Dunga: Brazil are frustrated and lack reaction

Head coach Dunga feels the current crop of Brazil national team players lack expression compared to previous generations.

Brazil began their World Cup 2018 qualifying campaign with a 2-0 defeat away to Chile on Thursday after second-half goals from Eduardo Vargas and Alexis Sanchez.

And following a disappointing quarter-final Copa America exit, the 1994 World Cup-winning captain believes his team are stifled by the pressure of previous successes.

“Maybe their reaction isn’t the same [as former generations],” he said.

“For the fans, we may have shown ourselves to be more vibrant, and now this can mean something else on who’s watching. But the players are frustrated at the moment, and after the Chile loss. We want them to be more demanding among the squad. I was somewhat more animated [as a player], they are calmer.

“We want their affection, but the fans also need some joy and we are completely aware of that. Me and my staff didn’t have a good night of sleep [after Chile].

“We have to reach for something because football has always been a reason for joy for the Brazilians. A famous comedian was at our hotel yesterday and said that Brazil needed some humour, so the fans can smile a little. I’m not this kind of guy myself, but I also enjoy laughing.”

Dunga, who took charge for the second time in 2014 after replacing Luiz Felipe Scolari, says the current Brazil side will always shoulder the burden of the humiliating defeat to Germany.

“This isn’t ours [the 7-1 defeat debt] but we are here and we’ll pay it, and try to find a way to solve this,” he added.

“It’s not easy, but not impossible for the quality players we have with us. When results don’t arrive, it’s normal to feel the pressure. For everything that has been happening on the world football, and in Brazil, latin teams work with this pressure.

“We have the responsibility for what happened at the World Cup, and can’t give ourselves up.”