I came away from Sao Januario on Sunday surrounded by Vasco da Gama supporters oozing frustration at their team’s 0-0 draw with Sao Paulo.
They must have felt even worse when they heard the news from Sao Paulo. Vasco’s scoreboard had announced that Corinthians had lost 2-1 at home to Avai. In fact it was 2-1 the other way – meaning that Vasco had surrendered top spot in the table with just 6 rounds to go.
It had not been a vintage Vasco display. They took the field without right back Fagner and attacking midfielder Diego Souza, both suspended, and also without the injured defensive midfielder Eduardo Costa, who will miss the rest of the championship. All were missed.
The presence of Eduardo Costa frees fellow midfielder Romulo to participate in the build up. In his absence Romulo was pinned back, concerned with the threat of Sao Paulo’s Marlos, and Vasco’s game lost fluidity as a result. No Fagner made it hard to work the two-against -one situations down the right flank which have been such a hallmark of the campaign, Fagner bursting forward to team up with the rapid Eder Luis. And no Diego Souza meant that even when the crosses were coming in from the right, there was a lack of penalty area presence attacking the ball at the far post.
Stand in coach Cristovao Borges switched around his formation but it was all in vain – and it was difficult to see what he was trying to achieve. On this occasion Vasco da Gama lacked a central idea to bind them into a team.
The story of the game, and of the two points dropped by Vasco, highlights the difficulty of the Brazilian Championship. In the course of such a long campaign teams will inevitably suffer injuries and suspensions – as well as other distractions to continuity, such as loss of form or the changes wrought to the line up by the transfer window. Maintaining consistency is extremely difficult.
And so the old rule applies – the longer the competition, the less chance of a surprise outcome. In a cup format – or a play-off system – the underdog can raise his game at the right time and walk away with the title. Over the course of a long league this is much harder.
Atletico-PR are the best example of how this phenomenon has had an impact on Brazilian football. They were national champions ten years ago and, ambitious, were trying to walk the walk and talk the talk. I attended a lecture of one of their directors when he outlined their ambition – to be the best football club of the Americas. Since the introduction of the league format they have had to scale back their dreams, and are currently involved in what seems to be turning into an annual battle against relegation.
Meanwhile at the other end of the table it is a Rio-Sao Paulo dispute. Vasco are chased by all their big city rivals, as well as Corinthians Sao Paulo are also in the pack (Santos are Libertadores champions, we can add, while Palmeiras seem more concerned in tearing themselves apart).
The Belo Horizonte giants are having a hard time – not helped, of course, by the fact that their city is currently without a stadium. And in Porto Alegre, while Gremio have fallen a bit short of expectations, Internacional are still making a bid to qualify for next year’s Libertadores, a competition they won in 2010.
A glance at the table leads to a clear conclusion that the Brazilian Championship is becoming a land of the giants, the big, established teams from the traditional centres. A few years ago even tiny Sao Caetano could come from nowhere to launch a challenge. Two factors were in their favour – the play-off structure and also the generalised lack of money. Both levelled the playing field.
But increased prosperity means that distances open up between the big clubs and the rest – a process which should increase still further as the new TV deal kicks in next year. And the league format favours the rich, who are best able to maintain a squad deep enough to cope with injuries and suspensions.
As a parenthesis, in this light the campaign of Figueirense is truly outstanding. To be challenging for a Libertadores place is a remarkable achievement for a relatively minor club, and I can hardly wait to see them on Saturday when they visit Rio to take on Botafogo.
This list of major clubs challenging for the title does not include any representatives of the North East. Ceara are in the relegation zone and Bahia are sliding dangerously close. Nautico look good best to be promoted to the first division, and Vitoria and Sport are in the fight.
Even so, this is (yet again) a very poor performance from a region that contains some of the most passionate supporters in the country. The teams from the North East can often boast relatively high average crowds – but, at national level, they never seem able to translate this into strength on the pitch.
I genuinely baffled as to why this should be the case. Does anyone have any explanations for the fact that the North Eastern teams seem to punch below their weight? I would love to hear them.
