- Tite discusses taking one year off to study coaching
- He hails Neymar, Kevin De Bruyne and Roberto Mancini’s Italy
- He explains why facing Argentina is much more than a World Cup qualifier
“Surviving for long in a country that has 200 million Seleção coaches is impossible,” summarised Luiz Felipe Scolari of what many deem the most demanding job in football.
Surviving under the scorching scrutiny of the gluttonous Brazil fans is, indeed, akin to surviving in the Lut Desert. Winning, to Brazilians, simply isn’t enough. You need to win with immeasurable swagger.
Mario Zagallo was A Seleção’s eighth coach in the five years leading up to Mexico 1970. Carlos Alberto Parreira was their fourth appointment in little over a year in 1991. Scolari became the fourth in nine months ten years later. Only one man in history – Flavio Costa, who was in charge between 1944 and ’50 – has spent over five years in the canary-yellow chair.
A man who is not…