Brazil left it late to secure a 2-1 win over Mexico in an international friendly played at the Estadio Corona stadium in Torreón last night. Goals from play maker Ronaldinho and Marcelo were enough to give coach Mano Menezes the much needed win.
The night however, belonged to Flamengo striker Ronaldinho who scored a superb free kick that left Oswaldo Sanchez for dead then setting up team mate Marcelo 4 minutes later to effectively seal the Mexican’s hopes.
If the result is anything to go by, then Brazil could mount up one of the biggest challenges in 2014. What is even more surprising is the fact that Coach Menezes did not feild a full strength squad.W
With injuries to Milan Duo Pato and Robinho, and Kaka showing glimpses of returning to his old form, Brazil could soon see their rankings in the FIFA Coca Cola standing move slots up.
So what does this win mean to Menezes? For starters, it significantly eases the pressure that has been mounting on him for the past couple of weeks. Menezes has come under fire in the recent past after poor showing from his side in international fixtures.
After losing to France and Argentina earlier in the year, a lot of questions were asked as to whether Menezes was the right man for the job. That coupled with fan pressure to see Ronaldinho play after impressive performances for his club Flamengo started to take a toll on the man tasked with the country’s toughest job.
However, after the inclusion of Dinho to the squad in early September for a friendly against Ghana, Menezes was convinced that the play maker had indeed returned to his impressive form. Brazil won that match 1-0 and in just the span of 2 months, they have gone on to win 4 of the last friendlies that they have played only drawig once when playing away to Argentina on the 14th of last month.
Considering that Menezes still has a host of talent that he could choose from, it will be interesting to see how the 49 year old goes about his selection. It is worth noting that players like Ganso, Fabiano and Ramires were not even called upto to the squad.
This proves that the major problem lies with the selection of players. That said, the win greatly boosts confidence in the team camp and host nation.
Photo credit © Saintamedear
