Tite even cited Guardiola to justify why he rested seven players in Flamengo’s defeat against Bolívar at the altitude of La Paz. UOL News Sport, columnists Rodrigo Mattos and Alicia Klein debated the coach’s explanations. They defended respect for physiology, but questioned Tite’s strategy in the Libertadores.
Mattos: ‘The strategy didn’t work for Libertadores’
Obviously, it makes sense that you respect the players physically, that you respect what physiology says, that they are tired, but we have to consider at what point Flamengo reached a stage where it needed not to have seven players in a decisive Libertadores game already in April. So, there is a logical reasoning here: first, did the players wear out in these early season games to get to this stage, was there any exaggeration in this process? Then, the initial plan was to have mixed teams in two of the first three Libertadores games, does that make sense? Against Millonarios, they played without four players, this one now played without seven, so it seems like there was planning back then that left the players very worn out for this moment.
Let’s remember that Flamengo also spared Pedro and De La Cruz against Palmeiras, Pedro hasn’t played a full match since last Wednesday, he played 45 minutes in seven days. So, yes, you have to respect physiology and science, but it seems to me that the strategy didn’t work. Half of the group stage is over, Flamengo is five points behind first place and could fall to third, depending on the result of Millonarios with Palestino. There’s still the next game in Chile, and then we’ll play two games at home. I mean, it’s a complicated situation for a group that has these altitude problems, but that wasn’t for Flamengo, and is struggling between second and third. We have to respect physiology, but if you think about it in this sense, the strategy didn’t work for the Libertadores, he put himself in a complicated situation.
Tags: Sciences fault doesnt Fla play completely Columnists debate
