Reis: “Palhinha kicks lumps out of them, then loses it! No Maradona” | OneFootball

Rodolfo Reis did not hide his indignation at the media storm surrounding João Palhinha’s exclusion from Roberto Martínez’s squad for the World Cup, arguing that the media attention around the case has a simple explanation: the player now wears Benfica’s shirt.

“Palhinha is getting coverage here for being a Benfica player that honestly already gives me the creeps. It really does,” fired back the commentator, making it clear that the scale of the controversy is not justified by the value of the player in question.

“We’re not talking about Maradona or Beckenbauer”

Rodolfo Reis was particularly harsh in his technical assessment of Palhinha, acknowledging his defensive qualities but pointing out clear limitations with the ball at his feet. “How many recoveries did Palhinha make in the last game? How many balls did he give away to the opposition? All of them. Every ball Palhinha recovered, he then gave back to the opponent,” he said bluntly.

For the commentator, the narrative built around the midfielder reduces football to a simplistic dimension. “Palhinha is not a football player. Palhinha is a player who wins balls, who runs after them, who plays like a madman. He wins the ball and gives it away,” he concluded, in an analysis that sparked reactions in the panel.

Despite the harshness, Rodolfo Reis made a point of not disrespecting the professional. “I like you a lot, you’re a great professional. You’re one of those players that, if I were a coach, I’d like to have on my team. And I say it sincerely and honestly,” he admitted, making it clear that his criticism is aimed at the media machine and not at the player as a person.

Martínez’s exclusion: a technical decision, not a personal one

On the manager’s decision, Rodolfo Reis rejected the idea of a “dictatorial” attitude and offered a different reading. “In giving up on Palhinha, in my opinion, it’s not because there was a conversation or a friendship that ended. I think it was because, from a footballing point of view, Palhinha was of no interest. There were players playing in that position with a completely different and better level for the national team,” he argued.

The commentator did acknowledge, however, that Palhinha would have had a place among the selected players given the size of the available squad. “If he had a place among the twenty-something called up, he did. But at the time we talked about that,” he recalled.

The timing of the revelations: “If you knew, you had to say it at the time”

Rodolfo Reis also did not spare José Manuel Freitas, the journalist who brought new information about the case, questioning the timing of the revelations. “If you knew — and you’re a great journalist — journalists have to say things when they happen. If something happens, I have to say it,” he argued, suggesting that the “new information” is, in reality, “old information” brought to light at a convenient moment.

“This is already making me sick”

The commentator ended his intervention with a phrase that sums up the frustration he feels over the direction of the discussion: “This whole thing now around Palhinha here at Benfica — it’s already making me sick. Sick.”

A position that, regardless of whether one agrees or not with the technical analysis of the player, raises a pertinent question: to what extent is media coverage in Portugal shaped by the shirt a player wears?

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.