5 things we learnt from Tite's new look Brazil
It was with a huge sense of belief and expectation that Tite was given charge of the Brazilian national team and early indications are that the federation made the right call. The Copa Libertadores and FIFA Club World Cup winning manager has not only started his tenure with two wins from his opening two matches, but he has managed to win convincingly, with attacking, expansive, possession based football.
Here are 5 things we learnt from Brazil’s 3-0 and 2-1 victories against Ecuador and Colombia respectively
1) Tite’s gameplan: Hard Pressing, fast Counters, overloading the midfield
In contrast to Dunga’s pragmatic approach, Tite believes in possession football and controlling the tempo of the game. He achieves this by entrusting the midfield in a trifecta of players, each with a very specific role.
Casemiro acts as sheet anchor, the ball winner who drops back to be the third central defender when the wingbacks go upfield in attack. Renato Augusto acts as a regista or deep playmaker role, using his great positioning sense to make key interceptions and threading in fantastic passes for the front three.
Paulinho is the box-to-box midfielder, overloading the opposition penalty box when the team is attacking and having the engine to cover back and do the dirty work when the team is defending.
Against Ecuador, Paulinho, having the most stamina among the three midfielders, pressed high, while Casemiro and Augusto covered the opposition midfielder, cutting out any through balls. This system ensures Brazil recover the ball quickly and enjoy a majority of the possession.