Brazil finds its touch as Chile heads home
Source: Agencies |
June 30, 2010, Wednesday
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Print Edition
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HALF hour into the World Cup's second round, Brazil found its rhythm.
A hammer-strike header. A pinball-style counterattack. An explosive run followed by a clinical finish, Brazil's football orchestra was playing in true harmony on Monday for the first time in the tournament.
Coach Dunga said there's still much to improve, but he must have been encouraged by the 3-0 win over Chile at Ellis Park.
Chile was no pushover. It earned its place in the second round with victories over Switzerland and Honduras and a 1-2 loss to European champion Spain. Against Brazil though, coach Marcelo Bielsa's team never had a chance.
"It was likely our best match so far," said Maicon. "We did well against a team that had been playing well so far in the tournament. It was important to show that we can come up with a good performance when needed."
Chile boldly tried to go where few have gone before, fielding three forwards against the five-time world champion, and taking the game to their fellow South Americans. But after a bright half hour, Chile was ruthlessly pulled apart by a team which has taken the art of counter-attacking to a new level and mercilessly punishes the slightest mistake.
Dunga has complained that most teams field an ultra-cautious approach when facing his side, almost implying that there is something morally wrong about such tactics. But, after seeing his team give ponderous, pedestrian displays against the massed ranks of North Korea and Portugal, and then turn on the style against the Chileans, it is hard to imagine why any of Brazil's opponents would want to be so obliging.
Lesser teams, including Colombia, Venezuela and Bolivia, managed to hold Brazil to goalless draws in the World Cup qualifiers by packing their defences and challenging Brazil to find a way through. Those who attacked, including Uruguay and Chile themselves, were taken to the cleaners.
Before Chile could realize what was happening, the game was over as a contest, Brazil taking a two-goal lead in classic Dunga-era style with a header from Juan and a superbly executed counter-attack, finished off by Luis Fabiano.
Substitutions
Bielsa made two substitutions at halftime and a third 17 minutes into the second half as Chile pushed for a comeback. But it struggled to find ways past Brazil's defense.
"We created a lot of scoring opportunities and didn't give many chances to our opponent," said Fabiano. "It shows that we are improving match after match, and this is important in a competition like the World Cup. We want to keep playing better and we did that today."
Chile never lacked precision in decisive moments, unlike Robinho, who scored the third - and his first goal of the World Cup - after a dazzling run by Ramires.
"It was made perfectly clear today that there are distances between the big teams and our team," Chile's coach admitted. "Perhaps the result could have been narrower. But generally speaking, we can say that the superiority of Brazil was too much for us. We were unable to slow them down."
The last time Chile went to a World Cup, in 1998, it made it through the first round only to be hammered by Brazil in the second. Twelve years on, history has repeated itself.
A hammer-strike header. A pinball-style counterattack. An explosive run followed by a clinical finish, Brazil's football orchestra was playing in true harmony on Monday for the first time in the tournament.
Coach Dunga said there's still much to improve, but he must have been encouraged by the 3-0 win over Chile at Ellis Park.
Chile was no pushover. It earned its place in the second round with victories over Switzerland and Honduras and a 1-2 loss to European champion Spain. Against Brazil though, coach Marcelo Bielsa's team never had a chance.
"It was likely our best match so far," said Maicon. "We did well against a team that had been playing well so far in the tournament. It was important to show that we can come up with a good performance when needed."
Chile boldly tried to go where few have gone before, fielding three forwards against the five-time world champion, and taking the game to their fellow South Americans. But after a bright half hour, Chile was ruthlessly pulled apart by a team which has taken the art of counter-attacking to a new level and mercilessly punishes the slightest mistake.
Dunga has complained that most teams field an ultra-cautious approach when facing his side, almost implying that there is something morally wrong about such tactics. But, after seeing his team give ponderous, pedestrian displays against the massed ranks of North Korea and Portugal, and then turn on the style against the Chileans, it is hard to imagine why any of Brazil's opponents would want to be so obliging.
Lesser teams, including Colombia, Venezuela and Bolivia, managed to hold Brazil to goalless draws in the World Cup qualifiers by packing their defences and challenging Brazil to find a way through. Those who attacked, including Uruguay and Chile themselves, were taken to the cleaners.
Before Chile could realize what was happening, the game was over as a contest, Brazil taking a two-goal lead in classic Dunga-era style with a header from Juan and a superbly executed counter-attack, finished off by Luis Fabiano.
Substitutions
Bielsa made two substitutions at halftime and a third 17 minutes into the second half as Chile pushed for a comeback. But it struggled to find ways past Brazil's defense.
"We created a lot of scoring opportunities and didn't give many chances to our opponent," said Fabiano. "It shows that we are improving match after match, and this is important in a competition like the World Cup. We want to keep playing better and we did that today."
Chile never lacked precision in decisive moments, unlike Robinho, who scored the third - and his first goal of the World Cup - after a dazzling run by Ramires.
"It was made perfectly clear today that there are distances between the big teams and our team," Chile's coach admitted. "Perhaps the result could have been narrower. But generally speaking, we can say that the superiority of Brazil was too much for us. We were unable to slow them down."
The last time Chile went to a World Cup, in 1998, it made it through the first round only to be hammered by Brazil in the second. Twelve years on, history has repeated itself.
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