Away draw + 3 shots on goal! Ancelotti's debut, Brazil is still "old-fashioned"

Written by Han Bing 0-0, Ancelotti, who took over Brazil with an annual salary of 10 million euros, did not bring much new ideas to the Samba Army in his coaching debut. Vinicius, Richarlison, Estéwang and Guimaraes started the game, with Arsenal's Martinelli and Cunha coming off the bench to Manchester United, and Brazil had just three shots on goal in 90 minutes away from Ecuador, which was unacceptable.

Spain's "Marca", "AS", Brazil's "Globo Sports", Argentina's "Ole" newspaper and other mainstream media in Europe and the United States have surprisingly unanimous evaluations of Ancelotti's debut in Brazil: "old-fashioned" without new ideas. The commentary of the newspaper AS suggests that the Brazilian team has started a new cycle, but it is still the same old face and the same performance as always. The Marca newspaper commented even more sharply: "Carlo Ancelotti made his debut and had to come to terms with reality: Brazil is no longer what it used to be. The newspaper Ole analysed Carlo Ancelotti's tactics at length and concluded that "the former Real Madrid coach was hoping to put together a more team-oriented Brazilian team, but the technical and tactical aspects were as lackluster as before." ”

What's more worth mentioning is that Ecuador, which is two points ahead of Brazil in this game, did not take advantage of the plateau and played the game in the capital Quito, which is 2,850 meters above sea level, but chose the coastal city of Guayaquil, which is only 4 meters above sea level. Even so, Carlo Ancelotti's Brazil team did not get half a point. You must know that even in the away stadium of Quito Plateau, the Brazilian team has an advantage in the previous 7 games, 3 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses.

Brazil had just two clear chances to score, but Vinicius and Casemiro both had shots saved by Ecuadorian goalkeeper Valle, who also hit the post once. Casemiro also took the initiative to excuse his mentor after the game: "Carlo Ancelotti hasn't had time to show us his tactical thinking and game plan, we have only been training for two or three days. We always need to change, the atmosphere is good and we're improving a little bit. ”

However, in the starting line-up, Carlo Ancelotti has coached Richarlison, Vinicius, Casemiro and captain Marquinhos, who set up the main central axis of the Brazilian team. Ecuador had just seven shots on goal in the game, the vast majority of which were unthreatening, and Ancelotti clearly focused more on defending on his debut. The Italian coach is well aware that Brazil's attack will not be immediate in the short term, but he will ensure that he can at least keep scoring without conceding a goal and wait for other rivals to make mistakes.

From his official debut in Rio de Janeiro on May 26, Carlo Ancelotti immediately got to work. I watched the matches between Botafogo and Flamengo one after another, and visited the training base of the Brazilian team from high up outside the city. He also said that he watched the 1-4 defeat of Argentina led by his predecessor Dorivar: "The team is out of balance in attack and defense, it's as simple as that. The players are talented, but lack the structural balance that the game requires. Carlo Ancelotti also spoke about his tactical formation before the game: "There is no doubt in the back four, Brazil have great wingers, we can use 442, we can use 433 or 451. ”

As for the pressure to qualify, Ancelotti was frank: "The pressure on me is not more than at Real Madrid, I just want to do my best. I don't want Brazil to have a clear tactic, the tactics are constantly changing as the game progresses. 40 years later, I still don't know what the best tactics to win are, it depends on the characteristics of the players. ”

But it was clear that Carlo Ancelotti's debut confirmed his pre-match words: Brazil did not have a clear tactic, especially in attack. Even with the four main players he coached, they didn't fully play to their characteristics. Although there is no creativity in attack, at least Carlo Ancelotti has improved the quality of Brazil's defence.

With three rounds of South American qualifiers remaining, Brazil are six points ahead of the seventh-placed team in the play-off zone, and one point is better than defeat. What's more, it also bit Ecuador, which is at the top of the points, and did not widen the gap between the lags. In addition, Paraguay also helped Brazil, beating Uruguay 2-0 at home to Uruguay, who were level on points before the game, giving Brazil at least a temporary lead in the close race for points.