So I re-watched the game and Paulinho did position himself intelligently and pressed the ball well. He did show up dangerously in the box a few times which is a good thing and probably what Tite is looking for. We will have to see how he keeps playing because to be honest, Ecuador looked pretty poor specially in the 2nd half. But if you were looking a this game to criticize Casemiro, I think you fell flat on your face because he had a really good game. He stole a lot of balls cleanly and his passing was mostly good keeping it simple. He had a couple of bad passes and near dispossessions but overall he was spot on. Then again most of his passes were simple and again, Ecuador were poor. So we will have to see. RA had more ups and downs but was solid as well. Marquinhos and Miranda were actually fantastic and so was Marcelo. D. Alves had a bad start but improved quite a bit.
Willian didn't have a bad game, he just wasn't utilized much during the game. I think it was a result of tactics and how the game developed. We know what he can do and I expect him to continue to play solid.
Casemiro is the player that has had the most offers this past year than any other player in the world, Chelsea, ManCity, ManU all putting in huge bids, and each time RM with a No. This match demonstrates why.
Don't buy into and repeat that non sense about coaches. Feola was an innovator and a hugely influential coach. Zagallo was not just a spectator in 1970. Brazil has a rich history of good coaches. That they are few and far between today doesn't mean they always were.
Zagallo good ? Zagallo was terrible. If Parreira had good players Zagallo had Gods. Parreira had a limited team in 94 and won the WC tactically, so he deserves credit as a capable coach. In 2006, with a superior roster, surprisingly he lost control of the team.
I didn't criticize Casemiro. I just believe what he does brings nothing to the table. There are too many great markers which could take his place. And yes Paulinho always does that. But throughout a game that doesn't show, unless he scores a goal when he goes up and we all notice he's in the game. He's been doing that for a long time, and he's REALLY good at it.
He was our worse doesn't mean he was horrible... Just he was our worse. The team played very well, and remember what I said about Paulinho during the WC? L.Gustavo and Oscar were getting easy interceptions and steals because Paulinho herds players so well.
Yes I mean D. Costa and William... they are not even CLOSE to Paulinho's tactical positioning and play. Come on man.. D. Costa can drop back and play LWB? CB? CM? DM? AM? FW? none of those 2 can. Paulinho covers all the roles.
Because they keep saying that D. Costa and William are intelligent footballers who are able to grasp tactical nuances... ignoring they wouldn't be able to fill those tactical roles. Which is why Paulinho is a more valuable player in the team. D.Costa, William and Coutinho can fight for a position in an attacking role. They are not fighting for Paulinho's position. So pretty much, catch you up to speed. Since during the WC I've said... sitting Paulinho due to pressure from fans is the worse thing the NT did. He wasn't having bad games, what he does on the field just doesn't show. It's not flashy, but it's REALLY effective. Maybe during the 2011 and 2012 I watched too many Corinthians games. Especially because Vasco was contending with them in 2011 and we played them in the Libertadores in 2012. and I HATED watching every time we pressed the ball went to his feet and puff.. pressure gone because he would simply touch back, reposition touch again, reposition touch again... while the Vasco players would give up the chase because of this little side touches. At the same time... every lose ball, every counter attack, every time Eder Luis was trying to take the wing on a counter.. there he was.. not challenging, not stealing the ball.. but simply staying in front of our fastest player, running down the pitch with him as the whole defensive side returned to their position... Herding him to the corner... Herding him into Ralf (who was Corinthians destroyer) who then would simply take the ball away as a player ran into him. People don't notice that, it is hard to notice... Tite does, which is why i'm glad he's in and Paulinho is back right away. That's what he's good at
Just because a winger can't do what a CM can doesn't make him not intelligent or tactically aware though, that's where the confusion is for me.
Well... he was replying to a post I made about the importance of having a tactical player like Paulinho in the game. Saying these other players are also tactical. I simply said.. yes.. but at the wrong position, they can't fill his role.
Right, just like when Paulinho left Corinthians, Ralf didn't still lead the league in stolen balls. Sorry, not everything is as a result of Paulinho.
May be paulinho has a strong invisible shield around him which prevents the player or the ball from advancing when they r near him, that explains paulinho not having to do anything except stand in front of opposition player.
Saying they can't fill his role is much different than saying they are tactically inept which is actually what you were saying. Willian is a player who provides midfield and wing play on offense and comes back to help the defense. He has been our best player on multiple occasions over the past couple of years. You can't say he tactically inept nor versatile.
But he can't fill many roles, that is part of being inept tactically. Look if you have a player that can fill 5 roles vs one that can fill 3 roles, which one gives you more tactical options? Why are those separate? more tactical options = more tactical player. especially if said player is really disciplined
Standing in front and allowing your defense to get back in position isn't important? I believe is better than committing to a tackle that if you get beaten you just allowed a goal scoring opportunity to happen. You don't need the best tackler to steal a ball, if you have numbers the chances are you'll be more successful defending and getting that interception or that stolen ball. Dude... RALF looked great with Paulinho around.
pretty sure it was Williams in 2013 and 2014. Ralf was not even on the top 20 in 2013 and 2014 even lower. Yes Ralf has not been the same player since Paulinho left. Slowly he lost the fans' confidence and his position.
Lucky us that we have the best kept secret in football and now we have the NT coach to unlock his potential. Now if we only can get him to bench Alves for Fagner....
Careca, zico, cafu, roberto carlos, pele, ronaldo are nothing. paulinho is god gift to brazilian soccer. Paulinho got us the confed cup, his attempt at wc was stopped by scolari, now he is all set to get us the wc under the visionary tite
wait a second, he's not a kept secret. Out National Team has always played really well with him on the pitch. And if I remember correctly has a great defense when he's there. He was removed much of the same way Marcelo and T. Silva were removed. Due to pressure from fans. It didn't have anything to do with on the pitch productivity. It was the World Cup.. what did people expect? a walk in the park? Just see what happened in the Olympics during our first two games. 2 parked defenses and we couldn't score... even though we produced more shots than any other team during the first 2 games (remember Brazil in the World Cup produced more shots than any other team in the World Cup too) Neymar's name being crossed from shirts, Dinamarca vs Nao Marca... we were ready to jump on them... They get the results and now we proclaim how good they were. They were good the first two games also, the ball just didn't go in. No I don't look at results and point at them to prove my points. Monday morning quaterbacking is the easiest thing to do. And it's intellectually lazy.... I prefer watching and paying attention to things that are good or bad and go with it. In sports the right decision might not produce the right result every time. If it did... we wouldn't have to play the games. Paulinho, T.Silva, Marcelo, Fred and D. Alves being removed were all bad decision. All of them should have been kept in the games and allowed to play the tournament. And after the tournament was over all of them should have been kept in order to slowly transition into the new up and coming talent. Do I like Gabriel Jesus? sure... but he's got tons to learn still, and he would have been very well served by having a player like Fred ahead of him, talking to him about positioning and striking.
You're right... our national team should be Allisson D. Alves Miranda Marquinhos Marcelo D. Costa Coutinho William Neymar Gabi Gol Gabi Jesus Cause that team would give us the most entertaining football since 1982!!! They would never get scored on because teams would be so afraid of attacking they would just put 5 CBs 4 DMs just to stop them! Also who cares if they did get scored on!? They would probably score 5 goals a game anyways!!!!