A career filled with highs and lows

Full name: Carlos Caetano Bledorn Verri

Born: Oct. 31, 1961 in Ijui, Brazil

Playing career

Dunga began his playing career at Internacional of Porto Alegre, winning three consecutive state titles (1982-84) at one of the two main clubs in his home state of Rio Grande do Sul. He left Inter in 1984 to sign for Corinthians in Sao Paulo and was there for two years before short spells at Santos and Vasco da Gama. In 1987 he moved to Italy, first to Pisa, but then to Fiorentina, where he spent almost four years, reaching the final of the UEFA Cup. After a short stint at Pescara he moved to Germany and VfB Stuttgart, but his time there was cut short by a lucrative move to Japan in 1994. His time at Jubilo Iwata was a huge success as he won the league title in 1997 and the J-League's Player of the Year trophy. He returned home in 1998 and ended his career at Internacional a year later.

International career

He made his Brazil debut in 1987 and was one of the leaders of the squad that went to the 1990 World Cup. However, Brazil played poorly and was knocked out in the second round by Argentina. Brazil had abandoned its stylish soccer of the 1980s in favor of a more direct style that is still cruelly remembered as "the Dunga era". Dunga, however, bounced back four years later to lead Brazil to its fourth World Cup title in the United States with the same gritty and committed style. He famously lifted the trophy with a screaming tirade against his critics. He captained the team to the final again in 1998, when Brazil lost 3-0 to France.

Brazil manager

Dunga was a surprise choice to take over from Carlos Alberto Parreira after the disappointing 2006 World Cup when a star-studded Brazil side was knocked out in the quarterfinals by France. He once again opted for a direct approach and it was successful. He won the Copa America in 2007 and the Confederations Cup in 2009 and guided Brazil to first place in the 10-team South American qualifying group for South Africa. However, his team failed to react after going 2-1 down to the Netherlands in the quarterfinals of the 2010 tournament and he was fired soon after.

Reuters

(China Daily 07/24/2014 page24)