Opinion – Tostão: Atlético knows how to unite the present and the past, the possible and the desired

Cruzeiro is doing very poorly in football, but spectacular in volleyball, four-time world champions. “It’s tetra!”

Atlético, after winning the State and the Brazilian, is almost champion of the Copa do Brasil. The team has no secrets. It executes well what is planned, according to Cuca’s instructions, who knows how to change the lineup and the details at the right moment.

Atlético today has a superior squad than Palmeiras and a starting lineup, considering the individual and collective, better than Flamengo’s.

Atlético is not an innovative team. It’s efficient. Knows how to unite the present and the past, the possible and the desired.

Athletico is a much better team than the one that played at Mineirão. On Wednesday (15), at Arena da Baixada, where he usually has great performances, he will try the almost impossible, pressing from the beginning, to score a goal and set the stadium on fire. In history, there have been rare upsets of this type, such as Atlético’s defeat by Rosario Central, in Argentina, by 4-0, after winning the first match on the same scoreboard, in the 1995 Conmebol Cup final.

On Sunday, in Atlético’s second goal, the team from Paraná had a line of five defenders (three defenders and two full-backs) and only two or three in midfield, which facilitated the conduction of the ball and the precise kick by Keno. This situation has happened frequently in Brazil and in the world, with the increase in the number of teams that play with a line of five behind and leave the midfield with more spaces.

I think the best way to position yourself defensively is the traditional one, with two lines of four, as each defender has a midfielder to protect him. Still safer are the teams that play with three in midfield. They score with four defenders and five in front (one defensive midfielder, two midfielders and one player on each side).

The penalty scored in favor of Atlético, on Sunday, followed the stupid rule, as it is impossible for a defender to face an attacker with his arms glued to his body. If you play like that, you will be easily dodged. In Europe, these mistakes also happen less often, like last weekend, which has worried Europeans, who want to change the rule.

On Saturday, at Manchester City’s match, De Bruyne, again, only entered the game midway through the second half. Guardiola, who likes to rotate players, is aware of the importance of De Bruyne, but it is unclear why the player is often left out. Would the coach be concerned with emphasizing that City is an essentially collective team and does not depend on a single star? De Bruyne is an extremely collective player.

In Chelsea’s game, once again, Lukaku, praised around the world, only entered the second half. He had an injury, but, in the last matches, he remains in reserve. Does coach Thomas Tuchel prefer a more mobile forward, as he had in winning the Champions League, to having a positioned, centralized one, even if it is Lukaku, the best of all with these characteristics? Does Tuchel, like Guardiola, also want to show that the team is collective and does not depend on a star? They are just digressions.

As with athletes and in all professions, coaches around the world are often ambitious, vain, self-sufficient. Ambition in sport, as long as it respects the other and is not unreasonable, is frequent in big stars.