Qatar 2022: Brazil coach won’t apologise for dancing 

For the journalists who assembled for the pre-match press conferences of Brazil and Croatia, it was rather like being a member of the audience for a reality TV show. We had ice skating, dancing; there was even a huge round of applause.

The applause, in fairness, came in response to a reporter who addressed the prickly issue of Brazil’s recent media coverage; in particular, the criticism of a visit to one of Qatar’s more exclusive restaurants and the support that certain players had shown to Jair Bolsonaro, the recently ousted far-right president known as the “Trump of the Tropics”.

The reporter reminded Tite, the head coach, and Danilo, the former Manchester City full back, that the Brazilian media were not in Qatar to support their team but to do the job of journalists. In a packed room, that was met with widespread approval.

Danilo responded by suggesting that it would be better if everyone was “rowing in the same direction” but the reaction to that was less enthusiastic. It all felt fairly tense.

Being an international press conference, the subject of Brazil’s dancing goal celebrations soon got a mention.

Roy Keane has been among those to express his disapproval — he said it was like watching Strictly — with Tite’s decision to have a quick boogie with his young charges a subject of some debate. Keane thought it was “disrespectful”. The Croatia manager Zlatko Dalic, said it was not something he would wish to see from his own players should they score against Brazil in their quarter-final at the Education City Stadium. But he added of Brazil: “It’s how they celebrate. They are demonstrating their character and their right. I cannot say it is disrespectful.”

Tite rejected any suggestion that Brazil were in the wrong, insisting he had no intention of apologising to those who “do not know Brazilian history and culture”.

“It is a connection I have with the younger generation — they could be my grandchildren,” Tite, 61, said. “If I have to dance to be connected with them, I will continue to dance.

“I want my connection to be to the people who I relate to, who know how much I respect our history. They are the ones who I give my heart to.

“There might be lots of kids who dance because that is what Brazilian culture is when a goal is scored. That’s not being disrespectful to anyone else — that’s what we do, that’s us. We will continue to do things in our manner, and I’m not going to apologise when it’s our culture to dance and have fun.”

Curiously, Dalic felt he did need to apologise for a comment he made about ice skating. Seemingly, he had referenced the sport when arguing that, in football, the result was more important than the “aesthetic”.

 “The statement I gave about ice skating, I want to apologise to anyone I offended,” the 56-year-old said. “I recognise that technically, it is a very difficult sport.” He acknowledged that facing Brazil would also be difficult for a team that has changed significantly since reaching the final of the previous World Cup in 2018. Dalic pointed to the fact that 18 of his 26 players had not been involved in Russia, while also playing down his own record — as Croatia coach, he has only lost only one of 11 games at the World Cup; the 2018 final against France.

“I believe the next match will be the hardest one,” he said. “Brazil are playing the best football at this tournament. For us, this is a new team, with so many new players. In 2018, we had a national team playing for ten years in a row, representing the biggest clubs in Europe. We had a more prestigious team then.”

There were some slightly bizarre moments. One reporter said he felt he had a “special relationship” with Luka Modric because there is a poster of the Real Madrid star opposite where he takes his morning coffee, while another journalist said his son had requested that he ask Tite what he would say to Pelé if he could visit him in hospital.

“Good afternoon to your son,” Tite replied. “And I say we wish Pelé much health. He is an inspiration to all of us. What the World Cup has shown is the importance of living in harmony, accepting differences — all the qualities Pelé has shown as a human being and the best of our time.”