Football Season Guide

Athlético Paranaense’s 2025 Série B campaign was a season of rebound and effectiveness: the Furacão finished 2nd in the league with 65 points, directly behind champions and big rivals Coritiba, securing a return to Série A disgraceful 2023 relegation. Kevin Viveros’ arrival in the middle of the season proved vitel as he brought decisive goals that allowed ‘Furacão’ to have a fantastic end of season. Other standouts included Luiz Fernando, the club’s top scorer, while Bruno Zapelli orchestrated play in midfield with numerous assists. Odair Hellmann was kept on the manager position for the new season after the relatively successful run in 2025. He has proved adaptative in all his jobs and that might allow him to quickly change the gear from a dominant side in Série B to a newly arrival team at top flight. However, at the same time, his lack of firm ideas might be inefficient in a team that quickly wants to restore their legacy at Série A and usually likes to be dominant at home games. It has been a quiet window for 'Furacão', for now. No significant player left, and just a few players were borught in. The most important name is perhaps the Colombiam international Juan Portilla; the defensive midfielder is a strong candidate for the XI, while the likes of Gilberto and Jadson will be useful reserves. Veteran Luiz Gustavo will very much depend on his physical condition to become useful for 'Furacão', after spending most of 2025 recovering from health condition. Playmaker Bruno Zapelli is the star of the team. His vision and technique are invaluable for the team. He took sometime to become valuable for 'Furacão', but once he established on the team, he became their true no- 10. Centre-half Arthur Dias is perhaps the hottest young talent.