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Watching Brazil at the under-17 World Cup and Copa America has really left me quite sad. I, similar to many other football fans, wish that the old Brazil could come back.
Brazil in the ’70s and ’80s are amongst the most loved and respected teams to have played the beautiful game. Players like Pele, Garrincha, Zico, Socrates, Eder, Falcao and countless others made Brazil the most loved football team on the planet.
They had a carefree, fun attitude to playing the game which was echoed by the fun colourful fans in the stands mixed with they delightful samba beats. Old Brazil used to have a simple game plan; to score as many goals as possible, if the other team scored it didn’t really matter, as long as Brazil scored more.
The centre backs would go for maurading runs up the field, beating two or three players then laying it off for another players to do likewise. Brazil in 1970 and 1982 are amongst the most loved sides in history. There is no better goal to sum up this period than the final goal for Brazil in the 1970 World Cup final.
The centre back goes for a marauding run, beating three or four players before laying off the ball. Several sweet exchanges later the ball is passed wide to the edge of the box and the right-back storms through to smash the ball into the corner. Fantastic stuff.
Sadly, in the last two decades Brazil has slowly been on the decline, with the quality of football gradually sinking further and further away from the glory days. There have been a few teams which have played great football, but these were short lived and still no match to the amazing football from the ’70s and ’80s.
These days Brazil plays a 4-5-1. Much more defensive to the old Brazil, which would play a 4-2-2-2, with the left and right backs acting as wingers. The defenders for Brazil these days are lumps like Lucio, Juan and Filipe Melo – all six-foot giants whose job is to be physically imposing and disruptive to the other team.
Although Maicon and Alves do offer attacking options, they are not supported by the team as well as players from the old Brazil and often end up working with no reward. There have been a few ‘revivals’ of the old Brazil in the 20th century, as seen in the 2002 World Cup and the 2005 Confederations Cup.
Players such as Cafu, Roberto Carlos, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho offered the flair and fun the old Brazil once offered. However, these times didn’t last as Brazil were largely poor in the 2006 World Cup, and best described as enigmas in the 2010 World Cup.
So what is going wrong? From what I can tell, the selection and coaching of players in the last decades has been extremely poor. The fact is that Brazilians aren’t playing the game differently as people. Having visited Brazil in 2009, there are countless games of street football and local footballers who are full of the fun and games that Brazilian football was once dominated by.
However, I have serious doubts as to the future of these players. After watching the documentary ‘Ginga’, which is all about the Brazilian way of football, the problem became clear. Brazilian football is becoming European-ised, and the passion for flair and fun is been discouraged.
In the documentary, a 16-year-old by the name of Romarinho is trialing for the Brazilian club Flamengo, once the home of the legendary Zico. He is an outrageously talented young player, nobody could get near him while he had the ball and had a deadly shot as well. They then interview the coach who says this: “We look for players who are more physically strong and talented rather than just technical. If a player is small he must be a brilliant technical footballer to be chosen.”
This highlighted the issue of physicality over technicality which is killing Brazilian football. It is this attitude which is seeing players like Lucio and Melo play for the national team instead of young Romarinho or the next Cafu or Eder.
The under 17’s for Brazil were similar in that regard as they were physically imposing yet many were technically poor. There was a lot of long ball and kicking the ball out, things that old Brazil would never have done. That is why they were deservedly dumped out by Uruguay. Similar struggles are taking place in the Copa America, where Brazil continue to disappoint.
2014 is looming as the biggest year for Brazilian football in history. Brazil will be expected to win the tournament with 300 million passionate Brazilians getting behind them. They will also be expected to play beautiful football also.
Giving this weight of expectation, Brazil must change exponentially in order to return Brazilian football to its old best for the World Cup in 2014, or else face years more of backward development in the football mad nation.
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