i feel it has nothing to do with dunga. its a completely new team devoid of its 2 best players as well (kaka and ronaldinho). it needs time to come together. and the fact that WC qualifiers start in the fall of this year is insane.
. July 5, 2007 SouthAmerica: Reply to esmjb Kaka and Ronaldinho had been playing with this team that Dunga is trying to assemble â and even with Kaka and Ronaldinho this team is playing like crap. By far Felipao is the best professional soccer coach we have in Brazil. You said: âand the fact that WC qualifiers start in the fall of this year is insane.â No, it is not insane it is because it takes 18 games for the teams to complete the qualifying period for the next world cup â it is a long process and the national teams have to play these games in between all the other tournaments that the players are playing around the world for their regular teams. Based on the qualifying schedule the national team gets together once a month for one or 2 qualifying games â and sometimes they go a few months without a qualifying game because of holidays, vacations, and so on. The qualifying period starts in September of 2007 and ends sometime in November of 2009 â and during that period they have to play 18 qualifying games in the South America group. Anyway, Dungaâs team stinks. .
. July 10, 2007 SouthAmerica: Brazil played another terrible game and they were lucky to win the game against Uruguay. Some of the guys in the current team canât kick even penalty shots. All I can say is that Brazil is very lucky to qualify to be in the final game of Copa America on next Sunday â the only problem is that if they play the final game like they have been playing so far then they are going to be humiliated by the Argentinean team. It is depressing to watch this Brazilian team play. Anyway, for all practical purposes this Brazilian national team is playing like shit. .
. July 14, 2007 SouthAmerica: I hope Brazil will be lucky one more time tomorrow and win the game against Argentina. If the Argentinean team plays at the level that this team is capable to and Riquelme and Messy play well on that game â then this Brazilian team will be in trouble - Real big trouble. I just hope the Argentineans donât humiliate the Brazilian team. The only way Brazil will win tomorrow is if we have a miracle. I will watch the game and I will be hoping for that miracle. Letâs go MIRACLE. .
. July 15, 2007 SouthAmerica: I am glad the miracles still happen. Argentina played poorly today, and Brazil managed to play just enough soccer to be able to win the game. Win ugly it is not a Brazilian specialty, and I hope they donât get used to that â but a win itâs a win. Even when Brazil is not playing well somehow these guys still manage to win. Brazil 3 X Argentina 0 .
. July 16, 2007 SouthAmerica: I am glad that Brazil had a real bad game in the beginning of the tournament such as the game against Mexico. Argentina had a spectacular tournament until the final game. Brazil was able to surprise them with a goal 4 minutes into the game and that kind changed the Argentineans strategy. It seems to me that the Argentinean team could not recover from that quick strike. Basically the Argentineans did not show up to play the kind of game that they are capable of playing. I am glad it did work that way, but I am not blind I did watch all the games that Brazil played on this tournament â as a matter of fact I did watch all the 17 games that Brazil played since Dunga became the coach. We will be able to find out soon enough how much improvement is happening regarding Dungaâs team since the Brazilian national team will start playing the qualifying games for the next world cup in September of 2007. I still think that it is just a matter of time for the coaching job of the Brazilian national team to be turned over to Felipao. ******** âArgentina prove too lightweight for Brazil's powerâ By Brian Homewood The Guardian â UK July 16, 2007 MARACAIBO, Venezuela, July 15 (Reuters) - Brazil's disappointingly one-sided win over Argentina in the Copa America final was a victory for muscle over finesse and could prompt the losers to revert to a more physical, less entertaining, style. Argentina have repeatedly won plaudits for their flowing, passing game at recent tournaments but, sadly for the purists, it has failed at the crucial moment. At the 2004 Copa America under Marcelo Bielsa, Argentina played the best football throughout the tournament but lost on penalties to Brazil in the final. In 2006, the Argentines, under Jose Pekerman, again won praise for their style, especially in the 6-0 World Cup drubbing of Serbia & Montenegro. But that campaign also ended prematurely with a quarter-final penalty shootout defeat to hosts Germany. This Copa America was no different. Argentina delighted crowds and television audiences, scoring 16 goals in five games on the way to the final, but they were outdone in the final by the more powerful Brazilians. MUSCULAR DEFENCE Strikers Lionel Messi and Carlos Tevez were repeatedly bundled off the ball by Brazil's muscular defenders while playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme did not seem to have the stomach for the fight. Argentina has long been divided into two schools of thought. In the one corner are the so-called "Menottistas", followers for 1978 World Cup winning coach Cesar Luis Menotti. In the other are the "Bilardistas", admirers of Carlos Bilardo, who guided the side to 1986 glory. Menotti is known for favouring the current attacking style while Bilardo prefers a more pragmatic, often ruthless, approach. Current coach Alfio Basile is seen as an old school romantic from the Menotti camp. But Sunday's defeat came on a day when Argentina had hoped to win their first title for 14 years and is likely to give more ammunition to the Bilardista school of thought. After his team demolished Peru 4-0 one week ago, Basile delighted his audience by saying: "It's not just about winning. You can simply win a game, but to win the way we are doing makes me proud." But, after losing a championship final to Brazil for the third time in four years, the pressure will be growing for more silverware -- no matter what the cost. .