Football Season Guide

Atlético Mineiro’s 2025 season was a campaign of contrasting fortunes. In Série A, ‘Galo’ was inconsistent, ultimately finishing mid-table around 11th, failing to secure a Copa Libertadores place via domestic league and highlighting domestic struggles. In Copa do Brasil they reached the quarter-finals but were eliminated by arch-rivals Cruzeiro 'Galo' excelled in the Sulamericana, reaching the final, but losing on penalties to Lanús. Besides keeper Everson, who was influential in knockout ties, everyone else was inconsistent throughout the year, even the big idol Hulk, was needed to sit on the bench for several games to return to form in the final weeks. Jorge Sampaoli struggled during his days at 'Galo', last season, but he had inherited a very tough team to manage, with lots of injuries and unmotivated stars. Having a full pre-season to prepare 2026, he is expected to do much better, but surely not close to what he had achieved on his first spell with Atlético, back in 2020, when he had a much stronger squad and financial resources at his disposal. Guilherme Arana, one of the most important names on the squad for the last six seasons, was left, but he was very well replaced by Renan Lodi; the former just needs to recover fitness after several months without competition. In midfield, Menino and Vera had disappointing seasons, last year, and were replaced by Victor Hugo and Maycon, in what seems an upgrade over the last season. In attack, Hulk remains the reference, as no significant name has arrived, yet. At 39 and after showing strong sings of slowing down in 2025, it's very clear that 'Galo' can no longer rely only Hulk for goals. Alonso and Lyanco at the back, Alexsander in the middle, and Rony and Cuello in attack are the other strong names for the season, besides Hulk and new signings Lodi and Maycon.