In their last outing before the World Cup in June, Brazil looked anything but world champion contenders against a workmanlike Irish side. http://www.360footballnews.com/inde...p-analysis/3356-power-and-pace-the-new-brazil
Great teams always find ways to win, even when they don't play their best football. The game was pretty even up until Brazil scored their first goal. After that, Brazil took control of the game and even missed a few opportunities before netting a second goal. First half was even. Second half was all Brazil.
agreed. i already criticized this particular article when it was posted in the Brazil subforum lol. personally, i think this "new brazil" is such a tired argument these days. the best teams are the ones that evolve.
What has Brazile evolved into? I'm thinking more of a counterattacking team, who rely on defense to win games. So DUNGA.
And I don't think they have the players to do that for 90 minutes. They would either have to be so much better as a counterattacking team than anyone else in the world, or give that up at some point and go back to the stylish "football-as-dance". You'd think the first half of the Confed Cup final would've woken Brazil up a bit.
They don't have the players to do it for 90? They're even saying they don't need to play pretty, just play to win. They have the best defense IMO, and are great on the counter.
oldest doesnt really matter. look at it more as -- players in their prime. only player in the starting 11 who i'd say is somewhat past his prime is gilberto silva, and he's still a good player.
And that's what's going to doom them. They are so good that no other team even deserves to be on the field with them -- except for exactly that. If they decide to play decidedly un-Brazilian football, they can clearly beat themselves, as the first half of the Confed Cup final showed.
Where do you get this "they're so good noone deserves to be on the field with them" nonsense from? It's about the furthest thing from Brazil's current mentality.
Whenever people say Brazil is weak at the WC or they're not the favorites, they usually win it all. 94, 2002.
Uh, maybe not everyone is picking them to win it but I don't think anyone is considering Brazil weak and I think we all rate them as among the favorites.
Brazil are par average to me. You can't compare this team to the golden age. Critics pick them as favorites but Spain, Germany are far better at this stage. Every country is getting better each World Cup and this is different era.
yeah, I mean of course germany could beat them, but overall yeah I think brazil is better, even if they struggle some with north korea today I will still think that.