Football Season Guide

Fluminense finished in a respectable position in 2021 Série A edition thanks to a nice recovery in the last half of the season, especially when the iconic interim coach Marcão took control of the team. Tricolores continued irregular, but they combined a lot of wins with defeats in the last third of the season, which allowed them to get access to Libertadores playoff stage. Flu brought the iconic Abel Braga to lead the team in 2021, and, so far, things look really good, as Tricolores are currently the team with more wins in the country, in 2021. Flu lifted Carioca trophy by defeating their biggest rivals Flamengo on the final. On the other hand, Flu failed access to Libertadores group stage, losing in final playoff round in the penalty shootout. Abel Braga seems to have chosen the in-fashion back-3 formation for the season. Flu brought Cruzeiro’s big icon Fábio (41 years old) for goal, and so far he has been rotating with last season’s main choice Marcos Felipe. Flu has been looking solid at the back, in 2021. Cristiano and Pineida are definitely improvements on the left-side over Danilo Barcelos and Egídio; Xavier and Lucas Calegari should rotate on the right side, even if the youngster seems to have an edge at the moment. The excellent Nino will lead the back-3. Felipe Melo should be more a defender than a midfielder. Claro, Braz, new signing David Duarte and Manoel are all very decent options to complete the trio. André seems the main man for midfield, and his partnership with Martinelli looks promising. Yago provides a more defensive-minded option; Ganso and Nonato have in new signing Nathan the main competition for the no. 10 position, which doesn’t seem to always exist in Braga’s XI for the new season. German Cano is the biggest new signing for 2022, and already looks established as the team’s reference in attack, as Fred on his 38 seems destined to try to be decisive with less minutes on the pitch. Luiz Henrique (will leave in July/August) and ‘Biel’ Teixeira are the creative young jokers, while former Palmeiras Willian, Arias and Caio Paulista are reliable options for the wings. Attacking midfielder Michel Araújo is the only important departure for the new season, while promising Luiz Henrique will leave in mid-season to join Spanish football. Despite well loved and respected by the players, Abel Braga’s old-fashioned and predictable tactics may be a problem on the long run.