World Soccer - UK (2022-01)

AsearlyasspringPalmeirassupporters

demandedAbelFerreira’sdismissal,

criticisinghisteam’sdourstyleof play,

butthe clubhierarchystoodbyhim.

Hisshamelessly conservativestylesuits

thesquadathisdisposal:defensive

organisationformsthecornerstoneof

hishomogeneouscounter-attacking

collective.But thatapproachdidn’t

bringsilverwarein 2021 – Palmeiras

failedtowintheSupercopa,the

Brazilian Cup, theSouth American

SuperCup,theleague,the Sao

Paulostate championshipand,

aboveall,theClubWorldCup.

AtFlamengo,RenatoGauchowas

alsotormented.Like hispredecessors

DomenecTorrent– a formerassistant

ofPep Guardiola– andRogerioCeni,

hefailedtoemulatethesuccessand

swashbucklingfootball thatrockstar

coachJorgeJesus hadintroducedwith

a high-pressingmoderngame.Jesus’

reignbecamea long,unprecedented

andintensevictoryparade.Inawe,

theMaracanaserenadedhim

“Mister,Mister”.

Mister’sbigmeritwasthathe

understoodhow to playGabriel

Barbosa(aka“Gabigol”),Bruno

Henrique,GiorgiandeArrascaeta

andEverton Ribeiro.Theattacking

quartetsimplysweptpastopponents,

combiningindividualqualities,perfect

communicationandinterchange.Butin

2021 thatfront-linemagic faded,even

ifFlamengoreinforcedthesquadwith

DavidLuiz,AndreasPereira (onloan

fromManchester United)andKennedy,

after thedeparturesofRafinha,Pablo

Mari(essentialtoa high defensiveline),

andGerson. Flamengo– capableof

boththesublimeandtheridiculous

• were no longerwinning,butsimply
  slumpingfromfailure to failure.
  Ina season-definingblockbuster,
  Montevideo,then,offeredachanceat
  redemption,anopportunitytoprovethe
  criticswrong.Flamengohadnavigated
  thesemi-finalwitha4-0aggregate
  winagainstEcuador’sBarcelonawhile
  Palmeiraseliminatedboth Atletico
  Mineiro andSaoPaulointheknockout
  phase.Inanexerciseofpre-emptive
  damagecontrol,RenatoGauchosaid:

“Themost importantthingisthat

Flamengogot here on merit.Palmeiras

alsogothereonmerit.InBrazil,only

thewinnerisrespected.InEurope,

that’sdifferent.Theyvaluethose

whodon’tliftthetrophy.”

HeaddedthatFlamengohada

PlanA,B andC.Ferreiradid;Renato

Gaucho,contrarytohisclaims,did

not.ThePortugueseoutthought

andoutmanoeuvredhis Brazilian

counterpart.“Infootball,it’smuch

easiertodestroythantoconstruct,”

saidRenatoGauchoafter thefinal.

“Whenyou play a teamlikePalmeiras

thatsitsback,it gets harder.”

ButPalmeiras’attitudeandaptitude

shouldnothavesurprisedanyone.

Ferreira fieldeda back-fivedefence,

withGustavoScarpa,anattacking

midfielder, droppingbackto

defend,similar

toChelsea’s

tacticsagainst

Manchester Cityinthe Champions

Leaguefinal.Inthesemi-finals, a

five-manrear-guard hadheldoff

AtleticoMineiroandthe successful

formulaagainworkedwondersagainst

Flamengo.Inthefifthminute,Mayke

exploredspaceinbehindFilipeLuis

andteedupRaphaelVeiga,1-0.

Palmeirasdroppeddeep.They

couldnow play theacademicfootball

Ferreira professes:defendandlurkon

thecounter, allthewhiledominating

anddenyingspace. Theiropponents,

rattled,hadnoreply. Flamengohadthe

playerstodecidethe finalina flashof

aneye,tocarry thematchbeyondthe

mundane,buttoo many protagonists

weresecondbesttoPalmeiras’fit

andhard-workingXI.

Flamengowereapathetic.Did

theytire?Theyhadlittle excuseto.

eyewitness

24 WRLDSCCER

“Infootball,it’smucheasiertodestroythanto

construct.WhenyouplayateamlikePalmeiras

thatsitsback,itgetsharder”

FlamengocoachRenatoGaucho

Contrast...Gabriel

Barbosaand

Palmeirascaptain

GustavoGomez