Babalola Oluwatomiwa
Social Member
Brazil coach, Dunga, has blamed their quarter finals exit at the ongoing Copa America on virus that hit most of his players at the same time.
The Neymarless Brazil team crashed out of the championship after losing to Paraguay 3-4 on penalties after the normal regulation time ended 1-1.
Former AC Milan striker, Robinho gave the Dunga's men the lead in the first half, but Thiago Silva's handled the ball gave Paraguay a penalty after 70 minutes and Derlis Gonzalez made no mistake from the spot.
"It's not an excuse, but 15 players had a virus this week and we had to limit much of our training," Dunga told reporters after Brazil had lost 4-3 on penalties following a 1-1 draw. "Today was a game in which it was crucial to use speed and that was what we lacked at the end.
"They had a virus, they had headaches, sore backs, aches and pains all over, each of them worse than the next," he added.
"Some vomited and we had to slow down our training sessions because of that."
"I am not using that as an excuse," said Robinho. "We could have won the game with a virus or not."
Goalkeeper Jefferson was more forthcoming but also denied it was a factor in the result, Dunga's second loss in 14 games since he returned as coach after the 2014 World Cup.
"Everyone woke up with headaches and some had aches and pains, it was weird that everyone got it at the same time," Jefferson said.
"But we can't use it as an excuse even though some players felt it. I don't think it affected the result."
Paraguay will now face Argentina in the semi final stage while Peru will be locking horns with the host nation, Chile. Supersport
The Neymarless Brazil team crashed out of the championship after losing to Paraguay 3-4 on penalties after the normal regulation time ended 1-1.
Former AC Milan striker, Robinho gave the Dunga's men the lead in the first half, but Thiago Silva's handled the ball gave Paraguay a penalty after 70 minutes and Derlis Gonzalez made no mistake from the spot.
"It's not an excuse, but 15 players had a virus this week and we had to limit much of our training," Dunga told reporters after Brazil had lost 4-3 on penalties following a 1-1 draw. "Today was a game in which it was crucial to use speed and that was what we lacked at the end.
"They had a virus, they had headaches, sore backs, aches and pains all over, each of them worse than the next," he added.
"Some vomited and we had to slow down our training sessions because of that."
"I am not using that as an excuse," said Robinho. "We could have won the game with a virus or not."
Goalkeeper Jefferson was more forthcoming but also denied it was a factor in the result, Dunga's second loss in 14 games since he returned as coach after the 2014 World Cup.
"Everyone woke up with headaches and some had aches and pains, it was weird that everyone got it at the same time," Jefferson said.
"But we can't use it as an excuse even though some players felt it. I don't think it affected the result."
Paraguay will now face Argentina in the semi final stage while Peru will be locking horns with the host nation, Chile. Supersport