Pierre Boisrond has followed soccer and the World Cup
closely for many years and also writes for other websites. We at PWC are proud to have him as
a columnist. He will share his views about the past, present and future of
the World Cup.
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The Brazilian Samba TRIO: A-K-R: Too Much for the Argentina Tango
Brazil is Brazil! We can even say that Brazil=Championships. In every tournament, the Brazilians seem to always finding
away to take it all. The last time Brazil lost a final game was in France 98. Brazil does not come to settle for a mere 2nd
place, they come to win it. In the 2005 Confederations Cup, they showed the Argentines how to play the game. Brazil has
cracks; Argentina has great players, nothing else. In the 2004 Copa America, Adriano destroyed Argentina’s hope to win a
championship. Again in 2005, Adriano started the Samba for the Brazilians. It does not matter if one supports Argentina, the
fact is that Adriano scored a goal for the ages and finished the massacre with a fantastic header that left every Argentina’s fan
in a moment of darkness.
A final is a final. Brazil knows how to play the finals. They came to play with a great focus on winning the title while
Argentina’s Pekerman came to play a game full of strategy by constantly changing players in their respective place, such as
Sorin. This is not the time to experiment. Against Brazil, a coach cannot afford to use such tactics. If Argentina claims to be
a world-class team, then being down 0-2 should have not been an intimidation. Therefore, that quickly came 0-4.
Pekerman made a crucial mistake by not revamping the team at the beginning of the second half. Lucio Figueroa was
struggling, then take him out by putting Carlos Tevez who would have put the Brazilian defenders on their toes. El “Chelito”
Delgado played a terrible first half. His crosses were horrible, and he had received several balls from Riquelme, and he
wasted them all. Solution: substitute Delgado with Galleti. El “Chucu” Cambiasso: Lost in the game, played with hearts,
nothing else. He should have not played any minute in the second-half.
The Argentina defense is very shaky, I have never seen an Argentina defense that conceded so many goals in a tournament.
Coloccini: very shaky in the back—reacted late, always a candidate for the red card, and missed a clear opportunity. Heinze:
Fought hard but Kaka and Adriano gave him a Samba lesson—he needs to learn how to Samba instead of doing the Tango.
Zanetti: failed with his projection—no precision at all.
Sorin: lost in the game, don’t know where to be on the field. Placente: nothing, zero, nada: his days are numbered in the
national team. Bernadi: nothing, zero, nada, not ready to play at that level. Riquelme: The best that Argentina had that night;
came close, but needed Aimar with him at the beginning of the second half not 25 minutes later. Aimar: saved the honor of
Argentina. With Riquelme and Aimar, Argentina would have been able to resist the Talented duo- Kaka-Ronaldinho. The
Goalie: Lux: Shaky at times—could be his last game as a starter. As a matter of fact, Argentina has no qualified goalie-
Abbondancieri of Boca Juniors is very shaky. Pekerman, the coach: Zero, can’t seem to find the right line up.
Playing Brazil in a final game is serious business, thus Argentina must have their best on the field, If Aimar has some physical
issues, at least putting Tevez to create some confusion among the Brazilian defenders. Tevez had done it in the last Copa
America. He had done it in the Olympics. He had proven himself many times against the Brazilians.
The Brazilians came to win it all, and that’s what they did. They don’t come to play some friendly games or some world-cup
qualifiers. They know how to play when it matters the most. Yes, they lost against Mexico. They tied with Japan, and beat
Germany in the semis. They did not show their best, but they did reserve it for Argentina. What started as a battle ended up
as a Massacre. Brazil won well, and they deserved it. Argentina only had two cracks: Maradona and Kempes. Brazil
always have cracks and they have proven it again.
Since 1993, The Argentines are unable to win a championship for the people of the rio platense. In 1994, they succumb to
the Romania of Hagi. In 1998, Dennis Bergkamp and Holland sent them packing. In 2002, let’s not even talk about it—a
complete disaster. In the 2004 Copa America, they had the finals in their hands, Adriano “La bestia Negra” de Argentina,
destroyed their hope. And Again in the Confederations Cup, Adriano gave them a Samba lesson to all Argentina players.
The Trio: A-K-R (Adriano, Kaka, Ronaldinho) gave their archrival a fantastic samba lesson. After watching the game for the
second time, I must say that Brazil is two steps ahead of Argentina. May the players of the Albiceleste learn how to Samba.
If not, Germany 2006 might be similar to 2002. To beat Brazil, one has to learn the Samba. Even myself I may have to learn
how to dance that Samba. So far dancing the Tango can only bring back some not so pleasant memories.
If Riquelme wants to be the world’s best, he clearly has the potential to be. The best I’ve seen from Argentina since Diego
“Dieguito” Armando Maradona. However, he needs to take complete control of the game like Maradona used to be. When
the strikers are missing everywhere, he needs to find some majestical ways to rise up to the occasion. He needs to find some
ways like Maradona did in 1990 to get rid of Dunga and then gave it to Caniggia who sent the Brazil team packing for Rio
de Janeiro. He needs to play like the “dioses” like Maradona did in the 1990 against Italy by eliminating Toto Schillaci and
compatriots. He needs to find the spirit of “El matador”, Mario Alberto Kempes. He needs to find the magical skills of
Diego Armando Maradona when he made that long pass to Jorge Luis Burruchaga who made no mistake by beating the
arrogant Harald Schumacher of Germany and then bring the 86 trophy to the Buenos Aires. He needs to step it to the highest
level the same way he used to do at Boca Juniors. He needs to step it up as it did with Villarreal. He needs to forget about
needing another playmaker on his side to get rid of his defenders. Better yet, he needs to spend the next 11 months getting
ready to bring Argentina back to the top since 1986. If he’s the prince of Maradona then the 2006 should be his World
Cup. In the Confederations Cup, he was clearly the best player of the tournament—but they had to give it to Adriano for
sinking the German Submarine and for teaching the Argentina’s defense how to dance the Brazilian Samba. We’ve all seen
the Brazilian dance during the trophy presentation; and to tell you the truth, I don’t want to see it again. It’s up to you
Riquelme; It’s up to you to bring the glory days back to the Rio Platense. It’s up to you to erase that Brazilian ghost that has
become a nightmare for me and for all the Argentina fans. As my brother said: “When will I stop suffering?” I could not
answer that other than to say: the response is in the hands of Riquelme. So far so good, One way or the other, Argentina will
have to face Brasil again. This time the boys of Pekerman shall remember. As Riquelme said:” We did not fight hard against a
very good team.” In a year, the world will again be united to enjoy the greatest tournament on earth. And let every team give
its best. For the Giants, giving the best is not acceptable. Leaping over the opponents is what is required. The hunger to be a
champion is what is required. The hunger to dethrone Brasil by introducing a new dance is what is required. Finally, the hunger to
come back against adversity is what is required and just a little bit of luck. Sometimes, the gods of football have to smile at you
as they did in Argentina 78.
Every Argentina failure against Brazil becomes a nightmare for me. The Brazilian fans from my country, Haiti, are making my
life miserable. They are calling me from everywhere. When I don’t answer the phone, they make it clear that they will track
me down until I answer. I had to answer and faced them and I had to admit that their team was better in this final. They are
waiting for me to convert to a Brazilian fan, and I told them that that would never happen. To these days, my phone does not
stop ringing. I am taking it fine. Like I told them, where were all of you on June 8th? As they said, this was a simple
World Cup Qualifier and Brazil’s goal is to win Finals. They have a case, but let us wait for July 2006.
We can say that Brazil: is the prime candidate for the 2006 World Cup. However, let Riquelme, Ballack, Beckham, Raul,
Van Nistelrooy rise to the occasion. Otherwise, Adriano, Kaka, Ronaldinho will take it all.
Brazil is Brazil? Does this victory convince me? Not fully, because Brazil was shaky in the whole Confederations cup.
However, I am very sure that Brazil is a candidate for 2006 but it’s not going to be easy at all. Congratulations to Brazil!
The rendez-vous is now set for Germany 2006 where we shall enjoy the world’s best tournament. The only tournament in the
world that is capable of uniting the world. This is what the World Cup is all about! For some countries, just qualifying alone
is worth it. For the giants, it’s all about winning the trophy—nothing else matters. Second Place does not matter—winning it
all is what is important. And Brazil with the A-K-R trio is certainly a favorite.
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