In football, we shouldn’t be so smug, as Nelson Rodrigues would say, thinking that everything that happens in a game is programmed, calculated, nor be fascinated by the relativity of things, by the unforeseen and by individual solutions.
Don’t label me a chronicler of chance. I am fascinated by the science and strategy of the game. I only see and value the other side, that of uncertainties.
The intense movement of players in modern football makes many analysts anxious, agitated, as if there was, at each moment of the match, a different strategy, programmed by the coaches. They dream of deciphering, discovering the strategic thoughts, as if that were the key to explaining all the technical and tactical details.
We are always in doubt. The poor performance of Corinthians, in the Libertadores debut, was it more because of the problems that the team already had or was it more because of the altitude? I don’t know. Some argue that the Brazilian team, weeks earlier, used the same strategy as Corinthians and all other Brazilian teams to arrive just before the game in La Paz. In the national team’s match, those who seemed unsuited to the altitude were the Bolivians.
In the 1960s, Cruzeiro won the Bolivian national team 2-0. The day before, I couldn’t sleep because of an intense headache, which I had never had before. I went downstairs, and the hotel porter, sympathetic to my pain, gave me a coca tea to drink. I took it, and the pain disappeared. If there was an anti-doping test, I would be caught, suspended, and the episode would be remembered to this day.
The doubts remain. Is it better to have a typical striker, striker, or a striker who moves around a lot, exchanges passes and makes it easy for teammates? It will depend on the circumstances and the talent of the player. Talent is not synonymous with skill, technique or creativity, as they insist on saying. It is the synthesis of all this plus the lucidity to make decisions and good physical and emotional conditions.
Benzema has enormous talent. In addition to being a top scorer, he gives passes to goals and enhances the dribbling and speed of Vinicius Junior. Benzema does not waste time, gestures or actions. Minimalist, he does what is essential, with great precision. In Brazil, without comparing talent, an extremely concise and efficient player is Raphael Veiga, from Palmeiras, for his accuracy in passing and finishing.
Why does VAR in Brazil take so long to decide and why do they score so many penalties because of balls that hit the defender’s arm? The Zé Regrinhas say that it is because of the unnatural movement, as if there were, in all body movements, a correct positioning of the arm. The Zé Regrinhas want to create a new sport, video games.
Atletico Madrid’s super-strike against Manchester City, with two lines of five players close to the area, was efficient because the team only lost 1-0 and, at home, the story could be different, or the team, besides a bad show, did you miss the chance to draw or win, since you have excellent players? We’ll know in the game back. Comments are ready.
The great difficulty in understanding and analyzing football well is that, as much as we value the performance of a team, we are dependent on the result. Another contradiction is the fact that the score often occurs by chance and by surprising details. It gets even more confusing and uncertain.
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