Brazil’s legend Tostao talks about the World Cup and Brazil’s result.

FIFAworldcup.com: Briefly, how would you sum up Brazil’s performance against France?
Tostao: Brazil played very badly and the result was more than fair. Brazil got their game-plan wrong and stood off the French. The midfield sat very deep and gave (Zinedine) Zidane, (Patrick) Vieira and (Claude) Makelele a lot of space, so France could move the ball around and dominate the game. As well as that, individually the players were very poor. The result wasn’t a surprise because France had the team to beat Brazil. The two teams are practically on the same level. What was surprising was Brazil’s apathetic approach, and they let France control the game from start to finish.

Even in the first half, the Brazil fans were calling for the team to show more fight. Do you think that they lacked heart?
Not at all. When I say ‘apathetic’ I don’t mean that they weren’t interested. It’s that detached style of play, the way (Carlos Alberto) Parreira likes his teams to play. Brazil played the same way throughout the tournament, always giving the opposition a lot of space. Parreira likes his side to sit back, close off the defence and not leave any space in behind. But the opposition managed to get to the Brazilian back four and create a lot of chances. Brazil didn’t deal with the situation, didn’t try to win the ball and weren’t aggressive in their style of play. In the first two games they flattered to deceive because their opponents were weak, and Brazil were able to win even though they played badly. When they finally played a team on the same level, those deficiencies were laid bare.

You were one of Brazil’s top players and you shone during the 1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico. Is there any explanation why players like Ronaldinho should have so noticeably failed to live up to expectations, not just against France but throughout the tournament?
Firstly, when the team as a whole is not strong, then the individuals don’t shine as brightly. It’s wrong to say that the individual players make the team play well. It’s when the team is doing well, when you have a good squad, when you are organised, that’s when your star players can shine. Secondly, Parreira never managed to put together a system and a style of play that was right for Ronaldinho or Kaka, or any of the players. All of them play differently for their clubs than for the national team.

With Barcelona, Ronaldinho has a free role in attack. But more importantly, Barcelona play in a totally different style to Brazil. I knew that it would be impossible for Brazil to copy Barcelona’s style of play, but even so, I hoped that Ronaldinho as an individual player could have played a bigger part. It was a real disappointment, but that doesn’t take away from his quality. People aren’t going to change their opinion of him just because of a few games, even if they were World Cup games, as he has been brilliant over a prolonged period of time. From now on, people will make more demands of him, but both he and Kaka have every chance of regaining the glowing reputations that they had before the tournament.

Were there any positives for Brazil to take from the tournament and any players in particular that you liked?
The players who did well were the ones who didn’t start the tournament as superstars. The two centre-backs, Lucio and Juan, played well, and Dida was good. Ze Roberto, in spite of his limitations, also performed well. They all did what was asked of them. Those four were the only ones who did not disappoint.

What can Brazil hope for in the future?
Sometimes, you have to lose a World Cup to realise that certain players who were outstanding in a previous era now have to be moved on. Nevertheless, I understand Parreira’s position as regards players such as Cafu, Roberto Carlos and even Ronaldo. Everybody, even the press, thought that those players could do well in the World Cup, not just Parreira. Roberto Carlos and Cafu simply confirmed the poor club form that they have shown for a while, and so the team needs a change. My belief is that those players, along with Emerson, will not play any further part in the national team.

Ronaldo the record-breaker

Even though he is only 29, I don’t think that Ronaldo should be selected again, because his chances of playing in the next World Cup are very slim. The many injuries he has suffered have given him the demeanour of a player much older than he really is. He hasn’t got the pace that he once had, and his mobility is restricted to a small part of the pitch. So, what we need is a big change. The foundations should be the players I have mentioned, and Kaka and Ronaldinho are still our big hopes for the next World Cup. We’re going to keep our fingers crossed that other top players come through as well. There will probably be a change of coach as well and, given the atmosphere around the squad and the disappointment of this tournament, I don’t think that would be a bad thing.

Source: WCoffsite