Now they are: less Ancelotti, more Pia – 07/17/2023 – Sandro Macedo

It’s World Cup time, but forget about Tite, Vinicius Junior, Neymar and Alisson. Forget Casemiro, Fred and Paquetá. Also try to forget (at least temporarily) those damn four minutes of that horrifying extra time. And most importantly, forget about Carlo Ancelotti — he’s not thinking about you anyway.

Oh, also leave aside (but never forget) the frequent violations of the rights of women and the LGBTQIA+ community in Qatar.

Now it’s time for Pia, Letícia, Rafaelle and Luana. By Tamires, Debinha and Bia Zaneratto. And the eternal Marta, the best of all times.

The Women’s World Cup starts this Thursday (20), with headquarters divided between Australia and New Zealand, therefore, with many games in the morning. Brazil, however, will only debut next Monday (24th), against Panama, a Central American team that can prove the thesis that there is still a fool or another in women’s football.

A possible Brazilian thrashing in the debut, however, should not be seen as a sign of favoritism for the championship. Even first place in the group, which has France as its main rival, must be viewed with caution. The French, who eliminated Brazil in the last World Cup, in 2019, are not having the best moment. Good for us.

Anyway, the Cup has everything to be the most balanced of all. And Brazil is more like a team in the “may surprise” pot than in the “favorites” pot. Let’s say that Brazil for women is, in a way, Croatia for men. And Marta is our Modric, a maestro in her last Cup, but who knows, maybe she won’t get the same blessing as Messi, who had a limited season before Qatar to become a demigod during that month. Then the two can get together in Florida to tell fun stories; Messi, in Miami, and Marta, in Orlando.

In other Cups, or Olympic Games (which have a Cup value in women), Brazil’s hope seemed to be very concentrated in the individual talent of Marta, Cristiane, Formiga and co. Not this time. We have a much better tactically structured team, with more sense of grouping, composition and what to do on the field, even without the ball. Courtesy of Pia.

Curious how the same CBF, which has been doing everything wrong with the Brazilian men’s team since the end of the Qatar tournament, got it right by giving the coaching badge to the Swedish Pia Sundhage.

Pia will complete a full cycle in the women’s national team. She took over less than a month after the 2019 Worlds and has been at the head of the pack ever since. She saw up close the mess of women’s football, which, little by little, begins to have a slightly more mature Brazilian Championship.

In June, during the Finalissima, against England, opposing coach Sarina Wiegman was surprised and disappointed to learn that the Brazilian team did not have an under-15 category.

For these and other reasons, Pia has already said that his dream (or goal) is to leave a well-built structure for the national team. It must be what they call a legacy. It must be nice to leave a legacy.

It was in the same Finalissima, after three and a half years preaching in the desert, that the team again gave the impression that it could play on an equal footing with the main teams in the world, which include England, Germany, the United States, Spain, Netherlands and Sweden.

After the draw with the English at Wembley (defeated on penalties), Brazil beat Germany at Nuremberg. It must be the advantage of having good work done in a full cycle.

If Ancelotti, for some unknown reason, does not make the selection, and if the dear CBF insists on a foreign coach (instead of hiring Fernando Diniz for good), why not call Pia? It would be historic. And she’s already an employee, just offer her a raise (something tells me she earns less than the interim Diniz).

23 to 2

Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz was already number 1, but he needed a big victory against vaccine denialist Novak Djokovic to put himself in the position of leader of the new generation. Nothing else is missing. After winning the title at Wimbledon, Alcaraz won his second Grand Slam… against Djoko’s 23.

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