BRAZILIAN NATIONAL TEAM PLAYS EVEN WITHOUT A COACH
— Antônio Serpa | October 1962 —

Convinced that it is in Brazil that the best football in the world is played, coach Fernando Riera, who led Chile to third place in the last World Cup, made a point of highlighting:

Riera: In my country, the spirited Brazilian team gave unequivocal proof of its high technical caliber. Its players, all aware of their enormous responsibility, showed the value they possess. But, a detail that perhaps few have noticed, was what caught my attention: the discipline. Even when it came to taking the field, the Brazilian stars exuded discipline. In the game against us, class prevailed, but fiber and vigour were factors that cannot be forgotten.

— So that means the title is in good hands, Riera?

Riera: Yes, without a doubt. No one deserved to win the World Cup-62 more than Brazil. Brazil sent a perfect team to Chile who were not disturbed by their somewhat shaky start. I don't want these words of mine to reach the Technical Committee, but, honestly, the Brazilian team that went to Chile was capable of playing even without a coach. The Brazilian team's campaign really impressed me.

— Did you expect a better placement for the Chilean team?

Riera: Perhaps, if Chile didn't have a relatively young team, they could expect a more favorable outcome. I was satisfied with the position that my country's team obtained, because, after all, Chile showed progress.

— Were there any surprises for you in the other placements, Riera?

Riera: Strictly speaking, no. I think Czechslovakia deserved runner-up. Perhaps you can point to the disqualification of Germany and Hungary as possible surprises from the World Cup. The Italians' pale campaign also came as a surprise.

— Could you name the best player in the World Cup?

Fernando Riera opened his arms, passed his hand over his head and said:

Riera: This is a bit of a difficult task. There were exceptional players and perhaps at the moment I would forget any names worth mentioning, which would be unfair. But the best was the Brazilian winger Garrincha, who, due to his disconcerting dribbling and great intelligence, became the great asset of the two-time champion team. In other writings, I would point to goalkeeper Carbajal, from Mexico; midfielder Masopust, from Czechoslovakia; and midfielder Šekularac, from Yugoslavia.

— And how would you form the World Cup team?

Riera: This is the even more complicated mission. But, so as not to fail to answer your question, I will give you an unpretentious guess on how I would organize the selection for the World Cup-62. It would be with: Carbajal; Djalma Santos, Popluhár, Pluskal and Nilton Santos; Masopust and Škularac; Garrincha, Seeler, Toro and Zagallo.

— In your opinion, what is the most efficient game system?

There was some surprise in Riera's response:

Riera: I think this game system thing is a global disease. Football cannot be subject to systems. Every team must have a strong defense block and a great offensive block. It cannot be said that the 4-2-4 is the best system, nor can we defend the 4-3-3. In every team I run, I don't worry too much about systems. The essential thing in a team is joint strength, which can be acquired without the concern, so common in current times, of restricting the player to a certain area of action.

Finally, we wanted to know from Riera whether there is a need for the opponent to exercise special marking on a certain player (on Pelé, for example), to which he responded, concluding:

Riera: No. Even though Pelé is a player who needs an entire defense to mark him, I see that nowadays it is no longer necessary, due to modern technique, for two or three defenders to stand out to block a single attacker. Those who saw the Santos x Benfica game, at Maracanã, can confirm what I'm saying.