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Dunga had his first major press conference as the new manager of the Brazilian national team and, instead of talking about what he is going to do to fix the dilapidated Selecao, he decided to take a few cheap shots at a few of the team's best players: Neymar, David Luiz and Dani Alves.
Dunga was the national team head coach from 2006 to 2010, and he enjoyed a solid tenure (aside from the squad's quarterfinal exit in the 2010 World Cup). When Dunga got the boot in 2010, it was for his defensive style of play - and, in our humble opinion, hatred for anything that was remotely fun. Flash forward 4 years and it seems that it's the same old Dunga.
His first order of business as manager? No more dying of hair or crazy hairstyles. Neymar and Dani Alves notably dyed their hair during the tournament and Dunga thinks that it was a distraction for the team.
“I wouldn’t have allowed these players to dye their hair while they were with the national team,” Mundo Deportivo reports Dunga telling the Brazilian media. “Either do it before or after, but they should be thinking about the World Cup.”
Neymar and Dani Alves's dyed hair at the 2014 World Cup. (Photo: @vallenatohot | Twitter)
Nevermind the raucous chants of the crowds, the occasional fan running onto the field and, most importantly, the German team's dizzying and precise passing. It was clearly Neymar's crazy hair that distracted David Luiz and company so that they forgot how to play defense from approximately minute 20 until...well...minute 90+.
But it didn’t end there. Dunga proceded to personally call out Neymar for wearing hats that didn't support the Brazilian national team.
“Neymar appears with a cap or without a cap. It should be [a Brazil cap]. We should be talking about what happens on the field...Neymar is a reference for the world. He won’t play based on who he is. He’ll play depending on the team.”
Neymar sporting his own branded hat at the 2014 World Cup. (Photo: @Messiminutes | Twitter)
So, not only was his hair a problem, but his wardrobe too? Dunga needs to realize that Neymar carried the team up until their 7-1 drubbing, in which he didn’t play a single minute. But it doesn’t end there either.
“I didn’t like that the team came out with shirts in memory of Neymar [prior to the Germany game after Neymar was injured against Colombia]...The message conveyed was ‘we lost a warrior.' But if we go to war we can’t keep crying. We can’t harm the soldier who takes their place.”
We understand that Dunga is simply trying to make a statement here about the culture of the team, but we at The18 interpret the players' behavior in that match as using Neymar's loss as a rally cry to go out and win. Sure, it's easy to criticize since that rally cry turned out to be completely ineffective. However, let's remember that Louisville did the same thing when Kevin Ware had a gruesome leg injury in the 2013 NCAA tournament. And that team went on to win the Championship. We imagine if Brazil had done the same, it would be viewed as a brilliant tactical maneuver to use Neymar's loss as motivation.
As if he hadn't taken the wind out of an already deflated team's sails at this point, Dunga closed by taking a shot at David Luiz's behavior after the loss.
“A scene of tears is wrong in the world of football. Maybe it’s sexist, but men don’t cry. We need to learn respect,” he said.
So, the message for Brazil in 2018 seems to be: get in line, show little personality, and win. And perhaps this is good advice - if you think you can simply flip a switch and turn the entire culture of Brazilian football into something like the German culture of football. Seems like a tall order, but we wish Dunga all the luck he'll need to reverse Brazil's fate in Russia - or wherever the 2018 World Cup ends up being held.
David Luiz in tears following Brazil's 7-1 loss to Germany in the semifinals. (Photo:@ Messiminutes | Twitter)
