Post by Scott on Jun 2, 2006 12:58:17 GMT
From The Guardian:
When Brazil flew to the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland they were so badly prepared that they did not even know the rules of the competition. They ended their second match, a 1-1 draw with Yugoslavia, in tears because they thought the result eliminated them when in fact it qualified them for the next round.
Such ignorance would nowadays be unthinkable. Teams such as Brazil and Argentina are, if anything, overprepared for the World Cup. Yet there remains a fear in South America that the continent's teams are predestined to fail when the tournament is in Europe.
Brazil won in Sweden in 1958 but all the other eight World Cups in Europe have been won by European teams. It is part of the tournament's folklore that South Americans do not fulfil their potential in Europe. The fact that Brazil are the overwhelming favourites to win in Germany shows that the intercontinental factor is, at least in the views of the bookmakers, no longer significant. Football has changed in the past two decades and now most of the best Brazilians and Argentinians play in Europe.
Until the 1980s almost all the South Americans played in their home countries and excluding World Cups there were few opportunities for national teams from different countries to play one another. Now Europeans and South Americans know each other well - they play in the same teams and there are many international friendlies throughout the year for teams to get used to one another's styles.
For Tostao, the 1970 Brazil forward now a newspaper columnist, the team has benefited by having its best players in Europe. "Brazilians have learnt a lot about being unemotional, about planning," he said. "They now combine flair and skill with better tactical organisation."
For the first time in their history Brazil will start the World C
up fielding only players based in Europe. They also took the unprecedented step this year of not training at home, instead preparing in a Swiss lakeside resort so as not to tire the team with excessive long-haul flights. And Germany could be said to be more of a home for the Brazilian team than it is for its European neighbours. Three first-team choices play in the Bundesliga: Ze Roberto and Lucio, at Bayern Munich, and Juan, at Bayer Leverkusen.
Argentina are moving slightly against the tide by fielding a more intercontinental side than in 2002, when none of their first XI played in Argentina, but only three likely starters play in South America: Roberto Abbondanzieri, the goalkeeper, at Boca Juniors, Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tévez at Corinthians in Brazil.
And the reputation for underperforming in Europe is not entirely borne out by statistics. Brazil won the Confederations Cup in Germany last year and Argentina were defeated finalists. In the last two World Cups in Europe South Americans reached the final: Argentina in Italia 90 and Brazil in France 98. The former Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, now with Portugal, said: "It hasn't been easy for South American teams to triumph [in Europe] but I don't think there is a specific reason beyond the weight of history."
There is another very South American reason why there is pessimism: conspiracy theory. Brazil blame partisan refereeing for their defeat to Hungary in 1954 and the Argentinians felt they were refereed out of the 1966 tournament. "If Brazil win again the World Cup loses its charm," said their 1982 captain Socrates. "The way this will manifest itself is in harsh refereeing decisions." "The goodwill that is traditionally in Brazil's favour will, this year, be against us," said the sports columnist Juca Kfouri of the Folha de S Paulo.
When Brazil flew to the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland they were so badly prepared that they did not even know the rules of the competition. They ended their second match, a 1-1 draw with Yugoslavia, in tears because they thought the result eliminated them when in fact it qualified them for the next round.
Such ignorance would nowadays be unthinkable. Teams such as Brazil and Argentina are, if anything, overprepared for the World Cup. Yet there remains a fear in South America that the continent's teams are predestined to fail when the tournament is in Europe.
Brazil won in Sweden in 1958 but all the other eight World Cups in Europe have been won by European teams. It is part of the tournament's folklore that South Americans do not fulfil their potential in Europe. The fact that Brazil are the overwhelming favourites to win in Germany shows that the intercontinental factor is, at least in the views of the bookmakers, no longer significant. Football has changed in the past two decades and now most of the best Brazilians and Argentinians play in Europe.
Until the 1980s almost all the South Americans played in their home countries and excluding World Cups there were few opportunities for national teams from different countries to play one another. Now Europeans and South Americans know each other well - they play in the same teams and there are many international friendlies throughout the year for teams to get used to one another's styles.
For Tostao, the 1970 Brazil forward now a newspaper columnist, the team has benefited by having its best players in Europe. "Brazilians have learnt a lot about being unemotional, about planning," he said. "They now combine flair and skill with better tactical organisation."
For the first time in their history Brazil will start the World C
up fielding only players based in Europe. They also took the unprecedented step this year of not training at home, instead preparing in a Swiss lakeside resort so as not to tire the team with excessive long-haul flights. And Germany could be said to be more of a home for the Brazilian team than it is for its European neighbours. Three first-team choices play in the Bundesliga: Ze Roberto and Lucio, at Bayern Munich, and Juan, at Bayer Leverkusen.
Argentina are moving slightly against the tide by fielding a more intercontinental side than in 2002, when none of their first XI played in Argentina, but only three likely starters play in South America: Roberto Abbondanzieri, the goalkeeper, at Boca Juniors, Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tévez at Corinthians in Brazil.
And the reputation for underperforming in Europe is not entirely borne out by statistics. Brazil won the Confederations Cup in Germany last year and Argentina were defeated finalists. In the last two World Cups in Europe South Americans reached the final: Argentina in Italia 90 and Brazil in France 98. The former Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, now with Portugal, said: "It hasn't been easy for South American teams to triumph [in Europe] but I don't think there is a specific reason beyond the weight of history."
There is another very South American reason why there is pessimism: conspiracy theory. Brazil blame partisan refereeing for their defeat to Hungary in 1954 and the Argentinians felt they were refereed out of the 1966 tournament. "If Brazil win again the World Cup loses its charm," said their 1982 captain Socrates. "The way this will manifest itself is in harsh refereeing decisions." "The goodwill that is traditionally in Brazil's favour will, this year, be against us," said the sports columnist Juca Kfouri of the Folha de S Paulo.
