Tite's results show he is the best man to lead Brazil to the World Cup

19-Nov-2020 12:30:11 | The Guardian

There are always murmurs in Brazil about replacing the manager, but his record in the job is extremely impressive

By Tom Sanderson for Yellow and Green Football

Injuries and Covid-19 threatened to derail Brazil in their two World Cup qualifiers in the international break, relieving Tite of no fewer than nine players, yet the Seleção finished off 2020 in perfect fashion, beating Uruguay 2-0 in Montevideo on Tuesday night after seeing off Venezuela in São Paulo three days earlier. After four rounds of fixtures in South American qualifying, Brazil are the only team with a 100% record. There is a long way to go – South American sides have to play 18 qualifiers in their 10-team group – but, after scoring 12 goals and conceding just two in four straight wins, things are looking good for Tite.

Brazil had not lost to Uruguay since 2001, so should have been confident as they made their way across the border. Yet, following a limp 1-0 win over Venezuela on Friday, some fans were suggesting that the national team may be better off with a different manager. Those mutterings have only increased since their defeat to Belgium in the World Cup quarter-finals in 2018, so Tite needed his team to make a statement.

They did. Although this wasn’t the 4-1 rout of Uruguay that Brazil enjoyed in 2017 – when Edinson Cavani gave the hosts an early lead from the penalty spot before Brazil roared back thanks to a Paulinho hat-trick and delightful scooped lob from Neymar – the performance reaffirmed Tite’s credentials. Some supporters would prefer to see Flamengo manager Rogério Ceni or São Paulo boss Fernando Diniz in charge, but neither of them has a CV to rival Tite, who won the Brazilian league title, the Copa Libertadores and Fifa Club World Cup while in charge of Corinthians.