Coming into the 2010 World Cup, Brazil was the #1 ranked team in the world and the co-favorite (with Spain) to win it all. With former team captain and hard nosed defensive midfielder Dunga as the coach, the Brazilians came in with a different approach than usual. Getting away from the “beautiful game” the Brazilians had been accustomed to playing, Dunga had the squad playing a lethal counter-attacking style and had made the roster changes necessary for it to work. Dunga did not bring former teammate and the legendary Ronaldo (World Cup all-time leading scorer and 2-time champion), no Ronaldinho (highly regarded as one of the world’s best players), no Adriano (deadly left footed striker) and no Dida (Goalie in the last two World Cups). Also International retirements of Cafu, Roberto Carlos and Ze Roberto left spots to be filled in by Dunga. Among the new faces included Michel Bastos starting at left back, Luis Fabiano as a striker, and Elano in the midfield. The roster was loaded with guys Dunga knew would take the tournament 100% serious.
In their opening game of group play, Brazil took on the North Koreans and noticed from the get go that they were going to play defensively. Struggling in the first half to get any open looks, the Brazilians knew where they could catch the Koreans sleeping: Off the wings. Bastos and Maicon came out ready to run the wings and early in the second half, 55th minute to be exact, Maicon scored a subperb goal off the wing to put them up 1-0. Later on Elano would get fed a beautiful pass and bury the shot in the 72nd to go up 2-0. Late in the game the Koreans would have a beautiful run and capitalize but Brazil walked out a 2-1 winner. Then up came the Ivory Coast. Didier Drogba in the starting lineup and all wasn’t enough for the Ivory Coast. Luis Fabiano would place one in the back of the net in the 25th minute, and later added one in the 50th. Elano would score once again, this time in the 62nd. Drogba would get the Ivory Coast a goal late in the game but Brazil thoroughly dominated the game and won 3-1. The final group play game came against Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal. Only needing a tie, Portugal left C. Ronaldo up top solo and played very defensively. Never in any real danger of conceeding, Brazil pushed and pushed to get a goal but couldn’t muster anything substantial. A lackluster scoreless draw was enough for Brazil to win the group with 7 points ans Portugal to move on.
Moving onto the eighth-finals was the second task checked off by the Brazilians. Facing an outclassed Chilean team, Brazil came out firing on all cylindars early. Center back Juan came up on a corner kick and headed the ball into the back of the net to put them up 1-0 in the 34th minute. Moments later Luis Fabiano would score and put the seleção up 2-0. Then in the 59th minute, the Chilean team killer Robinho would score, giving him 4 goals in 7 games against Chile in his career. Brazil would easily advance after a 3-0 victory. In the Quart-Finals, Brazil went up against the 6th ranked Netherlands in a game many called an “early final.” Brazil wore their blues for the first time in the tourney and came out ready to go. Robinho would get fed a beautiful pass and buried the shot in the 10th minute and it looked like it was going to be a route of the Dutch. Standing tall, the Dutch kept fighting and ended the half down 1. In the second half it went downhill fast for the Brazilians. Wesley Sneijder and co turned up the heat and found a way to attack the Brazilians defense. First off of a free kick Sneijder hit a ball into the box and as Juilo Cesar was coming out to punch the ball away, Brazilian midfielder Felipe Melo backed into him and the ball brushed his shoulder and went in for the equalizer. Then in the 68th minute, off of a corner kick, a double touch header was placed in the back of the net by Sneijder and gave the Dutch a 2-1 lead. Then Brazil started to unravel. Felipe Melo would get a completely ridiculous red card for stomping on a player, Nilmar would enter the game for a quiet Luis Fabiano, and every chance Brazil had late in the game seemingly needed one more player finish. Losing in the quarters in back to back World Cups, and ending Dunga’s reign as head coach in the process.
The positives for Brazil:
Luis Fabiano: Much like the man who wore the #9 yellow and blue before him, Fabiano emerged as a lethal goal scorer for the Brazilians and will more than likely be back in 2014. Only problem for him is consistency. He faded out of the Netherlands game and Brazil really needed him to step up.
Robinho: Many questions were asked about Robinho before the Cup started. With a pair of goals scored and fine play, Robinho played well for the team and silenced many of his critics.
Lucio: What more can be said about the captain? Lucio has always been a fine center back and one of the world’s best defenders and set-piece players, but his attack and ball handling skills were on display in this Cup which added an extra dimension to the team’s attack.
The negatives/disappointments:
Felipe Melo: Countless unecessary fouls and cards probably cost him another run on the National team. Dunga was disgusted as were many of the Brazilian teams’ supporters. Melo let the team down and made costly errors.
Kaka: One of the top 5 players in the world, Kaka played like many of the world’s stars in this cup, lackluster. Sure his form wasn’t top notch due to injures, but Kaka never really found his world class touch in any of the games. He had a couple assists and had a few solid plas, but his shot was off and he made a few uncharacteristically bad passes during the tournament. Hopefully he heals back up, plays well for Real Madrid and comes back ready for 2014.
Dunga: With all due respect to coach Dunga, there still will be MANY questions and about his methods. What if he took Ronaldinho and Neymar? What if he let Ronaldo have one last run of the World Cup pitch? What if he would have embraced the beaufitul game? Dunga did a very good job in his time as head coach, but very good isn’t the words Brazilian supporters. myself included, want to say about the team or coach. Great would have been to win the Cup. Very good gets the team to #1 ranked. We’ll see where Dunga goes from here and who the Brazilians have coaching them next.
Darren
Posted by DABsportstalk 
