Overconfidence could be the Brazilian football team’s biggest obstacle to a gold medal at London 2012 Olympics says coach Mani Menezes.
Brazil are strong contenders for the gold alongside recent European Champions Spain but overconfidence could get the better of them.
"It is an illusion to believe that it will be easy because we have never had an easy time in the Olympics. We have never won an Olympic Games, and if you look back and observe the list of players who played the in the Olympics, you will see that it was not easy at all and that is why we didn't win.
I think the worst mistake we could make is to believe we are favourites before playing; this is the closest you will get to not winning," says Menezes.
The Brazilian side have been close to gold on more than one occasion, beaten finalists in 1984 and 1988 while losing in the semis in 1996 and 2008.
A blend of youth and experience could be the right recipe for success says coach Menezes.
"I don't see any reason to take a squad that makes a great campaign a in the Olympics and take out key players who could have an important role in the World Cup if they are in good shape. I believe the most important aspect here would be their unity in a squad -- and I hope they will be Olympic champions -- with players who are more experienced, precisely because this would help balance out and further qualify Brazil's national team," he said.
The squad will travel to London on July 16th and will kick off the tournament against Egypt on July 26. Three days later it will face Belarus and to end the last game of the first phase they will play against New Zealand on August 1st.
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