Tite is back. The headlines across Paulista, as the state of Sao Paulo is known, newspapers were largely positive. The memories of Tite’s recent reign at arguably the biggest club in the land are fresh and there is a sense of happier times returning to the club.
His record reads impressively. The 2011 Campeonato Brasileiro. The 2012 Copa Libertadores. The 2012 FIFA Club World Cup, a narrow, scrappy 1-0 win over Chelsea in which goalkeeper Cassio put in a heroic display to keep the Londoners at bay.
Let the good times roll again.
Only, there have not been any particularly bad times at the Pacaembu and now Arena Itaquerao, their new, post-World Cup home.
Corinthians finished the season in fourth place and have qualified for the 2015 Copa Libertadores, South America’s answer to the Champions League. They finished 11 points behind runaway winners Cruzeiro, who had, by a considerable distance, the strongest team in the league, yet Corinthians managed to do the double over them. They were the only side to record that feat.
Mano Menezes, who resigned from his post at Flamengo last year, must be left scratching his head, quite possibly still scarred by the stigma of being dumped so unceremoniously by the CBF in favour of Luiz Felipe Scolari. It means that in the last four years, the Corinthians job has bounced back and forth between the pair, first with Menezes, then Tite, back to Menezes and now with Tite again.
To me, to you. It’s enough to make the Chuckle Brothers dizzy.
The recently dismissed boss appears to have been a victim of his predecessor’s success. Fans are fickle at the best of times but in Brazil the whole charade can resemble a circus act.
For all the complaints of a lack of quality, disorganized calendar and late midweek kick-off times, the Brasileirao, the national league, can be one of the most enthralling to follow in terms of competition, because there is a large group of teams at the beginning of the season with genuine title aspirations.
The propensity for sacking coaches, sometimes for no discernible reason, is almost ingrained into Brazilian footballing psychology. Abel Braga also faced the chop at Internacional despite reaching the Libertadores.
Now, with Menezes reportedly not interested in a move to Porto Alegre, Braga is back in the frame and could be offered a new contract, as reported by Globo Esporte (link in Portuguese).
But the Corinthians conundrum also highlights another major flaw in domestic football in the country. Jobs aren’t usually given to young managers who may bring new insight to the job.
Instead, the same names pass through the revolving door time and time again. Last week, Oswaldo de Oliveira was named as the new boss of Palmeiras to become the first coach in history to be in charge of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo’s “Big Eight”—Flamengo, Fluminense, Botafogo, Vasco da Gama, Sao Paulo, Corinthians, Palmeiras and Santos.
But where is someone with fresh eyes, innovative ideas? Roberto Carlos, who enjoyed a glittering career with Real Madrid and Brazil, is in charge at Turkish outfit Sivasspor.
Was he considered for the job at Corinthians? Could he not bring experience, having used his time in Turkey as a learning curve?
At Madrid, he played under some of the finest coaches in the game. It is inconceivable he learnt nothing noteworthy from them that he might be able to apply, adapt or tweak, to be used in his homeland.
For now, not much looks like changing in terms of younger coaches coming in. Vasco came very close to appointing 35-year-old Marquinhos Santos last week, but the deal fell through owing to the poor health of Santos’ wife, as reported by UOL Esporte (link in Portuguese).
But what would be more beneficial would be to give a coach time. Contrary to what seems to pass for popular belief in football, certain clubs do not have a divine right to win titles, yet Corinthians have now treated recent success as a dangerous precedent for the future.
In Brazil there are two national crowns, the Campeonato Brasileiro and the Copa do Brasil. Then there are the Copa Libertadores and Copa Sul-Americana on the continent.
Failure to land a title should not automatically mean the end of the road. The constant chopping and changing is hardly a foolproof recipe for success.