Saturday, October 8, 2011

The Brazilian squad preparing for the World Cup in Weggis, Switzerland


During the second round, they defeated Ghana 3–0. However, Brazil was eliminated in the quarterfinals against France by a score of 1–0 when Thierry Henry scored the winning goal. France was led by a rejuvenated Zinédine Zidane and by a strong defence which kept the Brazilian strikers under check for the duration of the game. Brazil were shut out, attempting just one shot at French goalkeeper Fabien Barthez. The game was also notable for being the first time that the Brazil team had been shut out in consecutive matches against a particular team. France now has a 2-1-1 all-time record against Brazil in World Cup play.

After the result of 2006, the team was criticized by many Brazilians. Some, such as Pelé, blamed coach Parreira and Ronaldinho for the team's early elimination.The night after Brazil's defeat, vandals burned and destroyed a 7-meter tall fiberglass and resin statue of Ronaldinho in the Brazilian city of Chapecó, which had been erected in 2004 to celebrate Ronaldinho's first election as FIFA World Player of the Year. Roberto Carlos and Juninho each announced their retirement from the team and Juninho asserted that it was time for the players over 30 to retire from the team. Cafu, the Brazilian captain, made an infamous comparison between the team of 2006 and the team at 1982 World Cup, one that is remembered as one of the greatest teams that lost a World Cup. Two days after the loss, Ronaldinho and Adriano partied through the night in Barcelona, increasing the feeling of the Brazilians that they were betrayed by their national team. This reaction contrasted with other players such as Rogério Ceni, who was ashamed of the game and said "some defeats are marked by struggle, but we lost in an infelicitous way, that wasn't what we had hoped for", and Zé Roberto, who cried and said that "the unity that we had outside the pitch, was lacking inside it". On July 19, Parreira resigned as the team coach.


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