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Brazil one win from 'Penta'
Fifth championship within reach for Brazilians
Posted: Wednesday July 08, 1998 11:55 AM
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Ronaldo (left) and Zagallo are one win from Brazil's fifth World Cup title (AP) |
MARSEILLE, France (AP) --
Outside the locker room, an exhausted Mario Zagallo held up one finger. His
personal countdown had reached one game. "Only one left," said the
Brazilian
coach, his shaky voice firming. "Our mission is almost accomplished. And we
will win the `penta,' have no doubt." "Penta," fifth in Portuguese,
is how Brazilians intimately refer to the World Cup title they fully expect
to win on Sunday. They had just passed -- barely -- the biggest hurdle in
their path. For much of their epic semifinal battle on Tuesday, the
Netherlands
outplayed, outhustled and outsmarted the defending Cup champions. They did
almost everything except win. After 120 minutes and the game
deadlocked 1-1, luck made the difference. Goalie Taffarel guessed right
twice on penalty kicks by Philip Cocu and Ronald de Boer, giving Brazil an
insurmountable 4-2 lead in the tiebreaker and a spot in the finals.
"God was with us at the right moment," Taffarel said. "Luck is
fundamental, no question," added Bebeto. "No one is champion without it."
Faith, luck, destiny -- the fact is Brazil reaches the finals
without displaying the overpowering soccer so many expected from the
four-time champions. With a young generation brimming with talent,
Zagallo switched the defense-first style that won the '94 Cup for a
"killer" attack, led by two-time FIFA Player of the Year Ronaldo. But the
attack has been less than overwhelming. Against the Netherlands,
Brazil showed only glimmers of greatness. There was a goal and a handful of
chances by Ronaldo, some disconcerting dribbles from Denilson, and not much
more. Credit the Dutch defense. They tied Brazil in knots in the
first half, when striker Patrick Kluivert repeatedly missed from close
range on chances that could have decided the game. Still, Brazil looked
little like a champion. "We had problems," Zagallo admitted. "The
Dutch were superior in the first half." Through six games, Brazil
has played just well enough to get by against an unexceptional field.
After beating Scotland and
Morocco in
the first round, they could afford to lose to Norway -- and
lost. Then came a 4-1 win over unpretentious Chile and a
dramatic 3-2 victory against Denmark, with
the drama heightened by Brazil's defensive lapses. Though it's hard
to argue with success, Zagallo knows his team should be playing better.
"Some players aren't performing 100 percent yet," he said. "Imagine if
they were." Among them is Ronaldo. He was brilliant in the second
half, lethargic in the first. Some blame his erratic pay on tendinitis in
his knee, others hint he's a ta overweight. Though he leads the team with
four goals, many expect more from the world's best player. Another
sub-par performer is Roberto Carlos, the Real Madrid defender who finished
second to Ronaldo in the Player of the Year balloting. His booming free
kick was supposed to be a major weapon in Brazil's arsenal, but he hasn't
scored yet, and his defense has been spotty. Roberto Carlos says
he's had trouble adjusting to the lighter ball used at the Cup. It doesn't
"take" the spin that makes a shot curve, he says, but instead flies off in
odd directions. When the inspiration isn't there, though, Brazilians
have shown they can dig in and scrap with any team. "Our heart was on
the field, our willpower, our determination," said Rivaldo. If it
isn't art, it may be enough.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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