The new Brazilian league season begins this weekend, and never before has Brasileirão been so weighted with Portuguese interest, as a remarkable four Luso coaches start the campaign in charge of some of the country’s greatest clubs.
Abel Ferreira, champion of South America twice in a row with Palmeiras, remains at the São Paulo outfit, and now he is joined by three countrymen for the 2022 season. Paulo Sousa left his role with Poland to take charge of title challengers Flamengo, while Vítor Pereira landed at Corinthians and Luís Castro is the new man at the helm at Botafogo.
Intriguingly, two of the new faces will meet on Sunday, as Castro’s Botafogo host Corinthians, led by Pereira, at the Estádio Nilton Santos in Rio de Janeiro. Both coaches are formerly associated with FC Porto, and both took charge of their new clubs in the run-up to the new season, with Pereira accepting his offer from Corinthians in late February and Castro taking the Botafogo job last month.
While Castro’s tenure at Botafogo has yet to take in an official match in charge due to his late arrival and the team’s Carioca State semi-final defeat to Fluminense, there has already been strife for new Corinthians man Pereira. A Paulista State semi-final defeat to São Paulo was followed by a midweek 2-0 loss at Bolivian side Always Ready in the opening matchday of the Copa Libertadores group phase.
Pereira reacted strongly to the defeat, using the word “disgusting” and expressing his disappointment at the team’s reaction to the goals. Fans at the club known as “The people’s team” are already letting their frustration known, but an open letter from a supporters’ group took aim at the players rather than new boss Pereira.
“The coaching staff must have total autonomy to ward off players who perform little and who are little committed: Cássio, Gil, Fábio Santos, Paulinho, Jô… your past no longer shows on the field,” wrote Gaviões da Fiel, one of the fans’ most popular outlets. “And if they remain with vanity and soft bodies, aiming to overthrow the coach, our posture will be different. Either play for love, or play for terror."
Local outlet Globoesporte reports that 14 members of fan groups were allowed into the club facilities to speak with high-ranking officials. Pereira is unlikely to have been involved, as despite an underwhelming start with two victories from seven matches, the fan ire currently appears reserved for the players.
There seems little doubt that Castro arrives with less pressure for immediate success. Despite Botafogo’s rich history, associated with players such as Nilton Santos, Garrincha and Jairzinho, they are newly-promoted back to the top flight and have seen recent years marred with financial issues, some of which Castro alluded to when discussing “structural problems” upon his arrival.
Corinthians, however, remain one of the country’s best-supported clubs and last season’s 5th place finish sets a standard which will put pressure on Pereira sooner or later. The well-travelled coach left Fenerbahce midway through the current European season amid much criticism of his tactics, and was later thought to be a frontrunner for the job at English Premier League club Everton which ultimately went to Frank Lampard.
Sousa hoping for good start at Flamengo
Another coach having an uncertain beginning in Brazil is Paulo Sousa, who attracted attention for his controversial departure from the Polish national team at the turn of the year. Sousa left his job with Poland, to the shock of many in the country, ahead of their World Cup play-offs in order to secure his position at Flamengo.
Flamengo are looking to rekindle the extraordinary success enjoyed under Jorge Jesus in 2019 when they won the Brazilian championship and Copa Libertadores double. Flamengo were searching for a new boss around the time of Jesus’ departure from Benfica this season and Sousa’s swift decision to accept likely gave him the edge over veteran Jesus, who departed the Estádio da Luz just as Sousa was confirmed.
However, under Sousa Fla have already lost three finals: the Brazilian Supercup to Atletico Mineiro, the Carioca State Championship to Fluminense and the Guanabara Cup also to fierce rivals Flu. With standards still extremely high following Jesus’ reign and the financial clout of the club, Sousa’s team are already under criticism.
Questions have been asked over the togetherness of the players and on Friday a group of supporters gathered at the club’s training ground, where they attacked the cars of arriving players and expressed their anger at certain members of the Fla squad.
Things not exactly serene for Paulo Sousa at Flamengo. Today the fans waited at the training ground to give players a hostile welcome in light of their recent performances
— Sean Gillen (@SeanGillen16) April 8, 2022
pic.twitter.com/mgtbGPeMM6
A 2-0 away win at Sporting Cristal in Peru during the midweek opening of the Copa Libertadores has put Sousa on the winning track, but Saturday’s trip to Atletico Goianiense already feels a high-pressure match. Sousa faces two games against compatriots before the end of the month: Pedro Caixinha’s Talleres de Cordoba in the Copa Libertadores and potential title rivals Palmeiras and Abel Ferreira in the league.
Abel looks to build on success
Abel Ferreira heads into the opening weekend of the league season under by far the least scrutiny, having recently been rewarded for his tremendous success in Brazil with a three-year contract extension. Having won back-to-back Copa Libertadores titles, Abel led his team to the Paulista State Championship crown ahead of a resounding 4-0 win at Deportivo Tachira of Venezuela in midweek.
The early struggles of Pereira and Sousa in making their mark in Brazil should only serve to underline the achievements made by Jesus and Abel in a football culture which made light work of Jesualdo Ferreira (Santos) and Ricardo Sá Pinto (Vasco da Gama) during the initial wave of Portuguese appointments. Abel’s tenure with Palmeiras has even seen him linked with the job of Brazilian national team manager.
What the former Braga and Sporting man lacks from his time in São Paulo is a league title, and their assault on the championship begins with a home match against Ceará on Saturday evening at Allianz Parque. According to reports in Brazil, Abel hopes to finalise the signing of Benfica striker Carlos Vinícius in the coming weeks to aid his ambitions.
By Sean Gillen
