By their usual lofty standards,
the last five years have been extremely disappointing for Brazil’s national
football team.
Their 2014 World Cup run on
home soil had been going smoothly until the semifinals, when they ran into a
Germany team which unleashed perhaps the greatest single-match performance in
football history. Die Mannschaft completely dominated the Seleção, winning 7-1
in a match that would go on to be referred to as the “Mineiraço”.
Brazil’s Copa América runs in
2015 and 2016 also ended in shocking fashion. In 2015, they were stunned by
Paraguay in the quarterfinals after losing a penalty shootout. Their 2016
tournament was even worse. Despite having been drawn into what should have been
a fairly simple group containing Peru, Ecuador, and Haiti, they did not even
advance from the group stage.
By the time Brazil’s 2018 World
Cup run ended with a quarterfinal loss against Belgium, not only were they
mired in a protracted slump, but they had also earned the scorn and ridicule of
many fans from all over the world, largely due to their somewhat dirty play as
well as the over-the-top, over-dramatic antics of superstar striker Neymar.
However, if the ongoing Copa América
held on their own turf is anything to go by, Brazil may be turning the corner
at last. In their most recent match, they destroyed Peru, winning 5-0 in a
one-sided affair.
Interestingly enough, it seems
as though the absence of Neymar due to injury from this tournament has been of
benefit to this team. Against Peru, their play was tactically sound, crisp,
clean, and precise. These are qualities that Brazil seldom showed over the last
half-decade.
The main problem had been the
fact that whenever Neymar played, everything seemingly had to go through him.
It often seemed as if he was less about winning and more about “getting his
own”. Despite his unquestioned ability, he had an outsized influence on the
team, and this was often to their detriment. As far as international play is
concerned, he appears to be in the same category as players such as Raúl and
Wayne Rooney – elite players who nevertheless make their national team worse
when they don their country’s jersey.
It is also worth noting that
nine of Brazil’s 23 squad members in this tournament were not part of their
World Cup squad. Players such as Richarlison, Arthur, Everton, and David Neres
have revitalized the team. The additions of these rising young talents have
proven to be important steps in the rebuilding process following their failures
of recent years. They form a solid young core and should be in their primes
during the 2022 World Cup; thus, this bodes well for Brazil’s chances of
winning a record-extending sixth world title.
Of course, any team with dreams
of winning the World Cup has to have at least one bona fide superstar on the
roster. In Brazil’s case, Neymar is obviously one; however, it has been
established that his presence also makes the team worse. Fortunately, they do
have another player at that level; one who is probably the best on the planet
at his position.
I am referring to their ace
goalkeeper Alisson.
The Liverpool shot-stopper is
coming off a career-best season in which he played a crucial role in the Reds’
Champions League title run. Alisson also had an incredible 21 clean sheets in
the Premier League; no goalkeeper in England’s top flight had accumulated that
number since Edwin van der Sar in the 2008-09 season.
Although Brazilians have
historically been infatuated with offensive, rather than defensive, superstars
from Garrincha to Pelé to Zico to Ronaldo as well as many others, the man from
Novo Hamburgo might just be the one to change this mindset. He could go on to
become Brazil’s greatest goalkeeper ever.
Despite their impressive
performances in the Copa América’s group stage, however, the true test for
Brazil will be the knockout rounds. As they are also the host country of the
tournament, they will be especially motivated to win it. A tournament victory,
which would be their first since 2007, would certainly go some way to banishing
the demons of the Mineirão from 2014.
Having said that, the future
for Brazil’s national team is brighter than it has been for a very long time.
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