Paraguay striker Derlis Gonzalez said his team are thinking about another Copa America shock against Argentina after sensationally dumping Brazil out of the competition on Saturday.
The 21-year-old FC Basel striker was the hero for Paraguay after nervelessly converting the second-half penalty which leveled the quarter-final at 1-1 to ultimately force penalties. In the shoot-out the young attacker was again his side's lucky charm, stepping up to coolly send Brazilian keeper Jefferson the wrong way with Paraguay's fifth spot-kick to clinch a 4-3 win.
Gonzalez, who served notice of his burgeoning talent last season by scoring a UEFA Champions League goal for Basel against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, paid tribute to his team-mates after a famous win. "To see my team-mates with tears in their eyes, you can't put a price on that," Gonzalez said.
"Nobody trusted in us when we arrived here. But we're a very united team and we have more to give in this tournament ... now we're thinking about Argentina," he told Chilean television. "We kept our cool. We struggled in the first half but changed things up and in the second half we played better. We're going to rest and enjoy the moment and think about Argentina."
Brazil coach Dunga blamed a mystery virus for his team's exit, with as many as 15 members of his squad had been affected by it, which he said had disrupted preparations. "I'm not making excuses, but around 15 players had viruses which limited our training," Dunga said. "Some had headaches, back pain, body aches. Some players felt it more than others and had to reduce training, some players vomited. Today was a game where we needed speed and we didn't have it," he added.
Dunga's explanation caused confusion amongst members of his squad, with midfielder Filipe Luis telling reporters he was unaware of any mass illness amongst his team-mates. "I didn't know anything about that," the Chelsea player said. "Some of the other guys might have had a problem, but I didn't."
Goalkeeper Jefferson however backed his manager. "Everyone woke up with a fever, headache and body aches," he said, before playing down the extent to which it had affected the result.
For the second Copa America in succession, Brazil exited at the quarter-final stage to the Paraguayans on penalties. Dunga's side looked to be in control during the first half when Robinho fired them into a 15th-minute lead until Gonzalez's heroics from the spot ended their hopes of a Superclasico semi-final. While Dunga talked about a mystery virus, others will be left asking whether Brazilian football in general is on its sick bed.
Dunga had looked to have been nursing A Seleção back to health as the team recovered from the traumatic humiliation of last year's FIFA World Cup™ semi-final drubbing by Germany, overseeing ten consecutive wins in friendlies leading up to the Copa America. But those results merely camouflaged the same problems that existed at the World Cup, a dearth of creative flair and an over-reliance on Neymar.
Brazil needed a late, Neymar-inspired goal to squeeze past Peru in their opening game, and were then derailed 1-0 by Colombia in their second match. Neymar's frustration boiled over resulting in the four-match ban that ended his participation in the tournament. Brazil fared slightly better in a 2-1 win over Venezuela, before Saturday's loss to Paraguay.
"We knew from the beginning it would not be easy," Dunga said. "We had many victories but we still were not happy. We will try to come back and react. There's always pressure on Brazil when you win or when you lose. We will try to get better and better. Many great players have failed on penalties. If it was easy a lot of people could do my job, but it's not... It's useless to cry about it."
Dunga meanwhile acknowledged the deeper problems facing Brazil as they attempt to reclaim their place at the summit of the global game. "We all have to think about Brazilian football," he said. "We can't ignore the fact that other teams have got a lot better."
Dunga, who captained Brazil's 1994 World Cup-winning side, also called on demanding Brazilian fans to be more patient as new players developed. "There's a new trend in Brazil where a player plays two games and becomes a star," he said. "After two games he either becomes the best in the world or the worst in the world."
