With Dorival Júnior on the tightrope and Vinicius as the maximum target, the worst Brazil in history tries to re-emerge with an old recipe from Lionel Scaloni

The Brazilian media does not go around too far and assures that the current soccer team It’s the worst in history. The fall before Paraguay in Assumption It was hard, ignominious and to the rhythm of the “ole” that came down from the stands. The team he leads Dorival Junior lost 4 of the last 5 games they played and that is why they are in fifth place in the table with the same points. Venezuelain the bottom step due to goal difference.

It is not news that Brazil is in crisis since the World Cup in Qatar. Ramon Menezes Hubner He took charge of the team after Tite left and then Fernando Diniz Silva, who had great performances at Fluminense, was hired. But the champion coach of the 2023 Copa Libertadores was dismissed after 6 qualifying matches, with 2 wins, a draw and 3 losses. Then came the turn of the experienced Dorival Júnior, who arrived at Verdeamarelha with the renovation recipe that Lionel Scaloni implemented to build Scaloneta.

What Dorival is trying is a perfect copy of what Scaloni did. Footballers such as Thiago Silva, Casemiro, Fabinho, Gabriel Jesús, Fred, Everton Ribeiro, Roberto Firmino and Richarlison, among others, were no longer part of the squad lists. And, on the contrary, players from the local environment and young people who play – or played – in second-level teams in Europe, such as Newcastle, Porto, Girona, Wolverhampton, Brighton and West Ham, began to be mentioned.

“It is a new job and a renewal that is taking place. The preparation for the Copa América was an important period, because Dorival and the players had more time together. That’s what the project is about, because whenever you make changes, you start a new job and it’s always more difficult, so I think it was a start that gave you time to make your assumptions and I’m sure you’ll find the right path.” , declared Ednaldo Rodrigues, president of the CBF.

The start of the cycle was auspicious: 1-0 victory against England at Wembley and a 3-3 draw against Spain at the Santiago Bernabéu. But everything fell apart in the Copa América in the United States, where they could only win one game and were eliminated by Uruguay in the quarterfinals.

The narrow 1-0 victory against Ecuador in Curitiba provoked whistles from the fans at the end. Then came the slap against Paraguay.

Now Dorival Júnior, who during the week He assured that Brazil will play in the 2026 World Cup finalis on a tightrope because he cannot hit the right note with the footballers and the functioning of the team. The criticism is already reaching Vinicius, the star of Real Madrid. The portals of the neighboring country talk about a double key date in which it appears in October, first as a visitor against Chile and then at home against Peru.

“The games in Europe are faster than here. We have to adapt and play in the best way to win games. We know the situation we are experiencing and we want to get Brazil out at any cost. Each one will go home and reflect on what what we can do to play well again, win games and win them more easily,” Vinicius said.

There are statistics that serve to measure Brazil’s present and to understand why there are many who claim that it is the worst National Team in history. For example, Scratch has never had such a bad start to the South American Qualifiers since the new format was implemented.

In the current tournament, 8 dates have been played and Brazil lost 4 games; won against Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador; and tied at home against Venezuela.

So far, Brazil’s worst campaign in qualifying for a World Cup occurred ahead of Japan-Korea 2022: it won 9, drew 3 and lost 6. For 2006 it won 9, tied 7 and lost 2; He repeated the same numbers for South Africa 2010; won 12, tied 5 and lost 1 for Russia 2018; and won 14, tied 3 and did not lose for Qatar 2022. It should be remembered that he did not participate for France 1998 because he was the current champion and not for 2014 because he was the organizer.

There are also other Qualifier marks that hurt in Brazil. Perhaps the hardest thing is losing the historic undefeated record at home. La Scaloneta, with a header from Nicolás Otamendi, left him without the record that marked 51 victories and 13 draws.

But there is more: for the first time they lost 3 games in a row (Uruguay, Colombia and Argentina), they were defeated again by Uruguay after 22 years, they lost for the first time against Colombia and were defeated by Paraguay after more than a decade.

“We lacked many things against Paraguay. I am responsible for that and I do not want to single out any player. It is not simple, it is not easy, but we have to intensify the work so that we quickly find the path we are looking for,” he said after the defeat in Asunción Dorival Júnior, that coach who is beginning to be on the tightrope.