retired_workingmom77

Okay I've finally got round to updating this story, haven't been able to tear myslef away from FM06 but myself and "Raposa" are back now........

October 2004

October would prove to be a crucial month for us. We were nearing the business end of the season and the three way race for the title looked like going all the way to the wire. Going into October we were in second place in the championship just two points behind Corinthians, however with two games in hand we were in a very strong position. Our opening game would be a tough one to get three points from, at home to Santos. Santos were six points off the top in third but with a game in hand. Since losing Robinho and Ricardinho, they had been expected to begin a rapid decline. But if anything they were having somewhat of a revival, playing some of their best football in recent games. Attendances at home were still barely filling up half of the stadium, just under 19,000 turned up to this hugely important match. It wasn't the most entertaining of matches, both teams eager not to make any mistakes. Unfortunately we made the first error, Maldonado lost track of Antonio Carlos who used the space to engineer a well driven effort that beat Fabio all ends up. We were 1-0 down with just two minutes of the first half remaining. Things began to turn our way with twenty minutes to go as on loan striker from Bordeaux Deivid lost his head and received a red card. With their razor sharp attack blunted, we could now focus on grabbing an equaliser, which eventually came from Adriano with just three minutes remaining. I was quite happy with just a point, especially after I had found out Corinthians had narrowly lost 3-2 to Vasco.

We were back in continental competition next game as we entertained Bolivian champions Bolivar. I really wanted us to effectively seal the tie there and then. But it was not to be as after missing an earlier penalty and then taking the lead we thought we had wrapped up a win but Bolivar sneaked an undeserved equaliser to make it 1-1. As a result of a busy match schedule and ridiculous internation call ups meant we were heavily under-strength for our next league fixtures. A Fabio howler gave Athletico Paranaense three points as our form in this crucial month continued to deteriorate. Cup commitments were becoming a bit of a burden as we struggled to maintain fitness levels. Coritba were slightly easier oppenents as we caught up all of our games in hand, a win would take us top. We ground out a 1-0 result thanks to super sub Jean. Going into the game against Vitoria in the knowledge that Corinthians had just beforehand thumped Goais 6-0 didn't do well for our confidence and it showed. Time and time again we let Vitoria back in an entertaining for the neutral game that ended 3-3.

With a daunting semi final tie against River Plate hanging over both Bolivar's heads and ours we made the journey to La Paz. Despite Maurinho being sent off we managed to go in at half time 1-0 up thanks to a piledriver from Fred. A superb solo effort from Waltinho wrapped up the tie late on in the second half and River Plate awaited in the semi's.

£100,000 combined with Corinthians losing was not a big enough reward for the gruelling trip to Bolivia. The players were exhausted and three tricky league games including one against our bitter rival Mineiro was not the news they wanted to hear. A superb perfomance from an under-strengthed tea gave us a crucial 2-1 derby win. Another narrow win against Fluminense followed. We new that our last game in October would be tough against Internacional but luckily we had a two point cushion at the top with a game in hand. It was just as well, as our exhausted side was overpowered 2-0 by a fresh Internacional side.

Transfers
N/A

Results
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> ************************************************** ************************************************** ***********************************Santos 1-1 H First Divison AdrianoBolivar 1-1 H C.S Qtr F. 1st Leg MaldonadoAthletico Paranaense 0-1 H First Division Coritiba 1-0 H First Division JeanVitoria 3-3 A First Division Wagner (2), JeanBolivar 2-0 (3-0 agg.) A C.S Qtr F. 2nd Leg Fred, WaltinhoAtletico Mineiro 2-1 A First Division Kelly, JeanFluminense 1-0 H First Division JeanInternacional 0-2 H First Division****************************************** ************************************************** ******************************************* </pre>

retired_workingmom77

November 2004

By the penultimate month of the season, in all honesty we were stumbling towards the finish line. We were expected to get a win against strugglers Ponte Preta, however despite our best efforts we could only come away with a 0-0 draw. It would have been nice to prepare for the double header against Argentinian giants River Plate with a win, but we made the journey to Buenos Aires out of form and with several players missing due to International call-ups (Fred and Michel would both win their first caps for Brazil in November). For the first hour of the match things were quite open and Fabio produced a quite marvellous goalkeeping display to keep River out. However the floodgates opened just after the hour mark and goals from Colautti, Salas and Gallardo were enough to effectively end the tie. The return leg was somewhat of an anti-climax ending 0-0.

After our disapointment in the Copa Sudamericana we faced two huge league games. Corinthians (in second place) and Palmeiras (in fourth place). A Luciano Ratinho penalty gave Timão the lead midway through the first half but Adriano was quick to equalise in what would again be a tied game, however crucially it would keep us top. Against Palmeiras in appeared we would get the win we had waited for for so long. With 15 minutes left to go we were 2-1 up thanks to a Fred brace. However a highly controversial penalty was to salvage a point from Palmeiras, I was disgusted by referee Valter Senra's decision and made my thoughts known in the post match press conference. Amazingly Corinthians had lost to Guarani and kept us in the lead, however Santos were in a period of resurgency and looked a major threat. We had to start winning. Sadly yet another draw against Paysandu marked one month without a win in the league, yet again our competitors form slumped as Santos lost 3-1 to Botafogo leaving the table at the end of November looking like this:
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> ************************************************** ************************************************** ************************************Brazilian First Division****************************************** ************************************************** ********************************************====== ================================================== ================================================== ==============================Pos. Team Pld. Won Drw. Lst. For Ag. G.D. Pts.============================================== ================================================== ========================================1st Cruzeiro 42 23 14 5 54 30 +24 83----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2nd Corinthians 42 24 9 9 65 27 +38 813rd Santos 42 22 13 7 60 29 +31 794th Palmeiras 42 20 14 8 62 34 +28 74================================================ ================================================== ======================================</pre>


Transfers
N/A

Results
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> ************************************************** ************************************************** ************************************Ponte Preta 0-0 H First DivisionRiver Plate 0-3 A C.S Semi 1st LegRiver Plate 0-0 H C.S Semi 2nd LegCorinthians 1-1 A First Division AdrianoPalmeiras 2-2 A First Division Fred (2)Paysandu 1-1 H First Division Ederson******************************************* ************************************************** *******************************************</pre>

retired_jdupont

Not a single victory in the whole month.

retired_workingmom77

I know, but Santos and Corinthians have if anything hardly drawn a game in November. As a result I'm hanging on in there, unfortunately I've got Vasco next but then three games I should win.

retired_workingmom77

My first real bit of pubicity back home. Of course a lot of it was naturally rubbish, there was no impending deal or comepensation row. In reality all that was happening was that I had applied for the Benfica job and arranged an interview purely out of interest, literally just to see whether I could blag my way into such a job. I had no real desire to manage a team who hadn't won a league title in 10 years and were about to disintegrate in the second tier of Portuguese football, not at all considering the success I was enjoying here.

retired_workingmom77

December 2004

Finally we were at the end of the season, after a collossal 73 matches in all competitions it was down to 4 that would make or break our season. After over a month without a win a trip to one of our bogey sides Vasco would be tough especially as the title could swing either way at this late stage. Vasco had had a very disapointing season and like us were limping towards the finish line. However our now fully fit side exercised their championship credentials in a 2-0 victory that easily could have been more against a woeful Vasco side that would go on to finish in 17th position. That left us needing two wins from our last three games to completely safeguard the title. Luckily the three teams we were pitted against were all in the bottom five and it looked like silverware was imminent.

Goais were first up, they had already been condemned to relegation and put up a decent fight to save some pride. It looked like we would have to go into the final two games playing the waiting game, but Wagner ended his goal drought on 88 minutes with a calmy sidefooted penalty leaving us 3 points from glory. Next was a trip to Coritiba who were desperately clinging onto survival in the league. Adriano put us in front as early as the fourth minute, the next 86 minutes however seemed to be the longest of my life as Coritiba tried to delay us winning the title with some good attacking work. We held on though, and I found myself sprinting onto the pitch to congratulate the players. But then in what I deemed to be a very proffesional move, I ushered the players into the dressing room as quickly as possible as this defeat put Coritiba's future into the balance and the last thing the fans needed was us celebrating a title win in front of them.

I'll always remember the following week as a drunken haze, although one clear memory is chugging cheap champagne out of a large trophy on an open top bus through the streets of Belo Horizonte, with a sea of blue and white before me. How we managed to scrape a 0-0 draw with Criciuma on the last day of the season with half of the team and most of the staff still hungover was incredible.

That was that, time for re-buliding and a brand new season.

Transfers
N/A

Results
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> ************************************************** ************************************************** **************************************Vasco 2-0 A First Division Adriano, FredGoais 1-0 H First Division WagnerCoritiba 1-0 A First Division AdrianoCriciuma 0-0 H First Division****************************************** ************************************************** *********************************************</pre>

retired_workingmom77

January 2005

From the start my priority was to purchase a left sided midfielder before worrying about strengthening anywhere else. Financially we had done well last season however despite this I was given a budget of £2,900,000. It was almost three times the budget for last season but it would not be enough to bring the quality I had my eye on. It was time to sell, first to go was Ruy who went to newly promoted Bahia for £1,400,000. The only other cash sale of January was Michel, who despite winning his first cap for Brazil last season failed to impress me. He was snapped up by Corinthians for £3,900,000. As a result of this I was able to capture the signature of left winger Daniel Carvalho. The former Internacional player had spent just one season at CSKA Moscow and had failed to make impression in Russia depsite netting twice in just four appearances all season. He joined us for £3,200,000 and left enough money to expand elsewhere. Fred desperately needed a strike partner as Adriano was not a natural foward, we were able to sign youngster Celsinho from Portuguesa for £450,000. The 16 year old is a real talent and I'm looking forward to seeing how he develops. Another youngster we were fortunate to sign was left winger Anderson from Gremio for £1,100,000. I expect to bolster the defence in February.

There was no let up in matches as our Minais Gerais state championship campaign got under way again. We started brightly with a 3-0 away win over Caldense, Wagner netting twice and returning to form. Last season we had won all 13 of our qualifiying games, this time we dropped points by the second match as we were held to a 0-0 draw by Tupi. This despite debutant Carvalho missing a penalty and veteran Athirson also missing one. We responded in the best way as Carvalho hit the target twice in a 5-0 win over Social. We rounded off the month with a 2-0 victory over Mamore the team we had faced in last season's semi final.

Transfers
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> ************************************************** **********************In************************** **********************************************Dani el Carvalho CSKA Moscow £3,200,000Anderson Gremio £1,100,000Celsinho Portuguesa £450,000***************************************** *******************************Out**************** ************************************************** ******Michel Corinthians £3,900,000Ruy Bahia £1,400,000Marcelo Batatais N/A FREEMarcio Oliveira N/A FREECarlos Alberto N/A FREE</pre>

Results
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> ************************************************** ************************************************** ***************************************Caldense 3-0 A Minas Gerais Wagner (2), Gilberto own goal.Tupi 0-0 H Minas Gerais Social 5-0 A Minas Gerais Augusto Recife, Adriano (2), Daniel Carvalho (2)Mamore 2-0 H Minas Gerais Leo, Adriano******************************************* ************************************************** **********************************************</pre>

retired_workingmom77

retired_workingmom77

retired_workingmom77

February 2005

It was at the start of February that I made my fifth signing of the season and once again the emphasis was on youth and building for the future. Young Uruguayan striker Enzo Giovanni Scorza signed on a free transfer from Danubio however the compensation was around £160,000. He would become our second foreigner of a maximum of three alongside Maldonado, he looked to be a huge talent and I was thrilled we managed to snap him up before the European teams had taken notice. Satisfied that the squad was sufficiently strengthened, I now focused on the two competetions we were involved in. We had been drawn for the Copa Libertadores in a group that in my opinion would be very tough. Whilst Alianza Lima were a team I was confident we could beat, Boca and America would be no pushovers and qualification would not be a certainty.

Progress in the Minas Gerais state championship was going smoothly and we continued our steady form with a 2-1 win at Ipatinga, Waltinho providing two quality finishes. Waltinho is consistently proving himself to be great back-up up front. This was immediately follwed by a comfortable 3-0 win over Guarani (MG) where youngster Celsinho scored his first goal for the club.

The next fixture was against old enemy Atletico. In the days running up to the game Atletico manager Procopio had made his feelings clear about how he thought the game was going to go, including the usual personal insults. I was in two minds whether to respond to this aggressive mind game and in the end I put my professionalism before my heart and refused to comment. The game was a disaster from kick off. Despite fielding arguably our strongest eleven, Atletico dominated from start to finsh and only resolute defending kept the teams level at half time. The Atletico goal that I knew would come at some point was eventually scored by Renato on 57 minutes. The young midfielder emphatically slammed the ball home and the ball slapping the back of the net was like a bullet to the heart.

After being on top of the world for a month, doubts slowly crawled into the back of my mind. It was only the state championships a fact that I tried to console myself with, but looking around at the stadium that a month ago had been awash with blue and white and now seeing screaming fans with black and white banners and flags confounded my woes. It wasn't to get any better as Fred got himself sent off two minutes from time for a rash challenge. Soon after Euller hammered the final nail in the coffin scoring in stoppage time.

My thoughts during the game may have been drastic but losing to your bitter rivals has that effect. I hoped that we would bounce back in our next game against Rio Branco but the effects of the defeat were still noticable and we could only manage a 0-0 draw. The next game was one we really needed to win. America made the journey to Brazil and boasted a talented line-up, we weren't intimidated and thanks to Maldonado we grabbed a 1-0 victory getting off on the right foot in the competetion. We rounded off February by getting back to winning ways in the state championship by beating Vila Nova 1-0, Edson got his first goal for the club.


Transfers
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> ************************************************** ********************************In**************** ************************************************** ****************Edson Leiria £875,000Enzo Giovanni Scorza Danubio £160,000 </pre>

Results
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> ************************************************** ************************************************** ****************************************Ipatinga 2-1 A Minas Gerais Waltinho (2)Guarani (MG) 3-0 H Minas Gerais Jean, Edu Dracena, CelsinhoAtletico Mineiro 0-2 A Minas GeraisRio Branco (MG) 0-0 A Minas GeraisAmerica (MEX) 1-0 H C.L. Group B MaldonadoVilla Nova (MG) 1-0 H Minas Gerais Edson********************************************* ************************************************** *********************************************</pre>