Truths and imaginations in football – 04/16/2024 – Tostão

In the first round of the Brasileirão, the matches were balanced, as expected, with the exception of Athletico-PR’s defeat of Cuiabá. At the end of the competition, the teams that have the best squads, coaches and emotional strength and that play each match as if it were the only one, the last, will be placed first.

The technical level of the first round was very bad, with horrible referees, with the VAR taking too long to resolve doubts, some terrible pitches and an excess of fouls and cards. 83 yellow cards and 9 red cards were given, a horror. At Vitória’s field, in Salvador, the marking lines were erased. This is all part of an absurd calendar.

CBF and club directors and others responsible for the quality of the show have long said that there have been great efforts and courses to reduce the problems. This is the face of the country. For decades they have been saying that Brazil is improving, that it is the country of the future, but poverty remains great, there is no drinking water or basic sanitation in a huge number of homes, urban violence is increasing and the strength of organized crime is growing. . The future never arrives.

Theories and engaging speeches are not enough. Theory is fundamental in any activity, as there is no correct action without knowledge. But you have to want and know how to do it.

Referees take courses but don’t learn. Furthermore, it is necessary to change some rules, in Brazil and around the world. They should not award penalties because of a ball that hits the arm or cancel a goal when the player has his foot or shoulder in front of the opponent. There are so many little rules that impoverish the show.

Players and even some coaches need to be guided by psychologists. Fagner, from Corinthians, who seems to be, for most of the game, a calm athlete, sometimes, suddenly, he doesn’t control his aggressive instincts and kicks his opponent. He deserved to be expelled.

Football continues. This mid-week, we will have games from various competitions, in Brazil and abroad.

Four balanced matches will decide the Champions League semi-finalists. Manchester City and Real Madrid play their most anticipated return game this Wednesday (17), in England. The first match ended 3 x 3. It will be another clash between great players and strategies. City’s, of pressing, having the ball, exchanging many passes and involving the opponent; Real Madrid’s use of the balls thrown to the speedy Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo behind the defenders, who score further forward.

A reader asked me about the technical comparison of the match between Real and City in relation to other big games of the present and past. Of the ones I saw, the game, at Maracanã, between Botafogo with Garrincha, Didi, Nilton Santos, and Santos with Pelé, Coutinho, Zito, was spectacular. Another match was Pelé’s Santos against Ademir Da Guia’s Palmeiras.

Many older people remember Real Madrid’s dazzling games, from the time of Di Stéfano, Puskás, before Pelé, against any opponent. As there was no TV broadcast, I imagine that these people listened to the radio, read some information and opinions and deduced, dreamed, what Real Madrid would be like. They were usually right.

“Ninety percent of what I write is invention. Only ten percent is a lie”, said the unforgettable poet Manoel de Barros.

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