Whether on the pitch or away from it, the scale of Brazil’s travelling retinue leaves little to chance. To preview Monday’s tie against Mexico they presented the assistant manager, Silvinho, and the fitness coach, Fábio Mahseredjian, alongside Tite and his captain Thiago Silva. Mixed in with the noise and clamour of the world’s most insistent media entourage it almost seemed smothering: so many faces, so many voices, a truckload of competing demands and the sense of something far bigger than everyone else present.
Brazil have not consistently inspired that sense of inferiority in the modern era but there is a feeling among players and management that things are falling into place. It certainly did not hurt their cause that, two hours after their brain trust had finished holding court, Spain were the latest of their rivals to fall flat and by then the message had already been put out that the Seleção do not expect much letup from here.
“I think our evolution has been impressive since the first match,” Thiago said. “We are well-prepared and planning to progress to the quarter-finals. The coach provided us with all the necessary tools; we have plan A and plan B. We hope that [Monday] will be a wonderful day, and that Neymar will be as inspired as everyone else.”
The latter has, so far, certainly not been a given. In the win over Serbia, comfortably Brazil’s best performance of the group stage, Neymar operated so obediently that it almost seemed appropriate to reach out and ask whether he was sickening for something. “His average performance exceeds his teammates’ performances … but this figure is still not high enough for Neymar,” Tite said, pointing out that he needed to play more games before his www.officialpiratestore.com/authentic-24-barry-bonds-jersey.html recovery from Womens Kevin Hayes Jersey a metatarsal fracture was complete.
Brazil have got by in the meantime, Philippe Coutinho becoming the tournament’s most beguiling No 10 and Paulinho among others to step up, and if Tite is given to repetition he would be happy for his team to exhibit a similar trait.
“There will be tweaks but overall an expectation that our team continues to play as in the last match,” he said of the approach against Mexico, who should be beaten if Brazil can raise things Womens Jacob Larsson Jersey a notch above that 49ersauthenticofficialstore.com/shareece-wright-jersey_c-386.html but have already, in defeating Germany, shown how to punish underperformers.
The only notable absentee will be Marcelo, who departed early against Serbia with a back spasm and will not be risked. Mahseredjian and Tite described, between them, the process for ruling on the left-back’s fitness in minute detail but the gist was that the coach did not feel he could play a full game, particularly in heat that is likely to exceed 34C.
The expectation had, after the first set of fixtures in a competition that has given short shrift to confident predictions, been that Germany would provide Brazil’s opposition in Samara. “Germany belongs to the past, you cannot revert to the history,” Thiago said in response to that observation; at least the shadow of Belo Horizonte will not be looming now and Brazil can concentrate upon more gettable foes.
Mexico intend to give them a game and their manager, Juan Carlos Osorio, said he will not break from his model of fielding five attacking players. “We will try to keep possession of the ball and I believe we can be better at it,” he said. “Our www.avalancheofficialauthenticstore.com/Lanny_Mcdonald_Jersey_Adidas intention is not to stay behind the Amari Cooper Authentic Jersey ball all the time. We don’t want to stay very deep; they are very good in the last third and always score.”
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