Tite: Brazil ready to face Germany and the ghosts of '7-1'

Tite says Brazil are ready to exorcise the ghosts of the 7-1 when the Brasil Global Tour brings their first meeting with Germany since their infamous semi-final defeat at World Cup 2014.

The five-time world champions face Germany in Berlin on March 27, five days after a test against World Cup hosts Russia in Moscow.

And Tite, who has transformed the Selecao into World Cup favourites since his June 2016 appointment, believes the time has come to move on from that fateful evening in Belo Horizonte.

The time has come to confront our ghost,” he told Globo.

“This is how we prepare for a World cup. Let's face Germany in Berlin, the first time we’ve met them since the 7-1. That happened and, once we accept it, it will hurt less. That is the truth. Now we are writing a new chapter.”

Brazil were in turmoil upon Tite’s arrival, struggling World Cup qualification and having endured two disastrous early exits from the 2015 and 2016 Copas America.

They since raced into Russia, dropping just four points in 12 qualifiers, leading some of the world’s top coaches to label them among the World Cup favourites.

“I don’t know if it's good or bad thing,” he says. 

“But it's true. And we have to face that. I can’t show false humility, nor be overly proud and ostentatious. This is a team in a process of consolidation, that has to mature mentally, and our two opponents in March will provide that, especially Germany.”

Pedro Martins/MoWa Press

Brazil will face that test with a very settled group of players, which has changed little since the first of Tite’s 17 games in the job.

“It varies, but 15-18 players are already assured their World Cup, due to their performances at club level and for Brazil,” he says of a team that have seen Brazil presses higher and seeks to be more proactive than recent sides of the past. 

“This is a mobile team, physical and agile, but with a structure, able to think and execute very quickly. 

“Coutinho, Willian, Gabriel Jesus, Neymar, Douglas Costa, Taison… they think fast and execute fast. The final third of the pitch requires that. 

“What intrigues me most is the ability this team has to combine its mobility and physical capacity to respond intelligently [to the opposition], to think [things through].”

March’s Brasil Global Tour double-header against Russia and then Germany will feature Tite’s final squad prior to the announcement of his 23-man group for the World Cup.