Team by Team Report Cards:
With 19 games of the 38 match season having been played, The Brazilian Serie A has reached its halfway stage. We take some time to rate and slate the Serie A's 20 teams.
The current table is found here.
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| Corinthians Celebrate |
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| Alessandro |
The Good - A 3-0 home win over defending Champions Fluminense at the start of August.
The Bad - Home defeats to At Go and fellow promoted side Coritiba. An away 4-0 drubbing at Ceara.
Notable Players - Alessandro Nunes, one of the few players who bring some class to the pitch, has scored seven times so far. 22 year old centreback Marcos Rocha has been a standout in defence.
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Atletico Goianiense - B - After a nightmare start the ship has been righted and at time of writing four straight wins have been reeled off to escape the drop zone with a fury not seen since James Dean peeled out of a car park. 11th place is a healthy springboard for the second half and despite a stop start offence (22 goals in 19 games), Atletico have a positive difference.
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| Anselmo |
The Good - Successive wins over Santos and at the time league leaders Flamengo, away during a current four game winning streak.
The Bad - A ten game stretch over June and July that saw just one win.
Notable Players - Veteran striker Anselmo whose six strikes are almost a third of the team haul. 20 year old forward and super sub Diogo Campos has netted three times in less than a full game's worth on the pitch in five sub appearances.
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Atletico Mineiro - D - For a club that has been so consistent for so long and still retains plenty of talent, their abject performances this season are equal parts gutless and unprofessional. After a great start, a midweek loss to Sao Paulo sent them into a tail spin that has seen them plummet. Complete shambles from a club that promises so much more.
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| Leonardo Silva |
The Good - A three game win streak to start the season, but in retrospects all their wins have come against teams who have spent plenty of time in the relegation zone.
The Bad - A current five game losing streak, part of 12 losses all season, the most in the division. Ouch.
Notable Players - No one has impressed or made much a difference but instead a corps containing Amantino Mancini, Daniel Carvalho, Dudu Cearense, Richarlyson and league veteran Leonardo Silva have been notably bad.
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Atletico Paranaense - D - Despite a decent few weeks of late, the season has seen the club bogged down in second gear. One of the bigger clubs outside Rio and whose home stadium is one of the venues at the 2014 World Cup, they really should be doing better. One of the division's most consistent clubs, they won the title in 2001 and finished fifth last season.
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| Cleber Santana |
The Good - Successive home wins over Botafogo and Santos that lifted them off the bottom and briefly, out of the drop zone.
The Bad - Just 20 goals in 19 games, second lowest in the division. The first ten games of the season, during which Para were held winless.
Notable Players - In a weak season so far, rare inspiration has come from a trio of elderly midfielders in Marcinho, Kleberson (formerly of Man United) and Cleber Santana who, despite a combined age of 92, have contributed 8 goals in 30 combined starts.
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Avai - C - After a decent season last year, stability was the order of the day for the Florianopolis side, who count Gustavo Kuerten among their supporters. Building on their 15th spot from last season was considered a target but they have been unable to mount much of a challenge. A brief period outside the top four has been bookended by prolonged stays in the drop zone, where they sit currently.
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| William |
The Good - An home win over league leaders Corinthians, as part of a two game win streak. The derby win at rivals Figueirense.
The Bad - 5-0 thrashing at Palmeiras and Cruzeiro, along with the loss of two managers already, one resigned and the other sacked.
Notable Players - It's hard to be too critical of a team expected to struggle, however, striker William has been a revelation with seven goals in 15 starts.
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Bahia - C - The Northern giants return to Serie A but have had a very perilous season, flirting dangerously with the relegation zone all year. A club of Bahia's size and following should be punching higher than it does but in a microcosm of its existence, Bahia briefly threatens before falling away. Inconsistent, just like a certain barcoded team, also from the Northeastern corner of England.
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| Jobson |
The Good - A 1-0 away win over defending champions Fluminense at the height of summer, for a notoriously poor set of travellers.
The Bad - a 3-0 away defeat to regional and Liga De Nordeste (Northeastern League) rivals Ceara, also from the Northern extremity of Brazil. Bahia looked tired, jaded and bereft of ideas.
Notable Players - Loan signing Jobson, who arrived from Botafogo preseason, has scored six times.
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Botafogo - A - After a sixth placed finish least season, and with several teams strengthening in the off season, few expected Botafogo to even challenge. However they have remained competitive, regularly challenging and are outside bets for the title, sitting in fifth, just three points off the lead. A dogged team that is coming together, The Great Fire are refusing to go out.
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| Elkeson |
The Good - Plenty of highlights: the second best defence with just 19 conceded, the second best home record with 22 points, the most home wins with seven, an a quartet of impressive victories over Vasco, Fluminense, Sao Paulo and Santos.
The Bad - A 2-1 defeat at Atletico Paranaense that brought a winless streak to four.
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| German Herrera |
Notable Players - Lots of scoring with 22 year old midfielder Elkeson notching eight goals, 21 year old striker Alex hitting four, along with Argentine forward German Herrera. Defender Antonio Carlos has been an ever present rock at the back while chipping in with three strikes as well.
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Ceara - B - An interesting season for the Northernmost team in Brazil, hailing from remote Fortaleza. While presenting an intimidating trip for visiting teams, Ceara have also picked up important points on the road to just hover in midtable, neither upsetting the odds nor making people write them off. 13th at the moment for a team that finished 13th last season.
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| Washington |
The Good - The 1-0 win at Internacional. Six home wins at the formidable Castelao, second best in the league.
The Bad - Ironically, also at home, with a 3-0 defeat to cannon fodder Avai.
Notable Players - Veteran strikers Washington and Marcelo Nicacio who have five strikes each. Another veteran defender Fabricio has put in the hard yards in defence and has a goal as well.
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Corinthians - A - The best team in the league so far, who would have run away with the tile, but for a slip up in July to lesser teams. All round they pack the biggest punch with strong defence, hardworking midfielders, potent attackers as well as goals coming from everywhere. Manager Tite has run the best team in the league and the favourites for the title.
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| Tite |
The Good - Lots of contenders with a league leading 11 wins, the second best defence with just 18 goals allowed, seven straight wins during a run of eight wins in nine games to start the season; but the highlight was the momentum-shifting 5-0 thrashing over local rivals, and at the time, league leaders, Sao Paulo. Corinthians eased into the lead shortly thereafter, Sao Paulo never led again.
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| Julio Cesar |
The Bad - Losses at home to Figueirense and Cruzeiro, shock defeat at Avai.
Notable Players - Goalkeeper Julio Cesar who has kept seven clean-sheets, Portuguese striker Liedson with six goals and midfielder Paulinho who has notched five.
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Coritiba - A - For a promoted team, they are having a blinder, sitting in ninth and having made the Cup Final as well, just losing out to Vasco. Their team has played hard, mixed it up with the big boys and pulled off several big results. Almost a fairytale.
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| Bill |
The Good - An away 3-2 defeat of Santos, a 5-1 hammering at home of Vasco, albeit in between the two legs of the Copa Do Brasil final.
The Bad - A horrendous start which saw just one win in six games.
Notable Players - The pair of 27 year old strikers Bill and Marcos Aurelio, who have 11 goals between them.
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Cruzeiro - C - A team that was picked as a challenger at the outset, the season has been one big disaster. Unable to reach any sort of consistency despite having the firepower and ability to beat the best, Cruzeiro plays one good game followed by three of four bad ones. A promising roster looks jaded and devoid of inspiration, factors which influenced the dismissal of manager Cuca in June.
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| Walter Montillo |
The Good - A solid 1-0 away win over leaders Corinthians that showcased all the qualities that made them into pre-season contenders. The 3-0 away defeat of Vasco.
The Bad - A five game winless streak to start the season. Copa Libertadores' leading scorer Wallyson's miserable season.
Notable Players - In the absence of consistent scoring from the above, Argentine midfielder Walter Montillo has stepped in with 10 goals, including four key penalties.
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Part II - Figueirense to Vasco Da Gama is coming soon.
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