Bald Sneijder’s got the head for goals
Dunga sacrificed Brazil’s famed beautiful game in order to win, and win ugly. But, a 1-2 loss to Holland in the World Cup quarterfinals, and the former World Cup winning captain’s legacy could forever be tarnished.
Devastated by the failure, the Brazil coach, who took over from Carlos Alberto Parreira after the 2006 World Cup, made it clear that he had no intention of sticking around any longer.
“We knew when I started that I would be here for four years. It’s sad, it’s difficult, nobody prepares to lose,” he said after his side’s loss to the Wesley Sneijder-inspired Holland at Port Elizabeth on Friday.
Dressing room pep talk did the trick for Dutch
Inter Milan’s Sneijder scored the winner after creating the first goal which Felipe Melo headed into his own net. The 26-year-old revealed deep introspection during the half-time break, when they were trailing 0-1, led to their remarkable second-half turnaround. “In the first half it seemed almost impossible,” Sneijder said. “Then you’re in the dressing room at halftime and you say to each other, these are the last 45 minutes of a World Cup, we should give all we have. I think we did.”
The man of the match, reflecting on his crucial header, said: “This was my first header here, I don’t think it will happen again, but it was great. The ball slipped on my bald head and went into the net, a great feeling.”
Sneijder added: “If you can eliminate Brazil, one of the best teams in this championship the first feeling is relief, we always believed in it.”
“I think that during this game you’ve been able to witness everything that this team represents,” coach Bert van Marwijk said. “We can play in a businesslike manner, we can also play football very well.”
The Brazilian fans drew vent to their ire on Twitter, which shut down after elevated user activity.
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