The silences of Messi, the best in the world again – 02/28/2023 – Tostão

In silence, Messi won the title of best in the world for the seventh time. In silence, Messi dreamed, stubbornly and won the World Cup for Argentina. In silence, Messi has always been a serious, lucid and discreet professional. In silence, whenever he wants, he will end his career and move on with life, disconnected from the world of stars.

While in the main teams in the world, defenders and midfielders advance as a block in the defense, in Brazil defenders are disconnected from the midfield, leaving large spaces between the two sectors, which facilitates the exchange of passes and submissions by the opponent.

This doesn’t mean that defenders should score a lot up front, leaving a lot of space behind them. The worldwide trend is to position themselves in an intermediate range, between the midfield line and the penalty area, which reduces the spaces between the two sectors and behind the defenders.

Even Palmeiras, the most structured, consistent and mentally strong team in the country, which plays each match as if it were the decisive one, the last one, has left more spaces than before for its opponents. This year the team has scored and conceded more goals. I think it is possible to improve the attack without making the defense worse.

Corinthians also leave many spaces in the middle. Palmeiras and Corinthians rely too much on their exceptional goalkeepers. In Flamengo, the defensive facility that the team offers to opponents is more evident. The same happens with the other Brazilian teams.

Atlético-MG, which plays this Wednesday (1st) for the Libertadores against a very weak team from Venezuela, created expectations above reality after the signing of several players —good, but common—, in addition to the Argentine coach Coudet. Atlético-MG and São Paulo look alike. They are two vibrant teams, but in a hurry to reach the goal.

The transition of the ball passes very quickly from defense to attack. In both teams, there is a defensive block, formed by four defenders and a defensive midfielder to start the ball out, and another offensive block, with five forward players (midfielders and forwards). The midfield, which should be the soul and brain of the team, takes little part in the game.

Unlike São Paulo and Atlético-MG, Fluminense likes to group several players in the midfield to keep the ball, exchange passes and involve the opponent. On the other hand, excessive repetition facilitates the marking of the other team.

The state championships are a preparation for the most important championships. I imagine that there will be few surprises in the Brasileirão-23. Teams like Fluminense, Atlético-PR, Inter and Fortaleza should repeat last year’s good campaigns.

Of the four big clubs that returned to the first division, Vasco and Grêmio are the ones that signed the best players. Cruzeiro, due to its physical strength and collective discipline, will be a tough opponent for the main teams, but will have difficulties to impose itself against the teams from the bottom group. Bahia is worried after the two recent defeats suffered (6-0 against Sport for the Northeast Cup and 4-0 against Itabuna for the Bahia Championship).

Brazilian football needs to evolve on and off the field: improve the calendar, pitches, referees, VAR and team performance. Coaches, players, managers and the press should be more concerned with the quality of the show. Brazil’s hegemony in South America is an illusion that everything is great

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