This article is about the Brazilian footballer. For the sea slug genus Dunga, seeEubranchidae. For the Catholic singer, seeDunga (Catholic singer). For other people with the name, seeDunga (name).
In thisPortuguese name, the first or maternalfamily name isBledorn and the second or paternal family name isVerri.
Carlos Caetano Bledorn Verri (born 31 October 1963), commonly known asDunga (Portuguese pronunciation:[ˈdũɡɐ]), is a Brazilianfootball manager and former professional player. Considered one of the greatestdefensive midfielders of all time, as a player, he was known for his technique, athleticism, passing range, solid tackles and first touch.
Under thecaptaincy Dunga took fromRaí,Brazil won the1994 FIFA World Cup and became runners-up of thefollowing edition. He andXavi are the only two men to have played in a World Cup final, an Olympic final, a Confederations Cup final and a continental championship final.
Dunga was born inIjuí,Rio Grande do Sul ofItalian andGerman descent.[4] His uncle nicknamed him "Dunga", derived from the Portuguese translation of "Dopey", one of the seven dwarves from Disney'sSnow White, due to his small stature in childhood. It was believed that Dunga would be a short adult and the nickname remained in use even after he grew up and became taller.[5]
Dunga has an ongoing financial dispute with English clubQueens Park Rangers. He claims he loaned £750,000 to QPR as an investor in the club when it was under previous owners but the new owners are refusing to give it back. QPR have stated that the cheque Dunga paid to them had bounced and he is aware of this fact.[6]
Dunga was a starter for Brazil at the1990 FIFA World Cup, during which he was held more responsible than his teammates for the team's worst campaign at a World Cup since1966, after a lackluster tournament and the squad's subsequent elimination in the second round by archrivalsArgentina, drawing criticism from former Brazil international and three–time World Cup winnerPelé.[9][10][11] In the following years, Dunga was consistently targeted by Brazilian press[specify] due to his supposedly "thuggish" style of playing.[citation needed] This period in Brazil's football history became known as the "Dunga Era" in the media, and symbolized a less-than-thrilling, slow, gritty, direct and defensive style that the Brazil national team had adopted in favour of a more exciting attacking style.[12] Dunga played the anchor role in midfield extremely effectively, due to his ability to break down play and subsequently start attacks with his passing. Many other players in this position lunged into tackles and put themselves about, but Dunga rarely went to ground to make a tackle, instead using his anticipation and timing to win challenges and retrieve the ball. Despite his infamous reputation, Brazil's new coachCarlos Alberto Parreira kept Dunga as one of the starting line-up throughout the1994 FIFA World Cup qualification andfinal.[citation needed]
PlaymakerRaí initially started the 1994 World Cup in the United States as the Brazilian team's captain, but after allegedly being held responsible for Brazil's poor performances early on in the tournament, he was eventually dropped altogether in favour ofMazinho. Dunga took over the captaincy and went on to lift the trophy. Dunga set-upRomário's opening goal in a 3–0 win overCameroon in the first round,[13] and scored the third penalty kick in the shoot-out victory againstItaly in thefinal following a goalless draw after extra time. According toFIFA, the lack of attacking play in the final of the tournament against Italy was in part down to strong holding midfield play byDino Baggio for Italy, as well as Dunga andMauro Silva for Brazil.[14][15][16] Throughout the World Cup, Dunga completed the most passes (692) and tackles (57), both World Cup records.[17]
Dunga retained the role of the Brazil national team's captain for the next four years until the1998 FIFA World Cup, in which he participated, despite playing in the JapaneseJ. League, considered a lower standard of competitive football at the time. He won the1997 Copa América, scoring his only goal in the competition in a 2–0 win overColombia in the first round.[8] The 1998 World Cup was notable for the tensions and lack of teamwork within the Brazilian side. It was often visible on the pitch as demonstrated by the fact that Dunga got into a fight with teammateBebeto in the first round match againstMorocco, forcing the rest of the team to break them up.[9] Despite these difficulties, Brazil went on to reach thefinal of the tournament, where they lost 3–0 to hostsFrance; this was Dunga's final international appearance.[8] En route to the final, Dunga set-upCésar Sampaio's first goal in a 4–1 win overChile in the round of 16,[18] and also recorded an assist onRivaldo's second goal in a 3–2 win overDenmark in the quarter-finals.[19] Dunga also scored his team's fourth penalty kick in the shootout victory against theNetherlands in the semi-finals.[14][15][20]
In total, Dunga made 91 senior-level appearances for Brazil, scoring six goals.[21]
On 24 July 2006, Dunga was named as the new national coach of the Brazil national team as a replacement for Carlos Alberto Parreira, despite the fact that he had no prior coaching experience at the professional level. Nonetheless, he made an impressive start with Brazil, winning four of his first five matches.
In 2007, Dunga managed Brazil to their second-straightCopa América title by beating Argentina in the final 3–0, who were heavily favored to win against a weaker Brazil squad. Dunga's squad also won the2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa on 28 June 2009. The team came back from a 2–0 deficit against theUnited States to emerge victorious from aLúcio header in the 84th minute that made the score 3–2.
At the2010 FIFA World Cup, Brazil made it to the quarter-finals, where they suffered a 2–1 loss to the Netherlands after having led the game 1–0. After Brazil's exit from the competition, Dunga announced he would stand down as coach, but was first dismissed by CBF on 24 July 2010.[22] Dunga's 2010 World Cup selections were criticized by many, including famous Brazilian footballerPelé. Pelé believedAlexandre Pato andNeymar should have been selected to the squad.[citation needed]
It was announced on 29 August 2011 that Dunga had signed a contract withQatari clubAl-Rayyan as a replacement forPaulo Autuori, but Al Rayyan opted to sign another coach after Dunga stated he was "not sure" about the position.[23][24]
On 12 December 2012, Dunga was confirmed as new coach ofInternacional, where he started and finished his career as a player.[25] On 3 October 2013, he was fired after a series of losses left thegaúcho team in disarray.[26]
On 22 July 2014, after four years away, Dunga reassumed coaching duties of Brazil, replacingLuiz Felipe Scolari.[27] His first match was a friendly against 2014 World Cup quarter-finalists Colombia atSun Life Stadium,Miami on 5 September 2014, where Brazil won 1–0 through an 83rd-minute free kick from Neymar.[28] Following this were victories againstEcuador (1–0)[29] and the2014 Superclásico de las Américas against Argentina (2–0),[30] as well asJapan (4–0),[31] Turkey (0–4),[32] and Austria (1–2).[33] Dunga continued Brazil's winning streak in 2015 by defeating France (3–1),Chile (1–0), Mexico (2–0), andHonduras (1–0).
Brazil started the2015 Copa América with a narrow 2–1 victory againstPeru after initially being a goal down (withDouglas Costa scoring in the dying moments),[34] followed by a 1–0 defeat to Colombia[35] and a 2–1 victory overVenezuela.[36] In the knockout stage,Paraguay eliminated Brazil by 4 penalty kicks to 3 after both teams drew 1–1 in normal time.[37] As such, theSeleção was unable to qualify for aFIFA Confederations Cup (in this case, the2017 edition) for the first time in almost 20 years.[38]
Brazil began the Copa América Centenario with a scoreless draw against Ecuador, which they could have lost had an Ecuadorian goal not been disallowed in the second half.[39] This was followed by a 7–1 victory overHaiti, withPhilippe Coutinho scoring a hat-trick.[40] Needing only a draw to progress to the knockout stage, Brazil suffered a heartbreaking 1–0 loss to Peru, withRaúl Ruidíaz scoring by guiding the ball into the net with his arm.[41] This loss, Brazil's first loss to Peru since 1985,[42] saw Brazil eliminated from the tournament in the group stage for the first time since 1987.[43][44][45] On 14 June 2016, he was fired by the CBF.[3]
As a player, Dunga was a strong, consistent, and hard-tacklingdefensive midfielder with good technique, tactical versatility, ball-winning abilities, and a capacity to read the game well and organise his teammates; in particular, he was highly regarded for his anticipation and ability to time his challenges, only going in for tackles or sliding challenges when he deemed it necessary. Despite his more defensive playing role in midfield, he was also capable of contributing creatively and offensively to his teams; he usually positioned himself in front of the defence, which allowed him to protect the defensive line, break down the opposing team's plays, and start transitions and quick attacks with his passing once he won back possession.[46][47] In his early career, he also used in abox-to-box role courtesy of his stamina, positioning, and ability to get forward and assist with his team's attacks, despite not being the most prolific midfielder; however, he was not particularly quick, and later adapted to a deeper, more defensive position in midfield, where he excelled due to his vision and tactical intelligence.[48][49][50][9] Dunga was also known for his powerful striking ability from distance and fromset-pieces, as well as his vision, first touch, and passing range, which also saw him function as adeep-lying playmaker; in this role, he was known for his precise one-touch passing, which allowed him to circulate possession quickly, and he often playedlong balls over the top to forwards using theoutside of his right foot.[51][52][53][54] His athleticism and aggression also allowed him to shield the ball from opponents, allowing him to retain possession under pressure.[55] Considered to be one of the greatest holding midfielders of all time,[14][15][56][57] Dunga was often seen as an atypical Brazilian footballer in the media, however, who was more similar to European midfielders in terms of his composed, efficient, tenacious and physical style of play, which mainly involved winning back possession and distributing the ball to his teammates. Although he lacked the flair of traditional skilful Brazilian midfielders in the mold ofZico, he stood out for his leadership, work-rate and his determination throughout his career, which allowed him to be highly successful with the Brazil national team.[47][58][59][60] However, he consequently also drew at criticism at time from Brazilian fans and pundits alike, due to his more physical, combative, and direct playing style, which also reflected the defensive style of play that the Brazil national team had adopted throughout his international career, in favour of the more exciting attacking style that had often characterised their previous teams; as such, this period during the 1990s came to be known as the "Dunga Era" in the media.[12][14][56][61][9]
During his first spell as manager of the Brazil national football team, Dunga was known for his balanced and pragmatic tactical approach, which was inspired by his time playing in Italy, favouring success over an aesthetically pleasing playing style. In contrast to the more flamboyant "jogo bonito"–inspired attacking style of previous Brazilian managers, he placed a focus on a strong defensive set-up and counter-attacking football, with the team using quick transitions and incisive passing to score goals after winning back possession, utilising the speed of the team's forwards. During the 2009 Confederations Cup, the team played a fluid4–2–3–1 system, which could morph into a 4–2–2–2 formation, withRobinho operating as aleft winger, but often drifting inside to supportcentre-forwardLuis Fabiano, essentially operating as asecond striker. He also used attacking wing-backs to provide width to the team in the attacking phase, and required his forwards to press opposing players off the ball. During the 2010 World Cup, he also made use of two holding midfielders, rather than deep-lying playmakers, as well asRamires as a defensive right winger.[47][60][61][62][63][64][65][66] These decisions were criticised in the media, along with the team's perceived dull playing style, and Dunga's omission of several talented attacking players such asRonaldinho,Diego,Ganso,Neymar,Adriano, andPato, due to the team's perceived lack of creativity in slower-paced matches, in which counter-attacking was not possible.[67][68][69][70] In addition to his tactical approach, he was also known for his strict attitude with his players as a coach.[71]
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