Brazil Team Profile – 2010 FIFA World Cup
Brazil – the country, the football
The ‘Republica Federativa do Brasil’ (Federative Republic of Brazil in Portuguese) is the world’s fifth largest country with a total area of 8,514,877 km². In South America, it is ranked first. Ascendants of Brazil’s estimated 192 million inhabitants surely witnessed many periods like the cruel invasion of the Portuguese which led to colonization and territorial expansion.
The declaration of Brazil’s independence which was pronounced on September 7, 1822 also took place before the period of imperialism – mostly marked by the historical Dom Pedro II. The Old Republic and the Vargas era as well as the military regime and the contemporary era are all part of Brazil’s past history. But what really marks and elevates this South American country above any other nation in football terms is its unprecedented achievements.
Since the 1950s, Brazil have really imposed their power on the international stage, winning five World Cup trophies and three Confederations Cup titles. The last of those Confederations Cup trophies came back last year as A Seleçao are presently the reigning champions.
This 2009 triumph in South Africa may be suggesting something. Perhaps the Brazilians can taste glory again when they play at the 2010 World Cup on the same African soil. The World Cup trophy has been missing from A Seleçao’s cabinet since 2002. Will something special happen after eight years of waiting?
Brazil – the road to the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa
As a South American team and thus participating in the CONMEBOL zone, Brazil had to compete in a ten-team table. The rules indicated that the top four finishers would be given automatic tickets for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa while the fifth-placed team would enter the play-offs.
The 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign started in October 2007 in the CONMEBOL zone and the Copa America defending champions Brazil had to travel to Colombia for their opening fixture. A Seleçao never really clicked throughout the match and a goalless draw was just what they could afford. The team players and the coach went under serious pressure from lamenting Brazilian fans who expected the 2007 Copa America champions to prove their potential.
Three days after drawing away to Colombia, Brazil hosted 2006 World Cup participants Ecuador at the Estadio do Maracana in Rio de Janeiro and they offered joy to the crowd as they scored five goals to mark their comfortable victory. Playmaker Kaka clinched a brace while Ronaldinho, Vagner Love, and Elano all got a piece of the cake.
In Round 3, Brazil disappointed their hungry supporters again as they drew 1-1 against low ranked side Peru. Kaka’s 41st minute strike might have been enough for Brazil to take all three points despite putting an unconvincing performance but Vargas’ equalizer twenty minutes from time cut the points to one a piece.
At that point, Brazil had lost four points out of a possible nine and these statistics saw them come under more fire from the fans. Their next match was a home game against Uruguay on November 21. The sole option was to win and shut down the critics. However, when Abreu opened the scoring for the visitors in the early stages of the encounter, fear and anxiety rose again.
Fortunately enough for the Brazilians, Sevilla’s Luis Fabiano came to the rescue with a brace to seal the hosts’ brave comeback. The 2010 World Cup qualification campaign then took a pause in the CONMEBOL zone and only resumed in June 2008.
Brazil had found relief in beating Uruguay 2-1 in Round 4 but they couldn’t pursue it with another victory. On June 15, 2008 Brazil lost 2-0 away to Paraguay before being held to a goalless draw at home to bitter rivals Argentina three days later.
This couple of results simply kept Brazilian fans angry at their team’s performances. As the pressure was growing on A Seleçao, the players finally delivered. Thanks to Luis Fabiano’s brace and Robinho’s goal in between, Brazil overcame Chile 3-0 at the Estadio Nacional in Santiago on September 7.
But once again, cheers and praises didn’t last for so long as Brazil were held 0-0 at home to Bolivia. To close the first part of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, the 2007 CONMEBOL champions thrashed Venezuela in San Cristobal 4-0 thanks to a double from Robinho and goals from Kaka and Adriano.
Round 10 saw Colombia succeeding in holding Brazil to a goalless score line in Rio de Janeiro. This was the last qualifying fixture in the year 2008. The campaign resumed in late March with Brazil securing another draw which came much to the fans’ dissatisfaction.
Baptista had broken the deadlock on 72 minute and his goal looked to have wrapped up all three points for Brazil. But Ecuador’s Noboa equalizer with a minute of normal time remaining settled the score line to a 1-1 draw.
On April 1, the story of the day became Argentina’s surprising 6-1 loss away to Bolivia. But in Brazil, there were a bit more cheers as the home side cruised to a comfortable 3-0 victory against Peru. When Brazil travelled to Uruguay for a crunch qualifier, it looked like the fans’ lamentations had definitely been answered.
An in-form Brazilian side created history by defeating Uruguay away for the first time in 33 years. 4-0 was the score line; defenders Daniel Alves and Juan, midfielder Kaka, and striker Luis Fabiano were all on the score sheet. Four days after writing a new page in their football history, Brazil overcame Paraguay 2-1 in Recife. Cabanas’ 25th minute goal had put the visitors in the lead but Robinho and Nilmar’s strikes in each half sealed Brazil’s comeback.
After successfully defending their Confederations Cup title in South Africa, Brazil returned back home with the trophy and later reaffirmed their domination in a gigantesque clash against Argentina. A Seleçao and the Albicelestes battled it out at an unusual venue – the Estadio Gigante de Arroyito in Rosario.
Brazil emerged victors with Luis Fabiano’s brace rounding up the visitors 3-1 win against Maradona’s desperate Argentines. That result eventually offered Brazil a place in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, and what a sweet manner it was to qualify!
Brazil followed this result with a 4-2 victory at home to Chile thanks to Nilmar’s incredible hat-trick. They then lost 2-1 away to Bolivia on the Estadio Hernando Siles high altitude ground. In the final 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier, a goalless draw against Venezuela was just enough for Brazil to earn the point that saw them finish just above Chile and Paraguay who picked up 33 points from 18 matches.
Brazil – 2010 FIFA World Cup group stages
It’s Group G, the World Cup’s ‘Group of Death’. Brazil will have to affront the likes of European rivals Portugal, African giants La Cote d’Ivoire, and Asian underdogs North Korea before standing the chance of progressing into the Round of 16.
Match-day One: Brazil vs Korea DPR
In the opening game of the tournament, Brazil will clash against North Korea in a ‘David and Goliath’ affair. Brazil are clearly the favorites but their coach Dunga will make sure to have none of his players playing with complacency during the game. North Korea have set big targets and they are willing to upset Group G’s big guns.
This encounter will take place on June 15, at 18:30 GMT after Portugal and Ivory Coast open the table with a match at 16:00 South African local time. Brazil vs Korea DPR will be staged at the Ellis Park stadium in Johannesburg.
Match-day Two: Brazil vs Cote d’Ivoire
It will be Brazil vs Cote d’Ivoire on June 20th in Johannesburg’s Soccer City stadium. Once again, it will be a night fixture as the match will kick off at 20:30 South African local time.
Brazilians have the habit of defeating African sides; their last victory against an African team in acompetitive tournament was an incredible 1-0 win over South Africa in the semi-finals of the 2009 Confederations Cup tournament. It will be interesting to see how Brazil will deal with La Cote d’Ivoire who will certainly try to impose themselves strongly.
Match-day Three: Portugal vs Brazil
Finally, Group G’s most anticipated battle will come up on June 25. Portugal vs Brazil is a match that should offer a lot of entertainment. The public will want to see maximum power from both sides.
The highlight in the buildup of this game may be the confrontation between Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Brazil Ricardo Kaka who are mates at Real Madrid. Perhaps Brazil will put on a real show by trouncing Portugal like they did in 2008 when they beat them 6-2 in a friendly match.
Brazil – 2010 World Cup squad
Goalkeepers:
Heurelho Gomes; Doni; Julio Cesar
Defenders:
Michel Bastos; Gilberto; Thiago Silva; Luisao; Juan; Lucio; Dani Alves; Maicon
Midfielders:
Julio Baptista; Kaka; Kleberson; Ramires; Elano; Josue; Felipe Melo; Gilberto Silva
Forwards:
Grafite; Luis Fabiano; Nilmar; Robinho
Brazil – expectations from the country and its top stars
All eyes will be on Brazil’s national football team at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Like at every occasion, A Seleçao’s goal will be to clinch the prestigious trophy. In 2006, they failed to impress and were knocked out by France in the quarter-finals.
The players’ off-the-pitch negative behavior grabbed even more the headlines than anything else, just like the 3-0 result which they clinched against Ghana in the last 16; this encounter was branded as a “fixed match” by many people, soccer analysts, Brazilian fans, Ghanaian fans, and neutrals alike.
This summer, Brazil will try and taste glory on South African soil for the second time in the space of a year. They possess big names and should be able to live up to expectations. Actually, Brazil is an all-star team but a few players will be singled out to perform at the highest level.
Kaka
The number 10 playmaker was influential for Brazil during the 2009 Confederations Cup. His runs, his mentality, his passion for the game, in fact his intelligence on the field of play in general mesmerized a great majority of football loving fans. Kaka is undoubtedly a player that opponents will try to mark closely as he generates much of Brazil’s attacking chances when he plays at his top level.
Luis Fabiano & Robinho
Luis Fabiano might not be the ideal player in club football but under the Brazilian national team jersey, the striker becomes a hero. Luis Fabiano will be bitterly remembered by Italian fans as the man who scored a brace in a 3-0 humiliating defeat for the Azzurri against Brazil during the 2009 Confederations Cup tournament.
Fabiano is not the kind of player who dribbles too much around with the ball but most importantly, he sends it at the back of the net to help Brazil overcome their opponents most of times.
As for Robinho, he has been out of the spotlight in Europe since leaving Manchester City to play in his homeland Brazil. Reports suggest that Robinho might make a return to Europe with a switch to Barcelona in the summer. But all these talks are discussions that Robinho will want to put behind when the tournament kicks off. The former Real Madrid player is looking forward to mesmerizing defenders with his Samba dance dribbling techniques.
Daniel Alves
The Barcelona defender is dynamic in his play, full of runs, crosses, and great tackles. Daniel Alves is the only player in the history of football to have held seven trophies in one year as he clinched the sextuple with Barcelona and the 2009 Confederations Cup with Brazil.
Alves could be the main man to defend opposite attackers from threatening Brazil’s defense. Brazil are contemplating the option of using him as a super-sub during the tournament. Opponents will just have to remember how Daniel Alves came on as a substitute to destroy South Africa's hopes with a very late free-kick in the semi-finals of the 2009 Confederations Cup.
Brazil – Relevant quotes
Brazil coach, Carlos Dunga: “Group G is not the group of death”
“I’m not pleased with the ‘Group of death’ claims. When you look at the draw, you will realize that all the groups are very even – with the exception of Spain’s group. […]
"It’s tricky to play against a team [North Korea] you don’t know much. […]Cote d’Ivoire will make us work very hard. [Portugal vs Brazil] it’s going to be like Brazil vs Brazil B. It’s a balanced group, but this is what we expected.”
Brazil – FIFA World Cup record
A Seleçao are the world’s most successful nation in terms of football history. They are five-time winners of the World Cup and their last triumph was back in 2002.
Remarkably, Brazil have never failed to qualify for the finals of the World Cup. And talking about the next World Cup competition in 2014, Brazil are already qualified as hosts.
2014, 2010: Qualified
2006, 1986, 1954: Quarter-finals
2002, 1994, 1970, 1962, 1958: Champions
1998, 1950: Runners-up
1990: Round of 16
1982: Second Round
1978, 1974, 1938: Semi-finals
1966, 1934, 1930: First Round
Are ‘Group of Death’ favorites, Brazil, going to experience a First Round exit for the fourth time in their history of football?
Will they take home the 2010 FIFA World Cup trophy instead?
Follow LiveSoccerTV.com throughout the months of June and July as the site will cover the entire tournament. Get latest news, updates, match previews, video highlights, live feeds, and more on Brazil’s national team exclusively on LiveSoccerTV.com!
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