Santos are in a relegation fight.
The 2011 Copa Libertadores champions, 2011 Paulista winners, replete with superstars-elect in Ganso and Neymar, veteran midfielder Elano, defenders Edu Dracena and young revelation Danilo, coached by accomplished manager Muricy Ramalho, are in a massive slump. They risk going down and are in a real fight, at the wrong end of the table.
Week 16 played out this past weekend and among the results was Santos losing to fellow relegation candidates At Go, away at the Serra Dourado, 2-0. Anselmo and Diogo Campos both scored as the Peixes were beaten for the seventh time in 14 games. In a key six pointer, Atletico move above Santos into 15th spot with 16 points while Santos, in preserving a perverse symmetry are 16th with 15 points. Borges and Neymar were both held scoreless and Ganso created precious little with Arouca as Pele's club went down without a whimper.
Santos are just one spot above the drop zone and although six clubs have lost more games, ominously, only three have won fewer. This is a real dogfight. In a league where clubs are all too trigger happy, one hopes Ramalho's tenure does not come to an abrupt end. At time of writing nine clubs have sacked their coaches, with another two leaving their posts. Gremio has already done it twice while high flying Sao Paulo gave coach Paulo Carpegiani his walking papers after their three game slump saw them drop from top spot to third.
Hopefully Santos will see more sense as Ramalho is a talented coach and their squad still has precious ability in them. As well as two games in hand on everyone around them.
The rest of the action follows.
Saturday saw three other games, in addition to Santos' debacle. Botafogo beat America Mineiro 4-2 at home in the late game to keep up the pressure on the top four. Alessandro and Rodriguinho scored two early games for the away side before Botafogo could barely blink and looked like snatching a precious away victory. However, Antonio Carlos and that man Elkeson, with his sixth strike of the season, clawed back goals to level things by the hour mark. A late Alex double then gave them full points to see them stay fifth with 28 points and move above Palmeiras.
America remain rooted to the bottom of the table but Alessandro hit his seventh goal of the season.
Cruzeiro got back to winning ways with a 5-0 hammering of Avai at home. Fabricio, Anselmo Ramon, Walter Montillo, Thiago Ribiero and Jose Ortigoza all scored to condemn Avai to their second away 5-0 drubbing. The last time this happened, at Palmeiras in round five, manager Cuca fled to the Middle-East to get over the defeat, taking over Al-Arabi in Qatar. So far, Alessandro Gallo isn't going anywhere.
Cruzeiro remain 11th but ended a four game losing streak. Avai, after a decent spate of recent results, drift back into the relegation mire with 13 points in 19th spot.
In the early game, Sao Paulo could only draw 2-2 with At Para at home. Ilsinho and Rivaldo scored, the latter his second in as many games (having struck during a midweek Copa Sudamericana game as well) to peg back the visitors after they twice took the lead through Fransergio and Edigar. Yes, there really are players named Ilsinho and Fransergio.
Sunday saw the remaining six games played as Corinthians could only draw 2-2 with Ceara at home. Paulinho and Alex twice put Tite's side in the lead only for Osvaldo and Rudnel to claw back a very good point for the visitors. Like local rivals Sao Paulo, Corinthians drop points but remain tied for the lead on points after Flamengo also drew 2-2 with Figueirense at Florianopolis.
Ceara remain, improbably, 12th, and put an end to three straight losses.
Figueirense pegged back Flamengo after the latter took a 2-0 goal lead at the Orlando Scarpelli. Deivid, who's having a purple patch of form, scored an early double but Somalia and Edson Silva, with his second in successive games, ensured a point was secured at home. Fig improve to 23 points in 8th.
Vasco Da Gama beat Palmeiras, at home in Sao Januario, in the biggest game of the round. the Rio giants edged fellow title chasers off a Bernardo strike and move upto fourth while Palmeiras are now sixth, behind Botafogo. A close game looked headed for a draw before Bernardo nicked in to score his fifth goal of the season.
Could the Cup Winners do a double ? Unlikely but possible, still.
Coritiba picked up a solid 3-0 win, over Atletico Mineiro at home. Bill, Rafinha and Leonardo got on the scoresheet, the latter two from the spot. Atletico drop into the relegation zone in 17th while Coritiba remain 10th. Two out of the three Belo Horizonte clubs are now in the bottom four.
Gremio also picked up a precious win, beating Fluminense at home. The defending champions, looked good after an early Fred strike but a Marquinhos double silenced the travelling support at the Olimpico. Gremio remain 14th, Fluminense drop to ninth and are surely out of the running for the title.
Finally, Bahia held Internacional to a 1-1 draw at home in Salvador. Jobson cancelled out Leandro Damiao's early goal for Inter as both strikers reached six strikes. Falcao has gone from the Inter hot seat, replaced by Dorival Junior, himself sacked at Atletico Mineiro earlier in the season. Inter improve to seventh with the away point while Bahia are 13th.
Botafogo and Vasco were the big winners are Rio clubs did well and Sao Paulo clubs fared poorly.
Ronaldinho still leads Borges in the scoring race with nine strikes to the latter's eight.
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Flamengo are still the only unbeaten club.
The bottom 10 sides are separated by seven points.
Not a single Sao Paulo club won, only one Rio club lost, this round.
Four points span the middle eight from Inter to Bahia.
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At least the top 13 sides will qualify for continental competition next spring while the bottom four teams will get relegated to the 2012 Serie B. Santos added to the four spots the league gets in the 2012 Copa Libertadores by winning this year's edition.
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Vasco Da Gama, who won the Copa Do Brasil, have booked a spot at the 2012 Copa Libertadores.
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