Tite praises players’ ability to prosper in tough conditions in Venezuela

Brazil coach Tite said that he suspected complacency in his side during their 2-0 win over Venezuela in Mérida on Tuesday, but the players insisted that the bumpy pitch made it difficult to play with great intensity. The Seleção took an early lead through Gabriel Jesús but failed to build on the advantage until the […]
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sambafoot_admin
2016-10-14 00:55:00

Brazil coach Tite said that he suspected complacency in his side during their 2-0 win over Venezuela in Mérida on Tuesday, but the players insisted that the bumpy pitch made it difficult to play with great intensity.

The Seleção took an early lead through Gabriel Jesús but failed to build on the advantage until the second half. Tite was concerned about his side losing intensity and broached it with the team at half time, but they cited the uneven surface as the reason for the loss of intensity.

“I made this approach with them and talked with the coaching staff too. But they said ‘is difficult to play with this irregular pitch. We want to make our moves but we could not.” Heavy rainfall in Mérida made a bumpy pitch even trickier to play on.

Tite also reserved praise for his players, whom he credits for his 100% winning streak in his first four games in charge, “I’m old enough to receive praise and understand it only comes from the collective. If you do not have quality players, the coach doesn’t matter. The essence is the technical quality of the players.

“I’m not able to control anything. I was planning this game, to get a result in adverse conditions. I know how you (journalists) prepared to be here, to lose sleep and food. We do too. It is the pace, the state of the pitch. It is facing that at a highly competitive rate.”