 |
|
World Cup qualifying: Brazil samba over bland Chile [Mon Sep 5th, 2005]
The spectators who forked out between R$60 and R$300 (US$20-100) for tickets at Brasilia’s Mané Garrincha were treated to a five-goal party that saw Brazil through to hunt down the holy grail of the ‘hexa’ (sixth World Cup).
Any game with five goals is a guarantee of an afternoon well spent, although it must be said that the current Chilean team is in need of some serious reformulation; they played as if the match were a friendly rather than a key WCQ.
Brazil can relax a little now that the classification’s in the bag with two rounds still left to play, bettering the 2002 classification that saw Scolari almost disappear under a barrage of flak.
The achievement was hailed by Parreira as a big improvement on the traditionally fraught qualifying tilts that Brazil endure. “Whenever Brazil are touted as favourites for the World Cup we go down the drain: we’ve only won when we’ve got there by the skin of our teeth. This is a paradigm we must change – that is our challenge now.â€
The game was defined in under thirty minutes, Juan (11 min) heading in the first of five goals after Robinho almost lobbed Tapia in the very first minute. The much-maligned defender managed to rise above a static Chilean defense and put Kaká’s cross into the back of the net.
Ten minutes later the ‘fantastic four’ swung into action as Adriano’s right flank cross found the Milan idol, who in turn knocked on for Ronaldo to thread an intelligent pass that Robinho (21 min) tapped in to make it 2-0.
Robinho set Adriano up for the first of his hat-trick, the ‘Emperor’ banging in a characteristic strong diagonal shot that left Tapia for dead (27 min). Barely two minutes later the Inter marksman latched onto a Zé Roberto corner to nod home his second and Brazil’s fourth.
The euphoria in the stands was so great that even when the Seleção shut up shop and settled for a bureaucratic administration of the safe margin, the cheers continued.
Chile improved a little in the second half as Brazil yielded control of the ball to their well-beaten adversary, but few Chileans could be happy with the second-rate football their players displayed for all the world to see.
Dida was a virtual spectator as the red and blue were kept at a distance from the Canarinha goal. The final coup de grace was in injury time, Robinho playing Adriano (92 min) on into the box to net a well-deserved hat-trick that left the Madrid number 9 somewhat eclipsed.
After the party comes the hangover; this time it was Roberto Carlos, visibly in pain with an injured knee that will see him dry-docked for tomorrow’s centenary friendly in Spain.
The match marks 100 years of Sevilla FC and brings in the tidy sum of US$600,000 for the CBF (Confederation of Brazilian Football). The game should see the return of Ronaldinho Gaúcho to the seleção after serving out his mandatory suspension.
BRAZIL: Dida; Cafú, Juan, Lúcio, Roberto Carlos (Juninho Pernambucano); Zé Roberto, Emerson (Gilberto Silva); Kaká, Robinho; Adriano, Ronaldo (Ricardinho)
Coach: Carlos Alberto Parreira
CHILE: Tapia; Fuentes Ricardo Rojas, Contreras (Acuña); Alvarez, Melendez, Maldonado, Pizarro and Tello (Perez); Rubio and Pinilla (Jimenez)
Coach: Nelson Acosta
Goals: Juan (11 min), Robinho (21 min), Adriano (26, 29, 92 min)
Aaron Marcus
News headlines from around the world.