Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Brazilian Serie A Midway Review - Part II - Figueirense to Vasco


The 2011 Brasilerio Mid-Season Wrap continues with Part II as we review the nine remaining teams. At the end we make bold predictions and summarise the outlook for the second half of the league campaign.



Figueirense - A - As a promoted side, Figueirense's rise up the table is a shot in the arm for the underdogs, excellent material for the headline writers and further proof of the volatile parity that exists in Serie A. USA '94 World Cup winning defender Jorginho has forged a handy side who are hard to beat at home and more than competent on their travels. The odd defeat at heavyweight aside, their season has been bright, encouraging and ripe for an extended stay. Only a catastrophic loss of form would see them go down at season's end.

Edson Silva
The Good - Home wins over Santos and Botafogo along with an away 2-0 win at Corinthians.

The Bad - A 3-2 loss in the Florianopolis derby to Avai at home.

Notable Players - Edson Silva, the 25 year old pillar at the back, ever present and leading scorer with three goals.

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Flamengo - A - Almost impossible to defeat, Flamengo are irrepressible in attack and dogged in defence. Having started the season slowly with four straight draws, they quickly emerged as the most consistent team in the league and one which competes at every game. Despite being second best on occasion they only lost one game all season. A league leading nine draws may be a cause for concern, but in a manic league like Serie A where anyone can lose on any given day, they bring a welcome change of consistent endurance. Arguably, Corinthians' only real competition for the title.

Flamengo - Robust and Potent
The Good - Just one loss in their opening 19 games. The stupendous 5-4 win at Santos. A League leading 33 goals scored.

The Bad - 9 draws, with five of them at home. A ridiculous 4-1 defeat at home to At Go.

Notable Players - 31 year old pair Ronaldinho and Deivid have led from the front with 10 and eight goals respectively. 

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Fluminense - C - The defending Champions started with a home loss and have since been inconsistent throughout, struggling to put together a run of games to work their way up the table. The contrast with city rivals Flamengo is stark, where the latter hold on and scrap for a point, Flu all too often simply cave in and fold. Eight wins have been coupled with 10 defeats as Flu are mostly an all or nothing team - again the comparison with Flamengo sticks out. Ronaldinho's side, which won the Carioca title, take something from every single game.

Rafael Moura
The Good - Shutout wins over Internacional and Palmeiras, their only two wins over teams in the top eight.

The Bad - From a potency point of view the loss of Dario Conca who was instrumental in last season's win. However the pathetic away record of just two wins and six losses must be mentioned.

Notable Players - Rafael Moura, who has eight goals.

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Grêmio - D - For a team that finished fourth last season and had designs on the title, their lack of challenge has been most alarming. Already a distant afterthought who have disappeared into the depths of the table, Gremio have fallen away in tragic fashion. An anaemic attack has failed to fire while their midfield has been bogged down with a complete lack of creativity. Their season is over.

Mario Fernandes
The Good - Picking at straws, their most recent game, a 2-0 win in the derby over Internacional.

The Bad - The worst attack in the league with just 18 goals. Perhaps letting striker Borges go was a bad idea... 

Notable Players - 20 year old defender Mario Fernandes, an assured presence at the back.

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Internacional - B - After a slow start, Inter have started firing on all cylinders and risen up the table in impressive fashion. The 2010 Copa Libertadores Champions are still a force to be reckoned with and retain some of the classiest midfielders in the league. Playing a chance heavy style, that has seen national team striker Leandro Damiao thrive, they have started to peak at the right time, adding the Recopa Sudamericana with a controlled victory over Argentine side Independiente in August. Moreover, with an allround team loaded with talented youth, Inter may still have a say in the final analysis. 

D'Alessandro - Creative
The Good - Four days in July when the beat Botafogo 1-0 and then came back to hold Flamengo to a 2-2 draw, both at home, during a four game unbeaten streak.

The Bad - Inconsistency, having never won more than one game at a time, only once all year.

Notable Players - Argentine playmaker Andres D'Alessandro who leads the league in assists  and has four goals and national team striker Leandro Damiao who has eight strikes.

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Palmeiras - B - A strong start based on a solid, league-best defence led some to predict them as dark horses for the title. Sitting just in Sao Paulo's and then Corinthianss slipstream; it appeared Luiz Felipe Scolari's side were priming themselves for a title run. However just as it looked they might step it up a notch, they stumbled and have fallen dramatically down the table before belatedly arresting the slide. Still a very dangerous team who could win the league, but need to believe they can ascend to the top.

Marcos, in net since 1992

The Good - Home wins over Botafogo, Santos and recently Corinthians, with goals from six different scorers. The league's best defence with just 14 conceded.

The Bad - An abysmal away record with just one win, at Figueirense.

Notable Players - 38 year old Marcos, a 260 game one club legend, who won the 2002 World Cup as goalkeeper, has underpinned the title challenge with an outstanding shift in net, keeping eight clean sheets.

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Santos - C - Arguably the biggest disappointment of the season, the current Copa Libertadores and Paulista champions were distracted by continental commitments at the start of the season, playing several bench and youth players in league engagements. However, once that spell ended, the predicted glut of wins never arrived before international engagements, in turn, took away the star duo of Ganso and Neymar, along with veteran Elano. A stop start campaign further disrupted by Copa America, U-17 and U-20 call-ups has seen their title challenge now lie in tatters. And with their highly regarded roster, some of whom are already being whisked away to Europe, the chance may not come again for a while.
Neymar and Ganso have been tepid

The Good - 2-1 defeats of Fluminense and Atletico Mineiro, both at home. Little else.

The Bad - The league's worst away record with just two points from eight games. Just six wins altogether as both Neymar and Ganso have gone off the boil.

Notable Players - Humberlito Borges, single handedly keeping Santos afloat with a league leading 12 goals. His transfer, from Gremio, at the end of May was timely to say the least.


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São Paulo - A - Started like a train on fire as the U-20 pair of Casemiro and Lucas powered them into a five game winning streak that took them well clear of the table. Then disaster struck as a derby thrashing by Corinthians sent them into a tail spin that lost them both their lead and manager. Recovering somewhat, they have since righted the ship, but still sit behind Flamengo, who replaced them in the top two. A force at large, with the most all round team in the league, they remain the third favourites after Corinthians and Flamengo.

The Good - A five game winning streak that saw them head the table by four points. A league high 12 different scorers and a league best 20 points on the road.

Casemiro
The Bad - The 5-0 loss at Corinthians and ensuing drop back into the pack, including a loss at home to Botafogo.

Notable Players - 19 year old pair Casemiro and Lucas have been the standouts with 9 goals and 8 assists between them.


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Vasco da Gama - A - A strong campaign that has been commendable without being eye-catching; Vasco has kept up with pre-season expectation and remained in the top six. A Copa Do Brasil win guaranteed them silverware this season along with Libertadores participation next year; but they will still want the domestic double. Goals from all over including a potent attack have seen them score plenty of crucial goals and points but a lack of consistency may cost them dear. Dark horse nation.

Bernardo
The Good - Three wins out of four games against the Paulista elite with defeats of Sao Paulo (away) and Santos, and Corinthians.

The Bad - Hammerings at Coritiba and at home to Botafogo in the Derby.

Notable Players - Goalkeeper Fernando Prass as well as supersubs Elton and Bernardo who have nine goals from 16 appearances off the bench.

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Summary:
At the moment, there's everything to play for in the 2011 Serie A with top six just separated by five points. With four clubs involved in the Copa Sudamericana, expect a reversal of roles as they now rest players for important continental engagements while their Libertadores counterparts, play at full strength.

Flamengo are still the team to beat as a formidable ruthlessness and desire to win keeps opponents at bay but will be distracted by midweek Sudamericana games. This may tilt the balance in Corinthians favour, for whom, an early elimination from the Libertadores tournament in March, may reap a healthy league dividend.

Leading Strikers:
Borges has been getting it done for Santos, alone.
Ronaldinho has been on fire of late while earning a recall to the national side while Leandro Damiao, recently capped but omitted from the Copa squad, keeps pace with a purple patch as well. Sao Paulo, Palmeiras as well as the Rio duo of Botafogo and Vasco still loom large but in truth the Rio pair are just keeping pace and will eventually round out the top six. With Sao Paulo's kids from the U-20 and U-17 tournaments back, the Morumbi side will mount a renewed assault on the top spot. Gremio can only kick themselves for letting league leading striker Borges leave in May.

Ronaldinho - Still Got It
Foreigners and Veterans:
Among the many foreigners in the league, Andres D'Alessandro and Walter Montillo are the ones to watch, flourishing for big teams and keeping them in the hunt for Libertedores participation. Meanwhile the veteran and prodigal returnees' brigade have been largely disappointing with only Elano and Marcos Assuncao making any newsworthy headlines and that too occasionally.

Mancini's been rubbish
Santos and outgoing transfers:
Santos are well and truly out of the race with only a miraculous run of results needed to put them back in the title challenge. The talent drain from the club has already begun with teenagers Alex Sandro, Alan Patrick and attacker Ze Eduardo already gone to European clubs for a combined 18 million. In addition teenage full back Danilo is to join Porto at season end in December for another 9 million while it is only a matter of time before Neymar and Gansol, the jewels in the crown, follow them for multi-million dollar fees.

Santos have crashed and burned
In total 59 players have been sold to foreign clubs, including emerging financial behemoths in China and Russia for a total of over a 100 million euros. Football in Brazil remains a financially fruitful exercise and the Serie A is the world's greatest soccer factory.

Ze Eduardo
A post wrapping the best of the transfers out of Brazil so far this season is coming soon.

Final Word:

Hedge your bets on a 1-2-3 of Sao Paulo, Corinthians and Flamengo.

America Mineiro, Avai, Atletico Mineiro and Bahia will go down.



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