Brazil qualified for every World Cup till date (1930-2014) under a Brazilian manager or coach. Five World Cup victories have come under Vicente Feola (1958 Sweden), Aymore Moreira (1962 Chile), Mario Zagallo (1970 Mexico), Carlos Alberto (1994 USA) and Luiz Felipe Scolari (2002 Japan-South Korea). Scolari has been in charge at World Cup 2014 when the home team stumbled through the group phase and knockouts before getting pummelled by Germany in the semi-final.
It is time to look beyond a Brazilian for the national team, asserts countryman Jose Barreto, a football icon in Kolkata and a household name across India. “Leading teams like Germany or Netherlands were better prepared at the World Cup. At times against Germany, it looked as if Brazil was playing without a coach in the dugout. Scolari lost control over his players,” quipped the former Mohun Bagan and Mahindra United striker, in a chat with The Hindu .
Barreto, who trained under Scolari at Gremio FC as part of the senior squad, is clear that the five-time world champion has to come to terms with the reality that other nations had moved ahead. “It is time to look outside Brazil (for a national coach). We can get someone from South America, he should be younger and be able to handle the new generation. I am a fan of Europeans, they are better prepared and tactically smart.”
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Brazil’s previous World Cup win came in 2002 under the same Scolari. “He did a great job in 2002. Brazil was a different bunch then who obeyed their coach. The current squad is young and is in a stage of rebuilding. We need a younger, highly qualified coach who can get work done. Look at the Netherlands. The coach decides strategy and players fall in line.”
The struggle by Brazil to dominate games in World Cup 2014 stood out; Chile and Colombia stretched the home team before Germany showed the exit. “We lost the pulse of the game. For some reason, Scolari could not get the formation right from the first match. By formation, I mean the midfield. Teams normally pack players in the middle and dictate the flow. We also had midfielders on the pitch, nothing happened in the match.”
Brazil, making its 20th World Cup appearance in front of home fans, lacked teeth in the attack. Nations like Chile, Mexico, Colombia, Costa Rica displayed more imagination and flair on the ball. Barreto explained: “We just attacked and did not bother about keeping the ball. Other teams attacked and also had players capable of retaining possession.”
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The collective failure in executing tactics is strange, considering their pro experience with top-flight clubs, such as England (Oscar at Chelsea), France (Thiago Silva at PSG), Germany (Dante at Bayern Munich), Spain (Marcelo at Real Madrid), Russia (Hulk at Zenit St Petersburg). “It is not that players were not mature. Tactics are is a team decision. We did not see anything like that.”
Barreto is co-founder of Brasil Futebol Academia with Beto, engaged in introducing kids in Mumbai, Goa and Siliguri to the Brazilian way of playing the game.