Football Season Guide

Vitória’s 2025 season was a struggle for stability. Back in Série A, they finished 15th, spending long spells near the relegation zone before securing safety late on. Vitória exited the Copa do Brasil in the second round and were eliminated in the Sul-Americana group stage, underlining a year defined more by survival than progress. Standouts included goalkeeper Lucas Arcanjo and centre-half Lucas Halter (most used players in 2025), midfielder Baralhas offered consistency, August new signing Aitor Cantalapiedra mad a good impact and striker Renato Kayzer contributed with a decent sum of goals. Manager for the start of the season is Jair Ventura, who managed to save Vitória from relegation in the end of last season. He is known for behind the most conservative and defensive-minded manager among the elite in Brazil and his mentality raises a lot of questions for a long-term project. Since he started his managerial career, in 2016, he never stayed 2 consecutive complete seasons in the same club, and not because his own decision. Vitória signed with 6 new names, so far, all with defensive profile. Most remarkable are the strong centre-half Riccieli, looking to relaunch his career after a couple of seasons as substitute in Portugal, and the holding midfielder Emanuel Martinez, coming from an quiet season at Fortaleza. The two had been very good in previous years before these last two seasons. On the way out, centre-half Lucas Halter is the strongest name, but he should be well replaced by Riccieli. Raul Caceres, Willian Oliveira and Lucas Braga, while important in some parts of last season, they were all becoming secondary players at the club by the end. Main players for 2026 should be the midfielder Baralhas, wingers Aitor Cantalapiedra and Erick and striker Renato Kayzer.