Opinion – Tostão: Did David Luiz dream that he was wearing the yellow jersey and winning 7-1?

The football game is much more than a sporting dispute, a confrontation of strategies, techniques and planning. It is also entertainment, improvisation, unpredictability, superstition and various psychological behaviors. It is a theater, a repetition of life.

Rony scored a wonderful bicycle goal in Palmeiras’ 5-0 victory over Cerro Porteño. He insistently sought that goal, encouraged by his son, who, at home, had already scored a bicycle goal, for his father to learn. Ron is more than an acrobat and a good striker. He is a serious professional, who runs after desires. There are many players who seem to be better than they are. Ron is better than he looks.

Could it be that Flamengo’s 7-1 rout against Tolima was the milestone, the kick, to definitively exorcise the ghost of Jorge Jesus? Did David Luiz, present in this match and in Germany’s 7-1 over Brazil, dream, after the game, that he was wearing the yellow shirt and that the Brazilian team was winning 7-1? Dreams are fragments, desires, contradictions, without order or rules. They have no verse, reverse or metaverse.

Gabigol and Pedro, who shone in the match, now form the starting lineup of Flamengo’s forwards. The two never had a problem acting together. The difficulty was playing with the two plus Bruno Henrique, who played from left to center, to fill the space that is occupied by Pedro.

After Paulo Sousa’s confusing improvisations, it seems that Dorival Júnior is putting things in the right places. Dorival, like Mano Menezes at Inter and Felipão at Athletico, is doing very well at Flamengo. The three have always been good coaches. They alternated between great and bad results because there are countless other factors present in the coaches’ trajectory.

Unlike Palmeiras and Flamengo, who scored, Atlético had many difficulties to qualify in the Libertadores, with a 1-0 victory over Emelec, with a penalty goal from the incredible Hulk. The midfielder Allan, who scores and starts the offensive moves well with good passes, and the midfielder Jair, who disarms and advances efficiently, were missed.

Atlético played with a defensive midfielder (Otávio) and five forward players. This has happened in other Brazilian teams. Skillful, fast wingers and attacking midfielders who come back to receive the ball are not midfielders, organizers. Midfielders are builders, who work from one intermediary to another.

Atlético and Palmeiras will compete for a spot in the Libertadores semifinals. Almost all coaches, when facing opponents of the same level, say that the favorite is the other team, in an attempt to relax opposing players and inflame those of their own team. Turco Mohamed did the opposite and would have said that Atlético are the favourites. Was it a faux pas, a moment of arrogance, or a great psychological move? Not even Freud could tell.

Reading

When I was 16 years old and I was already a holder of Cruzeiro, I used to take a book, on various subjects, to read in concentration, on the eve of the matches. Some found it weird. I remembered this because Ceará, which advanced in the Copa Sudamericana, created a bookstore for the youth of the base to read in their spare time. All teams should do the same, encourage boys and big guys to read and even take online courses during the concentration.