Cupola Conference

Vasco da Gama have brought in one of the former coaches in the form of Joel Santana to lead them to title success at the end of the campaign. Joel Santana is no stranger to the club after having been in charge of the team in four separate spells before. His first appearance in the Vasco da Gama dugout came in the 1986-87 season. Even though he lasted only one season at the club, he has since been a cult figure in these parts. He has since been around the club on three occasions. Even though he has not lasted for two seasons at a stretch, it is believed that the arrival of Santana will make them challengers for a return to the Brazilian top-flight.

Santana finds himself having to deal with second division matches, but it is something that the 65-year-old will probably relish since it only adds to the vast experience he has in the game. The 65-year-old’s first match in charge after returning to the club will be against Luverdense in the league. The club only recently brought an end to a run of five matches without a win by beating América Mineiro in the league. This victory leaves them one point behind the top of the table. The poor form in recent weeks, though, has allowed several teams to compete for the league title.

“I am happy to be back receiving a salary after over a year. Now, for example, I am at the bank. The bills don’t stop arriving. I am going to help Vasco. It is going to be good for everyone,” said Santana. Along with the arrival of Santana, the club will also see the return of coaches like Ronaldo Torres and Marcelo Salles, who have worked with the manager for several years at various clubs.

Vanderlei Luxemburgo is a man under pressure at the moment after his Flamengo team are bottom of the Brazilian football table after 13 matches in the season. The club recently brought an end to the disastrous run of form after 1-0 win over Botafogo. However, they were unable to sustain the positivity after a 1-0 loss at the hands of Chapecoense on Monday night. This has left the team three points adrift of safety and with a hugely inferior goal difference. Luxemburgo says that the players must have performed much better than they have done so far.

It will be interesting to see if Luxemburgo’s decision to blame the players will have an effect in the upcoming matches. The team hosts the match against Sport Recife next week. In the match against Botafogo, home advantage played a crucial role in getting the three points. It could prove vital once again, as the club look to get out of the relegation zone. Flamengo have not been going through a bad run of form only in the last few weeks. They have managed just two wins out of the 13 matches played since the start of the season. The likes of Cruzeiro already have close to a 20 point advantage over Flamengo.

“The players must understand that they must get the club out of this situation that they have put it into. We have 10 points and we need 37 points to avoid relegation. That means we need 47 percent of the 78 points still available. That’s our Championship,” said the Flamengo manager. Given the short-term nature of Brazilian managers come eight would not be surprising to see Luxemburgo out of the job in the next few weeks if results are not improve. The upcoming match against Sport Recife will be difficult since the opponents of challenging for a Copa Libertadores spot.