June 29, 2010 saw one of South American football’s most storied rivalries re-ignite as Brazil took on Chile in their Round of 16 clash at the Ellis Park Stadium, in Johannesburg.
The five time world champions booked a quarter-final showdown versus the Netherlands as they eased past Chile 3-0.
Going into the game, both the sides knew each other well… maybe too well, having taken the pitch 65 times before, including twice in the South Africa 2010 qualifiers.
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Chile got the ball rolling and made a rather bold start, going forward in numbers early as Marcelo Biesla’s fearless troops looked to draw first blood.
The first real chance of the game went to Gilberto Silva as early as the 9th minute. Silva lined up a dipping shot from the edge of the box only to invite a fine stop from Chilean stopper, Bravo.
Brazil were steadily growing in confidence, with Kaka (returning after suspension) getting his first shot in open space in the very next minute. However, his attempt went well wide of the Chile keeper’s right post.
The first half hour saw some good hustle and intent being shown by the Chile side, that looked promising and basically tried to get right on the Brazilians’ backs.
Kaka then collected the game’s first booking in the 29th minute for a crude trip. Five minutes later, came a moment of delight for the samba boys.
Chile conceded a corner and up popped centre-back Juan, to head Maicon’s well directed delivery into the back of the net. Nothing the keeper or any Chile defender could do about that.
But, Brazil would not settle with a 1-0 lead. Dunga’s side ensured Chile had a mountain to climb, as Luis Fabiano made it 2-0 in the 39th minute.
Having stood Chile’s early test, Brazil ended a satisfying first half, leading 2-0 at the break.
The second half started with Chile facing an all or nothing situation. Mark Gonzalez and defender Pablo were replaced by winger Rodrigo Tello and striker Valdivia.
Brazil seemed to be happy sitting back and waiting to catch Chile off guard with the occasional break. The tactic paid off in the 59th minute with Robinho putting his name on the score-sheet. Assisted brilliantly by a terrific run by Ramires who found Robinho all alone with lots of space in front of goal… excellent finishing.
Meanwhile, Chile continued their struggle to get through, but were denied time and again by Dunga’s impenetrable back-line. Biesla made his final substitution, bringing on Rodrigo Miller for Isla in the 62nd minute.
However, in a bit of a blow to Brazil, Ramires picked up a fatal yellow in the 71st minute, that would rule him out of the quarter-final tie against the Dutch.
Minutes to go before Brazil would progress, Dunga replaced the goal scoring heroes Fabiano with Nilmar and Robinho with Gilberto. Kaka also made way for former Manchester United midfielder, Kleberson.
To give credit where credit’s due, Chile could have easily rolled over and hit the self-destruct mode after being hit for three goals. Instead, they actually made an effort to contest the ball till the final whistle blew.
