When you are coach of the Brazilian national team you have 190 million of your countrymen advising you on everything from who should be in the team, to how they should play.

 
Blame game: Dunga faces heavy criticism after Brazil's defeat to Holland

 When you lose you get the same number calling for your head and blaming you for everything that happened.

I was lucky enough not to return from a World Cup in defeat but I know that in these circumstances, Brazilians will not forgive so quickly.

They are bound to blame Dunga for the team’s unexpected loss to Holland on Friday, and what they see as a premature exit. At least they have been spared seeing Argentina lifting the trophy!

However, as well as being angry about the failure to get beyond the quarter-finals, many in Brazil are bewildered by the manner of the defeat in Port Elizabeth.

After an excellent first half in which Brazil outplayed Holland, the team simply disappeared in the second half. Brazil did not capitalise on their superiority, while Holland took full advantage of Brazilian mistakes. In the end they proved to be a more organised and balanced team .

Brazil unravelled after conceding the equaliser and became unrecognisable . Despite desperate attempts to claw back a goal Brazil became disorganised and lacked leadership. At the moment of greatest need there was no Dunga-type player .

The tendency to scapegoat is inevitable for Brazilians, who expect their team, whatever the doubts about their selection, to arrive at the decisive stages of a World Cup. The frustration is greater because most people believe that if the team had got past Holland, the way would have been clear to the final — and a tilt at a sixth title.

As well as Dunga, people are bound to blame Felipe Melo and to a lesser extent Julio Cesar. In the case of Melo it was like Jekyll and Hyde, producing a wonderful pass in the first half to put Robinho free on goal but then showing an unacceptable face in his stamp on Arjen Robben.

The uncertainty over who would feature in Brazil’s midfield also confused matters. In some ways the warning lights had already gone on about Melo. Dunga had to substitute him against Ivory Coast to prevent him receiving an almost-certain red card. Playing Melo was a high risk despite the fact that Dunga saw him as a first choice.

It is ironic after all the praise that was heaped on Brazil’s defence that it should fail so badly for Holland’s two goals. The first should have been dealt with more commandingly by Cesar. The second is a standard move at corners that Brazil should have coped with.

It is difficult to chase a game with one player less than the other team. In the 2002 World Cup quarter-final we were successful in defending a lead with 10 players but we benefited from having players who could keep possession, and the way England approached the last half-hour of the game. But defending a lead is much more viable than trying to equalise with one man down.

The reality is that Brazil fell in the first game in which it was really tested. After an unconvincing display against North Korea, a physical battle against Ivory Coast and stalemate against Portugal, Brazil only really looked the part against Chile. But the open style of Chile made them perfect opponents for Brazil in the last 16. A major criticism of Dunga will be that when faced with problems in breaking down teams he lacked the options to change the way Brazil played. The absence of Ronaldinho was costly in this respect. Kaka only showed glimpses of what he can do and never really approached his best throughout the tournament.

Dunga talked about having a squad where everyone would slot in as requested. But Kleberson and Grafite hardly featured. These places could have been given to promising talents like Neymar. If they were not to play, at least they would have been ready for the atmosphere in 2014.

Dunga had little option other than to resign, though he would probably have gone even if Brazil had lifted the trophy – but he got some things right. His desire to limit media access to avoid a circus was spot on. However, battles with the Brazilian media even in the wake of victories were probably draining.