Opinion – Tostão: Abel Ferreira and the desire to be a hero

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The many titles won by Palmeiras, deservedly, under the command of the competent Abel Ferreira do not mitigate the criticism of the coach’s disrespectful and rude behavior towards referees and assistants during matches, in addition to kicking microphones. If he were a coach in Europe, he certainly wouldn’t act that way, not even if he was invited to coach the Brazilian national team.

Abel said, several times, that he doesn’t like this posture, but that he can’t contain his impulses and the desire to win. Is that all? Or is there also an unconscious desire to create a character, to become a hero, in addition to trying to encourage players to win? Every human being dreams of being a hero, at least at some point or even in small things. Some, even more daffodils, dream of being god.

Other coaches who work in Brazil, Brazilian or foreign, also tend, at times, to have an aggressive, choleric behavior on the side of the field, such as Pezzolano, from Cruzeiro, and Fernando Diniz, expelled in the defeat of Fluminense, by 1 to 0 , for Botafogo.

Flamengo and Palmeiras played a game. But the two teams, much more Flamengo, as is usual in Brazilian teams, leave a lot of space in defense for the opponent. The midfield advances and the defenders do not follow. If they didn’t, the Brazilian coaches should have watched Manchester City’s 1-0 victory over Arsenal to see how two teams advance and retreat in a block, which is common in the main European teams.

In addition, Flamengo, with the exception of Jorge Jesus’ season, does not press as efficiently to recover the ball in attack. There are also, in the current team, midfielders who return to score on the flanks. Gérson has skill, advances well, but does not fight or position himself defensively, as João Gomes did.

Palmeiras conceded three goals much more because of the quality of Flamengo’s attack than because of mistakes and shortcomings in the defense’s positioning. Normally, it is the Brazilian team that scores better. The good performances by Gabriel Menino and Raphael Veiga demonstrate that the board does not need to be in such a hurry when hiring. What you cannot do is think, because of a game, that Gabriel Menino is a great defensive midfielder and a definitive solution. It is not. It might be.

In the other classic, Corinthians scored two goals in the first half and retreated too much, which allowed pressure from São Paulo. Even so, he secured the 2-1 victory. In the two goals scored by Corinthians, the plays by Renato Augusto and Róger Guedes were beautiful, with Adson’s conclusions. Corinthians will have to hire good substitutes for Róger Guedes and Yuri Alberto, as they will have a long marathon ahead of them this year. Corinthians and Atlético are the two closest teams to Palmeiras and Flamengo.

São Paulo, I repeat, is an intense, aggressive team, but rushed and with little collective and individual repertoire in attack. There is an excess of crossed balls, with the hope that striker Calleri will score. Players and coach Rogério Ceni are very anxious to reach victory and become heroes.

Football does not need heroes or villains, although it is a common practice for the press to try to create these characters. Football needs knowledge, strategy, creativity, solidarity and individual talent.

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