Jun 102016
 
Brazil v Haiti: Seven One Again

For Brazilians, 7×1 is a scoreline that will always carry meaning. It was, of course, the scoreline of the trashing that Germany gave them in the 2014 World Cup. That match dashed the dreams of Brazil lifting the Cup on their home soil, and stained Brazilian football in a way which will never be washed clean. It wasn’t insignificant then, that on Wednesday night in Orlando, Brazil defeated Haiti by that same score in their […]

Jun 042016
 
Brazil in the Copa America 2016 - A Preview

The last time Brazil played a major tournament on American soil, they were crowned World Champions for the fourth time. This time, the story could be vastly different. Ironically enough, the stadium that hosted Brazil’s coronation in 1994, The Rose Bowl in Pasadena just outside Los Angeles, will host their debut in this year’s Copa América Centenario, which will take place Saturday against Ecuador. Brazil enter Saturday’s match a team in crisis. Manager Dunga has […]

May 282016
 
Expectations of Dunga's Brazil - Copa America 2016 Preview

On Saturday, 4th June, Brazil kick off their Copa América Centenário campaign against Ecuador in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. The stadium holds happy memories for the Seleção and troubled coach Dunga as they lifted the World Cup in that very arena back in 1994. Dunga interpreted that triumph as an act of defiance against a hostile press, who had come to regard him as emblematic of Brazil’s transition from futêbol artistes to functional army. […]

Feb 292016
 
Copa America or Olympics? Brazil's Neymar Question

This summer, Brazil’s national team will participate in two international competitions deemed to be of utmost importance. First, in June, the full national team will participate in the Copa América Centenario in the United States. Then, in August, Brazil’s u-23 national team, plus three selected overage players, will participate in the Olympic Games football tournament which will be held throughout Brazil in venues that also hosted matches during the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The biggest […]

Feb 222016
 
Copa America 2016 Draw: Winners & Losers

On Sunday night, all of the Americas footballing elite gathered in New York City to discover their fate for this summer’s special Copa America Centenario in the draw ceremony, held at New York’s historic Hammerstein Ballroom. Though the group seeds were already set coming into the night, there was still plenty of intrigue, with not just group competition at stake, but also the hassle of flying across a country as vast as the United States. […]

Jul 122015
 
Can Dunga's Brazil Recover from Copa America Failure?

For Dunga and Brazil, the qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup get underway in October, so the coach does not have much time to pick over the rubble of a pretty disastrous Copa América campaign. The Copa is usually considered a neat precursor to the qualifiers. It marks the beginning of a new cycle in the international calendar, and as such, many coaches use it as a laboratory to perfect the formula for the seasons […]

Jun 072015
 
Brazil 2015 Copa América Preview - A One Man Team?

The Copa América is not as illustrious in South America as its continental cousin the European Championships. It falls in the proceeding summer after the World Cup and precedes the Olympic Games, which is seen as a superior prize. Any tournament in which the Americas pit their wits against European counterparts stirs the loins to a much greater degree than continental competition. The fact that there is no qualifying process for Copa América means that […]

May 212015
 
Roberto Firmino - At The Forefront of Neymar's Brazilian Backing Band

Since reassuming the reins of the Seleção last August, Dunga’s manifesto has contained two over-arching promises, both designed to clear up the mess of the previous administration, as manifestos are wont to do. Firstly, to expunge the memory of the game now known in common parlance as “the 7-1.” Dunga has made a good start with a perfect set of friendly results, but the Copa América in Chile would be the first proper band aid […]