Opinion – Juca Kfouri: Copa do Brasil will have its biggest decision with Corinthians and Flamengo

Paulistas and Cariocas have already decided twice for the Copa do Brasil, in 2004 and 2005, when, surprisingly, Santo André and Paulista de Jundiaí got the better of Flamengo and Fluminense, at Maracanã and São Januário, respectively.

Paulistas and cariocas, never.

Next Wednesday (12) we will see not only the beginning of an unprecedented decision but also between the two most popular teams in Brazil.

It certainly doesn’t involve the two best teams in the country, because Palmeiras is out of it, but if it’s not the best final, it’s the biggest.

With both in search of the fourth championship. Whole, as long as Cássio plays as everything indicates he will, although Bruno Henrique is out and Maycon should just be an option on the bench.

Corinthians and Flamengo repeat the clashes of the quarterfinals of the Libertadores that took place at the beginning of last August, when the red-black favoritism was confirmed without any difficulty, with victories in both games – 2 to 0 in Itaquera, 1 to 0 in Maracanã.

Cariocas remain favorites, not as much as they were two months ago.

Fausto Vera, the duo Yuri Alberto and Roger Guedes, in addition to the recovery of Renato Augusto, changed the alvinegra production from water to wine, mainly at home.

Nothing that means superiority from São Paulo, because, in addition to being relaxed, the quartet from Rio with Éverton Ribeiro, Dom Arrascaeta, Pedro and Gabigol is even superior, more connected, with greater decision-making power and more used to winning.

Just remember the first game for the continental tournament, when there was balance on the lawn, Maycon was injured and Dom Arrascaeta found such a goal to dismantle any team.

Flamengo is better, less than it used to be, and for Corinthians to do well it will have to play with the humility of those who know it’s possible as long as they don’t try to play as equals.

A pertinent comparison made our Walter Casagrande Júnior the other day on the Red Card, from Canal UOL: the Italian team, in the Spanish Cup, in 1982, knew that it was inferior to the Brazilian team and, with impeccable performance, won by 3 to 2 in the call, for us, from the Tragedy of Sarriá.

The worst, for the Corinthians, is being a decision with two games.

John without forgiveness

João Saldanha, João Without Fear, was brilliant, witty, brave and bad-tempered, sanguine.

PVC reproduced his phrase about the defeat at Sarriá, saying that the positive aspect of the elimination was in “ending with charlatanism”, cruel and unfair criticism of Telê Santana.

Until the fateful day of July 5, 1982, when Paolo Rossi scored three times and sent Falcão, Cerezo, Zico and Sócrates home without the tetra that looked like short beans, Saldanha had, in fact, criticisms here and there, he was very worried about the physical preparation of some players, but he was quite happy with the performance of the selection and with the admiration he aroused in the foreign press, sought after by journalists from all over the world as he was constantly.

The defeat left him possessed, and then he released the dogs, with exaggeration, proportionate to his frustration and disappointment.

Nobody told me, I saw, because I was with him every day in Spain.

João, like Telê, is one of those immense, permanent homesicknesses.

Needless to say, politically Saldanha gave dances in Santana.

In terms of football, they tie in theory and the Minas Gerais team beats the Gaucho in practice.