Brazil coach Dunga may be seething over the dismissal of his team’s star player Kaka for two yellow cards, but in the end it was the Real Madrid ace’s reaction, minute as it may be, to being provoked that led to an early shower.
The effect of having Barcelona’s Yaya Toure on his back every second of the match, often fouling the forward just as he was breaking free, may have added to Kaka’s frustration.
The Brazilian is not the first big name to be targeted by rival defenders, nor will he be the last. Brazil’s original Samba King Pele was hacked by defenders at both the 1962 and 1966 World Cups that forced the legendary forward to sit out a major part of the two events with injury.
Kaka’s case is a little different from the others, as Kader Keita’s Academy Award worthy performance had a lot to do with the referee sending him off. Sure, the Brazilian may have used his elbow, but replays confirmed the contact was innocuous and Keita made the most it.
Dunga was scathing in his attack on the French official. “The dismissal of Kaka was totally unjustified. He was fouled and yet he was punished. The player who commits the foul escapes the yellow card, I have to congratulate him for that,” said Dunga.
The player himself was hopeful Fifa would look into the matter. “The red card was unfair,” Kaka said after the match. “I saw it again on TV, and it’s clearly unfair. I hope Fifa will see it, too, and come to the same conclusions.”
However, Ivory Coast coach Sven-Goran Eriksson felt the second yellow card against Kaka was warranted and said the Brazilians should not complain after Luis Fabiano’s controversial second goal.