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To date, a large part of the story of Gabriel Jesus’ career is of two World Cups that didn’t quite go as he wanted them to. This is true of a selection of mainstay Brazilian players, having not won the World Cup since 2002, even the best players of the intervening years- Neymar, Thiago Silva, Marcelo- are viewed a little lukewarmly in their own country.
In the build-up to the 2018 World Cup, Jesus was Brazil’s golden boy. He ended a decade long search for an elite number 9 in a post Ronaldo era and his work ethic was the perfect foil to Neymar’s powerful but graceful dribbling. The problem is that when it came to the 2018 World Cup in Brazil, the Selecao suffered a few key injuries and Neymar suffered an ego attack and went rogue on a number of the tactical principles that had restored their form under Tite.
It meant Jesus did not score a goal as Brazil tumbled out at the quarter-final stage against Belgium and no amount of context or nuance really matters in that scenario. If you are Brazil’s centre-forward and you don’t score and Brazil don’t win the World Cup, you are going to feel the brunt of that.
What followed revealed Jesus as a sensitive character (I don’t say this pejoratively). Initially he hit back at the criticism he received, which made things worse. The player lost confidence and he stopped playing upfront, preferring instead to fall into the carousel of wide forwards at Manchester City and Brazil.
‘After the World Cup I still thought a lot, it was my most difficult moment as a player,’ he admitted on reflection in early 2019. After the backlash to his initial distaste for the criticism he received, he struck a more conciliatory tone. ‘As a supporter, I would not like a Brazil number nine to not score. I did not have a good time at work, it happens to everyone.’
In the same interview, we could see the criticism rankled still and he admitted, ‘scoring goals is not my strong point.’ In the 2019 Copa America Final Jesus…
Source link : https://arseblog.com/2024/10/love-its-who-you-know-gabriel-jesus-kai-havertz/
Author : Tim Stillman
Publish date : 2024-10-10 12:00:51
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