Football
ESPN staff 9y

Brazil development council: Stronger clubs will strengthen our football

Brazil's clubs need to be strengthened, especially at the academy level, if the country is to recover its place among the game's elite, said a group of ex-players and coaches formed to improve the country's football on Monday.

The newly-formed Counsel of Strategic Development for Brazilian football met for the first time at confederation headquarters in Rio de Janeiro to discuss the direction of the sport in the country.

The group consisting of current national team coach Dunga, technical director Gilmar Rinaldi, along with Carlos Alberto Parreira, Mario Zagallo, Paulo Roberto Falcao, Carlos Alberto Silva, Sebastiao Lazaroni, Candinho and Ernesto Paulo came away from the inaugural assembly pinpointing stronger domestic development as being the base for a more successful national team.

"Football is very complex, the national team is only the tip of the pyramid. We have to strengthen the clubs, give them conditions to develop work in the academies, and help to create centers of excellence and to discuss the calendar," said Rinaldi afterward.

Dunga, for his part, added there needs to be more prudent assessment of the country's superstar players.

"I think there are various ways to think," the 1994 world champ said. "The first is to find above-average players who will later become superstars. It will be difficult if we're searching for a Pele, but if we look for above-average players, in the future we can have players that can one day be considered superstars.

"It's a revision of the thinking: A player plays two games and everyone says he is a superstar. We need to fix this expectation. It's a weight far beyond what he's prepared to handle in that moment."

Dunga addressed the need for a restructuring of the national team, which he's coached twice in his career.

"You know a pyramid?" he said, echoing Rinaldi's analogy. "The national team is the tip of the pyramid. You can't start to fix a building from the top. You must start with the foundation and gradually work your way up. We have to find our style of play."

The council was announced last week by Rinaldi in response to Brazil's disappointing quarterfinals exit against Paraguay at the Copa America in Chile. That result came within a year of the Selecao's embarrassing World Cup failure on home soil, which was highlighted by a 7-1 loss to Germany in the semifinals.

The group has hopes to have an additional five meetings with foreign coaches, sports science professionals, current Brazilian club coaches, players and media professionals, but nothing has been scheduled.

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