Dunga and Diego – not touchline twins

Touchline twins they aren’t but Dunga and Diego Maradona both will look to put one over the other at the World Cup as passionately as if they were blood brothers.

Rarely has there been such a stark contrast in coaching styles between the current handlers of Latin American giants Brazil and Argentina – even if both have held the trophy aloft as winning captains.

Neither nation has been short of characters in the past – witness Cesar Luis Menotti, the man who chain-smoked his way through matches as the Argentines strode to glory on home soil in 1978.

Then there was Luiz Felipe Scolari, who lifted the 2002 trophy and who bore more than a passing resemblence to actor Gene Hackman and would even on occasion answer to the name Gene.

Maradona and Dunga are polar opposites.

Dunga, who insists on force-feeding Brazilian fans a diet of pitchside pragmatism when what they really want is not just to win – but to win in samba style.

It worked for Dunga as a player – his safety first policy saw him marshall surely the most miserly back four in Brazil’s history in 1994, although a goalless draw and then a shootout success over Italy in the final did not impress the purists.

Argentina didn’t exactly tango their way into the finals under Maradona.

Whereas he pocketed his winners medal in 1986 after producing some stunning attacking play – witness his slalom goal against England in the quarters (as opposed to his infamous earlier ‘Hand of God’ goal) Maradona has, as coach, presided over an unpredictable side.

Any team with forwards of the quality of Lionel Messi, Carlos Tevez and Gonzalo Higuain should have romped through to South Africa – instead of limping over the line in fourth spot in the qualifying tournament.

Maradona, who has used more than 100 players since taking charge mid-way through the qualifiers, responded to his detractors with a spot of foul-mouthed abuse.

With the quality of players at their disposal both Brazil and Argentina should cruise through their groups but Maradona has arguably the more to prove after failing to convince.

Dunga, seeking to emulate Franz Beckenbauer in landing the World Cup as both skipper and coach, does appear to have convinced his squad that there has to be a gritty element in the Brazilian mix – he expects to field two defensive midfielders Felipe Melo and Gilberto Silva.

Gilberto says the message has hit home and that Brazil must do more than turn in their traditional flowing “jogo bonito” beautiful game.

“We are not here to have a good time – our message is we want to be champions,” said the Panathinaikos veteran and former Arsenal man.

And striker Luis Fabiano has even gone as far as saying the team must “get down and dirty” as winning can’t always by synonymous with beauty.

Despite their very different characters Maradona and Dunga both appear to have imposed their personalities on their respective squads.

Dunga, with the Copa America and Confederations Cup under his belt, has shown his cautious hand in leaving out veteran forwards Ronaldinho and Adriano while even if Argentina have blown hot and cold under him, their players clearly admire his achievements – albeit as a player.

His reputation should be safe as long as he does not fare worse than 1978 winning skipper Daniel Passarella, whose Argentina side crashed out in the quarters at France 98.

Once again, despite their differing temperaments, one can find further similarities between Dunga and Maradona in that whereas their playing abilities cannot be called into question the jury is out on whether they can deal with the unique pressures of a World Cup spent in the dugout.

As Beckenbauer noted, theirs is a peculiar challenge.

While Der Kaiser welcomed Maradona’s appointment “because he brings movement to their game,” he adds that “carrying full responsability (for the team) is very different from being only one more player on the team,” even though in Maradona’s case he was rather more than that.