The Hindu : Sport : Can any team beat Brazil?

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Thursday, Jun 08, 2006

Sport

Sport

Can any team beat Brazil?

Germans have been unpredictable, writes Brian Glanville

— PHOTO: AP

ANXIOUS WAIT: Sweden must be pinning its hopes on players like Freddie Ljungberg (sitting on the ball) and Henrik Larsson in the World Cup.

Can anybody beat Brazil? On the face of it, it is hard to imagine. Not that even this Brazilian team has its potential weaknesses, but the power, technique, pace and skills of its attack suggests that no other team will ultimately be able to deny it.

Carlos Alberto Parreira has like his World Cup predecessor, Big Phil Scolari, bowed to the realities of his attacking talent. As he has happily pointed out himself, he can call on Ronaldinho, the world's best player fresh from a dazzling season with Barcelona, Ronaldo, who seems to have put on some weight but has such huge World Cup experience behind him, Kaka, thrusting forward from midfield and the powerfully left-footed Adriano; though he hasn't had a happy season with Inter. Any more than has the precocious young Robinho at Real Madrid, where he arrived last summer from Brazil trailing clouds of glory but failed to express his undoubted potential.

Ageing heroes

You do wonder about the veteran full backs, Cafu, who spent much of his season with Milan injured, and the now 33-year-old Roberto Carlos, whose once devastating left-footed free kicks terrified goalkeepers, but has been finding it difficult for some time to hit the target. Cicinho the likely substitute at right back for Cafu is formidable going forward but raises doubts about his positional and defensive play.

Nor is the Brazilian qualifying group by any means an easy one. Croatia came first in Berlin and though not a compact team, deploying four sick players, gave Poland a run for their money in their last friendly game before going down 1-0. Zlatko Kranjcar, the Croatian coach, who has caused some controversy by choosing his own son in the squad, is confident of success against Japan and Australia, though I think he may be underestimating both teams.

Japanese scare

The Japanese recently gave Germany a terrible fright, went 2-0 ahead and should have scored several more before flagging in the closing stages and giving away two late equalising goals.

Dado Prso, the Rangers striker, had an impressive and effective European championship in Portugal and I remember the skill with which he put away his goal against France. This will, he says, be his last time with the national team and he is optimistic. But he still believes Brazil will be the winners and Ronaldinho the star of the tournament.

Even if Wayne Rooney doesn't play — and I agree with the former England captain Bryan Robson that he would be ill advised to do so, even in the latter stages — England should come through their qualifying group. They should be encouraged by the poor recent form of their bogey team, Sweden, whom they meet in their third qualifier in Cologne. Even with the excellent Henrik Larsson, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and the tireless Freddie Ljungberg back in the side in Stockholm, the Swedes were held to a 1-1 draw by Chile and were booed off the field.

But overpaid Sven-Goran Eriksson, who three times at least has surreptitiously schemed to leave the England job for club management, gives no confidence either as a tactician or a potential inspiration. He has made fatuous claims of success after a mere 6-0 friendly win against feeble Jamaica, and no one can understand his absurd choice of the 17-year-old Arsenal reserve Theo Walcott, who has yet to kick a ball for his club in anger.

Rooney would be direly missed, not least since Michael Owen, who also of course, had a metatarsal injury, has been out of the game for most of this year and has still to regain his full fitness and brio. Lanky Peter Crouch in his own way — no pace but plenty of ball skills — is a decent partner for him, but I was alarmed by how often the defence was embarrassed even by the Jamaican attack, at Old Trafford.

England's first game on June 10 is against Paraguay in Frankfurt, and it looks pretty certain that Paraguay's chief striker, Roque Santa Cruz, will not be fit; and anyway has the problem of lack of recent match practice. Paraguay, however, have other weapons in attack, not least Werder Bremen's 22-year-old Nelson Haedo Valdez, while though their goalkeeping is suspect, veteran Carlos Gamarra is still a bulwark in defence; and can come up to head goals.

Argentina, now under the more adventurous aegis of Jose Pekerman, have a far from easy group to negotiate, though the splendid young right winger Lionel Messi is fully fit to play, their attack guided by the skilful Juan Roman Riquelme, could see them through. I am less certain about their defence, which collapsed fearfully in last year's Confederations Cup final in Frankfurt against Brazil; though, to be fair, several regulars were missing. I was not, however, impressed by that defence when it lost 3-2 to England last year in a friendly in Geneva.

Hostilities begin on Saturday, June 10, in Hamburg against an Ivory Coast team led by the forceful Didier Drogba, who can test any central defence.

Under their former formidable centre forward, Marco van Basten, the Dutch defy prediction. Such attackers as Ruud van Nistelrooy, supported by Arsenal's Robin van Persie and that splendid winger Arjen Robben, can win any game, but there have been highs and lows. Not least in the final friendly at home to Argentina, when the Dutch were held to a draw.

Unpredictable

Germany have home advantage, but under Jurgen Klinsmann, who largely commuted from California, they have been unpredictable, to say the least. Italy actually beat them last year 4-1 in a friendly (how much will the azzurri be affected by the massive recent corruption scandals?) and Michael Ballack himself has doubted their defence. But after tottering at home to Japan, a 3-0 victory in their final warm-up against Colombia suggested that they and the excellent Bastian Schweinsteiger, still only 21 who blends well with Ballack, could survive their group, in which Poland, Costa Rica and Ecuador hardly look unbeatable.

But then Spain? Probably another disappointment?

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