Brazil coach Dunga admitted Kaka’s flurry of yellow cards was giving him concern as five-time world champions Brazil charged into the quarterfinals at the World Cup at Ellis Park on Monday.
The former world player of the year picked up his third booking of the tournament as Brazil eliminated Chile 3-0 in the last 16.
Kaka, in his first outing back from a one-match suspension for his red card against Ivory Coast, again went into the referee’s book and laid on the final pass for Luis Fabiano’s goal before he was brought off with nine minutes left.
Kaka fell foul of English referee Howard Webb after hacking down Arturo Vidal in the 30th minute, putting him under the threat of another expulsion for his remaining time on the pitch.
Coach Dunga admitted Kaka’s run of yellow cards at the World Cup was troubling. “Yes, it is a problem, I don’t want Kaka to be left suspended, the technical players are punished and those who commit fouls aren’t,” Dunga said, adding, “This started in the group stage, we are going to talk to Kaka about this, we don’t want to get bogged down on the issue of yellow cards.”
The Brazilians were upset that Kaka was sent off in his last match for what they deemed a light push on the Ivorians’ Abdelkader Keita, who collapsed theatrically to the ground.
Playmaker Kaka has been slowly finding his form at the World Cup after he was dogged by a thigh injury in his first season since joining Real Madrid from AC Milan last summer. “If we look at Kaka, he didn’t play a 90-minute game in the last five months, we have built him up slowly, everything has been planned,” Dunga said. — AFP