Unexpected heroes
Paulinho
The year 2013 provided two important moments for football afficionados, especially for the ones who like to delve into the tactical battles in games.
Tiki-taka — the ball-loving, technically impressive and often scintillating — style of football was outplayed twice. Once at the club level, when Bayern Munich crushed Barcelona in the Champions League and later at the international stage with Brazil taking Spain by surprise.
Of course, Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan, Real Madrid and a player-powered Chelsea had beaten Barca in the past, but nobody had outplayed them like the Bavarians before. Similarly, no team had beaten the all-conquering Spanish national team by three goals to nil since 1985 until Brazil did.
Both these tiki-taka dismantlements had one pivotal factor in common — a powerful box-to-box midfielder capable of disrupting the rivals’ flow and then instantly metamorphosing defence into attack. For Bayern the 40-million-euros man Javi Martinez performed the role. For Brazil, it was a hitherto-underrated 24-year-old named Jose Paulo Bezerra Maciel Junior, or simply Paulinho.
For a layman, Brazil’s success is the work of the fleet-footed brigade — led by the sensational Neymar, assisted by Chelsea’s Oscar.
But the brigade would not have functioned without two other regiments — the defenders and the central-midfielders. The first was led by Thiago Silva and David Luiz, the second by Paulinho.
Effectively, it was Paulinho who took the ball away from Xavi. And that is no mean task. Many have tried it before and almost all had failed. In fact, when Spain coach Vicente del Bosque realised Brazil’s advantage in the middle of the park, he moved Andres Iniesta to a more deeper role. But Pa-ulinho still emerged stronger. With such incredible talent at his disposal, it is baffling how Paulinho slipped under the radars of the European club heavyweights. A player like him, who could command the midfield, is a crucial element in modern day football. But perhaps, that is the beauty of international football. When the entire world has their eyes set on a few familiar names, an unknown player would literally surge forward. At Confed Cup, Paulinho — now roped in by Tottenham Hotspur from Corinthians for 20m euros — provided that beauty, through his powerful drives.
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