Without Neymar but with Robinho, without the magic of one but with the aura of the other, Brazil must change its face and be a more joyful team if it wants to overcome the challenge that Paraguay always represents. The carousel of changes by Dunga against Venezuela in the last match of the group stage defines his nature as a coach, the same as he had as a player. The Brazilian coach does not want defensive flaws, he prefers them in attack, and the entry of David Luiz and Marquinhos for Willian and Robinho reflected his obsession with defending a 2-0 lead that curiously ended in 2-1.
Dunga has been asked for immediate results and the only way he knows to achieve them is this. The jogo bonito, that old-fashioned and outdated tag of Brazilian football, is more history than ever with him on the bench. For now, however, in the 13 games he has been in charge, he won 12 and lost only one. The path seems right. However, of all the previous matches -most of them friendlies- none demanded as much from him in attack as today's match in the Copa America quarterfinals against Paraguay.
Without Neymar. The Paraguayans do not hide their desire to close ranks and hope that luck will be on their side in the penalty shootout. It favors them that there is no extra time, only the shootout, to force a situation that already made them triumph four years ago against the Brazilians. With the absences of starting players Samudio, Ortiz and Ortigoza, their defensive tendency will become even more evident.
Brazil is robbed of Neymar's absence which takes away many keys with which to open locks. The can opener will be Robinho, recovered for the cause by Dunga, along with Willian and Coutinho in the attacking midfield line. The truth is that with Robinho and without Neymar, Brazil played a more associative game, more dynamic with the ball, more in line with what they need to overcome obstacles.
Brazil plays against a solid Paraguay, against the ghost that their elimination represented four years ago in this same round and against the same opponent, but above all Brazil plays against itself, which prioritizes composure over football, solidity over the game. Today, that won't be enough.
Revenge for Brazil's elimination in 2011
Paraguay was the executioner of Brazil in the quarterfinals of the last edition, four years ago in Argentina. The team that was then led by Tata Martino won on penalties after a tough match in which the Paraguayan defense clearly prevailed over the Brazilian attack. Justo Villar, who will once again be the goalkeeper defending Paraguay's goal today, made seven magnificent saves during regulation time and then became the hero of his country in the penalty shootout. This is the goal that Paraguay is once again seeking, with the aggravating factor that this time, unlike then, there will be no extra time, only penalties.
Check out the schedule on AS for matches day by day, all the results of the matches (both in the group stage and in the final stage), as well as the latest news, the best photo galleries and the videos (goals, match summaries, technical details, great plays, analysis by Menotti...) of the Copa America 2015.