The Brazilian Championship starts this Saturday (9) and has Palmeiras as the main candidate for the title. In the dictionary, favorite is not synonymous with winner. The two-time Libertadores champion plays the most solid game in the country. On the other hand, there will be a series of banana peels on the way.
One of them is the fact that he prepared himself to reach the pinnacle in the Club World Cup. Physically, this will have consequences in the middle of the year. Another, facing Flamengo and Corinthians in the first four rounds.
Abel Ferreira has already warned of this risk, and the scientific department, led by Daniel Gonçalves, is working to mitigate the damage.
The obvious rivals are Atlético and Flamengo. The tournament was never a triangular one. Galo is a step down from last year, and the red-black has internal problems.
Paulo Sousa does not seduce the players, the president and vice president of football coexist or flirt with public office, the fans ask for meetings with the cast.
Flamengo is not playing well.
Even so, the triangulation of the rich has the potential to happen in the next six months, and the chance of it being different is for the season to become an endurance endurance.
The Copa do Brasil final will be on the 19th, and the Libertadores on the 29th, both in October. The Brazilian ends on November 13, a week before the Cup. In 206 days, Atlético, Flamengo and Palmeiras may have to play 60 games if they are not eliminated from any competition.
And if they are, crisis!
It’s not so simple to find a fourth trophy contender. Sao Paulo, maybe. Even in Morumbi, there are those who think it is an exaggeration to include the team in the list of candidates. Rogério will prioritize the Brazilian, not the Copa Sudamericana.
Ceni has far fewer players to rotate in the squad than his wealthy cousins. If there is a proposal for its young players, São Paulo will sell. But there is a chance of giving up the other disputes, if the first results lead to the top of the table.
Corinthians and Bragantino are possible intruders. Red Bull has not yet provided enough spare parts, but has already drawn the attention of competitors to the point of hiring defender Renan and full-back Ramon, from Palmeiras and Flamengo, on loan and without a defined purchase clause. The company considers that its team will be candidates for the title in two years.
At Corinthians, the difficulty is Vítor Pereira realizing that he can’t select seven veterans every Wednesday and Sunday and find good enough substitutes for Fagner, Renato Augusto, Paulinho and Willian.
If Du Queiroz as a side, Maycon as a midfielder and Adson on the left wing take off, Corinthians could be stronger. Unlikely.
It is easier to get the prognosis right by saying that the champion will be Palmeiras, Atlético or Flamengo.
The pride of having 12 title contenders has always been false. Even in the 1980s, there were actually three or four postulants. Palmeiras, Santos, Botafogo and Cruzeiro had no chance of winning the 1982 Brazilian, 40 years ago. It would be Flamengo, São Paulo or Atlético, bases of the selection for the World Cup. Corinthians surprised and reached the semifinals. Who won? The Flamingo!
The Brazilian heritage is not the number of candidates for the title. It’s social mobility. Grêmio fought for the cup five years ago and is now in Serie B.
The ability to generate surprises, to be unpredictable, is still the grace of the championship that starts this weekend.
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