The Spain coach thinks that the hosts’ determination to exorcise the ghosts of their 1950 nightmare may work against them.
Brazil may have comprehensively beaten Vicente del Bosque’s Spain side in the final of last year’s Confederations Cup but the 63-year-old thinks that the home side’s famously passionate support could prove to be a burden.
“Brazil will have the fans behind them but this could come back to bite them as it heaps the pressure on,” warned del Bosque, speaking on the sidelines of a two-day seminar for World Cup coaches on Wednesday in Brazil.
64 years after their famous defeat to Uruguay at the climax of the 1950 tournament, the possibility of Brazilian failure on home soil continues to loom large for the hosts.
The 2-1 loss in front of 200,000 fans at Rio de Janeiro’s Maracanã stadium is regarded as something close to a national tragedy.
Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari insisted however that the country had learnt from the past and would be able to cope with the weight of expectation.
“Before 1950, Brazil had never been to the final,” Scolari told reporters. “They acted as pioneers for our five titles won since.”
