The mystery of Brazil's football dilemma: Neymar is in dire need of a successor, and the scarcity of coaches has become a fatal drawback
Missing the Copa America in 2021, the semifinals of the World Cup in 2022, the first home defeat in the history of the World Preliminaries in 2023, and the Olympic Games in 2024...... the "Samba Army" Brazil continues to move towards a low point, and the future of the football kingdom is full of fog.
What's even more heart-wrenching is that Argentina, Brazil's sworn enemy, stepped on them to win the Copa America, sent them to their first home defeat in the world preliminaries, stepped on them to advance to the Olympic Games, and also won the World Cup, and continued to pour salt on Brazil's wounds. and last year's U17 World Cup 1/4 finals, Argentina sent Brazil away 3-0!
Ironically, the 2014 World Cup semi-final 1-7 Germany was Brazil's best record in the World Cup since winning the 2002 World Cup. In the other four competitions, they were eliminated by European teams such as France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Croatia in the quarterfinals.
What happened to Brazilian football? What happened to the football kingdom? Are they withering in talent? At present, in the transfer market, Vinicius is worth 150 million euros, Rodrygo is worth 100 million euros, Guimaraes, Martinelli, Jesus, Militão, Paqueta, Marquinhos, Gabriel, Douglas Luiz are all worth more than 60 million euros.
Brazilian stars are still all over the big clubs, 17-year-old Endrick signed for Real Madrid, 18-year-old Roque joined Barcelona, the talent pool of Brazilian football has not been exhausted, but the current situation of the Brazilian national team is not optimistic.
【Dancing with the Ball: The Glorious Tradition of the Kingdom of Football】
In 2004, FIFA confirmed that football originated in Zibo, Shandong, China, and that modern football originated in the United Kingdom. So why is Brazil the kingdom of football? To discover the secrets of the "kingdom of football", we must first go back to the moment when the ball first came into contact with that continent.
It is said that in 1894, a Brazilian student returned from studying in England with two leather balls and a football rulebook in his suitcase. His name is Charles Miller and he is widely regarded as the "father of Brazilian football". Since then, football has spread through the streets of Brazil, and students returning from Europe have formed football teams and sports clubs in major Brazilian states.
In 1914, the Brazilian national team completed its first battle, and in 1916 Brazil joined the South American Football Conmebola and in 1923 FIFA.
At the time, the spread of football was attacked by the intelligentsia in Brazil, but the working class has always been a champion of the sport. The best players in the workforce are rewarded with generous bonuses and easier jobs, making football an important skill in Brazil's employment system. There was a saying at the time: "The boys who play in the church square know that if they grow up to be good football players, they will have a place in the factory." "To this day, this awareness still influences Brazilian football.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Brazil was faced with complex ethnic issues, and they needed a cultural vehicle that encompassed different social and racial classes, and that vehicle was football. In Brazil, football is a culture, a ritual, a carnival, a spiritual capsule. Bueno commented: "Brazil is the home of football, and the whole country is weaving a web of meaning and memories around football. ”
Brazil has become the land of football because it is no longer just a fun entertainment for the upper classes. Low-income groups, the unemployed, illiterate, and blacks will all join football in order to survive better. Brazilian writer Mario Filjo wrote: "Boys, students, whites from well-to-do families must compete on equal terms with the poor, the illiterate, the blacks, and this is a real revolution that has taken place in Brazilian football." "While trying to break away from the elite, Brazilian football has also undergone a professional revolution that has made football no longer just a recreational pastime.
Why can football become the number one sport in the world? In addition to its own competitive charm, it also has a high degree of professionalism and marketization. Football is a hobby or a job, and it has turned young boys from Brazil's slums into superstars and changed their lives. At the same time, the cost of playing football is very low, a paper ball, two school bags, a group of children, even without sneakers, can play a football game on the street, and the small skills and unparalleled ball sense of Brazilian players are often honed in narrow alleys.
Moving away from the elite and going professional is the key to Brazil's emergence as a football kingdom. Brazil participated in the first World Cup in 1930 and have never missed since, and they are the only country that has not missed a World Cup. With the expansion of the World Cup, South America has 6.5 places, and the possibility of Brazil missing out on the World Cup is becoming less and less.
Five World Cup trophies, 22 appearances, 114 matches, 76 wins, 237 goals and 247 points are all World Cup records held by Brazil. When we think of Brazil, it is natural to associate it with football, which is the country's most iconic symbol.
By the way, not only football, Brazil is the only country in the world where men's football, men's basketball, women's basketball, men's volleyball, and women's volleyball have won world championships or Olympic championships, and if it were not for the 2007 Women's World Cup final and the 2008 Olympic women's football final, Brazil would have become the only country in the world to have won three Grand Slams.
[The galaxy is shining, the superstar iteration of Brazilian football]
In 2020, among the 110-man candidates for the Ballon d'Or Dream Team launched by France Football, there were 20 Brazilian players, 16 Italian players, 13 German players, and 12 Dutch players.
The 20 stars selected by Brazil are:
Centre-forwards: Romario, Ronaldo
Left wingers: Rivelino, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho
Right wingers: Garrincha, Jaylzinho
Attacking midfielders: Pele, Socrates, Zico
Defensive midfielders: Didi, Jersson, Falcao
Left-backs: Nilton-Santos, Júnior, Carlos, Marcelo
Right-backs: Jarma Santos, Carlos Alberto, Cafu
In the end, Cafu, Pele, and Ronaldo entered the all-time best team, Carlos, Alberto, Ronaldo, and Garrincha entered the second team, and Didi entered the third team. In the IFFHS selection of the all-time best team, Cafu and Pele were selected for the first team, and Carlos, Alberto, and Ronaldo entered the second team.
Brazilian football is rich in stars, and as early as the 30s of the 20th century, Brazil had its first world-class star, who was nicknamed "Black Pearl" Leonidas. It is said that he was the first player to use the barb move in a football game, hence the title of "Father of Barb". Leonidas was a pioneer in Brazilian football, and former Brazilian national team coach Andreas Pereira commented: "He opened the way for latecomers like Pele. ”
In the 1938 World Cup, Black Pearl scored 7 goals to become the top scorer. Leonidas was 25 years old at the time and scored eight goals in two World Cups. Unfortunately, when the World War II broke out and the World Cup was interrupted twice, when the World Cup was resumed in 1950 and held in Brazil, the 37-year-old Leonidas chose to retire, which was his regret and the regret of Brazilian football and even world football.
After the "Maracana" tragedy in the 1950 World Cup, the Brazilian national team ushered in a golden era in the 1958 World Cup. The Samba Army has stars such as Gilmar, Nilton Santos, Jarma Santos, Zito and other stars in the backfield, and there are five famous legendary superstars in the midfield!
Zagallo, the first member to win the World Cup as both a player and a coach, participated in five World Cup finals and won four titles, one of the greatest coaches in the history of the Brazilian national team, on January 5 this year, the 92-year-old Zagallo passed away, and all five superstars passed away; Didi, a generation of midfield masters, the center of the Brazilian team, is rumored to be the originator of the free kick and the spiritual leader of the Brazilian team, Pele regards him as his brother; Vava, the first player to score twice in the World Cup final, scored nine goals in two World Cup appearances, two of which broke Yashin's ten fingers, and the other seven goals came from the knockout round。
Then there's Garrincha, the greatest dribbling superstar and the juggernaut of the 1962 World Cup, who is an elven bird who uses football to perform magic on the pitch and a prodigal who is addicted to alcohol off the pitch. He died at the age of 49 from cirrhosis of the liver caused by long-term alcoholism, and his epitaph reads: Here rests the man who brings happiness to people - Garrincha.
Pele, the only superstar who has won the World Cup three times, is not only a national treasure of Brazil, but also the calling card of football. No one has been more influential in the spread of football than Pele, who has toured the world with the Brazilian national team and Santos, and the Congolese civil war has even reached a ceasefire to watch Pele play. Pele was the first recognized world football king, and in that era when information media was not developed, Pele's name was a household name.
Pele won three of his four World Cups, scoring 12 goals and providing eight assists in 14 appearances. In the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, when Didi, Vava, and Garrincha retired, and Zagallo became the coach, Pele led Alberto, Gerson, Jayerzinho, Tostang, and Riverino to the end, and Brazil won the championship for the third time and was able to seal the Remet Gold Cup.
In the 70s of the 20th century, marked by Pele's retirement, all-out attack and defense, the revolution of free man tactics, and color television broadcasting, football entered modern civilization from ancient times.
In the 1970 World Cup, Jaylzinho also set a magical record of scoring in six games, and he led the 1974 World Cup with Riverino, who was the first Brazilian star to be marked by a bull's tail. In the 1978 World Cup, Brazil ushered in another top superstar, that is, Zico, known as "White Pele".
In the 1982 and 1986 World Cups, Brazil had a famous iron triangle of Zico, Falcao and Socrates. Socrates was nicknamed "The Doctor", and Falcao was known to Roman fans as "Emperor VIII of Rome". It was another samba team with a strong artistic color, but unfortunately they lost to the golden boy Rossi in the second stage of the 1982 World Cup, and lost to France on penalties in the quarter-finals of the 1986 World Cup.
The sharp-edged blade of that Brazil team was Carreca, who scored seven goals in the 1986 and 1990 World Cups, and he was also Maradona's strong partner at Napoli. However, in the 1990 World Cup, Brazil were eliminated from the quarterfinals by Maradona's assist of the century, which was the third and last time Brazil missed the quarterfinals.
However, there were many familiar names in Brazil at that time, such as Aldair, Mazinjo, Dunga, Blanco, Tafarel, Bebeto, and Romario, the "lone wolf". Four years later, they won the World Cup in the United States!
The lone wolf played only one game in the 1990 World Cup due to injury, and in the 1994 World Cup he played with Roberto Baggio, with the lone wolf scoring five goals in the United States and Brazil beating Italy on penalties. That World Cup final was also the last battle of the lone wolf in the World Cup.
At that time, there was a 17-year-old player in Brazil's winning team, and another historical superstar appeared! In 1997, Ronaldo and Romario formed perhaps the most terrifying duo of all time, the "Ro-Ro attack", but unfortunately the lone wolf was injured and did not make it to France. In the World Cup in France, Ronaldo and Bebeto, Rivaldo, Leonardo formed a dream quartet, and the defense also had Cafu and Carlos, the two best fullbacks in history, and the Brazilian team reached the final again, but lost 0-3 to the French team.
The regret of the Brazilian team was made up in the World Cup in South Korea and Japan, the "football elf" Ronaldinho danced joyfully, the "brick knife" Rivaldo repeatedly made big scenes, the "alien" Ronaldo scored 8 goals in 7 games, and the Samba Army was crowned a five-star with 7 wins in 7 games! That is also the last supreme peak of Brazilian football.
[Genius indulgence, the peak of Brazilian superstar is too short]
In the history of the World Cup, there are eight Brazilian stars who have participated in four editions, and the only attacking players are Pele and Ronaldo. There are only eight players in 100 appearances for the national team, and there are only two attacking players, one is Neymar (128 games) and the other is Robinho (100 games).
The biggest problem for Brazilian stars has always been self-discipline. At the 2006 World Cup, when Brazil gathered the magic quartet, Ronaldo was not yet 30 years old, Ronaldo was 26 years old, Adriano was 24 years old, Kaka was 24 years old, and there was a 22-year-old Robinho. With the quartet playing another World Cup and a "cycling boy" who will usher in his golden age, Brazil can have five superstars in the 2010 World Cup.
But in the end, Da Luo was not self-disciplined enough, injuries were frequent, and his body was also blessed by illness, and he left Europe at the age of 31; Xiao Luo was even more drunk and was excluded from the national team by Dunga, and Dunga, who emphasized discipline, also excluded Milan's golden boy Pato; and Ade was even more disappointing, he did not even reach the peak, he fell like a meteor. In the World Cup in South Africa, Dunga's attack trio is Kaka, Robinho, and Fabiano, of which Fabiano is known as Brazil's "most civilian" No. 9, with a low reputation and unpretentiousness.
Clinker, Fabiano is more reliable than the Brazilian No. 9 in the following sessions. 2011 Copa America, No. 9 Pato. 2014 World Cup, No. 9 Fred. 2015 Copa America, No. 9 Tardelli. 2016 Copa America, No. 9 Jonas. The competition for the title of the 9th most watery in Brazil's history is fierce.
In the 2018 World Cup, the 2019 Copa America and the 2021 Copa America, Brazil's No. 9 wore the "Little Jesus" Jesus. The little Jesus who played for Manchester City has improved the reputation of Brazil's No. 9, but in three major tournaments, 15 games, 2 goals, 4 assists and 2 red cards, except for the 2019 Copa America victory, the little Jesus is lackluster. In the 2022 World Cup, Brazil's No. 9 belongs to Richarlison, who scored 3 goals and performed well, but his form fluctuated too much.
At this time, the question of the Brazilian team is no longer whether the superstars are self-disciplined enough, but whether there are superstars?
During this period, there was only one supergiant in Brazil, and that was No. 10 Neymar. In the 2014 World Cup, the 22-year-old Neymar was already the star of Brazil, and it was Neymar who carried the Brazilian team out of the darkest years. In 2016, when Brazil suffered the historic humiliation of exiting the Copa America group, Neymar won his first Olympic gold medal with Brazil.
Neymar was once seen as the dominant player of the new era after the unparalleled duo, and is expected to become the next Brazilian star to win the Ballon d'Or after Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho and Kaka, but he has suffered frequent injuries, missing the semi-finals in 2014, the Copa America in 2019 and the 2022 World Cup.
In fact, Neymar has no stage fright in the big scene, with 8 goals and 4 assists in 13 games in the three World Cups, and 3 goals and 3 assists in 6 knockout games, but there are always problems in the team's midfield and backfield, and he completes the self-explosion. Neymar scored 79 goals in 128 games for the national team, the second most played for the national team, behind Cafu with 14 games, and surpassed Pele for the most goals in team history with 79 goals.
But now Neymar is disappointing, or a self-discipline problem, Neymar has been seriously injured, his body has been fat, and he left Paris to join Riyadh Crescent, and the 32-year-old Neymar has faded out of the mainstream stage. The time that seemed destined for him has not yet come.
In the last 8 games when Neymar was injured, Brazil's record was only 2 wins and 6 losses. Neymar needs a successor, but no matter how valuable the Little Bear, Little Martin, and Little Li brothers are, they are not the stars of the club, and they are still far from the leader-level supergiants and the 22-year-old Neymar.
Is the Brazilian team poor, is there a lack of stars, is it worth a lot, what is their problem?
[Famous coaches are scarce, and Brazilian football is in trouble]
"We are the only five-star team and Brazil should be coached by people who have Brazilian blood in their veins. "I'm very happy to see Pep Guardiola, Carlo Ancelotti and Jose Mourinho linked to Brazil. "Rivaldo and Ronaldo have different views on the question of whether the Brazilian national team should use foreign coaches.
Of course, there are still many people in Brazil who oppose the use of foreign coaches, which is an emotional damage to Brazilians, do Brazilians still need foreigners to teach them to play football? This is simply a humiliation!
But when Tite with perfect qualifying results, after stopping in the quarterfinals of the World Cup twice, the Brazilian team fell into a situation where no one took over, Ramon Meneses and Fernando Diniz led the team to play in 2023 as acting coaches, but the record was a poor 3 wins, 1 draw and 5 losses, Brazil suffered the first home defeat in the World Preliminary Tournament and the first time suffered three consecutive defeats in the World Preliminary Tournament.
The Brazilian Football Federation was close to Carlo Ancelotti at one point, but the signing was not completed. In the history of the Brazilian national team, only Portuguese Flavio Costa and Argentine Filippo Nunez were temporary agents in 1944 and 1965, with a combined charge of less than a week.
In the end, Brazil chose 61-year-old former Sao Paulo coach Dorivar, who has 25 coaching experiences in his previous 21 years and has not won a league title, and is so unknown that people think he is Rivaldo. However, he led Flamengo to the Copa Libertadores in 2022 and three Copa do Brasil titles, and is a coach who is good at playing cup.
Throughout the 21st century, there is only one truly international coach of the Brazilian national team, Scolari, who not only led Brazil to win the World Cup in South Korea and Japan, but also led Portugal to the final of the European Championship and the semi-finals of the World Cup, and also won the AFC Champions League in China. But at the European giants, his only resume was six months at Chelsea.
Compared with Brazil, Argentina has produced many famous coaches, whether it is the older generation of Bielsa, and now Diego Simeone, Scaloni, Pochettino, and Gallardo. Brazil also had famous coaches such as Zagalo, Pereira, and Scolari, but now they are facing the problem of a scarcity of good coaches.
In fact, the performance of Brazilian coaches in Europe has not been satisfactory, no Brazilian coach has ever led the team to win the Champions League, Argentina has Carniglia led Real Madrid to win the Champions League twice, Herrera led Inter Milan to win the Champions League twice, Simeone led Atletico Madrid to the Champions League final twice, and Pochettino also led Tottenham to the Champions League final.
Not only in the Champions League, but no Brazilian coach has led the team to win the European championship. Not only in Europe, but not only in Europe, but not a single Brazilian coach has won the top five leagues, compared to the Argentine coach who has won 13 titles. None of the 96 teams in the top five leagues now employ Brazilian coaches.
First of all, Brazil's world-class stars are reluctant to become coaches, study techniques and tactics, manage players, and cope with pressure after retirement. All they think is "can't you enjoy playing football for half your life?" and even when they were players, they were in the rhythm of "music and dance", and they were not interested in boring coaching positions.
Secondly, there is a cult of stars in Brazilian football culture, there is no cult of coaches, there is an emphasis on talent, there is no emphasis on effort, there is an emphasis on freedom, there is no emphasis on discipline, there is no emphasis on technique, there is no emphasis on tactics. In the tactical wave of world football, the individual talent of the Brazilian star has been suppressed. The lack of discipline on the part of the stars has also left Brazilian football lagging behind in a faster-paced tactical system. They are still obsessed with the beauty, imagination, and freedom of football, and do not value tactical discipline.
Also, the Brazilian domestic league is extremely impatient with coaches. Throughout the 2023 season, 20 teams fired 21 coaches. Counting the acting coaches, 20 teams have used 58 coaches in a single season! The change of coach is like a marquee, the coach has no time to practice his tactical concept, there is no room for trial and error, everyone is changing jobs frequently, and the Brazilian Liga is not a platform that can train coaches at all.
A young Brazilian coach said: "The Brazilian club's operating model makes it impossible to implement long-term plans, which is deeply rooted in the Brazilian football culture, where the president, the technical director, the advisors, the fans and the media all think that it is okay to sack the manager when the results slip. It is this tradition of impatience that has led to this absurd situation. ”
The stars have no desire to coach, the team has no tactical planning, the coach has no professional status, the Football Association is still frequenting infighting, and even though the Brazilian Liga now dominates the Copa Libertadores, the status quo of Brazilian coaches has not changed.
[What will save you, our Brazilian football?]
Why is it called "our Brazilian football"? All over the world, Brazilians play football as an art, and their artistic attainments have a global character. When Leonidas showed his football talent at the World Cup in France, French journalists exclaimed that they were "men with six legs". Garrincha, Pele, Riverino, Zico, Romario, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Neymar have shown the charm of samba football to fans around the world with generations of Brazilian stars.
Since the 70s of the 20th century, relying on the influence of the three World Cups and the influence of the football king Pele, the Brazilian national team has a wide range of fans in Asia, Africa and other countries, and the British author Godblatt wrote: "The Brazilian team is the sustenance of those countries that have never entered the World Cup finals, except for Argentina and Ecuador, fans in almost all countries regard Brazil as the second or third home team in the World Cup." ”
Brazilian football has always given us the impression of being talented, whimsical and uninhibited. BUT IN THE TACTICAL HISTORY OF FOOTBALL, EXCEPT FOR THE 424 IN THE 50S OF THE 20TH CENTURY, WHICH WANTED TO REFLECT THE TALENT OF THE STAR, THE REVOLUTION THAT CHANGED THE HISTORY OF FOOTBALL TACTICS, SUCH AS ENGLAND'S 442, THE NETHERLANDS' ALL-ATTACK AND DEFENSE, GERMANY'S LIBERTY, ITALY'S CHAIN DEFENSE, AND SPAIN'S TIKI-TAKA, THE DOMINATORS ARE NOT BRAZILIANS, AND THE LACK OF A FAMOUS COACH IN BRAZIL IS THE MOST TYPICAL EXAMPLE. Especially in the 1974 World Cup, when the flying Cruyff scored the Brazilian goal, the Brazilians felt the feeling of being crushed by collective tactics for the first time.
Today, the European league has concentrated on the integration and strengthening of the world's high-quality football resources, and the weakening of South American giants such as Santos, Boca, and River Plate is a direct example. The individual talent of Brazilian stars cannot override collective tactics, and football has bid farewell to the era of heroism of superstar rivalries, but the era of teams dominated by tactical games and variables of star ability.
At the same time, there are fewer and fewer Brazilian stars who can dance samba on the pitch. When Neymar's rainbow pass was humiliated, the mainstream values of football were no longer Chinese, but real. The Brazilian rising stars have been smoothed out and must be integrated into the European system as part of their tactics. But when they returned to the national team and coalesced into a group, they found that their tactical thinking was not enough, and their individual advantages were lost.
No, never, because the DNA of Brazilian football is still there, and the streets of Brazil will continue to have stars. It's just that Brazil needs results, they need convincing results in the cups. Because, Brazil needs football, and football needs Brazil!
(Small)