Zico: 'Milan is hurting Paqueta, From Gabigol to Pedro Serie A wastes Brazilians...'
- Apollo Heyes
First, he spoke about the 1982 World Cup match between Italy and Brazil.
"Yes, we were a really strong squad, but then Italy played an incredible match and eliminated us. Football is like that, you never win matches in the moment. It seemed like it had to be between us and Argentina and instead Italy made the big blow and then deserved to win the World Cup.”
Zico touched on the famous photo of Claudio Gentile with a ripped shirt from that game.
"Yes, but at the end of the day Gentile was very loyal to me. He did his job very well, but without ever being unfair. He had the ability to stay glued to me even though I was moving a lot, and in one of the many pushes we gave each other the tear. I have a lot of respect for Gentile and for all the champions who wore the blue jersey in that world championship.”
He spoke about Neymar’s complaints of violent tackles.
"He and I have different styles. I was trying to make a lot of movement and to give the ball up immediately, but he takes it with him and the foul is inevitable. It's part of football."
The former Udinese forward spoke further about Neymar.
"And I think he's got a chance to get to first place. At least he has two World Cups ahead of him and he has an extraordinary talent.”
He revealed that he still tries to follow Serie A.
"From Japan because of the time zone I can't follow it as well as I'd like but I still see a lot of matches.”
Zico spoke about the unconvincing performances of AC Milan midfielder Lucas Paquetá.
"Different football, different tactics and above all lack of confidence. It's pointless to expect Paquetá to come onto the pitch from the bench and save the game. He doesn't have these characteristics at all, when the coach does that it burns him up and makes the situation worse. He's young and AC Milan must take advantage of his characteristics and have patience, because he's very talented."
He spoke about who the ‘next Zico’ is.
"The great players are already all on the national team or are already playing in important leagues, but of those I follow, surely Pepê from Gremio is the one that has characteristics more similar to mine.”
The Brazilian spoke about his move to Udinese.
"Yes, I have so many good memories, recently I came back and they really welcomed me as an idol. I was very happy! It's a shame that after the first year, the company decided to get rid of the best and we had to fight not to be relegated. But the first year in Udine I really had a lot of fun.”
He spoke about why Brazilian players are seemingly struggling in Serie A at the minute.
“A player like Gabigol, for example, who goes to Italy and they don't let him play. What should he do? Stay there and earn money? He's right to come back and prove his worth with facts! The same goes for Pedro, who almost never played Fiorentina, while Gerson's situation is a bit different, he played more but maybe he wasn't used in the right way. However, I do not understand these coaches who ask the players and then do not let them play, or even worse, those managers who buy without even asking the opinion of his coaches. It's crazy!"
Zico didn’t believe that there was a difference in training between Italy and Brazil.
"No, that's a myth. There's a lot of work here as there is in every training ground in Europe. Adaptation problems may be there, language and nutrition, but training is now intense everywhere. There are no longer any differences between football played in the 5 continents.”
Finally, Zico spoke about the next steps for football after the Coronavirus situation.
"The heads of the national and international federations must make uniform decisions, so as not to let everyone throw water at his mill without thinking about the bigger picture, which are the fans. There will be controversial decisions, titles will be awarded even without finishing the league. Each of these decisions will give rise to controversy, but we must not stop thinking that this is a very special year and that soon we will leave it behind us.”
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