No more Neymar: Brazil will need to look to the past for inspiration to win the World Cup

Photo: AP

Neymar Jr has been ruled out of the tournament for the Brazilian national team after the quarterfinal game versus Colombia. An ill-timed challenge by Zuñiga left the Barcelona ace with a broken vertebra, medical reports showed. Can Brazil still fulfill it's promise to win the World Cup on home soil?

One need only look to the past for inspiration. In the Chile World Cup 1962, twenty-one year old Pelé was injured during the second match against Czechoslovakia. This shocked the Brazilian squad and it seemed unlikely that they should win the tournament.

But another player, Garrincha, stepped up to the plate and delivered sciniillating performances that elevated Brazil to a new sphere of accomplishment in world football and cemented the country's place as one of the perennial favorites to win it all.

It wasn't only Garrincha that won the tournament for the Seleçao. With him was Botafogo teammate Didi and Palmeiras's striker Vava. Garrincha went on to be the player of the tournament, but it was interchanges with Didi and crucial goals scored by Vavá that made the difference for Brazil.

There has been a lot of criticism for Luiz Felipe Scolari's side. One remark often heard from analysts is that Brazil has only one main star: Neymar. In doing so, we forget the talent of midfield aces like Oscar and Willian and the exploits of Hulk and Fred up top. Is this fair?

In a way, Brazil will have to rely on these young players for inspiration and magic. They will need to show why Brazil is deemed to be the most fertile land for player development on the planet. 

Brazil must work as a unit and will have to concentrate on its defense as well if they are to defeat a very talented German team in the semifinal. Germany's defense works as a back four of center backs without true wingers. This is where Dani Alves and Marcelo will be key. And with Thiago Silva suspended, it will fall upon David Luiz and whoever Scolari's decides to replace Thiago Silva to control the spaces where Müller, Klose and Kroos like to operate.

It is not an easy scenario for the Canarinha, but they will have the crowds behind them to push forward and win the title. They also have the weight of history behind them, not only as a nation but with inspiring performances of players that stepped up when superstars went down. Brazil will need a new Garrincha to win in 2014.

Confederations win and the Unstoppable Brazil

Photo credit: FIFA

Brazil won its third consecutive Confederations Cup today, in style, and versus the World Cup champions Spain. Might they be on their way to their sixth championship at next summer's tournament? Considering that it will be based in Brazil and the strength of the current team, a degree of certainty is in the air.

The star is Neymar, that much is clear. His quick movements, fantasy and goals say it all. Oh, and his recent transfer to Barcelona pretty much seals it for him. Is he better than Messi, as Pele asserts? Not quite. Not yet. Maybe not ever but only time can be the judge.

The real strength and difference in this team is the midfield. The team's formation today was reminiscent of Spain's at last year's Euros. Four attackers and two holding mids. Of course you have Marcelo and Dani Alves patrolling and exploiting the flanks and suddenly there are 6 players attacking. It reminds us of formations in the early days of soccer, before the art of defense was introduced.

Hulk and Fred are two obvious forwards, yet Hulk is partially withdrawn to feed Fred--and it worked. Then there is Neymar as a Messi-esque number 10 and Oscar as a number 8 in a slightly more withdrawn position. Paulinho and Luis Gustavo act as an anchor in the back with good passing, even if not the box-to-box players we are used to like Michael Bradley. 

Brazil took it to Spain today with speed and aggressiveness and won the game. They won it by pushing their line all the way to the Spanish defense so that the tiki-taka could not commence. Xavi had no connection with Iniesta and Torres never got the ball. Luck and defense also played a part in this with David Luiz's save late in the first half and Sergio Ramos' missed PK. Things may have been different but we should also consider Brazil's extra day of rest and the fact that Spain went all the way to penalties in the semifinal versus Italy.

There is one other type of soccer that caught my eye today as I watched the Selecao play. Total Football. Were they playing Dutch soccer? Seemed so, especially in their recovery. Scolari has been studying his squad, which he rates lower than his World Cup champions of 2002. He has used its youth and speed to his advantage and introducing a more streamlined Brazil that is less defensive than Dunga's and lacks the jogo bonito of years past. 

Outside the Maracana the people of this Amazon nation asked for equality. Their screams for justice carried into the stadium attached to tear gas. It infected the crowd and team in the opposite way, to grow beyond the despair and sadness for a better outlook of what Brazil can be. It's true that great economic injustices have occurred with the erection of new stadiums and infrastructure for the Confederations Cup and next year's World Cup. But it's also true that this is the game of the people and for the people. Surely there are ways the two worlds can coexist. Reality and sport. In life only athletes can live in both worlds. But let this tournament's non-sport incidents serve as a reminder for how much the sport owes the everyman.

Speed Bump: USA loses to Brazil

Photo credit: Washington Post

Juergen Klinsmann's impressive 5 game unbeaten streak with the US national team had to end at some point. Tonight it happened against one of the world's best teams: Brazil by 1-4. And it happened because of questionable refereeing and having to chase a 0-2 scoreboard against the always-dangerous Brazilian attack.

As the US coach would assert, there were plenty of positives in tonight's unfortunate romp at FedEx Field: great attacking from the flanks, good offensive posture, great goalkeeping, and having Dempsey and Donovan on the pitch. It was a good night for Herculez Gomez, sort of, since he scored on the 5-time world champions. It was the dating runs made by Fabian Johnson that provided the assist for the goal and that could have accounted for a second.

Dempsey still has some rust to shake off and perhaps he should not have been used in the match and perhaps should be rested until Guatemala, the most important match of the summer stretch. The offense clicked well with Torres and Donovan--when the US No. 10 wasn't being double marked--, as well as Bradley and Jones. Terrence Boyd nearly got his first international goal if it hadn't been for a sprawling Rafael.

The back line, sorely untested against Scotland, left many questions by the center two: Bocanegra and Onyewu. Indeed, Onyewu's positioning cost the team Brazil's fourth goal, while the second was an unfortunate handball. Bocanegra had a difficult time controlling the ball and building plays from the back. One wonders if the Confederations Cup Centerback duo will ever be a viable option again. There are plenty of capable centerbacks in the pipeline: Goodson, Ream, Parkhurst, Cameron. Perhaps Bocanegra may continue on for a couple of more years but Onyewu's stock at this level is swiftly falling. 

The wings had their own aging aches as Cherundolo was constantly forced to chase Neymar's shadows and his frustration translated into scuffles with Marcelo. The same can't be said about Fabian Johnson, who manned the often-troubled left back position with flair in attack and temperance in defense. At last, it seems, the left back position might have a winner.

Up next for the US is a familiar foe: Canada. The Americans defeated Canada 2-0 in last year's Confederations Cup in Detroit. This time the game will be played at Toronto's BMO Field. It is a fitting end to the "friendly" portion of the mini summer tournament dished out by Klinsmann: a Concacaf rival in an away game. This is the key to getting to the World Cup and our national team coach knows this road well.

Player ratings:

Howard...................6

Cherundolo..............5

Bocanegra................4

Onyewu...................3

F. Johnson................7.5

Edu..........................4.5

J. Jones....................6

Bradley....................7

Donovan..................5

Torres......................6.5

H. Gomez................7

Subs: Boyd (6), Dempsey (6), Parkhurst (N/A), Castillo (N/A), Beckermann (N/A)

Falling Stars: Brazil and Chile exit the Copa America

Photo credit: AP

No Argentina in the semifinals due to a penalty kick decision versus Uruguay. Okay. It happens. It's Uruguay, the 4th place team from the 2010 World Cup. Colombia gets upset in the quarterfinals by Peru. Big surprise but, again, it happens. But Chile loses to Venezuela? And Brazil exits prematurely in penalty kicks against Paraguay? Okay, now we're onto something.

Craziness. Plain and simple. But give credit to the "smaller nations" of South America. Peru has been in the sidelines for decades. It's about time they rekindle their 1970s form. Then there is Venezuela. The country heavily favors baseball over any other sport. Same goes for the US, but this is South America, football continent. And yet, if you look at the different players in this Venezuela side you come across names like Cichero (Newell's, Argentina), Arango (B. Moenchengladbach, German Bundesliga), Vizcarrondo (Once Caldas, Colombia), Giancarlo Maldonado (Atlante, Mexico). These are quality players in good leagues. They are bound to have good fortune in international tournaments.

The question then becomes: is parity that much closer in South America? Do big teams like Argentina and Brazil still exist? The answer is yes and no. Yes, because these teams have stars like Messi, Robinho, Neymar, Huguain. No, because their winning formula can no longer be intimidation due to name. Bolivia will find a way to close spaces on Messi if they man-mark him. Argentina becomes just another team with big stars. Brazil can have goal leads in their games erased by poor goalkeeping and spotty defending in a tournament that they feel they already own. Not anymore. Big names in the defense don't mean much if the players don't confront a game in a professional manner. This is true international football. The opposing squads no longer fear the "big teams" because they have their own "big players." It's a new kind of mano-a-mano.

And what of Chile? Once Argentina and Brazil went down, many of us out there thought this might be Chile's tournament to win. But the Suazo - Sanchez tandem couldn't score more than 1 goal on Venezuela. And the "vinotinto" found a way to score two. Just like that.

It's wide open now. Even though critics like Andres Cantor may feel the current top 4 in South America aren't worthy candidates to the title, it's clear to say the he, along with most of us in soccer world, have been taught a lesson. Respect. Plain and simple.

Too big to fail: The 2011 Copa America

Nearly a billion dollars worth of investment. Probably more. That's what South American players currently taking part in Conmebol's Copa America are worth. Messi? Probably $100 million. Neymar? Asking price of $50 million? And yet, for all their might, promise, prowess and skill, they still could not overcome the region's two weakest teams: Bolivia and Venezuela.

So is too big to fail really true when it comes to South American giants Brazil and Argentina? Well, unless the past couple of days were a particular fluke, it seems even great teams are vulnerable. And why not? On paper at least, Argentina is much weaker defensively. Their best defense is a good offense (pardon the cliche). In the back line is the aging Zanetti and the seldom-used Gabriel Milito. For Brazil there is no key number 10 right now. No Ronaldinho or Kaka. It is Pato and Neymar with Robinho calling the shots. Hopefully Neymar can do more than he did today because the Cariocas came out flat.

The other hopefuls in this tournament are Paraguay, Uruguay and Chile. The latter two have yet to play. Uruguay has a deep squad fresh off their 4th place finish at World Cup 2010. Chile has no Bielsa this time they have their ace in Udinese's Alexis Sanchez along with the always-dangerous Suazo.

Further down the line is a third group: Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia and Venezuela. In no particular order. You might argue that Ecuador and Colombia should be in the second tier but their form in recent years relegate them to this side of the table. Of particular interest is the Caicedo-Benitez tandem Ecuador has and the Falcao-Rodallega from Colombia. Invitees Mexico and Costa Rica are, by Concacaf rules, allowed to bring their U-22 squads with up to 5 overage players. The idea being that this would serve as preparation for the Olympics 2012 qualifiers.

So why the low scores? If anything that last year's World Cup taught us is that the first game tends to be overly defensive, disappointingly speculative and low scoring. It's not for lack of trying. Indeed, Argentina had their share of chances on Bolivia yesterday but the Altiplano team came up big with solid defense and by deconstructing the final pass from Messi. For Brazil it was a lack of ideas and group play. Venezuela countered by employing Bolivia's scheme. Crowd the middle of the pitch, close up the spaces for the short passes and play the counter.

Neymar and Messi can be contained for only so long. Difference-makers like these are keen on small spaces to play the ball for a lethal shot or pass. They have the fantasy that we love to watch. The jogo bonito and the classic 10. This is why we pay so much to see them. This is why, after the first set of games are done, they will be nearly unbeatable. This is why they are too big to fail.