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Brazil unimpressive in advancing
Posted: Tuesday July 07, 1998 08:07 PM
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Ronaldo scored Brazil's only goal of the match and kept the pressure on Holland after he nailed his penalty kick (AP) |
ATLANTA (CNN/SI) -- The Brazilians
surely like to make things exciting. How else to explain how Brazil took
a game it should have won handily and played its way into a penalty kick
shootout? The Netherlands
is a world-class team, but it was clearly overmatched against the world
champions. Still, the Dutch hung in there until the end, and rest assured
that scouts from the French and Croatian teams,
Brazil's possible opponents in the finals, will be copying the blueprints
for Sunday. The foundation of the Dutch plans was to hit Ronaldo early
and hit Ronaldo often. They were able to get away with it because the
referee Ali Mohamed Bujsaim of the United Arab Emirates swallowed his
whistle for much of the contest. Twice, Ronaldo was taken down in the
penalty area on breakaways, only to have nothing called. Both times, the
instant replay appeared to show the tackle most definitely coming from
behind. If Bujsaim was worried about his calls affecting the game, he
most certainly failed when he neglected to blow the whistle on fouls
committed by both the Dutch and Brazilians. With a little help from him,
the Dutch were able to use their physical play to keep Brazil from
unleashing its beautiful brand of soccer. The second component of the
Netherlands' plan was to abandon its offensive game in favor of having
another defender back to stop Brazil. The result was a clogging of many of
the passing lanes that the Brazilians are used to using, and on the other
end, the Dutch offense often looked one player or one pass short of a good
shot on goal. But that's the way you have to play Brazil, if you want to
beat the world champs. Play good defense, be physical and wait for the
counterattack. The final piece of the puzzle is one supplied by
Brazilian coach Mario Zagallo, who continues to start and play Bebeto for
70 minutes each game alongside Ronaldo.
Taffarel turned away two of Holland's penalty kicks to propel Brazil into the tournament championship match (AP) | |
The 34-year-old striker is not
even close to the form of his backup Denilson, who energizes Brazil every
time he steps onto the field. The difference between the Brazil with Bebeto
and the Brazil with Emerson is immense, if only in the way the two interact
with Ronaldo. The talented striker needs a capable playmaker up front
with him, and he simply is not getting that when Bebeto is on the field. If
Ronaldo is a Ferrari, then Bebeto is regular unleaded gas and Denilson is
the supreme unleaded. You simply do not get the same performance out of the
car with one gas as you do with the other. There you have it soccer
fans, the perfect formula for beating Brazil: An extra defender, a physical
nature to your play, a strong counterattack and Bebeto on the field for
most of the game. Throw in an understanding referee, and Brazil can be had.
Still, would you care to wager against them winning on Sunday no matter
who the opponent is? Player of the Day: Taffarel. The Brazilian
goalkeeper is only noticed when his country loses, which after Tuesday has
occurred just three times since 1994, never in games that mattered for a
tournament. Against the Netherlands, he came up huge once again, denying
the last two penalty kick attempts in the shootout to send Brazil into the
finals. Much is made of Brazil's potent offense, but what is forgotten
is what often happens when the Brazilians send defenders forward to attack
-- Taffarel is left all alone to make a save on the counterattack. He
did that against the Dutch, and then he pushed his team into the finals in
much the same way he won the World Cup title for Brazil against Italy in 1994.
Goal of the Day: Patrick Kluivert. With the Dutch pressing
forward in desperate need of a late equalizing goal, Kluivert came through
in a big way with his header in the 87th minute. He soared high above
the Brazilian defenders and uncoiled his body like a snake to snap his neck
and head into the ball and send it into the net from six yards out. The
power of the shot was such that even though Taffarel got his hand on the
ball, he could not keep it out of the net.
Quote of the Day: "It
was God helping me. I felt we deserved a moment of joy." -- Brazil
goalkeeper Taffarel discussing his two penalty kick saves that sent Brazil
to the final
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