From Dunga to the downright eccentric Diego Maradona, the leading coaches at the World Cup are plotting different ways to win the title.
Brazil coach Dunga has upset millions of his countrymen by leaving out big stars such as Ronaldinho, Alexandre Pato and Adriano out of a squad he believes needs stability to win a sixth World Cup.
One of the game’s all time greats as a player, Maradona has stunned the football world by ignoring hugely experienced defenders Javier Zanetti and Esteban Cambiasso.
Maradona has been unable to get the best out of stars such as Lionel Messi and the football jury is out as to whether such a great player will ever make it as a coach. While the rejection of these top players seems crazy, no one will be complaining in Brazil if Dunga wins the title he won as a player 16 years ago. And Maradona will achieve even greater plaudits in Argentina if he justifies his selections by capturing a third for his country.
“We will do whatever is needed to reach our goal,” Dunga said during his team’s World Cup preparations. “We are confident that everything has been very well planned. It’s always the same thing before every World Cup. Everybody wants to talk about those players who are not on the team. For some reason they are always better than those who are on the team. People will always complain. But I’m going to summon those I think will help Brazil the most, regardless of their names.”
While Dunga has a wealth of talent to choose from, England’s Fabio Capello struggled to find genuinely top quality players to complement the stars he has.
The Italian, who has had major club successes with AC Milan and Real Madrid, knows he has the nucleus of a team to get very close to winning the title. But he doesn’t have a safe and reliable goalkeeper and can’t find the right partner for Wayne Rooney in attack.
— AP