Brazil fell behind – 02/20/2024 – Tostão

On Sunday, Palmeiras played very well, they could have scored, but in the last minutes Corinthians scored two goals and tied, thanks to a sequence of unbelievable, unpredictable moves that go beyond the imponderable. Chance is not strange, a mystery. These are common, frequent events that are part of football, but we don’t know when and where they will occur.

After the match, a reporter asked Abel Ferreira about the reasons for the surprising result. He, with irony and reason, said that it was not possible to train the last minutes of the game.

I heard thousands of technical, tactical and emotional comments about the reasons for the two goals at the end of the match, as if sports science knew how to explain even the unusual.

Strange was also the failure of the excellent goalkeeper Weverton, who was capable of defending and removed his arm, probably to avoid a corner at the end of the match when the game was 2-1 for Palmeiras. I completely disagree with the opinions that Weverton failed in the first goal, as did Cássio in Palmeiras’ first goal. Not even Courtois would catch both balls.

Young Endrick had a wonderful performance, playing from midfield to goal and with a center forward in front of him, unlike at the beginning of his games with the team, when he played further forward, with his back to the goal between the defenders. His incredible speed and finishing touches are remarkable. The fact that Endrick is not a fantasist, a dribbler with special effects does not prevent him from becoming a playmaker, it still isn’t. Talent goes far beyond skill.

Despite some moments of rudeness, Abel Ferreira’s interviews are excellent, due to his technical and tactical analyzes and also his criticisms of disorganization, the calendar and the terrible pitches. Abel reduced aggressive complaints against referees and assistants. Other coaches tend to be aggressive during matches, like Fernando Diniz from Fluminense. Even worse, regrettable, was Mano Menezes calling player Yuri Alberto stupid during a Corinthians match.

In football, there have always been coaches with different behaviors during matches. Fat Feola, world champion in 1958, used to doze off during the game. He would wake up and shout: “let’s go”.

Many think that Brazilian coaches, due to lack of updating, are mainly responsible for the downfall and failures of the Brazilian teams. It’s not quite like that. Our coaches are well prepared, although they do not have the experience of working in big European teams, where all or almost all of the national team are starters. This could be a problem for Dorival Junior.

Our football has deficiencies on and off the field. The several recent defeats of the Brazilian teams are not just because of the recent mistakes of the CBF president to hire the new coach. The problems are older. Numerous guesses often emerge to explain the decline of the national team. They increasingly try to demonize and cancel Neymar due to his nonsense off the field, as if he were an outcast. They despise his enormous talent.

I think that the main reason for the current inferiority of Brazilian and South American football in relation to European football is the delay in our economic, social and technological development. They have evolved much more in recent decades. Economic progress generates better work structures and professional training in all activities, including football.

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