar and Pato, they failed to break down the Paraguayan defense. Clearly, Mano’s experiment in transforming Brazil’s midfield is not working. Ganso does not have the experience to wear the number 10 jersey and orchestrate the Brazilian attack in the way he does for Santos. Meanwhile, the three pronged strike formation of Robinho, Neymar and Pato has failed to score goals as needed. Although Ricardo Teixera, President of the Brazilian Confederation of Football, confirmed that Mano will continue as coach, rumors abound that only months separate him from replacement by Muricy Ramalho or Luiz Felipe Scolari.

Brazil draw 0-0 against Netherlands in Goiania friendly

Brazil drew 0-0 against the Netherlands in a friendly match that was rife with goal scoring opportunities but devoid of cases where the ball legitimately hit the back of the net. Mano played a 4-3-3 formation with Lucas, Ramires and Elano in midfield and Neymar, Robinho and Fred as attackers, in front of the expected defensive combination of Andre Santos, Thiago Silva, Lucio and Dani Alves. Holland’s Ibrahim Afellay had two golden opportunities for the Dutch in the opening half that were saved by Brazil goalkeeper Julio Cesar. Moreover, Robin Van Persie missed the opportunity to direct an aerial ball on target soon before the half time whistle. Brazil, meanwhile, had opportunities in the first half from a Ramires goal that was deemed offside and later, a long range Ramires strike that narrowly missed the top left corner.

Brazil dominated the second half as Neymar, in particular, began to impose his authority in and around the box. The Neymar, Robinho and Fred combination caused the Dutch defense problems early in the second half, but the Brazilian strikers simply failed to find the back of the net. Neymar had a number of shots on target saved by Dutch goalkeeper Tim Krul and, meanwhile, Robinho and Dani Alves pressed the attack for Brazil as well. Robinho’s strike curled toward goal after bouncing off the keeper’s feet but it was cleared off the line by Joris Mathijsen, away from the onrushing Fred. Brazil continued to attack but to no avail, with Ramires ultimately earning a second yellow card for a foul on Arjen Robben roughly ten minutes from time that resulted in his ejection.

For Brazil, this match represented a phenomenal display of defending from Lucio and Thiago Silva, two of the best center backs in the world. The second half witnessed some inspiring attacking play from the Selecao that would have created a bulge or two in the back of the net had it not been for a combination of luck and Tim Krul’s remarkable goalkeeping. Clearly, 4-3-3 is the formation for Brazil as it renders it very difficult to mark the combination of Neymar, Robinho and another striker, whether it be Fred or Leandro Damiao. If Mano ever has the luxury of fielding Paulo Henrique Ganso in a 4-2-1-3 combination, with Lucas and Ramires behind Ganso, Brazil is likely to win more matches against top 20 opponents. The other option is to bring on The Hulk as the center forward to replace Fred. But these are tactical questions that are easy for a journalist to make and much more difficult for a coach to implement in practice when he has to consider the culture of the team and its ethos on and off the field. Clearly, what we are seeing here is a lightweight Brazil team doing as best as it can given the talent at its disposal, though struggling to pull its weight against heavyweight contenders such as France, Argentina and the Dutch. Neymar had several high percentage chances that a more experienced Brazilian striker would have buried in the back of the net. If Brazil loses against Romania, Mano may have no option but to call upon the services of The Hulk to obtain more conversions from the Brazilian attack. Overall, the team looks like it is learning to find each other and create space and opportunities. The Selecao now just needs some quality strikers that can create a bulge in the back of the onion bag when given space in the box.

Mano Announces Brazil Squad for Scotland Friendly

Mano Menezes announced a predictably surprising roster for Brazil's March 27 friendly against Scotland that omitted Robinho, Ronaldinho and Kaka, but recalled World Cup stars Maicon, Lucio and Elano. Citing an immediate need to prepare a squad for the July 2011 Copa America tournament in Argentina, Menezes noted that his squad selection was consistent with his larger philosophy of giving experience to new players and preparing for the possibility that Kaka and Ronaldinho may not be in full form and fitness for the 2014 World Cup. Neymar replaces Robinho up front while Sao Paulo's Lucas has received his first call-up to the national team after a sparking performance in the South America U-20 championships. The midfield features a mouthwatering combination of Liverpool's Lucas, Ramires, Sandro, Henrique, Elias, Elano, Renato Augusto, Jadson and Sao Paulo's Lucas. It will be anyone's guess as to who Mano starts in midfield given the creative power of Elano and the ability of Sao Paulo's Lucas to come forward and score goals. One has to give Mano credit for sticking with his guns and replacing, almost carte blanche, Dunga's midfield quartet of Kaka, Elano, Gilberto Silva and Felipe Melo. The immediate sense we get from this squad selection is that Mano has opted to go with 2 strikers and some kind of attacking midfield combination wherein one or more midfielders has the license to come forward and score goals.

Defenders:
Dani Alves (Barcelona)
Maicon (Inter)
André Santos (Fenerbahçe)
Marcelo (Real Madrid
Lúcio (Inter)
Thiago Silva (Milan)
David Luiz (Chelsea)
Luisão (Benfica)


Midfielders:
Lucas (Liverpool)
Ramires (Chelsea)
Sandro (Tottenham)
Elias (Atlético Madrid)
Elano (Santos)
Renato Augusto (Bayer Leverkusen)
Jadson (Shakhtar Donetsk)
Lucas (Sao Paulo)
Henrique (Cruzeiro)

Forwards:
Alexandre Pato (Milan)
Neymar (Santos)
Nilmar (Villarreal)
Jonas (Valencia)

Mano calls European based Brazil squad for France friendly

Brazil coach Mano Menezes named a 23 man squad for the upcoming February 9 friendly against France composed entirely of European players. Goalkeeper Julio Cesar was recalled to the team but experienced international players such as Kaka, Lucio and Maicon were overlooked, once again, by Mano in an apparent effort to continue building the international experience of his younger players. One of the obvious questions elicited by his squad selection concerns who will play the role of playmaker given the absence of Kaka, Ganso, Ronaldinho and Carlos Eduardo. Mano's attacking line-up features Robinho, Pato, Andre and the Hulk. Lucas and Ramires appear slotted to occupy a defensive role in midfield. Andre Santos, David Luiz, Thiago Silva and Dani Alves look set to start in defense.

Mano's decision not to select an experienced playmaker raises the first doubts over his squad selections and ability to lead the national team. France have historically been a difficult opponent for the Selecao and, based on his squad selection, February 9 should prove no exception.

Neymar and a number of other domestic players were omitted because the scheduling of the friendly conflicted with domestic Brazilian matches in tournaments such as the Copa Libertadores.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Julio Cesar (Inter Milan), Gomes (Tottenham), Neto (Fiorentina)
Defenders: Daniel Alves (Barcelona), Rafael (Manchester United), Marcelo (Real Madrid), Andre Santos (Fenerbahce), Breno (Bayern Munich), David Luiz (Benfica), Thiago Silva (AC Milan), Luizao (Benfica).
Midfielders: Lucas (Liverpool), Ramires (Chelsea), Sandro (Tottenham), Elias (Atletico Madrid), Hernanes (Lazio), Anderson (Manchester United), Renato Augusto (Bayern Leverkusen), Jadson (Shakhtar).
Forwards: Robinho (Milan), Alexandre Pato (Milan), Andre (Dynamo Kyiv), Hulk (Porto)