2010 World Cup qualifying: Samba football is dead and Dunga killed it

  In  2006, Brazil were favorites to retain the World Cup. Ronaldo and Ronaldinho were two of the world's finest players, while Cafu and Roberto Carlos -- arguably the key to their 2002 success -- still had plenty to give. But Brazil lost in the quarterfinals, and the powers that be decided that the country, then famous for its flair and risk-taking, needed to join the rest of the world in taking a more balanced approach to the game.

Enter Dunga, a former international, hired to reform Brazil in his image. In his playing days, Dunga was a tough-tackling defensive midfielder who won 91 caps for his country. He was the antithesis of what comes to mind when one thinks of Brazilian footballers, but the Selecao have always tended to back up their flair with at least some steel. If one player sits deep and does the dirty work, the rest of the squad can play the beautiful soccer the team is known for. Or so went the theory.

Dunga didn't just add a little more structure to the team, he overhauled it completely. He was roundly criticized for the move to a more defensive system, despite the team still being more attack-minded and free-flowing than the vast majority of the world's elite. His team won the 2007 Copa America and 2009 Confederations Cup, then finished top in CONMEBOL qualifying.

How did they finish top? By allowing the fewest goals, and by a wide margin. Five of Brazil's qualifiers ended in 0-0 draws. Much of the public -- and the most vocal members of the Brazilian press -- didn't care about results. To many, Dunga was ruining what made the Selecao an international phenomenon and a source of national pride.