In an interview with the Globo’s program “Boleiragem”, Raphinha, the star winger of the Brazilian National Team during the last World Cup, revealed the underside of the elimination of the Seleção against Croatia in the quarters of the final, a defeat cruelly inflicted on penalties. Raphinha, who is currently playing at FC Barcelona, opened his heart and expressed his feelings.
“The truth is, it hurts. It hurts because we had an incredible team, a group of talented players and a competent coach. We knew we had the potential to go far and win this Cup,” said Raphinha with emotion.
READ MORE
++ Fernando Diniz will coach Brazil for a year and CBF waits for Ancelotti before the 2024 Copa America
++ A player from Brazil encounters her father who works at the airport where the Seleção’s women team plane makes a stopover
++ Saudi Arabian side Al-Ahli sign Roberto Firmino
He also shared his views on when coach Tite left the pitch without greeting anyone after the penalty shootout loss. Initially, Tite was withdrawn, but then he gathered the players and cried with them for hours.
“You cannot judge Tite by saying that he is less human or less competent because he went straight into the locker room without saying a word to anyone. Everyone handles defeat and elimination in their own way. For him, it was in the locker room. Maybe he didn’t want to cry in front of the cameras. After all, we are human beings and we suffer when things don’t go as planned,” Raphinha said compassionately.
As a starter during the World Cup in Qatar, Raphinha played all five Seleção games, four of them as a starter. In the game against Croatia, he was substituted just ten minutes before the end of regular time.
Raphinha expresses regret after loss
“It was the game where I went out the earliest. Personally, it was even harder for me because at that time I thought I could have done more to help the team. I am very demanding of myself and I am convinced that I could have done better. It was really painful,” Raphinha confessed with a heavy heart.
He also shared a touching dilemma: “I didn’t want to cry on the pitch, but I couldn’t hold back my tears. After the game, I stayed in the tunnel, trying to understand, wondering what had happened.”
