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Hansi Flick transformed Rafinha’s career at Barcelona and Carlo Ancelotti continues to build on that transformation with Brazil, giving the Catalan winger a new role as an advanced playmaker in which he seems to have fully found himself.
In Brazil’s emphatic 6-2 win over Panama at the Maracana Stadium as part of their final World Cup preparations, Ancelotti pushed Pravinha behind striker Mateus Cunha in a formation that included Vinicius on the left and Luis Henrique on the right. The “Barcelona” player moved completely freely between the lines, presenting a remarkable performance, for which the Italian coach received exceptional praise.
“Rafinya is the best in the world in the position of attacking depth. I ask him to stay close to the defensive line to attack from the back, but he has complete freedom when we have the ball.”
The coach dismissed the idea of making him a straight forward, stressing that his real value lies in his ability to link up, create plays and start from deep, qualities that have made him one of Barcelona’s most popular elements in Flick’s second season in charge.
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The first half saw a start for Brazil, who took a 2-1 lead through goals from Vinicius and Casemiro, before Ancelotti made a complete change between the two halves. As for the second half, Ryan, Paqueta, Igor Thiago and Danilo Oliveira scored an additional four goals to complete the six-game stand.
Brazil are set to play their final friendly against Egypt before the World Cup kicks off in a group that includes Morocco, Haiti and Scotland.
