Carlo Ancelotti, the respected and successful Italian coach who took over the Brazilian team a few months ago, experienced this Tuesday (14) his first moment of widespread disgust with the team.
Disgust with the historical record, with an air of embarrassment. Having taken a 2-0 lead in the first half of the friendly against Japan in Tokyo, Brazil, in a horrendous second half, came back 3-2. The first time the Japanese have beaten Brazil in 14 clashes.
But there is more to be lamented. I did some research, based on the ogol website, a reliable football results website, and found that only once in its history, which began in 1914, had the main team lost a match after winning by two or more goals.
It occurred on the afternoon of March 24, 1940, a Sunday, at the São Januário stadium, in Rio, in the first of two games against Uruguay for the Copa Rio Branco.
With goals from Hércules, Pedro Amorim and captain Leônidas da Silva, the team led by Jayme Barcellos had 3-1 in their favor 11 minutes into the second half. However, it allowed the sky-blue team to come back, scoring with Sixto Gonzáles and then twice with Severino Varela – the winning goal came one minute before the final whistle.
At that time, the Uruguayans, world champions (1930) and two-time Olympic champions (1924 and 1928), were favorites, and the report of this Sheet the day after the match he said that the visiting team played better most of the time. This did not minimize the fact that Brazil was defeated after building a comfortable lead.
Now, it is known that Brazil is better, or should be, than Japan. In the FIFA rankings, the national team occupies sixth place, and the Japanese team is in 19th place. It is necessary, however, to assert superiority on the field.
And Brazil even did it, with a convincing start and 2-0 after 32 minutes of play. After Friday’s (10) 5-0 rout of South Korea, in Seoul, it seemed like it would be repeated, even with a much changed team –Ancelotti tested players–, the score expanded without any major problems.
He didn’t repeat it, just that it is necessary to note that a character was decisive for the Brazilian defeat in the friendly.
Defender Fabrício Bruno, who has had a very good Brazilian Championship with Cruzeiro and is therefore worthy of being in Ancelotti’s squad, built his cross in the national team in ten minutes. Certainly his worst ten minutes as a football player, including his childhood games.
He failed grotesquely on the first Japanese goal. With the ball dominated in Brazil’s penalty area, with the option of retreating to goalkeeper Hugo Souza, he lost his balance on his own and, falling, in an effort to play the ball to Beraldo, handed the ball in an awkward way for Minamino to finish with precision.
This happened 6 minutes into the second half. In the 16th minute, after a cross in the area, Nakamura finished. The ball seemed to go out, but, halfway through, Fabrício Bruno deflected it into the goal. Unhappiness? Yes. But also technical failure. You could kick it in another direction.
“It happens, but it shouldn’t happen”, commented narrator Luís Roberto, from Globo, about Fabrício Bruno’s mistake in the first goal. I disagree. It doesn’t happen. The way it was, in my memory, it was unprecedented. Inadmissible for a national team player.
“My support foot was too far away, I ended up running out of strength. My mistake, I take responsibility,” the defender said, visibly upset and apologetic, after the match. It is to be pitied, but, unfortunately for the defender, he paved the way for the end of his career with the yellow shirt.
Or will Ancelotti risk, at the World Cup, having in his squad (if he is in the group he can be selected in the competition, even though he is initially in the reserves) an athlete who stamped, in the minds of Brazilians, a blunder like this? What about the fear of déjà-vu?
No matter how much pity and empathy you have, you can no longer trust. From the?
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