Originally Posted by nettooran
Reply With Quote: It's not the Group of Death
Dunga, Brazil coach
I dont like all that 'Group of Death' stuff. If you look at the draw, youll see that all the groups, perhaps with the exception of Spains, are very even. North Korea are, in theory, a weaker side, but its tricky playing against a team you dont know much about. For us, our opening game is the most difficult one. Then it will be our second game and so on. Cte dIvoire are going to make us work very hard. Most of their players are at big European clubs and they have [Didier] Drogba, who is one of the worlds best strikers. African teams no longer fit with peoples preconceptions; theyve allied competitiveness to their technical ability. And of course weve got a huge rivalry with Portugal. Weve played twice against them recently, winning one and losing one, but this will be a different story altogether its the World Cup. Theyve got three Brazilians (Pepe, Deco and Liedson) in their team so its going to be like Brazil vs Brazil B. Whats more, its going to be nice to see the healthy rivalry between Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka, two of the best players on the planet who play for the same club side. Its a balanced group but thats what we expected. From a logistical perspective, itll be interesting to play our first two games in Johannesburg.
Vahid Halilhodzic, Cte dIvoire coach
To be honest its a terrible group. Very, very difficult. Brazil are second in the FIFA World Ranking and Portugal are fifth. Its hard to imagine anything worse than that. Before the draw I said: Ill take anyone except Brazil or Spain. I think a black cat must have followed me here in Cape Town. But theres no point cursing our luck now. Were here and were going to give it everything weve got. I know that my team are capable of springing a surprise, even against Brazil or Portugal. I even think that the fact were facing these teams could motivate my players more. I really hope that we can cause an upset.
Carlos Queiroz, Portugal coach
Im pleased. Its a fantastic group for world football. And weve got North Korea too, a team that triggers good memories of the 1966 World Cup (when Portugal came back from three goals down to beat Korea DPR 5-3 in the quarter-finals). All were missing now are Hungary, Pele and Eusebio! Deep down, I hope that were already qualified by the time we face Brazil in our third match, but counting on that would be to show a lack of respect for our other two opponents. When one of the teams in the group is Brazil, whove won five world titles, Ive no hesitation in saying that theyre the favourites. Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka being together at Real Madrid will be interesting, but it doesnt stop there. Look at Chelsea, for instance, whove got both Portuguese and Ivorian players. I think theres going to be an intriguing atmosphere at a number of clubs. As for the match between 'Brazil A and Brazil B', I think thats an amusing way of looking at it. But anyway, Im sure that just as many of the Brazilians have Portuguese grandparents or great-grandparents, so I think that makes us even. The only thing thats certain is that itll be a great contest.
