Brazil’s 1970 World Cup-winning team is fondly remembered as one of the best to have graced the competition but current coach Dunga says it may not have been as good as it looks in television replays.
Dunga, whose team is often criticized for a perceived lack of style, said the team featuring Pele and Rivelino may have been flattered by television because the public only see the best bits.
“In 1970, we didn’t have a television in my home,” Dunga said. “When they show highlights from 1970, all you see are the good parts.”
“Nobody repeats 1966 because Brazil didn’t do well. From 1958, they just show the good parts, and from 1962, they also just show the good parts,” he said.
“If we take the current Brazilian team and just show the best bits, fans will think it’s a spectacular team,” Dunga said. “But today, they show as many negative moments as good ones.”
Brazilian critics often hark back to the old days, complaining that the modern team lacks the artistic touch of the sides who won the World Cup in 1958, 1962 and 1970.
Even today, Brazilian television frequently repeats the famous goal Pele scored in the 1958 final against Sweden, his near miss from the center circle in the 1970 and the flowing move which ended with Carlos Alberto Torres slamming the ball into the net at the end of the 1970 final against Italy.
“Another thing is that the 1970 team had four months to prepare,” said Dunga, adding it was human nature to think things were better in the past.
“My grandfather always told my father it was better in his day and my father told me the same,” he said.
“I tell my son it was better in my day and I’m sure he’ll say the same to his son,” Dunga said.
“It’s difficult. Back in 1958, football was just about technique. Then they added physical preparation, then they brought in tactics, then they added the pressure and the emotional side,” Dunga said. “If you have a close look at the teams from the past, they committed the same mistakes as the teams of today.”
Dunga added that some people were just never satisfied.
“The pressure gets greater and greater,” he said.
“We always have to win but even when we win, they are not happy because we didn’t put on a show. If we put on a show, they are not happy because we didn’t score six or seven goals,” Dunga said. “If we score six or seven goals, then they say that the opposition was no good.”
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