Brazilian soccer followers have been already feeling deflated following a tumultuous 12 months marked by disappointing performances, an absence of teaching stability and inside conflicts throughout the nation’s federation.
Matters took a flip for the more severe on Sunday when Brazil’s failure to qualify for the Paris Olympics, courtesy of a defeat to archrival Argentina, was confirmed, signaling the absence of the two-time defending champions from this summer time’s event.
“It is sad, but it is more of an embarrassment,” striker John Kennedy said after the 1-0 loss. “We ought to have wished to win greater than we did.”
Brazil additionally didn’t qualify for the 1992 and 2004 editions of the Olympic event, however these blips didn’t coincide with a disaster for the senior nationwide crew. Brazil is barely in sixth place in South American qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, and its largest star, Neymar, has been out with a critical knee harm since October.
Some followers and analysts had hoped 17-year-old striker Endrick – who is ready to hitch Real Madrid this summer time – would supply some trigger for optimism by showcasing his expertise in the course of the Olympic qualifying event. Many supporters had been hoping to see Endrick and the 32-year-old Neymar play collectively on the Olympic crew in Paris and lead Brazil to an unprecedented third straight gold medal.
But the Brazilian teenager scored solely twice in seven matches in Olympic qualifying. Argentina’s World Cup-winning midfielder, Thiago Almada, netted 5.
The Olympic soccer event options primarily under-23 gamers and doesn’t carry practically the identical standing because the World Cup or continental championships, such because the Copa America that begins in June, however lacking out fully nonetheless stings the pleasure of many Brazilians.
Especially those that are viewing Endrick because the nation’s subsequent massive star had been anticipating him to indicate that he might assist lead the senior crew’s assault alongside Vinicius Jr. and Rodrygo on the Copa America.
Meanwhile, Brazil’s senior crew will return to motion in March in friendlies in opposition to England and Spain amid critical issues about its present type.
Last 12 months, Brazil misplaced a house match in World Cup qualifying for the primary time ever; 1-0 to Argentina on the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro. It additionally misplaced at Uruguay and Colombia within the South American round-robin competitors after two poor performances.
New coach Dorival Junior was solely employed in January after the president of the Brazilian Football Confederation, Ednaldo Rodrigues, failed to satisfy his promise to usher in Madrid’s Carlo Ancelotti. Previous coach Tite stepped down after Brazil misplaced within the quarterfinals of the 2022 World Cup, and the crew had been led by Fernando Diniz on an interim foundation final 12 months.
The frustration of seeing Argentina win the World Cup in Qatar in addition to the final Copa America has solely added to the strain going through Dorival as he takes up the job – even earlier than Sunday’s loss.
“Brazil wasted a full year in preparations because we waited for a top coach (Ancelotti) who had signed no contract with us,” said former Brazil left back Junior. “We burned a promising coach, Fernando Diniz, simply so he could possibly be interim for a 12 months. The time to repair all this for the following World Cup could be very quick.”
Rodrigues, the confederation head, can also be going through requires his resignation.
He was eliminated by a Rio de Janeiro courtroom in December on account of irregularities in his election however returned weeks later after a ruling from Brazil’s prime courtroom. His full case is but to be reviewed.
History, although, reveals that lacking out on the Olympics does not essentially bode unwell for the long run.
The crew that didn’t qualify for the Barcelona Games in 1992 included Cafu, Marcio Santos and Roberto Carlos, who all went on to win the World Cup. The squad that missed out on the Athens Games in 2004 included future stars Maicon, Diego and Robinho.
“They will have to prove this elimination is no different from those two,” said 2002 World Cup winner Vampeta. “There’s nice gamers on this crew, however they are going to be judged by whether or not they can drag the senior crew out of the quagmire it’s in now. It is an uphill battle to finish this disaster.”
Source: www.dailysabah.com