Leo to Brazil

According to ESPN.com.br, Leonardo, ex-Milan coach is the elected to substitute Dunga. The deal should be 90% closed now and probably, in the end of July, his name will be announced.

Particularly, I think it's a damn good choice. He's the exact opposite of Dunga. And this is exactly what CBF and basically everyone else DEMANDS.

Extremely polite, neat, speaks 5 languages and he knows the stuff. As a manager and a coach. He took over that overwhelmed Milan team from the last season and brought it to quite some places if you consider how damaged the team was during the prep time, with a chubby, drunk, clubber and depressed star and a bunch of old and frequently injured players. A fan of offensive football, his great master - no surprise here - was Tele Santana, the author of the art piece Brazil '82.

I think Brazil will be in good hands. Finally a guy who leads through his smile, not raging teeth. Someone with moral and arguments, energy and ideas to rebuild brazilian's football dignity. With arguments and persuasion enough to look into the eyes of the youngsters and ask them to stay, instead of going to Europe and call the big stars back 'cause the cup will be here, and the show must start now. I truly loved it. Considering how exciting Milan was in some inspired matches, and how far did he go even with a crappy roster, Brazil will be fine.

i don't think...

the same mistake agaaain.... auuuuuuuuuuu

James Blunt.. jajajajaja

Stupid.

James Blunt?

And what's stupid???

All that I know is that Leonardo seems far better than any of the old farts that have been suggested as alternatives. (Okay, I rather like Scolari but I don't think it would work for a second time - and he is supposed to go to Palmeiras anyway...)

tinytim;2902601 said:

Extremely polite, neat, speaks 5 languages and he knows the stuff. As a manager and a coach. He took over that overwhelmed Milan team from the last season and brought it to quite some places if you consider how damaged the team was during the prep time, with a chubby, drunk, clubber and depressed star and a bunch of old and frequently injured players. A fan of offensive football, his great master - no surprise here - was Tele Santana, the author of the art piece Brazil '82.

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He failed at Milan. The team with him in charge was given a fresh start and he was suppose to start to carry them to victory, instead he lost too much in the league and continental. His squad was pretty decent so not challenging for the title was deemed a non-success. He wouldn't have been fired otherwise.

Hopefully he changes his luck because he hasn't proven himself at all yet. At least (people are speculating) he will play flair football.

Bad move. He's tactically inept and did nothing good for Milan other than helping Ronaldinho regain his form. And from the looks of recent pictures, all that was for naught too.

How anyone considers Leonardo a good choice for the NT helm is beyond me. It would be the same mistake as appointing Dunga - putting an inexperienced guy who would learn to be a coach whilst in charge. The only difference is that Leo is more polite, elegant and "loveable" than his much maligned counterpart.

Make no mistake tho, Dunga isnt hated in Brazil only for his defensive tactics, but also due to the fact he's pretty much of an ass. Anyway, I think our next coach should be someone experienced, not some charismatic newbie. We need to hire someone that can bring us the title.

Lean;2902627 said:

Anyway, I think our next coach should be someone experienced, not some charismatic newbie. We need to hire someone that can bring us the title.

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But then who? From the experienced managers the only uncontentious name I can think of is Scolari, and chances are that won't happen (at least not in the immediate future)

Are Muricy Ramalho, Abel Braga, Mano Menezes good coaches? I don't know much about them.

What about someone like Pellegrini, is he too much of a rival (Chile)?

Palmeiras already said they would share their manager if needed. From the names we've got on offer (Mano Menezes, Muricy Ramalho, Vanderlei Luxemburgo, Ricardo Gomes, Leonardo and Scolari), I would prefer Scolari. If that's not possible, Ricardo Gomes would be my choice. He's doing a good job at São Paulo, took them to the Libertadores semifinals and if it werent for CBF (who suspended all his starting forwards), he would've won the brazilian title last year.

Muricy is a good coach, but he lacks charisma and his relationship with the press sucks aswell. Mano could be an option, but when you've got a team with Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, Dentinho and all the kind of depth he has without even managing to get past the Round of 16 at Copa Libertadores, it shows you need more credentials. Luxemburgo no way (even tho he's the most tactically sound of all). Abel Braga is a name that our press didnt remember, and I like him. He got some important titles at Internacional (Libertadores and FIFA World Club Cup, both in 2006). As for Leonardo, I've already said: the NT is no playground for newbies trying to get a hold on managing.

I would prefer Joel Santana to Leonardo as our coach, seriously. Even Renê Simões.

Autuori anyone? actually, if it were down to me, I'd get Muricy Ramalho.

Horatiu;2902620 said:

He failed at Milan. The team with him in charge was given a fresh start and he was suppose to start to carry them to victory, instead he lost too much in the league and continental. His squad was pretty decent so not challenging for the title was deemed a non-success. He wouldn't have been fired otherwise.

Hopefully he changes his luck because he hasn't proven himself at all yet. At least (people are speculating) he will play flair football.

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I wouldn't call his performance a failute nor his squad decent. Far from it, btw. Of course it was better than most of the other Serie A squads, but it was so, so and so below of Milan's historical standars, which is a big problem to start with. And yet, the team played flairly and ofensively, which is quite big when you consider that happened in italian football, with Milan.

I don't think he was fired like his ass was in a straight colision route with someone's foot since the end of the "Winter Tournament". It was a natural solution since so much tension was created with his decisions and difficulties, given the circunstances of his squad as I mentioned above. It was better for everyone and also, some good and more experienced coaches, whose names would naturally calm the tiffosi down, might surfaced at the end of the season.

Kibe Kru;2902730 said:

Autuori anyone? actually, if it were down to me, I'd get Muricy Ramalho.

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Muricy is a Dunga with a red neck.

Lean;2902627 said:

How anyone considers Leonardo a good choice for the NT helm is beyond me. It would be the same mistake as appointing Dunga - putting an inexperienced guy who would learn to be a coach whilst in charge. The only difference is that Leo is more polite, elegant and "loveable" than his much maligned counterpart.

Make no mistake tho, Dunga isnt hated in Brazil only for his defensive tactics, but also due to the fact he's pretty much of an ass. Anyway, I think our next coach should be someone experienced, not some charismatic newbie. We need to hire someone that can bring us the title.

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Leonardo, compared to Dunga, isn't a Newbie. He already has a huge team on his resumé and did a decent work in my opinion, like I put above.

And yet, Dunga hadn't experience, however, his numbers are on his side. Brazil just won EVERYTHING it disputed across these 3,5 years. No one can take that from Dunga, because it's just true. If an 'unexperienced' guy could do it, I wonder what Leonardo can. Simples as that.

It may sound foolish but I actually think Leonardo's negative experiences at Milan might prove a positive thing. Little experience, yes, but having a tough ride at the highest level should count for something - specially for a highly intelligent guy like him.

As for other names, Ricardo Gomes happens to be the manager of my team. While he has been doing a good work there is nothing really exciting about it. I am not quite convinced he has what it takes.

Kibe Kru;2902730 said:

Autuori anyone? actually, if it were down to me, I'd get Muricy Ramalho.

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Autuori wouldn't be bad... but not Muricy, FFS. He is certainly more capable than Dunga (in spite of the similarities) and I respect what he did for São Paulo; but then by the time of the third title São Paulo had become a highly predictable team lacking genuine creativity (sounds familiar?); and then he went to Palmeiras and it imploded...

tinytim;2902856 said:

Leonardo, compared to Dunga, isn't a Newbie. He already has a huge team on his resumé and did a decent work in my opinion, like I put above.

And yet, Dunga hadn't experience, however, his numbers are on his side. Brazil just won EVERYTHING it disputed across these 3,5 years. No one can take that from Dunga, because it's just true. If an 'unexperienced' guy could do it, I wonder what Leonardo can. Simples as that.

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There are a couple of differences here, mate. When both were players, Dunga was the captain of 1994 and showed verve, passion, and whatever other qualities needed to steer the team forward in order to conquer the World Cup. Leonardo elbowed his way out of the finals. When told, three years later, that he wouldnt be captain, Leo left the NT. See the difference in character?

As a coach, Dunga had his troubles, just as Leonardo. Neither of them had experience, and Dunga leaves the post being more experienced than Leonardo. He was in charge for 4 years, Leonardo for one season. Saying Leonardo would be better than Dunga due to experience is a mistake. The fact that Leonardo's Milan team managed to end the season in the top 4 just shows the overall level of Serie A these days. With that kind of campaign six years ago he should be pleased to finish top seven.

Leonardo made the team play with flair at some points of the season. The truth is Milan didnt have a standard and anyone who follows the club can tell you that the team was quite unpredictable, and in a bad way. Being humbled four-nil to Manchester United - a opponent Milan is used to beat - doesnt help his cause. Dunga, on the other hand, won everything, except for the only thing he should've won, the World Cup, and that's what counts.

I dont give a **** about Confederations Cup nor Copa America. And no-one in Brazil does, that's just an "alibi" he has, to "prove" he did a good job. By the way, Parreira won everything prior to WC 2006, but that squad lost the World Cup due to fitness problems, and lack of discipline. Believe me or not, that's WAY better than losing the World Cup because of a lack in quality, like this year. We're talking Brazil here, not some mediocre european nation with no aspirations.

Brazil CAN'T freaking lose a World Cup because the team lacks depth and quality. That's not acceptable. We're talking about a nation with 190 million people, where football is the nº 1 sport. Then we look at the bench and who we have to change our destiny in a match: Julio Baptista? Kléberson? Josué? Nilmar? We're losing a game and then we remove our centreforward for Nilmar? Really? Alright, Nilmar is not a bad player, but he's over 23 and we're still hearing about his "potential" ffs.

And then we've got Diego, Gaúcho, Pato, Alex (yeah, the Fenerbahce guy, he's a genius), Ganso, Neymar, Hernanes, all waiting on the sidelines. But no, that dumbass of coach decides to play Felipe Melo, a thug who had an absolute crap season for Juventus. Anyway, when we think an average to decent player like Elano is an absolute starter for the Seleção, when know we're in trouble.

Lean;2902961 said:

There are a couple of differences here, mate. When both were players, Dunga was the captain of 1994 and showed verve, passion, and whatever other qualities needed to steer the team forward in order to conquer the World Cup. Leonardo elbowed his way out of the finals. When told, three years later, that he wouldnt be captain, Leo left the NT. See the difference in character?

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Maybe it's just me not remembering what happened... but certainly Leonardo was a starter in WC '98?

Horatiu;2902645 said:

Are Muricy Ramalho, Abel Braga, Mano Menezes good coaches? I don't know much about them.

What about someone like Pellegrini, is he too much of a rival (Chile)?

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Muricy Ramalho - Not really. He's good at League tournaments, with 38 fixtures and plenty of time to adapt and fix his mistakes. He's also a huge fan of set pieces (I mean a huge one) and his teams, lately (São Paulo, Palmeiras and Fluminense) priorize them aerial offensivity - lots of crosses and headings.

Abel Braga - Definitely not. He only did decent at Internacional. He brought Inter to Libertadores' final in the 80's and came back to finish his job in 2006, becoming also World Champion over Barcelona in the same year. Apart of that, even in Saudi Arabia he's not doing great.

Mano Menzes - Good, but not enough to coach Brazil. He's been around under the brightest spots since 2005, when he made Gremio come back from 2nd division to Libertadores' final in 3 years. When Corinthians was relegated, he was hired with this same purpose - carrying the club to the final, which never happened before. Corinthians was easily the champion of 2nd division, also getting to the Brazil's Cup (the champion is enabled to play Libertadores in the following season) final and losing (thanx, ref) to Sport Recife. In the following year, Corinthians won the final against a much stronger side, Internacional and won Paulista Tournament (a long and unncessary regional tournament) without a single defeat, beating Neymar and Ganso's Santos in the 2 final matches. Had a mediocre performance in the Brazilian League 2009, a suffering performance (in terms of football, not points) in Libertadores and went off after beating Flamengo 2-1 at home (2-2 aggregate score, Flamengo won first match with a Adriano penalty kick).

He's a fan of defensive compactation and...defensive midfielders, much like Dunga. Has a frequently investigated and quite controversial relationship with his own agent who, apparently, eases the path of his players to Corinthians - which is not a big deal, but in Brazil, yes it is.

About Scolari: he's out of South America for over 8 years. He had a hard time making his team a champion in Uzbekistan. He'd need time do adapt. And this is exactly what the Brazil's new coach doesn't have.

Daniel David;2902966 said:

Maybe it's just me not remembering what happened... but certainly Leonardo was a starter in WC '98?

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No, Giovanni was. Leonardo gained his place among the starting eleven because he obviously offered both ofensive and defensive alternatives. He had stamina and speed to go back to defense and help marking while Giovanni (who had a great 1997-1998 season with Rivaldo in Barça) didn't.