Are the socks missing? The absence of Coutinho rekindles the debate on position and function in the National Team | Brazilian team

More than accommodating Everton Ribeiro, who only has 191 minutes on the pitch with hopscotch -45 with Tite-, the absence of the already disputed Coutinho helped reignite the debate on Brazilian socks. After all, are athletes missing for the job?

Sign of the times, harvest or result of modification of tactical systems that favor other types of players?

See also:
+ After the exam, Neymar is cut

For the place of the Barcelona player, Tite summoned Lucas Paquetá, a decision contested by fans on social networks and also part of the criticism. The 23-year-old did not shine in Milan, Italy, and is still looking to assert himself early in his career in Lyon, France.

During four years at the helm of the national team, Tite has already called up 16 players to the position. Some are more used to playing a little further back and not so classic “10 shirts”, like Renato Augusto and Fred, who were at the World Cup in Russia. Others like Willian and the same Coutinho, for a long time they worked in the field. The list also has several names that failed to establish, such as Lucas Lima, Talisca, Giuliano, Felipe Anderson, Diego…

Even the new generations have difficulty positioning themselves. André Jardine summoned Marcos Bahia, Reinier and Pedrinho for the friendlies in Egypt on this FIFA date. Bahia and Pedrinho have more characteristics of touch, creative, while the former red and black has characteristics of almost a second striker.

Central spaces squeezed systems

The stereotype of the jersey 10, like Zico, Alex, Djalminha, that is, that most cerebral player, was left behind. In recent soccer, the Brazilian squad calls were separated between midfielders – four players – and midfielders – four too. Usually two on the right, two on the left.

The last call for Tite, for example, had four players in first and second midfielders and two midfielders: Coutinho and Everton Ribeiro, first, then with Paquetá in the place of the Barcelona player. The two that are missing are mixed with the names of the attacks, with two on each side for the extremes and two forwards.

There is a natural modification of the system that pushes players with these characteristics to the side of the field or to retreat to have a view of the game from the front. What is accentuated with compact teams and matches played in 30 meters, 40 meters. In other words, the shorter field reduced the space for center players, who need more movement.

– We often saw match analysis that showed the team photo. And they put the position of each athlete. Today it is practically impossible to do this. We have done video analysis and you turn on the light and accompany that athlete to understand the movements. Today the athlete moves all the time. It never stops. Today we talk more about position, function – explains Bruno Baquete, former Atlético, now a performance analyst for Tite’s Brazilian team.

Globo commentators disagree on an alleged lack of athletes for the position. The discussion also goes through the tactical changes that soccer has undergone in recent years and even the way in which young players are trained in the country. Check out their opinion below:

This is an endless discussion: the question of the sock, the guy who thinks, who plays inside, as an organizer.

In my opinion, with the changes that happened in football, first by the size of the fields, with shorter footage and then with game model change, the compacted equipment, lowering the blocks, the lines very close, everything made this 10 not end, but moved to another function.

Usually, when that 10 is faster, faster, with richer skill, it drifts to the edge. Sometimes, not even to give depth, but to play open, where it is possible to find space. If it is a player with a changed leg, drive to the center and open a side hall.

If it is a more classic midfielder, with less speed, but with more ability to see the game, it is usually transferred to the second midfielder., to play behind those lines and look for a better pass, between the lines, in the displacement of a half or a “9” that leaves the area to receive between the lines. This guy is the one behind the game.

The 10-year-old midfielder, playing between the lines is a bit more complicated, as it is a congested place. Roles have changed a lot in football. With regard to these players, this is the scenario, Everton Ribeiro, Paquetá, who is not having a good time. Paquetá is even more offensive midfielder than the half. Everton Ribeiro has more of the characteristic of this midfielder. Coutinho is a bit. William, who now plays a lot on the edge, started out as a midfielder. The scenario for now is this, but obviously they move to other functions due to the change in football

When we speak specifically of Brazilian soccer, we still have the deep-seated “entity” 10 t-shirt. This high-quality midfielder who decides games with a touch and does not participate in the defensive part.

The key point for me is that, under the command of Tite, the National Team becomes a team that demands more from this third midfielder, in this most commonly used 4-1-4-1 design. At the 4-4-2 frame, we spent years producing exceptional shuttlecocks without the ball and exceptional socks with it. But incomplete as midfielders. And I think that is what still impacts in this role, in training and in the national team.

We were eliminated from the Cup with Coutinho making a fragile inner sock against Belgium, with the absence of Renato Augusto.

OR Package It has important characteristics, but the irregularity in the period in Italy weighed against it. We will see it now in France.

To imagine a medium with Casemiro / Fabinho as 1st, matching the characteristics of the two inner socks of 4-1-4-1 is very important. In theory, one more ball circulator, one more infiltrator.

We would have Douglas Luiz, Fred, Marcos Bahia, Arthur, as this second midfielder. And Bruno Guimarães, Gérson, perhaps Allan (due to imposition and physical strength, rather than offensive play).

Oscar at the highest level would be an option, but that has not been the reality for some time. I don’t think that this role can be played by players who don’t offer that dynamic and intensity with and without the ball. Speed ​​in actions, imposing in duels … these are characteristics that cannot be found in most Brazilian socks. I see Talisca and Reinier, for example, much more as second attackers than as socks. And, as you said, Coutinho and Willian much more like wingers.

The lack of midfielders with greater influence in the offensive game it’s a problem in Brazilian soccer, still dominated by a generation of retrogradely trained players, with separation of the roles of the scoring wheel and the creative midfielder.

Younger people tend to be more versatile, multiple, but still act far from the opposite goal, as Arthur, Bruno Guimarães and Douglas Luiz.

The creative player’s movements have changed, he needs more speed to generate spaces. The best are in the national team, they are Coutinho and Everton RibeiroBut it will be important if Tite is not dependent on that position / role for his team to bear fruit.

I don’t think there is a shortage.

Take the number of Brazilian players in the Champions League and you will see a lot of midfielders. There were 51 French playing in the Champions League in the last round. 42 Brazilians, 31 Spanish, 25 German and English, 24 Dutch. There were more Brazilians than almost all nationalities.

You will say, “Ah, there is no highlight.” Take care of who stands out in Liverpool and Manchester City, which today is the great game of the world. Barcelona and Real Madrid are wonderful, but their strength is a little less. Even so, at Real Madrid the star is Benzema. Barcelona have Messi and a series of promises, such as Pedri and Ansu Fati.

The dilemma is to transform great players, who are not Cristianos Ronaldos and Messis, into great teams, as is the case with Liverpool, which has a midfield with Henderson and Wijnaldum. Or City, which has Rodri, Gundogan and De Bruyne. De Bruyne is the world’s great midfielder.