DOHA: Brazil coach Tite hit back at criticism of his players’ dancing goal celebrations as they won the World Cup South Korearejecting the suggestions, they showed disrespect.
The tournament favorites produced carnival football as they thrashed the Koreans 4-1 on Monday and celebrated their goals with choreographed moves, while even Tite himself joined them at one point.
The celebrations divided opinion outside of Brazil and the dance by Neymar and his teammates were a major talking point ahead of Friday’s quarter-final clash against Croatia in Doha.
“It’s not my national team. It’s the Brazilian national team that I have responsibility for as a coach,” Tite said when asked about the celebrations at a press conference on Thursday.
“I feel sorry for people who don’t know the history and culture of Brazil and our way of being.”
The 61-year-old, who is in his second World Cup as Brazil manager and is expected to step down at the end of the tournament, hinted he was not comfortable joining at the dance, but admitted he wanted to have a connection with his players.
“I’m 61 and these players could almost be my grandsons but I have a connection with them,” he said.
“If I have to dance, I will dance, even if I do it subtly and I asked them to hide me. It’s not my way.”
The pressure on Brazil’s new generation of stars is enormous as they seek to win the World Cup for a record sixth time, two decades after the Selecao last lifted the trophy in Japan in 2002.
The question now is whether they can carry on playing with the joy they showed against South Korea as the tournament in Qatar draws to a close, but Tite said it all depends on the personalities of his players. .
“It’s the identity of Brazilian football and the generation that emerged,” said the veteran coach, who won the Club World Cup in charge of Corinthians ten years ago.
“We give them the confidence to go out and give their best.
“These are the characteristics of our players, but beyond that pressure, it takes courage to play that way.”
As Neymar and full-back Danilo returned from ankle injuries to feature against South Korea, Brazil sweated over Alex Sandro’s fitness for the Croatia encounter.
The Juventus left-back has missed the last two games in Qatar with a muscle injury.
“It seems unlikely that he will play because he hasn’t done enough work on the training ground yet,” admitted Tite, adding that a decision would be made after Thursday’s session.
If Alex Sandro can’t play, Danilo will continue at left-back, with Real Madrid’s Eder Militao, usually a centre-back, again filling in on the right.
The tournament favorites produced carnival football as they thrashed the Koreans 4-1 on Monday and celebrated their goals with choreographed moves, while even Tite himself joined them at one point.
The celebrations divided opinion outside of Brazil and the dance by Neymar and his teammates were a major talking point ahead of Friday’s quarter-final clash against Croatia in Doha.
“It’s not my national team. It’s the Brazilian national team that I have responsibility for as a coach,” Tite said when asked about the celebrations at a press conference on Thursday.
“I feel sorry for people who don’t know the history and culture of Brazil and our way of being.”
The 61-year-old, who is in his second World Cup as Brazil manager and is expected to step down at the end of the tournament, hinted he was not comfortable joining at the dance, but admitted he wanted to have a connection with his players.
“I’m 61 and these players could almost be my grandsons but I have a connection with them,” he said.
“If I have to dance, I will dance, even if I do it subtly and I asked them to hide me. It’s not my way.”
The pressure on Brazil’s new generation of stars is enormous as they seek to win the World Cup for a record sixth time, two decades after the Selecao last lifted the trophy in Japan in 2002.
The question now is whether they can carry on playing with the joy they showed against South Korea as the tournament in Qatar draws to a close, but Tite said it all depends on the personalities of his players. .
“It’s the identity of Brazilian football and the generation that emerged,” said the veteran coach, who won the Club World Cup in charge of Corinthians ten years ago.
“We give them the confidence to go out and give their best.
“These are the characteristics of our players, but beyond that pressure, it takes courage to play that way.”
As Neymar and full-back Danilo returned from ankle injuries to feature against South Korea, Brazil sweated over Alex Sandro’s fitness for the Croatia encounter.
The Juventus left-back has missed the last two games in Qatar with a muscle injury.
“It seems unlikely that he will play because he hasn’t done enough work on the training ground yet,” admitted Tite, adding that a decision would be made after Thursday’s session.
If Alex Sandro can’t play, Danilo will continue at left-back, with Real Madrid’s Eder Militao, usually a centre-back, again filling in on the right.
