Opinion – Marcelo Damato: Tite and Globo, a happy marriage

The game that eliminated the Brazilian team from the Russian Cup, four years ago, had barely ended when Globo launched “Fica, Tite”, a campaign for an unprecedented attitude in the history of Brazil: keeping a coach who had failed.

Remembering, Brazil was eliminated in the quarterfinals (their most recurrent performance in the last 50 years) after taking a tactical bath from Belgium, which placed its two forwards as wingers, including Lukaku, leaving Tite without reaction until the end of the first half, when it was already 2-0.

On my blog for that Cup, right here Sheet, I wrote a post titled “Stay, Tite! Will it be?”. In the end, the campaign spread, the coach stayed and took Brazil here: two wins and early classification.

During all this time, Tite had a communication vehicle of absolute fidelity: Globo (including SporTV). No matter the coach’s decisions, the station’s coverage was always understanding and was almost always on his side.

In this Cup, the climate of the coverage is the traditional optimism of Globo. It doesn’t come close to being the “greatest favorite in the history of the World Cups”, from 2006, but only in the rare SporTV programs made in Brazil is there any greater questioning.

Globo has shown the Cup exclusively since 1982 — at the time, the fact generated a huge controversy. His power over the selection reached impressive points. In 1998, coach Zagallo was docilely commanded by a global cameraman to begin synchronizing with the station’s special bulletin the announcement of cuts and call-ups at the beginning of preparation, at the CT in Teresópolis. During the World Cup, Globo’s HQ was located in the parking lot of the “exclusive” hotel where Brazilians stayed.

In the 2006 World Cup, players in Europe gave a live interview to Jornal Nacional, at around 1 am local time. Training was open, and in the first phase, in Weggis, Switzerland.

In 2010, coach Dunga implemented a disciplinary style, barred Globo’s perks, breaking the broadcaster’s programming and ignoring the fact that it held the transmission rights. The coach’s firmness in not allowing privileges provoked unusual scenes, like the head of CBF communication himself trying to take players to the broadcaster’s studio in Germany under Dunga’s chin.

Finally, in 2014, almost everything happened in the national team’s training sessions in Teresópolis. Players didn’t even need to go to Globo studios. Your presenters entered the CT and recorded whatever they wanted. The practices were tumultuous from the beginning until almost the end, all in full view of everyone, and it ended.

In 2006 and 2014, Globo had the good will of Carlos Alberto Parreira, as technician and coordinator, respectively.

With Tite, a middle ground was established between Dunga and Parreira: very restricted access, but not zero, and a very cordial relationship between broadcaster and technician. Globo, without the power it had before, understood its limits and accepted it.

Since 2017, at least, Globo has been treating Tite almost like a partner. In this Cup, the players are only (little) questioned and the desire to see the “glass half full” prevails, in the words of one of its presenters.

It remains to be seen what will happen if Brazil falls in the round of 16 (as in 1990), in the quarterfinals (1982, 1986, 2006, 2010 and 2018), in the semifinals (1974, 1978 and 2014) or in the final (1998).

If hex comes, there will be no surprise.