Several Brazilian players who are prominent in Europe play for their clubs in positions and roles that are different from those they perform for the national team.
At Barcelona, Raphinha shines as an attacker on the left who frequently moves to the center, forming a partnership with the center forward. He does that and makes a lot of passes for goals. In the national team, he is a central midfielder between midfield and attack.
Barcelona, with a trio of excellent midfielders, thrashed Real Madrid again. The three score, exchange passes and get closer to the three in attack (Raphinha, Lewandowski and Lamine Yamal). The Madrid team, with just two players in midfield and four in attack, was involved easily.
Against clearly inferior teams, like Celta, Real works well with just two in the middle and four forwards. The Brazilian team is experiencing the same situation. The two beautiful goals scored by Endrick against Celta rekindle the hope that he could be the long-awaited center forward in the team in the next World Cup.
Bruno Guimarães shines at Newcastle playing from one midfield to the other. The English team plays with a centralized midfielder and one more on each side, the Brazilians Bruno and Joelinton, who score, build and advance. There are midfielders and midfielders, as it should be in modern football. In the national team, Bruno is a defensive midfielder, close to Gerson and the defenders and quite far from the front four.
It is no longer possible to divide the midfield with a first midfielder (shirt 5), a second midfielder (shirt 8) and a midfielder (shirt 10), as is still customary in Brazilian football.
In teams that play with just two players in midfield, it is essential to rearrange the attackers on the sides to help with marking. It is much better for the Brazilian team to have a third midfielder than to require Vinicius Junior to retreat to the left. Instead of retreating, he needs to be up front for counterattacks.
Paquetá, as he had done on other occasions, played very well in the last game for Aston Villa as a center forward. He, with his fine and intelligent touches, facilitated the attack’s collective plays. It could be an option for the team, which lacks an excellent center forward. I played in this role, I played for the national team in the 70 World Cup, between Pelé and Jairzinho. At Cruzeiro, I was an attacking midfielder.
Savinho, called up on the right wing for the national team, has played better on the left at Manchester City. He and Raphinha are good on both sides.
This does not mean that Dorival Júnior always has to select players in the same positions in which they shine at their clubs. However, he has to pay attention to his choices.
While the European championships are going through decisive moments, the various competitions begin in Brazil. The calendar remains terrible and inhumane, with an excess of games. The players, instead of training for at least two weeks after the 30-day vacation, train by playing in state teams and in friendlies in the United States. This year the calendar will be even worse because of the Club World Cup in the middle of the year, in addition to the team’s qualifying games for the World Cup.
Disorganization and incompetence in Brazilian football are plagues that plague the country.
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