A year before the 2014 World Cup, hosts Brazil won the Confederations Cup and felt they were on the right lines in terms of preparation. A few months later, almost bubbling over with confidence, coach Luiz Felipe Scolari declared that "we've done the hard point. We've found our team."
When the squad assembled at the end of May 2014, Scolari's vastly experienced coordinator Carlos Alberto Parreira, himself a World Cup-winning coach, said that the team "already had one hand on the trophy." The story of the weeks that followed is that of Brazil's confidence evaporating when brought into contact with cold, hard reality.
Current coach Tite is determined not to make the same mistake. There is no Confederations Cup this year. His equivalent came at the end of March, when his team beat Paraguay 3-0 to claim their eighth consecutive win in qualification and seal a place in Russia with four rounds to spare. But while Brazil could not possibly have done more and Tite could be happy, he was not satisfied. There was no way he would solidify his starting line up with a year to go.
In truth, Tite was not thrilled by the fact that his team has to travel all the way to Australia for friendlies against Argentina, in Melbourne on Friday, and then their hosts four days later. But he has turned it into a positive.
Almost all of the usual starters have been left out, including Neymar and the entire defensive unit. Just four regular first-teamers are in the squad: The China-based midfield pair of Paulinho and Renato Augusto, as well as Gabriel Jesus, who needs game time after his injury layoff and -- intriguingly -- Phillippe Coutinho.
The inclusion of the Liverpool star is either an olive branch to the Australian public, or it may mean that Tite plans to experiment with him in a different role, such as a deeper position in central midfield. The evidence of training sessions and two games will confirm one way or the other.
Joining this quartet are several fine players -- especially at the back -- who will be given a chance to push their claims.
Goalkeepers Ederson, a soon-to-be big-money Manchester City signing, and Diego Alves of Valencia; right-back Rafinha of Bayern Munich and left-back Alex Sandro of Juventus; David Luiz at centre-back or defensive midfield, fresh from a splendid season with Chelsea; and Jemerson, who has looked promising for Monaco.
The idea is to promote healthy competition for places. As Tite stressed when announcing the squad, the watchword is "opportunity."
This is dummy text. It is not meant to be read. Accordingly, it is difficult to figure out when to end it. But then, this is dummy text. It is not meant to be read. Period.
ConversionConversion EmoticonEmoticon