Some weeks ago I wrote in a column here that the Brazilian National Championship was in a place where nobody could be certain of what would happen in the final weeks. Well, things look somewhat clearer now, but for the supporters of two specific teams, one month has changed everything: Fluminense and Palmeiras gave both joy and pain to their fans this semester.
Fluminense is considered the club of aristocracy in Rio, mainly because some big shots that rule the game in Brazil are supporters of the “Tricolor”, including João Havelange. The club from Rio was having a bad season, with a last place stand on the table. When October came, Fred’s game started to show up in Maracanã, and Fluminense is now two points behind rival Botafogo, in a fight against relegation, with consecutive wins, some of them against some top placers like Cruzeiro, Atlético Mineiro and Palmeiras.
As far as Palmeiras is concerned, they also are having a year to remember. During half the championship they held on to the first place, and as a consequence, looked like an easy pick to win it all at the end. However, a single win out of the last seven games, plus losses to all four teams currently at the bottom of the table, simply shattered the dream of the “palestrinos” that now have got to see São Paulo and Flamengo battle for the title, with just three rounds before a champion is crowned.
In the same manner that Fred is currently one of the main reasons for Fluminense’s surge, Vágner Love’s poor performance is always mentioned by Palmeiras fans. Midfielders Diego Souza and Cleiton Xavier are being accused by teammates of focusing exclusively upon transfers to European clubs by the end of the year. Nonetheless, Palmeiras’ bad moment can be credited mainly to the defensive players’ performance. Also, the inconsistency of the team managed by Muricy Ramalho hurt their chances beyond recovery. At the other end, Fluminense’s sub-20 star Maicon is proving he is worth all the hype and talented midfielder Dario Conca is the ‘maestro’ of this year’s cast.
In common, these teams have only one thing: ups and downs. This means that now Palmeiras has to pick up the pieces and try to stay among the top four by the end of the Championship to get a place in next years’ Copa Libertadores. Meanwhile, Fluminense is still battling relegation; they will play the finals of the Copa Sudamericana, on a vengeful match against Ecuatorians’ LDU, which beat Fluminense last year in a thrilling Libertadores’ final at Maracanã.
2009’s Campeonato Brasileiro has been an emotional roller coaster ride. Some fans are disappointed, some are relieved, some are hoping for the best: São Paulo’s fans are pretty chatty these days as they look forward to getting one more trophy added to their gallery. Or not. Adriano’s Flamengo may grab the title after all. As someone else has already said, “The game isn’t over until it’s over”.
Photo by www.fluminensefc.com.br.
Written by Fabricio Presilli
Tags: Adriano, Campeonato Brasilero, Flamengo, Fluminense, Fred, Palmeiras, São Paulo
This entry was posted on Friday, November 20th, 2009 and is filed under Brazil. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
Well it is all over now. Flamengo won, Palmeiras finished in fifth place, shy of a Copa Libertadores spot and Fluminense lived for another year in the first division. A rebirth of the football in Rio in 2009.
Fabricio, the articles I’ve read regarding Flamengo’s success all mentioned Adriano, but how much of a factor was he?
I’ve also heard that he’s been linked with either a move to England or a return to Italy? How likely is that to happen, and do you think it’s the right thing for the player given his previous personal problems?
Of course Adriano presence is very important to Flamengo, as was Petkovic in the middle, both backs and the goalkeeper Bruno, they form the backbone of the team. The Serbian had an interesting story, he played in Flamengo some years ago and had some money yet to receive, he made a deal with the club to cut the money he was due by half and let him play this year, he ended the season as the come back player of the year. Adriano scored a lot of goals, but his problems off the field were frequent, specially at the Mondays off he had. He was certainkly the man that Flamengo needed to score goals and to be the leader on the field, without him and Pet Flamengo probably would have ended without a top 5 position. There has been a lot of talks in moving Adriano to West Ham or Roma, reportedly he wants to go back to Italy, however he fells his chances of going to South Africa are better if he plays the Libertadores Cup with Flamengo, even with his personal problems. And I agree with him, in Rio he is the King of the pack, and to begin a work in Europe in January might not fit his best skills.