Brazil: Serie A:
56 days of the season remaining, with 14 rounds left to play, that is a game every 4 days for all 20 teams, welcome to football in Brazil !
Chapecoense- Cruzeiro
Chapecoense, despite having 42 points still available to them, look in trouble and are already drinking in the last chance saloon, with "last orders" soon to be sounded. in midweek they went all the way up to Fortaleza ahead of which I wrote .............
Fortaleza are 3 points above the drop zone , having lost 3/4, they would have come into this season following promotion with one aim ..........survival, and a win over the bottom club would give them a real chance of achieving that, anything else could quickly give the table a very different look, they travel to inform Vasco at the weekend and then host Flamengo and Gremio here, two of the league's strongest teams. Almost everyone has a soft spot for Chapecoense following the Columbian plane crash which left the club and community devastated, but this season they are in big trouble, at the foot of the table and already 8 points from safety, they have lost 4/5 and make the 3,800km trip North low in confidence , but in the knowledge that they have little to lose and that they are facing one of the few teams it is possible to catch/draw into the relegation scrap.This game certainly makes the two struggling teams equalling goals mantra we often trot out and the meeting between the two in Chapeco produced four and I would be surprised did this not play out similarly. The goals do not have to come early, Chapecoense have conceded 16 after the break on the road , Fortaleza have conceded 70% of home goals in the final 30 minutes and that reverse meeting got very stretched late on, with a host of big chances in the final third of the game.
Fortaleza did their part scoring twice, but Chapecoense could not come up with one, despite having 15 attempts, 9 ITB, 5 on target, missing a big chance and hitting the woodwork (both teams did ) and they were denied by five saves with the home keeper, along with two goal striker Wellington Paulista voted joint MOTM. Feel a bit sorry for Chape after that and for myself/us ! Very hard to see a clean sheet for them against anyone at present and they have put in a lot of travel this week and that is always harder on the body when you are not winning games . The result leaves them 10 points from safety, six adrift of 18th placed Cruzeiro who are a big club, champions in 2013 and 2014 and Copa do Brasil winners in each of the last two years, they would not have expected to be battling relegation and were heavily tipped for top 3-4 after putting up some impressive stats last season and "only" finishing 8th as their motivation lessened due to the Copa win. Maybe, on reflection, they let the squad age too much and seven regular starters in well into their 30's including their main threat up top in 34 yo Thiago Neves and 36 yo Fred (yes, it is he, the real Fred !). It will be a major shock if they are relegated, but it has happened to Palmeiras and International in very recent campiagns and things can unravel and come together quickly in Serie A. They have failed to win in eight and to score in 5 of those, but play Sao Paulo and Corinthians (both top 5) next and should they fail to win today, Cruz will struggle to get out of this hole they have dug themselves into.
No rest day for them as they returned straight to training on Thursday following a 0-0 draw with inform Fluminense, where Cruz won attempts on target 8-0 which is eyecatching and Fred (it really is him !) gave a lengthy interview afterwards including :
"The team has everything possible to improve and is working hard under the command of head coach Abel Braga. “I've been through a lot of situations like this in my career, especially given my age, going through situations even worse than we live today. The squad have kept their heads up and is working hard, aware that we have to evolve to get out of this situation.”
"Our team has experienced people, but there are a lot of young people too, and of course we get beaten after the games. Abel is a guy who, not only in football, but in life is a winner, a guy who charges a lot and has been doing this with us here. It's doing a job of regaining our confidence, and there has been a big improvement in the games since his arrival, that's noticeable, so much so that the fans are seeing it. We also see this evolution , see this improvement, but it's time for us to start from this evolution and reverse the results. It's no use playing well, kneading opponents and not coming out with the three points. I have great faith in players and supporters , the fans were behind us from start to finish and crowded Mineirão yesterday, cornering (?) the opposing players, putting pressure on them. We will work hard to start an immediate reaction.
Proud of the presence and encouragement that the fans led to Mineirão in the match against Fluminense, Fred took the opportunity to thank and ask that the motivation continue. According to the striker, the players will do everything to get the team out of this situation .
“I just want to thank the fans for all they have done for us. With the crisis that Cruzeiro is going through, both institutional, political and technical, with many exchanges and many problems that did not happen many years ago, you are buying into this fight, you are really showing that you are real Cruzeiros. We'll do everything to represent you on the pitch. The request is for you to continue doing this work of giving motivation to each player. Let the protests, if they happen, just for the end of the games, because we'll need everyone. Be it from Egidio, David, Fred, Thiago, Dedé, Fabio. Regardless of the situation in the club, the history of the club, we will need everyone. I ask you to encourage everyone, and that no one will go.
Some of this was difficult to translate on google, he spoke in depth about some of his team mates too, as I said, it was lengthy, but you get the drift and Fred for one, is not shirking the issue.
Under Braga who has coached a dozen or so top flight teams ( Inter 5 times and a couple of others on three occasions !) and is very experienced, they have improved and are +11 on target attempts in their two starts (-8 previous 3 games). This should produce goals, it makes all the criteria, but they have not come in Brazil in such games over the last couple of weeks, I think there is gulf between the two clubs still and it feel like Cruz may have turned a corner and could still save themselves, but need a win to start the great escape now.
2 units Cruzeiro -0.5 ball 2.21 asian line/Sportmarket.
1.25 units "over" 2.5 goals 2.70 asian line/Sportmarket.
Good Luck.
