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This is a second edition of a story I started a while back called "Welcome to the Mineirão........ ". Tragically that save game was accidentally deleted and after waiting a while for the story to pass out of memory, I have decided to give it another go. A notable improvement is that I am now running down to the Brazilian Third Division which enables me to compete in the state championships which many of you noted was absent from the previous story.
2nd January, 2004
Belo Horizonte
83 years ago today Cruzeiro Esporte Clube was founded. It was initially established for the sportsmen of the former Italian colony of Belo Horizonte and the team took the name of Societá Sportiva Palestra Itália. They also initially adopted the colours of the Italian flag: green shirts, white shorts and red socks. The club only allowed residents of the colony to play for the club, however this rule only lasted four years when Brazilian and indeed any other nationality were allowed to join the club.
In January of 1942, Brazil entered the Second World War and a decree of the Federal Government forbade the use of terms from enemy nations in entities, institutions, establishments, etc. With this, the Italian name was removed and the directors of the club took 10 months to create a name and a new symbol for the club that was entirely Brazilian. A consensus of the directors approved the name Cruzeiro Esporte Clube. Cruzeiro is a constellation of the Southern Cross, and can only be seen from the southern hemisphere, therefore, not related to Italy. The team kit also switched to blue shirts and shorts, and white socks.
Among the top Brazilian football clubs, Cruzeiro has an impressive list of titles that can only be compared to a few others in Brazil. They are undoubtedly the most successful club in present-day Minas Gerais, although their rivals have had their golden years in the past. America-MG won ten state tournaments in a row, but for more than half a century has not been able to accomplish much more. Clube Atlético Mineiro, known only as Atletico, won the Brazilian League in 1971, but since then have only won state and lower-level tournaments. Meanwhile, Cruzeiro won the Copa Libertadores, South America's most prestigious competition in 1976 and 1997. They also won the Copa do Brasil (Brazilian Cup) four times over the last 13 years, and Taca Brasil in 1966, the only national level tournament at the time. Cruzeiro has also dominated the state league since the 1990s, winning it 32 times during its existence.
Since Cruzeiro was founded they have struggled to add the Brazilian League to their impressive honours list. After a few second places they finally won the only competetion that they were not credited with in 2003. Notching up 100 points and scoring over 100 goals in addition to winning the Cup and state championship, completing an impressive triple crown, it will be some time before another team repeats Cruzeiro's acheivements last season.
The ideal time for a rookie English manager standing timidly in the Mineirão dressing room, nervously clutching a Portuguese phrasebook to take the helm.......................
After that brief history lesson it was time to get down to business. My surprise appointment at Cruzeiro didnt go down well with the fans, infact there was general uproar after i was announced new manager. I was confident that i could win the fans over in good time, i've got a good squad that were winners of the triple crown the season before last and I see no reason as to why we cannot reclaim the title back from Santos. I got the phonecall from chairman Alvimar Perrella on New Years Day. He was pleased to inform me that my application had been successful and that i was to be aboard a plane to Belo Horizonte as soon as possible for a board meeting and press conference on the 3rd.
I was in dreamland, this was the big break I had longed for.
The board meeting went smoothly enough, the meeting was chaired by Perrella and his enigmatic brother Zeze who was general manager. Because of the 5.5 million pound loan that would take the club slowly but surely another nine years to pay off, my budget for the upcoming season was seven hundred and fity thousand pounds. Not a great deal but it enough to open negotiation with a player I had been watching for some time. Thankfully we were well below the wage budget. The press conference was a little frustrating. After holding the blue shirt aloft and being blinded by the flashes from the press photographers, I was subjected to what felt like an interrogation by the assembled journalists. It was frustrating having to rely on a translator to answer for me, I made it a priority to learn portuguese as soon as possible. When the question "Why Brazil?" came up, as I knew it would, I was able to give a confident answer. I stated that for years I had been fascinated by the Brazilian game and that I always held the national team in the highest regard. What disappointed me however, was the fact that most
of the country's prospects for the future were being snapped up by European clubs. Of course because of the influence the European game has, eventually players are going to want to play there. But 12 and 13 year olds being headhunted by top European clubs is taking it too far. My aims therefore are to cultivate the young talent and make sure they stay at the club, I hope this paves the way for other clubs in the league to do the same as it will only benefit club level football in Brazil.
It seemed to go down well, as the media spotlight became more favourable. What I had said was entirely truthful despite how some local papers had interpreted it. With just 13 days until my first match in charge against Guarani (MG) in the Minais Gerais state championship, there was a hectic training schedule ahead, plenty of time to get to know the players. My squad is full of talent yet it remains
to be seen how they will play together.
GK Fabio
GK Thiago Braga
DC Edu Dracena
DC Marcelo Batatais
DC Gladstone
DC Regis
D/DMR Maurinho
D/DMR Alemao
D/DML Athirson
D/DML Patrick
D/MR Ruy
D/AMLC Sandro
DMRC Augusto Recife
DMC Maldonado
MRLC Kerlon
MC Leo
AMLC Martinez
AMC Kelly
AMC Adriano
AMC Wagner
AM/FC Michel
SC Waltinho
SC Jean
SC Fred
Fred, Wagner, Adriano, Maldonado, Sandro, Maurinho, Edu Dracena and Fabio are going to be the key players this season and if they are fit they will definitely start. With regards to transfers I managed to tie up a 200,000 pound deal for RS Futebol's 17 year old attacking midfielder, Ederson. Although we appear to be overfurnished in the midfield only two or three player have stood out as being components for an effective midfield. Along with Kerlon, the master of the "seal dribble" that you may have seen on the news, Ederson is a big prospect for the future.
The home match against Guarani (MG) was the first of three matches this month. The starting line-up was in my view a solid one. Fabio in goal, Sandro at left back with licence to bomb down the flank, Athirson and Edu Dracena in the middle and Maurinho at right back.
Maldonado was to play a holding role in the midfield with Wagner ahead of him. Ederson was to play on the right and Martinez on the left. Fred and Adriano were paired up front however I instructed Wagner to try and join them whenever he saw fit. The result was a perfect start, 4-0 with Wagner and Fred giving us the lead in the first half and Adriano netting twice in the second. With Fred and Maldonado away on international duty I was then forced to bring in changes for the next game against Social. Waltinho ow partnered Adriano up front, while I imported Leandro from the reserves to deputise for the injured Augusto Recife who would have covered for Maldonado. Both the newcomers tallied three goals between them as we dismantled social 5-0. Waltinho with two impressive finishes and Leandro with a delightful free kick. Wagner and Martinez completed the rout. Our final game in January was against Villa Nova (MG), Maldonado returned for a cagey game that stayed at 1-0 through a 14th minute adriano header for much of the game until a Silvio own goal gave us the three points.
Summary
Transfers
In
Ederson - 200k (RS Futebol)
Out
N/A
Results
Guarani (MG) H 4-0 W, (Adriano (2), Fred, Wagner)
Social H 5-0 W, (Waltinho (2), Leandro, Martinez, Wagner)
Villa Nova (MG) A, 2-0 W, (Adriano, Silvio own goal)
Cheers OMDave, why the hatred for Fred?, now I'm in the swing of things I shouldn't need Notepad anymore. Enjoy!
February 2004
A busy month for us with six more ties to play in the state championships. We had no injuries going into the away game at Rio Branco however Fred was still campaigning to get Brazil U23's into the Olympics. I hope Brazil don't qualify, I'm more than happy for players to represent Brazil either at senior level or U20's but the Olympics will deprive the best young players from most teams at a crucial stage in the season this summer. Rio Branco put up little fight as we turned them over 5-0, Wagner hitting a hat-trick within the first half an hour. Waltinho who has been standing in for Fred took his tally up to 3 in 2 games. Martinez completed the scoring in stoppage time.
Fred returned for the games against URT and Tupi which we won 5-0 and 3-0. Midfielder Wagner has notched up an amazing 7 goals from just 6 games and shows no signs of slowing down. With those two victories we sat top of the league phase scoring 24 goals and conceding none. Next came the biggest test of the season so far, fellow first division and bitter rivals Atletico Mineiro. This would be the first oppurtunity to test our strength and how well we prepared. All in all it was a very tidy and level headed performance from the players. The atmosphere was electric and Wagner did a lot to ease the nerves with a delightfully placed shot on 9 minutes. Maldonado picked up an injury on the half hour from one of the vicious tackles that would be a contributing factor to the eventual dismissal of Atletico's Andre Luiz. It was then only a matter of time before we doubled our advantage against the 10 men of Mineiro. In the 65th minute, Wagner converted a penalty and sealed three points.
February was rounded off with a 4-0 win against Caldense, where Wagner got his 10th of the season and then at home to Ipatinga where Wagner scored a beutiful volley from outside the 18 yard box in the 94th minute to preserve our 100% record. Im starting to wonder when the 19 year old will get a call up to the Brazil squad as he clearly deserves it. No transfer news this month however I have started watching Benfica's left sided midfielder Everson.
Transfers
N/A
Results
Rio Branco (MG) A 5-0 W, (Wagner (3), Waltinho, Martinez)
URT H 5-0 W, (Wagner (2), Adriano (2), Fred)
Tupi A 3-0 W, (Fred, Martinez, Adriano)
Atletico Mineiro H 2-0 W, (Wagner (2))
Caldense A 4-0 W, (Wagner, Martinez, Fred, Adriano)
Ipatinga H 1-0 W, (Wagner)
The only big transfer news in Brazil this month was the 5.25 million pound deal that saw Ricardinho move from Santos to Arsenal. Somewhat less high profile news was our only outgoing transfer of the month, Cristian from the reserves made a £100,000 move to CFZ.
Kerlon made his senior debut in our first game of march against Valerio, he played well on the left but didn't create an awful lot of oppurtunities. Wagner was on target twice in the first half to give us a 2-0 victory. After Atletico Mineiro, America (MG) were the only realistic threat to us and we faced a tough trip to the Independencia stadium. My heart sank when America were awarded a penalty on 8 minutes, however Fabio pulled off an amazing save to keep the score at 0-0. By half time we were 2-0 up thanks to two Adriano strikes. On 53 minutes Narcizio pulled one back for the home side, the first goal we had conceded this season. Fred added two more late to complete a resounding 4-1 and ensure our qualification to the Semi Finals. The penultimate match of the league phase was against Mamore a team we would later draw in the Semi Finals. Mamore were a shambles, by the second minute they had managed to score a surreal own goal. By the final whistle it was 7-1 to us, to think that they were Semi Final material was laughable. Elsewhere, Mineiro had secured their qualification in second place, whilst Ipatinga, Villa Nova and Mamore would contest for the last two places on the final matchday. I felt sorry for Uberaba as the 6-0 defeat we inflicted upon them on the last day confirmed their relagation. Ipatinga missed out on qualification due to an inferior record against the other two teams, a shame because they had played some good football at times.
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> ************************************************** ***********************************Brazilian Minas Gerais State Championship************************************** ***********************************************=== ================================================== ================================Pos. Team Pld. Won Drw. Lst. For Ag. G.D. Pts.============================================== =======================================1st Q Cruzeiro 13 13 0 0 50 2 +48 39 2nd Q Atletico Mineiro 13 11 1 1 40 3 +37 343rd Q Villa Nova (MG) 13 8 2 3 24 12 +12 264th Q Mamore 13 8 2 3 20 17 +3 26-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5th Ipatinga 13 7 5 1 23 7 +17 266th Caldense 13 8 1 4 19 18 +1 257th America (MG) 13 6 4 3 22 11 +11 228th Tupi 13 5 1 7 14 22 -8 169th URT 13 4 3 6 13 26 -13 1510th Guarani (MG) 13 2 3 8 12 27 -15 911th Rio Branco (MG) 13 2 3 8 12 28 -16 912th Social 13 1 1 11 6 33 -27 4-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------13th R Uberaba 13 0 4 9 8 33 -25 414th R Valerio 13 0 2 11 10 34 -24 2</pre>
Semi Final Draw
Cruzeiro vs. Mamore
A. Mineiro vs. Villa Nova (MG)
In the 4th round of the Brazilian cup we were drawn against Chapadão of the Third Division, it was easy progress to the 5th round as we cruised to a 3-0 victory. Right at the end of the month we played the first leg of the state semi final with Mamore. It wasn't a repeat of the 7-1 drubbing in the league phase but it was a convincing enough 3-0 victory.
Summary
Transfers In
N/a Out
Cristian - 100k - CFZ
Results
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">********************************************* ************************************************** ****************2-0 Valerio H Minas State Wagner (2)4-1 America (MG) A Minas State Adriano (2), Fred (2)7-1 Mamore H Minas State Carlos Cesar own goal, Adriano (2), Fred (3), Ederson6-0 Uberaba A Minas State Michel, Maldonado, Ederson (2), Martinez, Augusto Recife3-0 Chapadão A Cup 4th Round Adriano, Wagner, Fred3-0 Mamore H Minas Semi 1st Leg Michel, Wagner, Fred********************************************** ************************************************** *************** </pre>
I don't hate Fred. I just wish he'd come to Marseille (it almost happened this summer). I hate Lyon, though -the c**** always do this with players we're interested in...
With all of our cup exploits still ongoing, we wouldn't be able to kick off our league campaign until the 24th against Gremio. Meanwhile we finished off Mamore 4-0 in the second leg of the state semi to give us a 7-0 aggregate victory. No surprise when we were pitted against Mineiro in the two legged final after they had come through their tie against Villa Nova unscathed. In the 5th round of the cup we had drawn another third division side but by no means an easy one, União Barbarense. Two Fred strikes delivered us the home leg 2-0 however a tricky trip to Barbarense would still be blocking our route to the sixth round.
In the state final first leg the Mineirão was packed to capacity, however I could see far more black and white than blue in the stands. It was very similiar to the previous encounter, challenges flying all over the place, arguments and minor scuffles. It was a highly charged match that didn't look like producing a goal until Andre Luiz's deflected shot gave Mineiro a 1-0 victory 11 minutes from time. Fifteen straight victories yet when it mattered we hadn't delivered. There was still the second leg to play thankfully, I was still confident of collecting my first trophy as Cruzeiro manager.
The return leg against Barbarense didn't go exactly to plan either, finshing 1-0 to União, but we still went through to the sixth round. Next was the second leg of the state final against Atletico Mineiro. It took us 73 minutes of nervy football to finally equalise, Adriano sweeping home from close range. Despite our best efforts we couldn't take the lead in normal and extra time. So to penalties, Fred and Mineiro's talented young midfielder Renato both converted the opening spotkicks. Much to my horror the goalscorer Adriano had his parried by Darnlei. Football is a rollercoaster of emotions at the best of times and when Fabio Junior blazed the ball over the bar my depair turned into hope. Sandro converted the 5th penalty to make the score 4-3, Andre Luiz had to score to keep Mineiro in the final. He only took a run up of about two or three steps and the run up itself wasn't purposeful. Fabio tipped the resulting shot onto the upright and then punched the ball away as it appeared to spin slowly across the line. Before I knew it we were all sprinting across the pitch towards the victorious players, the celebrations went into the night as I reflected upon my first trophy.
After the jubilations of the state championship win, we had to concentrate for our trip to Porto Alegre to face Gremio. From what I had seen off Gremio so far they looked pretty good, yet I was confident enough that the players could do a good job. My confidence obviously counted for nothing as Leanderson curled an unbelievable shot past Fabio on 19 minutes. It was an awful performance, Gremio doubled the lead with just 4 minutes to go but they should of had 4 or 5 goals the way we played. If we were to have any chance of winning the league this season we would have to improve. The sixth round of the cup pitted us against Vasco, it would be another tough pair of games. The first leg finished an incredibly tight 1-1, encouraging but it meant going to Rio trying to get a win.
Summary
Transfers
N/A
Results
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> ************************************************** ************************************************** ****4-0 Mamore A Minas State Semi Leg 2 Maldonado, Wagner (2), Fred2-0 União Barbarense H Cup 5th Round Leg 1 Fred (2)0-1 Atletico Mineiro A Minas Final Leg 1 0-1 União Barbarense A Cup 5th Round Leg 21-0 (4-3 pens.) Atleico Mineiro H Minas Final Leg 2 Adriano0-2 Gremio A First Division1-1 Vasco H Cup 6th Round Leg 1 Wagner******************************************** ************************************************** **********</pre>
Originally posted by OMDave:
I don't hate Fred. I just wish he'd come to Marseille (it almost happened this summer). I hate Lyon, though -the c**** always do this with players we're interested in...
Fair enough, has he signed for Lyon? He's still at Cruzeiro on the 06 Beta Demo.
Cruzeiro Esporte Clube 
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