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Must Romario go? For cup success, Brazil must look beyond veteran striker
First of all, relax. Take a deep breath. Now pick up a newspaper, or look at the corner of your computer screen, and read the date. It's early April. The World Cup doesn't kick off for a long, long time... Brazil will be there and, odds are, it will be a totally different side from the one that was humiliated in Ecuador last week. Sure, the fact that the juggernaut of world soccer could notch its third defeat in 11 qualifying games against teeny-tiny Ecuador might be a little worrying.
But then, the parade of hair-pulling and teeth-gnashing (led by local legend Tostao, who moaned: "We don't have a team, we don't have tactics, we don't have players.") is distinctly premature. For starters, there is a greater chance of Pele marrying Jessica Rabbit with Diego Maradona as his best man than there is of Brazil missing out on the World Cup. The Selecao is third in the qualifying group with 20 points, three behind Paraguay and eight behind Argentina. It is one point of ahead of Ecuador, two ahead of Colombia and five ahead of Uruguay. The top four teams qualify. Brazil has four home games left (Peru, Paraguay, Chile and Venezuela). Even if it wins only three of those and draws the other, and (we're thinking worst case scenario here), loses away to Argentina and Uruguay and grabs a point against Bolivia, it will finish with 31 points. For the Selecao to miss out on qualifying altogether, Ecuador, Colombia and Uruguay would have to go on a tear and, guess what, it's not going to happen -- if only because they'll drop points to each other. For example, even if Uruguay wins all its home matches (a tall order), it would still have to win on the road twice (it faces Chile, Venezuela, Peru and Ecuador). So a quick reality check is in order. Was Brazil awful against Ecuador? Yes. Will Brazil stink it up in Korea-Japan 2002? Probably not. More than any other country, Brazil has the ability to regenerate itself, to pull new stars out of the hat when push comes to shove. Alas, by the same token, few nations place so much pressure on their national teams. Sometimes, it gets to be too much. "It is very difficult to play for my country under this kind of pressure," Rivaldo reportedly said last week. "We'll have to see what I do about it." This led to speculation that the Barcelona virtuoso might simply walk out on the national team. It would be a shocking development, but then Rivaldo feels unfairly scapegoated. "The press are on Romario's side," he added. "I always seem to be the bad guy when we lose and I am consistently singled out for abuse. The fans and the press never understand that you can't always win and that is also possible to lose." Rivaldo's words underscore two issues. The first is pressure, and there isn't much you can do about that. You play for Brazil, you are held to the highest of standards. Period. That's just the way it is. The other aspect however is more worrying. It's the pettiness and in-fighting which has long afflicted the Selecao. Perhaps Rivaldo is right. Perhaps Romario does receive a softer treatment from the press and the fans. And perhaps it's time to get rid of him altogether, at least if the choice comes down to picking one between Rivaldo and Romario. We all know about Romario's prodigious talent and his spectacular scoring record. But we also know that he will be 36-and-a-half years old when the World Cup rolls around, and we also know his ego is the size of Microsoft's market capitalization (before the crash). And the reality, harsh as it may be, is that soccer superpowers do not play 36-year-old center forwards in the World Cup. For Brazil to do so, would border on the embarrassing. Thirty-six-year-olds are fine for minnows or mid-level nations who might find themselves with a once-in-a-lifetime player (say, Romania and Gheorghe Hagi or, going back a little, Cameroon and Roger Milla). But, with all due respect, Brazil is neither Cameroon, nor Romania. If it can't find someone as competent as a 36-year-old Romario, then it's in serious trouble. It might be different if Romario and Rivaldo were best friends, but it's clear that Romario's presence disturbs the Barcelona midfielder. Naturally, no player is bigger than the team, but, if the situation reaches breaking point, you have to pick one or the other. And, despite the fact that he is not having a stellar season, Rivaldo is a special talent in the prime of his career, whereas Romario is on his last legs. Not to mention the fact that in a year's time Ronaldo might be back, Amoroso may have regained his scoring touch, Edmundo may have regained his sanity (unlikely, but...), Ronaldinho may have fully matured, and a dozen or so other Brazilian strikers might be ready to step up. Could the same be said for Rivaldo? Could the Selecao find another playmaker with his prodigious talents? Maybe, but when you've got the genuine article and he's 29 years old, why not stick with him? But, back to the original point. However bad Brazil looks now, things will be different at Korea/Japan 2002. The reality is that even if Rivaldo and Romario were kidnapped by extra-terrestrials and taken to the planet Zog, Brazil will still field a competitive team and be among the favorites for the World Cup. What Brazil needs right now above all else is perspective. It will get to the World Cup and it will be competitive. Just how competitive it will be however depends on whether it looks ahead and works towards building for the medium-term future, rather than indulging Romario's World Cup fantasies. Based in London, Gabriele Marcotti writes a weekly column on international soccer for CNNSI.com.
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