In another column, I wrote that Gerson and Matheus Pereira could form a great duo at Cruzeiro, I noted that they should alternate their positions and functions on the field during matches.
A reader told me that he immediately thought of another pair: Tostão and Dirceu Lopes in Cruzeiro in the 60s. That’s it, we complemented each other on the field. While Dirceu Lopes was extremely skillful and quick and, in a fraction of a second, went from one midfielder to the other, I stood out more for playing with two touches, for passing, in addition to scoring goals.
I was an attacking midfielder, a number 10, who wore number 8, while Dirceu Lopes was a midfielder, a number 8, who played number 10. We understood each other through our eyes, the movement of our bodies and our appearance. It is analog communication, less precise, but more inventive.
Piazza was the centralized and deepest midfielder. We formed a trio in midfield, as is common today in big teams, such as Barcelona, Manchester City and the national teams of Spain and Portugal. Evidently, players today have better physical conditions. Almost all Brazilian teams prefer a formation with two midfielders (midfielders) plus an advanced and centralized midfielder.
Ancelotti lives this doubt. Against France and in previous games, the team played with two midfielders, an advanced and centralized midfielder (Matheus Cunha) and a trio in attack. In this formation, the two midfielders occupy a large area of the field to initiate plays and protect the four defenders, and it is extremely important for the wingers to return to score.
Against Croatia, Matheus Cunha played deeper, scoring from the left and forming a midfield trio with Casemiro and Danilo. As a result, Vinicius Junior, on the left, did not need to return to score, which improved his performance. Furthermore, Matheus Cunha can score and still attack. In both formations, compaction was still not efficient.
It’s no longer enough to have a great strategy and an excellent cast. Today, a great team needs to be compact, intense, press all over the field and alternate passing and controlling the ball with a quick transition from defense to attack. Football has transformed in recent decades, and we need to change our view of the game. Old clichés, stock phrases and repetition of concepts remain frequent.
Structural racism
One of the reasons for so many protests, boos and dismissals of coaches in Brazilian football is the illusion that coaches hold the key to the game. It’s as if everything that happens on the pitch is because of the coaches’ actions. They are important, they sometimes change the story of the game, but they are overvalued in victories and undervalued in defeats.
At São Paulo, Roger Machado was heavily criticized even before his debut, due to the departure of his predecessor Hernán Crespo –who had a good average of results– and because he does not have an established prestige. Many fans think he is impractical and gives many incomprehensible explanations.
There may be structural racism in this refusal, an absurd view, unconscious or not, that Roger, because he is black, would not have the knowledge to command a large team.
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