Initially a desperate struggle, Brazil’s World Cup qualification campaign turned into a gentle stroll as soon as Tite replaced Dunga as coach.
Thereafter, the numbers speak for themselves. In the last 12 rounds of qualifiers, Brazil strung together 10 wins and two draws, scoring 30 goals and conceding just three. On the face of it, this is a team fully prepared to be among the favourites for next year’s World Cup – and with a swagger and style that could remind us of why we all fell in love with Brazil in the first place.
But coaches are paid to worry. And the causes for concern in the mind of Tite may well have grown bigger as a consequence of last week’s Champions League clash at Wembley, where Tottenham beat Real Madrid 3-1.
From a Brazil point of view, the game has two points of relevance. The first is that Tottenham broke the deadlock, and continually gained advantage, in the space down the Madrid left flank – the space behind Brazil’s first choice left-back Marcelo.
Named recently in the FIFA team of the year, Marcelo is a magnificent attacking full-back who has played the best international football of his career since Tite took over. But he has never been the greatest defender. And, of course, he is unable to be in two places at once. If he is bombing forward, the team needs to think about the vulnerable space he leaves behind him.
The same considerations apply – perhaps even more so – in the case of Brazil’s right back, Daniel Alves. He too was named in FIFA’s team of the year. But that is much more for his eye catching raids up the flank and his wonderfully delivery into the box than for his defensive diligence. Again, the space behind him needs to be protected.
The man who balances out the Brazil side – and who has also balanced out Real Madrid – is holding midfielder Casemiro. An Under-20 World Cup winner in 2011, he took his time om establishing himself at senior level. But he has enjoyed a wonderful last 18 months, turning himself into a vital player for club and country.
Last Wednesday against Tottenham, however, he was horribly exposed. The speed of the Spurs attacks made Casemiro look as if he was treading through treacle. He was unable to perform the function of protecting the defensive line.
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The problem for Tite is as follows: his team have shown remarkable form – but against South American opposition. And the current crop of South American teams are not the strongest. Uruguay, who finished second, had an up-and-down campaign. Argentina and Colombia, who claimed the other automatic slots, never looked convincing and have a lot of work to do in the run-up to Russia.
The best sides in the World Cup - the ones who pose the biggest threat to Brazil - are the Western Europeans, who have provided five of the last six World Cup finalists. And the best Western European teams retain midfield possession much better than the current South Americans.
They will seek to control the ball, keep probing – and strike in the space behind Brazil’s attacking full-backs. This is a type of challenge Brazil rarely faced in qualification, but will surely have to cope with in Russia – and the Tottenham-Real Madrid match showed just how dangerous it could be.
All of that success in qualification, though, has not blinded Tite to the potential weaknesses of his team. When he called up his squad for the upcoming friendlies against Japan and England, he made an interesting comment.
So far his side have always operated in a 4-1-4-1 formation. Casemiro operates in front of the back four, and behind a line that features Phillipe Coutinho (or Willian), Paulinho, Renato Augusto and Neymar. Fernandinho of Manchester City has been Casmiro’s reserve, and has only got a game when the Real Madrid man has been injured or suspended.
Tite, though, opened the possibility of playing Fernandinho alongside Casemiro, effectively changing to a 4-2-3-1. This would give him more solidity, and enable a better protection of the space behind the full-backs.
Of course, it would also entail the omission of one of the more attacking midfielders who has served his side so well – not an easy decision for the coach to take. But as Brazil set their sights on winning a sixth World Cup, it is an experiment they probably need to try out – as Tottenham made clear at Wembley last Wednesday.
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