Marcelo blog why so serious

Different from those two, Marcelo has never won the World Cup and didn't manage to be a Brazilian national team great once Scolari reassumed the reins a year ago. Worse, his enfant terrible reputation was still lingering after a notorious episode three years ago in which he appeared to fake injury to avoid a call-up for a week of training sessions in Barcelona. But if there's anybody who knows how to handle players with strong personalities, it's Big Phil. Under him, the Real Madrid left-back has been reborn for the Selecao to the point that Marcelo finally seems ready to step into the huge shoes left by Roberto Carlos after the World Cup.

Love him or loathe him, it is undeniable that Carlos "owned" the left side of the defense at least in theory. And since his departure from the national team, a procession of hopefuls have tried to lay a claim to the No. At present, Marcelo is in pole position to win this race.

Although he is once again injured -- a left knee injury will keep him out of the Selecao friendlies against Honduras in Miami and Chile in Toronto -- even Maxwell, now set to start both games, knows he is only deputizing for the Real Madrid man. After all, Scolari has been more than vocal about his fondness for Marcelo. I'd like to think we need to earn our call-ups every week.

Rather than an epiphany, it was psychology "the Scolari way" that nudged Marcelo into calming down. More specifically, Scolari's decision to bench him to start Atletico's Filipe Luis in the prestigious friendly against Italy this past March.

And boy, has he done just that. Apart from the Rio friendly with England in June -- an injury meant that Luis featured in that draw at the Maracana -- Marcelo has started every game for Brazil, missing only October's rendezvous with Zambia in Beijing because Scolari made several changes after a bruising friendly with South Korea just three days prior.

Marcelo, however, is still seen as a bit of a loose cannon in Brazil. Journalists are a bit put off by his ironic tone in news conferences and the way he simply bypasses the lines of hacks in mixed zones. At the same time, this is a guy who manages to be best friends with two players who could not be more different: Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar.

It's probably a good thing that players don't take part in the Ballon d'Or vote; Marcelo would be in a serious dilemma this year, given that CR7 and the Barcelona starlet surely will feature among the five finalists. It's not rocket science. I respect people whatever their background is. I grew up in a poor family, but we were always taught that everybody deserved respect," Marcelo said.

Is it possible to be anti-torture without also being anti-Geordie? But, Bielsa. He has divided people everywhere he has been, which is perhaps inevitable given his idiosyncratic and messianic nature.

There is an integrity and a humility to him. But at the same time, he is stubborn and demanding, idealistic and so sure of his own mind that he insists on, for instance, the training ground being redesigned to his specifications.

Not only did he take them back to the Premier League after a year absence, but he has given them a style and an identity. They are not the first fans to feel that way about him. In , four years after he had left the Chile job, I had to have some passport photos taken in Santiago. It turned out Bielsa had once used the shop I went to and so three walls of the studio were covered in tiny pictures of him, thousands of Bielsas staring at you like being trapped in the poster for Being John Malkovich.

He can go outside and cross from the byline, he can cut into the penalty area on the diagonal and shoot, he can shoot from range, he can cross off either foot. He is a remarkable attacking asset. Defensively, there are two problems. One is his inability to be in two places at the same time. When he pushes forward, there is inevitably the risk of leaving a hole behind him. But that is much more a problem for the coach than it is for Marcelo. A team that does not take advantage of his forward surges is guilty of a grievous waste.

It is up to the coach, then, to set up his side in such a way as to leave the team protected. More serious are the errors he is prone to commit when he is, theoretically at least, in position. The anticipated Champions League final duel between Marcelo and Mohamed Salah did not really happen, with Salah's injury forcing him off the field early.

But while Salah was on the pitch, Marcelo gave away a free kick in a dangerous position when he launched into a foolish "wrong side" challenge on the Liverpool star. Fabio Coentrao came, and not as back up. Marcelo was left out of the European Cup final in Lisbon, which hurt, but he came on to help change the game.

By the following year, Clement admitted, every bit as matter-of-fact, they thought Marcelo was. No one would have had Roberto Carlos any other way and although there is not the same unanimity with Marcelo, he has started be accepted as he is — quite apart from his own improvement and the fact that he was more serious about the sport than some thought. Anarchy can be a good thing on the pitch, they accept. Six days later, he rescued his side, the game crystallised in a moment that defined him every bit as well.

In part, it is a choice, and all choices come with risks; there is a downside to everything, even if it only seems to be seen with offensive players. The pros though far outweigh the cons. In a team where the attackers tend to turn inside, where it can be predictable, Marcelo and Dani Carvajal do make the difference, as Zidane wants — no defenders in Spain have been involved in more goals. This season, they have been vital, a lifeline.

When the B Team versus A Team debate comes up, only they are entirely without question. Their absences hurt more than most at a club that has assimilated injuries with remarkable ease and might even be better off with them. Marcelo is different to most full-backs, even most attacking ones. While they tend to go outside and cross, he is as likely to take a diagonal line to the top corner of the area.

It goes through people, not just round them. Remember the run against Bayern? And left midfield. And left wing. And inside left.