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Brazilians class of Group A
(CP) -- Brazil's buildup to the World Cup has been less than smooth, but the defending champion still enters the 1998 tournament with the world's top two players and a squad brimming with creativity and talent."Put it this way, if football was sex, Brazil would be the multiple orgasm," the British soccer magazine FourFourTwo said in its June edition.
Brazil, drawn with Morocco, Norway and Scotland in Group A, is led by 21-year-old star striker Ronaldo, a two-time world player of the year, and 25-year-old attacking defender Roberto Carlos, runner-up to Ronaldo.
They also boast the creativity of Denilson and Rivaldo in the midfield.
Spain's Real Betis thought so much of the 20-year-old Denilson they spent $53 million Cdn to pry him away from Sao Paolo and then wrote a $612-million Cdn buyout clause into his contract to deter any would-be suitors.
Denilson's left foot alone is insured for $2.4 million Cdn.
The Brazilians have been ranked No. 1 in the world since winning the '94 World Cup in the U.S. Prior to this year, they had lost just three times (Uruguay, 1995; Mexico, 1996; Norway, 1997)
But Brazil stumbled twice this year: a 1-0 loss to the U.S. at the Gold Cup and 1-0 defeat at the hands of South American rival Argentina. The national federation forced coach Mario Zagallo to choose former national team great Zico as his assistant.
The pressure on the Brazilians to deliver is enormous.
"Only God is above the national team," Roberto Carlos said when asked what it is like for a Brazilian to play for his country.
The team can be a travelling circus at times while Zagallo has been frustrated in his bid to mould a consistent lineup because his players are spread across the world among clubs often reluctant to give up their stars. Brazil had only nine players on hand for its training session Wednesday because of injuries and club commitments.
"Brazil has the best team, the best players in the world, no doubt," Brazilian legend Pele said recently. "But the World Cup is a very, very short tournament -- seven games if you go to the final, one month -- you must be very, very well-prepared as a team, not only (as) individual players."
While the Brazilian defence is nothing to write home about, the offence is spectacular. Roberto Carlos and Denilson are both deadly from free kicks -- Roberto Carlos's goal at Le Tournoi de France was a swerving miracle that bent around the England player wall like a banana at 137 kilometres an hour.
"I don't think I have ever seen a ball bent as much," England manager Glenn Hoddle said. "I doubt we will see a better fee kick."
We may see a faster one. The Real Madrid left back's shot has been clocked at 150 km-h. It helps that his thigh measures 58 centimetres round.
Roberto Carlos, whose club contract includes a poison pill buyout clause of $145 million Cdn, can also run the 100 metres in under 11 seconds.
Up front, Ronaldo is the betting favorite to lead all goal scorers at the tournament. The Inter Milan striker, who was on the 1994 Brazil World Cup roster as a teenager but didn't play, combines explosive speed with surprising strength and the ability to turn on a dime.
"I have never seen a player as fast as him when he runs away from people on the turn, or runs on to the ball. He just explodes," said Bobby Robson, his former manager at Barcelona.
Robson says the only way to stop Ronaldo is to mark him closely and then have another player nearby to counteract his turn.
"That's all you can do, but if he's playing well then he's a very difficult player to stop, whatever means you use," Robson said.
Nike, which sponsors Ronaldo, might say it's all in the shoes. They developed a pair specificially for Ronaldo that weighs about the same as a T-shirt.
As for Ronaldo's strike partner, Zagallo has said "The attack will be Ronaldo plus one other." That should be the temperamental Romario, once he recovers from a leg injury.
Romario can disappear for long stretches in a game but should not be under-estimated.
"He's fantastic," said Canadian national team hopeful Tony Santos Menezes, who grew up in Mississauga, Ont., but now plays for America Futebol Clube in Brazil. "In one play, he can decide the game."
Norway is favored to join Brazil in making it to the second round out of Group A. The Norwegians outscored their opponents 21-2 in winning their qualifying group and can call upon such talent at forward as lanky Tore Andre Flo of Chelsea, baby-faced Ole Gunnar Solskjaer of Manchester United and Egil Ostenstad of Southampton.
Norway beat Brazil last year in Oslo, with Flo scoring twice in a 4-2 upset that some attributed to Brazilian jet lag and overconfidence.
Norway has plenty of assets, however. In a June '97 survey by Britain's Goal magazine, Norway tied with the Netherlands for the most players -- 14 -- on a list of the top 100 foreigners playing in England.
Kjetil Rekdal, a midfielder with Germany's Hertha Berlin, was a key player during qualifying. Liverpool midfielder Oyvind Leonhardsen is also one to watch if he recovers from a leg sprain.
Goal could be a problem. Frode Grodas might have fallen out of favor because of his inability to start at Chelsea or Tottenham. Thomas Gill, who plays for Duisberg in Germany, and Everton's Thomas Myhre are the other choices.
Norway has not lost since a 1-0 defeat to South Korea in January 1997.
Scottish manager Craig Brown is looking to take Scotland into the second round for the first time ever, although that unenviable track record does not take into account some fine performances that deserved a better fate.
Brown's squad has been hit by injury, including the loss of captain Gary McAllister. The defence is rock solid but the key question is who will score the goals on this lunch-bucket team.
Brown chose strikers Scott Booth of Borussia Dortmund, Simon Donnelly and Darren Jackson of Celtic, Gordon Durie of Rangers and Blackburn's Kevin Gallacher for pre-World Cup games against Colombia and the U.S.
Key players to watch are stylish Monaco midfielder John Collins and forceful Blackburn defender Colin Hendry. Andy Goram (Rangers) and Jim Leighton (Aberdeen) provide some veteran leadership in goal.
Like Scotland, Morocco is an outsider -- a 250-1 shot according to some bookies. The Moroccans, however, moved up 12 places in the '97 FIFA rankings to No. 15 and stood at No. 10 in the most recent rankings, highest of any African team.
Morocco was unbeaten for two years prior to the African Nations Cup earlier this year when it was ousted by South Africa in the quarter-finals.
The World Cup draw was not kind to coach Henri Michel, a Frenchman who coached France at the 1986 tournament and Cameroon in 1994, and neither have injuries. Midfielder Mustapha Hadji, who plays in Spain for Deportivo la Coruna, is a world-class player who has been hurt in recent months. But he scored the goal of the tournament in the Nations Cup -- an overhead bicyle kick against Egypt.
Deportivo teammates Salaheddine Bassir, a striker, and sweeper Noureddine Naybet are other key performers. Dutch-born Ali El Khattabi, a 20-year-old striker, has made his mark in recent months.
A look at the teams in Group A of the World Cup:
BRAZIL
World Cup Appearances (including '98): 16
Titles: Four.
Coach: Mario Zagallo.
How They Qualified: Automatically as defending champion.
Schedule: June 10 vs. Scotland, June 16 vs. Morocco, June 23 vs. Norway.
Player to watch: Striker Ronaldo.
Fact: Brazil has been ranked No. 1 in the world by FIFA since its '94 World Cup win
MOROCCO
World Cup Appearances (including '98): Four.
Best Finish: 11th, 1986.
Coach: Henri Michel.
How They Qualified: Won African Section Group 5.
Schedule: June 10 vs. Norway, June 16 vs. Brazil, June 23 vs. Scotland
Player to watch: Midfielder Mustapha Hadji.
Fact: Henri Michel coached France at the 1986 World Cup and Cameroon in '94.
NORWAY
World Cup Appearances (including '98): Three.
Best Finish: 12th, 1938
Coach: Egil Olsen.
How They Qualified: Won UEFA Group 3.
Schedule: June 10 vs Morocco, June 16 vs. Scotland, June 23. vs. Brazil.
Player to watch: Striker Tore Andre Flo.
Fact: Brazil has never beaten Norway. The Norwegians are 1-0-1 against Brazil.
World Cup Appearances (including '98): Eight.
Best Finish: 11th, 1978.
Coach: Craig Brown.
How They Qualified: Best runner-up in European groups.
Schedule: June 10 vs. Brazil, June 16 vs. Norway, June 23 vs. Morocco.
Player to watch: Midfielder John Collins.
Fact: Scotland has never advanced past the first round.
NEXT ROUNDS: Round of 16 || Quarter-finals || Semi-finals
GROUP A: Brazil, Morocco, Norway, Scotland
GROUP B: Austria, Cameroon, Chile, Italy
GROUP C: Denmark, France, Saudi Arabia, South Africa
GROUP D: Bulgaria, Nigeria, Paraguay, Spain
GROUP E: Belgium, Holland, Mexico, South Korea
GROUP F: Germany, Iran, United States, Yugoslavia
GROUP G: Colombia, England, Romania, Tunisia
GROUP H: Argentina, Croatia, Jamaica, Japan