Opinion – Tostão: Great midfielders act as if they were in the stands

Football needs to be better evaluated and discussed. I notice, more and more, a transformation in the interviews with the coaches, Brazilians and abroad, with more technical and tactical explanations. This did not happen and contributes to the improvement of the quality of the sport.

The presence of foreign coaches, especially the Portuguese, more accustomed to a rigid academic and scientific training, has been important for this evolution. Brazilian coaches have taken the same stance.

In the previous column, I wrote about the similarity of several teams, even with very different technical levels, such as Independiente del Valle, Fluminense, Manchester City and other teams, which stand out for approaching and exchanging passes from one area to another.

They are similar, but different. City uses the positional strategy, with open ends waiting for the ball, and stands out for the triangulations between the winger, the guard midfielder and a midfielder on each side, while, at Fluminense, players change positions a lot, go to the looking for the ball and group into a sector.

Palmeiras and other teams, such as the Brazilian team, alternate the way they play, according to the moment and the opponent. Whatever the lineup in the Cup debut, Brazil, when they don’t have the ball and can’t get it back where they lost it, will form two lines of four in the marking, with two midfielders in the center and two wingers that attack and retreat quickly. to score. Neymar and other teammates will be free to start counterattacks.

Brazil, for decades, had full-backs who scored and attacked with great talent. At the 1958 World Cup, left-back Nilton Santos advanced, while coach Feola shouted for him to come back. Against Austria, Nilton Santos attacked, exchanged passes and scored one of three goals in the 3-0 victory.

In Qatar, it will be different. As Brazil plays with two fast wingers, dribblers, aggressive and open, there will be no need to have full-backs that advance so much, except at specific moments. Tite must alternate on the sides a more defensive wing and another more builder, which will free up the second midfielder to attack.

The Brazilian team of 1970, a symbol of well-played football, did not have a striker on the left, as full-back Everaldo was more a scorer than a supporter, and Rivellino was third in midfield. I, at times, occupied this sector, as happened against Uruguay, when I received the ball from the wing and launched the defensive midfielder Clodoaldo, who penetrated through the center and scored.

This goal only happened because, minutes before, Gerson, who was scored individually, as they knew that the beginning of the plays passed a lot by him, changed, on his own initiative, position with Clodoaldo.

Gerson and the great midfielders of world football, past and present, act as if they were in the stands, watching the match from above, as if they had a megacomputer attached to their body, which calculated all the movements and speed of the ball, of teammates and opponents. Neuroscientists call this kinesthetic intelligence.

Tite and the coaching staff have already rehearsed and thought of everything. They know all the details of the selection and opponents. The problem is that, in football and in life, the unexpected often occurs, which requires immediate, often insecure and unscheduled responses. A shot in the dark.