Might David Luiz get a shot at World Cup redemption in Russia next year?
After all, one of the themes of the Premier League season has been his redemption with Chelsea. There were sniggers, if not outright guffaws, when the club paid so much to bring him back from Paris Saint-Germain. But coach Antonio Conte clearly knew what he was doing. He built his team in a system which makes use of the many virtues of David Luiz, and which manages to hide his defensive defects.
Back in Brazil, the crowd have seen both sides. For a year he was a national hero – a very difficult status to attain for any Brazilian player who has not starred for a big local club. Roberto Firmino is feeling this at the moment. He too has constructed his career abroad, which leaves him without a constituency at home and therefore open to criticism. But David Luiz overcame this with a combination of talent, charisma and circumstances.
The 2013 Confederations Cup was played out to a backdrop of massive nationwide political protest. As millions took to the streets to vent their anger, spending on the 2014 World Cup soon became a target. The Brazil players might have been seen as villains. But, well brought up and intelligent, David Luiz made sure this did not happen. He was the first to talk about the political situation, and to explain that the players could understand the reasons for the unrest. It forged a bond between the team and the public – which grew stronger when Brazil won the trophy, beating Spain in the final.
Brazil were a goal up with half-time approaching in that game, but Spain were pressing hard. They soon looked to have their equaliser, as the ball went past the hosts’ goalkeeper and rolled towards the line. David Luiz, though, slid back and somehow managed to hook the ball over his own crossbar. It was a stunning clearance, and its importance was emphasised seconds later when Neymar added a second. Two goals up at the interval, Brazil were home and dry, and ended up 3-0 winners. By this stage the fact that David Luiz had no history with a local club was actually an advantage. It meant that he suffered rejection from no group of supporters. He belonged to everyone.
A year later, of course, all that emotion proved counter-productive. In the absence of the suspended Thiago Silva, David Luiz was both the captain and the senior centre-back in that fateful semi-final against Germany. But as the goals kept going into the Brazilian net, he appeared to want to do everything apart from his job. He was charging around the field as if his backside were on fire, hoping that passion and desperation would be enough to somehow save the day. This time, though, there were no miracles, only the astonishing humiliation of a 7-1 defeat.
Yet this was not the end of him in a Brazil shirt. In came coach Dunga with a discourse all about commitment to the cause. He stuck with David Luiz – until it almost ended in tears once more.
For all the disappointments of 1950 and 2014, Brazil have still never lost a World Cup qualifier on home soil. They came very close to losing that proud record in March of last year, when, two goals up after 25 minutes, they collapsed against Uruguay – or rather, David Luiz collapsed against Luis Suarez. For both Liverpool and Barcelona, the Uruguayan centre-forward has happy memories of matching up with David Luiz, and here he took him to the cleaners. Brazil were fortunate to come away with a 2-2 draw, and David Luiz was not so much dropped as hurled aside with force.
What are his chances of getting back into the national team setup? If things are now looking very different for the player, so they are too for Brazil. New coach Tite has worked wonders: he took over a team that was lying sixth in the South American table – outside the qualification places – and transformed them, winning eight consecutive games and making Brazil the first nation other than the hosts to book a place in Russia.
This, of course, is something of a problem for anyone left on the outside. The current crop of players is doing very well. Centre-back pairing Marquinhos and Miranda have conceded just two goals in eight matches – and Thiago Silva is on the bench. Brazil, then, are entitled to think that they have no need of David Luiz.
And there is another obstacle. His excellent season for Chelsea has come in a 3-4-3 formation – a system which by his own admission Tite knows little about and is highly unlikely to use. Can David Luiz really be trusted in a back four?
Perhaps, then, he should be gunning for Casemiro’s place as the holding midfielder. At present the reserve slot is held by Fernandinho – more defensively sound but without the creative flair and the long-range passing of David Luiz.
It might be worth a look. Tite has made it clear that he is anxious to avoid one of the errors of the 2014 campaign, when the starting line-up was established a year before the World Cup. He will Brazil’s use remaining games to explore different options and keep everyone on their toes – which leaves the door open for David Luiz to keep on pushing.
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