Oh the pain… the Samba Kings are out :(

photo from World Cup Blog

Oh the pain!!!

The pain felt by Brazilians and Brazilian soccer fans the world over last Friday was intense. Five-time champion Brazil was one of the favorites to win the FIFA World Cup and is surely the one country that has the most fans around the world. Everyone likes Brazil! It is seen by many as the country of the future, ethnically diverse, beautiful, yet not a “first world” imperialist power. Its beautiful landscapes, culture and people make it one of the countries in the world that no one has any reason to not like.

I recently wrote an article for this blog where I threw my support behind the Brazilian national selection that coach Dunga made. The side he put together seemed like a very pragmatic team made up of able players and few camera-loving superstars. Indeed, this team seemed to have a strong balanced approach to the game, with a strong defense (like Lucio) as well as strong attackers (Robinho, Kaká and Elano). But as their quarterfinal game against the Netherlands showed us, something went terribly wrong with the formula. Brazil seemed to shoot itself in the foot… oh the shame! Oh the absolute sadness… why? Why? Now we must wait another 4 years, but this time in Brazil… no excuses… Hexacampeão (six time champion) here we come!

Kaká and the team

But for now…

Poor Dunga! When the selection was announced in May, I was hanging out with a friend of mine. He said: “I’m certain that 90% of Brazilians have a problem with this team.” There were some forwards missing. Santos (from São Paulo) is a team with some young kids who can do a lot of damage and they proved it in the Brazil Cup, but they were left out. Ronaldinho was left out (he was too much of a superstar or so the story goes). Another friend of mine, a Flamengista (supporter of Flamengo) said, “he could have included Wagner Love (a Flamengo striker).”

In their last game, Dunga lost his composure in the end of the first half, when Michel Bastos drew a yellow card. He stomped about, hands in the air, looking like he would kick somebody. I can only speculate that he may have seriously cussed out the players at halftime and set the energy in motion that led to their collapse and disarray in the second half. Kaká also did not live up to expectations, even looking rather ugly at one point late in the match where he seemed to throw a sissy fit.

The worst thing that could have happened for Dunga was that the naysayers would be justified, and to some degree, that is what happened.

In the second half, when Brazil was looking lost and without direction, Dunga looked at the bench, and with Elano injured, he brought in Nilmar. This was where he could have used more stylish attackers full of confidence. The media in Brazil has had it out for Dunga for some time and, without their support, basically, you have to win. A pragmatic game needs the results or else all your friends and supporters melt away when you lose. Dunga was promptly fired by the CBF (the Brazilian Football Confederation).

One player decidedly let his team down, even though it can be unfair to blame him alone: Felipe Melo. Here is what Duvel from the World Cup Blog has to say about his performance: Felipe Melo was on the hook for both Dutch goals, and completed his abysmal performance with a shocking stomp on Arjen Robben. What exactly was Melo thinking? He committed this action right on the sideline. Even if he was naive enough to think that the match official would not see his despicable act, there is no way he was stupid enough to think the referee’s assistant wouldn’t be right there.

The red card is still makes me livid more than anything else. It was the most selfish, unprofessional act that I’ve seen on the pitch in quite some time, since Pepe’s famous red at Real Madrid. What makes it such was that it was a point in the match where HIS TEAM WAS DOWN! He willingly put his team at a disadvantage for most of the second half. A shocking thought to occur at a World Cup.

Strong words for sure…