Pele rips Dunga, Brazil's lack of flair: 'We have lost our way'

Pele is not impressed by the current state of Brazilian football.

The iconic attacker, 75, continues to bemoan both the crop of Brazilian talent and the way players are utilized when they pull on the legendary canary yellow kit; he claims the Selecao lack individual flair, and have been surpassed in that regard by other South American nations.

"There is no ginga," Pele said in an interview with David Hershey of ESPN FC, using the Portuguese word for "sway" that describes the free-flowing style exhibited by the Brazilian sides he starred for en route to winning three World Cup titles (1958, 1962, and 1970).

"Other South American countries like Argentina, Chile, and Ecuador now play more beautiful soccer than Brazil and you see what happens in the last two Copa Americas. We lose to Paraguay on penalties!"

The source of this distressing period in Brazil's decorated football history? Pele cites the infamous 7-1 annihilation at the hands of Germany in the 2014 World Cup semi-final - a result that has gone down in ignominy.

"I am sad just talking about it," Pele said during a promotional event for his new film "Pele: Birth of a Legend."

"I cried watching that game and not just because of the score. I cried because I do not know what happened to the joy of Brazilian football.

"Maybe this summer in the Olympics and Copa America, we can remind the world of how Brazil plays soccer, but it will not be easy. I fear we have lost our way."

Pele, who made a point to champion Barcelona superstar Neymar as the one player who embodies the mythical Brazilian ginga, also took aim at the nation's recent coaching appointments, claiming the drab brand of football currently on offer would never have been allowed to develop under previous managerial regimes.

"Myself, Gerson, Rivelino, and Tostao were all No. 10s and yet (then-coach Mario) Zagallo wanted us all on the field at the same time so he created a formation that could accommodate us," Pele said.

"Then in Japan (at the 2002 World Cup), we had Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, and Rivaldo who all had great flair and we won again. But today we have a coach who doesn't care about individual expression."