Brazil manager Tite admits he and his staff perhaps ‘got it wrong’ with Juventus defender Gleison Bremer by failing to notice his Serie A performances earlier.
The centre-back had never been called up by Brazil and was on the radar of Italy boss Roberto Mancini if he managed to get his passport in time.
However, the Seleçao did finally bring him in a couple of months ago and he impressed enough to take a spot in Brazil’s World Cup squad for the tournament in Qatar.
“Bremer had this opportunity to be called up thanks to his career and performances of a high level at Torino and Juventus,” said Tite in a press conference.
“Perhaps we got it wrong and didn’t observe him closely enough, because he deserved more of our attention a lot earlier.
“When he arrived here, in the games and the training sessions we did together, he gave such a sense of certainty. He really is a player of great quality.”
So far, Bremer has only one cap for Brazil, appearing for 45 minutes in the 3-0 friendly win over Ghana on September 23.
Bremer was named Serie A Defender of the Year for the 2021-22 season at Torino, earning a €50m transfer to Juventus after a bidding war that involved Inter and Tottenham Hotspur.
The 25-year-old centre-back has been in Italy since moving to Torino from Atletico Mineiro in 2018.