This Wednesday (18), Real Madrid and Pachuca, from Mexico, play the final of the Intercontinental Cup, previously called the Club World Cup. If Pachuca wins, it will be a big surprise.
Endrick has played very little. It usually comes at the end of already decided matches. Even though he is a young man in training, although he has already shone in Brazilian football, Ancelotti gives the impression that he is not yet excited about the boy. In the few times he played, Endrick tried more than once to finish when there were free teammates to receive the ball and score the goal.
What happens to Manchester City? In the last 11 games, they drew two, lost eight and only won one. I don’t remember a team that was among the best in the world for so long having such a sudden drop.
There are known and unknown factors to explain the poor performances and the poor results. There were a lot of injuries and the team’s best player, Rodri, hasn’t played for a long time. Rodri is the link between defense and attack, a maestro in controlling the ball and the game.
A team cannot play with defenders in midfield, as City did successfully for many years, without executing with coordination and efficiency the pressure on the marking to recover the ball and not lose it. This has not happened, which leaves the defense unprotected, with many spaces behind the defenders. The team has conceded many goals and scored few because it no longer spends as much time on the ball as it used to.
In the 2-1 defeat to Manchester United, City won 1-0 and, at the end of the game, with two individual errors, United, who were playing a very bad game and had not created any scoring chances, scored twice and won the game. . The United coach was highly praised.
Guardiola, once again, rubbed his hands on his bald head, disappointed. He said after the match that he wasn’t being good enough. He looked like a young man at the beginning of his career, perplexed and lost. Football is more important than any exceptional coach. Even though he is a Guardiola.
In Brazil, news and speculation about the signing of players and coaches continues. Despite scientific and technological developments and the presence of so many very well-prepared performance analysts participating in technical committees, there are still many wrong and/or very expensive hires, even considering football’s uncertainties.
Coaches’ choices still happen very slowly, due to the influence of businesspeople and savvy managers who understand little about football and due to inadequate information. Social networks and the press tend to praise players and coaches prematurely because of fleeting highlights.
I’m not sure, as I don’t go to clubs, but I deduce from numerous factors that Brazilian football lacks professionals who combine technical, tactical and emotional knowledge with logistical, administrative and planning capacity.
We also need to learn to look more at the game than at the numbers. Knowledge goes far beyond information. Wisdom is in the details, in between the lines, in the silence, in what was not said and cannot be measured.
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