As a footballing nation, Brazil is renowned for producing some of the greatest attacking players to ever play the game. While this is still the case today, there is a new breed of Brazilian footballer that is emerging from South America that eschews the samba football that has come to be associated with Brazil in favour of a more rugged, combative approach to the beautiful game.
Attacking players from Brazil have often found it hard to settle in England with Robinho the latest in a long line who have failed to make an impact in the Premier League. However, the more defensive players have found it a lot easier to find their feet, taking to the physical nature of the Premier League with ease.
Players such as Liverpool’s Lucas Leiva and Arsenal’s Denilson have built on the success of Gilberto Silva and made something of a name for themselves in the Premier League. Gilberto Silva was a lynchpin in Arsenal’s team for 6 years, playing the defensive midfield role with great authority. He was adept in limiting the opportunities for opponents to attack by pressuring the ball with great intensity. As part of an attacking team at club and international level, Gilberto’s role is arguably the most important as he provides a security buffer in front of the back four while also acting as cover for the full-backs who are used extensively in launching potential attacks.
The proliferation of more defensively minded Brazilian players in the Premier League is testament to the tradition of the deep-lying midfield player in Brazilian football culture who provide the base for some of the more exciting players in the team to do their damage.
For years, the Brazilian national team has relied on a base of two deep-lying midfielders who complement the two more attacking midfielders ahead of them. For example, recently sacked Brazil manager Dunga was part of a Brazil team which played this system to great effect. Dunga played in a team alongside a deep-lying centre midfield partner (Cesar Sampaio) with Leonardo, Denilson or Rivaldo playing ahead of them. Interestingly, the recent popularity of the Brazilian defensive midfielder has coincided with the appointment of Dunga to the national team post.
The importance of the defensive midfield position has its roots in Italian football with the catenaccio system which employed a sweeper or libero who acted as a last-line of defence in front of the goalkeeper. As the game has evolved, the libero has moved from behind the back line to in front of it with the defensive midfielder acting as the new libero in front of the back four.
Dunga moved from Brazil to Italy in 1987 when the catenaccio system was hugely in vogue and was instantly at home. He spent 6 years in Italy where he developed a reputation as one of the best defensive midfielders in the world.
The success that Dunga enjoyed as a defensive midfielder has been transmitted into the national side which he coached in this summer’s World Cup. Dunga went back to the two deep-lying midfield formation which he was used to in his playing days when picking his team for the World Cup, employing Felipe Melo and Gilberto Silva in his former role.
With Dunga’s preference for deep-lying centre midfielders, the Premier League really comes into its own. The physicality and pace of our league is perfectly suited for such a player to thrive in. Lucas has proven that he has the ability to do so with a number of good performances for Liverpool while Denilson has quietly amassed 80 league appearances for Arsenal.
The Premier league is increasingly becoming an attractive destination for young Brazilians to come and ply their trade with Tottenham signing 21 year old midfielder Sandro from Brazilian club Internacional. With Brazil sacking Dunga in the aftermath of their quarter-final defeat to Holland, there may be a question whether the new Brazilian coach Mano Menezes will distance himself from the defensive play that characterised Dunga’s tenure as coach. But with the talent available to him in the Premier League and abroad, the tradition of the Brazilian defensive midfielder is sure to live on.
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