Sunday, October 19, 2008

Soccer-Same old story for unhappy Brazil

Brazil's goalless draw to Colombia in their World Cup qualifier brought a predictably angry reaction from the media on Thursday, although they stopped short of calling for the head of coach Dunga.

The match was almost a replica of the previous month's stalemate with Bolivia, with Brazil lacking the ideas to break down defensive but unambitious opponents.

Brazil were jeered off the field after what is expected to be their last match of the campaign at the Maracana stadium and Dunga, a former hard-tackling midfielder in his playing days, was insulted by the crowd.

"The Maracana won't miss them," said the influential daily O Globo.

"As boring as a party political broadcast," added the Jornal dos Sports. "No shine and no class. Just like Dunga's football when he was player."

The sports daily Lance said: "Brazil were a team with no creativity and no solutions for breaking down an opposition which was based on tactical application."

Curiously, Brazil have won their last two away games in the group, scoring seven goals in the process. But in those matches, opponents Chile and Venezuela, encouraged by home advantage, opened up and left space for Brazil's lethal counterattacks.

Dunga, however, has been unable to adapt Brazil's style to deal with teams who shut up shop.

Strangely, he kept the same formation for Wednesday's game with Kaka in midfield along with three tackling specialists in Gilberto Silva, Jose and Elano.

Despite their inconsistent form, Brazil are second in the 10-team South American group with 17 points from 10 games and should easily maintain their 100 percent attendance record at the World Cup finals.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/worldFootballNews/idUKLG53269320081016?sp=true