Rio de Janeiro - Brazil could do no better than a goalless draw against lowly, 10-man Bolivia Wednesday in Rio de Janeiro in the South American qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup. In earlier games, Chile thrashed Colombia 4-0 in Santiago to overtake both Colombia and Uruguay in the table, while Ecuador consolidated their recovery with a valuable goalless draw against Uruguay in Montevideo.
Brazil again showed their poorest form Wednesday, three days after a comfortable, 3-0 win over Chile in Santiago had given coach Carlos Dunga much-needed relief from withering criticism.
At the Engenhao stadium, an orderly, defensive Bolivia had Ignacio Garcia sent off in the 53rd minute for a foul on Robinho. Even Brazilian television commentators thought the red card was harsh, but Bolivia still managed to keep the game scoreless.
The team around Ronaldinho and Robinho sorely lacked creativity and was humiliated on home turf by Bolivia, who remain last in the South American qualifiers despite the draw.
Brazilian fans shouted insults, calling Dunga "burro," or "donkey," and saying, "adeus," or "goodbye," in a call for his resignation or sacking.
"Booing is natural when the team does not play well and fails to win. We have put on a good performance against Chile, and everyone was expecting us to repeat it today," Dunga said after Wednesday's draw. "That was the fans' way to protest."
Brazilian players agreed with their coach in the interpretation of fans' shouts.
The lacklustre Ronaldinho called it "one unhappy night."
Keeper Julio Cesar conceded failure in the match. "We played badly," he said. "We had an extra player, and we were unable to make the most of that advantage."
New Manchester City signing Robinho, too, tried to look into the causes of the unexpected draw.
"We have to improve a lot. Brazil lacked patience today," he said. "We were too desperate to score a goal, and in the end we did not play well."
Bolivian coach Erwin Sanchez was exultant over the unlikely result.
"Bolivia was perfect," he said. "We managed to cancel the Brazilian team, which barely created play, and we also managed to get forward and generate danger at some moments."
He agreed that the point did little for Bolivia's hopes of playing in South Africa in 2010. "But what this result can mean for the team in terms of nerve is undeniable," Sanchez said.
In Santiago, defender Gonzalo Jara opened the score for Chile in the 25th minute, while striker Humberto Suazo made things 2-0 in the 38th minute. Defender Ismael Fuentes was on target three minutes after the break, and man-of-the-match Matias Fernandez netted the fourth goal in the 70th minute.
Before some 60,000 fans chanting "ole" to their national team, Chile appeared to recover from a painful 3-0 loss to Brazil on Sunday in Santiago and took up a position of privilege in the qualifiers table en route to South Africa.
Uruguay and Ecuador delivered few emotions in a disappointment for fans of Uruguay, which saw valuable points slip away against an up- and-coming team that could be a direct rival in the fight for a place in the World Cup.
"We take away a golden point, and we keep dreaming of South Africa," Ecuador coach Sixto Vizuete said in a press conference after the game.
Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez said after the game that the draw was "fair" and that his team did not play well, failing to "find the keys" that would have opened up the Ecuadorian defence.
Ecuador lost their first three games in the qualifiers before Vizuete succeeded Luis Fernando Suarez as national coach. The new man appears to have reversed the trend with two wins and three draws to take the side to seventh in the table with nine points.
On Tuesday, Paraguay consolidated their lead in the table with a 2-0 victory against Venezuela in Asuncion. Cristian Riveros and Nelson Valdez scored the goals in the first half.
Later Wednesday, Argentina was visiting Peru.
In South America's 10-team World Cup qualifiers, each side plays at home and away with each of the other nine teams. The top four win a place in the World Cup, with the fifth-place team facing a representative of the North, Central American and Caribbean region in a playoff.
