Menezes blames predictable Brazil

Brazil coach Mano Menezes said his side were ‘too obvious’ going forward after their 0-0 draw against Venezuela in the Copa America.

In their opening game of the tournament in Argentina, the defending champions were unable to find a way through a determined Venezuelan defence, and at times looked out of ideas.

They came close when Milan striker Alexandre Pato hit the crossbar, but Menezes conceded his side could have played better in a heated encounter.

“The result was bad, because we played better than Venezuela,” Menezes said.

“We had the control and the initiative of the match, but we lacked clarity in some choices, mainly to find players in the finishing moments.”

“We were too obvious. The ball got to the players who were wide, but they were too far away from Pato and the play could not flow. That is something we have to work on during the week.”

“It looks to me that the pitch hindered faster plays and plays of more quality. However, that is not our problem. We have to look over our performance and correct our problems.”

Venezuela were also fortunate not to concede a penalty in the first half, but coach Cesar Farias was pleased to see his side improve after the interval.

“The result is not just luck. Luck always helps but we have put in a lot of hours in training,” Farias said.

“Venezuela is drawing on many thousand hours for what it takes to be successful in football.”

There were no goals at all in Group B on Sunday, after Ecuador and Paraguay drew 0-0 in the other match.