Brazil’s Final Practice

`Ronaldo at defense, and goalie Marcos at offense…`

As if it was planning a `surprise position change` for the first league match with Turkey at Munsu World Cup Stadium, Ulsan, on the 3rd, the Brazilian football team held its final practice with different positions on the 2nd. Best striker Ronaldo (Inter Milan) stood at the rear to take defense, and goalkeeper Marcos (Palmeiras) was at front for offense. Rivaldo (FC Barcelona) was the only one, who kept the original position, and he recorded 2 goals and 1 assists to show no more trace of injury. There was no sense of atmosphere that the team might be another victim of unexpected outcome after Senegal beat France. Instead, everybody seemed sure of victory.

Too much fun, perhaps? Captain Emerson (AS Roma), who was keeping the goal, became uncertain about participating in the Turkish match, as he injured his right shoulder while practicing. Defensive midfielder Emerson moved to the locker room after banging on the ground while he was trying to block the ball.

¡°Victory against Turkey is natural. We’ve finished analyzing about Turkey, and all preparation is done,¡° said Ronaldo confidently after the training session.

Brazil has been displaying some extraordinary things after it set up its camp in Ulsan last month. It even ran the strategy that all 10 players on the ground, except the goalkeeper, repeated offense and defense together, as if the team was trying to make the `0-0-10` formation, which was never tried before.

Also, the program concentrated on offense. Ronaldo, Rivaldo, and Ronaldinho form `3R triangular formation` to master offensive set-plays, and wingbacks Cafu and Roberto Carlos spent much time participating in offense as well. Rest of the defenders also repeated long-distance shots, pressing for attack. Defensive training could hardly be seen, as it only prepared for Turkey’s fast breaks. It seemed that the point was to score 3 goals, even if 2 goals are lost.

Coach Luis Felipe Scolari, who woke up at 3:30 a.m. to video-analyze Turkey, said, “France-Senegal match was a great morning-call that drove away all conceits. They say Turkey has a strong defense, but I believe our team can penetrate that with no problem.”

Jong-Seok Kim kjs0123@donga.com