TEMUCO, Chile — Brazil has worked very hard over the last 12 months to bury all traces of last year’s World Cup disaster. Under its new coach, Dunga, the team played 10 friendly games without a loss and at times looked a bit like its old self.
But it took only two minutes of its first truly competitive match since the World Cup to refresh everyone’s memory of that utter humiliation.
With a colossal defensive miscue all too reminiscent of that day a year ago, a 7-1 loss to Germany in the semifinals, Brazil conceded a goal to Peru’s Christian Cueva in the second minute of their opening Copa América match here Sunday, sending shudders of fear throughout its fan base.