Ronaldo Fenômeno reveals serious mistake in the training of Brazilian players

In recent statements, Ronaldo Fenômeno, a former football player and current manager of Cruzeiro, addressed the supposed lag of Brazilian football compared to international football, especially European football. In this way, the star highlighted that the discrepancy is not limited to coaches, but encompasses the entire process of training players in Brazil. A situation that exemplifies this issue is the case of Vini Jr. and the management that Flamengo carried out with the athlete.

Vinícius Jr., well known in the current football scene, arrived at Real Madrid in 2018. Ronaldo closely followed this transition and noted that, despite Vini’s great talent, he landed in Europe “unrefined”. This lack of preparation led to speculation about the athlete’s fate, suggesting that he would soon be loaned out to smaller clubs in short order. This situation was evidenced in an episode reported on the “Mano a Mano” podcast.

“For many years, the talents that left Brazil, left because they are talents and, many times, raw. A very clear case is Vinícius Jr. He was sold to Real Madrid at the age of 18, making his first year in Real Madrid’s B team. You could see that he was not a refined athlete, so much so that everyone said that he would be loaned there, until he returned to Brazil“, said Ronald.

Today, Ronaldo sees Vinícius as one of the main names in world football. However, he points out that this is due, in large part, to the training that the athlete has had in recent years in Spain and not to his development at Flamengo in Brazil.

In Ronaldo’s view, there are basic errors in the training of players in Brazil that need to be corrected. Again using the example of Vinicius Jr., Ronaldo mentions in an interview with the podcast “Hand to Hand”: “When he arrived, he couldn’t control it with his left leg. And it’s Vinicius, he played for Flamengo. They didn’t prepare him correctly, because they didn’t improve his left leg, they didn’t improve his technical fundamentals, his relationship of time and space on the field. It only got better out there.”

Despite the criticism, Ronaldo Fenômeno shows that there are already signs of change in Brazilian football. He highlights the creation of the CBF Academy and recent investments in training professionals as positive points for improving the scenario in the long term, around 2030. Ronaldo Fenômeno concludes, “Brazil is going to make a leap in quality in about five or six years.”

Finally, Ronaldo still considers that there are foreign football coaches who are better prepared than Brazilians today. However, he does not fail to point out that the most important thing is to hire the best professionals, whatever their nationality.

Featured Photo: Ronaldo Fenômeno. Reproduction/Cruise