Football contradictions – 04/02/2024 – Tostão

Among the main Brazilian teams, there are four Argentine and four Portuguese coaches, if the hiring of Arthur Jorge by Botafogo is confirmed.

In addition to the technical distrust regarding the current quality of several Brazilian coaches, there has been in the collective unconscious, since the 60s, the concept that Brazil stood out and won many titles just because it had great stars.

After the 4-1 victory over Italy in the 1970 World Cup final, filmmaker and poet Pasolini wrote that Brazilian poetry had defeated Italian prose. It’s not quite like that. The Brazilian team combined poetry with prose, individual talent with the collective.

Another old misconception, common in Brazil, is that matches are decided much more by the actions of the coaches than by the players. In game analyses, much more is said about tactical schemes and statistics than about the athletes’ behaviors and choices. Technicians become heroes or villains.

In the 2-2 draw between Atlético-MG and Cruzeiro, the two Argentine coaches, a newcomer, Milito, at Galo, were criticized for their tactical schemes with three defenders. There was little talk about the individual details of the game, some beautiful plays and goals. Cruzeiro would have played with three defenders, which is unusual, to mirror the same tactical scheme as Atlético-MG. More important than doing the same thing is trying to be different, to surprise.

After the match, the Argentine coaches gave interviews that were poorly understood, as they had not yet learned Portunhol. Takes time.

In the first match of the state decision in São Paulo, Santos, at home, encouraged by the fans, won 1 x 0, deservedly so, due to it being more vibrant, having Pituca in midfield and Guilherme in attack and due to Palmeiras’ individual technical errors. Palmeiras’ tactical scheme with three defenders, so praised in their victories, was heavily criticized in their defeat.

There was a 0-0 draw in the first match of the Gauchão decision between Juventude and Grêmio. How good it is to see coach Roger Machado in the state final and in charge of a team in the first division of the Brasileirão. In addition to his technical and tactical knowledge, Roger Machado is a humanist, ethical coach, with intelligent ideas about football and life.

Clubs and coaches of Brazilian teams, who rightly criticize the calendar and long state tournaments, spare important players in the first round of the Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana, with the aim of having all the starters in the state decisions. It is, to say the least, contradictory.

To paraphrase Antônio Carlos Jobim, music genius, our football and Brazil are not for amateurs or professionals who want the right things. In Brazil, the speeches are beautiful, but the actions are vague and useless.

It is boggy and imprecise to relate the teams’ performances and results in the state championships with their performance in the Brasileirão, since in the state championships there is a huge variation in the quality of the opponents. The long state races, which greatly disrupt the calendar, are not even good for preparing for other competitions.

The long state races are good occasions for politicking, exchanging favors and making money, even more so with the avalanche of advertisements from regulated sports betting companies, which are present all over the world. That’s one thing. Another is the accusations of match-fixing, a police case that needs to be investigated.

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