Who will win the World Cup? Everything is uncertain. “Everything seems easy and connected when we win; everything seems dispersed and difficult when we lose. However, it is so small that we win or lose. The final whistle violently stabilizes what, throughout the game, seems like a catastrophic river of a thousand possibilities, dragging us along with it”, wrote the philosopher and artist Nuno Ramos.
What will be the lineup and strategy that Ancelotti will use on his debut? In the game against Egypt, in addition to efficient pressure marking, Bruno Guimarães, Paquetá and Raphinha, supported by Casemiro, exchanged beautiful passes and gave great passes to strikers Vinicius Junior and Igor Thiago. The center forward got involved with the ball and missed two clear scoring chances. Vini also finished poorly.
During the match, when I saw the quartet formed by Casemiro, Bruno, Paquetá and Raphinha, I remembered another exceptional quartet, that of the 1982 World Cup, with Cerezo, Falcão, Zico and Sócrates. There were also no open wingers, as Eder on the left and Paulo Izidoro on the right moved too far to the center.
On the other hand, even more so after Wesley’s injury, Brazil, against Egypt, did not have anyone on the right to defend and attack nor a player on the left to return to score, as Vini and Raphinha played close together and in attack. Defensive fragility on the sides could be a big problem in the debut. Morocco is very strong at the ends.
One option would be to return to the strategy of previous games, with Matheus Cunha further back and scoring on the left, in addition to a pointer on the right (Rayan or Luiz Henrique). Center forward Igor Thiago would leave and Vini and Raphinha would form the attacking duo. In that formation, Raphinha didn’t do well against Panama, very centralized and with his back to the goal. An alternative would be to form a trio in midfield, with Casemiro in the center, Bruno Guimarães on one side and Paquetá on the other.
Endrick came on in the second half against Egypt and scored a decisive goal.
A reader, when remembering the character Zé da Galera, created by Jô Soares during the 1982 World Cup, who called coach Telê Santana from a payphone to complain, “Get a tip, Telê!”, told me that he wanted to do something similar, call the coach and say: Ancelotti, put Endrick on!
Brazil is one of the candidates for the title because it has some players who are among the best in the world and because it has an excellent and experienced coach. It’s not because of the penta or because it’s known as a country that plays beautiful football.
Before the Brazilian team’s debut in the 1970 World Cup, Pelé and all the players, without any commercial relationship, used, because it was the best, the same boot from a brand of sporting equipment. Then a big problem arose. Pelé made a contract with another company, which had a boot that was not as comfortable as the other. The team’s wardrobe found a great solution: they removed the brand that identified the boots that Pelé used to wear and added the brand of the company with which he had signed the contract.
Everyone liked it. Pelé and all of us played with the boots we preferred, Brazil was champion and both companies were satisfied.
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