Junior: Wallace Yan like 1981 champ, message for Filipe Luís

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·8 août 2025

Junior: Wallace Yan like 1981 champ, message for Filipe Luís

Junior recalled the 1977 attitude that ‘saved’ Tita’s career

Penalty shootout, a young player from the youth academy steps up to take the shot and misses. This description fits Tita, who missed his penalty in the final of the Campeonato Carioca in 1977 against Vasco, and also Wallace Yan, who failed in the Copa do Brasil against Atlético-MG. The coincidence prompted a comment from Maestro Junior, who was on the field 38 years ago. The ‘Capacete’ asked for patience with the current number 64 and gave Filipe Luís a tip on how to ‘recover’ the youngster.

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“Today, seeing the reaction to the penalty missed by Wallace Yan in yesterday’s game (Wednesday, 06), it brought back a memory I lived through in 1977. A very similar situation with Tita. A kid like Wallace, starting out very young in the professional squad, missed a penalty in a Taça Guanabara final. All the comments I read, heard, and was even asked were exactly the same! ‘He shouldn’t have taken it, there were more experienced players, it could ruin him with the fans, etc.’ That day, after the missed penalty and the lost final, the whole team got together at a restaurant in Arpoador to give support and encouragement to that young man who, four years later, would win everything with the club!” wrote Junior on Instagram.

“He became one of the most important players in those triumphs! That support on that day was perhaps the starting point for the club’s golden era, which began in ‘78 with the Carioca and ran through to the three-time Brazilian championship in 1983. I hope the club, through Filipe Luís and his coaching staff, has the same concerns we had, led by captain Coutinho and Domingo Bosco, so as not to lose a youngster who has already shown he could become a ‘new’ Tita for his football, his provocative style, and the achievements that may come,” added the Maestro.

ARE THE SITUATIONS SIMILAR?

In short, in 1977, Tita was 19 years old, one year younger than Wallace Yan is now. At the time, the number 7 from the 1981 world title suffered criticism from the fans after shooting the penalty straight into the hands of goalkeeper Mazzarópi, but managed to recover and made history at the club. Now, the forward from Filipe Luís’s team is trying to follow the same path and win titles.

QUICKER COMEBACK?

If Tita started to shine from 1978, in the ‘Golden Generation’ that would last until 1983, Wallace Yan could bounce back even sooner. That’s because, in 2025, the youngster can still win the Brasileirão and the Copa Libertadores. In fact, Mengão will take the field in the national competition this Saturday (09), starting at 6:30 pm (Brasília time), against Mirassol, at Maracanã.

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