Grêmio and Internacional had a 2021 to throw in the trash. If we look at the natural year, joining the end of the 2020 season with the 2021, even more garbage.
Grêmio lost the final of the Copa do Brasil without showing resistance against Palmeiras. Was eliminated in Pre-Libertadores. He renewed it with Renato (nobody wanted to) and then let him go. He brought Tiago Nunes, fired Tiago Nunes, brought Felipão, fired Felipão, took Mancini out of América, changed the football board for a group “old fashion-90s-‘here is guild’-it won’t fall!”” and…. dropped down.
Inter lost the Brasileirão because they were unable to win a home game in the last round against a team that didn’t play at all. He brought Ramirez in knowing what the package was like, fired Ramirez because he didn’t like the package. He was embarrassed at Libertadores. Lost Gaucho. He brought Aguirre, ended the year with a draw and five defeats, 1 point out of 18, midway between relegation (he scored five points more than Grêmio) and Libertadores (he scored five points less than América). Won 3 of the last 14 league games.
Where did Grêmio and Inter go wrong for such a crap 2021, so below criticism? Why the gaucho football will be out of the Libertadores 2022, after 13 consecutive seasons with one, the other or the pair?
I understand that the mistake was not supporting plans that made sense. Tiago Nunes and Miguel Ángel Ramírez were fired very, very, very prematurely. Managers had a good idea and weren’t brave enough to back it up.
Grêmio gave Renato the key to the football department. It worked for a while, but logically the legacy was bad. There was no transition plan. Renato had been going wrong for over a year, and Grêmio’s board of directors didn’t prepare the change – on the contrary, he continued to attend to the coach’s whims, such as hiring veterans who would not bring anything to the club in the long term.
Tiago Nunes was a good choice. We need to stop evaluating coaches for the last game. Tiago did a very good job at Athlético, it didn’t work for Corinthians, now it works very well for Ceará. He started very well at Grêmio, he was champion of Rio Grande do Sul, he had a great first round of the South American Championship. It was doing better than the commission, taking a team after five years of Renato.
Then the Brazilian starts badly, it’s true. Two points in seven games, pretty bad campaign. But does anyone remember that he had Covid and, like many players, missed the start of the campaign? Does anyone realize how the disease acts differently in the bodies of different people, including those who have an “athlete history” or even an athlete’s gift?
It’s okay for the fans not to want to know about that. But no one at the club noticed? Were there locker room issues? With whom? With Matheus Henrique? This one isn’t even in the club anymore and everyone knew he would leave. Heck, if you believe in the guy’s ability, design a project, it starts well, comes a lot of bad luck that no one could control, do you get rid of the project that quickly?
“Ah, but Grêmio would fall if I continued with him”. Hey, what happened? (without him…).
The Grêmio would not have fallen if Tiago Nunes had been supported by the board and Renato’s widow’s locker room had been breastfed. The same dressing room brought down Felipão, it must be said. The percentage points of Felipão and Mancini, in different ways, turned out to be very similar. They weren’t falling percentages.
But it was James who should have run the process. Football managers do not want to be partners in their choices. They jump out – or rather, pull the rug out – at the first opportunity. As if it was only the other’s fault, never theirs. It is necessary to have a little more manhood in this environment.
So did Inter. Since Coudet, I already knew who I wanted: Miguel Ángel Ramírez, who did a tremendous job for Independiente del Valle. And that he gave several interviews in which he made it clear what he was. A coach who represented a package, a non-negotiable style, possession of the ball, positional play, etc, etc, etc. In the meantime, Inter appealed to Abelão just to finish the year, things fell into place, others skidded and the Brazilian title almost fell to Colorado.
Ramírez had nothing to do with the Inter squad. Nothing. But hell, everyone knew that, didn’t they? That it would be a process, that it would be painful at first, that it would be necessary to change parts and shape the cast little by little… Everyone knew. That’s why they didn’t renew with Abel, because they were thinking about a long-term project.
He fired the guy with Covid, isolated, without him to lead the elimination team for Vitória, in the Copa do Brasil. Ugly disposal, true. But Palmeiras also fell to the CRB. In three months, what did Inter directors see in Ramírez that surprised them?
Nothing, right? Let’s agree. Their conviction did not withstand a Gre-Nal standing Gaucho, that’s the truth. Brazilian managers do not have the slightest ability to assess the work of a coach, they do not have the knowledge to do so. It’s up to them to look at the results and act accordingly, preferably playing for the crowd.
It is past time for Inter and Grêmio to go beyond borders and stop living so dependent on each other. Look carefully: in the running points championship, four titles have already gone to clubs from Minas Gerais, none to Gauchos. Forget Ramirez, Nunes, Aguirre, Felipão, Mancini. Look at the leaders, cover the leaders. The gauchos succumbed in 2021 because of who really rules.
