Brazil 0-0 Turkey

 

Brazil's final match before the Copa America tournament ended in a stalemate, with the samba boys getting booed off the pitch by the 26,000 strong crowed at the Westfalen Stadium on Tuesday.

 

With Kaka and Ronaldinho both left out of the starting line up, the Brazilian team looked like a toothless tiger against Turkey. Coach Dunga used just two of the players who had featured in the 1-1 draw against England on Friday.

 

However the changes were not effective and Turkey took control of large portions of the match. The Turks created a number of chances in the first half but were unable to convert them. Hamit Altintop came close to scoring twice, but his looping volley in the 26th minute and a free kick in the 70th minute rattled off the crossbar.

 

Dunga tried to insert some creativity into the team in the second half, first sending Ronaldinho at the start of the second half and then introducing Kaka 15 minutes later. However even they were unable to carve out any magic in the match. It was not for trying though.

 

Turkey keeper Hakan Arikan had to be alert to thwart Afonso Alves as the Herenveen striker tried to dribble past him to score in the 59th minute. Arikan once again came to Turkey's rescue as he valiantly came out to stop Ronaldinho's cross from reaching Jo, even though the Turkish keeper took a knock during the process.

 

Dunga was clearly unhappy with his team's display and admitted that he was still searching for the final eleven for the first match against Mexico. "I expected more today, I didn't like the game. We have some ideas, but we won't really know until we are in training camp", he said.

 

Meanwhile the match dropped curtains on Turkey's Kerimoglu Tugay, who walked on to the pitch wearing a jersey featuring No. 94. The Blackburn striker was substituted to a standing ovation from the crowd after 10 minutes.

 

Dunga will now have to do some hard thinking before naming his 22-man team for Copa America on Wednesday. Brazil is slotted in Group B of the tournament along with Mexico, Chile and Ecuador. Brazil v Turkey ended goalless.




Tags: Brazil, Copa America, England, Turkey, Ronaldinho, Kaka, Brazil v Turkey

Posted: 7th June 2007

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