Brazil's "boring" debut on road to South Africa worries fans

Brazil was held to a goal-less draw in its visit to Colombia on Sunday and awaits Ecuador on Wednesday in the legendary Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro.

 Many analysts are once again questioning the quality of the team coached by Carlos Dunga, which as always is under the obligation to add to Brazil's five World Cup titles.

 Dunga - a former Brazil captain - took over the Brazilian squad after a disappointing performance in Germany 2006. The team - without major stars Kaka and Ronaldinho - did not play well in this year's Copa America in Venezuela but still carried the trophy after beating arch-rival Argentina in the final.

 On Sunday, it failed to win in Bogota. But fans are less worried about the result than about the lacklustre play shown by world-class footballers like Kaka, Ronaldinho and Robinho.

 All commentators agreed that goalkeeper Julio Cesar was the best player in the Brazilian side, stressing the team's poor performance in attack.

 Commentator Roberto Assaf said Brazil played "with a football with no creativity whatsoever, with passes to the sides and so satisfied with the result that it only made two dangerous shots on goal ... very little for a national team with stars of proven quality, capable of generating such expectations."

   "Brazil depended on the individual shine of its stars, who were virtually absent," Assaf added, in a column published Monday in the sports daily Lance.

 "Kaka and Ronaldinho, absent in the conquest of the Copa America, and Robinho, the great star in the tournament won in Venezuela, were far below what was expected of them," the daily O Estado de Sao Paulo agreed. "The poor performance further reached veterans Juan, Lucio and Gilberto Silva,"

   Folha de Sao Paulo valued the away draw in Brazil's qualifiers debut, but it also criticised the team's "laziness" in Bogota.

 "Now, we have to try not to repeat that unambitious play at home, to avoid the team getting into a clash with the fans after only two games" into the World Cup qualifiers, the daily warned.

 The newspaper O Globo said the match against Colombia was "provoked sleep," and noted Brazil deserved to lose and only got away with a point because the referee ignored that Gilberto clearly brought down Wason Rentaria in the box.

 Brazilian players arrived back in Rio de Janeiro on Monday. They were met by few fans and declined to talk to the press, claiming they were tired after a six-hour journey.

 After the game on Sunday, the stars admitted that Brazil was far from its best level, but they considered the criticism excessive.

 "We are not satisfied with the draw, but it is not the end of the world either," said Kaka.

 "We faced several problems - the rain, the altitude," said Ronaldinho. "Few teams will get to play here and carry a point. We would have liked to do better, but we are happy with that point."

   Dunga and his players now have 48 hours to prepare a good show for Maracana. The coach said he spotted faults against Colombia and that they would all be fixed ahead of the game against Ecuador.

 "We have to keep the ball more, to work better with it. And it is natural for the team to improve in its second game," Dunga said./ By Diana Renee