Dunga’s Positive Impact On Brazil

To a certain extent, it was laughable that so many Brazilian media outlets referred to the 1998 World Cup final during the build-up and post-match reaction of France vs. Brazil’s recent friendly. Even if Brazil had won 18-0, instead of the 3-1 result that they posted on Thursday, the disappointment in losing the world title to the French 17 years ago still lingers.

Yet, there was a feel-good wave after the Selecao’s win that was interesting for another reason. Almost nine months after taking charge of the five-time World Cup winners for the second time, former captain Dunga saw his once-criticised plans for the national team somehow vindicated.

It is true that the Selecao have all been here before. Dunga’s first stint at the helm saw Brazil amass a couple of very impressive results, including a 3-0 drubbing of Argentina on the same Emirates pitch on which they will play Chile on Sunday. The team then went on to win the Copa America, the Confederations Cup and topped the South American qualifiers only to crash out of the 2010 World Cup quarterfinals against the Netherlands in South Africa with a 2-1 defeat.

One should also remember that after some lukewarm performances during World Cup qualifying (including a 2-0 defeat to Paraguay, a 1-1 draw with Peru and a 2-1 defeat to Bolivia) supporters and the media already had lost their patience. However, considering the criticism that surrounded his second appointment, announced just a couple weeks after Brazil’s worst-ever defeat (yes, the 7-1 defeat to Germany in Belo Horizonte), Dunga looks to have made some gains here.

After seven games in charge, Brazil are unbeaten and have beaten Argentina 2-0 in October and France, the team is scoring for fun with 17 goals while keeping things tight at the back as its only conceded two goals.

Most of all, the former captain looks to have succeeded at least at the job of picking up the pieces of key players who took part in the home World Cup misery. Dunga started his tenure by axing a considerable chunk of the group taken by predecessor Luiz Felipe Scolari. In fact, out of the 11 players who started the game in Paris on Thursday, only Oscar, Luiz Gustavo, Neymar and Thiago Silva were part of Brazil’s “ideal” lineup last summer. The caveat here being the fact that neither Neymar (injured) nor Silva (suspended) were available for the game against the Germans.

Dunga has a perfect record in his second stint with Brazil winning all seven games since his return on September 6.

The real departure, however, was with regard to team tactics — more specifically, Dunga’s decision to stick with his promise and not use a classic No. 9. It never looked more justified.

Using Neymar, Willian, Oscar and Roberto Firmino as an attacking foursome on Thursday, Brazil gave the French serious trouble. It’s hardly a master stroke; the football world found out that poachers have become more obsolete over the past five years. But after Fred’s unacceptable displays at the World Cup — thanks to his lack of movement, the Fluminense man was very appropriately nicknamed “traffic cone” by some meaner fans — the interchanges and overlaps offered by Dunga’s frontmen over the past few games has been manna from heaven by comparison.

Firmino in particular deserves a special mention for the way he slotted into the side seamlessly after receiving his first call-up on October 23, 2014. The Hoffenheim man showed confidence, an immunity to the pressure and above all, a mean long-distance range that Brazil was missing. Even midfielder enforcer Luiz Gustavo looked less limited, although some credit should go to the introduction of Elias, the former Sporting Lisbon player now plying his trade at Corinthians.

Dunga has some decisions to make regarding his defence, though. The injuries to centre-backs David Luiz and Marquinhos forced the manager to pair Thiago Silva and Atletico Madrid’s Miranda for the first time. Despite some shaky moments and the free header with which Raphael Varane opened the scoring at the Stade de France, the pair’s confident display should give the Selecao some stability and confidence. They will soon face some important matches where Dunga’s work will be properly scrutinized; the Copa America in Chile and the Russia 2018 qualifiers all start in the next few months.

Miranda and Thiago Silva could well be the best central defensive pairing for Brazil moving forward.  

In goal, Jefferson had some brilliant moments against the French and looks set to be Brazil’s No. 1 for the time being despite the fact that he will play the 2015 season in Brazil’s second division with Rio de Janeiro side Botafogo.

Above all, it was encouraging to see Brazil being able to hit an opponent quickly and lethally on the break. But it isn’t surprising that Dunga would toss his convictions out of the window. Brazil’s pragmatism didn’t cost them the 2010 World Cup; Dunga’s biggest mistakes were a poor squad selection and poor decision-making after Brazil threw away a game against the Dutch that they should have ended in the first half.

Since Dunga’s return, his style has actually helped Brazil to bring out the best of Neymar. Once again he left his mark in a Selecao shirt, bringing his tally to 43 goals in 61 games for his country. The impression is that the Barcelona man is finally free of the burden of doing everything on his own anymore — to borrow a Brazilian metaphor, he no longer has to take the corners and also head them in. Given how Neymar is likely to always receive “special attention” from opponents, this can only be good news.

All of a sudden, the road to Russia in 2018 doesn’t look as fearsome as it did last summer. Of course this could all change with a couple of bad matches. In fact, superstitious fans will remember that the last two Brazilian World Cup triumphs in 1994 and 2002 took place after pedestrian qualifying campaigns. Still, the second Dunga era has so far been a positive surprise.

Fernando Duarte is a U.K.-based Brazilian football expert who has reported on the Selecao for over a decade. Follow him on Twitter @Fernando_Duarte.