retired_manpk1

September-October 2005
It was a game of two halves as we travelled to Palmeiras, and their pressure finally paid off when Maykon struck them ahead ten minutes before the break. The second half saw us trying to get back into the game, but we couldn’t get the final ball in the right places, and in the end gallantly lost.
We were handed a gift at home to Gama when the visitors had Nen sent off midway through the first half, and we took advantage as Carlos Alexandre struck to put us ahead. Flávio Guilherme added a second in injury time at the end of the first half, and Cristiano made it 3-0 just before the hour. Flávio Guilherme got his second of the game seventeen minutes from time, and William added a fifth from the penalty spot on 85. We slacked off in the final few minutes, allowing Élson to make it 5-1, but we had our emphatic victory.
A deflected free kick from Carlos Henrique put us ahead at Paulista ten minutes before the break, but Josafá and Afonso Alves both scored in first half injury time to send us into the break behind. Leandro Diniz restored parity in the first minute of the second half with a fantastic goal, but we couldn’t get a third, even when the home side had Vágner sent off nine minutes from time.
We went into our last game, at home to Brasiliense, knowing that a win might still be enough to qualify for the next stage. But we fell behind to a Léo Mineiro strike on 25, only for Flávio Guilherme to level things up before the break. We looked the more likely to score in the second half, but Brasiliense broke well and Léo Mineiro gave them a 2-1 victory with a second goal on 73.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts1st Pl Palmeiras 23 15 3 5 38 20 +18 482nd Pl Fortaleza 23 13 7 3 30 15 +15 463rd Pl América (MG) 23 13 2 8 39 23 +16 414th Pl Sport Recife 23 12 5 6 41 23 +18 415th Pl AvaÃ* 23 12 4 7 35 24 +11 406th Pl Brasiliense 23 12 3 8 38 33 +5 397th Pl Gama 23 11 3 9 39 38 +1 368th Pl Ceará 23 10 6 7 43 35 +8 36-------------------------------------------------------9th União São João 23 9 7 7 29 27 +2 3410th CRB 23 8 10 5 40 31 +9 3411th Goiânia 23 9 6 8 34 29 +5 3312th União Bandeirante 23 8 9 6 38 39 -1 3313th Botafogo 23 9 5 9 34 32 +2 3214th Criciúma 23 8 8 7 36 28 +8 3215th Náutico 23 8 8 7 30 25 +5 3216th Vila Nova (GO) 23 8 7 8 21 29 -8 3117th Paulista 23 7 9 7 25 24 +1 3018th São Raimundo (AM) 23 7 6 10 16 22 -6 2719th Remo 23 7 6 10 22 29 -7 2720th América (RN) 23 6 6 11 20 35 -15 2421st Joinville 23 6 5 12 18 29 -11 2322nd Caxias 23 5 4 14 26 42 -16 19-------------------------------------------------------23rd R MarÃ*lia 23 4 5 14 24 42 -18 1724th R Anapolina 23 2 0 21 11 53 -42 6</pre>
I guess we can be slightly disappointed not to have got to the final eight given our late push, but the truth is that our away form was horrible this season, and if we can improve it next time around we have every chance of making the latter stages. First though, we have three and a half months to look at the squad and make any necessary adjustments.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Name Apps Cln Conc MoM Av RFlávio Mendes 44 17 47 0 7.00Júnior - - - - ----Santos - - - - ----Name Apps Gls Asts MoM Av RAlencar 2 (10) 0 2 0 6.75Bira - - - - ----Carlos Alexandre 34 1 2 6 6.76Carlos Henrique 10 (9) 1 5 0 6.74Carlos Magno 6 (6) 2 0 0 6.33Chicão 34 4 7 0 6.47Claudecir 24 2 3 1 7.13Cley 7 (8) 8 4 0 6.93Clóvis 19 (4) 1 2 0 7.22Cristiano 28 24 10 4 7.36César Lira 1 (4) 0 0 0 5.80Daniel Rossi 35 0 0 0 6.00Edgar 0 (1) 0 0 0 7.00Flávio Guilherme 25 15 8 3 7.04Henrique 10 (17) 0 1 0 6.44Jean 1 (3) 0 0 0 7.00Leandro Diniz 43 7 22 4 7.70Liminha 9 (18) 2 0 0 6.85LuÃ*s Fernando 13 (7) 6 2 0 6.45Léo 2 (3) 0 0 0 6.40Marcelo Borges 43 0 2 3 6.95Marcos Roberto 41 1 2 4 7.34Michel 3 (4) 3 1 1 6.43Peta 1 (6) 0 0 0 6.86Stefano 11 (23) 0 0 0 6.29William 38 5 1 1 6.47-------------------------------------------Fred - - - - ----</pre>
Yet again Cristiano showed his worth up front, scoring at nearly a goal a game. Flávio Guilherme also showed some glimpses of his quality late on in the season, and if both strikers can keep fit, we should be a force this season. Marcos Roberto was again immense at the back, but it was the performances of Leandro Diniz on the left wing that really caught the eye, and the fans rightly voted him as their Player of the Season for the second consecutive year.

retired_manpk1

Preseason 2006
There was quite a bit of transfer activity as we rushed to get our squad together before the Goiás Championship started again. Alencar and Carlos Magno both retired from the sport; Peta joined Caxias for £150,000, and we added a number of players to the squad. Tute, a goalkeeper, joined for £2,000 from RS Futebol, and young winger Alexandre came in on loan for the season from MarÃ*lia. The two big signings will probably fit in at the back. Bosco, who prefers a midfield role, joins for £150,000 from Atlético Mineiro, and left back Alex comes in for £40,000 from Gama.
We played two friendly games in the build-up to the new season, and the first one was against near neighbours Goiás. We fell behind to an early goal, but William equalised in bizarre style with a 60-yard effort, and Flávio Guilherme put us into the lead on the half hour. Cley made it 3-1 midway through the second half, and although we conceded another goal late on, we held on to win. The other game was away at Mogi Mirim, and Flávio Guilherme put us ahead in just the third minute. William added a second from the penalty spot before Cristiano scored twice before half time. The second half degenerated into a boring affair, and we ran out comfortable 4-0 victors.
I’m pretty confident of our chances for the season, although we shall see how things progress over the next few months as we try to regain the State Championship.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Flávio Mendes GK Júnior GKTute GK Alexandre D/F RBira D R Bosco D/DM RCCarlos Alexandre D R Stefano D RLAlex D/DM L Edgar D LMarcelo Borges D/M LC César Lira D CDaniel Rossi D/DM C Henrique D CMarcos Roberto D C Claudecir DM CClóvis DM C Jean DM CChicão AM R Léo AM RLeandro Diniz AM L Liminha AM CWilliam AM C Carlos Henrique F RLCristiano F LC Cley S CFlávio Guilherme S C LuÃ*s Fernando S CMichel S C</pre>

retired_manpk1

January 2006
The season began with a home tie against Inhumas, and after labouring for a while Cristiano put us ahead on the half hour. Flávio Guilherme added a second before half time, and we had a comfortable 2-0 start to the season.
We got off to a fantastic start as Santa Helena as Leandro Diniz scored a fantastic goal, and on six minutes Braga Juliano was sent off for a foul and William put the penalty away. Carlos Alexandre and Flávio Guilherme added further goals by the midway point of the half, but William sent a penalty into the goalkeeper’s hands three minutes before the break. But by half time William had made it 5-0 from the penalty spot after Rodrigues de Jesús had been sent off. We eased off in the second half; Cley making it 6-0 on 74. The home side even ended the game with eight men on the field, Nonato was sent off seven minutes from time.
Vila Nova have given us a hard time over recent years and it was no different at home this time around. Just before the hour they were awarded a penalty, but Guilherme sent the penalty into the grateful arms of Flávio Mendes. Three minutes later Flávio Guilherme put us ahead, and four minutes later Cley added a second to wrap up a 2-0 victory.
Anápolis had also made a good start, but we went to their place confident. We survived an early storm to take a lead through a Liminha stormer, but just three minutes later Bibi equalised with the first goal that we had conceded this season. Two minutes into the second half Nélson Bertolazzi put the home side ahead, and when Bibi added a third three minutes later, we had no reply.

We just lost it at Anápolis, but in truth we’re playing well, and the new players are settling in very well. We should have already done enough to get through to the quarterfinals, and the next few games are all about getting to know each other on the field.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts1st Anápolis 4 4 0 0 15 2 +13 122nd Goiás 4 3 1 0 17 2 +15 103rd Goiânia 4 3 0 1 11 3 +8 94th Atlético Goianiense 4 3 0 1 9 5 +4 95th Real (GO) 4 2 0 2 3 7 -4 66th Inhumas 4 1 2 1 6 6 0 57th CRAC 4 1 1 2 6 7 -1 48th Vila Nova (GO) 4 1 1 2 6 7 -1 4-------------------------------------------------------9th Grêmio Inhumense 4 1 0 3 4 7 -3 3-------------------------------------------------------10th Aparecida 4 1 0 3 2 9 -7 311th Caldas 4 1 0 3 4 13 -9 312th Santa Helena 4 0 1 3 4 19 -15 1</pre>

retired_bronster

What an amazing structure of league those Brazilians have
Excellent story, I think you can get another promotion this year!

retired_jdupont

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by eli:
What an amazing structure of league those Brazilians have
Excellent story, I think you can get another promotion this year!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yep. The whole Brazilian football is amazing. :thup:

Binny's story is also amazing. :thup:

retired_manpk1

Thanks guys - nice to know that someone is reading I certainly hope that we can push for promotion this season, but first we're out to regain our State Championship title.


February 2006
The month started with a home tie against Atlético Goianiense, and midway through the first half Liminha cracked in a screamer to give us the lead. But just three minutes into the second half Wilton equalised for the visitors, and even when they had Mário sent off on 68, we couldn’t take advantage.
Flávio Guilherme put us ahead after seven minutes at Grêmio Inhumense, and he added a second ten minutes before the break. We took our foot off the gas after that, and the home side had Rangel sent off seven minutes from time.
We again took a seventh-minute lead, this time away at CRAC, and thanks to a strike from William. We were on top for the rest of the half but couldn’t find a further breakthrough, and in the second half the home side started to sense an equaliser. It came twelve minutes from time through Poletto, but deep into injury time Cristiano struck to give us an undeserved victory.
Caldas came to us and just sat back as we failed to get through them and had to settle for a 0-0 draw.
It was a similar story in our last match of the month, at home to Real. They came, sat, and defended throughout, earning themselves a 0-0 draw.

This was probably the worst month of my reign so far. We didn’t lose, but our performances have really been woeful, and we don’t seem to be functioning properly up front. It’s our home form that’s been most worrying – we drew all three ties at OlÃ*mpico this month.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts1st Q Anápolis 9 8 1 0 31 5 +26 252nd Q Goiás 9 6 1 2 26 12 +14 193rd Q Atlético Goianiense 9 6 1 2 23 9 +14 194th Q Goiânia 9 5 3 1 16 5 +11 185th Q Vila Nova (GO) 9 5 2 2 15 8 +7 176th Real (GO) 9 3 3 3 9 11 -2 127th Caldas 9 3 3 3 12 17 -5 128th Grêmio Inhumense 9 3 0 6 9 15 -6 9---------------------------------------------------------9th Aparecida 9 2 1 6 10 21 -11 7---------------------------------------------------------10th CRAC 9 1 3 5 13 17 -4 611th Inhumas 9 1 2 6 7 18 -11 512th Santa Helena 9 0 2 7 8 41 -33 2</pre>

retired_manpk1

March 2006
The opening goal against Aparecida came from the unlikely boot of Claudecir, and we added a second on 21 through Flávio Guilherme. We took our foot off the pedal after that, and cruised through to a 2-0 victory.
The squad was boosted by the signing of exciting young defender Alessandro Lopes. The 22-year-old cost us £350,000 from Pelotas, but won’t play for a few weeks due to a slight injury.
We started off poorly away at Goiás, falling behind to a Muñoz strike in the fifth minute, and then having Chicão sent off on 17 minutes. We somehow managed to survive the rest of the half, and two minutes into injury time LuÃ*s Fernando equalised. We played really well with ten men in the second half, and looked the more likely to score. Leandro Diniz put us ahead with another solo goal on 71, and seven minutes from time LuÃ*s Fernando struck again to give us a fantastic 3-1 victory.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts1st Q Anápolis 11 9 2 0 35 8 +27 292nd Q Goiânia 11 7 3 1 21 6 +15 243rd Q Atlético Goianiense 11 7 2 2 27 11 +16 234th Q Vila Nova (GO) 11 7 2 2 18 8 +10 235th Q Goiás 11 7 1 3 29 15 +14 226th Q Real (GO) 11 4 3 4 12 12 0 157th Q Caldas 11 3 4 4 13 20 -7 138th Q CRAC 11 2 4 5 18 19 -1 10---------------------------------------------------------9th Grêmio Inhumense 11 3 0 8 10 19 -9 9---------------------------------------------------------10th R Aparecida 11 2 1 8 10 25 -15 711th R Inhumas 11 1 4 6 9 20 -11 712th R Santa Helena 11 0 2 9 9 48 -39 2</pre>
The signing of Alessandro Lopes paved the way for Daniel Rossi to leave the club. The defender has not lived up to his potential in nearly two years at the club, and joins Tuna Luso for a fee of £30,000. On the other hand, we signed promising young midfielder Róbson on a free transfer from Desportiva.
The quarterfinal pitted us away at Caldas, and Cristiano struck after 40 seconds to put us ahead. Cley got a second just before the half hour, and Anápolis awaited us in the semis.
First though we had the small matter of a Fourth Round cup-tie at home to Vitória. But any doubts were swept away as Cley struck in just the sixth minute. And when the visitors had Alcides Eduardo sent off on 21 the result seemed inevitable. But we had to wait until early in the second half to score a second through Cristiano, and William made it 3-0 from the penalty spot. Cristiano added a fourth midway through the period and we were into the fifth round.
The last match of the month was the first leg semi-final away at Anápolis. We were hoping to exact revenge for a defeat earlier in the season, and thirteen minutes in Leandro Diniz put us ahead with a penalty. The game swayed from end to end, but twenty minutes from time LuÃ*s Fernando struck to double the lead, and only four minutes later Cristiano gave us a comfortable 3-0 lead to take into the second leg.

retired_jdupont

That Alcides Eduardo that was sent off against you in the Copa do Brasil match have played for the Brazilian Nat'l U-20 team. :thup:

You've got a great vicotry against them (4-0). :thup:

As for the State League it seems that you are almost in the final. :thup:

retired_manpk1

Keep reading - the result follows ....


April 2006
We did everything right in the home leg against Anápolis except score, and were caught on the break on 25 minutes when Alexandre Alvim struck. It was a similar story six minutes into the second half, Alexandre Alvim doing the damage to set up an interesting last 40 minutes. But on the hour Leandro Diniz struck in style again to set up four consecutive matches against Vila Nova.
First up was a trip to their place in the fifth round of the Cup. It wasn’t a particularly good game, and neither side came too close to scoring in a 0-0 draw.
Four days later we played there again, this time in the State Championship final. We had the better of the first half, but had to wait until the 56th minute for Flávio Guilherme to give us the lead. We were assisted when Gedeil was sent off twenty minutes from time, and Cley lobbed the goalkeeper for 2-0 with eight minutes to play.
Three days later we hosted Vila Nova in the second leg of the cup, and after a first half where we were under pressure, we capitalised on a defensive mistake to take the lead in the first minute of the second half through Flávio Guilherme. But within two minutes Guilherme struck to put the visitors ahead on the away goals rule, and when Guilherme struck again twelve minutes from time our cup adventure was over for the season.
There was still the little matter of the State Championship second leg to negotiate, and Vila Nova provided very little threat as we had the better of things in a 0-0 draw and reclaimed the State Championship.

Going out of the cup gave us nearly three weeks to prepare for the league campaign, and I moved to sign 30-year-old José Carlos Batista to help with the coaching over the next few months and years.

retired_manpk1

May 2006
The Second Division campaign began with a home tie with União Bandeirante, but things didn’t start to well as we fell to an 18th minute Cássio strike.
We were given a helping hand at home to Remo when we were awarded an early penalty and William put us ahead. We were all over the visitors, but we had to wait until the 65th minute for Flávio Guilherme to double the lead. Flávio Guilherme scored two more in the next ten minutes, but the 4-0 win was tampered by the last minute sending off of Alessandro Lopes.
We played well enough in Náutico in our first away game of the season, but just before half time Almir struck to give the home side the lead. We got back into the game twenty minutes from time thanks to Flávio Guilherme, and although Náutico had Pedro sent off six minutes from time, we had to be content with a 1-1 draw.
During the week prior to our trip to Caxias, we decided to allow Claudecir to move on. He had been reluctant to sign a new contract, and he joins Vitória for a fee of £250,000. The game went well as we controlled the game from start to finish, although it took us until six minutes before the break to open the scoring through Flávio Guilherme. We added two further goals early in the second half thanks to Cristiano as we continued our good form.
Claudecir was back at OlÃ*mpico as Vitória came to visit. It was a poor match with few chances, even when the visitors had VinÃ*cius sent off midway through the second half.Flávio Guilherme scored twice in the first eight minutes at Brasiliense, and Chicão scored his first of the season in the second half as we cantered to an easy 3-0 win.
We welcomed promising striker Jô to the squad. He joins from Remo for a fee of £80,000. He made his debut as we travelled to Desportiva, and although we dominated, it too until midway through the second half for Flávio Guilherme to strike twice and put us in command. Jô added a debut goal for 3-0 twelve minutes from time.

It’s been an excellent month for us as we’ve made a good start to our campaign, and must now seriously been considered to achieve a top-eight place.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts1st Goiás 7 4 3 0 13 5 +8 152nd Goiânia 7 4 2 1 14 2 +12 143rd Joinville 7 4 2 1 15 5 +10 144th União Bandeirante 7 4 1 2 12 10 +2 135th Ceará 7 4 1 2 15 16 -1 136th União São João 7 3 3 1 13 7 +6 127th Náutico 7 3 3 1 11 8 +3 128th Botafogo 7 3 3 1 11 9 +2 12-----------------------------------------------------9th América (MG) 7 3 2 2 11 8 +3 1110th Sport Recife 7 3 2 2 12 11 +1 1111th Gama 6 3 1 2 10 7 +3 1012th Remo 5 3 0 2 11 7 +4 913th Brasiliense 7 3 0 4 10 13 -3 914th Criciúma 6 2 3 1 5 5 0 915th AvaÃ* 6 2 2 2 10 8 +2 816th Desportiva 6 2 1 3 10 12 -2 717th Vitória 7 1 4 2 6 8 -2 718th CRB 5 1 2 2 8 8 0 519th São Raimundo (AM) 7 1 2 4 6 11 -5 520th Vila Nova (GO) 7 1 2 4 4 12 -8 521st Caxias 7 1 2 4 6 19 -13 522nd Paulista 7 0 4 3 7 15 -8 4-----------------------------------------------------23rd Malutrom 7 1 0 6 9 18 -9 324th América (RN) 7 0 3 4 6 11 -5 3</pre>