Opinion – Tostão: May Dorival not be swallowed up by Flamengo’s pharaonic delirium

One of the evolutions of football was a team having several players who occupy more than one position and perform more than one function. However, it is necessary to separate athletes who act in different positions from the beginning of the matches from those who, momentarily, during the game, perform other functions. There are also those who, without changing positions, execute various technical fundamentals efficiently, like a midfielder who scores and advances with quality, like an offensive midfielder.

De Bruyne, in addition to his speed and quick transition from one midfielder to the next, is exceptional in the construction of plays, in the decisive passes for goals, in the finishing with both feet, in the strong crosses and curves and in the collective intelligence. If he’s not the best player in the world, he’s the most complete.

Each player has to find his ideal place. Cristiano Ronaldo, who was an exceptional striker on the side, from where he went to the middle to score goals, became one of the greatest in history after he started to act more centrally and closer to the area. Messi, who was a right winger who dribbled towards the center, to finish or to pass with the left-hander, as there are dozens around the world, became a superstar, a phenomenon, when he started to play in the whole attack.

Often, coaches need to put a great player out of position because there is an even better player in place. At Palmeiras, Scarpa, who plays in the same position as Raphael Veiga, was moved to the left side. The two, in addition to several qualities, stand out for their strong crosses and curves, in dead balls and in motion. So many goals come out. Every team should have a player with that virtue. Palmeiras has two.

Coaches, in addition to having a lot of technical, tactical and statistical knowledge and knowing how to lead a group, need to be good observers of the details and, above all, put the best in the correct positions. Corinthians coach Vítor Pereira is extremely scientific, but he has made wrong choices, putting, at times, midfielder Renato Augusto as a striker and point guard on the side, Róger Guedes as a striker and the speedy Mosquito on the left. Mosquito stands out only for his speed on the right wing, to cross on the right foot. On the left, he doesn’t have the ability to dribble to the center or cross with his left leg.

In Brazil, Brazilian and foreign coaches continue to be excessively fired. Among several reasons, a frequent one is the overvaluation of coaches, as if they were largely responsible for everything that happens in the game. It is necessary to separate the indisputable importance of a coach in the formation and command of a team from the illusory analysis that the history of a game is always determined by a coach.

I hope that the new Flamengo coach, Dorival Júnior, is not swallowed by the pharaonic delusion that the team would have to play as one of the best in the world. Flamengo lacks the professional seriousness of Palmeiras, in the field and in management. Abel Ferreira looks like Bernardinho, from volleyball. Victory is much more than a pleasure. It’s a commitment to himself.

In all professional activities and in life, everyone needs to find a place and a way of being and doing. Many cannot. Along the way, there are many falls. Others don’t want to improve, to learn. They prefer to repeat and only see what they want to see.