SportzWiki brings to you a tactical lowdown on the teams gunning for the ultimate prize: the FIFA World Cup. Hosts Brazil are our first take, as we assess the various tactical plans in order for the Selecao, their strengths and weaknesses and how they could do the job.
Competitive action has been in short supply owing to the automatic qualification rule for host nations, but coach Luiz Felipe Scolari hasn’t been too keen on experimenting either. There is a fixed line-up on the back of his mind, and he has stuck to his policy of making the group jell with the passage of time and the enormously large amount of friendlies played. Last year’s Confederations Cup in home soil provided a yardstick to measure their progress, and they proved to be well ahead of time as they romped home with the winners’ medals. It was their second successive Confederation Cup win, and it was all the more sweet as it involved toppling the best ever national team in world champions Spain.
Ever since replacing the inadequately adventurous Mano Menezes and taking over the reins, Scolari has had his trusted core of players in Thiago Silva, Hulk, Neymar, Luiz Gustavo, Dani Alves and Julio Cesar. The formation deployed in most of the games under Scolari has been 4-2-3-1. It offers flexibility as Brazil can easily revert to a more compact 4-3-3 when the need arises.
The double pivot
A theme of Scolari’s setup has been the double pivot which he is likely to put up once again. Luiz Gustavo and Paulinho form his most preferred duo; the two combine power and presence in the centre of the park. It is also somewhat necessary as the full-backs almost always have a no-holds-barred approach, which makes it difficult to destroy opposition transitions without the energetic duo.
The pressing game
Brazil blew away Spain in last summer’s Confed Cup final as they pressed their way into an early lead and then sat back to hurt them on the counter. This strategy of flying off the blocks early in the game through their physical pressing could hold them in good stead, most notably against teams that don’t really anticipate those fast starts. Brazil tend to defend on the offensive, which makes it easier to unsettle opponents and regain possession close to their goal. And their centre-backs in Thiago Silva and David Luiz are not particularly lacking in pace, which makes it a whole lot easier to cover when robbed off the ball in dangerous areas.
The lack of a proper forward
Brazil’s undoing this summer might just be their lack of a proper predator in the mould of a Ronaldo or a Romario. This is one reason why Brazil have managed meagre goal tallies in their build-up to the Cup. Fluminense striker Fred is the first choice, and he doesn’t even fit the profile of most of the feared hitmen travelling to Brazil. Bernard and Jo are the other available options. While Bernard is basically a poor man’s Oscar, Jo isn’t the man you would like to rest your hopes on. Goals might just be the undoing for this fantastically talented squad.
The form of key players
Questionable form of some of Brazil’s key players has made for some sleepless nights for the Selecao faithful. Neymar, Paulinho and Luiz Gustavo all changed clubs last summer, and all three have enjoyed indifferent starts in newer environments. While Neymar’s season at Barcelona has withered away amidst controversies and a dubious price-tag, Paulinho’s bow in English football has been more of a miss than hit. He struggled to impose himself in a wayward Tottenham side and the same goes for Gustavo. How badly he missed his former Bayern teammates around him as he found goings difficult at Wolfsburg. Three of Scolari’s first team fixtures are coming on the back of difficult seasons, and he would be tempted to give Ramires the nod in case both his midfielders misfire.