On July 17th 1994,
Brazil won their fourth world cup after beating Italy 3-2 on penalties. The
game itself was a forgettable 0-0 draw with few chances, while the penalties
are mostly remembered for misses by Italian legends, Franco Baresi and Roberto Baggio. Most people would say that penalties were a
suitable finish to a tournament which is roundly remembered as the least
inspiring World Cup of all. Even the final’s ultimate outcome was dull: another
World Cup for Brazil? So what?
Actually, it mattered a lot.
Brazil 1994
Brazil was at a historical
low-ebb in 1994. Far from the image people have of them being fun-loving happy
types, Brazilians were miserable. In their 1970 world cup song, they happily
sung about reaching a population of 90 million. By 1994, the population had
spiked to 155 million and nobody was singing about it. A third of the
population was living below the poverty line.
The country was an economic
basket case where hyper-inflation was running at close to 3,000% a year. These
days, people recall how they would take their wage packet straight to the local
supermarket to stock up on non-perishables as their money would be near
worthless a month later. Private savings in banks had recently been seized by
the government and earnings were being taxed at over 50%.
In politics, it was less than two
years since their first democratically elected President since 1960 had been
impeached for corruption. President Fernando Collor had been voted in on the
strength of big promises to turn around Brazil’s faltering economy. Instead, he
brought hyper-inflation and graft. His successor, who came to power without an
election, was Itamar Franco. Six months into his presidential term, a poll
showed that less than 50% of Brazilians knew who he was.
In the excellent and emotive 2011
documentary, Senna, one woman best captures the feeling prevalent in Brazil at
the time: “There is nothing good in Brazil but Ayrton Senna.”
And then Ayrton Senna died.
Obituaries don’t do justice to what
Ayrton Senna meant to Brazilians. Too often, sports stars are said to have
transcended their sport but in Senna’s case, it was almost certainly true. It’s
difficult to think of a British equivalent. After his death on May 1st 1994,
Brazil had three days of national mourning. News channels devoted an entire day
to covering the funeral which attracted over a million people. Brazilians
weeped openly on national television. Brazil wasn’t just an economic wreck - It
was an emotional wreck.
 |
| Ayrton Senna: Quite popular in Brazil, actually. |
Carlos Alberto Parreira
In Brazil, when you’re coach of
the national football team, your job is to win the World Cup. The
Confederations Cup, the Olympic Games and the Copa America are window dressing.
The World Cup is your money-maker. In Brazil, it is known simply as “a copa” (the cup), suggesting an
unerring focus on its importance. When Carlos Alberto Parreira was appointed Brazil
coach in 1992, it was therefore his role to win the next World Cup being held
in the US in 1994.
The position was a perilous one
to take on for any coach in 1992. Parreira would be the fourth coach in as many
years – a statistic which didn’t bode well for his future. He replaced Falcão
(himself a former popular member of the Brazil team) who lasted less than a
year on the job, and that after coming a respectable second in the Copa
America.
Unlike his predecessor, Parreira
hadn’t been a fan’s favourite. Nor was he a particularly experienced coach.
What he was able to grasp quickly, however, was that the Brazil team was fractured
and had been for a few years. Fighting in camp was to blame for their uninspired
showing at the World Cup in 1990. It was considered such a fiasco that Falcão
was forbidden from taking any of those players to the Copa America in 1991.
Parreira was now calling them back for what everyone hoped would be a grand
reunion.
World Cup ´94 Qualifiers
The World Cup qualifiers in the CONEMBOL
(South America’s football confederation) group in 1993 are probably best
remembered for two events: Colombia defeating Argentina 5-0 and Bolivia beating
Brazil 2-0. Incredibly, Brazil had never lost a World Cup qualifier before.
Maybe only the hammering of Argentina on the same day as the Bolivia defeat
softened the blow to Brazilian fans, taking the spotlight from their faltering
national team coach.
Nevertheless, in the following
game against Ecuador, online footage shows that fans´ calls for his head were
deafening. In a game the Brazilians were expected to win, they managed a dour
0-0 draw. At the centre of the debate was Dunga, a midfield general, untypical
of a Brazilian captain. He seemed to epitomize the dour football that Parreira
was being accused of; a cog in a 4-4-2 system that was considered more European
than Brazilian.
You would think that after 24
years without winning the World Cup (the longest such dry patch in history for
Brazil), they’d have been happy to opt for the pragmatism of Parreira in the
hope that it might bring success. But Brazilians have a self-proclaimed love
affair with jogo bonito, the
beautiful game. The 1994 team still isn’t regarded as highly as the 1982 team
of Zico and Falcão, despite the failure of the latter team. The reason? Where
do you start? For one thing, the 1982 team would never have had a Dunga as
captain.
The nation’s rose-tinted glasses
for the 1982 team didn’t stop there. Brazil’s right-back during the 1994
qualifying round, Jorginho, explains: “all through the qualifiers there was a
real pressure on the confederation to call in Tele Santana (the coach from the
1982 team). The fans wanted to fire Parreira. But he overcame all of it.” There
is now a sense that the negativity from outside only served to fortify the
links between the squad.
When rumours began circulating that
the same divisions which had driven apart the 1990 World Cup team were
appearing again, the Brazilian team’s joker-in-chief, centre back Ricardo
Rocha, suggested they enter the field holding hands in the next game: the
return leg against Bolivia in Recife. Commentators laughed it off as a gimmick
at the beginning of the match. Nevertheless, it stuck; the team kept doing it
before games until the final of the World Cup the following year.
The Bolivia game marked a
turnaround in the team’s qualifying campaign. Brazil won the game 6-0. The
nucleus of the team that would win the World Cup was also being formed.
Taffarel returned after losing his place earlier in the year to Zetti. Parreira
only wanted players getting first-team football and Taffarel had been a victim
of the 3-foreigners-only rule at Parma. The pragmatic character of the team
Parreira was building was exemplified by Taffarel.
Taffarel explains: “There were
four foreigners at Parma and only three could be registered. I lost out and my
game became very rusty. I turned up for the Copa America in ´93 and lost my
place to Zetti, who was playing really well. I moved to a little known-team
(Reggiana) so that I could play every weekend. It prepared me really well.” He
would have a telling influence on the outcome of the World Cup one year after
moving to a club most players wouldn’t have considered joining.
The Return of the Prodigal Son
All through the qualifying campaign,
Parreira had resisted calls to bring Romário back into the squad[1].
His first-choice strikers were Edmundo and Bebéto and on occasion, bizarrely,
Muller. At every game, Parreira would be confronted by huge banners calling for
the striker who at the time was playing under Bobby Robson at PSV. Pragmatism
was one thing but Romário’s exclusion seemed strange – even if it was more than
likely rooted in his reputation as a divisive figure.
Injuries forced Parreira’s hand
for the final qualifier against Uruguay. With Muller and Edmundo both out, he
called Romário into the team. In an interview, Jorginho said, “with the arrival
of Romário, the pressure on Parreira diminished, but it was still difficult.”
The team had to win their last game in order to qualify. The task wasn’t made
any easier by the fact that their opponents, Uruguay (in a team which featured legends
Enzo Francescoli and Daniel Fonseca), could still qualify.
The day before the game, Romário
met Ricardo Rocha and Dunga on the pitch at the Maracanã and said, “I’m going
to score two goals tomorrow. Give me a pen and piece of paper and I’ll show you
how this game will go.” The game, Romário now recalls, was “the most perfect
game of my life… I didn’t think I’d ever play for the national team again. But
they needed me. There was no other option; I was their last hope.”
Unfortunately for Uruguay, what
followed was the Romário show. Type “Romário Uruguay 1993” into a search engine
and marvel. Twenty years on, it is still remembered as one of the virtuoso performances
in a Brazil shirt. In front of 101,670 people at the Maracanã, Brazil won the
game 2-0 and guaranteed qualification for the World Cup in the United States. Never
before had it come down the final game. It took Brazil 72 minutes to break the
deadlock but it somehow all seemed worth it.
The Brazilian left-back of the
time, Branco, recalls of the Uruguay game: “Romário was magnificent that day.
He couldn’t have played better, it was destiny.” Parreira’s take on the game
was perhaps less pragmatic than Brazilians had come to expect: “God sent
Romário to the Maracanã.” What is certain is that the team had found a striker
worthy of a World Cup winning team. And a partnership with Bebéto that was set
to devastate.
Beginning USA 94
Despite qualification, Parreira
was still bitterly unpopular in the Brazilian media. The calls continued for
his head, even during the warm-up games. Jorginho recalls: “He wanted to leave
after the friendly against Mexico (a week before the beginning of the World
Cup). There was a meeting and the players said that he should go out (to the
press) and tell them that he was going nowhere. When the coach has the respect
of the team, they unite more and fight as a unit. It was very noble.”
With Parreira still in charge, Brazil
were the seeded team in a group containing weak Cameroon and Russia teams and the
Sweden team that would go on to gain a third place medal. After their 1990
exploits, people expected Cameroon to provide a repeat performance. Roger
Milla, 38 in 1990, was now 42 and looked older than the Cameroon coach.
However, they were dreadful. They were beaten in all three games, including a
6-1 trashing by Russia.
Brazil disposed of both teams
with relative ease. They won the Russia game 2-0 with goals from Romário and
Rai. They followed that up by beating Cameroon 3-0 with goals from Romário, Bebéto
and Márcio Santos. Neither game was greeted with much enthusiasm in Brazil but
at least the team was finding its gears. The Sweden game was a somewhat
different proposition, even though the team had already qualified for the
second round.
The Swedish team contained
household names like Thomas Ravelli, Kennet Andersen, Stefan Schwarz, a svelte Tomas
Brolin and Martin Dahlin. As it happened, Brolin was one of the three
foreigners responsible for keeping Taffarel out of the Parma team. Sweden went
ahead early in the game through a Kennet Andersen strike but Brazil responded
(very late on) through Romário. He says: “that was my favourite goal of the
tournament;” an unmarked header from a Bebéto cross.
After the game, Brazil’s newly
elected President, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, personally called Parreira to
complain about the performance. Pelé was expressing his disappointment with
Parreira’s “defensive set-up” and even Parreira’s mother called the national television
network about his changing the original lineup of his team. On the positive
side, the supposedly dour tactics were at least taking people’s minds away from
hyper-inflation and the death of a national icon.
Independence Day
Bebéto says, “The most difficult
game was the one where we were most close to a disaster – the game against the
United States. They were coming from relatively positive results, they were
very aggressive, they were playing at home and it was July 4th,
their independence day.” Perhaps subdued by the Sweden result and once again
doubting their abilities, Brazil entered the game under a cloud of uncertainty.
Early on in the game, left-back
Leonardo was sent off for elbowing the American, Tab Ramos. Both players
tussled for a fairly innocuous ball at the left touchline half-way inside
Brazil’s half. Leonardo swung an elbow and connected with Ramos’ jaw. The
otherwise forgettable player will forever be remembered in Brazil as the man
who nearly ended their World Cup in 1994: “The game was tough. After the
expulsion of Leonardo, nobody knew what would happen.”
The game was on a knife-edge at
0-0 at half-time and the Americans, playing on their home patch, must have
fancied their chances. Bebéto went to the dressing room after the first half
ended and found Leonardo there, still in his kit, under the shower and crying.
“He kept saying that he was responsible for Brazil getting eliminated from the
World Cup.”
Thankfully for Leonardo, Brazil
found an edge through Romário and Bebéto late in the second half. A defence-splitting
pass from Romário on the right flank found Bebéto in the centre, who slid the
ball past American keeper Tony Meola. Brazil had won, if not exactly emphatically.
After the game, Jorginho and Bebéto dropped to their knees and hugged each
other. It had been that close.
Quarter Finals
Brazil had to face an adept
Holland side in the quarter-finals. Holland had easily disposed of the Republic
of Ireland in the second round and on paper at least, posed a far greater
threat than the Americans in the previous round. Perhaps the American game had
stirred them, perhaps the lack of Leonardo was instrumental, but Brazil dealt
very easily with Holland.
“We were far superior to Holland
in every aspect, from what I remember,” muses Jorginho. They were, but they
didn’t take the lead until the second half. Romário scored with a deft touch
from a Bebéto cross seven minutes after the restart. This was soon followed by
a mix-up in the Dutch defence, leaving Bebéto to round goalkeeper Ed de Goey
and do that celebration.
Holland did strike back to make
it 2-2 but almost nobody remembers that. Bergkamp scored from close range and
Aaron Winter equalized with a nice header which had been typically badly
defended. For the Brazilians that believe in destiny – and there are literally
millions of them – this was perhaps the moment in the tournament when destiny
played her hand.
Leonardo’s replacement at
left-back, Branco, cut inside a couple of Dutch players a little past the half-way
point of the opposition half. They fouled him, despite there being no immediate
danger. Dunga, also a free-kick expert, seemed to fancy it. A little bit off
centre and a good distance out, it was in both their ranges. But Branco had won
it and he wanted to take it.
3-2 Brazil.
The free-kick swerved slightly to
the left of the wall through a muddle of bodies and into the bottom left-hand
corner of Ed de Goey’s goal. The goal seemed to epitomize everything about that
Brazil team: the return of a much-maligned player making a telling contribution
at an opportune time. The in-fighting of 1990 was long gone and Brazil were
just two games from the copa.
Brazil’s Reserve Team
It is sometimes said that
Brazil’s abundance of talent is such that their second string side could win
the World Cup. In 1994, that was almost literally what transpired. The team
seemed to be suffering from an injury curse that only Abou Diaby could empathize
with. It continued right up to the game with Holland when Jorginho had to be
stretchered off and replaced by Cafú.
Brazil’s team captain had
initially been centre back Ricardo Gomes, but he was injured in the training
camp and Márcio Santos was drafted in. Next, Ricardo Rocha was injured in the
group stage and was replaced by Aldair. Branco replacing Leonardo at left-back,
followed by Cafú at right back meant that the back four that finished was
completely different to that which begun the tournament.
Add these changes to the sudden
inclusion of Romário and Mauro Silva, and Brazil’s first team complexion is
dramatically different to how it might have been. Parreira seems to have been
able to instil a sort of doggedness in the team that was missing from previous
years though and they’d need it against a resurgent Swedish team in the
semi-final that followed.
Semi Final
Sweden came into the semi-final
against Brazil having comfortably knocked out crowd-pleasers Romania with a
worked free-kick that has yet to be rivaled. Tomas Brolin peeled off the wall
and it was just a matter of passing it to him in the six-yard area where he
struck it past the open-mouthed Romanian keeper. They weren’t short on confidence,
let’s put it that way.
But Brazil totally dominated. In
the end, the game was a nothing contest and 1-0 victory to Brazil after another
Romário header flattered Sweden. The Swedes in turn would go on to hammer
Bulgaria 4-0 in a game, which made people wonder what was the point of the
third-fourth playoff and leave a bitter taste in the mouth about Stoichkov,
Letchkov and co. But that wasn’t important. Only one thing mattered.
Brazil were in the World Cup final
for the first time since 1970.
The Winners Tell History
The 1994 Brazil World Cup Team
have reels of amateur video footage thanks to all the camcorders they purchased
in American Malls during their five-week stay.[2]
The footage can now reveal what went on in the days leading up to the final and
underlines how important the victory was to Brazil. Italy may have similar
footage. Who knows? To the victors, the spoils.
Two days before the final, the
players were given a motivational video: A video showing the 1970 team winning
the Jules Rimet trophy. There was no sound on the video and the players watched
without talking. At the head of the room sat Parreira’s assistant, Mario
Zagallo – the coach of the 1970 team and a legend in Brazil.
Fast forward two days to three
hours before the final. Carlos Alberto Parreira tells the players, “you are on
the cusp of changing the lives of a generation of Brazilians.” And they were.
The unlikely lads that took to the Rose Bowl that day had been abused by the
press, booed by fans and written off by Europeans as being “too European.” As
it turned out, they were very Brazilian indeed.
Brazil v Italy
Brazil v Italy has a rich
history. For one thing, the 1970 final – so eulogized as to have become a
parody of itself – was a Brazil v Italy affair. Although truth be told, Italy
weren’t eve really in it. In 1982, the second most popular Brazilian team ever (and
that, despite conceding a goal to Scotland) was knocked out by the Italy of
Paolo Rossi and Marco Tardelli.
In 1994, the roles were reversed,
somewhat. Italy were tournament favourites from the outset but had only found
their feet after barely making it through the group stage. Roberto Baggio
delivered in almost every round. On paper, the squad was as good as Italy have
ever had. Pagliuca, Baresi, Maldini, Donadoni, Albertini, Signori and the
Baggio’s (Luca and Roberto).
Brazil’s video footage shows them
going through how they were going to stop Donadoni. Donadoni! Maybe the
thinking was that Baggio couldn’t be stopped so the best way to deal with him
was to cut out balls to him at source.
Everyone knows the final and it’s
not remembered fondly: “the dullest final ever,” they call it. Pagliuca dropped
a shot against the post and then kissed it; Viola attempted a bicycle kick and
nearly succeeded. Such are the margins in football – you can be the first man
to win a World Cup final with a bicycle kick or you can be Viola. Viola is now
a footnote in a game that went to penalties.
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| Spoiler alert: Brazil eventually won the 1994 World Cup. |
“I had never taken penalties before. In my mind, they didn’t count as
goals,” Romário
The irony of Romário’s statement
is never had penalties mattered so much to Brazil. They won the shootout 3-2
thanks to misses from Baresi and Baggio and a save from Taffarel. The Brazilian
keeper was the man everyone jumped on at the end. The one who couldn’t get a
game at Parma and had been loaned to Reggiana had just beaten a team full of
Parma, Milan and Juventus players.
Carlos Alberto Parreira had been a physiotherapist for
the 1970 team and had now come full circle. On the victory, he remarked: "The
victory was the effort of all the players who gave it their all for two months,
sacrificing to practice, play and win," Parreira said. "I dedicate
the victory to all the people in Brazil in general, to those who have
suffered.”
“Although most of the Brazilian and international
press were always criticizing my philosophy, I stuck by my ideas and
principles," he said. "It feels great because, like Frank Sinatra
said in that song, I did it my way." Parreira didn’t acknowledge the role
fate had played with injuries but maybe it was a day for bathing in it.
That same day, Bebéto told journalists: "The
economics and financial picture in Brazil is sad. I hope this victory will
stimulate the government to improve the economic conditions. The lack of jobs
and the poor children are a very big problem. We were a team on a
mission." They achieved their mission and played whatever part footballers
can in the recovery of a nation.
Aftermath
In April 1994, with inflation running at an annual
2,500%, Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso put the “Real Plan” into operation.
The plan created a new currency, the real, which would be pegged to the dollar.
In 1995, inflation fell to 15%. With help from the IMF and an operable plan for economic stability in place, Brazil began to get its ship in order.
Brazil won the World Cup again in 2002 after a gap of
only 8 years. The Brazilian economy is slowing but is now the fifth biggest in
the world. Poverty has fallen by over 50% since 1994 and inflation is around
6%. The days of waiting 24 years for a World Cup, immense poverty and inflation
are hopefully gone and not to return to Brazil.
The significance of the result
seems even more important with hindsight. Looking back, Bebéto says: “We wanted
to bring happiness to the people. The country had just lost Ayrton Senna. We
thought of the suffering the people were going through and knew we couldn’t
mess up. We had to give everything.”
Reports on the first game
[1]
They were also calling for the inclusion young Ronaldo, then 17 (and
incidentally, called Ronaldinho (“little Ronaldo”) as there was already a
Ronaldo in the squad at the time, the centre back Ronaldão, or “big Ronaldo”)
but the calls for Romário were much louder.
[2] A
TV Globo report released on the day the team arrived in Brazil showed that they
needed five shipping containers for all the shopping the Brazilian squad had
undertaken while in the US. Among the purchases was a fridge and three
large-screen televisions.
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