Brazil's national team has a long way to go if they dream of capturing World Cup glory on their home soil.
When Brazil won the right to host the 2014 World Cup, fans around the world rejoiced. It would mark a return to the game's spiritual home, surrounded by a carnival atmosphere that's unmistakably South American.
But while the the country as a whole is ready for the tournament, there are still doubts as to whether Brazil's national team will be as prepared. The club is in the midst of an identity crisis at perhaps the worst time, reeling from a string of poor tourney showings and facing the ire of fans frustrated by the young squad's inability to break down its opponents. All the while, the pressure on Brazil grows to figure it all out before the rest of the soccer world arrives on its doorstep.
How have they gone from 2006's samba, juggling-and-dance worldbeaters to the tepid team on show against England in February? The answer lies much farther back, buried in the roots of Brazil's soccer history.
Brazil emerged more than four decades ago as the beautiful game's undisputed championship. Pele, Carlos Alberta, Gerson and Jairzinho led the charge at the 1970 World Cup, a fluid formation that thrived on short passes. After the brutal, physical World Cups of the 1960s, finesse had taken over, playing right into Brazil's strengths.
The phase was short-lived, however. Defeat in 1974 to Johan Cruyff's Dutch school of "total football" was traumatic, laying bare Brazil's physical deficiencies compared to their European counterparts. The poor showing prompted an emphasis on size and speed, a bulking up that made their subsequent World Cup squads just as suited to basketball as soccer. With hulking center backs and equally large center midfielders, Brazil looked to cover ground, dominate the aerial battles and win tackles.
That finally paid off in 1994, with a World Cup victory on the back of combative central midfielder Dunga. Supported by Romario up front, as well as Leonardo, Cafu and a precocious 17-year-old named Ronaldo, Brazil scrapped its way into the final and went on to defeat Italy.
It wouldn't take long to reach that level once again. Now at his peak, Ronaldo stormed through the 2002 tournament, emphasizing his physical superiority in the process. In many ways, it was also Brazil's peak. The squad was full of technique and ability, and yet often could simply outmuscle its opponent.
Cue the 2006 World Cup. Perhaps no Brazilian team before them had stood in the eye of a marketing storm as large as the one that Nike dreamt up. World Player of the Year Ronaldinho served as the poster boy. Commercials aired 'round the clock, clips of the team dribbling through airports and locker room as exotic dance music blared. Ronaldo, Adriano and Kaka were just a few of the internationally recognizable faces.
And yet the team floundered. Those four stars never meshed, and the offense flamed out. An inspired French team zagged their way through Brazil's midfield, culminating in Zinedine Zidane's winning cross to Thierry Henry.
As the national team spent the next few years tinkering with its tactics, the rest of the world caught up. Spain and Germany led a shift toward small, passing midfielders who could break out of traditionally rigid formations and wreak havoc. Brazil hit its low in 2010 as a dour counterattacking team whose style clashed with fans expecting the choreographed beauty of years past. The team simply did not have the technical skill to play possession-based football. When Kaka and Luis Fabiano proved unable to shoulder the entire offensive burden, Brazil crashed and burned in epic fashion.
Around them, the Spaniards and Germans and even the Italians twirled across the pitch, mesmerizing the world with the gracefulness that just a short bit earlier belonged solely to Brazil.
Little more than a year out from Cup's return, Brazil is still a work in progress. They lack the mobile, technical center midfielders necessary to dictate the tempo of a match. And perhaps more crucial is that there is a shocking dearth of Brazilian attackers in the world's elite leagues. With Neymar still playing for the Brazilian domestic league's Santos and Pato at Corinthians, only Oscar is suiting up for a top European side. Despite his talent, he's not even a starter at Chelsea.
Without that global dispersion, Brazil's development is stunted. Younger players like Neymar are content in the country's domestic league, cutting through South American defenses with ease. But he's in for a shock against European squads that can manage space and shut down the simple lanes. Ten years ago, a team overseas would have purchased Neymar at 18, where he could cut his teeth before leaping to Madrid or Barcelona. Now, the Brazilian league can afford to compete financially, keeping its stars at home but hurting its international chances at the same time.
Brazil have to decide what they will be when the lights go up in 2014. What kind of players do they need to develop? How do they do it? The challenge will lie in meshing multiple philosophies and multiple generations, or choosing just one path and charging ahead into the future, history be damned. It is a decision that they must make soon, or risk watching this identity crisis play out in real time in front of millions around the world and, most importantly, at home.
Zach Ricchiuti is a contributor and resident soccer expert at Began in '96.
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