Ronaldinho Rips ‘Worst’ Brazil Squad, Won’t Celebrate If They Win Copa América 2024 | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors
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As if things weren’t bad enough for Brazil soccer right now, Ronaldinho made it even worse by railing against the team that will be competing in the Copa America.
In a Portuguese-language post on Instagram translated by ESPN.com, Ronaldinho called the Brazilian roster “one of the worst teams in recent years” and said he won’t celebrate even if they manage to win the tournament:
“It’s difficult to find energy to watch the games. This is maybe one of the worst teams in recent years, it has no respectable leaders, just average players for the most part.
“I’ve been following football since I was a kid, long before I thought about becoming a player, and I’ve never seen a situation as bad as this. There’s a lack of love for the shirt, a lack of determination and most importantly [a lack of] football. The performance has been one of the worst things I’ve ever seen. It’s a shame. That’s why I declare I’m giving up here. I won’t watch any CONMEBOL Copa América games and I won’t celebrate if Brazil win.”
Brazil has been in rough shape since losing to Croatia in the quarterfinals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
That was followed up by the Brazilians posting a 3-1-5 record in nine matches in 2023. The stretch included the country’s first three-match losing streak since 2001 and first-ever home loss in a World Cup qualifying match with a 1-0 defeat against Argentina.
Most of those struggles came with Fernando Diniz serving as interim head coach after replacing Ramon Menezes, who took over on an interim basis following Tite’s resignation in the wake of the World Cup loss.
It was initially thought that Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti would take over for Brazil in 2024, but he signed an extension in December to remain with Los Blancos until 2026.
Dorival Júnior wound up being named the full-time head coach in January.
“I am here today representing the winningest team on the planet, the one that inspires many around the world,” Júnior said during his introductory press conference. “And it has an obligation to win again. Brazilian football is very strong, it reinvents itself. We can’t go through the moment we’re going through. We learned the way to victory from Brazilian football. And we need to find that moment again. What we need from now on is to look for solutions.”
Brazil enters the Copa America missing some key players due to injuries. Ederson is out of action after suffering a fractured eye socket in Manchester City’s 2-0 win over Tottenham on May 14. Neymar is still recovering from a torn ACL suffered in a World Cup qualifying loss last October.
Lucas Paquetá was charged with breaches of betting rules by England’s Football Association last month, but he received clearance to play for Brazil in the Copa America.
Despite all of these recent issues, Brazil still ranks fifth in the FIFA world rankings. It’s lower than the country is used to being, but at least suggests there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic.
We will find out if Ronaldinho’s cynicism is justified when Brazil begins the Copa America on June 24 against Costa Rica.
