It's a new year, and new challenges await Brazilian soccer. We will compete in the Beijing Olympics, and we also have important World Cup qualifying matches before the Chinese games. We travel to Paraguay - where we lost in 2000 and tied in 2004 - and then we will host Argentina in Belo Horizonte, hoping to make it 3 of 3. In 2000, Vanderlei Luxemburgo guided us to the title in the Pre-Olimpico and crafted a solid (on paper) team while struggling to create a foundation for the senior NT. Our Australian adventure ended in failure, and the senior NT floundered until ultimate glory was reaped in 2002. In 2004, Carlos Alberto Parreira had a stabler senior side in qualifying for Germany, but with a separate coach for the U-23 side, we didn't make it to Athens. Now it's 2008, and Dunga is in charge of both the senior and U-23 teams. As of late 2007, Dunga had begun to craft the base for a senior NT. Despite the sad showing vs. Uruguay at home, we still defeated Ecuador 5-0. We have Kaka and Robinho, and we have a host of dependable players, many of who contributed to our trouncing of full-strength Argentina in Venezuela. But the Olympic team that lost 3-0 vs. the Brasileirao all-stars at the Engenhao was quite different from the team that sealed the Olympic berth in the CONMEBOL U-20. Now we know who'll hit the pitch against Ireland, and several are potential Olympians. Some of you, as well as some in the press, have applauded Dunga's focus on the Olympics. I too wish to see a stable and strong U-23 side for China. But how, if at all, will this affect the senior NT? Will Dunga create an NT that will be both Olympian and World Cup contender? Will these young guns handle the pressure against the older Paraguayans? And while Argentina's current senior NT has several youthful players, they've already picked their 3 overage players. Brazil has not. How will Dunga navigate 2008 as he aims to win Olympic gold and to keep Brazil at the top of CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying?
The problem starts at the top. CBF is getting paid for playing their friendlies in Europe and for bring their star players. We are never going to have a good Olympic preparation due to this. Dunga will have to call up regular starters and play them with the Olympic try outs in order to meet the requirements. The only way Dunga can call up a purely Olympic team is to try to ask clubs to allow him to use their players in unofficial friendlies. So, in other words, it's impossible. Dunga is not the problem in this case, CBF is, and its a cancer.