World Cup 2010: Brazil Captain, Ferreira Lucio is The Great Wall of Defence for his Team
Defence is the key for any team to attack. A strong defence helps build the confidence of the attacking options of a team, as they find more liberty in moving forward. Teams with their strength lying in defence, have always made good shows at the World Cup. It is the mere quality of the defence that the stops even the most violent of attacks.
We saw it happening in the game of Switzerland and Spain, when the Swiss defence denied Spaniard many-a-times and were later on able to score a gaol and win an impossible match. Every time the World Cup is held, there is always a quality defender that makes his team win it all the way. ‘The Great Wall’ in 2010 World Cup is definitely none other than the Brazilian Captain, Ferreira Lucio.
Ferreira Lucio came in the tournament with the excellent form he had at Inter-Milan last season, where he was able to show extraordinary performances in the crucial games against Barcelona and Bayern Munich. The Brazilian captain has something in him that made him a huge success at the international level. He makes it almost impossible for a striker to beat him and get pass him. He truly is a Wall that has yet to be broken by any of the players in the tournament. His ability to understand the psyche of a striker and his physical strength makes him arguably the best defender in this year World Cup.
With more than 70 starts in the national shirt, the 32 year old is a great leader of the Brazilian squad. He is set to make history in the next match, when he will be beating Pele’s record of most appearances for the national team. With Brazil, Lucio has already tasted success on numerous occasions especially in 2002, when Brazil was able to win the FIFA World Cup. He came in the tournament with a lot of confidence at a time when he was wining it both for the National team and the Club. Brazil was able to win the Confederation Cup in 2009 and Inter-Milan won the mighty treble in the last season. Lucio was outstanding at both levels and few will disagree that he has lifted the standard of his game in recent years.
Brazil has been doing well in the World Cup since the start of the tournament. Historically the strength of the Brazilians lies in their ability to create unstoppable attacks and they mostly lack quality defence. However, against all odds the team tactics are quite the opposite this time around. In their three group matches, Brazil preferred to hold the ball more than to create attacking moves. Their defence seemed more compact with many big names holding the back line. Maicon, Giberto Silva, Melo and Juan were all impressive in their respective roles and did make it difficult for other teams to create scoring opportunities. Nevertheless, the one man who stood among these quality players is the Brazilian Captain Lucio. His performance thus far is an important aspect of the Brazilian wining streak. With Juan, his defensive partner, he has played for a long time, and they know each other very well indeed, that makes it a perfect combination for Brazil to play with.
Lucio is a player who is firm in defence and at the same time famous for good aerial play, that increases his role in the Brazilian attack. There is still a lot of way to go in the tournament but it seems he may lead Brazil to World Cup glory. His ability to score crucial goals adds to the talent he posses in defending the goal. Only thing he needs to control is that he needs not to go forward that often in a match, which usually exposes the Brazilian defence.
It is Lucio’s third World Cup for Brazil and if he wins the trophy for his country, he will have a name in the history of Brazilian Football and will be remembered for a long long time to come.
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