With eight victories in eight games, the Brazilian national team calmly leads the South American qualifiers for the World Cup.
Despite the excellent campaign, coach Tite isn’t a fan favorite and often draws criticism from Brazilians. One of his more prominent critics is former World Cup champion Romário who wants to see a different name lead the Seleção.
“We always have to be hopeful, and I always will. We’ll be rooting for Brazil to be champion next year so that we don’t go through this cycle of 24 years without being champion again, but it will be difficult with this team that is there. With this way of playing, Brazil will be run over. Hopefully, I’m wrong,” Romário said to GE (via ESPN Brazil).
“We’re close to a Cup, I don’t know if there’s exactly time for a change of coach, but I’m no longer in favor of Tite for coach of the Brazilian team. Mainly because of the negative results that the team has been getting when it takes equal, little better, or much better national teams. The team has been playing very bad football. Technically speaking, terrible. And tactically, then, it’s not even said.”
Romário even suggested a replacement for the position: Renato Gaúcho, Flamengo’s current coach.
“He is the Brazilian coach that has shown the most positive results. He seems to me to be the most competent. I had the opportunity to work with him at the beginning of his career,” Romário said.
“He was a different Renato than today. Today he is much bolder; he definitely understood what modern football is like. Renato, in my opinion, has the confidence of the group where he is the coach.”
Whenever the World Cup comes around, Brazil is one of the odds on favorites to win the tournament, which is why there’s pressure on anyone who takes the reigns of the national team manager position.
Fans of the national team and former players are questioning every move that a manager makes. From call-ups to starting eleven’s, there’s plenty of outside noise. It will be interesting to see whether Tite fails or adds the sixth to the national team next year in Qatar.