On Tuesday, the Brazilian Football Federation openly surprised the world by appointing the former head of the national team, Dungu, as the head coach of the only football over the power.
The decision is largely incomprehensible and controversial for the simple reason that, being a well-known player in the past who played at three world championships, the Dunga coach remains a complete mystery, in no way involved in the coaching process after completing a sports career.
Carlos Caetano Verry (full name Dunga) is called to replace Carlos Alberto Parreiro, who led the Brazilian national team at the last World Cup in Germany. Over the past year and a half, Parreira, having checked the group of young talents in the national team, finally settled on the old experienced fighters, who let him down at a decisive moment in the match against Zidane and the company.
Perhaps the successful experience of Jurgen Klinsmann with the German national team at the last World Cup inspired Brazilian football officials to make an unexpected staffing decision, there and then, when they actually had some choice. In the queue to head the pentacampions were people much more experienced and famous in the coaching world than Dunga: Scolari and Lushemburgo. The rest after these two giants is even boring to mention.
Interestingly, Brazil has already had a recent unsuccessful experience in appointing a well-known player in the past as head coach of the national team.
In 1990-91, the national team gave Falcao to steer. The result was disappointing, Falcao was fired a year later amid disastrous results and recriminations with CBF about their reasons.
It was then after the World Cup-90 that Dungu was made a regular scapegoat for the failure of the national team in Italy. With his tough defensive style as a reference the midfielder and that relative failure of the national team was connected, the fans felt that, like at the World Cup-78, Brazil deviated from the traditions of attacking football, for which it was immediately punished.
The misfire was especially painful in Brazil also because the Argentina national team, under the leadership of Maradona and Caniji, defeated the Brazilians in a dramatic match 1-0, became a stumbling block for the Alemao and Kareki teams.
However, four years later, at the World Cup in the United States, Dunga, as captain of the national team, raised the World Cup at the end of the final match. It is noteworthy that before this victory, luck in the World Cup final tournaments eluded the most titled national team for more than a quarter century.
He was also a captain at the 1998 World Cup in France, where the Brazilians reached the final again and lost to the tournament hosts with a score of 3-0.
Altogether, Dunga played 116 matches for the national team, winning in addition to the 98 World Cup, and at the Confederations Cup in 97, as well as winning two South American championships in 89 and in 97 years.
For many years, Dunga was the real leader of the team, Brazil's changing coaches revered the tough midfielder for his unbending willpower and desire to fight to the end.
It was probably these qualities that attracted Ricardo Teixeira, the president of the Brazilian Football Federation, in the former captain, who this time was given the chance to become a conductor of his game ideas already outside the football field.
Vadim SEDOV