Brazil And Scolari - Can They Avenge 1950?

1950. These four numbers probably mean more to a Brazilian than to any other country on the planet. Playing host for the first time in their history, Brazil had the perfect opportunity to showcase not only their country to the entire world, but also their football. Unfortunately, Maracanazo still rankles in the ears of the Brazilian public after the national team faced utter humiliation both on and off the pitch. The Brazilian public and government were so shell-shocked after the loss that there was no official presentation of the Cup. Jules Rimet had to roam in the crowded field before he found Varela and handed him over the World Cup!

Since then Brazil has won as many as five World Cups, with the latest one coming 12 years back. Although they have won the highest number of World Cups, the loss of 1950 still haunts them to this day. So naturally when Brazil was given the opportunity to play host for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the general public were jubilant but at the same time, skeptical of the countryai??i??s chance in claiming the top prize in world football.

In came Scolari, replacing Menezes after the latter suffered from a bad run of results in 2012. Although Menezes was brought in to replace Dungaai??i??s pragmatic style of football, the lack of the Olympic gold cost him dear. It was under Menezes that Brazil reached the last eight stage of the Copa America in 2011 and in spite of performing well against eternal rivals, Argentina; Menezes was sacked midway through his contract. Scolari was appointed the head coach of Brazil at a crucial time ai??i?? this time they were playing host for the first time since 1950. The sole objective of bringing back the tactician was that he had earlier won the World Cup in 2002 with Brazil.

Although Scolari started slowly, the results came soon enough. However, bringing back Scolari would always be a gamble on part of the CBF. Scolari advocates a defensive approach in his teams, where the focus is always primarily on the defense line rather than the attack line. It might be pointless to think that the old Brazil might still be alive somewhere, the Brazil that ended against Italy in the 1982 World Cup. Ever since then, Brazil has sacrificed their creative exploits in favour of defensive solidarity ai??i?? and it was on display on two of their World Cup triumphs ai??i?? 1994 and 2002.

England proved to a difficult opponent to Brazil ever since Scolariai??i??s appointment ai??i?? thwarting them twice in as many matches. The first of them was a 2-1 defeat at Wembley, with Rooney and Lampard being on the score sheet. The next was at the hallowed Maracana, with a Paulinho scoring a late volley to earn a pulsating 2-2 draw. Soon after that, Brazil received their lowest-ever FIFA ranking and entered the Confederations Cup as the 22nd team in the world. Placed against opponents placed much higher up the ladder, it looked a tall task for them to retain the Confederations Cup. Additionally, they were playing host this time and were hoping that the Confederations Cup would provide the right platform to showcase to the world that they were ready to take on something much bigger and grander ai??i??the World Cup.

While their on-field performances were amazing to say the least, events occurring off the field dominated headlines more than the matches that were being played out. The general consensus was how come the government were spending so much in hosting the World Cup and not doing anything to improve the deplorable state of the South American country. Frequent riots on almost every match day became the norm as even Sepp Blatter and Dilma Rousseffai??i??s names were booed by the crowd. However, Scolari and his lads saved the day for Brazil as they showed their dominance and their skills to out-think, outwit and outplay every opponent that came their way.

Neymar, who has been roundly criticized by almost every single media outlet and even Barcelona fans, was a revelation in the Confederations Cup ai??i?? right from the very moment when he volleyed from just outside the box to score his first goal to the moment when he victoriously lifted the trophy over his head. He is a totally transformed player when he dons the yellow and blue of Brazil and that is something Scolari will be banking on for the upcoming World Cup.

Although Scolari has been branded as a defensive coach, his methods have proved to be quite successful for Brazil so far and he has managed to create an environment where the players can express themselves freely. He has a unique capability to deflect criticism off his players and even himself and thereby reduce the external pressure. Although he is not a master of mind games ala Mourinho, he is tactically astute enough to reshuffle his team as and when required and back his players to perform even under harsh criticism. His team has shown its capability to perform and succeed under pressure, but the big question still remains ai??i?? can they avenge 1950?

Tags: Brazil Scolari

Brazil And Scolari – Can They Avenge 1950?

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