Brazilian dominance in soccer takes a new complexion. There used
to be a time when the Brazilian men's national soccer team were
of average size and build. They were small (shorter), fast and
skillful. Diminutive in stature but this did not apply to their
technical and tactical abilities.
The team might appear to line up in some formal positional
formation and set up. Once the game starts it is an all
positions for everybody on the team. They seem to play a 1
(goalkeeper) -10 (field) as all the players are in constant
motion and are able to play off of each other at any time. The
team members do however have certain defensive responsibilities
and are accountable for their respective areas.
They truely
understand "the game" and are ready to be spontaneous as well as
volatile.
The Brazilian team seems to make the opponents play
catch up and defensively throughout most of the contest.
A
goal scoring opportunity can come from any where and any one on
the field and at any time.
The only thing that you can
predict is that the goalkeeper will not leave the 18 yard box to
act as a forward and score some goals.
Ronaldinho has just acquired his second FIFA international
player of the year award in a row. Does he deserve it? Most
definitely.
He is a pleasure to observe as he sets up most of
his team mates to lead his current team FC Barcelona to the top
of the Spanish "La Liga".
Now add the goalkeeper Dida who has been a major part of his
team's successes, in the back and Adriano up front who has
seemed to be totally unstoppable goal scoring machine on the
forward line for the Italian "Serie A", Roberto Carlos on the
left where he still has a command on the free kicks, and Ronaldo
the task master who often and still shows flashes of brilliance
in the mix and you have a fortress of power and abilities few
can match.
I think the ball got rolling with the the introduction of Junior
Biano as a defenseman in 1998. With the exception of France his
presence was a dominant deterant for other teams.
The latest
big man to join him is Lucio
Brazil found mass to be a compliment to all their other
strengths. It would appear that they have continued to build
from there. The average weight of their national team has
increased without diminishing their agility and manouverability.
Although not a necessity, muscle mass has been a factor in other
team sports. This might be true in modern Futbol as speed
has become an over-riding factor to the game in the last 15
years. Most of the elite players are also playing in the Italian
and Spanish premier leagues and on similar if not the same
teams. They are learning from each other by being rivals and
combats as well as compatriots.
Here are the possible candidates for the next world cup roster
for Brazil.
Goalkeepers:
DIDA, JÚLIO CÉSAR, Defenders:
CAFU, CICINHO, EDMÍLSON, GILBERTO Melo, JUAN, LÚCIO, ROBERTO
CARLOS da Silva, José Vítor ROQUE JÚNIOR,
Midfielders:
EMERSON Ferreira, GILBERTO Silva, JUNINHO Pernambucano, KAKA',
RENATO, ZÉ ROBERTO,
Forwards:
ADRIANO, Júlio BAPTISTA, Ricardo OLIVEIRA, ROBINHO, RONALDO,
RONALDINHO Gaúcho
A team can only be as good as it is a team and is coached as a
team.
A team can only be good if all the members play for
the team and with the team.
It does NOT matter how many
stars you have and how big the egos or the payroll is either.
Win as a team and lose as a team.
About the author:
Steve September of On The Ball Soccer Training has been
involved in soccer for over forty years and on three continents.
As a player, player coach and high performance coach Steve
wants to share the knowledge and experiences with all people
involved in all levels of the soccer scene. Delve into more of
the philosophy and information at;
http://www.soccertrainingskills.com/SouthAmericanSoccer.html
|
|
