Olympics harder than World Cup, Brazil's Dunga says

Securing a first Olympic title will be a tougher job than the World Cup, Brazil's coach Dunga said Sunday, and insisted his young team was up to the task of soccer gold at the Beijing Games.

While Brazil has held the World Cup five times it has never won at the Olympics, but Dunga said his squad - including Ronaldinho - was coping well with the weight of expectation.

"To win (an) Olympic medal is a bit harder because we don't have much time to prepare," he told reporters in Singapore ahead of an exhibition match here Monday.

"With respect to the World Cup, we have four years to prepare for it ... in the Olympic Games normally we have 15 days and players are coming back from holidays, from other competition."

The Brazilian team, including two-time World Player of the Year Ronaldinho, 18-year-old AC Milan sensation Alexandre Pato, and Manchester United's Anderson, have been going through drills and tactics since arriving last week.

"There is a lot of pressure in winning ... most of these players, although they are young, they are already playing in big teams in Europe and also in Brazil so they are coping quite well," said Dunga.

Eighteen-year-old Pato, who has been hailed as Milan's bright new hope, said experienced players like 28-year-old Ronaldinho would help steady the nerves.

"I am glad to be in a team that consists of more experienced players who can help and support me on the field," he told reporters.

"It also calms me and helps me to try and do my best on the field."

Dunga and his team arrived in Singapore last week as part of preparations for next month's Olympics.

After a game Monday against Singapore, the team will head to Hanoi for a friendly against Vietnam's national side on Aug 1.

Brazil won the Olympic silver medal in the 1984 and 1988 Games, and bronze in 1996. The Olympic tournament begins on Aug 6.

巴西国家男足主教练邓加于上周日接受采访时说，奥运会夺金比世界杯夺冠更加艰难，但他坚信年轻的“桑巴军团”能完成在北京奥运会上夺金的任务。

尽管巴西队曾五夺世界杯冠军，但却从未夺过奥运会冠军，不过邓加表示，以“小罗”（罗纳尔迪尼奥）为领军人物的巴西队在本届奥运会上一定能够不负众望。

本周一，邓加在巴西队与新加坡队的热身赛开始前接受记者采访时说，“对于巴西队而言，要赢得奥运奖牌有点难度，因为我们的备战时间不够充裕。”

“不像世界杯，我们有四年的备战时间……但奥运会的比赛，我们通常只有15天的集训时间，队员们不是度假回来就是刚参加完其它赛事。”

巴西队自上周抵达新加坡后就开始了各项训练。目前巴西国家队中的球星包括两届“世界足球先生”罗纳尔迪尼奥，AC米兰俱乐部新星、18岁的亚历山大•帕托和曼联俱乐部的安德森。

邓加说：“我们的夺冠压力不小…… 尽管我们的队员都很年轻，但他们大多数已在欧洲的豪门俱乐部和巴西国家队中站稳了脚跟，所以他们一定能处理好这种压力。”

被誉为米兰“希望之星”的18岁小将帕托说，经验丰富的队员能稳定全队的情绪，比如28岁的“小罗”。

他在接受记者采访时说：“队里一些经验丰富的球员能在比赛中给予我帮助和支持，我很庆幸能成为这个队伍中的一员。”

“这还能让我在比赛中保持冷静，发挥出自己的最佳水平。”

邓加率队伍于上周抵达新加坡，备战将于下月开幕的北京奥运会。

本周一对阵新加坡后，巴西队将前往河内，于8月1日与越南国家队打一场友谊赛。

巴西国家男足队曾在1984年和1988年的奥运会上夺得银牌，并在1996年的奥运会上获得铜牌。

本届奥运会足球比赛将于8月6日开战。

Vocabulary:

exhibition game : 友谊赛；热身赛