Can Dorival and his troops bring back Brazil’s glory days?

The long sunset on Brazilian football appears to be on the way out. On Saturday at the iconic Wembley, Brazil played under Dorival Jr for the first time and marked the beginning of a new era with a terrific performance against the Three Lions.

Beating England in England isn’t an easy proposition!

Brazil, five-time World Cup winners, haven’t been a potent force for a couple of decades now in the international arena. It was almost 22 years ago in Korea and Japan when they last won a World Cup. As a result, nowadays they don’t enjoy the same global support they once did in the days of Ronaldo or Pele.

Then in the last few years, things have got from bad to worse. In the 2014 World Cup which they were hosting and were one of the strong contenders to win, they were thrashed 7-1 by eventual winners Germany in the semi-finals. In the last two editions, they couldn’t even progress beyond the quarter-finals.

Last year, they lost more matches than they won which happened for the first time since 1963. They lost five, won three and drew one. And those wins came against lesser teams (Guinea, Bolivia and Peru). Among the defeats, the ones against Morocco and Senegal were particularly humiliating.

Against England on Saturday, Dorival Jr must have been under tremendous pressure to deliver. He was appointed to the role in January earlier this year. He was Brazil’s first full-time manager since Tite stepped down, after the 2022 World Cup in Qatar where a defeat to Croatia in the last eight ended their campaign.

One would have thought they would find a replacement just like that but that wasn’t how things eventually panned out. Two caretaker managers Ramon Menezes and Fernando Diniz were tried out at different times, and the Brazilian Football Confederation failed to bring Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti on board. They had egg all over their face because their president Ednaldo Rodrigues had announced in July last year with a lot of surety that Ancelotti will take up the job ahead of the 2024 Copa America. Finally, after the uncertainty of more than a year, they settled on Dorival.

On Saturday, his team gave a very good account of itself. The international friendly appeared to be heading for a draw when teenage sensation Endrick pounced on a rebound in the 80th minute to help the Selecao to a famous 1-0 win. He came on as a substitute and during his stay on the pitch reminded some experts — former England midfielder Joe Cole to be precise — of 1994 World Cup winner Romario.

At 17 years and 246 days, he became the youngest male scorer at Wembley. He also became the youngest to score for Brazil since Ronaldo in 1994. Last November, when he made his debut for the Selecao against Colombia in the World Cup qualifiers, he had become the youngest player since Ronaldo to play for the national team.

With such a background (particularly since the 2022 World Cup) which doesn’t inspire much confidence, it’s no surprise Dorival is relieved to start on a winning note. “It’s a really special moment, for sure. On only a few occasions has a Brazil side won in England which must say something about us. But we must not lose sight of the fact that this is just the start of our work,” the manager said after the match.

Brazil now travel to Spain for another friendly on March 27. It will be another great test for Dorival’s men. Spain, like them, are not the same force they used to be in the noughties and lost to Colombia on Saturday but since they are playing at home (at the Santiago Bernabeu), they will pose a massive challenge. After this, Brazil play a couple of friendlies in June, shortly after which Copa America will kick off. Dorival will hope the Selecao fly back with two big wins in the bag. The confidence they will get out of these wins can revitalise them, and kick-start their journey back to glory days, make no mistake.