After three months of largely uninteresting state league football mixed in with some Copa Libertadores fun, Brazil’s national league, the Brasileirão, makes its much anticipated return this weekend. Things are much different now than they were last December when the 2015 campaign concluded. Then, Corinthians were the deserved champions and looking like the best side in the recent history of South American football. Now, Timão has seen so many of the players that made that […]
With the slog that is the Brazilian state leagues finally behind us, the eyes of the country turn to the Brasileirão. The are story-lines aplenty, with Flamengo looking to return to relevance on the pitch, a heavily weakened Corinthians seeking to win back to back titles, and plenty of teams looking likely to make a run at the title. With those in mind, let’s take a look at the best and worst case scenarios of […]
The Brasileirão season is winding to a close and, for the third season in a row, the title will be won at a canter, this time by Tite’s Corinthians, who are a single point away from confirming themselves as campeões. With only four rounds of the 2015 season remaining, thoughts are turning towards the individual trinkets that will be handed out. In a season where they have won the league easily, with the best away […]
This preview of the 2015 Brazilian season was written by Anthony Wood (@FRfutebolAnt) and Luke Butler (@FRfutebolLuke), who are Brazilian football experts for the football data and analysis company, Football Radar. After a few long and arduous months of state championship football, the 2015 edition of Brazil’s premier league competition, the Brasileirão, kicks off this weekend. The league has seen eleven different teams crowned champions over the past two decades and this season looks set to be as competitive and unpredictable […]
Another season of one of the most competitive leagues in world football has come to an end. Although they weren’t as convincing this campaign, last year’s champions Cruzeiro have successfully retained their crown, which speaks volumes about the difference in quality between the Belo Horizonte club and the other teams in the league. Even if Cruzeiro don’t rise to their normal standards they don’t have much to worry as the other so-called title contenders (São […]
We’re entering the dying throes of another Brasileirão season which, though somewhat elongated due to the World Cup, still seems to have gone by in a flash. The Campeonato Brasileirão looks like it will stay with Cruzeiro this year. The Copa will join the trophy in residency in Belo Horizonte, with Atlético Mineiro and Cruzeiro battling out the final. We are also approaching the time of individual appraisal, when awards and trinkets are handed out […]
This weekend a revitalised São Paulo welcome campeões and league leaders Cruzeiro to Morumbi. It will undoubtedly be billed as a top of the table clash, but in reality, it probably represents the last chance for this season’s league title race to remain competitive. Around 12 months ago, Botafogo played Cruzeiro at Esádio Mineirão in very similar circumstances, with the Rio club clinging onto the tail of ‘a raposa.’ Clarence Seedorf missed a penalty with […]
The 2014 Brasileirão season will be broken into two parts, thanks to the mid-season break for the World Cup. The season starts on April 19th, breaking from June 2nd to July 14th, and will come to a close on December 6th. Here’s a look at all the participants, including their aims and players to look out for. We begin, perhaps unfashionably, with a look at the clubs in the north east of Brazil, written by The […]
If it wasn’t for the fact that either Flamengo or Portuguesa fielded ineligible players in final round of last season, then Rio giants Fluminense would be playing in the second tier of Brazilian football this year. At the end of last December, Brazil’s Superior Court of Sporting Justice ruled by unanimous vote that both Flamengo and Portuguesa were to be docked four points as punishment, which resulted in the latter falling into the relegation positions, […]
Current Gaucho champions, boasting all the merits and authority which they defeated fierce local rivals Grêmio, Internacional now have a challenge ahead: the Brasileirão. Since 1979, the dream of a fourth national title has hit the crossbar five times: 1987, 1988, 2005, 2006, and 2009. But now it’s time to win the Brazilian championship again. In 2013, under the command of Dunga, the scenario was similar:. Hopes for the title and a successful league campaign, […]