Behind the scenes: why doesn’t the fragility of the Dome Flamengo surprise those who follow everyday life? | Flamengo

Generally, the day after the games in the ge they receive an analysis of the team’s performance. But we are not analyzing a game that practically lasts just seven minutes, not to mention a job that remains inconsistent even three months after the Dome arrived in Brazil (on August 3). Atlético-MG’s 4-0 in Mineirão has slight impact on the Brazilian table and gigantic in the perspective of the future Flamengo.

Curiously, the reality is similar to the moments in which the team won, reaching 12 games unbeaten. Flamengo gives the impression of being that team that wins matches, but does not pass the security of winning championships. And the word security in this case goes beyond defensive problems. It refers to the upholstery of a champion team.

Very reflective of the lack of conviction with which the work of Dome and its technical committee in Ninho do Urubu is viewed. From the beginning, the complaints about the corridors are the same: lack of clarity and detail in the passage of information. This situation is aggravated if we take into account the radical nature of the game style change and, mainly, the characteristics of the predecessor.

Dome is one of those good people, who listens a lot to everyone and respects everyone’s duties. Very different from the core problem-solving profile of Jorge Jesús that Flamengo’s football department was used to.

For such a big change in the characteristics and implementation of popular positional football (that the team still lives off the efficiency cuts in the game) players must be absolutely sure that it will work. Not what happens.

The perception of most people is that Dome may even have the knowledge that allowed him to be Guardiola’s squire for so many years, but he has a hard time passing it in practice. There is a lack of detail of movements in game situations, in addition to the questioned mania of not climbing and training the starting team until the day of the games.

The most striking example occurred on the eve of the trip to Ecuador, when the players were surprised by the proposed strategy to face Independiente del Valle. Some leaders approached to indicate that it would not work, the coach replied that there would still be activity in Quito, and the team lost 5-0.

Even in difficult situations, passivity puts the team in more trouble than finding a way out. One of the most repeated reports is the interval of the 3-0 loss to Atlético-GO (which has already completed a round), when Dome was succinct in his instructions in the locker room after being beaten in the first half.

In Mineirão, the scene was repeated and the reports are of resignation and silence in the face of the defeat suffered by Atlético-MG. Marcos Braz and Bruno Spindel met for a long time with Dome and his colleagues in a private room, from where they left without much reaction and joined those who were already on the bus heading to the airport.

Some Dome locations have also eroded the relationship. At a certain point in a video exhibition in which he felt the cast dispersed, the Spaniard shot that “he saw games in 2019 and not every year they would be lucky champions” citing the final against River Plate. The athletes gulped dry.

Self-defense statements repeated in press conferences are also made internally, such as “the difficulty of a team to be champion for two consecutive years.” The repetition of the argument even made more experienced players argue with the prospect that it should be even more difficult for opponents to beat Flamengo after what was done in 2019..

Talking about a bad relationship is an exaggeration, even for the most frequent compliment to Spaniards: that they are all very polite and great people.. However, the discomfort with this type of posture and the repeated statements that the errors are individual and not the assembly of the team is a reality.

The same goes for small delays in daily life. If this squad got used to the rigidity of the Portuguese, the Spaniards are much more relaxed in relation to schedules and there are reports of showing up for field or video training after the athletes are present. There was never a penalty for delays.

The style even generated situations that were seen with good humor, but no less strange. This was the case of Dome’s speech addressed to the Copa do Brasil without knowing the absence of a classified goal, Jordi Guerrero’s doubts about the young people registered on the eve of the match against Del Valle for the Libertadores or the confusion that turned Pedro Rocha on a steering wheel.

The famous rotation is another controversial point. The positioning of the players is that they respect as long as the criteria are clear, and many times the rest due to “wear” does not coincide with the positioning of the medical department.. It happened with Arrascaeta against Botafogo, Gabigol and Gérson against Bahía, among other occasions.

The statement after the victory over Athletico-PR, discarding the jersey 9 against Galo, for example, generated expectations until the list of related players was released. Gabigol felt physically fit and also in the medical department, and the coach decided to change his mind.

They are 98 days of work that began to suffer externally with a suspicion that has been hanging in the Ninho do Urubu for a long time. However, now on the verge of error: with 18 rounds to go before the Brasileirão final, Flamengo will face four media of the week to decide life in the Copa do Brasil and the Libertadores.