Analysis: Tite says goodbye with two great cycles and two disappointing Cups

Tite’s overall numbers are very good, 61, in the national team. Hired in 2016 to lift a team in trouble after Luiz Felipe Scolari’s disastrous goodbye and Dunga’s bad spell, Adenor Bacchi spent six years as Brazil’s coach, with 60 wins, 15 draws and 6 defeats. The performance is 80.2%, with an average of 2.15 goals scored per game and an exceptional 0.37 conceded.

The big goals, however, were not achieved.

In unfortunate days for the team, with questionable decisions by the commander, the journey in the World Cup ended twice in the quarterfinals. In 2018, in Russia, Belgium surprised with tactical changes in the lineup and won by 2 to 1. Last Friday (9), in Qatar, strategic errors exacted a high price in the 1 to 1 draw with Croatia, followed by defeat in penalties.

As had happened four years ago, the coach sought, in his own way, careful not to use that word, to credit the setback to the imponderable. “Football allows you a deflected kick, in the only final [do adversário]and your goalkeeper doesn’t make a save during the game,” he said.

In fact, according to data from the sports data company Opta, the Croatians only hit a ball in the goal of Alisson, who did not react with the necessary agility to prevent the goal, already at the end of extra time. But Tite couldn’t explain why veteran midfielder Modric, 37, was able to set the pace for significant portions of the match in Doha.

The coach also refused to admit the poor choices made by his players in the bid in which the Croatians sought the tie, 12 minutes into the second extra time. Even Neymar noted the obvious: attacking with six men, winning, three minutes from the Cup semi-finals, was not a particularly smart choice.

It is possible that protecting the athletes was one of the reasons for the truncated analysis he offered on the move, but the difficulty in admitting mistakes accompanies the competent coach throughout his career. Something that was repeated in Qatar, in an attempt to justify an unbalanced squad, even with the unprecedented possibility of taking 26 players to the World Cup.

There were nine forwards, only four defenders and three full-backs able to play real games. Daniel Alves, 39, was only on the field when the duel was worthless – against Cameroon, in the first phase, with the qualification secured – or when the day was resolved – he entered against South Korea, in the second half of the round of 16, with the score at 4-0.

At the crucial moment, his presence on the field was not even considered. Named for his good relationship with his teammates, he saw the selection being chosen from the bench with improvisations on both sides: the right wing was occupied by defender Éder Militão; the left got the right side Danilo. If it wasn’t easy to predict the injuries that hindered the walk, preparing for them was within reach.

Of course, it would be a different story if Petkovic’s shot had not been deflected into Marquinhos. If Alisson had shown greater speed to react to a ball that was not indefensible. If Casemiro realized that it’s better to be suspended from the semifinals than eliminated from the Cup – he had the chance to foul Modric, which would likely earn him a card and an automatic hook.

The 2018 elimination, like almost all, also had its “ifs”. Fernandinho, like Casemiro, had the opportunity to stop a counterattack and chose not to. Renato Augusto had the equalizer in his feet and failed. But Belgium –who surprised Tite with Lukaku open and De Bruyne ahead– had already built up a good lead. When Brazil reacted, it was too late.

At the time, as now, the gaucho avoided pointing out his own mistakes. He said that the Belgian goalkeeper “Courtois was enlightened”, complained about the penalty to Gabriel Jesus (in whom he insisted until the end, as he did in recent weeks with Raphinha, despite the disappointing level) and returned to talking about bad luck. Tite way. Without using that word. “I don’t like to talk about luck…” he declared. “Football has the random.”

The work, though, was solid. Hired because of his historic record at Corinthians, the coach took over the selection in sixth place in the World Cup Qualifiers –after a failure with Dunga in the first phase of the 2016 Copa América– and took it to Russia as the first place in the South-American qualifier. American.

Therefore, he became the first coach of the national team to have his contract renewed after missing a World Cup since 1978. He responded with the 2019 Copa América title, the 2021 Copa América runner-up and the best campaign in history of the South American Qualifiers in the consecutive points format, with an incredible 88.2% success rate in 17 games.

Along the way, he also became the coach with the longest uninterrupted time at the helm of the national team: 2,290 days between his debut, a 3-0 triumph over Ecuador, away from home, in the Qualifiers, and the failure against Croatia. And he arrived in Qatar with the expectation of fighting for the title, with a feared team.

Neymar’s injury in the first match began to disrupt plans. The 30-year-old striker returned to the knockout stage, but with obvious limitations due to a problem with his right ankle. With the full star, could the story have been different? One more “if” for the coach, who, in World Cups, has nothing more than the quarterfinals to show.