The Death Of Brazilian Football: Pointless Coaches Rotation

Welcome to my new series, this one is going to be about the death of Brazilian football.

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In the last part, I talked about the lack of efficiency in the Brazilian clubs' administration. The short-term sight by people aiming to win an election every three years leaves no room for long-term planning. Before we get to talk about how that affects talents, we must talk about what that means for the managers.

Prespective

Mexican El Economista conducted a study in 2014 about the pressure managers go through. The newspaper analyzed 10 leagues, 5 from Europe, and 5 from North and South America.

They found that the average amount of games a manager remains in charge before getting sacked is 40 games in Italy, 42 in Spain, 80 in England, and 88 in the United States. Many analysts and managers have been vocal about how that is not enough time for a manager to make a real change.

While many criticize that amount, do you want to guess what is the average in Brazil? The answer would be 15 games. That's the average by the way, so there are managers who have less time than that even.

The Same Old Faces

There's a limited number of managers who go from one club to another. Not because they are that good, but rather because those are the managers who know, to some extent, how to handle the media and the club administration. Here are a few examples, just so you could see how ridiculous that is.

Oswaldo de Oliveira

This Brazilian manager started managing in 1999 and retired in 2019. Throughout his career, he managed Fluminense 3 times, Corinthians 3 times, Santos twice, and Flamengo twice among other Brazilian clubs. Not once did he manage to stay at any Brazilian side for two years at least. In fact, his longest stint was at a Japanese club, Kashima Antlers, where he stayed for 4 years.

Dorival Júnior

Similar resume to de Oliveira. However, the most noteworthy part is that during the 2013 calendar year, Dorival Júnior managed Flamengo, Vasco da Gama, and Fluminense. In the 2020-2021 season, he was sacked by Athletico Paranaense for losing 4 games in a row, sounds reasonable until you find out that during 3 of those 4 matches, he was at home getting treatment for COVID.

Caio Júnior

Managed 15 different clubs in Brazil alone throughout his 14 years long career. Worth noting, that 4 of those of 14 years, he spent managing in either Qatar, Saudi Arabia, or UAE. So, it wasn't only spent in Brazil. His career also included a stint at Grêmio, where he was the manager for only 8 matches.

I could go on more as there are examples of managers who managed up to 10 clubs in 4 years, but I will stop here. But you will probably find similar managers careers if you just check out any current manager of a Brazilian club.

Killing Young Managers

Imagine being a person dreaming of becoming a manager like Klopp or Tuchel in Brazil. You won't have time, money, or even players. We've already established the sacking culture, in fact, there's a hidden rule in Brazilian football that if a manager loses three matches in a row, they'll be fired despite the circumstances.

As for money for signings or players. Corrupt and bad administration accumulated so much debt that they agree to all offers they get from European clubs. In fact, there's an exaggeration with how fast Brazilian clubs sell their players. According to Sports Value, selling players make up for up to 25% of a club's income.

Add to that the fact that the European transfer Market doesn't happen at the same time the South American one does so it would be the equivalent of a European team selling their players in October-November, the time where European teams are getting their form. Or March-April, with them unable to replace them even if they had the fund, which Brazilian clubs don't.

It's In The Culture

The impatient nature toward managers exists also in the people and the media. Bruno Pivetti spoke to Sky Sports and stated that young Brazilian managers are turning to Europe for a chance. If you're a manager in Brazil, you are required to perform miracles in a handful of games which is something that takes seasons.

The Wrong Lesson

Clubs in Brazil don't look at profiles of managers, there's no style to stick to. If Pep Guardiola was to leave tomorrow, Manchester City wouldn't be looking at someone like Diego Simeone to replace him. They'd look for someone who has a similar profile and playstyle. In European terms, clubs in Brazil could have Klopp, Pep, Tuchel, and Simeone in their consideration when hiring a new manager.

Another horrible lesson is that of Flamingo. The club was on the edge of bankruptcy in 2012, so they actually elected professionals to its administration and stabilized the club. Their club rose in the ranking, and in the end they hired Jorge Jesus and won the Copa Libertadores while signing experienced, European-based players.

All that other clubs took from that is that they hired foreign managers, not all the work behind the scenes. So, clubs started hiring foreign managers. And of course, they sacked those a few months later. Not realizing the amount of work required to build a stable club.

In Conclusion

Perhaps Bruno Pivetti's statements to Sky reveal all there is to it. No one at the club's directors' office ever asks "What kind of football should we play?". That leads to a chaotic world for managers, one where no one is benefiting. The toleration for bad results is getting lower and lower according to Bruno Pivetti.

That creates a culture of fear, reflecting on the formations they go with as most Brazilian clubs play the 4-2-3-1 in its defensive shape and finally the type of talents they produce, something I will talk about in the next and final part of this series.



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3 comments
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i'm a fan of brazil football team, i started following every brazil match about 15 years ago, i hope brazil can win the world cup again😊

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Doesn't seem possible at the point. The team lacks in too many important positions

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agree, I think the players are good, it's just that it's difficult to synchronize between one another.
this is just my hope as a fan, hopefully the players lower their egos a bit😁

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