Tite to Vinicius: “You are the Neymar of 2014”

Brazilian National Team manager Tite was on the Sexta Estrela podcast — a show centerred around the Brazilian National Team — to discuss many things, including some interesting tactical ideas, how he plans on getting the best out of his players on the pitch, and the roles of Vinicius Jr and Neymar.

Neymar, who now plays a more central role ahead of Vinicius, is still a key player for Brazil, Tite explains.

“He is not a problem, he is the solution,” Tite says of Neymar playing ahead / more centrally. “They say he will make more mistakes playing there. But His position makes more mistakes, because everything he does creatively there will be decisive. He will make more mistakes, yes, because his creative ability and the place he is in demands that of him.”

Of course, as the headline suggests, Tite also had a standout quote about Real Madrid winger Vinicius.

“We were in training, I told Vini: ‘You are the Neymar of 2014’,” Tite said. “Because Neymar of Barcelona and Brazil at that time was on the wing, and today he’s in the center”.