Opinion – PVC: Abel Ferreira’s book does not present reinvention of the wheel, but it is homework

Abel Ferreira’s book, “Cabeça Fria, Coração Quente”, does not introduce Brazilian football to the reinvention of the wheel. It is not a revolution, nor does it claim to be. It’s homework.

The work written by assistant coach Tiago Costa, signed by Abel Ferreira and the entire Palmeiras commission, has the courage to expose studies, lessons learned and corrections during 16 months of work.

Whether someone is going to copy or discover secrets doesn’t matter. The idea is to allow more people to understand working mechanisms and the dynamics of the game.

“We realized that there are virtually no works of this type in Brazil,” writes Tiago. It’s just not the absolute truth, because Vanderlei Luxemburgo released “É Campeão!” on Cruzeiro’s 2003 triple crown, and “Profissão Campeão”, on Santos’ 2004 Brazilian.

But Abel is right to see the lack. Zagallo should have a book on his third world championship, from 1970, Parreira on the tetra, Felipão on the penta. We treat Tim and Ênio Andrade as strategists and there is not even one written about their methods.

Abel doesn’t get involved with being a teacher and exposes his weaknesses. Upon arriving at Palmeiras, he heard that he should forget about everything he learned at university. “The competitive density of Brazilian football defies all laws of performance,” he writes.

He explains, in chapter 15, the discovery that he needed to do complementary video training, for injured people who spent days without training and had a chance to play the next day.

Most Brazilian coaches have been doing this for a long time. It’s nothing new and Abel doesn’t say it is. It does not treat the matter as something that he implemented, but that he had to incorporate into his routine.

Football culture has always been spread by word of mouth in Brazil. Those who were lucky enough to live with Telê Santana learned from him. Who hasn’t, just heard about it. In Europe, it’s easier to read about what works and what goes wrong. From Johan Cruyff to Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho.

Abel explains tactical issues. Why he prefers the construction with three men, from the defense. “It’s like making love,” he writes. The metaphor is not good, but it tries to show that it increases quality, reduces risks, it can be performed with the right side, or a midfielder, or a left side, and the plan can change within the same game.

He shows that he is not afraid of having secrets revealed, just as he realized that River Plate would change the tactical system for the second semifinal of the 2020 Libertadores, for having read “El Pizarrón de Gallardo“, about Marcelo Gallardo’s work.

“We didn’t read to get to know River, which we had already analyzed through videos. Reading allowed us to get to know Gallardo’s ideas”, he says. “We coaches are creators and idea stealers. Whether it’s drills, dynamics or set pieces. The best way to continue to evolve is to create our own knowledge and, whenever possible, steal ideas from other coaches.”

It is possible to copy some things from the current two-time Libertadores champion Palmeiras, others from Jorge Jesus’ Flamengo or Guardiola’s City. Stealing the idea of ​​registering winning works in books can be very useful to form good technicians in the future.

the derby

Vitor Pereira was satisfied with the victory of Corinthians over Ponte Preta and it was not for the rout. He saw a bold, aggressive team, always trying to steal the ball in attack. He promised to try to do the same against Palmeiras, on Thursday (17). Derby has everything to be good.

Neymar

Neymar was booed in PSG’s victory over Bordeaux. Messi was too. The only one acquitted of elimination from the Champions League was Mbappé, and the early end of the season imposes a challenge on Neymar: training. Your preparation for the World Cup has to start now.