True, there was some luck along the way, especially in the quarter final against Spain, but also in the semi against Mexico – and Portugal in the final had chances to claim the title. The truth is, though, that winning the trophy was a superb achievement from coach Ney Franco and his team – it is worth bearing in mind that the two star players of this age group, Neymar and Lucas, were not even in Colombia, both having already been promoted to Brazil’s senior ranks.
In their absence Ney Franco came up with an interesting collective formula. The 4-2-3-1 formation was quickly abandoned. Instead his team started the game playing 4-4-2 and then made a switch in the second half. “Our strategy,” he explained towards the end of the competition, “is to start the game with physically strong players, and then, in the second half, bring on quick players to finish off the opposition.” This entailed a change to a back three, with Casemiro dropping to the heart of the defence and right back Danilo moving into central midfield, while Negueba came on to fly down the right flank while Dudu was introduced to do the same down the left. It was risky – Brazil came close to losing as Portugal exploited the space behind Juan, uncomfortable when pushed out on the left side of the back three. But fortune favoured the boldness of Franco, with Negueba and Dudu time and time again proving decisive in their role as impact substitutes.
Franco is aware, though, that the success of his work in charge of the Under-20 side will not primarily be judged by the trophies won or even the collective blend of the team. The main purpose is to produce players for the senor side.
Brazil coach Mano Menezes made this very clear last year. Right from the start of his reign he was making the point that the Under-20s were not functioning to a satisfactory level because not enough players were progressing through the ranks to become successful with the senior side.
His observation is confirmed by a glance at the previous two Brazil squads to have won the World Youth Cup. Of the 1993 team, goalkeeper Dida was the only one to make a significant contribution to the selecao. Daniel Alves is the most important graduate from the 2003 winners, who also included Nilmar, and three other fringe members of the squad Brazil are taking to London to face Ghana – Jefferson, Adriano Correa and Fernandinho. Central midfielder Dudu Cearense was a key player in that side, and for a while was seen as a big hope at senior level. Carlos Alberto Parreira quickly promoted him to the senior squad, and in the early days of his reign Dunga also gave him some opportunities.
The player, though, was unable to make the breakthrough, and was soon forgotten. This is always likely to happen. Some players are simply unable to live up to their potential. And in a country such as Brazil, which produces so many players, it is inevitable that some Under-20 stars go on to be overtaken by late developers. In terms of producing players for the senior side, it is unfair to compare the success rate of Brazil’s Under-20s with that of Uruguay, for example.
But there was clearly a feeling that Brazil could be doing better. There was also a suspicion that Brazil were making a mistake by entrusting the Under-20 team to young, inexperienced coaches – a temptation always existed for the coach to make a name for himself by taking a short cut, picking big, precociously developed, strong players to gain a physical advantage.
This was one of the reasons behind the choice of Ney Franco – a coach with massive youth development experience, but one who has also made a name for himself in charge of major Brazilian clubs.
These, then, were the terms on which Franco took the job, and it is by these standards that he will have to be judged – which means that any definitive verdict on the class of 2011 will have to wait a few years, until we see how many of this team are making an impact at senior level.
He can already claim one success – not Neymar, who had represented Brazil at full level before working with Franco at the start of the year in the South American Under-20 Championships. Lucas of Sao Paulo did so well in that competition , staged in Peru, that he was immediately promoted – to my mind a premature decision by Mano Menezes. For what it is worth, my view is that Lucas would have benefited more from playing in the World Youth Cup than from going to the Copa America as a substitute. But Ney Franco played his part, grooming the player with the Under-20s.
How many more of Franco’s boys will make the big time? Danilo has already been called up as part of the squad to face Ghana at the start of next month. Clearly, his claims have been helped by his versatility, his capacity to play in midfield as well as right back. On similar grounds, Casemiro might also hope for a promotion before too long, since he sprung a surprise by filling in well in defence in addition to his normal midfield duties.
The rest? A mistake in the final apart, keeper Gabriel did exceptionally well, and showed admirable maturity for the youngest member of the team. Centre back Bruno Uvini looked to have made progress since the qualification tournament in Peru.
Even before his three goals in the final, Oscar was my choice for Brazil’s player of the tournament. Will he be able to tip the balance at senior level? I am not yet convinced, and much the same applies to Philippe Coutinho. Henrique is a talented striker. Is he too petulant to make his mark at senior level? Are Negueba and Dudu going to be more than exciting impact substitutes?
These are all fascinating questions – it is going to be fun watching the 2011 generation go in search of even bigger mountains to climb than the one they scaled last Saturday in Bogota.
