Opinion – PVC: Shrimp that sleeps the wave takes

Phrases from the past don’t lead to the madhouse. Lucky Andres Sanchez. “In the next three years, Corinthians will be the richest and most structured team in the world.” The statement is recorded on the old Arena SporTV program, presented by Cléber Machado.

If it were a little more modest and referred only to Brazil, Andrés would have been right. Corinthians became the first club in the country to reach annual revenue of R$300 million in 2013.

But it stagnated, while Flamengo flew to around R$ 1 billion a year.

This explains why Corinthians had the most fertile period of football in Brazil between 2009 and 2019, with three Brazilian titles, one Copa do Brasil, one Libertadores, one Mundial, five state titles and one Recopa Sul-Americana.

In this century, not even São Paulo, between 2000 and 2009, was so successful, with two state teams, one Libertadores, one Mundial and three Brazilians. The last ten years of Flamengo and Palmeiras are not the same either.

Against Corinthians, the red-blacks won the second Copa do Brasil of the period, which also has two Brazilians, five state teams and one Libertadores – there could be two in nine days.

Palmeiras has two state, two Libertadores, three Copa do Brasil and two Brazilian Cups – which should become three in a month.

Life is made of cycles and, for now, we can breathe a sigh of relief that there is no boring hegemony like Bayern Munich in Germany. Incredible that the current threat to the Bavarians comes from Union Berlin, an opposition club in the old East Germany, now a force in the European capital that teaches history in the open.

Here, everything indicates that the turnover will follow.

A triangle between Palmeiras, Atlético and Flamengo was imagined and, however, Internacional is the vice-leader of the Brazilian, with Galo in seventh place. On the other hand, since the end of the Corinthians period, only Atletico, Palmeiras and Rubro-Negro have won national and international titles. Athletics, also those with H.

Palmeiras has a lot of work to do to maintain its current level of revenue, which aims to reach R$ 750 million by the end of this year. It’s great, but it still represents 25% less compared to the current rival in Rio.

Corinthians celebrates reaching the same annual figure as the eternal green adversary, but with a debt of over R$ 1 billion. The plan is to compete for everything again, but it’s difficult to compete, having to pay for the stadium and reduce the tickets. At least it managed to increase the gains.

“Knock three times on wood when your team is tri”, wrote Alberto Helena Jr.

This has always been the story of the Brazilian fan. But reality is changing. Before, state companies formed regional giants. Internacional arrived in the 1970s with a huge and demanding crowd formed by the achievements of Rio Grande do Sul. Today, the powers need national and continental trophies.

So maybe the cycles become sparse.

Perhaps…

Ten years ago, Fluminense, Cruzeiro and Corinthians dominated. Today, Flamengo, Palmeiras and Atlético.

How will it be tomorrow? Botafogo will have a competitive team, Vasco prepares the future, Cruzeiro bets on a return to the good times using Ronaldo’s prestige to discover new money.

Who would have thought, 15 seasons ago, that Chelsea and Manchester United would occupy intermediate positions, while Manchester City and Liverpool would fight for the titles? In Rio de Janeiro, from Flamengo champion of the Copa do Brasil, there is a saying that works for the current powers: shrimp that sleeps, the wave takes.