Chapter 83: National Team Debut

On January 31, 2002, Brazil played against Bolivia.

Bolivia had only qualified for the World Cup finals three times in history, and only the 1994 World Cup was through the qualifying rounds.

This team's home stadium was a true fortress. Because it was located on a plateau, it often made visiting teams struggle, but their away games were very average.

So it's hard to understand why Scolari chose such a team for a friendly match. Was it to let his disciples regain some confidence?

If that was the case, he succeeded.

With the current performance of both sides, the Brazilians couldn't help but feel confident.

At the beginning of the game, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho passed through most of Bolivia's defense with a one-two combination, and then provided Ronaldo with a comfortable assist.

1:0.

After the game restarted, Bolivia mounted some attacks, but they were stopped before entering the penalty area. Carlos asked for the ball from the wing and then ran all the way, cutting in and shooting.

The football slid past the goal, and the Bolivians broke out in a cold sweat and began to shrink back.

In the 13th minute of the game, it was Cafu who attacked from the wing this time, but he only took the ball past half-court and passed it to Ronaldinho.

Ronaldinho received the ball, dribbled through his legs, and then played a one-two with Rivaldo. Finally, he exchanged a wall pass with Ronaldo and shot from the right side of the small penalty area.

The football hung directly in the upper right corner of the goal.

The combination of Ronaldo, Rivaldo, and Ronaldinho was terrifying.

2:0.

These ten minutes set the tone for the game. The Brazilian team was full of firepower and scored multiple goals, and the result came again in the 30th minute.

This time, the superstar was Rivaldo, but the goal was scored by an unlikely source: After a series of wonderful individual performances, Rivaldo took a long shot from outside the penalty area. The goalkeeper made a save but missed, and Ronaldo scored on the rebound.

3:0.

Next, Bolivia resisted, but was quickly suppressed. The Brazilian team took the opportunity to counterattack, and Carlos's final long shot unfortunately missed again.

The first half ended.

Scolari didn't make any special arrangements during the halftime break. He just emphasized more cooperation in the attack and then asked the substitutes to warm up.

At the beginning of the second half, the Brazilian team attacked crazily again under the leadership of the front three.

Bolivia had no power to fight back, and the thirsty head coach had already sat back in his seat as if resigned to his fate. After the Brazilian team turned the score to 4:0, he finally couldn't help but start making substitutions.

But instead of replacing offensive players and making a desperate move, the defenders were replaced by midfielders, and a defensive block was set up in front of the goal.

The Brazilian team was even happier attacking now.

In the 54th minute, Ronaldo received a pass from Juninho, performed a small step in the penalty area, passed everyone, and then shot into the empty goal.

Ronaldo completed a hat trick, making the score 5:0.

Then Ronaldo was replaced under the thankful eyes of the Bolivian defender, and Luisão came on.

A forward from Grêmio Club, he scored 19 goals in the Brazilian Serie A last season and ranked second on the scorer list, just one place higher than Kaká.

This guy came on the field simply to show how awesome Ronaldo was, and the Brazilian team's offense suddenly weakened.

But without the spearhead, the others were still sharp.

In the 63rd minute, Ronaldinho was tripped on the right, and the referee awarded a free kick.

Ronaldinho and Carlos stood in front of the penalty spot and ran at the same time, but it was Carlos who took the shot in the end.

The football made almost no turns, drew a straight line, and flew straight to the left of the goal, hitting the net easily.

There was nothing the goalkeeper could do.

A gorgeous 6:0.

Scolari waved his hand, and four substitute players came on stage one after another.

Kaká was the last one to take the field.

For Ronaldo and others, this friendly match was just a warm-up and an opportunity to build familiarity with tactics and cultivate an understanding with their teammates in the national team. But for Kaká and others, this game would directly determine their status in the mind of the head coach.

Whether they could go to the World Cup, whether they could sit on the bench or play in garbage time, may all be determined by their performance in this game.

Therefore, everyone was very active and desperately wanted to impress, so the corresponding cooperation was naturally much weaker.

The most speechless thing was that Bolivia, which had conceded six goals, was still adhering to its tradition: parking the bus.

What was this? Losing less and considering it a win? Six goals were not enough?

The opponent was in no mood to challenge, so the Brazilian team was naturally very enthusiastic. Not only the attacking players but also the defensive players behind were ready to take action.

From the perspective of the spectators, Brazil played very hard, and Bolivia was unable to fight back. However, from the perspective of the midfielders, the game was in chaos.

At this time, any offensive organization and midfield connection were all in vain, and the ball passed out would never come back.

It would be okay if there was a big star like Rivaldo standing on the field. With his strength and status in the world, naturally, everyone would have to cooperate obediently.

Kaká?

It's better for you to cooperate with us.

Scolari shook his head helplessly on the sidelines, remembered a few names in his mind, and marked them with a cross.

With only ten minutes left for himself, Kaká naturally couldn't expect his teammates to suddenly realize and hand over the ball to him. In fact, no one was nobler than anyone else, and if he had the opportunity, he may not be willing to be a supporting player for others.

Bolivia's bus was still effective. Gilberto Silva's shot hit the defender and was kicked out by the goalkeeper.

The landing point was near the midfield line, not far from Kaká. He rushed over and stopped the ball before the opponent's forward was about to receive it.

Almost immediately, there were calls for a pass from behind, left, and right.

This familiar scene made Kaká feel like he was back on the field court in his previous life, and he almost couldn't help but roll his eyes.

There's nothing much to say next, just move the ball forward and take it in stride.

The Bolivian forward counterattacked and didn't even touch Kaká's jersey. Kaká went all the way to the penalty area line before encountering the first real defender.

There were too many people in the penalty area, and it was not suitable to take long strides at this time. Kaká's speed immediately slowed down. When the defender grabbed the ball, Kaká spun around, cleverly dodged it, and then quickly moved the ball horizontally, and immediately followed after getting out of the angle. Just one kick.

This kick used the outside of his foot, hitting the side of the football on the lower side, and a fast and deflected curve ball flew out.

None of the Bolivians expected Kaká to shoot from such a distance, and so decisively that no one came to block it. Only the goalkeeper reacted and pounced on the football. Unfortunately, the ball had a very large arc. He only touched the ball lightly with his fingertips, which could not prevent the ball from entering the net.

7:0.

Kaká clenched his fist and waved it hard, high-fiving his teammates who came over.

Scolari touched his chin.

Forget it, cross out the cross on Kaká's name.

(End of chapter)