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Confederations Cup Debate: Even When Brazil Aren't Great, They Are Still The Best
Dunga is two for two with just the World Cup left in his sights - and this, writes Goal.com's Sulmaan Ahmad, isn't even one of Brazil's better teams...
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Jun 29, 2009 4:48:25 PM
There's greatness, and then there's greatness. All too often in life, the most popular among the masses become the most despised by the purists; labeled overrated and condemned to fail the moment they show signs of outstanding success.
That's why when all the boundaries are transcended and raw, awe-inspiring talent is recognised universally, that's when you know that this is no flavour of the month, there is no bandwagon, there is nothing left to downplay or denigrate, and that you are simply witnessing true greatness.
Michael Jackson didn't become the most famous man on the planet because vitiligo turned him from black to white, nor for dangling his young son over the edge of a balcony, nor for any of the accusations levelled at him during the final years of his life or his rumoured 80 facial surgeries. He was just the best.
You can talk about your Leo Messis, your Cristiano Ronaldos, your Manchester Uniteds, Barcelonas and Spains, but there is and will only ever be one Brazil.
When Brazil won the Confederations Cup in 2005, they were by far the best team on the planet. Ronaldo, though struggling to keep fit, still scored every time he played; Adriano was so unstoppable that he began threatening Thierry Henry's status as the best forward in the business and Ronaldinho, as a complete player, was better than Lionel Messi ever will be.
Fastforwarding four years paints a bleaker picture, with one further crushed by injury, another by his own depression and a third who has seemingly fallen out of love with football - at least on a professional level. Take Spain, remove Fernando Torres, David Villa and Andres Iniesta - would they have still won Euro 2008?
What Brazil no longer have is the best starting XI on the international scene - rarely is this the case - but the magic is still alive. Almost every top club has a star player from Brazil, and countries, too: from Pepe with Portugal, Roger Guerreiro for Poland, Mehmet Aurelio for Turkey or a certain Marcos Senna with Spain themselves.
It cuts deep with Selecao supporters that Spain have all the silkiest playmakers while Anderson is still struggling to get the chances at club or country level to blossom, and that bitter rivals Argentina have an embarrassment of attacking riches at their disposal while alone up front for them, succeeding Romario, Ronaldo and Adriano, is Luis Fabiano.
It's not enough that there aren't new R10s and R9s falling from the sky, but even the likes of Anderson, Hernanes and Pato haven't been given the opportunities many hoped for and Dunga has instead stuck with unpopular selections, such as the ageing Gilberto Silva. The likes of Josue and Mineiro have been cast aside, while Andre Santos and Ramires have impressed - better, yes, but not the best. Not Brazil.
And yet, they are undefeated for over a year, won the Copa America, are on course to qualify for the World Cup and just yesterday, bagged their third Confederations Cup.
It is that little bit of everything they have that sees them continually reach the optimum level when it matters. Robinho dragged a dire side to the 2007 Copa America final and from there, they triggered Argentina's famed choking mechanism to blow them away in the final, despite being a far inferior team on form and even on paper.
In the WCQs, though often at the expense of flair and spectacle, Dunga has ensured his side have been more miserly than majestic, which has now put them in a position to dominate the group and potentially coast to South Africa in 2010.
A similar strategy saw them through in South Africa this summer, rarely turning on the fireworks, but exerting wave after wave of pressure, never more apparent than it was in the final against USA, where they came from 2-0 down at half-time to blast their way to a deserving 3-2 victory.
Odds compilers have now got Dunga's Brazil as joint favourites for the World Cup with Spain. This, the Spain that just a week ago were runaway favourites to conquer one and all. For all the superlatives we can use to describe the European champions, they still aren't - in their current mould, at least - what would necessarily be considered a complete team.
Brazil, even in their weaker moments, can draw on any type of player to win a game and they rarely disappoint on the big stage. Dunga, in not endorsing flair, has almost ceased to make Brazil play like Brazil, and yet they still win like them. Add that to the fact a European team has never won a World Cup outside of Europe, and next summer in South Africa looks ever more likely to be the moment when defensive Dunga nets his hat-trick.
Sulmaan Ahmad, Goal.com
That's why when all the boundaries are transcended and raw, awe-inspiring talent is recognised universally, that's when you know that this is no flavour of the month, there is no bandwagon, there is nothing left to downplay or denigrate, and that you are simply witnessing true greatness.
Michael Jackson didn't become the most famous man on the planet because vitiligo turned him from black to white, nor for dangling his young son over the edge of a balcony, nor for any of the accusations levelled at him during the final years of his life or his rumoured 80 facial surgeries. He was just the best.
You can talk about your Leo Messis, your Cristiano Ronaldos, your Manchester Uniteds, Barcelonas and Spains, but there is and will only ever be one Brazil.
When Brazil won the Confederations Cup in 2005, they were by far the best team on the planet. Ronaldo, though struggling to keep fit, still scored every time he played; Adriano was so unstoppable that he began threatening Thierry Henry's status as the best forward in the business and Ronaldinho, as a complete player, was better than Lionel Messi ever will be.
Fastforwarding four years paints a bleaker picture, with one further crushed by injury, another by his own depression and a third who has seemingly fallen out of love with football - at least on a professional level. Take Spain, remove Fernando Torres, David Villa and Andres Iniesta - would they have still won Euro 2008?
What Brazil no longer have is the best starting XI on the international scene - rarely is this the case - but the magic is still alive. Almost every top club has a star player from Brazil, and countries, too: from Pepe with Portugal, Roger Guerreiro for Poland, Mehmet Aurelio for Turkey or a certain Marcos Senna with Spain themselves.
It cuts deep with Selecao supporters that Spain have all the silkiest playmakers while Anderson is still struggling to get the chances at club or country level to blossom, and that bitter rivals Argentina have an embarrassment of attacking riches at their disposal while alone up front for them, succeeding Romario, Ronaldo and Adriano, is Luis Fabiano.
It's not enough that there aren't new R10s and R9s falling from the sky, but even the likes of Anderson, Hernanes and Pato haven't been given the opportunities many hoped for and Dunga has instead stuck with unpopular selections, such as the ageing Gilberto Silva. The likes of Josue and Mineiro have been cast aside, while Andre Santos and Ramires have impressed - better, yes, but not the best. Not Brazil.
And yet, they are undefeated for over a year, won the Copa America, are on course to qualify for the World Cup and just yesterday, bagged their third Confederations Cup.
It is that little bit of everything they have that sees them continually reach the optimum level when it matters. Robinho dragged a dire side to the 2007 Copa America final and from there, they triggered Argentina's famed choking mechanism to blow them away in the final, despite being a far inferior team on form and even on paper.
In the WCQs, though often at the expense of flair and spectacle, Dunga has ensured his side have been more miserly than majestic, which has now put them in a position to dominate the group and potentially coast to South Africa in 2010.
A similar strategy saw them through in South Africa this summer, rarely turning on the fireworks, but exerting wave after wave of pressure, never more apparent than it was in the final against USA, where they came from 2-0 down at half-time to blast their way to a deserving 3-2 victory.
Odds compilers have now got Dunga's Brazil as joint favourites for the World Cup with Spain. This, the Spain that just a week ago were runaway favourites to conquer one and all. For all the superlatives we can use to describe the European champions, they still aren't - in their current mould, at least - what would necessarily be considered a complete team.
Brazil, even in their weaker moments, can draw on any type of player to win a game and they rarely disappoint on the big stage. Dunga, in not endorsing flair, has almost ceased to make Brazil play like Brazil, and yet they still win like them. Add that to the fact a European team has never won a World Cup outside of Europe, and next summer in South Africa looks ever more likely to be the moment when defensive Dunga nets his hat-trick.
Sulmaan Ahmad, Goal.com
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