Is the Concentracao an Outdated Concept That Is Harming Brazilian Football?

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: April 10, 2014

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Players in this corner of the world have a long list of complaints about the way football is run in Brazil: the hectic, disorganised calendar, substandard playing surfaces, midweek kick-offs of 10 p.m. to accommodate media giant Globo and their soap operas, to name but a few.

 

But perhaps none grate more than that unique aspect of Brazilian football—the concentracao.

 

In theory, it may sound an excellent innovation. To give players the maximum opportunity for rest and relaxation prior to the physical demands of a football match, the squad remains encamped in a hotel together for one or even two nights prior to the game.

It is a demonstration of the father-son relationship between a coach and his players.

Or, if observed in a slightly less rose-tinted fashion, the lack of trust placed in the playing staff to stay out of trouble in the hours leading up to a match.

But in this day and age is it really necessary? And has it ever been truly effective?



Brazilian writer Ruy Castro, in his excellent biography chronicling Garrincha, tells tales of how players would strive to evade the extremities of the concentracao during the 1950s and 1960s.

Normally, a hotel room would be booked under an assumed name, giving the players the freedom to gamble. It was not uncommon for a player to have lost his win bonus before even getting near the football pitch.

What becomes evident from the book is that the biggest obstacle to overcome however, was not the club directors—it was boredom.

In the modern era, players continue to take measures against the concentracao. Last year, during the Campeonato Brasileiro, Rio de Janeiro club Botafogo were fighting for the title for a large part of the season.

To complicate matters, senior members of the playing staff were locked in a bitter dispute with club directors over ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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