Guardiola and the brazilian temptation
Thumbnail Photograph: Tom Flathers/Manchester City FC/Getty Images
Pep Guardiola has been reported to be in contact with the CBF (Brazilian Football Confederation) to become the new Brazil National Team manager following the 2022 World Cup.
The news, which appeared on Thursday on MARCA, delineates a scenario that portrays the actual Seleção coach Tite, departing after the World Cup in Qatar
The ambitions of Ednaldo Rodrigues, elected new CBF president at the end of March, lean toward an international coach with global experience, and the name of Guardiola was one of the first to pop up.
Photograph: Micah Crook/PPAUK/Shuttershock
The Spanish manager’s contract with Manchester City has not been renewed yet, and MARCA reports an already established contact between Guardiola’s agent and brother, Pere, and the CBF.
The deal on the table outlines a four-year contract. Guardiola will be earning around € 12 million per year.
Despite the alleged confidence from members of the CBF for the completion of the deal, the issue of whether Guardiola will leave this summer or remain until the end of next season, since his deal with the Sky Blues runs until 2023, is still pending.
Plus, when asked the direct question, following City’s draw against Sporting CP in the Champions League last month, Guardiola responded pretty straightforwardly.
“Brazil has very good Brazilian coaches who have to coach the national team… there are very good Brazilian coaches. Debate closed.”
This is not the first time, however, that the name of one of the most successful and innovative coaches of all time is associated with the Brazilian National Team.
In 2012, when Guardiola was taking a sabbatical year from coaching, respected Brazilian football site Lance! disclosed the fascination that the Spanish coach holds for the Seleção.
“The only team in the world” he would have started to train with the next day, according to an impeccable source.
These claims were further reinforced by Brazilian defender Dani Alves, who worked with Guardiola in Barcelona, who declared how the manager was tempted to head for Rio in 2015, following his experience in Germany with Bayern Munich.
Furthermore, in an interview with the Mirror, Guardiola’s former right-hand at Barcelona, Bayern Munich and City Domenec Torrent, has declared that “Pep has a special feeling for Brazilian players. He has worked with Brazilians at Barcelona, Bayern, and City.”
Guardiola himself, at the beginning of the season, didn’t hide his with to take a break after seven years a city and evaluate the idea of managing a national team.
“The next step will be a national team, yes, if there’s a chance.”
“I would like to coach at the Euros, a Copa America, a World Cup.”
And when asked specifically about the Seleção, he added: “It’s a fantastic national team. Brazil is always a strong candidate or the favorite. It always was and it will always be."
What, at the moment, remains just a mere suggestion has sparked the minds of every good and well-played soccer fan spread throughout the world.
Brazil has lost some of its charm in the past few years. That’s a fact.
Brazilian legend Edmílson scores with an overhead kick as part of Brazil’s triumphal adventure at the 2002 World Cup Photograph: Getty Images/Getty Images Sport
The Seleção had to adapt to a more physical way of interpreting the game, sacrificing its long-standing philosophy based on the triumph of technique, fantasy, and unexpected strokes of brilliance.
Guardiola, who seemed to be able to remain faithful to his fundamental principles despite the evolution of the game, might be the right man at the right moment to instill that extroversity and creativity back into the Seleção’s minds and feet.