Libertadores is not a parameter, as the Club World Cup shows – 03/30/2023 – PVC

For almost 20 years, a phrase has been repeated in debates about football: “State is not a parameter”. The thesis was reinforced by the first ten editions of the Brasileiro by running points. Only three champions from their states were national champions —Cruzeiro (2003), Flamengo (2009) and Fluminense (2012).

Contrast with the last ten years, in which six times the best team in Brazil was also the winner in its homeland: Cruzeiro (2014), Corinthians (2017), Flamengo (2019/2020), Atlético-MG (2021), Palmeiras (2022).

It’s always better to be champions, which is why Palmeiras, Flamengo, Fluminense, Grêmio and Atlético-MG don’t have to refuse to win the finals, which start this weekend. This will not take away the possibility of winning the Brazilian later.

Of the five finalists listed, Grêmio seems to be the furthest away from being champions in December, Fluminense is in full evolution and the trio Atlético-MG, Flamengo and Palmeiras is a candidate in all tournaments.

Changed. State is not a parameter. And the Copa do Brasil is?

The 2020 Palmeiras and the 2022 Flamengo won the national knockout in the same year they won the Libertadores, and Atlético won the Brasileiro and the Copa do Brasil in the same 2021 season. In this case, the conclusion is that the parameter it’s economical.

The teams with the most investment have been the most successful, and this applies to Brazilian hegemony in South America.

“The advantage is technical, but the financial aspect is very important. I remember the semifinal against Flamengo, in which they debuted two players and we couldn’t sign anyone”, recalls Argentine coach Fabián Bustos, from Barcelona de Guayaquil .

It refers to the arrivals of David Luiz and Andreas Pereira, in the 2021 semifinals, against the Ecuadorian Barça. Since the Libertadores began to be played year-round, only Brazilians, Argentines and Barcelona managed to be among the top four.

Anyone who thinks that Brazil’s supremacy is technical or tactical is wrong. The money makes it possible to repatriate special players, such as Éverton Cebolinha, to have World Cup players, such as De Arrascaeta and Wéverton, and to maintain squads for longer periods than in the past.

Palmeiras lost Danilo and Scarpa, Atlético let Nacho and Jair go, Flamengo kept all the starters, except Rodinei. It was different when Alex’s Cruzeiro knew it would sell its star the following year or Corinthians lost six title holders in 2015 in January of the following year.

It is difficult to know if the big teams in Brazil lose fewer players because they reveal less genius or if this happens due to financial strength, at least the more structured ones.

There seems to be a mixture of the two factors.

Current money is enough to start Libertadores even in the middle of the state finals, knowing that success in one competition will not be related to failure in another. The state is indifferent.

Planning is what makes the difference.

Contrary to the hype with the current sovereignty of national teams in South America (since 2019 the cup has not left Brazil), the Club World Cup has shown that Libertadores is not a parameter.

With selections it is not much different. In 1957, Argentina won its 11th South American Championship (the current Copa America). It was sovereign on the continent and considered itself a favorite for the Swedish Cup in 1958. It was eliminated in the group stage in the 6-1 rout against Czechoslovakia.

The project now is to end another cliché, more recent than the one that says that “state is not a parameter”. The commonplace to debunk is: “Champions League is another sport”. It is not.

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