The week in tactics: How Brazil regained their elite status under coach Tite

Less than three years removed from being humiliated at home in the World Cup, Brazil have been dominating the South American World Cup qualifiers.

Since las summer’s appointment of former Corinthians manager Tite, Brazil have won all nine of their games, outscoring opponents 25-2. Tite has brought a clear vision to the team, emphasizing the importance of defensive solidity while allowing his creative superstars to roam free and terrorize opposing defenses.

In Tite’s 4-1-4-1 system, defensive midfielder Casemiro and full-backs Marcelo and Fagner serve as both the first line of defense and the spark that quickly ignites the offensive fire in Brazil’s modern version of the jogo bonito.

Tite is using Casemiro and Marcelo in more or less the same way they’re used at Real Madrid. Casemiro is the rarest of specimens as a number 6, just as comfortable breaking up the play and serving as a third center-back as he is maintaining possession of the ball and acting as a quick launchpad for the offense.

Casemiro is in good company with the other defensive midfield poster child of modern soccer, N’Golo Kante. The fact both are part of the most successful teams in the world at the moment (Leicester last season, Chelsea this season, Real Madrid, Brazil and France) is no coincidence.

Tite is also credited with bringing a more meticulous approach than his predecessors. He’s known as a thorough tactician who labors over pre-game preparations and is quick to make adjustments during a game, unlike, say, Luis Scolari, who was not exactly known for sophisticated training and coaching methods. Tite’s system of five midfielders and a forward flexes smoothly into a 4-3-3 once Neymar and Philippe Coutinho push up alongside the center forward, Gabriel Jesus or Roberto Firmino, when Brazil are in possession.

Much of Brazil’s regained flamboyance is due to the inclusion of those two creative forwards, Neymar and Coutinho. This is in contrast to former manager Dunga, who preferred a more rugged, physical style and relied on players like Willian and Douglas Costa, great talents in their own right but more dependent on athleticism than Neymar or Coutinho.

By having both Neymar and Coutinho in the starting lineup, Brazil have been able to create more chances and benefit from each of these world-class players’ abilities to take players on and carve defenses open with the ball at their feet, and with their vision and passing abilities.

It also helps that the search for another great number Brazilian number 9 seems to have come to an end with the emergence of Gabriel Jesus. The 19-year-old has already netted four goals for Brazil since debuting last fall. With Jesus injured, Roberto Firmino has stepped into the center forward spot, and has looked very comfortable alongside his club teammate Coutinho. The two linked up nicely during Brazil’s recent two victories.

To top it all off, Brazil have benefitted from an unexpected spike in form from its Chinese Super League star Paulinho, who netted a hat-trick against Uruguay last week. Credit goes to Tite, who has continued to believe in Paulinho, even as criticism over starting a player plying his trade in the Chinese league was mounting.

Through a combination of tactical prowess and the assembly of a lineup that maximizes each player’s strengths, Tite led Brazil to become the first nation to qualify for next year’s World Cup, thoroughly dominating the South American qualifying group in the process.

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