It's time for other Brazilian stars to get closer to Neymar

Well before the kickoff, the 2019 Copa America has already lost what seemed to be one of its major themes.

The scene seemed ready for Neymar to resume his career, getting rid of injuries, discipline problems and the controversy surrounding his dive by leading Brazil to victory at home. Instead, he misses the tournament – and the ankle injury he has contracted has almost been a relief, allowing him to focus on defending himself against the serious charges he faces.

For a while, the cover of the Copa America in Brazil has been almost entirely reduced to information about the evolution of Neymar's life. But the star striker and the team have now separated and, while David Neres replaced Neymar and set himself a great solo goal, Brazil completed its preparation with an impressive and impressive 7-0 win over Honduras in Porto Alegre.

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Neymar has never been as big as the team – and coach Tite is still struggling with questions, doubts and issues that have been hovering since last year's World Cup campaign, which took end with a spectacular 2-1 defeat in the quarterfinals against Belgium. The coach has clearly come to the conclusion that his team last year did not find the right balance between attack and defense – and steps were taken to improve the situation.

Against Belgium, they were too open. Titus is now looking for a more cautious approach to his back. Daniel Alves and Filipe Luis will rarely be seen as auxiliary wingmen flying on the flanks. Brazil has many wingmen to carry out this attack function. Instead, the backs will build deep, and staying closer to central defenders, the defense should be stronger. This change of course is further accentuated by a change of midfield.

The central trio of last year featured Paulinho, who functioned almost like an auxiliary center-forward, occasionally charged into the opposing penalty area. He has given way to Arthur of Barcelona, ​​who has forged deeper ties at his death – and if the injury he suffered against Honduras proves serious, the function can be filled with more dynamism and less of technique by Allan of Napoli.

The central triangle of the midfielder has therefore been reversed. Instead of Casemiro behind and two ahead, Casemiro and Arthur are now behind with Philippe Coutinho. This should release Coutinho from what he does best. instead of having to cover boxed box, he can now focus his efforts on creating and filming in the last third of the field.

In fact, the absence of Neymar paves the way for a mini theme of Copa: the opportunity for Coutinho to redeem himself after a disappointing period in Barcelona. These are changes made since the World Cup. But another change that Titus brought brings the team back to Russia 2018. Tite later regretted having persevered so long in competing with Gabriel Jesus in the center of the front. He would have liked to have Roberto Firmino come. It was a change made after the World Cup. Firmino has become the center of choice. But it has proved difficult to integrate the Liverpool man into the collective context of the team.

Time on the training ground would have been welcome. But Liverpool's participation in the Champions League final delayed Firmino's arrival on the national team and in his absence, Gabriel Jesus took over. When Firmino tries to give up and combine, Jesus offers the team the opportunity to lengthen the game with his movement behind the opposing defensive line.

His full play, plus three goals in the two warm-up matches, seems to indicate that he will likely have the green light for the first day of the Copa against Bolivia. Another option is Richarlison left his post on the right to assume a more central role. Tite took a look towards the end of the match against Honduras, Firmino operating behind him. At the time, however, things had become very easy against opponents long reduced to ten men, and one wondered how much could be learned. Brazil is also back, of course, on the stage of the 2014 nightmare.

And they will face the same cruel dynamics of cup competitions. The group stage should be a children's game – not only because the opponents (Bolivia, Venezuela, Peru) are hardly the most difficult, but also because eight of the twelve teams qualify for the quarter-finals. But then, suddenly, the stakes become much more important. The quarter-finals go directly to the penalties if the scores are at the same level after 90 minutes. The pressure will be strong and we will discover the truth about Brazil without Neymar.