Team Focus: Belo Horizonte Bandwagon Gathers Pace as Cruzeiro Stake Claim
They may not like it on the bronze beaches of Rio, in São Paulo’s office blocks and in the proud alehouses of Porto Alegre, but Brazilian football has a new epicentre. Since the turn of the year, Belo Horizonte has become the place to be on planet futebol.
First there was the reopening of the historic Mineirão stadium, the spiritual home of the game in the city, after World Cup renovation work that lasted the best part of three years. Without their usual home, Belo Horizonte’s big two – Atlético Mineiro and Cruzeiro – were forced to host matches in neighbouring towns Sete Lagoas and Uberlândia, with predictable consequences for attendance figures.
Atlético have latterly settled in América-MG’s cosy Independência ground, but Cruzeiro immediately reaped the rewards of returning to the Mineirão, embarking on a staggering run of form that saw them win 17 of their first 19 games of 2013.
Unfortunately that feat was soon overshadowed by the continental exploits of their biggest rivals. Over a century after the club was founded, the Galo broke their Copa Libertadores duck, beating Paraguayan side Olimpia in dramatic fashion in last week’s final. Their displays – particularly those during the group stage – bewitched football fans the country over and ended a 42-year wait for a major trophy.
Atlético fans – and a few players, in all likelihood – will be dining out on that triumph for some time to come, but thoughts now return to domestic matters. Cuca’s side are understandably languishing some way from the summit of Série A but Belo Horizonte’s grip on Brazil’s footballing landscape doesn’t appear to be loosening just yet.
After three wins on the bounce – including a 4-1 victory in the clássico last Sunday – Cruzeiro top the Brasileirão table with a quarter of the season played. Irresistible in attack and sturdy in defence, they have built up an incredible +14 goal difference – 9 better than any other side in the division.
Coach Marcelo Oliveira deserves much of the credit for their form. The 58-year-old has bounced back from a disappointing spell with Vasco da Gama in style, persevering with the kind of daring, attacking football that previously brought him success at Coritiba. His is a classic 4-2-3-1 formation, employing three versatile attacking midfielders who rotate and drop deep but also have licence to get beyond the striker.
The success stories are numerous. Middling Série A performers like Egídio, Bruno Rodrigo and Nílton are playing out of their skins, as evidenced by their lofty positions (1st, 4th and 9th respectively) in the WhoScored Brasileirão rankings. Astute signings Dedé and Souza (both of whom also have an average rating of over 7.5) have slotted seamlessly into the side. Left-footed schemer Everton Ribeiro, meanwhile, has been transformed from a lightweight luxury player to one of the league’s best performers in recent weeks. He has 2 goals, 3 assists and 2 WhoScored man-of-the-match awards to his name already.
Even more impressive is how the Raposa have coped with the absence of key players: proven goal-plunderer Borges has been sidelined since May; Dagoberto hasn’t played since the Confederations Cup; Diego Souza was sold to Metalist Kharkiv earlier this month.
That would have decimated most sides but Oliveira has managed to coax some sterling performances from their understudies: Ricardo Goulart, who did well in Série B with Goiás last term, has managed 3 goals in 3 starts; 20-year-old Vinícius Araújo has scored twice and set up 2 more in the same period; former Palmeiras hot head Luan put São Paulo to the sword with a ruthless hat-trick at the Morumbi.
It would be risky to depend on these youngsters for too long, of course, and Cruzeiro have elected to dip back into the transfer market to buy a big-name (and big-framed) forward. Júlio Baptista was unveiled on Sunday, stepping out of a club-brand armoured vehicle (available soon at a gift shop near you) at the Mineirão in an enjoyably light-hearted presentation ceremony.
His arrival, coupled with the imminent returns of Dagoberto and Borges, should lend yet more quality to a side that looks well equipped to go the distance this year. At this stage you wouldn’t bet against them winning their first Brazilian title in a decade. There just seems to be something in the Belo Horizonte water at the moment, after all.
