Brazilian team needs to treat the ball with more affection – 06/06/2023 – Tostão

The Brazilian under-20 team, favorites, was eliminated by Israel in the quarterfinals of the World Cup, a repetition of the defeats suffered by the main team of Brazil in World Cups. The selection was twice in advantage and lost by 3 x 2 for the good team of Israel.

The game reminded me, not because of the score, but because of the way the two teams acted, of Croatia’s elimination from the first team in last year’s World Cup. While Israel and Croatia stood out for the approach of the players in the midfield and a lot of exchange of passes, the Brazilian under-20 teams and the main team prioritized the quick transition of the ball from defense to attack and sparse individual attacks.

This does not mean that the Brazilian teams were eliminated only for the way they played. There are numerous known and unknown details that may explain the results. However, the Brazilian defeats contribute to reflections. While the opponents liked to keep the ball, a characteristic of Brazilian football in other times, our two teams adopted a posture more similar to that used in the past by Europeans, of being in a hurry to reach the goal.

In the 60’s, Chico Buarque wrote that Brazilians were the owners of the ball and that the Europeans were the owners of the field, because of discipline and positioning on the lawn. It’s not like that anymore. The current big teams try to be the owner of the ball and the field.

Palmeiras, the best Brazilian team, has evolved because, in addition to owning the field, it has also become the owner of the ball. As for Fluminense, which likes the ball a lot, if it wants to grow it will have to learn to own the field.

At the weekend, after being English champions, Manchester City, the best team in the world, owner of the ball and the field, beat Manchester United and won the FA Cup, the oldest championship, the beginning of football in the country and in the world. On Saturday (10), City, favorites, will play in the final of the Champions Cup, the most important title in Europe between clubs, against Inter Milan.

If City are champions, they will definitely be among the greatest teams in the history of football – where I think they already are, even if they lose. Guardiola, who already has that title from his Barcelona days, will be celebrated as one of the greatest coaches of all time – which for me he already is.

If Ancelotti does not accept the CBF invitation, which seems almost certain, it would be worth trying to sign Guardiola, even if it is almost impossible. Who knows, maybe he wants a new challenge, coaching a national team, especially Brazil, the most famous in the world. Guardiola, after Barcelona’s 4-0 thrashing of Santos in the 2011 Club World Cup final, said that the Catalan team played the way his father and grandfather said the Brazilian teams in 58, 70 and 82 played. .

Regardless of the numerous strategies used by coaches in Brazil and around the world, the ball needs to be treated with more affection, having the pleasure of holding it, uniting fantasy, inventiveness and tactical discipline. Fantasy transits through the imaginary space between fun and seriousness.

Before children like football, they like the ball. The spherical shape fascinates people and is present everywhere, in human creation and in nature. The ball is round like the world. The ball must have been invented before the wheel. According to the Big Bang theory, life began with an explosion, a fireball. The ball is life.

PRESENT LINK: Did you like this text? Subscriber can release five free hits of any link per day. Just click the blue F below.