The UnJogo bonito

6/27/2006: Brazil 3 – Ghana 0

I have never seen Brazil play so bad, or even booed so much at a match, and yet still manage to win so convincingly. The Brazilians got an early goal in the 5th minute on a breakaway by Ronaldo, shedding the keeper on a beautiful stepover move before poking it into the net and then are badly outplayed for the next 40 minutes by a Ghanaian team that looks simply awesome, using the same beautiful football it displayed in dismantling the Check Republic.

But Ghana can’t convert its 7 to 8 clear chances to score. Brazil then score a goal totally agains the run of play and at the stroke of halftime to boot on a play in which eventual goalscorer Adriano is offside twice on the same play. Near the Brazilian’s right side of midfield the play develops with a pass in which Adriano is a passive offside position. He runs back towards his own goal temporarily before circling back to join the attack. As the Brazilians push the ball up the wing, Adriano continues his run into the box holding his hand up for the ball. When the ball is crossed into him, he’s in a clear offside position. The ball deflects off of Essien into Adriano’s foot and into the goal.

As is so often seen, a goal scored right before halftime gives a team a huge boost. Because of its dominance but inability to score, that play not only broke Ghana’s back, it also cost them their coach, who was not allowed to return to the field of play in the seconf half for correctly arguing the call with the referees in the tunnel. Brazil didn’t play any better in the second half, but Ghana didn’t have much left either. Ze Roberto scores a garbage time goal in the 85th minute to seal the final scoreline.

I don’t know what to make of this Brazilian team. Early in the competition, the talk was all about how unfit Ronaldo was, yet in this game he scores his 15th World Cup goal on a beautiful move breaking the record of Germany’s Gerd Muller. He is then in great position to score a second when Adriano tries to make the same move as he did on a 2 on 0 breakaway against the goalie before Adriano is stripped of the ball and falls over the sprawled defender (hmmm, this was called a PK in the Italy – Australia game). So I think Ronaldo is just fine. The player that seems tired and out of synch to me is Ronaldinho. He looks a lot better in those great Samba and Jogo bonito commercials than he does on the actual pitch. He has just not looked convincing. And Kaka looks like he’s running about half speed as well.

Brazil better notch it up a gear if they are to defend the title because if Ghana would have netted an early goal, I think they would have had a real knockout puncher’s chance to take Brazil out.