“We are the winningest team on the planet”

Coach Dorival Junior He took over as the new technical director of the Brazilian soccer team, after leaving his position at the club. Saint Paul, and assured that the team “has the obligation to win again.” Dorival signed a contract last night until December 2026 and will lead the team in the cycle until the next World Cup in the United States – Mexico – Canada, debuting in the second half of March with two friendly, in London against England and in Madrid in front of Spain.

“Today I am here representing to the most winning team on the planet, the one that inspires many around the world. And he has the obligation to win again. Brazilian football is very strong, it reinvents itself. We cannot go through the moment we are going through. Let it serve as a lesson so that we can find a new path,” said Dorival, 61, before the press, with a speech that seemed like a harangue.

Brazil will play again in the qualifying round in September, against Ecuadorlocally, and then he will visit Paraguayin two games that he must win to improve his place in the standings.

The five-time champion team is in sixth position, with seven points, eight less than the leader Argentina and must also prepare for the America Cup from the United States between June and next July., in the United States.

“We need to offer a reliable selection that gives us all credibility. I call on all the professionals who are part of football, who are involved with football. Football needs each one of you,” said the former coach of Figueirense, Fortaleza, Criciúma, Juventude, Sport, Avaí, São Caetano, Cruzeiro, Coritiba, Vasco, Santos, Atlético Mineiro, Internacional, Flamengo, Fluminense, Palmeiras, San Pablo, Athletico Paranaense and Ceará

Regarding his departure from San Pablo, Dorival justified himself clearly: “I had a contract in San Pablo, but I did not leave it, I did not change it, I came to the national team because this was not an invitation, this was a call. No professional in his sane mind would fail to respond to this call.”

“Brazil has to learn to play without Neymar because now he is injured. But we have one of the three best players in the world and then we will count on him,” said Dorival about Neymar Jr., a footballer who after moving his talent to the Saudi league Saudi suffered a serious injury to his knee that will keep him off the field for several months (it is already known that he will not play in the Copa América).

Dorival and the Arab Al Hilal star had a strong confrontation during a match in 2010, when both were part of Santos. “I don’t have any problem with him,” the coach now says.

And then he recalled the conflict: “The proportion that that situation took was disproportionate. After that game we were already talking. The board made a decision and I respected it. But every time we met it was a positive situation. Football is very dynamic. “Heaven and hell are only a foot away.”

The reason for the fight between the two was because Santos had a penalty and Dorival designated another player above Neymar to kick it. The video of the former PSG insulting the coach was saved in the memory of the entire Brazilian football environment. The coach’s decision at that time was to remove him from the squad for two games.

“I never had a problem of indiscipline in my teams, with Neymar there have been several. I am doing everything I can to help him,” said a Dorival who was making his first experiences in football at that time. Shortly after, the coach had to leave his position due to differences with the decisions that the leadership had made in the dispute.

Dorival won in his coaching career 1 Libertadores (2022), 3 Copas do Brasil (2010, 2022 and 2023), 1 Recopa Sul-Americana (2011), 2 Paulistas (2010 and 2016), 2 Paranaenses (2008 and 2020), 1 Gaúcho (2012), 1 Pernambucano (2006), 1 Catarinense (2004) and 1 Brazilian Serie B (2009).