Word: braziller
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...half century been the very heartbeat of Brazilian national pride as generation after generation of exquisitely talented players has donned the national team's canary-yellow jersey and showed the world how the "beautiful game" should be played. And Europe's elite leagues have long honored Brazil's contribution to the game by bringing dozens of Brazilian players to star in their top teams. But Brazil may have been a victim of its own success: Today, the national team is struggling, and the resultant crisis in national pride has enraged everyone from the fans in the cheap seats to President...
...Just 15 minutes into Brazil's recent World Cup qualifying match with Ecuador, when the teams had yet to find their feet and their rhythm, the fans at Rio's legendary Maracanã stadium were calling for the head of Dunga, the single name used by the former team captain who now serves as its coach. Brazil eventually awoke from their sluggishness and scored five goals without reply, and the fans were singing again - but the truce was temporary. A few months later, as Brazil faced its arch-rival Argentina in a 0-0 draw, the coach was again...
...That Dunga is the scapegoat for Brazil's bad run of form is hardly surprising in a country that one of his predecessors once described as having 180 million coaches. But the players he chooses are also coming in for flak in a controversy that has raised the question of just what it means to be Brazilian. Many fans believe that when Brazilian players make it big and are signed to play for major European professional teams, they lose their identity and national pride. (Indeed, there are currently more than ten other countries, ranging from Spain and Portugal to Croatia...
...most of the money in international pro soccer is concentrated, which is why the best players from throughout the world tend to earn their wages there. Still, for the President and many other fans, the answer to restoring national pride lies with selecting more home-based players in the Brazil team, the theory being that those closer to home have a greater desire to represent their country than those earning pounds and Euros. Finding such player may be a tough prospect, however, because so many Brazilian players are lured overseas at increasingly young ages: last year, alone, 1,085 Brazilian...
...such is the disillusion with the national team that the suggestion has sparked intense interest. Lance!, the country's biggest selling sports newspaper, has proposed that at least half of the Brazil team should be made up of home-based stars. "We often don't even know some of the players called up to the Brazil squad, and often those that are act like they are doing us a favor," the paper wrote in a front-page editorial. "Today, a player is more likely to get called up if he plays in the Ukraine than if he plays...