Football Season Guide

Inability to balance Europe and domestic games nearly cost Santa Clara a drop to Liga 2. Finished 6 points above the relegation zone in the end but for long looked like prime candidates for the drop. Only the bottom 3 sides scored fewer than Santa Clara’s 32 goals in 34 rounds. Sacked coach Matos in late January when only goal difference was keeping them out of the relegation zone. Petit took over. He brought minor improvement in attack and this was just about enough to avoid a disaster. It has been a summer of major changes to the roster. Yet, the main weakness [lack of goals] hasn’t been addressed. No new strikers have arrived. Instead, the team’s main winger Silva was sold. Also, the goalkeeper room and the midfield were reshaped. Coach Petit, in charge only since February, had to rebuild completely his midfield. Lost all 3 senior GKs from last season too so new players will be battling it out for the starting role. Santa Clara might have issues defending this season also. The team’s best CB MT is out indefinitely with an ACL tear. This could prove a major issue. If the team can’t score more goals and the defensive stability is not good then another season of struggles might be on the cards.