Back To The Divine Rhythm

Brazil are the first nation to qualify for the next football World Cup in Russia in 2018. This would not strike as anything unusual had the world of football not witnessed the Selcao’s Belo Horizonte catastrophe close to three years ago. The mention still tugs painfully at a Brazilian football fan’s heartstrings: Brazil 1-7 Germany, that too on home territory.

“I was commentating on that game,” says writer and football expert Novy Kapadia. “At the time, most of us thought it would take them years to recover.” But look at them play now and it’s certain they are on road to recovery. It feels as if some of that rhythmic magic is on its way back. “They are more creative, and dominate games for longer periods. Their confidence has ­returned,” says Kapadia.

Brazil currently sit at top of the South American qualifying table after playing fourteen games for Russia 2018. The continent is probably the most hotly contested. Messi’s Argentina are fifth and Chile, boasting the likes of Alexis Sanchez and Arturo Vidal, are a spot above them. Golden boy James Rodriguez’s Colombia are second with Luis Suarez’s Uruguay chasing them.

Brazil, on the other hand, have sailed through, on the back of newly-appointed coach Tite. “My greatest joy is sharing joy,” he told Espn Brazil, after leading them to seven wins on the bounce and earning the trip to Russia, just over a year away. Tite’s appointment broke a needless tradition, “Brazil broke out from the ‘fixed’ coaches, the likes of Scolari and Dunga (Tite’s predecessor),” notes Kapadia adding that the team was playing with “greater freedom” under him.  

The new-found confidence and joy under Tite is almost essential for the team, which is trying to recover from a burden of responsibility for a national tragedy since that fateful night in 2014. Luiz Felipe Scolari, the Brazilian coach at the time, called it the worst moment of his life. The media since referred to the defeat as the Mineirazo, rekindling Brazilian nightmares of the Maracan­azo, another national tragedy in 1950 when Brazil lost the World Cup final 1-2 at home to Uruguay. Some fans had reportedly committed suicide after the match. And 54 years later, President Dilma Rousseff tweeted at how she was “deeply saddened by our loss”. German maverick Mesut Ozil later revealed that he even apologised to captain David Luiz after the game.

It is as if after that match at the Belo Horizonte, the team was forced into introspection. And a couple of years later, the tide did turn. A team led by Neymar won their first Olympic gold medal at home in August, 2016 beating who-else-but Germany and that too at their own game—a penalty-shootout. There was a lot of rejoicing in Brazil that day; they had been deprived for too long.

Just prior to the win, Adenor Leonardo Bacchi, aka Tite, was appointed coach of the national side in June 2016 after a successful stint at club-side Corinthians. Earlier teams under Dunga and Scolari were criticised for being too shackled. “Unlike Scolari, who wanted to play Neymar like Messi and make every move go through him, Tite’s given him an attacking role,” explains Kapadia.

Former international player and title-winning manager Subhash Bhowmick also puts it down to Tite ‘using’ his players well, “match by match” in the recent qualifying games. Bhowmick points to how teammate Paulinwho sat back for Real Madrid-man Casemiro, helping him out against Argentina, but motored forward against Uruguay. “Tite didn’t allow him to bypass the mid-field against Messi and co.” he says.

Bhowmick also highlights the fact that players like Coutinho and Firmino, both playing under Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool, are being played in the same roles they play for their clubs. He says that “for a while, they forgot the Brazilian-style, the high-press”, used by forwards to harry opposition defenders in possession early. This was made famous-again by Klopp.

Kapadia believes Scolari had used “utilitarian” players like Hulk and Fred (who called it quits after the Germany game) in 2014, who would curb the flair within the side, something that Tite has “broken away from.” He also mentions how coaches of the national side used to cock-a-snook at players representing club sides outside the continent, earlier. For instance, Ronaldinho, who blurred the lines between sport and art, was frightening French clubs while playing for Paris Saint Germain early on in his early career, but did not get much of the Scolari-love. Under Tite, however, players like Coutinho (Liverpool, England), Douglas Costa (Bayern Munich, Germany), Casemiro and Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City, England) have thrived.

Then there’s Neymar, who was being hailed as the wonderkid of 2014. He literally broke his back bef­ore Brazil broke theirs in the 2014 World Cup. But the 25-year-old has come of age now and is awaiting his peak.  He has also made that generational leap into brea­king the Messi-Ronaldo dominance in the sport. At his best, he doesn’t run, he skims across the turf, more graceful than the Portugal man and more effortless than the ­Argentinian.

Since their cup-winning turnaround at the Olympics, the Brazilians have been drawing more from their ginga tradition, producing wave-after-wave of attacks like the sides of yore. Bhowmick says they are definitely more attacking now, and that players like Neymar are taking more responsibility aided by an able supporting cast.

“It’s just good to see them back,” says former India captain Bhaichung Bhutia, who is also cautious about the way ahead. “For Tite, picking a side from a pool of very talented players can also be a problem,” he adds. Talking of 2014, he says that tournament-football is a different ball-game, and that one bad game “can knock you out. That is football.”

Kapadia reckons that the side will still be among the favourites for their turn in 2018. Bhowmick says he hopes the side does not “peak too early” and lose steam when it really matters.

Brazil has a name for the dream that will be a sixth World Cup crown. They’re calling it the Hexa. And even though that may be a dream too far, the current Brazilian bunch does appear to have enough in them to make you look, wonder, and break into a smile.