The Hindu : Genius plus luck: That's what England is up against

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jun 19, 2002

Sport

Sport - Football

Genius plus luck: That's what England is up against

By Paul Hayward

KOBE JUNE 18. Brazil may just be a trick of the eastern light. England's problem, though, is that there is no defence against genius or luck. The Brazilians had a measure of both in the Wing Stadium as they eliminated Belgium with an uneven performance which ought to encourage England. Sven-Goran Eriksson's team is facing 11 individuals of mixed ability. It is not playing a magical "spirit'' or a myth.

"The Mundial starts in the next round. Now is the time to think about England,'' Ronaldo said after tormenting the Belgians with his ruinous injections of pace, his ball-caressing feet. His fifth goal of the tournament confirmed his miraculous rebirth, four years to the month after his apparent demise. But watching from the stands was a foe far more formidable than the two Ronaldo faced in the centre of Belgium's defence. Rio Ferdinand, who was thinking, maybe, of Bobby Moore's famous tackle on Jairzinho in 1970, is two days away from the most searching test of his career.

First, let's deal with the genius. Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, Juninho and Roberto Carlos are all capable of destroying you with a single audacious act. Beyond this stellar cast, though, Brazil falls away into comparative anonymity. We saw confirmation of the side's vulnerability when the opposition refuse to worship at the altar of Brazilian invention. It has a weak defence and no "holding'' player in central midfield to support the artists further up the pitch. Belgium gave it trouble. And England is Belgium with many bells on.

"It was really a wonderful game in a great stadium made beautiful by all those yellow shirts,'' Ronaldo panted. This reflected his own euphoria at finding his way out of the darkness of eternal injury. It falls to Ferdinand and Sol Campbell now to put him back in the shade. Not even the Brazilians can quite believe that their best striker has recovered his effervescence.

"He takes two players with him and always disturbs the defence,'' said Luis Felipe Scolari (Big Phil), the Brazil coach. Here, we can imagine Friday's soundtrack of gasps and wails in English pubs whenever Ronaldo collects the ball.

The England players left 10 minutes early to beat the traffic. Now they have to beat Brazil at a World Cup for the first time in the competition's 72-year history. Even this statistic can be stripped of menace. The countries have not met in this tournament since Mexico 32 years ago (England lost 1-0). Before that, there was a 3-1 defeat in Chile in 1962, and a 0-0 draw in Sweden in 1958. Anglo-Brazilian history is free of the traumas and phantoms that characterise England's relations with Germany and Argentina.Time, now, to address the issue of luck. Brazil should have been chasing Monday's game from the 35th minute, when Marc Wilmots scored for Belgium with a perfectly legal header. Only the referee, Peter Prendergast, spotted an infringement by Wilmots against Roque Junior, one of Brazil's underwhelming centre-halves.

As Brazil regrouped, and began running the ball out of defence with lacerating pace, the thought occurred: could Belgium be on its way out of the World Cup on account of a decision made, not by Ronaldo or Rivaldo, but a man from Jamaica called Peter Prendergast?

No, was the answer, because Brazil scored twice in the second half while Belgium failed to convert any of its numerous chances.

Even here, though, good fortune was weaving an anti-Belgian spell. Rivaldo's control of a Ronaldinho cross in the 66th minute was thrilling.

But his subsequent shot required a deflection to beat Belgium's goalkeeper. Nor did Ronaldo's sweeping finish from a cross by Kleberson reach the net without bumping the undercarriage of Geert De Vlieger.

Brazil faces tough England defence

Scolari is no overnight sorcerer. Having survived a traumatic qualifying campaign, the Brazilian coaching staff evidently came up with the hardly revolutionary strategy of throwing all their most gifted players into the starting XI and ordering them to attack.

On Friday, Brazil will attack the tournament's most successful defence. The sometimes non-existent central midfield will be buffeted by Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt. Slow centre-halves will be assaulted by Michael Owen (if fit). Again: England has already beaten Argentina, which won Brazil's World Cup qualifying group by 12 points. The formbook points to an evenly balanced game.

"England are a very good team. Very strong in the final third of the pitch,'' Rivaldo said as Brazil returned to its city centre hotel (no island retreats for the world's most illustrious tribe).

"There's a lot of tradition in that team, and they have two special players in Beckham and Owen. But I believe that the Brazilian defence is good enough now, and that we'll be able to stop Owen.''

Already the key match-ups are easy to spot. Ferdinand against Ronaldo could define both men, for this tournament, at least.

Next, the imagination turns to Roberto Carlos marauding across Danny Mills's patch; Juninho grappling with Paul Scholes on the left of England's central midfield, and Ronaldinho thrusting into England's penalty area with sudden, lethal runs.

No head-to-head can be specified for Rivaldo. He will be everyone's problem — but only if his team is running the show and not fighting off England's own attacks.

The brief history of England-Brazil matches will be endlessly retold this week, because games of this magnitude need a context. But honestly:

Eriksson's men are not taking on the fantasy that has sustained Brazilian football from its birth.They are playing the team which summoned just enough genius and luck to get past Belgium. — Copyright, Telegraph Group Ltd., London, 2002.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport