Marcelo has been in line with Brazil’s tradition of attacking full-backs and it was not surprising that he started in all but one of Brazil’s World Cup 2014 matches.
The arrival of Dunga as the replacement for Luiz Felipe Scolari has had disastrous consequences for the Real Madrid left back. Marcelo has since not featured for the Brazilian national team since Dunga became the new coach in July 2014. When quizzed about his absence, Dunga stated that the 26-year-old was not offering enough solidarity in the defence since he is concentrating much on attack.
Real Madrid’s Carlo Ancelotti, though, does not seem to have any problems with Marcelo’s attacking instincts. The defender continues to remain as part of the first-team plans at the Santiago Bernabeu. He has already featured in 21 matches across three different competitions. Even though he is yet to score this season, Marcelo has already contributed six assists which is an impressive figure for a defender.After the embarrassing 7-1 defeat against Germany in the World Cup semi-final, Brazil have been focusing on a solid foundation at the back. Dunga has recalled a number of former players like Kaka and Robinho since taking over.
His first competitive matches do not start until the summer when Brazil play in the Copa America.”How many times did Marcelo go into attack [at the World Cup]? Twenty. How many goals did he score or create? None. How many times were we caught out with balls going over our defenders’ backs? Three or four.You don’t have to be a genius [to see the problems]. It’s not that I don’t like players who attack. But you need to score to win. It’s not a question of Marcelo, it’s everybody. You have to be efficient,” said Dunga while explaining the continued absence of Marcelo.