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Brazil, Dunga to quit after World Cup
OZOIR-LA-FERRIERE, June 29, 1998 - (AFP)

Brazil captain Dunga, who led the side to victory in the 1994 World Cup, said Monday he would retire from international football after France 98.

Dunga, 35, capped 92 times, said: "I have seen it all. I have played in three World Cups and I am here to win my second.

"But win or lose it's time to go."

He will continue club football in Japan with Jubilo Iwata.

Brazil are the bookmakers' favourites to win the World Cup and Dunga, a pugnacious workhorse, is a key element in the campaign

Dunga -- the name means dopey in Portuguese -- has had a fractious World Cup and a players' meeting was needed to heal a rift within the squad after he turned on striker Bebeto during the first round game against Morocco in Nantes in Brazil's second game of the tournament two weeks ago.

The press and public have never been comfortable with a midfielder more in the European mould who lacks the skills Brazilian players are supposed to embody.

He has been frequently criticized for workmanlike style since his early days when he captained the Brazil under-20 team that won the World Youth Cup in 1983.

"I know that I am not leaving you with any good memories," he told Brazilian journalists with whom he has maintained an uneasy relationship throughout his career.

"But that is for you to decide. All I know is that I have always tried to carry the Brazilian flag high wherever I have been in the world."

He scored seven goals in an international career that dates back to Wembley in May 1987, when he came on as a substitute in the 1-1 draw against England.

"I leave with the satisfaction of having done my duty," he said. "It is not for me to say what kind of legacy I will leave behind."

Brazil's quarter-final against Denmark in Nantes on Friday will be Dunga's 16th World Cup finals appearance. He played four matches in Italy 1990, seven in the United States in 1994 when Brazil won the tournament for the foruth time, and four so far in France 98.

An honest toiler among a team on gifted individuals, Dunga has been blunt about the current crop of Brazilian star.

"The are more skilled than the team that won the cup in 1994 but they lack humility," he said.

Dunga signed for his first professional club, Porto Alegres International, in 1980 as 17-year-old.

He later played for Corinthians (85-86), Santos (86-87), and Vasco Da Gama (87-88) before moving to Europe for spells with Pisa (88-89), Fiorentina (92-93), Pescara (93-94), and Stuttgart (94-95) from where he joined J-League club Jubilo Iwata.


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