The hiring of Carlo Ancelotti, a coach of great prestige worldwide and respected for his serious, polite, serene, created an optimism in the fans, players and sports press. The team played well against Paraguay, but the compliments were exaggerated. Dorival Junior’s first two matches on the team, Victoria about England and a draw with Spain, two strong opponents, had much more technical value than the draw with Ecuador and the victory over Paraguay.
Some strategic changes against Paraguay have increased hopes, such as the greatest intensity, compaction and more closely marking to recover the ball. This did not occur before. On the other hand, you must have more dominance of the ball in midfield, more passing of passes and less hurry to reach the goal. Brazilian selection and football cannot depend so much on individual thrusts and beautiful isolated bids on offensive and attacking socks.
I also liked the position of Matheus Cunha, who returned to receive the ball and opened spaces ahead for the other strikers. Against Paraguay, Brazil did not have a center forward classic, shirt 9, nor a classic centrally connected sock, shirt 10, solely responsible for the frame of the plays. There was a lot of movement from midfield players to the front.
It continues to doubt whether training with two players in midfield and four more advanced is the best option against strongest selections, who put many players in the middle sector to exchange passes and have the dominion of the ball and the game, as Argentina did in the 4-1 rout. Ancelotti has said that his team will not have philosophy or identity. It will play according to the moment and the opponent.
This weekend the first World Cup of Clubs with 32 teams begins. Europeans are favorites, but there may be surprises, especially at the end of the season, at a time when they should be on vacation. In addition, some major European teams such as Liverpool, Arsenal and Barcelona are missing.
It is a contradiction to the World Cups of Clubs and Selections to be played in the US, a country that currently lives a great repression against immigrants, who love football and who would like to be present in the stadiums. There is no action from the US government to facilitate visas, which are usually quite time consuming. The government is alert against fans who will arrive with views, but can try to prolong their permanences in the country.
Memories
After I operated on cataract and started seeing much better, I read books again with more pleasure. I finished reading the delicious “Bambino to Rome”, written by Chico Buarque, which tells the story of his childhood and his adolescence in Italy. I started reading “1960”, written by chronicler and memorialist José Trajano, who tells his childhood and his teens in Rio de Janeiro, near Maracanã, where he saw his America being a Rio de Janeiro champion. I discovered a great sports program on the UOL channel with the presence, among others, by José Trajano and Juca Kfouri, companions and masters of the sports chronicle.
Life and football did not start in the 80’s or from the internet. You need to know the past to understand the present and dream of the future.
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