Dunga

This article is about the Brazilian footballer. For the sea slug genus Dunga, see Eubranchidae. For the Catholic singer, see Dunga (Catholic singer). For other people with the name, see Dunga (name).

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Bledorn and the second or paternal family name is Verri.

Carlos Caetano Bledorn Verri (born 31 October 1963), commonly known as Dunga (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈdũɡɐ]), is a Brazilian football manager and former professional player. Considered one of the greatest defensive midfielders of all time, as a player, he was known for his technique, athleticism, passing range, solid tackles and first touch.

Dunga

Dunga with Brazil in 2008
Personal information
Full name	Carlos Caetano Bledorn Verri
Date of birth	(1963-10-31) 31 October 1963 (age 61)
Place of birth	Ijuí, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s)	Defensive midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1980–1984	Internacional	10	(0)
1984–1985	Corinthians	13	(1)
1985–1987	Santos	16	(1)
1987	Vasco da Gama	17	(1)
1987–1988	Pisa	23	(2)
1988–1992	Fiorentina	124	(8)
1992–1993	Pescara	23	(3)
1993–1995	VfB Stuttgart	54	(7)
1995–1998	Júbilo Iwata	99	(16)
1999–2000	Internacional	20	(3)
Total		377	(42)
International career
1983–1986	Brazil Olympic	19	(4)
1987–1998	Brazil	91	(6)
Managerial career
2006–2010	Brazil
2008	Brazil U23
2012–2013	Internacional
2014–2016	Brazil
Medal record Men's football Representing  Brazil (as player) FIFA World Cup Winner 1994 USA Runner-up 1998 France FIFA Confederations Cup Winner 1997 Saudi Arabia Copa América Winner 1989 Brazil Winner 1997 Bolivia Runner-up 1995 Uruguay Olympic Games 1984 Los Angeles Team Pan American Games 1983 Caracas Team FIFA U-20 World Cup Winner 1983 Mexico South American U-20 Championship Winner 1983 Bolivia Representing  Brazil (as manager) FIFA Confederations Cup Winner 2009 South Africa Copa América Winner 2007 Venezuela Olympic Games 2008 Beijing Team
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Under the captaincy Dunga took from Raí, Brazil won the 1994 FIFA World Cup and became runners-up of the following edition. He and Xavi 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 coached Brazil in two separate tenures. His first spell gave the Seleção two titles, the 2007 Copa América and the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, as well as an Olympic bronze medal at Beijing 2008 before ending in an exit from the 2010 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals.^[1][2] Four years later, in 2014, the Brazilian Football Confederation appointed Dunga again but dismissed him after Brazil's early exit from the Copa América Centenario.^[3] He also led Internacional briefly in 2013.

Early and personal life

Dunga was born in Ijuí, Rio Grande do Sul of Italian and German descent.^[4] His uncle nicknamed him "Dunga", derived from the Portuguese translation of "Dopey", one of the seven dwarves from Disney's Snow 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]

Financial dispute with QPR

Dunga has an ongoing financial dispute with English club Queens 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]

Playing career

Club

At club level, Dunga played for Internacional (1980–84, 1999–2000), Corinthians (1984–85), Santos (1985–87), Vasco da Gama (1987), Pisa (1987–88), Fiorentina (1988–92), Pescara (1992–93), VfB Stuttgart (1993–95) and finally Júbilo Iwata (1995–98).

International

Youth levels

Dunga's international career began in 1983 at the FIFA U-20 World Cup, where he captained the Brazilian under-20 team to win the tournament after beating Argentina in the final. A year later, he made the 1984 Summer Olympics silver medal-winning Brazil squad, which also had Mauro Galvão and Luiz Carlos Winck among others.^{[citation needed]}

Senior

Dunga debuted for the Brazilian senior squad during a 1–1 friendly draw against England in 1987.^[7] He was part of the national side that won the 1989 Copa América on home soil, by defeating Uruguay 2–0 at the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro; he played in six of his country's seven games throughout the tournament.^[8]

Dunga was a starter for Brazil at the 1990 FIFA World Cup, during which he was held more responsible than his teammates for the team's worst campaign at a World Cup since 1966, after a lackluster tournament and the squad's subsequent elimination in the second round by archrivals Argentina, drawing criticism from former Brazil international and three–time World Cup winner Pelé.^[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 coach Carlos Alberto Parreira kept Dunga as one of the starting line-up throughout the 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification and final.^{[citation needed]}

Playmaker Raí 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 of Mazinho. Dunga took over the captaincy and went on to lift the trophy. Dunga set-up Romário's opening goal in a 3–0 win over Cameroon in the first round,^[13] and scored the third penalty kick in the shoot-out victory against Italy in the final following a goalless draw after extra time. According to FIFA, the lack of attacking play in the final of the tournament against Italy was in part down to strong holding midfield play by Dino Baggio for Italy, as well as Dunga and Mauro 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 the 1998 FIFA World Cup, in which he participated, despite playing in the Japanese J. League, considered a lower standard of competitive football at the time. He won the 1997 Copa América, scoring his only goal in the competition in a 2–0 win over Colombia 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 teammate Bebeto in the first round match against Morocco, forcing the rest of the team to break them up.^[9] Despite these difficulties, Brazil went on to reach the final of the tournament, where they lost 3–0 to hosts France; this was Dunga's final international appearance.^[8] En route to the final, Dunga set-up César Sampaio's first goal in a 4–1 win over Chile in the round of 16,^[18] and also recorded an assist on Rivaldo's second goal in a 3–2 win over Denmark in the quarter-finals.^[19] Dunga also scored his team's fourth penalty kick in the shootout victory against the Netherlands in the semi-finals.^[14][15][20]

In total, Dunga made 91 senior-level appearances for Brazil, scoring six goals.^[21]

Management

Brazil

Dunga in 2006

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.

Dunga's first match in charge was against Norway in Oslo on 16 August 2006; the game ended in a 1–1 draw. His second match was held against archrivals Argentina on 3 September at Arsenal's new Emirates Stadium in London; Brazil won 3–0. On 5 September, Brazil then defeated Wales 2–0 at Tottenham Hotspur's White Hart Lane ground. They later defeated Kuwaiti club Al-Kuwait 4–0, Ecuador 2–1 and Switzerland 2–1.

Dunga did not just look for players at large clubs, but looked at the whole scope of Europe, finding individual talents such as Daniel Carvalho, Vágner Love, Dudu Cearense of Russian club CSKA Moscow and from local Brazilian clubs such as Corinthians, Flamengo and São Paulo.

In 2007, Dunga managed Brazil to their second-straight Copa 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 the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa on 28 June 2009. The team came back from a 2–0 deficit against the United States to emerge victorious from a Lúcio header in the 84th minute that made the score 3–2.

At the 2010 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 footballer Pelé. Pelé believed Alexandre Pato and Neymar should have been selected to the squad.^{[citation needed]}

It was announced on 29 August 2011 that Dunga had signed a contract with Qatari club Al-Rayyan as a replacement for Paulo Autuori, but Al Rayyan opted to sign another coach after Dunga stated he was "not sure" about the position.^[23][24]

Internacional

On 12 December 2012, Dunga was confirmed as new coach of Internacional, where he started and finished his career as a player.^[25] On 3 October 2013, he was fired after a series of losses left the gaúcho team in disarray.^[26]

Dunga served as a commentator for IRIB during the 2014 World Cup.

Second stint with Brazil

Dunga coaching Brazil in 2015

On 22 July 2014, after four years away, Dunga reassumed coaching duties of Brazil, replacing Luiz Felipe Scolari.^[27] His first match was a friendly against 2014 World Cup quarter-finalists Colombia at Sun 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 against Ecuador (1–0)^[29] and the 2014 Superclásico de las Américas against Argentina (2–0),^[30] as well as Japan (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), and Honduras (1–0).

2015 Copa América

Brazil started the 2015 Copa América with a narrow 2–1 victory against Peru after initially being a goal down (with Douglas Costa scoring in the dying moments),^[34] followed by a 1–0 defeat to Colombia^[35] and a 2–1 victory over Venezuela.^[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, the Seleção was unable to qualify for a FIFA Confederations Cup (in this case, the 2017 edition) for the first time in almost 20 years.^[38]

Copa América Centenario

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 over Haiti, with Philippe 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, with Raúl 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]

Profile

Player

As a player, Dunga was a strong, consistent, and hard-tackling defensive 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 a box-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 from set-pieces, as well as his vision, first touch, and passing range, which also saw him function as a deep-lying playmaker; in this role, he was known for his precise one-touch passing, which allowed him to circulate possession quickly, and he often played long balls over the top to forwards using the outside 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 of Zico, 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]}

Manager

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 fluid 4–2–3–1 system, which could morph into a 4–2–2–2 formation, with Robinho operating as a left winger, but often drifting inside to support centre-forward Luis Fabiano, essentially operating as a second 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 as Ramires 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 as Ronaldinho, Diego, Ganso, Neymar, Adriano, and Pato, 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]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition^[72]

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Internacional	1982	Série A	1	0							1	0
	1983		4	0							4	0
	1984		5	0							5	0
	Total		10	0							10	0
Corinthians	1985	Série A	13	1							13	1
Santos	1986	Série A	16	1							16	1
Vasco da Gama	1987	Série A	17	1							17	1
Pisa	1987–88	Serie A	23	2	6	1	-	-	-	-	29	3
Fiorentina	1988–89	Serie A	30	3	8	1	-	-	-	-	38	4
	1989–90		28	0	2	1	-	-	11	0	41	1
	1990–91		33	1	6	1	-	-	-	-	39	2
	1991–92		33	4	4	1	-	-	-	-	37	5
	Total		124	8	20	4	0	0	11	0	155	12
Pescara	1992–93	Serie A	23	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	23	3
VfB Stuttgart	1993–94	Bundesliga	27	4							27	4
	1994–95		26	4							26	4
	Total		53	8							53	8
Júbilo Iwata	1995	J1 League	25	1	2	0	-		-		27	1
	1996		20	4	1	0	13	0	-		34	4
	1997		26	5	0	0	11	1	-		37	6
	1998		28	6	0	0	0	0	-		28	6
	Total		99	16	3	0	24	1	-		126	17
Internacional	1999	Série A	15	1							15	1
Career total			393	41	29	5	24	1	11	0	457	47

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Brazil	1987	4	1
	1988	0	0
	1989	15	0
	1990	6	1
	1991	0	0
	1992	0	0
	1993	13	1
	1994	13	1
	1995	14	1
	1996	0	0
	1997	17	1
	1998	9	0
Total		91	6

Scores and results list Brazil's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Dunga goal.

List of international goals scored by Dunga

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref.
1	1 June 1987	Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan, Israel	Israel	2–0	4–0	Friendly	[73]
2	13 May 1990	Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	East Germany	3–1	3–3	Friendly	[74]
3	22 August 1993	Estádio do Morumbi, São Paulo, Brazil	Ecuador	2–0	2–0	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification	[75]
4	8 June 1994	San Diego Stadium, San Diego, United States	Honduras	7–2	8–2	Friendly	[76]
5	12 August 1995	Suwon Stadium, Suwon, South Korea	South Korea	1–0	1–0	Friendly	[77]
6	19 June 1997	Estadio Ramón Tahuichi Aguilera, Santa Cruz, Bolivia	Colombia	1–0	2–0	1997 Copa América	[78]

Coaching record

As of 12 June 2016

Team	From	To	Record1
			G	W	D	L	Win %
Brazil	24 July 2006	2 July 2010	60	42	12	6	070.00
Brazil Olympic Team	22 June 2008	22 August 2008	9	8	0	1	088.89
Internacional	12 December 2012	26 October 2013	52	25	18	9	048.08
Brazil	22 July 2014	4 June 2016	26	18	5	3	069.23
Total			157	103	35	19	065.61

Honours

Player

Internacional

• Rio Grande do Sul State League: 1982, 1983, 1984

Vasco da Gama

• Rio de Janeiro State League: 1987

Júbilo Iwata

• J. League: 1997

Brazil U-20

• FIFA U-20 World Cup: 1983
• South American Youth Championship: 1983

Brazil

• FIFA World Cup: 1994
• FIFA Confederations Cup: 1997
• Copa América: 1989, 1997
• Olympic Silver Medal: 1984
• Pan American Games Silver Medal: 1983
• South American Pre-Olympic Tournament: 1984

Individual

• World XI: 1990, 1991^[79]
• FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1994, 1998^[80]
• J. League Most Valuable Player: 1997
• J. League Best Eleven: 1997, 1998
• FIFA XI: 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000^[81]
• Venerdi's 100 Magnifici^[82]
• Golden Foot: 2010, as a football legend^[83]
• Fiorentina All-time XI^[84]

Manager

Internacional

• Rio Grande do Sul State League: 2013

Brazil

• Copa América: 2007
• Olympic Bronze Medal: 2008
• FIFA Confederations Cup: 2009
• Superclásico de las Américas: 2014

Individual

• IFFHS World's Best National Coach: 2007^[85]

See also

List of Brazil national football team managers