Brazil out of the Cup: is there a ‘beautiful’ or ‘correct’ way to deal with defeats?

Brazil was eliminated from the 2022 World Cup after losing to Croatia in the quarterfinals, this Friday (9).

In the course of the game, the teams tied 1-1 during extra time, which meant that the result needed to be decided on penalties.

For the team, the post-defeat moment was one of tears and lamentations, with hugs between players and athletes lying on the ground anguished by the result.

Coach Tite, known for motivating his team and being a good communicator, was criticized for leaving the team alone on the field after the defeat and heading to the locker room — the criticism spread through social networks, but also came from personalities such as the narrator Galvão Good.

“I always praise Tite’s attitudes, but this one of going to the dressing room and leaving the players on the field is not correct. They are all a team! Tite could not have retired to the dressing room. I’m sorry, Tite”, said the Rede Globo narrator.

It was the Croatian opponents who took the initiative to console the Brazilians.

The coach justified himself in a statement given hours after the game, stating that he went down to the locker room because he was “a more reserved guy”.

Psychoanalyst and coach Karla Pierri said that the coach, like the team, suffers from the defeat, but the ideal thing is for him to stay close, with open arms and ears.

“As a coach, as an experienced man, a leader, Tite could stay on the field, being an example. What is expected of a leader, a manager, is that he is firm and can help the team deal with frustrations “, he states.

“That’s why it’s so difficult to be a good leader, because you have to limit your own frustration to be available and help the team. Then he can cry, try to vent somehow. We’re talking about balance, mental preparation for difficult situations, experience in managing emotions.”

Thiago Silva, captain of the Brazilian national team, who cried sitting on the ball when Brazil took the 7-1 defeat of Germany in the 2014 World Cup, today showed a different attitude, leaving the despondency aside to give interviews with a firm posture right after the end of the match.

For Karla Pierri, the captain showed maturity and put himself in a leadership position, in the absence of the coach.

“It was a good posture in front of the younger players. But if his choice had been to cry, like in the last Cup, that’s fine too. It was the way he found to deal with defeat. As a player, he could even isolate himself As for Tite, his role is different, that’s why his posture was not adequate”, he told the report.

The psychological field of each individual is extremely particular, which makes each one react differently based on their personal characteristics, experiences and expectations.

But from the point of view of a leadership posture, Claudinei Elias, specialist in high management for leadership at the Yale School of Management, points out that there are, yes, behaviors considered more correct or “honorable”.

“After a big loss, be it a match like the case of the selection, in personal life or in a company, the first thing is to admit, with dignity, that there was a defeat. Thiago’s attitude was noble and of great courage”, he said. .

“When there is an extremely high level of demand for not achieving expected results, the next step is to take value from these defeats to use the experience to create a new strategy. Whether in the Brazilian national team or when losing a major client of your company, for example”, points out Elias, who is CEO and founder of Bravo GRC, a technology and consulting company.

The leader’s role in a moment of lamentation like the one experienced by the team, in Elias’ assessment, is extremely important.

“The leader cannot only be present in victories. In sadness, challenges, risks, that’s when the leader has to be even more firm, take care of his team. The big question in this case is to take care of the team’s morale, since this team will need to get together again and have a prepared mind.”

This text was published here.