Thiago Neves reveals Arrascaeta’s ‘bitterness’ with former Cruzeiro coach

Two-time Brazilian Cup champion with Cruzeiro, Thiago Neves recalled the duo he formed with Arrascaeta in Raposa’s midfield in 2017 and 2018. Among the various topics discussed this weekend at Bola da Vez, ESPNthe former player revealed that Flamengo’s current number 14 had a grudge against Mano Menezes, the Celestial coach at the time.

“Arrascaeta was very shy. The kid was my partner. In 2017, he was on the team’s bench. When I arrived, Mano put Alisson, who is at São Paulo, because he didn’t play at ’10’, like he does at Flamengo. He played open. Arrascaeta entered, and Mano: ‘Arrascaeta, stay open on the left, open’. He was going to the right. ‘Arrasca, since you’re on the right, it’s more open here’. And he was going left”, said Thiago.

“Say something? He had a streak of Mano. ‘Come in the middle now, because Thiago is going to pull over’. And he went the other way. The kid was cool. (…) He didn’t care about anything, in his world, suddenly, he would catch the ball and start dribbling. Unlike today. And Arrasca, I don’t know what happens to him. He gets involved with the ball, and it falls to him. The kid is very shitty. Either he stopped inside the goal, or he was beaten”, he added.

Even though, according to reports, Mano Menezes and Arrascaeta did not have a good relationship, Cruzeiro reaped rewards while the two were together at Toca da Raposa II. The coach led the Uruguayan on two occasions. The first, briefer one, took place in 2015, when the celestial team was not competing for major titles.

On the other hand, in the second meeting between the two, from 2016 to 2019, Cruzeiro was two-time champion of the Copa do Brasil (2017 and 2018). In the last victory, Arrascaeta played a crucial role in scoring the goal that sealed the victory over Corinthians in the second game of the final, at the NeoQuimica Arena, in São Paulo.

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