This is so wrong on so many levels. Felipao's team played every game AT HOME. Felipao chose BERNARD, FRED, and PAULINHO as starters. The two best players for Brasil in this Copa Am were Miranda and Robinho. Felipao decided they were not good enough for his 23. But, yeah, keep that saudade for Felipao. I think Dunga made poor choices in his in game subs in the last two games, but it seems his roster and game to game lineup changes are light years ahead of Felipao. Dunga's skill at player evaluation should lead to the team improving. Now if only he can improve his in game decisionmaking.
And don't forget in 94 we did not qualify for the WC until the very last match of the qualifiers in the Maraca (Thank God Romario was called for the this last match), and then we went on to win the World Cup
we played Paraguay twice in 2011. It's hard to say we deserved to win when we couldn't best them in 180 minutes. As far as the the "B" team of 2004, that was in all likelyhood superior to our A team of 2015, especially without Neymar. Luis Fabiano and Adriano was the attacking duo. Plus Juan, JC, Kleberson, Diego, Maicon, etc.
I completely disagree about 2011. You have to look at it game by game. In that QF in 2011 bad finishing and bad luck kept us from scoring while Paraguay did nothing the whole game. The game had at least 2 miracle saves from the goalie and goal line clearances twice. The Pato miss was more incredibly unlucky than Messi's header miss vs Colombia. In 2004, we lost to Paraguay in the group stage and finished 2nd. I am just saying, it's really tough to judge teams just based on advancing.
At least we had strong base defined in 1993. two amazing FBs in Jorginho and Branco. two amazing CBs and DMS. We did lack a creative midfielder and Romario wasn't getting calls because of a personal grudge with Parreira. Nowadays all positions are up for grabs, other than Neymar's.
Yes but that is overstated sometimes, we only needed a tie to qualify and probably would've been fine that match without Romario (but obviously needed him for the World Cup). As samuel_clemens points out we had a clearly defined team then. Either way the point stands and I think we all agree. It's not that we tied Paraguay 1x1, it's how we got here, how we're handling it (or not handling it). I'm very worried about Brazil's lack of preparedness these days and coaching depth (or lack thereof rather). As much hope as the U-20s gave me, looking at the full team drains me of that hope. I used to be more optimistic about the coaching and the administrative approach, but I've finally come around to the "they don't know wtf they're doing" camp.
I still firmly believe the national team's struggles stem from a lack of focus on the midfield and possession. We seem to rush and bypass the midfield to Oscar and Neymar all the time. There's no equilibrium. Luiz Gustavo and Fernandinho are very good at this but every time we play a strong opponent or one that frustrates us we revert back to the "Felipao" tactics. Hope we see an intergration of Rafinha and Lucas Silva amongst others to compete for the midfield.
Contrary to popular belief, I don't think this is the worst generation of Brazilian talent. Some of these guys are talented but at the same time inconsistent. It definitely has some issues mentally though. Personally, I think we are a quality technical CMF and Striker away from a complete team IMO. Otherwise, I'm fine with the players we can pick from in other positions.