Tuesday 12 July 2011

Lucio Worries as Messi Comes Good


Brazil have drawn both their Group B matches so far, leaving them equal second in the standings with Paraguay, two points behind surprise leaders Venezuela.

“No one is happy with these results,” Lucio said at Brazil’s training base outside the capital, Buenos Aires.

Brazil drew 0-0 with Venezuela in their opening match at La Plata, before a 2-2 draw on Saturday with Paraguay in Cordoba.

“We know the quality of players we have in this squad, we must show much more, more seriousness and more commitment to the Brazilian national team shirt,” said the 33-year-old central defender, a World Cup winner in 2002 and one of the few survivors from Brazil’s 2010 team in coach Mano Menezes’ young squad.

“I think the badge on the shirt is more important than the name on the back. Each one of us has to look for an improvement and understand that you have to give a bit more of yourself, because we’re not getting the results.”

Brazil’s performances have been fitful, only occasionally showing what Menezes wants in his efforts to return to their traditional attacking game, usually when playmaker Paulo Henrique Ganso is involved.

Teenage forward Neymar, Ganso’s clubmate for newly crowned South American champions Santos, has shown little of the sparkle that won him a place in the team, although Menezes defended him after a lukewarm performance against Paraguay.

“He is one of the great hopes we have. He’s already a reality for Santos and he showed good form in some friendlies with the national team,” Menezes said.

Meanwhile Argentina coach Sergio Batista said the rout by 3-0 over Costa Rica, on Monday night, served to "restore confidence" to his team.

"We needed a game like this to restore the confidence of the players", said Batista after the match in Cordoba. "We could not do what we did in the other two matches. 

Today, Messi was brilliant and I was pleased by the application of the team, this is the game we want. "

"We needed to have security as a team and keep the ball. Lionel knows how to overcome these situations and he showed today, made a tremendous start, barbaric."

In the quarter-final, Argentina will play on Saturday in Santa Fe, against the second of the Group C, which can be Chile or Peru, both already sorted, or Uruguay.

Batista did not confirm whether will use the same team that faced Costa Rica on Saturday: "You have to have alternatives, but today everything went well, now let's see the next opponent, how the players are, we'll look."


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