Dunga

Club career

At the 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 Jubilo Iwata (1995–98).

International career

Internationally, Dunga played 91 times for Brazil, scoring six goals. His international career began in 1983 at the FIFA U-20 World Cup. Dunga captained the young Brazilian squad, winning the tournament against Argentina in the final. A year later, he helped Brazil to win a silver medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California. Dunga then began reaching call-ups to Brazil's senior squad, winning the 1989 Copa América by defeating Uruguay at the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.

Dunga was a starter for Brazil at the 1990 FIFA World Cup, which he was held responsible more so than his teammates for the worst campaign at a World Cup since 1966 after a lackluster tournament and the subsequent elimination in the second round by arch rivals Argentina. In the following years, he would be consistently targeted by Brazilian press due to his supposedly "thuggish" style of playing. This period in Brazil's football history was called "Era Dunga", as according to fans and journalists, he symbolized the less-than-thrilling, slow and defensive style of the team. In spite of that, Brazil's new coach Carlos Alberto Parreira kept Dunga as one of the starting XI throughout the 1994 World Cup Qualifiers and finals.

Raí actually started the 1994 World Cup in the United States as Brazilian captain, but after being allegedly responsible for Brazil's poor performances, he was dropped altogether for Mazinho. Dunga took the captaincy and went on to lift the trophy. Four years later, although playing in the lower standard J. League in Japan, he captained Brazil once more to the final where they lost to France.

Dunga played the anchor role in midfield extremely effectively. 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.

In 1994, he often served as the captain of the team. Dunga scored the third penalty kick in the finals against Italy. He assumed the captain role for the next four years until the 1998 FIFA World Cup. The 1998 tournament was notable for the lack of teamwork. It was often visible as 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. Dunga also scored in the fourth penalty kick in the shootout eventually won by Brazil against the Netherlands in the semi-finals.

Brazil

Dunga was one of those considered to replace Vanderlei Luxemburgo in 2000 as the Brazilian national coach. Dunga refused the offer because he disliked the way in which the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) was organized and managed its affairs.

On 24 July 2006, Dunga was named as the new national coach of the Brazilian 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 which was played 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 and Dudu Cearense of Russian club CSKA Moscow. He also looked for players 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. 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.

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.

Brazil

On 22 July 2014, Dunga was announced as the new manager of Brazil, replacing Luiz Felipe Scolari. He returned to the position for the first time since Brazil's exit in the 2010 World Cup.

Dunga's first match in his second reign as Brazil's manager was a friendly match against 2014 World Cup quarter-finalists Colombia at Sun Life Stadium in Miami on 5 September 2014, with Brazil winning the match 1–0 through a 83rd-minute Neymar free-kick goal. Dunga followed this up with wins against Ecuador (1–0), in the 2014 Superclásico de las Américas against Argentina (2–0), against Japan (4–0), against Turkey (0–4), and against Austria (1–2). Dunga continued Brazil's winning streak in 2015 by defeating France 3–1 in another friendly. They followed this with wins against Chile (1–0), Mexico (2–0) and Honduras (1–0).

2015 Copa América

Brazil started the tournament with a tight victory against Peru after coming from behind by 2–1 (with Douglas Costa scoring in the dying moments), followed by a 1–0 defeat against Colombia and a 2–1 victory against Venezuela. In the knockout stage, Brazil faced Paraguay and was eliminated after drawing 1–1 in normal time and losing 4–3 in the penalty shootout. As such, Brazil 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 tournament with a scoreless draw against Ecuador, with Ecuador having a goal controversially disallowed in the second half. This was followed by an emphatic 7-1 victory over Haiti, with Philippe Coutinho scoring a hat-trick. Needing only a draw to progress to the knockout stage of the tournament, Brazil suffered a controversial 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, Dunga was fired by the CBF.

Queens Park Rangers dispute

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 that the new owners are refusing to give it back. QPR have commented on this issue by saying the cheque he paid the club with bounced, and that he is aware of this fact.

Style of play

As a player, Dunga was a strong, hard-tackling, ball-winning defensive midfielder with good technique, tactical versatility and an ability to read the game well; he was highly regarded for his anticipation and ability to time his challenges, only going in for tackles when he deemed it necessary. 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 break down the opposing team's plays, and start attacking plays once he won back possession. Dunga was also known for his powerful striking ability from distance and from set-pieces, as well as his vision and passing range as a deep-lying playmaker; he often played long balls to forwards using the outside of his right foot. Dunga was seen as an atypical Brazilian footballer, who was more similar to European midfielders in terms of his composed, efficient, teancious and physical style of play. Although he lacked the refined quality of traditional, more skilful Brazilian midfielders in the mold of Zico, he stood out for his leadership, work-rate and his determination throughout his career.

Coaching record

Brazil national team results

^ a: Dunga was banned for two matches following his sending off on September 12, 2007; he was replaced by his assistant, Jorginho.

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