Brazilian men’s football team stays out of Paris – 02/11/2024 – Sport

Current two-time Olympic champion, the Brazilian men’s football team is out of the Paris Games. This Sunday (11), the team led by Ramon Menezes was defeated by Argentina, 1-0, in the last round of the pre-Olympic final quadrangular, and has no more chances of winning a place in the Olympics.

Brazil could even qualify with a draw depending on the result of the duel between Paraguay and Venezuela, also this Sunday, starting at 8 pm. But the defeat to the Argentines not only ended the dream, but also reflected what was a bad campaign for the Brazilians, with irregular performances throughout the competition.

At the Brígido Iriarte stadium, in Caracas, center forward Gondou, in the 32nd minute of the second half, was the executioner of the Canarian team.

The result expands the list of recent embarrassments for the Brazilian team, especially the professional team.

As he left the field, striker John Kennedy, 21, said he felt “ashamed” of the result. “For my part, shame. A team the size of Brazil cannot be left out of the Olympics. A lot of shame,” said the Fluminense player.

In Venezuela, where the pre-Olympics are being held, Brazil ran a campaign with moments of ups and downs. In the first phase, they beat Bolivia 1-0, Colombia 2-0, and Ecuador 2-1. On the other hand, they lost to Venezuela in the last game of the group stage, 3-1, and to Paraguay 1-0 in the opening of the quadrangular. The 2-1 victory over Venezuela, in the most recent match, also had fluctuations.

This is the fourth time in history that Brazil has not secured a place in the sport, something that has not happened for 20 years, since the Games in Athens, Greece, in 2004, when the team was last out. The first absence was recorded at the Moscow Games, in 1980, and then in Barcelona, ​​in 1992.

The absence of a defending Olympic champion is not unusual in the history of men’s football at the Games. In the most recent case, Argentina ended up out of the London 2012 Olympics shortly after also winning two consecutive gold medals, at the Beijing 2008 and Athens 2004 Games.

In a chaotic cycle politically and sportingly, Brazil’s participation in the Paris Games was threatened even before the pre-Olympics. The chance of a place in the national team was at risk of being cut due to the withdrawal of Ednaldo Rodrigues from the presidency of the CBF.

On January 4, Minister Gilmar Mendes, of the STF (Supreme Federal Court), annulled the decision of the TJ-RJ (Court of Justice of Rio Janeiro) that had removed the agent — the case will still be judged in the STF plenary, on a date to be defined.

The preliminary decision occurred after the PCdoB filed a Direct Action of Unconstitutionality, alleging that the country could be left out of the Paris Games since FIFA, responsible for organizing Olympic football, did not recognize the legitimacy of the intervenor appointed by the TJ-RJ to perform acts on behalf of the CBF.

One day after being reappointed to his position, Ednaldo registered Brazil on the official deadline date of January 5th.

Hours later, Ednaldo Rodrigues also dismissed Fernando Diniz from the main team. His stay was short. Announced in July 2023 without leaving Fluminense, the coach was unable to avoid an unprecedented sequence for Brazil, of three consecutive defeats (to Uruguay, Colombia and Argentina), in addition to Brazil’s first setback as home team in the history of the qualifying tournament, against the Argentines.

Of the six matches played in the Qualifiers so far, Brazil won only two (Bolivia and Peru) and drew another, against Venezuela. The results left Diniz with just 39%, and the team in sixth place, in the last position that guarantees a place in the 2026 World Cup.

Diniz was always treated as a buffer coach, while the CBF nurtured the dream of counting on the Italian Carlo Ancelotti, from Real Madrid, with whom Ednaldo assured that he had an agreement. Amid the crisis in the confederation, however, the coach renewed his contract with the Spanish team.

Plan B of Brazilian football’s highest entity was to hire Dorival Júnior, who was at São Paulo. The coach will be the third to lead the team since Tite’s departure at the end of 2022, after the failure at the World Cup in Qatar.

Before Diniz, Ramon Menezes also worked as an interim in the position. The coach of the under-20 team led the team in three friendlies, with defeats to Morocco (2-1) and Senegal (4-2) and only beating Guinea (4-1).

After the brief experience, the coach returned to the Olympic team, and now accumulates another embarrassment, with the fall in the pre-Olympics.

Brazil 0 x 1 Argentina

Local: Brigido Iriarte Stadium (Libertador, Venezuela)
Referee: Christian Garay (CHI)
Yellow cards: Rikelme, Endrick, Bruno Gomes (BRA); Santiago Castro, Boat (ARG)
Goals: Gondou, 32 minutes into the second half

Brazil: Mycael, Khellven, Arthur Chaves, Lucas Fasson and Rikelme (Giovane); Andrey, Alexsander, Gabriel Pirani (Bruno Gomes), Mauricio (Gabriel Pec) and Biro (John Kennedy); Endrick (Marquinhos).

Technician: Ramon Menezes

Argentina: Leandro Brey, Gonzalo Luján, Marco Di Césare (Garcia), Nicolás Valentini and Valentín Barco; Juan Sforza, Ezequiel Fernández, Cristian Medina (Echeverri), Thiago Almada and Santiago Castro (Solari); Luciano Gondou.

Technician: Javier Mascherano