I learned what Corinthians x Palmeiras is. Even after being eliminated from the Brazilian and South American Cups and even close to the relegation zone, Corinthians celebrated the 2-0 victory over Palmeiras in the Brasileirão as if they were champions. The team was accurate, with great performances from Garro, Yuri and goalkeeper Hugo. Palmeiras made individual errors in both goals and it got worse with the many changes made in the second half by Abel Ferreira. This happens frequently in football. Coaches, in their eagerness to react, make exaggerated substitutions and miss the chance to turn the match around.
Over the weekend, I watched several games in Europe and Brazil, and it became more evident that European teams are more intense, compact, score more and better through pressure and leave fewer spaces between sectors. In two of Flamengo’s goals against Atlético-MG, the player from the Rio team took the ball a long distance until he reached the area, while Atlético-MG’s defenders, instead of advancing to tackle, remained glued to the penalty area. .
Gabigol once again did what he does best, finishing with precision. Last year, the player did everything wrong in his career and gave Tite reason not to count on him anymore. The young coach Filipe Luís, Gabigol’s partner for several years, convinced the player to dedicate himself to shine again, especially since Flamengo is without Pedro and there is no other great option.
Gerson showed once again that he is even better playing deeper, close to the midfielder, as he did against Peru, rather than as an attacking midfielder or on the wing, as was usual. I just think that, in the national team, he, Raphinha and the midfielder should act closer together. There is a huge space in midfield.
I repeat, for a long time, Brazilian coaches moved young, skilled dribblers who played in midfield to the wings, one of the reasons why the team had several excellent right-wingers (Estêvão, Luiz Henrique, Savinho, Raphinha). The Barcelona coach did the opposite: he selected Raphinha in the center or on the left, from where he moves into the middle to finish. It’s the best moment of Raphinha’s career. Dorival Júnior kept the player in the center and said that the same could even happen with Estêvão. At São Paulo, Alisson improved a lot when he moved from the wing to the center, under the command of Dorival.
Raphinha reminds me of Rivaldo, due to his physical and technical characteristics and his strong and precise finishes from outside the area. At Barcelona, Dutch coach Louis van Gaal wanted Rivaldo to play on the left, open, to take advantage of his exceptional curved crosses with the ball leaving the goalkeeper, as German Hansi Flick does with Raphinha. However, Rivaldo wanted to be much more. Contrary to the coach, he moved to the center and scored many goals with his firecrackers from outside the area. He became the best player of the year in the world.
In the past, there was a famous cliché: “It’s the ball that runs, not the player.” At the time, a well-known striker, Mirandinha, who was quite fast, said that you couldn’t run and think at the same time. In modern, intense football, with a lot of movement, you have to run and think, without tripping over your legs or the ball.
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