Where has the Joga Bonita gone?

Its a simple question, but the answer is complex. Anyone who saw the match yesterday will agree that Brazil just didn’t play Brazilian football! What happened to the big names like Ronaldinho and Neymar? How did they not perform? Was it bad football on Brazil’s part or awesome football on England‘s part? I guess its up to you to decide. This is my inference from that match, and the reason I am a bit worried.

Firstly, Brazil’s passing game was bad. It was not accurate, and the passes and plays didn’t have any meaning to them. Brazil didn’t keep possession for long enough to fashion goal-scoring opportunities. The players completely mistimed their passes and the inaccuracy was painful to watch.

Secondly, the big names of Neymar and Ronaldinho didn’t perform. I’m stunned that Ronaldinho, who I consider the greatest player of this generation, greater than Messi and Ronaldo even, missed a penalty. And not just that, but also the rebound! That was a rude shock, and it made me realize that perhaps the form of Ronaldinho is indeed waning. And as for Neymar, well, for being touted as the ‘Next Pele’ he sure didn’t display any of the flair of Pele. He didn’t net even once, and had a performance well below the hype that was surrounding him.

Finally, Brazil’s defending was bad, as there was almost no cohesion between the midfield and the defense. The balls were not cleared well enough, and passes were not intercepted as they should have. It was poor by any standards, and that despite having some of the best defenders in the world.

But if Brazil plays the likes of Neymar, Ronaldinho, Dani Alves, David Luiz, Oscar, Adriano and Julio Cesar, how did they fail? England is no weak team, but doesn’t Brazil, at least on paper, sound so much stronger?

Well my inference is this: Football is like a brick wall. The bricks are the players. If you place a bunch of the very best quality bricks on top of each other, they will still fall down and break up unless there is a mortar to bind them together. This mortar is teamwork, which Brazil seemed to lack in substantial quantities.