Football Season Guide

Sport Recife

In


André (Att, Sporting CP), Paulo Henrique (Att, Shenhua), Raul Prata (Def, Luverdense), Rodrigo (Mid, Tombense, on loan), Leandro Pereira (Att, Club Brugge, on loan), Marquinhos (Mid, Internacional, on loan), Saulo (GK, Vila Nova, end of loan), Eugenio Mena (Def, Cruzeiro, on loan)

Out


Renê (Def, Flamengo), Naldinho (Mid, Central), Rodney Wallace (Mid, NYCFC), Oswaldo (Def, ABC, on loan), Edmílson (Att, Santo Andre), Túlio de Melo (Att, Chapecoense), Luís Gustavo (Def, San Jose, end of loan), Gabriel Xavier (Att,Cruzeiro, end of loan), Vinícius Araújo (Att, Valencia, end of loan), Apodi (Def, Kuban Krasnodar, end of loan), Luis Carlos Ruiz (Att, Atletico Nacional, end of loan), Paulo Roberto (Mid, Audax, end of loan), Henrique Mattos (Def, Botafogo, end of loan), Rodrigo Mancha (Mid, released), Luiz Carlos (GK, Internacional, end of loan)

Sport Recife had to fight to the very end to avoid relegation last season and they’ll be hoping to secure survival far earlier this time around. It is hard to tell just how competitive they will be in 2017, even though they have reached the final of the Pernambucano State Championship. It is one of the weakest states, as evidenced by the fact that Sport are its only Serie A representative, so there is little to be gleaned from their success in that tournament. The team does, though, appear to be playing some good football after a productive transfer window saw most of the star players stick around at the same time as strikers André and Paulo Henrique were brought in, along with Chile international left-back Eugenio Mena. In terms of coaching, Daniel Paulista resigned in March and he has been replaced by Ney Franco, an experienced tactician who should be able to help Sport with his Serie A know-how. If there is one glaring weakness for Sport then it’s the fact that they do not have much strength in depth. Their starting XI could beat anyone on their day, especially at home, but one or two injuries or suspensions could cost them significantly.

Target


Survival will be the objective once again, but the club would like to secure it more comfortably than they did last season.