Copa America: Brazil coach breaks silence on being outside team circle before penalties vs Uruguay

Brazil suffered yet another disappointing moment by getting knocked out from the 2024 Copa America quarterfinals in a penalty shootout loss to Uruguay. But somehow, there was a situation that gave more to talk about than the elimination itself.

Shortly before the penalties, the Brazilian players formed a team circle to prepare for the shootout. Surprisingly, coach Dorival Junior was seen struggling to get into the circle, trying to be heard by the players.

Needless to say, this situation went viral and sparked countless reactions on social media, as it looked like the coach lacked authority in a crucial moment. Besides, the image was even more sad when comparing it to Uruguay‘s team circle, as all the players were listening to coach Marcelo Bielsa.

In his post-match press conference, Dorival addressed this controversial episode, claiming he never felt his authority undermined. According to the Brazilian coach, he decided to stay outside the circle as he had already talked to the players.

“I stayed out because I had been talking to each of them about what was on my mind,” Dorival said. “With the five initial positions defined, I had been discussing what we had trained. In fact, we had been practicing since the first day in Orlando. We had been working on penalties because we knew that we would probably have this possibility in match decisions.”

Marquinhos defends Dorival’s authority

Another key member of the Brazilian national team who talked about this situation was Marquinhos. The veteran center back defended the coach, explaining his assistant Lucas was with the players on the team circle.

“He wasn’t outside (the circle). I think he was behind, like this, right? (makes a gesture). It was Lucas who made the decision, as he was the one who was more involved with the penalties during training, and he was the one making the decisions in the middle of the circle,” Marquinhos said. “But the coach has full authority. If he was outside, it was probably because he had delegated the responsibility to his assistant, who was the one overseeing the training.”