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Rarefied air Brazil trauma continues as Bolivia seeks miracle
LA PAZ (Reuters) -- Brazil's traumatic World Cup qualifying campaign continues on Wednesday when they visit Bolivia in La Paz, one of the most difficult venues in the world for visiting teams. Brazil, four times world champions and the only country to have played at every World Cup, are still not sure of qualifying for next year's finals in Japan and South Korea. They could make certain of their place on Wednesday but only if they can overcome the rarefied air of the Bolivian commercial capital, which lies 3,600 meters above sea level, and if Uruguay fail to win in Ecuador. Otherwise, Brazil will have to wait until their final game at home to Venezuela next week to try to secure their place. Brazil are fourth in the South American group with 27 points, two more than Uruguay and six ahead of Colombia. The top four teams qualify directly for the 2002 World Cup and the fifth plays off against Oceania winners Australia. Defeat for Brazil and a win for Uruguay on Wednesday would drop them down to fifth place with one game left. Brazil's campaign, in which they have used three coaches, has been jittery and uninspiring, with defeats to Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay and Argentina, and their preparations for the Bolivia match have been typically chaotic. Sunday's training session in the mountain resort of Teresopolis near Rio de Janeiro was called off because of fog, and only 10 players turned up in any case. Brazil were also caught cold by FIFA's ruling last week that European-based players would only be released by their clubs after playing in league matches at the weekend. They tried to give themselves an extra day's training by having the match postponed until Thursday but Bolivia would not go along with the proposal. Fixture list"The Brazilians wanted the game delayed for 24 hours. We decided to comply with the fixture list, which FIFA has drawn up," said Bolivian Football Federation president Walter Castedo. Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari also has injury problems with Real Madrid full back Roberto Carlos, Corinthians striker Luizao and Bayern Munich striker Elber sidelined. The man known as Big Phil attempted to put a brave face on his problems. "This can't be used as an excuse," he said. "It's today's reality and we have to adapt. We will do some individual exercise, talk to the players and watch videos. In other words, we're going to make the most of what we've got." But Scolari has also been criticized for leaving out veteran striker Romario, who has hit goals in the qualifiers in just three appearances and is top scorer in the Brazilian championship with 15 goals. Romario, 35, turned the screws on Scolari even more on Sunday by scoring twice for his club side Vasco da Gama. Bolivia, out of the running for a World Cup place, are playing their first match under Carlos Trucco, their third coach of the campaign. Trucco, a former national team goalkeeper, has replaced Jorge Habbeger, who was fired after only three games in charge following successive 5-1 defeats by Paraguay and Ecuador. He has brought back some of the country's overseas players but Portuguese-based free-kick specialist Erwin Sanchez has rejected a recall. Brazil emerged victorious from their last trip to La Paz in 1997, when they won 3-1 in the final of the Copa America, but were beaten 2-0 on their previous trip in 1993 for a World Cup qualifier. Hit by injuriesBrazil's ace defender Roberto Carlos won't make the trip. With an inflamed tendon in his right knee, the Real Madrid star will stay in Brazil for treatment in hopes he will be ready to face Venezuela in Brazil's final qualifying game on Nov. 14. Also staying home will be striker Luizao. Team doctor Jose Luiz Runco said Luizao will undergo treatment for a small muscle pull in his right thigh. Bayern Munich striker Elber didn't even show up. Under treatment in Germany for a sprained left knee, Elber said the club refused to release him for the games against Bolivia and Venezuela. And that's not even counting the absence of Inter star Ronaldo, who has been battling injuries for two years. The absences once again will give Brazil a new look. Serginho of AC Milan, who has never played for Scoalri, is expected to start in place of Roberto Carlos. Rivaldo will move up to the attack, joining Edilson on the front line. Another novelty is Ze Roberto, a World Cup veteran who also was called for the first time by Scolari. Ze Roberto was on the starting squad at Brazil's final practice on Tuesday, and Scolari said he would probably start against Bolivia. The injuries, rainy weather and club obligations left the team with little time to train for the big match. "It's obvious that the arrival of players on the eve of the game hurts us a lot, but we can't think about that," Roma midfielder Emerson said in an interview with Pele's Web site www.pele.net. "We have to play hard, overcome difficulties and qualify Brazil." Bolivia hopes for a miracleLocal newspaper headlines are calling it a match between David and Goliath, and the metaphor is certainly apt. Bolivia's notoriously weak team is already out of contention for a berth in the 2002 World Cup, while four-time world champions Brazil have every motivation to win its last two qualifying matches. But when the two teams meet in La Paz Wednesday night, many here believe it is the Bolivian underdog that will come out ahead. "Brazil is definitely the better team, but Bolivia is playing at home," said Bolivia's goalkeeper Luis Carlo Fernandez. "We have to win." Bolivia's confidence comes from the fact that the game will be played in their Andean stadium, which sits nearly 12,000 feet (3,600 meters) above sea level -- daunting for any athlete who trains at low altitudes. "It is not a myth that the altitude affects you," said striker Milton Coimbra, who himself had to adjust to the high altitude of La Paz after flying in from Bolivia's tropical city of Santa Cruz a week ago. "But I think if you're in good physical shape you can overcome it." Though Bolivia has little to lose in the game against Brazil, it has a lot of pride to win back after its humiliating 5-1 loss to Ecuador at home in October, which led to the replacement of coach Habegger with Trucco. Trucco, who has brought a new energy to the Bolivian side for its last two qualifying matches, played for Bolivia in the 1994 World Cup in the United States. In a practice session Monday, Trucco appeared peaceful and the Bolivian players almost giddy as they laughed and did handstands during their warmup. "Everything is going so bad here, I think it would be nice to make people smile for a week," said Fernandez, referring primarily to the economy in South America's poorest nation. "We owe our people a victory." The optimistic, lighthearted attitude of the Bolivians contrasts greatly with that of the Brazilians, who are struggling through their nation's worst qualifying campaign in history, with losses to Ecuador, Paraguay, Chile, Uruguay and Argentina. Until last year, Brazil's only defeat in World Cup qualifying was to Bolivia in La Paz, in 1993. Probable teamsBolivia -- Mauricio Soria; Luis Gatti Ribeiro, Juan Manuel Pena, Juan Carlos Paz Garcia, Percy Colque; Edgar Olivares, Richard Rojas, Limberg Gutierrez, Julio Cesar Baldivieso; Joaquin Botero, Jose Alfredo Castillo. Brazil -- Marcos; Lucio, Juan, Edmilson; Cafu, Emerson Ferreira, Vampeta, Rivaldo, Serginho; Marcelinho Paraiba, Edilson
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. |
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