The failure of the Brazilian team in the 2022 World Cup made coach Tite’s assessment plummet. Criticized for some of his choices in Qatar –especially in the elimination game, in the quarterfinals, against Croatia–, he leaves office with his worst assessment, according to Datafolha.
The institute has been questioning, over the last five years, the opinion of Brazilians regarding the performance of the gaucho at the head of the national team. Never have the responses been as unfavorable to the professional as those given in the most recent survey.
After this year’s World Cup ended, only 29% considered the work of the 61-year-old coach good or great. There were 38% who classified the commander’s performance as bad or terrible. “Regular” was the answer of 26%, and 7% did not know how to answer.
Datafolha interviewed 2,026 people aged 16 or over, in 126 municipalities, on the 19th and 20th of December. The poll’s margin of error is plus or minus two percentage points within the 95% confidence level.
The latest survey pointed to a sharp drop in Tite’s approval, with his performance considered good or excellent by 64%. This occurred on the eve of the 2018 World Cup, after an excellent campaign in the Qualifiers.
The fall in the quarterfinals in Russia took part of the prestige of the coach, who, however, had his job maintained by the CBF (Brazilian Football Confederation). A coach had not stayed with the team after losing a Cup since 1978, with Cláudio Coutinho.
With a contract renewed four years ago, the gaucho responded by leading Brazil to win the 2019 Copa América and a record campaign in the Qualifiers. In the 2021 Copa América, he finished runner-up, with a defeat by Argentina in the final.
The solid performance accredited the selection as one of the favorites for the title in the World Cup and once again raised the appreciation of Brazilians for the coach. In July, 47% considered the work good or great, a considerable jump from the 37% who gave this answer in December 2019.
The failure in Qatar, however, made Tite leave the national team with his worst evaluation. The 38% who rated his acting poor or terrible is by far the highest number in the series. In 2019, the moment of greatest distrust, the dissatisfied were 16%.
The judgment is more severe among those who claim to have voted in the presidential election for Jair Bolsonaro (PL), for whom, he does not hide, the technician has no appreciation. Among those who pressed 22 in the ballot box, only 24% considered the commander’s performance good or excellent; 44% thought it was bad or terrible.
Among those who helped elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) approval is 32%, with 36% dissatisfied. The difference is notable even if you take into account the margins of error for each stratum – three percentage points for Lula voters, four percentage points for Bolsonaro voters.
In general, Datafolha’s result is a portrait of the view that the gaucho made bad choices in the World Cup. One of them was the call-up of right-back Daniel Alves, 39, who was called up for his good relationship with his teammates and was only on the field when the game was worthless.
Against Croatia, without his two injured left-backs, the coach decided to improvise right-back Danilo on the other side. That would open up space for Daniel, but the option was for another improvisation on the right, with Éder Militão.
Tite was also criticized for his insistence on striker Raphinha, who did not have a good Cup – and made one of the most unfortunate statements of the tournament, saying that he did not need to see Messi and Mbappé. Something similar to what he had done in 2018 with Gabriel Jesus.
The coach was also the target of censure for having left the field as soon as the penalty shootout with Croatia ended, without offering support to the athletes. He explained that he always leaves the pitch quickly, in victories and in defeats, but the attitude was not positive for his image.
Thus, after two good cycles, with excellent campaigns in the Qualifiers, followed by frustration and elimination in the quarterfinals of the World Cup, Tite leaves the selection with a bad evaluation. Something that, shortly after the crash in Al Rayyan, he claimed to understand.
“We share the joy, we share the sadness. Time can respond better”, he said. “I’m not in a position to evaluate all the work done. Over time, you will do that evaluation. I don’t have that ability now after an elimination.”
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