Opinion – The World is a Ball: Tite’s call-up shows that Brazil has a serious problem on the right side

The coach of the Brazilian national team, Tite, made this Friday (9) the last call-up before releasing the list of the 26 players who will go to Qatar for the World Cup, which starts on November 20.

The calls will play friendly matches against Ghana, on the 23rd, and Tunisia, on the 27th. These will be the final tests that the coach will do before the World Cup, in which the selection will seek the sixth.

The summons allows conclusions to be drawn. The most obvious is that there is a problem, which seems to be serious, on the right side of Brazil.

A single athlete of the position appeared in the list of 26 players for the matches against the African teams. This is Danilo, from Italy’s Juventus.

No Daniel Alves (Pumas-MEX), no Emerson Royal (Tottenham). Tite praised Rodinei (Flamengo) when commenting on the call-up, but did not include him. Marcos Rocha (Palmeiras) or Igor Vinícius (São Paulo)? No, not even close.

The coach has tried to downplay the issue, however it is evident that it is worrying. If only Danilo is on the list, it is because the coach considers that he is the only one currently in a position to defend Brazil in the position.

The scenario becomes worse because Danilo is not always playing as a right back at his club. Coach Massimiliano Allegri has frequently named him as a centre-back, teaming up with Bremer – a new addition to the squad.

The more an athlete works for a given sector, in a given position, the more he is able to fulfill the role that it requires.

Of course, Danilo’s experience, 31, is an ally, but the more he is used in the defense, the more defender than full-back he will be, compared to athletes who play all matches on the right side.

The defender plays much more statically, he needs to head very well and have excellent positioning. The side goes to the attack and then goes back to the defense, he needs plenty of breath. Physically, the requirements and responsibilities are very different.

Most likely, Tite chooses the very veteran Daniel Alves (another who has not been playing on the right side, but in midfield), 39, and Danilo as the right sides for Qatar. However, at the moment, the conditions of both to play there are doubtful.

It can be argued that players from other positions, such as defender Éder Militão (Real Madrid) and midfielder Fabinho (Liverpool), can play on the right side, as they have played the role in the past.

Yes, but it will be improvised, they won’t be “into them”. And improvisation, especially in a World Cup, is not desirable.

In other words, the right side of the selection is problematic, and it is not new.

In the last World Cup, Danilo, in whom I never put great trust, got injured, and Corinthian Fagner entered, who was (and is) hardworking, which is not enough to be in the selection – so much so that he is not.

Furthermore, Tite’s list for friendlies shows the following:

• that the call-up of Bremer and Ibañez (Roma) points to uncertainty in the choice of all defenders – I was surprised by the absence of Gabriel Magalhães, who was in a great phase at Arsenal;
• that, with Guilherme Arana’s injury that takes him out of the World Cup, Alex Telles (despised by Manchester United, who loaned him to Sevilla) has an advantage over Renan Lodi (despised by Atlético de Madrid, who loaned him to Nottingham Forest) to be the Alex Sandro’s reserve on the left side;
• that Gerson (Olympique de Marseille), popular until not long ago, when he shone in Flamengo, is almost out of the deck, with the favorite midfielders Casemiro, Fred, Fabinho and Bruno Guimarães (the latter being great, you have to play);
• that midfielder Philippe Coutinho (West Ham), who some time ago stopped being that player who unbalanced matches – and that is why he was an absolute starter in the Cup in Russia -, has a high probability of being discarded, given Tite’s preference for Everton Ribeiro (Flemish);
• that in attack Matheus Cunha, despite being a reserve at Atlético de Madrid, remains popular with the national team coach, unlike Gabigol –Pedro, his colleague at Flamengo, is the one who was called (deservedly); and
• that Neymar, Casemiro, defenders Thiago Silva and Marquinhos, and the trio of goalkeepers (Alisson, Ederson and Weverton) are untouchables, very good names in the Cup; just don’t go in case of injury.