The phase of the disappointment at large over the Brazil failure is over. The analysis has begun.

Fifa president Sepp Blatter joins in the debate:

“Ronaldinho didn’t have the room to play, ask his trainer,” said Blatter.

“He had too many players around him who want to be like him or think they are as good. The system didn’t work. It’s the first rule of football, like chess, that some should run and defend while others make the play.”

Spot on. A lot of people have jumped at the throat of Ronaldinho for being disappointing. Ronaldinho has been brilliant for Barcelona in the last couple of years. So how did he fail to show his magic this time?

A reason pointed out - Ronaldinho being the marked man. However, that holds true when Ronaldinho plays for Barcelona as well - even more so as he is much more dangerous than the players around him at Barca compared to Brazil. So that is definitely not the reason for his failure.

The difference between the teams - Barca has Eto’o while Brazil had Ronaldo and Adriano. Barcelona had Deco while Brazil had x,y and z. Ronaldinho is the perfect at creating chances. If you have a finisher who can utilise those chances, you score a lot of goals. Brazil didn’t seem to be working with a plan. Every one was a star but the team cohesion wasn’t there.

So every one wanted to create the chance and not leave it to 1 or 2 players. We have the issue of team selection as well. We have the issue of team selection as well. I would have played younger talents a lot more as I wrote here.

In the Brazilian interview, Victor had stated:

…from what I’ve seen with my own eyes, this the best team (or collection of players) ever, with a once in a generation player in Ronaldinho. And, from what I’ve read and heard in history, this team, talentwise, is up there with the all-time greats.

For me, that is the bigger reason for the disappointment over the Brazil failure more than because I am a Brazilian fan. The team had so much talent. The coaches are applauded when their teams win. So it won’t be extremist to say that the Brazilian coach Carlos Alberto Parreira missed quite a few tricks this world cup.

All the greats have had at least 1 great world cup. Many thought 2006 would be that for Ronaldinho. It wasn’t to be. 2010? It will be one of the many fascinating things to look out for four years down the line.

Ronaldo has improve miraclously from the sluggishness of the first two matches. So much so, he can now take on any man or animal.

Every one - beware of the great fat man.

A lot of teams are not meeting expectations after just 1 or 2 games into the world cup - France, England and Brazil in their own distinct ways. Does it mean that the expectations were misplaced in the first place? To an extent, that is true for every team for if you asked any fan before the world cup regardless of the team he was supporting, the optimism regarding his team was a key aspect you could identify immediately before any thing else.

So the disappointment will exist for fans of most countries by the time the world cup is over. There will be the happy fans from Ecuador, Trinidad and Tobago and Ghana but most fans are likely to feel sad rather than happy on their team’s performances as their team exits. For England, the gelling isn’t happening. There is also the feeling that the team and it’s stars are not really as good as the media makes them out to be. For France, a victory jinx seems more inexplicable. The team weren’t favourites before the world cup begun but who would have thought that they would be winless after two games.

Zidane is playing well and the team is loaded with talent. I was speaking with a friend and his explanation, radical as he termed it, was that the players play at different paces which hampers the team over all. For example, Henry is too fast for the rest of the team. Synchronisation is vital and it is true that France is missing that at some level. However, it is also true that they have been unlucky with goals not happening. I do hope that their luck turns because it would be a shame if they went out early.

Enough about England and France. I have been born and brought up in Calcutta and so I could have easily been any one of those guys from the picture in the previous post. I will focus on the team I support - Brazil. It is easy to criticise and I don’t like criticising but I have little option left here. Brazil has been poor in the world cup so far and it has left a lot of fans in despair. One game can be ignored. Not two. Australia adopted a complete defensive strategy versus Brazil. Brazil is, after all, Brazil. More significantly, Australia already had three points in the bag and so even a point against the defending world cup champions would have been reason enough for a lot of celebration for them.

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South Korea vs Togo 2-1

Till Abolo was sent off in the 53rd minute, Togo competed well versus South Korea. They had even scored one courtesy Mohammed Kader in the first half. It looked like Togo might sneak a famous victory. Then, there was the red card. Moments later, South Korea equalled via Chun-Soo Lee. From there, South Korea dominated. Togo looked tired and slow in the second half regardless of the 10 men factor. The South Koreans weren’t impressive in the match though. There were many shots way off target and the team could very well struggle against Switzerland.

Switzerland vs France 0-0

The goal jinx for France continues. They had several chances but failed to score. Even Switzerland had chances and they could have easily won with a little luck. For France, the big question is - are they missing Cisse? I failed to understand why Giully should not be in the French squad having seen him closely over the last two years. France shouldn’t have problems qualifying for round 2 but you never know!

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For the final part of the series, I caught up with Victor Sarto. Victor was born to Brazilian parents in the United States. He is a hardcore football fan, following his Brazilian team, Palmeiras, as well as the national team of course. He attended all the games at Stanford during the 94 World Cup…and went to the Brazil-Sweden semis…and the final. Despite him being born in the United States, he doesn’t really care for the American team. He doesn’t like their style of play nor most of their players. So, when Brazil plays the US, it’s a no-brainer, Victor says, just to clarify.

I thank Victor for agreeing to the interview.

What style of football does the national team play?

Ever since Zagallo became coach for Brazil in 98, Brazil’s teams have had a more offensive flavor, a stark change from our 86, 90, and 94 teams. Currently, I’d say that this team of our’s is the most offensive since 82. Kaka and Ronaldinho as our midfield playmakers. Technically, we have two volantes, or holding midfielders, but Ze Roberto’s natural position is O-Mid. He’s serviceable either way, although I would prefer someone else.

What do you think your country’s prospects are?

Brazil has been clear-cut favorites 3 recent cups. 82, 98, and now, in 2006. 82 and 98 ended in failure. Hopefully, third time is a charm. Our team as a whole has played well in recent games, most notably during last year’s Confederations Cup. Some of our players though, namely, Adriano, Dida Cafu, and Roberto Carlos are in a bit of a slump. I think we will walk out of our group with ease. However the 2nd round match up is a bit nerve-racking, since we will end up playing one of the teams from the other group of death: Italy, US, Czech Republic, or Ghana. To be honest, of all those teams, I’d prefer to play the Czechs, as I feel their offensive style will suit our play. The quarters, though, should be a nice reward for a tough 2nd round. We could face arguably the two weakest seeds in France and Spain…as well as some other teams with little World Cup expierence, such as Ukraine, Tunisia…and possibly Korea if they can get their act together.

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Almost every one in the Indian cricket team has Brazil as their favourite football team.

Glory hunters? Yeah.