A lot has changed in the last three months. Filipe Luis, who had been highly successful with Flamengo as a coach, did not have a good start and was dismissed after excessive pressure from the fans. Portuguese coach Leonardo Jardim (former Monaco), who had left Cruzeiro by choice, took over the club from Rio de […]

Santos is a historic team, the club that revealed legends like Pelé, which this year saw the heir to the number ten shirt, Neymar, return to the place where he emerged into international football. Physical and emotional decline made Neymar go through a turbulent year, but at the most crucial moment of the season, he […]

Cruzeiro had already fallen slightly behind, while Palmeiras managed to stay at the top of the table even after losing to Flamengo. Considering their league positions, a higher tactical and technical quality was expected, but the refereeing ended up standing out negatively on matchday 30, in a goalless draw. Tactical analysis and match report by […]

Flamengo and Cruzeiro, two teams battling at the top of the Brasileirão table, faced off on Matchday 26 but stood out more for their defensive organization and how they prevented goals than for playing attractive football. Still, the coach of the league leaders praised the match, saying it had the “intensity of European football.” How […]

Santos and Cruzeiro took the field for the 19th Matchday of the Brasileirão. On one side, Neymar’s team, looking to pull away from the bottom of the table after a win. On the other, Cruzeiro, with the best coaching work in this Brazilian season, aiming to stay in the title race after losing their last […]

For all of Cruzeiro’s seemingly incisive buildup play – dragging Internacional’s midfield and defense in all different directions –they came up empty-handed. Playing mostly from controlled possession play, it was Cruzeiro that began to make erroneous decisions, as opposed to their sitting opponents. Tactical analysis and match report by Peter M. Almost a month ago, […]

The Brasileiro schedule served up a meeting between two high profile managers. Jorge Sampaoli brought his table-topping Santos side to the home of Cruzeiro, where Brazilian football’s goalkeeping icon Rogério Ceni made his managerial debut. Cruzeiro had come into the fixture amid a relegation battle and in a poor run of form, which led to […]

Transparent midfield bases were at the core of both teams’ defensive problems, although neither side could raise any troubling questions with their narrow formations. Tactical analysis and match report by Peter M. Having met merely a week ago in the first leg, many spectators would have been hoping for an alternative score line following last […]

In this match, River Plate were just not able to make their deliveries stick. They controlled the match and found themselves in countless good crossing positions. Up until that point in each attack, they were cantering through Cruzeiro’s defense using expansive wide play, without stinging. Eventually, the visitors’ second half performance seemed to tip the […]

Thanks to striker Bruno Henrique and better overall buildup play, Clube de Regatas do Flamengo were able to overcome Cruzeiro Esporte Clube. A tale of new boys finding their way and old soldiers that never die. Tactical analysis and match report by Erik Elias. In Brazil, a country almost as large as the whole European […]