Olympic Men's Soccer 2012: Why Brazil Are Far from Favorites for Gold

Brazil might be five-time world football champions. They may be the only team to have played in every single World Cup tournament held to date. They may have been favorites for gold medal in London even before the tournament started with all the hype surrounding Neymar, who is actually doing very well, but their defense is brittle. 

The first two games in a fairly easy group containing Belarus, Egypt and New Zealand are a testament to this frailty that Mano Menezes must essentially address sooner rather than later. Brazil are not known for shutouts and clean sheets. Neither are Barcelona, and we know how they fared in Spain this season as they failed to win any major trophies this season.

Brazil have scored six goals in two games at the Olympic Games now and have displayed some attacking and graceful football. What will be interesting to see is when they come up against a disciplined side such as Japan.

Will Japan be able to inflict another 1-0 upset on one of the tournament favorites like they did against the Spanish? It will be tough, but it is very possible given the nature of goals given away by Brazil so far in London. 

Belarus took the lead today against Brazil, and the five-time world champions had to wait till the 65th minute to make it 2-1 before they made it 3-1 near the end. Another side may have been more adaptive and better equipped to hold on for a 1-0 win by frustrating captain Thiago Silva's men.

At the moment, Spain and Uruguay are still at par with Brazil for achieving the gold medal in my opinion. In such tournaments, it is important to peak at the right moment. Spain have started slowly while Brazil have been explosive, getting out of the blocks quickly and displaying an array of offense that is hard to match.

Such a scenario may well backfire for Brazil should they lose momentum or an influential player such as Neymar or Hulk in the midst of the tournament. Only if they are able to improve their defense can they hope to then graft results come the final stages, or else Spain or Uruguay may run away with the gold from under their noses. For the moment, they are not clear favorites anymore.