Brazil’s Copa America Exit Proves How Far Selecao Have Fallen

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: June 28, 2015

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Brazil woke up to the taste of bitterness yet again on Sunday morning. The scenario from the 2011 Copa America was played out in front of an increasingly disengaged public, as Paraguay overcame the eight-time continental champions, eliminating the Selecao at the quarter-final stage for the second successive edition of the cup.

It was a tournament in which Brazil failed to get going and their 10 friendly wins on the bounce with just two goals conceded proved to be a false start. Brazil did not keep a clean sheet in the four games they played in Chile, and in at least two of them, the goals were completely avoidable, the kind of basic errors that would make you wince at a Sunday morning park game.

The mix-up between David Luiz and Jefferson against Peru before the competition was even three minutes old was in fact an indicator of the tournament's key theme. Thiago Silva's handball as he rose with Roque Santa Cruz on Saturday night was a moment of pure folly that ended up paving the way to the side's elimination.



But going back to that first game again, that match was only won thanks to the ingenuity of one man, Neymar, whose goal and astute pass for Douglas Costa's late winner served to underline just how much this team relies on their No. 10.

There are other qualities they rely on from their players. The industriousness of Willian, the sleek guile of Philippe Coutinho and the pinpoint crossing of Dani Alves have all been weapons utilised to a certain degree by Dunga this month.

But the uncomfortable truth remains that, for the time being, this is a side worryingly reliant on one man, and if his actions against Colombia are anything to go by, the pressure and responsibility are beginning to weigh on someone who only turned 23 in February.

Brazil have of course had craques throughout the generations. It is one of the most romantic images of the country, the samba star from the mos...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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