Email
Print
Digg This
By Brian Homewood
RIO DE JANEIRO, June 16 (Reuters) - Brazil came under fire on Monday after their 2-0 World Cup qualifying defeat in Paraguay, with the media furious over the team's allegedly negative approach.
Headlines such as "Disgrace" and "Another embarrassment for coach Dunga's team" greeted the side as they returned home for Wednesday's match against arch-rivals Argentina in Belo Horizonte.
Not even the absence of Kaka, who underwent knee surgery in May, and Ronaldinho, plagued by fitness problems all season, were accepted as mitigating circumstances.
"It's the first time in football history that Brazil have played defensively against Paraguay and Paraguay have gone out and attacked Brazil," wrote Fernando Calazans, a columnist in the daily newspaper O Globo.
"We've reached the point where we take on Paraguay as if we were the small team and they the big team, the world champions.
"(Brazilian) football is becoming more and more defensive and increasingly based on marking," he added.
Beaten 2-0 by Venezuela 10 days ago, Brazil have lost two games in a row for the first time since 2001.
Dunga, ignoring his country's tradition for attacking football, fielded four defenders and three defensive midfielders while his opponents, supposedly the underdogs, took the field with three forwards and attacked from the outset.
Brazil's two full backs Maicon and Gilberto appeared to have been banned from crossing the halfway line, leaving playmaker Diego and the two forwards Luis Fabiano and Robinho isolated in attack against a solid Paraguay rearguard.
Robinho did not even touch the ball for the first 20 minutes as Brazil appeared happy to play for a draw.
"We have to take more risks," the Real Madrid forward told Brazilian television.
Paraguay have won four of their last eight meetings with Brazil but this was the first time they had dominated their neighbours so completely.
Gerardo Martino's team were in complete control for the first hour, also hitting the post twice and having a shot cleared off the line, before dropping back after defender Dario Veron was sent off.
With only eight points from their first five games in the South American qualifying group, Brazil are already threatening a re-run of their tortuous qualifying campaign for the 2002 World Cup.
On that occasion, Brazil lost six out of 18 matches and used four coaches before clinching their place in Japan and South Korea in their last game against Venezuela.
Brazilian confederation president Ricardo Teixeira has said that Dunga will be his coach until 2010 but defeat against Argentina on Wednesday will seriously put that promise to the test.
(Editing by Derek Parr)
