The fatal error…

It’s easy to understand why Flamengo lost the two titles it played in the last ten days.

And all reasonable explanations come from the error of the football board in planning for the first quarter of 2023.

From the dismissal of Dorival Jr to the choice of Vítor Pereira;

From Rodinei’s dismissal to the sale of João Gomes.

It was the worst red-black performance since the superteam was assembled in 2019.

Because, despite the coach’s debatable choices in this semi-final of the Club World Cup, the players didn’t have the energy to compete.

And that was clear in the penalty committed by Matheusinho, in the 2nd minute of the game.

Once the Copa do Brasil and Libertadores titles were won in October last year, it would be right for the holders to go on vacation in November.

They would resume training in December and play the most valuable games of the first semester with almost two months of physical, technical and tactical training.

And it wasn’t like that, simply, because the football vice-president gave up the coach who had saved the club’s second half.

This fact was announced on the 25th of November, after two weeks of notorious stalling.

And hiring another one that could only start in January, 26 days away from the first final.

The same manager sold the most efficient defensive midfielder in the squad, knowing that Gérson’s low intensity was one of the reasons for his banishment from Marseille.

And also knowing that his big games in French football were as an attacking midfielder on the left.

Perhaps, if the midfielder Arturo Vidal, 35 years old, offered the solidity lost with the departure of Gomes, it would have some use.

But Vidal, completely dissonant, was more money thrown away by the red-black command, so efficient in 2019.

From 2020 until today, Flamengo has been under the direction of seven coaches.

Seven!

And for comparison, in this period, its biggest rival (Palmeiras), had two.

That is: it is not possible to credit the two recent fiascoes only to what was seen in these two decisive matches.

Vítor Pereira still doesn’t have a squad physically ready to compete with forces from other continents.

Therefore, with one player less since the end of the first half, they opted to rebuild the defensive wall, sacrificing the less competitive ones.

Result: he lost his second World Cup, defeated by Al Hilal, from Ramon Diaz, whose team is not as good as Flamengo’s.

If it were, it probably would have thrashed – even in eleven against eleven.

Arbitration aside (an exaggeration of Gérson’s expulsion), what was seen in Tangier deserved a deeper analysis by Rodolfo Landim.

Mainly, about the expiry date of the red-black football command…

SUBTITLES / CREDITS:

Photo 1: Vietto takes advantage of the disorganization in Flamengo’s defensive system and scores Al Hilal’s third goal – Press Release / Fifa

Photo 2: The Argentine attacking midfielder celebrates the goal that gave peace to the Arab team to manage the scoreboard – Disclosure / Fifa