The Bayern Munich defender was thrilled to net on his return to Bahia and is optimistic of the Selecao’s chances of retaining the Confederations Cup
Brazil defender Dante was delighted to get on the scoresheet on the return to his hometown as he helped Luiz Felipe Scolari’s side finish top of Confederations Cup Group A with a hard-fought 4-2 win over Italy.
The Bayern Munich star replaced David Luiz, who suffered a dead leg in the first half, and opened the scoring for the South American nation on the stroke of half-time.
Speaking to reporters after the game, the 29-year-old expressed his happiness at scoring in front of his family.
He said: “It seems like a joke, but it isn’t. I was dreaming about this [scoring against Italy, in Bahia].
“I bought 60 tickets for my family, so there’s a lot of people there who came here to see me. I wanted to show them something, show something to my family and to everyone else who came here to see us.”
Dante produced a solid defensive display to keep AC Milan forward Mario Balotelli at bay and was complimentary towards his opponent.
“Balotelli is one of the greatest centre forwards in the world. He gets out of the box a lot, so we had to watch out for him. But the important thing is that the team played really well.”
Brazil will most likely face Uruguay in the semi-finals and Dante is convinced that the Selecao can retain their Confederations Cup title.
“The most important thing is that we’re well aware that we need to beat everyone if we want to be champions. So we don’t choose who we want next,” he continued.
“We have to continue the way we are, with our heads held high, working hard in order to get more victories.”