Carlos Caetano Bledorn Verri (born 31 October 1963), commonly known as Dunga (), 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.
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. 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. 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. His uncle nicknamed him "Dunga", derived from the Portuguese translation of "Dopey", one of the seven dwarfs 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.
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.
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.
Senior
Dunga debuted for the Brazilian senior squad during a 1–1 friendly draw against England in 1987. 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.
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. In the following years, Dunga was consistently targeted by Brazilian press due to his supposedly "thuggish" style of playing. 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. 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.
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, 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. Throughout the World Cup, Dunga completed the most passes (692) and tackles (57), both World Cup records.
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. and also recorded an assist on Rivaldo's second goal in a 3–2 win over Denmark in the quarter-finals. Dunga also scored his team's fourth penalty kick in the shootout victory against the Netherlands in the semi-finals.
In total, Dunga made 91 senior-level appearances for Brazil, scoring six goals.
Management
Brazil
thumb|right|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. Pundit Tim Vickery wrote that Parreira was perceived as passive, while Dunga was considered to be passionate and involved like 2002 FIFA World Cup-winning manager Luiz Felipe Scolari; Dunga agreed with the comparison. Alex Bellos wrote that Parreira was blamed for Brazil's 2006 World Cup exit due to deferring to star players, while Dunga was viewed as a tougher presence. His team lined up without Ronaldo, Ronaldinho or Kaká, and their equaliser was scored by CSKA Moscow's Daniel Carvalho.
Dunga's first competitive games were at the 2007 Copa América in Venezuela. His squad was without Ronaldinho and Kaká who had asked to be excused, or Ronaldo and Adriano who were out of form. Gilberto and Dani Alves were replacements at full-back for the retired Cafu and Roberto Carlos, while Robinho, Vagner Love and Afonso Alves were among the attacking options.
Dunga led the Brazil under-23 team at the 2008 Olympic tournament in China, naming Ronaldinho and Thiago Silva as his two overage players after being denied the use of Robinho by Real Madrid. Eliminated by reigning and eventual champions Argentina in the semi-finals, his side took the bronze medal by defeating Belgium 3–0.
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, winning with a Lúcio header in the 84th minute that made the score 3–2. His side qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup with three games to spare, then lost 2–1 away to Bolivia at high altitude; this ended an 11-game winning streak and 19 games unbeaten. He set up his side around Kaká, who had been played out of position by Parreira, and used Gilberto Silva and Felipe Melo as defensive midfielders, with Luís Fabiano preferred up front. Public figures including Pelé criticised him for excluding AC Milan attackers Ronaldinho and Alexandre Pato, as well as Santos youngsters Neymar and Ganso.
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.
Internacional
On 12 December 2012, Dunga was confirmed as new coach of Internacional, where he started and finished his career as a player. On 3 October 2013, he was fired after a series of losses left the gaúcho team in disarray.
Dunga served as a commentator for IRIB during the 2014 World Cup.
Second stint with Brazil
thumbnail|Dunga coaching Brazil in 2015
On 22 July 2014, after four years away, Dunga reassumed coaching duties of Brazil, replacing Luiz Felipe Scolari. 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. Following this were victories against Ecuador (1–0) and the 2014 Superclásico de las Américas against Argentina (2–0), as well as Japan (4–0), Turkey (0–4), and Austria (1–2). 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), followed by a 1–0 defeat to Colombia and a 2–1 victory over Venezuela. In the knockout stage, Paraguay eliminated Brazil by 4 penalty kicks to 3 after both teams drew 1–1 in normal time. 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.
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. This was followed by a 7–1 victory over Haiti, with Philippe Coutinho scoring a hat-trick. 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. This loss, Brazil's first loss to Peru since 1985, saw Brazil eliminated from the tournament in the group stage for the first time since 1987. On 14 June 2016, he was fired by the CBF. 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. 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. His athleticism and aggression also allowed him to shield the ball from opponents, allowing him to retain possession under pressure. Considered to be one of the greatest holding midfielders of all time, 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. 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. 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. In addition to his tactical approach, he was also known for his strict attitude with his players as a coach.
Career statistics
Club
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
|-
!rowspan="2"|Club
!rowspan="2"|Season
!colspan="3"|League
!colspan="2"|National Cup
!colspan="2"|League Cup
!colspan="2"|Continental
!colspan="2"|Total
|-
!Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals
|-
|rowspan="4"|Internacional
|1982
|rowspan="3"|Série A
|1||0||||||||||||||1||0
|-
|1983
|4||0||||||||||||||4||0
|-
|1984
|5||0||||||||||||||5||0
|-
!colspan="2"|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
|-
|rowspan="5"|Fiorentina
|1988–89
|rowspan="4"|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
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!124||8||20||4||0||0||11||0||155||12
|-
|Pescara
|1992–93
|Serie A
|23||3||-||-||-||-||-||-||23||3
|-
|rowspan="3"|VfB Stuttgart
|1993–94
|rowspan="2"|Bundesliga
|27||4||||||||||||||27||4
|-
|1994–95
|26||4||||||||||||||26||4
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!53||8||||||||||||||53||8
|-
|rowspan="5"|Júbilo Iwata
|1995
|rowspan="4"|J1 League
|25||1||2||0||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||27||1
|-
|1996
|20||4||1||0||13||0||colspan="2"|-||34||4
|-
|1997
|26||5||0||0||11||1||colspan="2"|-||37||6
|-
|1998
|28||6||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|-||28||6
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!99||16||3||0||24||1||colspan="2"|-||126||17
|-
|Internacional
|1999
|Série A
|15||1||||||||||||||15||1
|-
!colspan="3"|Career total
!393||41||29||5||24||1||11||0||457||47
|}
International
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Appearances and goals by national team and year
|-
!National team!!Year!!Apps!!Goals
|-
|rowspan="12"|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
|-
!colspan="2"|Total||91||6
|}
:Scores and results list Brazil's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Dunga goal.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ List of international goals scored by Dunga
|-
!scope="col"|No.
!scope="col"|Date
!scope="col"|Venue
!scope="col"|Opponent
!scope="col"|Score
!scope="col"|Result
!scope="col"|Competition
!scope="col" class="unsortable"|
|-
|style="text-align:center"|1
|
|Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan, Israel
|
|style="text-align:center"|2–0
|style="text-align:center"|4–0
|Friendly
|
|-
|style="text-align:center"|2
|
|Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
|
|style="text-align:center"|3–1
|style="text-align:center"|3–3
|Friendly
|
|-
|style="text-align:center"|3
|
|Estádio do Morumbi, São Paulo, Brazil
|
|style="text-align:center"|2–0
|style="text-align:center"|2–0
|1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
|
|-
|style="text-align:center"|4
|
|San Diego Stadium, San Diego, United States
|
|style="text-align:center"|7–2
|style="text-align:center"|8–2
|Friendly
|
|-
|style="text-align:center"|5
|
|Suwon Stadium, Suwon, South Korea
|
|style="text-align:center"|1–0
|style="text-align:center"|1–0
|Friendly
|
|-
|style="text-align:center"|6
|
|Estadio Ramón Tahuichi Aguilera, Santa Cruz, Bolivia
|
|style="text-align:center"|1–0
|style="text-align:center"|2–0
|1997 Copa América
|
|}
Coaching record
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
!rowspan="2"|Team
!rowspan="2"|From
!rowspan="2"|To
!colspan="5"|Record
|-
!G!!W!!D!!L!!Win %
|-
|align=left|Brazil
|align=left|24 July 2006
|align=left|2 July 2010
|-
|align=left|Brazil Olympic Team
|align=left|22 June 2008
|align=left|22 August 2008
|-
|align=left|Internacional
|align=left|12 December 2012
|align=left|26 October 2013
|-
|align=left|Brazil
|align=left|22 July 2014
|align=left|4 June 2016
|-
!colspan="3"|Total
|}
Honours
Player
Internacional
- Rio Grande do Sul State League: 1982, 1983, 1984
- Torneio Heleno Nunes: 1994
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
- FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1994, 1998
- J. League Most Valuable Player: 1997
- J. League Best Eleven: 1997, 1998
- FIFA XI: 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000
- Venerdi's 100 Magnifici
- Golden Foot: 2010, as a football legend
- Fiorentina All-time XI
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
See also
- List of Brazil national football team managers
References
External links
- Official website (archived, 18 March 2018)