His name was one of the most surprising on Monday when Tite made the list public 26 footballers who will participate in the World Cup in Qatar. And it was also the one that attracted the most criticism. “We are not here to please everyone”then he replied Daniel Alves, who at 39 will participate for the third time in an ecumenical event. In the eyes of the Brazilian national team coach, the brilliant right-back record, which includes 43 titles, prevailed over his much less bright present.
Criticism for the exclusion of the Tottenham winger Emerson Royal, jokes, memes on social networks, a poll in the newspapers O Balloon in which 88% of the voters rejected Alves’ summons. None of this seemed to bother Tite too much. Nor that the first question in the press conference following the announcement of the listing was linked to the reasons for this choice.
“The criterion is the same as all the others: it combines individual technical quality, physical strength and mental aspect. Some have more quality in one aspect, others in another. In my team the full-backs are not full-backs, they are constructors and the technical quality that Dani offers me in this sense is impressive ”, explained Tite. “I didn’t come to please the Twitter folks. I respect divergent opinions and I’m not here to convince everyoneI just want to provide informative data so that people can democratically form their opinion, “he added.
Beyond the surprise of some, the right-back was one of the players the manager placed the most trust in during his cycle, which began just over six years ago. Alves has played 31 games in this period, many of them as captain, and if he has not accumulated more appearances it was because various injuries prevented him from doing so.. In addition, he was the figure of the To scratch who won the 2019 Copa América.
The main point that has threatened the presence of the former Barcelona player, Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus and Sevilla, among others, has been his small business in recent months. After leaving the Catalan club at the end of last season, he negotiated unsuccessfully with Athlético Paranaense (the coaching staff of the Curitiba club considered his conditions not ideal) and ended up signing with Puma of the UNAM. In Mexico he only played 12 games and collected more questions than praise.
This situation meant that he had not been called up for the last two friendlies that Brazil faced in September against Ghana and Tunisia. National team coach Fábio Mahseredjian also revealed that the exclusion was a consequence of the player’s precarious condition. “I told him he was at low levels of power and strength and that he had to improve those levels. He replied: ‘I will fulfill that mission.’ Now he is the same Dani Alves from the 2021 Olympics. Physically he is in good shape. “He explained.
It will not be the physique that stands out in a player who, at 39, He will be the oldest Brazilian to play in a World Cup (He will overtake Djalma Santos, who participated in England 1966 with 37). “The full backs, to the extent that we play with the forwards, must also be constructors. He will not run 60 or 70 meters up and down “, justified Tite, who highlighted Alves’ leadership in a squad that will have 16 World Cup rookies, many of them very young like Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo, Gabriel Martinelli and Antony.
In this regard, it is difficult to deny the origins of the man born on May 6, 1983 in Juazeiro, who won everything with Barcelona and also added championships with Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain, Sevilla, San Paolo and Bahia. With the chosen jersey, which he wore 125 times (surpassed only by Cafú -150- and Roberto Carlos -132-), he was world champion under 20 in the United Arab Emirates 2003, won the gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, raised the Copa trophy twice América (Venezuela 2007 and Brazil 2019) and two for the Confederations Cup (South Africa 2009 and Brazil 2013).
This call will allow him not only to take part in a World Cup for the third time (he participated in nine matches between South Africa 2010 and Brazil 2014), but also to close the injury that blew him away from Russia 2018: He was excluded from the squad after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament detachment in his right knee during that year’s French Cup final between PSG and Les Herbiers.
“Four years ago we were in the same situation and due to a serious injury I was excluded. The tears that day were of sadness, today they are of joy “, the defender said in a video he shared on Monday. In that recording he took the opportunity to send a message to the detractors who expressed anger at his summons: “We are not here to please everyone, we are here not to disappoint those who have believed in our dedication, in our dedication and in our love I feel for sport, for wearing this shirt and for being able to do great things with this shirt ”.
Source: Clarin
