La Serena (Chile), June 25 (IANS) Brazil goalkeeping coach Claudio Taffarel believes the present team is still carrying the weight of the humiliating 1-7 loss against Germany in the World Cup last year.
“They’ve experienced many challenges. They lost the World Cup, they suffered that unforgettable loss, and they are still carrying all that weight,” Taffarel was quoted as saying by goal.com on Thursday ahead of their Copa America quarter-final against Paraguay on Saturday.
The Selecao have won 12 of their 13 fixtures since finishing fourth at the World Cup. Tafarrel said in the present year they have been excellent but also claimed they are still recovering from the embarrassing World Cup display.
The former international goalkeeper, capped 104 times, said the team endured similarly tough times before winning the 1994 World Cup that saw them rise above the criticism.
“For us, it was never easy either. Yeah, we won the fourth World Cup title, but before reaching that point, we experienced some difficult challenges. Where was it that the fans threw eggs at our head? In Bahia? You know, we were criticised at times. We experienced mistrust within the group, which wasn’t so tight knit at times and we got past that,” he said.
Taffarel said Brazil had hit upon the right track in restoring their lost prestige.
“This team (in 2015) is an excellent group, we have impressive players. For you guys who are just seeing what is happening on the field, you don’t know what happens behind the scenes.
But for those of us who are working with this team and who lived through the ’94 World Cup, we see the same potential now. We see their will to work together and do their best,” he said.
“I believe that, step by step, they will rebuild that confidence in themselves and will bring a lot of joy to everyone.”