Interim Brazil Assistant Coach Mauro Silva believes Dunga is the right man to revive the Seleção

Interim Brazil Assistant Coach Mauro Silva is confident Dunga can rebuild the Seleção. The 46 year-old, who played alongside the new Head Coach when Brazil last won the FIFA World Cup in 1994, believes Dunga’s experiences as a player will help him revitalise the national team. Enthusiasm for Brazil is at a real low following […]
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sambafoot_admin
2014-08-20 19:56:00

Interim Brazil Assistant Coach Mauro Silva is confident Dunga can rebuild the Seleção.

The 46 year-old, who played alongside the new Head Coach when Brazil last won the FIFA World Cup in 1994, believes Dunga’s experiences as a player will help him revitalise the national team.

Enthusiasm for Brazil is at a real low following their hosting of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, where they lost 7-1 to Germany and 3-0 against Netherlands in the Third Place play-off.

Silva notes however, that Dunga was singled out as a scapegoat for Brazil’s disappointing 1990 FIFA World Cup campaign – they were knocked out by Argentina in the Round of 16 – but returned to captain the side to victory in 1994.

With this strength of character, he insists Dunga is the best man to regroup the current crop of players.

"The first thing I’d say is that no one overcomes adversity better than this coach," he told FIFA.com. "We came in for so much criticism in 1990 and Dunga was dubbed a failure. It was known as the "Dunga era" and you can compare it in a way to the 7-1 defeat to Germany. 

"A lot of people said he wouldn’t be back, but he showed them by returning as the captain who lifted the Trophy four years later." 

Silva also goes on to suggest the heavy loss against Germany could help build resolve within the Brazil squad and gives them a point to prove.

"There’s no better inspiration for this team than Dunga," he continued. "It was a tough defeat to take and it’s left a mark, there’s no doubt about that. At the same time, though, it could be an opportunity. 

"We had a huge amount of pressure on us in 94. I remember one qualifying match at the Morumbi [Estádio Cícero Pompeu de Toledo] when we got booed for the whole 90 minutes even though we were at home and we were winning [a 2-0 defeat of Ecuador on 22 August 1993]. 

"Experiences like that are all good for you. They toughen you up. They’re an inspiration for the players who’ll be in the team in Russia in 2018 and who’ll be going for the title to make up for this defeat."

Dunga has returned to manage Brazil for a second spell. The 50 year-old, who has also lead the under-23 side and was most recently Head Coach at Internacional, was previously in charge of the Seleção for four years from July 2006, but was sacked after being knocked out in the Quarter-Finals of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.