Ni las actuaciones de Grafite, el hambriento anotador del Wolfsburg, pudieron evitar la salida del técnico Steve McLaren. En esta entrevista exclusiva, el internacional brasilero le cuenta a The South American Football Show cómo aprovechar a Edin Dzeko al máximo, lo que viene para Neymar, y cómo ve al fútbol en su país.
Luego de una seguidilla de resultados pobres, Steve McLaren fue separado de la dirección técnica del Wolfsburg, ¿qué impresión te dejaron sus técnicas?
Debo decir que en Steve encontré a un buen entrenador, un hombre que sabe bastante sobre el juego y un buen profesor. Infortunadamente los resultados simplemente no llegaron, y esta es la medida bajo la cual es juzgado un entrenador. Steve siempre tuvo gran confianza en mí, me respetó y me apoyó cuando lo necesité.
En tu carrera has disfrutado de asociaciones prolíficas, notablemente junto a Edin Dzeko en Wolfsburg de Alemania y Dimba y Araujo en Goias de Brasil, ¿cuál es la clave para desarrollar estas asociaciones?
Antes que nada, para empezar algo hay que contar con un grupo de buenos jugadores. Cuando el grupo está establecido es importante intercambiar ideas. Se debe asimilar la manera en que el compañero piensa y lo que le gusta hacer en el campo. Las mejores relaciones van más allá del campo porque hablar es tan importante como jugar juntos. este es el mayor secreto detrás de las buenas duplas o tripletas en un equipo.
Temprano en tu carrera jugaste en unos cuantos clubes de Brasil y también pasaste un rato en Corea del Sur, ¿dudaste en algún momento de tus habilidades?
Es común para un jugador joven en Brasil moverse de un club a otro en búsqueda de un lugar en el que se sienta cómodo. Muchos clubes van detrás del remedio rápido, pues compran profesionales establecidos y no dan mayor chance a los juveniles. Esto no sólo sucede en la primera división, sucede en todas las divisiones menores. Hacerse un lugar, establecerse, es de las cosas más difíciles que un jugador logrará en su carrera y requiere un gran nivel de dedicación.
Viajaste con Brasil a la Copa del Mundo en Sudáfrica, ¿cómo pretendes ganarte un lugar en el equipo del 2014?
No puedo hacer mucho más aparte de seguir trabajando duro en mi club. De mí depende que mis esfuerzos sean notados por la selección nacional y me representen ser llamado. Antes de la última Copa del Mundo, tuve 15 minutos para impresionar, y en ese corto tiempo logré persuadir a Dunga de llevarme a Sudáfrica. Espero tener más tiempo que ese para probarle mi valía a Mano Menezes. La próxima copa se llevará acabo en Brasil, y es difícil poner en palabras lo que esto representa para mi país. El amor por el fútbol en Brasil es sobrecogedor, y todo el mundo reconoce la importancia de recibir el mayor evento que nuestro deporte ofrece. Las expectativas depositadas sobre equipo brasilero para redimir las fallas de 1950 son desde ya aparentes, y hay enorme ansiedad en el país esperando que el equipo venza el pasado y gane la Copa Mundial en Brasil.
Estuviste en la Copa del Mundo, pero también jugaste en la Champions League, ¿cómo se sintió anotar tres goles en tu debut?
La Champions League es una competencia muy especial y anotar tres goles en mi primer partido es una memoria que disfruto. Estaba muy nervioso la noche antes del partido, y apenas pude dormir porque pensaba mucho en cómo quería jugar. La Champions League es un torneo que motiva de manera extra a cualquier jugador que compite; jugar contra los mejores del mundo es, personalmente, un placer.
¿Qué tal es tu relación con los otros sudamericanos en Wolfsburg, como con Diego?
Tengo una relación muy buena con todos. Siempre estamos juntos, y pasamos el tiempo divirtiéndonos en la casa de cada cual. El nivel de amistad que tenemos muestra lo importantes que somos para el otro. Tener rostros familiares alrededor ayuda a los jugadores que vienen del extranjero a adaptarse rápidamente. Eso sí, infortunadamente debo decir que ninguno de los brasileros que tenemos en Wolfsburg mantienen la tradición de buen canto y buen baile.
¿Qué esperas del joven venezolano Yohandry Orozco?
Orozco es un talento muy prometedor y esperamos ayudarle a desarrollar su juego aquí en wolfsburg. No sé qué idiomas hable aparte del Español, pero estaremos hablandole para asegurarnos de que se sienta como en casa. Es mi trabajo, y el de otros sudamericanos, ayudarle a adaptarse a la vida en Alemania tan rápido como sea posible. Entre más rápido se adapte, más rápido veremos lo mejor de él en el terreno.
Las actuaciones de Neymar en Santos lo han transformado en la propiedad caliente del fútbol en Brasil este momento, sin emabrgo las especulaciones de un traspaso se han enfriado. ¿Qué consejo le darías a Neymar?
No tengo duda de la importancia de que ciertos jugadores maduren antes de venir a Europa. Muy seguido, jugadores vienen muy temprano y encuentran problemas de adaptación en sus vidas. La situación en Brasil también parece estar cambiando para permitir que los jóvenes se mantengan un rato mayor. Estos días, los clubes dan mucha atención a sus promesas: trabajan con sus familias, les dan consejos sobre marketing y se aseguran de no quemarlas con muchos juegos seguidos. Por otro lado, el clima financiero en Brasil está cambiando, y esto hace que quedarse en Brasil sea más atractivo para los jugadores.
Este año Ronaldinho y Rivaldo están jugando en Brasil. ¿Es esta una muestra de que la liga se está fortaleciendo?
De lo que he visto, ha habido una creciente inversión. Los clubes tienen ahora más dinero que nunca para atraer grandes jugadores y pagarles un sueldo competitivo. Esto significa que dos cosas están sucediendo: los jugadores juegan más en casa antes de partir, y más jugadores está regresando a casa. Aparte, no sólo tenemos buenos jugadores brasileños jugando en Brasil, la liga está atrayendo a lo mejor de Sudamérica. Todo se reduce a cambios de actitud, el negocio del fútbol es ahora reconocido seriamente en Brasil.
miércoles, 16 de febrero de 2011
jueves, 10 de febrero de 2011
The Inner Frenzy of the Colombian spectator…
On Wednesday Colombia played World Champions Spain in Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. Colombia played an intense game, a noble game that for years Colombian spectators had longed for. It may sound exaggerated, it is, but such is opinion in the tropics: hard-lined. Did we win? Of course we did not. This is Colombian football; our nature forces us into separating playing well from winning. We are that desperate to salvage something.
As a Colombian spectator you want to witness something to admire, you want to cheer your team and sometimes you do: it fills you with hope but making sure, and this is key, making sure it lets you down hard… We sure celebrated that tie against Germany in Italia 90’, then we got our hearts crushed by René and Cameroun… and that was in our finest hour!
Of course, you could argue Colombia’s finest hour came after beating Argentina 5-0 in Buenos Aires to qualify to USA 94’, but we know what that World Cup brought to the country, which just illustrates the point better: “Take what you can when you can, but know it surely is not enough to celebrate FOR REAL”.
And we come back to Colombia vs. Spain. In the back of your head, as a Colombian spectator, even when you were praising the team’s play in a part of the game you were bracing yourself for the major blow. The players reminded you of it, especially when they needed to score goals. The shots just did (DO, this is not a new issue) not go in. Goalkeepers seldom have to do with that fact; the truth is Colombian players are bad finishers and there is nothing we can do about it… that ice-cold bloody instinct say, the Uruguayans show in grand stages escapes us.
Hugo Rogallega, our goal scorer in the Premiership, missed a couple of clear chances in a game in which missing the chances is plain suicide. For Spain surely it was just a friendly game, one they HAD to win. They entered play against Colombia after rotund defeats against Argentina and Portugal plus the scrutiny of their home crowd… and around fifteen thousand loud Colombian fans.
They got challenged by a team that didn’t back down, but sadly can’t buy a goal.
We, Colombian spectators, cheered that after many matches Colombian players performed like football mattered to them, like they felt it underneath their skin (to include a Shakira-Piqué undertone), like they actually enjoyed the sweat and adrenaline to flow without anybody yelling them to push harder.
The Colombian spectator in the stadium -and behind the TV set- cheered the cohesion and disciplined tactical scheme that worked for most of the game to stop Spain. He hailed the electricity with which the game was played, but I can tell you, he hated to be reminded of how useless his strikers are at scoring goals. Spain won the match in the 86th minute: Silva, now he is not going to miss many is he? However, it made no difference, after his strikers had failed often the Colombian spectator knew that was coming.
Curiously enough, if Villa scores in that early “I hit the post and then I miss an empty goal” chance he had, Colombia may have crumbled and we would not be salvaging any of its virtues, but that did not occur. One out of a hundred times he will miss that couple of goals, one was yesterday when our hope grew just to once more be let down hard.
My take on Villa is he probably caught the Colombian goal flu. He will recuperate, Colombian spectators on the other hand...
As a Colombian spectator you want to witness something to admire, you want to cheer your team and sometimes you do: it fills you with hope but making sure, and this is key, making sure it lets you down hard… We sure celebrated that tie against Germany in Italia 90’, then we got our hearts crushed by René and Cameroun… and that was in our finest hour!
Of course, you could argue Colombia’s finest hour came after beating Argentina 5-0 in Buenos Aires to qualify to USA 94’, but we know what that World Cup brought to the country, which just illustrates the point better: “Take what you can when you can, but know it surely is not enough to celebrate FOR REAL”.
And we come back to Colombia vs. Spain. In the back of your head, as a Colombian spectator, even when you were praising the team’s play in a part of the game you were bracing yourself for the major blow. The players reminded you of it, especially when they needed to score goals. The shots just did (DO, this is not a new issue) not go in. Goalkeepers seldom have to do with that fact; the truth is Colombian players are bad finishers and there is nothing we can do about it… that ice-cold bloody instinct say, the Uruguayans show in grand stages escapes us.
Hugo Rogallega, our goal scorer in the Premiership, missed a couple of clear chances in a game in which missing the chances is plain suicide. For Spain surely it was just a friendly game, one they HAD to win. They entered play against Colombia after rotund defeats against Argentina and Portugal plus the scrutiny of their home crowd… and around fifteen thousand loud Colombian fans.
They got challenged by a team that didn’t back down, but sadly can’t buy a goal.
We, Colombian spectators, cheered that after many matches Colombian players performed like football mattered to them, like they felt it underneath their skin (to include a Shakira-Piqué undertone), like they actually enjoyed the sweat and adrenaline to flow without anybody yelling them to push harder.
The Colombian spectator in the stadium -and behind the TV set- cheered the cohesion and disciplined tactical scheme that worked for most of the game to stop Spain. He hailed the electricity with which the game was played, but I can tell you, he hated to be reminded of how useless his strikers are at scoring goals. Spain won the match in the 86th minute: Silva, now he is not going to miss many is he? However, it made no difference, after his strikers had failed often the Colombian spectator knew that was coming.
Curiously enough, if Villa scores in that early “I hit the post and then I miss an empty goal” chance he had, Colombia may have crumbled and we would not be salvaging any of its virtues, but that did not occur. One out of a hundred times he will miss that couple of goals, one was yesterday when our hope grew just to once more be let down hard.
My take on Villa is he probably caught the Colombian goal flu. He will recuperate, Colombian spectators on the other hand...
An X-ray before the last dance. (U20 South American Championship)
After Wednesday’s games the South American U20 Championship is one fixture away from closing activities. Of the four spots in play for Colombia’s U20 World Cup (this coming July and August) two have been defined: Uruguay and Brazil’s. Argentina and Ecuador need ties in their final games to make it to the global football ‘party’, while Chile hopes to make the most of their hard-earned last-minute chance.
Argentina’s spot for the World Cup seems very plausible, however for the 'albi-celeste' the expectations were not only aimed at the Cup; the Olympic games are always a target and failing to reach it is a failure for head coach Walter Perazzo and his squad. After showing electrocardiogram-like play all along the tournament: 0-1 loss Ecuador, 3-2 and 2-1 victories against Chile and Brazil and a 0-1 loss to Uruguay, the World Cup will have to satisfy them, there they will aim at a seventh title.
In the last fixture Argentina faces Colombia, a team that after two years of preparations and numerous training cycles has added only one point out of twelve possible, and that, had it not been appointed the host nation, would be dwelling over an enormous –yet another- failure to reach a Cup.
The Colombians left their home soil full of confidence, labelled as favourites to show good play and get their people enthused about the world Cup, this of course, would translate to getting a spot for London.
So much for that hype… now the future World Cup hosts find themselves eliminated from 2012's games, married to a coach like Eduardo Lara that has wasted resources and time, whose team showed flawed play and rightfully did not make it to the Olympics, and shows no intentions of leaving the team five months before its major challenge. Mr Lara should step down for the good of the team, he is not liked or respected by the people or the press.
This scenario is close to a nightmare for the Colombian Football Federation, where it is well known that a successful home team drives attendances up… and the opposite just makes things -to use Carlitos' words- very difficult. Will the Colombian Federation ask Lara to step down? No, it will not. Why? Excellent question.
Moving away from troublesome teams, we need to talk Uruguay. They shook Argentina in the Río de La Plata derby, thus securing a spot for Colombia and London. After South Africa you can tell the mindset of Uruguayan football is the same: successful no matter the age. The 'Celestes' have all the right reasons to be happy, eighty-four years after their last Olympic games appearance, they are back and rocking, and aim at leaving the tournament's final stage unbeaten. They still need to face...
Brazil, likely the other Olympian team (unless Argentina beats Colombia by a margin of six goals and Brazil falls to Uruguay) has shown flashes of talent and flashes of tantrum. The eternal cradle of great footballers needs to beat the Uruguayans to claim first place in this championship, is it in their interest? If the memory of 1950 says something, it should be, plus, Brazil is not accustomed to leaving its 'top team' fate to other results.
The most important match of the last fixture is without a doubt Ecuador against Chile. If the “Rojita” manages to beat the Ecuadorians it’ll mark an impressive comeback by the young Chileans rewarded by a spot in the World Cup. After falling 5-1 to Brazil in the first game and then 3-1 to Argentina in the second, the possibility of qualifying felt impossible. After beating Colombia 3-1 and witnessing Ecuador's loss to brazil, it is more than real. Six out of the last six and they are in.
The other side of the coin presents an Ecuadorian team who, after beating Argentina 1-0 and tying with Uruguay 1-1 felt confident, and now has to cope with the possibility and pressure of elimination… it remains to be seen if in this high-tension match Ecuador save the spot they hold or if they fall victims of a confirmed downward spiral: it would mark disappointment for the ages.
Congratulations to Uruguay, for playing smart and effective football. The rest, even Brazil with its tremendous talent, hold many reasons to scratch their heads and scramble ways to play better team football.
Argentina’s spot for the World Cup seems very plausible, however for the 'albi-celeste' the expectations were not only aimed at the Cup; the Olympic games are always a target and failing to reach it is a failure for head coach Walter Perazzo and his squad. After showing electrocardiogram-like play all along the tournament: 0-1 loss Ecuador, 3-2 and 2-1 victories against Chile and Brazil and a 0-1 loss to Uruguay, the World Cup will have to satisfy them, there they will aim at a seventh title.
In the last fixture Argentina faces Colombia, a team that after two years of preparations and numerous training cycles has added only one point out of twelve possible, and that, had it not been appointed the host nation, would be dwelling over an enormous –yet another- failure to reach a Cup.
The Colombians left their home soil full of confidence, labelled as favourites to show good play and get their people enthused about the world Cup, this of course, would translate to getting a spot for London.
So much for that hype… now the future World Cup hosts find themselves eliminated from 2012's games, married to a coach like Eduardo Lara that has wasted resources and time, whose team showed flawed play and rightfully did not make it to the Olympics, and shows no intentions of leaving the team five months before its major challenge. Mr Lara should step down for the good of the team, he is not liked or respected by the people or the press.
This scenario is close to a nightmare for the Colombian Football Federation, where it is well known that a successful home team drives attendances up… and the opposite just makes things -to use Carlitos' words- very difficult. Will the Colombian Federation ask Lara to step down? No, it will not. Why? Excellent question.
Moving away from troublesome teams, we need to talk Uruguay. They shook Argentina in the Río de La Plata derby, thus securing a spot for Colombia and London. After South Africa you can tell the mindset of Uruguayan football is the same: successful no matter the age. The 'Celestes' have all the right reasons to be happy, eighty-four years after their last Olympic games appearance, they are back and rocking, and aim at leaving the tournament's final stage unbeaten. They still need to face...
Brazil, likely the other Olympian team (unless Argentina beats Colombia by a margin of six goals and Brazil falls to Uruguay) has shown flashes of talent and flashes of tantrum. The eternal cradle of great footballers needs to beat the Uruguayans to claim first place in this championship, is it in their interest? If the memory of 1950 says something, it should be, plus, Brazil is not accustomed to leaving its 'top team' fate to other results.
The most important match of the last fixture is without a doubt Ecuador against Chile. If the “Rojita” manages to beat the Ecuadorians it’ll mark an impressive comeback by the young Chileans rewarded by a spot in the World Cup. After falling 5-1 to Brazil in the first game and then 3-1 to Argentina in the second, the possibility of qualifying felt impossible. After beating Colombia 3-1 and witnessing Ecuador's loss to brazil, it is more than real. Six out of the last six and they are in.
The other side of the coin presents an Ecuadorian team who, after beating Argentina 1-0 and tying with Uruguay 1-1 felt confident, and now has to cope with the possibility and pressure of elimination… it remains to be seen if in this high-tension match Ecuador save the spot they hold or if they fall victims of a confirmed downward spiral: it would mark disappointment for the ages.
Congratulations to Uruguay, for playing smart and effective football. The rest, even Brazil with its tremendous talent, hold many reasons to scratch their heads and scramble ways to play better team football.
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