We are losing precocious talents, says Ramon Menezes – 03/09/2023 – Sport

Ramon Menezes was 23 years old when the midfielder left Vitória for Bayer Leverkusen, in Germany. In Brazil, he had already worn the shirts of Cruzeiro and Bahia, and was six years into his professional career when he moved to European football.

Today, the coach of the Brazilian Olympic team sees players leaving the country even younger. Of the 23 he called up for two friendlies in September, both against Morocco’s under-23 team, 11 are playing abroad. The average age of expatriates is 21 years old, with three of them being just 19.

“Our concern is with their adaptation”, says Ramon to Sheet. For him, a common difficulty faced by young people is knowing how to adjust their expectations about European football.

“Sometimes, it is better for the athlete to understand the atmosphere and everything that surrounds the club [antes de mudar]. Arriving there very early, this process can even be in an under-23 team or B team, as they do in some clubs”, indicates the coach.

Right-back Vinicius Tobias, 19, is a good example of this. Called up for the next commitments of the Olympic team, he was sold by Internacional to Shakhtar Donetsk in July 2021, shortly before his 18th birthday.

He would join the Ukrainian club in February last year, shortly after reaching the age of majority. However, he had to be loaned without even making his debut for the new club because of the war in the country. In April 2022, he joined Real Madrid but was assigned to Castilla, the Spanish club’s B team.

“Tobias has been playing very well for Castilla”, ramons Ramon. “But this expectation created, of arriving and playing in the first team and being hired, with very high expectations, is what happens most. And sometimes, on the pitch, you can’t accomplish everything you expect”, he warns. .

It is, however, a normal and even natural situation due to the change of country to a different culture, with another language and other customs, in addition to the routine of each club.

Some athletes, however, do not suffer from this. “We are now bringing, for example, Igor Paixão. He is doing very well, it seems that he didn’t even need to adapt. He is doing very well with Feyenoord, from the Netherlands, and has been scoring goals”, mentions the commander of the selection.

Players like them are seen as fundamental by the coach in forming a competitive squad for the next two commitments of the Olympic team, the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, in October, and the pre-Olympic tournament, which should be held in Venezuela, in early 2024.

According to Ramon, the squad that he will take to the friendlies in September is practically closed to also represent Brazil in the Pan. With less than a year until the Olympic Games in Paris, the group already has the face of the squad that will be taken if Brazil win the Olympic spot.

“This call-up now is basically the face of what the team should have, it shouldn’t deviate too much from what is here. This is the face of Brazil”, he says.

To arrive at this group, the coach observed 168 players, listed in what he calls a “radar notebook”. On this list, for example, are Endrick, from Palmeiras, and Moscardo, from Corinthians, both with chances of painting in the final group, although they were left out of the current list.

“Moscardo is doing well among the professionals, he is already a regular at Corinthians and is being watched by several clubs”, comments the coach.

With the quality of the current crop of young talents, Ramon is confident that the Brazilian team has great chances of winning the third consecutive gold medal, at the Paris Games, achieving an unprecedented series in the history of men’s Olympic football.

“It is a big responsibility, but we are aware of it.”

The achievement would be the most important of his career as a coach. Ahead of the Brazilian under-23 team since July, he has this year’s South American under-20 Championship under his belt.

In the first semester, the coach also had a brief experience in the main Brazilian team after the departure of coach Tite, who left the team after the failure in the World Cup in Qatar.

Ramon led the group in three friendlies, beat Guinea (4-1), but lost to Morocco (2-1) and Senegal (4-2). “Only contact with these players increases your ability to manage [um grupo]day-to-day management, was a very important experience.”