It was Marquinhos’ shot against the crossbar that ended Brazil’s campaign in the 2022 World Cup, in Qatar. The defender reported “a feeling of sadness, shame”, for having failed in the penalty shootout with Croatia, in the quarter-finals.
Four years later, the 32-year-old is struggling to bury the bad memory and build a more beautiful memory in the national team. Holder of the captain’s belt, he arrives at the World Cup with good morale due to his work at Paris Saint-Germain, a club for which he has become a huge figure.
There are more technical defenders in the history of the French team, like Thiago Silva. There are more beloved players, like Raí. But no one was champion as many times as Marquinhos, a symbol of a winning era.
The defender joined the team in 2013, at the age of 19 – after a promising start at Corinthians and a brief spell at Roma. He found an association on the rise, which had been purchased in 2011 by an arm of the kingdom of Qatar and, now rich, began to rack up titles.
The Brazilian participated in 38 victories, which represents almost 65% of all the glories of the club, founded in 1970. And he lifted the greatest of all trophies, in the last edition of the European Champions League.
“I love this club”, he shouted, as he raised the cup. He can repeat the gesture at the end of the decision against Arsenal, on Saturday (30), in Budapest – and become the first Brazilian captain in two Champions League titles.
Today idolized by PSG fans, who made a flag with his face, he had a hard time winning their hearts. There were notable mistakes, remembered in an outburst tone at the time of the triumph in the main European championship.
“It was very difficult. We suffered several times with eliminations, I failed in some moments, I was crucified. That’s why, before the final whistle in the decision [5 a 0 sobre a Inter de Milão]I started crying,” he said.
According to the athlete with the most appearances for the Parisian team of all time, with 522, “disappointments give you experience.” “These are scars that remain in a player’s career,” he observed.
That scar will forever remain with me in my story and I will carry that responsibility
The turnaround at the club leads Marquinhos to believe that the same is possible in the Brazilian team. He already has a long history in the national team, but he is not loved by the green-yellow fans as he is in France.
Called up for the first time in 2013, when the coach was Luiz Felipe Scolari, the São Paulo native was not called up for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, but gained space in the following cycle and was on the team that won the gold medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games in 2016, under the command of Rogério Micale.
Joined by Tite to the main group, he was in Russia at the 2018 World Cup and won the starting spot on the way to the 2022 competition. During this period, he participated in another achievement in green and yellow, the 2019 Copa América, held in Brazil.
In Qatar, however, he succumbed with the team in the defeat to Croatia. “That scar will forever remain with me in my history and I will carry that responsibility”, he said, days after the penalty that sealed elimination.
If there was criticism from the fans, the coaches who led Brazil towards the 2026 World Cup maintained their confidence in the player. In the current chaotic cycle, which had the interim Ramon Menezes, the almost interim Fernando Diniz and the short-lived Dorival Júnior as coaches, Marquinhos’ position was not called into question.
This situation also did not change with the arrival of Carlo Ancelotti a year ago. The Italian gave him confidence, kept the captain’s band on his arm and made it clear that the starting defense duo is made up of him and Gabriel Magalhães, from Arsenal, his opponent in the Champions League final.
Due to the European decision, the defense partners and also striker Martinelli, another Arsenal athlete, will not perform with the rest of the group this week at Granja Comary, in Teresópolis, nor will they participate in Sunday’s friendly (31), against Panama, at Maracanã, in Rio de Janeiro.
Marquinhos will present himself to Ancelotti in the United States, next week, possibly as a two-time Champions League winner and ready to celebrate with the national team as well. He hopes that by the end of July, the missed penalty against Croatia will be a footnote in his biography.
And he dreams of his name being sixth on a list that already has Bellini, Mauro, Carlos Alberto, Dunga and Cafu, the penta captains.
