Brasileiro preview

[AreliusIV]

Last weekend saw the return of Brazil’s league championship - the Brasileiro. And this year’s competition promises to be one of the tightest ever.

16 different clubs have won the Brasileiro since Atlético Mineiro were first to be crowned champions in 1971. Another 20 clubs will be competing for that honor from April 15th all the way to 3rd December with a break for the World Cup.

This is only the fourth year the competition will be decided on accumulated points. And although Cruzeiro ran away with it in 2003, the last two year’s have seen the championship go to a dramatic final day. In 2004, Santos pipped Atlético Paranaense to the post, and last season, Corinthians held off Internacional.

But the 2005 Brasileiro was rocked by scandal. The championship was shaping up to be one of the best for years, but a match-fixing scam involving referee Edilson Perreira de Carvalho was uncovered and plunged the competition into turmoil. The upshot was the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) ordered the eleven games refereed by Carvalho to be replayed.

Corinthians benefited the most by regaining four points – they then went on to win the league by three.

This season, the Brasileiro runs for 38 rounds. The top four sides go into the Libertadores. The top eleven are eligible to play in the Copa Sul Americana. Four will go down, and four will come up from the newly reformed Série B.

One of the great appeals of the Campeonato Brasileiro is that the winner could be anyone from a handful of teams. But for obvious candidates, look no further than Corinthians, São Paulo, Internacional and Santos.


2005 saw Corinthians pick up their fourth Brasileiro. But after guiding the club to the title, coach Antonio Lopes was fired earlier this year. Lope’s replacement was his assistant, the largely unknown Ademar Braga. The club has benefited from heavy investments over the past year from MSI. But their remains a behind the scenes conflict between the investors and elements within the club and this resulted in the farcical ‘signing’ of Marcelinho Carioca.

This season, Corinthians finished in a poor fifth in the Campeonato Paulista but their obsession remains the Libertadores as they are the only big club in São Paulo not to have won the competition.

The Parque São Jorge outfit have brought in centreback Rodrigo from Dynamo Kiev to shore up a shaky defense and have just signed highly-rated keeper, Sílvio Luiz, from São Caetano. But the driving forces of the side remain the much coveted pair of Carlitos Tevez and Nilmar. The latter is currently on loan from Lyon until the middle of the year. Ironically, every goal he puts away is adding to his already considerable price tag and this may dissuade Corinthians from making the move a permanent one. If Corinthians fail once again in their quest for the Libertadores, it’s likely that both Tevez and Nilmar will be off to European teams and consequently the club’s challenge on the Brasileiro will end.


In terms of squad depth and quality of football, São Paulo have been head and shoulders above any other side in Brazil for over a year. In 2005, they had won the Paulista in April, and had the Libertadores in the bag by July. However, during the Libertadores campaign, São Paulo fielded reserve sides for the Brasileiro and at one point sank into the relegation zone.

Their triumph in the Libertadores in 2005 guaranteed São Paulo a place in the 2006 tournament and also a trip to Japan for the World Club Championship. With their spot already assured in these tournaments, São Paulo turned its back on the Brasileiro and ended up finishing in a lowly eleventh place.

Hopefully, things will be very different this season as the Morumbi outfit say they’re out to get the Brasileiro and São Paulo certainly have the personnel to do it. Coach Muricy Ramalho finished runner up with Internacional in 2005. His experience plus the arrivals of Ricardo Oliveira on-loan from Betis and Lenilson from Noroeste make São Paulo an even more formidable outfit. The club have also unearthed another gem in the impressive Thiago Ribeiro. If São Paulo keep hold of these players for the duration of the campaign, and more importantly, if they find the desire that was so sadly lacking last year, it’s hard to see anyone stopping them taking the Brasileiro.


2005 runners up Internacional are still seething over the perceived injustices which they believe robbed them of the title.

First came the four points won back by Corinthians. Then in a decisive game between the two at the Pacaembu, Inter were denied a clear cut penalty by referee Márcio Rezende de Freitas – who to add insult to injury also sent off Tinga in the same incident. Since then, Albel Braga has replaced Muricy Ramalho at the helm. Braga did well at Fluminense last year until his side fell to pieces at the latter end of the campaign. Hopefully for Inter, Braga will have learnt from this sobering experience. The Beira-rio side have retained the bulk of their squad from 2005 including the excellent Rafael Sobis, Márcio Mossoró and Fernandão. They have also strengthened the team with the arrival of ex Santos man, Fabinho, and former Flamengo player, Fabiano Eller.


Any side lead by Wanderly Luxemburgo has a shot at the title. At Santos, the coach has put together an organized, though workmanlike team. The current side are difficult to break down but their limitations were exposed against São Paulo in the penultimate round of the Paulista. Despite winning the state championship, Santos are a long way short of the likes of São Paulo and Corinthians when it comes to overall quality of their players. In fact, the team from the Vila do not have one single outstanding talent on their books. They do however, have a natural goal scorer in Jonas but the 22 year-old is recovering from injury. Before then, the forward line needs some investment if Santos are to mount a realistic challenge on the Brasileiro.