Presented on Thursday afternoon (11) as the coach of the Brazilian national team, Dorival Júnior, 61, demanded a change in players' behavior to help the team overcome the crisis that unfolded throughout 2023, mainly due to the poor performance in the World Cup qualifiers.
The coach understands that in moments like these, it is common in football for the blame to fall on coaches and their assistants. For him, players also need to take on more responsibilities.
Brazil is struggling in the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup. The yellow-green selection is in sixth place, the last that guarantees direct qualification for the Cup.
One of the players under the coach's command will be Neymar, with whom he had a disagreement at Santos in 2010. At that time, a discussion over the team's penalty taker led to the coach's dismissal. According to the coach, the repercussion of the case was exaggerated.
"I have no problem with Ney. That situation was disproportionate," he said, referring to the player as "one of the three greatest in the world."