Gilberto had asked to leave Brazil training
June 20, 2010
He wasn’t injured – he asked to have a rest
Translated from the Portuguese language UOL.com:
Gilberto Silva says he asked to leave training
Soon after the 3-1 World Cup victory over Ivory Coast in Johannesburg, midfielder Gilberto Silva of Brazil tried to clear up the “controversy” that occurred in the training session and ended up causing problems in the media to coach Dunga.
On occasion, the Brazilian press reported that the “volante” (invisible wall) reserve Josue had trained in Brazil’s starting lineup in place of Gilberto just two days before the game against the Ivorians. A day later, at the press conference, the national coach got angry and said that Gilberto Silva had not been injured.
“I’m not a firefighter to come put the fire out for you [the media]. We open the training session for you reporters to film; you take a photograph, and you turn it. The other day you said that Julius Caesar was hurt in the morning [the goalkeeper had back pain], and later it was the best training session yet. Now you’ve created a circus saying he [Gilberto Silva] was injured. Whoever wrote that report has to apologise, because every day it creates panic for the fans,” said Dunga, on Saturday, the eve of the match against Ivory Coast.
“But it was I who asked to leave. I had a niggle at the training on Friday and thought it best not to practice to be fit for today [Sunday],” said the Panathinaikos player.
Gilberto Silva took the opportunity to praise the performance of the Brazilian team’s victory and qualification to the last sixteen of the competition. With their second win of the tournament, the team is on six points; and have secured one of the to two places in Group G.
“Every game is a test for us. And this time, the team played the way that everyone expects, that is attacking and making goals. But more importantly is that we play with tranquility,” he noted.
How philosophic! Glad he cleared up the mess about him being injured – and glad that he wasn’t injured in the end.
Well done Gilberto, and congratulations for your fantastic game against Ivory Coast!