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Dunga: Pressure is permanent for Brazil
Posted: Tuesday July 07, 1998 09:37 AM
Special from L'Equipe, the French sports daily PARIS
(L'Equipe) -- Brazil's captain
Dunga is about to retire, and intends to become a coach. He sat down with
L'Equipe and analyzed Brazil's World Cup so far. Two matches
before the end of the World Cup, how do you judge the 20th century's last
World Cup? "The organization is perfect. The referees have been
criticized, but it seems normal, since the rules were modified before the
World Cup started and the refs are freer. For the rest, this World Cup is
different from the ones I've played in. People here are not as warm as in
Italy, Spain or South
America. They like the game, they're very well educated, they watch the
matches like spectators and they're very quiet. The French see soccer as
poetry. It is not, for them, a life or death matter, an acute passion. If
you leave aside foreign hooligans, it gives a very serene World Cup. It's
very nice." Maybe it's not going to stay serene for you, if the Netherlands
beat you. "The pressure is permanent for us anyhow. And our 1994 victory
over them doesn't reduce the pressure, even though that win opened the path
to the title for us. It's a very good memory, but you know, in Brazil,
everyone's forgotten. As a matter of fact, all they remember is the match
we lost 0-2 to them in 1974." You would have preferred to play Argentina?
"It doesn't really matter, both teams are of the same caliber, and our
semifinal will be hard, just like it would have been if we'd played
Argentina. The advantage in playing the Netherlands is that the spectators
should see a beautiful match. The Netherlands play a good soccer,
attractive for the public, they always try to score one more goal than
their opponent. That's also our mental approach, the only one acceptable."
The Netherlands plays with two wingers, which should force Roberto
Carlos and Zé Carlos to defend a lot more than usual. "I believe Roberto
Carlos and Zé Carlos will force their wingers to defend! Their tactical
plan is going to give us a lot of room. If we use that space well, we'll
win." You'll also need to show some altruism, and sacrifice yourselves,
which you said you had a hard time teaching your younger teammates to do.
"They're learning, slowly. They already believed in their potential,
they're starting to learn that they also need to suffer to win. We're all
winners, the courage of digging deep inside of you to win is something
else, something you have to work on, you need to be strong mentally,
uncompromising with yourself." Do you think they're capable of it?
"All the players have, at best, a middle-class background. Most of us
come from very poor families. It's not easy to remind them of where they
come from, to make them remember the difficulties they had to overcome to
represent their country in the World Cup today. When you play for Brazil,
you can't just put the jersey on and wait for everything to just happen.
We're responsible for conveying a positive message, a message of faith and
cheerfulness for all those in the country who suffer, and there are a lot
of them. The people's faith is in our hands. And the best example we can
set is by playing in a very organized, and not just skilled, manner, by
playing as beautiful a soccer as possible but to stay humble, to show
perseverance and determination." You really believe the words
perseverance and determination can be used to describe Brazil's players?
"All human beings have these qualities in them! The problem is that
they're sometimes hidden deep inside. You have to manage to bring them
out." And one of your favorite methods is to yell at those who make
mistakes, like Bebeto. "I admit that the way I talk is not always
adequate. But when you put your team in danger by making a stupid mistake,
it's my role to say so and to try to prevent it from happening again."
You've been strongly criticized for that.
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Dunga (left) hopes to coach Brazil at some point in the future (AP) |
"I don't like to play the
victim. If I'm criticized, I listen and I try to improve. I've improved
again thanks to this. I'm 34, Brazil's captain, I've won a World Cup and
I'm still learning. I'd like people to understand for good that I prefer to
act, even if it means I make mistakes or overdo things, than for someone to
do my job for me. The day I don't react to something that I consider bad
for the team, I won't belong in the team anymore." It's becoming so hard
that you've already said you would retire from the national team after the
World Cup. "Yes, it's true. And I think that decision pleases a lot of
people. After our Copa America victory, people were already saying that I'm
too old to play for Brazil. What will they say if I'm still playing in two
years?" Are you tired of fighting against everybody else? "Yes,
often, I'm fed up and I tell myself I've given enough. Sometimes the shots
become hard to take and it's difficult to take the bad faith, some people's
jealousy. But it never lasts very long, especially during the World Cup.
Because as soon as I put my jersey on, I don't care about anything anymore,
I only think about playing and winning. I still have fun on the pitch and
that is refreshing, it helps me overcome the difficulties and the
criticism." What's the last difficulty you've had to overcome? "The
fact that they're saying I'm too old now, that I don't run anymore ... The
most difficult thing to stand is whatever goes on off the field, all the
things a captain has to do. On the pitch, I have fun and that annihilates
all the difficulties. I still like the affection the fans show me.
Unfortunately, soccer, at a high level, is not just that. That's also why I
think it's a good time to retire for me." Is this World Cup more
difficult for you than that of 1994? "No. In 1994, there was enormous
pressure and we were coming out of a bad series of matches. We're more
tranquil now. But, on the other hand, we have more to prove. Me,
especially." Why? "Because when a 20-year-old player doesn't run,
he's not criticized. Me, I run, and they ask me to run even more."
Things have been controversial. Edmundo criticized Bebeto, Roberto
Carlos and Ronaldo complained about the team's game. Would that have
happened in 1994? "It's true that in 1994, not a single player
complained about anything. But in the meantime, the press complained about
everyone of us. It's a different situation. In a sense, because we've won
matches despite internal disputes, we've become even stronger. There are no
controversies anymore, and since everyone has to be perfect not to be
criticized, we're all very careful." Do you think that with Romario in
the team, the younger players would have started all these controversies?
"No. We miss him on the field but also off it. Romario brought joy,
laughter, serenity. He attracted all the attention, the pressure, and made
it positive. We miss him and I miss him." Who can become the next
captain for Brazil? "For now, I can't give a name. I think that a player
who's not on the team now could come in and bring a new form of leadership.
He'll need not to compare himself to Dunga or any other player. He will
have to take his time to leave his mark, and to talk more correctly and
delicately than me! This team was there before me, I don't worry about the
future." All the more since you could still be there, as a coach. "I
want to coach Brazil, but it's a little soon to know when I will. My life
is soccer and I want to keep living the emotions that I'm living now. The
only line of work that will allow me to go on doing it is coaching. We'll
see to it after the World Cup." If you win a second straight World Cup,
they will build you a statue of you in Brazil.
"I don't believe in it.
What's more certain is that if we lose, they'll kill me!"
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