Brazil’s full-back crisis and how England can solve it

Bukayo Saka has withdrawn from England’s squad for the game against Brazil, meaning there will be no chance for Saka to face Wendell in the second round at Wembley on Saturday. The right-winger and left-back were on opposite sides last week when Arsenal beat Porto to reach the Champions League quarter-finals.

For Wendell, returning to London brings back bittersweet memories. Although he missed the penalty shootout against Arsenal, he handled Saka reasonably well thanks to a lot of help from his team-mates – starting against England and favorite to win his first international cap at the age of 30. I’m sure he’ll be considered a candidate.

– Stream on ESPN+: La Liga, Bundesliga and more (US)

The other left-back in Dorival Junior’s first Brazil team is Flamengo’s Ayrton Lucas, but he last wore a Brazil shirt a year ago in the defeat against Senegal. This is because they were unable to conquer Ismaila Saar at all. Something similar recently happened to right-back Jan Couto. He had a great season at Girona, but like Lucas, he was much better forward than defensive, and after the Real Madrid game, he was taken to the cleaners by Vinicius Junior, and although he suffered I had to help him off the pitch.

The team’s other right-back is the veteran Danilo, who played for a number of big clubs but was originally a midfielder and is a player who now considers himself part of Juventus’ back three. For a country known for its great full-back tradition, this isn’t a particularly impressive collection. In fact, as local TV presenter Marcelo Barreto highlights, we seem to be witnessing the death of a great Brazilian full-back.

The rise and fall of this position highlights one of the truths of football as a team game. The neck bone is connected to the ankle bone. If parts of the team or other departments are disrupted, the effects will be felt.

In Brazil’s case, much of their story revolves around the trauma of losing on home soil to Uruguay in the 1950 World Cup. A more sober reaction pointed to the lack of defensive cover as the main flaw, so in the following years additional players were inserted into the heart of the defence–still referred to by old-timers as the “fourth”. ). When Brazil pioneered the back four at the 1958 World Cup, he did not concede a single goal until they reached the semi-finals. Problem resolved.

They now had defensive cover and playing two centre-backs also had the effect of pushing the full-backs wider. They realized there was a hallway to go through. In a game against Austria in that tournament, left-back Nilton Santos charged up the field and scored a goal, an extremely rare occurrence for a player in his position at the time. By placing Djalma Santos on the right flank, Santos has established the model for a new breed of versatile Brazilian full-back who is also an attacking threat. No one will ever forget the final goal of the 1970 World Cup final. Captain Carlos Alberto burst on from right-back and capped off a great move with a stunning shot.

Four years later, Marinho Chagas made headlines with his move from left-back. In 1978, right-back Nerinho scored a goal against Italy that made him one of the greatest curlers of all time. In 1982, Leandro and Junior were a sophisticated full-back pair. In 1986, Josimar exploded out of nowhere and scored two ridiculously good goals. Jorginho on the right then delivered an accurate cross and Blanco appeared on the opposite flank with a howitzer left boot. As soccer spread around the world, everyone was in awe of the combination of Cafu and Roberto Carlos, who was eventually succeeded by Maicon and Dani Alves on the right wing and Marcelo on the left.

The 1994 World Cup victory is an important date in this process. Established the 4-4-2 model, which was then almost universally adopted in Brazil. The midfield quartet was split into two primarily attacking players and two primarily defending players, with the full-backs playing in very tight areas and expected to use lung-busting stamina to get up and down the flanks. He remained as the king of the side. One of his variations used in the 2002 World Cup, where the defensive midfielder covers the burst forward, he uses the three to give the full-backs complete freedom to burst forward. He was to play as a centre-back.

play

Pereira: “Brazil have won more championships than England these days”

Andreas Pereira refutes claims that Brazil are in a period of transition, raising the fact that Brazil have won international tournaments more recently than England.

For a while, this model was successful. But in the end, it almost degenerated into self-caricature, especially in the division of labor in the midfield zone. The failure of his highly touted 2006 team was an important sign. Kaka and Ronaldinho are final third players rather than true midfielders, and converted centre-back Gilberto Silva passes the ball forward with enough speed and precision to bring fluency to his team’s play. I couldn’t do it. It’s time to reconsider.

The big change after that was the return of the winger. Brazil is currently a country that produces many attackers who can play in wide spaces, and the number of these players exceeds the number that the national team can ever use. Gabriel Martinelli left the current squad, but Vinicius Junior, Raphinha, Girona’s Savio and Porto’s relative unknown Galeno were still called up late. There are many other players knocking on the door. Anthony, David Neres, Pepe and Paulinho have also recently entered the fray.

The return of the winger has, of course, had a huge impact on the role of the full-back. His role has become more complex and his appearances outside or cutting in in the attacking third are now a surprise element. Tic, the Brazilian manager at the last two World Cups, has achieved an enviable level of defensive solidity by clearly adopting the model of a Manchester City full-back rather than a Liverpool full-back. In other words, rather than the auxiliary winger style of Andy Robertson or Andy Robertson, in the case of Trent Alexander-Arnold he pushes into the midfield to create an extra player and ensure his team is protected from opposition counter-attacks. They wanted a player who could help.

Of course, this requires the new full-back to be an all-round footballer who can judge the moment and its needs, essentially a midfielder who can defend in wide spaces. This requires considerable maturation and the fact that the young full-backs in Dorival Junior’s team are still inherently attacking presences, as the switch in emphasis has not yet penetrated Brazil’s youth ranks. There is.

So if Brazil play as both a winger and an attacking full-back in Wembley’s games against England and Spain next week, it seems inevitable that they will have to pack some lung capacity into the midfield to balance the wings. . With Casemiro, who has solid football sense, out due to injury, Andre (Fluminense) and the Premier League trio of Joao Gomez, Douglas Ruiz and Bruno Guimarães are likely to start.Space may also be found for the recalled Lucas Paqueta.

The team’s defensive record during the short-lived reign of former coach Fernando Diniz was very poor. After six rounds of World Cup qualifying, only the bottom two teams (out of 10) had conceded more goals. After three straight defeats, Brazil will look to boost morale with solid displays against England and Spain, but it will be interesting to see what the full-back can contribute to the cause. .