Secret service, smart bottles and a lady psychologist

TERESOLPOLIS: Playing on a damp field under the sodden skies of Sao Paulo in a friendly against Serbia on Friday, the Brazilian side struggled to score. In their final warm-up game before the World Cup, the hosts had just one good moment when Hulk hoofed the ball to Fred, who cushioned it on his chest, fell on the grass in the area and yet flicked it into the goal with his right foot.But the team was booed when they left the stadium, as Sao Paulo lived up to its reputation of being harsh on Selecao Brasileiro if they don't score enough.
The team immediately left for their base camp at Granja Comary in Teresolpolis to train till Tuesday, when they return to the city for their World Cup opener against Croatia.
The Brazilian team has been training at this facility in the green mountains of Teresolpolis, just 100 km from Rio de Janeiro, since May 25. Though the Brazilian Football Federation camp has existed since 1987, never before has camp seen this kind of set-up and training. A day before the Brazilian team bus rolled into the camp, renovated by CBF for US$ 15 million, anti-bomb squads swept its every corner, including five pitches.
Earlier, the whole complex was overtaken by 100 security men from the army, federal police, Brazilian intelligence agency ABIN and military police. Four choppers were placed on standby 24x7 to evacuate the players in case of an emergency . Then men from the Shock Battalion, a riot-control unit, placed themselves at the facility with 350 swanky suits, medical centres, restaurants and gyms, turning it into a fort.
But more secretive than the security are the tactical plans being made by Brazilian coach Luis Felipe Scolari and his team. More than 900 journalists, including this reporter, have been to the camp since May 25, trying to sniff around but with little success. In its hunt for the sixth World Cup title, Brazil has planned something special.
Though Brazilian team was the first country to employ a psychologist, way back in 1958, this time a doctor is playing a crucial role in preparing the players for the challenge at home. On May 28, after the players finished their physical and dental tests, Regina Brandao, a graduate in sport psychology from Cuba and a PhD on "stress in professional football play ers" from Sao Paulo state university, moved into the camp.
Brandao, who has been working with Scolari for two decades, then eval uated all the players on a number of issues: from family matters to their reaction to scoring, or missing, goals. reaction to scoring, or missing, goals. Both Brandao and Scolari don't talk about the results for "ethical reasons" but he gave a hint how it works. "She (Brandao) gives me an idea about a player, and then I see if I act strongly with him or not. We decide how to deal with all players as individuals," the coach said at a briefing.
The players have been quiet about their tests too. But last week, as a group of journalists accosted Neymar while he was returning from the pitch, the star said: "I am anxious. I am excited."
It's no secret that Scolari's plans revolve around the striker, but at this camp all players are being treated uniquely. As the matches would be played in humid weather, the coach has introduced "Smart Bottles" for each player. Based on their urine and sweat samples, the bottles carry special drinks for the needs of each player. Developed by local scientists, a chip on the bottle stores data on the amount of drink consumed by a player and the information is sent in real time to the laptop of the coaches, who know which player is dehydrating. All bottles look similar, but the drink taken by Neymar is different from the one being consumed by Fred.
"Nowadays football is not won just on the pitch," Jose Runco, doctor of the team and one of the main planners of the camp told a group of journalists at the camp. It's not just drinks that have been customised for each player, their proteins and amino acids intake are also based on the results of their fitness tests. After the team gathered at the camps, the players were made to undergo two days of gruelling physicals. It was followed by the preparation of dietary charts for each player by Silvia Ferreira, the team nutritionist since 2001.
Scolari has also made arrangements for some food for thought. A series of motivational chats have been happening with players. Cafu, the captain in 1994, spoke to the players over dinner one night; the other day it was Rubens Minelli, the best coach Brazil never had. "I am not going to talk about 1950 disaster final in which we lost to Uruguay at Maracana," said Scolari. "I want my players in the positive frame of mind as we are playing at home after 64 years."
With the multi-million dollar machines and men that Scolari has deployed to train his boys, it's unlikely that the team would be booed again by the home crowd when the real show begins next Thursday.