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[Blwe_torch]

Wary Parreira warns Brazil not to underestimate Gallic guile

Alex Bellos in Frankfurt
Saturday July 1, 2006
The Guardian


Brazil's coach Carlos Alberto Parreira admitted last night that his team needed to step up a level if they want to beat France this evening. After four games in which Brazil have been victorious but hardly convincing, the coach said he was very aware of the dangers France pose.
"France are in no hurry to play," he said. "They have very experienced players. They don't rush about. They have this apparent calmness and then all of a sudden they move the ball quickly to [Thierry] Henry. We can't allow ourselves to be hoodwinked by this. This is a phase in which errors are not permitted. We are hoping for a jump [in quality]."
Brazil expect Kaka and Emerson to start tonight in a line-up unchanged from the game against Ghana. Robinho has also recovered from a thigh strain and the Real Madrid forward - who impressed as a substitute in the first two games - has an outside chance of replacing Adriano alongside Ronaldo. Again the team will not be announced until an hour before the game.
Parreira paid tribute to French football by saying that, alongside Brazil, France are the team with the most individual talent at the World Cup. "All of their players are the stars of their club teams," he said.

But he was quick to dismiss the idea that the game was a revenge match for the 1998 defeat in Paris, saying that would be the case only if the teams were meeting in the final. He did point out, however, the continued danger France pose from dead balls - two of the goals in that 3-0 defeat were from corners. "Lilian Thuram, William Gallas, Patrick Vieira are tall and head well. We need to avoid unnecessary fouls just outside the area and on the sides."

The match in Frankfurt's Waldstadion is a meeting between the two oldest teams left in the tournament and Parreira believes this experience means that the game would be like chess. He said Zinédine Zidane was still a huge threat, despite his age. "If you give him the space, the freedom, he can make the difference, still he can make the difference."

Lucio has yet to commit a foul and, if he continues for 23 minutes more, he will break the record for a defender, currently held by the Paraguayan Carlos Gamarra. Parreira confirmed he was very pleased with his back three. "Our defence is well positioned. In four games we have made only one mistake, against Ghana [when] Dida made a great save from a corner."

Another record highlighted by the Brazilian press was that the day before yesterday was the one-year anniversary of Ronaldinho's last goal for Brazil- the longest spell a No10 has gone without scoring a goal. "My first objective is to pass the ball for someone to score," he said.