Jorginho — Jorge de Amorim Campos — is a former Brazilian defender, a World Cup winner with Brazil in 1994. In club level, Jorginho played for América-RJ (1984), Flamengo (1985-89), Bayer Leverkusen (1989-92), Bayern Munich (1992-94), Kashima Antlers (1995-99), São Paulo (1999), Vasco da Gama (2000-01), and Fluminense (2001-03). For Brazil, Jorginho was capped 64 times, scoring three goals. Other than the 1994 triumph, he also played at the 1990 FIFA World Cup. He was booked in the second round match against the US in 1994, but was named in the All Star squad a few days later. He contributed to two assists in the tournament, including a cross in the semifinals against Sweden that helped Romario score the winning goal. He played superbly against Italy in the finals. However, he got injured afterwards and was replaced by present captain Cafu. He played alongside Romario and Bebeto in 2001, but did not seem to get along with the pair at Vasco da Gama. In 2006, Jorginho was hired as the head coach of América-RJ.

Dhruv Painuly, an editorial consultant with THT, caught him up in Frankfurt. Excerpts:

How does it feel that now Brazil are out of the World Cup?

I am very disappointed. I thought this team had all to win the cup again. We had all the stars but then the result tells a different story.

Where did you think it went wrong for Brazil?

I think France were more motivated than us to win. They had players who had been written off and Viera, Zidane who are in the twilight of their careers took it as a challenge and put in that extra bit of effort, which is very important for a tournament like this. Also we didn’t play attacking football, which led us down.

Where do you think Brazilian football is headed now after this loss?

We in Brazil feel that second place is not good enough. We have been number one and anything less than that is a tragedy for us. I am sure some heads will roll but we have a good bunch of players who are world-beaters and with some fresh faces coming in it should not be a problem to maintain this tradition.

Do you think that time is up for players like Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos and Cafu?

Maybe yes for Cafu and Carlos but Ronaldo still has some years left in him if he takes care of himself. Even before the tournament people had written him off but he came back strong. It’s not easy for him to score goals because he is a very marked man on the field. It happens with all big players and they find it difficult to score in the premier event.

Who do you think can win the World Cup now?

I think any four teams in the semis can win the world Cup. Germany has a good chance. With young players, attacking football and above else the home crowd I think now they are favourites to win the world Cup. But don’t write off Portugal who have shown fighting qualities and also France who played out of their skins to beat Brazil.