Brazil 2 - 0 Cameroon: Same Horror Movie with a Different Ending

By: Bruno Romani | August 16th, 2008

The same competition. The same rivals. The same passion by the rivals. The same pressure on our coach in case the gold does not come home. The same top-star with the burden of responsibility drowning in lack of commitment. Another extra-time. Another man from the rival team sent-off. It looked like the 2000 Olympics were happening again.

That nightmare was back through the hands of a coach that send shivers to the most passionate fans. Brazil had no mobility. As it is, the passionate and physical game of Cameroon is difficult enough to overcome when tons of effort are dedicate into it. When players do not run and change positions, it becomes painful. The midfield did not function at all and defenders were forced into long passes. Anderson, Diego and specially Ronaldinho were dull. If great midfielders cannot make a match happen due to slow and bureaucratic choices, the coach is to be blamed. In the first-half, only one shot from a free-kick taken by Ronaldinho was closer to a goal. On the opposite side, the defenders and Lucas, the best in the match, saved Brazil. The match got very physical. Yellow cards started flying and a red one was a matter of time.

The second-half started with the rough spirit of the first. And a player from Cameroon was ejected. Unlike the players from Belgium, the number 2 from the African nation deserved it. Things were getting better? No! Cameroon had all 10 men on the defense. And, as expected, Dunga had no strategy to play with one extra man. Not even the basics of football “keep possession and pass it fastly enough so that spaces start to appear” were put in practice. With one extra man, it took Dunga another 20 minutes to bring Thiago Neves. Nothing changed. It seemed he was just waiting for the penalties instead of trying to win it in regular time. And it seemed he was expecting Ronaldinho to participate. It was mind blowing to see such useless man on the pitch. With one extra man, it was scary to see Dunga keep so many players with yellow cards on the game when it was clear that the next yellow was just around the corner (The match ended with a total of 12 yellows and one red card). And there were no indications of a fresh forward, be him Pato or Jô, coming to action. Brazil shot once in the second-half.

The match went to extra-time. The end was very close. But Cameroon made the one mistake that cannot happen twice against Brazil. The player sent-off in a pointless foul was excused. Losing the ball in the midfield when you have your team ready for a counter attack is lethal. Diego stole the ball and passed it to Sóbis score with 11 minutes into the extra-time. Two minutes later, Marcelo, the next number 6 in the national squad, scored a beautiful goal with his heel. The film had a different ending. Cameroon was wounded to death.

The second-half had more spaces, but anything done by the team cannot be considered. It’s two easy to try flashy plays with a 2 goal lead and one extra man. Ronaldinho cannot be on the pitch just for the sake of it. That should be the lesson. The Olympics are not a training camp. And Dunga, the Olympics is not a coach school. But I hope you’ve learned something.

Before I forget: Cameroon, revenge tastes great. Bye-bye!