Brazil Look to Olympic Success After Sobering Copa Display

Onto the next challenge, then. There is little over a month to go until Brazil start their next international obligation, and there is a hell of a lot riding on it.

After their performance at the Copa America Centenario cost coach Dunga his job, the main event of the summer is at hand. To put it bluntly, Brazil must emerge victorious at the Olympic Games in August.

They are playing on home soil. They need to win over a disenchanted public after three successive disappointments in tournament football.

However, perhaps most importantly of all, they will be able to count on Neymar.

Even though the Olympics is not generally seen as one of the most important of football tournaments, this one has a special resonance for Brazil. The side came agonisingly close to finally hanging the gold medal around the country’s neck, buoyed by six strikes from an almost-forgotten Leandro Damiao.

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But they came apart in the final, conceding after 28 seconds against Mexico at Wembley and never recovering, eventually losing 2-1. There would be no better tonic than being atop the podium in roughly two months’ time at the Maracana Stadium, the scene of so much angst for the country and its footballing pride 66 years ago.

On June 29, Olympic coach Rogerio Micale will name his 18-man squad for the tournament, as well as the four players on stand-by from the pre-announced list of 35 names.

Since Dunga’s dismissal, there have already been changes to the squad, the most prominent of which is Thiago Silva, as reported by Globo Esporte (link in Portuguese). It is no secret that Brazil’s defence has suffered in his absence, and whatever criticisms have been made of the former captain, he still remains the country’s best central defender by a country mile.

Silva was seen at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in tears during the national anthem prior to the opening game against Croatia in Sao Paulo. Famously, during an admittedly nerve-racking penalty shootout against Chile in the second round, Silva turned his back on the takers and action.

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You could understand Dunga questioning a player’s mentality to lead their country in the heat of battle, with the temperature cranked up to beyond tropical, in such circumstances.

In addition, the Paris Saint-Germain defender was at fault for the penalty conceded against Paraguay in the Copa America quarter-final last year, handling the ball from a cross in entirely avoidable circumstances. The resulting converted dead ball allowed Paraguay to restore parity, before knocking out Brazil in a shootout.

But his barring from the Selecao came about when he was angered at losing the captain’s armband to Neymar and had the audacity to discuss it during an interview, as reported by UOL Esporte (link in Portuguese). He has not been called up to the Brazil squad since the Copa America held in Chile last year.

Now, assuming he is included in the final squad in eight days’ time, Brazil will be able to count on their best central defender and best forward in August, something which, for contrasting reasons, Dunga could not during the Copa America Centenario.

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This tournament is almost pertinent as it represents a closing chapter on Brazilian international football in some respects. It feels that the focus of world sport has been centred on this corner of the globe for close to a decade now, something that the Olympics will bring the curtain down on.

First came the World Cup and the buildup: The hope, the dreams and the ghosts of over half a century to exorcise and, well, we all know how that turned out. Now, there is a chance for Brazil to enter uncharted waters.

With the Olympic football competition being principally an under-23 side with just three overage players, it could be seen as a perfect barometer for the future.

The likes of Casemiro—who looked excellent in the U.S.—will be a huge loss after Real Madrid refused to release their holding midfielder, according to Globo Esporte (link in Portuguese), while Fluminense’s exciting attacking midfielder Gustavo Scarpa will be given the chance to prove his credentials in that famous yellow shirt.

But judging from the pre-list, the two most exciting names will be in attack. Gremio forward Luan, as well as the much-coveted Palmeiras attacker Gabriel Jesus, could well form an attacking trident with Neymar, should Micale indeed opt for a 4-3-3.

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Jesus is reported to be on the wish lists of European giants such as Barcelona and Manchester City, proving that, as well as Brazil’s talent pool not being as dry as some people would have you believe, that the Selecao will be a force to be reckoned with on home soil in August.

Brazil have, one would hope at least, a relatively straightforward group. On August 4, the side take on South Africa, before facing Iraq on the August 7 and Denmark three days after that.

Indeed, such will be the expectation that the biggest problem for the players may be dealing with the pressure itself, something that caused some players to become unstuck at the World Cup two years ago.

All in all, you cannot help but feel that Brazilian football has lost a little of its identity in recent years. There has been no World Cup final appearance since winning the thing in 2002, and a stark reminder that the Confederations Cup really is a dress rehearsal in broader terms than simple logistics: Brazil have won the last three editions.

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It sometimes seems like every time Brazil fail, and in this corner fail can be loosely translated as not winning, at an international tournament there is the talk of the need to back to the drawing board, reinvent, start from scratch.

Such grand schemes cannot be conducive every couple of years, and the upcoming tournament has the air of the end of an era. The globe’s sporting attention will no longer be on Brazil and, once the fanfare disbands, new coach Tite, who was officially announced this past Monday afternoon (link in Portuguese), will be moulding a side in his own image, in what many must hope is a world away from some of the drab stuff offered up during Dunga’s final bow.

A tournament that was already of vital importance to Brazil has subsequently taken on added impetus since a sobering Copa America performance. But it should also be viewed as a time of excitement and intrigue for spectators.

This is a Brazil side that has a chance to enter the history books. Of course, winning the World Cup never gets old, but to be part of the group to bring home the gold for the first time must be a spine-tingling prospect.

The group that will have that chance will be defined on June 29. While it may be goodbye to the world’s eyes, it is the perfect chance to sign off with a smile.