It's Not Easy Being Dunga

I wouldn't quite sell my soul for a USA 3-0 World Cup Round of 16 victory, but I would gladly don a flesh-colored body stocking and run around the stadium a la George Costanza. A 3-0 win at the World Cup is always an impressive achievement, unless perhaps you're playing the DPRK. Still, my friend and I came out of last night's match between Brazil and Chile thinking, man, what a terrible game.

Part of the problem was that Chile really never showed up for this game. Once they went down 2-0 by half time they never looked like getting back into it. They had a few late chances but Brazil were comfortable and deserved winners.

The other issue is that this Brazil team simply doesn't have the flair of the 1970 or1982 editions. That's what you might expect from coach Dunga, who as a player was more of a midfield destroyer than a stylish Garrincha. In fact, the early 90's was known in Brazil as Era Dunga for the perceived boring, negative style of play. Some of these people need to watch a Bolton game, for God's sake.

This has been reflected in his team selection. While predecessor Carlos Alberto Parreira tried to shoehorn as many attackers as possible into his team as possible (Adriano, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Kaka, Robinho . . .) Dunga has taken a much more pragmatic view and his first choice team includes two holding midfielders, Gilberto Silva and Felipe Melo. He even left Ronaldinho in Milan. You can't argue with the results, as they breezed through qualifying and are easily into the quarterfinals. As a Bolton supporter, I understand it's better to win ugly than lose beautifully.

Still, it's hard to escape the idea that for $200, I should have gotten more enjoyment from a Brazil game.