Messi was 19 years old and wore the number 19 shirt in his first World Cup, in 2006, in Germany. It’s exactly the same age and the same number as Endrick. Carlo Ancelotti’s idiosyncrasy of not choosing the player he defines as an “extraordinary talent” is the same as that of Nestor José Pekerman, Argentine coach 20 years ago.
Messi didn’t play a single minute in the 2-1 victory over Ivory Coast. In the second game, he came on at 29 in the second half, probably just because the match had already been resolved, with
3 x 0 for the Argentines against Serbia and Montenegro.
It ended 6-0 and Messi scored the sixth goal.
In the third round, Argentina classified in advance, Messi remained on the field for 71 minutes, but played only six minutes against Mexico, in the round of 16, and did not play against Germany, in the quarters. Pekerman returned to Buenos Aires before the semifinals.
It could be the same with Messi on the field. Argentina wasn’t ready to win the World Cup, just like Brazil isn’t.
Ancelotti’s contradiction is to define Endrick as an “extraordinary talent” and not start games with him. In a press interview on Thursday (18), in Philadelphia, the Italian coach was asked about the characteristics of his three candidates to wear the number 9 shirt: Matheus Cunha, Igor Thiago and Endrick.
“Matheus Cunha can leave the area more, move around the field more; Igor Thiago cannot. He is the reference in the area. Endrick is something else. He is not like one or the other. An extraordinary talent.”
Endrick is just that: something else. As Ancelotti’s facial expression said, “something else” was a compliment, the combination of two words that became an adjective revealing his admiration for a special player. So the inevitable question: Why isn’t the extraordinary talent playing?
“Because I’m going to put Endrick in at the right time. We have to wait a little. It’s going to be important.”
It is not a question of distrusting Carlo Ancelotti’s experience, but of understanding why a team that is not yet structured would do without this talent.
The day before, full-back Danilo said: “The coach has a crazy mind. He does things that no one understands.” He also admitted that, due to the mistakes of the cycle with two presidents and four coaches, the team does not yet have tactical maturity. And it dispenses with extraordinary talent.
Ancelotti did it differently with Kaká. Although he arrived at Milan at the age of 21, two seasons more mature than Endrick today and than Messi in the German Cup, Kaká overtook Rui Costa in the first training session, due to the coach’s enchantment with the boy who, at first glance, seemed like a high school student.
Kaká became a starter and was the star of Milan’s title in the 2003/04 season. True, he was already world champion as a reserve for Felipão’s Brazil, at the age of 20.
Denílson wore the number 19 shirt in 1998, as did Messi and Endrick. He stayed on the bench with Zagallo while the fans asked for his name in the stands. It was reserve until the end. The coincidences with Messi, in this case, are just the shirt number and both not winning the World Cup.
A child prodigy, a precocious talent, who joined the team and won the World Cup at 17, we don’t need to mention his name, to avoid comparisons. The case is cited here only as an example that postponing the choice can bring forward elimination.
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