In some ways, this was worse than the 7-1. At least that semifinal defeat to Germany 11 years ago can be put down to an emotional collapse in a mad few minutes. But Brazil‘s 4-1 defeat to Argentina on Tuesday — their heaviest loss to their rivals since 1964 — was 90 minutes of unrelenting humiliation. The gulf between the two teams was frankly embarrassing.
Styles make fights, as the boxing writers like to say. This showdown in Buenos Aires was always going to be a clash of approaches — a team who love to manoeuvre the ball around the midfield against an opponent who seem to regard central midfield as an optional extra.
Even so, going into the game, it looked as if Brazil might have a counter-puncher’s chance. That Argentina defensive unit has not been renewed since the last FIFA World Cup when, in game after game, it threatened to collapse under pressure. How would it cope against the unbridled speed and talent of Vinícius Júnior, Rodrygo, Raphinha and Matheus Cunha? Surely there was the chance of Argentina self-destructing?
And it happened, once in the game. Under no immediate pressure, Cristian Romero delayed and was caught by Cunha, who scored with a perfectly placed shot from outside the area. Argentina duly handed over their present.
The problem was, Brazil were already two goals down. And this, together with a long-range free kick from Raphinha, was to be their only attempt on goal in the whole match. Brazil created absolutely nothing.
Meanwhile, at the other end, Argentina passed holes in the visitor’s defence, moving the ball back and forth, breaking in little clusters, switching the play and could have scored many more than the four delightfully worked goals they put past Selecao keeper Bento.
The gulf between the teams was horrifying, and here is the sting: Man for man, many of the Brazil players would be worthy of a place in the Argentina side.
Brazil have goalkeepers, centre-backs and wingers that any team in the world would be proud to possess. How can a team with such good players be so bad? The result against Argentina is astonishing. The level of performance less so. Brazil have been playing at this level for a while. Against Colombia last week, and Chile late last year, they won games with a goal right at the end. A flash of individual talent got the collective out of jail. Not this time. Against a Lionel Messi-less Argentina, they all went down together.
Fourteen rounds of World Cup qualifiers should have made one thing clear: It is obvious why Brazil were prepared to wait a year for Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti. The quality of domestic coaches is not good enough, hence the fact that they have been losing space to Argentines and, especially, to Portuguese coaches in the domestic game. The original Ronaldo was recently forced to abort his campaign to become president of Brazil’s football association, the CBF. It was always clear that he would not gain sufficient support in the internal politics of the Brazilian game. One of his banners was to bring in a foreign coach — the Brazilians, he feels, have been left behind.
Brazil went to the last two World Cups — where they perhaps deserved better luck than a pair of quarterfinal eliminations — under Tite, the outstanding Brazilian coach of recent times. His teams were solid, competitive and occasionally brilliant. Since he stepped down, Brazil have been a shambles. In the 17 matches of the previous set of qualifiers they conceded just six goals. In 14 rounds so far, they have let in 16.
For the first six rounds they were under the command of Fernando Diniz, an unorthodox figure who was seen as a stop gap while they were waiting for Ancelotti to be available. Without time on the training ground, it always looked like a long shot. He fell after a defeat to Argentina, and the same will very possibly now happen to current coach Dorival Junior after this latest humiliation.
Dorival was the local choice after political in-fighting in the CBF frightened off Ancelotti. Many, particularly older fans, were delighted that the foreigner did not come, and Dorival started his reign a year ago with considerable backing. That has now frittered away. He has spent 12 months arguing that his team are evolving — a claim that is not supported by the evidence on the field.
It is true that there is a problem in the vital central midfield area. In the 1990s there was a brutal separation of Brazil’s midfield quartet into two who defended and two who attacked. All round midfielders went out of fashion, and it has been some time since the country produced a genuinely world-class box-to-box midfielder. But if this is the reality, accept it and work to minimize it. As the old saying goes, if you can’t outplay them, outnumber them. But against Argentina, Brazil were both outnumbered and outplayed in central midfield. This explains why they were passed to pieces, and also why the team never gave a platform to the attacking talent that they have.
That is the fault of the coach. The team’s lack of emotional balance is also down to Dorival. Was there really a need to try and press Argentina so high? Or was the team caught up in its own rhetoric, in the unwise words of Raphinha that they would be ready to kick their opponents on and off the pitch? There was a clear case to be made for defending deep, staying compact, drawing Argentina forward and then creating space for the counter-attack. But Brazil appeared too hyped up for such clear thinking.
In terms of selection, strategy and emotional approach, all roads would seem to lead to the door of Dorival — and it is unlikely that he will be in charge when the team next take the field away to Ecuador in June.
