FIFA World Cup 2010 – Brazil sweating over fitness crisis
The Brazilian coach, Dunga, sometimes criticized over the selection of his squad, is sweating over fitness crisis in the team. Brazil, so far, have been playing at the top of their game with Robinho, Kaka and Luis Fabiano on top of their forms at the moment. However, Kaka received a red card against African side, Ivory Coast.
Dunga is planning on grabbing the World Cup glory for the 6th time for Brazil and continuing the record for his country. However, right now, he has other things on his mind. The Brazilian midfielder Elano missed Monday’s 3-0 victory over Chile because of the ankle problems that he has been facing after the match that was between Brazil and the African Elephants. Elano is a very useful player for the Brazilian side, as he has the ability to move the ball around perfectly in the centre of the field. Elano, along with Robinho, Kaka and Luis Fabiano, makes a perfect combo for the Brazilians, in the attacking line-up they have brought. However, Elano’s position was replaced by the very talented Barcelona star Dani Alves, who is actually a defender in the Spanish Club’s side.
On the other hand, Dunga is also worried about a similar injury that Felipe Melo is struggling from. Melo is a very useful player for the Brazilian side but he is expected to miss the next match along with Elano, who were not at the training sessions held in Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, on Tuesday. Apparently, they both have taken a heavy knock and will not be able to compete against a very strong Dutch side, in the quarter finals.
The Brazilians are also suffering from Julio Baptista’s injury, who is still battling to shake off a knock that he received during a match against the Portuguese side. Dunga, does have other plans in mind even though so many players are being injured in his squad. But, there is definitely going to be a change in the pace of the team with so many big names excluded. Sadly, to make the matters worse, their midfielder Ramires received his second yellow card during the pre quarter final match against their fellow South American side, Chile. Therefore, he is suspended from the match against the Dutch.
Brazil, so far, has been playing at their best and showing the world why they have won the cup more than any other team. The Brazilian star Gilberto Silva thinks that Brazil is going to win this World Cup once again and continue their record. However, such injuries might give the fans another look at the Brazilian side, where they might suffer a loss, for a change.
Brazilians were paired up against Portugal, Ivory Coast and Korea DPR. They topped their group by defeating the African Elephants and the Asians easily; while they drew the match against the very impressive, on that day, Portuguese side, even though they did not have Ricardo Kaka in their squad. After ending on top of their group with seven points and being unbeaten in the group stages, the Brazilians went on to face Chile for the pre quarter finals and defeated them. Now the Brazilians are to face the very strong Dutch side.
Like always, the Brazilians are considered to be the favourites in this FIFA World Cup 2010. If they beat Netherlands in the quarter finals, they will advance to meet either Ghana or Uruguay in the Semi finals; which won’t be a hard task for them. Will these injuries affect the Brazilian style of play? Well, you can never count the tactics of the ex Brazilian captain and the coach of Brazil, Dunga.
Tags: