The Road to South Africa

Like Germany, Brazil have never failed to qualify for a World Cup and their 19th tournament was no exception. They collected more points, scored more goals and conceded fewer than any other team in the South American group. There were some anomalies, however. Brazil only won four of their first 11 matches and their record against the teams that did qualify for South Africa was considerably better than against the also-rans – Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Venezuela and Peru. The stand-out displays were away; a 4-0 win over Uruguay in Montevideo; a 3-0 defeat of Chile inspired by Luis Fabiano and Robinho in Santiago; and the command performance that overcame Argentina in Rosario.

The Star Players

Robinho (Santos) Gifted, mercurial and bloody-minded. On his day, Robinho is the essence of a Brazilian footballer; lithe graceful and full of skill. However, as he showed at Manchester City, before returning to Brazil, he can be selfish and demotivated. He said he needed to return to Santos to prove himself for the World Cup.

Dida (AC Milan) Brazilian sides are not supposed to bother with a goalkeeper but Dunga has a choice of three high-quality keepers of whom Dida is the most famous and at 36 perhaps marginally the weakest. He has two Champions League triumphs with Milan but Julio Cesar at Inter and Doni at Roma make for high-class competition.

Lucio (Inter Milan) Should the Selecao perform as their fans expect, then Lucimar Ferreira da Silva will become the sixth captain of Brazil to lift the World Cup. The elegant defender spent eight years in the Bundesliga, first with Bayer Leverkusen and then Bayern Munich, before moving to Inter last year.

The Coach

Dunga Like Diego Maradona, Dunga – whose real name is Carlos Verri – is aiming to emulate Franz Beckenbauer by winning the World Cup as a player and a manager. Of Brazil’s five World Cups, the 1994 triumph was probably the least impressive but Dunga is managing a far better side than the one he captained. He had no managerial experience when asked to succeed Carlos Alberto Parreira after the disappointments of 2006 but began by taking Brazil to the Copa America and then the Confederations Cup and showed himself unafraid to resist the clamour for the recall of Ronaldinho. With two major trophies already, a World Cup would make a fine hat-trick.

Honours

World Cup: Winners 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002. Finalists 1998.
Copa America: Winners 1989, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2007. Finalists 1983, 1991, 1995.
Confederations Cup: Winners 1997, 2005, 2009. Finalists 1999.

Analysis

Every side Brazil has sent to a World Cup is expected to come back with the trophy and this will be no different, even though Dunga’s team are in the second, more difficult half of the draw. Only two Brazil teams, in 1930 and 1966, have failed to make the knockout stages and despite the fact that both Portugal and the Ivory Coast will put up stiff opposition, the Selecao are sill favourites to qualify for the round of 16 in first place. They will probably meet Chile in Johannesburg in the first knockout game, awkward opponents but ones they might be expected to beat. However, waiting for them in the quarter finals are likely to be Holland and a repeat of the awesome semi-final in Marseilles in the 1998 World Cup that went to a penalty shoot-out.

Verdict

Squad (4.5/5)
They are the best and they know it. Brazil even have a choice of decent goalkeepers, although central defence may not be as secure as they might like.

Coach (4/5)
Dunga is a nickname and means Dopey after one of the Seven Dwarves. The Brazil manager is anything but and will need all his toughness and shrewdness to control colossal expectations.

Attack (5/5)
Only Spain and Argentina can match the Brazilian forward line with its array of skill and sheer physical power.

Defence (3.5/5)
It can be very good as they proved when easily overcoming England in a pre-tournament friendly but should Dunga stay with Dida or go with Julio Cesar in goal?