Brazil coach Dunga faces his former mentor Sven-Goran Eriksson on the touchline when the five-time world champions meet Ivory Coast in a mouthwatering World Cup Group G clash at Soccer City today.
Former England and Mexico coach Eriksson, now in charge of the West Africans, was Dunga’s coach for a season at Fiorentina from 1988 to 1989 and said recently that even then he could see that Dunga, 25 at the time, was leadership material.
“I know the manager very well, I brought him to Fiorentina and had him there for a year,” the Swede said. “Even as a player, he knew tactically everything about football. He’s one of the best footballers I ever had, he was fantastic, defending, attacking, he knew exactly everything.”
PHOTO: REUTERS
The match will also see Brazil defender Lucio renew his rivalry with Ivory Coast forward Didier Drogba, who will play with a FIFA-approved cast to protect his fractured elbow.
They faced each other when Lucio’s Inter knocked Chelsea out of last season’s Champions League, with Drogba’s frustration boiling over when he was sent off late in the second leg.
Lucio, who did not give Drogba much of a look-in, later complained that the Ivorian had tried to intimidate him, prompting an angry exchange between the two in the second game.
PHOTO: REUTERS
“Drogba didn’t do much in the first leg because Lucio played a marvelous game and he only had a few chances in the second,” said Brazil goalkeeper Julio Cesar, who also plays for Inter. “Drogba shoots well and heads well and he has a special way of hitting the ball, so you have to pay special attention.”
Brazil, who struggled against a packed North Korean defense on Tuesday before finally winning 2-1, said they hoped the Africans — needing points after a goalless draw against Portugal in their opener — would play a more open game.
Brazil will be playing their sixth match against African opposition at the World Cup, having won their previous five — Zaire (1974), Algeria (1986), Cameroon (1994), Morocco (1998) and Ghana (2006) — without conceding a goal.
Group G
Team | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
Brazil | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
Ivory Coast | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Portugal | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
North Korea | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
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