Raphinha saves his temper for Leeds United

If you like football for all the ‘right’ reasons, you’re meant to watch a match like Brazil’s 1-1 draw with Ecuador, frown, and say, ‘That’s not a game for the purists.’ But where’s the fun in that? This World Cup qualifier was mainly a series of goalkeepers attacking anyone brave enough to cross their path and never ending arguments over controversial refereeing decisions. The ball was barely in play. It was brilliant!

Within the opening 25 minutes, Brazil had scored, both goalkeepers had been shown red cards for kicking strikers in the head, and Tottenham’s Emerson Royal had been sent off for getting two bookings. Unlike Ecuador goalkeeper Alexander Dominguez, who could have no complaints after VAR double checked he had indeed gone studs up on Matheus Cunha’s neck, Alisson Becker managed to stay on the pitch for Brazil. VAR was more lenient on the Liverpool goalkeeper for catching Enner Valencia’s head with the side of his boot because he got to the ball first, downgrading his red card to a yellow. Alisson still wanted to test how far he could push his luck, conceding a penalty in stoppage time after swapping a kick to the head for a punch as he challenged Ayrton Preciado. Again, he was saved by VAR, which showed he reached the ball just before the attacker. By that point, Ecuador had finally equalised after having a goal ruled out, a penalty overturned, and a number of easy chances missed from set-pieces.

On the fringes of chaos stood our Raphinha, who didn’t seem to know what to make of it all. Rapha has never looked overawed by playing for Brazil, but was happy enough to leave the bigger boys to sort out all the trouble. Whether calling out Tim Krul on Instagram or dancing in front of Brentford’s away end, he usually relishes the chance to get involved in some beef with the opposition. But with the Estadio Rodrigo Paz Delgado proving a dangerous place for forwards, he generally kept schtum against Ecuador, loitering on the edge of celebrations and, more frequently, arguments with officials. He was like the new kid at school trying to impress the hard lads. If it all kicked off, Rapha didn’t want his teammates wondering where he was, but at the same time he couldn’t really be arsed starting any trouble himself. Even when he was booked for a foul on Enner Valencia, he didn’t have any complaints, and left the pitch for the safety of the subs’ bench after an hour.

Playing 9,000 feet above altitude, it was a relief Raphinha got through without his lungs exploding. The drama tried to implicate him, when the referee blew for a penalty to Ecuador in the second half, but he was another saved by VAR after replays showed Pervis Estupiñán stood on Rapha’s toes rather than the other way around. After Royal’s red card, Raphinha’s main contributions were defensive, tracking back to help 38-year-old substitute Dani Alves, who Rapha must never have expected to play with for Brazil. Estupiñán did a good job keeping Raphinha quiet on the few occasions he got the ball. On a week when Roy Hodgson replaced Claudio Ranieri at Vicarage Road, Estupiñán underlined what a strange club Watford are. He was sold for an initial £15m by Watford in 2020 after spending four years on their books without making an appearance. Watford were relegated and promoted in that time, but still couldn’t find use for a left-back who cost more than Junior Firpo. Now at Villarreal, he’s competing with former Leeds loanee Afonso Pedraza and former Liverpool lunatic Alberto Moreno in an equally strange Villarreal squad.

Brazil boss Tite defended his players’ discipline afterwards, arguing referee Wilmar Roldan should not have been appointed as his native country, Colombia, are directly below both Brazil and Ecuador in qualifying. “The number of fouls was exaggerated, twenty fouls by Ecuador and twelve by us,” Tite said. “The circumstances happened, it wasn’t evil, it was impulsive. Incorrect, yes. And it needs to be corrected, yes. It needs to be mature, yes. But it wasn’t evil.”

Tite needn’t get too worried, Brazil have already qualified for next year’s World Cup. In commentary it was mentioned Tite considered using Brazil’s Under-23s team in the rest of the qualifiers, wanting to use friendlies against European nations to prepare his senior players, the majority of whom play their club football on the continent. FIFA were not so keen on his idea, and CONMEBOL probably wouldn’t be too happy either. To a Leeds fan panicking whenever Raphinha went in for a challenge or attempted a sprint, it would be a relief if Tite got his way. Instead, we’ll have to settle for Rapha’s surprising composure amid the madness. There was no wonder goal to spark transfer clickbait, nor an attempt to kick anyone’s head off their shoulders. No, there was our star player, on the international stage, playing perfectly mediocre football while everyone else went mad. More of the same against Paraguay next week, Rapha, then get home safely. Save the fighting for when you’re wearing a Leeds shirt. If Tim Krul tries what either of these goalies tried, you know what to do. ⬢