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Porous defense has Brazil on the offensive
Posted: Thursday July 09, 1998 08:13 PM
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Goalkeeper Taffarel is one of the survivors from the 1994 Brazilian team (Doug Pensinger/Allsport) |
OZOIR-LA-FERRIERE, France (Reuters)
-- That great Brazilian
tradition of a leaky defense has been revived at the 1998 World Cup.
The current side may not quite live up to the great teams of the
past in terms of skill but they seem to have moved back to the old
Brazilian philosophy of "it doesn't matter how many goals the team concedes
as long as it scores more." The last great example of a bad
Brazilian defense was in 1982. Some truly suicidal play at the
back, including a pass straight to the feet of Italian marksman Paolo
Rossi, helped prevent a team that is looked upon as one of the greatest of
all time from lifting the World Cup. Since then, the European
idea that the first step to winning is to keep a clean sheet has been
adopted by Brazil, albeit reluctantly. In 1986, the Brazilians
let in only one goal but were beaten by France in a quarter-final penalty
shoot-out. Four years later in Italy, the
defense was almost as stingy, conceding only two goals in four games.
In the United
States, Brazil gave away only three goals in seven games on its way to
winning its first title in 24 years. This time, however, holes
have reappeared. Brazil has already let in seven goals in six
games, and if they go on to win the trophy they will become the champions
with the worst defensive record, apart from West Germany in
1954. The Netherlands
' late equalizing goal in the semifinal, when Patrick Kluivert rose all
alone to head in a cross from close range, was indicative of the failings
at the back. The defense looks particularly uneasy about lofted
crosses.
Bebeto, who has scored three goals for Brazil, looks more dangerous than four years ago (AP) | |
Brazil, who have only managed to keep one clean sheet,
have looked wobbly from the opening game against Scotland when
a rash challenge by Cesar Sampaio resulted in a penalty that allowed the
Scots back into the game. The back four dozed off as they
allowed Norway to score
two goals in the last seven minutes of a first round game -- Norway won 2-1
but Brazil had already qualified -- and coach Mario Zagallo is probably
still fuming at the early goal they conceded in the quarter-final against
Denmark.
The Danes caught Brazil out with a quickly taken free kick,
something Zagallo said he had warned his defenders about dozens of times
before the game. "We went over it time and again in the dressing-room but
it still happened," he said. Brazil came back to lead 2-1 but
Denmark again equalized, scoring after Roberto Carlos tried to clear the
danger with a bicycle kick but mishit the ball. All this is a
stark contrast to 1994, when the Brazilian goal hardly ever looked in
danger of being breached and few people doubted the team would win the
title. On the other hand, Brazil -- who have goalkeeper
Taffarel, defender Aldair, midfielder Dunga and forward Bebeto as survivors
from the 1994 team -- have looked more dangerous going forward than four
years ago. In Rivaldo, they seem to have found the midfield
playmaker they lacked in the United States. At times, however,
full backs Roberto Carlos and Cafu have gone upfield with reckless abandon
to support the attack. At others, particularly after taking the
lead against the Netherlands, Brazil have pulled all their players back in
a manner which resembles the Norwegian team that Zagallo so bitterly
criticized. The Brazilians have shown tantalizing glimpses of
brilliance, far more than in 1994, but have never seemed able to sustain
their best for long periods. This and the defensive failings
have led to far more nail-biting a ride through the cup than in 1994, when
they sailed through most games without ever looking likely to lose.
But Zagallo seems happy enough. "We have been conceding goals but we
have been scoring more. As long as that continues, we don't need to
worry."
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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